ACTS 27. GOD IS IN CONTROL It is interesting for those who like to read stories and follow the events of journeys like the one Paul made from Caesarea to Rome by ship. The description of the ship he traveled on is one of the best that has been recorded in any literature from those ancient times. Ships transported grain from Egypt to Rome, but the one Paul rode on was too late to leave Egypt to make it to Rome before the bad weather came safely. 276 people on board that vessel indicate it was not a little ship. Heavily loaded with grain and with that many people would mean the ship owner and captain were looking to make a good bit of money. The skiff towed behind the ship wasn’t a lifeboat but would be used to go from the ship to the shore, where the water wasn’t very deep at the pier. The skiff would pick up passengers from the anchorage to the shore. Sails, not oars, were used to move a transport ship that was heavily loaded. “Helps” sometimes needed to ensure the weight wouldn’t open the seams.
Against that ordinary and unremarkable background, the God of the universe takes such notice that He has put the story of a common-place ship taking a commonly traveled journey. A common ordinary life on the water that can be boring at times and gives a whole chapter in the written word of God to this one journey. This is because one man on that boat was a “chosen vessel” unto the Lord. His two traveling companions were on that slow boat to Rome to fulfill God’s purpose. He was doing what his Lord wanted despite a series of adverse circumstances. Paul was a prisoner of Rome, but to his Lord, he was sent to preach the Gospel and bear witness to his Lord in front of the highest human authority in the empire.
When God’s will is being carried out in this day of grace, it may include a lot of obstacles and opposition before one reaches the end of the journey. This whole story illustrates an individual’s life, an assembly’s life, or even the life of the dispensational church. Trials and tribulations are to be expected as we travel this journey. The “god of this world” will oppose anything that is of God. The world system contradicts the work of the kingdom of God and the church's building. The “gates of hell” will not prevail against it, but they will continue to fight against it. The human flesh of people, even Christians, will often make us shrink back from going forward in the storms of persecution and opposition that unite against divine truth.
From the beginning of this chapter to the end, we can draw an analogy between the church of God and the journey of God’s people until we are all safely home in heaven. We may get there wet and tired, and there is not much to show for the journey, but we will get there. It is not wrong to take lessons from the events of this journey that Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus made and apply them to things that happen to us. When we compare them to our life journey, it is surprising how God works the same now as He did then. However, the main point of the narrative is that when God uses any one of His servants to do His work, it is incumbent on us to carry out His will and preach His word in whatever place He chooses. He is the One in control of all that happens on the way there and when we get there.
Paul’s innocence of the charges against him had been established, but to avoid conflict in Israel, Festus agreed to Paul’s appeal to go to Rome, where he would be judged before a high court of the Roman empire. He had that civil right, and the sovereign God arranged it all according to divine purposes. We may never know all that is behind the things that God brings into our lives, but when we have faith in Him, the easy parts of life’s journey may be at the beginning for some and hard for others.
Whether it is easy or hard is not our decision. We need to be confident that we are in the path of His leading. The first part of our journey of faith may be to give us time to learn how to listen and learn from Him. It could also strengthen us by the pressures of opposition and hardship. Paul began his Christian life under the tension of the skeptical eyes of believers who didn’t know whether they could trust him and then the critical eyes of those who watched this committed man give his all for the service of his Lord. Most of his preaching and teaching ministry was lived under opposition pressure.
After two years of comparable peacefulness imposed on him at Caesarea when he was a prisoner yet not isolated from other believers who could come and go to encourage and help him, he began this journey. Traveling by ship was commonplace, and he could see the believers at Sidon again. The touch-and-go journey to Myra gave a little foretaste of what was ahead. The weather started to get worse.
We will find that as we begin to witness and become more committed to the Lord and obey Him, there will be gradually increasing contrary winds from those who do not want to hear about God or be reminded of their sin. The more we follow the word of the Lord, the stronger those “contrary winds” begin to hit us in the face and test our personal faith. There are some turning points that come into our lives as followers of our Lord Jesus Christ, and they introduce us to the real challenge of being a Christian.
It may happen when you leave home for the first time and go to university with a different culture. You are faced with those who mock Christianity and personal faith in God. People will mock you for reading the Bible and praying, and professors will seem to make it a personal challenge to turn you away from faith in Christ, the Bible, and God. When a person is drafted into military service, you find that men use swear words and false bravado to cover their fear. A new job where you don’t know anyone, let alone if there are Christians there, can be a turning point in your life that will make you stronger in faith if you make your integrity obvious and maintain your dignity under pressure.
At first, there may not be much to test your faith, but you will become used to living and working with those who don’t know the Lord. You may hold back from standing out as a believer in Christ and hope no one asks you if you are a Christian. It will take courage and help from your Lord to stand out from the crowd and maintain your standards of biblical holiness. People will notice you don’t drink liquor, don’t swear, don’t “party,” and will separate themselves from you because you are a “nice guy” – a derogatory term. “Lasea and Fair Haven” may seem pretty safe, even though you are starting to get used to rough seas, but life is not all that easy. Then comes the time of real danger.
Paul knew what would happen if they kept going the way they were, so he gave a warning. “Fair Havens” is not a place of peace and rest, but it is better than being in the wild, wide-open sea. The winds still blasted the shore there, and though their little shelter wasn’t very suitable, they would have been close to shore in that less-than-perfect port in Crete. Phoenix seemed much better to those who looked only at the present situation and their difficult circumstances.
You may be found in a place and a situation that is not the best, but before making a change, be sure you are acting in the will of God. Think ahead to what possibly could be worse and what might be better. “Weeping may endure momentarily, but joy comes in the morning.” A long period of “turbulent weather” may seem long, but that doesn’t mean it won’t be even worse elsewhere. Another place, another venue, and other people who are more congenial can be a great attraction, but remember, there is no perfect place or situation in this ungodly world. Wait for perfection until you get to heaven. Don’t jump ahead of God.
The ship and the new course they planned to travel to Rome as quickly as possible would have given the ship owner and pilot a very good profit if they had gotten to Rome before winter weather settled in. Consequently, those who were in authority over the 276 on board would not heed the voice of caution and reason that came from God through His servant Paul.
What are we to do when we are in a situation that we cannot control or avoid, even though we know the consequences will be disastrous? When all around us seems hopeless and those in authority are unreasonable and antagonistic, all we can do is stay the course, experience the hardship and difficulties that others are going through, and keep a gracious and grateful attitude and spirit. Those who won’t listen to God or read His word may read the reality of faith in your words and ways and perhaps will be attracted to the Lord Jesus through observing faith in action. Place full confidence in our Gracious Father to bring us through the severe trial in which you are found, and you will realize that not only is God in control, but He is using you to bring others to put their faith in Him through watching you go through the same things they are experiencing.
Paul was an ambassador of heaven on his way to the worldly city of Rome, the seat of a powerful government. God intended Paul to get to Rome; He promised he would get there, but He did not tell him about the hard journey and dangers he had to pass on his way there. So, like him, there are spiritual lessons we can learn. God has eternal purposes for other people besides us. On our way home, He may bring us into severe trials so we can communicate His truth to people who would otherwise be overlooked. Who else would have brought the Gospel to those soldiers and sailors on that ship? Paul had a captive audience on board for days on end and arranged in His own way to make every one of them think of eternity and where they were going. He can use us in the same way. Even when they landed on Malta, they couldn’t escape God there.
A Perilous Position. “Exceedingly tossed with tempest… neither sun nor stars… all hope taken away.” When we are in a predicament that is out of our human control, fear and unrelenting uncertainty awaken the soul of every person. Those without faith in Christ would have a sense of guilt as they have time to think about their sins in the light of approaching death by drowning and eternity beyond death. Fear, alarm, no light to guide, and no hope of salvation leave those without Christ with nothing but doom ahead.
A Merciful Revelation. “God stood by me… Fear not Paul… God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.” Believers must know that the effective and fervent prayer of those who live for God produces many blessings. Paul prayed for the crew and the soldiers and deliverance from death for all those who were on that ship with him. He knew where he was going. He was going to Rome before he went to heaven. God had said so. At first, He did not know that the boatload of 276 people would survive the journey. “Faith is the victory that overcomes the world.” When Christ is in the boat, we can smile at the storm.
A Faithful Proclamation. “Be of good cheer, for I believe God.” Sometimes, God arranges a captive audience when the Gospel can be proclaimed, and everyone will listen. When people are hopeless and in deep despair, they do not need to hear a scolding message but a message of good news. They need to hear the Gospel from a person of good cheer, and they need to hear a positive message of hope and certainty, not pessimism and hopelessness. “I believe God” has a power in the words themselves to awaken a skeptical agnostic and an unbelieving sinner. Those who repent and believe the Gospel can hear and understand the simple words of the Gospel that tell of positive salvation, with eternal life assured now and forever.
A Necessary Condition. “Except ye abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.” God’s sovereign grace toward human beings and human responsibility are not inconsistent. There are conditions for salvation that have to be met. “Without faith, it is impossible to please God.” “Repent ye, and believe the Gospel.” “Him that cometh to Me, I will for no reason cast out.” It is not enough to know that God is not willing that any should perish. People must know that they must repent to God for their sins.
Salvation is offered to all people everywhere. “Whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.” The Gospel is good news to all who believe it. Through faith in what God says in His word, those who seek Him will find Him. Then, they will believe in Him and abide in Him.
A Compassionate Exhortation. “Take some food, for this is for your health.” After traveling together for about a month, Paul would have been acquainted with the 276 people who were aboard. At least, they would have known who he was. He wanted them to be saved from drowning and also to be saved from their sins. He also wanted their health and comfort during their great fears.
There is an order to divine working regarding the salvation of souls. Salvation comes before health and well-being. The Holy Spirit does not begin His work by changing conditions to be more comfortable and favorable to us. He begins by convicting us of sin, righteousness, and judgment to come. Social conditions around us will not change for the better, but sorrow for sin and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ leads to a new outlook on social conditions. Abiding on the ship and eating food uplifted the fearful soldiers and sailors. The same is true when God’s grace saves one. We abide in Him, and He feeds our souls with the word of God. Then our spirits are lifted, and our hope is revived to where we can honestly say, “The Lord willing” or “God willing.”
A Wonderful Transformation. “They were all of good cheer.” There is a lot of difference when “all hope is taken away” is replaced by the “good cheer” of salvation. To believe what a person who speaks for God says brings gladness to one’s heart and an assurance that whatever happens is according to the will of God. Those people on that ship were assured they were not going to perish that day, even though the shipwreck was going to happen, and they would lose everything. Their lives would be saved, and they would start living all over again without a thing to call their own.
When we believe in God and have our faith solidly based on the infallible word of God, we can be lifted from pessimism to calmness and quiet assurance. To have our faith firmly planted on the promises of God, we can be thankful in times of sorrow and loss. We can also rest in peace, though there is disaster and turmoil all around us. It is even possible to praise and worship our Lord when we know the ship is going down.
A Complete Salvation. “They escaped all to land.” There may be differences in how the Lord’s people end their journey. Each believer has a personal story unique to them about how God saved them. We will all have a different testimony to tell when we get to the end of our life’s journey, but believers will all arrive safely on heaven’s shore in the way our sovereign Lord deems best. Nobody who has trusted Christ as their own personal Savior will be lost.
If those sailors had not had someone interfere with their own plans, they would have perished in the sea. They didn’t get to shore without getting wet, nor in the skiff, which they thought would keep them safe. A board or a “broken piece” of the ship is all that is needed when God gives us His promises. Nobody perishes who puts their trust in our Lord Jesus Christ, even though we may pass through the deep waters of sickness, suffering, or persecution. Every individual who puts their faith in the Lord can face, endure, and come through crisis times as one who “triumphs in Christ.”
It may be hard to think of God’s sovereign control when we are in a crisis, and all seems lost. When we wonder, “Where is God now?” be assured He is not far from us and hears our cries of desperation. The assurances that God has promised, He will keep. He gives strength for the day, grace to accept what comes, rest when we come to Him, and He promised not to leave us or forsake us. He will bring us to our “desired haven.” He will not leave us alone but be with us to “the end of the age.”
Others, like the shipmaster, may want to find some material profit in everything they do, but the sovereign God who is in control has His own way of removing anything that we are inclined to trust. When He has finished, all we have left is God Himself. When we know Him and know the Lord Jesus, we have eternal life. When we leave this world, we leave with nothing we have accumulated for ourselves, but when we have God’s salvation and the gift of eternal life, that is all we need. When we are “safe on heavenly land,” “Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath It entered the heart of man, the things that God hath prepared for them that love Him.” THE END OF THE JOURNEY