July 17, 2022
Today we’re finishing our “Summer in the Scriptures” message series, by talking about boating and swimming! Our message series can put your mind at ease: if you face troubles, you’re not alone! Our ancestors in faith did too! We found out how they lived through a family reunion: Jacob moved in the direction of his brother Esau, when he was afraid for his life and wanted to run away from him. We learned how they lived through a life-threatening road trip: the Israelites’ lives moved in the direction of their strongest thoughts. So instead of thinking about the past: slavery in Egypt, and maybe that was better, they thought about the promised land and freedom, and moved toward that. We learned how they lived through 40 years of camping: God was teaching them not to think about the past or worry about the future, but to trust him and live in the moment.
Today is about the apostle Paul, who is on a ship that’s in trouble. He ends up swimming in the sea. He is on a ship in trouble for 14 days! I read this story and I wonder: how do you stay positive when you’re in a storm that long? The titanic sank quickly after it hit the iceberg: in 2 hours 40 minutes. It sank more quickly than the time it takes to watch the movie: 3 hours 14 minutes!
But Paul was in the middle of a disaster at sea for two weeks! There was no coast guard and no rescue. It was a terrible ordeal.
When life is going my way, my faith is good. But as soon as I run into obstacles, difficulties, I want to run away. I don’t want to go through that. Paul was on a ship in a storm for 14 days. How do you stay positive and keep faith that God will get you through? We’ll find out how Paul persevered.
Story begins with Paul, a prisoner, being transported to Rome to stand trial. He was a prisoner because, he was accused of starting a riot. Some people didn’t like it when he stood up and preached the good news. Since Paul was a Roman citizen, he requested an audience with Caeser Augustus. Because he wanted to speak with Caesar about his case, he would be taken as a prisoner by the centurion Julius to Rome. Paul actually wanted to be taken to Rome. He was happy he was a prisoner, because he would spread the gospel to the center of the Roman Empire. But it was a long way from Caesarea to Rome: a journey of over 2000 miles.
At first Paul and the other prisoners and the centurion, Julius, were on a ship that sailed to Myra in Lycia, which is in present day Turkey. Then they got on another ship. This ship had difficulty because of the wind. They made it to the coast of the island of Crete, which is off Greece. Here Paul warned them that it would be disastrous to continue on their journey because winter was near. But Julius, the centurion didn’t listen to Paul. He and the pilot decided to try to go further along the coast before they stopped for the winter. But soon a hurricane force wind came up! The ship couldn’t head into the wind, so they were driven along. On the second day they threw cargo overboard. The storm raged on for 14 days. They thought they would not be saved. They didn’t know where they were: just somewhere in the Mediterranean Sea.
After they had gone a long time without eating, Paul stood up and said, you should have listened to me and not kept sailing. He said in Acts 27:22-26 he says “But now, I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost, only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar, and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ Paul tells them, keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.
Where did Paul’s hope come from? It came from God. An angel spoke to him, and Paul believed God would save them.
Paul had an “even though” faith. During the storm Paul could say, “Even though we have no idea where we are, even though we haven’t eaten for a long time, even though our stomachs have been doing flip flops for two weeks in this storm; even though we’ve thrown the ship’s supplies and our own possessions overboard, still I have faith in God that we will all survive this. Paul teaches us, “Even though…let your faith in God show.”
“Even though” faith is all throughout our Scriptures. The 23rd psalm says, the Lord is my shepherd. “Even though” I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Another Psalm, psalm 27 v. 3, says, “Even though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; even though war break out against me, even then will I be confident.
We find many instances of “even though” faith in the Scriptures: Abraham believed God would give him descendants, even though he and his wife Sarah were past 90 years of age.
God was with Joseph, even though his brothers were jealous and sold him into slavery. And he became, over the years, a right-hand man of Pharoah in Egypt. When his brothers came to ask for food in a famine, Joseph gave them food. Even though they had been evil to him, God meant it for good, in order that one day Joseph would save them.
Even though David was a boy, he believed he could defeat the giant Goliath by the power of God. And he did.
Even though Jesus was killed, he rose from the dead and sits at the right hand of God. Through him we all are saved. Even though…let your faith in God show.
What happened to Paul and everyone on the ship in the storm? On the fourteenth night of the storm, they approached land. It was dark and the sailors let the lifeboat into the sea so they could get to land. Their fear got the best of them, and they would try to quietly escape.
Paul told the centurion and the soldiers: “Unless these sailors stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” So, the solders cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away. They were all in this together.
Paul urged everyone on the boat to eat, and assured them, “not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” They, all 276, ate and were encouraged.
When daylight came, they tried to run the ship aground on the beach. But the ship struck a sandbar and was stuck. At this point, the soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to keep them from swimming away and escaping. But Julius, the centurion, stopped them. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard and swim to land. The rest were to get there by holding onto planks or pieces of the ship that broke off. Everyone reached land safely!
It turned out they ran aground on the island of Malta. And when winter was over, they sailed on another ship, successfully to Rome.
Paul had faith, even though. Where the sailors would have left the boat, and it would be very difficult for those left on the ship to maneuver the boat closer to shore, Paul trusted God, that everyone on the boat would get to shore. So, he didn’t let those sailors abandon ship and save just themselves. Paul’s faith meant everyone lived.
My challenge for you this week, is to think of some difficulty you are in the middle of. Then pray this pray, “Even though, (name the difficulty) I will _______.” Even though I’m worried about my health, my job, my marriage, my parents, my kids, I will trust God that all will be well, believe that God works things out for the best. Even though _________, I will ________
And as you pray, know that God listens and answers, giving you strength.
Paul got on a boat. They were in a storm for two weeks. But he got a message from God: everyone will survive. You’ll get to Rome. All will be ok. Even though it was awful, Paul trusted in God. And because of that, 276 people made it safely to dry land.
It’s tough to be in the middle of difficulty. We all are in the middle of something. Turn to Him and God will encourage you in the middle. So much good can come out of your faith. God will get you out of the middle eventually. Even though, let your faith show. Things work out better for you and all those around you, when you do. Amen.
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