Acts 27:13  And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.
14  But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.
15  And when the ship was caught, and could not bear up into the wind, we let her drive.
16  And running under a certain island which is called Clauda, we had much work to come by the boat:
17  Which when they had taken up, they used helps, undergirding the ship; and, fearing lest they should fall into the quicksands, strake sail, and so were driven.
18  And we being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they lightened the ship;
19  And the third day we cast out with our own hands the tackling of the ship.
20  And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.
:21  But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
22  And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
23  For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24  Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
25  Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

The ungodly have nothing solid upon which to make decisions. They go by feelings or circumstantial evidence. However, they have nothing solid to work from. Those who are saved know that the goal posts are always changing for the lost. We have seen that in Canada over the past two years. The government and health officials claim that we have never faced anything like this before. They plotted this entire event and then they implemented it. Man has the capacity to plan evil things. He does not have the capacity to control the outcome of the evil he plots. Man tries to push God out of his life and pretends to be God. However, God proves man wrong in every act of rebellion man plots.
In our text we see that the captain and the centurion were intent on sailing further. In verse 13 we see that there was a soft south wind that blew in such a way that these men were convinced now was the time to set sail. They tried to play it safe by staying close to land.
We read in verse 14 that this soft wind was short lived. That soft wind was soon replaced by a tempestuous wind called Euroclydon. The word translated as Euroclydon means “a violent agitation”. It was a south east wind which would raise mighty waves.
We know from the Gospel accounts that the disciples would be in the Sea of Galilee and the Sea appeared to be calm when they started out but then it would become a very violent body of water with the wind whipping up the waves so that these experienced fishermen would fear death. Several times Jesus had to calm the troubled Sea for them to be able to make their voyage successfully. The disciples were in awe of Jesus. They had never experienced any man being able to calm the wind and the Sea. Jesus demonstrated His power over His creation.
These sailors and the centurion would come to realize as well that even though they did not believe in God, He was in charge.
In verse 15 we see that the wind was so strong that they could not work with it. They had to let the wind drive the ship. All they could do was try to keep the ship from being torn to pieces. We see in verse 16 that they had all they could do to keep the ship from crashing into the island of Clauda. We read in verse 17 that they had to use helps to strengthen the ship and keep it from being destroyed. They also put up the sail to keep the ship moving so they would not get stuck in the quicksand. They were not in control of this situation at all. They were simply trying to survive this violent storm.
In verse 18 we see they had to start throwing things overboard to try to save the ship. They needed to make it lighter to be able to keep it higher in the water. This would help to keep them from running aground, but it would also make the ship easier for the wind to toss around.
Verse 19 tells us that they were now in their third day of trying to survive in the midst of this storm. On that day they threw overboard the tackling of the ship. Verse 20 tells us that they did not see the sun nor the stars for many days. Without that they would not know what course they were on. Even these tried and tested seamen were losing hope of surviving this storm. What a helpless situation they were in.
This is a picture of where most of society is at today. Most are trying their best to face the storms of life on their own. They have developed various theories of what works and what does not. They have faced some “soft winds” that blew favourably and they assumed they had struck the right course. Unexpectedly, a storm came up and they tried their best to weather the storm and get back to the favourable winds, but it did not happen. It came to the place where all hope was lost. Unlike our account, many perish in the storms of life. Some fight the storms for many years. They seem to make it through one but then another one comes along. They cry out to the government for help and they gain the sympathy of other lost people who have also fought storms. They think things are still bearable because they have all these “helps”. However, eventually time runs out and they perish in their self-will.
Our account shows us that all hope would have been lost for these men if it had not been for one man in particular. As we noted already, Luke was there as well. We do not know if Aristarchus sailed all the way to Rome, but Luke did. However, the man that God worked through here was Paul. Paul was the bold saved person who was not deterred by the threat of death, or the assumed power of the soldiers, or even the supposed experience of the master and captain of the ship. Paul was a faithful servant of God who had given wise counsel to these men earlier. That counsel had been ignored. Now Paul was given further opportunity to remind these men of who was in charge.
In verse 21 we see that Paul had waited for God’s timing on this matter. After long abstinence, he stood forth in the midst of the people and politely but boldly addressed them. He reminded them that they should have listened to him and not left Crete. He reminded them of the loss they had already suffered.
In verse 22 Paul advised them that they should not loose heart over the situation. He reminded them that there would be no loss of life, but they were going to lose the ship. There is always a cost to rejecting God’s way. Many times it ends with the loss of life. Sometimes it involves the loss of things in the hope that people would wake up and see the need to turn to God. In this case, God was going to give the people another opportunity to turn to Him. However, they were going to lose the ship. The owner would be out his investment. He would also lose the profit he would have made on delivering that load of grain. The centurion would need to fight for his own survival just as the prisoners he was guarding had to.
In verse 23 Paul gave further detail regarding his authority to speak. God had sent an angel to him the night before. Paul reminded these desperate and tired men that he was a servant of the true God. While they were fighting in the flesh, he was serving the true and living God. He had a hope that they lacked.
In verse 24 Paul relayed the message the angel had given him. These proud and tough men may not have wanted to hear Paul’s message, but Paul was a servant of God, not of men. He spoke boldly and plainly. The angel of God had assured Paul that he must stand before Caesar. He was also assured that all the others on the ship would be spared because of him. This one godly man was going to have a positive impact on the entire crew and passengers. God does not need an army to accomplish His goals. He does not need anyone to accomplish His goals. He chooses to look for a man who will walk humbly with Him and glorify Him. He uses that man to help others to see their need to turn to Him as well.
We have had opportunity to trust in God during the violent storm of the past two years. God does not need an army to prove Himself strong at this time either. He is looking for a man who will walk humbly with Him and be that light for others to see the importance of trusting in the true God.
I was sent a survey this week to fill. The survey is supporting the “vaccine” for children under 5. It states that this “vaccine” is one tool that will help protect children from the virus. That premise of this entire survey is wrong. The “vaccine” is not a tool to help protect children. The “vaccines” have all been proven to be harmful to humanity. Some people face no side effects, but others have died and still others have faced severe adverse effects from taking them. We do not yet know all the adverse effects of these harmful injections.
The authorities need to be reminded that there is no benefit to following their lies. It is a shipwreck in the making. These surveys are designed to give legitimacy to what the government wants to do. They do not give opportunity to speak the truth.
Paul was a faithful servant of God and he waited for God to open the door for him to give a clear testimony from God. He prayed for boldness and then he acted in boldness when the door was opened. His message was the last thing these struggling men wanted to hear. However, it was the necessary message they needed to hear.
In verse 25 Paul again reminded the men to be of good cheer. He stated emphatically that he believed God and he believed that this event was going to turn out exactly as God had stated that it would. Those who are saved today need to be in the Word of God and we need to pray for boldness to speak the truth when God opens the door. We do not need to take a survey to see if what we are doing is popular. We need to stand apart from the wicked world and make sure that we can be identified as being on God’s side. We need to speak with boldness that can be heard. If we are compromised in our walk, our voice will not be heard.
We have a PM who has the cameras and the microphones. He is wicked and he has the backing of other evil people who are cheering him on. However, we have observed that when the pressure is on, he goes into hiding. He claims to have another bout of the “virus” or he finds some “worthy” meeting to fly to attend. He leaves others to take the heat.
In the midst of this showmanship, God is looking for a man who will trust Him and speak the truth. Most will not appreciate the truth. We do not read of anyone on that ship who turned to God in salvation because of this situation. God knows the effects of this event. God never gives up even though He knows the majority will never turn to Him. He shows His love for mankind. He does not need to be rewarded to show His love. He is love. His will is that none perish, but that all would come to repentance. He knows the beginning from the end and yet He still works to give all men many opportunities to turn to Him.

I John 3:1  Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.

Pastor Bartel