Acts 27:1-28: "Paul in Peril Leading through a Crisis"

Let’s take our Bibles together and turn to Acts 27. And let’s continue our series “No Other Name,” verse by verse through the book of Acts. Our study of the book of Acts is drawing to an end. Let’s finish strong these last three weeks.

A little over 25 years ago, Sanja and I got married in Longview, Texas. And after our wedding, we did something that a lot of married folks do after they get married—we went on a honeymoon cruise. And it was supposed to be a fun and exciting time for the two of us. We envisioned laying out on the deck of the boat, swimming in the ocean, eating exotic foods, etc. We were going to have the time of our lives. 

And for the first 24 hours or so, that was the case. It was fantastic. But then on the second day of our voyage, our boat hit a massive squall in the middle of the Gulf of Mexico. And it seemed like that storm just came out of nowhere. We were, in an instant, pounded with wind, rain, waves, and rough seas. And at one point it felt like our boat deck went from parallel to the surface of the water to perpendicular to the surface of the water. Sanja and I were terrified. We thought to ourselves, “We just got married a few days ago and now we’re going to die.”

We weren’t the only ones. All of the people on this massive ship started to panic, and everyone ran downstairs to the lower floors of the boat. For the next two days our boat went up and down and up and down. It was maddening. Everyone on the boat was seasick. We had this massive buffet on the boat that was wasted because everyone was too sick to eat. The idea of food made you nauseous. And every one of the passengers on the boat couldn’t wait until we got back to land. And we couldn’t wait to put this miserable event behind us.

If you’ve ever had an experience like that, you know how terrifying a storm at sea can be. And you know how miserable seasickness can be. I heard one person say that there are two kinds of seasickness in a storm. The first seasickness makes you feel so bad that you think you might die. The second kind of seasickness makes you feel so bad that you wish you could die. And if you’re looking for a true test of a person’s mettle… if you want to find out what a person is really made of, then there’s no better place to find that than on a boat in the middle of the sea in the middle of a terrifying storm. 

Well today we’re going to see a boat in the middle of the sea in the middle of a terrifying storm. And we’re also going to see a man who had the guts to displays great courage and leadership and love for people in this midst of that terrifying storm. We’re going to see a man who trusts God, leads people, and gives hope when everyone else assumes that hope is lost. 

The man who does that is none other than the Apostle Paul, who has already earned our respect as a man of faith and courage under fire in the book of Acts. And the principles that we glean from him in this passage today have to do with leadership in the midst of a crisis. 

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I’ve entitled this message “Paul in Peril: Leading through a Crisis.” And I want to list for you today five principles for biblical leadership, based on Acts 27. Go ahead take your notes and write these down as we go. This is “Biblical Leadership in Action.” These are five things that leaders do in the midst of a crisis. Here’s #1. 

1) Leaders earn the trust of those around them (27:1–3)

Paul, if you remember from last time, had been examined by the Governor Festus. He had been examined by King Agrippa as well. Both of these men found no wrongdoing in Paul. And after Paul preached his heart out to these two men—he gave his testimony as a “defense” against the accusations against him, but it was really more of a evangelistic sermon preaching Christ—and all these men could say could say afterwards was, “this man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar” (26:32). No conversion. No repentance and faith. They missed it. They missed the most important message they would ever hear in their lives. And instead of examining their soul in light of Paul’s message, they casually discuss Paul’s appeal Caesar. They have a nice safe, sanitized discussion about the wrong things.

Well anyways, after all of that, in Acts 27, verse 1, Paul finally gets his wish. And Festus ships him off to Rome. Look at verse 1.

1 And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan Cohort named Julius.

Paul boards this ship with a bunch of prisoners. Maybe some who have appealed to Caesar like him. Maybe some of them are headed for the Roman Coliseum to die as gladiators. 

And Luke tells us that the person leading this group is a high-ranking Roman centurion named Julius. He was part of an exclusive cohort of Caesar protectors called the “Augustan Cohort.” 

Look at verse 2.

 2 And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea, accompanied by Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica.

Now let me just point out a few things here. Paul’s not traveling alone. Paul has two companions on this voyage. The first is Doctor Luke. If you’ll notice in verses 1 and 2, the “we” language picks up again. The author, Luke, accompanies Paul on this journey, perhaps to assist the ailing Paul as his personal physician. Maybe Luke was a prisoner as well. We don’t know.

But it’s not only Luke. Luke mentions another guy, Aristarchus, who is also traveling with Paul. Aristarchus is another friend of Paul’s. He was with Paul during the riot of Ephesus. If you remember that was when the mob of people cried out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” They screamed that stupid chant for two hours. 

And Aristarchus, as part of that free-for-all, got dragged off by the mob instead of Paul. Thankfully he survived that ordeal. But he’s off on another adventure with Paul. Life is never safe with the Apostle Paul, but it’s also never boring. 

Later in Colossians and Philemon, Paul describes Aristarchus as his fellow prisoner. Basically Aristarchus’s lot in life seems to be to suffer alongside of Paul. That’s what he does. And that’s what good friends do. They willingly suffer alongside of you like Luke and Aristarchus do with Paul. They are good friends convoying with Paul all the way to Rome.

Look at verse 3. 

 3 The next day we put in at Sidon. And [now watch this] Julius [the Roman soldier in charge of this who voyage] treated Paul kindly

The Greek word here for “kindly” is φιλανθρώπως (philanthrōpōs). This isn’t brotherly love or brotherly kindness. Julius isn’t a believer. This is kindness more generally from one human being to another. And you can’t help but think that Paul earned this treatment by his upstanding conduct.

And watch this. Look at the end of verse 3. This is why I say leaders earn the trust of those around them.

and [Julius] gave [Paul] leave to go to his friends and be cared for. 

Here’s why this is so remarkable. Sidon was about 70 miles north of Caesarea. Here’s a map of Paul’s entire journey to Rome which, in good weather, would have taken about month.

Paul’s Journey from Caesarea to Rome - Click for Map

The entire journey is about 1,400 miles as the crow flies. This was not a small undertaking. 

And just by way of preview, three islands are going to figure prominently on Paul’s journey. Let me show you those now. 

Caesarea to Rome with the Three Islands of Cyprus, Crete, and Malta - Click for map

These are important locals in the Mediterranean even today: Cyprus, Crete, and Malta. Paul has been to Cyprus already. He went there with Barnabas to preach the gospel and plant churches. Crete becomes important later in Paul’s life when he writes the book of Titus. He sends Titus there to help the churches. And Malta, the third island… well, we’ll get to Malta in a little bit.

But if we zoom in on the first leg of this journey you can see Sidon, a city just north of Caesarea. That was the first stop on their voyage. They’ve only travelled 70 miles so far, and they’ve got hundreds of miles still to travel. 

The First Leg of Paul’s Journey to Rome - Click for map

And there was probably a church in Sidon where Paul went to visit and be cared for. Luke says in verse 3, that Paul went to “his friends.”

But here’s what’s remarkable about this. Julius gave Paul, his prisoner, leave to go visit this church while they were docked in Sidon. If Paul escapes, if Paul says, “adios muchacho” and flees from the ship, then Julius loses his life. If your prisoner escapes in ancient Rome, then you get their punishment. We saw that earlier in the book of Acts, when the soldiers who guarded Peter got executed after he escaped (12:19; see also 16:27; 27:42).

So this centurion, Julius, takes his life in his hands and says to Paul, “Sure, you go visit your friends in Sidon so that you can be cared for. I trust you.” That’s how much regard he had for Paul. Probably he knew Paul was innocent. Certainly he knew Paul could be trusted. And in the short voyage from Caesarea to Sidon, he had already acquired enough confidence in Paul’s integrity that he gave him leave to visit his friends.

And you know what? That’s what leaders do. They earn the trust of those around them. Sometimes they establish that trust quickly, like Paul does here. Sometimes it takes time to earn trust, especially when previous “leaders” have failed people. But leaders earn the trust of those around them. 

And by the way, let me say this—trust is a fragile thing. It can be developed quickly or slowly depending on your context. But it can be destroyed in an instant. And so, let me just say this, church. With the leadership responsibilities that God has given you, church, you be faithful. Faithful with your children. Faithful with your volunteer roles at church. Faithful with your small group. Elders and Deacons, we need to be faithful with our leadership roles in the church. Let’s not ever make someone regret putting 

their trust in us. Leaders earn the trust of those around them.

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Here’s a second thing Biblical leaders do. 

2) Leaders take initiative and know when to defer (27:4–12)

Let’s look at the text and I’ll show you what I mean by that. Look at verse 4:

4 And putting out to sea from there we sailed under the lee of Cyprus, because the winds were against us.

If you look the map again, you can follow their journey as the sail past Cyprus. 

The First Leg of Paul’s Journey to Rome - Click for Map

To sail “under the lee” is a nautical term which means that they would use the island as a windbreak. So sailors would hug close to the island using the currents to propel them forward and also tacking back and forth to adjust for bad wind conditions. This would have considerably slowed their voyage. And they were in a “ship of Adramyttium” according to verse 2. This was a smaller ship that required slower travel. 

And that statement at the end of verse 4 is ominous: “because the winds were against us.” This is the first moment of portentous foreboding. Even as early as verse 4, you get the sense that dangers are stalking this boat headed for Rome. If this were a movie, then the soundtrack would let you know that danger is looming. The suspenseful score would let you know something bad’s about to happen.

Look at verse 5.

5 And when we had sailed across the open sea along the coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy and put us on board. 

A ship of Alexandria is a larger and faster ship than a ship of Adramyttium. And we know from later in the passage that this was a ship carrying grain for Rome. Keep that in mind as the story unfolds.

Look at verse 7. 

7 We sailed slowly for a number of days and arrived with difficulty off Cnidus 

There it is again! More portentous foreboding—“with difficulty.” Cue the fear-inducing soundtrack.

and as the wind did not allow us to go farther, we sailed under the lee of Crete off Salmone.

Now let me show you a map of the second leg of this voyage. You can see here the city of Myra. They would have hugged the coastline of Cilicia and Pamphylia on their way to Myra. Then they would have traversed through this islands above Crete. 

The Second Leg of Paul’s Journey to Rome: Crete - Click for map

You can see on this map the large island of Crete. It’s impossible to miss that island. It’s one of the largest in the Med. And Luke tells us that they sailed “under the lee of Crete off Salmone.” Again, they are fighting the adverse wind conditions. Salmone was a cape on the far eastern end of that island. And again, they hug the coastline of Crete in order to move forward. 

Look at verse 8.

 8 Coasting along it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fair Havens, near which was the city of Lasea. 9 Since much time had passed, and the voyage was now dangerous because even the Fast was already over, Paul advised them, 10 saying, “Sirs, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” 

So just to summarize, they are now in the middle of the Mediterranean. They are near the center of the island of Crete. And it’s very late in the year. It’s taken them too long to get to this leg of the journey. 

The reference to “the Fast” in verse 9 is a reference to the Day of Atonement, a time of fasting for Jews at this time. So it’s probably sometime in October or thereabouts. And ancient documents have shown us that vessels rarely went out into the Mediterranean from late October to early March. This was a dangerous time of year to be at sea. The storms were volatile that time of year. Fog, rain, and storms made sea voyages extremely dangerous in the winter. And as we’ve seen in this passage, this ship is already having an extremely difficult time sailing because of the adverse wind conditions. 

So Paul stands up and says, “Guys, I’ve got a bad feeling about this.” Paul says, “I perceive that there will be much injury and loss if we continue.” 

And by the way, Paul’s not just some Christian holy-man who has a premonition. Paul was an experienced sea traveler. He’s traveled extensively throughout the Mediterranean by sea. And according to 2 Corinthians11:25, he has already survived a few shipwrecks. So Paul knows what he’s talking about. And these men would be wise to heed his counsel.

11 But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said. 12 And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter in, the majority decided to put out to sea from there, on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete, facing both southwest and northwest, and spend the winter there. 

Phoenix in Crete was about 40 miles away from Fair Havens. So the centurion basically says, “Thank you, Paul, for the warning, but we’re going to trust the experienced sailors here. And besides, we’re just going to go 40 miles up the coast to a more suitable harbor for us to spend the winter. They have better food in Phoenix. They have better accommodations.” 

Actually there was a safer harbor in Phoenix. Fair Havens was a shallow harbor. And during the winter, if a storm occurred, ships in the shallows could run aground and be destroyed. And plus, this captain and the owner of the ship are on a timetable. Time is money. So they’ve got to get as far as they can before they bed down for the winter.

And based upon what happens next, who can blame them. Look at verse 13.

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore.

“You see that, Paul. You feel that breeze. It’s a good omen. Everything’s fine. Quit worrying!” Where’s that theme music? 

Here’s the principle for leaders. In the midst of a crisis, leaders need to be bold. Leaders need to be outspoken. Leaders need to be assertive. Leaders need to take initiative and speak up when wisdom prompts you to speak. But then also, you need to be ready to defer. 

Maybe Paul could have gotten them to stay at Fair Havens if he had thrown a little hissy-fit. “I’m telling you, we’re all going to die unless we stay here! You’ve got to listen to me.” If Paul went bonkers on them, he might have gotten them to change their mind. 

But here’s the thing. Paul has two things that cause him to defer. (1) He has an unflappable faith in God, the God who promised him that he would get to Rome. Remember Jesus told Paul that he’ll get to Rome (Acts 23:11). So Paul has that in his back pocket this whole time. Paul might be the only one that gets to Rome alive, but he’ll get there. 

(2) And secondly Paul realizes, like all good leaders realize, that sometimes people have to learn the hard way. You can’t lead people who refuse to be led. You can’t influence people who refuse to be influenced. It just doesn’t work. 

I remember reading once in a Douglas MacArthur biography that MacArthur refused to give his soldiers an order that he knew they wouldn’t obey. He wouldn’t do it. In his mind, all that did was undermine his authority over his men. 

And so, Paul does the right thing here. He defers. He spoke his mind. He shared his concerns with the captain, the shipowner, and the centurion. And he deferred to their leadership until a later time. 

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And watch what happens. Look at verse 13. 

13 Now when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they weighed anchor and sailed along Crete, close to the shore.

“You see, Paul. Everything’s fine. What were you worried about?” 

14 But soon a tempestuous wind [The Greek word for tempestuous there is the word τυφωνικὸς which we derive our English word “typhoon” from. This was not a run-of-the-mill sea-storm. This was a storm that was typhoon-esque… and it was…] called the northeaster, struck down from the land. 15 And when the ship was caught and could not face the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 

So much for the 40 miles up the shore to Phoenix. So much for we’re trying to find a better harbor for our boat. Now these guys are going to have to fight for their lives.

And by the way, these northeasters came from the northeast and blew southwest. So if you look at that map I showed you earlier, the winds are blowing north to south and east to west. 

The Second Leg of Paul’s Journey to Rome: Crete - Click for map

And the mountains in Crete are upwards of 7,000 feet above sea level. So probably what happened is that the ship eased out away from the land, and all of a sudden one of these gusts of wind blew over the mountains and grabbed hold of their sails and blew them out to sea.

If you’ve ever been in a sailboat without a motor or any gas propulsion, you know how helpless you are in a situation like this. You are at the mercy of the winds and the waves. And that is terrifying.

My dad had a small sailboat, a dual-pontoon catamaran, when we were kids. And we flipped that thing over twice in the middle of Lake Travis. I thought it was awesome! My dad didn’t think so. One time we had to attach our boat to some random guy’s motor boat to get our sailboat flipped back over. That was a tiny little catamaran in the middle of a small lake. These guys are out in the middle of the ocean with a ship of Alexandria, the largest sail boat in the world at that time. 

Look at verse 16. Let’s see if they can turn this thing around.

16 Running under the lee of a small island called Cauda, we managed with difficulty to secure the ship’s boat. 

This is the dinghy or “lifeboat” that was dragged behind the larger ship. 

 17 After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergird the ship.

This is a practice called frapping where you tie rope around the boat to keep the planks from breaking apart. This gives you an idea of how badly the boat was being beaten up by the raging sea.

And this boat is also full of grain. What happens when grain gets wet? It swells and tears up the ship. So there’s not a lot of margin for error here. 

 Then, fearing that they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along.

Now let me go back to the map and show you something. Let me zoom out on the large map I had at the beginning. 

Paul’s Journey to Rome with “Syrtis” Added - Click for map

The Syrtis is a section of sea on the shores of north Africa called the “Sailor’s Graveyard,” because so many ships were lost there. If you look on your map you can see the Syrtis just southwest of Crete on the north part of Africa which is now modern-day Libya. This was a section of sea that was infamous for shallows and sandbars and shoals and shipwrecks. 

And the sailors were so afraid of this part of the Mediterranean, that they dropped their gear, they tilted their sail, and tried to drive the ship westward. They gave up on Phoenix and Crete. Now they’ve got to avoid disaster is the open sea. 

And verse 18 says,   

 18 Since we were violently storm-tossed, they began the next day to jettison the cargo. 19 And on the third day they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.

The tackle includes the mainsail and other heavy equipment for sailing. The boat was probably taking on more water than it could handle, and so the sailors had to make the boat lighter fast. And they gave up on trying to steer the ship.   

Look at verse 20.

20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days,

Remember these are the days before GPS navigation. The only way these sailors knew where they were going is by navigation through sun and the stars. And they hadn’t seen anything for days. 

But that’s not the worst of it. 

 and no small tempest lay on us,

They threw all of their equipment overboard. They gave into the drift of the sea. And the storm just keeps raging! And Luke writes, 

all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned. 

“We’re all going to die!” Should have listened to Paul, right?

Now just imagine yourself on that ship right now. Imagine yourself as Luke or Aristarchus. Or imagine yourself as the centurion or the captain of the ship. You’ve been drifting in a storm for days. You’re seasick. You’re homesick. You feel hopeless and helpless. You’re going through all things that you’ve done in your life, and you’re grieving all of the things that you won’t be able to do. 

And then you start contemplating how you are going to die. “Am I going to fall of the ship and drown? Am I going to be eaten by sharks? Am I going to starve to death? Are we going to run out of water and I’ll die of thirst? Am I going to be battered by the sea against the rocks?” According to Luke, you’ve lost all hope of being saved. 

I bet Aristarchus turned to Paul at this point and said, “Every time I go somewhere with you, this happens! Can we please just go somewhere without our life being threatened? It’s tough being your friend, Paul.”

Now what’s Paul going to do? What does a good leader do in a crisis situation like this? 

Let’s see. Look at verse 21.

 21 Since they had been without food for a long time 

Who can eat when you’re just trying to stay alive? Who can eat when you are so seasick you just going to vomit it out anyway? I’ve been seasick before. And the last thing you are thinking about at a time like that is food.

Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me 

That’s a not-so-subtle “I told you so!” right there. “You should have listened to me,” Paul says. “If you had listened to me we wouldn’t be in this mess.” 

you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss. 22 Yet now I urge you to 

“give up!” Is that what your Bible says? “Now I urge you to … cry like babies, because you’re all going to die.” Is that what he says?

22 Yet now I urge you to take heart 

Remember Jesus and his disciples in the sea of Galilee? “Where’s your faith?” Jesus said (Matt 8:26). Well, Paul’s got faith.

I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. 23 For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship, 

What a testimony right there! “I belong to God and I worship God! And this very night an angel of God stood before me!” What a statement before all these pagan sailors, soldiers, and prisoners!

24 and he said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before Caesar. And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.’ 25 So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. 26 But we must run aground on some island.” 

That right there,  men and women, is bold, God-trusting, God-honoring leadership in the midst of a crisis. As other men are cowering before the storm… as other men have lost all hope… Paul stands up and says, “Be courageous, men. Take heart! We’re going to trust God. We’re going to believe his promises and we’re going to get through this.” 

Here’s a third principle on Biblical leadership in the midst of a crisis. 

3) Leaders speak with authority about God’s promises (27:13–26)

Let me put it this way. Leaders stand upon the promises of God. Leaders lead other people to stand upon the promises of God

Tell me if you’ve heard this before. 

(1) Standing on the promises of Christ my King,
Through eternal ages let His praises ring,
Glory in the highest, I will shout and sing,
Standing on the promises of God.

(2) Standing on the promises that cannot fail,

When the howling storms of doubt and fear assail,

By the living Word of God I shall prevail,

Standing on the promises of God.

Here’s the correlation between Paul in Acts 27 and us. God spoke to Paul and gave him these promises on that boat. In the same way, God speaks to us and gives us the promises of his Word. And he asks us to hear his Word and believe. 

This is an essential principle of interpretation that I hope all of us take away from the book of Acts. God has not promised to save us from every storm of life. We can’t apply God’s promises to Paul as promises to ourselves. That’s a violation of hermeneutical principles. But in the same way that Paul heard and believed God’s promise to him, we need to hear and receive, with faith, God’s promises to us. Everybody understand what I’m saying?

Here’s why this is important. I can’t promise that God is going to rescue you from every storm. I can’t promise you that God is going to protect you from every fear-inducing hardship that you will encounter in this world. In fact, I can promise you the opposite. Jesus said, “In this world you will have trouble.” But Jesus also said, “in the trouble, I’ll leave you my peace.” Jesus also said, “I’ll never leave you or forsake you.” Jesus also said, “I will be with you always even to the end of the age.” Those are the promises that God has given us in his Word.

And God has also promised that “he won’t let us be tempted beyond what we can handle.” Also God has promised that “he will supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” And God has also promised that, “All things work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose.” And also God has promised that there will come a day when all the sorrow, fear, pain, hardship and storms in this life will fade away for eternity. I’m standing on those promises. Are you?

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Leaders speak with authority concerning God’s promises. They cling to God’s promises and they encourage other people to do the same. Here’s another thing that leaders do. Write this down as a fourth point from our message:

4) Leaders take a stand against compromise (27:27–32)

Paul was inspiring with his message, but not everyone was inspired by his confidence. Watch this in verse 27.

27 When the fourteenth night had come,

Can you imagine that? Two whole weeks without sun or stars and being tossed by the storm! That’s half a month of seasickness and hopelessness. That’s a long time. 

27 When the fourteenth night had come, as we were being driven across the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors suspected that they were nearing land. 28 So they took a sounding and found twenty fathoms. 

A measurement of 20 fathoms is roughly 120 feet. A fathom is roughly 6 feet, or the distance of a person’s reach from hand to hand.

A little farther on they took a sounding again and found fifteen fathoms. 

That’s 90 feet. So they are coming up on land quickly. And remember they don’t have any tackle! They don’t have any way to control their ship. So they start to panic.

Look at verse 29.

29 And fearing that we might run on the rocks, they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come. 

Luke says “they,” so I don’t think this is Paul, Luke, and Aristarchus praying to the God of the Universe. This is pagans praying to their deities like Odysseus and his men in the Odyssey.

30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, and had lowered the ship’s boat [that’s the dinghy or the “lifeboat” that was pulled onboard of the ship] into the sea under pretense of laying out anchors from the bow, 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 

So here’s an example of bad leadership and good leadership right here! These guys decide to make a run for it. So they pretend that they are going to put the anchors out from the bow of the ship. And they try to take make a run for it in the life boat. 

And Paul says, “Oh no you don’t. Your fate is our fate. If we go down you go down. Nobody’s leaving the boat.” 

Remember now, Paul is a prisoner on this ship. Paul is supposed to be a passive, quiescent passenger on the ship. It’s like he’s the captain of the ship now. He’s giving out orders and telling people what to do. 

Well the soldiers have had about enough of these sailors. Watch what they do. 

32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the ship’s boat and let it go. 

“We live together or we die together. Our fates are sealed.” This was actually kind of an impulsive move. They might be able to use that boat later to row people ashore. Too late for that now.

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Look at verse 33.

33 As day was about to dawn, Paul urged them all to take some food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have continued in suspense and without food, having taken nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take some food. For it will give you strength, for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.” 

How’s that for leadership? Is that fantastic or what?

35 And when he had said these things, he took bread, and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat. 

Now I don’t know what you think about that right there, but I think that is tremendous. Paul tells them to eat, and then before he eats he thanks God in their presence. 

Most of these men are pagan polytheists. They worship Roman gods or they worship Caesar. And now they are gently being directed to the true God of the Universe, Paul’s God. 

And Paul’s letting them know, as well, that he doesn’t serve an uncaring God. God cares about them. He cares about their health. He cares about their wellbeing. He cares about their lives. And, as we know from what we’ve already seen from Paul in the book of Acts, he cares about their souls. 

36 Then they all were encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37 (We were in all 276 persons in the ship.) 38 And when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, throwing out the wheat into the sea. 

Write this down as a fifth and final point from our message today:

5) Leaders strengthen others in times of crisis (27:33–38)

Again, here are five demonstrations of Biblical leadership in action. 

1) Leaders earn the trust of those around them (27:1–3)

2) Leaders take initiative and know when to defer (27:4–12)

3) Leaders speak with authority about God’s promises (27:13–26)

4) Leaders take a stand against compromise (27:27–32)

5) Leaders strengthen others in times of crisis (27:33–38)

Now I’ll stop here and pick up this story next time. You might say, “No, no, I got to know what happens with Paul and the ship.” We’ll come back next time, and we’ll find out. 

But really, the tension has already been relieved in this narrative. Because God promised Paul that he’s going to protect everyone on-board. So you know what’s going to happen. But there’s more to this story than just shipwrecks and saving sailors. So come back next time and we’ll finish this story. 

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But before we’re done today, let me just say one more thing in closing. I imagine there are probably a handful of people in this room right now who are saying to themselves, “Leadership, who cares about leadership! I’m just trying to survive. I’m just trying to figure out how to navigate the difficult waters of life. Who’s got time to think about leadership?”

And maybe there’s someone out there who feels more like the prisoners and the soldiers on the ship than they do Paul. Or maybe you feel like the sailors who tried to trick everyone by jumping on the lifeboat and heading for shore. I don’t know. 

If that’s you, let me just address you as we close. In the midst of this great storm, in the midst of this fear-inducing hopeless situation, Paul had an anchor that he held onto. And no matter what storm he went through, literal or figurative, he was okay, because his anchor holds. 

Here’s my question for you, “What’s your anchor in this life? What’s your anchor?” I sure hope it’s not the economy. I sure hope it’s not your job security. I sure hope it’s not your family. I sure hope it’s not trust in yourself or a “can-do” attitude. What’s your anchor? And can your anchor hold through even the most devastating vicissitudes of life? 

In 1882, Priscilla Jane Owens wrote the following lyrics for a hymn called “We Have an Anchor.” These lyrics are amazing. Here’s the question she asks:

1. 
   Will your anchor hold in the storms of life,

when the clouds unfold their wings of strife?

When the strong tides lift, and the cables strain,

will your anchor drift, or firm remain?

(2) Will your anchor hold in the straits of fear,

when the breakers roar and the reef is near?

While the surges rave, and the wild winds blow

shall the angry waves then your bark o'erflow?

(3) Will your anchor hold in the floods of death,

when the waters cold, chill your last breath?

On the rising tide you can never fail,

while your anchor holds within the veil.

(4)Will your eyes behold through the morning light

The city of gold and the harbor bright

Will you anchor safe by the heavenly shore

when life's storms are past for evermore?

We have an anchor that keeps the soul

steadfast and sure while the billows roll;

fastened to the Rock which cannot move,

grounded firm and deep in the Savior’s love

Hebrews 6:19 says as follows: “We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul,” and that anchor is Jesus Christ, our high priest. And that high priest offered himself on the cross as a payment for our sin. He offers us a new hope and a new life that is only possible through faith in him. Is Jesus Christ the anchor for your soul? 

There is no greater power, there is no greater Rock, there is no greater resource through the storms of this life than Jesus Christ. 

We have an anchor that keeps the soul

steadfast and sure while the billows roll;

You might say, “Tony I believe in Jesus Christ as my Savior. I know he died for my sins. But for whatever reason I don’t run ‘to him’ in times of crisis, I run ‘from him.’” “I run from him.” Well if that’s you, can I give you some advice? Stop that! 

You shouldn’t run from him in a time of crisis, that’s the time when you need to run to him. I say that because I’m your pastor, and I love you. But I also say that as a person who has done that myself in times of crisis. And I don’t want to do that anymore. 

I’m inspired by what I see Paul doing here, and I hope you are as well. Jesus is the anchor, right? And the anchor holds! The anchor holds.