God is absolutely sovereign, not only over the storms of this present life, but even over the ultimate storm of the judgment to come!

God Is Sovereign Over The Storms

Acts 27:1-44

In late August, 2005, one of the 5 deadliest hurricanes in U.S. history hit the shores of Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana. Do you know which hurricane I’m talking about? Yes, of course, it was was Hurricane Katrina. That hurricane caused $81 billion in property damage, and the deaths of 1,836 people. To put it in perspective, 9/11 caused the deaths of less than 3,000 people. So, this was a calamity of gigantic proportions. It was on the news day after day, week after week, as we saw the city of New Orleans literally submerged in water when the levee system failed. If you were to turn on your TV and see a preacher being interviewed during that time, you would likely have heard him say, “Oh, God had nothing to do with this. This was not God’s will, and not part of His plan.” Now, when preachers say this, they are trying to protect God. They want God to look good, but does saying this really make Him look good?  In our message today, I’m going to do my best to answer the question, “Does God have anything to do with the calamities that take place?” And, once we have answered that question, we’re going to go on to try to answer the question, “How far does God’s sovereignty extend? Is He sovereign over who is saved or not?”

We continue our verse-by-verse exposition of the Book of Acts this morning.  Last week we saw Paul on trial before 5 different groups. In chapter 22 he makes his defense before the angry Jewish mob on the steps of Fortress Antonia overlooking the temple grounds. In chapter 23 he makes his defense before the Jewish Sanhedrin. In chapter 24 he defends himself before Felix, and in chapter before Festus. Finally, in chapter 26 Paul gives his defense before King Herod Agripa II.  When Paul was defending himself before Festus, Festus asked him if he was willing to go up to Jerusalem and stand trial there. Of course Paul knew he would never receive a fair hearing where the Jews were in control, so he appealed to Caesar. It was a Roman citizen’s right, whenever he felt he was not being given a fair trial, to appeal to stand trial in Rome. So, Festus granted his request, and in chapter 27 we find ourselves reading the exciting account of Paul’s voyage to Rome.

Now, this morning, the way I’m going to handle our text is to first simply read through it, and explain anything that is not readily apparent. When we have gone through the chapter, and gotten its meaning, then we’ll go back and take a look at 2 very important principles.

2 – “We”. This is the final “we” section, indicating Luke was on board the ship. This chapter contains dozens of details which could only be known by someone who had seen and experienced them. This was a smaller ship that sailed from Asia near Troas, down to Caesarea. Luke might have gone on the voyage as the ship’s doctor, and Aristarchus may have paid his own fare to accompany Paul and minister to him in his imprisonment.

6 – Alexandrian ship.  This was a ship from Alexandria off the coast of Northern Africa. Africa was the main supplier of grain for the Roman world (vs.38). This was a much larger ship, able to sail all the way across the Mediterranean Sea to Italy.

9 – The Fast – this is a reference to the Day of Atonement, which in A.D. 59 would have been October 5. It was dangerous to sail from September 14 until November 11. After that all sailing ceased until the winter was over.

12 – They had a choice of either staying all Winter at Fair Havens, or of making an attempt to sail the 40 more miles to Phoenix which would have been a more comfortable harbor for the winter.

14 – This “violent” wind was probably a typhoon or hurricane. It was extremely intense.

16 – now that they had a little shelter from the wind by this small island, they were barely able to get the lifeboat under control. Notice that Luke (“we”), was drafted into service in this situation.

17 – the storm was so violent, that they thought the wind and waves were going to literally break the ship apart. So, they threw cables over the bow, and drew them around the hull of the ship, to prevent it from breaking apart. The “Syrtis Sands” were an infamous graveyard of ships off the coast of North Africa, kind of like the “Bernuda Triangle.” The sailors were desperately trying to avoid this area at all costs.

18 – They were throwing the cargo and tackle overboard because of its great weight. Waves must have been crashing over the ship, filling it with water. If they could get rid of the extra weight, the ship would rise higher, and be less likely to sink. This shows how serious the situation was.

20 – It is dark. They can’t tell what time of day it is, or even in what direction they are heading. At this point, things were totally out of their control. They figured it was only a matter of time until they all drowned as the ship sunk in the storm, or they died of hunger or thirst.

21 – Paul takes charge in the midst of the despair and chaos. He emerges as the True Leader of the ship, even more than the captain and crew. How was he able to do this? God had sent an angel and spoken to him.

23 – I love this little touch, “The God to whom I belong and to whom I serve”!

24 – All on the ship would be saved, although the ship would be lost.

27 – The sailors probably heard the crashing of the waves on the shore of a distant island.

28 – A fathom is 6 feet. They quickly went from 120 feet deep to 90 feet deep. They knew they were approaching land.

29 – They threw 4 anchors from the stern (rear) and hoped that the storm would not move them closer to land where they could run aground.

30 – These sailors were acting very wickedly. In abandoning the ship, they were abandoning all the passengers who would surely all have perished, for they had no way of navigating the ship safely to land.

33 – They were probably going without food, not for spiritual reasons, but because they were so seasick they couldn’t hold anything down, and in the present storm it was next to impossible to prepare any food.

40 – Up until this point the foresail was not up. It had been taken down because the violent winds would have torn it to shreds.

42 – Every soldier knew that if his prisoners escaped, he would forfeit his own life.

44 – In spite of all the odds, it appears amazing and wonderful that every person was saved. God’s Word is always true!

1.  God Is Sovereign Over The Storms Of This Present Life:

            He Was Sovereign Over This Particular Storm:  When I speak of the “sovereignty of God” I simply mean that God is in control. When I speak of God being sovereign over the storms of this present life, I’m saying that there is never an occasion in which God is not in control. This extends to all the forces of nature:  hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes, volcanoes, floods, landslides, forest fires, etc. Whenever some great disaster in the world takes place, some well-meaning preacher is sure to say on TV that it was not God’s will.  Of course He’s trying to protect God from any accusations of evil and comfort those who lost loved ones in the tragedy. However, this doesn’t make God look good. It makes Him into a weak god, as though He wanted to, but couldn’t stop it from happening. We do know that Satan can bring catastrophes from Nature (just look at the first chapter of Job). Yet, even then, he could not have done this without God giving him permission to do it. Was God at the mercy of some greater power that temporarily got the upper hand? When this great storm rushed down upon the ship that Paul was traveling in, was God caught by surprise? Was he shocked to see His servant storm-tossed and struggling for his life? Was he too busy answering the prayers of people in Africa or China to notice what was going on in the Mediterranean? Was God up in heaven in a panic, wringing His hands, afraid of what might happen to His servant?! Of course not! God was in complete control of the situation. Remember, that God had told Paul in Acts 23:11 that he must bear witness in Rome. Thus, God was not about to let Paul drown at sea!

In fact, you can actually see God’s hand in the situation. How unlikely was it that the passengers and crew should ever be saved? Very unlikely! Take a look at a map of the Mediterranean. There are very few islands, and almost none between Asia Minor and Italy. It “just so happened” that this ship was driven by the storm right to this tiny island of Malta. If their ship had gone 1 mile north or 1 mile south, they would have missed the island. Notice also that God was driving this ship in the direction of Rome, not away from it! Yes, Paul would get to Rome. Not exactly as he thought, but God would make sure he got there.

God Is Sovereign Over All Acts of Nature:  Jonah 1:4; 4:8; Is.45:7; Amos 3:6. It was the Lord who brought the worldwide flood in the days of Noah (Gen. 6:17), the fire that fell upon Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19:24), the plagues of hail and fire in the Exodus (Ex. 9:23). Jesus calmed waves and storm in His day with a word. In fact insurance companies describe these catastrophes as “Acts of God.” We intuitively know that if there is a God, then He must either permit or cause all things. If things can take place that He does not allow, then He can’t be the omnipotent God of the Bible.

Now, of course, we do not understand why God permits these things. In most cases, He does not tell us. We are left with either denying God’s existence, or trusting that He is good and has his own good reasons for doing what He does. To all people of faith, we must choose the latter.

Application:  When there is a tragedy, or natural catastrophe, I encourage you to pray and trust in the God who is not only in control of the situation, but can bring His good purposes to pass through it. If God is not sovereign over these situations, then there’s no use praying to Him, because He can’t do anything about it. He is at the mercy of something more powerful than Himself. But if God is in control, then He can change things, and He can give us the grace to glorify Him in the midst of these situations. When our oldest son, Josiah, died in August of 2004, I never once doubted that God was sovereign. I knew that for some good purpose He had allowed this to happen. But as I prayed and cast myself upon Him, He gave us the grace and strength to walk through that terrible tragedy and glorify Him at the memorial service.

2.  God Is Sovereign Over The Storm of the Future Judgment:

            Now that we have considered God’s sovereignty over this temporal storm, let’s consider the storm in Acts 27 as an illustration of a far more serious storm – the storm of Judgment Day. Notice the “salvation language” that Luke uses in this chapter: 27:20,31,34,43,44.  Because of this continual reference to being “saved” I think we are well within our bounds to consider this great storm that the passengers needed to be saved from as an illustration of a far Greater Storm that we all need to be saved of – the Judgment of God.

In Matt.7:24-27, Jesus gives a story of 2 houses built on 2 different foundations – the rock and the sand. The Storm comes upon both houses, and the one built on sand fell, while the one built on the rock stood. In this story, the Storm and floods, and winds represent the future Judgment of God which all men will have to pass through. Now in our story in Acts 27, the crew and passengers were in danger of losing their lives. On Judgment Day, men will be in danger of losing their souls.

Notice that there was nothing the crew or passengers could do to save themselves (27:20). They couldn’t navigate the ship, or hoist the sail. They were in the midst of a great sea and didn’t know where or how to get to safety. They were just being driven along at the mercy of the storm. They were just waiting until the ship sunk or the food and water ran out. Unless God decided to do something they were all doomed. Likewise, we have no human hope of salvation on Judgment Day. God demands perfect righteousness. None of us has it to give to God. Only those who have the Perfect Righteousness of Christ credited to them through faith will stand on the Day of Judgment. Ps.1:5; 130:3; Rom. 3:10,20. We have sinned away all human hope of being saved. The only thing we can take credit for on Judgment Day is our sin.

Note that God had appointed Who would be Saved:  27:22,24,34. In this case, He had determined that all on the ship would be saved. The identity of who would be saved was not left to chance, fate, or the free will of the passengers and crew. It was determined by God Almighty. God predetermined that all would be saved. In fact, we are given the exact number of those who were saved in 27:37 – 276 persons. Revelation 7:9 says that in heaven there is “a great multitude which no one could count.” However, even though no man can count the number, God can, and does! 2 Timothy 2:19 says, “Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, ‘The Lord knows those who are His,’ and ‘Let everyone who names the name of the Lord abstain from wickedness.'” There is such a thing as the firm foundation of God. When you build a house, you first lay the foundation. It is out of sight, underneath the structure of the house. On this foundation God has impressed a seal. The seal consists of 2 parts: God’s knowledge of who are His, and man’s responsibility to flee from sin. God knows those who are His. He has known them from the foundation of the world. That’s why Paul says in Romans 8:29, “For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son.”

God knows the exact identity and number of all those who will be saved. But, how does he know them? Is it because He is able to look down the tunnel of time and see which people will choose Him of their own free will? No, because no one will choose Him freely. We have become so corrupt, depraved, and broken by our sin, that our will is not free to choose God. Our will is in bondage to our nature, and our nature is sinful. Therefore, until we are born again, we will always choose self and sin over God. A pig will always choose to wallow in the slop over staying neat and clean. Why? Because that is the nature of a pig. On the other hand, a cat will always choose to stay clean instead of wallowing in mud. Why? Because that’s the nature of a cat. So, if you want a pig to stay neat and clean, you have to somehow change the nature of that pig. You’ve got to get the spirit of that cat to enter into that pig. If you can do that, you can get a pig to choose to live in a clean place instead of the muddy slop. Well, that is exactly what takes place in the New Birth. God changes our nature. He puts the Holy Spirit within us. What happens as a result? He causes us to walk in His statutes, and we will be careful to observe His ordinances (Ezek.36:27).

So, if God doesn’t know those who are His because he foresees that they will choose Him, how does He know them? He knows them, because He chose them to be saved before the foundation of the world! Eph.1:4-6; 2 Timothy 1:9; 2Thess.2:13; Acts 13:48.

There is a Great Final Storm coming! It’s called Judgment Day. None of us can save ourselves on this day. So, does that mean no one will be saved on Judgment Day? No! God is going to save a great multitude which no man can number. At that final judgment, only those whose names were found written in the book of life will escape the lake of fire (Rev.20:15). However, how does a person get his name written in the book of life? When is it written there? Rev.13:8; 17:8. How were their names written in the book of life from the foundation of the world? Who wrote their names in that book?  God, of course! We didn’t even exist. We couldn’t have written our own names there. He chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. He’ll say to those on his right, “Come you blessed of My Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world!” (Mt.25:34).  From all eternity God has had a sovereign gracious plan. Although the whole world has sinned away any right to heaven, God, out of His sheer mercy and goodness, decided not to let the entire world perish. Instead, He decided that He would save a definite number of the human family, through Christ, “in order that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.”

Life Application:

1.  Don’t Make The Mistake of Despairing!  Acts 27:22,25. Twice Paul told them to keep up their courage. What did he mean? He meant that there was hope for them and that they should not despair. There is hope of salvation for you! That should be good news. The absolute wrong attitude to take to this message would be to say, “Well, I guess I’m just not chosen. I guess I’m just predestined to go to hell. There’s nothing I can do to regenerate myself. My case is hopeless!” No, that attitude is absolutely wrong. The reason God has revealed His predestination unto salvation in Scripture is so that we would have Hope, not Despair! If God had not predestined anyone to be saved, there would be absolutely no hope for anyone! We are all totally depraved, and can’t save ourselves or even repent and believe apart from divine grace. If you are still alive, there’s hope for you. In fact, the mere fact that you are here this morning listening to the preaching of God’s Word is reason to hope. 1 Cor. 1:21 says that God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” One thing’s for sure. If you never hear the gospel, you’ll never be saved. So, the mere fact that you are here this morning hearing the gospel should cause your heart to rise with hope.

2.  Don’t Make The Mistake of Doing Nothing! Don’t make the mistake of sitting on your hands waiting for God to zap you with salvation. Yes, it is true that the New Birth is absolutely essential to see or enter the kingdom of God. It is also true that only God can cause the New Birth to take place in a person’s soul. So, does that mean we just wait around for God to flip the switch, while we do nothing? No! Think about the storm in Acts 27. Paul told them 3 times that nobody was going to lose their life in vs. 22,24,34. So, did they just sit down and wait for God to save them? No! They threw the cargo and tackle overboard. They let down the anchors. Paul warned the centurion not to let the sailors escape. Paul exhorted them all to eat so they would have the strength they needed to get to shore. The captain drove the ship onto the beach. All jumped in and swam for shore. They weren’t inactive! God’s promise to save all of them did not cause them to sit on their hands and wait for God to do it! They were involved in the process of being saved. So too, the fact that only God can save you should never reduce you to a paralyzed inactivity. What are the human conditions of salvation? Repentance and faith (Acts 20:21). Repent! Turn from your sin! Confess your failings and wickedness to God this morning and turn from it. Believe the gospel. Believe the good news that Jesus Christ has done for you what you could never do for yourself. Believe that you are not saved by your works, but by His. Christ has finished the work of redemption. The only thing left is for you to believe it, rest in it.

But you say, “I know I should repent and believe, but I can’t. I’ve tried, and I just can’t do it.” Then, continue coming to church and hearing the gospel until you can! Rom.10:17 says that faith comes by hearing the gospel. You may not be able to change your nature and cause yourself to be born again, but you can cause yourself to get up on Sunday morning and come to church where the gospel will be proclaimed. You can cause yourself to come to a Bridge Group in your neighborhood where the Word will be studied. You can call upon the Lord to save you. Recently we trust that God has given Angela the New Birth. But did Angela sit on her hands and wait for God to flip the switch? No! She was coming to church for a couple of months, hearing the Word, before God did this miraculous work in her soul. “Seek the Lord while He may be found; Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon” (Is.55:6-7).  Seek Him! Call upon Him! Forsake your wicked ways! What’s the promise? He will have compassion on you and will abundantly pardon you!

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