Acts 27 is the story of Paul's
journey being transported to Rome by ship. It is one continuous story. He's
transported as a prisoner. Lengthy chapter of 44 verses
and the lessons to be learned from this chapter are endless. And I'm titling the message,
A Parable in Providence. A Parable in Providence. And
to begin with, we'll just read one verse. Verse 22, Paul speaking
to the others on board, and now I exhort you to be of good cheer.
For thou shalt be lost, not be lost. Let me start over. 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. In this chapter
and in this story, I see a parable in the providential workings
of God The apostle Paul is put in the place of Christ
Jesus in that all 276 souls on board the ship were saved alive,
even after the ship broke up and is destroyed. The ship was
crushed, broken up. Paul speaks several times in
this chapter with godly wisdom. In the beginning of the chapter,
nobody listens to Paul. In the end of the chapter, everybody
listens to Paul. That's progress. Not on a human
level, but that's God. That's God. And such is this sin-cursed world
that we live in. Men are bold to spit in God's
face, to ignore His Son, to say that the words of Christ mean
nothing. We'll not hear it. We'll not
have this man to rule over us. Away with him. Crucify him. And that is still the heart attitude
of the unregenerate world today. But in the end, when Christ returns,
when time is no more, and all humanity waits before him, and
he shall separate the sheep from the goats, in that hour, his
words will be the only words that matter. Many are saying it matters not
what God says today. It will. It will. So from beginning to end of this
chapter, Acts 27, we see the transition of the Apostle Paul
going from an insignificant prisoner with no voice in what's being
done to being the very voice of God to this crowd. There were
275 souls on board the ship apart from Paul himself. Verse 37 tells
us that. 276 in all. Now, who would be
so foolish as to try to tell us this morning that all 275
of these by power no greater than their
own free will, so-called, decided to start listening to
a prisoner and let him start calling the shots and obey him. That's absurdity. That's absurdity. It was God's power And from the
captain of the ship on down, they listened to Paul. That's
God. Now, had there been a vote at
the beginning of the chapter before the ship left the port,
had there been a vote taken as to the chain of command, this
prisoner named Paul would have been near the bottom of the list
or on the bottom of the list. To make any decisions. To call
any shots. But God. That says it all, but
God. That says it all in my life.
That says it all in your life. But God. Forget about the what
if, but God. That's the difference. So I want
to consider two or three things about this for a few minutes
this morning. Number one, God's decree. And for sake of time, we're not
reading the entire 44 verses of this chapter. I encourage
you to do so when you get home. Acts 27. But the first thought,
God's decrees. God's decrees. In our day and
time, the average religious person obviously does not believe that
God has decreed anything. They believe that what we do
or don't do determines the outcome of everything. But I assert to you that God
has decreed something. What people do not understand
is that what we do or don't do works in accordance with God's
decree. And what God has decreed, all
earth and hell cannot and will not stop it from coming to pass.
Daniel chapter 4 verse 35, and all the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing Nobody really hinders God. He doeth according to his will
in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth,
and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest thou? I am not part of a religious
movement in this hour that has our God wishing to do a whole
lot more than He's able to get done. Not me. Not me. My God's on top of it. He's victorious. He's saving everyone He ever
purposed to save and damning the rest. That's God. And He's
doing it justly because we all, everyone under the sound of my
voice, deserves to perish in your sins, for God to put you
out of His sight and mind in hell forever. That's what you
deserve. That's what I deserve. But I'm
talking to you about a God, our God, who is saving His people. He's decreed to do so. He's decreed
to do it. Now, let's see that in this scriptural
setting. Referring to a couple of verses,
three verses back in chapter 23, the Lord had told Paul something
in chapter 23, beginning in verse 11. And the night following, the
Lord stood by him and said, Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou
hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also
at Rome. Paul had ministered all around
Palestine and up in the regions of Galatia and across the sea
over into Philippi and Corinth and all that country. But he
had never sailed, he had never been plumb on to Rome, the capital
of the Roman Empire, where the Caesar was. No. But God tells
him right here, you're going, buddy. You're going. Thou must
bear witness also at Rome. When it was day, certainly the
Jews banded together and bound themselves under a curse, saying
that they would neither eat nor drink till they had killed Paul.
And they were more than 40 which had made this conspiracy. More than 40 men had vowed to
each other not to eat or to drink. till they saw Paul dead. Well, they either backed up on
their vow or they starved to death, one of the two. Now what these men vowed looked
bad. But what God said to him was,
you're not going to die here. You're not going to die by the
hands of these men. You're going to bear witness
of me at Rome. You're going to Rome. You're
going to preach at Rome. So now in this 27th chapter, Paul has
been arrested. He has appealed to Caesar and
he is being transported at the expense of the government. He
didn't even have to buy a ticket. He has won a cruise. How did
he do it? Preaching Christ. It's won me a few too, but it
wasn't no pleasure cruise. Preaching Christ. He didn't have
to buy a ticket. He is being delivered by governmental
authority, governmental expense to fulfill God's Word that he
preached it wrong. This is God's providence. These people thinking they were
interfering with God's purpose in Paul's life, they were really
working in exact, perfect cooperation with God's purpose for his life. You see, when you think you're
one step ahead of God, you're five steps behind. He's done way ahead of you. 1 Corinthians 1.25, Paul said,
Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men. Not that there's
any foolishness in God. That's not it. But Paul is making
a point. The foolishness of God is wiser
than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Not
that there's any weakness in God. Not at all. But what Paul
is saying is this. If God could mess up, If he could
act in some way other than infinite wisdom and almighty power, the
worst God could do would still be better than the best man can
do. So it was decreed, Paul is going
to Rome. Only God knows how or when, but
he's going. simply because God said He's
going. No other evidence is necessary.
God said it. His Word is final. Can I tell
you a little secret this morning? There ain't one religious person
in 10,000 believes this. God's Word is enough. You can take God's Word for it.
Don't take my word on anything. I might lie to you. I might mess
you up. I'm sure of it because I messed
me up. But God won't mess you up. You can take God's word on
it. Some of you remember years ago
now. This was when some of you were young or before some of
you was born, but you older people remember it. This little bumper
sticker, cute little thing. God said it. I believe it, that
settles it. I guess they thought that sounded
spiritual. But they could have left out
that middle line and should have left it out. If God said it,
that settles it, whether I believe it or not. That line in there,
I believe it, wasn't necessary. God said it, that settles it. But that little saying, It's
the same old, same old defiance against God's sovereignty that
what I do with it, whether I believe it, whether I think it's worth
anything, is what makes God's Word worth anything. No, God
says it, that settles it. So now Paul didn't worry about
the journey. because he never missed God's
Word about the destination. That would be good for me to
learn. That would be good for you to learn. We might could
enjoy the journey if we didn't mistake the journey for the destination.
If we didn't miss God's Word about the destination, we might
could enjoy the journey with all its bumps and rough places. A great deal of our worrying
is because we forget this is only the journey. This is not home. This is not
heaven. The destination is to be with Christ and to be like
Christ forever. That's God's certain decree for
his people. And when this world has beat
us to death, and sin has wore us out, and
this flesh has failed for the last time, God's decree stands. We'll be forever with Christ
and like Christ. Now, Paul knew that God would
not go back on his word. Paul knew that God would not
say, sorry, Paul, there's been a change in plans. I know I promised
you're going to Rome, but it looks like it's not going to
work out. No, God doesn't have any plans. God has a purpose, an eternal
Purpose. Plans is a human term. Plans change. Plans fall through. Plans don't work out. God's purpose does. Nowhere in
Scripture will you find that God has any plans. Now I know
in some of these modern verses, there's a verse in Jeremiah that
one bird tried to use here one time that God said, I know the
plans I have for you. That word plans is not there. God doesn't have any plans. He
has a purpose. He has a purpose. By the way, There's no such thing
as the plan of salvation that may or may not fall through. God has a purpose of salvation, and that works. So Paul is resting
on God's Word, God's decree. That's what a believer is. You
believe God. You believe what God said about
everything. That's blessed, that's joy, that's victory. And it's
the plague of unbelief that makes believers miserable. It's the
plague of unbelief that makes me miserable, you miserable. We're like the man in Mark chapter
9 who said, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. I'm
a believer tormented with unbelief. I have a God that cannot lie
and I act like he did. I have a God I can trust and I
don't. So I want to say I cannot overemphasize
this, even in my own heart, that God's decrees are certain, certain. Not only God's decrees, but secondly
in this parable, this story, man's determination. Look at
verse 1 with me, Acts 27 verse 1. And when it was determined, that
we should sail into Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other
prisoners under one named Julius, a centurion of Augustus' band. When it was determined that we
should sail, man's determination, who determined it? Well, Luke
is the writer here and he is referring to the human authorities
that made the decision to sail. Those who had the final say,
they thought. Their determination was in ignorance
of God's decree. They knew not, nor cared not,
what God thought. But their determination, though
in ignorance of God's decree, was in perfect accordance with
God's decree. Boy, this understanding could
really help you and I in life. When it seems that all hell has
broke loose. When it seems that ungodly determinations
rule, taking us swiftly down to destruction
and we can do nothing about it. And many would say today, my
life is so messed up. Oh, I'll never get it straightened
out. No, you never will. But you haven't messed God up. He's not frustrated. He's not
confused. He's not wringing his hands.
He's not stressed out. He's not defeated. He's working
his purpose. He's right on course, right in
the midst of man's determinations. Be they ever so wrong, ever so
hurtful, ever so painful, God's got a handle on it all. Man's
determinations cannot cancel God's decrees. Hold on to that.
Man's determination cannot cancel God's decrees. No. Now thirdly, the beautiful
story here, God's deliverance, God's deliverance. He had a servant on board the
ship named Paul the Apostle. This life, this world, like a
ship on a stormy sea, we often refer to it as the sea of life. God had a servant on board the
ship, Paul. And this ship we're in, this
life journey we're on, God has a servant on board. It's His
only begotten Son. Christ came into the world. He subjected Himself to the hardships
of human life. He didn't have to. He did. He was tempted at all points,
like as we are, yet without sin. He suffered hunger, thirst, weariness
in the body of flesh. And most of all, he suffered
rejection. Rejection. Hatred of men. I can imagine at the beginning
of this, Paul's speaking up in the trouble. I can imagine these officers,
crewmen, they said concerning Paul, how dare that fool prisoner
open his mouth about what we ought to do or not do? Who cares
what he thinks? He's just a dumb prisoner. Before the chapter ends, they
all care what he thinks. And they all listen to what he
says. All their determinations are
wrong. Most of mine's been wrong. Most
of yours have been wrong. And things go from bad to worse. That's a direction we're familiar
with. the crew, veteran seamen, no
doubt. They've done all they know to
do, even to the point of throwing their cargo overboard. Verse
20 says, the storm was so severe and so lasting that they saw
neither the sun nor the moon for many days. Couldn't hardly tell if it was
night or day, no moon, no stars, no sun. Now for the parable. All 276 souls on board speak
of God's elect. None shall be lost. Isn't that what he said in verse
22 we read? There shall be no loss. of any
man's life on board. This is God's people, representative
of God's people. And God in providence creates
such desperation. If these were to represent a
crowd of fellers going to hell They probably wouldn't even hit
no storm, probably wouldn't have had a bit of trouble. Remember the time our Lord, late
in the evening, sent a crowd home before dark, going back
to your houses, back to your life, sleep in a good warm bed.
You know what he did to his disciples? He put them in the ship and sent
them out in the sea in the middle of a storm. I thought they was going to perish. Yeah, God's rough on this flesh.
He really is. You can find you a nice church,
a nice religion that is not offensive. I want to tell you, they some
around here wouldn't offend the devil, I'm telling you. But for God's children, it's
a rough road. Verse 20 says it was so desperate. They said that all hope that
we should be saved was then taken away. Didn't say there's a slim chance
that we might survive this. All hope that we should be saved
was taken away. Who took it away? God did. who brought them to such desperation. God did. God does not make a way until
there is no other way. God's deliverance is designed
for the hopeless. The only road to deliverance
is desperation. As long as you're holding on,
as long as you've got this little hope in this or this little hope
in that, I'm not as bad as this and I didn't do the I, I, I,
I. God's road to deliverance is
desperation. You see, you're not too bad off
for God to take your case. That's what people have to claim.
Oh, I've been so bad. I've done so bad. That's not
it. That's not it. It's not your
sin that keeps you from Christ. It's that stinking self-righteousness. You're not too bad off for God
to take your case. The trouble is you think you're
not so bad off as to have nowhere else to turn
but Him. That's your trouble. Desperation is a good thing. A good thing. Hopelessness is
a good thing when God the Holy Spirit brings you to look to
Christ. What am I saying? If your mindset this morning,
if you're too good a person to go to hell, you're going. If you're good enough to go to
heaven, you're not going. You're deceived. So desperation
is the situation, and Paul intercedes with God for this crowd. And
for a long while, verse 21 says, but after long abstinence, while those that think they're
running things are going back and forth shouting orders and
pulling ropes and doing everything they know to do, This prisoner,
Paul, is somewhere alone with his God. In John chapter 17, while that angry mob was somewhere
gathering, determined to do away with Jesus of Nazareth that night, Our Lord is saying, Father, the
hour has come. What hour? The hour agreed on
from eternity. It's here. Father, the hour has
come. And I'm here for this purpose,
to give eternal life to as many as thou hast given me. That's
why I'm on board this ship. That's why I'm in this world. And this is life eternal, that
they might know thee, the only true God and Jesus Christ, whom
thou hast sent. And when this storm is over,
all on board are going to know who God is. And they're going
to know who Paul is. Verse 21. After long absence,
Paul stood forth in the midst of them and said, sirs. You should have hearkened unto
me. Should have listened. And not to have loosed from Crete
and to have gained this harm and loss. Earlier in the chapter,
Paul told them it wasn't wise to sail. They did. He says, 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. For there stood
by me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve,
saying, Fear not, Paul. Thou must be brought before Caesar.
And lo, God hath Caesars in Rome. You're not going to perish in
the middle of this ocean, Paul. Thou must be brought before Caesar.
And lo, God hath given thee. God did this for Paul's sake.
God hath given thee. See that word? All them that
sail with thee. Oh, that's God's Word to His
Son. I have given thee all these that
I chose in you before the world was. Wherefore, sirs, be of good
cheer, for I believe God. He didn't say I believe in God.
About everybody will tell you that. He said, I believe God. I believe God knew what he's
talking about. I believe God meant what he said. I believe
it's going to be just like God says. I believe God that it shall
be even as it was told me. Well, if you read the whole chapter,
some of the Smart ones on board took action. Paul had just told them we'll
all survive, but the ship won't. Now, how would you read that?
It stands to reason we need to get out of the ship. If we're
going to survive and the ship's not, we need to get out of here. Some of them started to flee
in lifeboats. But no, that's too easy. That's
too easy. Paul says, no, you've got to
stay in the ship. You've got to stay in the storm.
They've got to come so close. as to feel death breathing down
their neck. Their deliverance has got to
be so impossible that no one dares say anybody but God did
it. Those who wanted to flee in the
lifeboats thought they were using an advantage. That's what lifeboats
are for. But you know what? they'd have
perished with that so-called advantage. Paul's word was, no, stay in
the ship as long as there is a ship. And that's what they
did. Think of the power of his word
in that moment. Stay with this ship. They gave up on themselves. That's
what happened. Verse 47, when they had taken
up the anchors, they committed themselves under the sea. They
committed themselves under the sea, under the mercy of God,
really. Loosed the rudder bands, hoist
up the main sail to the wind, and made toward shore. Verse
41, and falling into a place where two seas met. Don't miss that. Where two seas
met. Seas speak of separation. That's what the Atlantic does.
That's what the Pacific does. Separates this continent. That's
what all seas do. where two seas met, heaven and hell, two seas, the crystal clear waters of eternal
bliss in Christ on one side, the dark waters of damnation
and alienation from God forever on the other side, where two
seas met. Where they meet? They meet in
Christ. It's by His Word that men are
delivered or damned. You say, well, I thought it was
in what I had done. What have you ever done that
God could smile on? It's what Christ has done. It's in His
Word. Well, when the ship broke up,
y'all were looking at me crazy. Stay with me just another minute
or two. When the ship broke up, they were all still in it. In the most unlikely way for
any to survive, they all survived. And so it is with God's saints
in every generation. Verse 41, falling into a place
where two seas met, they ran the ship aground, and the forepart
stuck fast and remained unmovable, but the hinder part was broken
with the violence of the waves. And the soldier's counsel was
to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out and escape. Now that's good religion right
there. You're perishing yourself, but
you make sure none of those prisoners escape. You kill them, and you
go ahead and drown yourself, but make sure none of them don't
get away. But again, the providence of
God steps in. The centurion is fully persuaded
of Paul, cares for Paul, and he says, no, you kill no one.
Paul's God said, we'll all survive this. Kill no one. But the centurion, willing to
save Paul, kept them from their purpose and commanded that they
which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea
and get to land. And the rest, some on boards
and some on broken pieces of the ship. So it came to pass that they
escaped. How many? All safe to land. All, 276 of them. Some could swim, some floated
in on boards, some on broken pieces of the ship. If you're God's child and you're blessed to sail across
this sea of life in a beautiful yacht, so be it. But if you're God's child and
you're brought to sail across this sea of life on a broken
up, splintery, plank off the side of your ship, it'll last just long enough for
you to get to the other side. So be it. God's grace. Speaking as in eternity future,
when time is no more, the Father says to the Son, how many, Son? were you able to deliver by the
power of your word and bring safely home? And Christ answers all of them,
Father. I've not lost one. I've not lost
any. And may I say this morning, Christ
our Lord is not in grief. Nor shall he ever be in grief, because anyone he wanted was
not persuaded and wound up perishing. No, he's a powerful Savior. All that the Father giveth me and hath given me in
eternity past, and all that he died for in time
on the cross. The good shepherd shall faithfully
and successfully seek and find and bring home safely everyone. Isaiah 42, for he shall not fail
nor be discouraged. You ought to get that verse,
Isaiah 42, 4. He shall not fail. Oh, He stays the course from
eternity to eternity. Earth or hell cannot sway Him,
sidetrack Him, or defeat Him. What a victorious Redeemer is
ours. No wonder they cry, worthy is
the Lamb that was slain. Unto Him that loved us and washed
us from our sins in His own blood. Unto Him that is able to do exceeding
abundantly above all that we ask or think. Unto Him be glory
in the church. Don't give this preacher any
glory. And we ain't giving any other stiff-necked religious
person any glory around here. Unto Him be glory in the church. Unto Him that is able to keep
you from falling. He's the one worthy. Unto Him
able to keep you from falling and to present you thoughtless
before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. To the only
wise God our Savior. Be glory, majesty, dominion,
and power both now and forever. Amen. This last line of Acts 27 says
it all for God's elect. While we struggle and moan and
strain in this lowland of sorrow, sin and trouble, heartache and
heartbreak, We refer to it as life's troubled sea, and that
it is. But the last line says, they
escaped all, safe to land. To land. No more sea. Revelation 21-1,
and I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and
the first earth were passed away, and There was no more sea, no more
storms, no more struggles. Safe in Christ and with Christ
and like Christ forever. What a day, glorious day that
will be. Stand with me.