We turn now to Acts chapter 27 and from verse 21. Acts chapter 27 from verse 21. We shall be looking beyond this verse of course this morning. But our subject is the call of God to the perishing and these were fearful of perishing. All hope, verse 20, that we should be saved was then taken away. And then Paul speaks, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. And then verse 25, wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me." Well, this chapter of 44 verses contains simply part of Paul's journey from Caesarea on his way to Rome. And we may ask the question, why does Holy Scripture confine this journey to 44 verses? Why so much? Why does the Holy Spirit see fit that this whole chapter should be devoted simply to a voyage? Well, it's rich in instruction for our souls. It reveals many mistakes that we make in the decisions of our lives. It illustrates in so many details the voyage of life itself. Here is a kind of parable of the journey of life, but it's played out in the life of real people. 276 here on this ship that would be wrecked on the coast of Malta. While so many of the events here in this parable or parallel have their equivalent in the lives of people today. And we're going to look at a few of them. I want to begin in verse 7. The journey has begun. They have hugged the coast of southern Turkey as it is today. And then they've been compelled by probably a westerly wind blowing against them to travel under Cyprus and then under Crete. And they come on the island of Crete to a place, verse 8, called the Fair Havens. So here is a picture of people who are frustrated through slow progress. The journey for them over recent weeks had become slow and tedious. Matthew Henry says, in life, some people do not get driven back by cross providences, by contrary events, but they seem to sail slowly and do not make the progress that they wish for. And perhaps all of us have been in such situations where we are eager to make progress in a career path, or in a courtship, or even in a house move, and we become frustrated that things have not moved forward. Well here, Paul and the whole seagoing company on this ship, they come to a place called, in verse eight, fair havens, or the fair havens. Probably this was a very pleasant place in summer, but I didn't want to spend winter there. In fact, later on, it's described as a place that was not commodious to winter in. Was it that the provisions there would be scarce or dear? That the opportunities for enjoyment were limited? Oh, it's a bleak place in winter, this Fair Havens, people would say, and thus, They were determined to move on. You can imagine perhaps the centurion. He didn't fancy spending a winter in this particular incommodious place looking after a bunch of prisoners. It was too isolated. There was little to enjoy. And so in their frustration, they are determined to hug the coast of Crete and move to the west of the island to Phenicia, which they knew was a far more pleasant place to spend the winter. Well, Paul then speaks, but we must understand that he speaks as the minister of God. He is an apostle. And the Lord gives him great wisdom and great insight. Some would say, well, this was just Paul as a layman with a limited knowledge of sailing, saying, surely you know the fast in that? That was 20th of September. It's past the autumn, westerly storms. that affect Europe and often bring fierce winds, you shouldn't be moving on. But we would understand this in a far more significant manner. This was Paul speaking as the ambassador of God, with divine revelation upon his lips. And he warns them, I perceive, he says, that this journey will be with much loss and harm. And so, the centurion and the master of the ship have a decision to be made. And verse 11, we read, the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than those things which were spoken by Paul. The centurion had been civil and allowed Paul to refresh himself with his friends at Sidon. He was not against Paul. He was very courteous to Paul. But when it came to this particular significant decision, he was unwilling to be governed by Paul's advice. And how often this is the case with many, many people in their unbelief. They do not want to be governed by the counsel and the teaching of the word of God is not welcome, rather like the unwelcome counsel of Paul here. They do not wish to yield. They see a better, more convenient, more attractive approach to the voyage of life. Perhaps some of us here this morning, we resist the advice of a believing friend or a believing parent, you ought not to follow that course, you ought to follow this course. Or even the teaching of the word of God and the ministry of the word of God. Matthew Henry says, many are courteous to the ministers of Christ, but that is as far as they go. What does Paul know about sailing? Perhaps these people said he's not a seafarer. He's a one time student of the Word of God. He was a Pharisee. Paul we cannot take your counsel on board. So many people in the same way say something like this. What do my parents know of modern life. They do not know the best way to navigate this world in which we live. They're a generation out of touch. Perhaps with a minister, people would say, he's two generations out of touch. We respect him, we'll show courtesy to him, but we're unwilling to follow the counsel that he gives. Well here, Paul's counsel was the counsel and the teaching of the word of God. Matthew Henry says, many are more ready to be governed by human wisdom than by divine revelation. They ran upon mischief to avoid an inconvenience. Sometimes the Lord slows us down in life. He doesn't allow us to make that progress in our earthly ambitions and expectations that we have, but he is trying our patience Are we willing to defer to him, to wait his time, to allow him to govern our lives? Perhaps you feel that you've been struggling. You've seen others swiftly progress in their life, and you feel like you haven't made that progress that you would have made. Beware, lest in your frustration you follow the counsel or the example of the centurion. and the owner of the ship here, we don't want to stay in fair havens. We'll just make this short coastal transfer along to Phoenicia. Get to Phoenicia, it's a far more advantageous haven to spend the winter. Well, just look here at verse 13. When the south wind blew softly, Supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they loosed and they sailed close by Crete. There's a number of little details here that are so suggestive in life and the voyage of life itself. Firstly, the south wind blew softly. What a picture that is of the unconverted person, perhaps a young person, They're resisting God's word, but it seems that life is an absolute dream. Everything seems to be coming together. The south wind is blowing, leading me in a pleasant path. The voyage that I plan, the steps, everything seems to be smooth and appropriate and fitting. How wrong these men were. But the second thing we notice, they sailed close by Crete. They didn't launch out into the depths of the Mediterranean. They kept close to the coast. It would seem, what can be the harm in this journey? I know Paul, the man of God, has warned us that this journey is potentially going to lead to the loss of our life. but we can see no harm. The wind's blowing from the south softly. We're only going to cut along the coast. Phanesi is not that far, just a little step, and yet it would prove ultimately to be disastrous. There's a warning there to us when we seek God's guidance. It may seem that we're only making a little step, Our conscience perhaps warns us that we do not have the sanction of God's word in the step that we are taking, but it will be a little step. And we'll be very careful, that was the thinking here, but it would lead almost to their ruin. Do we give more credit to a smiling providence than we do to the teaching of God's word. It feels right. It seems to all circumstances to be the right step, and yet we do not have the endorsement of God's word. Well, they were carried by the loudest voices. The more part we read in verse 12, advised to depart and go along the coast. And that can be a very powerful persuasion in our own lives. Everybody seems to be saying this is the right way. It's what most people do. Young person, are you tempted by the vanities of this world? And the spirit of this world? And the lifestyle of this world? Everything seems to be shouting at you, this is the right way. But in your heart, You're uneasy because it appears to be contrary to what God's word is teaching. Then we come into verse 14. Look at what we read here. Not long after, there arose against it a tempestuous wind called Eurocliden. This was what the sailors called it. Euro or Euros means from the east. Cliden means a surge wave. And the two come together with this stormy wind, and the sailors dreaded this Eurocliden wind. It comes often out of nowhere in the Mediterranean, and it can lead to disaster. Friends, how fickle the south winds that blow upon our life can be. Suddenly, we face storms. and upset and fearful circumstances. How fickle is the prosperity that we often dream of in this world. How prone to storms our lives are. And so it's pictured here with this Eurocliden which began to catch the ship and they could not bear up under the wind, verse 15, so we let her drive. Instead of hugging the coast, the south coast of Crete, they were now exposed to these buffeting northerly winds, and they were blown out to sea, far off course, out of control. They couldn't have been far from Phenicia when this took place, because the journey along the coast was not a lengthy one. so near to the haven and yet swept out to sea. Verse 16 tells us that they tried to take up the little dinghy, we might call it, the boat that they had in tow in which they would ferry themselves from the deep waters to the land. They thought, we cannot allow that to be swept and bashing against the ship, it might break. and then our lifeboat will be gone. And so they had a real struggle to lift this little boat out of the water into the safety of the ship. They hoped that that would be for their own salvation in the days to come. And they used helps to undergird the ship. This ship probably had a single mast. And you could imagine a ship that was sufficient to accommodate nearly 300 people, plus all the merchandise that they were carrying, what pressure there would be upon the base of that mast as the storms buffeted the ship. And they were fearful that the timbers that held that mast to the stern would just be completely blown, and the ship would sink in a matter of moments. And so they tie the boat up with ropes. They probably harnessed the mast to the corners of the ship in order to prevent what they feared would be a disaster. And then we are told that they struck sail. Probably the picture here is that they took down the main sail because it was putting too much pressure upon the mast And they put up what was called a storm sail, a sail that they could use to tack and steer the ship in a measured way. Why did they do that? Well, they were fearing the quicksands. These were sandbanks that are off the coast of Tunisia and Libya. And if you were blown on a northeasterly course from Crete, they knew. that they were going to be blown towards those sandbanks, shallows. And if the ship ran aground in those shallows, it would break up. They would still be out at sea, but on these sandbars. And the word here, quicksands, it's the word certis. And off the coast of North Africa, apparently there are two big sandbars, one called the great Sirtis and one called the lesser Sirtis. And the sailors were horror stricken that they would be blown into these perilous waters. And so they try the best they can to steer the ship away from that danger. Verse 18, being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, The next day they lightened the ship. What a picture this is, friends, of the storms of life, things that once were very precious to us, like the merchandise on this ship. In the midst of sorrow and trouble, it loses its value. We're willing to discard it if it means deliverance from our fears and our sorrows. They had no stomach for food. They had no means of guidance. Verse 20, the sun, the stars, this was their navigation. They didn't know where they were going. All at sea, you might say, plagued with hopelessness and fear. And then we come to our text. This is the background to Paul's next words, really of preaching to this company upon this ship. Here they are, they are filled with fear, they've lost their hope, and now Paul speaks. What a picture this is of the journey of life. What a picture of the experience of the lost soul, now fearing for eternity. with no light, with nothing to guide them, with no joy, with no cheer, with hopes of salvation passing and fading. Are some of us here this morning plagued by fears of eternal loss? Do we feel, well, I do not know what to do. God's word doesn't seem to speak to me. I've got no compass or chart to direct me in life. What am I to do? It's to these people who are in this situation that Paul, as the ambassador of Christ, speaks in verse 20. And there are seven things in Paul's words which I want to comment on. These really are a presentation of the gospel. They're all gospel messages. to our souls. Firstly, in verse 21, he says, you should have listened to me. In other words, this message to these people all at sea in life, he convicts them of their error. That's where the gospel begins. It says to us, you should have listened to the Bible. You should have listened to the word of God. Are you a rebel? Have you courteously excused yourself from the counsel of God's word? Beware lest it leads you into trouble. But here are those who have repped the fruit of their own disobedience. The gospel convicts us before it comforts us. We have to recognize that we have erred, that we've acted foolishly. And Paul, though he speaks courteously, he says, sirs, he does not, this is not sour grapes. This is not Paul trying to make a point in order to gain a victory. This is Paul speaking with great courtesy and affection to these hopeless souls who fear for their lives. Sirs, you should have hearkened unto me. This is the same voice, really, of the Lord Jesus Christ, Paul's master. He says to us, as wayward souls, you should hearken unto me. You should listen to the counsel of God's word. It's a call to our nation. It's a call to our neighborhood. How many know misery and great sorrow and much trouble in their life, often that they have brought upon themselves because they have rebelled against the counsel and the advice of God's word. It's interesting the way Paul speaks here. He says, you should not have loosed from Crete and to have gained this harm and loss. That's a literal interpretation of Paul's words. You've gained something. You wanted, you thought you were going to gain progress. You thought you were going to gain a more pleasant wintertime experience. You thought it would be all for your advantage but all you gained was harm and loss. Do we recognize that whatever progress we try to make in this life and in this world if we turn our back upon the teaching of God's word our gains will be only harm and loss to our soul. Matthew Henry says, harm and loss is a gain if it is sanctified to our experience. What he means is this, if the Lord brings trouble into our life and it may cause us to fear and to lose hope, but it's the means used to bring us ultimately to yield to God and to trust our souls to Jesus Christ. We will bless God for even those storms and troubles, even for those violent experiences that were so painful and so fearful at the time, yet they can be made a real advantage to us. But then secondly, Paul gives them hope and comfort. Verse 22, he says, 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. No loss of life. What a cheering note that must have sounded to these fearful men who were despairing of hope. None of our lives will be lost. That's the gospel, friends. It's a call to us as perishing sinners in this world. And it says, hearken to me. Be of good cheer, says the gospel. For there will be no loss of life to all that have an interest in Paul's God and Paul's master. The gospel is a promise of life. But sometimes, just like here with Paul, the gospel appoints that we will lose those things that we counted dear in this world. You're gonna lose the ship. Ship captain, ship owner, you defied God, and the reason you defied God was that you wanted to make progress with your ship. But you're gonna lose your ship. but your life will be secure. If the Lord says to us, as part of the deal for salvation, and he doesn't always say this, but if the Lord says, you've got to lose everything, but I will spare your life. I will save your soul. You will know the favor of God for all eternity. Is that not a gain? to gain our soul. If it means we lose friends, we lose career, we lose wealth, we even lose liberty. But the Lord saves our soul. That's the gospel. The soul is everything, friends. We may have to forfeit much in this world. We may have to give up things that once we hoped would lead to our pleasure and joy. but we give them up. The gospel calls us to give them up as we seek the salvation of our souls. Thirdly, Paul tells them the grounds of this hope. This is remarkable. Look at verse 23. For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am and whom I serve. Paul was not announcing this promise of life upon a whim. upon a hunch, it was upon the revealed word of God. He had a promise from heaven which he preached, saying, fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Caesar, and lo, God has given thee all them that sail with thee. The suggestion seems to be that Paul, in their time of sorrow and fear, When they hardly dared to eat, what was Paul doing? He was interceding for them. He was intervening before the throne of grace, pleading that the Lord would not only spare his companions, Luke and others, but also that he would show mercy upon this company upon the ship. Perhaps Paul had witnessed to them. We can almost say certainly Paul had witnessed to them. They had been some days, perhaps weeks, together on the ship. It's almost, you could say, the equivalent of what you get on an easy jet flight. 276 people. And Paul had been with them for weeks. He'd spoken to them of his God, of his Savior, of his mission. Why are you here, Paul? Why are you a prisoner? It would all have come out. But now it comes out that Paul has interceded for them. He's prayed for them that their lives may be spared. This is a picture, friends, of Christ himself. Why does the Lord spare our lives? Is it because we deserve it? We're like these rebellious sailors and passengers determined to have our own way so often. We've chosen our path in life without acknowledging the word of God. But there is one that pleads for his people in heaven, even Jesus Christ. And if God saves us, it's for our sake. It's as if God the Father says to the Son, for your sake, I give you all those who are in the vessel of the church. That's the cause. That's the grounds of our salvation. Fourthly, he shows them the way to comfort. Look at verse 24. Sorry, verse 25. Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer, for I believe God that it shall be even as it was told me. Paul, how can you be so cheerful? Because I believe God, that God will keep his word, his promise. Perhaps you are not a Christian, but you see that there are Christians who go through times of great trouble, who face even death itself, and yet they appear so calm, so at peace. Why? The answer will be the same. They believe God. They believe that what God has said will come to pass. God has promised that all to flee to Christ. all that repent of their sin and cast their soul upon him, it will be well with them. They will be forgiven. Do you believe God? If we believe God's word, then we can be of good cheer. That's what Paul comforts them with here. But then fifthly, and I'll touch just briefly on this, he explains you must be saved God's way. Verse 26, we must be cast upon a certain island. You're not going to be able to have a hand in the way you're going to be saved, says Paul to this whole ship's company. It's in the hand of God. You must yield to his appointed means and his appointed way. You're going to be cast upon a certain island. Sixthly, God saves by means. We see here that after this, when they had been driven up and down in Adria, this doesn't mean the Adriatic Sea between Croatia and Italy, this means the region of the mid-Mediterranean between Sicily and Libya and Crete, and that's also as known as the Adriatic in those days. They were driven up and down but they knew not where. And then they deemed that they came near to some country and after throwing out the anchors at the stern of the ship they wished for the day. But verse 30 tells us that the shipmen, the sailing crew who were in control of the ship They thought, well, we can't all get in that little boat. But we'll make our own way to safety, and we'll leave the rest to be wrecked. And so secretly, as if they were throwing some more anchors out the front of the ship, they let down the boat that they had lifted out of the water earlier in the storm. But Paul perceived what they were going to do, and he alerts the soldiers and the centurion, and the centurion then cuts the ropes such that this little lifeboat drifts away. Why did this happen? Well, Matthew Henry, I think, is the most, probably got the most obvious explanation. It was because the ship would need to be steered into the haven, if possible. They needed the crew. They needed the captain. They needed those who were the seafarers on board to guide the vessel. But wasn't God going to save them anyway? Yes. But God uses means. And the means here, despite the fact that the Lord would overrule and Guide them by the winds which were at his command, yet they were to engage. God saves by means with us too. He's going to save his people. But we do not just sit back on a sunbed and say, well, the Lord will bring the boat into the harbor. He uses means. We had a long reading and so I know my time is short this morning but we come seventhly and this is perhaps the most precious picture here of all. Verse 40. We read that when the day was come they knew not the land. They didn't know if they were a savage people. who were on this island, they didn't know whether they were cannibals perhaps, but they saw a certain creek with a shore and they thought that's where we must try to direct the ship if we are to be saved. And they took up the anchors, verse 40, committed themselves unto the sea, loosed the rudder bands where they had tied the rudder down so that it didn't wasn't ungovernable and they hoisted up the mainsail again and made towards shore. Matthew Henry says this, he says they made for the shore how much more when the day break and we see the safe haven of Christ should we make for him. I'm sure this person this morning You feel that you're not yet safe in the haven of Jesus Christ. You haven't found refuge. The storms of God's law buffet you and threaten your soul with condemnation. You fear that death will be the eternal ruin of you. What are you to do? Can you see Christ as these mariners saw that shoreline for them? it appeared to be the only hope of salvation. And they did all that they could to get there. They put up the mainsail, they loosed off the constraints of the ropes, and they made for the shore. What a picture that is, friends, of the lost sinner that sees Christ as their only hope. Make your way to him. Do all you can to get to him. They didn't save themselves. A few hours later, when they were safely upon the beach, they didn't look at one another and say, we got here by our own hook and crook and strength. They knew that it was Paul's God who ultimately had saved them. But they had not been passive. They had to do what they could. They were told, verse 43, Those that could swim, cast yourself in first and get to land. And those that can't, some on boards, some on broken pieces of the ship. What must we do if we see Christ and we do not know how to get there? Well, first, we cast ourselves upon him. They committed themselves to the waves. They thought, we do not know whether we're going to be guided into that shore, but we put up the mainsail and we commit ourselves to the winds and the waves to bring us there. You perhaps feel, well, I cannot come to Christ. I don't have the strength. He must bring me there. Commit yourself to him. Ask him to bring you home to himself in safety, that you may escape with your life from eternal ruin. But more than that, those that could swim, swim. Do you have a little faith? Faith that urges you to Christ? Then exercise that faith. Perhaps you say, oh no, I have hardly any faith at all. Do you not have the faith to rest upon some board, some broken piece, you feel that you cannot hardly do anything, yet you are to do what you can. That's the picture here, really. You cast yourself upon the Lord, you keep your eye to him as these men kept their eye to the shore, and then you do what you can. You rest in him. Do you struggle to repent? Then tell the Lord, I want to repent, I want to be brought from that old, wicked, rebellious life, but I hardly know how. Then do your best, try as you can. The last words here, so it came to pass that they escaped all safe to land. And so it will be that all who eye Christ as the Saviour and strive in all the weakness and inadequacy and fear and apprehension of a lost soul to get to him. The Lord will not permit any who seek him, who strive to be with him, to be finally lost. It's a wonderful chapter. It's a parable really, but a real life parable. and it shows us the way of salvation. May the Lord bless his word to us. We close this morning with hymn 267. To Calvary, Lord in spirit now, our weary souls repair. 267.