FOUNDATIONS FOR PEACE

ACTS 27:13-26
August 23rd, 2009
12th Sunday After Pentecost
Pastor Tim Smith

13 When a gentle south wind began to blow, they thought they had obtained what they wanted; so they weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 Before very long, a wind of hurricane force, called the “northeaster,” swept down from the island. 15 The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure. 17 When the men had hoisted it aboard, they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Fearing that they would run aground on the sandbars of Syrtis, they lowered the sea anchor and let the ship be driven along. 18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.
21 After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. 22 But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.” (NIV)

Is there a spiritual lesson to be got from a narrative like this one? Is there some deeper meaning to “getting in the lifeboat” or to “lowering a sea anchor” or “passing ropes under the ship”? Those details, historical details about what actually took place—those things mean just what they say, and not anything more. Not in the sense of a parable, where we can and should take a detail in a parable and by analogy apply it into our own lives.

There are religions and denominations of Christianity and even a branch of Lutheranism that’s been in the headlines a lot lately that will do that with every part of the Bible because they don’t believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God, not in the sense you and I understand it, and they will attempt to get a “deeper meaning” even out of Luke lending a hand with the ship’s lifeboat in our text. But these aren’t allegories. This isn’t a poem to analyzed or a prophecy to be interpreted. This is an historical account of a storm in the Mediterranean Sea in the winter of 60 AD.

Let’s look at a few of these actions and see first of all (1) what they are really telling us about this storm, and (2) how they apply to our lives. And let’s keep in mind Paul’s statement at the end of our text which I’m going to get to later, which he applies to himself but which I am going to urge all of us to do: HAVE FAITH IN GOD THAT IT WILL HAPPEN.

I. The ship left the east end of Crete because “they thought they had obtained what they wanted.” They didn’t have a decent place to spend the winter on that side of the island and they knew about a better harbor called Phoenix, about a hundred miles away. Using their own wisdom and their own knowledge, they decided to set sail.

But sometimes all our wisdom and all our combined knowledge is not enough. The ship’s owner, pilot and the Roman Centurion all believed that the risks were worth taking to try to find a better harbor, on the southwestern coast of Crete.

II. But as they made their way along the southern coast of this island—which is about the same length as Maryland—their “gentle south winds” turn completely around and they got hit with the storm Luke called the euroquilo, or the ‘Northeaster.’ This is a winter storm so bad it’s got its own name. A northeaster, blowing straight down out of the Black Sea, through the waters of the Aegean, picks up speed and slams into the desert cliffs of North Africa.

III. About a day or so into the storm, the ship had been driven more than twenty miles southwest—keep in mind, this is with no sails or propulsion other than being driven by the storm—and they found themselves briefly in the lee of an island called Cauda, modern Gozzo. The “lee” of something is the side that’s sheltered from the wind and rain. Think of it as the side of an umbrella you want to be on. At this moment, they couldn’t drop anchor or slow down, but for a little while they had a chance to at least bring in the lifeboat. Normally this skiff (the word in the same in Greek and English) would be allowed to drift along behind the ship, but in a storm it needed to be secured or else it could be torn away, it could smash into the ship, or it could produce too much drag. Luke tells us that he himself helped or was forced to help by hauling on the ropes.

IV. Sometime on the second day, Luke describes the sailors passing ropes under the hull of the ship. This was very dangerous—it was also known as “frapping the ship.” It helped prevent the ship from breaking apart in a storm by giving the hull some extra strength – and also a mechanism to help the crew – of the hull started to split, the crew might be able to tighten the ropes and close up the gaps.

V. Luke also tells us that they were concerned about the “sandbars of Syrtis.” These sandbars were actually stretches of quicksand, an infamous “graveyard” of ships and of shipwrecked sailors off the coast of North Africa, feared like the “Bermuda Triangle” but with a lot more real evidence. At all costs, the sailors wanted to avoid this area. They lowered a “sea anchor” to give them some drag and slow down their run to the African coastline. Translators are sometimes confused by this word, “sea anchor,” which is identical to the Greek word for “main sail.” But a masted sail is virtually what a sea anchor is – really a large wooden and canvas structure that will float attached to the ship by ropes. When the sea is too deep for a conventional anchor, a ship would let out this kind of raft, or sea anchor, to help them hold their position overnight or in a storm like this.

V. (27:18) But the storm didn’t quiet down. By the third day, they started to pitch the cargo overboard. Jettisoning the cargo (probably grain) was a way to lighten the ship, which was probably filling with water too fast for the pumps or for bailing to compensate. The captain and centurion were the ones who ordered their departure; the captain could have been compensated for the danger undertaken had he successfully made the trip, but now he was just trying to save the lives of his crew and passengers.

VI. (27:19) In verse 19, we hear about the crew throwing the ship’s tackle overboard “with their own hands” This is a curious sentence, since there would have been no other way to dispose of the tackle (extra sails and spars and such) than to do it “with their own hands.” I would take this to mean Luke was surprised that a crew would actually do this, since it underscored the desperate situation they were in. They tossed out all the spare parts.

VII (27:20) By verse 20, the captain and pilot are getting desperate because neither the sun nor the stars have been visible for many days—probably about a week. Without compass or sight of land, the sun and stars were the only way to navigate. They had also gone a long time without food. This probably had nothing to do with fasting, but instead with the impossible cooking conditions during such a storm and the prevalence of seasickness among everyone! They were giving up any hope of being saved. They had to stay with the ship, but they didn’t know how to save the ship. They didn’t know how to save themselves.

And this was the point when Paul spoke. Paul begins with an “I told you so” statement, to underscore his earlier wisdom, but he doesn’t leave them there. Paul has good news. “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23 Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me 24 and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ 25 So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26 Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

Well, to the owner of the ship, that was good news and bad news. By this time, he had probably given up hope of saving the ship, and now he knows that he won’t—but the people will be spared—and there were 276 people on board that ship.

They were driven along by the wind from Crete all the way along the length of the Mediterranean Sea between the treacherous rocks and islands of Greece and the quicksand beaches of North Africa around Tobruk and Tripoli, and they would finally run aground after two whole weeks—fourteen days—on the Island of Malta south of Italy. It was six hundred miles from their starting point. That’s like getting hit by a storm in Detroit, Michigan and ending up two weeks later in New Ulm, Minnesota.

Despite all their wisdom, all their ability, all their know-how, all their excellent technology—none of these things was going to help them spare their ship. They were in God’s hands, and in God’s hands alone. And that is the only reason why, in chapter 28, Luke can finally write, “And so we came to Rome” (Acts 28:14b).

When we are beaten up by life and we are ravaged by our own flaws and our own sinfulness and our own inability to cope with the waves that come crashing along and the gale that blows through our lives, we are never given a promise that we will come out of these things with no damage. What God does promise us is that our sins are forgiven in Jesus.

Paul said it, and I’m going to say it again: “HAVE FAITH IN GOD THAT IT WILL HAPPEN.” In our text, the “it” that was going to happen was the fulfillment of a dream given to Paul by God. God has given us a promise, too—but not the same promise. God’s promise to you is that he has taken the guilt of your sins and wiped away with all the power of a hurricane. It’s gone—gone for good. Gone for your good. And God invites you to trust in him. Trust in his promise that your sins are washed away, and also trust in him today with what he gives you to do.

You’re going to make mistakes today. Trust God to guide you past temptation. Trust God to pick you up when you fall down. Trust God to give you choices to make that will be choices you can handle. Trust God to give you comfort when you’re down, strength when you’re weak, an anchor when you’re being driven along by things beyond your control.

What will happen is that God will bring you through the troubles of this life and into the perfection of eternal life. HAVE FAITH IN GOD THAT IT WILL HAPPEN.

And the peace of God that transcends our understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.

2 Corinthians 10:1-5
August 15-17, 2009
11th Sunday After Pentocost
Pastor Don Sutton

2 Corinthians 10:1-5
1By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world. 3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.

Introduction
We are at war! Militarily our nation has over 130,000 soldiers in Iraq facing a determined, destructive, and deadly enemy. Thousands of troops that by year’s end will total almost 70,000, are in Afghanistan fighting against the Taliban and soldiers of Al Qaeda. On the medical front researchers and caregivers are fighting diabetes, hypertension, cancer and heart disease – one of the battles is going on here with our Heart of New Ulm program. In society we continue to fight against poverty, discrimination and the threat of terrorism.

But these are not the wars to which I am referring when I say, “We are at war!” I am talking about the spiritual warfare we are waging together with the whole Christian Church against the devil and his allies, all forces of evil in the universe. The apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (6:12).” Paul alludes to this fact in the verses I read to you from 2 Corinthians 10. Through Paul God says to us, “We are at war!”

1. In Defense of Christ
As Paul dealt with the Corinthians, he found himself entangled in battle – not with swords, spears and shields – but with a war of words with wicked liars. There were those who still questioned whether Paul was really and apostle of the Lord. Therefore they didn’t want to listen to the divinely inspired teachings and guidance of Paul. There were also those who tried to turn from Paul others who accepted Paul’s authority and took to heart his teaching. They said, “Yah. Paul talks tough when writing to us from a distance, but face-to-face he’s a chicken.”

As Paul defended himself, he also defended Christ. He said, “1By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you—I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away! 2I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.” The meekness of Christ was the inner attitude of his heat that showed itself in gentleness in dealing with others. Think of how Jesus told people, “ 28″Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls (Matt. 11).”

But at the same time Jesus could be bold and straightforward in dealing with falsehood and sin. Consider how he cleansed the temple. And Jesus cut the false-teaching leaders of the Jews no slack when he spoke his woes to them and called them whitewashed tombs. Paul had experienced this as Jesus dealt with Paul. Paul now exhibited this with others as he reflected Jesus spirit in dealing with people. In saying what Paul said and doing what he did. Paul was defending Christ.

We may find ourselves in situations where we need to do the same. We may find ourselves with someone
who is condemning the teaching of God’s law because they think God is only love and teaching about God should have no law. Or people around us may be condoning some sin. While we don’t want to sound self-righteous or condescending, we may need to defend the teaching of Christ, saying something, “You know what you’re saying may be popular, but it’s not what Jesus teaches in his word. He calls that sin and condemns it.” At the same time we may find ourselves faced with a situation in which someone is leaving the impression that we are on our own to stand before God and therefore are hopeless. Then we need to defend the meekness and gentleness of Christ that led him to save us and to emphasize this truth.

But how often doesn’t it happen that we are meek and gentle when we should boldly speak the truth in love – leaving the truth that needs to be said unspoken or the example that needs to be given undone?
How often are we bold and over-bearing when a circumstances necessitate that we be meek and gentle? The tired and irritable parent who blows up at a child who is struggling with some challenge and needs encouragement, the overwhelmed spouse who snarls at a spouse honestly seeking some help with a problem, or a friend who is tired of hearing a friend’s same problems and tells him/her to shut up?

How blessed we are that we have a Savior who was perfectly bold and truthful and at the same time perfectly and appropriately meek and mild. How blessed we are that our Savior took the yoke of our condemnation, carried it, suffered it and removed it so that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus through faith in him. But this is also reason to be appropriately loving and bold in telling the truth, and appropriately meek and gentle in dealing with people.

2. Not with the Weapons and Ways of the World
We are at war! But we do not wage war with the weapons and ways of the world. In vs. 3 and 4 Paul wrote, “3For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”

Did you know that estimates are that there are somewhere in the vicinity of 70 million soldiers in the world counting active military, reservists and paramilitaries? Did you know that there are 87,000 tanks, 1,311 ships and submarines, 28,000 fighter planes and 26,000 nuclear weapons? But since our enemies are different, so must our weapons be different. We can’t fight and evil angels with a fighter plane. We can’t deal with our sinful nature with a nuclear bomb.

To fight the war we are in requires the word of God – law and gospel. They have the divine power to “demolish strongholds.” In Hebrews 4 God says, “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any two-edged sword, it penetrates to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart (12).” The law shows others and us our sin and need for Jesus and the gospel shows us Jesus. The Holy Spirit works through God’s word giving it true power.

I have an old 22-caliber pump-action rifle made around 1900. I haven’t shot it for 30 or 40 years. The shells I have are very old. I wouldn’t use it unless it was cleaned, old and stocked with new ammo. I certainly would want to go to war with it – it’s a little underpowered. I am concerned that many of us are using old weapons and old ammo. We haven’t really gone through spiritual growth and renewal in God’s word and are underpowered in respect to our weaponry we need to face the attacks the devil wages.

Arms yourselves well. Make daily use of God’s word. Make weekly use of worship. Faithfully pray that God arm and equip through these weapons to be at war. We are at war!

3. Demolishing Everything that Sets Itself Up Against the Knowledge of God
Our war is not only defensive but also offensive – “5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God…”
The knowledge of God begins with what God reveals in the Bible the source of what can be known about God. As a person reads or hears the Bible and learns about God, the Holy Spirit gives another knowledge of God, the intimate knowledge of knowing the meekness and gentleness of Jesus as his or her Savior and the peace and life that only come through him. We come to know what it is to love God and to want what he wants. We become part of the kingdom of God.

But the kingdom of God is a kingdom that has many enemies. These enemies have many strongholds. There is the stronghold erected by all those who maintain you work your way to heaven, doing the best you can, being the best you can be, whether it is by keeping the Ten Commandments, disconnecting with the world, or elevating yourself above your weaknesses. There’s the stronghold of the humanism that puts man on the throne of life, being the center of focus and calling the shots in life. There is the stronghold of pleasure – “you can’t be happy until you have wealth, enjoy success or indulge in sin.” There are many other strongholds from which God’s enemies attack the kingdom of God.

Some of these false teachings of these strongholds can sound so good, reasonable and sometimes so enticing. We need God’s Word to rip down their walls and expose them fro what they are. We need the gospel of the power to reject them and expose them for what they are. And when it comes to witnessing to those who are caught up in these philosophies of life, by our own power and strength we cannot persuade them to leave. It takes the power of God’s word, law and gospel, to break down and demolish these strongholds.

4. Making our Every Thought Captive to Christ
It also takes the power of God’s word to take captives in our spiritual war. These days when we think of captives we may think of the enemy combatants in Guatanamo Bay or those who were prisoners of war in days gone by. The Quonset huts out off County Highway 29 were for prisoners of war during WW2. God through Paul tells us, “We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”

Think of how our heart and mind can run off and rebel in every which way. “Why didn’t God stop sin? Why does God allow people in Taiwan to be killed in a typhoon? If God loves me, why does he let such trouble come into my life?” These are just some of the run-away thoughts we may have.

When we do this we sit in judgment with God and that’s sin. When we do this, we do well to turn to our Savior for the forgiveness and peace he has won for us. Then we simply turn to God’s word and believe it. When God tells us he loves us – we believe him even though we don’t feel worthy. When he says he’s with us, we believe him even though we don’t see him. We he says he’ll care for us, we trust him even through we can’t see how. When he says this is good and that’s bad, we don’t debate with him but take him at his word.

We are at war! When soldiers go to war, they don’t do their own thing but follow the battle plan that has been carefully crafted and the orders that are issued by their experienced leaders. So it is not for us to question God, but to make our every thought captive to him and his word.

God says, “I love you. I’ve proven it in giving my son for you and forgiving you because of him. Now love me. Listen to me. Live for me. Love one another. And trust me, the victory is yours through the Lord Jesus Christ.” Amen.