pastor steve: Fight for confidence in crisis (Acts 27)

Cornerstone Mission Church, Sunday Sermon January 18, 2009

An article’s headline by Eric McClam from Associated Press reads, “Pilot’s life had prepared him for ‘miracle’ flight.” The article begins, “Chesley Sullenberger spent practically his whole life preparing for the five-minute crucible that was US Airway Flight 1549. He got his pilot’s license at 14, was named best aviator in his class at the Air Force Academy, flew fighter jets, investigated air disasters, mastered glider flying and even studied the psychology of how cockpit crews behave in a crisis.” His sister would describe him as “always professional and never cut corners.” She said, “I think Burnett is a very duty-oriented person… He is always looking to get better. He would be the one person who could land a plane in the water without any engines.” [1]

I am talking about the US Airway pilot who crash landed Flight 1549 after being crippled by the engine failure because of bird strikes. He steered the airplane over the George Washington Bridge and down the Hudson River on Thursday, Jan. 15. Just few seconds before the plane hit water, Sullenberger told the passengers, “Brace for impact.” Mark Hood flying home after a work trip remembered this moment. “He said it in a calm, cool, controlled voice. It was a testament to leadership. Had he let any tension leak into his voice… it would have been magnified in the passengers.” It is reported that Sullenberger climbed out of the jet only after all 150 passengers and his four other crew exited safely and orderly.[2] The Major Bloomberg reported how the pilot walked the plane twice after everybody was off to verify no body else was on board and to be the last to get off the airplane.[3]

How would you be if you were the pilot trying to steer the seriously crippled jet on to water? Would you have fought for confidence in the crisis, in the most stressful situation to land that airplane safely? Or, would you have panicked and become incapacitated, unable to think with clear judgment and courage? Perhaps, if you and I were as prepared as this pilot was, we could have mustered confidence and courage to deal with crisis.

When I meditated on Paul’s voyage through the storms and finally the shipwreck that nearly killed everyone and the way he responded during this life-threatening crisis, I can’t help but notice how prepared Paul was in dealing the crisis confidently. And, in turn I consider my own responses to crises or it doesn’t even have to be crises, but simply stressful situations in my life.

And, I realize how easily I loose calm confidence and give into panic; lack of confidence and panic clouds my judgment and the ability to act courageously. So, I am determined this year to fight for confidence in crises rather than giving into clouded judgment, fear and debilitation. And, I want you to join me on this.

1. Observation about the details.

After the plane crashed into the Hudson River, if you watched news coverage, you would have come across a lot of eye witness accounts from the high rise buildings nearby. And, there were actual passengers aboard this airplane who gave their eye witness accounts.

The book of Acts is eye witness accounts of what took place in the first century as the church grew. In Acts 27, you notice the pronounce changes to we, first person plural. What this tells us is that Luke the writer himself was aboard this doomed ship. When people with knowledge about sailing especially around the region read Luke’s account of what happened they are amazed by the accurate details captured by Luke. What we read is not a made up story, but a real eye witness account by Luke in this doomed sailing along with Paul.

2. Fight for confidence through people who love you.

During my study and meditation, it was pointed out to me by John MacArthur the first ingredient in fighting for confidence in crises in life. MacArthur frames his point from a leadership perspective. He said,

“A godly leader has people who not only follow him but also love him. The difference between spiritual leadership and all other kinds of leadership is the element of love.”[4]

When Paul sailed to Italy he was not traveling as a tourist who wanted to fulfill his life time dream of traveling to Rome on a luxury cruise. He was sailing as a prisoner awaiting a trial before Caesar. And, what we find in Acts 27:1-3 is that he was not traveling alone as a prisoner. Along with him were his two dearest friends, Luke the writer of the book of Acts and Aristarchus a Macedonian from Thessalonica.

They subjected themselves to association with Paul, an accused prisoner. They also subjected themselves to a long and dangerous sailing. Why did they journey with Paul? It speaks to deep affection for Paul. When you read through Paul’s letters you cannot escape how much he cared for the people to whom he ministered. He was compelled by the love of Jesus Christ to care for people. He said in 2 Corinthians 5:14, “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.”

As Paul carried out the ministry of reconciliation, to call people to God who reconcile the world to himself in Christ no counting men’s sins against them (2 Corinthians 5:19), he was surrounded by the likeminded people who too were compelled by Jesus’ love.

Because he was loved by people he loved, he was able to fight for confidence in the midst of storms and shipwreck. By loving people Paul gained people who deeply loved him. By willing to lay down his life for the gospel, he gained believers who would lay down their lives along with him to advance the gospel. When you are fighting, you don’t ever want to be caught in the line of fire alone. To fight for the confidence in life’s crises, you need be surrounded by people who love you. Paul was surrounded by his dearest friends, brothers. Can you count two who will take on a dangerous journey with you because they love you and they love the gospel?

There is this scene in the movie called Fire Proof where Caleb Holt tells a rookie fireman the old firefighter’s saying, “Never leave your partner behind.” We are in the business of plucking the burning sticks out of fire (Amos 4:11), snatching others from the fire and save them (Jude 23). It is a dangerous business that requires confidence on people you can count on. Do you have people you can count on? Can others count on you to never leave them behind in the line of fire?

3. Fight for confidence through integrity

Another source of Paul’s confidence came from the way he was respected for his integrity by non-believers. In Acts 26:32, we see what the officials Agrippa and Festus thought of Paul, “This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar.” They knew Paul was innocent and all the accusations were false. He was a man of integrity.

Acts 27:3, we see Julius, the centurion who was assigned to bring Paul to Rome, treating Paul with kindness. The kindness was that Julius allowed Paul to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs. In the Roman world, if a guard allowed his prisoner to escape, he was to serve the remaining prison term of the escapee or even face worse consequence. Julius had one of his soldiers accompanied Paul. But still, Julius wouldn’t have taken this kind act unless he was convinced that Paul was trustworthy, a man of integrity.

We see it even later how Paul a prisoner took on a role of encouraging others to eat before the shipwreck and how Julius listened to Paul to prevent sailors from abandoning the battered ship and he stopped his soldiers from killing the prisoners in order to prevent Paul from death.

He earned Julius’ respect and trust because Paul was a man of integrity and sincerity. This winsome character of trustworthiness allowed non-Christians to have confidence in Paul.

Paul isn’t alone in this regard. Joseph from Genesis also earned the respect and trust of Potiphar, Pharaoh’s cub bearer and later Pharaoh himself. Nehemiah was also a man who earned the respect as cupbearer to the king Artaxerxes. And, Daniel and his three friends also earned the respect of the king as well.

When you fight for integrity, you can fight for confidence in crises because you will have people, non-believers, showing you kindness and favor to you as Paul experienced.

4. Fight for confidence through sound judgment

2 Corinthians 11:25 speaks of Paul’s experience in shipwrecks three times and in spending a night and a day in the open sea. Speaking from his experience and common sense, Paul knew that it would be a bad idea to travel out into the opened sea into the opened sea. So, he spoke up, “Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also” (Acts 27:10). Apparently from mid September 14 through mid November according to Bible scholar F.F. Bruce was a treacherous season for voyage.[5] Paul knew this as well as the pilot and the owner of the ship.

As with the pilot of the crippled airplane struck by birds, his common sense and experience told him that he couldn’t steer the airplane to the nearby landing strip within six mile distance. If he ignored his own common sense and took the reckless risk, the outcome would have been disastrous.

Back in Acts 23:1, Jesus stood near Paul and told him, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” But this didn’t give Paul a license to be reckless and senseless. Paul was not out to prove himself to the world that he was a man of great faith by taking reckless risks and chances.

If he did, it would have been all about Paul, the hero, not about Jesus Christ, his gospel. God never calls us to purposeless and reckless adventures to prove ourselves to the world that we are great Christians. Following hard after God requires us to be shrewd and smart rather than reckless stupid.

Myron Augsburger has a great insight into this:

There is doubtless much that God would prefer to do for us and for society, but He limits His action to function where and when its results are recognized to be of God and not by our own achievements. To say that God moves where it brings glory to Him is to recognize the integrity of His grace.[6]

Reckless and senseless actions without sound judgment seek to make much about ourselves, but what God wants us is to move with him to where it brings glory to him, where much is made about him.

5. Fight for confidence through humble response to God’s promise

Acts 27:20 captured the gloom that shadowed the people on board. There are times when things get so hard no hope seems possible. “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.”

Now, this would have undoubtedly included Paul as well. Even the greatest spiritual giant like Paul experienced depression in life when confidence seemed to have evaporated. For fourteen days, they had been helpless tossed by the raging storms. I’ve had only one experience of riding a small boat on choppy water of Lake Michigan. It was no fun as you all know who’ve experienced motion sickness. Last thing you want to do while riding out storms is to have a full stomach especially you’ve given up.

In this darkest moment, when people have given up for any hope, God comes through. We may give up because things get so hard, but God never gives up on his promise because he is faithful to keep his promises.

Isaiah 40:8 says, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God stands forever.” And, Isaiah 55:11-11, “my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”

Even the spiritual giant Paul along his faithful spiritual friends Luke and Aristarchus were subjected to dark time when gave up all hope of being saved. No doubts we will be subjected to the dark times. The dark time in this case was brought upon them because the centurion, the pilot and the owner of the ship didn’t listen to Paul’s sound judgment, his common sense. At times we will be subjected to dark times because of our own or others’ stupidity or because of the reasons that are beyond our understanding.

Yet, in the darkest moments when all hopes seemed to have evaporated, confidence came not from soul-searching quest to draw out courage from within them, but from outside of them, from God. God broke into their darkest moment and revealed his will through an angel. “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.” This revived the battered Paul. God’s revelation gave him courage, confidence he didn’t have. And, from this confidence, he spoke with authority, “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me.”

Hopeless person would say it is no avail to eat now. We are going to die anyway. But, for Paul it was now completely different game. He was no longer a hopeless person, but a person of hope in God’s promise. So, he told everyone who had given up, “Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” And, he demonstrates his trust in the faithful God who keeps his promise; “he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat.” When the people saw him eat, “They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves… 276 on board… they had eaten as much as they wanted” (Acts 27:34-38).

Don’t you love this guys? Paul was a man who was gripped by God’s promise, God’s faithfulness to his own will. When he acted on God’s promise the result was all on board was affected and encouraged. Don’t you want to be like Paul? Instead of being a person who brings others down, but a person who encourages others out of despair because you yourself are touched by God’s faithful and sovereign promise?

6. Conclusion

My heart is that today you go through rigorous training, to be schooled by Jesus Christ to trust in God’s faithfulness to carry out his good will in your life. God makes no such promise to you that you won’t be caught in storms of life, or that you will have easy life. Rather, if you sincerely love and follow God, and carry out his will faithfully, diligently and courageously, chances are you will face many harsh storms of hurricane force; some brought upon you by others’ mistakes and sins, some by your own misjudgments and sins, some simply because you live in the fallen world.

What is important is not that you avoid storms in life, but rather how you will fight for confidence!

[1] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h7pYcNngvuSNrWnBpIicznPetcbwD95OGSR08

[2] http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5h7pYcNngvuSNrWnBpIicznPetcbwD95OGSR08

[3] http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vJHlrxj-RE

[4] http://www.biblebb.com/files/mac/sg1799.htm

[5] F.F. Bruce, Commentary on the Book of Acts, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1975, p. 50.