I told you so!
I really hate it when people say that. "I told you so!" "I told you if you took that left turn you'd get stuck in traffic!" "I told you if you ate that leftover chicken you'd be sick!" "I told you that you should have studied more for that exam!"
But then there are times I wished someone HAD said something.
Over the last couple of years, there have been calls for warning signs to be shown before speed cameras on our roads. People WANT to be warned. Why? To save them from a fine, a cost, a consequence.
Acts 27 is one of the greatest recorded boating stories in history - often referred to by sailors as a fantastic account of the real challenges of sailing through an almighty storm - an accurate and riveting account!
And at the very beginning of the trip, the apostle Paul warns them:
Acts 27:9-10
So Paul warned them, 10“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.”
But they sail on and things go very badly. And Paul says "I told you so!":
Acts 27:21
21After they 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.
Paul says 'You should have listened to me!'. In fact as Paul has shared the gospel with so many, this is his constant call - 'You need to listen to what I'm saying! This will save your life!' This time, facing a physical storm, Paul is offering the same advice - 'Listen! so that your lives may be saved!'
Acts 27:22-25
22But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. 23Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me 24and 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.’ 25So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. 26Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”
In an amazing few sentences, Paul reveals that God himself has spoken to him through an angel and everyone on the ship will be saved. But they need to trust God. And you won't believe what happened next!...
Acts 27:33-37
33Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. 34Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” 35After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. 36They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. 37Altogether there were 276 of us on board.
Paul stops and gives thanks to God. They eat and verse 44 concludes the events for us:
Acts 27:44
In this way everyone reached land safely.
God is powerful over life - the spiritual and physical. God is interested in our here and now, but also, of course, in our eternity. God cares about people. And he calls all people to lsiten to Him. Paul is not really saying "listen to me". He's saying "Listen to God!" In this story, it's easy to see how physical lives were saved. But as we share the gospel with people, we need to see that it is in order to see people's lives saved eternally. When we share God's truth, God's Spirit is at work to see people saved - to offer salvation. This story of 276 lives being saved is nothing compared to the eternal salvation that God offers.
Are we bold enough to say to those around us: "Listen to this gospel! It will save your life!"
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you that you offer salvation to all who turn to you in faith. May we continue to be bold in sharing this gospel of hope and truth and life so that those around us may not face an eternal shipwreck, but might arrive safely into the hands of Jesus.
Amen.