Stay In The Ship

Stay in the Ship
Acts 27:29-32


I. The Severity of the Storm.
Paul was on his way to Rome to stand trial when this severe storm arose- “tempestuous winds” They called it Euroclydon which means “violent agitation.” The ship was damaged so they made a quick stop on an island to make some repairs then had to sail on. The storm persisted and the Bible says they were “exceedingly tossed with a tempest.”
They began to lighten the ship by casting overboard anything that they no longer considered vital. Then they began to throw out the Tackling; which had once been important but not now! Then they began to throw out the cash cargo- and you know that when a merchant ship tosses out the cash cargo things have to be Really Desperate!
For 14 days and nights they were tossed and driven by the sea and all hope that they would survive was Gone.
Now an interesting thing took place, the shipmen, the sailors, decided that the situation was hopeless and their lives were about to be lost. They made plans to abandon the ship and leave everyone else to their own fate. They acted like they were putting out anchors but Secretly, they began to lower a lifeboat to escape in. Somehow, Paul became aware of what they were doing; he called to the soldiers and told them what was happening. He told them that the sailors must be forced to remain in the ship or everyone might be lost.
Remember, God had already promised Paul that everyone on the ship would be saved. The sailors obviously did not believe the declaration of God’s Promise and went about trying to secure their own safety by escape.
The soldiers quickly cut the ropes that held the life boat and let it drop into the sea.
The message to these sailors was Stay in the Ship. Your only place of safety is the ship. Your only means of survival is to Stay in the ship.
II. The Safety of the Ship.
We must Stay In the Ship! We must stay in the Lord Jesus Christ! We must stay in the true Church universal and we need to stay in the Local Church as well.
I know that things look bad in our world today.
I know that storm clouds of sin hover over us.
I know that evil abounds and violence rages.
I know that tensions are high and people are reacting with un-reasonable behavior.
I know that a virus has been spreading across our nation and the whole world.
I know that the political scene is one of hostility and almost warfare.
I know that perversion is not only tolerated and allowed but LEGAL!
The Storm in this World looks Bad.


Besides that, I know that often the storms in our own personal lives are severe too.
I know that we have sickness and afflictions.
I know that we feel the tempest of family troubles.
I know that we are often tossed about by financial pressures and tested with trials and burdened with grief.
You may feel like there has been No sun, and No Moon, and No Stars and that your hope has been taken away. SADLY-
Some have reached the decision the Shipmen made and have made plans to abandon the ship.
Some have decided that the Old Ship of Zion, the Church of Jesus Christ, will never make it through these storms: “it looks like its about to break apart right now- I’d better get out!”
Some have abandoned ship; they have given up the hope of true salvation; they have given up on holiness of life; they have given up on the genuine experience of the Holy Ghost Baptism with the evidence of speaking in other tongues; they have given up on the Blessed hope of the Rapture and Gone overboard into the sea of this world.
Hear me Friend- in order to Survive the storms of this world, you Must Stay in the Ship.
No matter how long the voyage takes.
No matter how rough the sea becomes.
No matter how high the waves mount.
No matter how low your hope ebbs.
The only Safety is in the Ship; Stay in the Ship.


You’ll notice if you read this account that earlier the shipmen on Paul’s ship had taken a sounding to check their position. Their first sounding was 20 fathoms; the next was fifteen so they knew they were nearing some Shore.
We too are nearing the shore; we are closer to the coming of the Lord and closer to heaven than ever before. The soundings prove it to be so.
When Israel became a nation, it was one of the most important signs of the end times. Almost all the events leading up to and including the Tribulation have to do with Israel and they had to be a nation; well they are and have been for a little over 70 years.
Since then we have witnessed numbers of signs of the times that were mentioned by Jesus (like false religions, earthquakes, famines, pestilence, and wars) and signs that were mentioned by Paul and John (like the realignment of nations in Europe and Asia) and we have witnessed the unrest among the Muslim nations as well.
Wake up Friend! We are closer to the Rapture than most of us realize. Jesus is Coming!
Stay in the Ship.
James said in 5:7,8 Be Patient brethren unto the coming of the Lord...establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord draws nigh.
Peter said, “the end of all things is at hand, be ye sober and watch unto prayer.” (1 Pet. 4:7)
Paul said, “and knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. The night is far spent, the day is at hand, let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and let us put on the armor of light...let us walk not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering (immorality) or wantonness (shameful conduct), not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make not provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.” (Rom 13:11-14)
Jesus told his disciples in Mt. 24 that people in the last days would react in one of two ways:
- Because iniquity would abound, the love of many would become cold (abandon the ship)
- However, some would endure to the end and be saved (stay in the ship).


If you are reading this and you’re not sure you are saved by the blood of Jesus and you are not living faithfully for him, you need to GET In the Ship. This is a terrible time to be lost and backslidden.
If you are child of God, this is no time to slack off, let up, or fall out. Don’t become critical, don’t become worldly, don’t become offended or bitter and abandon the ship. Stay on fire for God and Stay in the Ship.