Smooth Sailing After the Storm, Acts 28

 Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.

After two weeks tossed at sea they finally ran aground and escaped to the shores of of Malta. You can go there today and see where they landed, at St. Paul’s Bay on the north side of Malta.

The island is twenty miles long, and twelve wide. It’s between Sicily and Africa, furthest from the continent of any island in the Mediterranean; about sixty miles south of Sicily.

It became famous for the knights of Malta, who stood against the Turkish rampage against Christendom.

Malta means honey, or sweetness, fitting since the island is long known for beekeeping, and even to this day, the folks of Malta are known for their hospitality.

Another claim to fame is noted right here in the U.S. The American Kennel Club states that the Maltese breed of dog originated on the island of Malta. 

   Notice, only after they escaped the storm did they find out where they were.

But God knew all the while. He knows, dear child of God, where you’re at, in your storm. Even when you don’t. He knows and is right there with you walking on the water, like Peter, or in the belly of the fish like Jonah, or the lion’s den, like Daniel, or the fiery furnace like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego.

No matter the storm, there is a place of quiet rest just for you.

Where?

In His will, in His Presence, is the safest, most peaceful, most joyful place to be—no matter the storm. Psalm 91:1-2, Phil. 4:7, Psalm 16:11.

In all probability, they never would’ve come to this island, had it not been for the storm, yet we’re about to see God has work for them to do here.

 ² And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.

It was somewhere around November. They were soaked to the skin and cold to the bone.

So, the sweet folks of Malta have the survivors huddled around a fire, perhaps, sipping hot Malta tea with honey, petting cute, cuddly, little Maltese puppies.

An example for us to remember those around us exposed to the elements. Have pity on them, pray for them, and show them unusual kindness.

We mustn’t just say, “be ye warmed and filled” but must give those things that are needful. James 2:16.

Picture the shipwrecked, weathered, worn, weary, wrecked...  but smiling at the kindness of the islanders.

If this were a movie, this would be the perfect ending.

Rome drops all charges against Paul. He retires to Malta, becomes a beekeeper, has a Maltese pup named Grace, and lives happily ever after.

But the Bible isn’t a movie or a fairytale. Although it does end with a, happily ever after.

Just not yet.

Not until the villain, that ol’ serpent, and all those with him, are rounded up and thrown into the lake of fire.

Speaking of which...

 ³ But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 

We should never think ourselves above any task that needs doing.

Paul was wet and cold and tired, nevertheless, he pitched in.

Whoever enjoys the warmth of a fire should lend to the fueling of it.

But serpents and evil have no conscience, show no mercy.

The battle that rages.

Thus, we must be wary, vigilant, taking no time to be lazy or complacent.

We should be busy gathering branches (John 15:5), not for the fires of hell, but to be planted and fruitful for the Kingdom of God.

⁴ So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”

In the beginning God created man in His own image, male and female created He them. With God as our Creator, we all have built into their spiritual DNA a God compass, a sense of right and wrong and a desire for justice.

The Lord calls it the law of sowing and reaping.

The world calls it karma.

But they don’t see the big picture, so they make a snap judgement by only seeing a snapshot, of the circumstances.

This man must be a murderer. He escaped the sea, but Divine Justice will not allow him to live.

We must not  judge the content of one’s character by the color of their circumstance.

God specializes in taking what the enemy meant for harm and turning it around for good. He will use this snakebite to spark their faith and help many in Malta both physically and spiritually.

If you let Him, He will take your shipwreck, your snakebite, your imprisonment, your tragedy, and use it for good.

 ⁵ But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. 

It is reported even to this day that after this no venomous snake ever lived on the island of Malta.

Pause and look at Paul standing there in front of the fire. A small man, bow legged, his baldhead still wet and shiny. Not too impressive on the outside, but what you’ve just witnessed is the actions of a seasoned spiritual warrior.

It’s as if Paul expected the strike from the serpent.

After so long in the battle you come to know the wiles of the enemy.

After a major victory, when you’re spent and ready to rest, after escaping the sea, after Jesus fasted 40 days and nights, when you’re weak, that’s when the serpent strikes.

Paul saw the viper hanging from his hand, and with no panic or shriek or fear, he calmly took the time to send the serpent to its demise where it would never harm anyone ever again.

A foreshadow of where the serpent of serpent’s will one day be sent.

Paul had already penned the following words:

2 Cor. 11:24-27, From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. ²⁵ Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; ²⁶ in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; ²⁷ in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness...

After all of that, plus this newest shipwreck, he learned through faith and patience to shake off trial and temptation and say, “Get thee behind me satan, the Lord rebuke you!”

Dear saint, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you (1 Peter 4:12). Count it all joy when you fall into various trials, (James 1:2).

Expect tests. Face them. Take them. They produce the spiritual muscle of faith and patience that you need to shake off the sin which so easily besets you, shake off the temptations that trip you, shake off the serpent that wants to kill, steal and destroy you.

Look at Paul standing there in front of the fire. The small man, bow legged, baldhead, shipwrecked, worn, weathered, weary, snakebit...

But still standing... perhaps smiling, petting a Maltese pup.

⁶ However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.

They vilified him, then they magnified him. Don’t give popular opinion a second thought, it turns with the wind, to one extreme, then the other.

You must stay the course dear saint, not only for yourself, but also for others.

They’re watching to see if you fall.

Stay the course. Leave the results to God.

⁷ In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.

Since he’s not a murderer, but a god, let’s have him and his friends over for dinner.

 ⁸ And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him. ⁹ So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.  ¹⁰ They also honored us in many ways; and when we departed, they provided such things as were necessary.

To this day there’s something in that area called Malta Fever from a microbe in goats’ milk, with symptoms of fever and a bloody diarrhea.

The Lord blessed the islanders with healings, and we can be sure that Jesus was preached to them and many believed, as evidenced by how they blessed and honored and provided for Paul and the crew.

¹¹ After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island.

They wintered at the island then boarded a ship with the twin sons of zeus from Greek mythology, mounted on the bow as a figurehead.

 ¹² And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days. ¹³ From there we circled round and reached Rhegium. And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli, ¹⁴ where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days. And so we went toward Rome.

They sailed about 85 miles to Syracuse, then another 85 to Rhegium and then, around 200 miles to Puteoli.

Paul was given a lot of freedom.

 ¹⁵ And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns. When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

Some Christians traveled 40 miles from Rome to meet Paul at Appii Forum, others traveled 30 to Three Inns.

Wow! Talk about a welcoming committee. They didn’t just meet him at the door, or the edge of the city, they took a day or two journey to meet him.

That love, that commitment, had to impress everybody in that traveling party.

Jesus says it like this: “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” John 13:35.

Does our community see His love, by our love toward each other?

¹⁶ Now when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard; but Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier who guarded him.

He was under house arrest.

¹⁷ And it came to pass after three days that Paul called the leaders of the Jews together.

These are Jews that are not Christians.

 So when they had come together, he said to them: “Men and brethren, though I have done nothing against our people or the customs of our fathers, yet I was delivered as a prisoner from Jerusalem into the hands of the Romans, ¹⁸ who, when they had examined me, wanted to let me go, because there was no cause for putting me to death. ¹⁹ But when the Jews spoke against it, I was compelled to appeal to Caesar, not that I had anything of which to accuse my nation. ²⁰ For this reason therefore I have called for you, to see you and speak with you, because for the hope of Israel I am bound with this chain.”

The hope of Israel is the Messiah. They all agreed on that.

The Messiah is Jesus—they did not all agree on that.

²¹ Then they said to him, “We neither received letters from Judea concerning you, nor have any of the brethren who came reported or spoken any evil of you. ²² But we desire to hear from you what you think; for concerning this sect, we know that it is spoken against everywhere.”

So, the Jerusalem Jews evidently didn’t think it was worth pursuing the issue against Paul any longer since he was long gone.

Which makes sense, since they knew they didn’t have a case against him anyway.

²³ So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him at his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus from both the Law of Moses and the Prophets, from morning till evening. 

The whole Bible, points to Jesus. All the Law of Moses and the Prophets, the Scripture they read, and said they believed, it all points to Jesus.

Paul laid it all out for them.

²⁴ And some were persuaded by the things which were spoken, and some disbelieved. ²⁵ So when they did not agree among themselves, they departed after Paul had said one word: “The Holy Spirit spoke rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers, ²⁶ saying,

‘Go to this people and say:
“Hearing you will hear, and shall not understand;
And seeing you will see, and not perceive;
²⁷ For the hearts of this people have grown dull.
Their ears are hard of hearing,
And their eyes they have closed,
Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears,
Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn,
So that I should heal them.” ’

Isaiah 6:9-10, and Jesus referred to it in Matthew 13:15.

²⁸ “Therefore let it be known to you that the salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles, and they will hear it!” 

²⁹ And when he had said these words, the Jews departed and had a great dispute among themselves.

³⁰ Then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented house, and received all who came to him, ³¹ preaching the kingdom of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him.

 

The end of the book of Acts.

But just the beginning of the Acts of the Holy Spirit through His Ekklésia... that’s you, if you are in Christ.

But what happened to Paul?

There’s no Biblical record, which is appropriate because it’s not about Paul, it’s about Jesus, and the Acts of His Holy Spirit.

However, for the inquiring minds who want to know. Tradition says during Paul’s house arrest (somewhere around 60-62 AD) he wrote Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon and Philippians. In that order.

Then, he was released and went on a fourth missionary journey, perhaps to Spain, where he said he’d like to go. Romans 15:24, 28.

It’s believed around 64 AD Paul was arrested again when Emperor Nero raged against Christians.

Paul was put in prison—not house arrest.

Church historian Eusebius, Foxe’s Book of Martyrs records that Paul was led by Nero’s soldiers “out of the city to the place of execution, where he, after his prayers made, gave his neck to the sword” (chapter 1, section X).

When Paul knew his departure was at hand, he penned his final letter to his protégé Timothy: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. ⁷ I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. ⁸ Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:6–8).

One last time picture Paul, the small, bowlegged, baldhead, shipwrecked, worn, weathered, weary, snakebit, prisoner—no more.

Now, he’s standing, tall and strong and smiling... wearing a crown of righteousness.

The mighty Emperor Nero, he’s hardly spoken of.

However, Jesus, through the writings of Paul, is still changing the world.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, thank You for revealing that we are indeed in a battle, help us to stay the course, fight the good fight, finish the race, keep the faith, shake off sin, and show unusual kindness, so all will know we are Your disciples by Your love shining through us. Keep us busy gathering in Your Presence, the safest, most peaceful, joyful, place to be, now and always. We love and long for your appearing.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

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No Compromise, Daniel 1:1-7

Are you ready to enter the action packed, prophecy filled book of Daniel?

Pens out, notebooks ready?  

Lord willing, in just 12 chapters we'll walk with Daniel through the fiery furnace, the lion’s den, the rise and fall of empires, the first coming of Christ, and the rise and demise of the antichrist during the Great Tribulation.

In a way you might say, Daniel is a foundation to Revelation.

From start to finish we'll walk with Daniel for about 70 years (605-536 BC).

However prophetically, the Lord will carry us through thousands (605 BC through The Millennial Reign of Christ).

Of all the amazing events of this book, one thing that rises to the top is Daniel's unflinching, uncompromising faith, no matter what challenges or opportunities come his way. 

Written around 536 B.C. by Daniel.

Multiple times Daniel refers to himself in the first person. Yet, some faithless “higher” critics, say Daniel couldn’t have written Daniel because of the incredible accuracy of the prophecies.

That statement reveals their ignorance of the very definition of prophecy and who God is. He sees the end from the beginning and often reveals to man, things to come.

Then they ignore the fact that in Matthew 24:15 and Mark 13:14, Jesus names Daniel as the writer: “Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place” (whoever reads, let him understand).” Daniel 9:27, 11:31, 12:11.

Daniel is called “The Apocalypse of the Old Testament.”

Daniel has a strong prophetic element. The first half is HIStory, the last half is prophecy.

Daniel prophesied how empires yet to come would follow the Babylonian empire. HIStory revealed them to be the Medo-Persian Empire and the Greek Empire.

Over 200 years in advance Danel told how Alexander the Great’s empire would break into four parts.

He prophesied the 1^st coming of the Messiah, to the very day.

He prophecies the rise of the Antichrist; the Tribulation period; and the end of the age.

Speaking of prophecy. 

We just recently closed the final pages of Genesis where Jacob and Joseph both prophesied about leaving Egypt.

From Joseph in Egypt to Daniel in Babylon we leap about 1,200 years and about 1,000 miles northeast.

Joseph, as a teenager, was taken against his will and turned into a servant in someone else’s kingdom, Egypt.

Daniel, as a teenager, was taken against his will and turned into a servant in someone else’s kingdom, Babylon.   

But God was with them and gave them favor and wisdom and understanding of visions and dreams and thereby elevated them to influence the course of HIStory.

From the times of Joseph, Israel grew in the incubator of Egypt from a family of around 120 to a 12 tribe nation of millions.

It was about 400 years from Joseph to Moses and the Exodus from Egypt.

Then, due to unbelief, they wandered in the wilderness with Moses for forty years until their children finally entered the Promise Land with Joshua.

From Joshua they had judges for about 400 years with God Almighty as their king.

Then, their idolatrous hearts lusted for things and kings like the pagan nations around them. So, God raised up kings, first Saul, then David, then Solomon.

For being the wisest man on the planet, Solomon acted like an idiot, taking 700 wives and 300 concubines, which turned his loyalty from the One True God to the many false gods of his foreign wives. 1 Kings 11:1-4.

Then, what happened is what always happens to any nation that turns from God.

A war began within.

They went from one nation under God to a civil war between north and south. Ten tribes in the north, called Israel; and two in the south, called Judah.

A house divided cannot stand.

Rather than worshipping God who gave them the land flowing with milk and honey, they committed idolatry by turning to false gods like Baal, Asherah, and Molech.  

Baal, the storm god, depicted with a raised lightning bolt, allegedly gave them good weather for health and wealth of crops and livestock.

Asherah, the goddess of sex and fertility, supposedly gave lots of healthy children. The attraction of Asherah, was “worship” involving ritual prostitution.  

In the name of Molech they sacrificed their very own children.

(Aren’t you glad our culture has progressed beyond worshipping sex and money, and our culture would never abort, I mean sacrifice, our very own children?)

But God is patient and rather than destroying them He sent prophets like Elijah, Elisha, Amos and Hosea to the gold calf worshipping tribes in the north.

But they wouldn’t listen, so in 722 BC the Lord allowed the Assyrians to drag most of the Israelites into captivity, leaving so few in the land that it came to be known as “Galilee of the Gentiles.”

Did their brothers in the south watch and learn, repent and turn, back to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob?

No, instead they ran to the child sacrificing evil of Molech.

But God is patient and sent prophets like Isaiah, Micah, Jeremiah, Zephaniah, Habakkuk and Joel.

But they wouldn’t listen.

So, around 606 BC, God allowed Babylon to become the discipling rod of God.

And that brings us to Daniel.

Daniel
1 In the third year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came to Jerusalem and besieged it. 2 And the Lord gave Jehoiakim king of Judah into his hand, with some of the articles of the house of God, which he carried into the land of Shinar to the house of his god; and he brought the articles into the treasure house of his god.

The Biblical narrative switches from Jerusalem to the land of Shinar which was a territory in the Babylonian Empire that included the capital city of Babylon on the Euphrates River.

Like the U.S. is today, the Babylonian Empire was the super power of that day.

Located in modern Iraq, and westward, including Syria, Israel, Lebanon, Jordan.

Nebuchadnezzar is a Babylonian name which means: Nabu protects the crown. They believed Nabu was the Babylonian god of wisdom.

This was the first of three times Nebuchadnezzar would lay siege to Israel. Each time trekking captives over 1,000 miles back to Babylon:

Ø 606 B.C. King Jehoiakim, Daniel and friends, among the captives.

Ø 597 B.C. King Jehoiachin (son of Jehoiakim) and Ezekiel among the captives.

Ø 586 B.C. King Zedekiah (last king of Judah) among the captives. In this siege, Jerusalem was destroyed.

Now that we’re in Babylon, let’s look around since we’ll be here about 70 years.

Notice, the Babylonians were not like the Assyrians who conquered the northern tribes of Israel. The Assyrians used domination by intimidation. The Assyrians were brutal, cruel, ruthless, they put hooks in the noses of captives and pulled them like fish on a stringer.

However, the Babylonians had an entirely different school of thought. Rather than domination by intimidation, they used domination by indoctrination.

Rather than conquering by annihilation, they used assimilation. They exposed them to the beauty of Babylon, the pearl of the world at the time. They’d seduce them through the splendor of Babylon.

Babylon was 10 times the size of New York City.

It had nearly 60 miles of walls, over 300’ high, over 80’ thick.

100 brass gates. 220 high towers. The Euphrates River was diverted through and around the city to form a deep moat.

From the center of the city rose a pyramid like structure, a ziggurat, containing a winding staircase filled with beautiful foliage and flowers. These Hanging Gardens of Babylon made the city one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.

Thus, they’d capture the captive’s heart with awe and wonder.

Except, for Daniel and a few good friends.

How about you?

Are you drawn to the beauty of Babylon?

Dear Child of God, this world is not our Home, this world is our Babylon, it tries to seduce us away from our real Home, with the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life.

But all of the pleasures of sin cannot compare to even one of the joys that await us in the city not made with hands, but whose Builder and Maker is God.

Daniel and friends were in Babylon, but Babylon was not in them.

How about you?

In Christ we’re called to be salt and light. Salt and light changes things.

Salt preserves and flavors.

Light chases darkness to illuminate what once was hidden.

Matthew 5:13-16
“You are the salt of the earth; but if the salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out and trampled underfoot by men.

14 “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. 16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.

3 Then the king instructed Ashpenaz, the master of his eunuchs, to bring some of the children of Israel and some of the king’s descendants and some of the nobles, 4 young men in whom there was no blemish, but good-looking, gifted in all wisdom, possessing knowledge and quick to understand, who had ability to serve in the king’s palace, and whom they might teach the language and literature of the Chaldeans.  5 And the king appointed for them a daily provision of the king’s delicacies and of the wine which he drank, and three years of training for them, so that at the end of that time they might serve before the king.

They wanted the best and the brightest.

They were after all a very advanced society. Algebra, trigonometry, you can thank the Babylonians for that. The 360 degree circle, the twelve 30-day months, we got that from them too.

Yet for being so advanced intellectually, they were very backwards spiritually. They were immersed in occult rituals, demonic worship, stemming all the way back to the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11).

All occult today can be traced back to ancient Babylon and the tower of Babel.

Other than the occult stuff, you might be thinking it’s not so bad.

Israel already had more than their fair share of idol worshipping wickedness anyway.

It sounds like an intense college scholarship recruiting program for the best and the brightest.

Babylon U gives you get a free ride with room and board, including food and drink fit for a king—literally.

Plus, you get an ivy league education, and training for three years, with a guaranteed job working with royalty.

See, it could be worse, right? It could be the Assyrians.

Before you answer, don’t miss the small print.

The king isn’t stupid.

Handsome teenage boys, wining and dining in a palace full of princesses, may whet their appetite for more than just the king’s bread and wine.

So, Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs is put in charge of the handsome boys.

Okay now, do the math, or is it algebra?

The football coach is put in charge of—football players.

The basketball coach is put in charge—yep, basketball players.

Thus, the eunuch coach is put in charge of—eu-nuch-onna like it.  

About 100 years earlier Isaiah prophesied to king Hezekiah this would happen (because Hezekiah showed off Israel's treasures).

“And they shall take away some of your sons who will descend from you, whom you will beget; and they shall be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.” Isaiah 39:7.

So now how do you feel about the Babylon U recruiting program?

They forcibly take you from your family.

They take you over 1,000 miles from home.

They take your ability to make a family and home of your own.

Those young men had their whole life ahead of them, and then, just like that they have their whole world cut out from under them.

Yet, we're about to see, they don’t flinch. Their identity is not confused, they stand unwavering, uncompromising in faith in God.

Would you? What would you do if your whole world was cut out from under you? 

It's easy to know.

We can tell how we'll handle the big test by how we handle the little ones.

6 Now from among those of the sons of Judah were Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah. 7 To them the chief of the eunuchs gave names: he gave Daniel the name Belteshazzar; to Hananiah, Shadrach; to Mishael, Meshach; and to Azariah, Abed-Nego.

Their Hebrew names were changed from reflecting God, to reflecting Babylonian gods.

Daniel: God is my Judge. Changed to Belteshazzar: May Bel protect my life.

Hananiah: The Lord is Gracious. Changed to Shadrach: Illuminated by the sun god, Rach.

Mishael: Who is like the Lord. Changed to Meshach: Who is like Aku.

Azariah: The Lord helps. Changed to Abednego: A servant of Nabu.

This is indoctrination in action.  Change their name, call them something they’re not, change their identity, their pronouns, transition them into who you want them to be, to promote your agenda, build your kingdom.

Doesn’t work for Daniel and friends, they're powerful as Popeye. No matter what you call me, I yam what I yam, a servant of I AM.

You say, “Sure glad nothing like that ever happens anymore.”

Really?

Let’s talk about Tommy, Johnny, Benny, Danny... 

I know, now they call you something else. What is it, Theresa or Janice or Emma, or Danielle?

Or perhaps it’s the other way around.

No matter, you’re still you.

No matter what they did to you.

No matter what you did to you.

You are still you.

The Lord says to you:

I STILL SEE YOU, FOR WHO YOU STILL ARE

God never makes a mistake, and He made you.  He sees you as someone He made and loves.

No matter what they call you, He sees you and loves you and calls you by name.

And what's He saying...  Come Home.

You'll never be happy as someone you’re not.

You'll never be content living where you don't belong. Come Home. 

Come Home, He's calling dear child, come Home.

Let’s pray.

Our gracious heavenly Father, thank You for calling us Home, help us to be salt and light, making a difference, illuminating the Way, for others to follow straight to You.

Thank You, Lord.

We love You, forever.

Amen.

Lord willing, we'll pick up where we left off and find out why Daniel and friends refuse to eat the food fit for a king.

Prayer Requests:

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

Thank you for sharing.

Smooth Sailing Through the Storm, Acts 27:26-44 (part 2)

Before we drop into our Scripture today, you might want to put on your rain gear and life vest, and if need be, take a sea sickness pill.

Okay, get your sea legs ready because here we go...

Each wave large enough to swallow us, toys with us, heaving us up, then crashing down, pounded by rain, driven by wind, out of control in the midst of the sea, in the midst of a storm.

A sea and a storm we should have never been in.  

But rather than listening to the man of God who heard from God, they followed the majority, they caved to those in authority (ship owner and captain), thus, they sowed to the wind and are reaping the whirlwind.

Their storm was in the Adriatic Sea. Ours may be the sea of regret, fear, or anger, or emotional trauma, or physical ailments, or bills, or pills, or booze, or bad habits, or choices, or... whatever the storm the results are the same, it leaves us reeling in body, soul and spirit.

But God spoke, “Let there be Light” when darkness covered the face of the deep.

But God pierced, the darkness of a virgin’s womb to birth the Light of the world.

But God sent, an angel into the midst of the storm and said, “indeed, all those who sail with you shall survive!” Acts 27:24.

Do you believe God can still speak and pierce the darkness with His Light into your storm?

Paul did.

So, take heart, said Paul, for I believe God, it will be just as He said! Acts 27:25.

26 However, we must run aground on a certain island.”

What? Wait. That’s not right. After all those wonderful words we expect the next line to be, and there was a great calm. Not “we must run aground.”

It ought to be like the day on the sea in the storm when Jesus rebuked the wind and the waves and said, “Peace be still.”

Nope, sorry, not this time.

This time the storm continued to rage. The ship heaved up and down, rising, then crashing, with every wave, and Paul said not “Peace be still” but “Hang on ya’ll we’re gonna wreck!”

In John 16:13, Jesus tells us His Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth, will tell us of things to come. Then, in verse 33 He says, in this world you’ll have tribulation, like a shipwreck, but, He says, be of good cheer, for I have overcome the world.

He forewarns us, there’s going to be storms. Not to scare us, but prepare us. And to let us know, whether He calms the storm, or takes us through the storm, we might get wet, we might get sea sick, we might get shipwrecked, but if we stick with Jesus, we’ll come out victorious, on the other side.

27 Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land.

Two weeks of pounding and churning, tossing and turning. Yet, even there, even then, when the Truth of God is spoken, it awakens the senses of those with ears to hear.

They heard “we must run aground on a certain island,” and the sailors senses were awakened, “that they were drawing near some land.”

28 And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms.

The word for soundings means: to heave the lead.

NLT reads: They dropped a weighted line and found that the water was 120 feet deep. But a little later they measured again and found it was only 90 feet deep.

Well, shiver me timbers, “Hey Popeye, you’re not gonna believe this, that preacher might’ve been right!”

29 Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.

It’s getting shallower, we’re heading toward land, fast. It’s too dark to see if the land is sand, or rocks.

Hit the breaks!

Drop the anchors!

Pray for daylight!

Ever been there?

Are you there now?

Drop anchor, hit your knees, and pray for daylight.

Lord, I don’t know what to do, can’t see which way to go, but I sense something is coming, fast. So, I’m stopping and dropping and staying right here, holding fast to You, the Anchor of my soul. I’m not moving until You give me some Light.

Psalm 119:105, Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.

Ephesians 1:18, I pray the eyes of your understanding are enlightened, that you know the hope of His calling.

30 And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow,

Evidently the sailors did not trust God’s Word that they’d run aground and all survive. They leaned on their own understanding, fearing the ship would crash on the rocks and they’d all die.

So, for them it was every man for himself. Those foolish, selfish, cowardice sailors sought to abandon ship and leave the others to crash on the rocks and die.

But fortunately, they got busted.  

 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.

Abandoning their post would’ve jeopardized everyone on the boat.

You, abandoning your post, responsibility, position, calling, jeopardizes everybody in your boat.

Notice, the soldiers, the owner, the captain, didn’t notice the sailors trying to flee.

But Paul did and sprang into action. He didn’t say, “it’s none of my business.” He knew it was everyone’s business. The sailors’ skills were still needed to maneuver the ship to shore.

The soldiers heeded Paul’s warning and stopped the sleezy sailors by cutting away the skiff. (Maybe not the greatest idea, since the skiff may have been useful later, but they were soldiers, not sailors, they did what they could in the moment).

Let’s learn a lesson from the sleezy sailors; they are a great example of what not to do.

1)    Saving Faith Is Not, Every Man for Himself.

Saving Faith is selfless.

Matthew 16:24, “If anyone desires to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”

Saving Faith is not simply a personal skiff to escape crashing on the rocks of hell.

Saving Faith is accompanied by corresponding works, reflecting repentance, God’s love, prayer, and ongoing obedience. Without which is not saving faith at all, but fatal presumption.  

Faith without works is dead. James 2:17, 20, 24, 26.

2)    Abandoning Ship Is Not an Option.

Luke 9:62, No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Hebrews 10:38, “Now the just shall live by faith; But if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him.”

Galatians 5:9, a little leaven, leavens the whole lump.

Loose lips sink ships. A little sin, like a little leak, can sink a big ship.

Dear Lord, please keep us from the selfish behavior of abandoning ship, leaving those that could’ve been saved, to crash upon the rocks of hell. Instead, Lord, please use whatever You’ve given us, to bring all those sailing with us, safely to Your shore.

33 And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing. 34 Therefore I urge you to take nourishment, for this is for your survival, since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you.”

Friends, you must eat, you need strength to survive.  

35 And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.

He gave thanks in the midst of the storm and led by example.

36 Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves. 37 And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship. 38 So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.

This time Paul encouraged them with more than just words. He not only tends to their fears, but their physical needs as well. As James 2:16 tells us; don’t just say, be ye warmed and fed, but give those things that are needful.

You need to eat, we’ll run aground just as the Lord said, and you’ll need your strength to get from ship to shore.

So, they ate and were strengthened and encouraged.

Which is exactly what the Word of God does.

That’s why this we simply preach and teach the Word of God. Book by book, chapter by chapter, verse by verse.

The Word of God is food for body, soul and spirit. The Word of God builds spiritual muscles, sheds Light on sin, provides wisdom, discernment, direction and peace. The Word of God  fills us with hope and opens our heart and mind to the goodness, and character and Love of our Lord and Savior.  

  Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.

Yesterday our SALT meeting guest speaker was Dr. Jimmy Sclater, Mental Health Counselor and Community Outreach Liaison for Synergy Health Group.

He did an awesome job. Although a professing agnostic, it was amazing to hear how the mainstream secular mental health program is patterned after what’s already been prescribed in the Bible for everyday Christian living.

You hold in your hands the Master Plan to peace that passes understanding and power and love and a sound mind. They go to college, and spend 100,000 dollars, to learn the same principles, without the Power that makes it all work. They practice a form of godliness, without the Power thereof.

One of his favorite quotes “by some philosopher” was something like: Love is helping another without expecting anything for yourself in return.

Jesus said it like this:

John 15:13, Greater love has no man than this than he lay down his life for his friends.

He also explained that mental health is measured in the moment, right now, not the past or future. Do not dwell in the past, it’s over.

Philippians 3:13-14 says it like this: 

This one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, (he didn’t include the next verse) ¹⁴ I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

He quoted by name Isaiah 6:8, Here I am, send me, saying we should volunteer to help the needy.

He didn’t mention one of the best prescriptions for peace of mind in the Bible:

Philippians 4:6-7, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷ and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” 

But my opening prayer included it.

They don't even know it but much of their secular mental health counseling is patterned after the Bible.

All the sciences, all the ologies, psychology, geology, biology, geography, if they are honest, eventually catch up to the Bible, the Word of God.

After 40 days of fasting what did Jesus use for strength when tempted by the devil?

His body weary, His stomach empty, but He was strong and full on the Word of God.

You’re hungry, turn the stones to bread.

Man shall not live by bread alone, but every Word that proceeds from the mouth of God.

If You’re the Son of God, jump off the temple and prove it.

Thou shall not put the Lord thy God to a foolish test.

I’ll give you all the kingdoms of the world, if you’ll just bow down and worship me.

GET BEHIND ME YOU SLIMY SERPENT, THOU SHALT WORSHIP THE LORD THY GOD AND HIM ONLY SHALT THOU SERVE!!!!!

Matthew 4:1-11.

You dear child of God will weather any storm if nourished and strengthened by the Word of God.

However, we cannot stay the course, fulfill our mission, stand our position, complete our calling, in storm or calm, unless we are feeding on the Word of God.

39 When it was day, they did not recognize the land; but they observed a bay with a beach, onto which they planned to run the ship if possible. 40 And they let go the anchors and left them in the sea, meanwhile loosing the rudder ropes; and they hoisted the mainsail to the wind and made for shore. 41 But striking a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground; and the prow stuck fast and remained immovable, but the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves.

42 And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion, wanting to save Paul, kept them from their purpose, and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land, 44 and the rest, some on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.

Had it not been for God protecting Paul, this would’ve been a deadly trip. The ship probably would’ve sunk by now, if not, at this point the sea would be red with the blood of the prisoners.

Proverbs 16:7, “When a man’s ways please the Lord He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him.”

The ship that held together to save them over the sea, now breaks apart to save them, some on boards and some on parts.

So it was, they all escaped safely to land, just as was spoken by the Word of the Lord. Indeed, all those who sail with you shall be saved! Acts 27:24.

Have you ever been there?

Have you ever gone through a storm that you never should’ve made it through?

Are you a survivor? Are you one of those who can say, "I should be dead right now"?

You might be a survivor and not even know it. That delay, that irritatingly slow driver, might’ve saved your life.

We may not know this side of heaven, how or why we survived.

These men on this ship survived by the hand of God, protecting them, for the sake of Paul.

There's a reason you're still breathin'.

So, how about we get serious about living? Let’s stop wasting time, making excuses, just going through the motions.

When you look your Maker in the eye, don’t you want to know you left it all on the field?

No more lukewarm. Let's make a difference for Jesus. From this moment, let’s make every moment count.

Let's be the reason folks in our boat are saved.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, from here on out, we’re all in. We’re committed to serving You, and loving You, and honoring You, in everything we say and do, and think.

But Lord, You know we’re going to need a lot of help. Please help us to never abandon ship, help us to love You and love others so much that You can use us to be soul winners and disciple makers, so our ship is full, and all who sail with us, are saved.

Thank You, we love You, forever.

Amen.  

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

Thank you for sharing.