From
Acts to Revelation
Part
75 – Paul Sails to Rome
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
Paul testifies before King Agrippa, sent by
Festus, in hopes of finding some charge against Paul. Paul, having appealed to Caesar, will be sent
to Rome for trial, however, Festus has no official charges to send against
Paul.
After hearing Paul testify, along with the
priests and pharisee leaders who accuse him, King Agrippa comes to the
conclusion that Paul could have been set free, since no tangible charges could
be made against him, had he not appealed to Caesar at his trial before Festus.
Now, Paul must stand before Caesar, which
is exactly what the Lord had told Paul he would do, go to Rome and preach the
message.
This week we will read about Paul beginning
his journey to Rome, and we will see a couple things in today's scriptures.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Acts 27:1-26
Paul Sails for Rome
27 When it
was decided that we would sail for Italy, Paul and some other
prisoners were handed over to a centurion named Julius, who belonged to the
Imperial Regiment. 2 We boarded a ship from Adramyttium about to sail for ports
along the coast of the province of Asia, and we put out to sea.
Aristarchus, a Macedonian from Thessalonica, was with us.
3 The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to
Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his
needs. 4 From
there we put out to sea again and passed to the lee of Cyprus because the winds
were against us. 5 When we had sailed across the open sea off the coast of
Cilicia and Pamphylia, we landed at Myra in Lycia. 6 There
the centurion found an Alexandrian shipsailing for Italy and put us on
board. 7 We
made slow headway for many days and had difficulty arriving off Cnidus. When
the wind did not allow us to hold our course, we sailed to the lee of
Crete, opposite Salmone. 8 We moved along the coast with difficulty and came to a place
called Fair Havens, near the town of Lasea.
9 Much time had been lost, and sailing had already become dangerous
because by now it was after the Day of Atonement. 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.” 11 But the centurion, instead of
listening to what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner
of the ship.12 Since
the harbor was unsuitable to winter in, the majority decided that we should
sail on, hoping to reach Phoenix and winter there. This was a harbor in
Crete, facing both southwest and northwest.
The
Storm
13 When a
gentle south wind began to blow, they saw their opportunity; 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 so the men hoisted it aboard.
Then they passed ropes under the ship itself to hold it together. Because they
were afraid 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 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. 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 to whom I belong 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.”
1.
Majority-Rule
is seldom right, but the wisdom of God is always right.
2.
When
God speaks, we need to listen, even when it doesn't seem possible.
3. When we
don't listen, there is a chance for forgiveness, when we ask, repent, and put
God first in our lives.
I.
PAUL SAILS FOR ROME
a. Paul
could have been freed
i. Acts 26:32, King Agrippa tells Festus that if Paul would not
have appealed to Caesar at his trial with Festus, he could be freed, because
there was no tangible charges made against him.
ii. Some may view this as a missed opportunity by Paul,
however, remember perspective!
a. The Lord told Paul he was to go to Rome...this was
God's Will
iii. Sometimes in life, things may appear one way to us,
but are really something completely different.
a. If we are listening to the Will of God, and
following the Lord's leading, sometimes things will look random, and even out
of control, yet, be the perfect Will of God.
b. So Paul
begins his journey to Rome
i. Just as the Lord told Paul, he was heading for Rome
c. Things
begin to look bad, but the men press on
II.
PAUL WARNS OF COMING DISASTER
a. Paul, who is in
tune with the Holy Spirit, knows troubles are coming, and tries to warn the men
on the ship, but they don't listen
i. Sometimes we try to warn others by the leading of the Holy Spirit that
disasters are coming their way.
ii. Most of the time, they won't listen
iii. Sometimes people try to warn us, and we don't listen
b. The scriptures say
that the Centurion in charge of Paul would not listen to him, rather, the words
of the master and owner of the ship weighed heavier
i. It's frustrating when you try to warn others, and they listen to friends
or the majority rather than you.
ii. Especially frustrating when God has lead you to say something, and you
know your warning is 100% from God.
c. Majority-Rule is
seldom right, but the wisdom of God is always correct
III.
DISASTER STRIKES
a. Disaster strikes,
as Paul had warned
b. Paul reminds them
of his warning
i. Not to boast, or brag, or say, "ha ha, I told you so..."
Rather, to show that he was hearing from God, and God is in control of all
things, and it would do you good to listen to what God has to say.
ii. God will show us He is in control, and we should listen to what He has to
say.
iii. We can simply believe and trust in His Holy Word, or He can teach us
through the circumstances in our lives.
iv. Either way, He is God.
c. Paul then gives
them courage
i. Paul lets them know, "Hey, we may be in the middle of a terrible
storm, lost all control of our direction, all of our supplies and reserves are
gone, and we have nothing left, but God is still in control."
ii. This vessel you used when you were warned not to, will be destroyed, but
you will remain alive, because of God hand and Grace.
iii. This is a picture of our lives.
d. The illustration of
a life out of control
i. The ship representing our will in life
a. Warned by God not to travel in a certain direction because of the storms
which await you, instructed rather to wait a "season" in the port.
b. This is all about "God's Timing", and the "Seasons"
in our lives we talked about a few weeks ago.
ii. We are warned, sometimes by the Word of God, sometimes by the messenger
of God, and we go anyway.
a. We choose "our will" over "God's Will"
iii. And the storms come
a. When they hit, like the men on the ship, we do what we can to keep from
sinking.
b. We try to strengthen our vessel "our will"
1. I'm not wrong, my way was right, I'm not giving up
2. Quitting is for losers..."Unless your quitting something you should
have never started..."
c. When strengthening our will does not work in the storm, we try to change
tactics, still refusing to turn back.
1. We "drop anchor" and try to weather the storm out
d. It's not until we confess, or admit that our way, our will, our ship is lost
at sea and will be destroyed, at this point, we can move forward in the Lord.
e. Once we confess the
error of our way and our will, and turn from it, accepting that God is in
control, we can be saved, though our vessel (our will) must be destroyed.
i. They will lose their ship, but no men will die this day, because of the
Grace of God. They will be saved by His hand alone, and not of their own doing.
CONCLUSION
1. Majority-Rule is
seldom right, but the wisdom of God is always right.
2. When God speaks, we
need to listen, even when it doesn't seem possible.
3.
When we don't listen, and we find our ship
(or will) in troubled storms, there is a chance for forgiveness, when we ask,
repent, and put God first in our lives.
Revelation 3:3 "Remember,
therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and
you will not know at what time I will come to you."
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