Books of the Book: Acts

Acts to be Continued...

Three Angels Broadcasting Network

Program transcript

Participants: Jim & Mark Howard

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Series Code: ABOTB

Program Code: ABOTB00026A


00:22 Welcome to Books of the Book. I'm Pastor Mark Howard. I'm here
00:25 with my co-host, my brother, Pastor Jim Howard. I'm glad you
00:29 have joined us for our study in the book of Acts. This has been
00:33 an exciting study and it will continue as we're going to see
00:36 as we go through today's study. We're going to start in Acts
00:40 chapter 27. Before we do that we're going to ask the Lord to
00:43 bless our time as we study his word. I'd invite our viewers to
00:46 bow their heads with us as we pray.
00:47 Father in heaven, we thank you so much for the Holy Spirit to
00:51 guide us into truth and to change our hearts and transform
00:55 our hearts. We thank you, Lord, for the testimony we see in the
00:59 book of Acts of the power that you have worked in your church
01:03 in times past and that same power that's available for us
01:07 today as we seek to spread the gospel, the good news of Jesus
01:11 Christ. Father bless our time now in study, we ask in Jesus'
01:15 name, Amen. Now, Jim, we finished up last
01:19 time in chapter 26. Paul was there appearing before Festus
01:24 and Agrippa, King Agrippa, and now he's heading on to Rome.
01:29 Of course, this has been in process for a little bit of time
01:34 as he's appealed to Caesar. So we're picking up in chapter 27
01:38 of Acts, verse 1. The Bible tells us here that when it was
01:42 decided that they should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and
01:45 some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the
01:50 Augustan regiment. It tells us in verse 3 that Julius treated
01:54 Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive
01:58 care. So Paul had a little bit of liberty there under Julius
02:02 and the next few verses just tell us how they went from one
02:05 place to another getting ready to get on the right ship to take
02:08 them to Rome. That's right. You know, this is
02:11 amazing that it's even gotten to this point; just thinking
02:17 back to where we've come from. First the apostle comes into
02:20 Jerusalem and thinks he has an opportunity to witness to the
02:24 Jews and from the very start he goes into the temple and they
02:28 begin to accuse him of things, pull him out, beat him.
02:32 Then immediately he's brought before the commander there and
02:38 after the commander he is passed along to Felix and then Felix
02:42 holds onto him for a couple of years and then he's passed along
02:46 to his successor Festus. Then Agrippa comes to visit Festus
02:50 and he has to stand before Agrippa. It's just amazing to me
02:55 that so much time has gone on and it seems like such an easy
02:59 case. You know, Jim, it reminds me of
03:01 what Paul writes in II Corinthians chapter 11
03:03 talking about some of his experience. He says in verse 23
03:08 Are they ministers of Christ. I speak as a fool. I am more. In
03:12 labors more abundant, in stripes above measure, (that is being
03:16 beaten), in prison more frequently, in deaths often,
03:20 from the Jews five time I received 40 stripes minus one
03:24 (which was the most beating they could give a person, the most
03:27 stripes). Verse 25 it says, Three times I was beaten with
03:32 rods, once I was stoned, three times I was shipwrecked, a night
03:36 and a day I have been in the deep, in journeys often, in
03:38 perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own
03:40 countrymen and perils of the Gentiles and perils of the city
03:43 and perils of the wilderness and perils of the sea and perils
03:45 among false brethren and weariness and toil and
03:47 sleeplessness often and hunger and thirst and fastings...
03:51 Seems like it will never end. That's what it's been like as
03:54 we've gone from trial to trial, from city to city, uprising
03:57 after uprising. It's amazing he's still alive. And here we
04:00 are coming to the end of the book of Acts and he's on his
04:03 journey to Rome and here's one of these shipwrecks that he
04:06 refers to that we're getting ready to dive into. So in verse
04:10 9 it says, Now when much time had been spent and sailing was
04:13 now dangerous because the fast was already over (this was
04:15 speaking about the day of atonement, which would happen in
04:18 the fall so it was probably around October time when the
04:21 waters would begin to get rough. There were potential storms that
04:24 would come through) Paul advised them saying Men I perceive that
04:28 this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only
04:32 of the cargo and ship but also our lives. So Paul is here
04:36 saying I don't think it's a good idea for us to go now. As we
04:41 look at this, he says, I perceive. We need to recognize
04:44 that Paul is not here prophesying per se because
04:46 ultimately we'll find out that no lives are lost, but he is
04:51 a very well-traveled man and he's got a pretty good idea of
04:55 what is about to come. Unfortunately he wasn't listened
04:59 to. Why are they going to listen to this Jewish sect rabbi here.
05:04 Instead the centurion was persuaded, says in verse 11, by
05:07 the helmsman and the owner of the ship more than the things
05:09 spoken by Paul. Because the harbor was not suitable to
05:13 winter in, the majority also advised them to set sail.
05:16 So they decided we're going to go ahead and go. And in verse 13
05:20 it says, When the south wind blew softly supposing that they
05:25 had obtained their desire, they put out to sea. And back earlier
05:29 it said something about the winds and that slowed them down
05:36 so now they're saying they've found their desire. They are now
05:41 ready. The winds are favorable. But unfortunately not long after
05:46 that it says but not long after, verse 14, a tempestuous head
05:52 wind arose called Euroclydon. So apparently they're naming
05:56 these storms similar, I suppose, to how we name hurricanes and
06:01 such today and this is bad news. From here things start to go
06:06 downhill. The next thing that we see happen is there's the need
06:11 to pull the lifeboat that's been trailing behind and hoist it
06:15 onto the ship. Then after that they have to take cables of
06:19 ropes and they end up tightening up or wrapping up around the
06:23 hull of the ship, around the outer shell of the ship. Then
06:27 they find that they still are in trouble so they start throwing
06:30 cargo overboard the ship. And when that isn't enough,
06:35 lightening the load that way, it says in verse 19, On the third
06:39 day we threw the ship's tackle overboard. So things are not
06:44 going well on this trip, one thing after the other, and it
06:48 looks like they're headed for disaster.
06:50 Yeah, absolutely. In fact, it continues on. It's not getting
06:54 any better. If we come to verse 20 Luke writes now when
06:57 neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and no small
07:01 tempest beat on us (that's Luke's way of saying it was a
07:05 big storm, no break in the clouds, no break in the storm)
07:09 he says, All hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
07:14 And this is Luke writing now. It's not just the people in the
07:16 ship but it just didn't look like we were going to make it.
07:21 It's interesting that at this time period Paul addresses those
07:26 on the ship. Verse 22, he says, Now I urge you to take heart
07:30 for there will be no loss of life among you but only of the
07:34 ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to
07:38 whom I belong and whom I serve. I love the way Paul brings that
07:43 out, the God to whom I belong. Let me ask you viewer. Do you
07:48 belong to the Lord Jesus. You know he has purchased us and he
07:52 has purchased us with an infinite price, the price of his
07:57 own precious blood and we are a blood-bought possession. We need
08:00 to acknowledge that. Paul acknowledged that. The God to
08:04 whom I belong and whom I serve.
08:07 You get the sense when he says to whom I belong that he has a
08:12 debt that he owes. He doesn't belong to himself. He is totally
08:18 at the service of his master.
08:20 That's right. Another thing it makes me think of is the Lord
08:24 God is the King of heaven and earth, right? And to be a
08:29 belonging of somebody of such influence means that I must be
08:35 something precious as well. There's a value there. So I
08:38 think Paul sees a value in being the belonging of God.
08:41 Peter writes that we are God's own peculiar people it says in
08:45 the King James Version, but in other translations it tells us
08:49 the real meaning of that; his own special people, talking
08:52 about possession, being a possession of God and a special
08:55 possession. So I think of that when I read the words of Paul.
08:58 But he says to them that this angel of God stood by. The God
09:02 to whom I belong and whom I serve, verse 24, saying do not
09:05 be afraid Paul. You must be brought before Caesar and indeed
09:10 God has granted you all those who sail with you. Therefore,
09:14 take heart men for I believe God that it will be just as it was
09:18 told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.
09:21 Now a couple things here. The Lord told him and he tells the
09:25 people that God has granted him all who sail. That tells us that
09:29 Paul has asked for the lives of all who sail with him. It just
09:33 shows us the passion he had for souls. And as he prayed, God
09:37 gave him that promise, but he also told him you're going to
09:40 run aground. In other words, I'm going to deliver you and God
09:43 could have delivered the ship had he deemed to do so, but he
09:47 allows the ship to come to destruction. The ship's going to
09:51 run aground, but, he says, not one life will be lost.
09:54 That's right, that's right. When we get to verse 27 we find that
09:59 this was not any ordinary storm. It says, Now when the 14th night
10:03 had come as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic sea
10:06 about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing
10:12 near some land. You know, I think about bad storms on land.
10:18 Just the other night there was a bad storm and the electricity
10:25 went out. It was a question of how many hours is this going to
10:33 last. Here they are, this is the 14th night, just cast about as
10:41 if there's no way for them to control their own ship.
10:44 And you have to imagine the amount of sea sickness going on
10:47 there and everything else. Oh my goodness, the despair too.
10:51 All of a sudden seemingly out of nowhere at midnight they sense
10:55 they are drawing near some land. It doesn't give us a clue as to
10:58 what they saw or what it was, but they sensed they were
11:01 drawing near some land, so they took soundings. They let down a
11:05 rope with lead at the bottom to kind of measure how deep the
11:09 water was and they found it to be 20 fathoms and when they had
11:12 gone a little farther they took soundings again and found it to
11:15 be 15 fathoms. So it's getting shallower. They're getting
11:18 closer to land. And it's interesting. It says, Then
11:20 fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks... Now
11:23 they're thinking wow we may come in too fast on the rocks and
11:27 this is going to break up the ship and the waves will take us
11:30 out to sea. Exactly, exactly. So it says, They dropped four
11:33 anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.
11:36 That's interesting. Essentially they're praying for daylight
11:40 so they can see how to navigate the ship to get on a beach and
11:44 avoid the rocks. They are in great despair here. And as the
11:47 sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let
11:51 down the skiff or the life boat into the sea under pretense of
11:55 putting out anchors from the prow. So here there are some
12:00 sailors and they're giving the sense, pretending if you will,
12:05 that they're putting anchors down, but they're actually
12:07 putting a life boat out and they're going to get out and
12:12 they're going to escape. In verse 31 Paul says, Unless these
12:16 men stay in the ship you cannot be saved. He tells the centurion
12:20 and the soldiers. So the soldiers cut away the life boat
12:23 and off it goes. They had gained some confidence
12:27 in Paul. Well, of course, he's the one
12:30 who told them that they would arrive safely and they're still
12:33 kind of banking on that. In verse 33, it says, And as day
12:37 was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food
12:40 saying today is the 14th day you have waited and continued
12:44 without food and eaten nothing. Therefore I urge you...
12:47 can you imagine they're starving here.
12:49 Well it tells us there how fearful they were. They were
12:52 trying to conserve... And how busy they were, yeah.
12:55 Trying to prevent the ship from being broken up. Anyway verse
13:00 34 says he urged them to take nourishment for their survival
13:03 and in verse 35, it says, When he had said these things, he
13:06 took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all.
13:10 All of a sudden you get this sense that it's in the casual
13:15 setting. He stops, takes a moment, gives thanks to God.
13:18 You can see, it's almost like Jesus standing up and saying
13:23 peace be still to the storm. There's no fear here and he
13:27 gives thanks to God for the bread that they're about to eat
13:31 and then in verse 37 it says, In all there were 276 persons
13:34 on the ship. And when they had eaten enough they lightened the
13:37 ship and threw out the wheat into the sea. So here we see
13:40 this incredible fate at the end of this portion where the
13:43 Apostle Paul is sure that God is going to deliver them just as he
13:48 promised. One thing I want to point out here though that's
13:51 interesting to me. Back where you were reading in verse 22
13:54 where he first explained how God told him that he was going to
13:58 deliver them, they could have just kind of stopped there I
14:01 would think and said Oh good. But that's not what you see.
14:05 You see them going to work and putting forth their energies and
14:09 I think there's a lesson in that for us that when we pray and
14:13 we are claiming the promises of God, we don't just wait to see
14:17 it happen. When we pray that God will deliver us from some habit,
14:21 we don't just wait to see it taken away. We put all our
14:25 energies toward the answer to that prayer.
14:28 Because we believe it. If we believe it we'll go to
14:32 work and that's why the Bible says that faith always works.
14:35 Well we've got an exciting chapter coming in chapter 28,
14:39 but we have to take a break. So at this time let's take a few
14:42 moments and we'll see you back on Books of the Book.


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Revised 2014-12-17