Suffering and Deliverance (Part 46) - Paul (Part F)

---

 

34. Paul from dying at sea A. After being heard by King Agrippa, Paul was sent to Rome by ship with other prisoners (Act 27:1). B. Part way through the journey Paul foresaw and warned that sailing further would be dangerous and would result in much damage to the ship and harm of their lives (Act 27:9-10). i. The centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship more than Paul (Act 27:11). ii. It is typical for unbelievers (and too often Christians as well) to heed the advice of worldly people and "experts" rather than a man of God warning from the word of God. C. They took the advice of the majority and decided to sail on (Act 27:12). i. Beware of following a multitude to do evil (Exo 23:2). ii. The way of the majority is usually wrong (Mat 7:13; 1Ki 18:21-22; 1Pe 3:20; 2Pe 2:5-8; 2Ti 4:16; Rev 13:3). iii. After they decided to go against the counsel of the man of God, the sailing conditions seemed to improve (Act 27:13). a. God will often give circumstances that seem to confirm men's wrong decisions as a judgment against them for rejecting His word (Jon 1:1-3; Jer 44:16-17). b. Be very afraid if your life is going well if you are knowingly rejecting the counsel of the word of God and the preacher who is preaching it. c. You likely have a shipwreck in your future. d. Two responses when judgment is delayed. (i) The fool says in his heart, "The preacher warned me against this, but it has worked out just fine so far, so I have nothing to worry about." (ii) The fool who has wised up will say to himself, "The preacher warned me against this, and I haven't suffered the consequences yet, so I better not impose on the longsuffering of God any further and repent before judgment inevitably comes." (iii) Unfortunately, if a fool gets away with something for a time, it usually emboldens him to continue in his folly rather than humbles him (Pro 14:16; Isa 26:10). D. Not long after being confirmed in their foolish decision by apparent fortuitous events, reality strikes and a terrible storm besets them (Act 27:14). i. If you reject the counsel of a man of God from the word of God, expect a storm in your future. a. When this happens, instead of blaming themselves for rejecting God's counsel, most people will blame God for the consequences of their foolish decisions (Pro 19:3). b. When you suffer for your foolish decisions, know that YOU are the cause of your suffering, not God (Psa 107:17). ii. They couldn't control the ship and were forced to let it go where the winds took it (Act 27:15). iii. Instead of heeding instruction and remaining in control of your life, reality will step in and take control, and you will go where the winds of the storm take you, contrary to your desires. iv. They tried to get to land by boat, but were not able (Act 27:16-17). v. After the storm has come, your efforts to escape from it will not be successful, and you will be forced to suffer the consequences of your decisions. vi. The next day the storm was so bad that they had to throw their cargo out of the ship to lighten it (Act 27:18). vii. You will be forced by circumstances to give up things dear to you to try to survive the storm. viii. The third day was even worse causing them to cast out the tackling of the ship (Act 27:19). ix. You may even be forced to give up necessary things in an attempt to weather the storm. x. They spent many days in the storm not being able to see the sun or stars to use for navigation. At this point they lost all hope that they should be saved (Act 27:20). xi. God may let the storm buffet you for a long time until you have lost all hope of being delivered from it. E. Paul kept his mouth shut for a long time, but then finally tells them "I told you so!" (Act 27:21). i. Don't be surprised if the man of God whose warning you rejected later tells you "I told you so!" after calamity has stuck. ii. Paul then comforted them telling them that the ship would be lost, but their lives would be spared (Act 27:22). a. After rebuking your for not listening, the man of God will comfort you by telling you that you are eternally secure in God, though you have and will continue to suffer great temporal loss. b. The reason they would be spared is because they were with Paul whom God had decreed would go to Rome and stand before Caesar and preach the gospel to him and his house while there (Act 27:23-24 c/w Php 1:13 & Php 4:22). c. Being around godly people can be a blessing and save you from calamity (Gen 30:27; Gen 39:3-5; Job 42:8; Act 27:42-43). iii. They would be saved from death, but still not make it to their desire haven in the near term (Act 27:25-26). iv. God may eventually deliver you from the storm, but you will not end up in the place where you had planned, but in a far less comfortable place.