Author: missionspaul

Dei

Acts 27: 24 “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.”

Dei: a short but strong word. It means ‘it is necessary’.

There are some things in life, in our lives that are just necessary. They have to happen. It is used many times throughout the Bible and Luke uses it on several occasions in Luke/Acts.

Luke 2:49 “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” – There are times when only you truly know that you had to do something or be somewhere.

Luke 4:43 “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” – Knowing what is necessary will give you direction and help prioritise your life.

Luke 17:25 “But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation.” – Struggles are eased when you know there is purpose.

Acts 1:21 “Therefore it is necessary to choose one of the men who have been with us the whole time the Lord Jesus was living among us” – After the days of despair and discouragement of fall-out and failure, the choice of what to do next is actually not a choice, it has to be done.

Acts 4:12 “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” – There is no greater must than this!

Acts 14:22 “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” – We long for the rule and blessing of God in our lives but there is only one way to that place.

Acts 23:11 “The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.” – The Lord has plans that are definite for our lives.

Knowing what is Dei takes: Wisdom, Experience and Revelation.

Who is standing before you?

Acts 27:23 “Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me.”

An angel who stands before God stood before Paul.

There are times in our lives when we need to be surrounded by those who stand before God.

We need messages in the hours of darkness.

We need reminding of who we belong to and who we serve.

We need a strong presence in the storm.

I don’t doubt that Paul witnessed a definite angel.  But I would settle for a man or woman so long as they stand before God.

Around our life we need people who know God.

We need people who believe we can do it.

We need people who carry messages of hope.

Man or Angel? In a storm it matters not, so long as they stand before God.

 

Ships sink

Acts 27:22 “But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed.”

They were created to float but ships do sink. The oceans are littered with sunken ships. Stuff like this happens. Welcome to the sea. It’s life.

What carries you may go down. The storm of life may cause your security to be broken up. The foundation gone. The vehicle that is taking you to your destination lost forever. Yet at that time you will find that what you thought was carrying you actually wasn’t. It is someone else who is carrying you. The God of the seas is carrying you!

You won’t go down with this ship. You will not be lost. You have a Saviour. And if you do go down He not only is Saviour He is the Resurrection! You don’t lose.

But it takes courage to remain when the ship sinks. You have to make a decision to maintain your resilience. Never surrender your life to any storm that comes your way. From moments of discouragement to depths of despair many have said ‘I give up’. But Paul urges them to hold on and the Spirit urges you today to hold on, to get a grip of yourself. You see, the real battle is not the storm of circumstance but the storm within.

Let the ship go down, not everything lasts, but the eternal everlasting all-powerful Father will never lose you. He holds you today, so take courage.

I told you so!

Acts 27:21 “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.”

When things go wrong the last thing you need is someone coming along to say “I told you so!”

We often dismiss that voice as being rude, arrogant and pointless.

And so we never learn.

• The voice of the inexperienced should not be overlooked.
• Sometimes the best approach to life is to say NO.
• Storms always cause damage and loss.
• You are not invincible.
• In every storm you can make matters worse by bad decisions.

There, I told you so.

What should never be thrown overboard?

Acts 27: 20 “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the storm continued raging, we finally gave up all hope of being saved.”

The cargo has gone, all the tackle and personal belongings have gone, this ship is looking very different to how it set out. But still it is taking on water, they continue to sink and the storm is not dying out.

What do you do when you have let go of responsibilities, expectations and your investments but life doesn’t change? What do you do when you downscale because you have too much stuff but the burden for carrying the stuff of life is as heavy as it was?

Whatever is that answer what you do not do is throw Hope overboard.

Hope is everything. Without hope you will indeed perish.

Keep believing, hold on to the truth that you will get through this. You will see the other side. This season will change. The storm will subside.

I’ve always loved those few words in the KJV of Old Testament which appear many times over, ‘And it came to pass’.

Why let go of hope now when it will come to pass?

Never give this up. When all is gone make sure you are still holding on to hope!

 

If it doesn’t get any easier what is going overboard?

Acts 27:19 “On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands.”

Three days ago they threw the cargo overboard, the grain and merchandise that the ship had been carrying was now gone.

During storms of difficulty our lives can be lightened by the letting go of responsibilities, expectations and investments.

But what if it doesn’t change?

Their ship was continuing to take on water, it was sinking and they needed to lighten it again, they had to keep float. So they began to dismantle with their own bare hands the ship itself. They threw the ships equipment overboard. This was probably not the mast and the sail as later clearly the ship was still sailing, but this was probably all the moveable objects, furniture, personal belongings, their luggage. They all were involved carrying things and throwing them into the sea.

How much ‘stuff’ are you carrying in your life? It is only in the storm do you realise that actually some things are not essential, they are luxuries. You may have thought they added value to your life but today you see they are in danger of ruining it.

What do you hold as untouchable? What will you lay down in order to rise? In the good times you will try and carry everything, but on the third day of sinking, everything looks different doesn’t it?

It seems that the important ‘stuff’ in our lives though do add value they also add weight. We give our time, energy, even money to maintain and hold on to what we have got. Are these burdens truly what God is asking you to carry?

Do we need to lay burdens down today?

Lighten your life, get rid.

What is going overboard?

Acts 27:18 “We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.”

What would you get rid of first?

The ship was in danger of sinking so they began to lighten it by throwing all their merchandise, the grain and goods that were heading to Rome.

It is amazing how much you can carry when all is well. When the storm strikes it is then you realise that some things are really heavy:

• Responsibilities: the things that people give you to carry. You have been trusted and people are relying on you.
• Expectations: you are a ship after all, this is what you do, the obvious things and the unquestionable things, you just have to carry them.
• Investments: things you have given to and spent time with and what others have made in you also, it is hard to let go of what has happened.

If letting go of just one thing which is either a responsibility or an expectation or what you have invested your time and money in would lighten your life so much you feel you will thus survive, then maybe you are carrying way too much?!

Are you carrying what God is asking you to carry?

You may waken up to a storm today and it could be that you have to lighten your life, to make some radical adjustments.

If you cannot handle disappointment then you will never let go. Sometimes disappointing somebody is exactly what you need to do in order to keep sailing through the storm.

Throw something overboard.

Hoisting, Frapping and Anchoring – which do you have to do today?

Acts 27:17 “so the men hoisted the lifeboat 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.”

 

The sandbars of Syrtis were well known and seamen everywhere feared sailing near them. To hit them meant you were doomed; it was a point of no return. To hit one of the sandbars meant you would be stuck in the middle of nowhere, miles from the shore. They would have had grain for food on the ship but they would have died from dehydration, water all around but none to drink. The storm was pushing them ever nearer this fate and they were very much afraid.

So they hoisted. Their small boat, their lifeboat, was the last way out, losing this or it being damaged beyond repair would mean they had absolute no security. Sometimes it is important to take care of your security. Shepherds need shepherding, parents need parenting and those who look tirelessly invincible are often not. That person who brings you stability may need a little help at times. But also your immortal soul needs refreshing, your heart needs guarding and your mind needs staying on God. Don’t lose what is the most important part of your life. Take care of that person. Take care of you.

So they frapped. They wrapped the ship with cords and ropes to keep it together. They bound it so that it wouldn’t split open. They were taking precautionary measures. They were helping the ship. In any storm of life there are things you can do. You are not doomed yet. It is not over for you. You can love. You can bind. You can wrap your life in the truth of God’s word and not what people say.

So they anchored. That doesn’t mean they were chained to the seabed and could not move. This was the sea anchor or the drift anchor, or better still, this was their brakes. It was an object that dragged in the water behind the boat that kept the boat in a straight line and gave it less freedom to turn and bounce around in the storm. In a storm we all need to know where the parachute is. Basically, stop running frantically, slow down and keep things level and as steady as possible. In quietness and trust is your strength (Isaiah 30:15).

If you are in a storm today try hoisting, frapping and anchoring, you might have to do all 3!

Where is your lifeboat?

Acts 27:16 “As we passed to the lee of a small island called Cauda, we were hardly able to make the lifeboat secure”

Each ship would be towing a smaller boat (a lifeboat) behind them. In a storm you can imagine the scene; the boat would be crashing against the ship and in danger of causing damage to itself and even to the ship, it would be taking on water and submerging. The crew and passengers were all trying to keep the boat secure but it looks like they were failing.

Where is your security today?

Is it in a person, a job, finances, your home or family?

Anyone of these can at times struggle in the storms of life as much as you do. Storms can take you to the edge where you are trying to secure your security that has now become very insecure.

Of course there is only ever One who can be totally relied upon for our security and it is God alone.

We can imagine those on board trying desperately to balance the smaller boat, maybe if they could do this they could get to the island and to safety. All their best efforts are failing. Their lifeboat is becoming a death boat. Hopes are fading. Ideas are running out. If it carries on like this all they will have left is a cry of mercy. When your lifeboat is out of control then everything is hopeless. Make sure your lifeboat is God.

 

Drifting

Acts 27:15 “The ship was caught by the storm and could not head into the wind; so we gave way to it and were driven along.”

Amplified: and when the ship was caught in it and could not head against the wind [to gain stability], we gave up and [letting her drift] were driven along.

You can see them come. Storms.

Some choose to run from them but are ultimately caught by them. It is hard to outrun a storm that is heading your way.

You can have 2 options in a storm:

1. Face it and try to keep everything balanced in your life.
2. Drift.

Paul’s ship struggled to stay balanced and so it drifted.

My thoughts on drifting:

1. Drifters will reach any destination but probably not their chosen one.
2. Drifters have tried but failed so have given up.
3. Drifters have permitted the outside circumstance to dictate their lives.
4. Drifters had huge potential, dreams and purpose.
5. Drifters are drifting because of perhaps only one bad decision that meant they are today where they should never have been.