Take Courage In Life Series

Text: Acts 27:21-26

Theme: Keep up your Courage

Introduction:

The Lord is Good; His love endures forever. I praise God for this opportunity to meditate and share the Word of God with you all. We continue to ponder the hope amidst despair. God does communicate with us through many passages and preachers these days to have strong faith and trust in Him. Never give up hope. As Job said, let us all say, even if he kills me, I will be confident in my Lord.

This passage talks about divine assurance to the people who travelled with Paul. God planned to take Paul into Rome for preaching the Gospel as a witness to Nero. So it was not the counsel of Festus that Paul should go to Rome but God (Matthew Henry). Paul had tried before Felix (Acts 24:1-2), then by Festus (Acts 25:1-4), and by King Agrippa (Acts 25:13-15, 22-23), now he sails to Rome for trial before the Caesar (Acts 26:32).

Let us think and ponder over three lessons from this passage:

Storm in Life

Shipwreck in Life

Keep up Courage in Life

1. Acts 27:13-21 Storm in Life

They set their bat for sailing from Caesarea to Italy. Julius, the Centurion; Aristarchus, A Macedonian from Thessalonica and Dr Luke accompanied Paul. They boarded in a ship called Adramyttium from Caesarea; then shifted to Alexandrian Ship at Myra in Lycia, which had a shipwreck. So he boarded the third Vessel of the Alexandrian Ship from Malta to Rome (Acts 28:12). Paul had travelled by three ships from Caesarea to Rome. However, Luke never recorded the trial by Emperor Nero. On their second ship trip had the problem.

Paul spoke to the Centurion, the Captain and the sailors not to venture into the sea for a voyage. He warned them that their journey is going to disastrous and bring considerable loss to boat and cargo and their own lives. Paul was able to see the danger and warned them, but, has forced to travel as Prisoner. He could tell them, yet he had had to go, because of compulsion (Acts 27:9-10).

Often we may be in the same position knowingly we travel towards destruction. The system has corrupted, and we are part of it. We suffer because of the wrong decision of the team leader, those who are in power. The Alexandrian Boat was a grain freighter, taking grain grown in Egypt to Italy. According to Hughes, the typical grain freighter of that period was 140 feet long and 36 feet wide. It was a large ship. The boat travelled from west to the Port called Fair Havens on the south side of the Crete. It was carrying 276 prisoners to Rome. There was a righteous man who has tried for the sake of the Gospel. He has treated with the Criminals.

Acts 27:11-12 express that the Centurion listened to the experienced Pilot or Captain, Owner of the Ship rather than the Servant of God. They decided to take Off because of lack of facilities and luxurious of Life at Port Myra (Acts 27:5). Gill comments: Lycia took its name, "a luce", from light, and of this country, Myra was the metropolis: Ptolomy calls it Myrra as if it had the signification of, "myrrh"; and so Jerome interprets it, "bitter", but Pliny calls it Myra, as it signifies, "ointment".

So, the majority decided in favour of sailing to Rome. The bitterness in the light was not pleasing to them. Hence, they moved out of that Port. The majority of them wilfully had gone against the Word of God, which has come through Paul. Because Paul was too small for them to listen, he was insignificant and political and religious Prisoner taken to appear before the Caesar. The Captain and the Owners had vast experience of sailing. They were so confident in taking them safely and sailing to Italy. The counsel of many against God’s Word is not good. The stand of the majority against the Will of God is futile and fruitlessness.

They had a gentle Wind to start with, so they thought everything is for them. They are going to achieve what they wanted in life. But in a short, while they had caught in a Hurricane named “northeaster”. (Acts 27:15). The journey to Rome was a stormy and threatening voyage. The wind did not allow them to sail through, they had to sail with difficulty, and they had hardly to make the lifeboat secure (Acts 27:3, 7, 16). Much time of their sailing has lost in vain because of the opposite wind (Acts 27:9). They had driven along. They took a violent battering from the storm. They threw the Ship’s tackle overboard. Neither Son nor Moon nor Stars they could see for many days (Acts. 27:18-20). They went without food for many days (Acts 27:21) troubles after troubles to the sailors, prisoners and all those who were in the Ship.