Malta Moments In Life – Using Your Spiritual Authority

The problem many Christians face is that they don’t know who they are in Christ. They don’t realise they’ve been given authority. With authority in their hands, they walk around defeated and discouraged.

In Acts 28, Paul teaches us how to walk in the authority that God has given us. In whichever season of life you may be in, in your lows or highs, God's authority is available to you.

We’ve been given the authority to:

• Speak peace into our anxious minds, but we stay bound in fear.

• Pray healing over sickness, but we hesitate, thinking it’s only for “super spiritual” people.

• Stand firm against temptation, but we give in to sin as if we’re powerless.

• Proclaim truth boldly, but we stay silent to keep peace or avoid rejection.

Too many believers walk around spiritually handcuffed, unaware or afraid to exercise the authority Jesus gave us.

Malta was not in Paul’s itinerary, but it was in God’s plan

Paul’s plan was to go to Rome. Paul had that deep longing to go to Rome for quite a while now. In his letter to the Roman church, penned perhaps a year or two before this very journey, he declared, "I long to see you... I have often intended to come to you" (Romans 1:11, 13). He saw Rome, the heart of the Roman Empire, as a strategic hub for the spread of the Gospel to the ends of the earth (Romans 15:23-24).

Not just Paul’s personal choice, Paul had a prophetic word that he would go to Rome. 11 But the following night the Lord stood by him and said, “Be of good cheer, Paul; for as you have testified for Me in Jerusalem, so you must also bear witness at Rome.” (Acts 23:11)

In Acts 27, we see Paul was on his way to Rome not by personal choice but as a prisoner. Paul's current status as a prisoner.

Paul was held by Felix for two years until Felix was replaced as governor by Porcius Festus. A new governor meant a new trial for Paul. Once again, the Jewish leaders had an opportunity to get their hands on this man they wanted dead. They began to urge Festus to send Paul back to Jerusalem to stand trial, where they had an ambush prepared for him. When Festus wanted to do the Jews a favor, he asked Paul if he would be willing to move the trial to Jerusalem. But Paul had appealed his case to Caesar.

This meant he needed to go to Rome to stand before Ceaser. Ironically, although a prisoner, he was still achieving the same goal.

But even now, this plan did not go smoothly. If you read Acts 27, you find that the ship in which Paul was being taken to Rome, along with 256 other prisoners, suddenly encountered a storm. There was a shipwreck. All of them thought they would die. But for Paul’s sake, God saved everyone in that ship. Everyone made it safely to the land.

God did not explain the reasons and purpose of the shipwreck, but Paul was assured of God’s presence, and it is enough for Paul to be strong. Sometimes God doesn’t give us a reason for why we are going through what we are going through, but He is with us and He will bless and make us a blessing.

All of us love to make plans. We create to-do lists, set goals, and plan our lives, including itineraries for our careers, families, and relationships. And there's nothing inherently wrong with good planning; indeed, the wisdom and foresight are God-given.

But let’s be honest. Does life always go according to plan? Sometimes, we wonder why we are in this place, this situation, why this life? Why did this sickness suddenly? Why this job loss? Why this financial setback?

Those are the “Malta moments’ of your life. Sometimes you can land in Malta instead of Rome. You didn’t plan it, but you have to face it now. It is important that you learn to trust God during those moments in your life.

God allows some detours in our lives to bring us closer to God and to use us to bless others. You can see that from the life of Paul.

Paul has many reasons to ask God the question Why:

1. He is preaching the gospel but ends up in jail

2. He was blamed for a crime he did not commit

3. He was on board a ship but met with a strong typhoon

4. He was caught in a storm due to the bad decisions of ship captain

5. He is going to Rome to appeal his case but landed on the wrong Island-Malta

But Paul trusted God without murmuring.

In Malta, what happens?