As I said during our service Thursday night, we need a revival. We need to stop being conformists, we need to leave our comfort zone, and we need to begin laboring for the Lord the way that He wants us to labor. How of you here today would like to comply with God? How many would like to light the fire of the Holy Spirit that now dwells is us to full blast? I know that the answers to these two questions are always positive; when asked these questions people always give a quick AMEN! But do we really know what we are saying amen to? This is the theme that I want to explore today. I want us to realize what happens once that fire is lighted and begins to burn with force. Let’s now turn to the Word of God.
Acts 28:1-6 – And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Malta. 2And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. 5And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. 6Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god.
As I always say, to have a better understanding of the message that our Lord has for us today, it will be necessary to conduct a brief review of history. When we read about what has happening to Paul prior to what is occurring in these verses, we see that he was a prisoner on his way to Rome to be judged by Caesar. In chapter 25 we find that the high priests and the most influential Jews of that time were against him, and were planning his death. This is something that is clearly illustrated in Acts 25:1-3 when we read “Now when Festus was come into the province, after three days he ascended from Caesarea to Jerusalem. 2Then the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul, and besought him, 3And desired favour against him, that he would send for him to Jerusalem, laying wait in the way to kill him.” We also find that although they all wanted him dead, none of them could say anything about him that would merit the death sentence. This is very well reflected in Acts 25:17-21 when we read “Therefore, when they were come hither, without any delay on the morrow I sat on the judgment seat, and commanded the man to be brought forth. 18Against whom when the accusers stood up, they brought none accusation of such things as I supposed: 19But had certain questions against him of their own superstition, and of one Jesus, which was dead, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. 20And because I doubted of such manner of questions, I asked him whether he would go to Jerusalem, and there be judged of these matters. 21But when Paul had appealed to be reserved unto the hearing of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I might send him to Caesar.” Afterwards, in chapter 26, we see how Paul defended himself in front of king Agrippa, and how his testimony almost causes the king to convert; look carefully at Acts 26:28 when we read “Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.”
In all reality, they had no reason to detain Paul, he had committed no crime. This is something that is clearly stated in Acts 26:30-31 when we read “And when he had thus spoken, the king rose up, and the governor, and Bernice, and they that sat with them: 31And when they were gone aside, they talked between themselves, saying, This man doeth nothing worthy of death or of bonds.” The only thing that Paul was guilty of was preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. But because he would not compromise his faith, because he would not deny Christ, because he would not fail God, he now found himself a prisoner in that world full of wickedness and evil. This more or less brings us to this point in history; in the verses that we are studying today we read that Paul had been sent to Rome to be judge by Caesar. But the trip had not been easy, a clue about the difficulty of the voyage is found in Acts 27:14 when we read “But not long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind, called Euroclydon.” This storm caused the ship to wreck and they had to swim ashore. They were cold, they were more than likely exhausted, and Paul was trying to star a fire. It was at this time that they were met by the natives, and it is here where our lesson begins.
Many of you are probably thinking that what happened to Paul is too much; first he was imprisoned without reason or crime; second, he was sent to Rome to be judged by Caesar; third, the sip he was traveling in sank; fourth, as if all of this was not enough, the poor man was in the process of lighting a fire to keep warm, when suddenly a viper jumped out and clung to his hand. This is something else, isn’t it? If we compared what happened to Paul back then, and what happens in the life of most people today, we will find that there is a parallel. I say this because just like Paul found himself in that island, exhausted, cold, and in need of a great deal of things, the world is full of people that find themselves in the same position. We will find that there is a very large number of people that are out there without course or direction; we find that there is a large number that look to fill that emptiness that they fill, but not in the proper places. People look to fill the emptiness they feel in things like drugs, alcohol, vices, lewdness, and avarice. But the sad part is that although these are all things that many in the world seek, these things are not limited only to those that live in the world. Unfortunately these types of attitudes can also be found within the body of Christ. Why does this happen? This happens within the body of Christ because many of us allow ourselves to be intimidated.
Please pay close attention to what occurred here when we read “And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.” Without a doubt all of us here can say that what happened here was something intimidating. Fleeing from the heat a viper clung on to Paul’s hand; this is something that was designed not only to intimidate this servant of God, but it was also designed to kill him. This is a tactic that our enemy continues to use constantly. The fire of the Holy Spirit, the fire of revival, begins to burn with fervor in us, but then suddenly vipers jump out to attack us. The devil does not pay too much attention when we are cold and indifferent, he does not care when we become complacent and we take form granted the blessings of God, but when the fire of revival comes to us, when we feed the fire of the Holy Spirit, the powers of darkness will attack us. The power of darkness will attack us with the purpose of causing our death. I want to stop here for a brief moment and clarify something. When I say that they want to cause our death, I am not referring to our physical death, there is only one that has the power over life and death and His name is Jesus Christ. This is very clearly states in Revelations 1:18 when we read “I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.” But if we allow it, the powers of darkness can kill us spiritually which is something far worse. Our enemy does have the power over the things in this world; this is something that is clearly stated in Luke 4:6 when we read “And the devil said unto him, all this power will I give thee, and the glory of them: for that is delivered unto me; and to whomsoever I will I give it.” Therefore, the enemy can and will tempt with the purpose of dividing us from the presence of God. Our enemy will offer us the pleasures and needs of the flesh which is his kingdom here on earth; kingdom that is not everlasting. In fact, it is a kingdom that has been defeated already, and of this we can be sure. Look at how our Lord states this in Revelations 20:10 when we read “And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.” But this will not stop or prevent him from attacking us. He will continue to attack us with the purpose of separating us from God; it is like the venom from a viper, a poison that will kill our relationship with God.
The venom or poison in our life could be represented by many things. In Paul’s case we read “And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live.” As we can clearly see, the venom from this viper is not any different from that of the vipers that are attaching themselves to the believers in our time. It is not too different from the poison that is affecting the life of many people in the world and in the church of today. What venom am I talking about? I am talking about the venom of fear. I am taking about the fear of what could be said about us, I am talking about the fear of what people will think. In my opinion, these are the two most common fears shared by many that prevent them from carrying out God’s plan.
I want us to pay close attention to something here, immediately after these people saw that the viper was hanging from Paul’s hand, just like we read, they all reached their own conclusions, and they all expressed their own opinions and none of them were any good. At the very moment the viper clung on to him, Paul could have cried out in pain. He could have attempted to obtain their sympathy, but this was not the case. If Paul had not been string in his faith, then the commentaries could have prevented him from continuing. But nothing of what was said stopped him, nothing that might have been said or thought, not the pain that he was feeling, the scriptures tell us “And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm.” Why was Paul able to do this? The reason is simple; he knew very well where he had placed his trust. When we trust God and when we remain faithful to His word, He will not abandon us. This is something that is clearly stated in John 14:21 when we read “He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.” And in 1 John 3:24 when we read “And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” Our enemy does not want us to know this; our enemy wants us to think that we are all alone. Our enemy wants us to think that there is nothing that we can do, that there is no one that can help us, but I say to you today, REBUKE THOSE THOUGHTS IN THE NAME OF JESUS. Bind those lying demons that want to influence our thoughts and poison our faith. Let’s bind and rebuke those demons with the authority that has been given us as told to us by Jesus in Luke 10:19 when we read “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” Let’s bind, rebuke, and cast out of our life those demons that look to separate us from the presence of God, and let’s do it knowing that there is no one more powerful than our Savior. Do you want proof of His power? Then read Philippians 2:9-11 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: 10That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; 11And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” There is no one more powerful than our Savior, and all have to submit to Him. Here is further proof of it 1 Peter 3:21-22 “The like figure whereunto even baptism doth also now save us (not the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the answer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resurrection of Jesus Christ: 22Who is gone into heaven, and is on the right hand of God; angels and authorities and powers being made subject unto him.
Christ died on the cross for us, He died so that we could be liberated, and in His death we received liberation, health, and peace. This is something very well reflected in Matthew 8:17 when we read “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” He left us the fire of the Holy Spirit that dwells in every believer so that it could devastate all of the evil things that may reside in us. But vipers will flee from that fire, and if we are not attentive, those poisonous vipers will attack those that surround us. Those vipers will begin to spread that venom in our homes, our families, sons, daughters, husband, and wife. If we do not stand fast on His word, if we do not stand fast in our faith, then sooner or later the forces of our enemy will return, only that time the attack will be much more powerful. Look carefully at how Jesus said it in Matthew 12:43-45 when we read “When the unclean spirit is gone out of a man, he walketh through dry places, seeking rest, and findeth none. 44Then he saith, I will return into my house from whence I came out; and when he is come, he findeth it empty, swept, and garnished. 45Then goeth he, and taketh with himself seven other spirits more wicked than himself, and they enter in and dwell there: and the last state of that man is worse than the first. Even so shall it be also unto this wicked generation.” All of those poisonous vipers will flee from the Fire of the Holy Spirit, but if we are not paying attention, if we are not vigilant and in prayer, if we are not completely trusting Christ, then those vipers can very
In conclusion, I now ask; have you been bitten by the viper of discouragement? Have you been bitten by the viper of impotence or despair? Have you been bitten by the viper of religiosity? Have you been bitten by the viper of indifference or apathy? Have you allowed yourself to be intimidated by the vipers that have fled the fire, but are slivering around you? Do you have a viper clinging on to your hand right now? If you have answered yes to any of those questions, then I have some very good news for you today. Today I want to tell you that the same God that allowed Paul to shake the viper from his hand is present here right now so that you can shake from yours. The poison from a viper is not typically the type that will kill a person instantly; normally this poison has to spread over the entire body before death occurs and this could take several minutes. Why am I saying this?
I say it because perhaps there are some of you out there right now that have been suffering with something. I say it because perhaps you have been suffering right now with a bitter root or prick that is stuck in our heart. I say it because perhaps there is a poison spreading through your body right now but today Christ tells you “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls” (Matthew 11:28-29). This is the God we serve, the God that loves us, the God that protects us, the God that has forgiven our transgressions, as we find in Colossians 1:13-14 when we read “Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:” The Lord has individually called us out of the world, He has guided us to the place where we can best serve Him as reflected in Psalms 40:1-3 when we read “I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. 2He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings. 3And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: many shall see it, and fear, and shall trust in the LORD.”
The Lord wants to guide us to where we need to be, He wants to guide us to the joy and peace that living in His kingdom represents. He wants to give you that peace that we find in John 14:27 when we read “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” He brought us together here with a purpose. He brought us here together so we may have fellowship with Him. When we seek God, the Holy Spirit fills us up completely. When we seek God, the Holy Spirit liberates us. Are you suffering right now? Then, shake the viper from your hand!
