TITLE: IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
SCRIPTURE: ACTS 27:1 / 27:9-11 / 27:14-19 / 27:27-31 / 27:37-44 / 28:1-6
It is important to understand that in all of our lives, God has an amazing assignment on us. With that assignment also comes anointing. It is an anointing that sustains us during our assignment. When we look at the Apostle Paul, we are mindful that this is the same Paul that persecuted Christians of the early church. After Paul was converted, he boldly proclaimed Jesus Christ. As a result began to be persecuted as he used to persecute Christians.
In this life, if you choose to follow God’s assignment and God’s call on your life, know that it won’t be easy. The reality is, there will come times in our lives, rather than complaining about how bad things are, you have to develop the resolve to square your shoulders and look the devil square in the face while telling him, “IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT.” The past 14-15 months have been challenging for many of us. Others have been going through stuff for quite some time now.
• If you wrote down everything you went through, it would take a whole notebook
• You could have lost your mind by now, but you are still here
• You could have thrown in the towel by now, but you are still here
• We know it’s not easy what you are dealing with
• Can I tell you, you are not the only one going through some stuff!
All of us that are doing God’s will are going through some stuff. What makes us who we are is our resolve to tell devil that we are not rookies at this thing.
• It is going to take more to break us than this!
• It is going to take more to make us walk away than this
• It is going to take more to uproot us than this
• We have been at this thing too long and we have seen God turn situations around and we believe in our spirit that God is able to sustain us
• We have chosen to look to the hills from which comes our help
• Knowing our help cometh from the Lord
Trails in this life are inevitable. It is interesting to know that when you are out of the will of God, we should expect trials. When you are in the will of God, these are the trails that should be hard for us. They are hard, because you wonder why God takes you through this when you are in his will and you have neighbors who are not in his will that are doing fine. We think because we are doing God’s will, he would give us some kind of reprieve from trials. The reason God takes us through (those that are in his will) is because God knows we will keep showing up. God knows, despite what we are going through, we declare in the face of the enemy, “IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT!”
Let’s run to our text this morning. I want to begin by telling you -- NO MATTER HOW THINGS MAY LOOK GOD IS STILL WITH US -- In the midst of TROUBLES – STORMS – TRIALS - of every sort we need to be aware that God is still with us and that He is still in control. In our text we find Paul and others coming out of the midst of a shipwreck. Paul had tried to warn the sailors and those in charge not to set sail because danger was head, he had been warned of an Angel.
• Paul you are a tentmaker
• We are sailors
• Not a cloud in the sky
• Waters are calm
Now they found themselves in the midst of a shipwreck. 276 on Board - Those who had made it to shore were wet and miserable, according to VS. 2 - “And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.”
• The natives of the island quickly gathered at the shore to offer assistance to the passengers of the ship as they made it to shore
• I can imagine that some of these natives even went into the water helping those who were exhausted and the non-swimmers, to the beach
• Some were swimming and others were hanging on to broken pieces
Here they built a large fire to warm the shivering survivors. Not only were the passengers and crew chilled from the cold waters of the sea but it was raining as well.
• Perhaps Paul may have thought to himself, “Good grief things can’t get any worse”
• Well you know what usually happens when you think that -- things can always get worse
I imagine this is how Job felt, Bible said he was PERFECT AND UPRIGHT MAN in the sight of God.
• Sabeans killed some of Jobs servants and took some of the -
o 7,000 Sheep
o 3,000 Camels
o 500 Yoke of Oxen
o 500 Mules
o Fire fell from heaven and took the Sheep
o Chaldeans and their bands took the Camels
o Just when he thought, it can’t get any worse than this
o 7-sons and 3-daughters were at eldest sons house great wind house collapsed killed them all
Job’s own health finally began to fail. He stayed faithful throughout all this. I can hear Job saying – IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT. End of his Life Story, God restored and gave him Double for His Trouble. So here in our text we find Paul thinking it can’t get any worse than this. Paul reminds us that he was in perils often.
• He was once beaten 39 times for both himself and us
• He says he went through so we could see how to go through a trail
• We go through so others can see us get through what we are going through
• Warfare is involved in your witness
• You have to recognize that warfare is real
• Sometimes we have to Fight for our Blessing
• Anyone married more than 25 years know that you have to really Fight for your Marriage during particular seasons
• So many divorces around us because we don’t understand Spiritual Warfare
• Movie sweeping Christendom – WAR ROOM
• Devil not here to play Pattie Cakes with us
• Here to destroy us and our Witness
Out of all the devil throws at you, the only weapon that the devil really has is the Weapon of discouragement. He can’t take away from you what God promised you and he can’t cause you to walk away. All he can do is discourage you so much, that he makes you throw up your hands and surrender, but you have to see your problems as opportunities in disguise. ISAIAH 54:17 “NO WEAPON THAT IS FORMED AGAINST THEE SHALL PROSPER; AND EVERY TONGUE THAT SHALL RISE AGAINST THEE IN JUDGMENT THOU SHALT CONDEMN. THIS IS THE HERITAGE OF THE SERVNTS OF THE LORD, AND THEIR RIGHTEOUSNESS IS OF ME, SAITH THE LORD.”
Yes, my Brothers and Sisters, IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT! Satan wants us to lose focus on our assignment and focus on the assault. Paul recognizes that all of us can grow Weary.
• We can grow weary for Giving to folk that don’t Give Back
• We can grow weary of Loving folk who don’t Love Us
• The devil loves nothing more than to have you whining in a pity party and not doing what God wants us to do
• Make a shift and stop talking about what you are going through and do what God told you to do
• You have to smile in the face of adversity
Can I Footnote for a brief moment here? Can I tell you before this shipwreck that had more than 270 people on-board - the wind was so strong and blowing about to sink the Ship, the text tells us they began to throw some of the cargo overboard. They thought by lightening the Load they may be able to survive.
• What they thought they needed to carry to the next destination - they threw overboard
• What they were carrying to the next Port - they got rid of
• Sometimes God will send a Storm into our life to help us get rid of some stuff
• Sometimes God will send a Storm into our life to help us understand we have been carrying some unnecessary stuff
• Sometimes God will send a Storm into our life to help us throw stuff overboard to lighten our load before He helps us arrive at our next destination
• Some bad Relationships –Throw it overboard
• Some Circle of Friends – Throw it overboard
• Some Hurts and Pains – Throw it overboard
• So God can help us get to our next destination
To their credit, the inhabitants of Malita built a fire to help warm these refugees of the sea.
• Church, when the lost are led to the Lord and they come through the doors of the church, we'd better have a fire burning or they will die of exposure while they sit in the pews of the church
• We'd better have the fire of the Holy Spirit burning at these altars
Let’s move on in our text. VS. 3 - “But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.”
• When gathering wood for the fire, apparently Paul gathered more than just wood
• A viper apparently lying dormant among the sticks, came to life as Paul placed the wood upon the fire and fastened itself to Paul’s hand
I want you to notice Paul’s reaction to the snake bite it was simple and decisive. VS. 5 says that, “But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.” Paul did not in a moment of panic fling the creature from himself without regard to others around him, thus endangering them. I wish I had time to stay on this point this morning.
• Paul was concerned about those around him
• Shook the serpent into the fire
• Remember Grandparents telling me back in the day – Misery Loves Company
• Not happy about a situation we want everyone around us to be Un-Happy as well
• We act Ugly and don’t realize the affect it has on those around us
• You ever see a Bug get on someone they start jumping around, pushing it off, don’t care if it lands on you or those around them
• Next thing everyone is jumping trying to get away
I want to draw your attention to something. Notice what it is that attacks Paul. It is a VIPER – SERPENT - SNAKE. It is common in Christianity to see the snake as a symbol of Satan.
• Just remember the Garden of Eden
• It was a snake that talked Adam and Eve into disobedience
• Now, here is Paul
• There is nobody in the world at this time who is as passionate, and effective, at spreading Christ’s Gospel of salvation
• What happens?
• Attack! Where?
• From the pits of the fire
• The serpent leaves the fiery pit to attack Paul
• Do you think that Satan still attacks God’s messengers today?
• I surely do
The spectators of this event expect Paul to drop dead. You know, the impression that I get from this is that Paul hardly even flinches. Paul doesn’t freak out or panic. Paul simply shakes it off. Here he is, with a snake biting his arm - just hanging there. And he just shakes it off.
• Paul knows that he has God on his side
• This attack, is nothing more than a minor inconvenience as far as Paul is concerned
• Frankly, whether it is actually Satan himself, or just a snake, makes no difference
• He has the assurance of the Lord
• When attacked from the pits of the fire, Paul just shakes it off
In several places in the Bible satan is depicted as a snake or a serpent.
• Some snakes kill you with poison
• Others suffocate their victims
• A Constrictor will wait until you are asleep then slide up beside you and slowly wrap its coils around you until it has you in its grip
• Then it will squeeze you until you can't Breathe
• Until you can't PRAISE, you can't WORSHIP, you can't WITNESS, and you can't CRY FOR HELP
The apostle Paul was not someone who was going to sit by silently while the devil SQUEEZED THE WITNESS – WORSHIP – PRAYER – PRAISE out of him.
• Paul was militant for Jesus
• And, yes, it got the attention of the devil
• But can I tell you, it wasn't Paul who was trembling
• Although Paul Shook it Off
• It was the devil who was shaking
The natives have a nice little theological explanation for what had happened to Paul. They said, well he survived the shipwreck and did not drown in the sea, now bitten by the venomous serpent. Surely God does not want him to live, undoubtable he is a murderer.
• The Bible says, they Looked
• And they Looked
• And they Looked
• Waiting for Him to Swell
• And they Looked
• Waiting for Him fall Dead
• And they Looked
Paul’s miraculous deliverance is such a surprise to the natives that they now conclude that Paul must be a god. That is quite a change of mind, in that just a few minutes before they had concluded that Paul must of have been a horrible criminal to have been bitten by the snake. What should we make of this incident?
--Some may be waiting for the Church to Die
--Some may think they have Counted Us Out
--Some may think the Church is Dying or Dead
--They have seen the Serpent attach itself to the Church
--Some are Still Looking
--And Looking
--And Looking
--Stopped by to let the devil know
--IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
--No Weapon Formed Against Us Shall Prosper
--IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
--Some have Gone and Walked Away
--IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
--Some said the Church Could Not Survive
--IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
--Some drive by shaking their heads
--IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
--Some said you need to leave and come join our Church
--IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
--Jesus said, Upon This Rock I Will Build My Church and the Gates of Hell Shall Not Prevail
--IT’S GOING TO TAKE MORE THAN THAT
