Title: "Getting Blown Off Course"
You know better than to leave Fair Havens.
Paul let the Centurion know that it was "God’s Will" for them to winter in Fair Havens. God had warned him not to leave the shores of the Island of Crete. Application. Being in the will of God should not be a mystery. The Holy Spirit lets us know where are supposed to be.
It is not commodious to winter in Crete.
Why did they leave Fair Havens. Because it was not "commodious" to winter there. Just because things may be difficult for you does not mean that it is "not" the will of God for you to stay put. Stay in your marriage, stay faithful at Church, stay on the job. Work through your problems, but stay in Crete. (Titus 1:5)
The South wind blew softly…
And that is the way the Devil operates. There is nothing more tempting to a sailor than a soft breeze blowing from a south wind. The Devil never begins his temptations by showing his true colors!
They stayed close to the shore.
Note that the master of the ship only wanted to go to the other side of the Island of Crete and there to winter. Crete is an island in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea. They stayed close by the shoreline.
The backslider never plans to leave far from home. He still attends Church and hangs around. He try to keep his ship close to the shoreline.
A storm came up.
The Devil knows when we are venerable. He knows when our sail is set to the wind.
They lost control.
The master of the ship was no longer the Master of the ship. The ship was blown eight hundred miles off course. The Devil was now in control. Our sinful habits take another turn. They become addictions!
The ship was shaken.
The first thing that happens, happens to us. Sin takes a toll on the vessel. Our bodies will have always feel the first effects of sin. We lose our health and our happiness.
They lost some things.
They sought to lighten the ship. One by one they threw their precious cargo in the heaving relentless waves of the sea.
A man in sin will first lose his health, then his home. Shake hands with a lawyer. The man blown off course is about to lose it all!
There lives were in jeopardy.
Did you notice how the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners? The word "ship" is in the word "Friendship." When the ship is breaking up, so do close friendships. People turn on one another. Our closest friends, become our greatest enemies.
Only God can.
The Apostle Paul entered into his prayer closet. God stood with him.
When I preached this message on Sunday Night at our Church. I made the altar "land." I challenged our people to float on boards and let God bring you back "home." Let God be your hope. God can bring you home again.
