First Christian Church in Earlington
Rev. Brian Morse
Traditional Worship: Sunday 9:30 am
Casual Worship: Saturday 5:30 pm
215 East Main Street, Across the street from the Post Office
383-5250
FATHER’S DAY : SERMON JUNE 18, 2006 ACTS 28:1-6
(Note to the reader: Prior to this sermon the choir had just sung the old hymn, I’ll Fly Away.)
I) I’ll fly away. When bad things come my way, I’m not gonna run away. I’m gonna fly away. For as the Prophet Isaiah says, “Those who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint”. (40:31).
“I’ll fly away. When the shadows of this life have grown, I’ll fly away. Like a bird from prison bars has flown, I’ll fly away.”
II) Does it ever seem like you can’t get a break? You know what I mean. Just when things start to look a little bit brighter, something nasty jumps out at you....trying to take you down. Bad things in life are going to happen. There is nothing that can eliminate them. I don’t want to downplay the pain and gruesome reality of these events. But you know what, when you spend your life in the service of Christ, you will find that often the very worst things that life can throw your way will not kill you. In fact, you will be surprised at just how often you will shake them off.
III) The biblical reading this morning is a short section of a long story. The story begins with Paul’s arrest in the 22nd chapter of Acts. Paul is held as a prisoner. He defends himself in court with keen intelligence. You see, the prosecution has trumped up some phony charges against him, but Paul is not just your ordinary fellow. He knows the law like a first-century Perry Mason.
He is in a situation where he can easily get the charges dropped and be on his merry way. However, legal defense is not his mission. Spreading the Gospel of Christ is. In a bold maneuver, Paul asks to defend his case before the emperor. This is kind of like having a guaranteed win in small claims court, but demanding to take the case to the Supreme Court.
Paul, however, has a plan. You see, Paul wants to give every ounce of his life to spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ to as wide an audience as possible. Therefore, he sees this as an opportunity to have an audience with the Emperor of the Roman Empire. This way, he will be able to proclaim the Gospel to the most powerful and influential person in the world. When it comes to evangelism, Paul goes for the gold.
The next thing he knows, he finds himself being loaded onto a ship, along with other prisoners. Destination - Rome. It doesn’t take long before there is trouble. Violent winds are slapping at the ship. The men are getting anxious. Paul, as usual, gives his unsolicited advice.
“Sirs”, Paul yells above the wind, “I can see that the voyage will be with danger and much heavy loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.” (27:10) Now, bear in mind, Paul is a prisoner on this ship....but he’s the kind of guy who is hard to shut-up. Perhaps you know some people like that.
Of course, the captain pays no attention to Paul. And of course, the ship gets caught up head-on into a terrible storm. In order to lighten the load, the crew throws the cargo overboard. On the storm’s third day they throw the ship’s tackle overboard. Listen to verse 20 of chapter 27. “When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest raged, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.”
Throughout this horrible ordeal, the men have not eaten. Day by day, they are growing weaker and weaker as the storm keeps growing stronger and stronger.
Then Paul, never one to miss an opportunity to say “I told you so”, speaks boldly. “Men”, he says, “you should have listened to me and not have set sail from Crete and thereby avoided this damage and loss”.
(That’s the kind of thing you expect Paul to say, but he goes on to offer encouraging words, saying), “I urge you now to keep up your courage, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For last night there stood by me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship....”,
(Stop for a minute. Did you catch that? Paul had an angelic visit. Here is what the angel of God said.) “‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must stand before the emperor; and indeed, God has granted safety to all those who are sailing with you.’”
(That was the Heavenly message to Paul, which he shares with the men on the ship. Paul continues to speak, saying), “So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told. But we will have to run aground on some island.” (27:21-26)
Of course, Paul is right. The next morning they see an island. The soldiers want to kill the prisoners to prevent them from escaping, but the centurian wants to save Paul. So he saves all of them. (vs. 42-43)
This is where today’s reading takes place. Acts 28:1-6.
After we had reached safety, we then learned that the island was called Malta. The natives showed us unusual kindness. Since it had begun to rain and was cold, they kindled a fire and welcomed all of us around it. Paul had gathered a bundle of brushwood and was putting it on the fire, when a viper, driven out by the heat, fastened itself on his hand. When the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “This man must be a murderer: though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live.” He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were expecting him to swell up or drop dead, but after they had waited a long time and saw that nothing unusual had happened to him, they changed their minds and began to say that he was a god.
IV) I want to draw your attention to something. Notice what it is that attacks Paul. It is a viper, a serpent, a 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? I know that we’ve come a long way from ancient mythology, but I’ll tell you what. I believe it. I surely do.
The natives are watching this all take place right in front of them. They see this attack as evidence that Paul is an evil doer. I guess some things will never change. Do Christians look at bad things that happen to other people, and then go and blame it on the victim? Of course they do. Heck, we’ve all probably done it at times. Maybe we wonder if it is punishment from God for evil actions on that other person’s part.
What if, instead of blaming either that person or God, we blame the devil? Perhaps misfortune, at least sometimes, is due to Satan’s feeble attempts to stop the spread of the Good News of Jesus Christ. I believe this is often times the case. But I’ve got good news for you. The devil has already lost.
Now back to the story. The spectators of this event expect Paul to drop dead. You know, the impression that I get from this story 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. After all, a heavenly angel had personally delivered Paul a message: saying, “You will make it safely to speak to the emperor.” 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.
V) Friends, bad things are going to happen to you too. There will be times when you get hurt. There will be times of terror. But, like Paul, you can have the strength and courage to shake it off when trouble strikes. There will be times when you are attacked from the fiery pits below. Maybe it literally is Satan attacking you, maybe not. Here is the thing. It really doesn’t matter.
Learn from Paul. God has already won. You have the promise of eternal life with God. This will be glory beyond understanding. Satan has no power over you. Shake him off. Shake him off.
And where did Paul shake him off? He shook him off right back into the fire from which he came. That’s right. When Satan attacks, send him packing, back home. Send him back where he belongs. He has no power over those who are in Christ Jesus. Shake him off.
VI) Do you desire a meaningful life? Do you want your life filled with adventure? This is available to you. Follow my Lord and best friend....Jesus Christ. He has an adventure planned. It is one that is custom made just for you. You were born for this adventure.
If you dedicate your life to following Christ, even the mundane things of day to day living take on richer meaning. Likewise, when things come out of the pits of fire and attack you....you will have strength. You will have strength because you know that the battle is already won.
The worst someone can do is to kill your body, but the soul is already saved. Make Christ the center of your life’s adventure. When you find yourself under attack, you will be able to shake it off. Shake it off....and fly away.
