Shake The Devil Off

Banner Of Praise Ministries

Reverend Dr. Levi Howard Wright, Pastor & Founder

Shake The Devil Off

Acts 28:1-5

The Powerful Work Of Paul

1 After we were safe on the island, we knew that it was Malta. 2 The people on the island were very kind to us. It was raining and cold. They made a fire so we could get warm. 3 Paul had gathered some wood. As he laid it on the fire, a snake came out because of the heat. It held fast to Paul’s hand. 4 When the people of the island saw the snake holding to his hand, they said to each other, "This man is a killer. He was saved from the sea and yet it is not right for him to live." 5 Paul shook off the snake into the fire. He was not hurt in any way. 6 The people waited. They thought his hand would get large and he would fall over dead. After watching for a long time, they saw nothing happen to him. Then they changed their minds and said that Paul was a god.

INTRODUCTION

The Apostle Paul was in the center of God’s perfect will. He had been threatened with death in the city of Jerusalem …. but he was in God’s perfect will. He had been arrested by the Romans…. but he was in God’s perfect will. He had been locked away in a dark damp cell and mistreated,…. but he was in God’s perfect will.

He was bound and escorted under guard to a ship that would take him to his final destination, a place from which there would be no coming back,…. but he was in God’s perfect will.

He was restricted from moving about freely, held prisoner among heathen sailors that cared little for God,…. but he was in God’s perfect will.

He was on a ship bound for Rome…. a ship that would face one of the fiercest storms in the Biblical times… a ship that would be shipwrecked on a strange island called Melita, a ship that would be broken into many small pieces,… but he was still in God’s perfect will.

The point that I need to make today is…. just because we are go through adversities, storms of life and the attacks of the principalities’ and evil deeds…. this do not mean that we are not in God’s perfect will.

In fact, many times, it’s exactly the opposite. All along this road of life that we all must travel there will be pitfalls...., troubles...., trials tribulations..... or tests that we cannot avoid.

Often times …. We are caught up in the middle of a great struggle over what we have little or no control over and we have no other choice but to weather the storm and wait for the water to calm.

The Apostle Paul was headed for Rome, to face charges before Caesar, and to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ..... But the storm had blown him off course.

Sometime storms will blow us off course.

Yes.... Unexpected tragedies will slow our progress down, alter our plans, and give us great frustration.

Our best plans often are shattered by the circumstances of life and we find ourselves shipwrecked for no fault of our own.

Paul could have said, “Well, I guess it just isn’t God’s will for me to reach Rome after all.”

But his present circumstances didn’t stop him. This was just another inconvenience and another bump in the road. He knew his destination and he knew that the Holy Spirit was with him,... guiding him,... leading him ... and watching over him, every step of the way.

The Holy Ghost simply said, “Stay on the course and don’t stop now. It’s not over ‘til it’s over!

Acts 28:2 says ..... “The people on the island were very kind to Paul. It was raining and cold. The barbarian people made a fire so they could get warm."

You see.... Paul wasn’t shipwrecked next door to one of the churches that he had founded. There weren’t any Christians around to meet his desperate needs of food, warm clothing or shelter. He was alone in a world filled with sin and sinful people.

I need you to know that often times…. It is the “barbarians”; the stranger; the worldly people, THE UNCHURCHED, who show more concern for your trials than people in the church.

I pray that no one at the Banner of Praise ….. ever finds more help, more compassion, more love and more friendship in the world than they do in this church.

Most of the civilized world looked down upon the barbarians, people as being backward, uneducated, uncouth and without the finer things of life, but these were the people who came to The Apostle Paul’s rescue.