Acts 27:39-44

didn't mean do that. All right, I think we're just about there. Wonderful. Well, good morning. Good morning. Good morning. Welcome to Coffee and devotions. This where every day you and I we get together we get into the Lord's word and we grow in our love for the Lord together and this year 2022 will go from the book of Acts to the book of Philemon. I'm so glad to be with you this morning. Let's go ahead and have some coffee. We'll pray we just have a couple of verses today. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the steam. We thank You for Your Word. We thank you for your faithfulness. We thank You that You are the one who is provident. You were the one who directs all things to work together for Your glory in Jesus's name, Amen. Here we go. Acts chapter 27. We just have four verses today. Verses 39 through 40. Fours heart five verses so word my Glasgow behind my coffee. Acts chapter 27, beginning at verse 39. When it was day, they did not recognize the land but they observed a bay with a beach onto which they plan to run the ship. If possible. And they let the anchor so they let go the anchors and left them in the sea. Meanwhile, loosing the rudder ropes, and they hoisted the main sail to the wind and made for sure, but striking a place where the two seas met they ran the ship aground and the bow struck fast and remained immovable. But the stern was being broken up by the violence of the waves. And the soldiers plan was to kill the prisoners less any of them should swim away and escape. But the Centurion wanting to save Paul kept them from their purpose and commanded that those who could swim should jump overboard first and get to land and the rest some of the boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was they all escaped safely to land. Well, really small passages like I told you this is just five verses for us this morning. We need to ask ourselves a What is this about be what's the best verse to summarize this and see what are we called to do in our lives take away from this right so a first what is this about? Remember that they have been running away wild right there. Their ship has they've lost control of the ship. They've just been wandering in the Mediterranean and the Ionian Sea. They've been worried that they get stuck off the coast of Libya. They've had to reassure the ship up they've they've they've tied up the rudder. They've been dropping anchors doing anything just to not get blown away. And yesterday we got to the point where they were getting close to land they could sense it and so they start taking soundings well now it's the next day and and they can see they can see a beach they can see a bay they can see a harbor where they go they could go in and whatnot a harbor but they see a bay with a beach and so they're gonna go they're going to lift the sail and go for it right they they cut off the anchors. The loosen the rudder I did that part of what they had probably done was tied up the rudder so that way it wouldn't move to the right or to the left, but just keep them going straight wherever they were going. So that they wouldn't just get tossed around by the wind. And so now they they've loosened it up and they're going to try to steer the ship and try to get it straight towards the beach. Well as they're doing this, they don't quite get there. Historically, I'm gonna probably butcher this name, but historically, at least since the 12th century or so. This where they land isn't the main island of Malta, but traditionally marked as Sal moneta. And so this is this area where it looks like there's an isthmus between these two or possibly a strait between the two there's at times the tide can actually over run the name for this island is also now called St Paul's Island or St Paul's islands, because the water can actually come up and over that it's missing actually can can make it look like two different islands. So make it look like there's two seas that are meeting one on one side and one on the other. So they think maybe that's where Paul lands, whether it is or not, we don't know. But what we do know is that they don't actually make it to the beach. But as they're heading there they hit some type of sandbar, some type of Shoal the bow of the ship gets lodged into the sandbar and the waves are still coming in. They're crashing and they're crashing and they're crashing. They're ripping up the the stern of the ship it's tearing itself apart and the Centurion or the the soldiers are worried right because if if the prisoners escape, their necks are on the line. Remember what happened when Peter escaped out of jail? All of them died. Right get Herod killed all of them when Peter escaped. And then remember what Paul had said to the to the Philippian jailer when they were worried about him escaping? He says no, no, stop. Don't kill yourself. Why? Because if a prisoner escapes, the prison guards are put to death. And so the soldiers are thinking we gotta we gotta kill all these prisoners. Right? We don't know how many of these 270 that are on board the ship for prisoners, but it's enough that the soldiers are thinking we got to kill them all. But notice what the text tells us. God had moved in the centurions heart verse 43. But then Centurion wanting to save Paul kept them from their purpose. So the centurion is the one who's over these guys. And he's, he tells him no. He stops them from killing all of them. Why? So that way he can preserve Paul's life. For some reason Julius this. The centurion has befriended Paul, we don't know if it's Roman citizen to Roman citizen. Maybe this is because he needs to preserve the life of this Roman citizen and Julius knows that he's going to have to give account for why he killed Paul. Or maybe it's because he just wants to save. Paul. We don't we don't know. Everything about what's going on here. How his relationship was it'd be great to find out more. But anyways, he tells them know if you're able to swim, swim to shore. And if you're not able to swim, grab a piece of the ship. Break off a board find something and jump off and and get to land. And so it was this is how verse 44 ends. And so it was that they that they all escaped safely to land is the fulfillment of what Paul had said in verse 24 and 34. In verse 24. The the angel had said, Do not be afraid, Paul, you must be brought before Caesar and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you. And then Paul when he's telling them to eat bread and be ready for the next day, what is he told the members 34 Therefore, I urge you to take nourishment for this is for your survival since not a hair will fall from the head of any of you. So the Lord is always faithful to His word. I'm just gonna say I have verse 44, double underline to my Bible. But what is this? What is this teaching us? God is always faithful. When our father promises something, we could take it to the bank. When our father tells us that all things work together for our good and for His glory then we might not understand why we're being shipwrecked. But we could trust that it's for His glory. And we can know it's for our own good and we might not like it. I'm sure that pod and say you'd be I get to be stranded on an island and of in winter. In the middle of on an island. I don't even know where we are. But, but we know. We know that even in the hardships if God has made a promise to us that he's begun a good work in you. He's not going to stop until the day of perfection when he's completed that work in you. So claimed the promises of God. Make sure that they're actually promises of God, right because we get claimed to all sorts of things. People have all sorts of folk religion, things that they think that God has said that he's never actually said. But if it's a promise that he's actually made in His Word, latch on to that promise. Cling to that promise. Because what God says is faithful and he's not fickle. He's not like a fleeting shadow, being tossed to and fro. But he's the same yesterday, today and forevermore. And the Lord is not a man that he should repent nor Asana man that he should change his mind. As he said it, will he not bring it to pass? If he's declared it, he will make it good. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for the great love that you show us in Jesus Christ and we thank you for the truthfulness of your Word. Lord, we pray that you would have us trust you. Even as we might be tossed to and fro in this life, as we might think that we're being torn apart by the trials and the waves and the wind. But Lord, we know that your promises are true and that your love is real. Please bless us sustain in Jesus's name, Amen. May Lord bless you today. May you walk in the joy and peace of Jesus Christ and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye Transcribed by https://otter.ai