PROCLAMATION
“… So Paul
warned them, ‘Men, I can see that our voyage is going to be disastrous and
bring great loss to ship and cargo, and to our own lives also.’ But the centurion, instead of listening to
what Paul said, followed the advice of the pilot and of the owner of the ship.” Acts 27:9-11 (NIV)
EXPLANATION
These words
were written by Luke, the physician and traveling companion of the apostle
Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God. In this chapter Luke
recorded the events surrounding their journey to Rome, including the storm that
they encountered on their voyage.
Because Paul had requested an appeal from Caesar, Governor Festus handed
Paul over to a centurion named Julius and they boarded a ship for the voyage to
Italy. (Acts 26:32 to 27:2) The
beginning of the voyage was uneventful. When
they reached Myra in Lycia, they boarded an Alexandrian ship which was sailing
for Italy. (Acts 27:5-6) The voyage from
that point was difficult. When the
reached Fair Havens near the town of Lasea, Paul warned them not to continue
the voyage. (Acts 27:7-10) They did not
listen to Paul and got caught in a violent storm. After days of violent battering from the
storm, they threw everything overboard and were planning to jump ship. (Acts
27:13-20) Paul spoke to them again and
warned them not to leave the ship. He
said that the ship would be destroyed but they would all live if they stayed
with the ship. (Acts 27:21-26) After two
weeks at sea in the storm, they began to approach land. Some of the sailors, fearing that they would
be dashed against the rocks, attempted to escape the ship in lifeboats. Paul told the centurion that unless they all
stayed with the ship, they would not be saved.
This time they listened to Paul’s warning. (Acts 27:27-32) They cut loose the lifeboats, stayed on the
ship, and they were all made it safely to the island even though the ship was broken
into pieces. (Acts 27:39-44)
APPLICATION
We should listen
to the advice from the man of God and heed his warnings. We could avoid some of the bad things and
situations in our lives if we would obey The Word of God. Not heeding The Word can be bad, but we do
not have to continue down that path. It
does not matter how much bad we have done, with the help of The Lord, we can
turn our life around. If we believe and
ask Him to forgive us, He is faithful and just, and He will forgive our sins
and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)
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