STUDY THEME: BEING GOD’S AGENT IN CRISIS TIMES 5-12-02
"MINISTERING IN NATURAL DISASTER."
ACTS 27: 14, 20, 21-25, 33-36; 28:2, 7-10
PLEASE OPEN YOUR BIBLE TO ACTS 27.
Whereas the lesson last Sunday studied ministry in time of sorrow and death when Jesus raised a young girl from the dead, the lesson his Sunday will focus on ministry in times of natural disaster. One thing we neglected to stress last Sunday was the importance of prayer in our "Being God’s Agents in Times of Crisis." James 5:13-15 says, "The prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed sins, they shall be forgiven him." James continued in James 5:16 to write, "The effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." When we are uncertain how to help, let us recite the prayer: "God make my life a little staff, whereon the weak may rest, that so what health and strength I have may serve my neighbors best."
The particular biblical event in today’s lesson was the shipwreck that Paul endured on his way to Rome in the book of Acts. Most of us as Christians today will not have occasion to minister at the time of a shipwreck, but there will be other occasions such as when tornadoes or hurricanes hit homes and destroy people’s property and perhaps even take their lives and then we can minister in the name of Christ. There are many kinds of natural disasters that will provide for us opportunities to show the love and compassion of Christ to those around us.
Our lesson this week will seek to answer the question, "How can I hold things together when the world seems to be falling apart?" The suggested "Biblical Truth" is that "believers who rely on God’s strength can help others trust Him during times of natural disaster." The suggested "Life Impact" is to help us help others during times of natural disaster."
Having live din Texas and Oklahoma all of my life I have become well acquainted with the term "Tornado Alley." When we lived on an oil lease south of Electra, Texas a tornado struck the row of oil field houses where we lived. Two of my young friends were blown out of their home and were found lying in the field some distance away. Both were laid out on the bed and pronounced dead. Someone saw one of them moved, medical aid was given and she still lives in Texas today.
One had only to drive through Moore, Midwest City, and Oklahoma City to forever remember the terrible damage that can result from a tornado. We have seen some of this damage in Shawnee in years past. Our kids in Florida sent pictures of the damage resulting when the hurricane struck their town.
The images of natural disasters,---floods, earthquakes, avalanches, fires, hurricanes, and tornadoes--—have become commonplace because of the quick reporting on television. As a result, many adults are no longer moved by such images unless they pose a danger to them or to someone they care about. Some adults live in fear that a natural disaster will befall them or someone they love.
In the biblical worldview, storms and other natural disasters are part of this imperfect world. God gives believers the assurance of His love and care when they experience natural disasters, although He does not always deliver them from danger. He always wants Christians to trust in Him, to encourage others, and to minister to the needs of others in the midst of such disasters.
Today’s study of the shipwreck Paul and his companions endured should help us trust God when we face natural disasters. W can also learn how to encourage and minister to others when encounter natural disasters.
In Jerusalem following his third missionary journey Paul struggled with Jews who accused him of profaning the temple. (Acts 21:26-34) You may remember in Acs 21:10-11 the prophet Agabus had warned Paul that if he went to Jerusalem he would be bound and delivered into the hands of the Gentiles. His friends in Caesarea begged Paul not to go up to Jerusalem; but he would not be persuaded. When Paul entered the temple he was accused by the Jews from Asia of bringing the Gentile Trophimus from Ephesus into the temple and had thus defiled the temple. While defending himself Paul mentioned the word Gentile. The mob reacted so that the Roman soldiers had to rescue Paul He would have been scourged by the Romans had he not declared his Roman citizenship.
Before the Sanhedrin Paul created confusion by declaring his belief in the resurrection of the dead. The Pharisees believed in the resurrection; the Sadducees did not. Again, Paul had to be rescued by the Roman soldiers. The next day Paul’s nephew came to the barracks and warned Paul of the plot of the Jews to ambush and kill him when he was brought for further questioning by the council.
By night Paul was moved from Jerusalem to Caesarea by the Romans. He was accused of sedition; and Paul remained in Roman custody for two years. Seeing that he would not be released, after questioning by Governor Felix and King Agrippa Paul again used his Roman citizenship and appealed his situation to Caesar in Rome. A grouping of brief statements scattered over ten chapters will help us gather up the story which ends at Acts 28:11. In Acts 19:21 Paul said, "I must also see Rome." One lonely night in Jerusalem in the quietness of the prison the Lord stood by Paul and said in Acts 23:11 "Don’t be afraid! You have given your witness for Me here in Jerusalem, and you must also do the same in Rome." In Acts 25:12 Governor Festus said, "You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!" Finally, in Acts 28:14 we read, "And so we came to Rome."
Between Acts 19:21, and Acts 28:14 many events occurred in the life of Paul. He was accompanied on his journey by his two close companions, Luke and Aristarchus of Thessalonica. In Acts 27:10 Paul warned the Centurion, who was delivering Paul to Rome, the helmsman, and the owner of the ship of the danger of the proposed voyage. Acts 27 is one of the chapters of the Bible that we really ought to study with a map of the Mediterranean before us. Please note the use of the pronoun "we" In Acts 27:1. It is very evident that Luke volunteered to accompany Paul after his arrest.
Luke, the historian who wrote the Book of Acts, tells us how a wind of hurricane force suddenly swept down from the Island of Crete and caught the ship on which Paul was sailing to Rome in its forces. In vs. 15-19 he seamen did everything possible to save the ship in the storm.
Having lightened the ship of all cargo and tackle they lowered the sails, and the sea anchor to slow the ship down. The storm was so severe and the clouds so thick that the sailors could see neither the sun nor the stars for many days. The storm continued to rage and they had not idea where they were. The sailors lost all hope of being saved.
It does seem as we read the story as though all forces were combined to hinder Paul, and to prevent his arrival in Rome. If we did not know the things that had preceded the journey, without knowing what the end was, in the process of reading we should say again and again, "This man will never see Rome." All forces seemed to combine to make it impossible for this man to reach Rome. Humanly speaking, the situation was entirely hopeless. Yet, in it all, there was never an hour in which Paul became despondent; never a situation in which he lost heart.
All total, there were 276 people on board; among them there were the Centurion Julius and some Roman soldiers, the crew and owner, the prisoners and other passengers. We are told that Paul was praying and later shared with the others what he had learned from the Lord.
In vs. 21 when Paul arose to speak to the others, he could not resist reminding them that he had told them this would happen. Yet he changed one important part of his earlier prediction in vs. 10. He had warned that lives would be lost. Now he exhorted them to be of good cheer and assured them there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.
This was not Paul’s first time to face shipwreck. Earlier he had written in 2 Cor. 11:25 of being shipwrecked three times, having spent one day and one night awaiting rescue. Therefore, he knew that God can deliver from a storm, and He can also deliver through a storm. Sometimes He stops a storm: at other times, He is with us as we live through the storm.
Today we want to find the secret of the quietness, the strength, and the optimism of Paul; for here, whenever the storm was at its worst, we find Paul at his calmest. What was the secret of it all? It is this, "The secret of the Lord is with them that fear Him." Paul was a man who was in personal fellowship with the Lord, who sent an angel to speak to Paul in the night. Why was Paul quiet? Because the Lord was with him, and he knew it. We cannot read the story without seeing this living Lord Himself presiding over everything.
Now the man of God is the man whose courage stands when terror invades the hearts of others. He is a leader of men because he himself is lead by God. Then an amazing thing happened, for it is quiet clear that Paul took command. His own source of confidence and hope was an answer from God and his faith in the trustworthiness of God’s Word. The prisoner had become the captain, for he is the only man with courage left. God had generously given him he lives of all who were with him on the ship. Everyone would be perfectly save because God had given the lives of everyone on the ship as a grace-gift to Paul.
This incident illustrates that when disaster comes to a Christian, that Christian can go to the Lord in prayer. The Lord will help by taking away the disaster, or the believer will go through it with help from above. God didn’t take away the storm or save the ship’s crew and passengers from shipwreck, but He did save Paul and the passengers from death.
The storm wrecked the ship just like the angel had said. The wind blew he ship across the Adriatic Sea for 14 days until on the fourteenth night the shipmates finally sensed they wee nearing land. They dropped four anchors from the stern to hold them in place throughout the night until daylight. In vs. 30-32 Paul thwarted an attempt of the sailors to escape the ship in the lifeboat.
Because of seasickness and the difficulty of preparing and preserving food, the passengers and crew had eaten little or nothing in the two weeks since they left Fair Havens in Crete. Now Paul reassured them that "not one of you will lose a single hair from his head." Paul knew they would all need their strength to survive. The Lord was going to save everyone, but all on board needed to do what they could for their own safety. They needed to be ready for what was about to happen.
Just before dawn, after telling the soldiers to eat, Paul himself took some bread and gave thanks and began to eat. Because of Paul’s example, the sailors wee encouraged and began to eat food themselves.
Paul’s message and example encouraged everyone else. Confidence and courage, like fear, are contagious. The old humorous adage is not true. "If you can keep your head while everyone around you is losing theirs, you don’t understand the situation." Paul did understand the situation because he factored God into the situation.
From Vs. 33-36 we learn these principles: (1) Victims of disasters need encouragement, but they also need food and to have other physical needs met. (2) Christians can provide for such needs, whether individually, collectively, or cooperatively. (3) Helping to provide for others’ physical needs in the midst of disasters should be done with gratitude to God.
PLEASE TURN TO ACTS 28.
Much happened between Acts 27:36 and 28:2. After the 276 people had eaten, they threw overboard the rest of the grain in an attempt to lighten the ship. They hoped not to run aground. As they neared the land, the soldiers wanted to kill the prisoners lest they escape: however, once again Julius saved Paul’s life. They spotted "a certain creek with a bay with a sandy beach," and steered toward it, but soon ran upon a sandbar and became stuck. Then the waves began to break up the ship. Everyone made it to shore alive as Paul had predicted.
However, when those from the ship came out of the sea, they found a cold and rainy day. But they also found a roaring fire. The fire was the work of the people of the island on which they had landed. Melita is the name for what we call Malta; a small island about 60 miles south of Sicily. The Greeks referred to all foreigners as barbarians.
Notice how these non-Christian people responded to the 276 strangers suddenly thrown up on their small island. Paul wrote that they showed us no little kindness. What the islanders did was to show the shipwreck victims extraordinary kindness. If such non-Christians demonstrate their love and kindness to srangers, how much more should Christians demonstrate their love and kindness to others? Not only had they kindled a fire for the wet and cold survivors, but they received us everyone.
After surviving the shipwreck, vs. 3-6 describe how a poisonous snake came out from the fire and bit Paul. Initially this led the people to think that Paul was a murderer. But the bite failed to harm him, and this led the people to change their minds---now they thought Paul was a god.
Paul and his companions were welcomed into the home of the chief man of the island, the Roman Governor of Malta, whose name was Publius. Luke wrote that not only received us, but that he lodged us three days in a friendly manner. Surely Christians should be as hospitable in times of disaster as this man was.
At the same time Publius had his own problems with disaster. The father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul found a practical way to express gratitude and show kindness to Publius by healing his father. When the people of Malta heard of this, they brought other sick and diseased people, and they were healed.
Not only did the people of Malta honor them with many honors, but, when they departed, the Maltese also provided all the supplies the travelers would need as they continued their voyage to Rome. "They furnished us with the supplies we needed."
The storm had destroyed everything Paul and his companions on the ship had, including their ship. But God was with them. God ministered to their spiritual and emotional needs, and the islanders ministered to their immediate and long-term physical needs. God worked everything out so He could get Paul to Rome. Through the practical ministry of the islanders, Paul and his companions were able to overcome the effects of the storm and to get on with their lives.
Both the Maltese people and Paul and his companions showed kindness toward one another. The people welcomed and cared for the shivering survivors of the storm and shipwreck. Later they honored their guests and sent them on their way with adequate provisions. Paul healed Publius’ father and the sick who were brought to him. Acts 28:16 says, "Now when we came to Rome---Paul was permitted to dwell by himself with the soldier guarding him.
The story of the Crucified Man of Nazareth that began in Jerusalem more than 30 years ago has swept across the world in its conquering course and was now without hinderance being preached in Rome—and Luke’s task is at an end.
From Acts 28:2, 7-10 we learn these principles: (1.) Of none-Christians can show kindness to fellow human beings, how much more should Christians? (2.) Christians have unique power and opportunities to show kindnesses to others in ways people of the world cannot. We should never forget this as we minister to both body and soul.
When we have an opportunity to minister to people who are victims of natural disasters, we can encourage them, provide for their physical and spiritual needs, and show them every kind of kindness within our power.
I like to read this story again and again, and to listen to the whistling winds, and the straining ropes, and feel the buffeting of the waves, and to see danger on danger threatening to engulf the ship; and then to read at the end that wonderfully quiet calm statement, "So we came to Rome." This story is all condensed in Psalm 107, which declares that God creates the storm, and the calm. The psalmist sang at last, "So He bringeth them unto the haven of their desire." And Luke wrote, "So we came to Rome."
CONCLUSIONS:
CONCLUSIONS:
preparations ahead of time.
NEXT SUNDAY FROM 1 CORINTHIANS 1 AND 3 WE LEARN "HOW TO MINISER IN TIMES OF CHURCH CONFLICT." A.V. DAUGHERTY 5-12-02