Security in Christ
In our spiritual journey,
we are guaranteed by God Himself
that we will arrive some day
at our eternal destination regardless of
the uncertainties of life on this earth.
Here's Dr. Gene Getz:
What I've done here with this
particular Principle is to use
Paul's experience on board ship
and his shipwreck.
And his salvation from that.
I'm using it as a metaphor.
I'm taking a literal event here
to come up with a spiritual Principle
that relates to our spiritual journey.
To our lives here on earth.
Now note what has happened here
in this situation.
Following his appeal to appear
before Caesar, as we've seen,
Paul was escorted to a ship
with some other prisoners.
He was treated with respect, by the way,
because there was a Roman guard
named Julius that treated him with dignity.
And gave him a lot of freedom.
So in general, they left Caesarea.
And they eventually arrived in Fair Havens,
on the island of Crete.
So here is a geographical perspective.
You'll see them leaving Caesarea.
Going to Sidon on the sea
close to the border.
They're following along.
They come to Myra.
Eventually they come to Fair Havens.
Now notice what happened
when they arrived in Fair Havens.
We read about it in Acts 27, verse 9:
By now much time had passed,
and the voyage was already dangerous.
Since the Day of Atonement
was already over, Paul gave his
advice and told them,
"Men, I can see that this voyage
is headed toward disaster and heavy loss,
not only of the cargo and the ship
but also of our [own] lives." ...
Now what the apostle Paul was saying here
was based on common knowledge
because at this time of the year
it was very dangerous.
It was a very dangerous time at sea.
So he's simply saying: Everybody knows
this is dangerous.
It's a predictable event--
this crisis we're going to face--
based on previous experience
at this time of the year.
Well what happened?
...But the centurion paid attention
to the captain and the owner of the ship
rather than to what Paul said.
Since the harbor was unsuitable
to winter in, the majority decided
to set sail from there,
hoping somehow to reach Phoenix,
a harbor on Crete facing the southwest
and northwest, and to winter there.
So geographically, here's their goal.
They're going to continue from Fair Havens.
Stay close to the shore on the island of Crete
and get to Phoenix.
And they felt if they could get to Phoenix,
then they can make a more reasonable decision.
Well what happened?
They never got to Phoenix.
Here's what happened.
The moment they left Fair Havens,
the storm came in
and they were taken out to sea.
And for weeks they experienced
this incredible storm.
And they were fearful of losing their lives.
The ship was going to be totally destroyed.
But there was a miraculous intervention
and they got to Malta.
And that's where the whole group
was actually saved.
No one was lost.
And it was a miraculous situation.
Now I'd just like to make
several observations at this point
about this literal journey.
And by the way, as we know from the map--
if you can look at that map again.
That once they left Malta,
eventually, Paul did arrive in Rome--.
safely in Rome.
And that, of course, is where
the book of Acts ends.
But here are several observations.
And it relates to the Principle.
Let me restate the Principle
that I've taken from this literal story--
Security in Christ:
In our spiritual journey,
we are guaranteed by God Himself
that we will arrive some day
at our eternal destination regardless of
the uncertainties of life on this earth.
Now I want to take you back
to show you something here, I think
that was happening to the apostle Paul
on this journey.
And in his spiritual journey as well.
Let's remember, Paul had
a direct message from the Lord--
when he was in Jerusalem--
that he was going to testify in Rome.
Remember? Acts 23:11:
The following night, the Lord
stood by him and said, "Have courage!
For as you have testified about me
in Jerusalem, so it is necessary
for you to testify in Rome."
That was stated to Paul when his life
was threatened in Jerusalem.
The Lord reassured him that he was
going to get to Rome.
I think, in the midst of that storm,
Paul was doubting.
Maybe he forgot.
And that's somewhat understandable.
Because everything is coming in around them
and he actually said:
Men, if we go and continue,
we're going to lose our lives.
And he basically included himself.
But notice what happened in Acts 27
in the midst of the storm:
For many days neither sun nor stars appeared...
This is Luke recording.
...and the severe storm kept raging.
[And] finally all hope was fading
that we would be saved. ...
That's Luke recording.
He includes himself.
He includes Paul.
He includes everybody.
...Since they had been without food
for a long time, Paul then stood up
among them and said,
"You men should have
followed my advice not to sail
from Crete and sustain this
damage and loss.
Now I urge you to take courage,
because there will be no loss
of any of your lives, but only of the ship. ...
How did Paul know that?
Because God reassured him
with a direct revelation. And he says:
For last night an angel of the God
I belong to and serve stood by me and said,
'Don't be afraid, Paul.
It is necessary for you to appear
before Caesar. ...
In other words, he's restating what He
had said to him back in Jerusalem.
...And indeed, God has graciously given you
all those who are sailing with you.' "
In terms of our own spiritual journey.
And to me this is a beautiful illustration.
We may doubt.
And I think we've all had our doubts.
But let's remember that God never fails
regarding His eternal promises.
They're written for us.
Even though we have no guarantee
regarding a long life on this earth.
And we don't.
But here's an eternal promise--on our journey,
our spiritual journey:
For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers,
nor things present nor things to come,
nor powers, nor height nor depth
nor any other created thing
will be able to separate us
from the love of God
that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
That's one of the most incredible
promises in Scripture.
And I remember it meant so much to me
when I finally got the reassurance
of my own salvation.
So here's a Reflection and Response question:
What should we do if at times
we doubt God's promises regarding
our eternal salvation?
I think what Paul illustrates here is
that he doubted God's promises
that he would be saved and get to Rome.
Somehow, he was very human about that.
And so God reassured him
within this very natural event
and circumstance.
But applied to us spiritually,
I think that we need to realize
that doubts per se will come.
But they're not sinful.
We all have doubts. That's normal.
They can become sinful.
But to doubt is not to sin per se
but to drive us back to the Lord.
To drive us back to Scripture.
And I remember that when I was in college,
I had serious doubts
about the reality of Jesus Christ.
The reality of the Bible.
My faith was really challenged.
And I went through a period of doubt.
But it drove me back to the Scriptures.
And I remember when I got into
a course at Wheaton Seminary, basically.
And sat in a course taught
by Dr. Merrill Tenney--a great scholar
and a man that really understood the Scriptures.
He's taught the Gospel of John.
Which is, by the way, written to prove
that Jesus is the Christ.
And that meant a lot to me.
But one of the things that meant a lot to me was:
here was a giant in the faith
who had doubts.
And he shared those doubts.
But he also shared how he
resolved those doubts through
his study of the Word of God.
So going back to the Scriptures.
But also, another thing that I think
is so important when we doubt, is to have fellowship
with mature believers who can reassure us.
That's why we need the body of Jesus Christ.
That's why we need each other.
And for me, reading the stories
of famous Christians that God used.
And to realize that they all had
times of doubt
and darkness in their own lives.
So I think we have a marvelous
metaphor here in the journey of Paul.
And of course, for him it wasn't
just geographical and in this life,
but it was also a spiritual journey for him.
Times when he doubted what God
had told him directly.
Which helps us to realize there
are doubts in our spiritual journey.
And yet God wants us to resolve those
by reassuring us that He will never leave us
nor forsake us.
I love the metaphor.
And as I was reflecting on this
particular Principle, my mind went back.
And some of you in this room
or perhaps listening on-line
will remember this.
But you've got to be old to remember this
because it relates to a radio program
called "The Haven of Rest."
Anybody remember that program?
The Haven of Rest.
And the program would come on the air.
And the ships air horn would blast.
And there would be eight bells.
And as the eight bells went out off this ship,
a quartet would come on singing a song
that was called Haven of Rest.
And I went back to explore those words.
By the way, these words were
written way back in 1890
by a gentleman by the name of Henry Gilmour.
And it was set to music.
And the whole scene was a ship--
a journey, a spiritual journey.
And the first stanza reads:
My soul in sad exile was out on life's sea.
You can see how he's picking up
from Paul's experience.
So burdened with sin and distressed.
Till I heard a sweet voice saying:
Make Me your choice.
And I entered the haven of rest.
And then the chorus reads:
I have anchored my soul in the haven of rest.
I'll sail the wide seas no more.
The tempest may sweep over wild stormy deep.
In Jesus I'm safe ever more.
And so you have a beautiful application,
I think, or metaphor as it relates to
our spiritual life in Jesus Christ
from this very literal experience
that Paul had at sea.
And the salvation that God provided
in a miraculous way.
And I guess I would say
to any of you listening on-line
or to my voice:
If you haven't boarded that ship,
as it were, there are manly metaphors.
Jesus, you know, said: I am the good shepherd.
I am the door.
Enter in the door.
I am the way.
He's also the ship if you wanted
to use that metaphor.
Get on board.
And that ship will reach its destination--
eternal life.