The Wisdom of Listening to God

Introduction

Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can more like You, and more made into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all to often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possible can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

Context

          With the pomp of the hearing in front of King Agrippa and Governor Festus now behind him, now we move onto the journey of Paul to Rome, where ultimately, he would have his appeal before Caesar Augusts, Nero, who at this point in history was not yet the mad-man that he would be remembered for. Remember we knew this was going to happen as Jesus had told Paul before, that he would share/witness the name of Jesus in Rome, just as he had done in Jerusalem. So now, it is no longer a question of when Paul will go, but rather, how soon will Paul be there. To Paul, no matter the cost, it didn’t matter, because what was important to Him, was honoring the savior Jesus, fulfilling His commands and wills, and seeing others turn towards Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

          In today’s text, we see that the journey by sea to Rome was met with much peril. In fact, it seemed that all of it was deathly dangerous, or tedious slow going. As terrible as this would seem, it was clear that Paul and his two traveling companions (Luke and Aristarchus) were always moving in confidence without fear. Why? Because they knew that God had a purpose for these voyages, and in the end they would be successful, no matter how bleak the situation they were in. The follower of Jesus, the Christian ie you, can be assured and walk in the same confidence often, especially when you are fulfilling God’s will in your life. Doing this though, fulfilling God’s will, in your life, as we have seen in the bible all throughout, is not something you can do by yourself. That is, on top of regularly seeking the empowerment and encouragement of God the Holy Spirit, God also puts other people in your path along the way to help, encourage, and raise you up.

This is one of the main functions of the church body, that we are a people who are regularly communing with God and communing with each other, so that we can come together and help each other honor God in our lives. In today’s text, Paul was giving good and Godly advise to others, but it was not received, because those people were not followers of God and not concerned about His glory, so they sought other things such as comfort, seeing their duty through, and perhaps even their own power and position furthered, instead of The Kingdom Growing. Them not receiving this council from Paul, would have dangerous consequences for them, and the same can happen to you when you take advise and council from a person who does not value God in their thought process and decision making. What i’m saying is,As a believer, you must seek the advise/council of people who are in regular communion with God. So, lets see how doing so and not doing so plays out in our text today and dive in where From the text, I want you to see and do these actions so you can better know and understand the wisdom of listening to God.

Message

The first action to see and do is to: Listen to and give Godly Counsel 1-12

27 When it was decided that we were to sail to Italy, they handed over Paul and some other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the Imperial Regiment.[a] 2 When we had boarded a ship of Adramyttium, we put to sea, intending to sail to ports along the coast of Asia. Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. 3 The next day we put in at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and allowed him to go to his friends to receive their care. 4 When we had put out to sea from there, we sailed along the northern coast[b] of Cyprus because the winds were against us. 5 After sailing through the open sea off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we reached Myra in Lycia. 6 There the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing for Italy and put us on board. 7 Sailing slowly for many days, with difficulty we arrived off Cnidus. Since the wind did not allow us to approach it, we sailed along the south side of Crete off Salmone. 8 With still more difficulty we sailed along the coast and came to a place called Fair Havens near the city of Lasea.9 By now much time had passed, and the voyage was already dangerous. Since the Day of Atonement[c] was already over, Paul gave his advice 10 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 lives.” 11 But the centurion paid attention to the captain and the owner of the ship rather than to what Paul said. 12 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, Paul is accompanied by Luke (the author of this book, notice the word “we” again) and another believer from Macedonia named Aristarchus). Paul is put in the custody of what seemed to be a kind and fairly important centurion named Julius. They first set out to Rome in a slow boat, that would have made multiple stops along  the way in the region that today we call Asia Minor. Eventually they found themselves at a port in Myra in Lycia. Their Julius found a larger ship that could handle more seas and they set off. The sailing was very slow for several days, as the wind was not in their favor. After this slow and arduous journey, they found their way to the isle of Crete and stopped in a place called fair havens in Lasea. So, this journey having taken a long time, the weather was no longer in their  favor. In fact, the safe days sailing were now arguably  past them, and it was into the month of October. Now, as you would assume, in that time with only sailing ships, it was not safe for a ship to sail in the fall and winter months, and this is just where they were. It could have been argued though, as each year is a bit different, that it was now either now unsafe to sail any distance, or they had just a few more days of simi-safe sailing. As Julius, the ship's captain, the owner of the ship, and Paul were discussing whether or not they could risk the short trip of approximately 40 miles to a safer harbor for the winter; it’s clear here that Julius took little mind of Paul’s council, who at this point had been through 2 shipwrecks in his life. Instead, the supposed experts were heard, and Julius decided that they would take the risk and go to Phoenix harbor, a little west of where they currently were.

                    Just like Paul,  you need to be the kind of person that both listens to and gives out Godly advise to and from others. Now, this isn’t done just on its own, no. You have to seek out wisdom, wisdom is never gained on it’s own. It requires action/experience/doing and getting the idea formed right in your head. Of course, the best advice giver is someone who every believer in Jesus Christ has direct access to. This of course is the Holy Spirit, who dwells within you, and informs you and your conscience on how to think and do. So then, just as you have call or see your parents (interact with them) to receive their life advice. So also, you must do all you can to hear and understand what the Holy Spirit is teaching/showing/directing you to.

You do this (hear the Holy Spirit better) by devoting yourself to God more, in worship, in study, in loving God, loving people, making disciples. Know that knowing and hearing from the Holy Spirit, is at times but it is not always a just me and God thing, no, God has put other believers who are further along in their faith walk then you, whom He has appointed as someone to help you, guide you, and encourage you; as well as undershepherds to do the same. So, know that As a believer, you must seek the advise/council of people who are in regular communion with God. When seeking it, both listen to it, and give it to others as The Master orders to God's glory. Let’s keep going.

The next action to see and do is to: Follow that Godly Counsel 13-38

13 When a gentle south wind sprang up, they thought they had achieved their purpose. They weighed anchor and sailed along the shore of Crete. 14 But before long, a fierce wind called the “northeaster” rushed down from the island. 15 Since the ship was caught and unable to head into the wind, we gave way to it and were driven along. 16 After running under the shelter of a little island called Cauda,[d] we were barely able to get control of the skiff. 17 After hoisting it up, they used ropes and tackle and girded the ship. Fearing they would run aground on the Syrtis, they lowered the drift-anchor, and in this way they were driven along. 18 Because we were being severely battered by the storm, they began to jettison the cargo the next day. 19 On the third day, they threw the ship’s tackle overboard with their own hands. 20 For many days neither sun nor stars appeared, and the severe storm kept raging. Finally all hope was fading that we would be saved.21 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. 22 Now I urge you to take courage, because there will be no loss of any of your lives, but only of the ship. 23 For last night an angel of the God I belong to and serve stood by me 24 and said, ‘Don’t be afraid, Paul. It is necessary for you to appear before Caesar. And indeed, God has graciously given you all those who are sailing with you.’ 25 So take courage, men, because I believe God that it will be just the way it was told to me. 26 But we have to run aground on some island.”27 When the fourteenth night came, we were drifting in the Adriatic Sea, and about midnight the sailors thought they were approaching land. 28 They took soundings and found it to be a hundred twenty feet[e] deep; when they had sailed a little farther and sounded again, they found it to be ninety feet[f] deep. 29 Then, fearing we might run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern and prayed for daylight to come. 30 Some sailors tried to escape from the ship; they had let down the skiff into the sea, pretending that they were going to put out anchors from the bow. 31 Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.” 32 Then the soldiers cut the ropes holding the skiff and let it drop away.33 When it was about daylight, Paul urged them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day that you have been waiting and going without food, having eaten nothing. 34 So I urge you to take some food. For this is for your survival, since none of you will lose a hair from your head.” 35 After he said these things and had taken some bread, he gave thanks to God in the presence of all of them, and after he broke it, he began to eat. 36 They all were encouraged and took food themselves. 37 In all there were 276 of us on the ship. 38 When they had eaten enough, they began to lighten the ship by throwing the grain overboard into the sea.

          So, let me sum up what happened to the ship really quickly for you. Not long after they set sail, soon everyone discovered that they had MESSED UP! Instead of taking a quick trip to a nearby harbor, they were taken by a powerful wind way out to sea (far away from Land) and entered a storm so bad they didn’t see the sun for 3 days. In a desperate bid stay alive, the sailors did all kinds of things, throwing precious cargo overboard, raising and lowering anchors, tying the boat together with ropes. People began to stop eating because it was not safe and people would have been too seasick to  anyways. After days of this constantly serious and life-threatening situation, people began to lose all hope as the hunger set in deep. Paul addresses them all in fair rebuke, you should have listened to me, I told you what was coming our way when we left. As true as this is, have hope, for God has shown me that all of our lives will be spared, but we will lose the ship. Soon after, they found that they were getting closer to land, so some of the sailors tried to escape, taking down the skiff (what would call a lifeboat) and tried to go on their own. Paul told Julius and the soldiers, who seemed by their actions to be all in with Paul’s God, that if they left then they will not be spared. So, the soldiers brought them in, and let the lifeboat drift off so no one could try to escape. Paul then tells them, since you haven’t eaten in 2 weeks, eat and be encouraged. So they did.. With their newfound hope and energy, they began to lighten the ship again, getting ready to find a land somewhere (knowing they would lose the ship).

You probably already know, but by the word counsel, I mean that you are giving and receiving good advice, advice that is grounded in biblical truth and sought for and shared by the empowerment of God the Holy Spirit. So, it goes without saying then, that there's both good advice and bad advice that you can give or take from people. So, their is some advise worth doing and some worth not doing. Let me tell you about some advice about a mechanical problem I took one time from someone who is much wiser and much experienced then me, his name starts with a ch and ends with an arles. This happened last year, I think sometime around fathers day. Yall all know my truck has had lots of problems. And at the time I was trying to self diagnose it. I had an idea what the problem was, and thought I could handle it myself. I even went so far as saying, “I know it’s got to be head gasket (the gasket that keeps the coolant from getting into engine block), I can see it poking out slightly from the top of my engine.” I was then wisely told, “Your head gasket would be lower down, why don’t you take out a spark plug from the engine, if it’s covered in oil then you have a valve cover gasket gone bad as well.” Well, I followed that advise, at first not wanting to, because I was so sure that I was right. Welp, I was wrong. After wrestling with my pride for a few days, I took out a very oil covered plug, which means yep, I was so far out of my element here that I didn’t even know the difference between these two important gaskets, something that would make any mechanic laugh.

So tell me, how useful would it have been to me if I would have simply taken my own (wrong) advice, and taken the top of the engine and tried to replace that valve cover gasket with a very different head gasket? Well, let’s just say I couldn’t drive the truck down the road a few miles to get mulch anymore…… So, what am saying believer, I’m saying that As a believer, you must seek the advise/council of people who are in regular communion with God. But don’t just seek, don’t just ask for it, DO IT! Follow it. God has ordained that Godly person to give you Godly council and as a God follower you are to receive it, consider it, and if The Holy Spirit in you agrees, do it! Remember what Paul wrote to the church in Corinth, for the wisdom of men is foolishness to God. So, instead of seeking, taking, and doing bad advice from men, tak in Godly advice and counsel to your benefit.

The first action to see and do is to understand: The Cost of not following Godly Counsel 39-44

39 When daylight came, they did not recognize the land but sighted a bay with a beach. They planned to run the ship ashore if they could. 40 After cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea, at the same time loosening the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and headed for the beach. 41 But they struck a sandbar and ran the ship aground. The bow jammed fast and remained immovable, while the stern began to break up by the pounding of the waves. 42 The soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners so that no one could swim away and escape. 43 But the centurion kept them from carrying out their plan because he wanted to save Paul, and so he ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. 44 The rest were to follow, some on planks and some on debris from the ship. In this way, everyone safely reached the shore.

Finally, daylight came, and for the first time in a while, land was seen. They were so desperate for the land, to be safe, that they were willing to do what any ship’s crew would never want to do except under the worst of circumstances, to run their ship aground, rendering it useless and possibly permanently damaged and unusable. Remember, this could have all been avoidable if they had first heeded Paul’s advice to stay of fair haven. So, they prepared to run aground, and get as close to the shore as they possibly could. Soon, they would hit a high spot in the sea, a sandbar, and were dangerously run aground. The sea's massive waves started pelting the ship, and the time for desperate action was now. The soldiers, in a bid to see themselves saved when they return (remember, a soldier’s punishment for losing their prisoner was death), wanted to kill the prisoners and then save themselves and the crew. Julius didn’t want this, as he wanted to save Paul (who had after all, saved them by his mere presence and God’s assignment for him). So, the officers' orders were heard, and he sent the swimmers over to the island first, followed by the prisoners next, with those that couldn’t swim took refuge on something that floated from the ship and made their way to the island. This was successful, and everyone made it safely to the island's shore.

With a lost ship and  lost cargo, here were all the members of the ship, some 276, but at least they had their lives. For many of them onboard, the loss of the ship and cargo was an unimaginable tragedy, instantly their entire life’s work was gone, and it safe to assume that they would be indebted to someone for a long time because of the loss of the cargo. As hard as that reality would have seemed to believe as they left from fair haven harbor, here they were; receiving the harsh but fair consequence for not listening and taking the advice of the man of God, Paul. Time and time in our bible’s we see the cost of not following what God wants you to do, just think of Jonah, who because of his disobedience was in the great fish for 3 days, and the sons of Eli the priest (Hophni and Phineas) who abused their office of priests, and Judas who betrayed the Lord Jesus, they all knew better, but thought they knew better than God, and had great tragedies happen to them.

While the text doesn’t explicitly say it, I imagine more than a few of the 276 became followers of The Lord Jesus after this, as He had, just as He does when we are saved, saved their lives. Everyone in the room, here this godly council from the Gospel of Mark, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!” Turn from your sins large and small and believe that Jesus has come and died on the cross to pay the penalty for your sins, so that everyone who believes in Him and calls Him Lord will be saved. To not do so, to not follow this godly council has terrible consequences for everyone, a permanent separation from God because of your sin, and permanent residence in Hell, a permanent lack of God’s mercy in your life, that’s what’s waiting for everyone on the other side who does not repent and believe. As a believer, you must seek the advise/council of people who are in regular communion with God. So, don’t just settle, and don’t just assume that you know best, but dig deeper so that you can live out your life purpose to love God, love people, and make disciples.

Conclusion

          With that, beloved, let us all take a moment, and write down these 3 points ,and  consider them in our lives. Where is a place that you either need or need to give Godly council, where is a place that you need to follow Godly council. And where is a place that you have seen the cost for not seeking or not taking Godly counsel. Take a moment, in your sermon notes portion of your bulletin  and write that in. Then when it looks like we are all done, I will pray for us.

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.