Life on Purpose (2)
Notes
Transcript
Shake it Off
Shake it Off
“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you; Before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations.”
Apostle Paul lived every day on assignment. He lived knowing that his purpose was greater than his pain. When he was thrown in prison, he made the prison his pulpit. No matter what happened to him, no matter how many prisons they put him in, no matter how many times they tried to kill him, Paul kept his focus on his assignment. He lived his life with purpose and on purpose.
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ;
But I want you to know, brethren, that the things which happened to me have actually turned out for the furtherance of the gospel,
so that it has become evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my chains are in Christ;
Paul said, do not worry, even this prison is part of my assignment. Psalms tells us that every day of your life is written in a book even before the first came to be. And God will use every moment in that book for His purpose. He may not cause everything but He will use everything.
My chains are in Christ - My chains are a part of my purpose. My chains are in Christ. They are for the purpose of the Kingdom, to spread the gospel, and God will accomplish His purpose.
For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.
But if I live on in the flesh, this will mean fruit from my labor; yet what I shall choose I cannot tell.
For I am hard-pressed between the two, having a desire to depart and be with Christ, which is far better.
Nevertheless to remain in the flesh is more needful for you.
The enemy will throw everything he has at you at times to throw you off course and distract you from your purpose.
Storm, shipwrecked, snake
The storm
Paul was not a passenger on a cruise ship. He was a prisoner on his way to stand before Emperor Nero.
Now when much time had been spent, and sailing was now dangerous because the Fast was already over, Paul advised them,
saying, “Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo and ship, but also our lives.”
Nevertheless the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul.
And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to set sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening toward the southwest and northwest, and winter there.
The centurion listened to the captain and the majority instead of Paul. Paul told them what to do and they ignored him. They listened to the majority. Anytime the majority does not line up with the Word, you better ignore the majority.
Paul did all the right things, said all the right things, loved God, served God, and still wound up in a storm.
There are times in your life when you do things right, do the right things, remained faithful and still wind up in a storm and sometimes even shipwrecked. You didn’t even make the decisions that got you there but you wound up in it anyway.
Even when you were faithful, you had to deal with people who took you into a storm and you ended up in a shipwreck.
You wound up in the middle of a hurricane. The hurricane might come to try to take you out but for every hurricane, you can stand on the name of Jesus that can speak peace in the middle of the storm. You still have Jesus who can calm the sea and call you out to walk on what was trying to drown you.
When you are in a storm, the enemy will come up and begin to speak to you. He will tell you that if God really cared about you and if God was really with you, you would not be in the middle of the mess you are in. He will tell you that you deserved the mess you got into.
When you are in a storm, you have to be very careful what voice you listen to.
Paul was in a storm that was not his fault but the power of God and the purpose of God was still on his life.
When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their desire, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete.
But not long after, a tempestuous head wind arose, called Euroclydon.
So when the ship was caught, and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.
And running under the shelter of an island called Clauda, we secured the skiff with difficulty.
When they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship; and fearing lest they should run aground on the Syrtis Sands, they struck sail and so were driven.
And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship.
On the third day we threw the ship’s tackle overboard with our own hands.
Lighten the load!!!!
In the storm you will realize what is important and what is not. You will recognize what you can live without. Sometimes you have to lighten the load. When the storm got bad enough, things they thought were so necessary when it was calm, they realized they were carrying things that they did not need.
Carrying things that cannot go where God is taking you.
Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
They threw off the tackle with their own hands. God is not going to do it for you. You have to make some decisions to let some stuff go. It might be burdens, it might be some sin, it might even be people.
There may even be people in your life that when you are in the storm, you will realize they might have been with you but were never really for you.
People that every time you try to move forward, you feel them pulling you back. People that always tell you that you are never going to make it. There might be people in your life that pull you further from God rather than pushing you toward God.
Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.
But after long abstinence from food, then Paul stood in the midst of them and said, “Men, you should have listened to me, and not have sailed from Crete and incurred this disaster and loss.
And now I urge you to take heart, for there will be no loss of life among you, but only of the ship. For there stood by me this night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve,
saying, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul; you must be brought before Caesar; and indeed God has granted you all those who sail with you.’
Therefore take heart, men, for I believe God that it will be just as it was told me. However, we must run aground on a certain island.”
In the middle of the storm - I believe God!!!!! When everything is falling apart, when the doctor’s report is bad, when your money is bad, when your relationships are bad, stand up in the middle of it all and declare, “I believe God.”
If you say, “I believe God, but.....” then you don’t really believe God. He is faithful to His Word and he will complete the good work He has begun in you and for you.
Now when the fourteenth night had come, as we were driven up and down in the Adriatic Sea, about midnight the sailors sensed that they were drawing near some land.
And they took soundings and found it to be twenty fathoms; and when they had gone a little farther, they took soundings again and found it to be fifteen fathoms.
Then, fearing lest we should run aground on the rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern, and prayed for day to come.
And as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship, when they had let down the skiff into the sea, under pretense of putting out anchors from the prow,
Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay in the ship, you cannot be saved.”
Then the soldiers cut away the ropes of the skiff and let it fall off.
Do not abandon the ship!!!!!
And as day was about to dawn, Paul implored them all to take food, saying, “Today is the fourteenth day you have waited and continued without food, and eaten nothing.
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.”
And when he had said these things, he took bread and gave thanks to God in the presence of them all; and when he had broken it he began to eat.
Then they were all encouraged, and also took food themselves.
And in all we were two hundred and seventy-six persons on the ship.
So when they had eaten enough, they lightened the ship and threw out the wheat into the sea.
2. The Shipwreck
And the soldiers’ plan was to kill the prisoners, lest 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 on boards and some on parts of the ship. And so it was that they all escaped safely to land.
Through no fault of his own, through no decisions of his own, Paul had not only just endured 14 days of hell on the Mediterranean Sea, he now finds himself shipwrecked on an island.
Now when they had escaped, they then found out that the island was called Malta.
And the natives showed us unusual kindness; for they kindled a fire and made us all welcome, because of the rain that was falling and because of the cold.
But when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and laid them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat, and fastened on his hand.
So when the natives saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he has escaped the sea, yet justice does not allow to live.”
But he shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm.
SHAKE IT OFF!!!!!!!!
Paul was cold, wet, shipwrecked but he still tended the fire.
The fire did not create the snake but the fire will always reveal the snakes!!
Commentators said, “He deserved this. He did something that caused all of this. He deserves what happens to him.”
If you find yourself in a storm or you feel like your life has been shipwrecked and it was not your fault, it does not mean God has left you or that your calling and purpose is no longer valid. The enemy does not attack where there is no purpose. He does not waste his venom on people who are doing nothing.
However, they were expecting that he would swell up or suddenly fall down dead.
But after they had looked for a long time and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds and said that he was a god.
The snake may have been sent to kill you, but God will use it to confirm you!!! God will use it to confirm his purpose for you and his presence and power in you and on you!
The snake attached to his hand.
In that region there was an estate of the leading citizen of the island, whose name was Publius, who received us and entertained us courteously for three days.
And it happened that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and dysentery. Paul went in to him and prayed, and he laid his hands on him and healed him.
So when this was done, the rest of those on the island who had diseases also came and were healed.
Pay attention to where the enemy attacks. It is often the very place God intends to use you. The snake bit his hand. It was the same hand that God would use to heal all the sick on the island. When the enemy attacks, pay close attention to where he attacks because it will often be the same place where your purpose is.
If you will build a fire, even after the storm, even after the shipwreck, watch what God does in your life. If you will just remain faithful and remain focused on your assignment, watch what He does.
Worship anyway, praise anyway, serve anyway!
ALTAR CALL
Shipwrecked - did everything right and may have even came on broken pieces.
Enemy is saying it is all your fault and God is not with you anymore - do not listen to the voice of the enemy. God has not left you. Your calling and purpose is still on you.
In the storm - the wind is beating, the rain seems like it will never stop, seems like all hope is lost. Sickness, children that are lost, burdens, relationships that need mended
Shipwrecked - ready to build a fire - ready to gather sticks. Ready to fan the flames as Paul told Timothy. You survived the storm, you survived the shipwreck, and you are determined that the enemy will not have the last word, you are determined that you will build a fire in your heart.
Snakes -
