“ Don’t let the Storms & the Snakes stop you from Serving

Acts 27:42–44 (KJV 1900)

42 And the soldiers’ counsel was to kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out, and escape. 43 But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose; and commanded that they which could swim should cast themselves first into the sea, and get to land: 44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.

Acts 28:1–9 (KJV 1900)

1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita. 2 And the barbarous people shewed us no little kindness: for they kindled a fire, and received us every one, because of the present rain, and because of the cold. 3 And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand. 4 And when the barbarians saw the venomous beast hang on his hand, they said among themselves, No doubt this man is a murderer, whom, though he hath escaped the sea, yet vengeance suffereth not to live. 5 And he shook off the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. 6 Howbeit they looked when he should have swollen, or fallen down dead suddenly: but after they had looked a great while, and saw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and said that he was a god. 7 In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the island, whose name was Publius; who received us, and lodged us three days courteously. 8 And it came to pass, that the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered in, and prayed, and laid his hands on him, and healed him. 9 So when this was done, others also, which had diseases in the island, came, and were healed:

“ Don’t let the Storms & the Snakes stop you from Serving “

Subtitle: “ I’m a Survivor “

Paul was one

That was Called & Anointed

By God

And because

he was ANOINTED & CALLED by God

He knew how to Minister & Serve

thru STORMS & SNAKES

The text is tailored to teach us

That this is

A great picture

Of how to be MINISTRY MINDED

MINISTRY MINDED Is doing what God

Has called you to do

Without NOTHING or NO ONE

stopping you for doing it

In Ministry

You have to learn

How to be MINISTRY MINDED

And A SURVIVOR

It's only by God’s Grace

That you was able

To survive some

Of the stuff

In Ministry

And also survive some people

And it's only by God’s MERCY

That you’re not consumed

By some stuff and some people

That tried to wiped you out

In Acts 27 & Acts 28

Is Paul’s story

And Testimony of his

Ministry & Survival

The opening verse

In chapter 28 said

That they had escape some stuff

Paul & 275 others [ Escape let’s us know they went thru ]

And they find themselves

On an island called “Melita” or “Malta”

That's very significant because

The name Melita or Malta means “ Refuge “

Refuge — by definition is a safe place, a sheltered place that’s away from danger or hardship

That’s where Paul is in the text

He’s at a Refuge

He’s at a safe place

Acts 28:1 (KJV 1900)

1 And when they were escaped, then they knew that the island was called Melita.

You have to understand

That Paul didn’t arrive

At this safe place

That was away from danger

And hardship

Without going thru some hardship first

Paul had to go thru somethings

To get to where he is

In Acts 28

We will see

What Paul had to go through

To get to this safe place

In Acts 28

But it’s in my opinion

That it's hard to appreciate

Where a person is

Without knowing where a person has been

A lot of church folks

Have a lot of commentary

About ( YOUR ) life

About where you are

Without having the benefit

Of knowing where you've been

Note: A Believers glory usually have a story

Explain : Acts Chapter 27 & Chapter 28

OUTLINE : PAUL’S PROSPEROUS JOURNEY TO ROME

Now out of ALL the trouble

That Paul and these prisoner

Encountered on this trip

How could you call it a PROSPEROUS TRIP

Because prosperous

Don’t mean FREE from PROBLEMS

Acts (Outline)

27:1–8 Sailing Difficulties

27:9–12 The Decision to Continue & avoid Paul’s advice [ Pastor Pate ]

The ship is going to be lost

And their lives is going to be in danger

But God has made me a promise

That we’re ALL going to make it

Acts 27:23–24 (KJV 1900)

23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

They experience GOD - THE POWER - THE PROVISION - THE PRESENCE - THE POTENTATE GOD

We look at Paul

In Acts number 28

He’s at a Refuge

He's at a safe place

It’s a place that's away from danger or hardship

But to get to

Acts chapter 28 verse 1

Paul had to survive several things

In order to get to the place

Where God would

Have you to be

you have to be a SURVIVOR

When you are a survivor

That means what you've been thru

In life

Your hardships had to have

“ A to be continue “

When you're looking at people

Especially faithful people to the Lord

What they drive

What they wear

Where they live

Don't let that fool you

Because every blessing

Was builded off a story

What you’re looking at is

AFTER they survive some stuff

[ You can’t SEPARATE your Story from Storms ]

Prior getting to chapter 28

Paul had to survive some stuff

Paul had to survive

1st The Battering of a Storm ( V. 27:18 )

Acts 27:18 (NIV)

18 We took such a violent battering from the storm that the next day they began to throw the cargo overboard.

God can ALLOW

You to have a storm

That could buckle your knees

We all have had

Storms to make us

Buckle our knees

Domestic storms - Relational storms - Financial storms - Parental storms - Physical storms - Health storms - Mental storms - Depression storms - Peace less storms [ The bird standing on the ROCK ]

And as soon as Paul

Had to survive

The battering of a storm

In verses 39-44 says

He had to survive

1st The Battering of a Storm ( V. 27:18 )

2nd The Breaking of a Ship ( V. 27:41 )

Acts 27:41 (NIV)

41 But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.

Note: Don’t verse 41 looks like our lives at times [ Future Stuck - Past in Pieces ]

God is not going to allow

You to die

Until you have had some breaks

In your life

Matter of fact

The Rapper Kurtis Blow

Said “ These are the Breaks “

He didn't even know at that time

That there was Just

A little spirituality to his song

That you was going to have breaks in life

Note: Some Ships will break in your life

Friendships - Relationships - Partnerships - kinship - Fellowship - Courtship - Membership - sponsorship - scholarship

Acts 27:44 (KJV 1900)

44 And the rest, some on boards, and some on broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land.

Verse 44 lets us know

That you don't have to have

A whole lot of anything

To make it in life

Because your testimony

About the piece of whatever you have

Will be about the power of God

You can make it

On broken pieces

Because when you look back

Over your life

You have never had

A whole lot of nothing

But you've made it

Note: It was the pieces that help them get to the safe place

Note: With God’s POWER & your PIECE you made it

Now in chapter 28

Paul & the prisoners

Is at a Refuge ( Safe & Shelter place )

You would think after all

That Paul has been thru

His problems would be over

But he had to deal with …………

1st The Battering of a Storm ( V. 27:18 )

2nd The Breaking of a Ship ( V. 27:41 )

3rd The Biting of a Serpent ( V. 28: 3 )

When you look at this text

It would appear

That God is doing Paul

A disservice

The question now becomes

Why would God

Allow Paul

To be bitten by a serpent

AFTER

After Been Battered

After Been Broken

After Dealing with a Storm

After Dealing with a Ship

But God is not

Doing Paul a disservice

Because in a real sense

Paul is able to handle

The ( Bit )

Because of the Battered

Because of the Brokenness

Because of the strength

He got from the SEA

And the strength

He got from the SHIP

Allowed him to handle the SERPENT

Note: Somebody has been looking at their problems from the wrong perspective. [ My Depression]

Note: Praise God for the stuff you have come thru

Even though Paul

Was bitten by the serpent

He was still bless

By the Savior

I’m going to tell you

Why Paul was bless

But I need to tell you

Why he was bitten

To understand that

BLESS FOLKS do get Bitten

Note: Some people never get bitten in ministry because they always doing the bitting.

1st Paul was Bitten because he was Busy ( V. 3 )

Acts 28:3 (KJV 1900)

And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.

Even though Paul

Was a prisoner

As soon as he got off the boat

Paul got busy

276 people Paul is the only one bitten because he's busy

Note: Show me a busy believer and I’ll show you a believer that's capable of being bitten

Note: The Devil don’t fool with lazy folks

1st Paul was Bitten because he was Busy ( V. 3 )

2nd Paul was Bitten because he was Building ( V. 3 )

Acts 28:3 3 “And when Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks, and laid them on the fire, there came a viper out of the heat, and fastened on his hand.”

Paul is building a fire

Paul didn't start the fire

But he's sensitive to know

Because of the weather

Somebody hast to keep the fire going ( That’s Ministry )

The fire in scripture

Is symbolic

To the Holy Spirit

Paul can't sit there

And let this become

A dead environment

Paul was a builder — A fire starter

Note: We have to many members trying to stay warm by the fire but not trying to keep it going

Question: What contribution are you making towards the fire besides Complaining [ Are you throwing WOOD or GAS ]

1st And because he was Busy

2nd And because he was Building

3rd He was Bitten

Note: Even though he was bitten he was still bless

1st The Bite didn’t Hinder him ( V. 5 )

Acts 28:5 (NIV)

5 But Paul shook the snake off into the fire and suffered no ill effects.

He shook it off

Note: You have to learn how to shake some stuff off

Note: When you shake something or someone off you're sending a message that you're not stopping me.

How do you know

When you are no longer

Hinder

By what tried or who tried to stop you

When you can look at

What tried to hinder you

And smile at it or them

Note: Word of wisdom

Be careful who you try to bite

When Paul shook it off it fail into the fire ( The serpent destroy itself )

1st He was not hinder by the bite

2nd He was not hurt by the bite ( V. 6 )

This is the kind of snake

That when you’re bitten

By this snake

You’re suppose to feel something

But Paul felt no harm

Look at what is

Supposed to happen

When you’re bitten

By a snake like this

1 You're supposed to swell up at the point of the bite

2 You're supposed to feel pain in the localized area

3 You're supposed to start having diarrhea and convulsion

4 You're supposed to start feeling faint and dizziness

5 Your vision will start to getting blurry

6 You will start sweating out of control

7 Fever will start

8 You're going to get nauseated

9 Tangling is going to start in your limbs

10 You're going to have overall loss of muscle use

11 You're going to have rapid pulse

12 You will feel like you're catching a heart attack

13 Then your eyes is going to roll back into your head

14 Your skin is going to start to discolor

15 You're going to fall to the ground

16 Your pulse will slowly decrease

17 Eventually you will die

Acts 28:6 (NIV)

6 The people expected him to swell up or suddenly fall dead; but after waiting a long time and seeing nothing unusual happen to him, they changed their minds and said he was a god.

They was WAITING for him to die

They was WATCHING for him die

And some was WISHING he would die

Note: But Paul’s testimony was “ It Should’ve “ — But “ It DIDN’T

Paul says

I’m bless because

1st He was not hinder by the bite

2nd He was not hurt by the bite ( V. 5B )

3rd He Healed people after the bite ( V. 7-9 )

Acts 28:7–9 (NIV)

7 There was an estate nearby that belonged to Publius, the chief official of the island. He welcomed us to his home and showed us generous hospitality for three days. 8 His father was sick in bed, suffering from fever and dysentery. Paul went in to see him and, after prayer, placed his hands on him and healed him. 9 When this had happened, the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured.

Define: Dysentery in NIV ( di-s-n-ter-e`) — “ fever & of a bloody flux” in the KJV — a disease characterized by severe diarrhea with passage of mucus and blood and usually caused by infection.

As soon as Paul got bitten

The people started

Talking about him

Verse 4

You must be a murderer

You can't be a man of God

Note: Verse 4 let’s us know that people won't have ALL good things to say about you when you're effecting the kingdom ( The Gospel )

CLOSE

Jesus had to deal with Two snakes [ Judas & Satan ]

He wasn’t HINDER — HURT — HELP

Preached @

LMBC - Pastor Randle Pre-Anniversary