Shipwreck and Destination

I had a lot of excitement coming into the finale because I quite like finales.

Christina and I don't get a chance to watch too much in terms of TV these days,

but I was just reminiscing on the finales that I've liked over the years.

Of course, growing up, I've told you before, I grew up in the late 1900s,

so Friends was kind of my staple.

It has not aged well, I'll say that, but a great show.

Of course, the finale, did she get on the plane or did she not get on the plane?

That was a big thing.

But there are, of course, other shows that I was deeply influenced by.

TVB was part of my early childhood diet as well.

A show called Shutsanfeiwu.

Has anyone heard of it, watched it?

Whoa, okay, aging, okay.

Li Fong.

Zhanqing.

I've watched Zhanqing.

Who watched Zhanqing?

How many episodes of Zhanqing were there?

A thousand?

That was a thing?

Oh, wow, that's a big one.

Of course, if you grew up in the era that I did and you watched these Chinese TV shows,

then you basically fluctuated your career plans from being a policeman to being a doctor to being a fireman

and then to being a martial arts expert.

And so that was what I grew up with.

And I always approached that finale with a lot of excitement.

Because it's like, whoa, this is how it finishes.

And then I read Acts chapters 27 and 28, which is what we're going to be going through.

Acts 27 · chapter mention

And I'll be honest, there was some drama.

But it wasn't finishing how I expected it to finish.

And so as we're going to go through this passage here, what we're actually going to see is the end of the account of Paul.

And we've been with Paul for a long time.

Actually, trivia.

When was Paul first introduced?

Which chapter in the book of Acts?

Does anyone know?

Scanning.

Any brave souls?

Huh?

Nine?

Did you just say nine?

That's when he kind of got blinded.

So you're right.

But there was a mention of his name in chapter 8.

At the end of chapter 7.

Where you've got Stephen, the deacon, who gets killed.

And then they say, and then this man called Saul is overseeing this execution.

Fast forward to Acts chapter 28.

Acts 28 · chapter mention

We've been with Paul for nearly 30 years.

That's why I was mildly sentimental as I was approaching this.

So I was like, when, we've been with him for a long time.

We've gone through chapter after chapter, city after city, prison after prison.

And we're finally reaching the end of his life.

And what is his finale?

What is his daiki go?

He goes to meet Caesar.

And so I'm like, oh, this is going to be fun.

This is going to be good to see how it all ends.

And the ending isn't quite what I expected.

But yet still there's so much to learn.

There is also still so much drama.

So what I'm going to do is actually, instead of reading Acts chapter 27 and 28 and getting

Acts 27 · chapter mention

us to stand for all of that, I'm actually, I've chosen a different passage that we're

going to read.

And it's actually one of his final words in 2 Timothy.

And so can I invite you to stand as is our custom to read the word of the Lord.

We stand because we remind ourselves of the reverence and awe that we have for the word

of God.

But it's not what James is saying that's going to be important.

It's actually going to be the word of God that changes our lives.

So I want to invite JP up to read for us 2 Timothy chapter 4 verse 1 to 8.

2 Timothy 4:1–8

I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and

the dead.

And by his appearing and his kingdom, preach the word, be ready in season and out of season,

reprove, rebuke, and exhort with a complete patience and teaching.

For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itchy ears,

they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions.

And they will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into the myths.

As for you, always be sober minded, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill

your ministry.

For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come.

I have fought the good fight.

I have finished the race.

I have kept the faith.

Henceforth, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous

judge, will award to me on the day.

And not only to me, but also to all who have loved his appearing.

This is the word of the Lord.

Please take a seat.

Those words are precious.

And even as JP was reading them, I was imagining if this was a movie, I can see just orchestra

music in the background as he's saying, I have fought the good fight.

I have ran my race.

I've come to the end.

My 30 years are being poured out as a sacrifice for the kingdom of God.

And yet, we're going to go back now.

I'll give you some time, as I find it, to the end of Acts.

Acts chapter 27 and 28.

Acts 27 · chapter mention

It doesn't end how I expected it to end, because I thought it was going to be about Paul finally

meeting Caesar, maybe converting Caesar, and then boom, Christianity explodes and springboards

from there.

But it doesn't quite end how I expected it to.

But yet, the story is dramatic.

And all we're going to do today is actually going to follow the story.

And through following the story, we'll see something that's very interesting.

And that is this.

And I want you to anchor on this.

The story isn't about Paul.

The story is also not about me or you.

The story is about God.

It's about the sovereignty of God.

It's about how God is completely in control from the beginning to the very end.

And you see this coming out.

Because I'm very conscious when we look at this book, sometimes we look at this book and

we go, okay, where can I find myself in this book?

What's the challenge that I'm facing?

Oh, there's a shipwreck happening.

Well, maybe it's going to talk to me about my shipwreck.

Maybe it's talking to me about my challenges that I have.

And whilst there are ways that we can apply it in that way, but that actually can also be

a dangerous thing.

What we're trying to do here is not to find ourselves in the story, but to find God in the

story.

And so as we look at this story as an account, and if anyone who is actually afraid of the

ocean and afraid of getting on a boat, this won't help that much.

But what we see is actually God's fingerprints, God actually being in complete control all the

way.

So we're simply just going to go through it.

And you can track me and I'll be tracking the time as well to hopefully we can finish

the two chapters by then.

And so it says this, chapter seven.

And when it was decided that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and some other

prisoners to a centurion of the Augustan cohort named Julius.

So again, it's not about us.

This is actually a real live event.

Who wrote the book of Acts?

Luke.

He explains why he writes to Theophilus, right?

He's saying, I'm here to keep an account of what happened.

So actually you'll be able to see and generations in the future will be able to see what happened.

So all Luke is doing here is actually he's keeping an account and a very detailed account

of what happens towards the end of their journey here.

And what's really interesting is, and it was decided that we should sail for Italy.

Remember for the longest time from Acts chapter nine, so 15 and 16, it was always Paul doing

this, Paul doing that.

And suddenly Luke joins a party and says, we're going.

So this is just, for me, it's just encouragement that when Paul is going on his journey, he starts

off alone, but very quickly people join him and people who are willing to join him.

Where's he going?

He's going to Jerusalem.

He's going to Rome.

He's going to prison.

He's going to death.

Yet there are friends who are going with him.

Isn't that just a comfort?

Isn't that encouraging that we don't do this by ourselves?

And so he says, we are going.

Because remember, Luke does not need to get on this boat.

Because where's Paul going?

He's going to prison.

He's going to go meet Caesar.

This isn't going to end well.

And yet Luke says, I don't care.

I'm coming with you.

I'm coming with you so I can keep an account of what's happening and I can be your friend and

I can support you.

I think that is amazing.

And when they go, it's not just Paul.

There's some other prisoners as well.

And they're looked after by a centurion.

There's only two centurions that we've heard about in the book of Acts.

And one is in Acts chapter 10, right?

Acts 10 · chapter mention

And Cornelius.

And then now we have another one called Juju.

Okay.

Juju is here.

He's a centurion.

So we have our own Juju.

But this one would have been much taller because there would have been a height requirement.

So to be a centurion.

So I actually searched for that.

It's actually six foot tall.

Anyway, I digress.

So this actually happened.

This actually happened and it happened in 59 AD.

And it happened in October, November time.

It happened in the fall.

So this is an actual account of what happened to Paul as he was going to Rome.

Now, he thought he was going to Rome to meet Caesar.

But he didn't know how.

He didn't know that it was going to be as a prisoner in a boat that ends up getting shipwrecked.

And embarking in a ship, they go.

And they go along a few coasts.

And they're accompanied not just by Luke, but by Aristarchus.

So there's three of them.

So there's Paul, there's Luke, and there's Aristarchus.

Where have we heard from Aristarchus?

We've heard of him once in Acts chapter 19 in Ephesus when there was a riot.

Acts 19 · chapter mention

Remember there was a guy called Demetrius who was losing a lot of money

because he made statues of the goddess Artemis.

But he was getting annoyed because Paul was telling people Artemis isn't real.

And how dare he?

So that means his business, his stockpile, his warehouse of statues, he can't sell now.

So he starts a riot and he drags Aristarchus out into the court.

Okay, so that's where we see Aristarchus.

Again, Aristarchus doesn't need to be on this boat.

But he's saying, Paul, where you go, I will go with you.

I'm your bro, ride or die.

So they go.

So the next day we put in at Sidon and Juju, Julius, treated Paul kindly

and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for.

Recap, again, reminder.

Paul was a prisoner.

But yet the guy in charge says, hey, you're a prisoner, but I quite like you.

We're going to stop here.

And you know what I'm going to do?

I'm going to trust you.

I'm going to let you go and find your friends.

And so he actually lets him go.

And then Paul gets cared for.

Isn't that amazing that a prisoner would have that kind of treatment?

You see the favor of God on Paul again here.

So he puts an Apple Air tag on him and then he lets him go and tracks him.

But then lets Paul basically do whatever he wants.

And then he comes back.

I think that's fascinating in itself.

And putting out, oh, the other thing that's fascinating, Paul has friends in every city.

We talked about this last time.

You thought he was a lone ranger.

You thought he is doing this on his own.

He's fighting this good fight, running this race on his own.

But every city he goes to, he finds friends.

Isn't that amazing?

That he's supported.

That there are people who are ready to go meet him to risk their lives and to actually

spend time supporting him.

And so they go.

And putting out to the sea from there, we sailed under the lee of Cyprus.

And they basically start going around the Mediterranean to head to Rome.

That's the goal here.

Did I ever tell you that Christina and I got married on a Mediterranean cruise ship?

It was the cheapest way to get married.

Because everyone pays for themselves.

So it was really fun.

It was really good.

But then actually, at that time of year, the Mediterranean is actually not a great time.

Because the weather starts to turn.

That's why we know it was October, November.

And because there's a reason why.

So they keep sailing.

And then they find another boat.

This is verse 6.

They're the centurion.

Found a ship of Alexandria sailing for Italy.

So they actually had to change boats.

So they had to go from the blue line to the red line.

And they had to change ships.

And then they move on.

And they keep going.

And the word you see in ESV, it says, we sailed under the lee of Crete of Salmone.

The word lee simply means the side of an island.

The side of an island would have been the safest place.

Because it would have been away from the biggest winds.

So they would have been able to control where they were going.

Coasting along it, but yet still with great difficulty, we came to a place called Fairhavens.

Near which was the city of La Sille.

Interesting.

They're going on this.

They're going basically just curling around the island.

Trying to get to Rome now.

But then it's getting very hard.

Since much time had passed and the voyage was now dangerous because even the fast was already over.

That's why we know it was in the fall.

Paul advised them.

So Paul says, the prisoner, Paul says, the one who actually has no control and no power and no influence on the boat says,

Guys, I actually don't think it's a good idea.

I think we should wait here.

What does he say?

Says, I perceive that the voyage will be with injury and much loss, not only of the cargo and the ship, but also of our lives.

Paul knows.

In 2 Corinthians, we see Paul actually says, hey, I've been beaten.

I've been thrown into prison.

I've actually had three shipwrecks already.

And that was before this one.

So he's already had three shipwrecks.

So he's an expert in this.

He's like, guys, I don't think it's a good idea that we go.

Because if we go, we're going to lose our cargo.

And we're actually going to lose lives.

We should just hang out and stay here over winter.

And we'll go afterwards.

What happens then?

They look at him and go, well, you're the prisoner.

And we have professional sailors on the boat who know what they're doing.

Plus, we don't want to stay in this place through winter.

So we're going to keep going.

Verse 11.

But the centurion paid more attention to the pilot and to the owner of the ship than to what Paul said.

And because the harbor was not suitable to spend the winter, the majority decided to put out to sea from there on the chance that somehow they could reach Phoenix, not the one in the U.S., a harbor of Crete facing both southwest and northwest and spend the winter there.

So instead of relying or trusting in this prophet who actually could hear and actually know what God was trying to tell them, they would trust in worldly wisdom.

They would trust in the professionals, which in some ways you can't really blame them because they were the ones put in charge here.

But anyway, they ignore him.

Of course, he's also a prisoner.

So they go.

Verse 13.

Now, when the south wind blew gently, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, they were like, see, it's okay.

We're fine.

We did the right thing, guys.

We're heading to the right direction.

Suddenly, it turns.

They anchored and sailed along Crete, close to the shore.

But verse 14.

But soon, a tempestuous wind called the northeaster struck down from the land.

So a T-10 comes into town.

So Typhoon 10 comes, and now they can't control.

What they thought was going okay, when they thought they had made the right decision, now they realize we probably should listen to that prisoner.

So they completely lose control, and the ship gets caught, and basically they give up, and they just have to follow wherever the wind takes them.

So they reach a small island called Korda.

We manage with difficulty to secure the ship's boat.

So it wasn't going well.

So the first thing they do was, hey, that lifeboat is just hanging off our boat.

Let's secure it.

Let's bring it back in.

Let's make sure that we have this as our backup.

So they bring it back in.

But then it carries on.

After hoisting it up, they used supports to undergo the ship.

Then fearing they would run aground on the situs, they lowered the gear, and thus they were driven along.

Since they were violently storm-tossed, they began next day to jettison the cargo.

So day one, they're like, let's bring the lifeboat back in, just in case.

Day two, it's not looking good.

Let's throw all the cargo off.

Let's throw all the goods that we were supposed to ship off.

Let's not worry about the consequences.

Let's just survive this.

So they throw it off.

Day three, they're like, oh, it's not going well.

Let's throw all the tackle off.

The tackle is basically the equipment that was used to steer the ship.

Let's get rid of those things too.

It doesn't look good, guys.

Yes, we best clear out this boat so we can have our highest chance of survival here.

When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope of our being saved was at last abandoned.

Actually, does anyone get motion sickness here?

Big thing.

It's really bad.

I have it really bad too.

When we were still living in England, we'd visit, of course, the Mediterranean.

We'd go to all these places.

I remember one time we went to the Algarve and we went to go out to see dolphins.

Well, that's what the hope was.

My family saw the dolphins.

I was sat inside the cabin just wanting to throw up my intestines.

Though I did find out.

The guy, he gave me this trick.

He said, use a water bottle and put it on the back of your neck.

Has anyone heard of that?

It worked.

I miss the dolphins.

But it worked.

Anyway.

All hope was lost.

Why?

Because by now, it's probably a week in.

With no food.

With no hope of steering wherever they needed to go.

And so they were just stranded, floating in the ocean.

Can you imagine professionals who have grown up on the sea deciding, hey, we have no chance now.

Any chance of survival is gone.

And since they had been without food for a long time, verse 21, Paul stands up.

And then he says, guys, I told you so.

Men, you should have listened to me.

And not have set sail from Crete and incurred this injury and loss.

Can you just imagine?

The storm is still going.

They haven't seen the sun or the stars.

So the storms are just so wild.

It's just dark the whole time.

And they can't even sit in a place still.

And yet Paul stands up and says, hey, guys, one, I told you so.

But it's okay.

Stay calm.

Because just this evening, an angel of the Lord stood with me and said these words to me.

Verse 24.

Oh, actually, verse 23 first.

For this very night there stood before me an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I worship.

Isn't that just beautiful?

This guy is in the eye of the storm.

Everyone else has lost all hope.

Completely abandoned any hope of being saved.

He says, I had God stand next to me.

And this God I belong to and I worship.

I have a personal relationship with this God.

And that's why I have this peace.

Wouldn't it be great if we as Christians, whenever we are in storm, that we can stand and go, hey, that we're in a storm right now.

But yet I just feel complete peace.

Why?

Because there is a God whom I belong to, who I worship, who I completely trust.

And he says, do not be afraid, Paul.

You must stand before Caesar.

And behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.

So take heart, men, for I have faith in God that it will be exactly as I have been told.

But we must run aground on some island.

He says, this very night, while you guys were throwing off all the things on the boat to try and survive,

or you're just lying there now because you've given up,

God stood in our midst and told me, I still have a mission.

I must meet Caesar.

And because of that, you guys are all going to be saved as well.

Isn't that pretty cool?

Verse 27.

When the 14th night had come, they'd been on this ship floating for two weeks.

No food.

They were driven across the Adriatic Sea.

About midnight, the sailors suspected that they were nearing land.

So as they were getting close to some land, the sailors, the professionals,

who thought they knew they were doing, started to hear.

What it was, was they started to hear that the waves were crashing differently.

Well, before there were no waves.

It would just be the ocean.

But they started to hear a different sound, which was, oh, it sounds like the water is crashing against some land.

So they heard it, and so they used their expertise, and they said, well, let's check it out.

So they lowered the anchor, and what they would do is lower the anchor, and then they would see how far the actual ocean bed was.

And they did it once.

So they took a sounding and found 20 fathoms.

And a little farther on, they took a sounding again and found 15 fathoms.

That means they were getting closer and closer to land.

And just when you thought that would be enough, and fearing that we might run on the rocks,

they let down four anchors from the stern and prayed for day to come.

They were like, guys, I think we're getting closer.

Maybe there is some hope.

And so they start praying.

Because before, they couldn't even pray.

They were like, that's it, we're done.

But now they start praying.

But I wonder who they're praying to.

I think they're praying to all kinds of gods.

Any god that will help them, they're praying for gods.

Like, can you, can you, please save us.

God of fertility, God of, God of business, God of work, everyone.

God, please, who has a god?

Bring out the Pokemon cards.

Let's pray to each of those Pokemon.

Let's see if that will help too.

So they're praying to everyone.

And this tells me something else.

That actually, again, it was the podcast that I listened to that Chris recommended last week.

And actually, it quoted a C.S. Lewis quote, which is,

there are no atheists in the trenches.

There are no atheists in the trenches.

You can say that you don't believe in God.

You can say that you're okay, that you've made your own way,

that you work very hard to get to where you are.

But actually, the moment life goes out of control, the moment there is suffering,

the moment there is sickness, there are no atheists then.

Because we all know, deep down inside us, there's something that we must appeal to

that is out of our control.

Someone out there is bigger and has more power than us.

There are no atheists in the trenches.

So these sailors, who ignored this prophet, then decide just to pray to whoever.

But only Paul was praying to the God who could actually save them.

But these sailors did something interesting.

They did something very cheeky.

They said, we're getting close to land.

Let's try and get there.

But when I say, let us try and get there, they just meant themselves.

There were 276 people on this boat.

But the sailors, verse 30, as the sailors were seeking to escape from the ship

and had lowered the ship's boat into the sea under the pretense of laying out anchors from the boat.

So the sailors would tell everyone else, guys, I think we're getting close to land.

I think we need to anchor and find our way to get onto that land.

So they would tell people that's what they were doing.

But what they were actually doing was lowering the lifeboats so that they could sneak off themselves.

And then Paul, I don't know whether he just observes and sees or whether God told him.

He says, verse 31,

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 ship's boat and let it go.

So just when they thought they could escape,

Paul snitches on them and says, well, you can't let them off this boat.

And actually, as we were talking about this passage as a team this last week,

it was Gabriel who brought this up.

Isn't it interesting?

Because if you just rewind a little bit to what Paul said God told him,

or the angel of the Lord told him,

which is that all these men will be saved.

God has granted you all those who sail with you.

And so no one will actually die.

And yet just a few verses later,

Paul says, hey, you will only be saved if you listen to me.

If you will, you will only be saved if you trust me,

or rather you will only be saved if you have faith in the God

who told me that you're going to be okay.

This speaks a little bit into the sovereignty of God and his desire,

which is that his plan is for all of us to be saved.

But one of the requirements for us all to be saved is that we must still trust him.

Because if we don't choose to trust him,

even though it's his desire for us to be saved,

if we deliberately choose to not trust him and to find our own way out,

then we won't actually be saved.

Of course, if I'm the sailors, I'm distraught,

because I thought I was going to make a way out.

And yet this prisoner snitches on us.

And now we're all stuck on the boat together.

As day was about to dawn,

and Paul urged them all to take some food,

saying, today is the 14th day.

It's been two weeks that you've not eaten.

Therefore, I urge you to take some food,

for it will give you strength,

for not a hair is to perish from the head of any of you.

And when he said these things,

he took bread and gave thanks to God,

and he began to eat.

So he says, hey, you've not eaten for two weeks.

You must eat so you can be strong,

so you can survive this.

Because remember, my God said that you will be safe.

My God said that no hair on your head will perish.

Not of great comfort to me,

but of great comfort to you or Aaron.

I mean, Aaron and I and the rest of us,

that promise came too late.

But then what we see here

is really interesting.

Who wrote the book of Acts again?

Luke.

What book did Luke also write?

The book of Luke.

Just entertain me for two minutes

as we take a little bit of a diversion.

Luke chapter 21.

Luke 21 · chapter mention

So Luke quotes Paul in that chapter,

but he's not actually quoting Paul.

He's actually quoting God.

He's actually quoting Jesus.

Because that phrase,

that phrase,

if you look at Luke chapter 21,

Luke 21:10

verse 10,

Jesus is foretelling wars and persecution.

Let me quickly read it to us.

Luke chapter 21, verse 10.

Luke 21:10

And then he said to them,

nations will rise against nation

and kingdom against kingdom.

There will be great earthquakes

and in various places,

famines and pestilences.

And there will be terrors

and great signs from heaven.

But before all this,

they will lay their hands on you

and persecute you,

delivering you up to the synagogues

and prisons.

And you will be brought before kings

and governors for my namesake.

What a pep talk.

What a way to hype up his crew

just before he leaves.

This will be your opportunity

to bear witness.

Settle it, therefore,

in your minds,

not to meditate before

and how to answer.

For I will give you

a mouth and wisdom

which none of your adversaries

will be able to withstand

or contradict.

You will be delivered up

even by parents and brothers

and relatives and friends

and some of you,

they will put to death.

You will be hated by all

for my namesake.

The pep talk of a lifetime.

But, verse 18,

but not a hair of your head

will perish.

By endurance,

you will gain your lives.

Luke's writing this account

on the shipwreck,

saying what Paul said,

but you better know

that he also remembers

that this line

was taken from Jesus' mouth himself.

That there was a warning

that suffering will come.

That there was a warning

that God will be with them.

But with suffering,

will then eventually lead

to perseverance,

character, and hope.

With suffering,

it will eventually lead

to glory.

What he's saying here is

there is no glory

without suffering.

Don't we sometimes

approach the Christian faith

saying,

God, if I follow you,

if I do everything right,

then you will bless me.

And you look at this passage,

whether it's Jesus

talking in Luke chapter 21,

Luke 21 · chapter mention

or it's what's happening

on the ship,

on the shipwreck,

two weeks in,

without any food,

it's the same.

And yet here he says,

not even a hair

is going to be perishing

from your head.

What he's saying is

you will gain your life.

Even though you think

you're not going to,

I will save you.

But not until

your purpose is carried out.

And there will be suffering.

I wonder,

I wonder how many of us

actually take that to heart.

One of my favorite passages

in scripture is Paul

writing to the Corinthians

in the second letter

in chapter four.

He says,

do not lose heart

for our outer selves

are wasting away

day by day,

but inner selves

are being renewed

day by day.

For the light momentary

afflictions

that we're experiencing

right now,

whatever storm it is,

whatever challenge it is,

whatever valley

of the shadow of death

that we're going through

right now

are nothing,

are nothing

when compared

to the eternal weight

of glory

that awaits us.

When you look

at Paul's life,

when you look

at how many times

he has suffered,

when you look

at how many times

he's been flogged,

thrown into prison,

shipwreck after shipwreck,

and yet he keeps saying

the same thing

that none of this,

none of this

is going to compare

at all.

It'll be as a feather

when compared

to the eternal

weight of glory

that awaits us.

So therefore,

what?

I press on

toward the goal

of Christ Jesus.

Not only that,

not only does he

have that hope,

he's trying to share

that hope with other people.

So two weeks in,

he lifts up the bread

and he gives thanks

to God and says,

God, thank you for this.

There is nothing

to give thanks for.

Two weeks on an ocean

with motion sickness

and no food.

And yet here he does,

he gives thanks.

They were all encouraged

and ate some food themselves.

We were in all

276 persons in the ship.

And when they had eaten enough,

they lightened the ship,

throwing out the wheat

into the sea.

They were so encouraged,

they were like,

okay, I think we're coming

to the end of it.

Let's throw out

everything else that we have.

276 people.

On that boat,

276,

we can only say

for certain

that there were three

who trusted in God.

Paul, Luke,

and Aristarchus.

That's three to 276.

The ratio there

is one to 92

of Christians.

I wonder what

your ratio is.

When you go back

into your workplace,

when you go back

into your families,

I wonder what

your ratio is

as someone who believes

in Christ

and around those

who do not.

What we see here

is the ratio

is not really for him.

The favors,

the odds are not

really for him here.

And yet you better believe

as this boat

approaches the shore

that all of these people

are going to trust in God

or at least have respect

that this God is out there.

Right?

And so what happens here

is this.

Now when it was day,

they did not recognize the land,

but they noticed a bay

with a beach.

And so they're like,

okay, let's do this.

Let's get as close

as we can as possible,

lower the anchor,

and then maybe

we can all get off.

But again,

that wasn't Paul's promise.

That wasn't God's promise

to Paul.

Paul said,

none of you will die,

but the ship is going to go.

Isn't that interesting?

That God will save us,

but he won't save

the established institutions

and all the things

that we have

that we rely on right now.

He won't save those things.

That is not in his interest

to save those things.

It's not in his interest

to save your career

or to save your ambitions

or to save this or that

or to save all the things

or your bank accounts.

His interest,

his only interest

is in you

and in your soul.

And so the ship

doesn't make it.

So they try

as much as they can

to do it,

but the ship still crashes.

And it has no way

of getting to the land.

And so basically

when they all crash,

they're all in the water.

Verse 42,

the soldier's plan

was to kill the prisoners

lest any should swim away

and escape.

Remember,

these soldiers,

they were in charge

of these prisoners

and what would happen

if they lost a prisoner?

They themselves

would get punished

and killed.

So they're like,

well, better you than me.

Let's just kill

all of them now.

And this is where

Juju steps in again.

Julius says,

no,

we've got to listen

to this guy.

This guy is on to something.

We need to protect him.

And so he does protect him,

but the centurion

wishing to save Paul

kept them from carrying

out their plan.

He ordered those

who could swim

to jump overboard first

and make for the land

and the rest on planks

or on pieces of ship.

And so it was

that all were brought

safely to the land.

Where did they end up?

They ended up

on this tiny,

tiny island

in the Mediterranean

called Malta.

Who's been to Malta before?

A few.

I personally

haven't been to Malta,

but I have a good friend

who actually

goes there regularly.

He says,

this is this beautiful island.

This beautiful island

that actually

with a lot of

very kind,

nice people

that we also see

in scripture.

Malta's one of those

countries that actually

was the first

to actually have

Christianity.

Why?

Because of this shipwreck.

The history of their church

goes all the way back

to AD 59 slash 60.

And they showed

this group,

this 276

unusual kindness.

We're into chapter 28 now.

Hey,

that was pretty fast.

Chapter 28.

The native people

showed us

unusual kindness

and later it says

they entertained us

hospitably

and they kindled a fire

and welcomed us all

because it had begun

to rain and was cold.

Those of you

who grew up in Hong Kong,

October, November

is a beautiful,

beautiful time

weather-wise, right?

Of course,

this week

we've been hit

with the humidity

and we're all grieving

because of that.

But if you grew up

in Europe like me,

October, November

is when things

start to get dark.

The clocks change.

You don't see the sun

and if you go to work,

you go to work

when it's dark

and you finish work

and it's still dark, right?

And so it wasn't

a good time

so it was getting cold.

And so what do they do?

The Maltese,

they actually host

these people

and say,

let's keep you warm.

Interestingly,

Paul himself

goes to help

with the fire.

The prisoner

in chains

goes to help

and what happens here,

verse 3,

when Paul had gathered

a bundle of sticks

and put them on the fire,

a viper came out

because of the heat

and fastened on his hand.

Isn't that just the case?

When you're trying

to help other people,

when you're trying

to gather sticks

to help people stay warm,

to look after people,

that's when the attacks come.

And so the viper

comes out

and wraps on his hand.

Really interestingly,

these people,

the natives on the island,

they look at that

and they think,

okay,

we know exactly

what's happening here.

This guy,

verse 4,

no doubt this man

is a murderer

and though he has escaped

from the sea,

justice has not

allowed him to live.

How many of us

have felt that?

When we look at someone

and bad is happening

to them,

go,

that's because

they are naughty people.

Because they're naughty people,

then they are getting

what they deserve.

We have trouble

in believing

that good things

happen to bad people

and that bad things

happen to good people.

Of course,

when we think about

those things,

we deem ourselves

as the good people.

So when bad things

happen to us,

we're outraged

that they would happen

to us.

Me?

I've been at church

all my life.

I've been serving

in youth group

on the worship tier

and now this happens

to me?

You see,

they had got it wrong.

That isn't how

things work.

Jesus himself says

in Matthew

that actually

the sun shines

on the righteous

and the unrighteous.

The rain falls

on the righteous

and the unrighteous

just because you are

a follower of Christ.

Just because you are

the one,

even though you're in chains,

you're still loving

other people

and trying to build

the fire for them

to keep them warm,

the attacks will still

come against you.

And actually,

it isn't the gospel

that good things

happen to good people.

That is not the gospel.

Okay?

What is the gospel?

The gospel is

that the worst thing

happened to the best person.

That is the gospel.

That the only one

who is good,

Jesus,

had this happen to him

so that we,

those who don't deserve it,

now get to live

as he lived.

So these guys

don't really get it

so they're like,

oh,

he escaped the shipwreck,

he escaped the two weeks

but he's still going to die.

Why?

Because he's a bad person.

He must be a murderer.

But they watch this snake

come off his arm

and then fall

and they're waiting.

Can you just imagine

those people

like,

oh,

we've seen this before.

This happened to so-and-so's son.

Oh,

let's give him a few minutes

and he'll be gone.

And yet,

Paul is alive and well.

And it's funny

how quickly they change.

They go from,

he's a murderer

to he's a god.

They're like,

there is special favor

on this man.

And so what happens here is,

they all,

verse six,

they were waiting for him

to swell up

or suddenly fall down

but when they had waited

a long time

and saw no misfortune

come to him,

they changed their minds

and said that he was a god.

Now,

in the neighborhood

of that place

were lands belonging

to the chief man

of the island.

So the chief guy

is called Publius

who received as an entertainer

hospitably for three days.

So actually,

they stay in Malta

for these three days.

They go to the chief's house

and they live there

and it actually so happens

that the chief's dad

is really sick

and what does Paul do?

Even as a prisoner,

he's like,

let me help this man.

Can you see the relentlessness

of Paul?

He's like,

look,

I have a bigger purpose.

I have something

really important to do

and yet I'm going to stop

and I still care for you.

I'm going to look after you

and I'm going to heal your dad.

It reminds me

a little bit of Jesus.

Jesus came to earth

with this sole mission

to save mankind,

to pay the ransom for many.

Luke 4,

he says,

I must go to the other towns

as well

to preach the good news

of Christ,

of the kingdom of God.

And yet he would

constantly get interrupted,

constantly get stopped

and still be very willing

to help the people around him.

I wonder whether for us

when we have our big life plans,

are we willing to stop

and still care for those

immediately around us?

Paul's plan was to get to Rome,

to stand in front of Caesar

and yet accidentally

he ends up saving

a whole island,

Malta.

My friend who I was asking

about this,

he said Malta is actually

96% Christian.

In fact,

the Catholic faith

is still so strong there.

It still,

you could describe

a godly state.

But remember,

it started off

not that way.

Before the shipwreck,

that wasn't the case.

Can you see again

the sovereignty of God?

That if this shipwreck

didn't happen,

the people of this island

would not be saved?

And yet here we go.

And so what happens is

they stay on the other house

and not only that,

when the chief's dad

gets healed,

everyone else on the island

is like,

whoa!

And so they bring

all their relatives,

all their friends

who were sick

and the rest of the people

on the island

who had diseases

also came and were cured

by accident.

At least in Paul's mind,

this whole island

gets saved

because of this shipwreck.

The sovereignty of God,

brothers and sisters.

They also honored us greatly

and when we were about to sail,

they put on board

whatever we needed.

At this point,

I'm looking at Paul going,

Paul, just stay.

You could be the king of Malta.

You could start

a nice church in Malta.

You can call it

Malta the Gathering

and you can just hang out there,

be respected and be loved,

no more prison

and just live there.

It's a nice place.

Just get through the winter

and it'll be nice

and yet Paul doesn't stay.

He never stays.

In fact,

none of the people

in the book of Acts

end up staying

where they are most comfortable.

They just keep on going

and it tires me out reading it

and yet it's not tiring for them

because they just have

this relentless push

towards the mission.

So after three months,

they do set sail

and they head off

and they end up in a verse,

verse 13,

end up in a place

called Butioli

and there we found brothers

and were invited

to stay with them

for seven days again.

Everywhere he goes,

I would love that.

Everywhere I go,

there's a whole group

of people that welcome.

Say,

we've heard of what you've done.

We love what you've done

and we're here to support you

and care for you.

And so they keep going

and there we found brothers there

and when we came to Rome,

a whole other group

come to look after him as well.

What an encouragement.

Actually,

you see here,

this Paul,

this Paul

who survived everything

on seeing them,

Paul thanked God

and took courage.

He needed his friends

to give him courage.

He needed his friends

to keep pushing

on the road as well.

Now,

this group from Rome

are particularly different.

Actually,

Paul starts a lot of churches.

He's the most prolific church planter

in the history of the church.

Ephesus,

Corinth,

all these,

Philippi,

he starts all these.

But Rome,

he doesn't start.

Rome is actually not part

of his CV.

The believers in Rome,

they would have been,

if we go all the way

back to Acts 2,

when the Jews

would all gather

in Jerusalem

where Pentecost happens,

it says there were also

Jews from Rome.

These would have been

the people

who were filled

with the Holy Spirit

back at Pentecost

and went back to Rome

and started living it

by the Spirit,

focusing on Jesus.

So it was this group

that came to hang out with him.

So they would have been

new to him.

Though he,

of course,

we see a letter

that he wrote to them

called the Book of Romans now.

And so he gets to Rome

and from there,

when we came into Rome,

Paul was allowed

to stay by himself

with the soldier

who guarded him.

Which prisoner

gets to do that?

Hey,

you are a prisoner,

you are finally in Rome,

you're going to be tried

by Caesar

and yet here's

your own house.

And you can live

in this house

by yourself.

You don't even need

to share the room

with anyone

or share the flat

with anyone.

All you need to do

is have a guard with you.

Now,

there are inconveniences

to that

because historians

believe most likely

he would have had

to have been chained

to that guard.

But can you imagine

being chained to Paul?

Can you imagine

spending 24-7

with this guy

who just would not

shut up

about the kingdom of God?

You see in the Book

of Philippi

chapter 1 verse 12

he says,

I want you to know

brothers,

what has happened

to me

has really served

to advance the gospel

to all the imperial guard.

Everyone knows

why I'm here now.

I keep telling the guy

who's chained to me

why I'm here

and I'm sharing

the gospel with them.

Can you imagine

just being,

oh my goodness,

it's my turn

with Paul again.

Though I would have

thought there'd be

other people

who'd be like,

hey,

get yourself chained

to this guy.

There's something special,

there's something different

about this guy.

Stay to him

and you'll see

something interesting.

What if

someone was chained

to us?

What would they see?

If someone

was chained

to you,

Alex Lee,

what would they see

about your life?

What would they see

your love being?

Alex is currently

going through Lent,

so he's quit all

kind of online sports

kind of entertainment

and all that,

because he's an avid,

avid sports follower,

so he wouldn't

see that,

they wouldn't

see that.

But if a soldier

was chained

to Matthew,

what would they see?

I ask myself

that question.

If I had a soldier

chained to me

24-7,

what would they see

about my life

and would it

point to Jesus?

My greatest fear

is that they

were chained to me

and my life

would look nothing

different to this.

Oh,

you have this

good news

and yet you don't

really live

in this good news,

you look just

the same as me,

you struggle

just in the same

way.

In fact,

there's areas

of hypocrisy

about you

that I don't

actually like,

so whatever

God that you

worship,

whatever book

that you read,

I don't really

want to read that

because it doesn't

really bring any

change.

That's the thing

that I'm most

afraid of.

And yet,

Paul,

we know

whoever's

chained to him

is going to hear

about the good

news of Jesus

Christ,

who's going to

be impacted

and everyone

who meets him.

there's no

halfway house

with Paul.

You either

are just

astonished by

what he does

and you think

that he's a

God or you

want to kill

him because

it's so

offensive to

you.

So he

stays there.

He stays there

and then he

invites the

Jewish leaders

and he invites

the church

over there

and he

basically,

what happens

here is,

from verse

23,

we're going to

fast forward

a little bit,

from morning

till evening

he expounded

to them,

testifying to

the kingdom

of God

and trying

to convince

them about

Jesus,

both from

the law

of Moses

and from

the prophets.

What we see

here is that

people come

to hear about

the gospel

from Paul,

the Jewish

leaders and

the church

in Rome

themselves and

again the

same thing

happens.

Some are

convinced,

verse 24,

some are

convinced and

others disbelieved.

So even

towards the end

of his life,

Paul is doing

the same

message.

In different

ways,

by the way,

in 1 Corinthians

9 he says

that to the

Jews I'm a Jew,

to the Greeks

I'm a Greek,

last week we

saw that actually

to the Pharisees

he would speak

like this,

to the Sadducees

like this,

to the Greeks

like this,

so he would

change the way

he speaks,

which actually

tells me one

thing,

and I was

talking to a

friend about

this yesterday,

that actually

sometimes when

we watch how

people share

the gospel,

sometimes it's

a little bit

distasteful,

sometimes it's

the same thing

every time.

But what he's

seeing here,

what we see here

is that if we're

going to share

the gospel that's

led by the

Holy Spirit,

there are

different ways

to share the

same message.

And we have

to be sensitive

and we can't

just go around

bashing people

around the

heads with the

Bible.

We rely on the

Holy Spirit and

go, what does

that person

actually need to

hear?

How can I care

for that person

and share the

gospel in a way

that actually they

understand, that

they can actually

connect to, all

while completely

saying, look,

whether they

actually accept

it or not is

not in my

control.

The greatest

church planter in

the world still

had, even to the

very end, people

who were convinced

and people who

disbelieved.

It is okay when

you go to that

relative and you

share with them the

gospel and they

say, I don't

care, you say,

okay, but I

will still always

care about you.

Let us be

prepared for that

kind of response.

And the mixed

responses that we

got last week from

Felix and from

King Agrippa, these

will be happening

to us too.

And so it

happens and then

he quotes

scripture, Isaiah,

and basically what

he's saying here is

go to his people

and say you

will indeed hear

but never

understand and

you will indeed

see but never

perceive that there

are people whose

hearts are just

simply not there.

Here's a quick

tip.

When we go and

share the gospel or

when we're about to

go to something where

we know there's

someone there who we

might need to share

the gospel with, pray

for that first and

first.

Ask for the Holy

Spirit to move them

because it's not going

to be your words that

convinces them.

It's going to be the

Holy Spirit doing

something in them

already and maybe you

just get to be a part

of it.

So you ask the Holy

Spirit, hey, I'm about

to meet this uncle and

this uncle is a pain in

the backside and he is

so arrogant and he

thinks he knows

everything but God if

there's something that

you want me to do, if

there's something that

you want me to say,

would you tell me?

I'm listening and still

be prepared that it

won't work.

Therefore let it be

known to you that this

salvation of God which

was first to the Jews

but because you've

rejected it now is

being sent to the

Gentiles and they will

listen.

He lives there for two

years, welcomed all who

came to him, proclaiming

the kingdom of God,

teaching about Lord

Jesus with all boldness

and without hindrance,

full stop, end of

chapter, end of book.

And just like when I

watch a TV show, the

finale finishes and it

just stops and I was

like, but what about

Caesar?

We've been waiting for

Caesar.

Okay, so I'm not a very

creative, artsy kind of

person but I know there

are here who, those of

you who are.

Have you watched those

movies that are really

creative and kind of in

the festival kind of

films that just end when

they're not supposed to

end and you just finish

and you're like, what just

happened there?

Okay, I am not those kind

of Venice Film Festival

people.

I'm a Hugh Grant kind of

rom-com person where there's

a good high and then there's

a low but it always finishes

high.

I just need that finish.

I just need Hugh Grant

to learn that he's hopeless

without this girl and so

they get together.

Two weeks notice.

I highly recommend it.

It's a great film.

I need that and yet here

it just stopped.

Do you get what I'm

saying?

Isn't this a little bit

like, huh?

And then as I was

pondering over this, it

made me think, it's one

of those times where you

sit in the film and the

movie just stops and the

screen goes black and then

it turns into a mirror.

The movie stops and you're

expecting Paul to be the

one that saves Western

civilization.

You're expecting Paul to be

the one that shares the

gospel in such eloquent ways

to Caesar that it ends up

causing Caesar to change the

whole religion of the Roman

Empire.

That ends up spreading the

gospel to the rest of the

world and that we can just

sit here on this nice comfy

cinema seat and just watch

the kingdom of God move and

leave it there.

And in reality, the movie

stops there.

It blacks out, turns into a

mirror and then looks at you

and I and says, now it's your

turn.

Psych.

It was never about Paul.

It was about you.

It was about you.

It was about you, Sybil.

It was about you, Bill.

It was about you, Ethan.

The kingdom of God keeps moving

and it's not about the people

who carry the message, but it's

the message itself that is

unstoppable.

And that message, that word was

the one that became flesh.

That message is Jesus Christ

himself and Jesus Christ keeps

moving with or without us.

I think that's why Luke decides

we're done here.

I would have wanted to find out

what happens to Paul, if I'm

honest.

Now later we do, historians

believe that actually he ends up

in Rome and actually he ends up

actually being able to leave.

Why?

Because in Rome, he writes quite a

few letters to the churches in

the past.

So Ephesians, Philippians, these

were him writing it during these

two years under house arrest.

And actually he says to the

church in Philippi, I can't wait

to come and see you again.

I'm going to send Timothy to you

first, but I'm going to come and

hang out with you afterwards as

well.

So actually I'm encouraged.

Actually Paul doesn't get

arrested here.

He doesn't die here.

So he actually gets to leave and

then he goes and historians

believe he then gets to go to

Spain where he continues to

spread the gospel and have tapas.

And from there, he actually has a

good few years of where he

continues to share the gospel

without hindrance until what we

believe is Emperor Nero in 64.

So it's four or five years after

this, he actually ends up in front

of Nero again.

And then that's when he gets close

to his end.

And that's when he gets put into a

dungeon.

And that's when he writes those

words that JP read for us at the

beginning.

That I have fought the good fight.

And I've poured myself out and I

am now reaching my end.

And that's where I get emotional.

That's where I get sentimental.

I'm like, man, he's reached the

end and yet he's still pressing on

in the same way.

But he's still very much a human

being.

Why?

Because he tells Timothy in 2

Timothy, this is probably his final

letter.

He says, please come to me soon.

Do your best to come to me soon.

And when you come to me, can you

bring my coat?

Why bring my coat?

Because this dungeon is cold.

And can you bring with me my books

as well?

Because I still want to read.

I still want to grow.

I still want to learn.

Others left me the first time I met

Caesar.

But you have stayed with me.

Would you come and spend my final few

days with me?

Later, after writing that letter,

he will then be dragged out.

And be executed.

Till the end.

Till the end, Paul continues to go.

How does he have that kind of peace?

I think we can go all the way back.

And this is where the emotional part

of the movie will come.

Where all his old scenes flashback.

The moment he's trying to kill.

The moment he's overseeing the

execution of Stephen.

The moment he gets blinded in

Damascus.

The moment he goes to all these

different houses and meets all these

different people.

Teaches all these people in Athens,

in Ephesus.

And then you see, just at the end,

he's in the dungeon.

And then you can just see this play out

as a movie.

And Paul says, this is not the end

for me.

Why does he have that kind of peace?

It's because he met Jesus Christ.

Because he encountered him and had his life

completely changed.

That he was once blind, but now that he sees,

he was once lost, but then he was found.

That's why he was so selfless.

That's why he was so fierce.

How do we keep that peace and stand firm

in the midst of the storm?

We do it because we recognize that we're not

stood there alone.

That in the middle of that storm,

an angel of the Lord stands right next to Paul

and reminds him of his purpose,

reminds him of where he's going

and reminds him who is in control.

Many of you know my favorite book

is the book of Philippians.

And at the end of that, he says, rejoice.

Again, I will say, rejoice.

Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand.

Do not be anxious about anything,

but in everything, with prayer and supplication,

with thanksgiving, let your requests

be made known to God.

And the peace of God that surpasses understanding

will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

So you can stand in that storm

knowing that Christ himself stands right there with you

and that will give you peace.

That passage, do not be anxious about anything.

I love it.

We put it in a fridge magnet.

We put on key rings to remind ourselves

to not be anxious.

But what's the key there?

I don't think it's even do not be anxious.

I think it's a few verses before,

a few words before that says,

the Lord is at hand.