There is a delicate
balance in pursuing God into His revelation and pursuing our own
inspiration. The determining factor is the anointing of the Holy
Ghost. God will anoint His revelation and Holy Ghost inspiration but
He will not anoint inspiration that is born out of our human
intellect. His anointing signifies recognition and approval. We must
secure the anointing of God upon our message. If not our message is
not God's message. The goal for all should be to be one with Christ
in desire and purpose.
There is much to be
said about the influence of our religious heritage. However, I don't
want to be stuck (consumed) in religious tradition but neither do I
want to lose the spiritual virtue of past generations. It is
important to understand that all of us are continuing to evolve into
the person and local churches that God desires that we become. And
just as important that we understand that the Bride of Christ
continues to evolve. Eph. 5:25, “Husbands, love your wives, even as
Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That
he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church,
not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be
holy and without blemish.” Paul says that Christ loves the Church
and gave Himself for it that the process of making herself ready
might be accomplished by washing of the Word. God's plan for the Body
is set in stone IE., in the Word. It will not change but we, the
frail human characters that we are must find His perfect plan.
In our search for
God's perfect plan we must remain flexible (mouldable, pliable). A
healthy tree can remain strong in the storm but if there is disease
and rot the storm will expose that weakness. The storms are coming
and only the spiritual virtue of our heritage in Christ can sustain
us. Any other foundation will crumble and fall under the pressure of
the storm. If we walk in obedience to God, we have an appointed end.
Jer. 29:11, “For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith
the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected
end.” We can know our outcome if we will put our faith in Jesus.
Paul stated that his
intention was to press toward the mark. Phil. 3:14, “I press toward
the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
15Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and
if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this
unto you. 16Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained,
let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing.” He knew
from his experience that this was a daily challenge. He must have
looked back many times to his Damascus road encounter with Jesus.
That day, Paul received a revelation of who Jesus really was. He came
face to face with the Son of God, the Redeemer of Israel, his Messiah
and he knew it in the depth of his soul. That encounter was, no
doubt, an indispensable strength to him as he ministered for Christ.
And the Lord continued to speak to him and reveal His truth.
In Acts 27 Paul had
requested audience with Caesar. He was in the custody of a Roman
centurion and on his way to Rome. Acts 27:10, “And said unto them,
Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage,
not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives.
11Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner
of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul. 12And
because the haven was not commodious to winter in, the more part
advised to depart thence also, if by any means they might attain to
Phenice, and there to winter;” Paul had revelation regarding
this journey, but the centurion chose to listen to the captain rather
than Paul. Why? Because it was not convenient to winter there they
wanted to proceed to Crete. Circumstance inspired them to continue on
their journey rather than give heed to revelation by the man of God.
Inspiration driven by circumstance usually comes out of our own
personal desire and intellect.
Acts 27:13, “And
when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained
their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by
Crete.” This again speaks to circumstance. A temporary change in
circumstance can lull us into Satan's plan. 14, “But not
long after there arose against it a tempestuous wind... 18And we
being exceedingly tossed with a tempest, the next day they
lightened the ship; 19And the third day we cast out
with our own hands the tackling of the ship. 20And when
neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay
on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.”
Three days and nights in the storm and now all is lost and there is
no hope! But God?They were not including the God Factor. They drew
these conclusions based on their knowledge and the circumstance. Many
times our knowledge is not sufficient to draw the appropriate
conclusion from our circumstance. Then we must apply the God Factor
and go to Him for revelation knowledge to chart the appropriate
course.
Acts 27:21, “But
after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and
said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed
from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. 22And now I
exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any
man's life among you, but of the ship. 23For there stood
by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar:
and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
25Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that
it shall be even as it was told me. 26Howbeit we must be cast
upon a certain island.” Revelation from God insures survival but
there is still a requirement for individual participation. Three
important elements of the God Factor come into play: Repentance,
Faith and Obedience.
Paul reminded his
shipmates that they should have listened to him. Because, you see it
was more than Paul who had discouraged this voyage. It was God
through Paul. How many times has God tried to warn us along our
journey and we discounted the messenger who delivered warning. But
God? God always has the last word. We determine our outcome by our
obedience or lack thereof! So, the first thing these sailors had to
deal with was their decision to sail, admit that it was a mistake and
be willing to change. The Bible calls this concept, Repentance.
Second, they had to believe what Paul was telling them. This was the
beginning of their Faith which would sustain them in the coming days.
Acts 27:27, “But
when the fourteenth night was come, as we were driven up and
down...29Then fearing lest we should have fallen upon rocks, they
cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day. 30And
as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, when they had let
down the boat into the sea, under colour as though they would have
cast anchors out of the foreship, 31Paul said to the centurion
and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be
saved. 32Then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat, and
let her fall off.” The third element of the God Factor, they must
stay in the ship continuing to exhibit faith in the revelation and
Obedience to the man of God. God's plan of deliverance included the
debris of the broken vessel that had sustained them thus far. But
they had to be willing to stay with the ship until she literally
broke apart on the rocks. Those broken pieces became their salvation.
Acts 27:33, “...Paul
besought them all to take meat, saying, This day is the
fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having
taken nothing. 34Wherefore I pray you to take some
meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall
from the head of any of you...36Then were they all of good cheer, and
they also took some meat. 37And we were in all in the
ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls. 38And when they
had eaten enough, they lightened the ship, and cast out the wheat
into the sea.” The fast was concluded. They could take comfort that
all would be saved and they were all (276) of good cheer. They
continued in Faith and Obedience as they threw everything overboard
to lighten the ship. They had done what they knew to do. Now was time
to allow the God Factor to bring the end to their storm. They took up
the anchors and committed to the sea. Completely free of all
encumbrances, completely sustained by the wind of God.
Acts 27:41, “And
falling into a place where two seas met, they ran the ship aground;
and the forepart stuck fast, and remained unmoveable, but the hinder
part was broken with the violence of the waves... 43 the
centurion...commanded that they which could swim should cast
themselves first into the sea, and get to land: 44And
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.
The sustaining
factor in Paul's life was his relationship with Christ and the fact
that he walked in revelation and inspiration. Having an intellectual
understanding of scripture can be an advantage. Passion and zeal have
their place in the Gospel. And even our incomplete understanding of
God's plan is a beginning that we can build upon. But the bottom line
is that we must walk in the revelation of Jesus Christ if we are to
experience His perfect plan for our lives. Just as Paul had his
intimate encounter with Jesus, we must do the same! That is what
sustained Paul and that is what will sustain us! Paul had his revelation of Jesus Christ and we must have our's to sustain us in the coming storm!
