GOD MAKES HIS SUN RISE ON THE EVIL AND THE GOOD
Image via WikipediaPAUL ON THE SINKING SHIP
Paul saw circumstances as an opportunity to introduce unbelievers to his God. He wasn’t the least bit timid about mentioning “the God to whom I belong and whom I serve” (Acts 27:23). God was the source of Paul’s authority, his wisdom, his hope, his optimism, and his enthusiasm. Why would he be apprehensive about saying so?
Paul was eager to introduce God to these people. Under the circumstances, they might have thought they needed to prepare to meet Him. Paul wanted them to know Him first as Savior, rather than as Judge. So he was bold.
He knew, of course, that the prophecy given to him by the angel would come to pass. And when it did, the glory and the credit went to God. As we noted earlier, the precise fulfillment of all Paul’s predictions also established Paul’s credibility. But it did much more than that.
It put the focus where it rightfully belonged: it made these men see in a graphic way that God was sovereignly in control
Image via Wikipediaof their lives. They needed to glorify Him as God and be thankful.Every one of those men owed their lives to the mercy and grace of God. They had made a foolish and reckless decision to sail from Fair Havens. But God was going to preserve their lives. And He was doing it for the sake of Paul. The angel told Paul in verse 24, “God has granted you all those who sail with you.”
The unbelievers of this world don’t know how fortunate they are to have believers around.
Who knows how many people have been spared from judgment and disaster for the sake of godly people? A friend who happened to be on a flight I took a few years ago told me he felt especially safe on that plane with me, because he knew the Lord still had work for me to do.
That doesn’t mean it’s impossible for me to die in an accident someday, but there’s a true sense in which that principle applies. Even the ungodly sometimes benefit from God’s grace to His people. That was precisely the case with these men on Paul’s ship. He was guaranteed ultimate safety because God wanted him in Rome.
Everyone in the ship benefited from that.
The same principle runs continuously through the pages of Scripture. God’s people in the midst of an ungodly community actually protect that community from disaster. God told Abraham He would have spared the entire cities of Sodom and Gomorrah for the sake of ten righteous people in their midst (Genesis 18:32).
Later in Genesis, Laban begged Jacob not to return to his own country: “Please stay, if I have found favor in your eyes,” he said, “for I have learned by experience that the LORD has blessed me for your sake” (30:27). The same principle is evident again in Joseph’s experience. Genesis 39:5 says of Potiphar, “The LORD blessed the Egyptian’s house for Joseph’s sake; and the blessing of the LORD was on all that he had in the house and in the field.”
And even when Joseph was cast into prison, verse 23 says, “the ke
Image via Wikipediaeper of the prison did not look into anything that was under Joseph’s authority, because the LORD was with him; and whatever he did, the LORD made it prosper.” So even the prison master was blessed because of Joseph.And the men in Paul’s ship were blessed because of him. Though they were lost at sea, without a clue where they were or where they might end up, they now had hope. They had a leader in whom they could be confident. They had someone who was not afraid to step up and take initiative. They had someone who had demonstrated good judgment, who could speak with authority, who knew how to strengthen others, and who gave them encouragement and enthusiasm. All Christians should be leaders like that.
As the story proceeds, we’ll notice that the centurion, the sailors, and all the people on the ship begin to defer more and more to Paul’s leadership. It was evident to all that the hand and the blessing of God were on him.
It is natural for God’s people to want to follow someone like that. Pessimism, indifference, fear, and confusion melt away in the presence of such leadership.
MacArthur, J. (2004). The book on leadership : The power of a godly influence (41–43). Nashville: T. Nelson Publishers.
