Responding To God’s Assurance In Missions
BRD REFLECTIONS
Acts 27:27-44 and Psalm 119:33-64 (NIV)
(Tan Chew Suan, WMC Missioner, Singapore Youth For Christ)
READ:
Acts 27:27-44 (NIV)
OBSERVE:
Today, we continue with Paul’s journey to Rome. Disregarding Paul’s advice (Acts 27:9-11, 21), the centurion and the pilot had gotten the ship into a dangerous situation in a storm and they had given up hope of being saved (Acts 27:20). But Paul encouraged them and assured them that no lives would be lost. This was because God had sent an angel to Paul to assure him that he would survive to stand trial before Caesar and God had answered his prayers for the safety of the lives of those people sailing with him (Acts 27:22-25). In today’s reading, we see how Paul responded to God’s assurance.
1. God’s assurance must be followed by the people’s obedience (vv27-32)
While God assured Paul that He would grant him the lives of those on the ship, from vv30-32, it was apparent that it was contingent upon everybody remaining on the ship. So when the sailors attempted to escape secretly by a lifeboat, Paul was adamant that unless these men remained on the ship, the rest could not be saved. The centurion and the soldiers responded in obedience and got rid of the lifeboat.
2. God’s assurance is received with confidence and thanksgiving (vv33-38)
Paul was so confident in God’s assurance that no life would be lost, that he could pass on this assurance to those on board by urging them to eat. The people had been unable to eat because their lives were on the line, they had no confidence they would be alive the next day. With such tension, the loss of appetite was a very natural consequence. But, not Paul. He rested in God’s assurance and in front of them all, took bread, gave thanks to God and ate. Such an example of confidence and thanksgiving gave courage to the rest and they too ate.
3. God’s assurance became actuality (vv39-44)
When the ship ran aground, the soldiers originally intended to kill the prisoners to prevent them from escaping. If this were to actualise, God’s assurance would have fallen apart. But the centurion, out of his desire to protect Paul, stopped the plan. There was no miraculous intervention from God, but definitely, there was God’s providential hand behind the circumstances and the responses of the people. From the place where the ship ran aground, all onboard were able either to swim or to float to safety to the land. Thus Luke ended this account of the voyage with these words, ‘In this way everyone reached land safely.’ (Acts 27:44, NIV). With this sentence, Luke told us God had actualised His assurance.
APPLY:
Paul had a very unique role in the church. He was appointed by Jesus Himself to be an apostle to the Gentiles and he was to proclaim the gospel ‘to the Gentiles and their kings’ (Acts 9:15, NIV). In fact, Acts 27:24 wasn’t the first time God assured Paul that he would stand trial before Caesar. Way back in Acts 23:11, God had already assured Paul that he would arrive at Rome to testify for Him. Indeed, Paul’s mission was unique to him and God’s assurance in Acts 27 was also unique to Paul in his mission. Though I may not have Paul’s special commission to proclaim the gospel to a special group of people, I do have the commission given by the Lord Jesus Christ, applicable to all believers, to ‘go and make disciples of all nations’ (Matt 28:19). Within that commission, I also have His assurance that He is with me always (Matt 28:20). Hence, I can respond to Jesus’ assurance with the same kind of response found in this passage, with obedience, confidence and thanksgiving.
DO:
I will trust that Jesus is with me as I proclaim the gospel. Thus I will do so obediently, confidently and thankfully and wait expectantly to see how He will bring others into His kingdom.
PRAY:
Dear God, help me to trust in Jesus’ assurance that He will be with me as I proclaim the gospel and to do so obediently, confidently and thankfully and may You grant those who hear to come and believe in Jesus. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
