4/10/202 Acts 27,28

• Do you believe God

• Where is your focus

• Be Careful who you emulate

• What are you confident in

Acts 27:25 (KJV) Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

• There are two things that have to happen for Paul to be able to say, be of good cheer

  • He had to hear from God, like was preached at our church on Sunday, you are as close to God as you want to be. If you aren’t putting yourself in a position to hear, that is the first problem

  • He had to believe what he heard

    • How often in my reading the last few weeks has believe God been a focus

    • Romans 4:3 (KJV)For what saith the scripture? Abraham believed God, and it was counted unto him for righteousness.

    • Can that be said of me

Acts 27:37 (KJV) And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.

• This way of referring to living people is still used today, every passenger manifest for an airline, the number is listed as the number of souls.

• God does not look on us as a body first, he focuses on the spiritual first

• 1 Thessalonians 5:23 (KJV)And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and [I pray God] your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

  • God does care about the physical but it is last, anywhere the soul and body are mentioned the soul is always first

  • God loves us but sometimes the physical is not the focus of God’s work in our life

    • 2 Corinthians 12:9 (KJV)And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

    • Easy verse to find, many Christians have heard it, impossible to live in the flesh

ACTS 28

Acts 28:4 (KJV) 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.

• Be careful looking at what happens to others and jumping to conclusions as to why something happens

  • Jobs friends fell into this trap

  • The disciples asked this of the man born blind

    • John 9:2-3 (KJV) 2 And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? 3 Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.

    • That is a hard one to take, sometimes are physical difficulties are for God’s glory

  • Judgment is part of the spirit filled life, however, before passing judgment it would be a good idea to make sure you are spiritual

    • 1 Corinthians 2:15 (KJV)But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man.

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    • Romans 2:1-3 (KJV) 1 Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

      • Judgement is not forbidden but when you sit in judgment on someone else you are allowing the focus on God and others on your life

Acts 28:26-27 (KJV) 26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive: 27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with [their] eyes, and hear with [their] ears, and understand with [their] heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.

• This is found in Is 6:9,10 and Jesus quotes this in Matthew 13:14,15

• Highlights the importance of

  • Reading all of the Bible, often when Jesus spoke he referred to the Old Testament

  • Applying what we hear to our life

• Don’t be dull of hearing, the Jews were and it allowed the Gentiles to be brought in Acts 28:28 (KJV) Be it known therefore unto you, that the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and [that] they will hear it.

Acts 28:31 (KJV) Preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ, with all confidence, no man forbidding him.

• The last thing written about the apostle Paul is

  • Preaching the kingdom of God

    • Righteousness

    • Peace

    • Joy in the Holy Ghost

  • Teaching of Jesus Christ

  • With all confidence

    • Maria from the Sound of Music said “Besides which you see I have confidence in me!”

    • Paul had confidence in Christ

      • 2 Corinthians 5:6 (KJV) Therefore [we are] always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:

      • Philippians 1:6 (KJV) Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform [it] until the day of Jesus Christ: