Sermon Tone Analysis

We Serve the Lord God Almighty!

The Book of Acts - Part 92

Acts 28:11-20

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - July 26, 2015

*There is no greater privilege in this world than being a servant of the most high God.

Christians, we serve the Lord!

And here God's Word gives us some important truths about our service.

1. FIRST: WE CAN SERVE THE LORD THROUGH THE ORDINARY ROUTINES OF LIFE.

*In tonight's Scripture, Paul, his friends, the soldiers, the crew and the rest of the passengers, 276 people in all, have been spared from the terrible storm that wrecked the ship they were on.

Now, vs. 11-13 describe some of the routine details as they resumed their journey to Rome:

11.

After three months we sailed in an Alexandrian ship whose figurehead was the Twin Brothers, which had wintered at the island.

(The twin Brothers were Castor and Pollux, the Gemini Twins, sons of the pagan god Zeus.)

12.

And landing at Syracuse, we stayed three days.

13.

From there we circled round and reached Rhegium.

And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli.

*Instead of "circled around" the KJV says they "fetched a compass."

I used to think that expression meant they bought a compass, but the original word means "to go about, stroll, wander, veer or make a circuit." A. T. Robertson explained that here "the ship had to tack to reach Rhegium and was not able to make the 'straight course' that described another ship in Acts 16:11.

"Fetching a compass" then meant tacking into the wind.

In other words, they had to sail in a diagonal, zigzag line, because the wind was against them.

(1)

*Why in the world would God bother to put these trivial details in His Word?

There are probably some wonderful reasons I don't know, but here's what it says to me: Just because we serve the Lord doesn't mean we won't go through the ordinary routines of life.

*We still have to go through the everyday humdrum of life.

We still have to take care of the house, the yard and the car.

We still hit traffic jams.

We still have fender benders, still have to wait on the plane, and still get stuck at the airport.

*Sometimes we will have to "sail into the wind," and some of our best service can come through these ordinary things of life.

One way is to have a godly reaction to setbacks and disappointments.

*Galatians 5:22-23 tells Christians that the fruit of the Holy Spirit in us is "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance."

That should make a big difference in the way we react to everyday irritation and frustration in life.

*We can shine the light of Jesus Christ, IF we react in a Christlike way when we have to sail into the wind.

Those situations also give us opportunities to help other people stuck there with us.

And we get new opportunities to tell people about our Savior Jesus Christ.

*Sometimes our best service can come through the ordinary activities of life.

I think of the Lord in John 4 when He witnessed to the Samaritan woman at the well.

Please listen to the story in John 4:1-14:

1.

Therefore, when the Lord knew that the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John

2. (though Jesus Himself did not baptize, but His disciples),

3.

He left Judea and departed again to Galilee.

4. But He needed to go through Samaria.

5.

So He came to a city of Samaria which is called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.

6.

Now Jacob's well was there.

Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well.

It was about the sixth hour.

7. A woman of Samaria came to draw water.

Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink.''

8.

For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.

9. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?''

For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans.

10.

Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.''

11.

The woman said to Him, "Sir, You have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep.

Where then do You get that living water?

12. Are You greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, as well as his sons and his livestock?''

13.

Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again,

14. but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst.

But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.''

*Of course, the Samaritan woman got saved that day, and so did many of the other Samaritan villagers.

But one of the small things that stands out to me in this story is that Jesus was tired and thirsty.

The omnipotent Lord God of the universe allowed Himself to get tired and thirsty.

*I am so thankful that our Lord was willing to go through things like that for us.

And He shows us that we can serve the Lord through the ordinary routines of life.

2. WE CAN ALSO SERVE WITHOUT THE WORLD'S RECOGNITION.

*This world is upside down in its priorities.

The most important work in the world will not register with most people.

Acts 28 reminds us of this reality starting in vs. 13, where Luke said:

13.

From there we circled round and reached Rhegium.

And after one day the south wind blew; and the next day we came to Puteoli,

14.

where we found brethren, and were invited to stay with them seven days.

And so we went toward Rome.

15.

And from there, when the brethren heard about us, they came to meet us as far as Appii Forum and Three Inns.

When Paul saw them, he thanked God and took courage.

*John Phillips brought this scene to life when he said: "This was Paul's triumphal entry, this unsung Jewish missionary, walking in chains, on his way to the Imperial City to appear before Nero in defense of the gospel of Christ.

All about Paul thronged the busy life of this major thoroughfare to and from Rome.

Wealthy lords would pass in their litters, surrounded by attentive slaves.

*Some post rider with urgent dispatches would thunder past, flogging his horse and using his spurs.

Young-bloods would come tearing along in their chariots.

Great wagons would be passed, lumbering, taking up the road, bearing the produce of the country to the hungry markets at Rome.

*Slave dealers would pass, herding their captives.

Businessmen and housewives, peddlers and entertainers thronged the way.

And here, perhaps, would be a train of wagons bearing wild beasts for the arena, or a troop of gladiators being transported to Rome to make a holiday for the masters of the world.

And in the midst of all that hurly-burly of busy metropolitan life marched Heaven's ambassador in bonds. .

." (2)

*The world had no idea who was walking along that road.

It was 62 AD, and here is some of the year's top news:

"After the death of Burrus and the disgrace of Seneca, Nero, free from their influence, became a maniacal artist fascinated by Hellenism and the Orient.

Tigellinus became Nero's counselor.

From that time onward, Nero's rule became highly abusive.

A great earthquake damaged cities in Calabria, including Pompeii.

A violent storm destroyed 200 ships in the port of Portus.

*In the Arts and Sciences: Lucan wrote a history of the conflict between Julius Caesar and Pompey.

Plus, Roman orator, author and statesman Pliny the Younger was born.

(3)

*Here are a few of the top news stories ABC picked from 2014: The Ebola epidemic, the rise of ISIS terrorists, the loss of comedy legends Robin Williams and Joan Rivers, and the robot that made the first-ever landing on a comet.

*But the really big news of 2014 was seldom if ever reported by major media outlets.

That's because the most important news is the work of God in our world.

God is ever working to give comfort, truth, light and life.

God is working in and through His people to share the good news about Jesus Christ.

And thank God, we don't need the world's recognition!

We can faithfully serve the Lord without it.

3. WE CAN ALSO BE REFRESHED BY OTHER CHRISTIANS.

*Anybody who tries to serve Jesus Christ will need rest, encouragement and help along the way.

God will make sure we get all the help we need, and often it comes from other believers.