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Seeing the Silver Lining (Acts 28:1-11)
54 Plays3 years ago
Seeing the Silver Lining (Acts 28:1-11)
Growing in Grace Devotions and Inspirations
Hosted by Pastor Victor Morrison
First Baptist Church
1700 Milam Street
Columbus, TX, USA 78934
http://fbccolumbustx.org/
Recommended
Transcript
Introduction and Information
00:00:08
Speaker
Welcome to Growing in Grace with Pastor Victor Morrison. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas. We are praying that God will bless you as you listen to this message. If you would like additional information on worship times and ministries at FBC Columbus, you can find out more at our website, fbccolumbustx.org. And now take your copy of God's timeless word as Pastor Victor gives today's message.
Reflections on Storms and Silver Linings
00:00:43
Speaker
Welcome back to Growing in Grace. You know, this past weekend, my wife and I went to a movie and we were on the way home on Interstate 10. I saw a beautiful sunset. At one point, the sun dropped behind a storm cloud in the West, giving an amazing display of color to the gorgeous sunset. It appeared that the storm cloud was outlined with a glowing silvery border
00:01:12
Speaker
Have you ever heard someone say that we should look for the silver lining in the storm? Someone traced this saying all the way back to John Milton in 1634 when he made a comment to this effect in Mass Commas. I don't know about that, but all I do know is that Saturday evening was my first time to actually see a cloud with silver lining.
Apostle Paul's Trials and Lessons
00:01:37
Speaker
The Apostle Paul had just been through a terrible storm in the Adriatic Sea. It had lasted for two long weeks and ended with his ship breaking into pieces, forcing the crew and the other passengers to swim to shore on an unchartered island. Now Acts chapter 27 will tell you all about the storm.
00:02:02
Speaker
But Acts 28 verses one through 11 tells us all about the silver lining that Paul saw on the other side of the storm clouds. You know, if you're like me, then you sometimes need a little help being able to focus on the good things God is doing because the storm cloud is so big in the window.
00:02:26
Speaker
In my opinion, Acts 28, one through 11 will assist us in being able to see something good that is going on in the storm that is raging in your life, in my life, in our lives. Let me read the text. Beginning in Acts 28, verse one, it says, after we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta.
00:02:52
Speaker
The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all because it had begun to rain and was cold. When Paul had gathered a bundle of sticks and put them on the fire, a viper came out because of the heat and fastened on his hand. When the native people saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another,
00:03:21
Speaker
No doubt, this man is a murderer. Though he has escaped from the sea, justice has not allowed him to live. He, however, shook off the creature into the fire and suffered no harm. They were waiting for him to swell up or suddenly fall down dead. But when they had waited a long time and saw no misfortune come to him, they changed their minds and said,
00:03:50
Speaker
that he was a god. Now, in the neighborhood of that place were lands belonging to the chief man of the island named Publius, who received us and entertained us hospitably for three days. It happened that the father of Publius lay sick with fever and dysentery, and Paul visited him and prayed, and putting his hands on him, healed him.
00:04:17
Speaker
And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured. They also honored us greatly. And when we were about to sail, they put on board whatever we needed. After three months, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island a ship of Alexandria with the twin gods as a figurehead.
00:04:46
Speaker
You know, the silver lining in your storm, perhaps the silver lining in my storm, may be a lesson that God wants to teach us.
Support, Trials, and Faith
00:04:57
Speaker
You know, Acts 28 verse 1 speaks of something that Paul and the crew learned. Did you catch that? After we were brought safely through, we then learned
00:05:09
Speaker
that the island was called Malta. They didn't know this before. As a matter of fact, if you were to rewind into chapter 27 and look at verse 39, it says, now when it was day, they did not recognize the land, but they noticed a bay with a beach on which they planned, if possible, to run the ship ashore.
00:05:33
Speaker
That's interesting. They learned that the name of that place was called Malta. How ironic, really, whenever you look into what does the name Malta mean? It means
00:05:48
Speaker
Refuge, a safe place. Isn't that interesting that they learned that that unchartered island, they had no idea it was even in existence, that that place for them was going to be a refuge. You know, there are many lessons that we can learn in life, even through hard times.
00:06:11
Speaker
Paul said that life's school was in session when he wrote The Good Folks in Philippi as he testified to a lesson he learned about contentment in whatever kind of circumstance he was going through. Have you learned that lesson? I think I'm still learning that one.
00:06:32
Speaker
ask God what He's trying to teach you. It may be about contentment, it possibly could be about where your refuge is, or it may be something totally different. But my point is that sometimes storms teach us new lessons. Well, the silver lining may be a lesson, but it may clarify the love that the Lord has already placed within your life.
00:07:00
Speaker
You know, verse two is something we might just kind of pass through real quickly, but I want to run it back through one more time. Listen to see if you can hear the love between these verses. The native people showed us unusual kindness, for they kindled a fire and welcomed us all because it had begun to rain and was cold.
00:07:25
Speaker
I don't know about you, but perhaps Paul longed to be somewhere else rather than stranded on that little island out in the middle of the Adriatic. But God blessed him with an island full of people that welcomed him, were kind to him, provided for him. I'm sure they even fed him.
00:07:47
Speaker
Why is it that we often take those around us who love us so much every single day? Why is it we take them for granted?
00:07:58
Speaker
You know, I'm concerned that many younger generations, especially, may be overlooking the steady ones in their life as they're so enamored with, let's say, social media influencers. Now, perhaps I'm wrong, but my guess is that they wish they had a large following on social media and were just as popular among the masses of online watchers as the one that they're following.
00:08:27
Speaker
My advice would be not to overlook the ones who have been there for you through the storms in your life. They care about you. Thank the Lord for them. You know, in Proverbs chapter 15, verses 15 and 16 and 17, Solomon makes an interesting statement.
00:08:53
Speaker
He said, you know, it's better to have a bowl of vegetables where love is than a fatted calf where there's hatred. You know, if you have a wife or a husband that loves you, if you have children that love you, if you have a mom or a dad, a brother or a sister, if you have neighbors that care about you that are welcoming and friendly toward you, you know what? You are so blessed. Don't overlook that.
00:09:21
Speaker
in wanting to be somewhere else, in wanting to be noticed by someone else. Acts 28 verses three through six gives us yet another possibility when it comes to identifying where the silver lining is, either during or perhaps even after a storm. How about the leverage that your trials may give to open up the hearts of those around you?
00:09:52
Speaker
Rather than being obsessed with your own hardships, it may be that your peace, your joy, your hope in the midst of your storm may cause those around you who are watching you to open up their hearts and to trust the Lord. Think for a moment of what Paul had been through by the time he swims ashore on the beach of Malta.
00:10:22
Speaker
Well, he was falsely accused. He was arrested. He was thrown into prison for two years. He was caught in a strong storm at sea for two weeks that ended in a total shipwreck. Now on this day, he stands there wet and cold. And as he's trying to help in gathering firewood, a snake bites him. Why do bad things seem to happen sometimes to good people?
00:10:53
Speaker
You know, at first, the islanders thought that Paul was a murderer and was facing life's justice for his evil deeds. But after he didn't die from the snake bite, they changed their minds and considered him a god. Wow, that's a pretty significant shift. His suffering was used as a spiritual pry bar.
00:11:19
Speaker
to open up their thinking to other possibilities. You know, your difficulties may be the thing God will use to open the hearts of your family, your friends, your coworkers,
00:11:33
Speaker
I recall how my father-in-law won five tough seamen to Christ who were working on barges, transporting liquid sulfur up and down the Gulf Coast of Texas, all the way across, all the way as far as I'm sure of Florida. But what did it take for those hardened men to trust Christ, to put their faith in Him? I'll tell you what it took. It took my father-in-law having a heart attack.
00:12:02
Speaker
He led them to Christ in his hotel room, his hospital room in Corpus Christi. There he was in the hospital. He had like oxygen. He had all these tubes going to his body. And yet he was able to win all five of those men as they stood around his bed and they admitted, we would not know what to do if it was reversed and we were in the bed and we had had a major heart attack.
00:12:33
Speaker
You see, your pain may be the leverage that will open up the hearts like nothing else will of someone else. On an even more personal level, my father suffered from brain cancer, and it was through his brain cancer that my younger brother Keith was led to Christ. And Keith loves the Lord so much this day. Isn't it just amazing how sometimes it's hard times
00:13:01
Speaker
Remember, in Galatians 4.13, Paul's bodily ailment was what opened the door for the gospel in Galatia. In Acts 16, verses 29 and 34, it took Paul being thrown in prison in Philippi in order for the prison jailer and his family to come to know Christ.
00:13:24
Speaker
Even the Lord Jesus Christ himself, while he's suffering on the cross, it opened up the heart of a criminal that was being crucified to his side, and also of a centurion who was at his feet.
Influence of Faith and Small Actions
00:13:39
Speaker
Wow, I'm told that an oyster's irritation from a grain of sand, that is what eventually becomes a pearl that many women wear around their necks now. The silver lining could be some leverage that God will use to bless someone else, to open up their heart to Christ.
00:14:00
Speaker
The silver lining may be the lives that God will influence through you. Let's think about that. You know, verse seven says that there was a man that he met while he was stranded on that island. The man's name was Publius. Publius was not just a resident on that island. He was the chief man of the island. Wow.
00:14:26
Speaker
You know, sometimes we feel like our circumstances have a very small place for us to be a light, make a difference. We feel, oh, it's so restrictive. But you know what? Your life may be influencing way beyond where God has you. You know, there's a Virginia girl
00:14:51
Speaker
who was born, and when she was born in Virginia, she grew up to become a missionary. For 39 years, she served in China. Perhaps thousands of people came to know the Lord across those 39 years. But in addition to that,
00:15:10
Speaker
She actually started this missionary offering called the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for international missions that's observed in some Southern Baptist churches even to this day. Isn't it amazing that this lady, Lottie Moon, how did she come to know Christ?
00:15:30
Speaker
Well, there's two parts to the story. I think her mother played a significant part. See, at night, her mother would read to her from the Bible, and her mother would also read from the missionary biography of Anne Judson.
00:15:45
Speaker
When she was 18 years of age, Pastor Broadus led her to Christ. And so think about the impact. Perhaps Pastor Broadus thought, I'm just helping this 18-year-old student to come to know Christ.
00:16:03
Speaker
Little did he know her life impacted many in China. Her life impacted so many beyond China because of the mission offering that she started. But then also think about her mother. I'm just loving on my daughter. I'm just helping my daughter hear the word of God. I'm just reading to my daughter this missionary biography. Wow. Thousands have gone to mission fields around the world because of this lady from Virginia named Lottie Moon.
00:16:33
Speaker
You know, your island may be more influential than you could ever imagine. So just don't sweat it if God sends some storm and places you in a very restrictive place.
God's Guidance and Eternal Promises
00:16:47
Speaker
One last thought about the silver lining. When God is finished with us in the storm, He can evacuate us out, right?
00:16:58
Speaker
The 11th verse wraps this up by reminding us that leaving the area of the storm is an ultimate promise of the Lord. Listen to how God got him off the island. After three months, we set sail in a ship that had wintered in the island, a ship of Alexandria with the twin gods as a figurehead. It was there all along.
00:17:24
Speaker
You know, Joseph is a great example of a man who chose not to leave God's assignment for him in Egypt. But he trusted that even after his death, that God would be moving his people out someday. Genesis 50, verses 20 to 25 tells us of his faith. Even to his last breath, Joseph had been through some terrible storms in his life.
00:17:53
Speaker
But his testimony was this, God meant it for good to bring it about that many people should be kept alive as they are today.
00:18:03
Speaker
You know, the scripture records that Joseph's bones were taken to the Promised Land. It's recorded in three other places, in Exodus 13, verse 19, and Joshua 24, verse 32, and Hebrews 11, verse 22. You see, God was faithful to bring him and his descendants out after all. The greatest silver lining
00:18:30
Speaker
that I think we have as believers in Jesus Christ is that regardless of our suffering in this life, those of us who have trusted Jesus Christ for salvation will one day leave all of our problems behind. And the storms, no matter how terrible that they were on this earth, they'll not seem so bad when we cross over into the promised land of heaven. Sometimes I find myself
00:18:59
Speaker
still humming the old gospel songs. I love the contemporary Christian songs, but I also still enjoy those old gospel hymns. There's one called Beyond the Sunset.
00:19:12
Speaker
Spiritually, by faith, I can see the silver lining behind all of the clouds that are currently over my head. It makes me want to sing the second verse with joy. Let me share the second verse of Beyond the Sunset. It says, beyond the sunset, no clouds will gather, no storms will threaten, no fears annoy. O day of gladness, O day unending,
00:19:40
Speaker
Beyond the sunset, eternal joy. Man, what an incredible silver lining.
00:19:46
Speaker
You know, I just want to encourage you, if you've never placed your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, I want to quickly just close by letting you know how you can be introduced to Christ so easily. The first thing you have to do is to know that there is a God in heaven who created you. He loves you so much. He created this whole planet so that we could live here on this planet.
00:20:12
Speaker
You know, the Bible says that God has put so many things in creation that let us know who He is, His character, His love for us. You know, the scientists have gone all around the universe, and so far, we've not found another place where we could live. No place where there's oxygen or no place where there's water. Yet God put us on this planet because He loves us. He's given you life because He loves you and cares about you.
00:20:42
Speaker
But then also, I was going to share with you something else the Bible says. The Bible says that despite all of God's love, inviting us to come to Him, that we chose to rebel and to go away from Him. The Bible calls this sin, it's rebellion. The Bible says that all of sin and fall short of the glory of God.
00:21:04
Speaker
In Isaiah 53, verse 6, it says that we each have gone our own way. Well, as a result of our sin, our sin deserves punishment from a holy and a just God.
00:21:18
Speaker
So what are we going to do now? We've sinned. We can't have fellowship with the Holy God. We would like it. He loves us. But how can we ever get across a tremendous gap? You know, Isaiah the prophet said that your sins have separated us from God. So how could that ever be bridged?
00:21:40
Speaker
Well, there's a wonderful bridge. God said, I'm going to send my son, and my son will die on a cross to pay the price, the penalty that your sins deserve. The Bible says that the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. But God demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
00:22:07
Speaker
He died in our place. He wants us to be with the Father so badly. He wants you to be in that place beyond the sunset.
00:22:16
Speaker
So all we have to do is to admit that we've sinned, to say, I'm tired of running my own life. I'm tired of living for self. I want to turn from sin and place my faith and trust in what Jesus did for me on the cross. How do we know that there is hope after death? Well, that's the good news too. You see, Jesus died on the cross. He was placed in a tomb. But three days later, the father raised him from the dead.
00:22:46
Speaker
The Father knew that Jesus' life was sinless. He did not deserve death. He deserved life, eternal life, life everlasting. He wants to share that with us if we will just put our faith and trust in Him. So it would be a joy for me to introduce you to Him. It would be the greatest silver lining you've ever experienced in your whole life.
00:23:10
Speaker
Whether you're driving down the road or whether you're at home listening to this or wherever you are, I just invite you. You don't even have to close your eyes. You can just go to the Lord and just repeat after me. Would you pray with me? Dear Father, I know now that you love me. Thank you for placing me on this planet where I can live. Thank you that even though I've sinned,
00:23:39
Speaker
you sent your son to down across from me. I want to turn from sin. I want to place my faith and trust in Jesus Christ. I believe your son rose from the dead. I confess now that Jesus is Lord. I want you to guide me and be the Lord of my life until my very last breath. Please welcome me into your family.
00:24:07
Speaker
Please take me to heaven when I die. Thank you for this time to pray in Jesus name. Amen.
00:24:16
Speaker
Friend, if you prayed that prayer with me and you really meant it from your heart, then I want you to know that God says you're welcome in his family. He gives us the right to become the children of God once we place our faith and our trust in his son, Jesus. So thank you so much for just joining us again today for Growing In Grace. I pray that God will bless you as you go through this week and even if you go through a storm,
00:24:44
Speaker
Look for the silver lining. It's going to be there somewhere. God bless you. This is a ministry of First Baptist Church, located at 1700 Milam Street, Columbus, Texas.