Acts 27 Lesson (2024)

TRUST

TheApostle Paul trusted Godno matter howdifficult hiscirc*mstances became.

What about us? Canwe saythe same?

When life gets hard, orwe getscared, tired, orlonely, dowe continue totrust inGod's plan?

Ordoes ourfaith sometimes getcompromised?

DEFINING TRUST

Trust isdefined as:

• “Afirm belief inthe reliability, truth, ability, orstrength ofsomeone orsomething.” (Source: Google Dictionary)

Using this definition, wesee that inorder totrust somebody, they must be:

1. Reliable,
2. Truthful,
3. Able,
4. Strong.

PAUL NEVER STOPPED TRUSTING GOD

InActs Chapter 27,wesee that Paul isbeing transported toRome ona bigship.

TheAuthor ofActs, Luke, wason this trip with him, andprovides uswith afirst-hand report ofall that heheard andsaw.

Luke writes about howdangerous andhard thetrip was, andhow thewind wasnot cooperating with their plans:

• “When wehad sailed slowly fora good many days, andwith difficulty hadarrived offCnidus,since thewind didnot permit usto gofarther, wesailed under theshelter ofCrete, offSalmone; andwith difficultysailing past itwe came toa place called Fair Havens, near which wasthe city ofLasea.” – Acts 27:7-8.

This mayhave been thelowest point inPaul’s journey todate.

Consider these four points:

1. Paul hadnow been imprisoned foryears,
2. Hisfuture wasuncertain,
3. People inpower were trying tokill him,
4. Hewas lost atsea andhad toendure deadly seas onhis wayto Rome.

Andas ifthis wasnot enough, Paul hadno idea what wasgoing tohappen tohim when hedid make itto Rome.

From what Paul sawwas done toJesus, andfrom what hadbeen done tohim already, Paul understood that theRoman leaders might:

1. Order himto bekilled,
2. Beat himagain,
3. Order himto remain inprison.

This type ofhardship might strain some people’s faith.

Butnot Paul’s.

Paul remained determined tofollow God’s plan forhim.

Nomatter howdifficult hissituation got, orhow much adversity hewent through, Paul never stopped trusting Godor believing inhis plan.

That isthe example that weare tofollow inour ownlives.

Luke recorded thefollowing words spoken bythe Apostle Paul toeveryone onthe ship with himat sea:

• “Forthis very nightanangel ofthe Godto whom Ibelong andwhom Iservestood before me,saying, ‘Donot beafraid, Paul;youmust stand before Caesar; andbehold, Godhas granted youall those whoare sailing with you.’Therefore,keep upyour courage, men, forI believe Godthatitwill turn outexactly asI have been told.Butwe mustrunaground ona certainisland.’” – Acts 27:23-26.

Paul trusted themessage that Godgave him.

Hetrusted itso much that hewanted toshare itwith everybody onboard theship.

Hebelieved inhis heart that ifthey trusted inGod theway that hedid, they would becomforted andbetter able toendure thechallenge that wasin front ofthem.

That isthe hope that wereceive when wecommit tofollowing God’s plan, andnot ours.

REVISITING THEDEFINITION OFTRUST

Earlier inour lesson, wedefined trust as:

• “Afirm belief inthe reliability, truth, ability, orstrength ofsomeone orsomething.” (Source: Google Dictionary)

Therefore, inorder totrust God, wemust believe that Heis:

1. Reliable,
2. Truthful,
3. Able,
4. Andstrong.

GODIS RELIABLE

There aremany scriptures inthe Bible that talk about thereliability ofGod.

Fortoday’s lesson, wehave highlighted these four:

1. “Butthe Lord isfaithful,andHe will strengthen andprotect youfromtheevil one.” -2Thessalonians 3:3,
2. “Hewill notallow your foot toslip; Hewho watches over youwill notslumber.” -Psalm 121:3,
3. “TheLord’sacts ofmercyindeed donot end, forHis compassionsdonot fail. Theyarenew every morning.” -Lamentations 3:22-23,
4. “Andthe Lordisthe onewho isgoing ahead ofyou; Hewill bewith you.Hewill notdesert youor abandon you.” -Deuteronomy 31:8.

TheBible tells useverything that weneed toknow totrust inGod’s reliability.

Godis perfect!

Weare not.

Weare human andwe make mistakes.

Sometimes, wesay that weare going todo something, butwe don't doit.

Butthat isnot what Goddoes.

Godis notlike us.

IfGod says that Heis going todo something, Hedoes it!

Andbecause Heis always reliable, wecan trust Him.

GODIS TRUTHFUL

Theworld isfull oflies.

That isnot tosay that everyone isa liar. They arenot.

Butwe live ina world that isruled bySatan. This iswhat theBible teaches.

Godhas allowed Satan toTEMPORARILY have power over theearth.

Andbecause ofthis, there arelies allaround us.

Weare lied toon television, bysocial media, andeven face toface.

Butnot byGod!

Godis somebody whois always truthful.

Andbecause Heis, wecan trust Him.

Consider thefollowing four verses that speak about thetruthfulness ofGod, andby extension, HisSon, Jesus:

1. “Jesus said tohim,‘Iam theway, andthe truth, andthe life; noone comes tothe Father butthrough Me.’” - John 14:6,
2. “Sanctify them inthe truth; Your word istruth.” - John 17:17,
3. “Butwhen He,theSpirit oftruth, comes, Hewillguide youinto allthe truth.” - John 16:13,
4. “SoJesus wassaying tothose Jews whohad believed Him,‘Ifyou continue inMy word,thenyouare trulydisciples ofMine;andyou will know thetruth, andthe truth will make youfree.’” - John 8:31-32.

GODIS ABLE

Godcan doanything!

Hehas supreme power over everything andeveryone!

Godis thecreator ofthe world andall that isin it(Genesis 1:1-31).

Listed below arefour scriptures that show howGod cando anything, andthat there isno problem toobig forHim tohandle:

1. “Byfaithweunderstand that theworlds were preparedbythe word ofGod, sothat what isseenwasnot made outof things which arevisible.” -Hebrews 11:3,
2. “Forby Himall things were created,bothinthe heavens andon earth, visible andinvisible.” -Colossians 1:16,
3. “Allthings came into being through Him, andapart from Himnothing came into being that hascome into being.” -John 1:3,
4. “Itis Iwho made theearth, andcreated mankind upon it. Istretched outthe heavens with Myhands, andI ordainedalltheirlights.” -Isaiah 45:12.

Godis able todo anything!

Andbecause Heis, wecan trust Him.

GODIS STRONG

Godis stronger than anyproblem wehave faced orwill ever face.

Heis thealmighty God!

Hecreated theworld, andwe aretoserve Him,notthe other wayaround.

Andbecause Godhas this strength, Heis able todo anything, including bringing thefaithful tobe with Himin Heaven foreternity.

Thefollowing verses talk about thestrength ofGod, andby extension, HisSon, Jesus:

1. “Andlooking atthemJesus said tothem,“With people this isimpossible, butwith Godall things arepossible.” - Mathew 19:26,
2. “Yours,Lord, isthe greatness, thepower, theglory, thevictory, andthe majesty, indeed everything that isin theheavens andon theearth; Yours isthe dominion,Lord, andYou exalt Yourself ashead over all.” - 1Chronicles 29:11,
3. “NowGod hasnot onlyraised theLord, butwill also raise usup through Hispower.” - 1Corinthians 6:14,
4. “Forsince thecreation ofthe world Hisinvisible attributes, Hiseternal power anddivine nature, have been clearly seen,being understood through what hasbeen made, sothat they arewithout excuse.” - Romans 1:20.

Godis stronger than anyof ouradversaries, andGod isstronger than Satan. Andbecause Heis, wecan trust Him.

CONCLUSION

Nobody deserves ourtrust more than God.

Wecan trust inGod because Heis:

1. Reliable,
2. Truthful,
3. Able,
4. Strong.

Godhas aunique plan forall ofus, onethat leads toHeaven andeternal salvation.

Theonly question is, will wefollow it?

Wewill endtoday’s lesson with thefollowing words from theprophet Jeremiah:

• “ForI know theplansIhave foryou,” declares theLord, “plans toprosperyouand notto harm you, plans togive youhope anda future.” –Jeremiah 29:11.