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Bankrupt 8.27.26
Acts 27: 21-26 “After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: ‘Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God whose I am and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So, keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.’” (NIV)
Where was Paul? He was on a ship bound for Rome following the hearing that took place before Festus and Agrippa. He was technically a prisoner at this point along with other prisoners headed for trial. According to Luke, who was traveling with Paul on this journey, there were a total of 276 people on board. Verses 33-37: “Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. ‘For the last fourteen days,’ he said, ‘you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food--you haven’t eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.’ After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 of us on board.”
What an amazing life Paul was leading at this point of his Christian journey. On a ship bound for trial in Rome, caught in a storm with hurricane force winds due to poor decision-making by the captain and crew. Angel visitation. A ship’s crew who were convinced they were facing certain peril. But here we see Paul ministering to everyone on board, testifying in the name of God and encouraging everyone that God had promised that the Lord Almighty was in charge. From this point forward, it was Jesus who was working with and through Paul to take care of this mess. For Jesus had promised Paul that he would make it to Rome for his trial.
What faith! But are we interested in how Paul came to have such faith? Throughout the Book of Acts, we have seen a man named Saul who was forever dramatically and drastically changed by Jesus. From his encounter with our risen Lord on the road to Damascus, we have subsequently seen this man become the greatest missionary the world has ever witnessed. From his road to Damascus experience to when he was martyred, Paul was a man walking hand in hand with Jesus, experiencing Jesus’ daily presence in his life; being led by the Holy Spirit. This is a key to our understanding of Paul's faith.
In order to have the type of faith Paul had, it requires us to truly become disciples (learners). Not go-to-church every so often type disciples. No. Serious, worshiping daily, praying daily, reading Scripture daily, serving and walking with Jesus daily type of disciples. For it is through these practices that we develop our relationship with our Lord to the point of having deep and absolute faith in him. When Jesus encountered Paul on that road to Damascus, he instantly brought him to a point of understanding of the complete bankruptcy of his religion. A new dawn, a new day, a new life had been born through Jesus Christ. Before this, Paul had yet to grasp onto it. That all changed “…on the road…”
By the time we see Paul at this point in his life, he was totally on board. Completely sold out for Jesus. Can we have this type of faith? Is it available to us today? Certainly. But it takes getting to a certain place in our understanding of God to get there. It takes an understanding that without Jesus as our Savior, we are toast…completely bankrupt. C. S. Lewis offers up this nugget of wisdom to help drive the point home: “I am trying to talk about Faith in the second sense. I said just now that the question of Faith in this sense arises after a man has tried his level best to practice the Christian virtues, and found that he fails, and seen that even if he could, he would only be giving back to God what was already God’s own. In other words, he discovers his bankruptcy.”
The question most of us have had to ask ourselves is the question C.S. Lewis poses. Have we come to a point of understanding our own bankruptcy? Of understanding we own nothing that God has not first given us? We say this all the time in one form or another. But are we still just going through the motions? Do we understand we have nothing to give God that he doesn’t already have? What he wants from us is our love and a relationship with him in return for all that he has first given us. When we have arrived to the point of fully understanding this, we are on the path and direction that God has called us.
Jesus, we come today with nothing to offer you but our love and devotion. Fill us with your Holy Spirit, Lord. Lead us to the second sense that your servant C.S. Lewis speaks of. Grow our faith, Jesus! Fill us with your Holy Spirit, Jesus such that we understand that with you, we are no longer bankrupt but instead rich in your mercy and grace. We praise you this day, Lord. Amen. (34.4)