Do Not Fear: Be of Good Cheer!

Are you in a storm this instant? Do you feel alone? Do you live in fear because everything seems to be sinking around you? Well, "be of good cheer"! The storm will subside and you can be saved from the turbulence which surrounds you. "Do not fear"!

Acts 27:21 "But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss.
22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you, but of the ship.
23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve,
24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.
25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.
34 Wherefore I pray you to take some meat: for this is for your health: for there shall not an hair fall from the head of any of you.
35 And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat.
36 Then were they all of good cheer, and they also took some meat.
37 And we were in all in the ship two hundred threescore and sixteen souls.
44b And so it came to pass, that they escaped all safe to land."

Paul appealed unto Caesar when he was accused of teaching against God by speaking of the Resurrection. He would have been freed if he had not made the appeal. It seems that he made a truly bad decision, but his mind was not his own; it belonged to God. Paul was to go to Rome for God's purpose because God knew what was best to make the young church grow. As Jesus died for me, that message came to me because of Paul. If he had not went to Europe we can't assume that someone would have, for Paul was the chosen vessel to spread his word. Here in the west we are Christians because Paul endured persecution so that the world would know about Jesus. It worked!

Now, in the scripture above, we see that  the entourage is ready to embark to Rome. It was not a simple trip in those times, but during mild weather, the trip was long, but safe. However, it seems that the trip would be perilous as they are ready to depart for Paul warned them of catastrophe (verse 22). They failed to heed what he said and departed anyway.

Paul had "inside information" when he said "be of good cheer". His prophecy was that the ship would be destroyed, but no man would be harmed due to the high winds and storms which would come from the north east.  How did Paul know this? Jesus told him so! God still had a great mission for Paul and he wasn't about to let him die, and as a miracle for others, they would live as well!

Now how do I know it was Jesus who spoke to Paul? The Holy Ghost doesn't speak. That's "The Word's" part. Jesus is The Word. Look at what Paul said: "there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve." (verse 23). Who does Paul serve? Was he the Holy Ghost who he served? No; Paul served Jesus Christ. In verse 24 the angel of God spoke because Paul pointed out that he was "saying".  This encounter was audible. Sure, angels speak and they too are messengers, but Paul didn't serve angels. He served Jesus!

If he was an angel Paul would have said "an angel of God". Paul said it was "THE angel of God". There is a big difference because it was this specific messenger who wrestled with Jacob who said of THE angel of God "I have seen God face to face, and my life is preserved" (Genesis 32:30b).

Jacob couldn't see God for no one can and live. He didn't see the Holy Spirit because he's spirit. It was the angel because Jacob said he was "God". It was the pre-incarnate Jesus who Jacob saw, the same Jesus who Paul saw at sea who now was in  a glorious body. This glorious body isn't constrained by time, by geography nor by barriers. He was just "there" when Paul needed him as he was just "there" when Paul was struck blind:

Acts 9:4 "...he (Paul) fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? 5 And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest..."

Paul saw Jesus and heard Jesus once, now he heard him again. The first time he appeared as a "shining light" (Acts 9:3), and the second time as "the angel". Angels are seen. Jesus "stood by" Paul (verse 23).  I believe in Jesus, but Paul SAW Jesus! I too would be of "good cheer" if Jesus appeared to me!

Jesus said "Fear not!", then said two things: 1) You Paul must appear before Caesar and 2) God has given you all those who sail with you (verse 24).

Why? Paul's purpose was to tell the western world about Jesus, and others became his helpers because of the miracle of "salvation" from death at sea. Jesus saved them all from the storm because he had a purpose for them all! Paul had a truly "purpose driven life" and he served God's purpose. The others joined him in that same purpose. The church grows when the storms are great and the turbulence intense!

Even with a terrible storm and the world around collapsing 276 our of 276 people were saved by Jesus that day because their lives were "purpose driven"!

God had a purpose for Paul and those heathens. No doubt 276 bodies were saved that day and with that, it appears that 276 people testified to what Jesus said. We don't know if all of the 276 were converted, but Jesus' death was not to save lives from death, but to save souls from "second deaths"! I believe he did both!

We live in a storm. If you're not "born again" right now the winds are strong, the seas turbulent and the abyss beneath your ship deep.

They all lived because Jesus lives, and we have the opportunity to live because Jesus shows that he can defeat death! I "exhort you to be of good cheer" because Jesus said "do not fear"!