5min chapter

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Acts 22-28: Paul’s Final Journey

Unshaken Saints

CHAPTER

The Shipmen Are About to Flee Out of the Ship

In Acts 27, Paul tells the soldiers and centurion that unless they abide in the ship, they cannot be saved. They cut off the ropes of the lifeboat and let it fall into the sea. "We will live or die all as one," he says to them. The sailors are ready to set sail themselves; if these guys leave, we're all going to die.

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They cast four anchors out of the stern and wished for the day. Have you ever had such a dark night that you just wished for the day? Have you ever tried as hard as you can to stop where you're going and you just hope that you have enough anchors out there to keep you from crashing against the rocks of consequence? This is an intense moment in darkness, but praying for the light to come. Verse 30, and as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, so these are not the passengers. This is the crew. These are people who know the ship and the sea and the storm better than anyone. This is like Peter and James and John on their own boat with Jesus saying, Cara, sound not that we perish, and they're the ones freaking out thinking they're going to die. These shipmen, we did the sounding. It's getting shallower. We're about to crash against the rocks. It's every man for himself, not the captain going down to the ship anymore. Forget that. The shipmen were about to flee out of the ship when they had let down the boat into the sea. Under color, as though they would have cast anchors out of the four ship. Now, stop there. Think what they're doing. They're getting into the lifeboat. Try not to alarm the rest of the passengers. They're pretending to be going to the bow to be able to let down some more anchors. Remember the four they already let out? Those were from the stern, the back of the boat. Don't worry. We still trust Paul. You should too. We're just going to get in this lifeboat, but it's not really a lifeboat here. It's just a chance for us to be able to move forward toward the bow of the boat where we're going to cast out some additional anchors. Yeah, yeah, yeah. That's what we're doing. When it says under color as though, that just means they're faking it. They're pretending to be... We're doing something to help save us all when really what they're doing is trying to save themselves at the expense of everyone still on the ship. Well, Paul sees through that. And notice what he says. He said to the centurion and to the soldiers, except these abide in the ship, he cannot be saved. And fully trusting Paul's warning, then the soldiers cut off the ropes of the boat and let her fall off. Now this is a bold moment. Can you picture it in your mind? The sailors are ready to set sail themselves to just cut and run. And Paul sees it, knows it, and tells the soldiers, the centurion and others, if these guys leave, we're all going to die. We are all in this thing together, and we will... We will live or die all as one. Now the soldiers and centurion by now fully trust Paul to the point, and plus, it's like what you're going to... you're going to go leave? Forget that. We really are all in this thing together. So they cut the ropes that connect the lifeboat, and the lifeboat floats away. There's no other option. We're sticking together, and we're staying on this boat. Now with that in mind, again, hold two of the analogy that we've been trying to develop, the symbolism here of following prophets and apostles. If Paul says, stay on the boat, that's what we do. There was actually a talk from Elder Holland given years ago called Abide with Me. All those beautiful verses from John 15 about the true vine and stain connected to him. Elder Holland shifts the metaphor from John 15 to what we now see as Acts 27, because he talks about a ship. He calls it the good ship Zion, and you better believe that the apostles and prophets are there at the helm. Well, actually the Lord's at the helm, but these are the sailors aboard. Here we are, the passengers, but this is what Elder Holland said about it. When we join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, we board the good ship Zion and sail with her wherever she goes until she comes into that millennial port. We stay in the boat, he said, through squalls and stills, through storms and sunburns, because that is the only way to the promised land. My friends, do you remember when Cortez came to the New World, and many of his men still had one foot back in the Old World, and didn't want to fully commend themselves to this new life, because they missed the old, it was more commodious to enter in. It was more comfortable and convenient.

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