Middletown transcript., 1916-10-28
INTERNATIONAL
SUND6YSOOM
LESSON
By 3. o. SELLER1S, Acting Director OF
Sunday School Course, Moody Bible In
LESSON FOR OCTOBER 2s'
THE VOYAGE.
r.EssoN rMxr-Acts n:1-ss.

bring It 20 paSS.-PS. U9.
Paul sailed from Caesarea August,
A. d. 80 (Ramsey), a few days after
bis address before Agrippa. He
reached Malta about November Is.
Paul knew how to meet mObs,
but none Of his adventures are more
outstanding than the one we are
studying today. Luke, his physician,
was q companion, and the historian,
Josephus, states that on board the
ship there were more than 600 people
traveRng with Paul. Paul was a man
Of distinction, q Roman citizen. He
had his own hired house in Rome.
Aristarchus may possibly have been
his servant to furnish comfort for
The journey. Ramsey believes Paul
bad received hereditary property, thus
making him a Roman citizen of rank,
of learning and Of standing fnan-
cially.
I. Fair Weather and Contrary Winds
| wv. 1-12). Sidon was about 20
miles north Of Caesarea on the coast
of Palestine. Here Paul received lib
ertY to go ashore and visit his Chris
tlan friends. Myra is In Asia Minor.
1t requires IA days to reach this point
from SidOn, a distance Of about 400
miles. Here, instead Of going up the
Aegean sea route, often used in going
to Rome, the centurion found a grain
ship bound from Alexandria to Italy,
and put his prisoners on board. Sep
tember 1 they started for Italy. The
direct course would have been west
ward, but the wind was contrary, and
the progress was slow. On the 23d
they were opposite Cnidus, the south
west point Of Asia Minor, 130 miles
from Myra. September 25 they
entered the harbor Of Fair Haven,
near the middle Of the south shore
| Of the island Of Crete. The fast day,
October 8, the day Of the great atone
ment, was observed in this place. The
question of going farther was a de-
batable one, yet the commander per
sisted, and about the 10th Of October
they sailed for Fair Haven.
II. The Hurricane wv. 1920. TAX
ing advantage Of gentle wind they
rut out Of Fair Haven, and almost
Immediately encountered the hurri-
cane. 1t was perhaps hard for Paul
during those IA days to discern the
wise, gentle hand Of God. Jonah
| l-4). Gods most faithful servants do
not always find smooth sailing. (Phil.
4:6, Z; Isaiah 26:3; John 16:33), but
they may, no matter how fiercely tenn
pest tossed, know that God has not
ceased to look upon them with favor.
Sometimes the best thing for us to
do, when thus tempest tossed, Is Ito
tighten the ship" ". 18).
Many Of US are carrying too much
cargo for such stormy voyage as
this world presents, and the tempest
is often Gods call to unload (Heb.
12:1; Phil. 8 3:7-8; Math. 16:26).
Their greatest danger was lest they
should fall into quicksand. 1t was
indeed dark and doubtful situation.
I'll. The Message Of Cheer: al Be-
IIeVe God" wv. 20-26)- Neither sun
nor stars having shone for many days,
and all hope that any should be saved
seemingly taken away, yet God is able
to save In the darkness as well as in
the sunshine, in the tempest as we'll
as In the calm, and there was in that
boat one man at least whose hope was
not gone, for God had said to him,
''Thou must bear witness at Rome
also" {2S :11). Paul's message Of
cheer in the midst Of this despair and
after they had been so long without
food Immediately stamped him as a
leader of wisdom and power. In the
presence Of passengers and sailors he
began. his message by saying that they
had come into this disaster by neglect
ing his advice two weeks before. He
refers to this In order to inspire conf
dence In his message, that there
should be no loss of any mans life
among them.
Paul could make this promise be-
cause ian angel Of God whose I am
and whom / serve" had come to him
and assured him that God would re-
deem the promise made two years be-
fore. This implies that Paul had given
himself to prayer. Observe how one
godly man can gave many ungOdly
men (Gen. 18 :22-33). Gods vision
came to Paul, but Paul used it for the
comfort and cheer Of the whole ships
company (H Cor 1-4). A modern IL
lustration of similar experience was
that Of Mr.. Moody and General How
ard, returning from Europe on the
steamship Spree In 1892.
General Howard relates that Mr..
Moody did a great deal to cheer the
passengers, by both his words and his
actions, during those days of stress
and storm. The darker and stormier
the night, the more likely are the
angels of God to appear If we are In
deed his ". %: CT. Ch. 1923 :11).
Sometimes these angels stand beside
US and we do not see them, we are
taken up with the darkness and the
bowling Of the storm. It is a great
thing to be able to look up to the In
finite God and say, II am his" To
make this statement inteIligently, and
with deep realization Of Its meaning
win give significance and solemnity to
all.
Nv. Paul, the Life Saver (vv. 27-87).
Paul did not stop with simply saying
that God was his, but went on to say,
"Whom also serve" Many say they
are Gods but do not prove It by their
lives Of service. Paul loved to think
and speak Of himself as the servant Of
God from. 1:0: II Tim. 1:S; Titus