A Perilous Journey

Acts 27 and the Perilous Journey to Rome

By a younger and smarter elder, I would add. All right, if you would then turn in your Bibles back to what Brother Mike just read in Acts chapter 27. I'm going to seek if possible to try to look at the whole chapter and that's one of the reasons why I asked Brother Mike to to read the chapter thinking that we might not have been familiar with this section in a while and it's again, it's a long section.

I won't have time to look at it verse by verse, but rather I'm going to try to look at it in groups of verses. And so I asked him to read the passage for us in order to give us some sort of understanding of where we are, hopefully in the in the course of Paul's life.

Before we go to any further, let's just again for a moment ask God's blessing because without God we can do nothing folks. So let's pray. Our Father and our God, again in Jesus name, the only begotten Son, the one who allows us to come into your presence, we pray, Lord, be with us this morning.

Enable us to see things that we have yet not seen, to be encouraged in the things that you have already showed us, and to be warned by the things that we've never given a thought to. Thank you for your word, Lord.

May you be glorified in it all this morning, and may the words of our mouth and the meditations of our heart be acceptable in your sight. In Jesus name, Amen. I titled it, A Perilous Journey, as you might see it in your bulletin, and I wanted to ask us to think about as Paul begins to be taken to Rome, that you and I would would look at what takes place in his life, and that you and I would be able to make some application of things in our life.

And if you read at all, along with Brother Mike, it sounded like a perilous journey, and it certainly was. It was a dangerous journey for the Apostle, and I thought as we began to ask us to think about how all of us, and it doesn't matter where you are in the in the positions of life, whether you're young or old or male or female or this, that, or the other, been in Christ for two days, been in Christ for four decades, that you and I would understand that we are all partakers of a perilous journey, a dangerous journey.

We all pass, if you will, through this life, and we have a point in which we began, and we have a definitive point where we will end. And that is by God's decree, is it not, that you and I, even in the natural kind of thinking, we go from the womb to the tomb.

No one is exempt. There's not one of us here that could say, that will not affect me. And in the course of this, there is, because of the consequences of living in a world that is under the judgment of God, living in a world in which the curse has been placed upon us, not only in the creation, but even within the creatures, that you and I would understand that we are not exempt, as we go from the womb to the tomb, that you and I are partakers of a dangerous journey, a perilous journey, a journey that is filled with all kinds of harmful things, all kinds of hurtful things.

It's amazing, especially as of late, and maybe for this reason or that reason, but as I try to watch the news at night, just to try to understand all the, I'm gonna say, all the craziness that's out there, there are so many harmful, hurtful things that just continually take place daily, over and over and over again.

And people try to make sense of it, and some of the ways in which they try to make sense of it, makes no sense at all. But you and I should be able to understand that it's because we live in a world that's under the judgment of God, that's been, in that sense, placed with a curse upon it, that we do live in a place where there are many harmful, hurtful things, and that you and I do take a dangerous journey.

Even if you are a child of God this morning, even if you are one who's been born from above, and I would pray we would all be born from above, even if we are the ones who have been granted eternal life through the promise of the new covenant, purchased by the blood of Christ, sealed by the Holy Spirit, that you and I are not exempt from a perilous and dangerous journey.

You and I are not exempt from encountering many harmful, hurtful, and even at times, fearful things. And as I thought about that, and I thought about Paul's journey, I want to try to liken it, and hopefully we can glean from some of the things that happened to him, so that you and I would be able to handle our journey.

Remember that the same Lord who says that he would never leave us nor forsake us also said, in this world you shall have great tribulation. That you and I would understand that this pilgrimage that we all take, this pilgrimage, hopefully as a child of God, from a cursed world, the world under the sway of the evil one, and that journey that we take will ultimately bring us to the golden shore, to the mansions that have been promised for us, and that you and I can expect it.

You and I can expect to encounter things because of God's purposes. In our life and in the lives of others. And so as we look at Paul's journey, the journey this morning is directly Paul's, by the way.

Not only Paul, but his companions, and we'll consider that. And we'll never get to the end of Paul's journey to where he's at Rome. We won't be able to. We don't have enough time. But I would ask you to think about the if you will, the passage that we just read and to consider it and to understand it in the in a way that you and I can learn from it.

Listen friends, if you and I come to the Word of God, I'm going to try to stay, I have a lot to say, I want to say, I'm going to try to stay on track. But listen, if you and I come to the Word of God, and we don't submit to it, we don't consider it, we don't have an effect in our lives, then the Word of God will not do us good and could do us a great deal of harm.

And so as we look at what took place in the life of God's servant Paul, you and I should be able to glean from it. And it's a large passage, by the way. What we read this morning takes months and months to unfold, if not more.

What takes place in this journey that Paul takes from Jerusalem to Rome, there is much of his life that is filled with turmoil and trouble. And yet, as I hope that for no other reason that I look at this passage, but to realize that at the end, even as we finish where we can leave off this morning, you and I would realize that when God begins a work in us, a true work, not some phony work, not some work that dies in and of itself, but a work of granting us repentance and granting us newness of life, that God who began a good work in us will what?

He will continue until the day of Christ, and you and I will overcome the perils and the dangers and the trouble and the turmoil and all the different things that happen in our life, and God will bring us to Himself.

And so it should be encouraging. And yet, some of the things that take place in this chapter are truly disturbing. Just like you and I would admit, some of the things that happen in our pilgrimage individually is ugly.

And yet, we have a God who said that He will never leave us nor forsake us. So as we come to the passage, and by the way, when Brother Mike began to read, Paul's already, um, it's already been decided that Paul's going to Rome, and I don't have time.

And if you want to know how Paul got to this position, just go back a couple of chapters, maybe, I don't know, 27 or 26, and find out how this all began to unfold, because in reality, Paul's been on a perilous journey all his life, and even more so since that day that Christ struck him down on the road to Damascus.

And you remember when Paul said, Lord, what will you have me to do? Get up, and I'm going to show you what great things you want. Suffer. And you know what? Many times, folks, we suffer. Just as we see in this passage how Paul suffers.

I almost gave up on this passage. I want to just say that. I almost gave up on this passage because I knew I wouldn't be able to do it verse by verse, and I knew we would never finally get to see Paul in Rome unless you want to stay for another hour and a half, and we'll go through chapter 28.

I didn't think so. So let's consider some of the thoughts, and from an outline standpoint, I want to, um, ask you to think of it this way. First, there's an opening of the journey, and that'll be in verses one through nine, and then there's some observations that we can make in verses nine through twelve.

Some growing perils in the journey, and that's in verse 13 through 20. Paul's prayer along the journey, and that's in verse 21 through 27, and then a word or two about the conclusion of this leg of the journey in verses 27 through 44.

Paul the Prisoner and God's Sovereign Purpose

And so, as it opens to us, Paul's a prisoner. That's pretty, that's pretty perilous to be a prisoner. He's become a prisoner, and Felix has sent him to Caesar, and both the captain of the ship, this ship, and the centurion who's been given the charge to bring Paul to Rome, they think that Paul is their captive.

And in part, they're right. Paul is their captive. But listen, Paul is a prisoner of Christ. Paul is the servant of Christ, and I like what one commentator said as I looked at some ways in which to think through this.

One commentator said this. He said, long before Paul was a prisoner of Felix, he was God's prisoner. And God had determined that Paul was going to go to Rome long before Felix did. And it's so true. And you and I have to think about this, this journey that we're on, this pilgrimage.

And some of you might say you're a little closer to the golden shore than someone else. But listen, my friends, even in that thought, the journey could end for any one of us, or even in that sense for every one of us today.

And so, Paul is a prisoner, and it's been determined by the, I just so love to say it this way, it's been determined by the counsel of God that Paul will go to Rome. Are you thankful that God is sovereign?

Are we thankful that God decrees all that comes to pass? Are we thankful to be his prisoner and to know that the journey is full of trouble? And there's all kinds of things that will enter into our lives, and yet God knows the end from the beginning and the beginning from the end.

And so Paul is a prisoner, but he's God's prisoner. You know what Job said before we get into any more thoughts? Job said this, he said that God performs what is anointed for us. And then if you begin to think about the life of Job, and you want to talk about troubles, and you want to talk about perilous things to take place, and yet Job would say that God performs the things that he had appointed for Job.

And what God has appointed for Paul right now is that he is a prisoner, but again, he is God's prisoner. God is sovereign both in the case of the sparrow and your life and my life. Right? Not a hair of our head falls without God's decree.

Except for you bald dudes. I'm just close to bald. So let's consider some of the thoughts. Verses 1 through 9, and I'm going to read through it quickly just to get us a little bit more familiar. So in verses 1 through 9, the opening of journey.

And when it was decided that we should sail to Italy, they delivered Paul and some other prisoners to one named Julius, a centurion of the Augustan Regiment. And so entering a ship of Adrenium, we put to sea, meaning to sail along the coast of Asia.

Aristarchus, a Macedonian of Thessalonica, was with us. And the next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. And when we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary.

When we had sailed through the sea, which is off Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra, a city of Lycia. And there the centurion found an Alexandrian ship sailing to Italy, and he put us on board. And when he had sailed slowly many days and arrived with difficulty off of Snydus, the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the shelter of Crete off of Siloam.

Passing it with difficulty, we came to a place called Fairhavens near the city of Lycia. Now, let me just ask us to consider a couple of things through these verses. First of all, Paul is traveling with some companions, and it's amazing to me how this is brought into is brought before us.

But Paul is a prisoner, and yet God has determined that Paul will be accompanied by Aristarchus, as we read, and also if you read through it and you see how the writer says we, a good number of times, that Luke is also with him.

So you have Paul the prisoner headed towards Rome, and he has a company of at least two friends, two companions. But here's the other thought, and I want us to think about, that Paul's traveling with a mixed multitude.

Because there were other prisoners there also. So Paul is a prisoner, and he's traveling with some that are companions and some that are just prisoners. And we're not really told why those others are there and being taken to Rome.

Maybe they have appealed to Caesar. Maybe they are headed to the the games in Rome to be fed to the lions. I don't know. But they're all on this perilous journey, and Paul is amongst a mixed multitude, and ultimately Aristarchus becomes a prisoner.

If you read in Colossians chapter 4, you'll find out Aristarchus becomes a prisoner when Paul gets to Rome, but for now he's just a companion. Do you know also, brothers and sisters, in our own journey that we find ourselves many times traveling with a mixed multitude?

Just think about that. We have many relationships in our lives, don't we? Every one of us. I was trying to think. I couldn't sleep last night, and I usually can't sleep the night before I have an opportunity to speak.

And I said to myself, try to think of all the people you know. Well, that went on until I fell asleep. But just think about this. We all have been traveling along this life in a mixed multitude situation.

Some of them are for us. Those relationships. Some of them are against us. And yet many of them are just, if you will, sprinkled in the background by God's purposes along our pilgrimage. Again, we have those that are for us, that are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Then we have those who are against us. And some relationships in this mixed multitude are more prominent than others. And some of them, again, are just, like I said, sprinkled in the background. But it's important for us to realize that.

In other words, if you and I were to think that we live in a world that's totally evil and corrupt, although it is, as I said, based on the curse. But we have been surrounded by God's grace with many relationships that help us, that aid us, that walk along with us in our journey.

And then, as I said, there are many, and even, it seems, more so in these days that are against us. So Paul's traveling as a prisoner, and he's got Luke with him. He's got Aristarchus with him. And here's another thing I want you to notice in this part of the outline.

It's verse 3, what it says. It says, again, the next day we landed at Sidon, and Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him liberty to go to his friends and receive care. And I wanted us to notice how as Paul's taking this dangerous journey, as this perilous journey, as he's pilgriming from Jerusalem to Rome, he's never going to return to Jerusalem, by the way, that he is shown kindness by this Julius.

He is shown a, he's actually given a certain amount of freedom, limited freedom, but freedom nevertheless. And I thought about that, and I thought how, you know, brothers and sisters, friends, we ought to be thankful for the gracious provision of God towards us in our pilgrimage, even of those who do not know the Savior.

And as I said, He's been shown kindness, and cannot you and I say that as we journey through this life, God has brought many, many people into our lives to help us? And they might not even know the King of kings and the Lord of lords?

And it covers everyone. Friends, as we pilgrimage through this life, isn't it good to know that there are those who are working for us and I thought about it, I mean that covers everybody, right? It covers from employers, first responders, military, the man who picks up my trash.

I am thankful that that trash man shows up every week. The mail person, you get what I'm trying to get at? There are many, many things in this life, and as this Julius shows Paul kindness, so God is so kind to us, that as we journey through, God provides, maybe even just in the background, provisions for us.

Then if you read how Paul got here, Paul's been in prison, by the way, and then he goes and he's before Felix, and guess what? He's headed towards prison again. So Paul certainly can use the provisions, and so he is allowed to have liberty to go to his friends and receive care.

I just thought that was so good how, again, how good it is of God to give us helpers. I mean the greatest helper is who? Of course, the Holy Spirit, the Savior, the Father, but what about all these other things?

How about all these other, again, many of them even in background parts, extras, if you will. I don't want to get off the subject, and I really shouldn't, but you ever watch a you'll watch a show or a commercial on TV, and it's like the main, whatever there is that they're trying to do is always up front, and then there's like 10 ,000 people walking in the background.

There's people, there's people at a desk, there's people talking, and you don't hear their voice. I mean, it's just, I always ask my wife, what, I wonder what they're saying. And she just ignores me. But isn't that the case?

There are so many people in the background of our lives, and yet God is the one who's gone before us and stands behind us, and so you and I ought to consider it. And then it says that when we had put to sea from there, we sailed under the shelter of Cyprus because the winds were contrary, and here's another thought.

Paul doesn't take the straightest route because the straightest route was too dangerous for Paul to take. So what they do, if you look at it on a map from where they began, they go northward, and they're up on the coast, and they stay, they're hugging the coast because the open seas are too dangerous.

So they're up, they're going up the coast, hugging the coast, and then ultimately we'll see that it really breaks loose. And then they wind up coming down south, and they try to stay by the island of Crete and try to use that shelter, and then ultimately they go back up towards Italy and to where Paul finally gets to Rome.

But the thought is that they can't take the straightest path. You know, friends, our lives are not always the straightest path, are they? We go places where we don't want to go, don't we? We get put in situations that we don't want to be in.

Well, you know what? If it was up to us, we would run into the rocks before we ever got out of the port. We think we know what's the straightest path. God knows the right path for us. Every single one of us.

And by the way, we ought to be careful about complaining about someone else's path. Because God has decreed and appointed and performs that which is appointed for us. And our sight is so often, friends, so short-sighted.

And again, if it was left to us, we would find our way into open waters. And that's why we have to walk by faith, by the way, right? Because walking by sight many times is deceiving. And we begin to think, well, this would be the best way for me.

And this would be the best way. And this was a way to avoid certain dangers. Listen, friends, the God who saved us decreed every trial, tribulation, danger, disturbing part of our life. Now, I'm not saying that we are not the responsible party for many of those things.

But nevertheless, you and I should think about it that as we see Paul and the things that are taking place, he's not taking the direct path. Verse 6. I've got to speed up a little bit. Then it says this.

So they're on the boat, right? And then they're there at the centurion found an Alexandria ship sailing to Italy and he put us on board. So you get what happens? They get off of one boat and they go on another boat.

And I thought about this in Paul's journey. And I thought about how in many ways that's like our lives. We get off of one boat, we get on another boat. We go through one thing and then we get to another thing.

We go through one stage in our life, one trial or tribulation, and then maybe by God's gracious provision, we have a period of calm and quietness. And then what? Does anyone here want to stand up and tell us how they've lived nothing but an absolutely stress-free, trial-free, danger-free life?

Come on up and lie. And so it goes from one means to another. From one situation to another. And that's all again, as I say to you, because of the shepherd of the sheep. That he goes before us and he goes behind us.

And so our lives we ought to expect many changes. Nothing. Listen, it doesn't remain the same, does it? There are some people who cannot handle change, but really for the child of God in many ways there is no change.

We're going from this world to the presence of Christ. But sometimes God takes us off of one ship, puts us on another one. Sometimes we become fearful of change. Listen, friends, I'll say to you this way.

We ought not to fear change. We ought to fear God. We ought not to fear the situations of life. And certainly as things change, we ought to fear the God who changes things. And so he's put on another ship.

And by the way, it says it's an Alexandrian ship. And you'll see it a little further along if we have time to get to it. Basically, this is a ship that belongs to Egypt and they're going to Rome to sell them the wheat.

At least that's what I understand of this. And so here we are and Paul gets off of one boat, one situation, and then he goes on to another one. Verse 7. We have sailed many days and arrived with difficulty at Sinai, and the wind not permitting us to proceed, we sailed under the Shelter Crete.

Again, just giving us some understanding of this course that they take. Then verse 9 through 12. I want us to just look at one or two things real quick. Now, when much time had been spent and sailing was now dangerous because the fast was already over, Paul advised them saying, Men, I perceive that this voyage will end with disaster and much loss, not only of the cargo in the ship, but also of our lives.

Nevertheless, the centurion was more persuaded by the helmsman and the owner of the ship than by the things spoken by Paul. And because the harbor was not suitable to winter in, the majority advised to sail from there also, if by any means they could reach Phoenix, a harbor of Crete opening towards the southwest and northwest and winter there.

Just one or two things. First of all, we're given a time stamp, aren't we, in verse 9. It's when sailing has become rough because the feast was already over. And I understand this would have been the Feast of Passover.

And that that took place in September. And that Paul understands something about the times to sail and the times not to sail. And that having this time stamp helps us to understand where we are in the narrative.

Good season to sail, and this is not a good time to sail. I was just talking to Jesse before service when we were talking about boats. Let me tell you, it's a good time to sail, and it's a time not to sail.

Especially if you're not in a big boat. So Paul understands this, and the narrative is given to us. And so Paul says to them that he sees nothing ahead in this journey but danger. He makes an observation.

And, you know, isn't it good, friends, that God gives us, even in the creation, if you will, help us to discern that God gives us, by His provision, understanding? I mean, if you read what it says here, the centurion listens to the helmsman and the owner of the ship, and he disregards the Jewish prisoner's advice.

But guess what? The Jewish prisoner knows a lot about the sea, if you remember. Was not Paul shipwrecked a number of times? And God gives us this timestamp so we would realize you and I need to, even in our journey, even in our pilgrimage, listen, and I'm not absolutely positive where sometimes Paul's making a discernment based on his understanding in God's provision and giving him grace, and where it could be because God has divinely revealed something.

But nevertheless, Paul says that this is not going to be the best time. Because the captain's just, you would think that the captain of the ship would know the same things that Paul knew, wouldn't you think?

I mean, if Paul knew that it wasn't a good time to sail, you would think that the captain of the ship, or certainly the helmsman, would have known. But as I said, they seem to be more concerned with what the majority is saying than what this prisoner is saying.

And they have the cargo on their mind. They have to get the wheat to Rome. Got to make the money. Listen, just before we leave this, you know, friends, there's many times we got to go against the majority in all the journeys that we walk.

There are times in our life when we need to listen to the voices and discern the situation in times that are around us. Wouldn't you agree? God has not given us a spirit of fear, but what? Power, love, and sound mind.

And we ought to use that sound mind. But, but, at times we must go even against the majority and stand and trust and believe and press on. So there's this advice given by Paul, I perceive that the voyage will end in disaster.

And then there's the response and nope, we're going on. Consider, if you will, just for a moment, verses 13 through 20. And this is some of the perils that continually, and guess what, they grow worse.

Look at verse 13. When the south wind blew softly, so they made their decision. We're going to go where we say we're going to go. We're not going to regard the time, the season, even though it might be the wrong time to sell, we're selling.

What's Paul going to do? He's their prisoner. But look what it says. When the south wind blew softly, verse 13, supposing they had obtained their purpose, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete.

Not after a long, not long after, a tempestuous headwind rose called Euraklion, which is really, it's a nor 'easter. And so when the ship was caught and could not head into the wind, we let her drive.

And running under the shelter of an island called Korda, we secured the skiff with difficulty. And when they had taken it on board, they used cables to undergird the ship for fearing lest they should run aground on the citrus sands.

They struck, sail, and were so driven. And because we were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lighted the ship. And on the third day, we threw the tackle, the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands.

Well, here's another interesting description of Paul's journey. It gets worse. It grows even more dangerous. Remember what I said to you in the beginning. God has promised Paul will reach Rome. God never told Paul all the details of getting him to Rome.

It's so wonderful for us to say we shall overcome. We shall be in the presence of God. We shall make it to the golden shore. But how many of us if we were being honest would not like to see how that course is going to unfold?

And yet God doesn't disclose that to us, does he? Again, there's many reasons for that. But the ship is no longer under their control. Do you ever get to that point in your life where you think your life is not under your control?

Well, guess what? It never was under your control anyway. Right? But you ever get to the point where the journey seems to be so overwhelming and so encompassing and so large that you feel like you're no longer controlling anything.

You're just being driven by the wind. And that could come from every possible thing in this world. Whether it be health, whether it be finances, whether it be relationships, whether it be this, that, or the other thing.

It's so interesting what happens between verse 13 and verse 14. When the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, putting out to sea, they sailed close by Crete in verse 14.

Not long after, here come the Nor 'easter. Real quick. I was out with my sons and my son-in-law one day on the boat. We went out where we shouldn't have went out. And as we went out, there was a beautiful sunrise and the winds were calm.

And it seemed like we were going to catch fish. And we were eating sandwiches and we're ready to roll. And we were out there and we're just enjoying ourselves. And guess what happens? I could see in the distance a black cloud.

Now, if you know anything about the water, when you see a black cloud, you need to pay attention. But we didn't. And I will say to you, we went from a soft breeze and that black cloud became a whole bunch of clouds.

And then we finally started to think, dudes, we might need to start heading in. And next thing, and I tell you this because I was there, next thing I know there's a water spout coming at us. And the next thing is the boat stops running.

And we're trying to fix the engine. To start her up again. I'll tell you what, you want to know what will drain the foolishness out of you very quickly? That will. But that's the way our life goes, doesn't it, friends?

From a soft breeze to a nor 'easter. That's why I say to you, this is a perilous journey. There's a lot of things that are getting away. And they, the boys begin to get nervous too, right? Not long after the ship was caught and it keeps going on and verse 18, and because they were exceedingly tempest-tossed, the next day they lightened the ship.

And on the third day, we threw over the ship's tackle overboard with our own hands. So here's what's happening, right? Now their attention is focused. Now the very things that they thought were so important were just not as important.

The cargo, ultimately, they throw all the weed overboard. They get rid of everything. They're scrambling. You know what, friends? If you don't have faith in Christ, that's what's going to happen to you.

You're going to scramble. You're going to start throwing things overboard. Because you're going to be at one point or another understanding that you have to face God. You young kids, when you figure out where you are, you're young or old, you're going to face God.

You're going to give an account for every thought, every action. And if you don't have Christ, you have no answer. Many times when people start to see their life crumble, they start throwing things out of their boat.

And because they were exceedingly tempest-tossed, they throw out of the boat. Okay. I want to just try to finish. And again, I apologize if you think of it that way. I took on a lot this morning. But I wanted us to see it in a segment, if you will.

Prayer, Comfort, and the Call to Stay in the Ship

In verses 21 through 29, there's the prayer and comfort in the journey. Let me just read it with you real quick. So verse 20, Now when neither sun nor stars appeared for many days, and no small tempest beat on us, all hope that we would be saved was finally given up.

But after long abstinence from food, Paul stood in the midst of them and said, Men, you should have listened. Here's this sanctified, I told you so. And you know something, I got to say this, that's in many ways what God has called us to do.

It's to give the world, those that don't believe, warning. And sometimes that's our responsibility to do, is to warn and exhort. Paul told them, don't do this. And now here's Paul, this little, if history's right, this little four-foot, maybe five-foot Jew standing there amidst all these people on the ship, I told you so.

And now I urge you, take heart, for there will be no loss of life. This is so wonderful. No loss of life. Look what he says, For there stood by me this night an angel of the God whom I belong and whom I serve.

I just got to stop there for a second, folks. The God to whom I belong and whom I serve. On the journey, on the pilgrimage, Paul has his understanding. Now, don't say Paul was never shaken, because I can assure you there was times when Paul was shaken.

But Paul knows who he belongs to. I know whom I believe in, Paul said. And I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed unto him against that day. And not only that, but you see what it says?

He says, take heart. I believe that God will be just as it was told me. And he tells them that not only does he belong to God, he serves God. Side note, extra point. You cannot belong to God and not serve Him.

If you belong to God, you will serve Him. And if you're not serving Him, it could very well be you don't belong to God. You make all the profession you want. I can make all the profession I want. If I am not serving the Lord God, my Lord Jesus Christ, then I really have very little to claim of belonging to Him.

And so Paul says, that's who it is. That's who he belongs to. That's whom he serves. And I would think these other people on the ship, I mean, they're probably calling out to every God under the sun, wouldn't you think?