Shipwrecked Faith 1 Tim 1:18-20, Acts 27:27

What does it mean to shipwreck your faith? Paul said this had happened to at least two people, so I guess it can happen to you or any other believer. But how does this happen?


What causes faith to become shipwrecked?


In 1 Timothy 1:18, Paul talks about fighting the good fight as “holding on to faith and a good conscience.” These two things are connected. If a believer reject or cast away a good conscience his or her faith will be shipwrecked.  See 2 Timothy 2:16-18, Romans 7:18-24

What is shipwrecked faith?

Paul was a fisherman who spent a fair amount of time at sea and he liked metaphors that are sea related. He described spiritual infants as those “tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching” Ephesians 4:14. If you are not secure in your Father’s love – which you won’t be if your conscience condemns you – you’ll make a wreck of your faith. Like a ship that fails to reach its destination, you’ll fall short of all that God has in store for you.


Shipwreck faith according to this author means that you won’t mature in the faith Luke 8:14. It means you’ll lose the freedom that is yours in Christ Galatians 5:1, you will become unstable 2 Peter 3:17, and you’ll fear punishment that isn’t coming 1 John 4:18.


What does it mean to shipwreck your faith? It means moving from the secure foundation of Jesus Christ. It means diluting your faith in God with faith in self, faith in effort, faith in your ability to perform. It’s trying instead of trusting. It’s striving instead of resting.


For us believers we are in the ocean of this world, with a fair gale, we don’t know what storms we may encounter; therefore we must not take it for granted that we have obtained our purpose.


In act 27, we see sailors in a troubled ocean with chances of not surviving. Like us in the ocean of this world, they did not know what might befall on them at sea. However, one thing is sure when we are in troubled seas, Hope is in the Anchor- Jesus.


When the ship was caught up in the waves, the sailors panicked, and tried to leave the ship, hoping to save their lives. They pretended they were going to lower some anchors from the ship’s bow. Paul had stern warning to them all, "Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved." Acts 27: 31.  As discussed early, Paul knew the rules of the seas for he had worked as a fisherman for a long time.


In the ocean of this world, we go through trials and tribulations of many kinds. Unless we remain steadfast in God’s Word we will all perish.


God is our Anchor who sees us through the trials of life and is the one who gives us eternal life. For believers, being saved from the storm-tossed ship demonstrated the presence of God. It is therefore recommended that you stay anchored in God and He will give you victory over all the trials and tribulations that may come your way.

Jacob wrestles with God and prevails- Genesis 32:22-31

In Genesis 32, Jacob leaves his father in law's homestead terrified that his brother Esau would kill him for taking his birthright. Jacob tries to apease him and wishes to find favor in his brother's sight. See Genesis 32:3-5. When Esau comes close, Jacob is terrified, to a point of seeking divine assistance. 

However 32:7-21, he takes matters into his own hands by setting aside a significant portion of his riches to send them ahead as a gift to appease Esau. Here we see him not really depending totally on God, but his action. 

Genesis 33:22-31 here he does not know if his servants are even still alive for he has not heard from them. He even does not know if Esau has accepted his gift or not. And yet he sends his wives and children into the path of Esau and his riders. 

Up to this point the danger is across the water from him. He is safe, for a while; so he thinks or it so seems. 

While in fear of his brother and at this time of the night, Aperson he does not know wrestles him to the ground. Deuteronomy 28:24; Is 5:24, etc.). Jacob gave as good as he got. He wrestles with a stranger. The wrestling continues till day break. The person whom we can assume is an angel of God or God Himself did something to Jacob's hip and put it out of joint. This was at daybreak after the angel realises that he is not winning. It is clear hear that Jacob would cling on anything for a blessing that he hopes will save him from his brother's wrath.

Something important to note here is that Jacob knows he wrestles with one whose blessing matters.   The stranger wrestler reveals a concern before sunrise. He is concerned about what the sunlight will reveal, and demands that Ja cob let him go - Genesis 32:26. Although Jacob is fearful of his brother Esau, the reason to why he is fleeing, he is so tenacious when it comes to wanting a divine intervention. 

Jacob demands a blessing. He has decided that he will not let go of the wrestler whose power he knows is more than his own and, the wrestler who wounds with a touch has neither destroyed nor rejected him vv26 & 27

Jacob got his blessings becaude he held on long enough. The wrestler asks Jacob's name and the wrestler grants him with a new name: "God-wrestler -- Israel." 

The author, like Jacob, seeks to unfold the mystery of the wrestler, his indenty and personality. Our text does not tell us who the person is see v 24 which refers to a "person." However looking at v 30 the author like Jacob comes to the conclusion that the wrestler is God. Jacob wrestled with God and prevailed.

Having said that, then it is good juncture to make an application. Jacob so fearful of his brother,  wanted blessings from God. This is a sign of remorsefulness for what he had done. Lying to his brother by taking his birthright.

While we may live an imperfect life, there is always opportunity for us to seek blessings from God. We may not need to wrestle as Jacob did, but we need to know that we can make our imperfect living perfect.

Finally Jacob limps away from the wrestling site  transformed. He will never be the same again. Each step he takes is marked by the divine touch. When we seek God's intervention in our life, we will never be the same. We may wrestler the whole night till day break, or longer, but if we prevail, we will be never the same.


Work Cited


The Holy Bible- New King James Version


Jacob the Wrestler- White and Bruno Authors


Authors Thesis notes -2006

God has not forgetten you- Isaiah 49:16

Isaiah 49:16 is waitnessing that God's people in this case Zion ( the choosen) are always in His sight, his eyes were ever upon them, and never withdrawn from them. Which shows how near and dear we are to him today as his choosen, what an affection he has for us, and care of us.

God, had drawn/carved or graven Jerusalem on his hands long before it was founded, and had it constantly before his eyes. The author's understanding of this is that God had laid out the plan of Jerusalem long before it was built, and that it was so dear to him that he had even engraven it on his hands. That is the same with us today. See Jeremiah 29:11.

The essential idea is, that Zion was dear to His heart; and that he had sketched it as an object in which he felt a deep interest, so deep to a point of carving its outlines on the palms of his hands, where it would be constantly before him. Think of a tattoo that reminds you of something dear to you. The author is not advocating tattoo piecing. However that is a topic for another day.

So what was God really saying to the Israelite children when they cried out to Him in despair? In their distress, they have accused Him of forsaking them and that He is not caring. He refers to the bond between mother and child, so sacred a bond. It is very rare for a good mother to forget her child. 

Here God says to Israel that it could happen, that “But not so my bond with you,” Isaiah 49:15. God assures his choosen that he will never forget them. What an assurance. It is like music in their ears. How could I forget you?” see Isaiah 49:15b. 

In His palm, God will hold them, He will carry them, He will lift them up lest they dash their feet against a stone. His eye is on them every moment of every day and every thought He has ever had toward them, every promise He has ever made, every prophecy that awaits fulfillment cries out to Him from the palm of that hand. See foot note.

Never will He forget those to whom He has pledged Himself. He has said it, it is fixed, it is carved, and it will be done. For those of us who love Him, there could be no greater words of consolation. Are there times you feel like God has forgotten you, like he does not care anymore. Know this today, that he loves you and has carved you in the palm of his hand. 

You are encouraged to read the entire chapter Isaiah 49

Footnote: Henry Matthews commentary on Isaiah

work cited

Holy Bible- New King James Version

Commentary on Isaiah- Henry Matthews

The Omnipresent God- Job 9:11

Job 9:11 is an expressive of the invisibility of God; God who is everywhere. He does not move to be at the next place. The angels in heaven always behold his face,  but for us Christians we see Him in the works of creation. Christians by faith have a comfortable and delightful view of him, His wonders, his love, grace and mercy in his word, and in the face and person of Christ, the image of the invisible. We will see Him in heaven most clearly as he is. He is invisible, not to be seen with mortal eyes, but not to be comprehended in the mind. He is the Almighty Invisible God, yet His presence is everywhere.

Job 9:11 the man Job decrees that" he passeth on also, but I perceive him not; this "going and passing on", This speaks clearly about the omnipresence; he cannot be thought to move from place to place though he is everywhere, he  fills heaven and earth with his presence, and there is no going from it: local motion cannot be said of him; but this respects the operations of his providence; he is continually working all around us, by supporting us in being, and supplying us with what we need, and so he is near us, and yet we see him not. 

Job  the man experienced the reality of his providence, as well as the blessings of his grace, in the time of his prosperity, and in the agony of life Job felt the weight of his afflicting hand upon him; but yet, Job could not see him; he was sensible that he was nigh him, and find a concern in all that befell him, but he could neither see nor comprehend him, nor account for his dealings with him: Job acknowledges that he had "passed by" him in his state of nature, and had looked graciously on him, and had said unto him, Live; he had "passed on" from him, and hid his face so that he could not see him, nor find him backward nor forward, on the right hand, nor on the left, where he used to work. Isn't this the way we feel about God. His blessings surrounds us everyday, everywhere, in every situation and condition yet we "see him not."

Look around you as you finish reading this article, see God's presence. Think about it, God is everywhere anytime all the time. He passes by you daily, he leaves his mark for you to see yet you may not "see him."

work cited 

Holy bible- KJV

J. B Coffman commentary of the bible

How BIG is your God? 1 Samuel 17:33-37

Matthew 19:26 “But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.”

Mark 10:27 And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.”

 

Luke 1:37 “ For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

 

At times I wonder how big we think God is. Do we think God is so big? I believe that the way

we live is a consequence of the size of God…in our mind.

 

The problem too many Christians have is that their God is too small in their mind’s eye. They are not convinced that they are absolutely safe in the hands of a fully competent, all-knowing-ever present really big God.

 

When we wake up in the morning, what happens if we live with a small God? We live in a constant state of fear and anxiety because everything depends on us. Our mood will be governed by our circumstances. We will live in a universe that leaves us deeply vulnerable. If we don’t live in the security of a big God’s acceptance, we become slaves to what others think of us.

 

When human beings shrink God, they offer prayers without faith, they work without passion, serve without joy, and suffer without hope. It results in fear, retreat, loss of vision and failure to persevere.

 

So, how big is your God?

 

Is He big enough to keep your salvation? Or do you have a smaller God that causes you to doubt it from time to time?

 

Is your God big enough to supply your every need? Or do you worry about your day to day needs?

 

Is your God big enough to protect you and your family from the perils of today’s living? Or do you constantly fear for your safety and your families?

 

Illustration: When a person wants to be stronger physically, they begin an exercise regimen. They lift weights or ride a bike or use a treadmill. Maybe join a health club. Then they have to be faithful to that program to build big muscles. And so it is with having a Big God. You have to exercise, but this exercise does not take a day.

 

Look at what Paul said to his preacher boy Timothy: 1 Timothy 4:7-8 “But refuse profane and old wives' fables, and exercise thyself rather unto godliness. For bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things, having promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come.”

 

1. “Timothy .. you want to have a big relationship with a big God? Exercise yourself unto Godliness.

Exercise your relationship with God.

 

Timothy 4:10  “For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.”

 

Young David had a big God. We know the story. A shepherd boy defies the big mouth

champion of the Philistine army. Even King Saul was afraid to go against this Giant of a man who stood

about 10 feet tall. Listen to this exchange between young David and the King of Israel-  1 Samuel 17:33-37

 

Three Hebrew boys had a big God. When the king demanded they bow down and worship his image, they stood firm and said they would worship no other gods. Ol King Nebuchadnezzar had a question for them: Daniel 3:14, Daniel 3:16-18, Daniel 3:24-26

 

Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came forth of the midst of the fire. The king learned about a Big God!

 

Doctor Luke understood about his Big God when he wrote: Luke 1:37 “For with God nothing shall be impossible.”

And Luke 18:27 “And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with

“our really big” God.”

 

The Apostle Paul had a “so Big God”: Ephesians 3:20-21 “Now unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end.” Amen.

 

Moses had a personal relationship with a very Big God. Listen as he counsels God’s people:

Deuteronomy 7:21

 

So, how big is your God? How big is the God of  this fellowship? Are we limiting God by our unbelief? Having faith does not mean never having doubts or questions. It does mean remaining

obedient.

 

We must put our total faith and trust in a God that is SO BIG. A God that is big enough to

knock down a few barriers and move a few puny little mountains.

 

Lastly- How big is your God? Is he big enough to save you from your sins? Is He big enough to take a lost sinner like you and me, cleanse us from the sin that separated us and put us on the right track? Is He certainly big enough to keep you, no matter what you may do that disappoints Him?

 

God is big enough to set you free from whatever is holding you back from having a close,

personal relationship with Him. His love is not restricted by the barriers that we place upon it.

 

God is also big enough to meet us at this old fashioned altar this morning. Are we big enough to meet Him? We serve an awesome God, let’s act like

Work cited:

John's commentary( Gospel according to St. John

Bible encyclopedia

New King James Version 

Encounter with a powerful God (Part two) Luke 24:31-32

"Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:31-32).

Even with their hearts moved by Scripture, the two disciples didn’t get it! It was not until they sat at the table and Jesus broke bread with them that it dawned on them. The light broke through. They were able recognize who he was.

The encounter with God will initiate an acceptance and love when the bread is broken. see John 15:16) cf Luke 24:31. Then their eyes were opened. They did not recognize him with their human eyes. It was when God opened their eyes that “they recognized him.” God revealed Himself in a new revelation. An encounter with God refreshes your spirit, opens the eyes of vision, and turns faith into action. Christ led them to see that His suffering and crucifixion was all a part of God’s plan of redemption.

Only in fellowship at the breaking of the bread is the recognition of the Christ accomplished; His disciples’ eyes were opened and they recognized Him. God’s character is revealed out of intimacy and in the process you will recognize Him and hear His voice. That is the reason each believer is invited to partake of the Lord’s Table. It is during this moment of part-taking the Lord’s table we are able to encounter God and our eyes are opened to the truth of the Cross.

With a supernatural encounter with God, a person is never the same and the experience is unforgettable. There is a spiritual realm all around you, enveloping you and waiting for you to acknowledge it. As you reckon its reality, it will come alive. God is waiting for your response to His presence.

No one will ever understand salvation until he experiences it—it’s supernatural because God is supernatural. God cannot be known apart from experience. Your faith is born out of a relationship. You are as strong or weak in your faith depending on how you have cultivated that relationship with God. Faith is the conviction of the unseen realm and is able to drag that reality into your physical world Hebrews 11:1.

Without a faith encounter with God, you have no spiritual life -John 3:3.  A supernatural faith encounter with God will give you a mission, task, or revelation beyond yourself -1 Corinthians 2:12-13. Everything now made sense. Meeting the resurrected Jesus, the two disciples saw the triumph of the cross over sin, Satan, hell, death, and the grave. They rushed back to Jerusalem that very hour with the message of a risen Lord. That should be our experience and mission.

What they experienced on the Emmaus Road laid the foundation of faith and gave hope to the other disciples that they, too, could have an encounter with God. We too should have the same mission after the encounter. The encounter will cause you to take the risk of faith and die if need be -Acts 15:26.

Their hearts burned within with a new passion. This happens when you know you have broken through the dryness, emptiness, and darkness of your circumstances. You know that you have come into the flow of spiritual fullness and light when the pain, fear, rejection, loneliness, and failure have turned and given meaning and purpose.

To fulfill the mission of Jesus and to finish the Father’s work you need the anointing of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit by His very nature gives a supernatural ministry to those who have been anointed. To walk in the Spirit is to have an ongoing encounter with God- 1 Thessalonians 1:5.

On the Emmaus Road Jesus first accepted the two disciples and built a relationship by listening to them. He then explained His crucifixion and gave them a new revelation of Himself. He then “disappeared from their sight” Like 24:31. They put their faith into action by going back to their friends with this new revelation. Their faith allows them to see and hear things in the spirit—to look past the physical dimension and see what God sees from eternity. They were never the same. They had an encounter with a supernatural powerful God and so can you!

As I pen off, I encourage you to experience the power of God as He is revealed in you. You may be in your own Emmaus road, trying to get away from the hustles of life or escape from what makes you stressed up. Seek the most power God while He is available to you.  Isaiah 55:6

Work cited:

The encyclopedia of the Bible

The Gospel of Luke according to Dr. Luke (commentary of the Gospel of Luke)

New King James Bible

Encounter with a powerful God.(Part one) Luke 24:31-32

Luke 24:31-32 “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?

If the Holy Spirit is flowing like a river, splashing over your banks in power and grace to save, heal, and deliver others, I hope this article will serve as energizer for you to do much more for God.

If you are like me, you may be feeling a deep need to see God and meet him daily in your day to day routine. If there’s restlessness, an unfulfilled hunger, a desperate desire, and an unsatisfied thirst for a fresh encounter with God, this article will you have a supernatural way in which you might encounter a powerful God.


God met two disciples at their lowest hour on the Emmaus Road. Two disciples encountered God, and so can you.Luke records that on the afternoon of the first Easter Sunday, Cleopas and a fellow disciple were walking to Emmaus only a few days before Jesus had been betrayed, tried, mocked, flogged, and crucified. The seven-mile trip was an escape from Jerusalem. The thought of just relaxing and being rejuvenated in body, mind, and emotions was something worth doing for the couple.


They had hoped that Jesus was the Messiah. The disciples had been hiding in fear behind locked doors. Then there were the “rumors” of an empty tomb and the disappearance of Jesus’ body. The reports were confusing. Their disappointment had turned to grief. Both of these disciples were in the pit of depression and hopelessness. Their hopes were dashed. They wanted a break from the stress and strain and from the tragedy of the past few weeks. So they are getting out of town to Emmaus, but in reality going nowhere. More than anything, they needed a fresh encounter with the living God they now thought was dead.


Just like these two disciples, most of us are working out a theology of God through the tragedies and trials of our life. The working out of problems, suffering, crises, and grief will teach you more than you will ever get out of a book or a school. You must come to know how God relates to this world and the way He works through secondary causes to reach you. Troubles of life will make you bitter or better.


Countless times in my ministry to the sick, I have met patients who once believed but after a prolonged suffering start doubting the existence and benevolence nature of God. While this is human nature, we should realize that it is through tough times we build our faith and strengthen our walk with God. Isaiah 38:17God uses personal trials to rewrite your spiritual agenda and to bring you into a new relationship with Him.


The calamity will make you desperate for God. It’s not the fierce trials that will change you, but a passionate pursuit of God. God is determined to use those difficult circumstances to bring you into a faith encounter with Him. Out of this encounter will come a revelation, an understanding, a salvation, and a freedom with God as He transforms your character into His image. Romans 8:28-29.


When you are born-again, you move into the supernatural realm. Scripture affirms that hearing God’s voice is natural to a child of God .John 10:4. To a spiritual person the supernatural moves into the natural.

It is in our weakness and need for wholeness and fulfillment that most of us desire an encounter with God. Emmaus is not so much a place as it is a state of mind. For the two disciples on the road, it was an escape from suffering and stress. It’s a place where you want to go to “get away,” where you are likely to say, “Forget it. The pain, rejection, loneliness, and failure are not worth it. All seems lost and hopeless. It does not matter anymore.”

The road to Emmaus is that place where you think you can escape the demands of life, an ungrateful family, betrayal of friends, and self-rejection. The desire is that the “warm springs” of Emmaus may help you to relax and get revived.

At your darkest and most desperate hour, when you have come to the end of doing it for yourself, when you are unable to conceive of any way out from your problems, God meets you. This is when you are most able to recognize your need for Him. This is the moment that you most desire God in His infinite grace to rescue you. You are hungry, thirsty, anguished, desperate, and desiring. This is the perfect opportunity for God to meet you.

In that encounter God comes and confronts your hang-ups and confusion. 1 Corinthians 11:32.

You learn from the Emmaus Road that at your point of need you encounter God. John 8:32.

WATCH FOR PART 2

Work cited:

The encyclopedia of the Bible

The Gospel of Luke according to Dr Luke( commentary of the Gospel of Luke)

New King James bible