Wherever You Are

Acts 27–28

Sharing the Gospel isn’t a technique you turn on. It’s a way of life you carry.

You don’t have to know everything about Jesus to tell somebody what Jesus has done for you.

Paul’s story in Acts 27–28 reminds us that mission doesn’t only happen in the moments we plan for. Sometimes God uses us on the way somewhere else, in conversations we didn’t expect, with people we didn’t plan to meet.

1. DON’T LET YOUR PLAN MAKE YOU MISS HIS PURPOSE

Jesus told Paul he was going to Rome.

Acts 23:11
“…so you must testify also in Rome.”

Paul knew the destination. What he didn’t know was the route.

A storm came. The ship broke apart. And instead of arriving in Rome, Paul washed up on an island he didn’t even know.

Acts 28:1
“After we were brought safely through, we then learned that the island was called Malta.”

Paul knew where God was ultimately taking him.

He didn’t know everywhere God was going to use him along the way.

That’s why Proverbs 16:9 is so important:

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

Planning isn’t wrong but sometimes we become so attached to the way we thought something should happen that we miss what God is doing in the middle of it.

Paul’s mission didn’t begin when he arrived in Rome.

There was mission on the ship. There was mission in the storm. There was mission on Malta.

Malta wasn’t where Paul was going but it was where Paul was.

And sometimes the thing that feels like it is interrupting the mission may actually be where the mission is happening.

The interruption might be the mission.

THINK ABOUT IT

Where in your normal life might God already have people around you that you’ve never thought of as “ministry”?

Is there a place you keep trying to rush through where God may want you to become more available?

2. BE READY TO TELL YOUR STORY

When Paul stood in the middle of a ship where everyone had lost hope, he said:

Acts 27:23
“…the God to whom I belong and whom I worship…”

Paul wasn’t talking about a God he only knew information about. He was talking about a God he knew personally.

When the opportunity came, Paul didn’t have to invent something spiritual to say.

He already had a story. Later Paul described his own life this way:

1 Timothy 1:13
“…formerly I was a blasphemer, persecutor, and insolent opponent. But I received mercy…”

Paul knew who he had been. He knew what Jesus had done.

And he knew the difference Jesus had made.

Paul’s story was evidence of Jesus.

Jesus gave the same kind of instruction in Mark 5:19:

“Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you.”

That’s testimony. A testimony is putting words around how good God has been to you.

And your testimony isn’t only the story of the day you first met Jesus.

If you are walking with Him, you should be learning to recognize His goodness in your life now.

Sometimes God removes something completely. Sometimes He strengthens you while you are walking through it.

The struggle may still exist, but you are no longer the same person inside it.

The goal is to become familiar with the goodness of God in your own life.

So when somebody asks why you follow Jesus, you aren’t searching for an answer.

You can tell them what you know.

You can tell them what He has done.

A SIMPLE WAY TO TELL YOUR STORY

BEFORE: What was true before Jesus changed this part of your life?

JESUS: How did Jesus meet you there? What did He do?

NOW: What is actually different because of Him?

You don’t need to make your story dramatic.

Tell the truth about what Jesus has done.

TAKE A MINUTE

Think of one specific thing Jesus has done in your life.

How would you explain it to somebody in about sixty seconds?

3. NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE ONE

Paul eventually meets Publius, one of the significant leaders on Malta. Publius’ father is sick. Paul prays for him, and he is healed.

Then Acts 28:9 says:

“And when this had taken place, the rest of the people on the island who had diseases also came and were cured.”

Paul walked into one house. One man was in front of him. But what happened in that room didn’t stay in that room.

One room opened an island.

That is the ripple. You know who you are talking to. You don’t know who they will talk to.

Sharing the Gospel can feel discouraging when somebody doesn’t immediately respond the way we hoped.

Paul gives us a healthier way to think about our part:

1 Corinthians 3:6
“I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.”

Sometimes you plant. Sometimes you water something somebody else planted years ago.

Sometimes you get to be there when everything finally comes together. But growth belongs to God.

Don’t confuse being used by God with doing what only God can do. You are not responsible for saving someone.

Jesus saves.

You are responsible for being faithful with the opportunity He gives you.

REMEMBER

The goal is 10. Your responsibility is faithfulness.

If someone is far from God and one conversation makes them more open, more curious, or more willing to take another step toward Jesus, that conversation mattered.

You may never see the whole ripple. Paul couldn’t either. Nearly two thousand years later, Malta still remembers the shipwreck that brought Paul to its shore. Paul could only see the person in front of him.

God could see much farther.

THIS WEEK

Don’t make sharing the Gospel complicated.

Start with your own story. Spend some time thinking through:

BEFORE → JESUS → NOW

Then pray: “Holy Spirit, give me an opportunity to tell somebody what You’ve done in my life.”

When the opportunity comes, don’t force it. Just be faithful.

Tell them what Jesus has done and trust God with what happens next.

Somebody’s faithfulness became part of your story. Maybe they invited you. Maybe they shared what Jesus had done in their life. Maybe they planted something they never got to see grow.

But God used them and now you get the privilege of being part of somebody else’s story.

Tell your story.
Be faithful with your part.
Trust God with the ripple.