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Worldly Vessels

Worldly Vessels
Words of Faith 8-24-16
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2016
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL
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Acts 28
[11] After three months we put out to sea in a ship that had wintered in the island. It was an Alexandrian ship with the figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux. [12] We put in at Syracuse and stayed there three days. [13] From there we set sail and arrived at Rhegium. The next day the south wind came up, and on the following day we reached Puteoli. [14] There we found some brothers who invited us to spend a week with them. And so we came to Rome. [15] The brothers there had heard that we were coming, and they traveled as far as the Forum of Appius and the Three Taverns to meet us. At the sight of these men Paul thanked God and was encouraged. [16] When we got to Rome, Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him.

Paul headed into the final leg of his journey to Rome sailing on an Egyptian (Alexandrian) ship. The ship had a figurehead of the twin gods Castor and Pollux on its prow. Ships, like inns, took their names from their figureheads.
The painted carving was of the sons of Leda, queen of Sparta, who in Greek mythology were transformed by Zeus into twin gods represented by the constellation Gemini. There actually was a religious cult of the Dioscuroi ("sons of Zeus") that was widespread in Egypt. Gemini were considered by sailors a sign of good fortune in a storm. A more pagan sort of vessel could hardly have been found!
It must have been a difficult thing for Paul-- raised as an orthodox Jew-- to ride on a ship adorned with a graven image from a pagan religion! Paul could have become too “offended” by these idols to ride on that Alexandrian vessel. After leading the captain, centurion, and crew through the previous storm, shaking off poisonous snakes, healing the governor’s father, and leading an island-wide revival for three months, Paul probably could have requested a different ship! But he did not. He did not allow the offensiveness of the pagan culture to prevent or delay him from his mission to reach Rome.
It seems that Paul had learned the difference between compromising to a pagan culture and using a pagan culture for God’s glory. The “vessels” Paul used to get to Rome were the legal system of Rome itself and a pagan ship adorned with an idol. Many religious Jews would have shunned both. Yet Paul did not compromise in one iota the call of God or the Gospel of Christ.
There is a lesson here. In some matters, of course, we must be separate from the world. We must avoid the things, places and practices that clearly compromise our witness, tempt us, or dilute our spiritual commitment. But we can also carefully and prayerfully use the culture in which we live to reach that culture. As God leads, we can ride on a worldly vessel to get to godly destination.
Today there are many deeply committed Christians who use the musical styles, sports and art forms of the world to convey a Christian message. The truth is that we can use the media and market of the world to spread the Gospel of Christ as long as we do not compromise the core of the Gospel truth. That is the message of Paul’s final recorded journey to Rome.
How do we do such a thing? WE do not. It must be the leading of God. Paul did not choose a pagan vessel; it was what God provided. We do not choose a pagan vessel by our own fancy, we use what God has allowed and provided around us. We can use media, art, pop-culture, sports, drama and many other mediums to reach people who need to know Jesus, but we do so only as the Lord leads, empowers and blesses.
The truth is that one of the great barriers to mission is that Christians often are easily offended by the cultures we are called to reach. We tend to get the idea that being holy is matter of exterior tidiness or a particular cultural trapping. This was the religious shackle of the Pharisees. Jesus called those who were devoted to exterior appearances “whitewashed tombs”. It is the inside of the heart that actually determines genuine holiness.
Is God providing a worldly vessel to you? Is He showing you a way to reach those who need Jesus through a worldly medium, connection or cultural venue? Don’t recoil too quickly. Pray and seek His leading.

Lord, I do not prefer the vessels of this world but I surrender to You. Show me how you desire to use me through the mediums that surround me. I want nothing more than to be obedient to you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

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© Jeffrey D. Hoy 2001, 2016
Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy - Faith Fellowship Church (EFCA)
2820 Business Center Blvd.
Melbourne, Florida 32940 (321)-259-7200
Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com
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The Words of Faith devotion is published five days a week by E-mail excluding Federal holidays. Please feel free to forward this devotion to a friend who might be blessed by this devotion. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture is quoted from the New International Version (R) of The Holy Bible. Copyright (c) 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. Words of Faith (c) 1997, 2010 Jeffrey D. Hoy. All rights reserved. Permission is granted to forward this copyrighted material or use portions of it with appropriate notation of the source for non-profit purposes.