11TH HOUR MIRACLES AND SOLUTIONS -PART 3- DIVINE RESCUE

11TH HOUR MIRACLES AND SOLUTIONS-PART 3 DIVINE RESCUE

Act 27:20-25 KJV 20 And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away. 21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. 22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship. 23 For there stood by me this night the angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, 24 Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee. 25 Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

The 11th hour miracle is when all hope is lost.

The latest possible moment.

The latest possible time before it is too late.

The 11th hour is synonymous with high time, just in time, the last moment zero hour.

It is the last possible moment for doing something: to change plans at the eleventh hour.

11th hour miracle is when there is no more expectation of joy

The 11th hour miracle is when expectation is totally disappointing.

11th hour miracle is when we ask question whether it can still work or not

11th hour is just one to the closing of business, one hour to midnight and the day will be over. It is the period when labourers are looking upward too.

The 11th hour is the right time for God’s divine intervention in the affairs of men to rescue, deliver, from shame, ridicule, frustration and disappointment.

We have talked about Divine favour, divine providence and this one is divine rescue. All at the eleventh hour.

Paul was among the 276 people that were going to Rome. Before they departed Paul had warned them that the sea looked rough and it was not okay for them to embark on the journey. How Paul was able to know this could be through divine intimation or from experience gained during his many trips 2Cor 11: 25.

Act 27:10-11 KJV 10 And said unto them, Sirs, I perceive that this voyage will be with hurt and much damage, not only of the lading and ship, but also of our lives. 11 Nevertheless the centurion believed the master and the owner of the ship, more than those things which were spoken by Paul.

They didn’t listen to Paul. Maybe they thought he was naive and not an experienced voyager, they disregarded him and shouted him down.

There are many people that are being treated like the way Paul was treated here because of certain peculiar conditions and circumstances. They will tell them to shut up in the family meetings, in the compound and in the society at large. But after this encounter, God will give you a voice among your contemporaries in Jesus name.

Wherever you have been despised, ridiculed, intimidated, very soon they will celebrate you in Jesus name.

And when the devil wanted to deceive them, the south wind blew softly so they supposed they were good to go. They embarked on the journey.

Act 27:13 KJV And when the south wind blew softly, supposing that they had obtained their purpose, loosing thence, they sailed close by Crete.

One of the best prayers is to pray against the 7 Ds of Satan. His doubt, deception, discouragement, distractions, delays, disappointment, despair, etc.

The people were deceived and not too long after embarking on the journey, there was a mighty storm, very strong that at a point they thought the ship was overloaded and they began to use their own hands to drop their excess loads and useless things into the sea, yet the storm continued raging and became much more serious.

Act 27:20 KJV And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved was then taken away.

The voyagers normally use the appearance of the sun, stars and moon to navigate since they don’t have modern compasses, GPS- Global positioning  system, satellite or GOOGLE maps. But for many days the sky was terribly dark, they could not see sun or moon, stars, they did not know whether it was day or night, everywhere was dark they began to be in despair and the Bible says all hope of being saved began to leave them. They were now in a state of despair. One of the D’s of the devil. despair is loss of hope; utter hopelessness; To be hopeless; to have no hope; to give up all hope or expectation

Maybe there are people here who are in such a state, you may not be in a boat or ship, there are storms around you. Many things they have encouraged you to do like praying, midnight intervention, general all night, conferences and seminars, fasting and special prayers were done and yet it seems there is no help in sight. But hear me something is about to happen.

In the account we read, after many days of abstinence from food, Paul stood up and addressed them

Act 27:21-22 KJV 21 But after long abstinence Paul stood forth in the midst of them, and said, Sirs, ye should have hearkened unto me, and not have loosed from Crete, and to have gained this harm and loss. 22 And now I exhort you to be of good cheer: for there shall be no loss of any man’s life among you, but of the ship.

He said you should all have listened to me, but he said no issues last night an angel of God whose am and whom i serve appeared unto me and gave good news. We are going to be saved.

In the same light I bring this message to you that man extremity is God’s opportunity. When all hope was lost God came through, God will come through for you in Jesus name. Help that will come will not come late, it will come at the right time and at the right minute in Jesus name.

SOME LESSONS TO TAKE NOTE OF:

1. God delight to deliver those that are forsaken of their hopes; what a present help is he to the helpless: He reserves his holy hand for a deadlift! our extremities are the seasons of his succor.

2. The great and special favour which God indulged the holy apostle, even to send an angel to him to comfort him: The angel of God, whose I am, and whom I serve, said, Fear not..O what an encouragement is it to us to enter upon, and be faithful in, the service of God, when he causes his holy angels, upon all occasions, to serve us! When visible dangers are before us, God has invisible servants round about us, both to succour and secure us. Psalm 91:11.

3. God was pleased for St. Paul’s sake to save all that were with him in the ship; sinners are spared and saved for the saints’ sake. The lives of the wicked are often spared because God interposes to save the righteous. God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.] Two hundred and seventy-six souls saved for the sake of one man

For your sake and because you are here in Dominion chapel, your family will be saved, your relatives will be rescued, for your sake; your compound will be delivered in Jesus name.

God showed up at the eleventh hour when all hope was almost lost and they were all encouraged. He said cheer up.

WHAT BROUGHT THIS DIVINE INTERPOSITION AND RESCUE?

1. Paul prayed during the period of the storm in extreme darkness and hopelessness while the crew were toiling at the pumps since some people just like struggling and using human efforts, Paul was wrestling in prayer, not for himself only and the cause in which he was going a prisoner to Rome, but with true magnanimity of soul for all his shipmates; and God heard him. And that was what made the angel appear to him. Most people give up praying totally while in a storm. Not praying will not stop the storm but praying will stop it.

2. From the answers of the angel, we can infer or deduce what Paul prayed on. The angel told him that he would be brought before Caesar in Rome. That was his destination and the storm will not stop it. God had spoken it and it must come to pass. Paul had reminded God of His promise and the angel came to affirm it to him.

Before now, Paul had a desire to go to Rome.

Act 19:21 KJV After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome.

He spoke about it in his letter to the Romans

Rom 15:24 KJV Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you: for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company.

When he was in the prison in Jerusalem, the Lord had appeared unto him to assure him that he would get to Rome to witness the gospel.

Act 23:11 KJV And the night following the Lord stood by him, and said, Be of good cheer, Paul: for as thou hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness also at Rome.

In his prayers Paul was reminding the Lord of His promise. At this time Paul was also discouraged because with the happenings and the storms, it seems he will not reach Rome. That was when he wrestled in prayers.

And now the angel that appeared reinforced it with ” a must”

Act 27:24 KJV Saying, Fear not, Paul; thou must be brought before Caesar: and, lo, God hath given thee all them that sail with thee.

No storm can thwart the eternal purposes of heaven. ‘Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Cæsar.’ It was God’s must, and it had the full power of the great throne behind it. Whatever God promises will surely come to pass. Rome must be reached. 

What has God spoken to you concerning any area of life, if you will do like Paul to remind Him of His promise in prayers.

Isa 43:26 KJV Put me in remembrance: let us plead together: declare thou, that thou mayest be justified.

This is how we pray under the new Testament, Our strongest plea is to remind God of His own promises. So Jacob did at Mahanaim and Peniel (Gen 32:9; Gen 32:12). 

Pray the scripture Sirs. Hold on to what He had said. it doesn’t matter how big the storm is; God’s word is forever settled, it will come to pass. His words will not fail. Even at the eleventh hour, it will come to pass. 

I remember the reason why the Lord Jesus queried His disciples when they faced a similar situation; He asked them where was their faith in Lk 8: 25

Luk 8:25 KJV And he said unto them, Where is your faith? And they being afraid wondered, saying one to another, What manner of man is this! for he commandeth even the winds and water, and they obey him.

It was because He had gave them His word earlier 

Luk 8:22 KJV Now it came to pass on a certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and he said unto them, Let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth.

He didn’t say let us try to cross, He gave them a definite and specific destination and no matter what the storm may look like they must get there. So, why were they panicking? Where is your faith? Has God spoken to you, hold on to it.

WHAT COULD HAVE BROUGHT THE STORM?

Apart from possible natural causes as evidenced from the narrative, i equally believe that the devil was working behind the scene to do the following:

1. To frustrate the purpose of reaching Rome

2. To kill Paul and stop his ministry

3. To frustrate the word of God spoken to Paul in Act 23.

Act 27:25 KJV Wherefore, sirs, be of good cheer: for I believe God, that it shall be even as it was told me.

Paul said he believed that what the angel said would come to pass. Remember, Elizabeth told Mary in Lk 1:45

Luk 1:45 KJV And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.

Did it happen as Paul said? Yes, in Act 28:16, they all arrived in Rome. You will get there in Jesus’ name.

How do we handle various storms of life?

Let us find out how the Lord Jesus handled the one that came on Him and his disciples while on voyage.

Mar 4:39 KJV And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

As the agitation of the sea was only the effect of the wind, it was necessary to remove the cause of the disturbance, so that the effect might cease.

We need to rise up like Jesus and rebuke the wind and speak to the seas of troubles.

Declaration:

I declare that I believe the word. It is coming to pass in my life. Whatever good words that have been decreed, declared, prophesied and spoken over me is finding immediate and quick expression in the name of Jesus.

Prayers:

Every raging storm over my life and destiny ceases now in the name of Jesus. Let every source of violent storm be terminated now.

Every power contesting, challenging and opposing the word of God in my life be destroyed in Jesus name.