Acts 18

Acts chapter 18.

Acts 18 · chapter mention

I'm not massively into surprises.

! I'm not most surprises anyway.

!

You know those texts that you get?

Can we get together for a chat sometime?

How do you feel when you get them?

Let me tell you as your minister.

Oh, they're leaving.

Or they're unhappy or something like that.

I'm someone who knows.

Who likes to know what to expect.

I think surprises are overrated.

One of the reasons I love the Bible

is because the Bible is very interested

in letting you and I know what to expect.

And both now and in the future.

I love that the Bible tells us

what God is aiming to do

in my life every day by His Spirit.

I love that the Bible tells me

what is it going to be like

to persevere with Jesus Christ

for the years ahead.

I love that the Bible tells me

what it's going to cost me

and what it will reward me.

I love that the Bible tells me

some of the things that will happen

when I die.

It tells you what it will be like

to be with Jesus in His heavenly kingdom.

And reading the Bible

eliminates lots of surprises.

And that's one of the reasons

that I want you to love Acts chapter 18.

Acts 18 · chapter mention

Because it shows you and I

what we should expect.

The shape of our expectations

in the area of telling people

about the Lord Jesus

of gospel ministry.

That is, God wants you and I

to know what it's going to be like

when we share the good news

of the Lord Jesus with others.

And one of the things God

uses the book of Acts in

is that He shows what happened

to the first Christians,

those first century Christians.

He shows us the pattern,

the emerging pattern

of what life should be like

so that we will have

our expectations shaped.

And what we see in Acts

is affirmed by the rest

of the New Testament

that we can expect

certain things to happen

as they happened back then.

And so I want to look at Acts 18

because we see the shape

of gospel ministry

as clearly there

as anywhere.

That's it.

Go for it.

And there's four key elements.

All right?

And the point is this.

What happened 2,000 years ago

will shape our expectations today.

What will happen this week

when you tell people

about the Lord Jesus?

If we were to talk

about the Lord Jesus

with our nearest and dearest

and our friends and neighbours,

what will happen?

Well, four things.

All right?

Firstly, let's pay attention

to the nature

of the apostolic work,

of the work of the apostles.

Paul is regarded as an apostle

and some of his friends

and colleagues in Acts 18,

they're not apostles,

technically,

but they are helping Paul

with his mission.

And so let's pay attention

to the apostolic work,

the apostolic mission,

this work of sharing Jesus.

And one of the pictures

that you find in Acts 18,

I don't know whether you picked it up

in the reading,

is wonderful collaboration

in the work of sharing Christ.

You see,

Paul's relationship

with the husband and wife,

Priscilla and Aquila,

who he meets

for the very first time

in this chapter,

but they become

lifelong companions

in gospel work.

Then there's Apollos,

who we meet

for the very first time

in this chapter,

but he came to be regarded

as a really important contributor

to the work of the gospel.

It's wonderful

to read about

that collaboration.

Paul was not

a one-man band.

But what about

the work that they do?

What do they consider

their responsibilities to be?

Just follow with me

for a moment if you can.

And let me point to you all,

point out all the main verbs

used in this chapter.

What is a verb?

What is a verb?

A doing word.

That's right, isn't it?

It's an action.

Listen to the verbs.

I want you to see

the interesting thing.

So verse 4,

can you see it?

Paul reasoned

with the people

in the synagogue

as he tried to

persuade them

that the gospel is true.

Verse 5,

testifying

that Jesus is the Messiah.

Verse 11,

Paul has spent

a year and a half

teaching

God's word

in Corinth.

When Paul gets to Ephesus,

verse 19,

what does he do?

He reasons

with people in the synagogue,

just like he had

in Corinth,

verse 4.

Verse 23,

we read about him

travelling around

strengthening disciples

in various places,

no doubt by the things

that he said.

And he taught.

that are the verbs

that describe

Paul's ministry

in this chapter.

What about Apollos?

Verse 25,

we find him

joining in on the act.

It says he was

speaking fervently,

teaching

about Jesus.

Verse 26,

he speaks

boldly

in the synagogue.

When he gets to

Achaia,

in verse 28,

he is vigorously

refuting

his opponents.

Now,

just one little

side note.

Look at verse 24.

Apollos is described,

isn't it,

as someone who has

a thorough knowledge

of the Bible.

Quite literally,

Apollos was somebody

strong

in the Scriptures.

I think that's an

amazing thing

to say about someone,

isn't it?

Imagine somebody

described you,

what are they like?

They say,

well, actually,

they're really,

they're strong

in the Scriptures.

I would hope

all of us

who are believers

in the Lord Jesus,

we would aspire

to be like Apollos

in this.

If you're a young person,

if you're somebody

who's a teenager

and people endlessly

ask you,

what do you want to do?

What do you want to be?

What are your plans

for A-levels

and then university?

What do you think

after university?

What's your ambition

for your life ahead?

Let me give you

an ambition

which is more precious

than many of the other things

that people go on about.

It would be

of infinite value

to you children

and to you young people

if you were able to say,

what I want to be

is strong in the Scriptures.

What a great ambition.

Now back to the apostolic work.

We've talked about the verbs

that Paul used

to describe his own work.

We've talked about Apollos

but look at Priscilla

and Aquila

who we hear about

in verse 26.

They hear

apostles teaching ministry

and they discover

that Apollos only knew

about the baptism

of John the Baptist.

So they get him

round for lunch,

they get him

together with him

and they tell him

everything else

that he needed to know.

Presumably things like

the day of Pentecost

and the baptism

of the Holy Spirit.

And the verb

that is used

of them

in verse 26

is they explained.

They explained

to Apollos

and they made sure

that he had

a full understanding.

Now can you see

the pattern

that's emerging

from Acts 18?

almost all the verbs

that he used

to describe Paul

and his companions

are verbs

of speaking.

The heart

of apostolic ministry,

the shape

of New Testament

ministry

is that people

open their mouths

to make Jesus known.

speaking,

teaching,

testifying,

refuting,

explaining,

strengthening.

And so is it

any wonder

when Jesus

turns up on the scene

in a vision

we read about here

in verse 9,

one night,

what's the main

exhortation

of verse 9?

What's the big message

for Paul?

Keep on speaking.

And Jesus

is the one

they speak about.

And what Paul

and his companions

are seeking

to convince people of

is that Jesus

is the king,

Jesus is the messiah.

If you want to know

the content

of their message,

Acts 18 underlines

again in verse 5

and then in verse 28,

what is the apostolic

message?

It is convincing people

that Jesus

is the messiah,

Jesus is the king.

And you and I

today who have

bowed to Jesus'

kingship,

continue to exercise

this ministry.

Jesus is Lord.

And so our message

is this really,

isn't it?

Jesus is Lord

and what are you

going to do about it?

And if you're somebody

who's maybe here

and we're really

thrilled that you're here

but you haven't

bowed your knee

and confessed

with your mouth

that Jesus Christ

is king,

what are you going

to do with him?

The second thing

in Acts 18

it shows us

about the shape

of gospel ministry

is that speaking

about Jesus

will produce

some opposing

reactions,

opposing responses.

And that certainly

happens in this chapter

just like we've seen

it happen all the way

through Acts.

In verse 5

we learned

what we Paul

is preaching

to the Jews

in Corinth

very kind of

devotedly

and then in verse 6

we see how they reacted

and it says

they opposed Paul

and literally

they became abusive.

He shook out

his clothes

he says to them

your blood be

on your own heads

I'm innocent

from now on

I'll go to the Gentiles.

As a Jew himself

it was Paul's habit

to go first

to his own people

in the synagogue

wherever he went

to a new city.

And the same

is true here

but they respond

abusively to him.

And so Paul

has got no qualms

from turning away

from the Jewish ministry

at this point

in order

to take the good news

to the Gentiles

the rest of the world.

And verse 7

tells us that

he went next door

and he starts

sharing with a man

who had a very Roman

named

Titus

Justice.

And there's a strong

reaction against Paul.

Verse 12 and 13

says when

Galio was

proconsul

of Achaia

the Jews

made a united

attack on Paul

and they brought him

before the tribunal

they dragged him

into court

saying this man

is persuading people

to worship God

contrary to the law.

And Galio

is a wise owl

you can see

this is a frivolous

lawsuit

as far as

the Roman law

is concerned.

So he chucks

him out of court.

But once again

can you see

the determination

of people

to stop

the apostolic

work

even through

the courts.

And I think

that's a pattern

that continues

right to this day

but of course

wonderfully

the opposite

is true too.

And here's

the third thing

Acts points out

to us

the shape

of gospel ministry

it provokes

an opposing

response

but can you also

see it leads

to a welcoming

response too.

It's most notable

I think

verse 8

let me read

that to you

again.

Do you remember

the Jews

had gone

Peter had gone

to the

Paul had gone

to the synagogue

to speak to the Jews

what had the Jews

done?

They kicked him

out of the synagogue.

Verse 8

Crispus

the ruler

of the synagogue

believed in the Lord

together with

his entire

household

and many

of the Corinthians

hearing Paul

believed or

baptized

even though

Paul had

turned his

back on the Jews

who'd opposed him

verse 6

it isn't the

whole story

because the

synagogue leader

becomes a

Christian

and his

household.

I can

imagine

that

Paul

this

cat

Crispus

would have

been in this

category of

people

that Paul

would have

been forgiven

for thinking

they'll never

become a

Christian

that

they'll never

become a

Christian

they're so

unlikely to

turn to

Jesus Christ

the very

leader of

the synagogue

where Paul

is kicked

out of

as if he

would ever

become a

Christian

but here

he is

listening to

God's

word as

one who

believed

he and all

his household

we used

to do

some of us

men

we'd meet

with people

from the

mosque

and the

imam at

the mosque

for meetings

about better

understanding

one of us

would speak

on a topic

and the

imam would

speak and

we'd have a

bit of a

discussion

they weren't

particularly

profitable

but the

one person

who I

thought would

not be

converted

is the

imam

and yet

here we

see

in a

similar

context

they're

so angry

these Jews

and yet

the ruler

of the

synagogue

is converted

verse 8

tells us

there were

many others

that believed

with him

also

I think

you see

the same

response

in Apollos'

ministry

Apollos is

already a

Christian

he comes

to Ephesus

and he

welcomes

the correction

of both

Priscilla

and Aquila

they want

to help

him to

learn more

and he's

humble enough

to receive

it

so can

you see

chapter 18

is reminding

us what

we see

repeatedly

in the

book of

Acts

that the

gospel of

Jesus

always divides

people

there are

those who

are hostile

to its

message and

messengers

and there

are those

who receive

and accept

it

and there

are other

kinds of

responses

as well

but the

accumulative

effect of us

working through

Acts on me

has been

that we should

always expect

these two

things

some opposing

some

welcoming

so the

fourth

thing

that

chapter 18

of Acts

tells us

about the

shape of

gospel ministry

is alongside

the apostolic

work

and threaded

through the

different

responses of

rejecting

and accepting

there's a

divine work

as well

and so

God is

working here

and I want

you to

see the

dimensions

so look

at verse 9

again

because in

verse 9

we see that

God is at

work there

to encourage

the people

who are

doing the

apostolic

work

he appears

to Paul

in a vision

and he urges

him do not

be afraid

keep on

speaking

as a result

Paul stays

in Corinth

for about a

year and a

half

that's quite

a long

time for

him

but it's

very important

for you and

I to see

what Jesus

goes on to

say in

verse 10

in this

vision

let me read

it to you

I'll read

from verse 9

the Lord

said to

Paul

one night

in a

vision

do not

be afraid

go on

speaking

do not

be silent

for I

am with

you

and no

one

will attack

you

or harm

you

for I

have many

in this

city

who are

my people

so first

of all

there's a

promise of

protection

there isn't

there

and of

course that

isn't a

promise that

God makes

to everyone

we know

don't we

we pray

for Christians

who are

suffering

terribly

all over

the world

because of

their faithfulness

to Jesus

Paul went

to other

cities and

he was

attacked and

he was harmed

and he was

beaten up

we've seen

that so it

seems that

here there's a

special arrangement

God made in order

to prolong Paul's

ministry

in order to

prolong it

but can you see

the other part of

the encouragement

that Jesus gives

in verse 10

he tells

him that

he has

many people

in this

city

that's an

interesting

phrase

isn't it

I don't

think that

Jesus is

talking about

people who've

already become

Christians

no I think

what he's doing

there is he's

encouraging Paul

to keep speaking

the gospel

because Jesus

has more

people in

Corinth

who are

going to

respond

positively

to the gospel

he's speaking

about that

group of

people that

the Bible

elsewhere calls

the elect

the chosen

those who

are chosen

by God

to respond

to the gospel

with faith

so do you

remember

Jesus said

in John 10

and I have

other sheep

that are not

of this fold

and I must

bring them in

also

and they

will

listen to

my voice

so there

will be

one flock

one shepherd

and I think

here in act 6

Jesus is

reminding Paul

that behind

every conversion

is divine

election

Jesus the

good shepherd

has his

sheep

those who

will

welcome the

gospel

when Paul

shares it

those whom

God has

chosen and

called

so the

divine work

here

is the

setting

of side

of people

for faith

for salvation

and so

Paul

is encouraged

keep sharing

the gospel

keep telling

others

because

there are

those in

Corinth

whom God

has chosen

to be saved

who have not

yet responded

it's an amazing

encouragement to say

Paul you're not

on a fool's

errand

it's not up

to you

there are

those whom

God has

chosen

you go

and preach

the gospel

and there

will be

people

that respond

there's one

other reminder

of God's

sovereignty

in the

apostolic

work

it's in

verse 27

and I'm

just going

to read

it to

you

can you

hear it

it's at

the end

Apollos

it's a really

simple thing

when he

arrived

what did

he do

he greatly

helped

those who

through grace

had believed

let me

just spend

a little bit

of time

on that

verse

for a

moment

Apollos

greatly

helped

those

who

through

grace

had

believed

how

did

the

people

in

Achaia

come to

believe

the gospel

from that

verse

can you

see it

so there

are two

answers

on that

the first

answer

is this

Apollos

helped

them

how did

Apollos

help

them

well

presumably

he did

so by

speaking

the gospel

of Jesus

refuting

false

ideas

reasoning

with them

persuading

them to

trust in

Jesus

how did

the people

in Achaia

become

Christians

Apollos

helped

them

what's

the second

reason

they

believed

the gospel

because of

God's

grace

God's

grace

do you

see that

there

it

says

doesn't

it

by

grace

they

had

believed

and the

same

could be

said

for

anyone

who's

believed

the

gospel

how did

Paul

Levy

first

come to

believe

the gospel

of Jesus

Christ

there's

two

answers

to that

the

first

answer

is that

people

like

Alan

and

Mary

people

like

Hugh

and

Brian

helped

me

my

parents

Alan

and

Mary

taught

and

modeled

the

gospel

to

me

Hugh

and

Brian

taught

me

in

Sunday

school

and

prayed

for me

that

I

would

learn

about

God

and

so

that's

the

first

answer

it

was

people

like

Alan

and

Mary

and

Hugh

and

Brian

but

there's

a second

answer

isn't

it

the

grace

of

God

is

the

second

answer

God

made

sure

I

heard

the

gospel

God

opened

my

mind

so

I

could

see

the

truth

of

it

God

granted

me

strength

to

turn

away

from

my

sins

and

stop

living

for

myself

God

helped

me

to

trust

in

him

and

he

did

all

of

that

though

I

don't

deserve

any

of

it

and

if

you

are

a

Christian

here

this

morning

if

you

are

somebody

who's

trusted

in

the

Lord

Jesus

your

story

is

the

same

as

mine

how

did

you

come

to

believe

the

gospel

there's

two

answers

one

a

person

or

some

people

helped

you

and

secondly

the

grace

of

God

was

at

work

in

you

a

divine

work

you

might

not be

like

me

at

all

you

might

really

like

surprises

and

that

is

fine

the

Bible

thankfully

wasn't

written

for

people

with

personalities

like

mine

not

all

of

it

anyway

you

might

really

like

surprises

whether

you

like

to

have

really

clear

expectations

or

you're

happy

to

roll

with

whatever

life

throws

at

you

God

thinks

that

it

is

good

for

us

to

know

something

in

advance

so

whether

you

like

to

have

a

really

clear

expectation

or

whether

you're

happy

to

roll

with

whatever

life

throws

at

you

God

thinks

it

is

good

for

you

to

know

some

things

in

advance

!

and one

of

those

things

that

God

wants

you

to

know

this

morning

is

when

you

speak

the

gospel

that

you

will

know

what

is

coming

it's

important

isn't

it

when

there

are

opposing

responses

that

you

know

what's

coming

already

it's

a

great

help

when

people

oppose

the

gospel

that

we

are

not

taken

by

surprise

and

God

is

not

taken

by

surprise

and

it

shouldn't

surprise

us

either

the

New

Testament

tells

you

and

I

that

persecution

is

normal

and

people

being

hostile

to

Christianity

is

normal

and

people

speaking

out

about

Christian

belief

is

not

new

it

is

not

unique

in

our

moment

in

history

and

we

should

expect

it

and

in

fact

knowing

we

should

expect

it

should

be

a

great

help

to

us

it

means

that

when

persecution

comes

to

this

church

and

it

comes

to

you

mustn't

think

the

wheels

are

falling

off

having

clear

expectations

assists

us

but

I

want to

stress

this

this

morning

having

clear

expectations

can

grow

inside

of us

what

we

might

call

expectancy

expectations

are things

that you

possess

expectancy

is something

that you

feel

expectancy

is the

anticipation

of

something

good

happening

and

those

who are

expecting

babies

you are

expectant

those who

are engaged

you are

looking forward

in

expectancy

it's the

anticipation

of something

good

happening

and it

seems to

me that

the book

of Acts

has been

designed

and has been

written

to prepare

us for

the hard

moments

in speaking

the gospel

but also

to stir

up

expectancy

because when

the gospel

is spoken

people don't

just respond

with opposition

some respond

with a

welcome

and not

only that

but God

is working

in Acts

to remind

us that

God's grace

comes to

people to

help them

believe

and God

has people

God has

people whom

he's chosen

and who

he will

call

but who

aren't yet

believers

God has

people like

that

and so

let me ask

you

and those

of us

who are

regulars

here

let me

ask

you

do you

believe

that

do you

really

believe

that

and if

so

are you

expecting

to see

God at

work

is your

heart

expected

I have

to admit

that my

heart is

often

something

else

sometimes

my

heart

is

impatient

sometimes

my heart

is

pessimistic

sometimes

when I

think about

God's

work in

the world

particularly

in the

UK

I'm

sceptical

and it's

very easy

it seems

to me

to look

all around

at the

opposition

to the

gospel

and see

that we're

surrounded

by not

just

hostility

but

widespread

apathy

the apathy

is worse

than the

hostility

and find

it really

disheartening

and if

you're

anything

like me

you find

that it's

very easy

to see

your own

failures

in sharing

the gospel

I seem

to be a

master

at missing

opportunities

and I

don't pray

as earnestly

for people

as I wish

I did

and I

sometimes

frankly

don't care

about people

being lost

in the way

that I

should

I also

find it

really easy

just to see

how people

happy people

seem to be

living without

Jesus

when I

think about

the neighbours

that live

on my

street

whom I

know

my friends

who don't

believe

their lives

in many

cases

don't appear

on the

surface

to be

all that

broken

and I

find it

hard to

believe

that actually

they need

Jesus

more than

anything

else

and for

me it's

easier

to see

all of

those

things

so much

that I'm

prone to

forget

what God

tells me

in his

word

I'm

prone to

seeing all

those

things

that I've

just

described

more

clearly

than what

the Bible

teaches me

about

God's

work

and of

course

the evidence

that exists

for what

God tells

me is

all around

us in

the world

people are

becoming

Christians

and people

are welcoming

the message

of Jesus

and God

has not

packed up

and gone

home

he is

still

graciously

at work

in our

world

in his

sovereign

purpose

choosing

people to

belong

to him

and he

has many

people in

our city

too

presumably

he has

people in

Ealing

in Hanwell

in Greenfoot

in Northolt

presumably

he has

people in

your school

and at

your

workplace

in your

family

amongst your

neighbours

and friends

he has

people who

don't yet

believe

but one

day

will

as it

were

they are

waiting for

someone to

come and

share the

gospel with

them

and that

is a

tremendous

encouragement

isn't it

and I

need to

keep

reminding

myself

of that

that God

might grow

expectancy

in my

heart

and maybe

you need

that as

well

that you

and I

as the

church here

in IPC

in Ealing

we have a

continuing

part to

play in

the apostolic

work

we are not

apostles

of course

but the

apostolic

gospel has

been passed