World Wide Witness:Persevering In Mission

So it's Acts chapter 18, 1-22, and it's page 1114 in the Red Bible.

Acts 18 · chapter mention

After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus,

who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla,

because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome.

Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker, as they were,

he stayed and worked with them.

Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade the Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia,

Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching,

testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

But when the Jews opposed Paul, he became abusive.

He shook out his clothes in protest and said to them,

Your blood be on your own heads. I am clear of my responsibility.

From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.

Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus Justus,

a worshipper of God.

Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord,

and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision,

Do not be afraid. Keep on speaking. Do not be silent.

For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you,

because I have many people in this city.

So Paul stayed for a year and a half,

a year and a half, and teaching them the word of God.

While Galileo was prontical of the Acacia,

the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court.

This man, they charged, is persuading the people to worship God

in ways contrary to the law.

Just as Paul was just about to speak,

Galileo said to the Jews,

If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime,

it would be reasonable for me to listen to you.

But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law,

settle the matter yourselves.

I will not be a judge of such things.

So he had them ejected from the court.

Then they all turned on Sosin, the synagogue ruler,

and beat them in front of the court.

But Galileo showed no concern whatsoever.

Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time.

He then left the brothers and sailed for Syria,

accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.

Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Sancria

because of a vow he had taken.

They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila.

And he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.

When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined.

But as he left, he promised,

I will come back if it is God's will.

Then he set sail for Ephesus.

When he landed at Caesarea,

he went up and greeted the church,

and then he went down to Antioch.

Thanks, Louise.

There's some notes going around, if you'd like them,

and a pen,

if you want to take some notes.

Just a reminder that we do follow up

each of the Sunday morning Bible studies

on our Wednesday evening home groups

in our gospel communities.

We look through it a bit more in depth

and look through at some of the applications for our lives

and for us as a church.

So I encourage you to get involved in that.

So we're in Acts 18.

And, well, we're really going to focus on the first 17 verses.

God

Thank you.

Okay, well let's pray.

Father, you know how we find the Christian life hard.

Lord, you know how we find being a witness for you hard.

And therefore we pray that what we look at together from your word would encourage us, give us strength, give us confidence.

And it would help us to rest in you and in the work that you are doing.

So we pray that you would help us all.

Pour out your spirit on us.

Help me to be faithful, to speak clearly.

And we pray that we would all be people who are changed and built up as a result of what we hear and look at together.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Men wanted for hazardous journey.

Small wages.

Bitter cold.

Long months of complete darkness.

Constant danger.

Safe return doubtful.

Honor and recognition in case of success.

You might have heard those words before.

It was an advert placed in a London newspaper by the great explorer Ernest Shackleton as he looked for his team to travel to the Antarctic.

Hazardous journey.

Small wages.

Bitter cold.

Well, gospel work is really no different for Paul.

Because for him it meant hazardous journeys, constant danger and safe return doubtful.

He's coming to the end of his second church planting expedition.

If you look there on the screen you'll see the map.

He's been sent out from his home church in Antioch.

And at the end of this section we saw in verse 22 he returns to his home church in Antioch.

But he's been directed by God through Turkey.

That's where it says Phrygia and Galatia.

Modern day Turkey where he's been planting churches.

But he's gone from there now into Europe, into Greece.

It's a two and a half year trip that would take him through five influential cities.

Each bringing its own challenge.

In Philippi he faced beatings and imprisonment.

In Thessalonica he had to hide from a rioting mob.

In fact we read in chapter 17 that the whole city ended in a riot.

And we're out to get him.

In Berea he had to run for his life as opposition increased and closed in.

In Athens what we looked at last week he faces loneliness as he ventures into this godless society without his team and he's ridiculed as a babbler.

And now in chapter 18 we read that after all of this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

It's no wonder then that when Paul would later write to these Christians, to this new church in Corinth, he would say this.

In fact aware of Paul's fear, look at verse 9.

Verse 9.

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision.

Do not be afraid.

Keep on speaking.

Do not be silent.

For I am with you.

Now I know that many people became Christians in these cities.

There were lots of churches planted.

But sometimes I think we forget the fact that Paul was an ordinary human just like us.

He wasn't Superman.

His name wasn't Peter Parker.

His name was Paul.

He was tired.

He was lonely.

He was afraid.

He felt inadequate.

He felt he wanted to get away.

You see, being part of God's mission is like joining Ernest Shackleton on one of his expeditions.

Gospel work is always going to be hard work.

So how do we keep going in our Christian lives?

And how do we keep going in our gospel work in whatever context that may be?

Well, as we follow Paul on this final leg of his journey before he reaches his home family church,

we see how God sustains us and he will sustain his mission.

God sustains us and he sustains his mission.

First, there are the provision of God's people.

Look at verse 1 again.

And after this, Paul left Athens and he went to Corinth.

There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla,

because Claudius had ordered all of the Jews to leave Rome.

Now, it was well known that the Jews often went rioting in Rome.

It was kind of a kick against the authorities.

I don't think Priscilla and Aquila were involved in that,

but just the Jews in general didn't like Roman rule.

In fact, they'd become such a headache to Claudius that he's kicked them all out of the city.

It was a form of ethnic cleansing.

So, politically speaking, we could say Priscilla and Aquila have become refugees.

They've got no home and they've got no work.

However, missionally speaking, from God's perspective,

they were God's provision to partner Paul in his gospel work.

So, verse 3, Paul went to see them, and because he was a tent maker,

that was his livelihood as they were, he stayed and worked with them.

It's literally he became partners with them.

Every Sabbath, he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade the Jews and the Greeks.

So, Paul, having arrived on his own after this,

all these trials of going through all these cities and arriving in this city on his own,

he's got partners with him now who've joined with him in the gospel.

In fact, when Paul would write to the Christians in Rome,

he would refer to Priscilla and Aquila as,

my fellow workers in Christ Jesus,

who risked their lives for me and for the churches.

Now, I think we understand what it is to be lonely and to be struggling.

And to find things hard.

We can find being a Christian in college or in our school really lonely.

Maybe we're the only Christian in our year.

We feel inadequate in our witness at work.

We maybe feel alone in that.

We maybe feel too weak to fight the daily battle of living a gospel life in a godless world.

And whatever context we find ourselves in,

being a witness, gospel work is always hard work.

And what we need is somebody like an Aquila or a Priscilla,

somebody who's going to get alongside us.

Well, God in his goodness has provided for us.

And the way he provides for us in each of our contexts is through the church,

through his people.

So the people that we are here with this morning

are God's provision for you and for me.

The people that you are sitting beside right now,

the person behind you,

are God's given partners to you.

They are God's gift to you.

They are your fellow workers,

people who are going to stick by you,

people who are going to walk with you

and enable you to keep going as a Christian

and people who are going to help you in the Christian ministry.

Now you may be here for all kinds of reasons.

You might have been raised and bought up here in Carragoline.

You might have moved here because of work.

You may be here because, well,

you got married to somebody who actually lives here.

You may simply have decided,

I just want a change in location.

But for whatever reason you have for being here,

please don't lose sight of the great big fact

that you are also here as part of God's provision

to support and encourage fellow believers

in their day-to-day gospel work.

You are not here by chance.

You are here as part of God's good design.

We are not just weekly attenders

turning up to a meeting on a Sunday morning.

We are partners in the gospel.

That's why we take time,

whether it's tea and coffee,

whether it's afterwards,

whether it's during the week,

to get alongside people.

Nick very helpfully said,

not prompted by me,

the reason why he looks for a church family,

I don't do things well on my own.

Well, you know what?

None of us do things well on our own.

We've got partners

to encourage us

and to support us.

So we are able to keep going in God's mission

because God in his goodness

has provided one another

to keep on in the mission he has called us to.

So first, he provides us with people.

Second, there is the power of God's Spirit.

Verse 5.

When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia,

so here now the team is getting bigger,

another sign of God's provision,

Paul devoted himself exclusively

to preaching,

to testifying to the Jews

that Jesus was the Christ.

So part of the partnership was

that these others would do all the work.

They would provide for Paul financially

so he could get on with his job.

But what kind of response was there

for Paul in his preaching?

Well, look at verse 6.

But when the Jews opposed Paul

and became abusive,

he shook out his clothes in protest

and said to them,

your blood be on your own heads.

I am clear of my responsibility.

From now on, I'm going to the Gentiles.

It was simply a closed door.

People didn't want to know.

They refused to accept

that Jesus Christ was God's saving King.

And so at this point in the account,

we're left wondering,

is there anybody in this city

who could possibly become a Christian?

They're opposing him.

They're against him.

And maybe you ask the same question.

What is it going to take for,

and you fill in the blank there

with the person that you know,

what will it take for

to become a Christian?

Whether it's somebody in your family

or somebody in your work

or one of your friends.

They just seem opposed.

They just don't seem interested.

Well, pause in this situation.

Well, go back, please,

to 1 Corinthians,

or go forwards, rather,

to 1 Corinthians.

Keep your finger in Acts 18.

and jump ahead,

Acts Romans,

1 Corinthians.

This is chapter 2

Isaiah 2 · chapter mention

and verse 1.

This is Paul's letter

that he wrote

to these believers.

So I've already given the plot away.

People do become Christians

and he does write a letter to them.

But this is what he writes to them.

And he remembers

what it was like

when he first arrived there.

Chapter 2, verse 1.

When I came to you,

brothers and sisters,

I did not come

with eloquence

or superior wisdom

as I proclaimed to you

the testimony about God.

For I resolved to know

nothing while I was with you

except Jesus Christ

and him crucified.

I came to you

in weakness

and fear

and with much trembling.

My message

and my preaching

were not with wise

and persuasive words,

but with a demonstration

of the Spirit's power

so that your faith

might not rest

on men's wisdom

but on God's power.

You see,

it's not about

being a great speaker.

It's not about

us having the right answers.

It's not about

being clever

in our arguments,

as helpful

and as good

as all those things are.

It was simply for Paul

about proclaiming Christ

and depending

on the power

of God's Holy Spirit.

because this is

how God does

his work

in people

who are not yet

believers.

If we take

the Spirit of God

and here's a little

helpful phrase

it's on the screen there,

the Spirit of God

takes the Gospel

of God

and he works

that into

people's lives

helping them

to see,

helping them

who Christ is.

The Spirit of God

takes the Gospel

of God

and does the work

of God

in people's lives.

You and I

can't make anybody

become a Christian.

Paul couldn't make

anybody become a Christian.

Our responsibility

is to simply

be faithful

and to share

Christ

with others

as God

provides those

opportunities.

That's why Paul

would say,

go back to chapter

18 and verse 6,

he says,

your blood

be on your own

heads.

I'm clear

of my responsibility.

I've presented

Christ to you

and you don't

want to know.

We cannot be

responsible for

people's response

or their reaction.

We simply

bring Christ

living a Christ-like

life,

offering salvation,

warning of

judgment

and prayerfully

resting

in the Spirit

to take our lives,

to take our message

and to do the work

in people's lives.

It's not our job

to make people

believers.

So what happened

as Paul rested

in the power

of God's Spirit?

Well, look at

verse 7

of chapter 18.

He had faced

the opposition.

They didn't want

to know,

so Paul left

the synagogue

and he went

next door

to a house

of Titius Justice,

a worshipper

of God.

Here was somebody

who was interested

and look what

happens amazingly.

Crispus,

the synagogue

ruler,

here was the guy

who had been

opposed to Paul

and had kind of

been the leader

in it.

Well, he and

his entire family

believed in the Lord

and many of the

Corinthians who

heard him

believed

and were

baptized.

Paul's message

hadn't changed.

It just simply

shows us that

salvation is

God's work.

Sometimes it's

opening up

one door for

somebody,

somebody is closing

a door on

another.

together.

But it's

the Spirit

of God

taking the

Gospel of

God and

doing the

work of

God in

people's

lives.

It's God's

work.

So the

reason Paul

could keep

going,

the reason

we can keep

going when

we face

the opposition

is because

it's not

dependent on

us,

it's not

about our

power,

but it's

about the

power of

God's Spirit

opening up

people's eyes

to hear the

truth of

who Christ

is.

The third

thing that we

look at,

we see in

verses 9 to

10,

is that we

can keep

going because

of God's

promise.

Despite

people coming

to faith,

Paul was

still very

afraid about

speaking to

people.

I take

comfort from

that.

I'm glad

Paul was

afraid because

I'm pretty

scared too.

Gospel work

is always

hard work.

But look

what the

Lord has

to say.

Verse 9,

one night

the Lord

spoke to

Paul in

a vision,

do not

be afraid,

keep on

speaking,

do not

be silent,

for I am

with you,

no one

is going

to attack

you and

harm you

because I

have many

people in

the city,

meaning there's

lots of

people here

who are

going to

become

believers

in this

city.

Now while

this is a

promise,

and it is

a promise,

we have to

be very

careful that

we don't

claim too

much from

this promise.

So for

example,

in verse 10

it says,

God says to

Paul,

no one

is going

to attack

you and

harm you.

But have

a look at

chapter 20

verse 22.

A little

while after

this,

chapter 20

verse 22,

Paul says,

and now

compelled by

the Spirit

I am going

to Jerusalem,

not knowing

what will

happen to

me there,

I only

know that

in every

city the

Holy Spirit

warns me

that prison

and hardships

are facing

me.

So what

happened the

promise about

protection?

Well obviously

this promise

of protection

was quite

specific to

the city of

Corinth for

this time

that he was

going to be

there.

And the

promise that

he received

through the

vision was

nonetheless

very encouraging

for Paul.

It renewed

his confidence.

So verse 11,

Paul stayed

for a year

and a half

teaching them

the word

of God.

Now we've

got to try

and figure

out how

much is

this a

promise for

you and

I today.

We can't

just lift

promises and

things out of

context and

say oh this

is for me

as it was

then.

Well first

and foremost

this is a

promise for

Paul.

But I

think through

this promise

God is

revealing

universal truth

to his

people for

each and

every generation.

It's a

promise for

Paul but

in this

promise there

is truth

for us.

Let's read

verse 10

again.

He says

for I am

with you

no one is

going to

attack and

harm you

because I

have many

people in

this city.

Now the

principle

behind the

promise is

this.

God has

people whom

he will

save through

you and

he will

keep you

until they

are saved.

Did you

get that?

God has

people who

he is going

to save

through you

and he

will keep

you until

they are

saved.

Do you

believe that?

I find that

a huge

encouragement.

That means

that the

people we

are with,

people who

we work

with,

people who

we hang

out with,

the people

that we

live with

are not

coincidences.

The

relationships

that we

are in,

the people

that God

has given

to you in

those

circumstances

are those

who God

knows about

who already

in God's

plan has

them belonging

to God but

through you

they are going

to believe

in God.

So verse

9,

do not be

afraid,

keep on

speaking,

do not

be silent

for I

am with

you.

Now that

doesn't mean

the next

time we

meet a

friend or

a buddy

we say

to them

excuse me

are you

elect?

Are you

predestined?

Are you

chosen?

Because if

you are

I have

something to

tell you.

Well the

fact is

they don't

know and

they'll look

at you

fairly oddly

and the

reality is

we don't

know.

God does

and I'm

glad he

does.

It's his

business.

God is the

one who

knows and

he is the

one who

will ultimately

save and

that gives

us huge

encouragement

because it's

not about

us.

God has

those who

he will

save through

people like

you and

me and

he is going

to keep

us until

they are

saved.

That is

ultimately the

purpose of

why we are

here.

God is

going to

keep your

life.

He's going

to preserve

your life.

You will

not live

a day

longer or

a day

less until

God has

brought to

salvation all

those that

he wants to

save through

you.

That's how

he works.

We can't

plan this

out.

We can't

even fathom

it.

But it

gives us

great confidence

that God

will work

through people

like us

as he

pleases.

So we

can keep

on going

because of

the promise

of God's

word.

And then

the fourth

one is

we can

keep going

because of

God's

providence

over all

things.

Gospel

work is

hard work

and even

with all the

promises

opposition

continues.

verse 12.

While

Galio was

proconsul

of Achaia

the Jews

made a

united attack

on Paul

and brought

him into

court.

Now this

puts Paul

into a

serious

situation.

He knows

what Roman

rulers are

capable of

doing.

His own

friends Priscilla

and Aquila

had been

kicked out

of Rome.

He knows

fine well

what had

happened to

Jesus when

he had

faced a

Roman

court.

There is

no guarantee

that Paul

is going

to get

justice.

In fact

look at

the end

of this

account.

Look at

what this

judge is

like.

Verse 17.

At the

end of

this

situation

we're

told that

they all

turned on

Sosthenes

the synagogue

ruler and

they beat

him up.

They gave

him a good

kicking in

front of

the court.

Galio the

judge,

well he

showed no

concern

whatsoever.

He just

let them

get on

with it.

It seems

that he's

not bothered

what happens

to people

so long

as people

are happy

and he

kind of

keeps some

kind of

order and

the majority

of the

people are

happy,

it's all

okay.

He's not

the kind

of judge

you would

want at

this time.

So it's

really not

looking good

for Paul.

But then

verse 14,

just as

Paul was

about to

speak,

maybe he

had some

kind of

defence

lined up

as

something

he

could

say.

Well,

Galio

interrupted

and he

said to

the

Jews,

if you

Jews

were

making

a

complaint

about

some

misdemeanour

or serious

crime,

it would

be reasonable

for me

to listen

to you.

Well,

it's such a

contradiction

to his

character,

especially

when he

let Sosthenes

get beaten

up a little

while later.

Verse 15,

but since

it involves

questions about

words and

names of

your law,

well settle

the matters

yourselves.

I'm not

going to

judge on

these

things.

That's

theology,

that's

not my

department,

you look

after that.

Roman rule

it may be,

but God's

providence

is overruling

all of

this.

God has

his hand

on Paul's

life,

and God

has his

hand over

the rulers

of the

day.

And in

our life

and over

God's

mission,

he will

work all

things for

good to

what he

wants to

do.

And that's

what we

can take

from this

as we

venture out

into a

new week,

as we

keep going

as a

church

family to

be his

witness,

to be

involved

in his

mission.

We have

a God

who is

over

every

single

ruler,

over

every

single

event

and

circumstance.

We

don't

always

understand

what's

going on

or what's

happening,

but we

trust that

he is

in

control

and he

will work

all

things

for his

good.

Gospel

work

is hard

work.

We will

always face

obstacles.

We will

face

opposition.

And as

you go

into this

week,

whether

you're

going

into

school,

whether

to

college,

whether

you're

looking

after

your

children,

whether

to

work,

wherever

you find

yourself,

you will

feel weak.

You may

be afraid.

You may

be feel

lonely.

But God

will sustain

us.

He saw

Paul through

Corinth and

he will

sustain us

in our

mission as

we live

for him.

Let's pray

together.

Our

Father, we

confess that

we are

very often

afraid,

we're

very often

feeling lonely,

and we're

very often

feeling weak.

weak.

But we

thank you

that you

have provided

for us

one another,

so we

are not

alone.

Thank you

that you

have given

to us

the power

of your

Holy Spirit,

because we

are weak,

but it's

his power

at work

through us.

We thank

you that

you have

given us

the promises

of your

word,

so although

we feel

afraid going

into new

situations,

you have

your hand

over us,

and you

will keep

us to do

your work

that you

have called

us to.

And we

thank you

for your

rule over

all of our

lives,

over our

work,

over our

family,

over our

college,

and over

our friends.

we trust

you with

it all,

and we

praise you

that you

are a

good and

a great

God.

In

Jesus' name

we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, our

vision going

forward has

to be

here for

to be

a

hat.

Amen.