Free to live out your calling.

Introduction

Attention

Sudden loss of Clint Clifton at Pillar Dumfries/Praetorium Project

Last minute sermon prep because of last minute change of plans for Brian

Context

Corinth was located about 40 miles west of Athens (Faith Study Bible) and was a leading city of the Roman empire. It was a city that was a very wealthy city as it sat on an isthmus and had two ports. Taxes of all land-moved and sea-moved goods supplied the wealth that Corinth had. Just like in America, where there is great wealth, there is great diversity: Cultural, social, and economic (helps us understand some of Paul’s writings to the Corinthians). Corinth was home to the Isthmian games, which were athletic competitions held in the off-years of the Olympics which meant that travelers were regularly coming through. There was a huge temple to Aphrodite, the goddess of love, which also made Corinth a hotbed of sexual immorality. Paul likely chose Corinth after Athens because it was a cultural and commercial center that would be a great hub for the gospel to go out into the greater provinces of Achaia and further into the world where people were travelling to and from.

Need

Paul shows someone who is free from trying to earn anything, he is able to pivot and be interrupted without fearing that his identity is not being lived out.

Only in Christ will we find our true identity and be able to live in it.

when living within our calling, there will be different ways in which we perform those tasks given to us by God.

Acts 18:1–11 CSB

After this, he left Athens and went to Corinth, where he found 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 came to them, and since they were of the same occupation, tentmakers by trade, he stayed with them and worked. He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade both Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself to preaching the word and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah. When they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his clothes and told them, “Your blood is on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” So he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, along with his whole household. Many of the Corinthians, when they heard, believed and were baptized. The Lord said to Paul in a night vision, “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.” He stayed there a year and a half, teaching the word of God among them.

Arrival in Corinth

Paul found Aquila and Priscilla

Moved to Corinth after being expelled from Rome

Tentmakers by trade

CSB Study Bible: Notes Acts 18:3

18:3 Tentmakers refers to people who worked in leather, possibly related to working in the goat hair cloth that was made in Cilicia, Paul’s home region. Later rabbinic tradition confirmed the importance of teachers having a trade to help support themselves.

The New Manners and Customs of the Bible (Acts 18:3)

Among the Jews, the boys were compelled to learn trades. It was considered disreputable not to be acquainted with some branch of handicraft, a practical knowledge of a trade being regarded as a prerequisite to personal independence.

There is no reason to doubt the basic information from Acts that Paul was a tentmaker. His home province in Asia Minor, Cilicia, was famous for a cloth made from goat hair (cilicium) that was often used in the production of tents. Sailors and soldiers frequently needed such tents in their work. It is also possible that Paul worked in the production of leather tents. These were likewise used in the Hellenistic world. Paul’s work at this trade in Corinth fits well with the context. Corinth was situated near the site of the Isthmian games that were held in years when the Olympics were not held. Many visitors would come to the isthmus near Corinth for these games. Tents were a requisite for the athletes as well as for the tourists.

Tentmaking was hard physical labor. What is remarkable about Paul is that he insisted on doing physical labor in the midst of his evangelizing ministry. He considers physical labor one of the aspects of apostolic ministry, even though one might grow weary of it (1 Cor 4:12). He strongly advises his communities about the necessity of physical work (1 Thess 4:11; 2 Thess 3:10–12). He also indicates that he does so to make the gospel available free of charge to all who would receive it (1 Cor 9:18). He reminds the Thessalonians that he purposefully did physical labor so as not to be a burden to them.1

1 Ronald D. Witherup, 101 Questions and Answers on Paul (New York; Mahwah, NJ: Paulist Press, 2003), 41–42.

Tentmaking as a hard labor changes our perceptions of what Paul may have thought was important work to do. Paul was very clear on what his identity was in Christ. Within that Christ had given him a specific task as well. Yet, when Paul comes to a new city alone, we don’t see him anxious about getting to the “real work,” he simply sets up shop and works through the interruption. His having to work did not change his calling, yet it also was not a hindrance to it either. Whatever God has called you to, the interruptions and limitations you experience are not in the way of what God is calling you to do, they are part of what God is calling you to.

Paul stayed with them and set up shop with them and while he was working during the week, on Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue.

He was still fulfilling his calling while he was “limited” by his need to work. And not just do any work but hard labor making tents.

What do you feel like the Lord has called you to? What are the limitations or interruptions of your life? (speak to moms in particular)

Silas and Timothy arrive from Macedonia (18:5)

The Bible Knowledge Commentary Acts 18:5

With the arrival of Silas and Timothy … from Macedonia (cf. 17:14–15), Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching. The verb translated “devoted … exclusively” is syneicheto (from synechō) which here in the passive means “to be constrained.” Several factors about Silas and Timothy’s arrival encouraged Paul: (1) The pair evidently brought financial aid from Macedonia (cf. 2 Cor. 11:9; Phil 4:15). Because of this monetary gift it was no longer necessary for Paul to pursue a trade and he could give himself totally to the work of the gospel. (2) The good news about the steadfastness of the Thessalonian church refreshed Paul (cf. 1 Thes. 3:6–8). (3) Their companionship would have been an encouragement to the apostle.

Paul shifts from tentmaking to full-time proclamation of the gospel

As was typical of Paul, his primary focus was on Jews. Also typical was their response: a mixed bag. Some believed, the rest opposed.

He shook out his robe and proclaimed he would go to the Gentiles

The New Manners and Customs of the Bible (Matthew 10:14)

For Jews to shake dust off their feet was a sign that Gentile territory was unclean. In the New Testament this action indicates that those who have rejected the gospel have made themselves as Gentiles and must face the judgment of God. (See also Acts 13:51)

Luke, Vol. 1—That You May Know the Truth Luke 9:3–6

it was a dramatically gracious warning to those who rejected the kingdom message. It was customary for pious Jews who had traveled abroad to carefully shake the dust of alien lands from their feet and clothing. This act dissociated them from the pollution of those pagan lands and the judgment that was to come upon them. The same action by the apostles symbolically declared a hostile Jewish village to be pagan or Gentile-like. It was a merciful prophetic act designed to make the people think deeply about their spiritual condition. This ceremonial act undoubtedly made a strong impression on people and brought some to grace.

Shaking off the dust was a sign of judgment, Nehemiah 5:13 says this “I also shook the folds of my robe and said, “May God likewise shake from his house and property everyone who doesn’t keep this promise. May he be shaken out and have nothing!” The whole assembly said, “Amen,” and they praised the Lord. Then the people did as they had promised.”

Jesus spoke of shaking off the dust of a town that rejected his disciples in Matthew 10:14-15 “If anyone does not welcome you or listen to your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that house or town. Truly I tell you, it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah than for that town.”

Paul also claimed that their blood would be on their own heads. Being good Jews, they would have recognized Paul’s reference to Ezekiel 33:1-4 “The word of the Lord came to me: “Son of man, speak to your people and tell them, ‘Suppose I bring the sword against a land, and the people of that land select a man from among them, appointing him as their watchman. And suppose he sees the sword coming against the land and blows his ram’s horn to warn the people. Then, if anyone hears the sound of the ram’s horn but ignores the warning, and the sword comes and takes him away, his death will be his own fault.” This is similar to Pauls words in Pisidian Antioch when he says Acts 13:46 “It was necessary that the word of God be spoken to you first. Since you reject it and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, we are turning to the Gentiles.”

And in a grand gesture, he moves his ministry next door to the home of Titius Justus who is a God-fearer.

The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity 6. The God-Fearers

“God-fearer” refers to those Gentiles with varying degrees of commitment to Judaism, who have been attracted to the synagogue but who are unwilling to become proselytes

The Messiah: Developments in Earliest Judaism and Christianity 6. The God-Fearers

These people formed a reservoir of Gentiles interested in Judaism for whom Christianity would have had a natural appeal. Though one can imagine a number of purely political reasons why a Gentile would want to support a prominent local synagogue, among the God-fearers Philo would certainly have numbered some Gentiles who could achieve the status and privileges God had promised to the Jews. After all, benefaction was one of the accepted routes leading to adhesion with the group. These people were surely held in high respect by the community, since their gifts were accepted and recorded for posterity. We shall see that the rabbis held similar but not identical concepts of righteous Gentiles.

So Paul takes his ministry next door and takes the synagogue leader, Crispus, and his family with him. There a vibrant ministry among the Gentiles sprouts where many believed and were baptized

What we see happen right in this little section of Paul’s ministry at Corinth is that the “limitations” or “interruptions” of work responsibilities were lifted. God may bless you with time where the limitations and interruptions are left behind and you are unfettered to fulfill your calling in a full-time capacity. Praise God if that becomes the case.

Before we look at the vision, I want to take a step back and look at the fruit of what happened in the two sections. Yes, while Paul has unfettered ministry opportunity after Silas and Timothy return, I think there is an equally important and overlooked ministry that Paul had while he was tentmaking. Paul was able to really disciple Priscilla and Aquila. He lived life with them, worked with them, worshiped with them, they did everything together. Its time that they had with him that gave them the confidence and competence to disciple Apollos at the end of the chapter.

In your time of interruption and limitation, who are the disciples around you? Who is it that you can sharpen? Who can sharpen you? Are you too busy complaining about the interruption that you are blind to what God is doing around you, blind to the people he has placed around you, blind to the ministry that is staring you in the face?

Night Vision (v.9)

Paul apparently had some anxiety about staying in Corinth. His experience was that after he was kicked out of the synagogue it was just a matter of time before he was expelled from the city. Paul needed some encouragement and he received it from the Lord, who said, (Acts18:9-10 ) “Don’t be afraid, but keep on speaking and don’t be silent. For I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to hurt you, because I have many people in this city.”

There is something fascinating about this encouragement from the Lord: it all comes from Old Testament texts!

Isaiah 41:10 “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand.”

Jeremiah 1:8 “Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to rescue you. This is the Lord’s declaration.”

Isaiah 43:5 “Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west.”

1 Kings 19:18 “But I will leave seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Paul received a vision of the Lord quoting Scripture! Not only that but we’ll go back and read them in context and we’ll see that the quoted scripture also speaks to Paul’s place and ministry, giving him further encouragement.

Isaiah 41:8-13 “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham, my friend— I brought you from the ends of the earth and called you from its farthest corners. I said to you: You are my servant; I have chosen you; I haven’t rejected you. Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with my righteous right hand. Be sure that all who are enraged against you will be ashamed and disgraced; those who contend with you will become as nothing and will perish. You will look for those who contend with you, but you will not find them. Those who war against you will become absolutely nothing. For I am the Lord your God, who holds your right hand, who says to you, “Do not fear, I will help you.”

Jeremiah 1:7-10 “Then the Lord said to me: Do not say, “I am only a youth,” for you will go to everyone I send you to and speak whatever I tell you. Do not be afraid of anyone, for I will be with you to rescue you. This is the Lord’s declaration. Then the Lord reached out his hand, touched my mouth, and told me: I have now filled your mouth with my words. See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and demolish, to build and plant.”

Isaiah 43:1-7

Now this is what the Lord says—the one who created you, Jacob, and the one who formed you, Israel—“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by your name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you and the rivers will not overwhelm you, When you walk through the fire, you will not be scorched and the flame will not burn you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, and your Savior. I have given Egypt as a ransom for you, Cush and Seba in your place. Because you are precious in my sight and honored, and I love you, I will give people in exchange for you and nations instead of your life. Do not fear, for I am with you; I will bring your descendants from the east, and gather you from the west. I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’ and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’ Bring my sons from far away, and my daughters from the ends of the earth—everyone who bears my name and is created for my glory. I have formed them; indeed, I have made them.”

1 Kings 19:14-15, 18 ““I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies,” he replied, “but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they’re looking for me to take my life.” Then the Lord said to him, “Go and return by the way you came to the Wilderness of Damascus. . . . (18) But I will leave seven thousand in Israel—every knee that has not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.””

How about that for encouragement!

A couple weeks ago we talked about Paul in Thessalonica and Berea. In that sermon, I suggested that an application was to cultivate a conversational relationship with the Living Word. One of the guardrails that I proposed was Scripture. Here we see Paul’s interaction with the Living Word of God and it is almost entirely Scripture. The more we engage with and delight in the text of Scripture, the better we will recognize when the Holy Spirit is encouraging us with it.

The result of the vision was that Paul was able to stay in corinth for a year and a half. Apart from his ministry in Antioch, that is the longest he spent in any one city so far as part of his missionary journeys. When we hear the word of the Lord, we are able to take encouragement and accomplish what he has created us to do.

Conclusion/Application

Often times we live in the mindset of people who still need saving. “I believe that God made me to do this,” or “I feel called to this type of ministry” and we begin to see our calling as something that we have to strive for. Its almost as if we receive a calling, we decide that is the time to revert to achieving God’s plans our own way. We stop trusting God’s timing and process. We stop trusting that he knows what he’s doing and try to boot strap our ministry into existence where there isn’t space.

What if, instead, we lived in the reality of the new life we have and instead entrusted our plans to the Lord and lived out the lives that he has right in front of us? 2 Corinthians 5:16-21 “From now on, then, we do not know anyone from a worldly perspective. Even if we have known Christ from a worldly perspective, yet now we no longer know him in this way. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has passed away, and see, the new has come! Everything is from God, who has reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation. That is, in Christ, God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and he has committed the message of reconciliation to us. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, since God is making his appeal through us. We plead on Christ’s behalf, “Be reconciled to God.” He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Being a new creation and having a ministry of reconciliation allowed Paul to see that everything he did had eternal value. Living a new life in Christ, we are free to see everything we do as a living out of the calling and purpose God has given us, even when we feel that there is something more specific that God is calling us to.

When we live, truly live, free in Christ we are able to live out what God has created us to do in different capacities and not be fearful or anxious in the times where we feel less impactful (moms).

Application

Are you increasing your knowledge and delight in Scripture?

Do you have a conversational relationship with Christ?