Acts 18:1-18

· INTRODUCTION: Good morning GPC would you open your Bibles with me to Acts 18? (Announcements- women’s brunch help on Friday night- may 19, brunch will be on Saturday May 20 at the church, SECRET CHURCH- at the church THIS WEDNESDAY AND FRIDAY- 6-9 P.M., VBS!)

o Read, pray, drink

· I often read Charles Spurgeon. Spurgeon as we’ve talked about was a highly influential pastor from the 1800’s and he was extremely wise. In February, David and I went to a conference and a quote of his mentioned there really has been sitting in my mind. I don’t remember the exact wording, but essentially it was that, “The end goal of ministry and of the church is the same everywhere, but the method of doing things is different.”

o Now, I know, that sounds a lot like last week’s sermon! And it is. But, I think the same thing is applicable to Paul’s time in Corinth.

· Honestly, this week, I was thinking about that a lot. In Athens Paul had to come up with a new way to minister. In Corinth it changes yet again! And what it shows throughout is deep faith!

o As I was reading some of Spurgeon’s writing this week, I came across this quote, “If you have little trouble, you will have little faith but if you have great faith, you must expect to have great trouble.”

§ This quote I think is what we really see played out today in Acts 18.

· Paul has GREAT FAITH! HE WILL ENDURE GREAT TROUBLE! THE CORINTHIANS HAVE GREAT FAITH, MUCH DEEPER THAN WE OFTEN REALIZE AND AS WE WILL SEE, THEY FACE GREAT PERSECUTION!

§ But maybe the most striking takeaway from today’s passage is the necessity of love!

· Paul genuinely loved the Corinthians, even his literal enemies in Corinth!

o How does that happen? ONLY THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT!

· That’s also our main point today. We need to LOVE THE PEOPLE!

o Two weeks ago, we saw how before anything else in our faith, we need to LOVE THE LORD like the BEREANS!

o Last week, we saw the importance of listening to the Holy Spirit and being directed by God! This week, we see the importance of LOVING PEOPLE AS CHRIST LOVES US!

BODY: Over the last two weeks, we’ve seen two vastly different cities and stops for Paul!

· This week, we see yet another audience! In fact, we are introduced to part of our setting in verses 1 and 2, where Luke writes, “After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscila, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.”- Acts 18:1-2

o Paul leaves Athens after his address to the Areopagus that we studied last week and some other ministry to the Athenians and moves on. Luke doesn’t give us an exact number of days and that’s because it isn’t the point.

§ Wanting time specifics is a very American thing. We don’t need that here, we just need to know that after a time, Paul moves on. Paul goes from Athens further south to Corinth.

· Corinth is a logical next stop. He’s hit the major cities of Greece; Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens and now he is headed to yet another major city; the capital of Achaea, Corinth.

· Corinth at this point in time is extremely wealthy and in fact, it could rival Athens in many ways.

o It was extremely wealthy, extremely religious and extremely prominent in the Eastern Mediterranean section of the Roman Empire.

o The major religious focus of the Corinthian people was on the temple complexes that they had which were part of the Roman Imperial Cult, or in other words, the people worshipped the Roman Emperors as gods.

§ There’s good reason for this. Corinth was burned to the ground when the Romans conquered it. The Romans then rebuilt the city to be an example of a “successful and model Roman City.”

o When Paul arrives at Corinth, he is looking for a place to minister and he quickly meets Aquila, who is a Jew who had just come from Italy with his wife.

§ Why would they leave Italy? Well, it wasn’t a choice. They were ordered to leave when Claudius expelled all Jews from Rome!

· This was actually the third expulsion of the Jews from Rome; an action that had previously happened in 139 B.C. and 19 A.D.

· The Jewish people had somewhat of a strange relationship with the Romans historically. Although by Jesus time they were viewed as evil oppressors, that was not always the case!

o When the Jews ruled their own lands under the Hasmonean dynasty, the Romans were their allies. Later, the Romans would rule them and the Jewish people would rebel many times.

§ This is important though. The Jewish people in some ways saw the Hasmonean dynasty as their saviors and then saw the Romans as their saviors. But, inside of all of this is a warning.

· No human government will save you! No human government, no president, no HUMAN will ever give the perfect rule of Jesus!

· HEAR ME ON THIS! FOR THE JEWISH PEOPLE AND FOR US TODAY, IF YOUR FAITH IS IN A MAN TO RULE, IT WILL SHATTER!

o Now, how does that tie in to Acts 18? Well, the Jewish people had returned to Rome after they were expelled in 19 AD to try to resume their lives.

o But, Claudius once again kicks them out!

§ So, Paul meets Aquilla and Priscilla in Corinth.

· Paul continues on in his public ministry in Corinth and we read, “And he went to see them, and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.”- Acts 18:2-4

o Paul wen to spend time with Aquila and Priscilla, who are believers, to encourage them. He also works with them!

§ Paul, the highly educated Jewish teacher and the missionary, also makes tents, just like Aquila and Priscilla. While he is in Corinth, he works with them to support himself.

o Paul stays with these two, living with them and working alongside them. This also allows him to reach this community uniquely.

§ This is actually still a huge thing in International missions, known as “Tentmaking”! I had a friend who lived in a Central Asian country known for it’s historical empire, for 2 years. While there, he was legally a student. He took classes and it opened doors for him to minister to a different group of people!

§ If he had just tried to go in as a missionary he never would have been able to build relationships.

· For Paul in Corinth, he works as he proclaims the gospel.

o Let’s be clear; this is not something that is always recorded about Paul! When the opportunity is there for him to focus on proclamation, he does! But in Corinth, Paul dusts off his skills and serves the Lord making tents!

§ And that’s part of it! Even as Paul makes tents, his lifestyle and his work is an example! As we work we build relationships. If our relationships come from work, then we need to be living out a gospel witness through the way that we work!

· What does that mean? Well, Paul addresses it in his letter to the Corinthians! He says, “So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.”

· WHATEVER YOU DO! Whether it’s making tents, or walking a dog, or farming, or teaching, or anything else, DO IT FOR THE GLORY OF GOD!

o WHY WORK HARD WHEN NO ONE ELSE DOES? BECAUSE IT’S FOR GOD’S GLORY THAT WE WORK!

o As Christians, we ultimately work not for a paycheck, but for GOD’S GLORY!

o Think about how counter-cultural that is! We work for a totally different reason!

§ Yes, we have bills to pay, but we work not primarily for a paycheck, we work primarily for God REGARDLESS OF WHAT WE DO!

o So Paul works and Paul preaches every sabbath day in Corinth. He preaches to Jews and Greeks alike, all about the marvelous nature of the cross!

§ In fact, in verse 5, we read that, “When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.”- Acts 18:5

· As Silas and Timothy arrive from Berea and Macedonia where they had been preaching and discipling, they find Paul busy in his own ministry of preaching!

· Paul is specifically speaking to the Jews of Corinth. It makes sense. Many of these Jews would have been like Aquila and Priscilla; people who have recently lost everything! People who have recently been sent into exile from their homes!

o They are hurting and they NEED THE HOPE OF THE GOSPEL!

o They need hope that transcends all human hope and anything that human hands could ever build!

§ When someone is hurting, when someone has no hope, what can we do as humans? Honestly, on our own strength, very little, but we can PREACH THE GOSPEL!

· Even as we struggle, we can preach the gospel to ourselves! We can remind ourselves of the HOPE THAT WE HAVE BECAUSE OF JESUS!

o What if the next time we had a bad day, we took a minute and reminded ourselves that the GOD OF THE UNIVERSE LOVES US AND MADE US!

§ That’s powerful and Paul is proclaiming the hope that these people NEED TO HAVE!

· The Jews do not receive this hope though. Instead we read, “And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”- Acts 18:6

o Paul preaches the gospel week after week, faithfully! Finally, the Jewish people respond, but not in a positive way. The Jewish people REJECT HIM! THEY REVILE HIM!

§ The jewish population of Corinth is livid with Paul! So what does Paul do? He rebukes them!

§ Honestly, this is similar to what Jesus told his disciples to do in Matthew 10. If you recall, Jesus sends out the 12 disciples to share the truth!

· They are to go and to heal, cast out demons, etc., and if they are rejected, if people won’t listen, then they are to, “shake off the dust from your feet.”

o Paul shakes out his garments and says that he is finished with the Jews and will go to the gentiles.

§ Let me just address something. This is not the first time Paul has said something like this and it will not be the last time that he ministers directly to the Jewish people.

§ So why does he keep doing it even though it never goes well?

· I think the answer is simple. Paul WANTS TO SEE HIS PEOPLE SAVED!

o He loves these jewish people and he wants them to come to saving faith!

o HE LONGS FOR IT! He prays for it and on the surface he does EVERYTHING RIGHT FOR THEM! But, GOD HAS OTHER PLANS!

BUT GOD may be the most important phrase of application in all of ACTS! We CAN USE IT AGAIN HERE! BUT GOD HAD A DIFFERENT PLAN THAN PAUL!

· Paul leaves the synagogue because of there continued rejection. In verses 7 and 8 we read, “And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.”- Acts 18:7-8

o True to his word, Paul moves on. He goes to the house of Titius Justus, who follows the Lord. He then preaches again. Crispus, who is in charge of the synagogue is saved from this sermon!

o The Holy Spirit is at work!

§ People continue to be saved! Paul’s heart longs to see the Jewish people saved, but in this case, God has other plans.

· And as we keep seeing in Acts, salvation is not about the words of one man, it is about GOD WORKING!

o GOD WORKS HERE AND MANY GENTILES ARE SAVED!

· God then continues to work! Paul is still in a dangerous situation. The jews of Corinth are livid and I genuinely mean that! Listen to what happens! “And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, ‘Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people.’ And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”- Acts 18:9-11

o Paul is anxious about attack from the jewish people; understandably.

§ God quiets his heart and tells Paul to remain in Corinth teaching and preaching!

· And that’s exactly what Paul does! He stays in Corinth for 18 months teaching and preaching.

o I think that in some ways, it adds a little more depth to what we read in 1 and 2 Corinthians. As Paul rebukes the Corinthian church, he nows these people intimately.

§ This is something that is sometimes forgotten. In order to shepherd and to rebuke someone, you have to KNOW THEM!

· Paul isn’t just sending an angry letter to random people. These are his dear friends!

· Paul has labored here and as Paul reminds them in 1 Corinthians 15, he clearly proclaimed the gospel time and time again!

o Paul rebukes them directly, but does so because of his fierce love for the people.

o I remember having a basketball coach who once said, “You’ll know I care about you as long as I push you. But when I stop pushing, it means I’ve given up.”

§ That’s honestly what is going on in Corinth!

§ He teaches and corrects because he LOVES! He preaches to the Jews because HE LOVES!

§ He sends his letter later BECAUSE HE LOVES!

§ Paul CARES AND LOVES THESE PEOPLE!

§ I had the chance to lead a Bible Study in college for about 18 months before I had to go student teach

§ Over those 18 months I grew to DEEPLY LOVE AND CARE ABOUT THOSE GUYS! I hurt when I heard about mistakes they made and I celebrated their successes even after I was gone!

§ I’m telling you, Paul deeply loves these people!

· Unfortunately, Paul’s time in Corinth does not end peacefully. We read in verse 12, “But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”- Acts 18:12-13

o Gallio was the proconsul of the region for a few years, from roughly 50-54 A.D. which helps us to date Paul’s time in Corinth! He was wrapping up early on in Gallio’s time in Corinth!

§ The Jews attack Paul’s missionary efforts, knowing that this was the same reason that the Jews were removed from Rome! They want Paul removed from their town!

Remember the quote we read at the beginning of our time today? “If you have little trouble, you will have little faith but if you have great faith, you must expect to have great trouble.”

Paul is experiencing great trouble! Satan is attacking!

· In verses 14 and 15 we see the brief trial. “But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, ‘If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of questions about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things.”- Acts 18:14-15

o That’s a direct response from Gallio! He doesn’t even allow Paul to speak. He rules that there is no crime and that the Jewish people need to handle this situation themselves.

§ Gallio refuses to weigh in on it.

· The Jewish response in verses 16 and 17 is quite direct. We read, “And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.”- Acts 18:16-17

o Gallio kicks the Jewish mob out of his presence and his court. How do they respond? They go and beat up Sosthenes, doing so in front of Gallio and his council!

§ The Jewish mob is trying to send a message through this action against Sosthenes. So who is Sosthenes you wonder? Well, truthfully, no one is sure! The name Sosthenes is mentioned again in 1 Corinthians 1 as someone who is working alongside Paul and is writing to the Corinthians.

· This may be the same man, it may not be. It may be that this is a different name for Crispus, or it could be a totally different person.

· What is clear is that Sosthenes has faith and is beaten brutally for his faith!

GREAT IS THE FAITH OF SOSTHENES AND GREAT IS HIS PAIN! As Spurgeon said in another sermon, “Storms help to make the sailor sturdy, and trials help to make Christians strong in faith.”- Charles Spurgeon

SOSTHENES GROWS THROUGH HIS TRIAL!

o Gallio claims to not give a ruling, but that isn’t true. Through his silence he gives a ruling. Gallio doesn’t stop this attack on Sosthenes, he doesn’t help Sosthenes; he remains silent, giving tacit approval.

Even during this trial, we see HOPE! If you recall, in Acts 14 we saw sorrow and persecution linked closely to true joy!

Paul and Sosthenes can stand strong before their enemies because GOD IS WITH THEM AND IS PRESERVING THEM!

o The first part of verse 18 shows us that even after this, Paul continues to serve in Corinth! The Lord has not told him to go and Paul remains faithful!

§ Additionally, Paul LOVES THESE PEOPLE AND WANTS TO SEE THESE BELIEVERS GROW!

· COCNLSUION: Over the last three weeks, we really have seen a progression of lessons from Paul’s missionary journey that are applicable to us! First, we must KNOW AND LOVE GOD like we saw in Berea. Then, as we go to share the gospel, we must be prayerfully Spirit-led and share the message effectively to our listeners as Paul did in Athens. Finally, but not least, we must LOVE THE PEOPLE WE MINISTER TOO!

o No matter how much we know, or how well we are prepared to present the gospel, if we don’t love people, then we aren’t really living out the Great Commission!

§ After all, as we grow in our faith and as we spend time praying for the people around us, we will grow in our love for them!

§ How can Paul so patiently love the Jews in Corinth who DISREGARD HIM AND TRY TO HURT HIM? He can because it isn’t his love, it’s his faith in God that is being reflected!

· Practically what does that mean?

o We have to love people!

§ I want to propose three intentional ways that we can LOVE THE PEOPLE WE ARE SEEKING TO SHARE THE GOSPEL WITH AND TO MINISTER TO!

· Now, before I say those, I want to be clear; I know that the word, “minister” has this cultural background of being one person’s job. But, in scripture, we see that EVERY MEMBER OF THE BODY OF CHRIST IS CALLED TO MINISTER! HOW WE LOVE PEOPLE IS PART OF MINISTERING TO THEM!

o Now, let’s talk about those 3 ways to love those around us.

§ First, let’s start in the church by talking about Discipleship.

· Discipleship is something that we have talked about before. It is not mentoring and it is not just doing a Bible study together once a week, although reading scripture together is part of it. Instead, discipleship involves vulnerability, intentionality and is focused first and foremost on God!

o So let’s break down those three aspects of it. First, vulnerability. The point of discipleship is to walk together through life! That requires vulnerability.

§ Imagine that you were sitting down with a young man, maybe somebody in my position in life. I’m relatively newly married, I don’t have kids yet, I have a lot of life in front of me!

· What would you say to me? What lessons would you pass along? That requires vulnerability! It takes vulnerability to say, “learn from this.” Or to say, “don’t make this same mistake that I did!”

· Discipleship requires vulnerability because it requires being invested in someone else, just as Jesus was!

Discipleship is... (DEVER QUOTE)

o Secondly, let’s talk about Intentionality!. Discipleship is intentional. There’s a purpose to discipleship. This is important. There is friendship in discipleship, but I always like to look at it as, “Let’s be friends who are legitimately there for each other!”

§ Instead of surface level friendships that our world loves so dearly, discipleship challenges us to go deeper, as Paul did over his 18 months in Corinth!

o Thirdly, Discipleship is focused first and foremost on God! That means simply that God’s word is going to be central!

§ Prayer and reading scripture are a major part of discipleship!

· Paul went and TAUGHT SCRIPTURE IN CORINTH FOR A REASON! THAT’S WHAT PEOPLE NEED!

· Yea, it’s great to hear life examples, but what we really need is GODLY WISDOM WHICH COMES FROM GOD IN PRAYER AND SCRIPTURE!

o I want to challenge you to really consider the example of Paul when we think about discipleship! He was busy and had many commitments, but he made time to pour into many people, while loving them!

o I want to challenge us to do the same!

o Discipleship is the first way to love those around us and it specifically will involve other believers. The second way that I want to propose to LOVE THOSE AROUND US is to FORGIVE!

§ Let’s be honest, our culture isn’t good at forgiveness!

· It just isn’t! Our culture is judicial, we take people to court, we want justice for all the wrong. We have lost sight of forgiveness.

o Listen to what Martyn Lloyd-Jones says about forgiveness, “The man who knows he has been forgiven, only in and through the shed blood of Christ, is a man who must forgive others. He cannot help himself. If we really know Christ as our Savior our hearts are broken and cannot be hard, and we cannot refuse forgiveness.”- Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

· We must forgive those around us! And I mean FORGIVE! FORGIVE AND MOVE FORWRAD! DON’T KEEP THAT RECORD OF WRONGS, MOVE ON! LET IT GO!

o GENUINELY FORGIVE!

o Look at Paul’s example of that in Acts 18! He is dragged before Gallio and then he CONTINUES TO PREACH AND LOVE THESE PEOPLE, which can only happen because he HAS FORGIVEN!

o Same with Sosthenes! He had to forgive those who beat him!

o Finally, I want to end our list of three ways to love those around us with a larger scale challenge to Live Counterculturally!

§ Both of our previous points really stand against culture, but I want to extend a very real and direct challenge; live counterculturally! Don’t be divided, be a light of unity, be full of love; caring for not just the physical needs of those around us but their spiritual needs!

§ INVEST IN OTHERS AROUND US!

· Let’s be a church known for our investment into PEOPLE!

o And what do we invest into people? We invest the gospel!

GOSPEL- HOW IT REFLECTS DISCIPLESHIP (DON’T LIVE ALONE), INTENTIONALITY (GOSPEL IS INTENTIONAL), GOSPEL IS COUNTERCULTURAL!

§ Pray

· Benediction: 1 Corinthians 15:54-58