Ministry in Tough Places
Notes
Transcript
If you have your Bible (and I hope you do) please turn with me to Acts 18. If you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word. Acts 18:1-18
1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 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 Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they 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 innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”
14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 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.” 16 So he drove them off. 17 Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.
18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken.
May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!
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The city of Corinth—if you’re familiar with you Bible—is one messed up place, and the church there has more than its share of issues. Corinth is pretty jacked-up all the way around, almost as bad as things in the good ol’ U.S. of A. Immorality, division, idolatry, and greed to name a few. Sound familiar? It sounds familiar because it is familiar.
Corinth was a major city, and that means it was a major place for witness. If you’ve been paying attention to the map, it’s pretty easy to see what Paul’s doing. Paul is deliberately and strategically (as the Spirit leads) moving from one city center to the next—from Athens now 46 miles west to proclaim the Good News to the influential and immoral metropolis of Corinth.
Corinth was such a sexually immoral city that there’s a word translated “live like a Corinthian”—korinthiazesthai—this word was used to speak of someone who lived a morally impure life.
To quote Remember the Titans, “He’s from California. He’s a Californian.”
Or The Office, “She took the slow train from Philly.”
Where people are from has certain implications.
When I first moved to Missouri, my crazy Uncle Doug asked me whether I drove to Kansas or Iowa to buy my shoes. And then, a few years later called to congratulate me saying, “Hey, I heard Missouri got their first shoe store! That’s great!”
I defended Missouri at every turn, by the way.
As stereotypes go, if you live in Florida you’re probably old with gray hair. If you live in Oregon, you’re a flannel-clad, coffee-drinking hippy.
Some stereotypes are true, but what’s always true is that where you’re from has some implications.
If you were from Corinth, it meant something. The general assumption being if you were from Corinth, you were likely involved in some sort of idolatry at some pagan temple where immorality, prostitution, and sexual perversion ran rampant. If you were from Corinth, it came with a certain reputation.
Timothy Keller helpfully compares these ancient cities to cities we’d be somewhat familiar with. He says:
“Athens was like Boston, an intellectual center” (Harvard, MIT, Gordon-Conwell, Berklee College of Music, Tufts, Brandeis, etc. Athens was like Boston; they too had a really bad baseball team. Corinth was like New York City, a commercial center (with trade ports and interstates, business headquarters, Wall Street, Times Square); Ephesus was like Los Angeles, a popular culture and occult center (Hollywood, Studio City); and Rome was like Washington, D.C., the political center (White House, the Capitol Building, Supreme Court).”
Corinth was a large, populous, busy, active city. Ministry in Corinth was going to be rough, really rough, for any number of reasons (some of which we saw in our text this morning).
This would be, for Paul, ministry in a tough place, but the Lord would be with Paul—as He promised to be with Jacob, with Moses, with Joshua, with Jeremiah, and as Jesus Himself promised to be with you and me.
The Lord would be with Paul and would give Paul some friends (Aquila and Priscilla), some ministry buddies (Silas and Timothy). The Lord would bless Paul’s work, reassure Paul, and fulfill His promises.
The last Sunday I was in the pulpit (October 4, 2020) was the 10-year anniversary of my being pastor of Rich Hill Christian Church. The Lord has been with all of us these 10 years—from the outset you all had to put up with a 27-year-old preacher who didn’t really know what he was doing; and, by His grace, God is with this 37-year-old preacher who still doesn’t really know what he’s doing.
He has filled our lives with friends in ministry, many of whom live right here and are closer than family—friends/family who look after us, care for us, drop food and supplies by our house when we’re quarantined, run errands for us; friends/family who love us without condition or warrant. We are blessed beyond measure.
We have seen the Lord at work in Rich Hill and in this small part of Christ’s Church—people coming to know the Lord, people saved by grace, people uniting with Jesus in baptism, people growing in their faith, leaders raised up, depth of desire to study God’s Word and worship Him.
I have personally felt the Lord’s reassurance on many occasions. When I’m down, when I’m scared, when I struggle, when I’m uncertain, the Lord gives reassurance after reassurance.
Together, we have watched the Lord’s promises to us in His Word come to pass time after time.
It’s so significant that the Lord is with us, blessing us in these ways, because ministry can be tough—never more difficult than in an election year during a pandemic. Ministry can be tough, there are tough places to minister, but we know what it requires. This text (among others) shares those requirements with us.
Lest we get ahead of ourselves and in case we’re tempted to forget, let’s remember: ZERO MINISTRY TAKES PLACE WITHOUT THE LORD, NO MINISTRY HAPPENS WITHOUT HIM. IT’S THE LORD WHO WORKS.
As Josh preached last week: In Him we live and move and have our being.
In Christ, as we minister in His strength, ministry in tough places requires something of us.
Ministry in Tough Places Requires
Hard Work
Hard Work
When Paul came to Corinth, he met a dynamic couple—Aquila and Priscilla—who would become his friends and faithful partners in ministry; we read their names several times throughout the NT.
Paul stayed with them and worked with them. It was a match made in heaven: they were all tentmakers, so they could do their work together. Kismet.
Paul worked hard with his hands, shaping leather into tents. And then, we read (v. 4): Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
Every Sabbath…that it to say, every week Paul reasoned and persuaded, teaching and preaching from the Scriptures, making the case from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah, the Promised One of God; that all the Scriptures pointed to Him, that Jesus was the fulfillment of the prophecies and promises of God.
This is tough work. It takes enough effort to study the Bible and prepare a message each week. But I get to preach to God’s people who know and love the Word, who know and love Jesus. To go every single Sabbath and persuade, reason, debate, defend—that had to be exhausting work. But the Spirit gives strength.
Paul worked hard as a tent-maker and preacher. And then, after Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul continued the hard work, but was able to work exclusively as a preacher.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
There may be no better model of hard work than Paul. The man is always on the go (hoofing most of the way).
Someone calculated that Paul had walked over 2,000 miles in the course of his missionary journeys. That’s like walking from here to Seattle, Washington stopping in town after town to preach the gospel.
Paul’s always on the go, never misses a chance to preach; he’s writing letters to the churches in his off hours, and oh, by the way, he makes tents to support himself and his ministry.
Paul may not have been the best preacher around. In fact, we read that Paul preached with much trembling. There were likely many preachers better than Paul. But Paul’s effectiveness as a preacher cannot be doubted. The Lord was with him, the Holy Spirit empowered him, and Paul worked hard. He wasn’t lazy.
10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
Paul knew ministry in tough places required hard work. Christians should value and pursue a noble work ethic, trusting God to bless their efforts even in situations where skill alone might fall short.
Kevin Durant, the NBA All-Star, once quipped: “Hard work beats talent when talent doesn’t work.”
We work hard. Ministry in tough places requires hard work.
23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters,
We work hard, working at it with all [our hearts], working for the Lord. We work hard, not to earn anything from God, but to express our gratitude to God for giving us the ability and gifting to work—and to work for Him.
Please don’t check out here, thinking, “Well, I’m not a preacher or a teacher, so this doesn’t really apply to me.”
On the contrary: working a job outside the church is no less important than working full-time as a pastor. In fact, you might be more effective than me, especially in this day and age. You can use your gifts and abilities, your connections and relationships to help build Christ’s kingdom.
Our good friend Valerie Hetrick worked for mission organization and spent a while in Tunis, Tunisia on the northern tip of Africa.
We were having a conversation and I asked her what the greatest need was in that part of the world. This was years ago and I still remember what she said. Val said: “What we need is people to move here who are willing to live out the gospel and their faith in everyday life and business. That’s what we’re looking for—business people, electricians, plumbers, school teachers.”
You, Christian, whatever it is you do for work, you will have an unmissable impact on your co-workers and acquaintances. As you do your job, you have the opportunity to love people, to work with Christ-honoring integrity, to speak the Good News, to make the gospel known.
Work hard at whatever your hands find to do. Do this, because the Lord has placed you, right where you’re at, to live out the gospel and express your faith in every day life and business.
The Lord will bless your hard work, as He did Paul’s.
Ministry in Tough Places Requires Hard Work and
Devotion to the Word
Devotion to the Word
It’s not lost on me, the great blessing of being able to support my family by preaching and teaching. There are many of my friends who struggle to support themselves and their families on what their church pays them. Many in ministry have to work bivocationally; they’re required to work a job outside the church on top of their ministry responsibilities.
I am the most blessed. I’m thankful to the Lord and for His people, that I get to preach and pastor and that that pays the bills. I get to study God’s Word and walk with people through the most significant moments of their lives—baptisms, graduations, weddings, the loss of loved ones. I am allowed that deep and weighty privilege, and also get a paycheck for it. It’s not lost on me.
When Silas and Timothy arrive, Paul is able to transition from bivocational ministry into full-time ministry, devoting himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
Paul was devoted to the Word of God—going to the synagogue every Sabbath, reasoning and persuading both Jew and Greek.
How was Paul reasoning with them? What was Paul persuading them to do? There’s no doubt in my mind or in anyone else’s mind that Paul was using the Scriptures—the Word of God—to reason with and persuade those listening to him to put their faith in Jesus, to repent of their sins, and turn to Christ.
Paul wasn’t trying to win a political argument or attempting to persuade anyone that his football team was the best even though they just lost to the stinking Raiders.
Paul was reasoning with them from the Scriptures and trying with all his might to persuade them from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Son of God and the Promised Messiah.
Paul’s preaching task is the same as ours: testifying…that Jesus [is] the Messiah.
Like we should be, Paul was absorbed and engrossed in the work. One translation of verse 5 reads like this: “And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the Word.”
Paul’s devotion to the Word, our devotion to the Word does not change. We are to be devoted to the Word even amid opposition.
It probably wasn’t long before Paul’s message about Jesus ruffled some feathers. The Jewish members of the synagogue would have balked at the talk of a crucified and Risen Savior, especially one their countrymen had a hand in killing. It was just too much for most Jews.
When the Jews opposed Paul and became abusive (v. 6), Paul shook out his clothes—a gesture of rejection, much like shaking the dust from one’s feet. Paul had preached to them. They had rejected the message. They were responsible for their own judgment by God (and God will judge those who reject Jesus and His Word).
When opposed, Paul turned his attention to the Gentiles. I love what Paul does next after he shakes out his clothes. He just walks next door!
7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
His audience may have changed, but Paul’s devotion to the Word did not. Many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed. When opposition comes, he didn’t stop preaching the Word, he doubled down and kept on preaching.
We devote ourselves to the Word, and expect fruit. Paul saw the fruit of his labor; rather, the fruit of the Lord’s work in Corinth. The Word works. God’s Word does not, will not, cannot return void. It accomplishes all He pleases.
Ministry in tough places requires devotion to the Word, even when we’re weak and fearful.
In verses 9-11, it seems like Paul is dealing with something. He’s struggling. He’s fearful. Tempted, even, to stop preaching. In his struggle, he hears from the Lord.
The Lord instructs him, reminds him of His presence, and assures him—just exactly what God does today through His Word. God’s Word speaks, this is true.
When we’re weak, when we’re afraid, there’s encouragement from the Lord to press on.
“Keep speaking; do not be silent. I’m with you. No one is going to attack and harm you,” the Lord assures Paul.
This assurance from God is immediately confirmed by Paul’s deliverance from the peoples’ attempt to condemn him before Gallio.
You see, Paul and all the rest of us are mere jars of clay:
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
We are jars of clay—weak, breakable, fragile—toting around the treasure of God’s Word—the gospel of Jesus Christ. We are weak; children who need our Father: “Little ones to Him belong, they are weak, but He is strong.”
We are weak, but He is strong.
There are a plethora of ministry strategies and frameworks out there. Do this, try this, post this, blog that...
“What is needed is the Word of God. Week-in and week-out. Don’t grow weary in majoring on the Word of God. It’s needed now more than ever.” - Grant Castleberry
Devote yourself to the Word. As a church, we need to double down on the Word of God. Ministry in tough places and during tough times requires our devotion to the Word of God. It’s the Word we need.
Ministry in Tough Places Requires Hard Work, a Devotion to the Word, and
Commitment to Discipleship
Commitment to Discipleship
This is the first time Paul stays an extended period of time in one place. We read that Paul stayed there for a year and a half and again that he stayed on in Corinth for some time.
We know what Paul was doing; the text tells us what he was up to:
11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.
Teaching them the Word of God.
What a fun job! That’s not to say it’s easy, because it’s not. But it is immensely rewarding. To get to see the light click, to witness a hunger and desire for the Word, to watch as the Lord open hearts to believe the message (i.e. Lydia).
Paul uses the time he’s in Corinth to disciple the believers there, to ground them in the Scriptures.
This is the work of the church. This is the work of each disciple: to make more disciples.
Disciples disciple other disciples.
“The greatest issue facing the world today, with all its heartbreaking needs, is whether those who are identified as ‘Christians’ will become disciples – students, apprentices, practitioners – of Jesus Christ, steadily learning from Him how to live the life of the Kingdom of God in every corner of human existence.” - Dallas Willard
Willard is, as usual, exactly right. We don’t need political pundits, critics of culture, angry Christians in name only grasping for power and insisting on their constitutional rights.
What we need is for God’s people to behave as such; Christians who reflect Christ; disciples steadily learning from Jesus how to live as His people.
This requires discipleship. Learning to become more and more like Jesus and less and less like the world.
Our commitment must be to discipleship. Iron sharpening iron. Studying the Word of God together. Holding one another accountable. It’s why we’re here.
Part of the reason I’ve stayed in Rich Hill for 10 years, starting now my 11th year, is because I believe in the mission of the church. I believe what God has called us to do is worth the time and the effort. My commitment is making disciples—teaching, preaching, grounding people in the Word of God.
This is what’s required.
Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th President of the United States, once said:
“Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.”
Here’s the thing: there’s no work more worthwhile than telling people about Jesus. Nothing comes anywhere close. Ministry is worth our hard work. It requires a devotion to the Word of God. And it takes a commitment to discipleship. And all this for the glory of God and the good of His people.
“Work hard at work worth doing.” Let’s do that, shall we?
