Recieving God's Encouragement

Introduction

Video: Life is a journey

What a great reminder as we launch out into summer this week. Welcome to Summer! Does it feel different to you? For many of us the summer season brings about a lot of changes. Changes in our attitude. Changes in our thinking. Changes in our planning and our schedules. We just do summer a little different than we do the rest of the year.

This is the time of year that many families take family vacations and go on journeys. The kids are out of school and so we pack up and go exploring at the campground, the cabin, the beach or the lake and there is a lot to learn from the joys and challenges of our many journeys.

Sometimes things go exactly as we planned and then sometimes they don’t. Sometimes when things don’t go exactly as we planned it actually ends up being even better than our plan and we are like “wow, cool I couldn’t have planned that well”…and sometimes it doesn’t seem to be better, but much worse than we had planned. And we think back over the years we probably all have examples of times when it has gone either way.

And so the saying “Life is a journey” is a familiar one and that is just as true when applied to the Christian life. We make plans and sometimes things don’t go exactly as we planned and it actually ends up even better than we planned....and sometimes it doesn’t.

Tension

This is what we have seen play out in the missionary journeys of the Apostle Paul. This summer we are going to continue in our series called “Ekklesia: “the Unstoppable Movement of God”. Where we are traveling through the book of Acts and seeing the journey of the early Church.

If you have only joined us recently, we began this journey last September by looking at Jesus launching His Church through the original Apostles. Then we followed them as they shared His message through the Word and mighty works of God.

When opposition increased from threats to violence and the first Martyr, many Christians chose to leave Jerusalem for the surrounding areas. It was because of men like Saul of Tarsus that they had to leave their homes…but Jesus stopped Saul in his tracks and He decided to turn this warrior of legalism into an example of the power of Grace. And the pharisee Saul became the Apostle Paul and was sent on a journey to, of all places, the “unclean Gentile nations” to teach of this Jesus who is the Christ.

His first missionary journey took him by land and by sea from one Antioch to the other and back again. (map) While Paul was always doing “missionary work”, we typically call this trip inside the blue box his first missionary journey.

More recently we have working through his second missionary journey. (map) It brought him twice as far away from home as the first journey still in the blue box. His plan was to begin by visiting the Churches that he had planted inside the blue box, to continue to guide and encourage them in the faith, and then scoop out a little wider into Asia and then head back home. That was his plan…but God had different plans.

Paul was actually forbidden by the Holy Spirit from speaking the word in Asia and was called instead to Macedonia or Northern Greece by a man in a vision. He lands in Philippi, he shares the Gospel at a riverside prayer meeting with some success but then he cast a demon out of a little girl who was being exploited for money, and those who saw her freedom to be cutting into their profits had Paul thown in jail and then thrown out of town.

But he journeys on in this new plan to Thessalonica, he again reasons there in the synagogue from the Scriptures with some modest success, but he again is met with such violent hostility that he has to sneak out of town in fear for his life.

Moving on to Berea, he is pleased to find them most welcoming because they were open to searching the Scriptures to see if what Paul was saying could be true, but when the Thessalonians heard that he was there they gathered together their angry mob and ran him out of town again, this time without his trusted companions.

Then as we saw last week, he ends up in the historic city of Athens, where he reasons both in the local synagogue and the marketplace. He apparently caught the right people’s attention because he was invited to speak at the famed Areopagus or Mars Hill. The philosophers or “lovers of wisdom” listen but their responses are mixed at best and Paul leaves with little to show for his effort.

Now as we begin chapter 18 we read: Acts 18:1 (ESV) 1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.

Now having been on this journey with Paul for some time, you and I read this verse and we just register in our minds that Paul went to yet another city in the Roman Empire…but Corinth was not just another city.

To a missionary like Paul, Corinth would have been seen as one of the most challenging cities to share the good news of Jesus in the world. Remember how we talked about the sound strategy of picking low hanging fruit first to build momentum and increase motivation…Corinth was more like the fruit at the very top of the tree that you need two ladders and a boom truck to get at it.

The city of Corinth had two trade ports on either side of an isthmus(map) - a strip of land connecting two larger bodies of land. The strip was just 3 1/2 miles wide but it was all kept the Peloponnese from being an island.

Well in order for the ships to not have to go all the way around the Peloponnese peninsula, (route A) the Corinthians build a railway of wooden logs called a “Diolkos” where ships could be dragged across land from one port the other.

You can still visit this place today, but in the 1890’s they dug a channel across for ships and it is something of a tourist attraction today. Even cruise ships squeeze their way through and it looks something like this (pic) and if you are ever in Greece, you could be one of these people (pic)

The big idea was that this bit of ingenuity brought many merchants, sailors and soldiers to and through the city of Corinth and so it made the city something of a “boom town” where people would come from all over the Roman Empire to trade and carry on commerce. It was one of the more populated cities in the Roman Empire, at least 20x the size of Athens.

In addition to being economically prosperous, Corinth was religiously significant, which made it morally corrupt. It was the epicenter for the worship of the Greek goddess Aphrodite, known as the goddess of the love, particularly the Greek version of love called Eros, where we get our word erotic. The temple to Aphrodite was said to have more than a thousand temple women and men working in services to this pagan goddess in this immoral way. This was so entrenched in the culture of the city that it was said that to be sexually immoral was to “Corinthianize”.

So few missionaries would expect to see much fruit from a city with these deeply entrenched values. The heartbeat of this city was the double barreled distractions of economic prosperity and great pressure toward sexual immorality…and here comes Paul, stepping up to the plate once again, only this time we find that he was going to need some encouragement to stay in the game. (A little Baseball reference to fit our summer theme)

The more I read about this ancient place this past week the more I wondered how away we are today from the “Corinthianizers” of Paul’s day. This month particularly, we see people taking “pride” in immorality that would have been common place in ancient Corinth. Not to mention that the prosperity of our country has left many people with idle hands, wayward thoughts and “expendible income” that they are investing in unmentionable “pleasures”. Sometimes it is hard to hold on to hope that the “Unstoppable movement of God” is still moving in “unstoppable” ways.

This morning we will look at how God encouraged the Apostle Paul when he was frustrated and discouraged in his journey and I believe that we will find somethings to apply in our day as well. Turn with me to Acts chapter 18, page 972 in the Bibles in the chairs, I’ll pray and we will dive into this together.

Truth

The first thing we see is that...

God encourages us in His mission...through His people Acts 18:1-4

So Paul leaves Athens and went on to Corinth, still without his co-workers Timothy and Silas. Remember he left them back in Berea while he was whisked away in the night. He sent word for them to come to him as soon as possible, but so far they have not arrived.

But remember that the word for Church, Ekklesia means “gathering”. The Christian life is never a solo sport. It is always a team effort. You cannot do it on your own and yet here Paul finds himself alone…in Corinth of all places.

You know so many merchants and soldiers squandered all their money here that there was an ancient proverb that said: 'Not for every man is the voyage to Corinth” but this is where Paul finds himself alone...but God provides what we need for His mission.

Acts 18:1–3 (ESV)

1 After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, 3 and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.

This couple that was exiled from Rome become very instrumental in Paul’s life and the continued life of the early church. Their “Tentmaking” was instrumental in Paul being able to use his skill set to make a living especially when his teaching ministry led him into hostile territory like here in Corinth.

This is where we get the ministry term “Tentmaker”. This is someone who does one job during the day but then they serve as Pastors or missionaries at night and on the weekends. Paul is our example in this. He made tents during the week...

Acts 18:4 (ESV)

4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks.

This is what Paul does. This is always what Paul is after no matter what city he is in. He testifies to the good news of Jesus being our long awaited Christ and savior.

This is what we are ALL called to be doing. In some ways, we are all called to be Tentmakers to some degree. We may be working our day job, but then in response to Acts 1:8 we are out being ambassadors for Christ. He says to us...

Acts 1:8 (ESV)

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

And now with the help and encouragement of his tentmaking friends Paul, was actively after this, even to the point that

Acts 18:5–8 (ESV)

5 When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

In the noted absence of Silas and Timothy, this couple was a welcomed friendship that encouraged Paul, but then Timothy and Silas arrived with news of the people in the Church in Thessalonica, and it too encouraged Paul.

Paul wrote the letter 1 Thessalonians during his time in Corinth and he said of this event:

1 Thessalonians 3:6–7 (ESV)

6 But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us the good news of your faith and love and reported that you always remember us kindly and long to see us, as we long to see you— 7 for this reason, brothers, in all our distress and affliction we have been comforted about you through your faith.

So as Paul enters into the challenging city of Corinth, God sends him Aquila and Priscilla, then Silas and Timothy who bring news of fruit from Paul’s turbulent time in Thessalonica!

God encourages us in His mission through His people Acts 18:1-5

God encourages us in His mission through His promises Acts 18:6-11

Remember that

...Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus.

The Jews had long awaited for the Christ or the Messiah to come, but somehow when He arrived, despite clear evidence so many Jews rejected Him. And this time Paul had had enough...

6 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.” 7 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.

Paul sounds discouraged. He sounds frustrated. But God was still moving through the message that he gave Paul to share. The power was not found in messenger, but in the message and those who belonged to Jesus were hearing and responding to the Gospel message.

Acts 18:8 (ESV)

8 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.

What! The ruler of the synagogue that Paul just left believed…after Paul basically stormed out. The message of the Gospel is not limited by the messenger that brings it, and God wanted Paul to know this. So God spoke directly to Paul’s heart on what He wanted to do through Paul in the challenging city of Corinth...

Acts 18:9–11 (ESV)

9 And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent, 10 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.” 11 And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Paul was a traveling man. We have seen that in the many maps. He covered a lot of ground and did not stick around for a long period of time in each city. He preached the Gospel, gathered the believers, appointed Elders and then circled back later to see what God had done in their midst. This time however, Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half.

And we can see something of the roots of Paul’s discouragement from the promises that God made to him. Paul’s primary concerns were:

Personal physical harm. This seems justified considering all he has gone through already, but I do wonder if suffering the harm was Paul’s concerned, or the fact that physical suffering was so often what forced him to leave a city and the Church he planted there. Jesus told Saul that he would suffer for his sake so I almost think it was more this second part that he was really concerned about. He was concerned that...

His effort wasn’t doing much good. I don’t think Paul liked suffering, but he was willing as long as it served a purpose. He didn’t want to suffer in Corinth in such a way that there was little fruit and so God encouraged him with the message that there were many who are His in this city. God promised that there were many who will yet respond to the message that Paul was sent to share.

So even when it seems like little is happening, because the opposition is so loud and in our face, God assures us that He is doing a work and that the message of the Gospel is working in the hearts that are His!

And we know that this is what does happen because Paul writes about it later in his letter back to the Church of Corinth. He says:

1 Corinthians 2:1–5 (ESV)

1 And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. 2 For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling, 4 and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

In contrast to how Paul spent most of his time with the philosophers of Athens, here in Corinth over a much longer period of time he kept it simple. As we said last week, logical arguments and evidence are great ways to engage people in order to share the Gospel, but they are worthless if you never get to the Gospel message. Worse than that, they can be distractions to the Gospel message. It was the power of God in the message of the Gospel that brought people to Jesus in Corinth, not Paul’s eloquent speach.

This is where I find my hope as a preacher. Trusting in the promise that even in unskilled ordinary men, the message of the Gospel is powerful. This leads us to our last theme for the morning...

3. God encourages us in His mission through His power Acts 18:12-17

Acts 18:12–13 (ESV)

12 But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, 13 saying, “This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law.”

So much like they did to Jesus, the Jews decided that they would bring this pesky Paul guy before the Roman authorities to quiet or better yet get rid of him. They insisted that Paul had somehow violated the law, but Jesus told us that if we follow Him things like this will happen. So we should not be surprised when they do.

John 15:20 (ESV)

20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

Luke 6:22–23 (ESV)

22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! 23 Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.

The role of the prophets was to speak the Word of God, if we are doing it today then we should expect to be treated as they were, and Jesus said even rejoice because you must be getting it right like they were. Jesus also said...

Luke 12:11–12 (ESV)

11 And when (when, not if) they bring you before the synagogues and the rulers and the authorities, do not be anxious about how you should defend yourself or what you should say, 12 for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.”

This is exactly the position that Paul is in, once again. And it won’t be the last time he is here. So he is ready…

Acts 18:14–17 (ESV)

14 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. 15 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.”

16 And he drove them from the tribunal. 17 And they all seized Sosthenes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. (apparently to get their attention, they even beat one of their own) But Gallio paid no attention to any of this.

Anyone who participated in our Biblical Citizenship Class should understand what is happening here because one of the principles that we returned to over and over again in that class was the question of Jurisdiction when it comes to matters of the law.

Who gets to judge over what kinds of disputes and why? Since all truth is God’s truth, God powerfully worked through this godless judge to accomplish His purposes using the guiding principle of Jurisdiction when it comes to matters of the law. There is a perfect Biblical example of how that principle can work.

Much like many of the disputes in our day, Paul was not standing before the court because of what he did, but because of what he believed. It was his ideas that the Jews hated and so tried to challenge in a court of law, specifically his ideas about Jesus. But this judge knew that no civic laws were violated in this case and so he threw it out.

We need to be earnestly praying for God to work in judges like this in our day. God powerfully worked through the man-made law so that Paul didn’t have to say anything and he was free to continue his ministry in the city of Corinth.

God encourages us in His mission, through His people Acts 18:1-5

God encourages us in His mission, through His promises Acts 18:6-11

God encourages us in His mission, through His power Acts 18:12-17

Gospel Application

Sometimes it is hard to hold on to hope that the “Unstoppable movement of God” is still “unstoppable”…but when our God gives us a mission, He will work to give us everything we need to accomplish that mission. As Paul told the Athenians, “He is not far from us” and so He delights in encouraging us in these ways.

Unfortunately what I often see is that when Christians get frustrated, discouraged or disillusioned with the world around us we can be tempted to run in the opposite direction of these many ways that God wants to encourage us.

We alienate ourselves from God’s people, stop gathering for Church each week

We forget God’s promises, stop reading and believing what God’s Word tells us and we

We stop relying on God’s power and try and just do life all on our own.

And we wonder why our journey gets so messed up! We need Proverbs 3:5-6 running through our hearts and minds every day...

Proverbs 3:5–6 (ESV)

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.

That doesn’t mean that every step on the journey will be easy, but that God will make each next step clear.

Landing

Maybe the question that many of us are really struggling is not just what the path will look like but which path are we on. Notice each point said that God encourages us on His mission…that begs the question: Whose mission are you on each day? Does your day consist in your considering what you can do to build God’s Kingdom for His glory or are you consumed with your own kingdom and your own glory? Because God’s encouragement comes to those who are after His mission.

Let’s pray into that together

Communion

God’s mission overpowers godlessness - >Jesus was not a victim, if he wanted to he could have put a Gallio on the procounsels seat instead of a Pilate - Jesus chose the cross for us!!!