Acts 18:1-28 Message

“Don’t Be Afraid; Keep On Speaking”

Acts 18:1-28 Lesson 21

Key verse 18:9-10

NIU UBF 10-12-08

“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.’”

In today’s passage Paul goes from Athens to Corinth. Again, he faces strong opposition and hardships. But the Risen Christ strengthens him to overcome fear and to keep on preaching the word of God for a year and a half. We learn that the Risen Christ was Paul’s power source. When we listen to the Risen Christ, we too can overcome hardship and discouragement and bear fruit to God in the end.

First, The Tentmaker Missionary Lifestyle (1-4).

Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, a city of over 500,000, the majority being slaves. It was a cosmopolitan city. Trade flourished there. At the same time, it was a center for gross immorality, where the goddess Aphrodite was worshiped in ceremonies involving prostitutes. People in the Roman Empire used the word “corinthianized,” to describe one who had stooped to the grossest immorality and debauchery common in Corinth.

When Paul arrived in Corinth, he was all alone, for Silas and Timothy had been left in Berea. Paul must have been lonely, like Ruth Barry who is all the way out in Alpine Texas pioneering a new UBF chapter there. It seems that Paul was also out of money. However, God was guiding his servant step by step. A Jew named Aquila and his wife Priscilla were in Corinth. They, together with all the other Jews in Rome, were ordered to leave by Emperor Claudius. Paul went to see them. Look at verse 3. “...and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.” In this way, God provided new coworkers with whom Paul shared a common life together. God also provided a job with which Paul supported himself. Paul was a great servant of God and very intellectual. But he had a practical skill that enabled him to get a job in a foreign city. He was a tentmaker. In modern times, he might be a computer programmer, or a secretary, or maybe a nurse. In one Muslim, African country, Msn Moses is a sales manager and his wife Iris is an English teacher. They have the image of St. Paul.

Paul worked hard to support himself and do God’s work at the same time. Look at verse 4. “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” While Paul worked as a tentmaker, he also taught the word of God in the synagogue to both Jews and Greeks. Paul, along with Priscilla and Aquila, are great examples of “tentmaker missionaries” who have influenced God’s work down through the generations. Many UBF missionaries have followed their example. I remember when I was a new Bible student in Winnipeg Manitoba, back in 1986. The ministry was pioneered by women missionaries from Korea. In Korea some were teachers and others held other professional jobs. But when a Canadian clothing company advertised for Korean sewing machine operators in Seoul, they practiced sewing and took a test and a couple dozen women were accepted. They came to Canada and worked hard as sewing machine operators. Their husbands joined them. Some were security guards and McDonald’s workers and factory workers. Msn Luke Hong of Montreal was once a security guard in a shopping mall. But they never stopped teaching the Bible and trying to raise disciples of Jesus among Canadian students. As a young shepherd, I heard stories of Korean missionaries working in the USA at jobs like, “chicken killer”. I was impressed because here were people doing what they needed to do, in order to fulfill the mission God had called them. That was 22 years ago. God has been working through them and as they constantly pray for North America to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.

God has established UBF as a self-supporting, lay missionary movement. We are included in a book called, “Today’s Tentmakers.” Tentmaker missionaries are the backbone of UBF. During his announcements at the 2001 International Bible Conference at ISU, Dr. Samuel Lee gave a clear direction for UBF to continue to be a self-supporting, lay missionary movement. To do so, each person must work hard to take up two crosses: the cross of self-support, and the cross of being a Bible teacher. UBF has a prayer that 100,000 UBF missionaries may be sent out by 2041. A federation of Korean churches pray that they send out 100,000 missionaries by 2040. One theologian and expert in Korean Church history stated, that achieving this prayer topic is not possible by following the classical example sending out church sponsored missionaries. It can only be accomplished through the raising up of tent maker missionaries. We can only thank God for Missionary John Peace and his family who are tentmakers in Ukraine. We thank God for Msn Chris Sagel who is a tentmaker missionary in South Korea. We also thank God for Jay and Carrie Irwin who served as tent maker missionaries for a year, working as English teachers and preaching the Gospel in Ecuador. May God establish America as the premiere missionary sending nation in the world, through tent making missionaries.

Second, “I Have Many People In This City” (5-17).

After some time, Silas and Timothy joined Paul in Corinth. Then “Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ” (5). When Paul had the opportunity, he gave his full attention to preparing and delivering gospel messages. Paul’s point was that Jesus is the Christ. The Christ is God’s anointed King. He suffered on the cross and died for our sins, shedding his blood. As his blood poured down, Jesus prayed from the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Lk 23:34a). Jesus died for our sins. Jesus prayed for our forgiveness. This forgiveness is given freely to those who accept it by faith. On the third day, God raised Jesus from the dead. God demonstrated his almighty power and opened the way to the kingdom of God for anyone who believes. (Lk 23:43). Now we can have a relationship with the living God by the work of the Holy Spirit. We can see the kingdom of God, which is forever. Someday we will leave this world to enter everlasting glory with Jesus, where there is perfect love, joy and peace. All evil and unrighteousness will be destroyed (1Co 15:24). God will reign in every heart, and in every corner of his creation; and God will be honored as God (Php 2:11). Jesus, the Christ, is God’s King, who will accomplish all of this for the glory of God. Praise God! Paul essentially preached this message to the Jews.

The Jews were best equipped to understand and accept the message, for they had the word of the prophets. But they did not. Instead, they opposed Paul and became abusive. Perhaps they threw eggs and kitchen slop at him as he was walking to and from the synagogue. What did Paul do? 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” (6). Paul never became discouraged. He accepted their rejection as God’s guidance to serve the Gentiles. This was God’s will. God had made him a light to the Gentiles (13:47).

So Paul left the synagogue. But he did not go far. He went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God (7). Apparently, this became the location of the Christian church in Corinth. Look at verse 8. “Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.” It was a great work of God that the synagogue ruler was converted. And when he was converted, his household and many other Corinthians were converted. The Christian church at Corinth was beginning to grow, right in the shadows of the synagogue. We can imagine how Paul must have suffered in this situation.

Though it was like sitting next to a hornet’s nest, Paul could carry on by the grace of God. Look at verses 9-10. “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.’” Paul seemed to be doing very well. Yet the Lord encouraged him in a vision. Let’s think about why and how.

First, the Lord said, “Do not be afraid.” Paul was a mighty warrior of faith. In Lystra, he was stoned and left for dead. Then the Lord helped him to get up and go back into the city (Ac 14:20). In Philippi, he sang and prayed in the jail right after being beaten and severely flogged (Ac 16:25). In Thessalonica, he bravely preached the gospel to gang-like opponents (Ac 17:3). To us, Paul looks courageous enough. Nobody would think that Paul was fearful. But the Lord saw his inner heart, and there was fear. Paul might have been tired of constant abuse. Who wouldn’t? The Lord spoke to his heart, “Do not be afraid.” The Lord was like a loving mother who comforts her child in the middle of the night, praying with them. 1Jn 4:18a reads, “There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear…” The perfect love of God melted all fear from Paul’s heart.

Second, the Lord said, “...keep on speaking, do not be silent.” It seems that Paul had considered not speaking anymore–giving up his preaching ministry. But the Lord said, “...keep on speaking, do not be silent.” How much more do we feel like not speaking when we are discouraged. In the course of carrying out one-to-one Bible study, many unexpected things happen. Sometimes we pray and fish for Bible students but no one seems interested in Jesus. Sometimes we offer our precious time and effort to teach the Bible and the response is indifference or criticism. Sometimes even close friends reject our invites to spiritual events. Sometimes people don’t show up to Bible study. Recently one person gave me a wrong number. In a world where people don’t want to give Jesus and his gospel a chance, we want to give up. But the Lord says, “...keep on speaking, do not be silent.” May the Lord encourage you to keep on speaking his word.

Third, the Lord said, “For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you....” During his journey, Paul had experienced the same result…after initial success in preaching, he had to face strong opposition, then persecution and rejection. It happened every time. Now the Corinthians had begun to believe. Paul could expect persecution and rejection. Angry faces of enemies might have come before his mind’s eye, one by one. But the Lord spoke to his heart, “I am with you.” Jesus is Almighty God. Jesus is a mighty rock of salvation. Jesus is the Sovereign Ruler of history. When Jesus was with Paul, he could feel safe and secure, even in the midst of enemies.

Fourth, “...because I have many people in this city.” The Risen Christ, working ahead of Paul, had a great harvest planned in Corinth. Paul was on the verge of being used greatly. But he might have felt like a woman who had carried a baby full term, and then had no strength to push for delivery. At that time, the Risen Christ encouraged him to see his vision. The Risen Christ had many people in Corinth. Indeed, the Gospel ministry would be exceedingly fruitful. Strengthened by this vision, Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching the word of God boldly. The Risen Christ empowers his servants to finish to the end. When discouraged, we must come to the Risen Christ for his word and receive his vision in our hearts. Though we are small here at NIU UBF, may we know that we have many supporters and many prepared hearts on the NIU campus. God is about to do a great work of God among us. May God grant us his vision through our upcoming “Hannah Faithbook” Bible school.

Of course, the opposition was still there. The Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him into court. They charged him with holding illegal worship services. However, Gallio, the proconsul of Achaia, completely dismissed their charges. Gallio paid no attention to them at all, though they began to beat Sosthenes in front of him. In this way, God protected Paul and made gospel preaching possible in Corinth. God is the Sovereign Ruler of man and the world. When God is for us, no one can stand against us. Our coworkers across America have experienced God’s favor and protection in the midst of opposition, becoming part of the campus culture through the establishment of many fruitful campus Bible clubs

Third, The House Church Of Priscilla and Aquila (18-28).

After staying in Corinth for some time, Paul left for Syria and his home church in Antioch. Priscilla and Aquila went with him. They moved with Paul to a new mission field. How hard this must have been. Obviously, Christ was Lord of their family. When they reached Ephesus, Paul preached the gospel there. His message was well received. People asked him to stay longer. It was a promising mission field. But Paul left, saying, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” He learned from the “closed doors” he faced at the beginning of his journey. Now, he was very sensitive toward the leading of the Holy Spirit. He entrusted the mission at Ephesus to Priscilla and Aquila. Then he went to Caesarea, up to Jerusalem to greet the church, and finally returned to Antioch. Thus ends his second mission journey.

The character of Paul’s ministry began to change. Look at verse 23. “After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.” This is the beginning of Paul’s third mission journey. On the second journey, his work was evangelistic in nature, proclaiming the gospel to those who had not heard it before. He begins his third journey by strengthening the disciples who had accepted the gospel in the places he had visited. Paul began to concentrate on raising disciples and would do so throughout the remainder of his ministry.

In verses 24-28, we catch a glimpse of what it means to be a house church the tentmaker missionaries Priscilla and Aquila. There was a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. Apollos was a learned man with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He spoke with great fervor. (He did not appear to be in need of blood transfusion.) However, his understanding of the gospel was incomplete. He knew only the baptism of John. That means that he knew and preached the message of repentance very well, but he did not know the grace of Jesus, or the work of the Holy Spirit. When Priscilla and Aquila heard his message, they realized what his problem was immediately. Yet they did not look down on him. They saw this as an opportunity to raise a great gospel worker, like their pastor, Paul. They humbly invited Apollos to their home. Priscilla must have cooked a delicious dinner. Then, with respect and understanding, they explained the way of God more adequately (26). Probably, they helped him to accept Jesus in his heart as his personal Lord and Savior. After that Apollos focused his message on the main point of the Scriptures: Jesus is the Christ. In this way, Apollos became a very fruitful servant of God. It was the fruit of one-to-one Bible study in Priscilla and Aquila’s house church. These kinds of house churches have produced many great men of God in history. In a world where young people are disillusioned about marriage altogether and don’t even want to marry, we pray for our brothers and sisters around the world to establish beautiful house churches like that of Priscilla and Aquila.

In this passage we learn that the Risen Christ was Paul’s power source to pioneer Corinth. When Paul was fearful and discouraged inwardly, the Risen Christ said to him, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking.” Then Paul could finish his race with a great victory. Let’s come to the Risen Christ, who says to each of us, “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking.”