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Paul's Second Missionary Journey: Encouragement in Corinth 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to Stand on the Word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we complete Paul's second missionary journey as we read Acts chapter 18 verse 9. Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the0:22 night by a vision. Do not be afraid, but speak and do not keep silent. So why did the apostle Paul need encouragement to do what he was known for doing? Well, we're gonna look at that in0:34 just a moment. So before we jump into it, a little background. This chapter covers a period of, 2 to 3 years. Alright. Paul goes to Corinth. He stays there for a year and a half. During that time,0:46 he writes a letter to the believers, the Thessalonians, that was the church he established there. He writes that letter, actually, we're gonna look at that tomorrow. He then retraces his steps returning to0:57 Ephesus, to Caesarea, to Jerusalem, and finally to Antioch, and that will complete his second missionary journey. At the very end of the chapter, we're gonna read of the start of his third and1:09 final planned missionary journey. Verse 1. After these things, Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth. So after preaching in Athens and contending with the the, the1:21 intellectual crowd, the philosophical, and the religious spirits that dominated that area, He he did actually his preaching led to some believing. He though then goes to Corinth. Now it's interesting that there's no1:33 record of a church being established there in Athens despite Paul's preaching of the gospel. Corinth now. Let's look at Corinth. Corinth was a very important city. It was a city of commerce, it was1:45 a city of culture, it was a cultural hub. The, this was the place of the Isthmian games that was, home to, Egyptian, Roman, and Greek gods, probably the most prominent being,1:57 Aphrodite, the love goddess, which had the big temple there, a hundred or a thousand temple, what they called virgins. They were prostitutes. I mean, it was history shows2:09 that Corinth was an incredibly immoral city. In fact, the very name Corinth was synonymous with immorality. We're gonna see when Paul writes to the Corinthians about this immorality.2:21 He addresses it because it had taken up residence in the church. Alright. But we'll get to that later. Verse 2. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife,2:32 Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome, and he came to them. Now this parenthetical statement about Claudius, the Roman Empire, is worth noting. Antisemitism and2:44 the intolerant toward Christians are not new. Roman historian, Suetonius, who in his book, The Life of Claudius, writes about the expulsion that was limited2:56 just to the Jewish population. Quote, since the Jews constantly made disturbances at the instigation of Chrestus, he expelled them from Rome. Now remember at the time,3:08 the early church was made up mostly of Jews. Now most scholars believe this reference to Chrestus to be Christ. Claudius didn't want this conflict between the3:20 Jews over Jesus to to trouble Rome, so he made them all leave. Verse 3. So because he was of the same trade, this is Paul again, he stayed with them and worked, for by occupation, they were3:31 tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogues every Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. Again, note how Paul engaged them. He engaged them with the word. Verse 5, when3:43 Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the spirit and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. Now there's a lot to read between the lines here, and we can also3:55 glean from third first Thessalonians. Silas and Paul come to him after a period of time bringing good news about the church that they had established in Thessalonica. That's the4:07 1 that Paul had to leave because of the turmoil. During this time, he was waiting. He didn't know what was going on. He didn't know you know, they didn't have email. They didn't have cell phones. They didn't have any way4:18 to communicate. And so they come, they're giving this glowing report, which, again, we're gonna read about in Thessalonians. And so he was encouraged by this. He had been going to the synagogue there, engaging, and I4:29 think may have become weary in the spiritual battle. But we see 2 things here in this chapter that energizes Paul. Number 1 is this report. It's not really unpacked here,4:41 but it will be. We won't get a chance to see it. It was hearing the fruit of his labor, that the the work that they had done in Thessalonica in establishing these churches paying off. People were coming to Christ. They4:53 were growing in the faith. And so that that that created this stir with him. Nothing is creates momentum like momentum. Alright? Nothing encourages5:05 rather like good reports that your work that there's a fruit coming from your labor. And then secondly, what we see energizing him in this chapter, and we're gonna see this in a moment, is a promise and encouragement5:17 from god. Verse 6. But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garment and said to them, your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. For now, I will go to the gentiles. So he5:29 feels compelled by the spirit. He gets this good report. He's energized to go and, and and preach more. The Jews reject him, and this is a turning point where he's now going to the gentiles. And he departed5:41 from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, 1 who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And5:50 many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized. So then this this whole cycle starts again for Paul. He preaches, some believe, and some begin to organize mobs. Again, reading between6:02 the lines here and drawing on experience, I think Paul is engaged in his own spiritual battle. The devil is trying to discourage him. You know, the devil uses discouragement. It's 1 of his best tools6:14 to discourage us from doing the work that God has called us to do. So, I mean, he's been opposed at nearly every stop since he began his first missionary journey. And here, I mean, he's been maligned,6:26 he's been stoned, he's been beaten, he's been left for dead, he's been jailed, and he's watched now the same thing happen to his colleagues, his companions. I mean, enough already. You know, Paul6:37 was by no means a, a timid or a weak soul. I mean, he's the kind of guy like having a foxhole with me. But here we see god speaking to him in a vision not to be afraid, but to6:49 speak and not keep silent. Why? What was going on with Paul? The the all speculation. But, I mean, he may have been asking, is my ministry effective?7:01 Is is it worth it? What if I just dial it back so that I don't offend anyone? And I'm I'm a bit tired of the rejection. Can I just fit in here in Corinth? I I think this, this is instructive for us.7:13 Paul was a man. And we see here now this encouraging word coming to Paul from the lord. Verse 9. Now the lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision. Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not7:25 keep silent. For I am with you, and no 1 will attack you to hurt you, for I have many people in this city. Now that had to be a news flash. In this wicked city consumed with sexual immorality and7:37 spiritual idolatry, God says, I have many people in this city. Who knows where you are, your workplace, your neighborhood, that the your school, that God has many people there.7:49 But oftentimes, it just takes 1 person to stand up and proclaim truth, to embolden others to do the same. Verse 11. And they continued there a year and 6 months, teaching the8:01 word of God among them. When Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews, with 1 accord, rose up against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat. Now I think part of God's encouragement8:12 was to prepare him for the opposition that was gonna come again, because now he has confidence. Because the lord said, I'm with you. Verse 13, saying this fellow persuades men to8:24 worship god contrary to the law. Now they're talking about the mosaic law, not the law of Rome. And when the and the proconsul was a Roman official. Alright? Verse 14. And when Paul was8:36 about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, if it were a matter of wrongdoing or wicked crimes, oh Jews, there would be reason why I should bear with you. But if it is a question of words and names in your own8:48 law, look to it yourselves, for I do not wanna be a judge of such matters. Now take note of this for just a moment because this is what the separation of church and state looks like. You know, Thomas8:59 Jefferson, that phrase that the supreme court pulled from the letter that Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptist as to there's this wall of separation. Well, here it is. It is the state not9:11 getting involved in the matters of the church, matters of faith and worship, which rightfully belong to the church. It's not the wall of separation is not keeping the church from influencing matters of the state, because9:23 when you change people's hearts and minds, you're going to influence. Having a biblical worldview is going to influence the operation of the state. Now this is what the separation of church and9:35 state should look like. Verse 16, and he drove them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took Sosanes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat, but Gallio took no notice9:47 of what he's saying. Now it's pretty tough church business meeting. Verse 18. So Paul still remained a good while, then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him.9:59 And he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a bow. Paul leaves, he then makes his way to Antioch completing his second missionary journey. Verse 19,10:11 then he came to Ephesus and left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they had asked him to stay a longer time with him, he did not consent, but took leave of them saying, I10:22 must, by all means, keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you, God willing. And he sailed from Ephesus. And when he had landed in Caesarea and gone up10:34 and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. We'll leave it there, and you can read the final part of this chapter as he begins his third and final planned missionary journey.10:46 Father, we thank you for your word, and, lord, we just thank you for the encouragement that you you gave to Paul. And and, lord, that encourages us to know that Paul needed encouragement. May we too,10:58 be bold in speaking your word. And, lord, realizing that you have many others right where you've placed us. We're not alone. There are 7000 that have not bowed the knee to Baal.11:10 So, father, give us encouragement, give us strength, give us boldness, and, lord, we thank you for your word. May that be the place that we engage people, not with our words, not with our ideas, not with our opinions,11:22 but with your word. We pray and ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining this morning. Again, let me remind you, if you're new to the reading program, it's a chronological journey through the11:34 Bible. So you're gonna need the plan because tomorrow, we're gonna be in Thessalonians. And then throughout Acts, we're going to see, some of Paul's letters inserted so you see them in the timeline, the11:46 chronological timeline. So you can find that at f r c dot o r g slash bible. Until next time, keep standing on the word.11:57 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just aIn this video 0:00 Paul's Second Missionary Journey: Encouragement in Corinth94K followers
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