- Acts 18:1-23
- God provides encouragement in many ways
When I’m weary…
- God provides my comfort (v1-8a)
- Paul was run out of every city and getting tired/discouraged?
- he entered Corinth alone, and it is not good to be alone
- Aquila and Priscilla becomes one of Paul’s greatest friends
- they were part of the Roman edict to leave, so they went to Corinth
- they did life together with Paul and had community and fellowship
- Gospel is all about relationship with Jesus!
- Christianity is not a solo sport
- Comfort through community
- Ecc 4:9-11
- if we feel alone, God didn’t intend that
- people often don’t see it, and we isolate ourselves in our loneliness
- pulling back from community perpetuates the feeling of loneliness!
- Comfort through camaraderie (v5)
- Silas and Timothy bring good news to Paul and lift his spirit
- Comfort through community
- Christianity is not a solo sport
- traditionally, Jews would shake the dust off their garments after visiting a pagan place, and before entering their own land again
- Paul dusted his garments, turning their own disbelief against them
- Paul was run out of every city and getting tired/discouraged?
- God promises my confidence (v8b-10)
- reminder that God is working through me for glory of His great name
- mini breakthroughs and victories are sometimes needed to lift our spirits
- 1 Cor 6:9; we see some of the people who were saved in v8
- there isn’t a person who is too far away to be saved by Jesus
- reminder that God needs to be working in me in order to be working through me (v9)
- 1 Thes 3:1; this piece was written while in Corinth
- we can put up a good front, relying on our own strengths and abilities to quench our fears…but this is futile
- we need to stop and see that there’s something God wants to fix
- anxiety and fear is reflecting our own insufficiency in fixing ourselves, as opposed to the peace found in letting God fix us
- Ps 56:3
- God is with us (v10)
- our God is always with us
- however, the specific promise that we won’t be harmed is reserved only to Paul and at that specific time…
- Acts 20:20-23
- God provides my calling (v11-23)
- Paul stayed in Corinth for 1 year 6 months
- God uses unbelieving proconsul Gallio to protect Paul, essentially saying that preaching Christianity wasn’t illegal at the time
- a lot of problems in our current countries and societies, but we’re still blessed to have freedom of speech to declare the Gospel
- but how many of us thank God for the freedom of speech and don’t step out in faith to preach/share?
- God is sovereign (v18-23)
- Nazarite vow
- abstain from drinking and haircut for a while, vowing to God his past blessings and future works; declaring God’s sovereignty
- Nazarite vow
- our weariness is battle for self control over life?
- as you submit to God, you find freedom, rest and life
- need daily reminder to surrender life AND to proclaim Christ to world around us
- your purpose is to serve and spread the Good News