Encouraging God's Servant
Acts 18:1-17
Acts Series Part 35
By Dave Redick

Paul knew firsthand what it means to be discouraged. Yet with God’s help he did not give in. He would go until his dying day as a dedicated servant of the gospel. Perhaps this illuminates his words in 1 Corinthians 10:13 that we mentioned earlier: “No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” Paul knew that of which he spoke.

Introduction 

The devil once had a garage sale. On the tables at the sale he placed all of the tools of his trade and made them available to anyone who might be willing to pay the price. There at the sale were all the well known tools – hatred, envy, malice, gossip, and lust – each one looking as evil as anyone might imagine considering all of the ruined lives they had produced. Over on a separate table, all by itself was a rather bland looking, unimpressive tool marked with a very high price. In fact, the price on this tool was higher than the prices on all the other tools combined. When asked why such a high price was on such an ordinary looking tool, Satan said that this was a tool that worked when all the others failed. Then he bent over and whispered the name of the tool. Do you know what it was? It was called “discouragement.”

 A seldom mentioned fact about ministry is that leaders among God’s people, perhaps even more than others, are subject to discouragement at times.  

Moses, the long-suffering leader of 1.5 to 3 million Israelites in the wilderness, showed his discouragement when the people steadily grumbled to him about their food. In exasperation he said to God: "I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. So if Thou art going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Thy sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness."[1]

Joshua, in the grip of discouragement, said to God after the stunning defeat of Israel at the tiny city of Ai: "Alas, O Lord God, why didst Thou ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan! "O Lord, what can I say since Israel has turned their back before their enemies? "For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land will hear of it, and they will surround us and cut off our name from the earth.[2] 

Elijah after Jezebel’s threats in the wake of the great victory on Mt. Carmel, said to God out of his deep discouragement: "It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers."[3] 

These were dark days for God’s leaders, when their humanity was overwhelmed by discouragement and they felt powerless and fearful, wanting to give up. And yet God delivered every one of them. 

When Paul arrived in Corinth in Acts 18 after leaving Athens on the second missionary journey, it appears that he was very discouraged and fearful. He wrote to the Corinthians five years later about this difficult time with these words in 1 Corinthians 2:1-3: “And when I came to you… I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling.” 

If you’ll think about our recent messages from the book of Acts you’ll remember some of the things that might have caused Paul to say that.

 After answering the Macedonian Call, Paul was beaten with rods and jailed in Philippi. He endured an earthquake while he was there. When he left Philippi and went to Thessalonica, after three weeks of successful preaching the Jews rebelled and started a riot. Paul and Silas barely escaped the mob with their lives. Next they went to Berea where again they made converts, but the same Jews that opposed them in Thessalonica came there also and stirred up a mob. Again, Paul barely escaped a life-threatening situation. When he came to Athens he was exhausted and all alone in a city entirely devoted to idol worship – one man against the effects of an evil enemy who had been at work for millennia. Against this stark idolatrous background, though he was understandably depleted mentally and physically, Paul preached in both the synagogue and the marketplace with only slight results. The philosophers of Athens called him an “idle babbler” and ridiculed his message. He left Athens with only a few converts made there. Then he came to Corinth – a city so wicked it even made Athens look good by comparison. Perhaps nowhere in Paul’s entire ministry did the truth written in 1 John 5:19 seem more believable: “The whole world lies in the power of the evil one.” It appears also that about this time Paul’s money ran out so he had to curtail his preaching, limiting it to weekend Sabbath meetings in the synagogue only. The rest of the week he made tents. Then he encountered resistance from the Jews at Corinth and it looked like the physical persecution would start up all over again.  

In the second Corinthian letter Paul would speak of his human frailty this way: “But we have this treasure in earthen vessels….”[4] By that he meant that God had placed His gospel in frail human beings, who were subject to weakness and inadequacy. Why? He continued with these words: “…that the surpassing greatness of the power may be of God and not from ourselves….”

We’re going to study Acts 18:1-17 today in our ongoing series called Acts of the Apostles. These are the verses that cover this difficult time in Paul’s life for which I dare say had not God intervened to help him, he might have given up altogether. But God did intervene and strengthen His servant, providing a real life occasion for a truth that Paul would also later write about to the Corinthians five years later: “God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, that you may be able to endure it.” So turn with me, please, to Acts 18, where we will see how God delivered His faithful servant. Perhaps we can learn how God might deliver the rest of us who are diligently trying to advance His kingdom. I’ve called the message, Encouraging God’s Servant. Let’s begin in Acts 18:1:  

After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working; for by trade they were tent-makers.  

While Luke’s report of this new acquaintance with Aquila and Priscilla seems quite by chance, Christians educated by the Bible ought to know that what looks like happenstance is often God’s providence which is always at work to bring about the ultimate good for His kingdom and His people. Six decades before this God used the census decree of a pagan king to move an entire empire so that the tiny family to whom Jesus would be born would relocate from their home in Nazareth to the minute hamlet of Bethlehem and the humble surroundings where the Savior of the World was to be born.[5] Here we see, I suspect, such providence in action again – God, in anticipation of a critical need, moving an Emperor to do something to benefit a key person working in His kingdom. I know it isn’t that simple. I know that the “manifold wisdom of God”[6] is far more complex than that. But I also know that God will move heaven and earth to support those who are faithful to Him.[7] This is clearly stated in 2 Chronicles 16:9: “For the eyes of the Lord move to and fro throughout the earth that He may strongly support those whose heart is completely His.” 

So I suggest firstly that God provided for His discouraged and fearful servant, the encouragement of: 

1. Special People

 The time Paul spent with this godly couple in Corinth would be remembered fondly later in his letter to the Romans with these words from Romans 16:3: “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, 4 who for my life risked their own necks….” We don’t know precisely what event or events Paul refers to here when he mentions their risking their lives for him, but from it we can glean that these were key people in his life at key times.

Don’t ever underestimate the help that good Christian friends can be in times of discouragement. It could be even now that you are in a low spot and God has provided the support you need through the help of godly Christian people. It’s one of His key provisions for us. Be aware of it. Don’t cut yourself off from it. 

There may be another aspect here of God’s support of Paul at this difficult time in his life, though this is mere speculation on my part. It appears that the reason for this tent-making interlude was that his support funds ran dry. It wouldn’t be until Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia with an offering for his support that he could resume his full time dedication to preaching. So in the meantime Paul worked with his hands – which in and of itself could have been God providing him a: 

2. Change of Pace

 I recall many years ago knowing a preacher who loved to cut wood on his day off. While I can think of few things I would less rather do than that, he told me that it was therapeutic for him – something he could do that didn’t involve the people pressure he carried all week and left him with a feeling of accomplishment, something that often eluded him in his ministry work. 

I heard a humorous story once where a struggling preacher was forced by lack of support to get a job outside the church. He went to work for a local funeral home. Some months later one of the church members asked him how he liked his new job. In a candid moment not normally characteristic of him, he responded that it was really quite rewarding. Now when he straightened people out, they stayed straightened! 

An English preacher of a century ago, writing to a bunch of wannabe preachers put it this way: “The kingdom comes not as we would [wish], the reverend name is not hallowed as we desire, and for this we must weep. How can we be otherwise than sorrowful, while men believe not our report, and the divine arm is not revealed? All mental work tends to weary and depress, for much study is a weariness of the flesh; but ours is more than mental work – it is heart work, the labour of our inmost soul. How often, on Lord’s-day evenings, do we feel as if life were completely washed out of us! After pouring out our souls over our congregations, we feel like empty earthen pitchers which a child might break.”[8] 

Paul, who experienced far more difficulty than most modern preachers, expressed this in 2 Corinthians 11:27-29: “I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure upon me of concern for all the churches. Who is weak without my being weak? Who is led into sin without my intense concern?” 

Sometimes necessary physical labor can provide a needed interlude for respite. (No, I’m not suggesting the church here stop supporting me so I can get hungry and be forced to find a suitable “respite,” though I can say from having it happen one time about 20 years ago that it did provide a change of perspective – a change of location.) Of course this discussion could be moot since Paul ended up working day and night to keep up his preaching. 

4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

He just couldn’t stop. Despite the recent persecution he experienced and the danger that going to the Jews again would present, he couldn’t turn his back on them without at least trying to reach them. Silas and Timothy brought a gift with them from the church at Philippi when they arrived from Macedonia.[9] That would be more encouragement from special people, wouldn’t it? All of us do so much better when we know we have supportive companions in the work. As soon as this happened Paul left off his tent-making and went back to preaching full time. But that again brought a backlash, as he must have anticipated. The exchange with the Jews was especially sharp, given Paul’s response to their rejection. 

6 And when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads! I am clean. From now on I shall go to the Gentiles."

 Paul would not cast the precious “pearls” of the gospel to “swine” who would “turn and tear him to pieces.” So from his perspective, it must have appeared to be starting up again. He preached the truth, the Jews resisted and blasphemed, and soon again would come the physical persecution that had driven him out of each city before. Who could blame him for being fearful? Would they disable him this time? Would they ultimately take his life? But I want you to notice, he didn’t run – at least not very far. He didn’t stop preaching. In fact, when you see where he went next you’ll know that Paul was no timid soul, though he was human, and being such, he was surely afraid.

 7 And he departed from there and went to the house of a certain man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.

 That must have infuriated the Jews! But it wasn’t the end.

8 And Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.

 Can you imagine the impact of that turn of events? The synagogue ruler becomes a Christian. And that earth shaking move cause many of the Corinthians to obey the gospel.  What could contain the anger of the Jews at that point? Paul was on another collision course with physical mistreatment. This time they might kill him. So again God intervened to provide for his embattled servant.

 9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city. "

 hese verses contain several additional ways in which God supported his faithful servant Paul. We’ll add them to what we’ve already seen. There was thirdly, a reminder of:

 3. The Lord’s Presence

 "Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you….

 Even the strongest among us sometimes wonders if God is truly with us when things seem to go badly and we perceive no deliverance from God. Of course the Lord had been with Paul all along, but that verification must have been immensely encouraging.

 By the way, God appeared to Paul on six separate occasions,[10] each one coming at a key point in his life. Does this mean that God will appear to you and me in a vision when we’re in trouble? He certainly can do so if He wishes. It has never happened to me before, though I have been encouraged in some of these other ways I’ve mentioned. Then again, I have never suffered like Paul suffered and have certainly not found myself in harm’s way nearly as much as he did. Perhaps if we wanted to take on the risks Paul did, Jesus would appear to us, too. Anyone want to take that up? Jesus appeared to Stephen in Acts 7 if you recall, but it was just before he died for the faith by stoning. It could be that we don’t perceive this kind of support more often because we don’t take the risks that would merit it. Then again, Paul was an apostle, and God did deal in special ways with the apostles.

 I will say this much for certain. Jesus has promised to be with all of those who “go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,” to the end of the age. So if we believe what He has told us we should know He is with us when we’re doing His will.

 Next we see that Paul received from the Lord a promise of:

 4. Divine Protection

 “…And no man will attack you in order to harm you….  

 Should we today expect this kind of protection? I would say only if the Lord has promised it to us specifically and directly, which He has not done in His written word. Not even Paul had this protection in perpetuity, since he was probably beheaded in Rome. Other great saints lost their lives without special protection as well. John the Baptist, the apostle James, Peter, and many others ultimately were martyred.

 For Paul’s time in Corinth however, he had God’s word that he wouldn’t be attacked in a way that would harm him.  

Also from these verses we see that Paul received an insight, at least regarding Corinth, into God’s:

5. Special Providence.

“…For I have many people in this city,” says the Lord in the vision.

Some wax eloquent on this phase, claiming that God had already decreed those who would be saved or lost in Corinth, without their opportunity to make a choice. I think that goes way over the line and states far more than is contained here in this simple phrase. Jesus is speaking in the potential sense here – there were many people living in Corinth who would accept and obey the gospel if given the opportunity. Yes, there is indication in Scripture that God was already involved in their lives, convicting them of sin according to the law written in their hearts.[11] But it remained for someone to preach the gospel and lead them to full obedience.[12] Paul would win some of them. In others he would plant the seed which others would harvest later, God behind it all causing the growth.[13]

No doubt there are still places today where God has been at work and as a result there are people who would respond to the gospel if given the chance. It is our job to provide the opportunity to them through our own sharing the message and our support of others who will do so.

11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

So God also provided for his special servant a:

6. Period of Peace.

We don’t know how long Paul was at Corinth altogether. He was there for a time before this vision, then for 18 months teaching and preaching without opposition after the vision. Then there was another failed attempt by the Jews to silence him before he ultimately moved on – a story, I must confess, I really like to read. The Jews in Corinth had a new Roman ruler – a man named Gallio – known for his sweet and pleasant personality. They figured they would try to manipulate him and get him to silence Paul, but the plot backfired on them.                                                

12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, "This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law." 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, "If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; 15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters." 16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat.  

Ah, how we wish that it were always so that those who oppose the gospel would get a bit of what they dish out! Actually there is more here than made it into Luke’s account. According to Gareth L. Reese in his commentary on Acts, “Gallio’s decision was a landmark…. It could be pointed to as a precedent for other Roman courts for the next ten or twelve years. Christianity would be allowed by the Romans as reigio licita – a permitted religion – until the official attitude changed after the burning of Rome in 64 AD.” 

17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. And Gallio was not concerned about any of these things.  

Expositors disagree on who did the beating here. The text makes it sound like the Jews did it. If that’s the case, perhaps what we have here is Sosthenes hatching the plot and perhaps encouraging the Jews to try this stunt, then when it backfired, they beat him as a kind of “We told you so.”  But why would they beat their own synagogue leader, unless perhaps there is something here where some of them thought it foolish to bring this up to their ruler? Others say the soldiers who cleared the court did the beating. Whoever it was, there is an interesting possibility here. As we’ve seen, the synagogue leader’s name was Sosthenes. While that was a fairly common Jewish name at the time, it is tempting to believe that this is the same Sosthenes mentioned as an associate of Paul five years later when the first Corinthian letter was written. There we read in the opening salutation: “Paul, called as an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother, 2 to the church of God which is at Corinth….” It isn’t hard to imagine that the beating Sosthenes took on this occasion may have started him on the way to becoming a Christian.  

Conclusion

 Let me suggest three things we might take away from this portion of Scripture: 

God bless you as you consider these things.