Well, good morning, Englewood. Take your Bibles, if you will,
and turn to Acts Chapter 15. For those who are guests this
morning, let me make just a couple of words of announcement
to you. And also just to let you know
that we're in the middle of our missions month.
So I feel like almost that I'm giving a travel log this
morning, but I really do want us to see the entirety of a
missionary journey so that we can understand from beginning to
end what all Paul went through. There are many times that we
would take a bit or a piece of it, but this morning we're going
to try to approach this a different way later this month.
We've got a couple of special guests coming on the 23rd and
30th. You don't want to miss these
guys. These are dear friends of mine.
And one of them was a radical Muslim who was led to Christ.
It became a pastor. Both of these men have been
arrested for their faith, which is an interesting story.
And they want to testify. And so the other one is, I
believe he's still 93. He's a legend of our
international mission service and he and I have served much
together. So you're going to want to,
you're not going to miss these guys.
You want to be here these last, the last two Sundays of the
month for sure. Also, you can still sign up for
2026 mission trips. There's a poster if you go out
the worship center, go right, you'll see two glass display
cases. There's a poster that has all
the QR codes on one poster now and you can still sign up.
We've had well over 200 people expressed interest in our
mission trips for 2026 and my hope is to see about 300.
So that so keep on signing up so that we're and we're going to
have the dates for those things revealed here in the next week
or so. So that'll help you as well.
So it's not too late. You're not, you're not
committing yourself to anything by signing up.
You're just saying I want to know more.
So we appreciate you doing that. And then also just the members,
forgive me for a moment. Guess budgets and happy birthday
Jesus offering information and goals will be coming your way
here very soon. And I'm actually we're going to
do something a little different this year, which shouldn't
surprise you. I'm here so things are always a
little different. But on December 7th, that Sunday
night at six, we're going to have a special town hall
meeting. I want to talk about the
strategy for stewardship, why certain decisions were made, and
also talk about the future of giving and how we want to give
to the and support the general budget.
I need to start teaching you about several important things
that I've been told you haven't heard as much about that I wish
you had. And that one of those things is
the cooperative program whereby just giving to our general
budget, you're supporting 10s of thousands of missionaries all
around the world as well as disaster relief, theological
education. It's a big deal.
Some of you know that very well. Some of you don't know anything
that I just said. And so we'll be talking more
about that as well as who Lottie Moon and Annie Armstrong are and
some other things. So I'm going to be talking about
our strategy for stewardship for 2026.
You'll want to come and be a part of that.
I'm also just excited the fact that we have so much to cover
today. So so let's get started.
They told me that with this is a record number of slides in
recent years. So so buckle up.
We'll be done by 5. Hey, I got I got the first
service out sort of on time. Even I did better this week than
last week. So this see how this goes.
So last week again, we're in we're in our missions month.
If you're, if you're a guest, thank you so much for being
here. And I really do want to still
look at this overall trip. So last week we left Paul and
Barnabas back in Antioch. They were back from the first
trip and they were teaching and preaching and reporting to the
home church what was going on. They some opposition arise and
some questions arise because Gentiles were being saved and
some of the Jewish background believers thought, well, these
people need to become Jewish first before they can become
Christians. So they actually had to send
folks back to Jerusalem to the mother church to talk to the
apostles, including James, the brother of Jesus, to kind of
settle whether or not a person who's a non Jew can become a
Christian directly or they have to become a Jewish person first.
It was a big deal in those days and and and they wrote a letter
stating the results. And So what was exciting is as
they affirm salvation by grace through faith and that you don't
have to be Jewish first at a couple of things, they asked the
Gentile people and their Pagan backgrounds to observe.
And so this is really a big deal.
You might not think it's a big deal, but if you're a believer
and you're not from a Jewish background, this is a big deal.
And so I'm thankful for this. But there so there was joy and
excitement as they came back to Antioch and they report this and
now they recognize it's time for us to go and continue to go
fulfil the Great Commission. And so we want to participate in
missions with urgency and sacrifice.
One of our essentials of discipleship.
Acts chapter 13, verse 35. Buckle up, here we go.
So but Paul and Barnabas remained in Antioch teaching and
preaching the word of the Lord with many others also.
And after some days, Paul said to Barnabas, let us return and
visit the brothers in every city where we proclaim the word of
the Lord and see how they are. So in other words, let's go
back, retrace our steps from the first trip and go see everybody
and, and, and talk about. So today what we're really
talking about is strengthening the church.
How can we strengthen the church because church planting is not
simply about starting the church.
Church planting is also how do you nurture that new church.
In fact, that's what my doctoral dissertation is about, not about
how do you plan it, but then what Jonathan Taylor talking
about and I talking about those kinds of things over in Tarboro.
So here's Paul and Barnabas. They're like family.
They're best buddies. They've been colleagues, They've
been been Co workers on the trips and it's time to plan
their next mission trip. I mean, how exciting.
Everything's going well. What in the world could possibly
go wrong? Verse 37 Now Barnabas wanted to
take with them John called Mark, but Paul thought best not to
take with them one who had withdrawn from them and
Pamphylia, and had not gone with with them to the work.
And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they
separated from each other. Barnabas took Mark with him and
sailed to Cypress. But Paul chose Silas and
departed, having been commended by the brothers to the grace of
the Lord. And he went through Syria and
Cilicia strengthening the churches.
So to fill to fulfill God's mission to strengthen the
churches, sometimes change might be necessary.
So the first thing we're going to see is we're going to see a
new strategies defined. And it was born out of crisis.
So John Mark Bonner, Bruce's cousin, went with him on the
first trip for a while when things got tough, he ran home
and and kind of abandoned the the mission.
And it was not perceived in a positive way by Paul.
And so Paul knew that they were going to go back to some of the
same difficult areas where they've been persecuted before.
And so could a man who abandoned the mission the first time be
trusted to hang in there if he if they brought him again?
But Barnabas, the encourager, obviously, and also the
relative, believed in giving Mark a second chance.
For Paul, the mission was too great or too important to risk.
For Barnabas, the people were too important to risk.
In fact, in verse 37, that verb wanted different translation.
I have a different verb there. It actually means that Barnabas
won't let it go. He keeps bringing it up.
You ever had an argument or a conversation with that person?
They just won't let it go. That's what's going on.
All right. So eventually it leads to a
sharp disagreement. That's a passionate emotional
argument with one another. In fact, there's a medical term
related to this wording that refers to the spasms you have
during a seizure. So in other words, they're
they're spazzing each other out. And so the only other time this
word's used is in Hebrews 10, when we're told in a positive
way to provoke one another to good works.
So we're actually to, to, to seize one another and provoke
one another to actually do the right things.
And so I'm going to cause all of y'all to have a spasm before
this one's over. So, so it might not have been
the best way to handle it. We see these two brothers having
a sharp disagreement. But it's also interesting
because no sin is ever indicated.
And so sometimes not all agreements are one person being
right and another person being wrong.
Sometimes there can be strong different opinions.
So your heart kind of goes with Barnabas.
Your head might kind of go with Paul.
And and so finding an objective, respectful, patient Ave. of
communication that actually results in compromise or
agreement is so very rare in our culture today.
So rare in our current culture where it's more normal to lash
out in anger, lack of trust, poor motive, attribution and
blame. And sometimes that's even true
in the church. And so sometimes Christian
brothers have to go in separate directions.
Sometimes that happens for a while.
And, and, and, and, and their separation and how they
separated actually mattered. So the way they split up
mattered. It can leave scars.
It can leave heartache. It can leave bad testimonies.
And so God uses these two missionary teams instead of 1.
And he blesses both of them. And then later on we see
reconciliation. Paul even uses the ministry of
Barnabas as an illustration to the Corinthians.
Later. Listen to 1st Corinthians 9 it
says. Or is it only Barnabas and I who
have no right to refrain from working for a living?
No words. Barnabas is out there getting
after it. And Paul later famously names
Mark as a useful member of his team.
He does it in Philemon 24, but also in Colossians chapter 4,
where he where he says, Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner,
greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas, concerning whom you
have received instructions. If he comes to you, welcome him,
or even in Second Timothy 4. Luke alone is with me.
Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is very useful to me for
ministry. So we see this reconciliation
taking place later. In fact, most scholars believe
that Mark becomes very close to Peter and that the Holy Spirit
uses Mark to write the Gospel of Mark based upon the experiences
of the apostle Peter and Jesus. And so we see how useful this
becomes. So second chances are amazingly
healing in the hands of God's Amazing Grace.
And so instead Silas, who's a leader from Jerusalem, they met
when they went back there to deal with that issue and he
followed them back to Antioch. So Silas goes with Paul and
they're sent out to strengthen the churches.
Acts 16, verse one. Paul also came also to Derby
into Lystra, and a disciple was there named Timothy, the son of
a Jewish woman who was a believer, but his father was a
Greek and he was well spoken of by the brothers at Lystra and
Iconium. Paul wanted Timothy to accompany
him, and he took him and circumcised him because of the
Jews who were in those places, for they all knew that his
father was a Greek. As they went on their way
through the cities, they delivered to them for observance
the decisions that had been reached by the apostles and
elders who were in Jerusalem. So the churches were
strengthened in the faith and they increased in numbers daily.
So the second thing we just see is as the mission continues,
more people are converted, more people are discipled.
That's what we want to see. So I'm so thankful for the
testimony of baptism this morning.
I'm so thankful for the way God continues to bless people and,
and, and to him be the glory. But it's just fascinating to
watch. We've already baptized almost
twice as many people as you did last year, and so it's very
exciting just to see people being led to the Lord and LED to
decision and LED to commitment. I also want you to know we have
over 40% more people in Connect groups.
You didn't think I'd fit that in today, did you?
We have over 40% more people in Connect groups than we did just
six months ago. And so I just want you to
understand that people are are being converted, people are
being discipled, right? I'm just excited about that and
just give God all the credit for that.
And so Paul had Timothy circumcised.
This was just a pragmatic contextualization issue so that
he would be welcomed in the synagogues, which was going to
be their their place to preach often because rabbinic law
taught that if a person had a Jewish mother and a Greek
father, he was still considered Jewish.
And so Timothy would have been an offence to the Jews that they
just didn't need to deal with. So they share the good news
about Gentiles becoming Christians.
And then that last verse, the churches grow quantity or
qualitatively. First they grow qualitatively,
they're strengthened in the faith, and then they also grow
quantitatively. The word strength in there is
often used for a, a, a, a young boy who's becoming a man and
he's turning baby fat into muscle.
That's what that word means. It's a interesting word.
In it, I'm turning my baby fat into muscle.
Now, as you get older in life, you kind of go the other
direction, but in but as a child, as a child, this is what
happens. So they're being strengthened
and the verbs are literally they are or were being strengthened
and they were increasing. In other words, it never, it
wasn't stopping. It wasn't an event.
This was a process. It was never ending.
This is continuous, continuously taking place.
And that's what we want to see. And you'll see this.
They're continuing to grow deeper and they're then they
continue to grow larger. And that's the proper order.
We always want that to be the proper order.
We've got to grow in quality. We've got to grow in our depth
of discipleship. Let that overflow into the
quantitative, evangelistic, and missions growth that we hope
that we'll see. Look at verse 6.
And they went to the region, region of Phrygia and Galatia,
having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the Word in
Asia. And when they had come up to
Missia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of
Jesus did not allow them. So passing by Missia, they went
down to Troas. The third thing you need to see
is this. Sometimes God says no.
See, Paul wanted to go one way. He wanted to go deeper into
Asia, but the Holy Spirit forbid him and and the word means to be
cut off. Like think about chopping your
hair off. The Holy Spirit cuts him off,
clips him. And they walked so closely with
God, they were able to perceive this from the Lord and they
recognize God's sovereignty and they obey him.
And, and, and you got to just follow this for a minute.
Sometimes God wants us to stop doing something or to do
something in a new and different way.
When God closes the door we wanted to enter and we when we
don't get to do what we want to do the way we want to do it, we
often just see this as a bad thing, when in fact it might be
Him redirecting our lives in the best possible way and the way
that's truly needed. And that's when our faith needs
to be strong. That's when we need to stand
with Him, believe God is in control, believe God knows
better. Trust in God because He has
something better planned for us than we could have ever planned,
even when it doesn't seem that way.
And that's exactly the time to trust in Him.
So they go to Troas. Now, you just got to understand
Troas is a very unremarkable place on the edge of the ocean.
I mean, it's kind of the dead end.
It's kind of like a nowhere place.
And so they they find themselves in this dead end place.
And you would think, well, what in the world are we doing here?
But sometimes in life, when you think you've reached a dead end,
just hang on, because God might just have another door.
He's waiting to swing wide open, right?
And in those moments of unclear direction, in those moments of
fear, in those moments of disappointment, hang on because
he might just be bringing you to the remarkable.
So always remember, before God can use us, he might have to
stop us. He might have to change us.
William Carey wanted to go to Polynesia.
The great missionary wanted to go to Polynesia, but was sent to
India. David Livingstone, another great
missionary, he wanted to go to China, but he was sent to
Africa. Both of them making incredible
missions, history. So he got to open and close
opportunities according to his timing, and his timing is always
perfect. G Campbell Morgan once wrote,
Oh, to go not where I may choose even by my love of the Lord, but
where I am driven by the Lord's command.
Circumstances of difficulty are opportunities for faith.
So wait upon the Lord to receive the remarkable.
Just watch. Look at verse 9.
And a vision appeared. So you, you need a vision from
the Lord. You need directions from the
Lord. Sometimes he might have to stop
you in your tracks. Sometimes he might have to put
you in a place you don't want to be in first in order to reveal
to you what you're supposed to do next.
And a vision appeared to Paul in the night.
A man of Macedonia was standing there urging him and saying,
come over to Macedonia and help us.
And what Paul had seen the vision.
Immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that
God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
So the fourth thing you need to see is that the new visions
clarified. But before we can see the new
vision, sometimes he's got to stop the other one.
And so they must hear the gospel in Macedonia.
That's why we had to go through this.
That's why we ended up here. So so this really isn't about
us. It's about the Holy Spirit and
what he wants to do through US and in US and because of us.
And they went immediately. They were excited to get after
it. They were excited to do the will
of God. In fact, that word concluding
that God had called us. The word concluding means to put
together a jigsaw puzzle. I don't know about you all, but
but almost every Christmas my sweet wife and daughter buy one
of those thousand piece jigsaw puzzle things.
I want to throw them out the window.
I have. I have zero.
I mean zero. I mean you just got to
understand less than 0 tolerance for such things.
They're over there figuring out where the edges are and what why
that puppy looks just like the next puppy and the next puppy
and the next puppy. Talk about spasms.
But that's what that word means. So the picture becomes clear.
You got to go to Macedonia and you got to go now.
So they end up in a city. You'll know this name.
They end up in Philippi. And so in verse 13, and on the
Sabbath day, we went outside the gate to the Riverside where we
were, where we suppose there was a place of prayer.
And we sat down and spoke to the women who had come, who had come
over. And one who heard us was a woman
named Lydia from the city of Theatyra, a seller of purple
goods, who was a worshipper of God.
The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by
Paul. And after she was baptized and
her household as well, she urged us, saying, If you have judged
me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.
And she prevailed upon us. Now, Philippi was settled by a
lot of Romans and a lot of former Roman military people.
It was an important economic and cultural place.
But they didn't have a synagogue.
And so whenever there was a city didn't have a synagogue, the
Jewish people, if they were there, would often meet in a
park or by the river or someplace that was easy to find.
And so that's what they're doing.
They're gathering in this place for teaching and prayer and so
people. So Paul shared with these
ladies, many of them were probably wives of Romans at this
point, frankly, including Lydia who imported this.
Expensive purple dye or cloth. That purple dye or cloth was
worth its weight in gold. So she was doing really well and
she saved. The Bible says the Lord opens
her heart and that's what He has to do.
The Holy Spirit has to illuminate your heart in order
to be saved. Some of you here this morning
might need that to happen right now.
You may have friends that you know out in this community that
you need that to happen to them. The good verse 16 as we were
going to the place of prayer, see everything ought to be going
great now people are being saved, everything's going along.
Guess what happens? We were met by a slave girl who
had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by
fortune telling. She followed Paul and us crying
out these men are servants of the most high God who proclaimed
to you the way of salvation and this she kept doing for many
days. This next part's always funny to
me. Paul, having become greatly
annoyed, turned and said to the Spirit, I command you in the
name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.
And it came out that very hour. So the fifth thing we need to
see is whenever the gospel is successful, the enemy is going
to attack. But let me tell you something,
friends, the enemy will lose. I've read the book.
And So what we see is as they ministered, the enemy shows up.
He always shows up. These superstition Romans love
these fortune tellers. They used them for war and they
used them for business. They love them.
This girl is, bless her heart, as demon possessed.
But it's also interesting because the demon knows who they
are, keeps following them, keeps shouting out.
And so Paul finally had had enough and he cast a demon out.
It's always interesting to me because demons have no trouble
believing who Jesus is, and demons have no trouble obeying
immediately the commands of Christ.
It's always interesting. Demons do that.
Men have trouble with that. Sometimes demons have a lot
better theology than we do. Verse 19 But when her owner saw
that their hope again was was gone, they seized Paul and Silas
and dragged them into the marketplace before the rulers.
And when they had brought them to the magistrates, they said,
These men are Jews, and they are disturbing our city.
They have to take customs that are not lawful for us Romans to
accept our practice. The crowd joined in attacking
them, and the magistrates tore the garments off them and gave
orders to beat them with rods. And when they had inflicted many
blows upon them, they threw them into prison, ordering the jailer
to keep them safely. Having received this order, he
put them into the inner prison and fastened their feet in the
stocks. Now seeing their business run,
they had them arrested. And since they couldn't bring
honest charges against them, they accused them of practices
that were dangerous to their belief system.
This, this story ought to start sounding familiar.
This story ought to sound familiar to our friends that we
know. And so, so a word used in verses
22 means they could have caused a riot.
So a mob. And they beat them, and they
would beat them with these big wooden rods.
That's what they used, and then they lock them up in prison, and
the inner prison place them in stocks again.
This should have been the end of them.
So much for the missionaries. Poor old Paul and Silas, We
never knew what happened to you. Verse 25 about midnight, Paul
and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God again.
This ought to sound pretty familiar.
And the prisoners were listening to them.
And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the
foundations of the prison were shaken.
And immediately all the doors were opened and everyone's bonds
were unfastened. And when the jailer woke and saw
that the prison doors were open, he drew a sword and was about to
kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped.
But Paul cried with a loud voice.
Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.
And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling
with fear, he fell down before Paul and Silas.
Then he brought them out and said, Sirs, what must I do to be
saved? And they said, Believe in the
Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.
And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were
in his house. And he took them the same hour
of the night and washed their wounds.
And he was baptized at once, he and all his family.
Then he brought them up into his house and set food before them.
And he rejoiced along with his entire household that he
believed in God. Now, listen, you got to really
put yourself in this spot for a second.
These guys are all bruised and battered.
They just been beaten with wooden rods.
I mean, it would have been so easy for Paul to say, see, God
told you we should have gone to Asia.
This can't be right. I obey.
I do everything you tell me, and this is what I get.
But instead, they prayed, they praised, they sang, they
testified to God and to the other prisoners.
It ought to remind you of our friends.
And right when you think you have reached a dead end, hang
on, because God might just have a door.
He's ready to swing wide open when there are no options.
You think you're all shackled up in your confusion, your fear,
your doubt, your unbelief, your unclear direction, your
disappointments. Hang on, cuz he might just be
shaking out the remarkable. The foundation of your prison
can be shaken. Locked doors can swing open.
Chains that have bound fall off. That is our sovereign, gracious
God of deliverance. Paul says we're all here.
We're all here. The other prisoners had
witnessed all this too. Don't forget that.
They saw all this. They they saw what was going on.
Sirs, what must I do to be saved?
The most vital question you'll ever ask.
Some of you in this room might need to ask that question right
now. What do I need to do to be
really saved? What do I need to do to really
trust in Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior?
Because the only answer is Jesus.
So they followed up with discipleship.
The whole family saved. The whole family is baptized.
It's interesting. They start the night as
prisoners and end up the night in fellowship as brothers and
sisters in Christ. Only by God's remarkable
conquering grace can something like that happen.
Look at verse 35. But when it was day, the
magistrates sent the police saying, let those men go.
And the jailer reported these words to Paul, saying, the
magistrates have sent to let you go, therefore come out now and
go in peace. But Paul said to them, They've
beaten us publicly uncondemned men who are Roman citizens and
have thrown us into prison. And do they now throw us out
secretly? No, let them come themselves and
take us out. The police reported these words
to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that
they were Roman citizens, so they came and apologized to
them, and they took them out and asked them to leave the city so
that they went out of the prison and they visited Lydia.
And when they had seen the brothers, they encouraged them
and departed. Paul used this opportunity to
show them their own wrong, that they had violated their own
laws. And he also did this to protect
the believers that they'd leave behind when they left because
they wanted to strengthen those believers, which they did before
leaving. My suggestion to those of you
who understand the story that's going on with our friends
overseas is that before you go to bed tonight, pray.
And when you wake up in the morning, pray because the timing
at that point of what they're facing in there tomorrow will be
about right. And my prayer is, is it before
it's over? They owe our friends an apology.
Acts chapter 17, verse one. Now when they had passed through
Amphibolis and Apple, that's hard to say by the way, and
Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a
synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his
custom, And on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from
the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary
for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying
This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.
And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as as
did a great many of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the
leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and
taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set
the city in an uproar, and attacked the House of Jason,
seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and
some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting.
These men who have turned the world upside down have come here
also and Jason has received them and they are all acting against
the decrees of Caesar, saying that there's another king Jesus.
And the people in the city authorities were disturbed when
they heard these things. And when they had taken taken
money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
Here's what's funny or interesting.
So Paul, who had been beaten by these wooden rods, thrown in
jail, didn't sleep, basically walked about 100 miles over the
next three days. Now it makes me wonder, how
enthusiastic am I about God's mission?
What trip would I go on? How far would I travel to?
What links would I go to fulfill the Great Commission, to
participate in missions with urgency and sacrifice?
So Paul's led the Thessalonica. You ought to know some of you,
that city. He'll write to them later.
He follows his normal pattern, preaches in the synagogue for
several weeks. He reasoned with them, explained
to them and demonstrated the gospel.
People believed. They become the the nucleus of
that church that he'll write later.
Now, others don't believe because that's always the case.
There's always going to be those who don't, who don't believe.
And so they gathered thugs. It says from the rabble.
Your translation might say from the market.
So they get thugs from the market to come cause trouble,
but they couldn't find Paul. So they drag us hosts out in
front of the local leaders and her accusations at them and and
this great line, these men who have turned the world upside
down have come here also. And since Paul and his team
weren't there, they could only charge bail or a bond and let
them go. Look at verse 10.
Their brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to
Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish
synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble
than those in Thessalonica, and they received the word with all
eagerness. Examine the examining the
Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
And many of them therefore believe with not a few Greek
women of high standing as well as men.
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the
word of God was proclaimed by Paul Berea also, they came there
too, agitating and stirring up the crowds.
And then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his
way to the sea. But Silas and Timothy remained
there, and those who conducted Paul brought him as far as
Athens. And after receiving a command
for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they
departed. So they once again, normal
pattern, they're preaching in a synagogue, they listen.
These people are listening. They're more noble.
The word can kind of mean a higher class.
They're more noble. They're not just listening,
they're actually cross checking. They're making sure that what
these people are teaching are true.
You need to do that. Don't just listen.
Study the word, understand the word for yourself.
In fact, in the upcoming podcast that we're doing and our midweek
study in January, we're going to start talking about how do we
engage the Bible? How can I have the best personal
Bible study? How can I teach others what the
Bible says? Doctor Danny Aiken is going to
join us on some podcast to help us with this, but we're also
going to be teaching this in our midweek time.
Now you need to come this Wednesday night in our personal
evangelism series. This Wednesday night is that
turning point where we lead that that conversation to Christ.
This is the big deal for a lot of people.
Be here Wednesday night with hundreds of other people.
So many people believed, including these prominent
citizens. But the enemy can't lose a
struggle that easily, and the Thessalonians can show up to
cause trouble. So Paul heads on while Silas and
Timothy actually stay put to face him, to defend the church,
to, to deal with the opposition's.
And God helps his people to conquer fears, to stand, to
serve. Because God wins and the enemy
loses. Always, always.
Look at verse 16. Now, while Paul was waiting for
them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw
that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue
with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace
every day with those who happen to be there.
The sixth thing I want us to see is that that darkness must be
confronted. We can't just sit back in our
world today. We've got to confront the
darkness. Paul was in the very epicenter
of Greek culture and Greek mythology and Pagan worship.
It was an ancient place of paganism, and it burdened him,
it provoked him, it agitated him when he saw that around him.
It's been said in history that in Athens it was easier to meet
a God than it was a person. They had more statues in Athens
than all the rest of Greece combined.
You couldn't, you couldn't round a corner without a temple,
without seeing a Pagan God. And so as Paul sees that he's
provoked. This translation says he's
deeply distressed. He has a an emotional response
to what he sees. When you look at the world
around you and you look at your city, when you look at your
neighborhood, are you provoked by the darkness?
Does it burden you? Are you grieved by the darkness
that swirls around us? Someone, us, we must take a
stand. So once again goes to the
synagogue. He also goes to the market,
which is the center of community activity.
Look at verse 18. And some of the Epicurean and
Stoic philosophers also conversed with him.
And some said, what does this babbler wish to say?
Others said he seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities
because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection.
And they took him and brought him to the Erapagus, saying, May
we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
So Athens was not only the center of idolatry, but Athens
is also the center of Greek mythology and philosophy.
And the philosophers didn't actually believe in the old
system anymore. They felt like the, the old gods
were failing. They felt like the gods were too
distant or some of them thought they were too holy.
They, they, they had no interaction with humanity
anymore. So they were hopeless and they
were lost and, and no, and no matter what their own self
concepts, no matter how they might present themselves as
being intellectually elite, they were lost in their own
brilliance and sophistication. So they call Paul a babbler.
That word means a seed picker. And what it means is a person
who can't even pick the right seeds.
In other words, they they mix their seeds up.
And so when they plant you, you have radish, corn and you have
cucumber, cucumber, okra, everything's all mixed up.
And so he's mixing the seeds. So in other words, he's
confusing, he's not logical. And they bring him to a council
that would hear new teachers and kind of judge whether they ought
to be censored or listened to. So Paul presents to them in a
very lengthy sermon. He presents to them the
judeo-christian worldview. But then he also goes right to
the gospel and he contextualizes the message to his audience.
And, and, and it's very important.
He takes their familiar, what they're familiar with, and he
takes them to the unfamiliar. He starts with what they would
understand in their philosophy, takes them to the gospel.
That would be brand new to them and that's what we're talking
about doing. That's what you need to do this
mid this, this Wednesday night, we're going to come and talk
about how do I take my neighbor from something very familiar to
them, but lead them in a conversation to the gospel.
Very important time that you need to be here.
Look at verse 29. Being then God's offspring, we
ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or
silver or stone and image formed by the art and imagination of
man. The times of ignorance God
overlooked, but now He commands all people everywhere to repent,
because he is fixed today on which he will judge the world
and righteousness by a man whom he has appointed.
And of this he has given assurance to all by raising him
from the dead. So he zeroes in on Jesus.
So a God that cannot be seen was hard for these Greeks to
understand. I mean, everywhere you look,
there's a statue. Everywhere there's a look,
there's an image. So an unseen God that you can't
see, something like that was very weird to them, and it's
weird to our world today. Our world is just as spiritually
blind as these people were. They're blind to the gospel and
they're blind because they can't see God, so to speak.
So we need to understand them. We need to help them the best
way we can to move to a place where they can understand and
see God with the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look at verse 32. Now when they heard the
resurrection of the of the dead, they some mocked, but others
said we will hear you again about this.
So Paul went out from their midst, but some men joined him
and believed among whom also were Dionysius the the Arapogite
and a woman named Damaris and others with him.
So the idea of the resurrection was just too much for him, but
God still saves. You never know what God will do
when this story is shared honestly, when his story is
shared faithfully with people. So let's wrap this up by going
to chapter 18 verse one. After this, Paul left Athens and
went to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila and a native of
Pontius, recently come recently come from Italy with his wife
Priscilla. Because Claudius had commanded
all the Jews to leave Rome and he went to see them, and because
he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for
they were tent makers by trade. And he reasoned in the
synagogue's every Sabbath and tried to persuade Jews and
Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived
from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word
testifying to the Jews that that the Christ was Jesus.
And when they had opposed and reviled him, he shook out his
garments and said, your blood be on our on your own heads.
I am innocent. From now on I will go to the
Gentiles. So the next thing we've got to
see is that God's mission still must compel us.
He travels to Corinth, now again a city you would recognize which
which again is full of Roman culture and worship.
In fact, Corinth Corinth had a well known reputation in the
ancient world for its immorality.
They actually made a verb out of it.
To Corinthianize was to be immoral.
It had a horrible reputation. So Paul meets this tent making
couple who become dear friends of his set up shop shop and once
again they're going to the synagogue.
Paul was compelled by the Spirit to preach the gospel.
He could not do this and and and was even rejected at times.
And so he would move on to those who were more receptive.
Look at verse 7. And he left there and went to
the House of a man named named Tidius Justice, a worshipper of
God. His house was next door to the
synagogue. Now you see that he leaves the
synagogue, doesn't go very far, just goes next door.
And 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. And the Lord said to Paul one
night in a vision, do not be afraid, but go on speaking and
do not be silent, 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. And he stayed a year and six
months teaching the word of God among them.
Listen to how God reassures him to keep on preaching.
I mean, it's empowering to be compelled by God to share his
word. I have many people in this city.
I believe that about ours. I believe that about our area.
He already knew how many would be saved.
He knows how many are going to be saved here too.
So Paul stays there longer than he'd stayed anywhere else so
far. And the gospel succeeding.
So one last time, if the gospel succeeding, guess what?
The enemy is going to step up. Verse 12 But when Gallio, who
was pro counsel of Achaia, the Jews made a united attack on
Paul and brought before and brought him before the tribunal,
saying, This man is persuading people to worship God contrary
to the law. But when Paul was about to open
his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, If it were a matter of
wrongdoing or vicious crime or Jews, I would have a reason to
accept your complaint. But since it's a matter of of
questions about words and names in your own law, see to it
yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these
things. And he drove them from the
tribunal. And they all see.
So they all see Sothanes, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat
him in front of the tribunal. But Gallio paid no attention to
any of this. So they dragged Paul in front of
this Roman leader who could care less.
He could care less about any of it.
He didn't want to get involved in their religious squabbles and
so Paul's about to speak, but the Roman leader cuts him off
and instead they turn on the Jewish leaders for causing such
trouble and they beat this guy. It's interesting because later
Paul mentions a sophones in his greeting to the church in
Corinth. I don't know if it's the same
guy or not, but if it is, it'd be remarkable.
He goes from being the accuser and the beaten leader of the
synagogue to a brother in Christ, if that's who it is.
Well, let's wrap this up, verse 18.
After this Paul stayed many days longer and then took leave of
the brothers and set sail for Syria.
And with him Priscilla and Aquila at Syncrea.
He had he had cut his hair for he was under a vow.
And they came to Ephesus and he left them there.
But he himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the
Jews. When they asked him to stay for
a longer period, he declined. But on taking leave of them he
said, I will return to you if God wills.
And he set sail from Ephesus. When he had landed at Caesarea,
he went up and greeted the church and then went down to
Antioch. And the last thing we see is
simply this. The mission continues.
It was time to go home. It was time to report.
So he takes a Nazaretic vow and cuts his hair, which is just a
pledge of full time service in this work of missions to the
Gentiles. They stopped in Ephesus, another
well known place. God saw God work in the
synagogue and and then he actually goes to Jerusalem
before he goes home and he sees the apostles and greets them
there too before he heads on home.
And the question as we talk about this story, I know it was
a long thing and I know it might be complicated to you, but I
wanted you to one time just to see it as a whole, easy to go
back and pick it apart. My concern is we might not
understand context, but to understand this as a whole and
to recognize what all Paul, Barnabas, Silas, Timothy, all
these people went through. How flexible are you?
How flexible would you be in following God's mission?
Is your faith strong enough to serve Him and persevere no
matter what? Would you praise Him even in the
hard times? Would you sing praises to Him at
midnight in a jail cell? Will you praise Him no matter
what happens to you? Are you provoked by, are you
burdened by the darkness of this world around you?
Will you contextualize and share the gospel to this world?
Listen, I believe with all my heart God is opening new,
remarkable doors to US. One of the reason we're going to
go to some new places in 2026 is because of this.
And we're going to see God work in new places, in new ways, as
well as some of the old ones. But it's time for us to gather
as one. We've got to do this together as
a church. A writer once said the reason
mountain climbers are tied together is to keep the sane
ones from going home. We got a mountain of grace
behind us. We got a mountain of mission
ahead of us. We got to be roped together.
We got to be in this together. We need that encouragement.
We need a united strength of 1. So are you first of all bound to
Christ? Have you been saved?
And then are you bound to one another?
Are you a part of this church? Are you, are you serving?
Are you, are you 100% participation person?
Are you in? Are you going to do this?
Are you on board? So how bound to Christ are you?
How tightly are you bound to him and one another?
Because frankly, my friends, it's time to tie up some loose
ends. So let's do that, Father.
Thank you. Thank you for your grace.
Thank you for the opportunity to serve you, Father.
We don't deserve any of that, Father.
Thank you for the examples, the demonstration of these
missionaries, the way you use them so powerfully, Father, even
in in great difficulty, even under great persecution, even
when beaten, imprisoned, shackled.
Now, Father, I just wonder how you could use us here in this
place of freedom, here in this place of comfort.
Maybe, Father, sometimes a place of apathy.
Maybe we're too comfortable, maybe that's part of the
problem. But Father, I pray that we will
be bound together and bound to You.
Now for some, that means salvation.
They need to be saved. They need to ask Jesus Christ
into their heart to be the Lord and Savior.
They know that's true right now. Father, help them to know that's
true. Father, I pray your Holy Spirit
would convince them. Illuminate their minds to that
truth. Others need to take steps of
commitment and service. For some, it might be baptism.
For some, it might be church membership.
For some, it might be a calling to missions.
They need to take that vow to say, I want to do this full
time. This is what I'm called to do.
For others, they need to sign up for a trip.
For others, they need to sign up to serve in one of our
ministries right here. For others, just like after the
first service, they need to say, all right, I'm going to the
Connect group for the first time.
Father, we need to be bound together.
It's time to tie up loose ends so we can move forward.
So Father, I pray that as we sing, people will commit and
they'll commit to you. So thank you for that in
Christ's name, Amen. So as we stand together, our
worship team is going to lead us.
They'll have, we'll have some pastors here we'd love to visit
with you. You can just come and kneel at
these steps and pray if you want to.
There's also a room over there. We call that the Next Steps
Room. There are people in there who
would just love to have a private conversation and prayer
time with you. Whatever it is that you need to
do in your life, whatever God's doing in your life, they just
love to pray with you. They're going to visit with you
and pray over you and help you to understand what God's doing.
So let's stand together and let's worship and let's
surrender.