- The speaker is grateful for the opportunity to speak and hopes to deliver a message from Acts chapter 18 on God's faithfulness.
- They discuss how faithfulness is rare and that God is the only one who will never let us down.
- The speaker focuses on God's faithfulness in times of difficulty and how we should respond by serving Him faithfully.
- They provide a summary of the Book of Acts and mention that the current focus is on Paul's ministry in Corinth.
- The speaker describes Paul as zealous and determined but also mentions that he felt fear and weakness during his early days in Corinth.
- They trace the events that led up to Paul's time in Corinth, including facing opposition and ridicule in previous locations.
- Despite the challenges, God remained faithful to Paul.
- The speaker outlines four signs of God's faithfulness: supplying our needs, bearing fruit, confirming His presence, and overcoming opposition.
- The passage being discussed is Acts 18:1-5, which describes Paul's arrival in Corinth and his connection with Aquila and Priscilla.

- Paul, a tent maker, found companionship and work with Aquila and Priscilla in Corinth.
- Aquila and Priscilla were Jews forced out of Rome and became close friends with Paul.
- They hosted churches in Ephesus and Rome and risked their lives for Paul.
- They also played a crucial role in teaching Apollos about the importance of Christ's death and resurrection.
- Silas and Timothy arrived in Corinth with news of strength in the churches and a generous gift from the church in Philippi.
- God provided for Paul's needs through companionship, work, and finances.
- We are not designed to do ministry alone and need godly companionship.
- God is faithful to bear fruit, as seen when Crispus and many Corinthians believed and were baptized.

- Paul faced opposition from both Jews and Greeks while preaching about Jesus being the Christ.
- He was encouraged by the arrival of Silas and Timothy, allowing him to focus on his ministry full-time.
- When the Jews fiercely opposed him, Paul shifted his focus to the Gentiles and many were saved.
- Paul's persistence despite rejection is a key takeaway, and we should seek God's guidance in our own efforts.
- God appeared to Paul in a vision to encourage him and confirm His presence, protection, and purpose.
- Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching the Word of God, but faced growing opposition.
- The Jews sought to get rid of Paul by taking advantage of the new governor's inexperience.

- In 1850, the Jews tried to get rid of Paul by using the inexperienced authority of the new governor, Galio.
- They argued that Paul practicing Christianity was in violation of Roman law.
- Galio saw Christianity as a sect of Judaism and dismissed the case.
- This ruling provided legal protection for the church for about 10 years.
- The message is that we need to be faithful to God and not be people-pleasers.
- We should faithfully serve the Lord, rely on each other, pray to God, and share the whole truth of the Gospel.
- God is faithful to us and will provide for our needs.
- We should be faithful to God despite difficulties and trust in our reward in heaven.

- The speaker discusses God's faithfulness and how rare it is to find faithfulness in people.
- They focus on God's faithfulness in times of difficulty and how we should respond by serving Him faithfully.
- The speaker outlines four signs of God's faithfulness: supplying our needs, bearing fruit, confirming His presence, and overcoming opposition.
- The passage being discussed is Acts 18:1-5, which describes Paul's arrival in Corinth and his connection with Aquila and Priscilla.
- Aquila and Priscilla played a crucial role in Paul's ministry and teaching Apollos.
- God provided for Paul's needs through companionship, work, and finances.
- Paul faced opposition from both Jews and Greeks but persisted in his ministry.
- God appeared to Paul in a vision to encourage him and confirm His presence and purpose.
- Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and six months, teaching the Word of God.
- The Jews tried to get rid of Paul but were unsuccessful due to a favorable ruling.
- The message is to be faithful to God, rely on each other, pray, and share the whole truth of the Gospel.

Second Missionary Journey ends in Corinth, Ephesus, Jerusalem, Antioch  Acts 18:1 - 28

It was great to worship with all of you this morning and worship our God.

And I thank the elders for giving me this opportunity to stand before you today.

And I also thank those of you who have been praying for me.

And I hope that God uses me and speaks the message, allows me to speak the message that He has laid on my heart.

So today, as you can see from the title, I'll be speaking from Acts chapter 18.

And the theme that I have laid out today is God's faithfulness.

And we see that all throughout Acts chapter 18.

So faithfulness is a rare commodity, right?

All of us have had the experience of trusting someone and them in some way or another letting us down.

And because of that, 1 of the most encouraging promises that we have in the Bible is in 1 Corinthians 10, verse 13, where it says, God is faithful.

Now, people may let you down, but God will never let you down.

Of course, there are times where it seems as God has let us down.

But we need to learn to deal with those times of disappointment and usually the problem stems on our end and not on God's end.

So today I wanna focus on the Lord's faithfulness to us, especially in times of difficulty.

Because God is faithful to us, we should respond by faithfully serving God.

Now, God's faithfulness does not exempt us from trials.

What it means is that God will sustain us through these trials.

And I have here a quick summary of the book of Acts.

Just so you can gauge where we are in the book, the first chapter was the introduction where Jesus after he rose from the dead, he stayed with the disciples for 40 days and he taught them and laid the Spirit upon them.

And then chapters 2 and he gave also in Acts chapter 1 that commission to go into Jerusalem, then to Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.

And the apostles fulfilled this throughout the chapter of Acts.

We can see from 2 to 7, right, they're the events that took place in Jerusalem.

Then chapters 8 to 12 are the events that took place in Judea and Samaria.

And then here we are in chapter 18 where we have the missionary journeys in Asia Minor and Greece.

And finally in chapters 21 to 28, we'll see Paul's imprisonment in Rome.

So that's kind of the summary of the Book of Acts.

Maybe those of you on the live stream can see it and maybe people in the front.

But I really like this visual as it summarized Acts very nicely, you know.

But to sum it up, basically, I just wanted to point out that we're in the period of AD 50 around Acts chapter 18 and we see that this is Paul's ministry.

He's on the end of his second missionary journey And he's going to start his third missionary journey in the chapter as well, in the second half of the chapter.

So today I'll be focusing on the missionary journey in Corinth.

And this is Greece, for those of you who don't know.

And this is also, it fulfills, you know, the Great Commission where he's now going to the uttermost parts of the earth.

So that's a quick summary of the Book of Acts.

It'll be online for you to see if you Google it.

But I just wanted to include that in my message.

He's on his second missionary journey in Acts chapter 18 and I want to bring to your attention, right, how would we describe Paul, right?

When I thought about this question, how would I describe Paul?

You know, the words that come to mind would be zealous or fearless or determined, right?

Paul was a man who gave his all in whatever he believed in, right?

When he was with, when he believed in Judaism, right?

He was Saul of Tarsus, he was very zealous.

He would drag people by their necks, drag them by their coats, men and women, and throw them into prison.

And he would persecute the disciples, right?

He would breed threats of murder against them.

But then, once he met Jesus on the road to Damascus, it was a complete 180.

He completely changed his life, and he would go and travel thousands of miles preaching the gospel to everyone.

And he would then also write these moving and captivating letters which we now have as part of our New Testament.

So, to say the least, he was a very intelligent man, a deep thinker, and he was a very gifted person.

And you know the words that wouldn't come to mind when I describe Paul?

The words such as fearful or discouraged or weak.

And yet, this is how Paul describes himself and how he felt during his early days in Corinth.

He uses the words fear, weakness, and much trembling.

1 Corinthians 2, verse 3 says, and I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling.

You see, even though he was a giant in our faith and he was more smarter and more determined than most of us.

Paul still struggled with the same emotions that you and I struggle with today.

So you might be asking, why was Paul feeling afraid and weak?

Well, let's trace some of the events that led up to his time in Corinth.

So you'll recall that God forbade him to go, when he was in Asia Minor, he wanted to go to the province of Asia and the Holy Spirit forbade him.

And then he sought to go into Bithynia and again, the spirit of the whole of Jesus did not permit him.

Then he was in Philippi and Paul and Silas were falsely accused.

They were unjustly beaten and they were thrown into jail.

After that, he went to Thessalonica and he preached to the Jews and then the Jews had an uproar.

They were jealous, some of them who didn't convert, and they chased him out.

From there he went to Berea, and again, same thing happened.

He preached the gospel, some Jews converted, the others grew jealous and chased him out again.

And then he went, as we saw in Uberson's message last week, he went to Athens, right?

He wasn't chased out, but this time they ridiculed him, right?

And sometimes open opposition is more easy to deal with than people talking, whispering behind your back and mocking you.

So after that, he was in Athens and he left and he left on his way alone to Corinth.

And from Corinth, he had to travel 80 kilometers by foot, by himself.

Can you imagine walking alone for 80 kilometers after facing through all these trials?

I'd be all up in my head, discouraging myself.

And sometimes we're our own worst enemies when that happens.

And not to take anything lightly, but Corinth was not a great place, right?

It had 200,000 residents and a lot of people from the Roman Empire traveled through Corinth.

It was this place where it was a big crossroads and you have to travel, it was very densely populated.

And on top of that, there was this temple, the Temple of Aphrodite, which is the goddess of love.

And it had over a thousand prostitutes and they all practiced under the banner of religion.

This city was very notorious for its immorality, and even in the 5th century, they made a verb out of the word Corinthian, the city, and meant to Corinthianize meant to commit sexual immorality.

Such that city was so infamous for its sexual immorality that the city's name became a verb, to Corinthianize meant to commit sexual immorality.

Now, even though the situation seemed very dire for Paul, God was still faithful to Paul.

So today, I'm going to go through 4 signs of God's faithfulness.

And today's passage we will see that God is faithful to supply our needs, to bear fruit, God is faithful to confirm his presence.

And finally, God is faithful to overcome opposition.

So let's start by reading Acts 18, verses 1-5.

After This, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.

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 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 Christ was Jesus.

So God is so faithful to supply our needs.

And in this passage, what I found was God was faithful to supply Paul with godly companionship.

You see, Paul had run out of money, right?

Being trained as a tent maker, he found this couple, Aquila and Priscilla, and he stayed with them and began to work.

Aquila and Priscilla were Jews originally from Rome.

And at the time in Rome, there was unrest caused by the Jews.

So the Roman emperor, Claudius, he made a decree and forced all the Jews out of Rome.

And this couple happened to travel to Corinth.

And at the same time, Paul also ended up in Corinth and God used this decree to bring this couple and Paul together.

God providentially brought these 3 together for his purpose.

Now, we don't know whether Aquila and Priscilla were Christians before they met Paul or after they met Paul, but they probably were Christians before they met Paul, since had such 2 prominent individuals come to faith under Paul's ministry, it probably would have been recorded.

So we're going to assume that Aquila and Priscilla were Christians and they came into contact with Paul.

Now, from this passage alone, you can't tell the connection they had, Paul with Aquila and Priscilla.

But if you look all throughout the New Testament, you will see how close Paul and these 2 were.

In 1 Corinthians chapter 16, we see that even after Corinth, the couple went with Paul to Ephesus, where they hosted a church in their home.

And then eventually they returned to Rome, where they also hosted a church.

In Romans 16 verse 3 to 4, Paul writes, greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.

This couple had such a deep friendship with Paul that they even risked their lives for his sake, and they were appreciated by all the Gentile churches.

In 1 of the last verses Paul wrote before he was executed, he wrote a greeting to Aquila and Priscilla, and they had become his lifelong friends.

In his last moments before he was executed, this couple was in his thoughts and he thought of them during his last days.

Brothers and sisters, they were not only good instrumental friends to Paul, they were also helpful to Apollos.

Now I'm going to skip around and we're going to look at the end of chapter 18, but they were instrumental to Apollos as well.

Let's read that Acts chapter 18 verse 24 to 28.

Now, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus.

He was an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures.

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only of the baptism of John.

He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.

When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus." So here we have Paul.

Here we have a Jew named Apollos and he was a gifted and he was a gifted preacher and a very learned man, right?

He taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, but he only knew of the baptism of John.

And he knew John's message of a Messiah, and he knew that Messiah was Jesus.

But what he didn't know was the significance of Christ's death and resurrection, nor the coming of the Holy Spirit.

So Aquila and Priscilla took him aside, possibly to their home, and explained to him the importance of Christ's atoning death and resurrection.

Aquila and Priscilla's role in Apollo's learning the whole truth was crucial at this time and it greatly encouraged and edified Apollos.

God used Priscilla and Aquila in Paul's life and Apollo's life.

And brothers and sisters, we desperately need each other in our Christian journey.

Remember that Silas and Timothy had finally come to Corinth.

So we have Paul living with Aquila and Priscilla and he's making money, right, doing tent making.

And during the week he's doing this job, and then on the Sabbath he'll go to the synagogue and he'll preach to the Jews and to the Greeks that Jesus is the Christ.

But then there was a sight for sore eyes, right?

Silas and Timothy had arrived into Corinth.

And when they arrived, they brought great news.

They brought the news that there was strength of the churches in Macedonia, the churches that he had helped build.

And they also brought a generous gift from the church in Philippi.

That enabled Paul to once again go back into full-time ministry.

God knows what we need and exactly when we need it.

It's amazing that God provided for Paul who was feeling weak and afraid.

God provided him with companionship through Aquila, Priscilla, Silas, Timothy, all these individuals encouraged Paul with their presence.

On top of that, God provided food, shelter, work to be done, and finally, God provided Paul financially so that he could continue the ministry full-time.

In Matthew 6, verse 26, it says, Look at the birds of the air.

They neither sow nor reap, nor gather into barns, and yet your Heavenly Father feeds them.

Brothers and sisters, we need to make our requests known to God.

And it's not wrong to make your requests known to God, even in the area of finances.

Plus, if you make your requests known to God, it's a great joy when you live that way and when God provides exactly what you've been praying for.

We all need to bring everything that we have, all our needs, to God.

And He doesn't always answer in the way that we think or the way that we conceive, but he will give an answer in some other ways.

And that makes me, that points me to just our needs, right?

We have needs and God was able to faithfully supply the needs of Paul through companionship, godly companionship and finances.

When we are saved, we are in a body, right?

The body of Christ, with Jesus Christ as our head.

And as a body, we are not designed to do it alone.

We should complement 1 another, pray for 1 another, and bear 1 another's burdens.

I can't begin to tell you how this community here in RBC has really impacted me.

You know, the friendships that I have formed here in this church, I look forward to any events that we go to and all the Bible studies that I participate.

It's so encouraging and the friendships that you form are none, you know, like bar none.

Brothers and sisters, godly companionship will encourage you and will help you point you towards Christ.

And it'll help us overcome any fear and weakness just as Paul was feeling.

Next, I want to go through Acts chapter 18 verse 4 to 8.

And in this, we see that God is faithful to bear fruit.

And he reads in the synagogue 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 the Christ was Jesus.

And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, your blood be on your own heads, I am innocent.

And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titus Justice, a worshiper of God.

His house was next door to the synagogue.

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.

You see, every Sabbath, remember, Paul was going and preaching to the Jews and the Greeks that Jesus was Christ.

But bit by bit, a clear opposition was building.

And Paul may have not recovered fully from his journey in Philippi or walking for 80 kilometers.

So all this, his loneliness, the fear, all this was weighing on his mind.

But then when Silas and Timothy appeared, he was probably encouraged and finally he was able to devote his full time, his work, his time, full time to the ministry.

But as soon as he did, the Jews fiercely opposed him.

And he was strongly opposed by the Jews at that time.

So he took the dramatic action and he rebuked the Jews.

And he told them that he shook out his coat among, he shook out his coat and he told them that, I am innocent, right?

And then he said, I'm gonna go to the Gentiles.

So he focused to his ministry now on the Gentiles.

And when he did that, God worked among the Gentiles, right?

He, as soon as he did that, he was able to go and save the man right next to the synagogue, Titus Justice, and he believed in God after Paul had now focused on the Gentiles.

And then he went and was able to help convert Crispus, the leader of the synagogue.

And then many Corinthians were believing and being baptized, and these Gentiles were from so many different diverse backgrounds.

We read in 1 Corinthians 6, verses 9 to 11, that Paul lists in this church former fornicators, idolaters, adulterers, effeminates, homosexuals, thieves, kveches, drunkards, revilers, swindlers, all making up the church at Corinth.

Romans 5 verse 20 says, but where sin abounded, grace much more abounded.

His focus on the Gentiles now had exploded into so many people coming to Christ.

A key takeaway from this that I see is that Paul's persistence, despite rejection, right?

He tried to persuade the Jews for so long and they still rejected him.

He then shifted his efforts and focused on the Gentiles and as soon as he did, God was faithful to work in their hearts and many were saved.

We pigeonhole ourselves And even in terms of evangelism, maybe we're focusing on 1 demographic.

Or maybe, suppose in terms of service in the church, you're focusing on 1 service for God.

But then, maybe it doesn't work out and we need to ask for God's guidance.

Maybe there's another demographic to reach out to, or another service that we may be able to do for God.

We need to go to God for guidance and ask Him to lead us.

We need to preach the gospel to all nations, just as Paul did.

I hope that God will use this church and will use all of you to bring people to Christ.

If we're not bringing people to Christ, we have lost our mission.

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