Greatly Comforted

Acts 20:1-20:12

When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia. He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia. – Acts 20:1-3

What and where was the uproar? We learned about this last week. The gospel had had such a great impact in Ephesus that a man named Demetrius, a maker of idols of Artemis, almost brought the entire city to riot. But God orchestrated events so that it led to nothing. Yet, because Paul had almost achieved “Superstar” status in Ephesus, and because he was once again the lightning rod for conflict and persecution, it was again time for him to leave and move on.

The Threat of the Gospel

Acts 19:1-19:41

I want to go back a few verses to the end of Acts 18 to put things in context today.

Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. – Acts 18:24-26

Since we will be spending some time in Ephesus, I want to give you some information about it. Ephesus is in western Turkey, on the coast of Aegean Sea. Sail west, across the sea, and you will be in Greece. Almost due west from Ephesus on the Greek coast is Corinth. Ephesus was a large city, perhaps half a million people.

Growing Together

Acts 18:1-18:28

Acts Chapter 18 begins with Paul leaving Athens and going to Corinth. Corinth was conquered by Rome about 200 BC. Around 150 BC, the Corinthians rebelled, and the Romans made an example out of Corinth and utterly destroyed them. The town lay mostly uninhabited and in ruins for one hundred years, until around 50 BC, it was rebuilt by Julius Caesar. About 25 years later (and about 75 years before Paul visits), it had grown sufficiently so as to become the capital of the province of Achaia. Compared to the ancient city of Athens, the rebuilt Corinth seemed all-new.

If you look at the map, you can see that Corinth actually had two seaports, one on the east and one on the west. Corinth sat on a narrow land bridge between these two bodies of water. Bringing goods from one port to the other through Corinth was a much shorter and cheaper prospect than going all the way around the south. Small ships and the cargo from large ships would actually be taken over land on large rolling carts from port to port. A special paved road was made for this purpose. Called the dialkos (which means “to carry across”) the road goes back before 600 BC.

To an Unknown God

Acts 17:1-17:34

Last week, we read that Paul and his party were in Philippi, where things were quite eventful, to say the least. We talked about how Paul cast out a demon from a slave girl who made money for her owners by being a kind of “oracle,” or truth-teller. Rather than thanking Paul, they were quite upset and had Paul and his party badly beaten and thrown into jail. Once in jail, a great earthquake (or was it angels?) released their bonds, and Paul made a friend for life with the jailor, who along with his family became followers of Jesus.

When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. – Acts 17:1-4

Believe and You Will Be Saved

Acts 16:16-16:40

We have been going through the book of Acts. Where are we? We are in the middle of Paul’s second missionary journey. In the beginning of Acts 16, they were in what is now Turkey, starting in Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium, and then in verse 8 it says they went into Troas. As you can see from the map, Troas is a seaport, and it was there that Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia calling him to come. They went by sea to Neapolis (verse 11), and then by land to Philippi. This is where they are now. Last week we talked about how the Lord opened the heart of Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, to respond to the gospel. She persuaded them to stay at her house, and they did.

On a modern map, where are they? Philippi is in Greece. Albania is a bit to the north. About 90 years prior to the point Paul is here (about 50 AD), the Battle of Philippi took place. If you read Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar back in your school days, the Battle of Philippi is the battle in which the heirs of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony and Octavian, defeated Caesar’s assassins, Cassius and Brutus. Ten year later (about 80 years before Paul is here), Octavian was declared emperor (Augustus Caesar) and he let many of his officers take over land around the city. There were a lot of wealthy people in Philippi, and it was known as a “little Rome.” For a little city, the monuments and buildings in the city were quite impressive. As the map shows, Philippi was part of Macedonia, the place Paul had been called in his vision to visit. Let’s now pick up our passage.

A Worshiper of God

Acts 16:6-16:15

Once again we are at the end of the month, and so we will have a shorter message today followed by communion and a sharing time.

I want to start back a bit, at the beginning of Acts 16 today. Recall that Paul and Barnabas had split up on this second missionary journey. Barnabas had taken Mark and gone back to the island of Cyprus, while Paul had taken Silas and gone back through Syria and Cilicia.

He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek. The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. – Acts 16:1-5

Being a Spiritual Father

Acts 15:1-16:5

Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: "Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved." This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad. When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them. – Acts 15:1-4

Last week, we talked about how Paul and Barnabas returned from their missionary journey. Paul was much worse for wear, beaten to within an inch of his life, and left for dead, in Lystra. But God had done remarkable things through them and the gospel was spread through what is now Cypress and Turkey. We left them back in Antioch, reunited with the church body that had sent them off on their journey.

Leave the Results to God

Acts 13:49-14:28

The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. But the Jews incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. So they shook the dust from their feet in protest against them and went to Iconium. And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. – Acts 13:49-52

We pick up the story from last week with Paul and Barnabas in Pisidian Antioch. Recall that Paul and Barnabas were sent out from the church at “regular” Antioch, and they sailed to Cyprus, seen people become believers at Paphos on Cyprus, where God also used Paul to cause a false prophet to become blind, and then sailed to what is now Turkey, where they traveled inland up to Pisidian Antioch. Here Paul gives an impassioned explanation of the gospel in the synagogue, but after encountering hostility and opposition, he took it to the streets, where many, many Gentiles became believers.

Salvation to the Ends of the Earth

Acts 13:1-13:48

In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. – Acts 13:1-3

Here we get a glimpse at the leadership team at Antioch. Note that there was plurality of leadership, not a single “head pastor” or anything like that. They were a really diverse group! Barnabas, from Cyprus (Acts 4:36), Simeon (a Jewish name) called Niger (a Roman name), Lucius from Cyrene, Manaen (raised in the court of a powerful ruler), and Saul (raised in Tarsus, then schooled by one of the “best” Jewish teachers in Jerusalem). All were quite different, and God used them all together, with their different experiences and gifts, to build up the local church.

Praising God

Acts 12:19b-12:25

This week we finish discussing Chapter 12 of Acts and then take communion together. Following this, we have a time of sharing together. If you are relatively new to our church, I should explain this. We truly believe what the Bible says – that God empowers all believers. He gives all believers spiritual gifts. And He uses all of us to teach one another, encourage one another, and pray for one another. Once a month, we take communion together and then have an “open mike” time. During these times, feel free to share whatever God has been teaching you in the past month. Or it may be something that strikes you even while others are sharing. If you have a “good word,” please share it. We believe that God supernaturally empowers these times. Don’t feel intimidated. Don’t feel that you think something is not appropriate if it is coming from “you” instead of somehow from “God.” This is how God works. If it brings Him glory, it is truly from Him.

I want to go back briefly to the beginning of Acts 12.

It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword. When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. – Acts 12:1-3