Lessons from the Overflow

If you would take your Bible,
we’re not gonna be there for a few moments yet, but if you
would take your Bible and turn to the book of Acts chapter 17,
Acts 17. One of the enjoyable things to
watch is to watch children pretending. I remember when we were little,
that was one of our favorite games, let’s pretend. And so I want to play a little
game this morning. I want you to relax and pretend
you’re a kid, first of all. But I want to play let’s pretend
for just a few moments. Let’s pretend that you’re about
to take a ride on an airplane. You arrive at the airport early
in the morning, and you’re eager for this adventure. But even
as you climb aboard the airplane, you realize that this is no ordinary
flight. That heavy backpack strapped
to your back tells you that this is a parachute drop. This is exciting, isn’t it? As the plane lifts off and soon
begins to climb, looking intently out the window of the plane,
enjoying the scenery, you begin to recognize this land. This
is familiar territory. You know this place why it’s
the book of Acts. And as you glance out the window,
you can see the ascension of Christ. You soon immediately
see the day of Pentecost. And now everything begins to
come into focus. You see Peter’s first sermon.
You see Peter and John arrested and then released miraculously. You glance down again, continue
to peer through the occasional cloud, and you notice Barnabas’s
magnanimous gesture of selling his property. and giving the
proceeds to the church, and then you can’t help but notice that
right on the heels of that is Ananias and Sapphira, their deceit
and their judgment. That immediately yields and gives
way to another view, that of the appointing of deacons in
the church. Acts chapter 6, which opens up
into one of the most remarkable episodes in the Book of Acts,
that of Stephen in his first and his last sermon all at once,
which ultimately issues forth in his martyrdom. You fly a little further and
you glance down and you see Saul’s introduction to the church, and
you’re not sure exactly where this is going until you see his
conversion and his reformation in Christ. Immediately after that, you see
Peter standing and looking up into the heavens on a large sheet,
lowering down in front of them. the embracing of the Gentiles
and the gospel to the Gentiles. The church also extends as the
plane continues on and you fly over the remotest part of the
earth where you see the first missionary journey where churches
begin to be established. And what a thrill that is to
remember all that God did first through Barnabas and Paul being
sent out to places like Cyprus and then in Asia. And then suddenly
the captain’s voice crackles over the cabin speakers approaching
the drop zone. And you suddenly remember that
this is not a sightseeing trip. You’re preparing to parachute.
And with one final glance out the window, you see that Paul
has a new helper, Silas, and another young man, Timothy. And
they’re working their way through Macedonia, Achaia, Philippi,
Thessalonica. This is exciting to watch, but
it’s time to jump. This is the drop zone. And just as you think that thought,
it’s the pilot again, and he urges you to drop. And as
we begin to float down to earth, we can begin to take it all in
view. We can still watch Paul and his
friends wrapping up their visit with the noble Bereans. We land
safely enough in a glade at the edge of some woods. And as we
begin to hike our way along a well-worn footpath, this is all so familiar. We come through the woods, we
come to a large rock outcropping. You recognize this place. You’ve
seen it before. It’s Mars Hill. And there’s a
familiar man standing on this rock as well. It’s the Apostle
Paul. And we’ve walked right up in
the middle of one of his most momentous sermons. You’ll find
the transcript of that in Acts 17, beginning, if you would,
in verse 16. Now, while Paul was waiting for
his friends, Silas and Timothy, at Athens, his spirit was being
provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. So Paul stood in the midst of
the Areopagus and said, men of Athens, I observed that you are
very religious in all respects. For while I was passing through
and examining the objects of your worship, I found an altar
with this inscription to an unknown God. There was an epithet that
was said about Athens that There were more gods in that city than
there were people. That’s hyperbole. But when you
begin to think of the sheer number of so-called gods, Jupiter and
Apollos, Apollo rather, Diana and Mars and Venus and Eris and
Saturn, you begin to understand why such a thing would be said
about the city of Athens. Paul calls out this so-called
unknown God. Just in case they had missed
one, they threw up a statue and left the label blank. Therefore,
he says, what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to
you. The God who made the world and all things in it, since he
is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made
with hands, neither is he served by human hands as though he needed
anything. since he himself gives to all
life and breath and all things. He made from one, that is Adam,
every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having
determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,
that they should seek God if perhaps they might grope for
him and find him. Though he is not far from each
one of us. For in him we live and move and
exist. Being in the offspring of God,
we ought not think that the divine nature is like gold or silver
or stone, an image formed in the art and thought of man. Therefore,
having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring
to all men that all men everywhere should repent. because he has
fixed a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness
through a man whom he has appointed, having furnished proof to all
by raising him from the dead. Now, when they heard of the resurrection
of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, we shall hear
you again concerning this. So Paul went out of their midst,
but some men joined him and believed, among whom were Dionysius the
Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them. And so as chapter 17 ends, we’re
in the midst of a cliffhanger. Things have built to a crescendo
and we’re on the edge of our seats. What will happen next? Will there be a follow up? An
opportunity for Paul to preach the gospel further? Will he get
that second chance with those who desired to hear more? Will there be a backlash from
the city officials? Will the Jews be calmed and finally
brought to repentance? But as we turn to chapter 18,
the transition is alarmingly abrupt. Look at it if you would,
just the first five verses of chapter 18. After these things,
he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila,
a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife,
Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded the Jews to leave Rome.
He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he
stayed with them, and they were working for, by trade, they were
tent makers. And he was reasoning in the synagogue
every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks 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. The transition is abrupt. I mean,
look at the first line. After these things, he left Athens
and went to Corinth. Paul left. In the midst of all this unfolding
drama in Athens, he left. And even as we read it, it almost
doesn’t fit. The narrative is abrupt, it’s
jagged. It almost seems illogical. After
these things, he left Athens and went to Corinth. God just
used you to convert an Athenian judge. to Jesus Christ. Why there could be a mighty movement
of the spirit here in Athens. How can you leave now? It just
doesn’t seem to make any sense that Paul should leave this Athens,
a place so well known, so needful of the gospel, so full of idolatry,
and a city though complete with those who rejected the gospel
outright and sneered at his message, also was the residence of those
who at least rendered a passive entertaining of the gospel, the
news of a savior before whom they knew they must repent. But most of all, there were those
who had already made a profession of faith in Christ. How could
he, how could Paul leave now? The work in Athens, it seemed,
had only just begun. The seeds of the gospel had only
now just begun to germinate. These new sprouts of faith needed
to be watered. People must be taught and discipled. And yet Paul was off. And to make matters more vexing
to some of the Athenians, he was off for, of all places, to
the rival city of Corinth, just down the bay, some 50 miles to
the west. Now, a person could get there
either by sea or by land, and it would take about the same
amount of time. On foot, it would be several
arduous days of walking, about 16 hours worth. By ship, perhaps. Everything depended on the weather.
The weather, the currents, the cargo, the availability of the
ship, the availability of a crew for the ship, many factors. But the trip itself would take
just hours once you pushed off. If you wanted to wait the 1900
years until the automobile would be invented, it would only take
you about an hour. And once you got to Corinth from
Athens, what a change. What a stark change from a peaceful
kind of a university town, ivy-covered walls perhaps, Athens, to a hustling,
bustling, grab-all-the-profit-while-you-can kind of a city, Corinth. And again, why here? Because with its instant and
perpetual connection with the rest of the known world, if the
gospel were to take root here in Corinth, no doubt it would
spread like wildfire through the entire region of the world. As one scholar put it, a religion
which intended to scatter its seeds over all parts of the earth
could nowhere find a more favorable soil. Corinth. Corinth itself is an interesting
place. Once utterly destroyed by the
ravages of war, none other than Julius Caesar rebuilt this city
in BC 46. He recognized immediately the
geographical importance of its location from both a military
and a trade standpoint. Corinth quickly recovered after
he rebuilt it. It began to flourish and it even
exceeded its former success. The population, when Paul came
to visit it, would have exceeded 100,000 people. Sparta and Athens had always
competed with Corinth for popularity. Sparta, militarily. Athens, politically and academically. But neither could exceed Corinth’s
energy, wealth, and magnificence. Think of the nation of Greece,
if you would, like an hourglass tipped mostly on its side. The country tapers to less than
four miles at its narrowest point, with a large body of water on
either side of that narrow strip. Corinth was, and still is, located
at the southwestern edge of that narrow portion, with a gulf to
its west, leading ultimately to the Mediterranean Sea and
a gulf to the east leading to the Aegean Sea. And as to be
expected, Corinth had a seaport in each of those bodies of water.
You begin to get the picture. Ships laden with goods from both
Europe to the west and Asia to the east They met here and either
ported their goods across the four mile strip or they trafficked
them on land beginning in Corinth and moving out beyond. The city
was the hub of commercial activity for the known world. The importance
and the status of this city can hardly be exaggerated. The geographical
feature alone two seas, two ports cemented Corinth as the most
important city of its day. It was the primary connecting
point for commerce and trade between Europe and Asia. And
that gave Corinth tremendous opportunity and advantages. And
that’s what made her so extremely wealthy. The plentiful trade and the subsequent
wealth only enhanced this city in other ways as well. Beauty,
architecture, and just plain extravagant luxuriousness. The city, the great city, many
people ventured into Corinth, discovered an almost endless
supply of pleasure. In addition to commerce and wealth,
Corinth was a strikingly beautiful city. It enjoyed the bedrock,
sitting on a bedrock that sat 200 feet above sea level, adorned
with a large, distinctive stone mountain that served as the backdrop
for the city. At nearly 2,000 feet, it was
visible to those on land or at sea for miles around. The city
was full of lush vegetation and beautiful gardens. And to cap
it all off, the buildings themselves were adorned in opulence, made
of snow-white marble and often embellished with gold or silver
overlay. One historian called her the
glory of Greece, Cicero. great Roman statesman and philosopher
called Corinth the light of all Greece. Because of its natural
stopping point for travelers of all kinds, an indulgent and
extravagant lifestyle developed. Corinth became known as the lounge
of Greece, one giant bar. The vulgar worship of Aphrodite
also made a resurgence along with the many associated vices. More than almost any other city
of its day, Corinth became notorious for its sinful indulgence. Perhaps you would think of it
as a Las Vegas by the bay. One historian described Corinth
in detail when he said, the tone and general character of its
life was a disposition to set intellectual above moral considerations. A general laxity of manners and
morals. A preference of individual convenience
to the general welfare. a tendency to deny the idea of
a future life and to give oneself up to unlimited enjoyment in
this life. Well, that sounds like Fort Collins,
doesn’t it? That sounds like most cities
of America today. It’s all about self and self-indulgence. It’s no coincidence. that the
Apostle Paul wrote those sobering words of Romans 1 while residing
in the city of Corinth. Think of it. Lusts, degrading
passions, depraved mind, unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, full
of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slanders, haters
of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient
to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful. All he had to do was look about. And he found plenty of illustrations
of vice. Look, looking back on this city
now, many have likened Corinth to John Bunyan’s graphic portrait
of such cities. Corinth, they say, was the Vanity
Fair of its day. In case you’re not familiar with
Bunyan’s work, Pilgrim’s Progress, here is the description of the
town called Vanity in which they had a fair, Vanity Fair. Bunyan writes, in the town of
Vanity they contrived to set up a fair, a fair wherein should
be sold all sorts of vanity and that it should last all year
long. At this fair are all such merchandises
sold as houses, lands, trades, places, honors, preferments,
titles, countries, kingdom, lusts, pleasures, and delights of all
sorts. Moreover, at this fair, there
are at all times to be seen jugglers, cheats, games, plays, fools,
mimics, knaves, and rogues, and that of every kind. It describes the ungodliness
of the world and its activities. It describes Corinth. And so
other than its beauty, why would Paul abandon Athens and come
here to Corinth, to Vanity Fair? I think I may know this. Some of you have heard me say
this about a year into our work here. I had lunch with a brother,
a church planter, a self-proclaimed church planter, and he asked
me if I had done my demographics before coming to Fort Collins.
Did I consider the income level, the ethnicity, education and
the like? And I answered, why, yes, I did
do my demographic study. And I quickly determined that
there are an abundance of sinners in Fort Collins. What a great
place to plant a church. And in part, this is exactly
what Paul’s mindset must have been. In a sense, why not go
to Corinth, right? And as far as the biblical record
informs us, Paul was the first Christian ever to go to Corinth to go with the intention of preaching
the gospel. This is just what Paul suggests
when he goes on to tell the Corinthians in his first epistle to them,
I planted a Paulus watered. He was the first. Chapter three,
verse six. Pardon me, in chapter three,
verse 10, he says, I laid a foundation. I was the first. So much so that
in first Corinthians four 15, he says, I became your father
through the gospel. Let’s look at the beginning of
ministry in Corinth. Look at verse one of chapter
18. After these things, he left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila,
a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife,
Priscilla. Now the text says that Paul found
Aquila and Priscilla, not the other way around. And that’s
important. In fact, Luke restates this fact
at the end of verse two. He came to them. I see Luke’s whole point here
to be that this was a providential meeting. Paul didn’t know these
two. Aquila and Priscilla were not
forewarned to be on the watch for Paul, nor was Paul directed
to seek out this couple. So how did he find them? Well,
it could be as easy as this. Paul arrives and immediately
begins to walk through the marketplace. He saw them and struck up a conversation
as a fellow tent maker. The rest is history. A Jewish historian also noted
an interesting fact about the synagogues, the practice in synagogues. He said, the people did not sit
mixed together, but goldsmiths by themselves and silversmiths
by themselves and ironworker by themselves and miners by themselves
and weavers by themselves. And when a poor man came in there,
he recognized the members of his craft and went there. We don’t know exactly how Paul
found Aquila and Priscilla. Whether in the church or the
marketplace, we only know that he did. Paul found them. And by whatever means, Paul found
these two and they forged a fast and enduring friendship. Now,
the passage also tells us that Aquila was a Jew, which doesn’t
necessarily imply that Priscilla was not Jewish. She may well
likely have been a Jew. We’re simply not told. While Aquila was a Jew, his name
was Latin, not Jewish, perhaps an assumed name for doing work
while he was in Rome and other Gentile-heavy places, the practice
was commonplace. And so it’s reasonable to conclude
that Aquila and Priscilla are Jewish and also that they are
married. We see them again and again together
in scripture. They’re always mentioned together. They’re never mentioned apart
from one another. The other thing that we can note
is they were one time residents of Rome. Basically, now they
are refugees. They have been dislocated from
Rome, Italy. Later in Acts, we’ll learn temporarily
that they take up residency in Ephesus and they secure a residence
and they even host a church there. They become such good friends
with Paul that he leaves them in charge. He leaves them to
labor in Ephesus while he courses through Asia, strengthening the
churches. Much later in Romans 16, 3, we
find them once again in Rome, a familiar place among friends,
now as believers. But on this occasion here in
Acts 18, I want you to note a couple of other things. This is the
first time in scripture that we meet Aquila and Priscilla.
And the biggest question of all from verses two and three is
not about the riots in Rome or how Paul found them or what color
tents they made. The biggest curiosity is here
is were they already saved? Luke curiously identifies Aquila
simply as a Jew. The identifier, the name Jew,
is almost always in Acts used not of those, pardon me, that
it’s almost always used of those that are Jews as opposed to being
Christians. And the other account here in
Acts, it never says that they were believers. Other than some
basic kindnesses, which are for the most part assumed. They hired Paul and they provided
him lodging. That doesn’t make them believers.
We don’t see much evidence about their spiritual condition one
way or another here. Some people. taking the entirety
of their biography as presented in the New Testament, conclude
that they must have been believers at Rome. But the Bible never
tells us that. Merely by introducing us to Aquila,
by pointing out that he was a Jew and that Claudius had commanded
all the Jews to leave Rome, Luke leaves the question wide open
and in a very thrilling way. Here is this providential meeting,
something that God has arranged. It’s providential for Paul, and
it’s providential also for Aquila and Priscilla. He needs work. They, I believe, need the gospel. They will employ Paul in tent
making, and what a thrill this is, while he shares the love
of God with them. We don’t have any previous history
on Aquila and Priscilla at all. Let me show you another remarkable
thing that nudges me in the direction of thinking that these are not
believers yet. Of those whom we know are believers
in the book of Acts, and I’m talking about all that we know
of them, when Luke first introduces them, the context is either so
obvious that they are professing believers, or he invariably gives
us their Christian background. Let me just give you a few examples.
Ananias, and I’m talking about the one you find in chapter nine,
he says of Ananias, he was a disciple at Damascus. Dorcas, remember
the young girl with two names, Dorcas, Tabitha, he calls her
a disciple named Tabitha. John Mark, John Mark, this is
contextually he’s in a prayer meeting for the Apostle Peter.
When he mentions Jason in chapter 17, he mentions Jason and some
brethren, meaning some additional brethren. He speaks of those
who ministered to Paul, Timothy and Erastus. He speaks of Gaius
and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions, meaning his traveling
companions for the sake of ministry. Menaeus of Cyprus, a disciple
of long standing. And so only as we continue to
watch their lives, does their standing become more clear in
the case of Ananias and Sapphira. pardon me. That’s a misspeak. Only as we
continue to watch Aquila and Priscilla in their overall pursuits
of Christ do we see a solid testimony of love. We believe that they
get saved. We just don’t know when or how.
The Bible never tells us that by their secular association
with Paul, they came to know the Lord. Although what a thrilling
thought that is. They meet this guy with a background
in the same trade, just happens to be the greatest evangelist
the church has ever known. It’s thrilling. The bottom line
on Aquila and Priscilla’s conversion is that we just don’t know. They may have been believers
for several years here when Paul first meets them. They may have
become believers shortly after meeting and working with him.
And maybe, just maybe, they had those really fuzzy testimonies. You know, like the ones that
so many Christians have, where they tell you about their relationship
with Christ and you walk away bewildered. Perhaps it took some time. They
would have eventually a year and a half with Paul and Corinth.
This would certainly square with what we know of Paul, always
on the lookout, always watching for an open door, an opportunity
either with a region or a city or a people or an individual,
or in this case, a couple. It would be just like Paul to
work hard and with excellence all the while being faithful
to share the good news of Christ. We just don’t know. We can lean here toward one perspective
or another. We just can’t be definitive.
All we know is that in time, Aquila and Priscilla did come
to know the Savior. And that not only were they Christians,
but valuable co-laborers in the cause of Christ. Glancet verse
two, once again, if you would, he found a Jew named Aquila,
a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife
because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. This
is important detail. We note also that the reason
that Aquila and Priscilla are even there in Corinth is because
Emperor Claudius had kicked them out of the city. And not just
them, but all Jews. We don’t know all the historical
details here. One historian, a guy named Suetonius,
mentions a very likely incident. Apparently, there was a situation.
It was instigated by one named Christus or Crestus who stirred
up his Jewish brethren. We don’t know whether this was
a typo by Suetonius or perhaps he meant to actually blame the
uprising on Christ himself or that it was about Christ or whether
there was actually another man named Christus or Crestus who
stirred up these people. We just don’t have any details.
We do know that this individual was pretty effective. He agitated
the Jews in the city to such a point where they rioted. Well, what some people would
call today a peaceful protest. And apparently this Emperor Claudius
was old school. He was very unrefined in his
thinking and actually still believed that riots were not a good thing,
that such antisocial activities should be quelled at all costs.
Claudius became so enraged with the behavior of the Jewish people
that he issued an edict that effectively banned them from
the city, kicked them out. That’s about all we know. We
certainly don’t know whether or not Aquila and Priscilla had
anything to do with the uprising. In all likelihood, they were
merely guilty by association, being Jews. And that’s why Aquila
and Priscilla find themselves in Corinth in the first place
for what would be the most providential meeting of their lives. A meeting
with a man named Paul. So Paul meets Aquila and Priscilla
and things develop very quickly. Look at the end of verse two
as a lead into verse three. He came to them and because he
was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working
for by trade. They were tent makers. So Aquila
and Priscilla were peacefully residing, working in Corinth.
The passage tells us specifically that they were tent makers, leather
workers, and they very likely had a presence in the marketplace
where they would sell their products. And they were apparently finding
success there in Corinth because they have the opportunity to
take on an employee, Paul himself. Paul evidently had the experience
in this craft. Luke tells us that he was of
the same trade. Paul too was a tent maker. I
can remember way back in my twenties, I remember a
friend of mine needed a job. I’ve known a lot of friends that
needed jobs, but anyway, he needed a job and he was this amazing
piano player. I mean, world-class. And there
was this piano store that was looking for salesmen. The only
problem was that he had no sales experience at all, none. So one
day, he just walked into the store, and he put on a decent
shirt, walked into the store, and he began to look over all
the beautiful pianos, and he asked permission of the only
salesperson on the floor if he could play. And he sat down and
began to play this amazing classical piece so that all the employees
came out of the back room, right? Including the owner. Within minutes,
he had the job. And he hadn’t even applied. I
imagine that the apostles’ so-called interview went much the same
way. I don’t know about you, I don’t care much anymore for
sleeping in the dirt. But if any of you are able to
find one of these tents handmade by the apostle Paul, I would
be persuaded to go up into the hills for a night or two of camping.
To own a tent that the apostle Paul made. Can you imagine the
care and the craftsmanship that Paul himself would have put into
each piece? Why would Paul care about making
tents? Well, it turns out that the rabbis
were strongly encouraged, if not expected, to have a trade
on which they could lean if payment for service in the synagogue
were not enough to support them. One rabbi said it was to be used
as a resource under circumstances of need. plumbing, once it was
invented, I guess would be an option, masonry, carpentry, gardening. And so in doing so, the rabbis,
including Paul, put themselves in good company because even
Jesus himself, Mark 6, 3, is called the carpenter. Most of
you know that in like manner, six of our first nine years were
bivocational. That’s the nature of what we
do. Much of the time, church planting, mission work, even
long-term pastoring necessitates the ability to bring in a side
income in order to subsidize one’s ministry. And that’s what
Paul was doing. Look, if you would, at verse
four. And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and
trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. There was not only the work of
his hands, there was the labor in the word. This was Paul’s
practice, not just habit. He was committed to preach the
gospel as he declared in the opening chapters of Romans to
the Jew first and also to the Greek. But the evidence of his
commitment is overwhelming. And for this, I want you to turn
back to Acts chapter nine. Now he was heading for Damascus
to get letters so that he could go into any synagogue he wanted
and arrest Christians. Well, he gets arrested in a sense
on the road to Damascus, and yet he still goes to the synagogue. Watch this. If you’re in Acts
9, jump down to verse 20. He’s there in Damascus, and immediately
he began to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues. Turn over to
Acts 13, 5. We’re going to move quickly. Acts 13, 5, when they reached
Salamis, they began to proclaim the word of God in the synagogues
of the Jews. Glance down at verse 14 of that
same chapter. Going on from Perga, they arrived
at Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath day, they went
into the synagogue and sat down. And he proceeds to preach there
as well. Look at Acts 14, one page over. In Iconium, they entered the
synagogue of the Jews together and spoke in such a manner that
a large number of the people believed. Jump over to Acts 17, here in Thessalonica. Acts 17,
verse 1, in Thessalonica, there was a synagogue of the Jews,
and according to Paul’s custom, he went into them, and for three
Sabbaths, reasoned with them from the scriptures. Turn, if
you would, to verse 10, just down the page, where we find
him in Berea. He walks into Berea. They went
into the synagogue of the Jews. Look at verse 17. In Athens,
he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing
Gentiles. Flip over two chapters to 19
where we find him in Ephesus doing the same exact thing. Nineteen
eight, he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly
for three months. Don’t complain to me about long
sermons. Three months? All right, so he’s
preaching not only to the Jews, he’s preaching to the Greeks.
Paul’s practice was to begin in each city that had a synagogue
and to go and to preach first to the Jews, but also to the
Gentiles, the Greeks. Often such are referred to as
proselytes, converts to Judaism, or more subtly, lovers of God. The Jewish religion had its attraction
to those who were godless. And so Paul would preach to these
as well. Back, if you would, to Acts 18
and look finally at verse five. Verse five of Acts 18. 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. Silas and Timothy rejoined Paul.
He had left them, as you recall, back in Berea. Remember our flyover? He left them back in Berea to
conduct ministry there, and while he pressed on, first to Athens
and then to Corinth. And this, by the way, is the
very last time that we ever hear anything about Silas. The effect of their arrival,
Silas and Timothy, seems to have been immediate. As the sweet
reunion of friends, especially friends in Christ, so often is. Paul began passionately preaching
the gospel full time now, as opposed to those original Sabbath
only services. In other words, no more tent
making. What was it about Silas and Timothy’s
arrival that freed Paul up to go full time in the ministry?
For one thing, they brought news about the Thessalonian believers.
Listen to Paul’s enthusiasm about this report that they bring.
And this is recorded in 1 Thessalonians 3. Just listen. Timothy has come
to us from you and he’s brought us good news of your faith and
love that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us. We
are comforted about you through your faith. Now we really live
if you stand firm in the Lord. What thanks can we render to
God for you in return for all the joy which we rejoice before
our God on your account? You talk about somebody who is
thrilled. That news alone that God’s grace
had prevailed in the Thessalonian believers hearts, it was now
bearing fruit. That alone would put immeasurable
wind in your sails, wouldn’t it? To realize that God had used
you and your preaching of the gospel to begin an eternal work
in others. Paul was so thrilled. But beyond
that, it’s also likely that Silas and Timothy brought with them
a monetary gift to be used for the purposes of missionary support. And that is what freed Paul up
to quit making tents. The only evidence of that is
the well-known generosity of the Macedonian churches. It’s
a conjecture, in other words, When the church in Philippi was
first planted, Lydia seems to have set the tone for that entire
church by her hospitality. The jailer followed. Beyond that,
Paul testifies frequently of their generosity. 2 Corinthians
8, 2 Corinthians 11, when the brethren came from Macedonia,
they fully supplied my need. To the Philippians themselves,
he wrote, you have done well to share with me in my affliction. You yourselves know, Philippians,
that at the first preaching of the gospel after I left Macedonia,
no church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving
but you alone. How sad. In fact, he effectively rebukes
the Corinthians for this very fact in his second epistle to
them. I robbed other churches by taking
wages from them to serve you. So either Silas and Timothy brought
a monetary gift, or perhaps when they got there, they rolled up
their sleeves, grabbed needles and thread, and began to make
tents themselves. And that’s what freed Paul up. We don’t know. Look at verse 5 one last time. 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. And so Paul freed up, energized,
given fully to that which God had called him, the preaching
of the gospel, which would have likely included his own personal
testimony of God’s grace in saving him, but also a clear and detailed
exposition of God’s word, declaring ultimately that Jesus Christ
was God’s promised Messiah, verified by raising him from the dead.
What a thrill. We don’t have time this morning,
but jot this down if you’re working a pencil. Acts 13, 16 through
41 is just a textbook sermon on this very thing. And you say, well, that was interesting.
Kind of a historical lesson on the book of Acts. I don’t know
what I’m going to do with it, but that was interesting. Paul
and Aquila and Priscilla and Athens and Corinth. I can go
home and think on all of those things this week. Why am I bothering you with all
of this? And better yet, why are you bothering
to listen? When we know the truth of Paul’s
proclamation of 2 Timothy 3.16, we know it at least. All scriptures inspired by God
and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training
and righteousness. So the question is, what can
we learn from these verses, these five verses? You see, it’s one
thing to heed a clear command in scripture. It’s easy to see
those. It’s harder work to take a passage
like this and glean some meaningful principles by which to live.
But let’s do that quickly in closing. I call these lessons
from the overflow. Gleanings on service of Christ
from the ordinary moments of Paul’s life. The first one that
we see is that for the sake of the gospel, we must not complacently
celebrate after great success. Paul could have done that with
the conversion of Dionysius, a judge in the city. He could
have gone on vacation for six months on that one. When Luke
records that Paul left Athens after these things, he points
us back to the remarkable episode on Mars Hill. And like we so often do, Paul
could have gotten distracted from his greater calling. Distracted
by the detractors, those who sneered. Distracted by those
who were merely curious about another message. As if one of the greatest sermons
ever preached wasn’t enough. Distracted even by the remarkable
conversion of this high-ranking official. Paul had a calling. He had a mission. He knew from
the first moment of his conversion that he was God’s chosen instrument,
Acts chapter nine. He was God’s chosen instrument
to bear Christ’s name to the Gentiles, plural. His mission
was greater than any one city. And he only recently, as recorded
in Acts 16, had been divinely redirected to come and preach
the gospel to this region. He knew that God himself had
just clarified his mission, hadn’t he? That God had called him to
preach the gospel to the Macedonians. We’re so easily distracted, aren’t
we? We’re so easily distracted by other things that we end up
forgetting the real mission Paul didn’t. That verse in Philippians 3, Sometimes I swear I’m going to
pull what remains of my hair out if I hear it preached incorrectly
again. We so often hear it quoted as
if Paul were repudiating his sinful life, forgetting what
lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. That it was
his sinful life that he’s repudiating. That isn’t it at all. That passage
is more about victories, victories that may be quickly acknowledged
but must not become distractions to greater service. For the sake of the gospel, we
must not complacently celebrate after even great success. For
the sake of the gospel, we must leverage our common ground in
relationships. This is where we found the whole
relationship with the Quill and Priscilla and their common ground
of tent making. We can look for all kinds of
commonalities, touch points of common ground for at least for
conversation starters. that sometimes grow and flourish
into gospel opportunities, if not immediately, eventually.
Paul saw this common ground with Aquila and Priscilla tent making,
and he seized upon it. I’m not promoting the so-called
friendship evangelism of the 80s, which is often no more than
a convenient way to defer conversations about Christ. I’m talking about
opportunities for connection with people, real people, in
addition to the obvious ones. Gender, race, age. You know,
it is very easy for me to talk to old white guys. But we can be watchful and we
ought to be watchful for other connections as well. We’re from
the same place. We played the same sport. We
like the same things. We had the same experiences.
We went to the same school. I’ve had the same struggles or
trials. Now he would be mad at me if
I mentioned his name. So I won’t. But that guy that
we gave the golden hammer to a year ago. Have we ever met
anyone like him with regard to his ability to initiate conversation? He can talk to anybody. He almost
immediately finds some commonality and he works it masterfully.
That’s what we need to do. We need to find those areas of
common ground in relationship and leverage them for the sake
of the gospel. For the sake of the gospel, we
must be willing to do what is expedient or necessary or pragmatic. Look at verse three, he came
to them and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with
them and they were working. Why? For they were tent makers.
Paul was willing to work an extra job to support not only even
himself alone, but even his friends, Ephesians, Pardon me. This was
true of the Ephesians. He told them the same thing in
Acts 20, 34, these hands ministered to my own needs and the men who
were with me. He said the same thing to the
Thessalonians, our labor and hardship, how working night and
day. So it was not to be a burden
to any of you. Paul did what he needed to do. He did what was expedient. He
did what was necessary. And if that meant working a side
job, he was all too willing to do it. But there’s a flip side to that.
We’ll see it in a moment. But first, look at his labor
in the word as we close in verse four. For the sake of the gospel,
we must be faithful to share. I mean, look at this. He was
reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade
Jews and Greeks. Would you just notice these four
quick things? He had a method. He was reasoning. He would sit
down there. He probably had had this conversation
dozens of times. He probably knew how to share
the gospel, touching the tips of his finger points, noting
each particular point. He had a method. He had a place. He went to the
synagogue. It was his common practice. He had a day at a time, every
Sabbath. And finally, he had a purpose.
He wasn’t just creating conversation. He wasn’t just talking to hear
himself talk. He was trying to persuade Jews
and Greeks. He was trying to turn them to
Christ for salvation. For the sake of the gospel, we
must not be complacent. We must leverage our common ground
and relationships. We must be willing to do what
is expedient. We must be faithful to share.
And finally, look at verse five. We must seek to be unencumbered.
There was a time to work a second job and there was a time to quit. and to go back to doing what
you’re called to do. I’ll never forget a professor
taking us to a window overlooking the skyline of a great city. And as we gathered around the
window, we weren’t sure where this particular lesson was going. But the professor shook his aging
finger as he pointed to those fancy, beautiful buildings. And
he said, gentlemen, that has taken more men out of ministry
than anything else. I know of a brother, a Christian
who sits at his desk, a pastor of a church, who sits at his
desk and does day trading all day long. We’re warned of men like Demas,
who having loved this present world, deserted the ministry. Paul says we must, for the sake
of the gospel, seek to be unencumbered. There was a time to take a job.
There was certainly time to quit a job. Would you humble yourself
before God’s throne as we examine our hearts? Merciful God, we thank you for
this passage. And Lord, gleaning these lessons
is not easy. And it’s not for the faint of
heart. We have to look into these passages and see if we’re accurate,
see if we’re understanding it correctly. But we also have to
be honest with our own heart about our own tendency to complacency
and our own tendency to super privacy that interacts with nobody.
A tendency to just shirk responsibility because it’s costly. Merciful
God, teach us and train us if you would that you might use
us for your glory. It’s in Jesus name that we pray.
Amen.