I just want to say once again how thankful I am for learned, solid men of God who teach the Word and share insight there's no way I would see on my own. John MacArthur's sermon The Gospel in Vanity Fair (describing the city of Corinth), Parts 1, 2, 3 gave some great insight that I never would've noticed myself.
First of all, Paul wrote this portion of Acts when he had arrived in Corinth for the first time on his second missionary journey and he came weary and in desperate need of encouragement.
1 Corinthians 2:3 I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
And so God encourages Paul in several ways. First He encourages him by bringing new friends and partners to him in Aquila and Priscilla - fellow tentmakers and devoted believers. He also brings him some old friends, Silas and Timothy, who bring with them generous donations from Macedonia enabling Paul to put his tentmaking aside and focus on preaching. What great encouragment!! New friends, new partners, old friends, generous donations giving him the ability to do what he was called to do and feeling supported in his calling.
God also encourages him by allowing him to see the fruit of his work. There were many converts, including some very influential men - Titius Justus and even the synagogue ruler Crispus.
Then God encourages him by speaking to Paul himself. He reminded Paul that God was with him in all His power. He reminded him he had nothing to fear and encouraged him not to give in to his weariness, but to continue preaching (which shows that Paul was actually so weary and discouraged he had actually considered giving up!). He also assured Paul of His sovereignty - that no one would harm or attack him. And He reminded him that He had many people in this city - Paul was not alone and there were more converts (elect) to be made.
And finally God encouraged Paul through his enemies. Say what? Yup, in Part 3, MacArthur explains...
He was encouraged by his friends, his converts, his God, and his enemies. You say, "Well, John, how can you be encouraged by your enemies?" A lot of ways. Let me give you three.
One--by who your enemies are. You know it will tell a lot about a man who his enemies are? If you've got very bad, sinful, evil enemies, that's good. You're doing something right.
Secondly, you can be encouraged not only by who your enemies are but by how ineffective they are. Have you ever noticed how your enemies work so hard and don't seem to get anywhere?
Let me give you a third thing. You can be encouraged not only by who they are and how ineffective they are, but you can be encouraged by seeing what God does to them. Have you ever seen your enemies get saved? Fantastic.
Paul had some serious enemies, very influential Jews and a lot of them. But they were ineffective because of what God did through Gallio, a very influential unbeliever. Gallio was from a very powerful family. His older brother was Seneca, a famous Roman philosopher and the tutor of Nero, as well as the uncle of famous Roman poet Lucan. Cool info, eh? Anyway, when the Jews brought Paul to Gallio they did so because they knew how he ruled would create a precedent, and boy would things have gone downhill for Christianity if they had succeeded.
But they didn't, and Paul didn't even have to open his mouth! God moved Gallio and he dismissed the whole thing entirely. Then the mob beat Sosthenes (the replacement ruler of the synagogue after Crispus' conversion), likely the same Sosthenes who later became a believer (1 Corinthians 1:1).
God moved in incredible ways in order to encourage Paul. He brought him new friends, old friends, donations and support, He spoke to him personally, and even worked through pagans and enemies. And I almost missed the significance of it all.
God wants to encourage us too. Are we missing it? Are we seeing our friends, both new and old, as God's gifts of encouragement to us? The way circumstances in our lives play out, the support we receive - are we missing God's hand move because we aren't even looking for it?
Friends, God is there. God is here with us. He is a personal God, a good God, a loving God, a relational God, an encouraging God - and He wants to show Himself to you. Are you looking for Him?
Tomorrow's passage: Psalm 130-132, 1 Corinthians 1
2 comments:
Great post. I think we often overlook God's hand in our lives because we are too busy trying to figure it out for ourselves.
I love this idea of God encouraging us. He's not sitting up in heaven waiting for us to mess up, he's with us, step in step - as you said Tammy - he's a personal God showing himself to us, we just need to see it. Thanks for a great post!
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