The Wandering Shepherd

Recently, many American Christians I have spoken to became deeply concerned with the lack of a coherent strategy to face the growing global threat of ISIS. The mission community is watching this crisis, especially those of us who work in the Middle East region. Watching with horror as journalists were brutalized, many around the world reacted in fear, and wanted the comfort of our governmental leaders – and some are noticeably bitter about not getting what they wanted in assurances from Washington. Others are more concerned with the startling outbreak of the Ebola virus, and the seeming lack of a cohesive plan to combat the illness’ steady sweep through parts of the African continent. In all of this time of crisis, something has become very clear to me, and I believe today’s lesson will bear it out. Many dear brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus, seem are far less concerned about the lack of a coherent strategy by the church of our generation to “fight the good fight of faith”, as Paul implored Timothy to do. Let me explain…

We live in times of an assault on our faith in the west. We are fighting against pervasive and deadly spiritual enemies that espouse militant naturalism, moral pluralism and ethical relativism. They are taking the halls of our schools, shining into our living rooms night after night on our television sets and blaring through all the speakers of our culture. While ISIS has been around for a short time, the moral slide toward relativism has been occurring in a steady march since I was a child right in my own schoolyard. We wanted the Pentagon and President to articulate a strategy – but I wonder if we have grasped that we as believers have largely failed to project a strategy on our own battle lines. We are in a pitched battle within our own country, and rather than it being symbolized by the lopping off of heads, it is symbolized by the removal of the moral conscience. Yet the Bible offers answers. We don’t have to sit back and be victims.

In fact, I would argue that it is a time for positive heroes to emerge and defend our faith. The victories of the past are swiftly gathering dust, but these are days for God’s people to grab the Biblical strategies of men and women of yesteryear who marched into the pagan world as far back as the first century and turned the place upside down with the message of Jesus. Paul faced a battle doing just that, but he did it with confidence, generosity of spirit, and a positive approach. It is time to revive the old strategy and articulate it all over again!

Key Principle: We must anticipate the battle, and we must use the model to effectively combat the enemies of the Gospel – but God gave us a manual to accomplish the task.

The text for this lesson offers us a series of challenges Paul faced as he moved the Gospel forward, as well how he responded to each of them. They offer more than a history – they offer a pattern…

First, there was the challenge of UNTRAINED FOLLOWERS – people who are open to following God but don’t really know what God said (19:1-7).

Acts 19:1 It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. 2 He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” 4 Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. 7 There were in all about twelve men.

Look more closely at the procedure Dr. Luke recorded when Paul met the men who were insufficiently trained in the faith:

• Paul found them in the course of his travels (19:1).
• He recognized them as “disciples” (19:1b).
• He examined their beliefs, and determined they were open-hearted, but lacking knowledge of some key parts of what God was doing (19:2).
• He pursued specifics of their background to determine where the breakdown occurred in their spiritual formation (19:3).
• Paul instructed them in specific Scriptures concerning the truths they were missing, and set them in context (19:4).
• The disciples accepted the teaching, and publicly displayed obedience (19:5).
• God empowered the people and led them to the next step of their journey (19:6-7).

I am thankful the story begins with the most enjoyable challenge of ministry – the open but untrained believer. There is no greater joy than working with this kind of follower. My teaching affords me the opportunity to work with disciples that have chosen to take a year of their young lives and learn the Bible. I wish I could explain how it feels to watch them embrace the Word of God!

I am blessed by these few verses, because they remind us of some important truths. First, as we are journeying through life, we will happen upon some who have been led to Jesus, but have not been properly instructed in the Word of God in a way that they can really follow the Lord obediently. They (in the best circumstances) will demonstrate willingness to learn (“teachability”), but they may be using the Bible’s sharp edges in a way that is liable to cut them and others around them. We must consider how careful Paul was to see them as disciples in 19:1, and offer respect and brotherly kindness, in spite of the fact that they may be very poorly taught. Respect is the first key.

A second key drawn from this short account is the inspection Paul made of what they were following. He questioned them as loving brothers, embracing them as colleagues, not chastising them for their lack. It seems clear enough to me that Paul based his treatment of them on their open heart, rather than their developed theology. That should be the signal for us. If someone knows the Lord, and they have the fruit of the Spirit – patience and an honest teachability – we should ask question, listen carefully, and show love. People don’t care what we know until they know that we care about them. If we share truth, it must be in the context of love, and to the point of weakness of their lives. We have limited time together, so we need to address the most important things with the time we have.

The third essential key to dealing with untrained followers beyond respect and inspection is instruction. Note that Paul guided them from the part of the Bible story they knew into the part they did not. They got John’s baptism – they accepted and understood its meaning. They knew repentance. What they didn’t know is that the Lamb John announced did His work, and there was something more they needed to accept. Here is where the fourth key is introduced – challenge. The growing disciples needed to be challenged to step forward and publicly embrace the truth God was making known to them.

Think about what we just saw in the Word. An untrained believer needs to be entreated to grow while being treated with respect. Training them requires that we really listen to them, and inspect what they are saying for Biblical adherence and truth. Where truth is lacking, there needs to be deliberate and careful instruction that is applied to the needy one. Finally, they need to be challenged to live the truth unapologetically. That was the method left to the church by our early church fathers, and recorded by the Spirit’s oversight.

Second, there are DELIBERATE REJECTORS – people who heard the message but were hardened against it (19:8-10).

Acts 19:8 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

Stop for moment and consider how Paul handled those who rejected the message of Jesus:

• Paul made sure there was sufficient time for explanation (three months of Sabbaths – 19:8).
• He made every effort to answer their honest questions, and deliberately tried to persuade them of the truth (19:8b).
• When it became clear that they were not truly interested and were bad-mouthing God’s work in their midst– he withdrew (19:9).
• Paul pulled out those who wanted to follow Jesus and who would have been harmed by remaining in the synagogue after his departure (19:9b).
• Paul carefully trained the followers over an extended period – focusing significant energy on building them up before he left them (19:9-10).

Perhaps much harder to face are those who grew up in Christian homes and walked away from the faith, or those who have been misled within our churches, schools and seminaries. One of the most heartbreaking situations to experience as a parent is to raise your child as best you can in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and then watch them rebel against God – sometimes in overt agnosticism or even irate atheism. We have our war stories at the church where I serve – every church does. The problem is that we may spend too much time trying to figure out “where we went wrong” and forget that though we should be on the lookout for how to do things better, it might not be our fault they walked away, and they may not stay that way if we keep on loving them. Instead of focusing on failure, we should look to the model in the text before us.

First, Paul made sure they ACTUALLY HEARD the truth. Just because your child was in a Bible class does not mean the Bible was being carefully explained. The world is only too ready to gang up against any detail of the Word of God – are you sure they have been exposed to a real and systematic teaching of the truth? In Acts 19:8, Paul stood in the teacher’s place for three months before he judged some simply unwilling to hear the truth – but he gave them three months first. We are too quick sometimes, I believe, to write off rebels. They may have honest questions – and they may come right back into the fold if we both love them and offer honest answers to their queries. I am concerned because I run into so many young people that were given a “flannel graph” view of the Bible stories, and never shown how they answer the deepest struggles of the human experience.

• Who can explain pain and set it in context better than God in Job?
• Who can reason why God rooted sexual attraction deeply within man better than Solomon in his Song of songs?
• Who can explain what happened to humanity, why relationships fall apart and genetics are breaking down better than Moses?
• Who can make clear man’s need of a new life better than Jesus did to Nicodemus?

The problem is that many young people (and many older as well) aren’t really confronted with the true problem. Like the Pharisees of old, the “faith” they learned was about cleaning up their act and washing their hands and dishes according to the rules. The fluffy teaching didn’t explain the deep brokenness inside of the depraved human heart, and the solution for its killing effect.

After Paul was sure they were EXPOSED to the truth sufficiently, he made a very hard call. He didn’t keep battling forever to get the rejecter to listen. How many a parent keeps the conversation going LONG AFTER the young person has stopped listening? Paul cut off the discussion, period. He moved the class away from those who didn’t want to hear it. He WITHDREW with those he could continue to teach. I have several friends who represent the truth in tough places (some of them on Facebook where neither truth nor grammar are treasured). Some of them get regularly beat up, and don’t know when to politely withdraw and let people believe what they want to believe.

Christians don’t change hearts. In the mystery of God’s work within, the Spirit presses and the person responds – and much of that process is not really fully explained in the Word. What is clear is the fact that people are often not rejecting US, but rejecting the God we represent.

Not long ago a friend of mine was dealing with a teen who was a mess. He kept disrupting the youth group in the church, but he kept coming. My friend is a godly man, and he and his wife couldn’t figure out how to work with this young person. Gathered in a small circle of trusted friends, he expressed that he was almost at the point of giving up and walking away, dismissing this young fellow and telling him not to return. Don’t judge him harshly – the young person had twice been caught with drugs on the church campus, and had attempted to draw several other young people into sexual situations – and parents demanded a response. I admit that I was on the page of protecting the other children, when a large African American man sitting with us spoke up. He said: “Can you introduce me to that young man?” The youth leader agreed. Awhile later I asked the man, “What are you going to do?” He smiled and said, “When I was thirteen I was molested by an uncle who was a deacon in my church and a Sunday School teacher. I know this kind of pain, and I want this young person to at least have one solid opportunity to feel loved, trusted and then have an occasion where they can open up about why they are acting out.” This wasn’t long ago, but I am glad that man is taking on the challenge instead of writing off a young man. We’ll see where it goes as time passes. My point is that there comes a time when we cannot chase down those who choose to reject, but we need to be careful to really get the message through to their broken heart first, or we are robbing them of a response, and ourselves of watching God heal.

Third, there were FALSE FOLLOWERS – those who were not walking with God, but using His name (19:21-22).those who imitated God’s work (19:11-20).

Acts 19:11 God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. 18 Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.

In addition to some who were ignorant of the truth but open to God, and those who were informed but openly resisted the message of Jesus, Paul also had to deal with people who claimed to be a part of the move of God, but who were not:

• Paul was being used by God in powerful ways that were clearly God at work (19:11-12).
• Imitators thought they could “co-opt” the work of God and began to try to imitate what the Apostle was doing (19:13).
• Messing with the spiritual world, the men said the right things, but didn’t have the relationship with God to deal effectively with the spiritual world (19:14-16).
• The enemy’s attack was used by God to spread the Gospel, and remind people that the evil one was real and at work (19:17).
• Paul confronted the spiritual darkness, and as people continued to be a part of the work, they surrendered their dark practices (19:18).
• God convicted people, and they destroyed their attachment to the old life in front of all (19:19).
• While magic books were being destroyed, the Word of God was growing and spreading (19:20).

Fake followers have always been around. Some of them lead large congregations and have TV shows, but their lifestyle, if examined, shows an incredible financial attachment to the Gospel. Others join what they view as a spiritual circus, because they think they can be performers.

Yesterday a friend of mine urged me to watch a YouTube of “American Idol” singers coming together to sing “Shout to the Lord!” He was excited. I wasn’t. I am glad there is a public place for truth, and I celebrate that. At the same time, my Lord didn’t come to make hits or draw TV audiences – He came requiring repentance and offering salvation. I personally would struggle watching a stage filled with people who have no real relationship with God, based on their open lifestyle choices, singing praise to a God they don’t serve. That may sound quite “judgy” but I think there is a point at which we need to expect some people to use our faith for popularizing their agenda, not for promoting God’s Word.

I will not thank the world for throwing scraps from my faith in order to keep Christians watching their show, or offer an occasional “hat tip” to Jesus. I lived through both the Jim and Tammy Faye and the Oprah periods, and I have seen the damage of mixing statements of worship with lifestyles that do not match the Bible. More people are turned to darkness when people who don’t know God masquerade as people who do. I don’t’ want to campaign to stop it, but I won’t support it either.

Look at what God did for Paul. The apostle focused on moving the ministry forward, and God stepped in to unmask the fakes. We cannot ignore the charlatans, but we don’t need to spend vital energy focusing on them. I have no problem with Al Mohler making clear that Joel and Victoria Osteen don’t speak the truth and don’t seem to know the Bible. At the same time, that is about all the energy I am going to give to that subject – because we have disciples to make and a Bible to teach…and frankly that is all I have the energy for these days! The charlatans and their ilk lead us to their offspring… the fourth challenge to Paul…

Fourth, there were ERRING BELIEVERS – people who began in a walk with God, but were drawn into sin and error that required correction (19:21-22).

Acts 19:21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.

In Acts 19, this group is hard to pick out if you don’t know the chronology of the life of the Apostle Paul – and that chronological approach is what we are following in this series of lessons. There is some background that will help explain this fourth challenge. Corinth, though a group among whom Paul spent significant time (a year and a half) during the second journey, erupted into division and disobedience. Meanwhile in Rome young believers seemed to be facing a need for a careful explanation of justification. At the very same time, across Galatia Gentile followers of Jesus were under attack by traveling Jewish teachers that were causing significant defections from the church. The church was getting pounded from all sides. How did Paul respond in these months to this “defecting challenge” by erring and attacked believers?

• He sent some men to carry a message to the people from God – offering them clear direction (cp. 1 Corinthians; Acts 19:21).
• He made plans to visit the center of the problem when God enabled him (19:21b).
• Many scholars believe he remained because he was dealing with other groups who were defecting from the faith because of pressure (cp. Romans and Galatians; 19:21b, in the upcoming studies we will examine these problems and Paul’s responses by letter).
• He remained in Ephesus, worked on instruction by letter to Galatia and again to Corinth. In each case he carefully listened to reports and responded with prayer and very pointed teaching directed to them about their situation (19:22).

The pattern God left us through Paul’s work and Luke’s record of it was this: when correction was needed, care had to be taken to settle down and systematically answer the attacks. Hours, weeks and months of Paul’s life were taken up behind closed doors in prayer and the construction of carefully worded letters to answer each defection situation. The work of correction is a major part of the work of pastoral leadership, and Paul was a Pastor’s pastor. It is a sacred duty, but it is also very much a privilege. In recent years I have begun more and more writing, because I believe that a legacy needs to intentional.

Now before we get any further, I don’t think I am a Paul, and I don’t think what I write will have all that much enduring quality. What I am saying is this…time matters. People matter. Discipleship matters. We have only so many years on the planet, most of us, to accomplish the calling God places on our lives. I feel called to do certain things, and that isn’t a statement of my goodness as much as it is a dramatic statement of God’s patience.

Paul took the time to write several letters during the period of time he lodged in Ephesus. Unlike his feelings during the second journey, when Paul was alone and pining for his team – this time he sent them away on important missions, and worked to build new teams. He wrote and wrote to explain the great doctrines of the faith, as well as to combat the error that was chewing up the hearts of younger believers. He taught, preached, wrote and prayed. He traveled and encouraged. He followed God’s lead and honored God’s Word. A man called of God could wish for little more.

There is a great error in taking one’s self too seriously. Yet, I have to admit, that a great number of friends I know have made a greater error not taking God’s call seriously enough. They have judged the call too big and themselves too small – and that helps them excuse shrinking back from the larger tasks. As we develop discipleship, grow Christian followers and even work to build called leaders for the coming generation, I don’t want to hear from our team about how much it costs – it is our privilege to serve God for the few years we have… and time matters. It matters not only in evangelism for the lost, it matters in growth of the saved. If we reach young people, but do not equip them for the storm that is coming in their university to tear their faith away, we will have done little to further the cause of Christ. We will leave them as sheep among wolves – undefended and easily wounded. Erring believers are a pain sometimes, but they are a privilege always.

Fifth, there was THE LOST WORLD – the confrontation with pagan religious systems that dominated his world (19:23-41).

Acts 19:23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26 “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.” 28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly.34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40 “For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 After saying this he dismissed the assembly.

The final group that challenged the early believers in this text were found on the cobbled street lined with vendor’s shops and trinket salesman. Paul felt the heat of the battle with the enemy in a number of ways revealed previously in Acts 19, but among these shopkeepers Paul grappled with open conflict against an ingrained paganism backed by self-interested financiers.

• Note that in the midst of a two front battle between Galatia to the east and Corinth to the west, the enemy took that moment to spring into local disturbance (19:23).
• At the heart of the commotion was a financier and businessman, who had a financial motive to promote paganism (19:24-25).
• At the heart of the attack was not true religious belief, but rather a self-interest and wealth motive – but that will fade in the reasoning and be hidden behind some faked spiritual devotion (19:26-27).
• Watch carefully and identify the fingerprints of the enemy. First, there was a stirred “rage” (19:28), then a tumult and “confusion” all about (19:29). Crowds pounced on believers who were not doing anything to incite the people (19:29b), while the leaders were divided about the safety of helping the disciples (19:30-31).
• Paul went to stand as defender of the faith (19:30).
• The enemy used the “bandwagon effect” to draw a crowd that was not even specifically informed as to the nature of what they were “against” (19:32). They found themselves shouting down people without any guiding principles (19:33-34).
• The “moderate pagan speakers” offered their own conclusions as if they were obvious “facts” and anyone who opposed them clearly – but tried to get the people to follow just procedure (19:35-41). If you listen carefully enough, you will note there was nothing the individual believer was doing that caused the attack (19:40, note the phrase “no real cause”).

Demetrius’ logic was all about his wallet. The bandwagon goons jumped on without even knowing the depths of meaning in the cause or considering the reality of their positions and the consequences of their stand. We are seeing it more and more. Someone is gunned down. Riots ensue, and in the end looters steal from their own neighbors in the name of injustice. None of it fixes anything, and it doesn’t make sense. It is a display of self-interest masked as public good. Stay tuned, it will stay with us, and has been around since the first century. That’s ok, because we have a pattern to follow, and that is what we needed.

Black Bart was a professional thief whose very name struck fear as he terrorized the Wells Fargo stage line. From San Francisco to New York, his name became synonymous with the danger of the frontier. Between 1875 and 1883 he robbed 29 different stagecoach crews. Amazingly, Bart did it all without firing a shot. Because a hood hid his face, no victim ever saw his face. He never took a hostage and was never trailed by a sheriff. Instead, Black Bart used fear to paralyze his victims. His sinister presence was enough to overwhelm the toughest stagecoach guard. -Today in the Word, August 8, 1992.

We don’t need to be afraid; we know the face of our enemy very well. God’s Word unmasks his identity and makes clear his methods – so that we are not ignorant of his schemes… We must anticipate the battle, and we must use the model to effectively combat the enemies of the Gospel – but God gave us a manual to accomplish the task.

It is no secret that I am not fond of cliffs, and aside from a single moment of insanity when I agreed to go repelling, my height sensitivity and general gravity based insecurities have kept me safely from the edges of high places. From time to time, I find myself sweating at the sight of someone on television that appears to be clinging to the side of a massive mountain with a sheer drop beneath them. I wonder what part of the brain has been sufficiently dulled to allow such insanity which is termed by some as bravery and courage. I get weak at the sight of such raw fearlessness.

Let me offer a brief example: Edward Michael “Bear” Grylls is a British adventurer who has shown his survival talents on shows like “Man vs. Wild” on TV. A few weeks ago, I was waiting to get my hair cut, and on the television above the reception area I found myself watching as Bear was teaching another man how to survive on a mountainside with few helps of the modern world. He showed the man how to eat incredibly gross looking things I could not really identify, and how to scale a sheer cliff with almost no tools. Why one would deliberately place their body in such danger is a complete mystery to me, but I admit that I was spellbound as I watched the men pick clean the remains of a little rodent they had just cooked on a tiny fire along a cliff on the side of the mountain to which they were clinging… and then make their way down the steep slope with almost nothing in their hands. Bear kept saying, “When you don’t have much, you find out that you don’t really need much!” At first I thought that sounded profound, then I thought about it.. and it didn’t. When I don’t have much, I end up wondering who packed for the trip! Nevertheless, that saying stuck with me as I began to study for this lesson in Paul’s ongoing journey to follow God.

We have been studying Paul’s life, and for the last few lessons, we examined Paul’s arrival in Corinth and took the time to examine his writing of the first and second letters to the Thessalonian church. We noted they were written as he was recuperating from a tough set of setbacks during the “second mission journey” in the end of Acts 15 to chapter 18. God seemed to have left Paul for a time – but the harsh circumstances were actually God sculpting the Apostle into the man of God he was to become for God’s glory and use. Tough times do that – they tear away the rough edges and reshape the way we think. Paul experienced pain and trouble, but God hadn’t left – He was very much at work. Paul learned a critical lesson in Corinth that is worth stopping to recall today…we’ll call it the “Bear Grylls minimalist” lesson….

Key Principle: When everything seems to be falling apart and the promises of God are all you have, you will find they are all you need.

The promise of God didn’t become clear until everything else fell away:

Sometimes in busyness and noise of our lives, we can learn to cope with issues of life without really turning much to God at all. We can, it seems, make it on our own for a bit. We place our lives on “cruise control” and let everything slide. We don’t DEFECT from our faith, we just don’t ENGAGE LIFE through our faith. Things move along, plans come to fruition, and life keeps moving ahead… until trouble comes and we find ourselves reeling back in pain.
The truth is we can never know for sure how another person is coping with troubles and changes, but the Bible story of the second mission journey is clearly a record of a period in Paul’s ministry that was rife with trouble, and the probability that it played into the team’s attitudes and progress is not all that uncertain. Take, for instance, the troubles the mission team has passed through on the way to Corinth:

• The disputes of the past left their mark (the breakup with Barnabas). Why didn’t God show Barnie how wrong he was?

• The untested team left an uncertainty in their interactions (adding Timothy). Is this new recruit going to be better than John Mark was?

• The lack of clear direction left doubts in the team (the Macedonian man vision). Why isn’t God letting us move forward?

• The physical pain of beating and emotional pain of unlawful imprisonment lurked in the background (Philippi and the jail). Why does God let evil men get away with hurting us?

• The constant haranguing of the team and the pressure on Paul’s extended family made the victories seem more uncertain and soured a sense of progress (Jason at Thessalonica). Why doesn’t God protect our family while we are doing a work for Him?

• The “singling out” at Berea could easily have made Paul feel like the attack was very personal (left alone). Why won’t God step in and defend me?

• The stirring in Athens seemed less a response from prayer and mission and more a reaction to what he saw in the square, and it didn’t go well (Mar’s Hill). Doesn’t God see that I am fully invested here?

Admittedly, some things went well along the journey. Lydia, a jailer, Damaris and others were added to the family of followers of Jesus. That is no small thing. These were lives moved from darkness to light! Yet, the cost per soul was incredibly high, and the story seems to pose a discouraged and beaten up Apostle – not a victorious soldier arriving in Corinth on the shoulders of his championship team… Look at the setting for God’s promise revealed…

Acts 18:1 After these things he left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, 3 and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and they were working, for by trade they were tent-makers. 4 And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 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. 6 But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized. 9 And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; 10 for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.” 11 And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.

Paul kept going: “went to Corinth” (18:1) – no one finds God’s promises true when they quit on God. Paul’s experiences weren’t victorious, but he was following God and delivering the message he had been given. To the man who journeys through the troubles and pains, there is the moment when he can look back and see God’s guiding hand. To the quitter, they can only see the failure. Paul didn’t quit when the team broke up. He didn’t quit when he wasn’t sure why God wasn’t leading him as clearly as before. He didn’t lay down the task when he was physically attacked. He kept going, kept hoping, kept trusting that God’s plan was playing out and his life was accomplishing God’s ends.

In 1972, NASA launched the exploratory space probe Pioneer 10. The satellite’s primary mission was to reach Jupiter, photograph it and its moons, and beam data it collected about this giant planet back to earth. Scientists regarded this as a bold plan, because up until then no satellites had gone beyond Mars, and they feared the asteroid belt would destroy the satellite before it would ever get to Jupiter. But Pioneer 10 accomplished its mission and much, much more. Flying past Jupiter in November 1973, the space probe continued its incredible journey toward the edge of our solar system. At one billion miles from the sun, Pioneer 10 passed Saturn. At some two billion miles, it hurtled past the planet Uranus, then past Neptune, at nearly three billion miles, and Pluto, at almost four billion miles. By 1997, 25 years after its launch, Pioneer 10 was more than six billion miles from the sun… still going…Commenting on the Pioneer 10 in Time magazine Leon Jaroff says, “Perhaps most remarkable, is the fact that those signals emanate from an eight-watt transmitter, which radiates about as much power as a bedroom night-light, and take more than nine hours to reach Earth.” “The Little Satellite That Could” was not qualified to do what it did. Engineers designed Pioneer 10 with a useful life of only three years. But it has kept going and going and going. By simple longevity, its tiny eight-watt transmitter radio accomplished more than anyone thought possible. So it is when we offer ourselves to serve the Lord. God can work even through someone with only eight-watt abilities. God cannot work, however, through someone who gives up and quits. (Craig Brian Larson, Pastoral Grit: The Strength to Stand and to Stay; Bethany House, 1998).

Let me ask you something. Would you have blamed Paul if he threw in the towel and headed back to Tarsus for a break? Isn’t it reasonable that he had been through many troubles, and a good rest would have worked well…Don’t you think? Yet, God picked a man with a tough shell and a tender heart – and he kept going.

Don’t quit if you want to understand what God is doing with you…just don’t. God will be there at the end on the last day…don’t quit following, don’t quit working, don’t quit blessing others with the life God has given you. Don’t stop ministering because others aren’t opening their arms to you. They aren’t lost – they are lost right now… and you don’t know about tomorrow. Not only that, but…

Paul got strengthened: The text reminds he “found a Jew” (18:2-3) – sometimes it is two weakened people that build one another to strength. In Paul’s case, God out three together to make each one whole. Aquila and Prisca were both new to the place, moved by God’s hand to be waiting for a hurting Paul. When Claudius ordered them to leave their home and business, they probably had no idea why – but God was at work through the difficulties of their lives as well. They were Jews, and they were tentmakers – a perfect match for Paul at that moment. Sometimes we need people who are LIKE US in some ways, to help us get things together. At the same time, we need people who are ABOUT what we are about. Paul needed a couple that wouldn’t miss a synagogue service on any Sabbath – new in town or not. Finding someone who will encourage you begins with finding someone who shares your values. Someone has said: “Until we walk in agreement nothing can be done”. I like the old African proverb that makes me smile: “The man who tries to walk two roads, splits his pants.” God brought like people together, and paired the couple with the beaten Apostle at a key moment in all their lives. Finding a friend to share with is always a key to gaining balance in tough situations, and God opened the way for Paul to have just what he needed. Often the best place to find a friend is to look for another person in need.

Paul eased in: He taught and reasoned “every Sabbath” (18:4) – he didn’t dedicate all the time he had to preaching yet. Though growing in strength, Paul needed to work during the week to make ends meet. That doesn’t sound very exciting, but it was probably emotionally helpful and spiritually very important. God did not drop a big giver in his life and enable Paul to handle the full need of those days in advance – neither financially nor physically and spiritually. Paul’s needs were not his weakness – they represented his healing time as he depended on God to meet his needs through hard work with his hands For a man, that can be a great blessing – to use your hands to meet your needs. I love the fact that God took him to something familiar, something he could have a measure of control over and gain a predictable outcome. The “reasoning” and “debating” that took place in the services would drain some men and women, but after a week of heavy sewing and leather work, they were a recharging point for Paul. He could work all week, meditate on God’s Word and pray – and on Sabbath he could offer a passionate defense of truth. The process was helpful to the expansion of the kingdom, but also to Paul’s inner healing. When you get knocked down hard – don’t be overanxious to get back in the ring…wait on the Lord’s timing and heal a bit.

Paul read the signals: He waited to more heavily invest in the teaching and preaching “when Silas and Timothy came” (18:5). After the arrival of the full team, Paul found it possible to press forward with the Gospel in the synagogue and have at his back a team to help support the work. He seemed more healed; he was more assured – and he saw that it was time to press ahead in full. Healing is necessary, and scars are real – but we mustn’t pick at the past so much that the scars become scabs. Counseling may be necessary for your healing, but there comes a time to graduate and move on. I have observed a number of people who receive a label in counseling, and then allow their problem to name them – and limit all the things God can do in their life. Get healed, but let God send the signals when it is time to move ahead anew. Sometimes forgetting the things that are behind includes setting aside the old hurts so that God can take you in a new direction.

Paul handled new opposition: He got to the place where “he shook out his garments” (18:6). He tried to reason with people, but recognized there was a time to move on. He came back to his former confident self, and knew that God’s closing of one door was the opening of another. He was able to meet the challenge directly, and knew how to keep his balance in the face of opposition. Earlier he would not have been ready – now he was. Believers must prepare to meet opposition – especially in the days we live in now. The rising tide of unyielding naturalism is moving people back to old animism. On television the hunter will bow over the prey and thank the dead animal for “giving its life” when in fact the animal gave nothing. The hunter took, but the segment sounds more and more like something from an old native American ritual. It is the revival of animism – the sense that the earth is sacred and we are merely a part of the “circle of life”.

Opposition to Jesus and the Scriptures will turn otherwise smart people into a series of contradictions that make no sense.

• We live in a time when some seem more morally indignant about contaminating the environment with a plastic trash bag but they are utterly unconcerned with the destroyed parts of the unborn baby the bag contains.

• We now have doctors that will swear to us that one’s sexual identity is a mere social construct that can be changed at will, unless they desire the same sex – and then it is morally wrong to attempt to alter that desire, even if the person seeks treatment to change it.

• We are invited to hear critics charge that believers are waging a “war on science”, while they quickly hide behind the notion that scientists cannot determine exactly when life begins.

• We are preached to that campus feminism is designed to free women to have it all, as long as raising children, being a monogamous marriage partner and providing a stable home are not their idea of what they want to become. Those choices are considered demeaning – and have been summarily stricken from the list of acceptable goals.

• Our own government will insist today that teens and preteens are sufficiently responsible to decide whether to have sexual relationships, but are not mature enough to be expected to pay for their own health insurance until they are 26 years old.

• We live in a time where people will be quick to say it is wrong to harbor prejudice against anyone because of their race, sex, religion, or ideology while they are calling a believer an ignorant, closed-minded, sexist, homophobic Christian. They see no contradiction in their freedom to swallow our freedom. (Ben Johnson of Lifesite News produced a much fuller list, I have liberally paraphrased these points).

I am not grousing, I am trying to make a point. The pilgrims arrived here to escape the very persecution that is now being mandated by some of the northeastern states they first landed on to settle…and more is coming. Naturalism, animism, pluralism that applauds every spiritual concept in the public square except that which comes from the Bible – this is on our horizon. For that we will suit up, armor up, joy up, celebrate each other and walk with Jesus into the fire if that is where He calls us. We will not be sullen, because that would bring God’s enemy joy. We also need not be surprised when logic is reduced to name calling and sarcasm in place of rational argument. There is no consistent rationale for morality without God. Extract Him from the picture, and all the great arguments are reduced to ashes, and we fight about mere petty technique instead of grand reason.

Paul opposed false thinking. He stood up to the resistance to the truth of God –and we must raise a generation that are ready to do that as well.

Paul sensed the problems growing: The text recorded that Jesus told him to “go on speaking” (18:7-9). Paul was tempted to back away and shut down when new troubles appeared on the horizon. He was aware of the new converts and the growing sense of trouble in the city, Paul was fighting within a decision to pull back. The team was there, but the pains of the past were overshadowing the gains of the present. Didn’t that make sense? Cool down. Don’t get too political Paul. Haven’t you seen the stats – things are going in a different direction. People aren’t following what you are saying…only a few are on board.

Just remember that in the history of man, the many were often on the wrong side of the equation:

“Isaac’s Storm” is a very interesting book about the hurricane that wiped out Galveston in 1900. One of the main plot lines of the book is about how everyone was convinced that a hurricane could never strike Galveston, even as one approached. The author vividly describes how as the streets began to flood people went about their business as if nothing was wrong. Children played in the water, men gathered for breakfast at the local diner, and no one fled from the storm that was about to strike. Some didn’t worry because Issac Cline, the national weather service officer in Galveston, assured them it would not be a severe storm. Other’s simply believed that Galveston was invincible. Some thought that since they had never seen a hurricane strike Galveston one never would. So for a number of reasons, people assured themselves nothing bad would happen. And as a result over 6,000 people died one September day in 1900. Today we can see storm clouds forming on the horizon. There is a moral and spiritual decline that continues to erode our national life. The warning signs are there for us to see–the signs that Jesus is coming soon. They beckon us to return to the Lord and seek refuge in Him. How will history look back on what we did as the storm approached? SOURCE: Steve Hanchet. Citation: “Isaac’s Storm: A Man, a Time, and the Deadliest Hurricane in History,” by Erik Larson and Isaac Monroe Cline. Vintage Books; ISBN: 0375708278; (July 11, 2000).

God met Paul at the point of his withdrawal (18:10-11). Note that the Holy One made it plain: “Stay here and do what I told you to do!” Could we do that in the face of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria if God met us in that place? Our brothers and sisters in Christ have been called to do so. God will keep them until He has used their lives to His glory – and then they will be in His comforting arms forever. They have no lustful vision of virgins in the afterlife – they have the promise that their God will wipe every tear from their eyes and show them into an eternal home that will offer comfort beyond compare.

In Paul’s case, God told him the needed protection would be provided, for God had a work He wanted completed in that place. Paul’s job was to trust God and take His Word seriously – and so is every believers job.

Remember the principle of the lesson? When everything seems to be falling apart and the promises of God are all you have, you will find they are all you need.

Paul withstood a beating, and now trouble was coming anew. The critical lesson for Paul and his mission team was this: no amount of strength, no amount of physical comfort, no amount of provision would make them feel completely secure. Our real sense of protection comes from deep within when the promise of God becomes our foundation. Security doesn’t come from distance from troubles – but from closeness to the Savior. Life is too hard, troubles too strong, hurts too deep to live only with physical and human comforts as our prize. Real security comes from walking with God Himself. It is offered in His promises – the greatest of which is His close presence. To the promise of God’s protection, Paul’s response was to remain in the city for one and one half years – probably the remainder of the term of the consul Gallio. It seems God made clear to Paul that he was under a protective Roman hand while operating in the city of Corinth. He also saved on his bill at the local barber during that time… it looks like he vowed to stay, but not cut his hair!

The promises of God didn’t mean troubles would cease, only that His work would persist.

Don’t miss that God was at work, but the bullet flew close to Paul in the midst of his obedience. That is important…

Acts 18:12 But while Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat, 13 saying, “This man persuades men to worship God contrary to the law.” 14 But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gallio said to the Jews, “If it were a matter of wrong or of vicious crime, O Jews, it would be reasonable for me to put up with you; 15 but if there are questions about words and names and your own law, look after it yourselves; I am unwilling to be a judge of these matters.” 16 And he drove them away from the judgment seat. 17 And they all took hold of Sosthenes, the leader of the synagogue, and began beating him in front of the judgment seat. But Gallio was not concerned about any of these things. 18 Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow. 19 They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, 21 but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church, and went down to Antioch.

In short order the troubles revisited (18:12-13), but Paul was protected by God through means Paul could not have seen available. God has an arsenal much larger than we can imagine. Did you notice the way Dr. Luke recorded the story? He said that Paul was ready to speak (obeyed) but God stepped in (and kept His promise – cp. 18:14-17).

Paul completed the vow he made to trust God’s promises because Paul knew that God is faithful (18:18). He began a work in us, and He will complete every project He ever started.

You can find hope in your darkest hour through the faithfulness of God. Harry Teuchert knows this is true. For years Harry had been a successful publisher of materials for churches. Everything in his life seemed to be perfect: A lovely home, a family, a solid future; but all this suddenly collapsed. Harry’s wife told him she was leaving him. She was in love with someone else. Devastated, Harry tried to cope, work, continue with his life, but this tragedy was too overwhelming. Despite all the other good things in his life, Harry felt like a complete failure with nothing to live for. He was on the road to meet with a church about their anniversary publication. Arriving early, Harry sat down in the fellowship hall. Suddenly, he began to think about suicide. His life was over. All was finished. As he sat at a table, he began to cry intensely, holding his head in his hands. The more Harry wept, the more he was convinced that his life had ended. He would continue no more. He was beaten. It would be so easy to end it all. In total despair he looked up, and noticed a faded poster on the far wall. In that picture was the image of a man in the same despair Harry was going through — Head in his hands in complete anguish. Then, as Harry studied the poster further, he noticed a smaller image in the lower right corner of the poster: Three crosses, on a hill, surrounded by a dark sky. Beneath the center cross these simple words were inscribed, “I know how you feel; I’ve been there myself.” While staring at those words, Harry fell to his knees and prayed, “God, help me.” Suddenly God touched Harry with a new flood of hope. He got up telling himself, “I’m going to beat this thing. I can do all things in Christ who strengthens me.” Harry got on with his life. And today he is serving the God who came to him in his moment of greatest trial. (Original source unknown – found in christianglobe.com sermon “Help Me Make It Through The Night” by King Duncan – John 3:1-21 – 2005). When Pastor Rick Crandall told the story, he commented: “The Lord used a faded poster to remind Harry of God’s great faithfulness. And I hope He uses Harry’s story to remind you.” (taken from sermon central.com).

God not only protected the Apostle, but offered Paul one more chance to see him at work: “Paul left them [the team] there and walked into the synagogue to reason with the local Jews” (18:19-22). It is obvious that being alone – without the team – was no longer a problem for Paul – because he saw God’s hand of protection in His promises. He knew a new level of God’s presence, and that gave him a new bravery.

Men and women, in the last 100 years we have split the atom, and made a household industry out of the movement of electrons that were only discovered at the dawn of the twentieth century…we have reached to the stars and left footprints on the moon. We have eradicated many diseases that plagued mankind for centuries and raised the number of years we expect to live by a substantial margin. We have made having a baby a routine experience, no longer the perilous danger women experienced for generations. We have created pain relief in cheap capsule form. We can place you on an operating table and in seconds move you to unconsciousness, allowing us to probe deeply into your anatomy to solve once intractable defects and wounds. We have gathered humanity in massive aid projects. We have broken the back of some huge slavery rings. We have made clear that every child should have clean water to drink and sufficient food to eat. We have gained ground in science, technology, economy and medicine. We live in a world of fast jets and pocket computerized connections.

Yet, in all of these things, man’s deepest problems have not evaporated. Savage men behead servicemen and media reporters, while groups march through London and Paris in support of their right to wield a sword against foes. We save whales and seals but exterminate inconvenient children – we have lost an entire generation of more than 50 million American babies to a ruthless and barbaric industry. We watch in horror as our streets are filled with rampaging and angry men and women who believe injustices against them have justified uncivil behavior and looting. We marvel at how the world’s most famous atheist Professor Richard Dawkins, claimed it was “immoral” to allow unborn babies with Down’s syndrome to reach natural birth. The Oxford professor told would-be parents who learn their child has the condition they have an ethical responsibility to “abort it and try again” since in his words “foetuses do not have human feelings”.

In the face of incredible advances, it seems the savagery of our past lay just beneath the surface. Are you ready to trust science for your future? Do you believe educators will lead us to peace and happiness? Will technology solve the ultimate issues and conquer the inner human sickness? I don’t think so. What’s more, the Bible makes clear that will not happen. Man lives by the promises of God – Jesus said that. It isn’t food, fun and fellowship that makes life worth living – it is the integrity of a God that has loved us and promised us a certain future. It doesn’t matter what life brings your way. It doesn’t matter if it seems fair, or if God seems to be “on top” of all that hurts you. You have His promise for how life will change for you when this body is finished its journey – if you know Him.

When everything seems to be falling apart and the promises of God are all you have, you will find they are all you need.