Let's go back to Acts chapter
18 this evening, the book of Acts chapter 18. Let's talk about
the Lord's work in the city of Corinth. God had sent his servant, the
apostle Paul, to Athens. In Athens, this great apostle spoke to them
about the God they didn't know. As he took a little tour of the
city, he said, I see you're a superstitious people, a very religious people. You have lots of temples. Lots
of statutes, lots of gods, lots of goddesses that you worship.
You're a very superstitious people. He said, as I looked and saw
all your devotions, I saw that you had made an altar. And this altar was made to the
unknown God. He said, that's the God I want
to talk to you about. The God you don't know. The God who made the heavens
and the earth. God who made all men. God who
gives us breath. God who gives us life. The God who rules the world.
The God who has set the boundary of men's lives and men shall
not cross that boundary. You'll live as long as God has
ordained for you to live and then you'll die. He said, this
is the God you don't know. We live in a day much like the
days of Athens when the apostle was there. We live in the midst
of a religious people, especially in this area. There's a religious institution,
a religious building on nearly every corner in this city. Even when we came here the first
time many years ago, the thought entered into my mind, this is
a superstitious city. And yet this city, like every
other village and every other city in America and in the world,
is a city in which men and women and young people are ignorant
about God. There's no fear of God before
their eyes because the God that they hear about isn't deserving
of any fear. The God most people listen to
as He is preached, He isn't worthy of any real worship. He isn't
worthy of any adoration. He isn't worthy to bow the knee
to Him. He isn't worthy to be honored
and exalted and extolled. The God most people hear about
is the God who needs them. The God who is weak. The God
who wishes that you would let Him have His way. We do indeed
like the Apostle preach to people about the unknown God. Thank
God by His Spirit He can be known. Thank God there's a mediator
to introduce us to this God that we don't know. God has not left Himself without
a way to be approached. There is a way to come to God.
There is a way to know God. There is a way to be accepted
by God. There is a way of life before
this God, and that way is a living way, and He is somebody. He's the Lord of glory, the Lord
Jesus Christ. Thank God He can be known. The
Savior said this is life eternal. that they might know Thee, the
only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent. Do you know
God? We can only know God through
the Lord Jesus. I preach to you the same Jesus
the Apostle Paul preached to these people of Athens. He said
to these people, He said, I say unto you, God now commands all
men everywhere to repent. Because He's ordained a day in
which He's going to judge the world in righteousness. And He's going to do it by that
man whom He's ordained. Who is that man? Well, He's the
man Christ Jesus. There's one God and one mediator
between God and man. That's the man Christ Jesus. He said God's going to judge
the world by that man whom He hath ordained. He's given us assurance that
He is going to judge the world in righteousness by that man
whom He ordained and that He raised Him from the dead. We
do serve a living Savior. He did live in this world. And
He did die that God might be just and justify the ungodly. But He ever lives. He ever lives
in glory. He oversees everything that goes
on in this world. He is the great ruler. He is
the great governor of the nations. He sits on His great throne of
grace and mercy. And He rules the world to fulfill
His Father's eternal purpose. And He rules to work all things
together for the good of His elect. Well, this is what the
apostle preached in Athens. God was pleased to save a few. Not many. Not many. It's a miracle of His grace He
didn't save anybody. Anybody. You are a living, breathing,
walking miracle if you believe and love and worship the Lord
Jesus Christ. Do you know that? You are a miracle. You live by His grace. You live
by His might. You were dead in trespasses and
sins and in your ignorance. You were in mad pursuit of the
things of this world or you were wrapped up in false religion. But you weren't seeking God.
Thank God He seeks the lost. And our Lord Jesus went to Jericho. There was a man in Jericho who
had no idea he was one of God's elect. He had no idea he was one of
those vile sinners for whom Christ came to give his life a ransom. He was a chief of the tax collectors. He heard that Jesus of Nazareth
was passing by and he sought to see him out of curiosity. Little did he know he's an object
of God's everlasting mercy. God was going to bring him to
the Son of Life. So this little man, Zacchaeus,
he went to the route that our Lord Jesus would be following
as he went through Jericho. And up into a sycamore tree he
went. And he sat down on a branch thinking,
this is a good spot. I'll have a good view of him.
The Savior came, passed that way and the Savior stopped. Looked up in the tree and said,
Zacchaeus, because he calls his own sheep by name. He said, Zacchaeus,
you come down. The day I must abide at thy house. I tell you, salvation came to
that man's house that day. And this is what the Savior said,
for the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was
lost. Through the preaching of the
gospel, He saved the lost ones in Athens, that is, His own lost
ones. I heard a preacher say one time,
God will save every lost sinner. And that's right. Because He'll
get you lost. And then He'll find you. There's
not many people know that they're lost. But when God makes you
to know, to realize, and to understand you're lost and you can't do
anything about it. It's like I taught in the Bible
school. I taught last Wednesday on Luke. The word lost is such a vital
word in the book of Luke. You have lost things. Lost. What a sad word is lost. That's us. We became lost in
Adam. We lost our understanding of
God. We lost life. We lost righteousness. We lost everything in Adam. Our
Lord Jesus came to seek and to save the lost and to give us
in Himself much more than we lost in Adam. In Jesus Christ
we have all things. We have righteousness and life
and wisdom and redemption and sanctification and everything
else we need for this life. and for the life which is to
come. We have everything to put us in good standing before the
eyes of a holy God. In Christ Jesus we have all things. He found us. The Lord found the
few people in Athens. He found all of His lost ones.
But He wasn't many. Then the Apostle goes further
on his missionary journey. He leaves Athens. and he goes
to the city of Corinth about 50 miles away. He gets to the
city of Corinth and once again he's by himself. I said this morning the city
of Corinth was vile. It was a godless city, overrun
with idols, with perversion. with luxury, with wealth, with
vice. Indeed, it has well earned the
name Sin City, the city of Corinth. The Apostle Paul was alone. He was alone in Athens when he
was dropped off by the men who were concerned about his safety
in Berea. And now he comes to the city
of Corinth alone. Yes, Silas and Timothy will join
him, and he will be thankful to meet up with a Jew by the
name of Aquila, and with his wife Priscilla. But as he arrives
in Carmath, he is all alone. But no, he's not all alone, because
God's people are never alone. Never Alone. Do you know that
song, No, Never Alone? I bet I'm sure you know it, Marty.
No, Never Alone. The world's fierce winds are
blowing, temptations are sharp and keen. I feel a peace in knowing
my Savior stands between. He stands to shield me from danger,
though earthly friends are gone. He promised never to leave me.
never to leave me alone. He died for me on the mountain,
for me they pierced his side. For me, he opened that fountain,
the crimson cleansing tide. For me, he waiteth in glory,
seated on his throne. He promised never to leave me,
never to leave me alone. We're never alone. No, never
alone. No, never alone, the hymn writer
said. He promised never to leave me,
never to leave me alone. You're never alone, child of
God. I say to the widows, I say to
the widowers, I say to those of you who are single, to those
of you who live by yourself, you love the Lord and sometimes
you feel mighty lonely. That lady, I went to visit her
one time. She's a widow. And I know what
she meant. I knew what she was talking about.
She said, you know, I know the Lord's always with me, but sometimes
I just need to feel the person I'm talking to. I just need to
touch them. Sometimes I just need somebody
to hug me. And I said, well, I'm here to
hug you, but I can't be here all the time. But I said, that
one whom to your eyes is physically invisible. He's more real than
you realize. He's right here every moment
of every day. He said, I'll never leave you.
I'm not going to forsake you. I know the Apostle Paul got discouraged
and I know he became fearful because the Lord will say to
him later, don't be afraid. And some of you, you have times
of fear and doubt and worry and just the anxiety of being alone. I just don't have anybody, preacher. Nobody much comes around. Maybe
I'm talking to somebody in that situation. Your Savior is always
there. He is always there. And your
God, His ear is always open to your cry. Always. Listen, He that keepeth Israel,
He neither slumbers nor sleeps. And in the wee hours of the morning,
maybe when your tears are falling down, rolling down your cheek,
and you feel lonely, you lift your heart to your God. Your
God is with you. Your God rules all the circumstances
of your life. Your God not only knows who you
are and where you are, but He knows how you feel in your heart. He knows if you feel lonely,
if you feel forgotten. Take His Word and read it. Read where He says that He's
with you. He is with you. Listen to the
Scriptures. And when you get that way, just remember, you are not by
yourself in feeling alone sometimes. I tell you, Elijah, he was a
mighty preacher, a mighty prophet of God. But he said, Lord, they
killed Thy prophets, they dig down Thine altars, and I am left
alone. I'm all alone. They seek my life. Brother Elijah, you're not alone. You're not alone. God's people are never alone.
The Lord said to Abraham way back in the book of Genesis chapter
28 and verse 15, And behold, I am with thee. and will keep thee everywhere
thou goest. And I will bring you into this
land, for I will not leave thee until I have done that which
I have spoken to thee of. And our Lord Jesus says to all
of His people, I will not leave you until I have fulfilled My
word regarding you. What is that? That you be with
Me in glory to behold My glory. He is never going to leave you
to yourself. The Lord had Moses to encourage
Joshua. Moses said, Be strong and have
good courage. Fear not, nor be afraid of them,
the enemies. For the Lord thy God, He it is
that doth go with thee. He shall not fail thee, nor forsake
thee. He won't forsake you. That's Deuteronomy 31.6 and Deuteronomy
31.8. And the Lord, He it is that doth
go before thee, He will be with thee, He will not fail thee,
neither forsake thee, fear thou not, neither be dismayed. The Lord said to Joshua in Joshua
chapter 1 and verse 5, There shall not any man be able to
stand before thee all the days of thy life. As I was with Moses,
so I will be with thee. I will not fail thee nor forsake
thee. The Lord said, 1 Chronicles 28. The Lord will not forsake His
people for His great name's sake, because it's pleased the Lord
to make you His people. It pleased Him to make you His
people. He's not going to desert you. We read over in Hebrews 13, let
your conversation be without covetousness. and be content
with such things as you have, for he hath said, I will never
leave thee nor forsake thee, so that we may boldly say, the
Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me." Yes, as far as men are concerned,
he was alone. But the Lord was with him, so
he departed Athens, he came to Corinth, verse 2, And God gave him immediate fellowship
and friendship. He found a certain Jew named
Aquila born in Pontus. Lately come from Italy with his
wife Priscilla. And the reason was because Claudius
commanded all Jews to leave Rome and they came unto them. And
he stayed with them. He abode with them and He worked
with them for their occupation was tent makers and He was a
tent maker. And He stayed with them and He
fellowshiped with them. Isn't it wonderful to have fellowship
with God's people? Oh, I tell you, that's one of
the most precious things. And that's why we want to guard
the unity of believers. The unity of the brothers and
sisters in Christ Jesus. And that's why I'm all for fellowship
time. We had such a good picnic Friday. I appreciate the men sweating
and cooking hamburgers and hot dogs for us and appreciate all
the other food and just being there amongst people who love
one another. It wasn't a precious time to
be together. And somebody said, we need to
do this more often, and we will if I can draft these guys into
cooking a little bit more often. It was just a wonderful, wonderful
time of fellowship together. We need that! We need that! Boy, don't you know the heart
of the Apostle Paul? He found Aquila and Priscilla
and they got to talking about the things of God. Thank you,
Lord, for these friends that you sent me. People who are of
like-minded faith. People who love the grace of
God. People who love the Lord Jesus
Christ. People who love to talk about
the things that God does. The great works that the Lord
is doing. What God is going to do. People
who love to exalt God. Speak about sovereign grace,
free grace. Speak about the blood. Speak
about righteousness. Speak about God's great salvation
that He gives to poor sinners like us. Oh, Paul's spirit, I
just know his spirit perked up. Thank you, Lord, for sending
me brother Aquila and sister Priscilla. And then he stayed
with them. And he worked with them. Now,
this was good that he worked with them, and yet there is,
I think, some legitimate criticism to be leveled against those churches
that didn't support him so that he wouldn't have to work. You
know, the scripture teaches us that those who preach the gospel
live of the gospel. In fact, it is in the book of
1 Corinthians that the apostle Paul deals with that. Go over
to 1 Corinthians chapter 9 real quick. 1 Corinthians chapter
9. It was good that the apostle
had an occupation to fall back on. But it was bad that the saints
of God did not recognize the fact that this man of God ought
to have been provided for. They should have provided for
him so he could devote himself fully to the ministry of the
Word. And I know there are a lot of
churches who say, they point to that passage in Acts chapter
18, they say, well, see there the Apostle Paul, he didn't get
any money, nobody paid him, he was a tent maker, so he had his
own occupation. But watch what he wrote to the
Corinthians. These same people, a little later
on, he writes to them, and this is what he says, chapter 9 and
verse 7. He says, Who goeth a warfare
at any time at his own charges? Or who plants a vineyard, and
eateth not of the fruit thereof? Or who feeds a flock, and eats
not of the milk of the flock? Say I these as a man, or sayeth
not the law the same also? For it is written in the law
of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treads
out the corn. Does God take care of the oxen?
Or saith He it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no
doubt, this is written. That he that plows should plow
in hope. That is, in anticipation of receiving
for his plowing. And that he that thresheth in
hope should be a partaker of his hope. If we've sown unto
you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap your carnal
things? If others be partakers of this
power over you, are not we rather? Nevertheless, we have not used
this power, but suffer all things lest we should hinder the gospel
of Christ. Do you not know that they which
minister about holy things live of the things of the temple?
And they that wait at the altar are partakers of the altar? Even
so hath the Lord ordained that they which preach the gospel
should live of the gospel." But on this occasion, he worked. He worked. You know, he later
on would write, if a man doesn't work, he doesn't eat. Now what
he wrote, man doesn't work, he doesn't eat. Work is an honorable
thing. I remember my first job, well,
my first job was mowing grass for my mom and daddy and my grandparents. That was a non-paying job. And
we had other chores. I've had to work all my life.
Haven't you had to work all your life? That's just the way it
is. I was 15 years old, started washing cars at Clinton Tosh's
Amoco Station there in Rocky Mountain. I didn't even have
a driver's license. I knew how to drive a car and I knew how
to wash cars, too. And I'll wash your car, but it's
going to cost you. I do know how to wash cars now.
But that's what I did for a living. Then I went to work at Dairy
Queen. Went to work Bassett Furniture Company before I, just before
Nancy and I got married, before I went away to Bible school,
and then I went away to Bible college, went to work for Marita
Bread Company. I was like the dough boy. Oh,
my wife was always glad to see me come home. I smelled like
fresh loaf of bread. She said, can they put that in
a bottle? Then I went to work for UPS. Carrying 18 hours at
Bible college? Worked. That's what the Apostle
Paul did. He worked. He worked. Then I became a driver
for UPS and then I took that little church in Rocky Mount
and took a big pay cut. That was alright. But we couldn't
stand it, so I had to drive a school bus. That's okay. That's okay. You know what they call preachers
that do that? I didn't know that's what they call preachers that
do that today. Bivocational preacher. I was a bivocational preacher.
That sounds really good. I didn't know that's what I was,
but that's what I was. That's what I'm told now. I was
a bivocational preacher. Drove a school bus. When I went
down, sat out pastoring down there, sold insurance. Here's
what the Apostle Paul did. Hey, he had to eat. He had to
eat. See, he made tents. Literally,
he was a leather maker. He worked with leather. That's
what he did. He worked with leather. It was an honorable thing. But
he would later on say to these Corinthians and other churches
that those that preach the gospel should live of the gospel now. But here's what he did. Look
at verse 4. He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath That's
back to Acts 18.4. He reasoned in the synagogue
every Sabbath to question and answer. Be ready to give an answer
to any man who asks you of the hope that's in you. And He persuaded
the Jews and the Greeks. He persuaded them. Be ye reconciled
to God. This is the same word that is
used in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 where He persuaded men. Knowing therefore the terror
of the Lord. We persuade you. We persuade
you. Oh, come to Christ! Believe on
the Lord Jesus Christ, knowing of the terror of the Lord. I
believe the terror of the Lord, and if you don't believe the
terror of the Lord, you need to stop and look at Calvary.
If you don't think God will punish sin, see the Lord Jesus bearing
all the sins of all of His elect of all the ages in His own body
on the tree. See our sins all charged to Him
and the wrath of God falling on Him. God pulling out His sword
of justice and sticking it into the heart of His Son. If you
don't think God's going to punish sin, just look at the cross.
Look at the cross. Knowing the terror of the Lord,
we persuade man. I persuade you tonight. Oh, be reconciled to God. Be reconciled to God. That's
what he did. Look at verse 5. Then Silas and
Timothy, they came from Macedonia. And then Paul was pressed in
the Spirit. He got more encouraged. Isn't
it wonderful the way God encourages you? First of all, Aquila and
Priscilla. He needed that encouragement. And then here comes Silas and
Timothy, two more preachers, and they encourage you. Be an
encouragement to believers, would you? And be an encouragement
to God's preachers. And I'm thankful that you are.
Here comes Silas and Timothy. They come from Macedonia. And
you know what you can read? You can read in 1 Thessalonians,
you can read also in the book of Philippians. You know what
they brought with them? Gifts. Gifts. Those churches in Macedonia. And they weren't rich churches.
They were poor churches. But they said, our brother Paul,
we love him. He's out there preaching the
gospel. We're going to pass a hat for him. We're going to pass
the hat. They got some money and they
told Silas and Timothy, take this to Paul and tell him we
love him and we're going to try to send more. So they did. And what the Apostle
Paul did? He was pressed in the Spirit
and then he testified. What did he testify? What's his
message? Look at verse 5. Jesus was Christ. And you notice the word that
and was are italicized. He testified to the Jews, Jesus
Christ! That's his message. In fact,
Brother Joe read to us from 1 Corinthians chapter 2. He said, when I was
with you, I was determined not to know anything among you, save
Jesus Christ and Him crucified." That's who he preached. We preach
somebody. But watch this in verse 6. When
they opposed themselves and blasphemed, he shook his raiment. He said
to them, your blood's on your own heads. I'm clean. I'm clean. From henceforth I'll go unto
the Gentiles." I'm through with you. If you don't want the Gospel, I'll go somewhere else and preach.
You notice it says, when they oppose themselves, whenever you
despise the Gospel of God's grace, you turn your back on the truth
of the Word of the Lord, You're opposing yourself. You're your
worst enemy. And you know that's the way it
is, that we're our own worst enemy. They oppose themselves
and they blaspheme the name of God. And the Apostle Paul said,
well, I'll tell you this, your blood's on your head, because
I've told you the truth. I've told you about God. And
I've told you about Jesus Christ. I've said, Jesus is the Christ. He is the Son of God. And they
despised the message. He said, you've opposed yourself. You blasphemed. You blasphemed. Your blood's on your own head.
And I say to you, listen, if you perish, if you perish in
your sins, It's your fault. There's nobody else to blame.
We live in a society where we put the blame off on somebody
else for everything. And of course, that goes all
the way back, all the way back to Eve, all the way back to Adam. And Adam said to God, that woman
you gave me, he ultimately tried to blame God for it. You know
whose fault it is? It's our fault. I wish we'd just
own up to the guilt. Not try to explain ourselves
away. Well, there are extenuating circumstances. It's always a blessing when somebody
says, I'm the one who did it. I've got no excuses. And that's
the way to come to God, isn't it? Lord, I'm the one. I'm the guilty one. I'm the guilty
one. But if you perish, it's not God's
fault. He gave you a Bible. How come
you don't read it? He gave you a comfortable building
where you can come hear the Gospel. He gave you a preacher to tell
you the truth, open up the Scriptures. If you don't believe this Gospel,
there's nobody else in the whole universe to blame, but Y-O-U. Just you. Just you. The Apostle
Paul, Like those folks in the Old Testament, he took off his
coat and shook it and said, well, I'm clean from your blood. If
you go to hell, it's not my fault. I've warned you. I've warned
you. And he departed, verse 7, and he entered into a certain
man's house named Justice, one that worshipped God, whose house
was joined hard to the synagogue. He goes next door. And the man
next door said, hey, if they don't want you to preach over
there, I sure would like you to preach at my house. And the
apostle Paul said, well, I will. And he goes in there preaching,
and guess what? You know, God does things in
mysterious ways. Look at verse 8. Here's a man
by the name of Crispus. You know who he is? He's the
chief ruler at the synagogue next door where they had just
They had just blasphemed the name of God and just opposed
themselves. He's the chief ruler. He's the
guy who, when he would select the Scripture to be read, he
would select who the reader was. He's the ruler of the synagogue.
The Apostle Paul goes next door preaching. Crispus goes over
there and says, well, I think I'll go listen to him again.
And guess what? God got a hold of his heart. God saved him by
His free grace. He believed on the Lord and all
of His house. And many Corinthians, they heard,
they believed and were baptized. That is the order right there.
Right there is the order. Hearing, believed, baptized. That's the order. You hear the
gospel, you believe the gospel, and like the two dear ladies
did this morning here in the baptistry, you confess your faith
in the Lord Jesus in the waters of baptism. Well, then the Apostle
Paul received a message from the Lord and a vision by night.
Now, he had received a vision back in chapter 16 from the man
of Macedonia. And now he receives a message
from the Lord. And the Lord has There's four
things that he says to Paul to encourage him. First of all,
here's God's proclamation, the proclamation of God. He says,
be not afraid, but speak. Hold not thy peace. Listen, if the Lord gives you
a command to do something, just do it, don't be afraid, just
speak. If He tells you to preach the
gospel, you go preach the gospel. That's a proclamation from God.
Don't be afraid, but speak. Here's the second thing. Here's
the presence of God. God says, I'm with you. I'm with
thee, verse 10. I'm with thee. Third thing, here's
the protection of God. No man shall sit on thee to hurt
thee. You're not going to be hurt.
That's protection of God. And here's the fourth thing,
the purpose of God. For I have much people in this
city. I got much people. And wasn't many people in Athens.
Oh, there's a lot of people who hated the gospel. But just a
little handful who believed the gospel, but God said here in
Corinth, I got much people. Right here. They're already God's
people, but they hadn't heard the gospel yet. Well, how long
have they been His people? Since old eternity, they've been
His people. They just don't know anything
about Him. Their names are written down in the Charter of Grace,
in the Lamb's Book of Life. Christ came and died for them.
He's already put their sins away. He's washed them in His blood.
They're justified by His blood. They don't know anything about
it yet. But they're going to find out. They find out through
the preaching of the Gospel. And the Spirit of God takes it
home to the heart. He said, I have much people in
this city. And the Apostle Paul stayed there 18 months teaching
the Word of God among them. Well, this next section, verses
12 through 17, this is the usual persecution. Galio, he was the
deputy of Achaia, The Jews made an insurrection with one accord
against the Apostle Paul, brought him to the judgment seat. Here
we go again. They said, this fellow persuadeth
men to worship God contrary to the law. That is, contrary to
the Roman law. You see, the Roman law allowed
the Jews to make proselytes, but not among Roman citizens. By the way, that same charge
was brought against the Apostle Paul back in chapter 16 verse
21, if you'll remember that. Kind of a verse to go along with
that. That's 1621 if you take your
notes. Look at verse 14, when Paul now was about to open his
mouth. He was about to give his defense
and then Galio said to the Jews, listen, if this were a matter
of wrong or wicked lewdness, if this man had done some injury
to somebody, if he had done something to somebody's property, or if
he was outwardly vile or whatever, You know, you Jews, reason among
yourselves. I'd bear with you. I'd listen
to what you've got to say. But if it'd be a question of
words and names of your religion, of your law, well, you take care
of it. I'm not going to get in religious
things, he said. I'm not going to get involved
in religious matters. I'm not going to be a judge of
such matters. And he draved them from the judgment.
See, he said, a whole bunch of just get out of here. You're
wasting my time. That's what he said. But some of the Greeks, they're
real upset. They're upset with these Jews.
And so they took a man by the name of Sosthenes, who's the
chief ruler of the synagogue. You see, this man Crispus, he's
been converted. Crispus isn't the chief ruler
of the synagogue anymore. He's been replaced by Sosthenes. And they beat him before the
judgment seat. And Galileo, he cared enough
for none of those things. But you know what? A strange
thing happens. Turn over real quick to 1 Corinthians
chapter 1 again. 1 Corinthians chapter 1, and
of course this is his first letter to this church that was established
in the city of Corinth. And in 1 Corinthians chapter
1, It begins this way, Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ
through the will of God and Sosthenes, our brother. God saved another
chief ruler of the synagogue. Oh, even the hardest hearts are
no match for the hammer of God's Word. Isn't that what the Lord
said through Jeremiah? It's not my word like a hammer.
It will break the heart of his heart. Is my word not like a
fire? Well, I tell you, he lit a fire
in the heart of Crispus. He said, I'm out of here. I'm
going next door to hear the gospel. He lit a fire in the heart of
Sosthenes. And I don't know, maybe that
beating did Sosthenes some good there in Acts chapter 18. He
got it beaten. He got it beaten from those people
from Greece. Maybe that knocked some sense
into him. I don't know. We know better, of course. The
Lord did a work in his heart. Back to Acts 18. After that,
Paul tarried yet a good while. And he took his leave of the
brethren, verse 18, chapter 18. He sailed into Syria with Priscilla
and Aquila, having shorn his head in Sincreia, for he had
taken a vow. He came to Ephesus, he left them
there. They stayed in Ephesus, but he
himself entered into the synagogue. He reasoned with the Jews, but
he would be back. When they desired Him to tarry
longer with them, He consented not. He bade them farewell, saying,
I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem,
but I'll return again to you if God will. And He sailed from
Ephesus. When He had landed at Caesarea,
verse 22, and gone up and saluted the church, He went down to Antioch. And at Antioch, He finishes His
second missionary journey. Make a note right there. That's
the end of His second missionary journey. And in verse 23, and
after he had spent some time in Antioch of Syria, at that
church he departed and he started missionary journey number three.
Boy, I tell you what, he wasn't idle. That man was busy. I bet
somebody said to him, you need a vacation. He said, I don't have time to
take a vacation. He said, I'm off again. I'm hitting
the road again. going to preach the gospel because
he wanted to make Jerusalem the time for the feast. Well, may
the Lord bless the word that went forth this morning and then
again this evening.