“The Lord Has Much People” – FBC Morning Light (5/30/2023)

Encouragement for Faithful Ministry in Acts 18

Well, a good Tuesday morning to you. I hope you had a good day yesterday, a good Memorial Day. Time for some reflection, as well as some rest and recreation, perhaps. Have a good time with your family and friends.

Well, today we're reading in 2 Kings chapters 5 and 6, Acts chapter 18, and the 107th psalm. I want to zero in on Acts 18 for a few minutes this morning. You know, there are some things that can come up in the life of the ministry, the service of the Lord, where, you know, a guy might wonder, you know, should I move on, you know, and just go somewhere else?

Things can happen and get discouraging and distressing, perhaps even, maybe fearful, and it may be easy to conclude, okay, I'm done here, I'm not getting anywhere, I'm spinning my wheels. I've been there a few times where you just wonder, you know, should I move on?

I remember many years ago here, I'm pastoring in Sterling, Illinois, been here 20, over 20 years now, but I remember early on, maybe within four or five years, I had a time like that, where, you know, we had some departures from the church, not any problems, just, you know, the church wasn't growing, people moving away, and there was some diminishing in the congregation, and I just wondered, you know, am I really supposed to stay here?

And the Lord made it clear that I was, and I won't go into all that, but nevertheless, and so here I am, you know, 15 years later, and still plugging away in Sterling. But my point is that there can come times like that, where you just are ready to kind of throw in the towel a little bit, and you need some encouragement from the Lord.

Paul’s Labor and Opposition in Corinth

Well, that happens to Paul, I think, in Acts chapter 18. Look at some of the things that might concern him, might lead him to the conclusion that I need to move on. He's in the city of Corinth, and one of the things that occurs there is he meets Aquila and Priscilla, and verse 3 tells us he was of the same trade, and he stayed with them, and he worked, for by occupation they were tent makers.

So, all right, one thing to keep in mind here is that Paul is laboring day after day, making tents in the city of Corinth, and doing so, of course, to earn some income, and to pay his way, if you will.

So that's one factor that can kind of be an underlying situation in his case, but he is also diligent about communicating God's Word. So we read in verse 4, he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

But in verse 6, things didn't go so easily for him. It says, when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, your blood be on your own heads, I'm clean, from now I'm gonna turn to the Gentiles.

Now this was a difficult, challenging thing for Paul. He loved the Jewish people, his people. He was a Jew, he loved the Jews, he wanted to see Jews come to faith in Christ. But it seemed like everywhere he turned, the Jews, many Jews, would rise up in opposition and oppose him.

And here he is in Corinth, he's working hard, trying to make ends meet, pay his bills, and you know, whatever he needs to do to continue on in this ministry. He's witnessing for Christ, he's sharing the gospel, he's reasoning from Scripture that Jesus is the Messiah, and so forth.

And still, a bunch of Jews opposed him, blasphemed against the name of Christ, and didn't want to have anything to do with him. And he has to just basically, you know, wipe his hands of this, and say, you know, okay, I'm done with you Jews.

And it says in verse 8 that he went and went with the household of Crispus and many other Corinthians. So he did see people come to faith in Christ, but then there's this opposition, and it seems that Paul may have been a little discouraged.

The Lord’s Vision: “Do Not Be Afraid” and “I Have Many People in This City”

Doesn't tell us he was discouraged, but what it does tell us is the Lord came to him in the night by a vision and said, do not be afraid, don't be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent. Perhaps Paul was not only discouraged, but fearful, and that fear was causing him to question, should I just quit preaching the gospel here, and just save up enough money till I can move on to the next place.

And then the Lord said, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you. Then he says this, for I have many people in this city. I have many people in this city. Jesus says to Paul, I have people here in Corinth that haven't come to faith in Christ yet.

They are people whom God the Father has given to me. Remember, we've been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, and Jesus said that all that the Father has given to me will come to me, and he that comes to me I will in no wise cast out?

Well here, Jesus is encouraging Paul and telling him, look, there are many people here in the city of Corinth that have to come to me. They're mine, and the Father's given them to me, and they are going to come to me, but you need to take the gospel to them so that they hear that gospel and that they come.

What an encouragement this was to the Apostle Paul, and what an encouragement it is to any faithful minister of the gospel, that if we are just faithful in communicating the Word, preaching the Word, those who are Christ will come to him.

They will come to him, and he will see to it, and when they do come to him, he will not cast them out. In other words, Jesus was encouraging Paul to keep on keeping on. Faithfulness to the Word, faithfulness in proclaiming the Word, is key to people coming to faith in Christ.

Just keep it up, just keep doing it, and that is an encouragement to those of us who preach the Word. But I hope it's also an encouragement to you, that every believer is responsible to share the gospel.

You don't have to coerce, and you don't have to beg, and you don't have to cajole or convince people to make decisions. It's not up to you. It's not up to you to get them to believe. It's simply up to you to share the gospel, and those whom the Father has given to the Son will come to him through that message of the gospel.

Let's be faithful in communicating that. And so our Father and our God, we're thankful that your Word is powerful, and it, and it, your Word, the gospel that lifts up Jesus Christ, will draw those to you whom the Father has given to you.

Help us to be faithful in lifting you up, we pray in Jesus' name, amen. All right, listen, have a wonderful Tuesday. I trust the Lord will bless you in it. Good day.