God's Will for Our Lives
The Book of Acts - Part 63
Acts 18:18-23
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Grayson Baptist Church - November 2, 2014
BACKGROUND:
*Tonight, we will come to the end of Paul's second missionary journey. We will see Paul finish his work in Corinth and begin to head home for a while. But in this short passage, God's Word also shows us the beginning of Paul's third missionary journey. This all was God's will for this season in Paul's life. And these verses can help us see God's will for our lives.
*Let's begin by reading Acts 18:18-23.
INTRODUCTION:
*Do you ever wonder about God's will for your life? Who doesn't? Any thinking believer will be faced with situations where we need to know God's will. And if we are Christians, we want to know God's will, because it's easy to head off in the wrong direction.
*We don't want to be like Charlie Brown. One time in a Peanuts cartoon, Charlie Brown said, "Sometimes I lie awake at night, and I ask, 'Where have I gone wrong?' Then a voice says back to me, 'This is going to take longer than a night.'" (1)
*Sometimes we might feel like Charlie Brown, but Jesus wants to put us on the right track, and keep us on the right track in life. The Lord wants us to know God's will for our lives. And Paul's story in these verses can help us find it.
1. First: Be grateful for God's goodness in your life.
*Gratitude is definitely part of God's will for our lives. That's important to remember as we are less than four weeks away from Thanksgiving. But gratitude is always important to remember. And it must have been on Paul's mind in vs. 18, as he was about to leave Corinth.
*Verse 18 tells us that: "Paul still remained (in Corinth) a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow."
*One of the signs of Paul's gratitude could have been this vow in vs. 18.
*Albert Barnes tells us that this kind of "vow" was a solemn promise made to God respecting anything. Vows were very common in the Old Testament. For example, Jacob made a vow to God at Bethel, and God gave Moses many regulations in regard to vows. A man might devote himself or his children to the Lord. He might devote any part of his time or property to God's service.
*And Albert Barnes said "that it was common for the Jews to make such vows to God, as expressions of gratitude. Maybe they were grateful, because God had raised them up from sickness or delivered them from danger." (2)
*Well, Paul had certainly been delivered from danger many times. And whether gratitude was the reason for Paul's vow or not, he had tremendous reasons to be grateful to the Lord. And so do we!
*Paul could clearly see how good God had been to him in Corinth. The AMP Bible says Paul stayed in Corinth "many days," and the NIV says he stayed there "some time." But the KJV and NKJ both say he stayed a "good while." And I like that. The original word means something "ample, enough, good, or great." And Paul had a great stay at Corinth.
*Back up in vs. 2-3, we saw that Paul found some new Christian friends:
2. And he found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.
3. So, because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked; for by occupation they were tentmakers.
*In vs. 18, Priscilla and Aquila were still with Paul, at least for a while. And thank God for Christian friends! I am so glad that Christianity is a together kind of thing. There is no way that any of us could ever do all the Lord wants us to do by ourselves. We all need each other! We all need godly friends who will walk with us, as we walk with the Lord.
*Sam Rayburn from Texas was the longest serving Speaker of the House in history. Sam served almost all of the years from 1940 to 1961, but that doesn't impress me very much.
*What really impresses me about Sam Rayburn was the way he treated a friend. I don't know the man's name or exactly when this happened, but Rayburn heard that his friend had just lost his teenage daughter.
*Early the next morning Sam knocked on his friend's door and said: "I just came by to see what I could do to help." The father replied that there was nothing to do. "Well," Rayburn said, "have you had your coffee this morning?"
*The man replied that they had not taken time for breakfast, so Rayburn went to work in the kitchen. While he working on making breakfast, his friend came in, and said, "Mr. Speaker, I thought you were supposed to be having breakfast at the White House this morning."
*"Well, I was," Sam replied. "But I called the President and told him I had a friend who was in trouble and I couldn't come." Christians: We have friends like that, friends who will be there for us, godly friends who will walk with us, as we walk with the Lord. (3)
*Thank God for Christian friends! But Paul had more reasons to be grateful to the Lord. Back up in vs. 8, we see that "Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized."
*Then, in vs. 9-11, Paul had received great encouragement from Jesus. There the Lord spoke to Paul by a vision and said:
9. . . "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent;
10. for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.''
11. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.
*Later, when the unbelieving Jews tried to attack Paul, vs. 12-16 tell us that he got some surprising help from the Roman Proconsul Gallio.
*God was wonderfully good to Paul in Corinth, and He has been wonderfully good to us! You may not feel like that right now. But stop to think about all of the blessings God has poured into your life.
*And towering over all the rest is the cross of Jesus Christ. Think of the love and mercy and grace that Jesus has given to us! Christians: We're saved! And we are going to live forever in Heaven! So, we must remember to be grateful for God's goodness.
*Jack Hinton once helped lead worship at a leper colony on the island of Tobago. During the service, a woman whose back had been facing away from the pulpit suddenly turned around, and Jack saw the most hideous face he has ever seen. That poor woman's nose and ears were completely gone. But she lifted a fingerless hand in the air and asked, "Can we sing 'Count Your Many Blessings?'"
*Jack was so emotionally overwhelmed by her gratitude that he had to leave the service. As someone else took over, one of the team members followed Jack and said, "I guess you'll never be able to sing that song again." Jack replied, "Yes, I will. -- But I'll never sing it the same way." (4)
*Paul had tremendous reasons to be grateful to the Lord. And so do we.
2. So remember to be grateful for God's goodness. This is God's will for our lives. But also make extra efforts to reach people for Christ.
*This is most definitely part of God's will for our lives. And I mention it now because this also may have been the reason for the vow Paul made in vs. 18. "He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow."
*Some Bible scholars believe that this could have been a Nazarite vow. And Albert Barnes tells us that when a man made a Nazarite vow, he made a solemn promise to God to abstain from wine and all intoxicating liquors, to let his hair grow, to not enter a house polluted by having a dead body in it, and to not attend a funeral.
*Sometimes this vow lasted their whole life, but it generally lasted 8 days, or a month or some other specified period. Paul then would have been cutting his hair, because he was at the end of his Nazarite vow.
*But the reason for the vow could have been to convince the Jews that he respected their ceremonial laws and traditions. You see, Paul was willing to go out of his way to reach people for Jesus. He was willing to go the extra mile. He was willing to make the extra effort. (2)
*Paul explained it this way when he later wrote 1 Corinthians 9:19-22:
19. For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;
20. and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law;
21. to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ), that I might win those who are without law;
22. to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some.
*If you ever need inspiration to make the extra effort, look to the heroes of our faith like Paul. But especially look to the cross of Jesus Christ. In the most generous and costly way, Jesus went the extra mile for us. We should do the same for Him and His Kingdom.
3. Make extra efforts to reach people for Christ. This is God's will for our lives. But also learn your limits.
*We have to learn our limits because every need is not a call from God. I remember David Guinn making this important point years ago: Every need is not a call from God on your life. Paul demonstrates this truth to us in vs. 19-20:
19. And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
20. When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent,
*Notice again what happened: Paul entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. Then, they asked him to stay a longer time with them. On the surface, that sounds like a great thing to do. It was a new chance to spread the gospel to the Jews. It looked like a golden opportunity, and it was. It was also something very close to Paul's heart, something I'm sure he prayed about every day.
*But under the leadership of the Holy Spirit, Paul did not consent. In other words, Paul said no. And sometimes we need to do the same thing.
*The reason why is because the needs in our world will always exceed our ability to meet those needs. You could give every penny you have, and there would still be poor people. You could devote every minute you have, and there would still be people in need of your time. God knows exactly where, when and how we should be investing our lives, so sometimes we have to say no.
*Now, we have to be careful about saying no, because God never calls us to sit back and do nothing. But sometimes we lay a guilt trip on ourselves when we are asked to do something. It may be a perfectly good thing to do, and we could help. But that doesn't mean the Lord wants us to do that thing right then.
*In the next chapter, Paul did return to Ephesus and he had a great ministry there. But he knew when to say no. And sometimes this is God's will for our lives too, because every need is not a call from God on our lives. So, ask the Lord to help you recognize your limits.
4. Learn your limits. This is God's will for our lives. And take the time to rest.
*Take the time to get some rest, for rest is certainly part of God's will. And Paul seems to take a time for rest after he sailed away from Ephesus. In vs. 21-23, we read that Paul:
21. . . Took leave of them, saying, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.'' And he sailed from Ephesus.
22. And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.
23. After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over all the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
*Paul may not have stayed very long in Jerusalem and Antioch, but apparently, he took some time to rest. John Phillips explained it this way: "Perhaps Paul felt the need for a change. Jerusalem always drew Paul like a magnet. If he wanted a change, what would be better than a boat trip and a brief holiday in his beloved Jerusalem?
*And if he was going to go to Jerusalem, what better time than right now? His work at Corinth was done. Ephesus promised to be another fruitful field but a very demanding one. In the meantime, Aquila and Priscilla could be trusted to prepare the ground. And if now was the time and Jerusalem the place, why not try to get there in time for Passover?" And that's what Paul did. (5)
*Paul may not have stayed long in Jerusalem and Antioch. But he took some time to rest, and God wants us to rest too. Elmer Towns called this The Principle of the clinched fist. You see, you can't keep your fist clinched all the time. We all need times of rest. (6)
*One teacher raised a glass of water and asked the class: "How heavy do you think this glass of water is?" The answer was about a pound. The teacher then said: "The absolute weight doesn't matter. What matters is how long you hold it.
*If I hold this cup for a minute, I would be okay. If I hold it for an hour, I will have an ache in my right arm. If I hold it for a day, you will have to call an ambulance! The cup of water is the exact same weight. But the longer I hold it, the heavier it feels and the more damage it can do to me."
*We all need rest. Most of all, we need the rest that only Jesus can give. So Dana Chau said: "God never intended for us to carry our burdens alone. God wants to carry our life's burdens along with us." (7)
*That why in Matthew 11, Jesus said:
28. "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
30. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.''
5. We must take the time to get some rest. This is God's will for our lives. But also be open to new opportunities from the Lord.
*In vs. 20-21, Paul was certainly open to new opportunities:
20. When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent,
21. but took leave of them, saying, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing. . .''
*Paul was definitely open to every opportunity the Lord gave him, and Ephesus was going to be a great opportunity. John Phillips tells us that "at the time, Ephesus was the most important commercial city in all of Asia Minor. (That's modern-day Turkey.)
*And as all roads in the world led to Rome, all roads in Asia Minor led to Ephesus. The strategic location of Ephesus guaranteed its political importance. It was the capital of the Roman Province in Asia. And Paul was open to this great opportunity, if God was in it." (5)
*"I will return again to you," he said, "God willing." And as soon as he got a little rest, Paul started moving back in that direction. We can see this in vs. 22-23, where the Word of God says:
22. And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.
23. After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over all the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
*This was the beginning of Paul's third missionary journey. And John Phillips explained: "Paul probably only spent about three months in Antioch. The whole section of Scripture breathes an atmosphere of haste. For, although Paul might have needed a change and a rest, he was not one to dilly-dally and waste time.
*His heart was drawn like a magnet to Ephesus. How were Aquila and Priscilla getting along? Was the synagogue still congenial? He must get back. So, off he went. His heart was ever on the field." (5)
CONCLUSION:
*Paul's "heart was ever on the field," and Church, this is also God's will for our hearts. Would you please bow for prayer.
(1) "Peanuts" Comic Strip by Charles M. Schulz - Source: SermonCentral illustration
(2) Adapted from "Albert Barnes Notes on the Bible" - Acts 18:18
(3) SermonCentral sermon "He Is a Friend of Mine" by Jeff Strite - John 15:9-17
(4) Adapted from "The Pastor's Update - 5/1996 - Fresh Illustrations for Preaching & Teaching - Baker, from the editors of Leadership" - Source: SermonCentral sermon "The Love of God" by Mark Roper - Romans 8:35-39
(5) Adapted from "Exploring Acts" by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - The Future Prospects for Expanding the Work - Acts 18:19-23a
(6) Original source unknown
(7) Adapted from SermonCentral illustration contributed by Dana Chau
