Real Life Community Church Richmond, KY

Acts Part 34 | The Courage to Keep Going

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Fear isn’t supposed to haunt a giant of the faith—and yet Paul trembles in Corinth until a midnight word steadies him: “Do not be afraid… for I am with you.” We open Acts 18 and watch a weary apostle discover that courage grows where grace meets personal limits.

When we feel like giving up, we can find courage in the same truth: God is still with us, He still provides, and He still has a purpose for our lives. 

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SPEAKER_00:

Starting in verse one. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently came to Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome, and he went to see them, and because he was one of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tip makers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with the word, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, Your blood be on your own heads. I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles. And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titus Justice, a worshiper of God. His house was next door to the synagogue. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing Paul, believed and were baptized. And the Lord said to Paul one night in a vision, Do not be afraid, but go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in this city who are my people. And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. But when Gileo was pro counsel of Achaea, the Jews made a united attack on Paul and brought him before the tribunal, saying, This man is persuading people to worship God contrary to the law. But when Paul was about to open his mouth, Gileo said to the Jews, If it were a matter of wrongdoing or vicious crime, O Jews, I would have reason to accept your complaint. But since it is a matter of question about words and names and your own law, see to it yourselves. I refuse to be a judge of these things. And he drove them from the tribunal. And they all seized Cynithius, the ruler of the synagogue, and beat him in front of the tribunal. But Galeo paid no attention to any of this.

SPEAKER_01:

Amen. You may be seated. Well, I wonder this morning if there's anybody here who feels weary. You're trying to live for the Lord, do everything you know to do, but life's myriad of problems have found you. And you're tired, and your faith has in been impacted. Seeds of fear, perhaps, have seeds of doubt have found their way, crept their way into your heart. And you're just spiritually fatigued and you wonder how much longer you can go on. You know, Christians, when they feel this way at times, they often feel a bit guilty. So we know when we're spiritually fatigued, don't we, how to come into church? As soon as we walk in the door, we know how to put that smile on our face. How well, you know, somebody asks you, How are you, brother? Oh, I'm blessed. You come in, you know how to sing, and you you you you know how to worship the Lord like everything was okay, but inside you are crushed. Let me free you from that today. Spiritual weariness is not necessarily a sign of unfaithfulness. Therefore, you have no reason in those moments to feel guilty. We have been following the Apostle Paul's second missionary journey. And through many dangers, toils, and snares, he has already come. And the Apostle Paul, I mean, we've watched him just really be a spiritual giant. I mean, the dude has just had steadfast faith, and he's been courageous even when beaten and mocked and run out of city after city. Which means that when we come to verse 9 in our text today, it can be a bit shocking that we're reading about the same Paul. Look at verse 9 with me. And the Lord said to Paul, one night in a vision, do not be what? Afraid. Go on speaking and do not be silent. Now, why would Jesus admonish Paul not to be afraid? There's only one plausible reason, and that's because he is in this moment dealing with fear. And it seems to me that he's even considering, after all he's been through, not preaching the gospel in Corinth, at least for a time. And you say, Well, wow, I don't know if that's there. Well, let me take you to 1 Corinthians 2, where Paul actually draws this out even more. 1 Corinthians 2, 3 through 4. So he's writing the church in Corinth, and here's what he says in I was with you. Paul, I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. Paul dealt with fear. The great HV Charles said that there's only two reasons a Christian deals with fear. Number one is sin. I love one of my favorite verses, is Proverbs 28:1. The wicked flee when no one pursues. When you have a guilty conscience, listen, you're running and nobody's chasing you. It's a bad place to be. So if that's the reason you're living in fear, that's on you. You need to repent. But I would argue that's not Paul's issue in the text. The other reason that Christians fear is because of what we might call doubt. Doubt. Do you know fear and faith cannot coexist? And even, you know, Paul is certainly, to be sure, a man of strong faith. But even for those of the strongest faith, how many know that doubt can sometimes creep in when you've been through one thing after another, you start to think, God, where are you? And are you really going to help me? That's what Paul's dealing with. And for good reason. Do you know at this point in his second missionary journey, the Apostle Paul has traveled 2,000 miles by foot across rough terrain? Traveling is exhausting. And we travel in vehicles generally, right? How many, when you get back from a long vacation and you've driven eight, nine, ten hours, you need a vacation from your vacation, you know, because of your vacation, right? Paul's traveled, he's physically tired. When he gets to Philippi, after walking and sailing, he's maligned and beaten and imprisoned, feet put in stocks. He goes on to Thessalonicus, chased out of town. He goes to Berea after being chased out of Thessalonica. And great, the Bereans receive the word with gladness. But he doesn't get too comfortable before the Thessalonican Jews get word that Paul's in Berea. So they come to Berea. They're jealous, they hate Paul, and they want him gone. So they come and chase him out of Berea. And so Paul goes to Athens, where he is ridiculed by the most intellectual of people. So Paul, this champion of faith, is plagued by mental and physical exhaustion. Can I get a witness that life can be exhausting at times? And listen, exhaustion just doesn't make you tired. It can affect the whole of your being. But this is what Paul is dealing with. And as many preachers have said, here's what this shows us. It shows us that the best of men are still men at best. The best of men are still men at best. It's great to know that Paul is just an ordinary man full of the Holy Spirit. It ought to give us great encouragement. Does that give you encouragement this morning to know that this giant of the faith experienced what we might call spiritual weariness? How does Paul Jesus respond to Paul in his weariness, in his doubt? If you look at verse 9, Jesus does not seem to chastise him. Aren't you glad Jesus is a Lord of grace? He does, however, he doesn't say, well, you know, Paul, this is okay, just stay where you're at. No, he says he gives him a command gently but also firmly. And he says, Paul, keep going. That's a word for somebody today that feels like you want to give up because you got family problems, you got money problems, you got work problems, relationship problems, ministry problems, whatever it is. Did I find you yet? Whatever it is. So I really believe strongly. Somebody here, you're you're you're you're thinking, man, I don't know how much longer I can go on, but I came to tell you, keep going. Keep going. Because staying in this state of spiritual weakness, it's not an option. And the passage today gives us incredible hope for coming out of those seasons because Paul doesn't stay where he's at in verse 9 very long. He actually continues to preach the gospel in Corinth and has great success. Now, when you feel like giving up, here's what I want to drive home today. You need to find the courage to keep going. Keep going. Now, some of you may hear that and you'll be like, Man, I don't have the strength to do that. Like, I don't have the resolve to do that. And I want to say the really good news is this it's not on you. You're not alone. Here's what I love about this. When Paul is in this season and Jesus shows up and says, Paul, keep preaching, don't be afraid. The Lord, what we're gonna see in the text, the Lord actually empowers him to carry out that command. Like if it's on you to pull yourself up by your bootstraps, guess what? You will fail, and you won't, if you get up, you won't stay up for long. But hallelujah, you're not alone. There's a God who has not forgotten you, a God who will pick you up, a God who will make you sore like the eagle. Amen. A God who will help you. So here's the simple key. You want to keep going in times of spiritual fatigue. Maybe you're there now. Eventually you will be, if not. If you want to keep going in those seasons and not throw in the towel, here's what you do. You ready? Lean on the Lord. Lean on the Lord. How many remember the old song? What have I to dread? What have I to fear? Okay, two of you know it. Leaning on the everlasting arms. I have peace complete with my Lord so near, I'm leaning on the everlasting arms. So you lean on Jesus, and it's like, that sounds good in theory. Have you ever been going through something and a Christian just comes up to you and says, Hey, brother, hey, sister, just take your burden to the Lord, just leave it with him. And it's like, okay, like, what do I do? Like, how does that look practically? So I want to try to answer that question through the text. What does it look like to lean on Jesus in times of spiritual weariness, fear, doubt? I'm gonna give you three quick ways to lean on Jesus in those seasons. Number one, to lean on Jesus means you lean on his people. You lean on his people. Paul started this second missionary journey. He quickly gained a team, he was part of a team of four. So he and three other guys were on this journey. When Paul went to Philippi, after he planted a church there and left, he left Dr. Luke, the writer of Acts, behind so he could disciple the churches. So Paul and Silas and Timothy go on to Thessalonica, they're chased out, they go to Berea. And when Paul leaves Berea, he leaves Timothy and Silas behind. And he arrives in Athens alone. And he's mocked, he's made fun of by the intellectual philosophers there at the Areopagus Mars Hill. And then he goes from there and he goes to Corinth. And Corinth, by the way, at this point, it's a dark city. If you refer to a woman as a Corinthian, it was a code word for loose woman. Did I do all right? It was a dark and depraved place. And so here's what God does first. Here's how Paul is going to be brought out of this state. God strengthens Paul in this tumultuous season by providing him with godly friends. Look at verses 1 through 3. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontius, recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla. Pretty cool. Husband and wife names Ryan. Because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome and he went to see them. Get that. Paul went to see them. And because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked, for they were tent makers by trade. So you got this, you have this husband and wife who, by God's providence, just so happened to be in Corinth when Paul needed a friend. And Paul, I love this. It says he went to them. They were tent makers. Paul was a tent maker. Aren't you glad to have uh some things and, you know, some friends that you have some things in common with? So great. But it's not just tent making that Paul and uh Priscilla and Aquila have in common. They are, you know, they are both, they are all Christians. They love the Lord and treasure the Lord Jesus Christ. And so their hearts quickly become knit together. It's a beautiful story. They become ministry partners, great friends. And do you know that in Romans chapter 16, Paul even says that they, these two, that this couple, these two Christians, risked their lives for him. So God gives Paul in this dark season, Priscilla and Aquila. Then he gives them in verse 5, Silas and Timothy, Timothy. Bob and Christy have been gone for uh what 43 years? How long? Four weeks. Four weeks. And they came in today, and it's just like this reunion. It's a beautiful thing. That's what's happening here. We don't know exactly how long, but Paul has been separated from his dear friends and ministry partners, and they are reunited. And it encourages Paul. Do you know? Listen to me. One of God's greatest gifts to you and me is Christian brothers and sisters. Can I get an amen? The reason that we've named this church real life what? Community church is because we so value one another. We so value one another. Western individualism, have you ever heard me mention this? It's a tragedy. Because this individualism has crept into the Western church, and you have so many quote unquote Christians who will say this, well, you know, I love Jesus, I pray, but I don't believe in organized religion, and I don't go to church, and I that's a I'm just gonna stop right there. The Christian life, how many times have you heard me say this? Is not me and God, it's we and God. Do you know it's dangerous to try to live the Christian life alone? What's the Bible say in 1 Peter? The devil goes about like what? A roaring lion seeking whom he may what? Play with? Devour. Have you ever watched the Discovery Channel? I've said this before. Have you ever watched the Discovery Channel or some nature channel? And you have you ever watched a lion stalk its prey? You've got this big, kind of majestic, strong beast of an animal. But the lion, like your cat, you know, your domesticated cat, is so patient. And it just lies in wait for what? For the injured, for the vulnerable, and for the isolated animal. Away from the herd, away from the flock, alone. And I just believe that the devil himself loves to hear a Christian say, Oh, I'm good. It's just me and Jesus. I don't need those people. He's right where they want him. You need to be here every Sunday, but not only every Sunday. When you come in, don't come in late and leave early. You need to get to know these people. It's not enough just to come and sit and watch a show. That's not what it's about. Ecclesiastes 4, 9 and 10, two are better than one because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone. When he falls and has not another to lift him up. Are you grateful, anybody in this church, that you're sitting by somebody in front of somebody, behind somebody who is there to catch you when you fall? Hebrews 10, 24 and 25. Let us consider how to stir one another up to love and good works. How can you do this if you're not fellowshipping with one another? Not neglecting to meet together. Coming to church, being part of a fellowship. Listen to me, is it optional? It's not optional. Don't neglect to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day. This would be the day of the Lord drawing near. Be faithful in building relationships because the Lord, if we want to lean on the Lord, we want to allow him to move through these seasons of weariness, we've got to lean on his people. Are you grateful for the people of God this morning? You guys got to wake up some. I came to preach, all right? I've been here since 6 30 a.m. You have no reason to uh what you're like 6 30. All right. So number one, we gotta lean on God's what? People. Number two, we've got to lean on God's provision. Are you grateful that you serve a God who provides? So Paul is in the synagogue, and at verse 6, he's preaching the gospel to unbelieving Jews. And it says, when they opposed and reviled him, this keeps happening. He shook out his garments. This is a sign of judgment. And he said, This, your blood be on your own heads. In other words, you reject the gospel, you reject Jesus. It's on you. And he says, From now on, I will go to the Gentiles. The door is closed in the synagogue to him at this point. But Paul's called to preach. And how many know God can make a way where there seems to be no way? Watch what happens. This is so cool in verse 7. And so Paul, he left the synagogue and he went to the house of a man named Tatias Justice, a worshiper of God. This is so great. His house was next door to the synagogue. They boot him out of the synagogue. They won't listen to him. They oppose him in reviling. And they're like, oh, let him find somewhere to preach now. And he just has to go next door. And someone invites him in and he gets to preach. And watch what happens. Verse 8 Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue that he was just booted from, believed in the Lord together with his entire household. And then revival starts. Many of the Corinthians, hearing Paul, believed and were baptized. Oh, look what the Lord has done. Don't we serve a God who will make a way? If God be for us, who can what? Who can be against us? Don't fret over a closed door. I don't know what door has been closed in in your life this week, this month, this year, but listen, when a door closes, God is faithful to open another one. Amen? This story, uh brother uh Dr. Buske reminds me of uh John Wesley. So Wesley, if you don't know, he was the founder of Methodism, and uh he started his ministry preaching in Anglican churches, very liturgical churches. But at Aldersgate, as we've talked about before, Wesley had an incredible experience with the Lord, and grace and passion just filled and changed his heart, and he was transformed. And so Wesley had been preaching from different Anglican churches around, but when he had this Aldersgate experience, his preaching changed. He became more passionate than ever. He didn't just stand up and give a lecture. This man was on fire for the Lord. And he was preaching now about the importance of personal conversion and holiness, and the Anglicans didn't like it, and they banned him from many pulpits. But when one door closes, if you're called to preach, you're gonna have a place to preach. God will provide. Listen to what happens. I believe that first night that he preached, 3,000 people showed up. Days later, he was drawing crowds of 10,000 plus. And eventually, I think there were up to 30,000, is that right, in attendance at some of his meetings. Listen, you you you can you can the enemy can, people can, you know, they can close doors in your life, but if God has called you to do something, he's not just gonna give you people, but he's gonna give you provision. Amen. So Paul keeps going because of God's people, because of God's provision, and finally, God's presence. If we're gonna keep moving forward, if we're gonna continue what God calls us to do, we need his people, we need his provision, but we need to lean on his presence. Look at verses nine and ten again. The Lord said to Paul, do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent. And here's what he says, for in other words, this is how you're going to accomplish that. For what? I am with you. Say it again. These are the words of Jesus, I am with you. And he says, No one will attack you to harm you. They will attack him, but they won't harm him there in Corinth. For I have many in the city who are my people. The Lord is saying to Paul, don't be afraid. Don't be afraid. Okay, that sounds easy. How many of you have had children? They're afraid of the dark, and you just go in the room. Don't be afraid. But what does it take for that child actually not to be afraid? They've got to know you're with them. They've got to know you're with them. And so when it comes to Jesus, he would say to us this morning in seasons of doubt, don't fear, don't doubt, don't be afraid. And it's like, but that's difficult. How can like I don't want to be afraid, Lord? How do I accomplish that? Aim. And Jesus would say to you what he said to Paul. Behold, I am with you. And I want you to notice the wording, I am. Everybody say, am. I am with you. Not I will be with you. Same thing in the Great Commission, Matthew 28. Go ye therefore into all the world. Uh, you know, and we're to make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son, and Holy Spirit, teaching them all that I've commanded you, Jesus says. But guess what? The verse doesn't end there. He says, For lo, I am with you always to the end of the age. And that word, I am, those words, I am, are important because listen, you don't have to have a vision in order to know God is presence because you've got his promise that he's present. Did God not say, did the Lord not say, I will never leave you, I will never forsake you? And you say, Well, I don't, I don't feel his closeness. That's all right. Thank God our Christian life is not always based on feelings. I love the song, the Waymaker song. Even when I don't see him, he's what? He's working. Even when I don't feel him, he's working. God is always with you if you are a Christian. You know, life is tough. Can I get an amen? You know, life, believer or not, I mean, there's gonna be great tribulation for every every person. There is. I mean, we deal with so much stuff. But you know, Christians are able to handle trials and tribulations quite differently than the unbeliever. And it's not that we're stronger or smarter. The reason we can handle it a little bit differently is because God is with us. Listen, I've been in a lot of nursing homes and by uh a lot of hospital beds where people have been transitioning from life to death. And I'll tell you this: there's a massive way in the way in which a Christian family deals with that than a non-Christian family. The atmosphere is totally different. Both grieve, but we don't grieve as people without hope. I don't know what you're going through, but I want you to be encouraged that you can lean on God's presence. Do you remember? I know you remember it. Psalm 23. Even unbelievers are familiar with this. The Lord is what? The Lord is my shepherd. And David goes on to say, you know what? The Lord leads me to the green pastures. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the steel waters, like a hallmark card, right? And are you grateful for those seasons of green pastures and still waters? But David will go on to say, Oh, it's not all green pastures and still waters. He says, There's sometimes I have to step down into the valley of the shadow of death, but he doesn't go on to say, and it's crushing. He says, No, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, what? I will fear. No evil. Why? Because David, you're this great king, because you're this great leader. Because you, you know, slew Goliath. It's like, no. Yeah, that will walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for what? Thou art with me. And even when the word comes, death itself, knocking at your door, even that would not deter death. And he said, Because I'll be forever I will dwell in the house of the Lord. Amen. Listen, you don't have to fear. You don't have to worry. You don't have to doubt. You don't have to stay spiritually weary because you have God's people. You have God's provision. And you have God's presence. Are you grateful for that? As Bob comes to the keyboard. I didn't know if he was there. I thought he'd stuck behind me. I just want to share with you, um many of you know this. Six years ago, I went through one of the most, probably, I would argue, probably the most difficult time of my life. The most difficult time of my life. And um I was pastoring here. It was actually on sabbatical end. My wife and I, I mean, we were just crushed from this situation. And I remember laying on the floor of my home office weeping, even so spiritually weary that I could not even utter a prayer. Have you been there? I knew I needed to pray, but I didn't even feel like praying. That's when Romans 8 really made sense to me, that when we know not to pray, and we don't even can't even get the words out, the Holy Spirit intercedes for us with groanings that cannot be uttered. But I want you to know I I for days laid on my on my floor just weeping. I was on indeed after I was able to get up looking for new jobs because I didn't think I could do ministry anymore. But thank God I could lean on the everlasting arms of Jesus Christ. As we, my family was at home, I was on sabbatical, we started having many of you show up at our door with the kindest words and the warmest of hugs, and I don't even like hugs, and they were great. You brought us food. I do like food, just to be sure. And I'm telling you, I was able to lean on you when I couldn't get up myself. I couldn't stand up myself. And then I remember laying on that floor, and at first I felt like God was a million miles away, that he had forgotten me, that he had abandoned me, and I began to question everything I believed. But then all of a sudden, not only did I get to lean on the people of God, but I sensed the presence of God. Perhaps more strongly than I've ever felt. The beautiful thing. It was life-changing. I've quoted this many times. I think Spurgeon said it, that God keeps his best wine in the cellar of affliction. He is close to the brokenhearted. And so, in that broken state, I did not run from God. By his grace, I ran to God. And he met me there. At the beginning of that time, I didn't think I'd be in this pulpit in a month from then, but it's been six years. And the Lord has sustained me. And I just share that with you to let you know that God can sustain you. It wasn't an option for me to stay down because God had called me. It's not an option for you to stay down. Why is that? Verse 9 and 10, he says, Don't be afraid, Jesus says to Paul, don't stop preaching, for I'm with you, no one will attack you. And here's the reason, Paul, you can't stay down. For I have many in this city who are my people. Can I just interpret that for you? It's not about you. You may not want to get up, but if you're a Christian, it's not about you. It's not about you. It's about Jesus. Paul, I've got many in Corinth. There are many who have been saved, and many more the Lord is calling. They need to be led to the Lord. They need to be discipled. They need to hear the gospel. Paul, get up. It's not about you. I don't know how long some of you have been down. Maybe spiritually, maybe something happened even years ago, and you've just been in kind of this fatigue state where you might even come to church here and there, but you lost your passion. I just want to tell you today it's time to get up. It's time to get up. It's a new day. Don't worry about what happened yesterday. Today is a new day. Find the courage to move forward, to keep going.