SERIES: ACTS 18:1-11
TEXT: ACTS 18:1-11
TITLE: “FINDING WAYS TO BUILD YOUR STRENGTH”
INTRODUCTION: A. Maltbie Babcock:
Be strong!
We are not here to play, to dream to drift;
We have had work to do, and loads to lift;
Shun not the struggle – face it; ‘tis God’s gift.
Be strong!
Say, “The days are evil. Who’s to blame?”
And fold the hands and acquiesce – oh, what shame!
Stand up; speak out, and bravely in God’s name.
Be strong!
It matters not how deep entrenched the wrong.
How hard the battle goes, the day how long;
Faint not – fight on! Tomorrow comes the song.
B. Three important historical events happened in 51 AD:
1. The Jews started to riot in Rome, so Claudius (45-54 AD), the fourth Roman
emperor, had them all banished from the capital.
2. This expuslion forced the Jewish couple Aquila and Priscilla, natives of Pontus who
were in the tent-making trade, to move to the city of Corinth.
3. At the same time Paul was on his second missionary journey with his associates
Silas,Timothy, and Luke.
a. They had preached in northern Greece, established churches in Philippi and
Thessalonica, and visited Berea.
b. Then Paul went into Athens alone and had an opportunity to share the good news
of Jesus on Mars Hill. Afterward he walked some fifty miles west and arrived in
the pagan city of Corinth, where his disciples again joined him.
C. Corinth was a seaport city on the southern tip of Greece with a population of a half-
million people from every walk of life.
1. It was known as the cradle of pleasure and a showplace of architectural beauty.
2. The hill of the Acropolis towered above the city, and on top of the hill stood the
great temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of love.
a. One thousand priests and priestesses who were religious prostitutes were attached
to that temple.
b. Every evening they would descend from their perch and come into the city
looking for worshippers of the goddess of love
3. The town had such a bad reputation that it became a slang term to call someone
who had very low morals a “Corinthian”
4. We sometimes think of Paul as being so bold, so fearless -- yet he suffered just as
we do from apprehensions, forebodings, and fears.
a. In fact in a letter to these very Corinthians he admits his trepidations
b. 1 Cor. 2:3 – “3 came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
c. He was very much in fear of what could happen in this particular city.
D. Acts 18:1-11 – “After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew
named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife
Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see
them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to
preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ. But when the Jews
opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to
them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clear of my responsibility. From now
on I will go to the Gentiles.” Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the
house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his
entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard him
believed and were baptized. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be
afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to
attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed for a
year and a half, teaching them the word of God.”
E. If faith is what we need and strength is what we lack, we need to find ways to build
our strength so that we’re able to be God’s servants in the time when He calls.
--Let’s see what we can find in this passage to see we can build our strength
I. SEEK OUT SOME CLOSE FRIENDS
--Acts 18:1-5a
A. Aquila and Priscilla
1. Jewish believers who left Rome under edict of Claudius
2. Shared trade with Paul – tent-making.
--ALL Jewish males trained in a trade starting around age of 13
3. They’re spoken of highly in every scripture passage in which they’re mentioned
B. Silas and Timothy
1. Paul’s co-laborers (yokefellows) in this missionary journey
2. Men who had already proven faithful to the cause of Christ and as Paul’s friends
C. Why the importance of close friends?
--Prov. 27:17 – “As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.”
1. Strong Christian friends are necessary for strength and support
--Ralph Waldo Emerson: “A friend is someone who will make us do what we can when we are saying
we can’t.”
2. Strong Christian friends are necessary for accountability
a. Prov. 27:6a – “Wounds from a friend can be trusted…”
b. Accountability partner – x3 watch
3. “We” can do more than “me”
-- Many years ago, a famous organist was giving a Sunday afternoon recital on one of the old pipe
organs that was supplied air by a hand pump. A teenage boy was hired to work the pump for this
specific occasion.
Everything was going just fine during the recital so the young man put his head around the back
side of the organ and whispered to the organist, “We’re doing pretty good, aren’t we?” The organist
huffily whispered back, “What do you mean by ‘we’?”
A few moments later the organ coughed and wheezed during one of the most beautiful strains the
organist would have played that day. Desperately, the organist pushed and pulled on the stops.
Frantically, he tried all the keys and pedals. Just then, the young man’s head bobs around the corner.
With a sly smile on his face, he says, “Now do you know what I mean by “we’?”
II. SEEK OUT SOME OPPORTUNITIES TO TELL OTHERS ABOUT JESUS
A. Even though the apostle Paul was afraid of what would happen in Corinth, he was faithful in taking the
opportunity to share the gospel with others.
1. v. 4 – “Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.
--Even though he had to work during the week, he spent his weekend teaching the Jews and the God-
fearing Gentiles about the gospel of Jesus Christ
2. vss. 7-8 – “Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper
of God. Crispus, the synagogue ruler, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the
Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptized.”
a. Paul didn’t abdicate his responsibility when the Jews became obstinate
b. He went next door to the synagogue and began to teach from there
--The Greek text indicates that Titius Justus’ house even shared a common wall with the synagogu
B. Sadly, we think we have to have it all together to tell someone about Jesus
1. If the apostles and early evangelists had waited till they had it all together before they told someone
about Jesus, none of us would be Christians today
2. Someone: “The church today is raising a whole generation of mules. They know how to sweat and
work hard but they don’t know how to reproduce themselves.”
C. One of the greatest things about telling others about Jesus: It gets easier and easier every time you do it.
--The more you do it, the more you want to do it.
1. Stuart Briscoe, Getting Into God – “A witness is someone who by explanation and demonstration
gives audible and visible evidence of what he has seen and heard without being deterred by the
consequences of his action.”
2. Charlie Hainline is just a church member in Ft. Lauderdale, FL. But He is a man who radiates the
love of Christ, and is serious about sharing his faith with others. One year, his goal was to lead 1650
people to faith in Christ (5 a day)!!
Once, he was out witnessing with a couple of other folks, and though he wasn’t the main presenter
of the gospel message, he sat there and smiled broadly as a teammate did. When the teammate was
finished and asked if the person would like to trust Christ and receive the gift of eternal life, the person
replied, “If being a Christian would make me like him (pointing to Charlie), I want it!”
Charlie’s life wasn’t a bed of roses by any means. His daughter was kidnapped, killed, and her head
was found floating in a canal. When the murderer of his daughter was caught and convicted, Charlie
went to jail in order to witness to the man.
III. SEEK OUT SOME PLACE THAT TEACHES THE WHOLE WORD OF GOD
A. One of the accusations leveled at Restoration movement congregations as a whole is best summed up in
a phrase that I heard from someone I was making a pastoral visit with several years ago. I think the
statement has merit: “You spend too much time talking about the plan and not enough talking about the
Man.”
1. How many independent Christian church/church of Christ preacher have you heard that basically
know and preach only one sermon: Acts 2:38?
a. No one knows the necessity of preaching the plan of salvation more than I do
b. But as preachers of the Word of God, we’re responsible for declaring the whole Word of God
2. I believe that the reason so many of our congregations are stagnated is that they know the plan but
don’t have an intimate relationship with the Man!
B. Why is preaching the whole word of God important?
--Because it’s powerful
1. Heb. 4:12 – “For the word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it
penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of
the heart.”
2. Is. 55:10-11 – “As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without
watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the
eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish
what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.”
C. The Restoration Movement people were originally known as “people of the Book”
--The clear appeal to Scripture and not human doctrine or reasoning was a distinctive of the early
movement leaders
1. FCC – Washington must always remain a “people of the Book”
2. Without that distinctive, we have nothing to offer that can’t be found in the world
3. Be like the noble Bereans, search the scriptures to make sure what is preached, taught, and done here
is according to the Word of God
--Hold your leaders accountable if the Word of God is not followed.
4. Always follow the scriptural teachings and apply it to the society in which you function
--We can change methodologies but the message can never change
IV. SEEK OUT SOME ANSWERS FROM GOD
A. First, you have to develop the relationship
B. God will tell you what He wants you to do
1. You may not like it
--But you’d better do it
2. You’ll be more miserable outside the will of God for life than inside of His will doing something you
really don’t like.
3. Phil 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed–not only in my presence, but
now much more in my absence–continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is
God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”
C. Paul was fearful but faithful
1. In his fear, he sought the will of God
2. In response to his fearful faith, God encouraged and strengthened Paul for the job He wanted him to
do
--vss. 9-11 – “One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do
not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many
people in this city.’ So Paul stayed for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.”
a. God told Paul: “I know you’re afraid but keep going. If you’ll remain faithful to what I’m asking
you to do, there are a great number of people here in Corinth that will trust in Me and salvation
through My Son.”
b. We give up too easily sometimes
--We get discouraged, worried, upset, and downhearted. We think our efforts are for nothing
c. God uses this passage today to remind us that He knows things we don’t know. He has a
viewpoint that sees things we don’t see. All we can see are the problems. He sees the solutions
and how they turn out.
d. Because he received his strength from God, he was able to stay in Corinth for over a year and a
half just to teach and oversee the work of the church there.
--Paul never spent more than a few months in any other place other than Ephesus.
e. Paul could later testify about this strength in Phil 4:13 – “I can do all things through Him who
strengthens me.”
V. SEEK OUT SOME WAYS TO STRENGTHEN OTHERS
A. You will never get as strong as you can until you’ve helped someone else get strong in Christ.
1. Heb. 5:12-14 – “In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you
the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives
on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food
is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil.”
2. We’re all called upon to encourage and edify other believers
B. Paul spent a lot of his time mentoring and discipling
1. In all of his letters, Paul mentions those whom He is working with and through to accomplish the
needs of the kingdom.
2. Notable names are found in this passage: Aquila and Priscilla, Silas, Timothy, and Luke
3. Paul was always working to strengthen the faith and service gifts of other people
4. We become stronger when we teach others what we know and what we have experienced
CONCLUSION: A. God has provided ways to build our strength
1. Like physical exercise, spiritual exercise will make you stronger
2. We need to exercise our spiritual muscles through our accountability and support
from close friends, by sharing the gospel message with others, studying the whole
will of God throughout scripture, by teaching strengthening others, and by leaning on
and trusting God for our strength
B. The Bible assures that we can build our spiritual strength if we just open our hearts to
what God can do through us
1. Eph. 1:18-21 – “I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order
that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious
inheritance in the saints, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That
power is like the working of his mighty strength, which he exerted in Christ when he
raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, far
above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every title that can be given,
not only in the present age but also in the one to come.”
2. God promises in Is. 41:10 – “So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed,
for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my
righteous right hand.”
