Do Not Fear

By Bobby Blakey on October 3, 2021

Acts 18:1-11

AUDIO

Do Not Fear

By Bobby Blakey on October 3, 2021

Acts 18:1-11

Well, what a beautiful day it is in Huntington Beach. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Who has already gotten to see these airplanes flying around over our city here? Right. I even got to get out on a boat and go and watch some of these planes flying over the pier. And what a beautiful couple of days it's been this weekend. And here's the pier over here, like I was on this boat, we're like dodging our way through the freighters out there on the ocean, if you know what I'm talking about. Right? And we're like looking at the planes over here. And then here's Long Beach, just beautiful in the sun over here, looking at Catalina out across the water. And if you look at the back of your bulletin, you'll see that Compass Circle being open is not the end of what God's doing. It's really just the beginning. And we're starting something called the Double Double project. Now that God has doubled up, so we’ve got two buildings here in Huntington Beach, we want to see our church double into Long Beach. Yes, so a few people are excited about it. But that's really our goal is that God would do such a work here among us, that this church would continue to be built up, and that some people would even, like a group of family, and people would go from here to Long Beach and meet there. And so, I really want us all to open our Bibles to Acts 18 Verses one to 11. And we're going to get to study how Jesus built his church in Corinth. And this is such a perfect message for the weekend that a new building is open here among us, and we've now doubled it up to two buildings in Huntington Beach. Well, how does Jesus really build his church? I want us to pay careful attention to what he does here through Paul in the city of Corinth. This is Acts 18, one to 11. So, everybody, even if you're watching outside or online, open your Bible to Acts 18. And then let's all stand up for the public reading of Scripture. And when Paul comes into this town, this city, there is no church there. And let's see what happens together. This is Acts 18:1-11.
After this Paul[a] left Athens and went to Corinth. And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, recently come from 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 of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers 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 Titius Justus, 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.
That's the reading of God's word. Please go ahead have your seat, everybody. And so, we have a handout there in your bulletin if you if you want to, we'd love to have you take some notes, and we want to see how we go from him walking into town, and people are reviling and opposing him to him being there a year and a half, and so many believing and getting baptized.
So, let's get this down for number one if you're ready to take notes here with us. We want to take notes on how Jesus builds his church: We want our church to be built up. We want to see people getting saved. We want everybody here who's been saved, we want you to mature. We want everybody here who's mature, we want you to make disciples. That is our mission. We are in the mission of making disciples here at Compass, HB. And so, when we see that happen here in Corinth, and we know that later on two books of the Bible are going to be Paul writing letters to this church, like we want to pay close attention. How does this happen? Because we have Paul by himself in Athens. That's how chapter 17 ended. And he goes by himself, it seems, from Athens to Corinth, this major city at that time in the world, and he meets another Jew named Aquila. And he just starts staying with Aquila and his wife Priscilla. He starts working with them because they're in the same trade of tent-making and somehow, from him just going to the city, making a new friend, going to the synagogue and telling them that Jesus is the Christ, this whole church begins. And if you want to be a part of seeing Jesus build his church, then we need to really study how does Jesus do it?
This is a special passage because Jesus speaks to Paul specifically about what he wants to do in this city. And so, one thing that we can see, look back at verse 3, where it says, “because he was of the same trade he stayed with them and worked, for they were tentmakers by trade.” So, Paul, even though he is like an apostle who has seen the Lord Jesus Christ, who has Jesus speak to him in visions, I mean, he's now at this point, starting churches in so many different cities. We'll see Paul, he's not above working with his hands. This is something we need to see very clearly. This is something especially anybody who's a leader here at this church, this needs to be very clear for them that church building requires work.
Let's take notes about this, like Paul is ready to do work. He is not above it. He's not like, well, I'll just sit here and do nothing until my crew shows up, or until these people respect me and my preaching. No, he gets there with Priscilla and Aquila, and he starts tent making, he starts working, he doesn't expect people to serve him. He's a man who is ready to do some hard work. And if we want to see Jesus build his church, it's going to take people who are willing to do work. And it's very clear that that Jesus gives us the idea that we're going to see a harvest. Like he's praying, and he's teaching us to pray for more laborers, because the harvest is plentiful, but the workers are, the laborers are… what? And he says, if we don't grow weary in doing good, we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. So, this idea that church is going to be easy, or that even leaders in the church, well, they don't need to do hard work, see, that's not how it really works. There are a lot of bi-vocational pastors that God has used all over the world, pastors who do one job to make money, and then they also serve as pastors because the church that they're trying to see Jesus build, maybe can't afford to pay them full time. And so, they just start doing work, and pastoring at the same time. A lot of missionaries, when they go to a place where there's no church, and they want to see a church get built up, they have to find a way to make an income and build a life in that place, so that they have a way to keep living because there are not people there right away to support them. And Paul, he's got nobody there to support him. And Corinth, has been there for a while, he meets a couple of Jews, a nice couple, and he's like, let's get to work. Tent-making.
Go over to Acts chapter 20 and you'll see Paul talk about this with the Ephesian elders. Acts 20 Verse 33. And we're going to notice in Corinth and Ephesus, these are two cities where Paul is going to end up staying there for a long time to build up the church there, or maybe to even get a church started, and then see it get built up. And look what he says here in Acts 20:33-35, “I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Right. So, he’s saying, when he got started in Corinth, he was doing tent-making. He was doing some real physical labor there, and he says he did that same thing in Ephesus. Hey, when I came in, I wasn't expecting, are people there to pay me right away? I wasn't expecting them to support me when there was no church. No, you know how I worked. I worked like every man should be working, I worked to provide for my household. I worked to have enough that I could help those who were in need. I worked so that I couldn't be in a place to give to you, not to receive from you. So, Paul, he's the apostle, okay, and he's ready to work with his hands. We need to make sure that everybody's ready to do whatever work needs to be done as a part of Jesus building his church. We definitely don't want to have pastors, or people on staff or leaders, here at the church who think that any job is beneath them. No, we're all here to do the work of the Lord. And so, we’ve got to be ready to do work. And we’ve got to see that from Paul. Paul, he brings this up in several of his letters where he makes a point, hey, I wasn't asking you for money. I was actually working to make my own money so you wouldn't need to support me. And so, we see the apostle Paul, he's willing to do some tent-making. Wow, okay, well, that's an example to all of us. If Paul is ready to work with his hands, then nobody who wants to see the church built should be above doing some good old-fashioned hard work. Now notice, he's not just building tents with his hands.
Go back to Acts 18, and you can see he's developing a relationship here with Aquila and Priscilla. And you might have heard those names. You might be familiar with those names. Like he's a Jew traveling around, he meets some other Jews here in the city of Corinth, but they don't just partner to be tent-makers, clearly, they have a partnership in the Lord. Who has heard of Aquila and Priscilla before reading about them here in Acts 18 tonight? So, you know then that they become friends of Paul, they become co-laborers, not just in making tents, but in building the church of Jesus Christ. We're going to see them interact with Apollos later on in this chapter. And in several of his letters, he's going to write about this couple Aquila and Priscilla. Go over to the book of Romans chapter 16, and you'll see when he writes to the church in Rome, he writes about them. In fact, they're back in Rome, even though the Jews were forced to leave Italy. It appears that later on, they get back to Italy, Aquila and Priscilla, and he is greeting them here in Romans 16. At the end of his masterclass on the gospel, he says this in Romans 16:3-4: “Greet Prisca and Aquila.” We think that's just another way to say the same name there for Priscilla. “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers,” not in making tents, but my “fellow workers in…” what does he say there? “… in Christ Jesus.” Okay? So, he's saying we work together for Jesus. That's what he's saying about them. They weren't just business partners. They were gospel partners “who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.” Like he's saying these people saved my life. These people, I'm not just thankful to them, everybody I've ministered to is thankful for them. Like where would I be without Aquila and Priscilla, my dear friends who had my back many times. That's what he's saying. These people, they're in it with me. We are a team. See, this is what I love about the Apostle Paul. Not only is he the apostle who's doing amazing things for the glory of God, not only is he willing to work and get his hands dirty, no, he doesn't think it's all about him doing his own ministry. He wants to build a team of people doing ministry together.
So, let's get that down for our second dash under point number one. Church building requires team building. Church building requires team building. And this is something we want to get better at here at Compass HB as we want to keep building up. We don't want the same people doing the same work all the time. We want to build up more and more teams working together so that we can be stronger in the work that we're doing and reach more people in the name of Jesus Christ. And Paul, this period we've been studying in Paul's life where he's in Athens alone, or now he goes to Corinth by himself. This is definitely not normal for Paul. He usually has a crew. We know it started out with Paul and Barnabas, and after they split their separate ways over their sharp disagreement, he brought Silas with him. Later on, he picked up Timothy. Now he's adding Aquila and Priscilla. So, Paul was always building a team, thinking that spreading the gospel, building the church, is not an individual sport. If you ever hear somebody have like their name ministries, that's a danger because ministry is not something you can do by yourself. Ministry is always better when we serve together. That's how it should be. Okay?
And go back to Acts 18, and you'll see that, because not only does he develop teamwork with Priscilla and Aquila, where they're working together to make these tents, and it seems like they really start working together in Christ Jesus as well. But in verse Acts 18:5, it says, “When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia” we see then it was like the team was back together. The crew is here. Now we're ready to really start rolling. Like you can almost see how it picks up here in Acts 18:4. It says that Paul “reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath.” So, like once a week, Paul is going down to the Sabbath, and he's telling people about Jesus. He's trying to persuade the Jews there, and then the Gentiles who are there in the synagogue. But it feels like the rest of the week, he's making tents with Priscilla and Aquila. Well, now when Silas and Timothy roll into Corinth, when they finally get there from how they got separated back in Macedonia, well now notice Paul was occupied with the Word, and now he's testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. Like I'm getting the idea there that we don't keep making the tents, but now when the crew is here, now they've got Silas and Timothy, now we're getting even more into telling this town who Jesus really is. And so, it picks up as the team is built, the work of the ministry seems to increase. And so, you got to see this, that when Paul is traveling around, he's always going with other people. Even the whole reason we know about Paul's missionary journeys is from Luke, who wrote the book of Acts. And Luke clearly goes on some of these trips with Paul. And we saw that before, and we'll see that more and more. So you no one should be serving or ministering alone. If you feel like you're doing that, you need to start talking to other people about it really quick and saying, hey, I need more of a team. I feel like my ministry is becoming something I'm doing. Ministry should be something that we are doing. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Alright, if you're feeling like you're going solo, we don't need to feel that way. Let's talk about it. Because we should be building a team of people who are fellow workers in Jesus Christ, and that's what you can see Paul was always doing. And you can see it here in Corinth that he builds the team with Aquila and Priscilla. And when Silas and Timothy, when he gets joined up with them, it's like the ministry goes up to another level.
Go over to 2 Corinthians. I need everybody to turn to 2 Corinthians 11 because some of the things that Paul writes in the Corinthians’ letters, tells us what he was thinking when he was in Corinth. And in 2 Corinthians 11:9, it tells us what happened when Silas and Timothy showed up from Macedonia. And it says that Paul now occupied himself with the Word, perhaps in contrast to tent-making. Now he's focused full time on the Word. Well, if you look at 2 Corinthians 11:9: “and when I was with you…” So, here's Paul writing about his time with the Corinthians “when I was with you and was in need, I did not burden anyone.” Okay, well, we know that when he got to Corinth, he must have started to become in financial need. While he didn't burden anyone because he was ready to do work. He did tent-making with Aquila and Priscilla. But notice what it says, “for the brothers,” Silas and Timothy, “who came from Macedonia supplied my need. So, I refrained and will refrain from burdening you in any way.” If he says that he's in need, and he didn't want to burden the Corinthians, but then when the brothers came from Macedonia, they supplied his need. What does that tell us that Silas and Timothy brought with them when they met up with Paul? They brought some what? They brought money. And when they brought that money, did Paul need to keep making tents? No. Now he could go full time and focus on the Word. And we're going to see that after he does that, that is when the ministry kicks it up a notch. So, the truth is, if we want to have people who are full time devoted to the Word and prayer, people who are ready to oversee and shepherd the church of Jesus Christ, well then we’ve got to say that church building requires money.
That's what we see for our third dash here. Money means we can have people full-time. We don't have to have bi-vocational pastors, we can have full-time pastors, or we can even have full-time people here for high school and junior high, and kids so that we can give this our maximum possible attention and effort. And it seems like that's a part of how the church got built up in Corinth, because Paul was once-a-week going in to reason in the synagogue when he was tent-making with Aquila and Priscilla. But when Silas and Timothy showed up, and they brought whatever he needed to meet the need from Macedonia, well, then he was able to be occupying his time with the Word rather than with tent-making. And so, if you want to have here at our church, if any church wants to have full-time pastors, well, that requires people to give to support those pastors. If a church wants to have a full-time facility that you can use seven days a week where the Word can be preached, well, that requires people to give. And so, you can see the impact of these guys showing up from Macedonia. Well, it kicked it up a notch, and look what happened.
Go back to Acts 18:6, like not all the reaction was good when he started telling these Jews in the synagogue that the Christ was Jesus. Remember, the Jews wanted the Christ to be a king, and he's preaching that the Christ is Jesus who died on the cross and suffered for our sins, but God raised him on the third day. So, this is not matching the expectations of the Jews. And it says here in Acts 18:6 that “they opposed and reviled him.” Okay? So the overall response it feels like from the Jews in Corinth was opposition. They were not responding well to his message that the Christ was Jesus. And they reviled him. They started arguing with him maybe in the synagogue, they started speaking poorly of him in the streets of the city of Corinth. Like there was a negative response to Paul preaching Jesus in the synagogue. And so, what does he do? Well, when it says here, “he shook out his garments and said to them, ‘Your blood beyond your own heads, I am innocent. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles.’” That sounds like it escalated there in Corinth, right? That sounds like it got a little heated. I mean, this has taken us back now to this idea and Jesus tells this to his disciples in Matthew 10, when he sends them out into the cities of Judah. He says, hey, if people aren't going to listen to you, shake off the dust of the town from your feet and go on to the next town. If people aren't going to listen to you, as long as you've told them, but they don't want to hear it, well, then that's on them. Clearly. That's what Paul is referring to here. Hey, I've been trying to tell you, but you don't want to hear it. Well, now that's on you. I'm going to go to the Gentiles. Because apparently he thinks that he's getting this risk, better response the Gentiles might be more willing to hear it.
Now. I don't know if this is a super awesome church building strategy here. But you can see in Acts 18:7, “he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshipper of God.” Okay, well, that's great that this guy's opening his house, but his house was next door to the synagogue. Okay, that's like when you open up a Del Taco across the street from Taco Bell, you know what I'm saying? Like, we've all seen those streets, right? Where it's like McDonald's, Carl's Jr, Jack in the Box, all on the same corner. You're like, who had this idea, right? Sometimes you've seen maybe the streets where there's like three or four churches right there on the same street. Right? Okay, so these guys are upset at you. They're opposing you. They're reviling you and you're like, I'm out of here. And then you just walk next door. Like, can everybody feel that tension right there, right? Like people mad dogging each other as they're walking into their places of worship, right? I'm looking at you. You're looking at me. Right? All right. And then if that wasn't enough, the ruler of the synagogue Crispus, which is just a great name. Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, he believed in the Lord, together with his entire household. In fact, many of the Corinthians are hearing, when they are hearing Paul, they “believed and were baptized.” So, if the tension wasn't enough, the guy who leads the synagogue ends up believing, his whole household, and they now start going next door to worship instead of the synagogue. Oh, and here comes the whole city of Corinth, now streaming into this house, and the attendance at the synagogue is going down, and we're barely fitting over here in Titius Justus’ house with all the worship going on, like you can feel the tension on the streets here.
And that's when Jesus comes in and says something to Paul in a vision, and he says a word that I think it's so awesome. We get to study together tonight because he says, “Do not be afraid. Do not be afraid, do not fear, “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.” So, there was a tension. There, there was perhaps a temptation or a reason for Paul to be afraid because of this opposition, and this reviling. I mean, we've seen Paul go through it at a few of these cities. We've seen this guy get beaten and thrown into prison, we've seen this guy get stoned and left for dead. And we've seen him get chased out of a city where he went to another city where they chased him out of that one. And so, he might be a little like, he might be a little quick to watch out for people coming after him. And it might feel like, here they come after me again in Corinth, and Jesus speaks to him and says to him, do not be afraid of them.
Now, I want you to turn with me to 1 Corinthians 2:3, because again, Paul is going to give us a thought about what it was like when he came to Corinth. And maybe you just think that people like Paul, who are always ready to preach the gospel, that people like Paul, he was never afraid of what would happen to him for preaching the gospel. Well, look what he says here in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 “And I, when I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in…” what does he say there, everybody? “fear and much trembling, and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.” Paul is not just ready to do work with his hands, Paul is not just humble enough to always be about other people and building a team, Paul is not just like encouraged when Silas and Timothy show up with the resources that they need, no, Paul is ready to get so real that he says, hey, when I went from Athens to Corinth, and I was there by myself, I was afraid. I was weak. I was actually trembling. Like, I don't know how hard you have tried or what you have done to actually share the gospel of Jesus, but there's a reason we're calling it labor and work. Like, you go speaking to people about Jesus, and you're going to see the most amazing things in your life, and you're going to get some real negative response from people. And Paul is admitting in 1 Corinthians 2:3 that perhaps the reason Jesus showed up in a vision in the night to tell him “Do not be afraid of them” is because he was afraid of them. And he's not too proud to admit the honest truth. Now, when I was in Corinth with you guys, I wasn't coming in like blowing people away with my impressive words of wisdom or my power. No, I was weak, and I was actually in fear. And Jesus has a word for everybody here tonight. Do not fear. And I hope you're not one of the people who are so proud to act like that you don't ever have a temptation to be afraid. Because fear is here in America. Fear is all around us. And it's not just in the culture. Fear is in the church. And we've got to hear what Jesus came to say to Paul, you need to hear it loud and clear. This is one of the main commands throughout the Bible. Do not fear. And Jesus isn't just saying this to Paul in Corinth, this is the testimony of Scripture to all of God's people. There is only one thing that you or I should be afraid of, or trembling before and that is the fear of the Lord God Almighty himself. Other than the fear of the Lord, we should not be afraid. It is not okay to keep doing something the Bible tells you over and over, do not do this.
And so, fear is so prevalent right now all around us, that we might even be tempted to accept a certain amount of fear in our own souls and let's just have it said here today that is not okay for you to be afraid of people of the world of evil. So, I want to make sure that we take a moment here together and reconsider, are you afraid? Are you afraid because there is a fear, like a panic, like a terror that has seized maybe not even just America, but maybe many nations in the world right now, they're having like a panic. In fact, a reference that you could write down about fear is Leviticus 26:16. When God begins to say the curses that will come upon the disobedient, if Israel doesn't listen to his law, and they don't do what he commands, and they disobey, God says that. It's really interesting if you go read Leviticus 26, when it begins to describe the consequences of not obeying God as his people Israel, it says, and “I will send a panic among you and wasting disease and fever.” When God says judgment is coming in Leviticus, the first two things he describes our fear and fever.
That sounds like our last year and a half right there. That's like the first thing that happens when God is ready to judge his people in Leviticus 26. So, I think it's worth asking ourselves out loud in a church service together, are you afraid of COVID? I'm asking you a real personal question. Are you afraid of COVID? Okay, because one of the things that the Bible says that people are afraid of, according to Hebrews 2:15, which says that there is a “fear of death,” and people live their lives as slaves to this fear. This is the work of the devil. When the devil deceived Eve, he lied to her and said, you will surely not die. That was the lie. Because the promise was the wages of sin is what? Death; death is here because of sin. And people now live their whole lives afraid to die. They're like slaves living in fear of death. That's why Jesus put on flesh and blood, and he died in our place. He defeated death by death and destroyed the work that the devil had done. But many people live in fear of death, and you can feel it, the fear is here. And COVID has made it like this ever-present political reality of our lives. And everybody shouldn't be afraid all the time. Are you afraid of COVID? Now, I know what some people in the room are saying, because I've talked to many of you, and many of you are saying, I'm not afraid of COVID. That's what a lot of people are acting like, I have no fear of COVID at all. It's like become something people in the church want to boast about. Let me tell you how unafraid of COVID I really am. Let me tell you how I'm using my Christian privileges. Let me tell you what my opinions are about the issue, so you can know, I'm not afraid. And then it's amazing how the conversation quickly turns with some of these same people. And the conversation goes to, we’d better watch out for Gavin Newsom because he's doing this, and we’d better watch out for the government because they’re mandating that, and then the Mark of the Beast is going to be here. And then the persecution is coming right here. Can you see it? There comes the persecution. And you might not be afraid of COVID, brother or sister, but you're afraid of the government, I'll promise you that. You are afraid of what people are going to do to us as Christians. There were a lot of people that were second guessing decisions that were being made at this church and their reason they were second guessing that was because of what the government was going to do three steps into the future. That's fear. That's a fear of men. That's actually a closer fear to what we have here in Corinth. It's afraid of what people are going to do to us when we keep on speaking and we're not silent about Jesus Christ.
That is the fear that he's commanded not to have, the fear of men, the fear of persecution. Let me just fast-forward to the story. Yes, the government is coming after every single one of us eventually, it is only a matter of time till all the nations of the world, it seems, will ally together against Jesus Christ. So, they are coming after us. Eventually it is going to happen. We pray that it won't happen right now here today. Sure. I'm all I'm all with you. Let's do everything we can so it doesn't happen. But the promise of Scripture is they will persecute us. They will oppose us. They will revile us. This is what we are promised by Jesus. This is what happened to Paul, the reason we might be tempted to be afraid of men is men hate us. They killed Jesus. They killed Steven, they killed James. They're going to kill Paul and Peter. And they've killed many of our heroes in church history. And they are killing brothers and sisters all over the world right now today. So yes, they are going to come after us. And no, that is not okay to be afraid of it. I'm asking you. And it's a real question. What are you tempted to be afraid of? Like, can you honestly tell me here tonight that you have not ever adjusted the volume on your Jesus music? Like you've never turned down the volume about talking about the good news of Jesus with people because you were afraid of what other people might think, say or do if you talk to them about Jesus? Like, you've never felt that fear? I would imagine that many of us, if we're honest here tonight, that we could all agree, I have been afraid of what other people are going to think of me. Anybody else want to admit that along with me here tonight? The apostle Paul was afraid. And that's why the only way to get out of that fear is to hear what Jesus is saying.
And listen to again now to what he says in Acts 18. When Jesus speaks, these are words of Jesus in the middle of acts 18, “Do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent for I am…” what does he say? “I am with you.” This is always the biblical answer to fear is to know that God is here. And if God is with me, then I don't need to be afraid of anyone, or anything. Even if I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me because you're my shepherd, and you're going to keep my soul. And if the shepherd is with me, then the sheep don't need to fear. So, we’ve got to hear what Jesus is saying. There's a reason that Paul doesn't need to be afraid. Now he gets a really nice promise here in verse 10, “no one will attack you to harm you.” That's got to feel really good for Paul at this point, right? I mean, and “I have many in this city, who are my people.” That's got to be super encouraging. Okay? But the reason to not fear is Jesus is here.
So, let's get that down for point number two, everybody needs to hear Jesus speaking here tonight: You need to hear how Jesus is here. The reason you will not fear is because I am with you. This is what God is trying to say. And he's been saying it throughout the whole Scripture, everybody. And I'm going to give you some verses that you could go and you could look up because I want you to see that this is consistent throughout the Bible. And you can write down Deuteronomy 31:6 where Moses has given charge to the people who are going to go to the Promised Land, “Be strong and courageous. Do not fear” for the Lord will be with you wherever you go. In Deuteronomy the Lord, he's going to be there as a pillar of cloud by day, a pillar of fire by night. And Joshua 1:9, that message is repeated that Joshua, he can be “strong and courageous” for I am with you. Right? And I've given my word to you. Like no man can stand before you because I am with you. And later on in the prophets, a verse I hear people love to quote, Isaiah 41:10, “fear not, for I am with you.” When God sends out the prophet Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 17:8. He says, go, hey, don't be afraid of being a young man who's a prophet. You go and speak to people. You don't need to be afraid. I'm going to be with you. Psalm 27:1 says, if the Lord is with me, then “whom shall I fear?” The Lord is my stronghold “of whom shall I be afraid?”
So, God is always saying to his people, in every situation that they are in that the reason they don't need to fear is because he is here. And when you give into fear, you are denying the reality of the presence of God and you're focusing on the presence of something or someone else. And if you are aware that God is there, you will be able to not fear. That's how the Bible teaches us. When Jesus sent us out on the mission of making disciples, he ended that with “for lo, I am with you even to the end of the age.” Like where does the courage or the strength to go and make disciples to go and be a part of church building, to go and keep speaking about Jesus, when the world opposes and reviles you? How do you keep doing that? Because you believe the promise that Jesus is with you. And he said it to those disciples there in his great commission. He said it there before he ascended into heaven. He wanted his disciples to know that he was going to be with them, he was going to send his Holy Spirit to them to give them the words to say when they were brought before kings and governors. And when they get officially persecuted by the governing authorities, and when people come against them, and arrest them, and mistreat them, and beat them, yeah, I will be with you. In fact, I'll put my Spirit inside of you. Don't even worry about what you're going to say, don't even be afraid about what you're going to say because the Spirit will give you the words to say in that very hour when they come after you. So do you really believe that Jesus is with you, you can find out real quick, if you really have faith in the presence of Jesus, by how much you're afraid. Because if Jesus is here, then I have no reason to fear. So, it's a choice for every one of us every single day. There will be fear or there will be faith that Jesus is here with me. And he sent me on a mission and until that mission is done, until that church is built, until that last soul is saved because he's got many people, and he's a good shepherd, and he's going after every one of those sheep. And until he goes after that last lost sheep, and brings it in I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Hey, Huntington Beach 2021, he's winking to us, I am with you. It's repeated in Hebrews 13:5-6, and now here he is telling Paul in Corinth. So, I’ve got to ask you a personal question. Do you need Jesus to show up in a vision in the night and tell you that he's with you? Or will you believe it when he's been saying it from cover to cover in this book? What kind of faith do you have? Are you demanding a sign? Are you demanding a night vision? We'll all have real faith to not be afraid when Jesus tells me he's with me, or can you believe it when he says it over and over again throughout the Scripture that he's with you?
Do you really have faith to hear the Word of Jesus? I got to think he said this to Paul. And the promise is specific about Corinth. But the reason that it's written down in Acts 18 is so you and I can know hey, if it's hard to keep telling people about Jesus, we don't need to be afraid of them, because he is with us. Like this is the reason we should not be afraid ,not because we're strong, not because we're mighty. Look at me government, look what I'm still doing. No, that's not what it's about at all. No, the reason I'm not going to fear any man on this planet is because I know the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I know the judge of the living and the dead. I know the living one who died and behold, he is alive forevermore. And he's got eyes like a flame of fire, and he's got a sword coming out of his mouth. And if you ever saw his face, his face is like the sun shining in full strength, and you would fall over like a dead person if you saw Jesus. So, I'm not afraid of anything or anyone because I really do believe that Jesus is here with us together tonight. See, that's why we don't have to be afraid. Because I'm with you
Let's see, I wonder how many of us really do believe that Jesus is with us. And the context. It looked at it again in Acts 18:9. “Do not be afraid but go on…” what? See, Paul is speaking. He is reasoning with the Jews. He is even responding to the opposition of the Jews by taking it next door to the Gentiles. So, he is speaking. Some people are so afraid they're not even speaking in the name of Jesus. But here's a guy who is speaking, but yet he might be tempted, or he admits in 1 Corinthians 2:3, he is afraid. So, in the context specifically, we are talking about the fear that would keep someone silent about Jesus versus believing that Jesus is with us, so we keep speaking in his name. That's the real context of the fear. Some people have so given into this fear that they aren't telling anybody anywhere, anytime about Jesus Christ, because they're so afraid of people. This is the number one reason people don't tell people about Jesus, is they're afraid of people. That's the number one reason people in this room aren't sharing their testimony. sharing the good news of Jesus is because you're afraid of what's going to happen with other people. You're afraid of losing relationships, you're afraid of being made fun of. And Jesus is not okay with you being afraid of people, when he told you to go and make disciples, when he promised that he would build his Church and death and the devil. They can't even stop him from building his church, but then you're afraid of the evil one and you're afraid of evil people. No he's not okay with you not believing him. He told you to go and you say, no. Jesus isn't like I understand, it's really intense out there these days. No, he's saying, stop being afraid and keep speaking up. That's what he's saying.
Go over to Matthew chapter 10. And you'll see it here in Matthew 10:26. This is a passage that has a very similar context, where the issue is speaking to people who are going to reject you, people you might have to shake the dust off your garment, shake the dust off your sandals, and go from one town to the next town or go from the Jews to the Gentiles like Paul did in Corinth because you are being rejected. In that context, when Jesus says, we’ve just got to study this all the way from Matthew 10:16. I need everybody to look at Matthew 10:16-26. “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst of…” what does he say there, everybody? “in the midst of wolves.” I mean that the coyotes are moving into Argosy Avenue, and we hear them howling in the night these days. Right? Like, hey, we're going to have a competition here, and you guys are going to be the sheep and they're going to be the wolves. Right? I'm immediately thinking, hey, can we get a better animal than that one, right? I mean, that doesn't sound like a fair fight. So “be wise as serpents and innocent as doves. Beware of men.” Wow, I've seen the Beware of Dog sign. I haven't seen that sign right there. “Beware of men, for they will deliver you over to courts and flog you in their synagogues, and you will be dragged before governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness before them and the Gentiles. When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For it is not you who speak but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.” How bad is it going to get, Jesus? Well, “Brother will deliver brother over to death.” It's going to split families. And the father is going to give over his child and the children are going to turn in their own parents for being Christian and have them put to death. You “will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you on one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not go through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they malign those of his household.” Did they call Jesus a demon? Did they say he healed by the power of demons? If they said that about our Lord, what are they going to say about us? They're not going to kill Jesus and love us. And then he says this very clearly Matthew 10:26-28, “So have no fear of them.” Jesus is commanding his people that he is sending out, he said, yeah, watch out for men, because they're going to put you on trial, they're going to beat you up. They're going to hate you. Yeah, watch out. But don't fear, “for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops. And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” I mean, so he says, have no fear of them in verse 26. He says, do not fear those who kill the body in verse 28, and then he says this in Matthew 10:29-31, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not, therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows.” That is as he's getting ready to send out his disciples two by two that is not once, not twice, but three times he tells them, that fear cannot be a part of you going and speaking in my name. So, when you meet Jesus, he is not going to be okay with you being afraid of other people, so you didn't talk to them about him. Let's just make that very clear. His expectation is that you are having no fear. And you have the faith to speak in the name of Jesus. In fact, he says it like this here in Matthew 10:32. “So, everyone who acknowledges me before men,” that's what he wants us to do. He wants us to acknowledge him before other people, “I also will acknowledge before My Father who is in heaven, but whoever denies Me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.”
Clearly now he's not just speaking to the twelve disciples there. He's now giving a principle of how this is going to work. My people, Jesus is saying, they will not be afraid of other people know, my people, they will acknowledge me before men. Are you one of the people of Jesus acknowledging him before men? Or are you afraid? Like, do you realize that there's only room for one or the other, there's either fear or there is faith, and fear will lead you to talking about Jesus less and even being silent, and faith will lead you to talk about Jesus more, and to speak freely. Where are you headed right now? What is the attitude of your heart as we gathered together tonight? Can you say that I'm not afraid. And so, I'm speaking boldly with faith about Jesus Christ. Because he is saying, have no fear of them, hey, do not be afraid of them, and the reason is, I'm with you. When I send you out, I go with you.
And go back to Acts 18. Because we can't claim this promise, we can't say no one will attack you to harm you. Or I have many people in this city. I mean, that's very specific to Paul there in Corinth. But what we do know about Jesus is that Jesus has promised to build his church, Jesus has said that he came to seek and to save the lost. And when all the saved people are right with Jesus Christ, then he's going to come back and he's going to judge the world. So, if Jesus hasn't come back, does that mean there are more souls that still need to be saved? Okay, well, that's why we're still here. Okay, that's why we're here. And specifically, we're here, at least this building is in Huntington Beach, but some of us moved here, some of us have lived here a long time, we are here to reach North Orange County, with the gospel, and then over the seven years of our church that has expanded because so many people are coming from LA County to be a part of our fellowship. And so, we want to see souls in these cities get reached in the name of Jesus Christ, and the only reason that we would stop speaking about Jesus and we would become silent about Jesus is something that he is telling us we should not do, which is to fear. And so, I'm actually thinking that our best days of telling people about Jesus should be ahead of us, not behind us. Can I get an Amen from anybody on that? Like, are you ready to not be silent and to keep on speaking? Do you believe? Do you have faith? I think Jesus is still saving people on planet earth. And as long as he's still got people out there, I want to go and find them, I want to go and talk to him, I want to go and share the good news with them.
Let's get that down for number three: Keep speaking because Jesus keeps saving. Keep speaking because Jesus keeps saving. Like he gives Paul a promise of protection that no one will attack or harm him, he also gives him a promise that he's got more people than Paul had already seen believe and get baptized at that time. I've gotten many people here. Like this is something that we should know based on all the teaching of Scripture, based on our understanding of the mission of Jesus, that if Jesus has not yet come back, the reason is there are more souls who still need to be saved. And if there are more souls out there, then I want to go tell them about Jesus Christ so they can believe, and we can go home to be with Jesus. And the truth is, I want to get to them before you. Do you know what I'm saying? Like if there’s really some person we can talk to, and after they believe here comes Jesus to come and take us all home. Well, I'm ready to go find that person tomorrow, you know what I mean? Like, this is the idea, hey, keep speaking because I've got many more people yet to be saved. See, I feel like a lot of Christian people, they don't think who's next, who's the next disciple that's about to be made? Who's the next person that's going to come in here for the first time and be loved by people and have people explain to them the gospel and repentance and faith? And then they're going to be getting baptized? And then they're going to go and tell somebody else? And it's going to keep on spreading if we keep on speaking. Like, do you have faith that Jesus is still in the business of saving souls? Where is your faith really at? You can see how much faith you have in Jesus to save by how much you're ready to tell people about it. If you're walking around thinking, is that one of the people of Jesus, is that one of them? Is this person going to get saved? See, then you'd start talking to all those people to find out if they're going to be the person who believes and gets baptized.
I need everybody to go to Ezekiel 34 with me. I want you to see the heart of God. See this idea that Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and that we are the sheep. And Jesus knows his sheep and his sheep hear his voice, and he's not losing any of his sheep. This comes from Ezekiel 34, where God goes off on the shepherds of Israel, like the shepherds of Israel, the people who should have been ruling them, their prophets and their priests and their kings. They don't care about God's people; they are in it for themselves. And so, after rebuking all of these bad shepherds in Israel, this is what God says in Ezekiel 34:11-12, and again, this is God speaking in Ezekiel. Here's a glimpse into the heart of God, “For thus says the Lord God: Behold, I, I myself will search for my sheep and will seek them out.” See, he's like, I’ve got these shepherds, I’ve got people that I have to speak for me as prophets, and I’ve got people who I set up as kings, and I’ve got people who I set up as priests. And these guys aren't doing it. Well, guess what? I'm still going to seek out my sheep, even if the shepherds aren't caring about the sheep, you’d better believe God's saying, I'm going to find my people “As a shepherd seeks out his flock when he is among his sheep that have been scattered, so will I seek out my sheep, and I will rescue them from all places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds, and thick darkness.” Like one thing we can know about God is God knows who are his people. And he's not stopping until he gets every last one of those lost sheep. Doesn't matter how far they've been scattered, he's ready to rescue them from those places. Oh, it could be a day of clouds and thick darkness, he's still going after his sheep. See, this is the heart of God that he will find his people. He has always wanted to be God, and he has created us so that he would have a people, and nothing will stop God from saving his people. And he's saying that here.
Look at Ezekiel 34:13-14. I will bring them out from the peoples. I'll gather them from the country. See, this is beyond Israel here. Jesus made that clear in John 10, when he talked about being this Good Shepherd. He said, hey, I have got sheep from another fold even. It's not just Israel, I'll take it next door to the Gentiles. I’ve got sheep from another fold. And these sheep when they hear my voice, they're going to know me, and I'm going to know them. And I'm going to hold my sheep, I'm going to keep my sheep and no one's going to snatch them out of my hand. That's what Jesus is saying. Well look at it here. I'm going to bring them from all these countries, and I “will bring them into their own land. And I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, by the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them with good pasture, and on the mountain heights of Israel shall be their grazing land. There they shall lie down in good grazing land.” Like I don't know what it's like to be a shepherd of animals. Right? I have no idea about that. But I know that for a sheep to lie down from what I have read about it, and the idea is there in Psalm 23. “Like He leads me beside still waters, he quiets my soul.” Like to get a sheep to lie down it has to feel safe. It has to feel protected. It has to know that the wolves aren't coming today because the shepherd is here, his rod and his staff, they comfort me, and if my shepherd is here, well, then they shall lie down in good grazing lands and on rich pasture they shall feed on the mountains of Israel. Here's God speaking, “I myself will be the shepherd of my sheep, I myself will make them lie down, declares the Lord God.” These are promises God is making. God is saying, I've got many people that I'm going to save, do you want to be a part of it or not? That's what he said. If you believe me that I'm a Savior, and I've got more people, then keep on speaking, and don't be silent. And then he says this in Ezekiel 34:16, “I will seek the lost, and I will bring back the strayed, and I will bind up the injured, and I will strengthen the weak, and the fat and the strong I will destroy. I will feed them in justice.” I will seek and save the lost. This is the Word of God speaking to his people in Israel; this is the word of Jesus speaking to his disciples. This is now Jesus saying, hey, you keep on speaking because I have many people in this city.
And when I look around at the harvest field of North Orange County here in Huntington Beach, and then I look into LA County, in Long Beach, the need that I see it's overwhelming. Like, look at how many people there are out there who don't know Jesus. I mean, it is tens of thousands. It is hundreds of thousands of people within just the driving radius right here around this church. I mean, we think the church is getting big when there's an over thousand people coming to church on a weekend, there are hundreds of thousands of people all around us who are as lost as can be. And you've got a choice to make as you sit here tonight. Do you believe that Jesus wants to save those people and you're going to speak up? Or are you afraid of those people, and you're going to shut up? And I'm here to say, I think Jesus has many people still here in Huntington Beach. Anybody with me on that? I think he's got even more people maybe in Long Beach that he still wants to save. And I wonder if Jesus is looking at us and saying, are you guys going to tell them or not. Because either way, I'm going to go get them. Like, if you want to be a part of what Jesus is doing, well, then I’ve just got to encourage you, do not be silent. Open your mouth and speak, and you will see Jesus save souls.
And that's what happened . If you go back to Acts 18, you can see that he stayed there a year and six months teaching the Word of God among them. And if you come back next week, you'll see how God keeps his promise, how Jesus does exactly what he said. And he protects them from persecution, and he saves many more people. Like we don't need to worry, we don't need to fear, Jesus is here. He's going to save more souls. Jesus will build his church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. And so, I want to encourage you, these are days to have great faith. And these are days to keep speaking in the name of the Lord Jesus. Let me pray for us right now.
Father in heaven. We want to just confess to you Father, that the fear is here. The fear has been here for a year and a half. And there have been many people who have been afraid here, even at this church, people who have feared sickness and death. People who have feared the government and what they're going to do about us Christians in the church, people who have feared other people and their opposition and their reviling. God, I pray that you would work in our hearts tonight so that we could be humble, like Paul, and we could admit that some of us have been here with much weakness and fear and trembling. And that we could confess that fear to you. And God, I pray that you we would all tonight Please, Father, let us hear the words of Jesus to Paul, and let us hear, I am with you always to the end of the age. Father, if Jesus Christ is with us. If he's building his church, if he's on a mission to save souls, then why are we afraid? Please, Father, will you give us faith through this study tonight? Through the hearing of your word, will you increase our faith that Jesus Christ has more people that he's going to save? And will you turn our eyes away from people and men and what they're going to think and say, and do and will you turn our eyes upon Jesus so that the things of this world the fears of this world, would grow strangely dim to us, and the light of his glory and Grace? I know when Jesus writes in on the clouds, Father, that the world is going to more than the knees are going to hit the floor and the tongues are going to confess that he is Lord. And it's embarrassing that sometimes I have not spoken up because I have been afraid of what those people will think about me now. When they will all believe in Jesus later. So, Father, we're here tonight to confess our fear. And we're here to hear Jesus say it to us, do not be afraid of them. And we're ready to not be silent and to keep on speaking, that Jesus is the Christ. And we ask you to do this work here at this church in Jesus’ name. Amen.

RELATED

[bibblio style="bib--split bib--row-4 bib--font-arial bib--size-18 bib--wide bib--image-top bib__module" query_string_params="e30=" recommendation_type="related"]