Introduction
There’s
an old story about the devil, who decides to have a clear out of his shed in
hell and get rid of some of his tools. So he puts them up for sale at a public
auction. The day arrives and all the prospective buyers turn up. It’s a proper
auction. There is a catalogue with all the guide prices. All the tools are on
display so people come and have a good look at all these bits of equipment.
But
there is one oddly shaped tool, which is labelled “not for sale.” Someone asks
Satan about it. “Excuse me, but why is that one there not for sale? What’s so
special about it?” The devil answers, “Oh, I can spare my other tools, but I
cannot do without this one. It is the most useful implement that I have. It is
called ‘discouragement’, and with this tool I can work my way into hearts that
would otherwise be inaccessible. When this tool gets me access into a
believer’s heart, I can plant anything there I want to.”
I
share that little story this morning because I had the feeling as I prepared
this talk earlier in the week that some of us are coming here today weighed
down with discouragement. I was going to talk about raising up a new
generation. That was the set theme. I was going to talk about Paul investing in
people like Aquilla, Priscilla and Apollos and raising up new leadership as the
gospel expanded deeper into Europe. But my heart wouldn’t let me. And I felt
drawn to take a whole different angle on today’s chapter.
Acts
chapter 18, after all the incredible ups and downs of the last 17 chapters,
feels a little bit flat. It’s less dramatic than what’s come before. Let’s
start with v1. “After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth.” Paul Clayton
preached on the short stay in Athens this morning at 9am and if you’re
interested in that you can listen in on the website after tomorrow lunchtime.
Basically, what happens is this: Paul, all alone in the city of Aristotle,
Plato and Socrates, addresses a group of sophisticated thinkers, all into the
latest philosophies and fashionable ideas. It goes OK but, to be perfectly frank,
the whole thing is pretty underwhelming.
So
it says that he moves on to Corinth – which is about 30 miles to the west. What
it doesn’t say is that, after months on the road, and a series of personal
attacks, often physical, a couple of near escapes and an imprisonment or two,
now on his own in a strange place with a fearsome reputation, suddenly it all gets
too much for Paul and, without warning, he has a bit of a meltdown. There is no
more wind in his sails.
We
know this is true because he says so later in 1 Corinthians 2. He talks candidly
about his state of mind when he first arrived in Corinth. “I came to you” he
says, “in weakness, fear and great trembling.”
You
see, here he is, yet again exposed. He feels inadequate. We know from elsewhere
in the New Testament that his antagonists were saying, "His bodily
presence is weak and his speech is of no account." It seems that Paul did
not look tough. He appears to have had some chronic physical disability that
made him look unimpressive, even unattractive. Let’s say he was more Woody
Allen than George Clooney. Not only that, surprisingly perhaps, Paul was not
considered to be much of a communicator. People rubbished him for being an uninspiring
and unsophisticated public speaker.
And
so with all this emotional baggage on his shoulders, all the stress of constant
rejection, all the fatigue from travel, the loneliness of being away from home,
the huge strain on him physically, all the effort of having to communicate
whilst not being naturally gifted as a speaker, as Paul approaches the
notorious city of Corinth, he’s plummeting down a slippery spiral of
discouragement.
It
doesn’t matter who you are; after a while, that kind of constant unpopularity, physical
frailty and relentless criticism takes its toll. It’s dispiriting – and
discouragement is the devil’s favourite tool.
What
is the source of your discouragement today? It could be, like Paul, just a lot
of bad stuff happening around you. We all know what that feels like don’t we,
seasons when everything that can go wrong does go wrong.
In
the early 1980s the heavyweight boxer James (Quick) Tillis moved from rural
Oklahoma to the big city. He still remembers his first day in the bright lights.
“I got off the bus” he said, “with two cardboard suitcases under by arms in
downtown Chicago and stopped in front of the Sears Tower [which was then the
tallest tower in the world]. I put my suitcases down, and I looked up at the tower
and I said to myself, 'I'm going to conquer Chicago.' "When I looked down,
the suitcases were gone."
A
run of bad fortune like that can be really discouraging, can’t it? I find,
at times like that, when you just need a bit of friendship, that nothing in the
world is friendlier than a wet dog. Do you know what I mean?
The American church leader Rick
Warren says he feels like resigning as pastor of his successful mega-church every Monday morning! And he identifies four common causes of discouragement:
- Fatigue.
When you’re physically or emotionally exhausted, your defences are lowered and
things can seem bleaker than they really are.
- Frustration. When
unfinished tasks pile up, and when trivial matters or unexpected things interrupt
you.
- Failure. When your
plans fall apart; a project collapses, a deal falls through, no one turns up to
your event.
- Fear. This is
behind more discouragement than we admit. The fear of criticism (What will they
think?); the fear of responsibility (What if I can't do it?); and the fear of
failure (What if I blow it?)
Fatigue,
frustration, failure and fear – that sums up Paul's state of mind when he arrived
in Corinth.
I
went through a patch of discouragement a couple of weeks ago. I made three
mistakes in a short space of time and each one was pointed out to me. When I
analysed it, I put it down to a lack of focus that led to people being understandably
disappointed in me. I took a long, hard look at myself and got discouraged
because I want to be the best I can be all the time for the glory of God. It
wasn’t the criticism that got me down. That was fair enough. It was my own poor
form.
Robert
Murray MacCheyne was a preacher, a pastor, and a poet. He died at the age of 29
and knew a lot about discouragement.But he
used to say “For every one look at yourself, take ten looks at Christ.”
That’s
a great strategy to employ against losing heart. Look to him. Remind yourself
that you are in him, that he is for you, that he is the perfecter of your faith
and has a mission to make you complete in Christ.
Anyway,
I want to look at how God brought Paul out of that cycle of discouragement.
In v1 he walks to Corinth “in weakness, fear and great trembling.” By v23, he’s
buzzing around again, travelling throughout the region of Galatia strengthening
the churches.
He’s
got his vim and vigour back. His energy levels are replenished. He’s got
something again worth giving out to others. He’s spiritually back on track.
He’s back on an upward spiral of encouragement. How did that happen? If we can
work that out, can we find a way out of discouragement in our own lives too?
1. Friendship (v1-5)
The
first thing is that Paul found friendship. He discovers a couple called Aquila
and Priscilla with whom he has a lot in common. All three are Jewish believers
in Jesus. All three are tentmakers by trade. All three have been driven out of
town. All three are complete strangers in this large commercial city of
Corinth.
We
know a bit about Priscilla and Aquila from some of the letters in the New
Testament. We know they welcomed a church in their home so they must have been
hospitable. We know they had a good grasp of the scriptures and took Apollos
under their wing to help him grow in his faith, so they were mature, solid
people. They were – literally – a Godsend for Paul. They became great friends.
In
v5 Silas and Timothy arrive. Peter called Silas “a faithful brother”. He was
the one who sang out songs of praise with Paul at midnight when they were
thrown into jail. Paul called Timothy “my true son in the faith.” Being
surrounded by friends, old and new, Paul got back on track.
Bishop
Jackson Olesape once said “If you want to go quickly, you travel alone, but if
you want to go far, then you must travel together.”
My
mum used to take me to church when I was growing up and we used to go in, say
the mass, and then go home again. That was it. Nothing more was expected. There
was no concept at all of welcome, or fellowship, or community or togetherness.
But
Jesus built his ministry on friendship and community. He ate and drank with
people with a glad heart. He said to his disciples “I no longer call you
servants; I have called you friends.” Even Judas, when he was about to betray
him, Jesus looked at him and said “What you are about to do, do it quickly
friend.”
Friendship
is key to building strong and healthy churches. Rick
Warren once said, “People aren’t looking for a friendly church. They are
looking for a church where they can make friends.”
And
true, deep, real friendships are a fantastic defence against discouragement.
2. Favour (v5-8)
The
second thing that brings encouragement is favour. In v5-8, despite the usual
opposition from some hard-liners, it says Paul was able to continue
preaching in the building right next door to the synagogue and many of the
Corinthians believed and were baptized. At long last, for once, he wasn’t
beaten up, thrown in a cell or chased out of town. People were coming to faith in
good numbers. He must have been thinking, “At last, I’ve got a break.” This was
a season where God’s favour was clearly on him.
But of
course, none of us can control the times when God’ favour falls on us any more
than we can manage the weather.
A professional animal trainer noticed that her own dog developed a bad habit.
Every time she hung the washing out, the dog would yank it down. So one day she
put kitchen paper on the line and waited. Each time he pulled it off, she corrected
him.
After
two weeks, the dog left the kitchen roll alone. Then she
hung out a large batch of washing and left to do some errands. When she came
home, the clean laundry was scattered all over the garden. On the line was the
white kitchen towel. Do you have days like that?
Sometimes God calls us to suffer, to walk the way of the cross,
and to glorify him through joyful perseverance, to be patient in affliction. Other
times his will is to prosper us and bless us with peace.
We
can’t turn God’s favour on like a tap. But we can ask for it. In 1 Chronicles 4.10 there's a man
called Jabez. His name means “pain” because his mother suffered greatly in
bringing him to birth. All his life he had this discouraging stigma of
being a pain, of causing grief. So he asked for favour.
“Oh,
that you would bless me and enlarge my territory! Let your hand be with me, and
keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.” That was his prayer. And the
Bible says that “God granted his request.”
Ask
for favour.
3. Foresight (v9-11)
The
third thing that lifts Paul out of discouragement comes in v9-11 where he has a
vision from God with a reassuring word and a promise attached.
“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, for I have many people in this city.”
It
is so uplifting to hear from God prophetically, to receive a promise from him. In
this instance, it happened directly. Other times in the New Testament, prophecy
comes as a word from someone else. 1 Corinthians 14 says, “Those who prophesy
speak to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort.”
I
was at the Saint Michael le Belfry House of Prayer in York this week and I was
chatting to the vicar there, Matthew Porter, about how the House f Prayer came about. He told me he was
called out on a hospital visit one day. He entered the ward and found a dying
man with an oxygen mask on.
The
man was barely able to speak but, between gasps for air through the oxygen mask, he
said “I have a word for you from Genesis 26.” * “The Philistines had blocked up
all the wells in the land.” * “But by faith, Isaac reopened them again.” * “When
he unblocked the wells, he discovered fresh water.” * “The promise of God was
if they reopened the wells, they would flourish in the land.” * “God is giving
you a ministry of unblocking the wells that contain living water, through prayer.” And that was
it. He died two weeks later.
Several
other prophetic words were given about the same time with a very similar
message from different people who did not know each other. How encouraging to
know that people are hearing from God and speaking his truths into your life!
A
few years ago they opened this House of Prayer and they have seen God do some
beautiful things and answer prayer in amazing ways.
I
have a burden in my heart for a strong ministry of prophetic revelation here.
Because when God speaks, faith is released. When faith is released, prayer
rises. When prayer rises, God moves.
4. Freedom (v12-17)
The
fourth and final thing that can pull you out of discouragement is reminding
yourself of your freedom.
In
v12-17 Paul is subject to yet another attack on his free speech. Another town,
another lawsuit. Once again, his liberty to talk openly about Jesus is under
threat. But on this occasion, for the first time in the Acts of the Apostles,
the magistrate throws the case out and refuses to hear it. After all he had
gone through; being silenced, being locked up, being chased out of town, it
must have so encouraged Paul to move about freely, speak out publicly, assured
that he was safe from attack.
I
think Paul knew this was going to happen. Because the
prophetic word in v10 said so. “I am with you, and no one is going to attack and
harm you.”
Thank
God for the freedom we have in our country to live out our faith. Make no
mistake, it is under threat and being subtly eroded, but in some countries today,
none of the baptisms we celebrated last week could have taken place. In some
countries today it is strictly forbidden to talk to anyone about Jesus.
While
we have freedom here, thank God for it, pray for the authorities that allow it,
be encouraged by it, and make the most of it.
Ending
And
so, Paul settled a good few months in Corinth and the church grew. He
travelled widely again, as I said earlier, newly encouraged and spiritually replenished.
The light at the end of the tunnel that had been turned off due to budget cuts
was back on again.
In
your discouragement today, share your burdens with Christian friends. That is
one of the reasons that the church exists – so we can carry one another’s burdens.
In
your discouragement today, ask for God’s favour. Pray that prayer that Jabez
prayed; that God will bless you, enlarge your territory, that his hand will be
on you and keep you from harm so that you will not cause pain.
In
your discouragement today, seek a word from God and when you hear one, receive
it. We often have prophetic words for people when they come for prayer ministry
– bring your discouragement to God there. Maybe he will speak into that this morning.
And in
your discouragement today, remember how blessed you are to be free; free to
worship, free to witness, free from condemnation, free from the threat of
violence, free from the penalty of sin.
Let’s
stand to pray…
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