The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to The Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 18, verses 7 through 10.

Tony Clark: All right, let’s dive into the word of God together. Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts chapter 18. We're going to be looking at verses 7 through 10 as we continue our verse-by-verse study of the book of Acts on Sunday mornings. And as you know, we're in 1 Samuel on Wednesdays going through the Old Testament on Wednesday nights.

It's just a great thing to just go through the word of God and see all that God has for us in the Old Testament and the New Testament, so we can be a well-rounded church and a well-rounded group of believers. And Father, thank You so much for giving us Your word today. We pray that Your spirit would move in our midst and we pray, God, that You'll give us the understanding, unclog our ears to hear Your voice, speak to us, and Lord, we just pray God, speak a timely word to our hearts. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Acts 18, looking at verses 7 through 10. The title of this message is "When You Want To Quit." Now, there is no one here who is exempt from wanting to quit something. Many of you have quit a job, a career, a relationship, or even a marriage. And so often, wanting to quit comes after times of hardships, disappointments, and letdowns.

And this is where we find the apostle Paul this morning. He came to the city of Corinth alone, discouraged, and depressed. He found companionship with a couple on the job named Aquila and Priscilla, according to verse 2. They both were tentmakers according to verse 3, and Paul reasoned with the people in the synagogue in verse 4 and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

When Silas and Timothy finally arrived in the city of Corinth, according to verse 5, Paul was able to leave his tent-making job and testify full-time that Jesus is the Christ. When the Jews present opposed him and blasphemed Jesus Christ, Paul in verse 6 shook his garments and said, "Your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. From now on, I will go to the Gentiles."

And now we pick up the story. Look what it says there. He says, "And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshipped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue. And when Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians hearing, believed and were baptized."

Now, Paul stayed true to his word, which was, "From now on, I will go to the Gentiles," the end of verse 6 said. However, his heart for the Jewish people and to see them saved was so strong that he didn't go very far. Oh yes, he departed from the synagogue where the Jews opposed him, but where did he go? Hey, he went right next door to a man's house named Justus.

He was a Roman, and because Roman citizens usually had three names, his full name is believed to be Gaius Titius Justus. If this is the case, then Paul greeted him in Romans 16 and verse 23 and baptized him in 1 Corinthians 1 and verse 14. Verse 7 also gives us a distinct characteristic about Justus: he was one who worshipped God.

Oh, let us pause right here. Could this be written and said about you? Replace your name here. Replace Justus's name with your name. Tony, Jane, Sue, Bill—one who worships God. Does this describe your life? Or would it say, "Jack, one who occasionally attends church"? Or "James, one who talks a good game about God"?

Or would it be said, "Justus, Sally, one who worships God"? Or would it say, "One who worships God on Sunday only, but Monday through Saturday they do them"? What would they say about you? What would they write about you? About your life outside of you sitting in this chair here, outside of you coming through these doors?

If your coworkers were to write something about you, your children, your spouse, would they write, "You are a worshipper of God," or do they say, "Well, they just play a lot of religious games with God"? What would they write about you? This was a distinct characteristic about Justus: he was one who worshipped God. And we all know worship is a lifestyle. Worship is not just when the music is playing.

Can you still worship God and be a worshipper of God after the music stops? Because worship is a lifestyle. And as Paul set up his evangelistic operation next door to the synagogue, I am sure that this infuriated the unbelieving Jews who opposed him in verse 6. Oh, to add fuel to the fire, verse 8 tells us that Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household.

This must have sent shockwaves throughout Corinth’s Jewish community as many of the Corinthians hearing believed and were baptized. Now, something I want to bring to your attention: notice how Crispus believed on the Lord with all his household. Crispus didn't just believe personally and then said, "Well, I'm going to let my kids figure out what they want to believe." No, no, that's not what Crispus did.

But his belief spread throughout his household. We saw the same thing happen with the Philippian jailer in Acts 16 verse 31, which says, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, and your household." We see it again in John 4 and verse 53 when Jesus healed the nobleman's son. This verse says, "He himself believed and all his household."

This is how God designed it to be: someone in the house believes or gets saved, and this would spread throughout the family. Just like in Genesis 1 and verses 11 through 31, everything reproduces according to its kind—the grass, the fruit trees. You don't see an orange tree having apples.

Everything reproduces after its kind. The animals reproduce—you don't see cats having dogs or dogs having cats. Everybody reproduces after their kind. Mankind reproduces other little mankinds. That's what we do. Everything reproduces according to its kind. So, God has designed it when a true born-again believer enters a home that it will spread.

Why is that? Because Matthew 5 verse 14 says that we are the light of the world, and the first place that light of Jesus Christ needs to be seen is in the home. It's confirmed in Matthew 5:15 that says that the light of Jesus needs to give light to all who are in the house. We reproduce according to our kind.

If we are sold out for Christ at home and at church, then our families will be too. If we are Christians only at church and worldly at home and on the job, our families will be the same. We reproduce according to our kind. So, Crispus believed on the Lord with all his household.

And here is Paul, finally experiencing success in the ministry. However, it was not without opposition because verse 6 says that the unbelieving Jews opposed him and blasphemed. Oh, I'm sure that Paul is thinking, "Is all this really worth it? I mean, everywhere I go, there's a riot, there's an uproar, there's opposition. Maybe I'm doing something wrong. Maybe I should just shut up and just not preach anymore."

I'm telling you, for those who are called to preach and teach the word of God, this is a real temptation. It's easy to just say, "Paul, come on, Paul, you're Paul. Look in the mirror. You're Paul, the apostle Paul who will write one day one-third of our New Testament. You thinking about shutting up?" Oh, Jeremiah said, after the persecution he went through, "Uh-uh, I'm not speaking for the Lord anymore."

He said, "But that word was like fire shut up in my bones, and I couldn't keep quiet." This is what happens, though—there's still that temptation to want to not preach anymore. And this is where God had to step in. God had to step in and speak to Paul in this time in his life. Look at verses 9 and 10.

"Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision. 'Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not be silent. Do not keep silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you, for I have many people in this city.'" It is very obvious that the growing house church forming right next door to the synagogue brought great opposition.

It is no doubt that Paul was afraid. Oh, I'm sure that he had in his mind as he is seeing revival taking place, the stoning with rocks he received or endured in the city of Lystra, the beatings with rods in the city of Philippi, the constant opposition and being run out of every city he preached in. He was afraid that something was about to break off and happen to him in the city of Corinth.

And God steps in in verse 9 and speaks to Paul in the night by a vision. As we've mentioned previously, a vision is a picture of something given to us while we are awake, and a dream is a picture of something given to us while we are asleep. Notice what God said to Paul: "Do not be afraid." If God said, "Do not be afraid," it is very obvious that Paul was afraid.

He was afraid that something evil was about to happen to him again. Surely Paul rejoiced to see the many Corinthians giving their lives to Jesus Christ, but he was still afraid that something was about to happen. God tells Paul, "Do not be afraid," then He said, "But speak." It is very obvious that his fear of persecution or of constant opposition caused him to not want to speak.

Oh, and let me pause here and just say many Christians are in the same predicament on their jobs—afraid of offending someone, afraid of being written up for speaking about Jesus Christ, or worse yet, afraid of losing your job. And the Lord will speak to you like He did Paul and said, "Do not be afraid, but speak."

The Lord also told him, "And do not keep silent." Oh, maybe at one time you used to talk about Jesus, salvation, and the Bible, and now for some reason, you have stopped. God is saying to you, "Do not keep silent." Or you have been silent for long enough—it is now time to speak again.

And I always have to say this whenever I talk about speaking for Jesus Christ on a job. You know that your job did not hire you to be the company chaplain. They hired you to do a job. However, you're mandated by God to share the gospel wherever you go. So you have to pray that God would open up those doors for you to share.

It would be someone by themselves in the break room. It would be some situation they say, "Well, I heard you say something about church. Can you tell me a little bit more about salvation?" God will open up those doors if you open up your eyes. Let me tell you that even though they didn't hire you to be the company chaplain, God sent you to be the company chaplain.

Now, that doesn't mean you say, "Hey, hey, hey, everybody stop work! You over there! Put it down! Put it down! Turn that machine off! I gotta tell you about Jesus Christ." No, that's not what you're there to do. But God will open up those doors for you if you seek Him.

And this is what God said to Paul in the night by a vision. Now God is about to encourage him in the dark season he is going through, in the midnight hour of discouragement, in the darkness of Paul's despair. God is going to give him two wonderful gifts that He gives us when we find ourselves in the midnight hour of our situations as well. Number one: He's going to give His presence. Number two: He's going to give His promise.

In verse 10, God said, "For I am with you." Now, why did the Lord have to remind Paul that He was with him? Because when we are in the night season of our situation, we have the tendency to think that God is not with us, or if He is, He doesn't care to help us, because if He did, He would do something.

There's nothing new under the sun. The disciples felt the same way in Mark chapter 4 and verses 35 to 41. They were in the midst of a storm. It was so bad that the boat was filling up with water and they thought that they were going to perish. However, Jesus was asleep on a pillow in the boat. They woke Him up and said, "Master, don't You care we're perishing?"

In other words, "If You cared, You would do something about this storm we're in and going through, and not sleeping on a pillow." Well, maybe some of you feel this way as well, or you have felt this way. I don't know about you, but I have. "Lord, where are You right now? Lord, where are You in the midst of this storm that I'm going through? Are You asleep on a pillow?"

Maybe you're a little more spiritual than I am, but I have felt this way. "If You care, God, if You care, You would do something. It's obvious that You don't care because I'm still going through this." And maybe you're here and you felt that way as well. We know what happened in the midst of this storm: Jesus stood up and rebuked the storm, and then He subtly rebuked His disciples and said, "Why are you fearful? Why are you freaking out?"

He said this because He was right there with them in the boat. So, why are you afraid? And so too the Lord is saying to us, "Why are you fearful? I am with you." He said in Hebrews 13:5, "I will never leave you nor forsake you." And we know what David said in Psalm 23 and verse 4. He says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." Why? "Because You are with me."

If that's the case, so why are you afraid today? What are you afraid of today? Are you afraid of failure? I don't know about you, I struggled with that for years. Being afraid to fail. You know, coming from California, there were high hopes for me coming and starting a church from the ground up. And I was afraid of failing. I was afraid of being looked at as a failure.

It's like when some great basketball player in college and there's high hopes for them in the NBA and all of a sudden they go to the NBA and become a bust. And I was afraid of being a bust. I was afraid of being a failure. We've seen many quarterbacks in college tear it up in college and get in the NFL and be a bust. Or some great player in basketball in college and get to the NBA and just a flop.

And I was afraid of that happening. So for years, I was afraid of being a failure or to be looked at as a failure. "Yeah, Tony went out there to the East Coast and ain't nothing happening out there." Oh, that haunted me for years. Years. So what are you afraid of? Is it financial collapse? Maybe it's the collapse of your health. That's a real thing today, especially the older we get.

Or a relational breakup. What are you afraid of today? Or are you afraid of the unknown? Ladies, this is you because you worry more so than we do. You worry about the unknown. "Well, what if we get out? What's going to happen? What are we going to do? Well, what if you change jobs and what if there's no check in between the last job from the first job? And what about this and what about that? What if we go back home? What if we can't make it back home?"

Whatever it is, remember what God says. He says, "I am with you. I am with you." And so God gives us His presence like He did with Paul. Now the Lord gives Paul His promise. He told him, "No one will attack you to hurt you." Now, this statement shows us that Paul thought that he would be attacked again. He would be beaten or stoned again.

The Lord gives Paul this promise that no one will hurt you in this city. And He tells him why. He says, "For I have many people in this city." Meaning that God would be present with him, God would preserve him and use him to reach many, many people in the city of Corinth. I believe that God wants to use us to reach many, many people in the city of Newport News and in the 757 area.

So we must not be afraid but speak. And if we once spoke for Jesus and are now silent, God says, "Do not keep silent." You know, these verses are very personal for me. Every time I teach them. I never forget when I announced when I was in California that I was going to be coming to Virginia to start the church.

It was a Sunday night service, there was this brother afterwards. He said, "Hey, Pastor Tony, can I talk to you for a minute?" And I said, "Yeah," and I pulled him in my office. And he said, "The Lord gave me a verse for you." And he gave me these verses in Acts 18, verses 9 and 10. He said, "God wants to use you to reach many, many people in the Newport News area."

I'll never forget it. It was August 24, 1994. It's funny, I had not been in contact with that brother for 20 years. And I thought about him. I saw the great things he was doing because he was in my apologetics class. I taught apologetics, the defense of the Christian faith, in our Bible college, and he was one of the students there.

He had gone on to do great things, got his doctorate degree and everything. So I hadn't been in contact with him for about 20 years. And I got a number for him and I left him a message. And we played phone tag, he called me back and he left a message. And the message he left was, "For I have many people in that city." He remembered the word he gave me 20 years later.

And then we talked, and he remembered that word that he gave on that August 24, 1994. These verses are personal for me. God wants to use us to reach many more people here. I don't have to tell you how many people are lost here. Folks are lost. And God wants to use us to reach them. Many, many people in this city.

Yes, God has used us to touch thousands upon thousands of lives throughout the 25 years, but there's still so many more. So many more God wants to use us to reach. So God gave Paul His promise and His presence. Yes, there are times we all want to quit, but God gives us His presence and He gives us His promise.

Let these two wonderful gifts comfort you as you go through the dark seasons in your life. Because no matter who you are, there's some dark times that are going to come in your life and you've got to know how to navigate through these times. He will never leave us nor forsake us. His presence is felt in prayer, and His promises are found in the word of God.

As we spend daily time in God's presence through prayer and daily time in the word of God, these two things will help us navigate through whatever midnight hour we find ourselves going through. Show me a person that is totally in their room with the lights off and the shades drawn and it's dark, they don't want to get out of bed—I show you a person that has not taken advantage of these two wonderful gifts: His presence and His promise.

And they are found through prayer and the word of God. Daily prayer and the word of God. It will get you through whatever midnight hour you find yourself going through. These two wonderful gifts that God has given us. And Father, thank You so much for speaking into our hearts. Thank You, God, that You love us to share these things with us.

Let us take advantage of these wonderful gifts You've given us. Lord, You promised to never leave us nor forsake us. And Lord, these promises are in Your word. And God, let us spend more daily time in prayer in Your presence. Oh God, I pray there's some here that's going through the midnight hour, the dark season in their life. God, draw them into Your presence through prayer. In Jesus' name. Amen.

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