Yesterday we considered that vision can keep us going. Paul had one when he was in Corinth, and Cooper Kupp apparently had one after the Rams lost the Super Bowl in 2019. My friend and former pastor John Ed Mathison wrote about Cooper Kupp:

He came out of high school, and no big colleges were interested in him. He wasn’t fast enough, big enough, or talented enough. He was just a skinny kid about six feet tall and 170 pounds and played football in an area that wasn’t known for great competition. Only two small schools from the FCS offered him a scholarship. He accepted one to Eastern Washington.

When he came out of college, not many pro teams were interested in him. He was underrated and overlooked, but the Los Angeles Rams took a chance and drafted him. Wow, what a great move! In the 2021 football season, he was the best receiver in the NFL. He achieved the triple crown of catches (145), touchdown catches (16), and receiving yards (1947). In the Super Bowl, he led a last-minute comeback by catching multiple passes despite double coverage. He caught the winning touchdown pass with just over a minute to go. He was voted the most valuable player in Super Bowl LVI!

He is a strong Christian. He places Bible verses on his helmet and his sleeve. He always gives a Christian witness when being interviewed. When asked about his Super Bowl ring, he said that, as a Christian, he wanted to win in the game of life where he would receive a trophy that would never perish.Look what God can do! God took Cooper Kupp from an underrated and overlooked player to the best player on the biggest stage in pro football, and Cooper gives God all the credit. – John Ed Mathison, February 16, 2022

If we’re not careful we might miss other underrated people:

After this Paul 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. (Acts 18.1 – 3, ESV)

Priscilla and Aquila, just working class people in Corinth, and Paul lived and worked with them…making tents. (?) Yes, but more than tents. Paul was training them while they worked:

And he stayed a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them…and then took leave of the brothers and set sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila… And they came to Ephesus, and he left them there. (Acts 18.11, 18, 19, ESV)

Paul added Priscilla and Aquila to his traveling team, and he deposited them in Ephesus to do what? Make more tents? It doesn’t seem so:

Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. (Acts 18.24 – 26, ESV)

So two tentmakers, working class people, take an eloquent, but poorly informed, public speaker and trained him. The result was that Apollos left Ephesus and went to Corinth!

When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia [the province containing Corinth], the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. (Acts 18.27, 28, NIV)

For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers. What I mean is that each one of you says, “I follow Paul,” or “I follow Apollos,” or “I follow Cephas,” or “I follow Christ.” (1 Corinthians 1.11 – 12, ESV)

Apollos made such an impression in Corinth that there was rivalry among the Corinthians (not a good thing!) about who was the better teacher: Paul or Apollos or Cephas (Peter). But let’s review:

Paul -> Priscilla and Aquila (underrated tentmakers!) -> Apollos

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2.2, NIV)

I should have sent this early this morning…

It’s 2/22/22 – the last day of its kind (with five like digits), and it occurred on a TUESday.

We considered yesterday that in Paul’s day and ours some people respond positively to the Gospel, some don’t, and some actively oppose it. What keeps us going? We have perspective on that question in Acts 18, Paul’s visit to Corinth, which starts the usual way:

After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 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.” …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. (Acts 18.1, 4 – 6, 8, ESV)

Some believe, some don’t, some oppose.

Probably discouraged and maybe a bit fearful, the Lord appears to Paul:

One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. (Acts 18.9 – 11, NIV)

Paul, keep doing your job. Why? “Because I have many people in this city.” A pastor friend of mine who was a very effective personal evangelist used to say, “God has a people out there. It’s our job to find them!”

Vision can keep us going. The Los Angeles Rams won Super Bowl 56 (I’m taking the liberty of using non-Roman numerals if you don’t mind!) on February 13 after losing Super Bowl 53 back in 2019. After that game little-known and underrated wide receiver Cooper Kupp had a vision:

I think we’ll take another look at Kupp tomorrow along with two other underrated people, but for now, let’s remember:

Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city. – The Lord to Paul, Acts 18.9, 10

We observed a few days ago that there are “no magic formulas” for success in proclaiming the gospel. As we work through Paul’s appearances in various cities beginning in Acts 13 and 14 and continuing with Acts 16 and following, we see a recurring pattern. Paul preaches, and people respond:

• Some believe
• Some don’t

Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you [Jews] first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: “ ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”  When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. (Acts 13.46 – 48, NIV)

• Some are violently opposed

When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. (Acts 17.1 – 5, NIV)

Opposition continues today. We know Christians are persecuted and restricted in places like Russia, China, India, and many other countries. Did you know it’s happening here? A Wall Street Journal article entitled “Silicon Valley’s Secret Christians” starts this way:

HBO’s “Silicon Valley” won praise during its six-season run for accurately satirizing Northern California’s tech startup culture. A classic episode depicts a meeting in which one of the main characters accidentally “outs” a colleague, leaving the gathered tech leaders uncomfortable. But they’re not upset that their potential partner is gay—rather, they’re shocked to learn that he goes to church. Another character later admits that Christianity “freaks people out in the Valley.”

There’s truth in the show’s satire. Having held tech jobs in Silicon Valley and Seattle, I’ve experienced a combination of hesitation and hostility toward my Catholic faith. Eastern Orthodox, Mormon and Protestant colleagues at my company have had similar experiences, leading them to worry about being open with their religious beliefs. – Peter Rex, Wall Street Journal, February 10, 2022

Some believe. Some don’t. Some react violently. The same happened with Jesus – page through the last few verses of each of John 5, John 6, John 7, John 8, and John 10, for example. Our job is to proclaim – more about that tomorrow.

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. (Acts 17.10 – 13, NIV)

We left the discussion of whether or not Gentile believers needed to be circumcised (men!) and keep the law of Moses with Peter’s recognition that even those who had tried to keep all those laws were saved, not by law-keeping but by grace:

No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15.11, NIV)

So what did they decide? And, more importantly, what were their criteria?

James, the brother of Jesus, a late convert (see 1 Corinthians 15.3 – 8), is the spokesperson, and he points out that it’s no secret that Gentiles would be part of the family:

The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written: “After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it, that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord, even all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things.” (Acts 15.15 – 17, NIV, quoting Amos 9.11, 12)

That’s the first criterion. Gentiles are in – we can’t debate about that. (Good news for me and most of my readers!) Given that we will be welcoming Gentiles – for us, people not raised in church – how will we welcome them? With a list of rules? The criterion they came up with in Acts 15 may shock some of us:

It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. (Acts 15.19, NIV)

Say again? Not make it difficult? No circumcision? No complicated dietary laws? For us, no dress code? As I wrote a couple of years ago, a well-known Bible teacher was lamenting what another church was doing to accommodate hippies in Southern California:

In 1967 a bunch of Jesus freak people in the beach areas of Southern California go to Calvary Chapel and for the first time that I know of in history, the church lets the very defined subculture dictate what it will be. Out go the ties, out go the hymns, out go all the normal and formal things…it’s a false form of Christianity.

I’m sure some of the Jewish believers in Acts 15 were saying the same thing. I quoted Augustine a few months ago: God’s grace always seems to startle the religious.“

We started this section yesterday observing how the gospel was expanding. What effect did this decision have on the spread of the gospel? We have the answer in the next chapter:

As [Paul and Silas] traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers. (Acts 16.4, 5, NIV)

I can hear it now: “Too much accommodation and you have a church that’s a mile wide and an inch deep.” That’s not what happened in Acts: “strengthened in the faith” AND “grew daily in numbers.”

Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ. And because of my chains, most of the brothers and sisters have become confident in the Lord and dare all the more to proclaim the gospel without fear. (Philippians 1.12 – 14, NIV)

We take another break in the advance of the gospel. Off to a great start in Acts chapters 2 – 4, then a pause to take care of a few problems in chapters 5 and 6 with the result:

And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests became obedient to the faith. (Acts 6.7, ESV)

Then there’s the persecution of Acts 8, which resulted in yet more expansion:

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word…Now those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists also, preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed turned to the Lord. (Acts 8.4…11.19 – 21, ESV)

Then Paul and Barnabas went out, recorded in chapters 13 and 14. More expansion.

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia. And when they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia, and from there they sailed to Antioch, where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled. And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. (Acts 14.24 – 27, ESV)

Then a giant OOPS – a major roadblock from whom? Romans? Nope. It’s our Jewish friends again, this time, Jews who were among the believers.

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15.1, ESV)

“They” have always been among us: “unless you belong to our church…unless you’re baptized this way, at this time, with the correct words…unless you abstain from a list of things we think all good Christians abstain from…unless your music is of this form…” and on and on. It’s called legalism, and Paul would have none of it.

And after Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and debate with them, Paul and Barnabas and some of the others were appointed to go up to Jerusalem to the apostles and the elders about this question. (Acts 15.2, ESV)

It was a marvelous discussion ending with this startling declaration from Peter:

No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.” (Acts 15.11, NIV)

I get chills every time I read this. Peter, the faithful Jew (“I have never eaten anything impure or unclean.” Acts 10.14) declares who needs grace. It is by grace WE are saved – we good religious people, we pious church-going people, we’re the ones who need grace. Tomorrow we’ll look at the decision the church leaders made in Acts 15, and its aftermath. Sneak preview: it results in more expansion!

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2.8, 9, NIV)

For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Philippians 3.3 – 9, NIV)

I just saw something in Acts 14…

We’ve been talking about how the apostles used signs and wonders, and these miracles often resulted in more people becoming believers. For example:

And all the residents of Lydda and Sharon saw [the lame man walking], and they turned to the Lord….And [the resurrection of Dorcas] became known throughout all Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. (Acts 9.35…42, ESV, emphasis mine)

But, like most historical accounts in the Bible, things don’t often work the same way twice. Here’s the result of Paul’s healing a lame man, something Peter had done at least twice (Acts 3 and Acts 9.)

Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet. He was crippled from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul speaking. And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well, said in a loud voice, “Stand upright on your feet.” And he sprang up and began walking. And when the crowds saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycaonian, “The gods have come down to us in the likeness of men!” Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul, Hermes, because he was the chief speaker. And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city, brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds. (Acts 14.8 – 13, ESV)

Jewish people would have never mistaken Barnabas and Paul for Zeus and Hermes! But the folks at Lystra did. Paul ends up being stoned and left for dead. Despite it all, we know from Acts 14.20 – 23 and Acts 16.1, 2 that there were believers in Lystra – but not without some difficulty!

There are no magic formulas. No method of presenting the gospel “works” every time. Even “signs and wonders” don’t guarantee positive results. Not even Jesus’ miracles always resulted in people believing:

Then he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than for you. And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to Hades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. (Matthew 11.20 – 23, ESV)

I had a vivid dream a few days ago with a clear message. I was preaching and in the middle of the sermon, a former pastor, friend of mine, sitting in the audience, called out:

Keep preaching Bob! When you start talking about Jesus, I’ll listen.

It felt important. When I woke up with that in mind at 3 a.m., I was debating whether or not to write it down, but I said to myself, “If it’s important, I’ll remember it in the morning,” and I did.

We don’t want to forget to talk about Jesus. The apostles didn’t. Here’s part of Paul’s sermon while still on the island of Cypress:

Brothers, sons of the family of Abraham, and those among you who fear God, to us has been sent the message of this salvation. For those who live in Jerusalem and their rulers, because they did not recognize him nor understand the utterances of the prophets, which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled them by condemning him. And though they found in him no guilt worthy of death, they asked Pilate to have him executed. And when they had carried out all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a tomb. But God raised him from the dead, and for many days he appeared to those who had come up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses to the people. And we bring you the good news that what God promised to the fathers, this he has fulfilled to us their children by raising Jesus…Let it be known to you, therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you… (Acts 13.26 – 32, 38, ESV)

Here’s a snippet of Peter’s first sermon – the one at Pentecost:

Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know—this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. (Acts 2.22 – 24, ESV)

Ours is not a faith of ideas or good behavior – it’s about a person.

And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved. (Acts 4.12, ESV)

We move into Acts 13: the beginning of Paul’s first of “three missionary journeys.” (Later, I’ll share how a friend of mine argues that there were four, but Acts specifically refers to three.) Anyway, it starts this way:

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off. (Acts 13.1 – 3, ESV)

Here are a few simple observations:

• There were multiple leaders at the church in Antioch. When the church started, Barnabas was sent down there from Jerusalem, and he immediately sent for Saul of Tarsus. (Acts 11.25, 26) And as part of their teaching, there were five leaders listed, called “prophets and teachers.”
• This group was apparently multi-national and multi-racial.
• God called the founding leaders to be the ones who left for an international mission trip. (How many churches do you know who could or would send their lead pastor off without skipping a beat?)

First stop: Cyprus, where there is this fascinating encounter and clash of powers (guess who wins!):

They traveled the length of the island, and at Paphos came upon a Jewish wizard who had worked himself into the confidence of the governor, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man not easily taken in by charlatans. The wizard’s name was Bar-Jesus. He was as crooked as a corkscrew. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul in, wanting to hear God’s Word firsthand from them. But Dr. Know-It-All (that’s the wizard’s name in plain English) stirred up a ruckus, trying to divert the governor from becoming a believer. But Saul (or Paul), full of the Holy Spirit and looking him straight in the eye, said, “You bag of wind, you parody of a devil—why, you stay up nights inventing schemes to cheat people out of God. But now you’ve come up against God himself, and your game is up. You’re about to go blind—no sunlight for you for a good long stretch.” He was plunged immediately into a shadowy mist and stumbled around, begging people to take his hand and show him the way. When the governor saw what happened, he became a believer, full of enthusiasm over what they were saying about the Master. (Acts 13.6 – 12, MSG)

“Signs and wonders” again – POWER. Tomorrow, I want to look at the rest of the chapter and the power (and content) of the spoken word.

In the meantime, I wonder how God will interrupt my “devotional time” to send me out on a mission.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles… Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. (Acts 8.1, 4, ESV)

We’ve been going through Acts and especially noticing God’s POWER at work…in healings, breaking Peter out of prison, supernaturally directing Peter to Cornelius, etc. Whenever such stories are considered, along with reports that such miracles are still going on, the inevitable questions come: why wasn’t my friend Roy Fitzwater healed, for example? He was a man of God and was prayed for by some of the most devout, faith-filled people I know.

Part of the answer might be in Acts 12. The chapter is known best as another prison break for Peter followed by the amusing account of his going to the house where the believers were praying for him and being left to stand on the sidewalk. (See Acts 12.6 – 17) But that’s not how the chapter starts:

About that time Herod the king laid violent hands on some who belonged to the church. He killed James the brother of John with the sword. (Acts 12.1, 2, ESV)

James dies; Peter lives.

Is that the answer to the question or does it just introduce more mystery? The bottom line is this:

God’s POWER is for God’s purposes.

End of story. I might be an Air Force pilot (I’m not, and I wasn’t!), and the Air Force might equip me with the latest fighter jet. But it’s not so I can fly to Hawaii for a vacation. The Air Force, following orders from the President, tells me how and when to use that fighter jet.

And when Peter saw it he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why do you wonder at this, or why do you stare at us, as though by our own power or piety we have made him walk? (Acts 3.12, ESV)