This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

Welcome to our last day of week four, looking through the book of Acts together,
chapter 18 today. And as I indicated yesterday, one title you might give to this
chapter and one of the events that happens in this chapter is Paul hits the
wall. You might think that the apostle Paul was some kind of perfect believer
who never struggled in his faith.

Well, if you think that you've never read closely the letters of Paul, and if
you have read those letters, had the opportunity to do it, you see he faced
discouragement. You see he faced difficult times. And we see one of those points
of discouragement in this chapter.

In chapter 18, Paul comes to Corinth and the trip, the second missionary trip to
this point has not been an easy one. They've wanted to go certain places and God
has said no. They went into Macedonia and they were chased out of Macedonia.

Not enough, but then even worse, especially for Paul, such an activist, he goes
into Athens and he's pretty much ignored. A few people come to faith, but they
don't even give him attention. They just ignore him.

You read between the lines of what's happening here and Paul's confidence in
what he's doing for God is just about on empty. What does God do for him? What
does God do for you when your spiritual confidence is running on empty?

Well, two things happen in this chapter, two things that God does for Paul and
two things that God will do for you in your life. First for Paul, God refreshes
him through relationships. He wants to do that in your life too.

You are not doing this job of faith alone. You're not living the life of faith
alone. So when you get on empty, get around other people.

Don't try to live it alone. God refreshes him through relationships. Chapter 18,
verse one, after this, Paul left Athens and he went to Corinth.

There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from
Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave
Rome. Paul went to see them and because he was a tent maker as they were, he
stayed and he worked with them. Priscilla and Aquila become good friends of Paul
and they are ministry partners.

They even more than that become close friends and they work together. They make
tents together. Here is Paul at a point of discouragement in his life and
ministry and he finds some friends and God refreshes his life through those
friends.

They just do some simple work together and in doing that simple work they talk
about God and who he is. Paul continues to preach and teach during this time.
He's preaching and teaching in season and out of season even when he feels like
it, even when he doesn't feel like it.

I believe that this relationship with Priscilla and Aquila, God designed it for
Paul. God used Priscilla and Aquila in his life to bring him encouragement. God
refreshes him through relationships.

What does God do when your spiritual confidence is on empty? He gives you just
the right relationship. Look for those people in your life that can build you
up.

You certainly don't need those people who are tearing you down, who are sucking
the life out of you when you're spiritually on empty. Look for some people who
will build you up. Make some tents with some people.

God refreshes you through relationships and then a second thing happens to Paul.
God gives him a new vision. Once he's refreshed, it often happens this way,
first you get refreshed, then you get the vision.

You're not ready for the vision until you're refreshed. First he gets refreshed
and then a new vision, verses 9 to 11. One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a
vision, "Do not be afraid.

Keep on speaking. Do not be silent for I am with you and no one is going to
attack and harm you because I have many people in this city. " So Paul stayed
for a year and a half teaching the Word of God, a year and a half in Corinth.

He comes in in discouragement. He's been chased out of this city, not listened
to in that city, and now all of a sudden he spends the longest time he has in a
city, a year and a half preaching the Word of God, telling them the good news of
what God is doing. Amazing.

He had no idea the doors that God was going to open. God knew. And because he
knew what he was going to do, he gives him an assurance in this vision.

Now for Paul, his visions were often very, very immediate and also very clear.
He didn't have the Bible like we do. You and I can pick up the New Testament and
read Paul's vision and we can get our vision from Paul's vision.

You think, "Why didn't God do the same thing for me as he did for Paul? " Well,
one of the reasons is he did it for Paul so you can learn from it so I can learn
from it. And what do I need to learn from this vision that was given to Paul?

There are four assurances in this message. Assurances that you might need to
hear today. If you're spiritually on empty right now, listen to these four
assurances.

It's the assurance of God's perspective, the assurance of God's plan, the
assurance of God's presence, and the assurance of God's providence. First God's
perspective. God's perspective is in the four words, "Do not be afraid.

" Now why would God tell Paul not to be afraid? Because he was afraid. There's
no need to say, "Do not be afraid," unless you are afraid.

You think the Apostle Paul never faced fear? He certainly did here. But it
doesn't seem like he's under attack at this moment.

It's not fear for his life in the same way as some other cities. It seems like
he's afraid that the ministry won't go forward. He's afraid that maybe he won't
have as much impact as he hoped he would have in ministry.

Now alongside of that, there may very well be the fear of what might happen to
him physically. We don't know, but he's faced it again and again. And sometimes
you can only face it so many times and you think, "I just can't face it one more
time.

" I'm afraid of one more word of criticism. I'm afraid of one more failure in
that ministry. I'm afraid that I'll go one more time and the people won't show
up.

I'm afraid of it happening again, Lord. Whatever it was, God said to Paul, "Do
not be afraid. " Now what's the answer to fear?

It's always love. We're told in 1 John that love always conquers fear. Fear and
love cannot live in the same heart.

So what do you do? You remind yourself of the love of God that will never fail
you. That is God's perspective.

Don't live in fear, live in love. That's the assurance you might need to hear
today. The second thing that God says to Paul is about God's plan.

He says to him, "Keep on speaking. " Well, that's what he's been doing. So
essentially, God says to Paul, "Keep on doing what you've been doing.

That's my plan for you. " I have found in my life so many times when I'm facing
a fear, when I'm spiritually on empty, I'm always looking for some new thing
that God wants me to do. And when I finally get myself to a place to listen, to
let go of the fear and to listen to the Lord, I found so many times he says,
"No.

Just keep doing what you're doing, but do it with my heart. Keep on doing what
you're doing. " This new vision that God has for you may be to keep on doing
what you're doing, Mom, and raising those kids, or Dad, and being with those
kids.

Maybe to keep on doing what you're doing in that business and having that
integrity in a tough place. We want the new thing. God just wants us to live in
a new way.

So God's plan is keep on. Keep on speaking. Maybe you need that assurance today.

The third assurance that God gives to Paul in this short message is the
assurance of God's presence. He says, "For I am with you. " I am with you.

And whatever you're doing, remember, I'm right there. I'm right with you. Well,
that's our promise as believers today.

God's Spirit is with you. God is with you. You are a temple of God's Holy
Spirit.

There's nowhere that you can go that he is not with you. You may feel alone at
times. I sure do.

But you're never alone. You may not feel his presence at times, but his presence
is there. And in assurance, you remind yourself, God is with me even here.

God is with me even now. That's the assurance you need today. God is with you.

That's the assurance you need today. Keep on. That's the assurance you need
today.

Don't be afraid. And then there's a fourth assurance, the assurance of God's
providence, God's provision, God's meeting of the needs. In this case, he says
to Paul, it's very practical for Paul, "No one's going to attack you and harm
you because I have many people in this city.

" Now that's what indicates to me that Paul may have been afraid not only of an
ineffective but also of being harmed because God says, "No one's going to attack
you or harm you. " He's tired of being attacked and harmed. So God says, "I'm
going to not let that one happen here.

" So keep on speaking here. Don't go somewhere else. God knew he wanted him to
stay a year and a half.

That was God's provision for him in that city. Now Paul's going to go to other
cities where he gets attacked. So it's not that he's never going to get attacked
for his faith again.

God is just saying, "I'm going to meet the need that you have to do the ministry
that I need you to do, so don't be afraid. " God's providence in your life.
Providence means that God's going to meet the need that you have to do what he
has for you to do.

He's promised to give bread on a daily basis to meet our needs. He promised to
give direction on a daily basis, one step at a time, to meet our needs. So you
hang on to that.

Even when you're confused, you hang on to, "God, I'm going to keep doing what
you've shown me to do to this point, and if you want me to do something
different, I'm going to rely on the fact that in your providence you will show
me the next step to take. " You rely on God's providence by saying, "God, I
don't see how you're going to meet this need for what you've asked me to do, but
you've asked me to do it, so I'm going to take the step of faith, and if you
don't show up, if you don't provide, I'm going to fall flat on my face. But I'd
rather do that than not take the step of faith.

" Through the rest of this chapter, Acts chapter 18, Paul is going to face many
challenges amidst the miracles that God works, but he faces them with a new,
with a genuine confidence because of this encounter with God. Let's take a
moment to pray together. And as we pray, my prayer is that even in these few
moments, you would have an encounter with God right now, that you'd listen to
these assurances in your life.

God says to you, "Here's my perspective. Don't be afraid. Here's my plan.

Keep on doing what I've asked you to do. Here's my promise. I am with you.

" Promise of his presence. "And here's my providence. I will meet the need of
the day for what I want you to do.

" Our Father, you are the provider. You are with us. You have the plan.

You see the perfect perspective. So we hold on to who you are right now. I pray
for myself.

I pray for us together that even as Paul had this vision, that you would bring
new vision into our lives, a vision of who you are and what you want us to do.
Lord, that tank that's spiritually almost on empty, fill it right now through
your promise, through your presence, through your providence. We ask this in
Jesus' name, Amen.

Next week, as we continue our study in the book of Acts, we'll be in chapters 19
to 23. We're going to see that the attacks on Paul become even more personal,
but the power of what God is doing in his life becomes even more evident. Join
us next week, chapters 19 to 23.