KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 18:8 ” And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized”.

  Apostle Paul kept preaching in Corinth and achieved some success. In verse 6, although some of the Jews opposed Paul, our key scripture tells us that, some of them got converted. Never back out from your evangelistic missions or outreaches when it appears people oppose you. God’s word and power supersedes all and will definitely prevail. The chief ruler of the synagogue and his house hold were saved. A great number of the Corinthians who heard him believed and were baptised. You would achieve success for the master if you don’t give up.

   In verse 6, apostle Paul shook his raiment and said unto the Jews who opposed him that he was free of their blood and decided to go solely to the Gentiles from then. He said that he has preached to the Jews and he was free from their blood. Are you free of the blood of all men?

In Ezekiel 33:2-6 the Lord declares that when we fail to warn the sinner of his ways and he dies in his sin; God will require his blood from us. What does it mean for one’s blood to be required of you? Let’s look at 2nd Samuel 4:11″………

Shall I not now therefore require blood from your hand, and take you away from the earth?” The word of God shows by this scripture that if you fail to warn a sinner of his or her ways and he or she dies in his sin, your life would be given for him or her?

This is very serious and we must not shut our mouths from sharing the word with others.

 In Acts 18:9 the Lord spoke to apostle Paul in a night vision saying, “……be not afraid but speak and hold not thy peace.” Paul had earlier said that he was no longer going to speak to the Jews but to the Gentiles. The Lord said unto him not to hold his peace and that he was with him. Please dear child of God, don’t stop your work of ministering to others about Jesus. This is the LORD’s business. He would have done so if he was here in person. Ministering to people is His prime occupation, so don’t hold your peace. If you are saved and you are not involved in ministering to the lost, then you have not enlisted in the Lords fundamental call for His children. You are not laying down treasures in the kingdom of heaven for your soul.

  In the message of the Lord to Paul, he assured him that he was with him. This should be a refreshing reminder to every child of God involved in the work of God. God is forever with you. He promised he would never leave you nor forsake you. Matt. 28;19&20

CONFESSION

I would not stop sharing the word of God to the lost. The Lord is forever with me. As I go about sharing the word to others He speaks through me.

FURTHER STUDIES:

Luke 2:49 And he said unto them, how is it that ye sought me? Wist ye not that I must be about my Father’s business?

 Matthew 10:27 “What I tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon the housetops”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 18:4 ” And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.”

Apostle Paul left Athens for Corinth. At Corinth Paul continued with his life purpose. That is to project our Lord Jesus Christ. Dear reader our life mission is to project the Lord Jesus to our world. He is the reason we are alive today. Men must know he is the answer. This is exactly what Paul did.

Paul reasoned with the Jews and the Greeks, persuading them that Jesus was the Christ. The Jews were expecting a Messiah or a saviour in the form of a king like David who would deliver them physically from the gentile world, that is the. Roman rule.

They could not bring themselves up to accept that this saviour would have to die to save them. The Lord Jesus talking to the Jews spoke in John 5: 39″ Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal life and they are they which testify of me”. The law and the Prophets all testified of him yet these Jews never accepted him as the Messiah.  Isaiah 53:1 says ” Who hath believed our report and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed.” Isaiah continued to prophecy about the sufferings of Christ and even said Jesus would be despised and would not be esteemed. (Isaiah 53:3b).

These were some of the scriptures Paul came to know through the Holy Spirit. This was why he kept reasoning and persuading the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.

 The Jews had a wrong understanding about Jesus. Our world today, also has a wrong concept of Jesus.  The world has different pictures or views about Jesus. One view they have of him is through the religious mind. He is seen as one of the teachers of these religions. Others also see him through the life of false men of God whose god is their belly and their glory is in their shame. They see Him as a money-making organization. (Philippians 3:18). Others also see him through the teachings of philosophers whose teaching are purely vain deceit proceeding from the traditions of men and the rudiments or the science of this world. (Col 2:8)

 The answers to the confusion of our world is in the bible. We must present the Lord Jesus , relentlessly , reasoning with men as Paul did. . God’s word is truth. We have to present the true Jesus to our world. The true Jesus is loving, powerful, healing, humble, transforming, and will bring peace to the heart of any man who welcomes Him.

 PRAYER

O heavenly father! help us, that as we talk about our Lord Jesus to people, the Holy Spirit would reveal Him to our world. In Jesus name I have prayed.

FURTHER STUDY

John 16:13 ” Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come”.

John 8:31-32 ” Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;

And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:23 ” For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you”.

Read Acts 17:22–34

In our passage that is Acts 17: 22-34 Apostle Paul preached to the people of the city of Athens. His preaching gives us a lot to learn about, in communicating the Gospel to certain groups of people.       Apostle Paul addressed them first as superstitious.   people. This was a way to get them to listen to him, since that word was to provoke them to know what he had to say afterwards.

Apostle Paul was not going to major on their worship of many gods; he quickly switched over to an inscription about the unknown God. Paul drew their attention, but did not say things further that would annoy them. Paul then referred to the God of creation, the father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In sharing the Gospel do not spend too much time on other matters but quickly stay on course with the word of God He said you ignorantly worshipped him and that he Paul, had come to declare him unto them, implying he had also come to show them the right way to worship  him.

   Apostle Paul unfolds who this God is. He says he is the creator of all things and that he does not dwell in temples made with human hands.  This point was very important and also peculiar to them  since they were very idolatrous. Always make your message relevant to your audience such that they can easily relate to it.

 In verse 27 Paul declares it is right that they seek after this God who has made himself available. He added that even their poets had said “in him, we move, live and have our being”. In verse 29 after saying we are all offspring of this God, he added that this God is not like unto gold, silver, stone or any graving art proceeding from men.

 Apostle Paul, then calls on them to repent after which he introduced the Lord Jesus as God’s appointed Judge for all men on a day he has appointed. Paul established also that God raised Jesus Christ from the dead to confirm that He is the one appointed. The bible said

at this point some mocked and others said we would hear him at a later time. The good news is that some of them believed and cleaved to him. In sharing the word to a number of people some would openly reject; others will be reflecting on it and there would be some who would believe. The important thing is that the message would have gone forth giving the Holy Spirit something to work with in the hearts men.

PRAYER

Father, I pray for a revival of cutting-edge evangelistic messages that would bring many who oppose the gospel to be converted to Christ.

FURTHER STUDY. 

 Mark 4:14 The sower soweth the word.

Matthew 28:19-20 “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:18 ” Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoics, encountered him. And some said, what will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection.”

In our previous study, we looked at the first group of philosophers, that is the Epicureans whom Paul encountered. The second group of philosophers are the stoics.

Most of these philosophies are doctrines taught by People who have been deceived by the devil” Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils”;(1st Timothy 4:1). The idea is given to one person who goes about teaching others.

The doctrine of the Stoics was taught by a man called Zeno. They believed the universe was created by God, and that all things were fixed by fate, believing that God was also restricted to the influence of fate. They believed passions and affections were to be suppressed and that happiness was due to the insensitivity of the soul to pain. These were people who became naturally tough in the view of life.

   When apostle Paul go to discuss the scriptures with these people, they made the following expression ” What will this babbler say.?”  The word babbler suggests the idea of ‘one who collects seeds’, and the Greek used such a word for the poor person who collected grains in the fields after the main harvest had been done. This was an insulting word. Apostle Paul was too matured to even consider such insults. He knew they were lost and it was just normal for them to speak and act wrongly. Everyone involved in sharing the word must accept that the sinner is not cultured in the way of righteousness and has the potential to say or do anything wrong or vile.

 In our modern world, secularism has given birth to all sorts of world views or mindsets. There are some who think and claim they don’t accept any religion but believe in God. Some claim there is no God at all. Others blatantly attack the bible and some even claim the Lord Jesus never existed.  All these mindsets are views carried by individuals deceived by the devil (Revelations 12:9).

   As we discussed in our last study, it is the Holy spirit who communicates to the spirit of men. He can use just one word to arrest the spirit of a man.  He can also reveal Jesus Christ in person to them.   What initiates the process is sharing the word in the power of the Spirit.

    How can the word be shared or given in the power of the Spirit?

1) It must be shared out of love. Love gives access to the Spirit to reach out to the person in question.

2) The word must be shared in Faith. You must trust the Holy Spirit to get across to them and win them, for Jesus.

Every child of God must be fully or truly settled in his heart concerning the authenticity of the bible and should not allow himself to drift from the word of God in communicating the truth to them.

PRAYER

Father I pray for as many whom the God of this world has blinded their minds from the knowledge of the truth that they would receive the gift of salvation, in Jesus name I have prayed. Amen

FURTHER STUDY:   

  1 Corinthians 2:1” And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God”.

1 Corinthians 1:23 ” But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling block, and unto the Greeks foolishness”;

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:17 “Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him”.

Athens was given to idolatry yet Apostle Paul faced the problem squarely. He did not turn away from the reality. Many of us see so much wrong things going on yet we do nothing about it. Success in life is seeing a need and taking steps to answer that need. Why do people refuse to engage various issues that need to be corrected? Some feel they would disturb their own peace by getting involved in solving some of these problems. Others also think they may not be able to stand the opposition that may come against them. Others still feel or think these problems are there to stay and nothing could be done about them. These notions are all fake. God can use very simple efforts of diligent people to achieve a lot. Remember the Apostle Paul said in Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me”. There is nothing impossible to the ability of the Spirit of God who lives in us.

Please let’s consider the key scripture once again. Within the key scripture we see the plan Paul devised to attack the issue:

1. He started with the Jews in the synagogue.

2. He was able to get the devout people (Gentile) who go to the synagogue to learn

3. He then visited the market daily, where he met the philosophers to discuss the gospel with them.

Apostle Paul is such a wonderful man. He was waiting for his men to arrive yet went ahead to solve a problem which was at hand for them to join him when they arrived.

When Paul engaged the Athenians at the market place he encountered the following philosophers

I. Epicureans

II. Stoics

Who were the Epicureans? They were philosophers who believed that the world was not created by God. They also believed the gods did not exercise any help to the human soul and did not believe in the immortality of the soul. They also held that pleasure is the chief good. Please consider how different are these people from today’s secular worldly person? They are the same. Apostle Paul was not frightened about their believes but took pains to talk to them about Jesus. Please note; It is not how convincing that one may sound, that wins the lost but how much we trust the Holy Spirit to communicate the truth to them.

Please understand that it is not the mind of man that the Spirit of God seeks to win but the spirit. Be very clear in your presentations yet, communicate the gospel in faith always trusting the Holy Spirit would speak to the spirit of this individual.

  PRAYER

Father, fill Christians with wisdom and grace to effectively communicate the gospel to the modern day sophisticated sinner. As your children engage men in presenting the gospel let them receive rhema words for every enquirer.

FURTHER STUDIES

1 Peter 3:15 ” But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear”:

Jeremiah 1:8 ” Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:16 ” Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry.”

Apostle Paul was waiting for Silas and Timothy to return from Berea. He therefore had a good time to observed the city of Athens critically. He noticed that the city was dominated by idolatry. He did not just notice it but was also stirred by his spirit about this error.

  Many people might have lived or visited the same place yet would not have noticed the high degree of idolatry.  What made Paul to be stirred up this way? Paul was a man on an assignment for God. He had a sense of duty. He was also prepared to fulfil this assignment for God. Please let’s consider what Paul said in Romans 1:14-15 as follows ” I am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise. So as much as in me is I am ready to preach the Gospel to you that are in Rome also.” 

Paul’s statement speaks volumes. He says he is a debtor. He implies wherever I go, I owe these people with the good news, and how can I pay such a debt? He also added; as much as in me is I am ready to preach the Gospel to them. Apostle Paul had a very positive attitude about the task the Lord gave him to do. Get positive today.

Our world is filled with so much challenges and evil. Just look around and you would see young men and women given to drugs and sex. Even among Christians many love their phones more than the word of God. Homosexuality and lesbianism is eating deep into our societies. Money ritual is swallowing our youth. Indeed, there is so much to stir up the spirit of any serious child of God. Have you noticed the deprivation of our world? Are you stirred in your spirit to do something?

Apostle Paul was not only stirred up but did something about the situation. Acts 17:17 reads “Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons and in the market daily with them that met with him”. Apostle Paul took the truth to the synagogue, the devout persons and daily at the market place We must likewise get to the youth and reason with them from the word as Paul did.

 CONFESSION

I am a man on an assignment for God. I work His works while it is day, for the night comes when no man can work.

FURTHER STUDIES

1 Corinthians 9:16” For though I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of: for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel!”

1 Corinthians 9:19 ” For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more.”

KEY SCRIPTURE:  Galatians 6:17 ” From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus”.

 Apostle Paul declares in our key scripture the following “from henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of our Lord Jesus. ” At this period some Jewish Christians were accusing Paul for his stance on the grace of God against the law of Moses… He makes an emphatic statement that ‘within his body is a visible sign of the sufferings that he has gone through in the name of Jesus. In our previous studies we looked at some of the various areas where Paul had to undergo sufferings.

  What are some of the various areas that the Christian of today must prepare his or her mind to suffer for our Lord Jesus Christ. The following are some of the areas that a Christian may be subjected to various kinds of suffering for the name and course of the gospel. John 15:20 ” Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also”.

1) Suffering persecution to the point of losing our lives for the course of Christ.  The bible speaks on a number of occasions about being killed for the course of our faith.  

2) There are other forms of suffering persecutions in which the Christian is tortured like imprisonment or attacked and beaten for his faith. Some are sacked from their homes etc.

3)When one Forsakes the comfort of his home or town to go to a deprived area to spread the Gospel is also a form of suffering for Christ 

4) Some people would have to forsake their lucrative jobs and big salaries to go into missions to minister to the poor.

5) Using your money to support the spread of the Gospel.

6) Forsaking certain pleasures in order to bring honour to our Lord.

7) Fasting often for the course of Christ.

8) Standing for truth against certain wrong standards at your work places:  For an example; It is a norm for politicians in power to take kickbacks before giving out contracts, and so as a Christian when you refuse such a thing the contract may not be given to you.

9)  Some Christian ladies would have to forsake certain employments or promotions because they would not accept to have sex with their bosses before being promoted or offered certain jobs.

  In actual fact, Satan raises all kinds of oppositions to cause the believer to fall. The essence of persecution from Satan’s view is to make you yield to him and sin against God. Resist him.

 PRAYER

Dear heavenly farther may the church be armed with a mind ready to suffer for the name of our Lord Jesus resulting in the salvation of many.

FURTHER STUDY:

Hebrews 12:3-4 ” For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin”.

Matthew 24:9 ” Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name’s sake.”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Galatians 6:17 From henceforth let no man trouble me: for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.

 The strength of every establishment, institution or Organisation is how much the members of such a body are ready to sacrifice their life for the Organisation. The inability of Christians to break certain geographical barriers is not because of how strong those barriers or resistances are, but the inability of the Christians to lay their lives down for the sake of the course of Christ.

Apostle Paul says in Galatians 6:17 that “Front henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.”  

Paul, for the course of the Gospel had to suffer so much physical attacks such that his body was filled with scars all over. In Lystra, he was stoned and dragged out of the city, supposing he was dead. The present-day teaching and projection of comfort and pleasure is seriously weakening the impact of the Gospel in our days. The church of God must grow in love for the master, ready to be totally obedient to Him, in everything to win our world for him.

Shall we consider some of the sufferings apostle Paul had to go through so the Gospel would prevail in his time. 2nd Corinthians 11:24-33 ” of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one, thrice I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned thrice I suffered shipwrecks,  a night and a day I have been in the deep ,in journeyings often, in perils of water, in perils of robbers , in perils by my own countrymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren”…..

the list goes on and on. 

You may not be called to go through all these kinds of sufferings apostle Paul suffered, yet the Christian must be ready to suffer in certain ways so that the name of our master would be exalted.  Be mindful of the fact that one of the basic sins and area where men fall short is for them to love themselves. more than their love for God (2nd Timothy 3:1-3). Apostle Peter tells us in 1st Peter 4:1 the following ” for as much as then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind, for he that has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin.” The preparedness to suffer for the master is a way to keep us against sin.

Dear child of God, do not be afraid to stand for the master in persecution or various trying times.

 PRAYER

I pray for a new and fervent love for the master, that would drive Christians to seek to honour the interest of Jesus above self and all personal ambitions.

FURTHER STUDY

2 Timothy 3:1-2 ” This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come.

For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy,”

Romans 8:17 ” And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together”.

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:10-11 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Berea: who coming thither went into the synagogue of the Jews.

During the call of Apostle Paul, the Lord said specifically to him that “for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name sake.”

Indeed, Paul was assailed by so much persecutions in whatever city he went to. Every word of God would have to be fulfilled. No word of God is void of power. Paul’s case was peculiar. This does not mean every child of God is to face that level of opposition that came upon Paul.  You have got to know what God said to you. In any case every child of God would have to face some level of persecution. It may not be to the degree to which Paul faced.  

Paul and Silas were sent from Thessalonica at night so the ranging mob will not attack them. Why would God allow Paul to go through so much persecutions? There was no city or town that he preached without being persecuted or attacked. The following are some of the reasons Paul had to go through persecutions;

1) In Acts 9:16, the Lord said he would suffer for his name sake.

This is suffering is to project the course and name of the Lord. This is not suffering for any personal wrongs done, but to foster the course of the Gospel. We as children of God must not shrink from suffering for the sake of the name of Christ. The Lord said to his disciples in Matthew 16:24 that “……if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me”  

2) Paul would have to go through suffering for Christ in order to finish his work  with Joy according to Acts 20:24 ” But none of  these things move me, neither count my life dear unto myself so that I might finish my  course with joy……” Satan  and his devils will not sit down idle while we go around saving souls. He would raise various resistances to frustrate the work. It takes endurance of some amount of suffering to overcome the barriers, especially human resistance to the advancement of the Gospel.

3) These sufferings work for him and us an eternal weight of glory. (2nd Corinth 4:17)                           

(Note: The sufferings that our Lord Jesus bore in His redemptive work, like taking away our sicknesses, poverty, curses and sins are not included in the suffering that the Christian must go through. If they come your way, resist them.)

  PRAYER

Father open the eyes of all children of God to accept suffering through persecutions as a necessary part of the Christian life.

FURTHER STUDIES:

1 Corinthians 15:31” I protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.”

2 Corinthians 4:17 ” For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;”

KEY SCRIPTURE: Acts 17:4 ” And some of them believed, and consorted with Paul and Silas; and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few.”

Our key scripture says that, after Paul had continuously discussed with the Jews for 3 Sabbath days some of the Jews believed and of the devout Greeks a great multitude and of the chief women as well. This was a great success in ministry. 

From Paul’s experience we see the following;

1)He prepared himself by studying the law and the prophets, allowing the Lord to teach him about Jesus the Messiah from these scriptures.

2) He taught the Jews in the synagogues.

3) He continued to do it over a time.

The results were there to show. Some of the Jews were saved. If he had stayed at home who would have been saved?

The work of evangelism is like what a salesman does. He or she sells a product. His proper presentation and consistency always pay off.  Dear child of God involved in evangelism, keep sharing the Gospel to whatever community, group or people that you have been opportune to reach out to.

In some cases, it may seem nothing is going on. You may not be seeing immediate fruits, yet don’t give up, make evangelism your lifestyle.

The word of God is very potent and would definitely yield good results.

 Acts 17:5 teaches that some of the Jews who did not believe organized some hooligans to raise an uproar against Paul.  They assaulted the house of Jason, a disciple whose home Paul and his team lodged. They found them not and took hold of Jason and drew him to the rulers of the city. The people gave the following testimony about Paul in Acts 17:6 “………. these men who have turned the world upside down are come here also.” This is a very powerful testimony to be said about any child of God and especially ministers of God. Paul and his team made so much impact that they were described as people who turned the world upside down. How did this come to pass? They did it by Consistent, fearless, preaching.  It must be done without fear for anybody and any threat for our lives. For the Christian, living is for Christ and dying is gain.

PRAYER

Stir in the church and in all Christian leaders a commitment to saving our world. May the church be fearless and committed to raise the banner of Jesus very high.

FURTHER STUDIES

 Acts 20:24 ” But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry, which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God.”

Philippians 1:20 ” According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death.”