Faithfulness in The Fire [LIVE] 06/28/2026

Grace Way, it's so good to see y'all today. How are you? Good, it's so good to see y'all today. Almighty God, you have built your church upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. Jesus Christ himself being the chief cornerstone, grant us to be joined together in unity of spirit by their teaching that we may be made a holy temple, acceptable to you through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Father God, we come before you with grateful hearts, ready to worship you. Open our eyes to see your glory. Open our ears, Father, to hear your voice and prepare our hearts to receive your word. May everything that we do and say today bring you glory, bring you honor and praise. Draw us closer and closer to you. Receive our worship today, Father. In Jesus' mighty name, amen. Thank you, Jesus. Come on, we're gonna sing, bless the Lord, O my soul. 10,000 reasons. Father, we bless your name. If you know it, I want you to sing it out with us. ♪ Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul ♪ ♪ Worship his holy name ♪ ♪ Sing like never before, O my soul ♪

♪ I worship your holy name ♪ ♪ Yes, we do ♪ ♪ The sun comes up, it's a new day dawned ♪ ♪ It's time to sing your song again ♪ ♪ Whatever may pass and whatever lies before me ♪ ♪ Let me be singing when the evening comes ♪ Oh, bless the Lord. ♪ Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul ♪ Sounds real beautiful. ♪ Worship his holy name ♪ ♪ Sing like never before, O my soul ♪ ♪ Like never before, O my soul ♪ ♪ I worship your holy name ♪ ♪ Rich in love and your soul to angels ♪ ♪ Your name is great and your heart is kind ♪ ♪ For all your goodness I will keep on singing ♪ ♪ 10,000 reasons for my heart to find ♪ Oh, bless the Lord. ♪ Bless the Lord, O my soul, O my soul ♪ ♪ O my soul, worship his holy name ♪ We'll sing. ♪ Sing like never before, O my soul ♪ ♪ I worship your holy name ♪ Come on with hands lifted all over the room. Come on, hands lifted all over the room as a sign of surrenderance to our Father. ♪ You are holy, Jesus, we bless you, we magnify you ♪ ♪ I was born that day with a straight-faced face ♪ ♪ This faith then draws me in and my time has come ♪ Come on.

♪ Still my soul will sing your praise unending ♪ ♪ 10,000 years and then forevermore ♪ Bless the Lord, oh bless the Lord. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, oh my soul, worship His holy name. Won't sing like never before, oh my soul, worship Your holy name. Come on, sing it out. Bless the Lord, oh my soul, oh my soul, worship His holy name. Won't sing like never before, oh my soul, worship Your holy name. We'll forever worship Your holy name. We will worship Your holy name. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Scripture declares. Let us continue to worship today as we declare His holiness. Come on, let's sing it out. A thousand generations falling down in worship to sing the song of ages to Him. And all who've gone before us and all who will believe will sing the song of ages to Him. Come on, sing it out. Your name is the pride, Your name is the praise, Your name stands above all praise. It stands above all praise. Your name is the power, Your name stands above all praise. And the angels cry. Come on, sing it. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Holy is the Lord God Almighty. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord God Almighty. Come on, let's sing it out. And if you've been forgiven, and if you've been redeemed, we'll sing the song forever to Him. And if you walk in freedom, and if you walk in freedom, and if you bear His name, we'll sing the song forever to Him.

Yes, we'll sing. We'll sing the song forever to Him. And the angels cry. Come on, shout it out, sing. Holy, all creation cries. You're holy. You are lifted high. You God, you are. So hear your people sing. Holy to the King of kings. You are holy. You will always be. You're holy. Holy forever. Come on, let's clear His name. Say, Your name is the highest. Your name is the highest. Jesus, Your name is the greatest. Oh, Jesus, Your name. It stands above them all. It stands above all thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above all. Your name, Your name. Your name is the highest. Your name is the greatest. Your name stands above them all. All thrones. All thrones and dominions, all powers and positions. Your name stands above all.

Come on, shout it out, say, Holy, all creation, Christ, you're so holy, holy, you are lifted high, high, you're so holy, God, holy, holy, holy. Hear your people, hear your people, we're crying God, holy, to the king of kings, holy, you will always be God, holy, you're holy forever, you will always be, you will always be, holy, holy forever. Let's begin to speak the name of Jesus. We speak the name of Jesus over our world, over our community. I think this morning about the nation of Venezuela, Jesus, have mercy. Jesus, have mercy. Lord, on our families, our marriages, our kids. We speak the name of Jesus over all of those things. We go to the only person capable of fixing it, the only person capable of taking care of it, Lord. The only name that matters, the only name that saves, the only name, Jesus. And we worship you today. We worship you today, Jesus, for who you are. To us, to our families, to the world around us. Church, will you give God a shout of praise for the name of Jesus, for who he is today, for what he's capable of doing in your life. Thank you, Jesus. And it's so incredible to be able to come and just stand here and worship with you all. And just to hear the sound of our voices together in worship, what an incredible thing that is. And if I haven't had the privilege of meeting you yet, I'm Pastor Jeremy. I would love to meet you at the end of our service in Guest Central. Stop by and say hey, especially if you're new here at Graceway. And if you're not new here at Graceway, welcome. We're glad that you are here. Yeah, y'all can give it up for our first-time guests. There's going to be a QR code that pops up on the screen. There's one in the seat back in front of you. There's a card in there, too, if you'd rather be a little more analog than digital. Let us know that you're here.

We'd love to connect with you. It's also a great way for us to be able to share what's going on here at Graceway. Today, we're going to be taking the Lord's Supper together as a family. And why do we do that? Because in the Bible, Jesus says, do this in remembrance of me. Because sometimes we've been a little busy. Sometimes we've forgotten. Sometimes the week has gotten away from us. And this is an incredible opportunity to remember that our Savior went on the cross, that his body was broken for us, that his blood was poured out for us. It's a great way to just stop and say, Lord, I want to thank you for that sacrifice. Because it's through that sacrifice that I have the opportunity to have eternal life. That sacrifice that gives me the opportunity to have a relationship with God. We're going to sing in just a moment. At the beginning of that song, if you need some time to pray, if you need some time to make things right with the Lord, or maybe you just need to just begin to pray prayers of gratitude to him, I want to encourage you to take that time to do that. About midway through, LaShia will call all of us down. Once you've gotten your communion elements back to your seat, you can take them as we continue in worship. I'm going to invite our ushers to make their way down. And as they do, I want to remind you, if you're new to giving, that's okay. If you've never given before, I encourage you. We have something called the generosity jump. Just pick an amount. Say, hey, for the next six months, I'm going to give this amount every time I'm here at Graceway. It's an opportunity for you to just begin learning how to trust God with your stuff. Let's go to the Lord in prayer as we do that. God, we thank you this morning.

Lord, that we get to come into a room like this and that we get to worship you, Lord. That we get to proclaim your name on high. and say that you are holy, holy, holy Lord God Almighty, who was, who is, and who is to come. And Lord, your name is greater than anything we're going through right now. And so God, today we worship you. And as we prepare to take the Lord's Supper together as a family, God, I thank you for this table. We come in gratitude today for the reminder, Lord, that your body was broken, that your blood was poured out for us. And not only that, it was my sin that put you there, Lord. And so God, in light of that, we say thank you, Jesus, for your sacrifice on the cross. Thank you for an opportunity we have today to remember you. Thank you that we get to give. We ask that you would bless this offering, Lord, and build your kingdom. We wanna see your future kingdom come right here into the present, God. So be with us as we worship you today. It's in the name of Jesus we pray, and all God's people said. Amen. All right, church, we're gonna sing about the precious blood of Jesus. ♪ What can wash away my sin ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ What can make me whole again ♪

♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ What can wash away my sin ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ What can make me whole again ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, precious is the blood of Jesus ♪ Come on, church. ♪ That makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ No other fount I know ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ We're singing. ♪ Oh, precious is the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ That makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ There's no other fount I know ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ And what can, what can wash away my sin ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ And what can make me, what can make me whole again ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ Come on, I want you to write our communion team down. This is one of my favorite Sundays here at Graceway. Y'all, we get to take communion together today. Receive up the body of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. My brothers and sisters, there's communion up at the top. Come on, let's bluster our hearts in the heart of gratitude for the blood that was shed for you. Come on, let's bluster our hearts in the heart of gratitude for the blood that was shed on Calvary.

♪ Pure as the rain ♪ ♪ There's nothing but the blade wishing in no prejudice ♪ ♪ No prejudice is the flaw ♪ ♪ That makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ No matter how tired or nothing ♪ ♪ Nothing but the blood of Jesus ♪ ♪ In no prejudice is the flaw ♪ ♪ That makes me white as snow ♪ ♪ No other flaw ♪ How shall I know? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And what can, what can wash away the sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. And what can make me, what can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. The blood, the blood, the blood, oh the wonderful blood. Your love, your love, your love, oh the marvelous love. Let the redeemed sing a song, praises belong to the Son. The blood, the blood, the blood, oh the wonderful blood. Sing the blood. The blood, the blood, the blood, oh the wonderful blood. Your love, your love, your love, oh the marvelous love. Let the redeemed sing a song, praises belong to the Son. The blood, the blood, the blood, oh the wonderful blood. Sing oh, and oh, precious, come on church, the flow. That makes me white as snow. The blood of Jesus. How shall I know? Nothing but the blood. Oh come on, make it loud one more time. Sing oh and oh.

How precious is the flow. That makes me white as snow. The blood of Jesus. How shall I know? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. The blood, the blood, the blood, the blood. Oh the wonderful blood. If it wasn't for the blood of Jesus. Father, we thank you for your blood. Father, we thank you that without the shedding of blood, there's no forgiveness of sins. So Lord, I pray that we are never rushed to sing about your blood. To praise about your blood. Lord, I thank you for your blood. Lord, I thank you that while we were still sinners, Lord, that you demonstrated your love for us in this, that Jesus died for us. Lord, may we forever be in awe of your precious blood. Lord, I pray over my family and my friends today, God, that come into this room carrying heavy burdens that are heavy laden, Lord. God, I pray that they would lay them at your feet. Realizing that you care for them, God. That we can cast all of our cares, all of our anxieties, God, all of our hurts, our habits, our hangups upon you. Because you care for them. Lord, and I just pray, God, as we continue through our time together today, Lord, that we would be reminded that it's nothing but the blood of Jesus.

That can wash away our sins. That can make us whole again. Lord, and we thank you for the blood. Lord, we worship you on today, Lord, magnify your name because of who you are. Father, we give you all the glory, all the honor, and all the praise. It's in the matchless name of Jesus we pray. All God's people said? Amen and amen. Come on, give the word. Lord, hear and praise, and before you take your seat, take a minute or two to pass some peace with someone that is around you. Well, good morning, church. How are we doing? Good, good. Hey, I just want to say this. Y'all talked more than first service, so praise God. I'm glad to hear that. Y'all have been up for a little bit of time, amen. Hey, before we jump into the Word today, we have the opportunity to send off two of our missions teams to go overseas. So at this time, we're going to have both of those teams come on up to the stage. And would you give them a hand as they come to the stage and we take some time to pray over them? Well, family, today we have the amazing opportunity to send out two teams to Eurasia, which each team is serving alongside of our global missions partners in meaningful ways. So please remember these teams this week and over the next month as our teams head out and are serving. And I also encourage you not just to pray while they are there, but that you will continue to pray for the work that is already taking place on the ground in these regions that they are going to be

headed to as they come alongside of our partners and the internal impact that's going to be had while they are there and after is going to be great. So our first team is headed out this Wednesday, July 1st, and they are headed to Armenia, where they will work with one of our partners there to support an annual summer camp that is really supporting high school students. And this camp, it creates powerful opportunities to invest in the next generation, helping students and their families to hear about Jesus. So the efforts of this team will help serve an impact long or a year-round ministry of our partners and the local church there in that area. And then later this month, we get to send our second team to another region of Eurasia to serve with one of our newest global partners there in that region in a completely unreached area of the world, meaning that there is no one there that knows Jesus. So their work will include construction projects, agricultural support, and building relationships with the local communities. So through these efforts, the team will encourage our partner there and will help be a light that shows who Jesus really is. So if you would stand on your feet with me once again, we're going to pray for these teams as we send them and extend a hand to them, if you would, if you're able to extend a hand to them as we pray over these teams headed out soon. Lord, we thank you. God, we thank you for your goodness and for your mercy. God, we thank you for your love and for your kindness. Lord, we thank you that you love not only this team, but you love the people that they're going to impact more than we could ever love them, Father. God, and as we send them today, God, I pray that individuals that are able to be impacted by them would come to know who you are. God, not just from the verbal word of God that is preached, but God, I pray from the way that they live their lives and the way that they serve that people may come to know who you are, God, through them. Lord, your word, you tell us, God, that how are they to call on the one that they have not heard? And how can someone hear if someone does not preach or if they don't believe?

And how are they to believe if someone does not preach? And how is it someone to preach if they are not sent, Lord? So we're sending these this next month, Lord, and we're sending them, God. In your word, you tell us how beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news. So Lord, we pray that you would just guard them, God, that you would protect them from danger seen and unseen. God, not just physically, but emotionally, mentally, God. Physically and spiritually, God, we do pray for heads of protection around them. God, we pray, God, over their families that some of them are leaving here in the States. God, we pray that you'd be at their hearts, God, that you'd be at their minds. God, I pray that they were able to return to their spaces as they have left it, if not better, in the name of Jesus. God, we pray that you would be with the partners that they're coming alongside that are already there doing the work of the ministry. God, I pray that you will give them energy. God, I pray that these teams that are going, that they are an encouragement to our global partners. God, that they are encouragement to the people of the land that they're going to be serving. So Lord, we thank you once again for this time. God, we thank you for your goodness. God, we send them in your grace. God, we send them in your mercy. God, we send them in the power of your Holy Spirit, God, that you will go before them and do a work that we cannot do in ourselves. God, we love you. We thank you. In the matchless name of Jesus, we pray. All God's people said, Amen and Amen. Come on, give your Lord a hand. Give him praise and you may be seated. Good morning, church. Once again, how's everyone doing? That's awesome. That's awesome. Hey, if we have not had the opportunity to meet, my name is Brandon Smith.

I get to serve as our student pastor here and thank you. I appreciate it. It is a privilege and an honor to come alongside of your families, your students and this community in this way. I thoroughly enjoy doing what I get to do. And some people would say that it's draining. For me, it gives me energy to be able to hang out with your students, to be able to pour into them, to not only challenge them, but to be challenged by them as well. Amen. So thank you for trusting my wife and I and our dream teams with your students as well as they are downstairs. And some of y'all are in the service as well. We're glad that you are here. If you have your Bibles, why don't you go ahead and open up your Bibles to the Book of Acts. We are finding ourselves continuing through this conversation that Pastor Tim started at the top of the year through the Book of Acts called Unstoppable. And so pull out your Bibles, which you should have them. Bring your Bibles to church. Amen. Amen. If you don't have a Bible, we love to get you a Bible so that you have in your possession as well. I love the phones have Bibles. I love tablets have Bibles. There's no knock, no shade, but there's something I just love hearing the pages turn. You know, I just love hearing those pages turn. But Acts chapter 18 and also take something out where you can take some notes, whether it's your cellular device or iPad or the old reliable notepad and pen and paper. Amen. I say this to the students and you've probably heard me say it before, but note takers are history makers. I heard some of y'all. Yes, note takers are history makers. All right. So take notes. And the reason why we do that so we can go back to it throughout the week. The words that are spoken on Sundays or on Wednesdays or whenever it is that you take part in, the word is not just for that day.

Amen. It's for later as well. So get over to Acts chapter 18 and also want to say a huge shout out to our brothers at Graceway Crossroads and Ozarks. Come on, let's make some noise for our brothers joining us. I don't know if y'all realize this as well, but we, it is a privilege and an honor to sit under some amazing teaching here at Graceway. I know that throughout the years, this has always been a Bible teaching church. Amen. And Pastor Jeremy has taught eloquently. We've had Dr. Pastor Dan Reinhart. We've had Pastor Jeff in the saddle before, Pastor Marco, Pastor Tim. Like I say this a lot and I said this last service and I'm going to say it again. But when I was asked to preach or to teach in this space with all the giants of faith that have stood in this space, I told Pastor Tim that I feel like a hot dog in a steakhouse. And it's not just any steakhouse. It's a medium to medium well steakhouse. Amen. Not a medium rare as Pastor Tim likes. So, but I don't consider it something light to be standing in these shoes. And when Pastor Tim asked me to stand in this space, I consider it an honor. And I want to give honor where honor and credit is due to our pastor and Mrs. Ashley in her absence. Can we go ahead and show some love to Pastor Tim and Mrs. Ashley? We love you guys. We're so grateful to be under your leadership as well. And also, as you know, I'm the student pastor, so I have to share this. We go to student camp here in a few weeks, and we're so looking forward to it. There's still time to sign up, and since there's still time to sign up, there's still time for you to be able to support students. And there's ways that you can support them, not just financially, though, if you would like to send a student to camp financially, there is a QR code that will be on the screen where you can give financially. But we also need you to be given spiritually in prayer, amen?

Thank you to 20 of y'all that are going to give spiritually in prayer. Here's the thing, friends. Like, there's something that the kingdom of darkness does not like about over 200 students, and then on top of that, leaders coming together under the banner of Jesus Christ. So while we're at camp, there is a lot of warfare that takes place. And not just at camp, but even leading up to camp. And some of you trying to get your student or grandchild or whoever it is to go to camp, you're sensing the warfare that is around it because the enemy is not pleased that there is a gathering that is going to take place under one banner being Jesus Christ. So that's why I'm asking you to pray more than just giving financially. I'm praying, or I'm asking that you would pray because those prayers, those seeds that are sown in faith, not just financially, but spiritually, emotionally, mentally, have eternal impact to them, okay? That's why every year we see students saved at camp. That's why every year we see students that recommit their life, that feel called to the ministry, that feel like they found purpose, and then ultimately we get to celebrate those decisions and students take next steps to getting baptized, amen? So I want to really encourage you that you would take time to be in prayer for our students. And over the next few weeks, the Sunday before we go, we do bracelets and we'll have the bracelets out here for you as well to be praying over students and the leaders as well. Because that's a big undertaking. We're with your students more this one week than the whole year. In one week, we're with your students like 24-7, literally, more than we're with your students throughout the whole year. So that's why I know that the warfare is going to be real. And that's why I need you guys to be praying, amen? Can you do that for us? Can you pray for us? Thank you. Thank you so much.

So I'm going to start today off this conversation on Unstoppable in the same way that I like to speak to our students. And when I tend to speak to our students, I usually start with a question to get them thinking, to get their mind going, to get them to ponder about the direction that we're going to be headed into with the passage of Scripture that we're going to be in. So the question I want to ask you today is, what do you do when doing the right thing doesn't seem to be good enough? What do you do when doing the right thing doesn't seem to be good enough or doesn't seem to be working? Well, that's the tension that we find here in Acts chapter 18, because here's the thing. Paul is being faithful. Paul is preaching. Paul is being obedient. And Paul is showing up. Like Paul is doing all of the right things. And yet when he is faced with opposition or rejection, criticism, and even some discouragement, it can be really tough in that season of life. Does this sound familiar? Have you ever noticed that nobody ever tends to talk about this part of faith? Like we talk about the victories. We talk about the miracles, amen. We talk about the signs, the wonders. We talk about the breakthroughs and all the big things, which is great. Don't get me wrong. We should talk about those things. We should celebrate those things. Like this past week, or actually yesterday, we got to celebrate one of our students had texted my wife and I and was like, hey, I need you to pray over the last like two and a half weeks over one of their friends, who we don't know. They said, can you guys pray over my friend who was in a tragic car accident on life support.

They think his brain has no activity, this and that. So we're praying. We're praying. I'm praying every single morning, asking for updates, and this student is giving us updates. And yesterday, she updated us that that student is off the ventilator. She has brain activity, that he's talking. So yes, we get to celebrate those things. We celebrate those for sure. So I'm not telling you don't celebrate those things, but what do you do when you're doing exactly what God asked you to do and it's still tough? Or when you're serving on a dream team, amen, when you're giving, when you're showing up. When you're praying, when you're faithful, when you're doing all the right things and nothing seems to be changing in your life. You see, if we're honest, many of us would assume that being faithful should make life easier, if we're honest. Well, I thought if I gave my life to Jesus, everything would be good. I thought if I show up to church the 1.2 times a month, everything would be good. I thought that if I give my tithe and my offering, if I'm certain, if I finish GroveTrack, if I go through D1, D2, D5, if I do all the things then, I'm gonna be good. I'm sorry to tell you that if anyone told you that you would not experience opposition as a believer, then they lied to you. They lied to you, like this walk, it doesn't get easy. Matter of fact, it gets tough. Like it gets tough. And that's where we find ourselves in this passage of Scripture. And when we hear this, like we see throughout Scripture time and time again, and the conversation we're currently in, that faithfulness can put us right in the midst of the fire. Faithfulness can put us right in the midst of the fire. So if you need a subtitle to this unstoppable conversation, it would be faithfulness in the fire. Faithfulness in the fire. And really, I'm gonna walk through three different points that we can see in this passage of Scripture. And we're gonna walk through like verse by verse. And for the sake of time, may not be able to read all of it.

But I'm gonna walk through it and then we'll teach on it and then give you some practical instruction to it as well. So when we hear the word fire, we think of opposition and suffering, right? We think about hard times or circumstances not going to our advantage. But here's the thing about it. Acts 18 shows us that fire comes in different forms. Fire happens in different forms. So sometimes fire is opposition. Sometimes it's ordinary obedience. And sometimes it is the refining fire of humility and growth. But through it all, God is looking for one thing, faithfulness. He's looking for faithfulness. And Acts 18, this is exactly where we find the Apostle Paul. And it actually, Acts 18, it receives less attention than Acts chapter 16, where Paul is in Philippi. It receives less attention than Acts 19, which I can't wait for Pastor Tim to preach on that because that's one of my favorite passages of Scripture. I love that passage of Scripture and it challenges us. But this Acts 18, it actually receives less attention. But yet it is one of the most important chapters from the book of Luke all the way through the book of Acts, Acts chapter 18. And this is where we find our first point, faithfulness in the fire is revealed in opposition. Faithfulness in the fire is revealed in opposition. And we talk about it, we see in chapter 18 verses 1 through 17, where this is highlighted. So verse 1 of Acts chapter 18, start off, it says this. After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. Okay, so after this, it's basically a continuation of what's going on in Acts chapter 17, where he stood in front of a group of religious leaders who had authority over civil and religious life of Athens. Like he stood up in front of them and shared so brilliantly and shared so boldly the gospel. And in the midst of that, we see Acts chapter 18 says after he did all that, he now has left Athens and he is in Corinth. And in Corinth, this is where we see how Paul is actually getting ready to finish his second missionary journey, second missionary trip and getting ready to start his third missionary journey.

And just a little bit of history of Corinth for those that don't know. I just want to give you a little bit of background because that's what Pastor Tim does, as well as give us a lot of teaching and background on areas so that we understand what we're looking at for the context. So Corinth was a major city in the Roman Empire. It was a major city in the Roman Empire that was known at the crossroads of travel and as well as trade. So there was travel and trade that were happening in Corinth, in this major city of the Roman Empire. And it was a super diverse area, meaning that there was people that were not all cut from the same cloth, meaning that they were not all the same, meaning they did not all look alike, meaning they had different backgrounds, that they look different, they dress different, they talk different, they ate different, they look different, like sounds familiar, right? Like they were different. They were not all the same people here in Corinth. Corinth was known for wealth, it was known for immorality, and it was also known for idol worship. that city, and it was a city that was driven by pleasure and self-interest. Now, Pastor Tim talked a little bit about the Epicureans last week and how the Epicureans were also driven by the same thing, which was the highest good was to seek pleasure and to avoid pain. So same thing is happening here in Corinth. Now, Corinth and Greece could be in the same category of, like, today, New York City minus the Knicks. I mean, that's what, like, Corinth, some of y'all got that. So that's what it was like. So New York City, to this day, people from all over the Roman Empire would pass through Corinth. They would pass through Corinth, and for that reason, like, this space, like, with that being said, was a prime spot for a church to be established. Prime spot. A lot of people coming through Corinth, and Paul realized that. And Paul realized that even in the midst of the toughness of this region or this area, that the church could be established here in this place.

While so many other people would be like, no, I'm going to go start the church where it's easy. Paul's like, no, I'm not going where it's easy because this is the thing that we can learn about Paul. We've noticed that Paul isn't just about doing what is easy. We see that Paul is about noticing and establishing a church knowing that the gospel flourishes even in difficult environments. The gospel flourishes even in difficult environments, and we see here in Acts chapter 18, verses 2 through 4. We'll continue to read. It says this, Jews and Greeks. Okay, so we see that in verse 2, we see that the leader in Corinth, or the leader in the city of Rome, kicked all the Jews out of this space and kicked them out because the trouble that the Christian message was causing in the synagogue. So yet through all of this, Paul was able to get reacquainted with some friends of his, with Aquila and Priscilla, who we actually hear about in chapter 16, that they risked their life for Paul. So we know that they're tight. They risked their life for Paul, and here now they're being reacquainted because the synagogue leader actually kicked them out. You know, the leader kicked them out. So now they're being reacquainted, and Claudius thought that the move to kick out the Jews during that time was going to be a ploy to bring about political stability, right? But little did he know that it brought about a spiritual reunion between some of God's people, all right? And it goes to show us, it truly echoes Genesis chapter 50, verse 20, when Joseph declared, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.

And we see that even take place here because now Paul has some of his homies that are with him. Like he has some of his road dogs that are with him now to help preach and help persuade the Jews and the Greeks in Corinth. So we see that that takes place here. And we also see that Paul was what was known as a tentmaker by trade. What that means is that ministry, Paul was bivocational, okay? Meaning that ministry was not, it was full-time, but it wasn't his full-time thing that supported him. And he did not want to take money or take up an offering or whatnot from the ministry so that people would not be able to accuse him of trying to have financial gain by making converts. So with that being said, Paul supported the ministry and the work that he was doing by having this trade of being a tentmaker. So he made money to support the ministry. He made money to be able to travel. He made money to be able to do these things. He didn't take up an offering so that he could do all those things. He made money so he could do those things. And what that shows us even to this day, like if you haven't been on a ministry trip, I pray that you pray. I pray that the Lord will put the desire inside of your heart to be able to do that. And what you will learn is that a lot of the partners that we have around the country, around the world, they're not just doing ministry to take up an offering or take up things. They're actually raising their funds that they need for ministry by having other jobs, by being tentmakers, by actually being dentists, by being farmers, by doing so many different things. They're raising their own funds in support to be able to support the work of ministry.

And that's what Paul is doing here, all right? So just to give you a little bit of history of what Paul is doing here. And it was a very strategic thing as this type of work, it created access to people which led to relationships. And that's something that we got to know too is that sometimes we got to be able... to realize that the work that we're putting in now, it's creating access to lead us to relations with people so that we can share the gospel with individuals. Like, if not all the time, can we just go into a place and just start preaching the word of God without first meeting a need that someone has? Like, we got to realize that someone may have a physical need, they may have an emotional need, a mental need, but ultimately do they realize, not realize in the moment that there's a spiritual need that also was going to be met. Like Jesus, a lot of times through the New Testament, when he met a physical need, it was accompanied with a spiritual need, right? I mean, when he would heal someone physically, they also got healed spiritually. So he met the physical need, but also met spiritual needs. And that's what we see Paul doing in this passage of scripture, because kingdom work, it happens wherever God places us. Kingdom work, it happens wherever God places us. So for some of you that are like, I'm not in full-time ministry,

or I'm not full-time vocationally as a pastor or as a minister, guess what? You are a minister. Whatever place you are in, if you're a teacher, if you are an educator, if you're a fireman, if you're a fireman, if you're in military, if you're, whatever it is you fill in the blank, you are a minister of the gospel of Christ, amen? Kingdom work happens wherever God places us. And it's not just within these four walls. If we just leave it here at this four walls, then we've done something wrong, y'all. Ministry doesn't just happen here. It happens outside of here. This is where we get to equip you to go outside to do the works of the ministry. And that's what Paul is trying to do here in this passage of scripture. So in Acts chapter 18, verses five through 11, I'm not gonna read it for the sake of time, but we see how opposition really began to intensify in these passages of scripture. So much so that Paul was being reviled and he was being opposed and reviled, meaning that he was being condemned and he wasn't just being hurled insults. Like they weren't just talking about him and cussing at him, whatever. They literally were threatening his life. They were threatening to abuse him.

They were threatening to hurt him and to do all these things and whatnot. So Paul being Paul, which he could have easily stayed, which in some areas he did stay because he realized he was able to discern and to be able to realize that some people did actually wanna hear the gospel, but he discerned here in Corinth that they didn't care. They didn't wanna hear it. They didn't want nothing about it. They weren't about it. And because of that, Paul didn't just dust off his feet. He shook off his garments and was like, all right, fine. Your blood be it upon your own head. I did what I did here. I said what I said, and there's nothing else that I can say that's gonna help you because obviously you're opposing me this hard and you're opposing me this tough. So I'm leaving. I'm out of here. And we see that here. Paul is saying basically what happens to you is up to you. I did my part. He did what he was supposed to do. And now they are the ones to be held accountable with what they did or they do with that truth. Like we have to understand that even in our own situations, even in our own environments,

like it is not always up to us to see the seed that is planted come to fruition. Like in student ministries, especially, like this can be tough, y'all, because I wanna see the seed grow. I wanna see it come to fruition. Some of y'all are in ministry, y'all doing it. You wanna see that student. You wanna see that individual. You wanna see that family member come to faith and start serving and growing all the things, but sometimes we may not see it. Like we learn in scripture that some can plant the seed, some can water, but ultimately, God is the one that gives the increase. Here's the thing about that, the receptiveness of someone's heart is not up to you. It's not up to me. Like it's not up to us whether someone's heart is gonna be receptive of the word of God or not. Sometimes though, it is up to us to relocate or to refocus our efforts. And we see that to be so here in this passage of scripture. Paul didn't just retreat when it got tough, he relocated literally next door. Let's read verse six of Acts chapter 18 says, 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. And he left them and went to the house of a man named Titius, justice and worshiper of God. His house was next to the door of the synagogue and Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord together with his entire household. And many of the Corinthians here in Paul believed and they were baptized. Okay, so here's the thing, just real quick teaching. Paul did have a huge sense of responsibility to go to the Jewish folk first. He did, Romans 1 16, he says that, for I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ because of the power of God to bring salvation for all who believe first for the Jew and then for the Gentile. But here he sensed that he was being opposed and reviled so hard that he was gonna go to the Gentile. You might be saying, well, who is a Gentile? Anyone that wasn't Jew, anyone that wasn't of the Jewish descent, anyone that wasn't from the Jewish lineage, anyone that was not from that particular sect of people was considered a Jew. They were also referred to as the nations. They were also referred to as someone that was being unclean. So Paul's saying, I'm gonna go next door, I'm gonna leave, I'm gonna go to the Gentiles. Like the Jewish people can then be like, yo, you're gonna be with the unclean people

yet you're a worshiper of God. But you know that it's not necessarily the healthy that need a doctor, right? You see, not much is said of this man, Titius Justice, other than he was a worshiper of God. We learned that he was very hospitable and he opened his house for Christians to come in and meet inside of his house. So much so that we learned how Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, came to one of those meetings that Paul was having in that house next door to where he was serving in the synagogue and came to get saved, him and all of his household. Him and all of his household. And we see that everyone, not just Jew, but everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. The entire household of this synagogue leader got saved. And it was a big deal here. Both Jews and Gentiles were both one for the Lord. And we see that even in the fire, God still saves. Even in the fire, God still sets free. Even in the fire, God still delivers. Here's the thing about it. Like opposition doesn't always mean that there's gonna be defeat with it. This is a prime example in this passage of scripture that I didn't fully read for sake of time. But in this passage of scripture,

we see the opposition and victory can coexist in the same space. They can coexist in the same space. How many of you know that your victory or your breakthrough may not just be on the other side of the fire. It may be right in the middle of it. Yeah, we tend to say, I can't wait till I get to the other side. But yeah, God might be saying your victory is right in the middle of the fire. We can miss what God is trying to do in and through our lives if we just try to push fast forward to get to the other side of the process. There's a blessing in the waiting. There's a blessing, there's a lesson in the fire. But how many of you would also know that sometimes while you're in the midst of the fire, a little bit of encouragement in the fire can go a long way. A little bit of encouragement could go a long way in Acts chapter 18, verse nine through 11. We see Paul get that in the midst of the fire. It says this, and the Lord said to Paul one night in the vision, do not be afraid, but go on speaking and do not be silent for I am with you and no one will attack you to harm you for I have many in this city who are my people. And he stayed a year and six months teaching the word of God among them. Okay, so now to this place in ministry,

Paul would have done what most of us would want to do when we face opposition, leave. We wanna leave. We'd be ready to get out of town, right? Yet the Lord spoke to him in a vision telling him to not be afraid. And the fact that God told him not to be afraid shows us something. Paul was afraid. What? Think about the rejection that Paul has experienced. Think about the opposition. Think about the travel, the emotional strain, the physical strain, the tiredness that he is experiencing like this. This shows us that Paul was afraid. He was also discouraged. You know what this teaches me and I hope it teaches us is that even mature believers need encouragement. Even mature believers need encouragement at times. And just because you're faithful in the fire, it does not mean that you're immune from discouragement. It doesn't mean that you're not gonna experience hard times. Doesn't mean that you're not gonna experience people to revile you. It doesn't mean that you're not gonna experience opposition. Paul needed encouragement and guess what friends, you and I need encouragement. Just because you may think you're mature in the faith, that does not mean you don't need encouragement.

Let me tell you a personal thing real quick and I'm gonna keep it moving. But some of y'all have given me notes and letters and cards and I literally just took one out my Bible last service. But those encouragements or those encouraging notes and letters and whatnot, they have a file in my desk called a wow file, words of affirmation. For the times where I am in the fire, I go to those encouraging notes and moments and read those and they encourage my soul. How many of you know that sometimes you need encouragement while you're in the middle of the fire? And how? Many of you also know that sometimes while you're in the middle of the fire, you need to encourage yourself. There's an old song that we sing growing up, to encourage yourself in the Lord. You see, the Lord does not tell Paul to be afraid and he keeps not speaking. He says, don't be afraid and don't stop speaking. And here's why he says that. The first reason why he says that is because he says, I'm with you. I'm with you in the midst of the fire. God promises his presence to be with us even in the midst of the fire. Dozens of times in scripture, we see this promise of his presence to be with us. He says, never will I leave you nor forsake you. I will be with you surely to the very end of the age. You see, apart from his presence, we cannot do anything. This is literally who God says he is, Emmanuel. God with us. So he promises he'll be with us in the fire.

The second thing we could pull from this encouragement he gives Paul is that no one will attack you to harm you. Let me say it again. No one will attack you to harm you. Doesn't mean that no one will attack. He says, no one will attack you to harm you. Meaning the Lord is promising protection over Paul. It's not a promise that people wouldn't attempt to try to stop him, but would rather they won't be successful. They won't be successful. And the third promise we see, the Lord says, I have many people in the city who are still my people. I have many people in the city that are still my people. So what does that mean then? How can that encourage Paul? Paul was probably already really tired and discouraged and scared, you know, and could want to shake his feet off, dust his feet off and go to the next place again. But yet the Lord was like, hey, I'm not done here. There's still people in this city that are my people that don't realize that they're my people. So we see that Paul decides, okay, I'm gonna stay for 18 months then. I'm gonna stay here a little bit longer. Here's the deal, friends. God is already at work in the spaces He's calling us to be faithful in, even if there's opposition. And because of this encouragement from the Lord, Paul stayed in Corinth longer, but the opposition did not stop there. The opposition did not stop there. He was opposed and actually brought before Galileo. And he was brought before him in the sense of, Galileo was basically the governor of the region. And this is verses 12 through 17 for your understanding. If you're taking notes, write it down. But verses 12 through 17, we see that the religious leaders, we see that the leader of the synagogue, they bring him in front of Galileo, who is like the governor of the region. Trying to get him to tell Paul to stop teaching and preaching and doing what he's doing. But as soon as Paul is about to start speaking, Galileo speaks up and was like, yo, this has nothing to do with politics. This has nothing to do with a revolutionary thing taking place. He's fine, leave him alone.

So at that, the synagogue leader actually was captured and the synagogue leader was beaten. And the synagogue leader was arrested or obtained from being able to continue to lead. And the great thing about it, too, if we continue to read in 1 Corinthians, we actually learned that this might be the same leader that came to know Jesus or came to be known as a brother in Christ after he experienced opposition himself. So this shows us that the grace of God transforms even those we think are the furthest from God. You know, there's an Old Testament scripture that says that the arm of the Lord is not too short to save. Now, if we're not careful, we can read the first half of Acts chapter 18 and think that the greatest test of faithfulness is in opposition, which I've spent most of our time on. But opposition isn't the only place faithfulness gets tested. Most of us think that faithfulness is tested during the big moments of life, the crisis, the opposition, the battle. But the Lord isn't only interested in how faithful we are in the fire. He's also interested in how faithful we are after the fire. And Acts chapter 18 shows us that faithfulness isn't just about surviving hard seasons. It's about continuing to walk with God afterward. And Acts chapter 18, 18 through 23, we learned a second point that I want to give you today is that faithfulness is found in the journey and it's proven in ordinary obedience. Faithfulness found in the journey, but it's proven in ordinary obedience. Here in this passage of scripture, which I hope you can go back to and read, verses 18 through 23, we see how Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned in this passage of scripture again. And we can learn from them that they become... become central characters to the book of Acts. They eventually disciple Apollos, which we're going to get to here in a minute. But they also hosted house churches and then they traveled sacrificially, as we have learned. They put their life on the line for the sake of the gospel. And in this passage of scripture about faithfulness in the journey, we see Paul leaving Corinth after faithfully serving in the fire. And after when he leaves Corinth and he goes to this next city, there's nothing flashy or nothing dramatic that happens in this space. We actually see that Paul cuts his hair because of a vow that he committed to the Lord. What we see in the passage of scripture that I didn't read in 18 through 23 is faithfulness. We see faithfulness. And if faithfulness is tested in the fire, then God often measures it, the faithfulness, in ordinary obedience. He measures it in ordinary obedience and nothing flashy. It wasn't just in the opposition or before the angry crowds that Paul was faithful. He was also faithful on the road.

He was faithful in his travel, in transitions, in his commitments, in his vows, in his promises, and in his everyday obedience that he was making. He was faithful. You see, faithful is not just doing something big for God one time. Let me say it again. It's not just doing something big for God one time. It's not just one time making a decision for the Lord as Lord and Savior of your life. It's doing the small things daily with Him. Are you faithful when no one applauds? Are you faithful when the excitement wears off? Are you faithful after camp, after that conference that you went to? Are you faithful after the altar call? Are you faithful after God answers the prayer? Because here's the thing, being faithful means following through after the emotional moment wears off. It means being faithful after that emotional moment wears off. And here's the thing I tell our students all the time, too. It's like the moments that you experience with God, they should turn into movements. Like the moments that we have on the mountaintop, which is great if we can stay there, but we can't stay there. We got to come down. Like those moments that we experience on the mountaintop, they're supposed to sustain us while we're in the valley. So if nothing changes after the emotional moment, then we're not proven to be faithful in the ordinary obedience. A lot of people love the spiritual moments, which are great, but God isn't just looking for spiritual moments. He's looking for spiritual consistency. He's looking for a spiritual consistency. So what promise have you made to God that you stopped pursuing? Faithfulness isn't just making the promise, y'all. It's following through when the emotion is gone from making that promise. God, I promise I'll do this. And you do it for a week. You would think that after all of the opposition that Paul faced, Acts 18 would actually end with him as being the hero of the story. But we actually see something shift take place.

And Luke, the author, shifts our attention to somebody else entirely, Apollos. Why? Because the kingdom of God is never about just one person. And we're talking about being an unstoppable church, y'all. So faithfulness isn't just about enduring opposition or finishing your assignments. It's also staying humble enough to keep growing. To be faithful in development, our last passage of Scripture we're going to look at. Last point I want to give you is faithfulness in development and how it's strengthened through humility. Faithfulness in development. We see now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. Verse 25, he had been instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about 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. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed. Verse 28, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, shown by the Scriptures that Christ was Jesus. Okay, so enter Apollos from Alexandria. Alexandria was known for critical thinking. It was known for careful thinking and logical thinking. They were also known, people from Alexandria was also known for allegorical interpretation, which means they had the ability to look past just the literal meaning of stories or of the Scripture find something that is spiritually deeper than what was just the surface layer. They were also a group of educated folks. So what we can see about Apollos actually is said of him in this passage of scripture is that he was an eloquent man. He was profound in knowledge, that he was a good communicator and that he was powerful in scripture. He was passionate, he was energetic, and he was also devoted to the Lord. But what we also see in the scripture is that he had an incomplete understanding of the Word of God. He had an incomplete understanding of the Word of God. So we see the scripture that Priscilla and Aquila, they pulled him aside and they take him through D1, amen?

They pulled him aside. Notice here that Luke, the author, does not tell us that Apollos got offended when someone pulled him aside, like some of us. Luke doesn't tell us that he left the church when someone pulled him aside. Luke doesn't tell us that he posted about it online, or in Luke doesn't tell us that Apollo said, who are they to correct me? Instead, Luke does tell us that he listened, he learned, and he grew because teachable people become usable people. Teachable people become usable people. And we can see that through this, some leaders are very learned. They're very knowledgeable, but they're not developed. They're very learned, but not developed. I wonder if we could say the same of some of us in this building today, that we know, yeah, we know it, but we haven't been developed. I think about a dark room, like where film was placed back in the day, right? Film was developed in a dark room, and if that door of the dark room got open too soon, it ruins it. Some of us are trying to open the door of the dark room before we're developed. And what we can learn from Apollos here is that he went into the dark room and he was okay with it. This is the same Apollos that later in First Corinthians chapter one, we learned that Paul says, I planted. Apollos watered, meaning Apollos was developed, but God gave the increase. So when we zoom out on Acts chapter 18, we discovered that Luke isn't really writing about three different people. He's showing us three different expressions of faithfulness. He's showing us that, or Apollos is teaching us faithfulness in the fire opposition. He's teaching us about faithfulness in ordinary obedience, and he's teaching us about faithfulness in the growing times of our life. And every one of us is probably in one of these seasons right now, right now. So what does that mean for us today? Let me tell you, as I've studied Acts 18, I think God leaves us with three questions. Number one is, will you remain faithful when life gets hard in the fire? Will you remain faithful when life gets ordinary? And will you remain faithful when you still need to grow? Because every believer will eventually face all three of these questions. Because unstoppable faith, it's not perfect faith. It's faithful faith. Unstoppable faith is faithful faith, faith that keeps showing up.

A faith that keeps trusting, keeps moving forward and keeps learning. God is calling us to faithfulness through it all because an unstoppable church is built by faithful people. So as I close, I need you to think about where is God calling you to faithfulness today? Some of you are in Corinth right now. You're in a place where you are in the fire, you're in the opposition. You may not even know that you're in the fire. You may not even have a relationship with God. Maybe you're one of the people that's trying to kick believers out. Some of you may be on the journey that God is calling us to be on. And some of you are sitting where Apollo sat. You're learned, you just need to be developed. Wherever you are, God is calling us to the same thing, faithfulness. Sometimes opposition is simply the place where faithfulness is revealed. So as we close. Today, I want to ask you one final question, just one. Have you been trying to be faithful without first surrendering your life to Jesus? The truth is that none of us can live the faithful life that God has called us to in and of ourselves. We all fall short. Amen? We all fail. And that's why Jesus came. He lived the perfect life that we could never live. He died on the cross for our sins and rose again so that we could be forgiven and be made new. Maybe you've been in the fire and you feel abandoned. Maybe you've been distracted into ordinary, or maybe you've been resisting God's work in your life completely. Today, Jesus is inviting you to trust Him. If you've never surrendered your life to Christ, or if you know you need to come back to Him, today can be your day. And for those of you that already know Jesus, where is God calling you to faithfulness right now? Whatever your next step is, don't leave without responding to what God is speaking to you. Would you bow your heads?

I would just like you to take a minute just to evaluate your heart, evaluate your life. Think about where is it that you are being called to faithfulness even today? Maybe you haven't made Jesus Christ Lord and Savior of your life before, and today's the day of salvation for you. I want to pray with you. I want to celebrate with you. We want to help you in the next steps in your walk with the Lord. Maybe today you're already a believer and you're just going through on the journey and you need some encouragement. We have a prayer team that will be available for you after the service to pray with you, to encourage you, to be faithful in the journey. Or maybe you're learned, but you're not developed. Maybe you need to take the next step and go through discipleship, or even start by going through growth track. But here's what I want to end. I want to pray and I want you just as a sign of unity, if you would just pray this prayer with me. Would you say, Jesus, thank you for creating me and loving me. Even when I ignored you and gone my own way. I know I need you in my life. And I'm sorry for my sins against you and against others. I believe you died on the cross for my sins and you rose again. You are God and I am not. I ask you to forgive me now. And as much as I know how, I'm ready to change direction by giving you my life. I'm ready to follow you from this day forward and to do what you want me to do. Please come into my life and make me new on the inside. Help me to grow so I can be more like you. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.