but honor the Messiah as Lord in your hearts. Always be ready to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. (1 Peter 3:15)
This morning, we’re going to conclude our Acts Series and wrap up VBS. Does anybody know where the Agency D3 oath comes from? Don’t say the Bible, because we all know it comes from the Bible. It comes from people who were asked to be witnesses for God in opportunities where they could be brave. All these people though, they were acting from the power they received on their second chance.
Sometimes people find out that I’m a pastor. And it’s so funny because I generally don’t introduce myself to people I meet for the first time as, “hi, I’m jonathan, I’m a pastor.” Okay that’s not true. I only introduce myself that way when I don’t want to talk to somebody because I know people just generally don’t talk to pastors. But when they find out I’m a pastor, some people want to test my Bible skills; other people want to test my knowledge of their religion; but some people just want to accuse me of being the worst type of person ever because of what other Christians have done to them. And so my conversation with these types of people begin by answering a set of very bad questions like: why does God smite people and punish them by drowning like in the Noah story? Or like, why did God create hell? Or like, why is there so much suffering in the world? You know, questions I can’t answer because the answer is always the same: God didn’t do that to people, people did that to other people—you’re guilty and I’m guilty so we all need God!
I’m sure people ask you why you go to church when they find out you go to church. Sometimes they are asking because they hate church people. But other times they are asking because you don’t look, feel, and act like a Christian! Regardless of why, the bottom line is that the D3 motto says that we always need to be ready to explain what we believe and why we believe it. I want to pick up the story in Acts 18 and share with you the lesson Paul learned in his second missionary journey because it is important for all of us to be ready to give a defense for our faith in our upcoming school year to anybody who asks. I think a lot of people will begin to ask you to defend your faith this year.
4 Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike. 5 And after Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul spent all his time preaching the word. He testified to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
So I’m going to give you some background. Paul is in the city of Corinth. It was a huge city. And before Silas and Timothy came down to him, he was a tentmaker. That’s how he was able to preach the gospel. He set up shop making tents, fixing tents, but more than tents, he would fix anything made of leather. He would meet people while doing his regular job and just tell people about Jesus through it. But he would also use what he made from his job so that he could preach the gospel in his free time.
The Bible says that after Silas and Timothy came, he was able to preach “all his time.” So don’t think for a minute that just because you’re not a pastor like me, that you don’t have the obligation to be ready for a defense for your faith. I just do it more often than you, but you still have to be ready for a defense.
6 But when they opposed and insulted him, Paul shook the dust from his clothes and said, “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles.”
More background information, but more reason for all of us to be brave when we give our defense of the hope that is in us: people will oppose us and insult us when we share Jesus with them. People will oppose us and insult us when we honor God. That’s just the way people are. They are strange like that. They will go to a football game and honor the home team. They will go to a concert and honor the band and all that is okay for everybody. But when people who follow God raise their voices to sing and dance before the God who created the universe, people start opposing and insulting them. Did you see what Paul did? He “shook the dust from his clothes” and then walked away.
Then he did something even more strange. I say this is strange because it’s not what you do when you shake the dust off your clothes and walk away.
7 Then he left and went to the home of Titius Justus, a Gentile who worshiped God and lived next door to the synagogue. 8 Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, and everyone in his household believed in the Lord. Many others in Corinth also heard Paul, became believers, and were baptized.
Paul took those insults, and that opposition and just gave more defenses. He moved next door to the place that insulted him and opposed him. How is that for honoring God? Now he always had to be ready to give a defense of the hope that was in him. Because Paul was a brave witness when the opportunity came, Luke says in the Bible that many people because believers and were baptized.
Now I’m going to really get to my sermon. That was all an introduction to what comes next. We see that Paul “honored the Messiah as Lord in his heart. Always ready to give a defense to anyone who asked him for the hope that was in him. But now we have to know why and how he was able to do that. When we figure out why and how, then I guarantee that you will be able to do it too. Let’s go to verse 9.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision and told him, “Don’t be afraid! Speak out! Don’t be silent! 10 For I am with you, and no one will attack and harm you, for many people in this city belong to me.” 11 So Paul stayed there for the next year and a half, teaching the word of God.
Write this down. The first reason why we give a defense always is this: When you lead with God, you don’t ever have to be afraid. God says “Don’t be afraid… for I am with you.” [STORY ABOUT LEADING WITH GOD]
How we give a defense is simple too. Write this down: God tells us to keep speaking despite our doubts. When Paul doubted his chances, God told him to speak out. Look at verse 6, then look at verse 9. “Your blood is upon your own heads—I am innocent. From now on I will go preach to the Gentiles…. Speak out!” (v6, 9) [STORY ABOUT KEEP SPEAKING…]
For reassurances, write this down. Fulfilling your duty to be a witness will reveal other witnesses to you. You’re not the only agent out there. God has other people at work. [STORY ABOUT HOW I LEARN ABOUT OTHER PEOPLE’S FAITH]
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