Title: The Lord's Plan for this City
Main text: Acts 18:8-11
The Lord's plan for this city
Acts 17:21 says, “For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were strangers there did not spend time other than speaking and hearing the newest things.” Religious leaders who dream of church growth would have picked the Aden area. This is because the Aden region was a place for foreign people to come and go, and it had favorable conditions for accessing new religious news. However, Paul and his companions left Athens, the city of philosophy and religion, and came to the city of Corinth, a port city below. This was God's providence after all, and God's plan for the city of Corinth. What was the Lord's plan for this city?
I. It was the evangelization of this city.
The Lord had a plan to evangelize Corinth through Paul. But what kind of city was Corinth at that time?
First, the geographical background of Corinth was an important transportation hub.
At that time, all merchants traveling from East to West had to go through Corinth, so all cargo from the East entered the port of Corinth through the Aegean Sea, and from there, via land, through Adria, and then on to Rome. The transportation hub was an opportunity to spread the gospel. Hallelujah!
Second, the morality of the city of Corinth was drunken and debauched.
Even now, the remains of the temple of Aphrodite, the goddess of pleasure, remain on the Acropolis, the highest point in Corinth. Thousands of female priests were active in the temple of Aphrodite, and it is said that they came down to the city of Corinth every night to finance the operation of the temple and practiced prostitution.
Third, Paul met a co-worker in Corinth.
It was here that Paul met Aquila, a Jew who was born in Pontus, the highest point in Asia, and his wife, Prisca. Judging from the record, ‘Paul went to them and went from the same occupation, they lived and worked together, and their occupation was making tents. This is what made it possible to do self-compassionate ministry.
II. I saw Paul's vision.
Verse 9 says, “The Lord said to Paul in a vision by night, “Do not be afraid, do not be silent, and speak.” Paul had two visions at night.
First, I had a vision not to be afraid.
The hallmark of the night vision became clearer and clearer. The Lord must have appeared in a vision and said, “Do not be afraid,” to comfort Paul, who was broken in spirit by the attacks of the unclean and evil spirits that were dominating Corinth, the city of sexual immorality. The fear experienced here must have been the fear of a psychic, more dangerous than a weapon of a gun or a sword.
Second, I had a vision telling me to speak without being silent.
The Lord continued to tell Paul, “Do not be silent, but speak.” At night, seeing the prodigal city full of prostitutes and drunken drunkards in the streets, perhaps Paul decided that there was no hope of preaching the gospel here anymore. It is a drunken and corrupt city, but the Lord's plan showed us the vision of preaching the gospel without being silent. Dear brothers and sisters, Mapo, Seongsan, Mangwon, and Yeonnam-dong are areas that we must take responsibility for and preach the gospel to. I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will become a Seongsan family that preaches the gospel without being silent.
III. It is the Lord's prescription for fear.
In verse 10, the Lord's prescription for Paul's fear is threefold.
First, he said I will be with you.
When evangelists can no longer preach the Gospel and are under pressure and fear, our Savior, Jesus Christ, appears and says, “I am with you,” and all problems are over. So Paul said, “If God is for us, who can be against us?” It is confessed in Romans 8. Hallelujah! The Lord already promised in Matthew 28:20 that He would be with those who evangelize. I hope that you will be with the Lord by sharing the Gospel, in the name of the Lord.
Second, he said that no one will harm anyone.
The Lord had promised Paul that no one would harm him when he preached the gospel in the city of Corinth. The Lord was considering Paul to give up the thought of moving and stay in Corinth for a long time to preach the gospel. What God has kept me on the holy mountain is to preach the gospel. Hallelujah!
Third, He said that there are many My people in this city.
This is the part that doesn't make sense when you hear it right away. In fact, the city of Corinth has been worshiping idols since ancient times, serving the goddess Aphrotite, and it is a nightlife. But the Lord said that my people are many in this city. Now, I believe that the local community will be changed through our Seongsan Family. If the Lord speaks to us, we can do that and fulfill the mission of preaching the gospel, the remaining work of Christ. Hallelujah!
I will conclude
Today I talked about the Lord's plan for the city. The Lord's plan for the city is first of all, the evangelization of the city. The Corinth region had favorable conditions for spreading the gospel as a transportation hub, but the morality of this city was broken and it was in a state of drunkenness and debauchery. However, Paul met Aquila and Prisca, his co-workers in Corinth.
Second, the vision of the Lord that appeared to Paul, who was exhausted, was to preach the gospel without fear. Finally, the Lord's prescription for fear. Fear not, the Lord is with you, and no one will harm you. “I have many people in this city.” I bless you in the name of the Lord that you do well in the mission of spreading the gospel that the Lord wants you to do in this city.