Gtcotr/ws060122
The accounts we are about to read took place in or near AD56, give or take a year. Some may remember the Apostle Paul had been teaching in a Bible School in Ephesus for 2 years by this time and many of the citizens of the city had put their faith in Jesus and had been born-again and had stopped their worship of other gods.
This was a constant aggravation for some businessmen in Ephesus who made their money selling silver idols. The leader of their group, Demetris, caused an uproar and stirred up a mob who filled a 25,000-seat theater in public protest. Some in the crowd were not even sure why they were there but they joined in anyway.
If it had not been for some city leaders warning the rioters of the trouble they would face by breaking the Roman laws of the city, the unruly crowd would have killed Paul on the spot. This is where we will begin the message tonight.
Acts 20 NKJV
1 ¶ After the uproar had
ceased, Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and
departed to go to Macedonia.
2 Now when he had gone over
that region and encouraged them with many words, he came to Greece
3 and stayed three months. And when the Jews plotted against him as he was about to sail to Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia.
Macedonia may be better known to us as the region of Greece covering the city of Philippi, Apollonia, Amphipolis, and the cities of Thessalonica, and Berea. About 5 years earlier, Paul had made his first trip to Macedonia where he was promptly stripped naked in public, beaten, and thrown in a Philippian jail for preaching the Gospel of Jesus in such a way that it was causing sinful businessmen money.
Now, after the same thing has basically happened to him in Ephesus, Paul decided to visit Philippi and some other cities where he had earlier been thrown out. He had a desire to see how the Churches he had planted were doing in those places.
The biblical account does not give us many details of this visit, but we do know that while the Apostle Paul was visiting Macedonia, we suspect in either the city of Philippi or Thessalonica, that he received some good news concerning the Church a little farther south in Corinth. So, from Macedonia, the Apostle Paul decided to write his second letter to the Church in Corinth and let them know he was coming for a visit and he hoped his visit would be a pleasant one.
Let’s continue the message tonight by reading the introduction Paul wrote to the congregation at Corinth.
2 Corinthians 1 NKJV
1 ¶ Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which
is at Corinth, with all the saints who are in all Achaia:
2 Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
3 ¶ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,
8 For we do not want you to
be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were
burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.
9 Yes, we had the sentence of
death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises
the dead,
10 who delivered us from so
great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver
us,
11 you also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.
Our focus for this evening comes from verse 10 and verse 11. Paul is talking about God …
2 Corinthians 1:10 Who delivered us from so great a death, and does deliver us; in whom we trust that He will still deliver us,
Verse 8 – Don’t be ignorant of the fact that – “Trouble came” to us in Asia. The facts are … trouble came to Paul almost everywhere he ever lived. And sometimes trouble comes to us. Not trouble from God, but trouble from the devil through circumstances, events, and other people. Often trouble comes to people who don’t deserve it and didn’t expect it. Trouble comes to saints and sinners alike.
However,
when we turn our lives over to God, we have an advocate with the Father. His
name is Jesus. Paul’s message to the Church is plain:
1.
God has delivered us
2.
God does deliver us
3. God will deliver us
God is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. And you can also help those in trouble.
2 Corinthians 1:11 You also helping together in prayer for us, that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the gift granted to us through many.
Prayer for others helps. Don’t let the devil make you imagine it won’t.
Paul is crediting the prayers of his friends in Corinth and many other people with him being delivered from a death and from despair while facing the radical mob in Ephesus.
The prayers of the saints move mountains and deliver souls. I want to encourage you this evening to exercise a deep and sympathetic care for the welfare of others and verbalize that concern to God. God intends your prayers be added to the many others who are also praying so that those in trouble might be granted the gift of deliverance when they face death or despair. Prayer will work for you and others just like it did for Paul.
Have
faith and pray! Together we make the difference.
