Acts 18:1-18 "Discouragement"
The vision for NewChurch has always been to reach people in this community with the love of God found in Jesus. People who don’t know Him yet. People who have been hurt by Christians in the past. People who’ve given up on church, but maybe still have a longing in their heart for God.
From the beginning, our dream has been to grow large enough to have our own space. A place where we can connect with the community all week long. The vision has always been a restaurant: a place where people eat and drink together, where relationships can be built, a place they already consider “theirs” even before they ever join us in worship on Sunday morning. The greatest family restaurant in the world. A place the people of Katy would want to go. We’ve been calling it The Prodigal. It’s a beautiful vision.
But here’s the painfully honest part—it’s been eleven years. People come and people go. And in some ways, we’re about the same size as we were that first year. That can feel discouraging. I’m not giving up. I believe in what God has called us to. But some days it’s hard. Some days it feels like I’ve given everything I’ve got, done everything I know how to do, prayed and trusted God—but you know—doesn’t exactly feel like anything’s working.
Have you ever thrown yourself into something, really gave it your all—but months, years go by and it just isn’t moving?
The church is where discouragement hits me the hardest, but I know we can all relate in some way. We all know what it’s like to feel discouraged when things just don’t look like they’re going anywhere good. I mean, look around at the world we’re living in. Our culture is more divided than ever. It’s like people are just looking for reasons to be offended, just waiting to cut ties.
When Charlie Kirk was murdered last week, I watched so many Christians turn on each other. Some people walked away from their churches because their pastor didn’t say anything about it. Others walked away because he did. People on a hair trigger to be offended and to offend. We talk all the time about loving our neighbor, loving our enemy. About being patient and kind, not keeping a record of wrongs. But as soon as the next hot issue comes up — do we really mean it? Are we actually trying to follow Jesus, or are we just looking for reasons to make it about us and them? To argue? To attack, or feel attacked—get defensive.
And yes, the world is divided and can’t have civil conversations. But what about closer to home? Here in our church. Do we have each other’s back or not? Are we trying to encourage one another in the faith, or are we secretly keeping track of things that offend us—just waiting for someone to let us down? All the devil wants is to pit us against each other and separate us. We walk right into his traps. It’s discouraging.
And it hits us in every area of our lives. For some of us, marriage isn’t what we dreamed it would be. For others, our kids aren’t walking in the faith the way we hoped they would. Maybe we’ve tried to have conversations with people at work or school, hoping they’d understand the Gospel or at least plant some seeds of faith, but it just feels like nothing has come of it. Or any other area of our lives that just won’t come together: the weight of finances, the grind of work, health issues that don’t seem to get better, loneliness that doesn’t let up. We turn to God for help and He doesn’t seem to hear us.
We all know what it’s like to be discouraged.
We’ve been walking through the Book of Acts line by line, and today we’ve come to chapter 18. Remember how the Spirit led Paul to Macedonia? That had to be exciting! He followed God’s call, expecting amazing things to happen—but so far it’s been one disappointment after another. Beaten and jailed in Philippi. Chased out of Thessalonica. Barely escaped from Berea. And then in Athens, where he poured out his heart at Mars Hill, it seemed like almost no one listened. By the time Paul got to Corinth, he was worn down, discouraged, maybe even questioning whether he had the strength to keep going.
Acts Chapter 18…
“After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” Acts 18:1-4
So Paul makes the fifty-mile walk from Athens to Corinth. And when he gets there, he finds himself in a city that was basically Las Vegas, New York, and New Orleans all rolled into one. Trade and money flowing in from two ports, open sin that even made Romans blush, and temples for every demonic god you could imagine. Not exactly a “Bible belt” kind of town.
And Paul was down in the dumps.
But right away, God gives a little encouragement. He meets Aquila and Priscilla — a Jewish couple who’d been kicked out of Rome under Emperor Claudius along with the rest of the Jews according to the Roman historian Senica, because of “disputes about Chrestus,” which was probably a garbled reference to Christ. Christians were considered by the Romans to be just another splinter group of the Jews. Apparently there was enough public bickering about those pesky Christians that they were kicked out of Rome.
Aquila and Preicilla are already Christians when Paul meets them in Corinth. He meets them because they’re tentmakers, same trade as Paul, and that’s how their friendship begins. They probably hire him. Not exactly a glamorous start, but God’s fingerprints are all over it. They are going to be lifelong friends of Paul and help him in ministry from now on.
So, when he’s not working in the tent factory, what’s Paul spending his offtime doing in this spiritual carnival of Corinth? Same thing he always does, of course. Discouraged or not, he goes to the synagogue on the Sabbath, opens the Scriptures, and tries to persuade the people who are there that Jesus is the Messiah. This is Paul’s playbook — no gimmicks, just reasoning from God’s Word. But it doesn’t seem to be going very well…
“When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, ‘Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.’ Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.” Acts 18:5-8
Paul’s buddies Silas and Timothy finally catch up with him, and they come bearing gifts! Money from the church in Philippi to support the mission. That frees Paul from tentmaking so he can preach full-time. And what happens with all that extra effort? Well, it’s not great. The synagogue crowd turns ugly. They oppose him, insult him, basically show him the door with an angry shove. Paul shakes out his clothes — kind of like shaking the dust off your feet—basically, “I’m done. To heck with y’all. Except not really “heck.” He quotes Ezekiel: “Your blood be on your own heads. I am innocent.” Translation: Don’t blame me when you face judgment — I told you the way to be saved, you just didn’t want it.
He’s clearly not done trying to reach Jewish people for the rest of his life but at least for now, in Corinth, he’s going to focus on the Gentiles.
He’s mad, he’s hurt, but he doesn’t storm out of town. He just walks out the synagogue door, and goes next door. Titius Justus, a Greek God worshiper who was part of the synagogue, hears the Gospel, believes, and opens his house for this new little church in Corinth — conveniently located right beside the synagogue. Imagine the awkward moments in the parking lot.
And Titius wasn’t the only one who got it — Crispus, the synagogue leader himself, believed in Jesus — along with his whole household. That must have been shocking and infuriating to the curmudgeons who kicked Paul out. As frustrating as it was, a lot of people came to faith through this nasty situation. Many Corinthians believed and were baptized. So right when Paul’s feeling most defeated, God gives him some unexpected encouragement.
“One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: ‘Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.’ So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.”Acts 18:9-11
God doesn’t promise to speak to us in dreams and visions, but sometimes He does. And when He does, He reminds us of what He’s already told us in His word. Be strong and courageous, tell people about Jesus—I will be with you!
Paul’s been beaten up, chased out, insulted, rejected, and now he’s hanging on by a thread. And that’s when Jesus shows up in a vision to encourage him: “Don’t give up. I’ve got people here you don’t even know about yet.” It’s a good pep talk.
Paul thought Corinth was hopeless. But Jesus says, “No, I’ve got many people in this city. They’re Mine and I want you to go round them up. Keep going.” It’s exactly the encouragement in the middle of discouragement that Paul needed. So he hunkers down and gets to work—stays 18 months — which is an eternity for Paul — teaching the Word of God and building a church in one of the most godless cities in the Roman empire.
Meanwhile, all those angry Jews next door keep losing synagogue members to the Corinthian House Church—and they don’t like it. So, they call the cops and try to shut the party down.
“While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. ‘This man,’ they charged, ‘is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.’” Acts 18:12-13
They take Paul to court. We’ve heard this argument before—what the Christians are doing is against the law! The Jews accuse the Christians of not worshiping the right way. Judaism was a protected religion—other foreign religions were not. So, they were trying to convince the court that the Christians were not Jews. Which is true. But it would have been bad for the spreading of the Gospel if Rome would have outlawed Christianity at this point.
It’s a moment of danger. Even though Paul’s been promised by Jesus that no harm will come to him in Corinth — that doesn’t mean no one is going to try. The Jewish leaders get together and drag Paul before Gallio, the Roman governor. And it wouldn’t just be a local slap on the wrist. A ruling from Gallio would set a precedent for the whole Roman Empire. If Gallio says, “Christianity is illegal,” then every Roman governor after him could follow suit. That could have shut down the spread of the Gospel across the empire.
They’re trying to frame Paul as a dangerous agitator who shouldn’t have the legal protection Rome granted to Judaism. They’re saying, “This guy’s making up his own religion.”
“Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, ‘If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.’ So he drove them off.” Acts 18:14-17
I love this part — Paul’s just about to open his mouth, probably to defend himself, probably to preach to the judge and jury, when Gallio cuts him off and says, “Nope. Not interested.” He basically hits the “skip intro” button. Gallio is like, “Don’t care. This isn’t a crime, you’re wasting the court’s time with a bunch of theological squabbles. Get out of my courtroom.”
Case dismissed. And just like that, without even realizing it, this Roman governor gives Christianity room to breathe for the next ten years or so. His ruling effectively protects Paul’s mission by treating Christianity as a branch of Judaism, which Rome tolerated under law. So for the next decade, missionaries like Paul had freedom to spread the Gospel without Roman interference.
God keeps His promise. No harm to Paul. The mission continues.
But some people were not pleased that a bunch of Jews walked into a Roman court and tried to push them around.
“Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.” Acts 18:18
This is wild. The crowd turns on Sosthenes — the new synagogue ruler (since Crispus had become a Christian) — and they roughed him up right in front of Gallio. And Gallio? Doesn’t care. He’s not going to get dragged into their drama.
And here’s an interesting footnote — in 1 Corinthians 1:1, Paul mentions a “Sosthenes our brother.” Probably the same guy. If so, then after being beaten for attacking Paul, he ended up becoming a Christian leader in the church he was trying to destroy. If it’s the same guy, it’s an awesome detail that shows God loves to redeem the most unlikely people.
LAW—What God Requires of Us.
Paul showed up in Corinth at his lowest point, wondering if he even had the strength to keep going. And when he preached in the synagogue, he was rejected, insulted, and driven out.
And that hits pretty hard. Because we know what it’s like to feel that same kind of discouragement. Discouragement that tempts us to give in to fear. To go quiet. To stop speaking. To give up.
We’re not that different from Paul’s audience in Corinth — people who hear God’s word and refuse to believe. Every time we harden our hearts, every time we roll our eyes at what the Bible clearly says, every time we choose pleasure or convenience or giving in to our emotions over faithfulness, we’re standing in the synagogue with those who rejected Christ—trying to ignore the messenger.
And even when we do believe, how often do we act like God’s promises don’t apply to us? Jesus says, “I am with you,” and we act like we’re on our own. He says, “Don’t be afraid,” and we let fear and discouragement keep us silent.
Think about it:
In our marriages, in the day-to-day grind, when we start to feel more like roommates who irritate each other, when love grows cold and we’re tempted to give up instead of speaking words of patience and kindness. Pursuing each other. Love and respect. Praying that God will soften our hearts. Instead, we’re tempted to give up.
With our kids, when they don’t embrace the faith that we raised them in, they wander away, do things we don’t approve of— and instead of praying that God will give us patience and persistence and the wisdom to love them back to where they belong— we choose anger, or despair, or silence. We’re tempted to give up.
In our workplaces and schools, when conversations about faith go nowhere, invitations to join us at church are refused—we stick to safe topics instead of looking for opportunities to share what Jesus means to us.
Even in the church, when we get discouraged, when we get sideways with people who are here, when people leave because of things someone said or things someone didn’t say, when there’s too many empty seats—we’re tempted to make it all about ourselves. Tempted to give up.
The weight of this text is heavy. Because it’s about being discouraged in the very things we believe God has called us to do. And Jesus says: “Keep going. Don’t stop. Don’t give up.” But we so often want to.
And when Paul gets upset and says, “Your blood be on your own heads,” it’s a chilling reminder. God’s judgment is real. This is a quote from Ezekiel, it’s about the watchmen. If they see danger and give warning, then whatever happens isn’t on them but if they see a threat and keep it to themselves—the blood of whoever is harmed is on their heads. So, in our context, if we know someone needs to hear the Gospel and be warned of the danger that comes with unbelief—if we don’t say anything—the blood is on our heads.
That’s some heavy Law. That’s where this passage corners us. When we’re discouraged, when we’re fearful, when we’re silent. When we want to give up, we’re like a watchman who has abandoned his post.
GOSPEL—What Jesus Does For Us.
But notice what happens in Corinth. Jesus doesn’t wait for Paul to find courage on his own. He doesn’t stand at a distance, shaking His head, saying, “Come on, Paul, get it together.” No — He comes to him in the night, right in the middle of his discouragement, and says: “Do not be afraid. I am with you.” And He reminds him of why He called him there in the first place, “ I have many people in this city.”
That’s some Gospel. God doesn’t abandon us when we’re weak. He doesn’t toss us aside when we get discouraged. He steps right into our fear, right into our sadness, and speaks words of life. He reminds us of His promises.
And what Jesus said to Paul, He says to you. “I am with you.” Now. In your marriage that feels like it’s falling apart. In your heartbreak over your children. In your family. In your frustration at work or school. In your disappointment with the church. “Jesus is with you.” Right now.
And why should you believe that? Because Jesus took all our silence, all our fear, all our rejection, all our discouragement. And He carried it to the cross. The blood that should be on our heads — it was on His. He became guilty in our place, so we could be declared innocent. And then He rose again, victorious over sin, death, and discouragement, so He could say to us with all the authority of heaven and earth, “Don’t be afraid. I am with you always.”
He’s saying that to you, “I am with you” and He’s saying it to your family, to your coworkers, to your classmates — God has “many people in this city.” Just like Corinth, there are people all around us who might not know Him yet, but they will. Not because of our cleverness or charm, not because of our strategies, but because Jesus has already claimed them. The results aren’t up to us, we don’t make the miracles of faith happen — our job is to trust His promises and keep going, keep loving people, keep telling everyone what Jesus has done for us.
Remember what He said, “Do not be afraid. I am with you.”
When Paul walked into Corinth, he felt just like we do sometimes, it had been a rough journey. He was worn out. Discouraged. Wondering if all his effort had been wasted time. But God hadn’t abandoned him. He was right where God wanted him to be. This is where God gave him some new friends. He gave him support. He gave him unexpected success—rescued him from an attack that was trying to shut him down. And He gave him a promise the middle of the dark night: “Do not be afraid. I am with you. I have many people in this city.”
That’s our encouragement too. Whatever you believe God has called you to do—don’t give up! Keep going. Keep throwing yourself into it!
The vision God gave us for NewChurch — to be a place that welcomes people who don’t yet know His love and salvation, a place where people who have been hurt in the past to reconnect with Jesus, to be a place where relationships and faith take root — that vision isn’t dead. Our work hasn’t been wasted. We trust it all to Him, it all belongs to Him—the results aren’t up to us. Our job is to keep going and keep trusting Him.
Even when eleven years feels like a long time, even when the numbers don’t look the way we want them to look, Jesus has the same words for us, “Do not be afraid. I am with you. I have many people in this city.” There are people in Katy who are His — they just don’t know it yet. Families. Neighbors. Coworkers. Friends. Our kids. They belong to Him. And He put us here to go find them and bring them home.
So we don’t give up. We don’t go silent. We keep speaking. We keep serving. We keep loving. Because the risen Jesus is with us, and He has many people in this city. And one day we’ll look back and see that every step, every tear, every prayer was worth it — because God is faithful. Be encouraged.