Shabbat Shalom, everyone. Nice to be together today. It's good to be under the sound of the word. So today we are going to move along in our study of the book of Acts. And we're going to go into the 18th chapter of the book of Acts. Again, in Hebrew, we call it Maasei Shlichim, the Acts of the Apostles or Maasei Ruach HaKodesh, the Acts of the Holy Spirit of God through the Apostles. And we are going to read today the first 22 verses of Acts chapter 18. And these verses lead us to the end of the second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul of Shaul, who move along in his life to share the message of the gospel and to lead many to the knowledge of Yeshua, Jesus, our Messiah.

So let me read those 22 verses, please. And if you have your Bible, please open it to this 18th chapter. And I begin from verse 1. After these things, Paul departed from Athens and came to Corinth and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontius, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them and wrought. For by their occupation there were tent makers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Shabbat and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks. And when Silas and Timotus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit and testified to the Jews that Yeshua was the Messiah.

And when they opposed themselves and blessed him, he shook his raiment and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads. I am clean. From henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence and entered into a certain man's house named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house, and many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized. Then spake the Lord to Paul in a night by a vision. Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace. For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee.

For I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them. And when Galio was the deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul and brought him to the judgment seat, saying this fellow persuadeth men to worship God contrary to the law. And when Paul was now about to open his mouth, Galio said unto the Jews, If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, all ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you. But if it be a question of words and names and of your law, look ye to it.

For I will be no judge of such matters. And he drove them from the judgment seat. Then all the Greeks took Suthenis, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And Galio cared for none of those things. And Paul, after this, tarried there yet a good while, and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence into Syria, And with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shone his head in Sancerah, for he had a vow. And he came to Ephesus and left them there, but he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they desired him to tarry longer time with them, he consented not, but bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem.

But I will return again unto you, if God will. And he sailed from Ephesus. And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch. And I am going to stop here with verse 22, because Shaul Paul had finished his second missionary journey, and he finally returned back to Antioch in Syria, from which he began his first ministry, or first missionary journey in Acts chapter 13, and his second missionary journey at the end of Acts chapter 15, and on up to this chapter where we are today. But brothers and sisters, ladies and gentlemen, we are studying the book of Acts, and we are looking now in our study, how the Apostle Paul had been used so much by the Spirit of God, the Spirit of God by the Lord, in opening doors, and opening various venues which the Gospel have entered in.

And many became believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. Many Gentiles in this time where we read mostly of the Gentiles, of the Gohim, who become believers in Yeshua, the Messiah. And by the time we get to chapter 18, Paul just finished his ministry in Athens. Remember in Athens, what you have experienced, we have covered that in our previous meetings. He had been in Athens, and there they accused him to be one who turned the world upside down. And why the accusing to be the one who turned the world upside down? Because he was preaching the message of the Gospel of our Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. And in Athens, there was a city that was filled with paganism and idolatry.

And as far as they were concerned, he was causing them a lot of problems. And so they were accusing him both, the Jewish people from the synagogue, and then of course those who were in Athens, the Greeks who opposed the message of the Gospel. And the Apostle Paul ended up to leave Athens and to move now in his ministry to the next city which we find here, the city of Corinth in chapter 18. But I just want to highlight one thing. And before he left Athens, he warned the people of Athens. And he said to them in verse 30 concerning the coming judgment. And at the time of this ignorant God winked it.

But now he commandeth all men everywhere to repent. Why? Because, verse 31 of chapter 17, he is appointing a day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he has ordained. In other words, the Apostle was saying to the people of Athens, there is coming a day when God is going to judge this world by that man. And he was pointing really and directing the attention of his hearer to this wonderful man by the name of Yeshua, Jesus, the Messiah. He is the man that was rejected once. He is the man that was despised once when he came at his first coming.

But he is the very same man that was risen from among the dead. And he is placed at the pinnacle of the universe. And God is going to judge this world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained. And as he finished with the preaching there, some mocked him. And others said to him, Paul, we will talk to you later. We don't have time for this right now. And the third group cleaved to him and went with him and trusted the Lord Yeshua, the Messiah. So from here on now, beloved brothers and sisters, we find out that now notice the first four verses of chapter 18, verses 1 to 4.

Paul depart from Athens and he arrived to another major city called Corinth, the city of the Corinthians. And so verse 1, we see the departure of the apostle and the arrival of the apostle to Corinth. We said after these things, Paul departed from Athens and he came to Corinth. By the way, in this second missionary journey, which will end really at the end with Ephesus and back to Antioch, we find Paul visiting Derbe, Lystra, Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea, Athens, and then Corinth when he is now. And then later on for a short time in Ephesus and then ultimately back to the city of Antioch. He visited many cities in his second missionary journey.

So now he finally arrived to the city of Corinth. And I want you to notice that Corinth was the capital city of Achaia. And apparently Corinth was a city that was filled as well with wickedness, with idolatry and with immorality. Imagine, here is the apostle Paul arriving through a large city that was filled with much wickedness. And there he's going to present the message of the gospel of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah, of that living God, the God of Israel, who sent the Messiah Yeshua and have opened the door to the Gentile world and he's building now the body of Messiah. So Corinth was a city that was filled with immorality and wickedness and much idolatry.

And the apostle Paul is landing right in the center of the city of Corinth. I want you for a moment to turn with me to 1st Corinthians, just for a point to make here in relation to that city. When Paul came to Corinth, 1st Corinthians chapter 2, he wrote them later on a letter. The Corinthians, the 1st Corinthians, the 2nd Corinthians, those two letters. And if you notice, there's so many problems that existed in this local church at Corinth. But look what he said in 1st Corinthians chapter 2. He said to the brethren later on, when he wrote to them, he said, And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God.

For I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus the Messiah and him crucified. In other words, he said, when I came to you, beloved brothers and sisters at Corinth, I came to you and I did not want to know anything except to tell you about the death of the person of our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah. That's all what I wanted, he said to them. So he's reminding them later on when he writes to them that letter. So let's see what happened to the Apostle Paul in his ministry in the city that is called Corinth. The first thing we find out after his arrival, and I'm back in Acts chapter 18, and this time verses 2 and 3.

He met other Jewish believers in Yeshua the Messiah. And we find their name, notice that verse 2. He found a certain Jewish man by the name of Aquila. He was born in Pontius. And then it says here, lately he came from Italy with his wife Priscilla. Apparently, he found a Jewish couple that came from Italy into the city of Corinth. And we find out the reason why they came from Italy to Corinth. Look what it says in verse 2. It says because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome. You see, brothers and sisters, Jewish persecution have existed throughout the history of our own people.

In every generation in the history of our Jewish people, there were Jewish persecution. And they didn't only persecute the Jewish people who did not believe in Yeshua, but they also persecuted, apparently, and chastened Aquila and Priscilla. From Rome, it was this person by the name of Claudius who commanded all the Jewish people to depart from the city of Rome. Well, we know that from Jewish history. We know it from the time of Pharaoh in Egypt. He sought to throw all the Jewish boys into the river. And we saw it in the time when Yeshua the Messiah was born at that time when Herod wanted to kill the Jewish boys as well from two years and under and so on.

And it is a history, whether it is the Babylonian or the Medo-Persians or the Grecians, Antiochus Epiphany. And in every generation, we have the Jewish people being persecuted and running from place to place. This time, apparently, it was Claudius who commanded that all the Jews will depart from Rome. So, Aquila took his wife Priscilla, and they traveled all the way to Corinth. Now, apparently, they were believers. They have accepted Yeshua the Messiah. Now, we do not read when they came to faith in the Lord Jesus the Messiah. But they may have been some of those Jewish people who have come already in the beginning of the book of Acts, in Acts chapter 2.

That they came to the city of Jerusalem for the Feast of Pentecost, of Shavuot, from the diaspora, the dispersion. Like we read in Acts chapter 2, that they were gathering all sorts of Jewish people who came to Israel at the time of the Feast of Pentecost. Many Jewish people would come to the city of Jerusalem for the Feast. And they may become believers in Yeshua through the preaching of Petros, Shimon Petros, who preached the Messiah in the city of Jerusalem. And then they went back to their own country. Because, apparently, in Acts chapter 2, we read of various individuals that came from all over the world. In fact, if I read the names of the towns or the cities that those Jewish people came from, we have a list of them in Acts chapter 2.

For example, we read people who came from Parthenians and Medes and Elamites and dwellers of Mesopotamia and Judea, Cappadocia, Pontius, Asia. We read of so many of the Jewish people who came to the land of Israel, to the city of Jerusalem, for the celebration of Shavuot, of the Feast of Weeks. And he may become a believer. And he went back to his land. And he went to Rome, in this case. And he was living in the city of Rome. And now, the movement again. Chastened from one city, now to another city. And now, he was chastened from Rome. And they arrived to the place that is called Corinth.

And, lo and behold, by divine design, Paul now met these husband and wife. And not only so, beloved, look at this. It says in verse 3, that apparently, Paul and Aquila had the same kind of occupation. It says in verse 3, because he was of the same craft. He abode with them, and he wrought. He worked. For by their occupation, they were tent makers. So, here is this couple. They were building or making tents. Tents. Apparently, they were making tents out of leather. Some of the suggestion that they were actually doing leather work. Not only tents, but all sorts of things that was made out of leather.

And Apostle Paul, Shaul, as well. He had this trade. You see, the first century missionaries were, in a sense, self-supported. They had a job, a secular job that they took care in order to provide for their needs. But then they went out to preach the message of the gospel. Now, of course, as time went on, they couldn't continue to do the local regular job because they were commended to the Lord's work. Therefore, they needed to carry on in the Lord's work said they were supported by the saints. But here we can see the Apostle Paul with Aquila and Priscilla together building tents in order to provide for their livelihood.

But they continue on in the preaching of the message of the gospel. The Apostle Paul was this kind of a man. He took care of himself. And we read in 1 Corinthians 4 and in 1 Thessalonians 2 that he didn't press himself on people, on the Corinthians or the Thessalonians. He was working in order to be able to take care of himself. But later on, he taught in 1 Corinthians 9 and 2 Corinthians 11 that there was a responsibility of the saints to take care of the person who served the Lord. So here you can see the two aspects of the Apostle Paul in his ministry. On the one hand, he worked physically and took care of himself.

On the other hand, later on, as he was going further in the ministry of the Lord, the assemblies, the church, the believers have taken care and provided for the Apostle Paul. So here are the first three verses. We find, first of all, he arrived to Corinth. Secondly, he met this interesting Jewish couple and he served with them there in the city of Corinth. So we find now a few things in the next verses. Then we find in verse 4 that the Apostle Paul did what he customarily did. The first thing when he arrived to a city, he is going to the synagogue of his own people.

He reasoned in the synagogue, in Beit HaKneset, the synagogue, every Shabbat. He was in the city of Corinth. He went to the synagogue. And what does he do in the synagogue? He persuading through the word of God, as it says in verse 4, both Jewish people and the Greeks. These were proselytes or God-fearers, Greeks, who came to the synagogue. They believed in the God of Israel. But they were sitting in the synagogue and they needed to hear the message of the word of God. And so can you imagine how wonderful to see that the Apostle Paul, that Shaul is constantly going every Shabbat to the synagogue and he's discussing the scripture with them.

You remember in Tessalonica, three Shabbat days, he told them that Yeshua was the Messiah, his death, his burial, his resurrection. He opened to them the scripture and he unfolded before them the truth concerning the person of the Messiah. But I want you to notice that he was acting in accordance with the principle that he himself was taught by God in Romans 1 and verse 16. I am not ashamed of the gospel of the Messiah. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believe, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. So you can see the Apostle Paul going to the synagogue and ministering to the people, to his own brethren concerning Yeshua the Messiah.

And we too have a responsibility. Oftentimes when we visit various church groups or local assemblies or congregation and you look at the bulletin board and you see missionaries to this country and another missionary to that country. And you search a little bit deeper and you say, is there any missionary to the Jewish people? And oftentimes, unfortunately, you don't see any missionary to the Jewish people. And you ask yourself, why? Why is it that there is no missionary to the Jewish people? And the answer is, well, you know, not always, but the answer is, you know, the Jews finished because God gave them the message. They rejected the Messiah.

And therefore now God is dealing with the nations of the world. And the Apostle Paul teaches us this principle. No, there is a necessity to share with the Jewish people that the Messiah is Yeshua and that he came. So he was persuading them. Now, remember, brothers and sisters, Paul was not an apostle to the circumcision. He was an apostle to the uncircumcision, to the nations. But in his heart, every time he arrived to a town or a city, he always went to the synagogue first to speak with his own brethren about Yeshua, the Messiah. So, look at this, verses 1 to 4, his arrival to Corinth. And now his faithfulness in going to the synagogue, sharing the message of the gospel with his own brothers and sisters.

Well, in the next portion of Acts chapter 18, in verses 5 to 8, hear the beginning of the opposition. If you are going to share the gospel, if you are going to talk about Yeshua in general with everyone, but in particular with our own Jewish people, you will experience opposition. Especially if you are Jewish and you believe in Yeshua the Messiah. We just recently talked about the fact that there is a ministry here that called Jews for Judaism. And their ministry is to divert Jewish believers from following Yeshua the Messiah. And so here, look at this. The Apostle Paul coming to the synagogue, ministering the message of the gospel to his own brethren concerning the person of Yeshua the Messiah.

And so in verse 5, Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia. And look at this. Paul was pressed in the spirit to testify, notice that again, to the Jewish people that Yeshua was the Messiah. Now again, Silas and Timothy, you remember they were left. He left them earlier in Berea. And now they came to him. And apparently they came to him and they really encouraged him. They brought along with them, you read it elsewhere in 1 Thessalonians, some gifts from the brethren. And then secondly, they came and they encouraged him, how they spoke about the situation in Thessalonica. And they were encouraging him. So when he was so encouraged by knowing that things are well, where Silas and Timothy came from.

He was pressed in the spirit to testify and underline again. And he is speaking about the Jewish brethren of his. Because he was pressed to testify to the Jews that Yeshua, that Jesus is that Messiah. It's so difficult for our own people to accept the fact that he is the Messiah. There is no other Messiah. There will be no other Messiah. While our families and our people are waiting for the coming of the Messiah. Paul wanted for them to understand that that is the one that was the promised Messiah. So in verse 5a, you see that Paul enjoyed the coming of Silas and Timothy. And then in verse 5b, he was so much pressed in the spirit to testify.

Do you feel sometimes like this when you meet somebody on the street? Or when you sit with somebody in a coffee shop? And you can talk about so many things and all of a sudden you feel like the pressure upon your soul to share the message. And you try to find out how to do that. And you try to say the right words. But you're really pressed in the spirit to share concerning the person of the Messiah. Now, mind you, you might lose that friend at that time. This friend might not want to talk with you anymore because of the fact that you present the message of the gospel.

But Paul, in love for his brethren, his love for the Jewish people and later on to the Gentiles as well. He was so pressed in the necessity to preach the message to his own brethren that Jesus, that Yeshua is the Messiah. And so, as he was presenting this, notice that in verse 6, it says that when they oppose themselves, here is the opposition. He was preaching about Yeshua the Messiah, but immediately there was a resistance. There was opposition to the person of the Messiah. So, notice that they opposed him. And then secondly, it says they blessed him. In other words, they didn't want to hear about the person of Yeshua, of Jesus, the Messiah.

And so, the Apostle Paul was really, because of the fact that he was so much desiring for them to come to faith, he felt that he fulfilled his responsibility in the preaching of the message to his own brethren. So, when the rejection came, look what he does. He does something that in Jewish biblical history, two events or things that he's doing here. Number one, he's shaking his raiment. Notice that in verse 6. And number two, he's stating a statement. He's shaking his raiment. And then he's stating a statement. And look at the statement that he said. He says, "Your blood shall be upon your heads." "I am clean." "From henceforth, I am going to go to the Gentiles." See the Apostle Paul presenting the message every Shabbat to his own brethren.

And then after there was that rejection, he could not force himself upon them. What does he do? Number one, he shakes his raiment. And by shaking the raiment or shaking the shoes elsewhere, we find out in other passages in Scripture, it's an expression that you are now responsible. I'm not anymore responsible with your decision concerning the things of God. You are responsible. I'm disassociating myself with your decision against Yeshua the Messiah. And secondly, he said, "Your blood shall be upon your head." In other words, I was desiring that you will come to faith in the truth of the Word of God. But you rejected the message of the Gospel.

Therefore, now you become responsible for your own decision when you rejected the message of the Gospel. Will you please turn to the Gospel of Mark? And you see what Yeshua said already to the early apostles. When they were going to travel from place to place in presenting the Gospel, Yeshua said in Mark chapter 6. And he said in verse 10 and 11. Yeshua said unto them, "In what place soever ye enter into a house, and there abide till ye depart from that place? And whosoever shall not receive you and hear you, when ye depart, shake off the dust under your feet. For the testimony against them, verily I say unto you, it shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in that day of judgment than for that city who rejected the message of the Gospel." See, that was a Jewish custom or Hebraic custom that was done a long time ago.

By the shaking of the feet and the shaking of the garment, what the person really says, he is disassociating himself from the decision of the people who refuse to accept the message of the Gospel. We know that Nehemiah did it in chapter 5 when he was speaking to his own people Israel. In Nehemiah chapter 5 and verse 13, he mentioned the very same expression of shaking the dust from off his feet, from himself. Disassociating with their decision against the person of the Messiah. The second thing that he said here is that your blood shall be upon you, upon your head. I'm clean, he said. In other words, by sharing the message of the Gospel in love for his own brethren, he fulfilled his responsibility in the sharing of the message.

But he says, "Now your blood shall be upon you." And this is exactly what Ezekiel was told to do in the earlier chapter 3. When you read the book of Ezekiel, you notice that God was telling Ezekiel concerning the people of Israel. When they rejected the message of God, they are the ones who are going to be facing the judgment of God. They become responsible for the decision that they make. And you know, brothers and sisters, every person today who rejects the offer of salvation through the work of Yeshua, the Messiah, have actually made a decision to reject the Gospel. And by rejecting the Gospel, his responsibility is to deal with the question of his sin.

How are he going to deal with it? Judgment will have to come upon a person if he has not a Savior. And here is what the Apostle Paul said to his own people, the brethren. And you notice he says, "From henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles." Now, it is interesting, if you read the following chapter, when he moves on to another city, the first place he goes is to the synagogue again, to the Jewish people. Really, what he says concerning the city of Corinth, it is a local situation. In Corinth he says, "You rejected the message of the Gospel, you Corinthian Jewish people. Now I am going to share the message of the Gospel with the Greeks, with the non-Jewish people of the city of Corinth." And so, he is telling them now that he is moving on and he is going to share the message with the Gentiles in the city of Corinth.

And so, now he continues, and now notice the effect of his ministry. In verses 7 and 8, we see that there were those who accepted the Lord. One of them was a man who was by the name of Justice, in verse 7. And another man was by the name of Crispus.

Both of them have accepted Yeshua because it says in verse 7, "He departed thence." "He entered into a certain man's house by the name of Justice." "One that worshipped God." "Apparently he was a God-fearer." "His house apparently was joined into the synagogue." "You see, those days when the homes were built together, they were really connected with each other." "And this man by the name of Justice lived next to the synagogue." "And perhaps every Shabbat day he had entered into the synagogue, listen to what the rabbis have to say." "But when the apostle Paul came, Shaul came, he listened to the voice of the Lord through the words of the apostle Paul." "And he became a

believer in Yeshua the Messiah." "So Paul apparently went into his house next to the synagogue." "But not only Justice was saved." "Look at another man that became a believer in Yeshua." "This time it was a Jewish man who was the ruler of the synagogue." "In verse 8, a man by the name of Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, he believed on the Lord with all his house." "And many of the Corinthians, hearing the message, and became believers, and they were baptized." "You notice that even the ruler of the synagogue, a man by the name of Crispus, became a believer." "You know, it gives me such joy just to read that because sometimes it seems

to be in Jewish ministry that there is a hard core." "That you seem to never be able to penetrate." "But really, it's not us who penetrate." "It's the Spirit of God using the Word of God and penetrating the conscience and the hearts of individuals." "And here we see even a ruler, in Hebrew it's called Rosh Beit Hakneset." "The head or the chief, the one who was responsible over the affairs of the synagogue." "He was responsible to make sure that things have been in order there." "He heard the message." "And he became a believer in Yeshua, the Messiah in the city of Corinth." "So we see a God-fearer, justus." "We see a Jewish man, a leader,

a ruler of the synagogue, Crispus." "Both became believers in Yeshua, the Messiah." "But even more, brothers and sisters." "It says in verse 8, that many of the Corinthians heard and believed." "Hearing and believed." "You know, the Bible says in Romans 10, "Faith cometh by hearing." "Hearing by the Word of God." "It is important when we share the message of the Gospel." "We gotta tell the Gospel as it is." "That Yeshua came from heaven." "And that He lived the perfect life." "And that He died becoming a substitute, the just for the unjust." "And that He was buried and He placed in a tomb." "And that He was raised for our justification." "That's the Gospel." "And those

that hear it become believers in Yeshua, the Messiah." "Not all, but those that the Lord is working in their hearts." "So we see in verses 7 and 8, the salvation of justice and Crispus." "And many of the Corinthians who believed and were baptized." "You notice the order, by the way?" "It's not getting baptized and then believing." "But believing and getting baptized." "You know, so many babies got baptized without really to confess the Messiah." "There are many who baptized children who haven't yet made a decision." "As believers to accept the Messiah." "Now, the parents love them and want them to be saved." "But baptism does not save." "What saves is faith in the Messiah." "In His

death, burial and resurrection." "And then a person is responsible to be lehitavel." "To be baptized." "To go through water baptism." "And to identify with Yeshua, the Messiah." "So, verses 1 to 4, Paul arrives to Corinth and his ministry there." "Verses 5 to 8, Paul experienced rejection and opposition at Corinth." "But there were those who became believers." "Believers, as we have read, Justus, Crispus, as well as many of the Corinthians who believed and were baptized." "Well, let's move on in this chapter." "In the next verses, verses 9, 10 and 11." "Paul receives some encouragement from the Lord." "I don't know about you, brothers and sisters." "But in the work of the Lord, there is a lot

of discouragement." "And because there are so many discouragement." "The Lord, from time to time, kind of give us a little moment of encouragement." "Just to give us something to say, go on, don't stop." "Go for the Lord, carry on." "Even though things are hard." "There is a position." "But the Lord does not leave us without encouragement." "I know I need that." "And I know you need that." "And we know from these verses 9, 10 and 11 that the apostle Paul needed an encouragement from the Lord." "And he knows when to do that." "He knows how to do that." "And he knows who needs that." "You know, we are talking so much about problems that believers

experience in their lives." "But here and there, we get a glimpse of encouragement." "The Lord knows how to do that." "And he is encouraging his own people." "So here, brothers and sisters, look at this." "He tells something to the apostle Paul in verse, first of all, 9 and 10." "We see the words of comfort and encouragement from the risen Messiah." "He's saying in verse 9," "Then spake the Lord to Paul in a night by a vision." "Paul perhaps went to the house of justice and lay down there at night." "He thinks perhaps of his own people." "And he says," "Why is it that my own people don't accept Yeshua the Messiah?" "I don't understand." "I

read to them the verses from the Bible." "I showed to them the promises that God had given our people." "But they reject the Messiah." "Why is it, God?" "I don't understand." "Perhaps he said like this and he was laying there." "And then the Lord appears to him in a vision." "And he's saying to him," "Be not afraid." "Not afraid." "Not afraid." "But speak." "Hold not thy peace." "For I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee." "For I have much people in this city." "The Apostle Paul is laying down at night." "And he has this vision." "And he tells him one of those precious words that many of our forefathers

have heard from the God of Israel." "The Hebrew word is Al-Tira." "Be not afraid." "And how many times we find it in the Word of God?" "Let me just point to some of them in the Tanakh, in the Old Testament." "If you turn with me to Genesis chapter 15." "And the first one that heard this word Al-Tira, be not afraid, was our forefather Abraham." "In Genesis chapter 15, we find out this precious word presented to Abraham our father." "When God said to him in verse 1." "Abraham," notice there.

"Genesis chapter 15 and verse 1." "After these things, the word of the Lord came to Avram in a vision." "And God said to him," "Fear not, Al-Tira." "Abraham, I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward." "Abraham must have been waiting for the promise of God for a son." "And then he waits, and he waits, and he doesn't get that promise." "And God then have to say to him," "Abraham, Al-Tira." "Abraham, be not afraid." "I am going to be the one that is going to be your exceeding great reward." "See, Abraham needed to hear that from the Lord." "Like you and I need to hear that from the Lord." "Like the apostle Paul need to

hear that from the Lord." "And the Lord, the glorified Messiah said to Abraham," "Be not afraid." "Now there is so much fear that we experience when we testify the message of the gospel." "We also talked about this earlier." "How many a time we don't share the message of the gospel with people because we are afraid?" "And because of the opposition, we just simply shiver and shrink back because we know what opposition is like." "And we do not like to experience opposition." "Well, in this case we find out that the apostle Paul needed that encouragement." "And the Lord Jesus gave him that the glorified Messiah gave this to him in verses 9 and 10 of Acts

chapter 18." "Abraham had heard that word, Al-Tira." "Turn with me now to chapter 26 of Genesis." "And look who is next received these words from God." "Al-Tira," "Be not afraid." "Genesis chapter 26." "The second one is not only Abraham." "But this time we find a man by the name of Isaac." "Is Abraham's son, Isaac." "Look at this." "Verse 24 of Genesis 26." "The Lord appeared unto him." "This is Isaac." "The same night." "And he said," "I am the God of Abraham, thy father." "And then he said to him," "Fear not." "Al-Tira." "For I am with thee." "And I will bless thee." "And I will multiply thy seed." "For my servant Abraham's sake." "Here is another

man who has experienced these comforting words of be not afraid." "Not only Abraham, but also his son Isaac." "And again I would like to suggest brothers and sisters." "This is what the Lord have already spoken in the past to Abraham, to Isaac and Jacob and many of the forefathers of the people of Israel." "And hear the Apostle Paul hear these precious words from our Lord, Yeshua the Messiah." "Be not afraid." "Let me give you just one more man." "Turn to Genesis 46." "And this time it is Jacob or Israel by that time." "He is called as well." "Genesis 46 and verse 3." "And look what he hears from God." "He said," "This is God." "I

am God, the God of thy father." "Fear not to go down into Egypt." "For I will there make of thee a great nation." "The same words." "Al tira." "Yaakov, Jacob, Israel." "Be not afraid." "Just go ahead." "Go to Egypt." "I will promise you that I will make of thee a great nation." "Israel, Jacob." "And so brothers and sisters." "Here we see that the Apostle Paul needed this encouragement." "And the Lord Yeshua telling him this in verses 9 and 10." "I am back in chapter 18 of the book of Acts." "Number one, be not afraid." "Number two, speak." "Do not hold thy peace." "Is number three." "Number four, I am with you." "Number five, no man

shall set on thee to hurt thee." "And number six." "For I have much people in this city." "Now this is interesting." "That the Lord encouraging the Apostle Paul to not be afraid." "To speak out." "Not to hold his peace." "He promised that no one going to be able to hurt him." "And then he said to him that he is with him." "And finally he said, I have much people here." "Now remember the Apostle Paul just arrived to Corinth." "And he had already met a few of the believers there." "But apparently the Lord told him that he has much people here." "That suggests to us that the Lord have elected some." "That he already knows who

is going to come to know Yeshua the Messiah." "He knows." "Paul didn't know he was preaching the Gospel." "We do not know when we share the message of the Gospel who is the one that the Lord have elected and brought to himself." "We do not know, but we present the message to everyone." "God knows who is going to come to faith through Yeshua the Messiah." "So God is saying, the Lord is saying, I have much people here in this city." "No one is going to hurt you." "Don't be afraid." "Don't hold your peace." "Speak, I am with you." "And I have many people here in this city." "So it's beautiful to see." "So apparently the

Apostle Paul continued there in Corinth." "And it says here in verse 11 that he continued there in the city of Corinth for one year and six months." "Apparently he continued for a year and six months." "This is a year and a half." "From the time that he heard that vision from the Lord." "He has been a little bit before in the city of Corinth and he remained a little bit later." "So he must have been in the city of Corinth around maybe two years, two and a half years." "Some suggest even up to three years he had been in Corinth." "But we do have this statement here for one year and six months that he

was here from this point at the city of Corinth." "What did he do?" "He taught the Word of God among them." "He preached the message and he taught the Bible." "He preached the message of salvation and he taught the Word of God." "He constantly taught the Word of God." "That's what brothers and sisters what we are doing every Friday when we gather together for our Bible classes." "Every Saturday Shabbat meeting when we come for the ministry of the Word of God is constantly to teach the Word of God." "Yes we have fellowship, we enjoy our time together." "But the purpose of the gathering of the saints is to gather for the learning of the Word

of God." "A little bit here more and a little bit there, here a little, there a little, and we grow in appreciation of the Scripture of the Word of God." "So Paul received an encouragement from the Lord." "Let me ask a question, you don't have to answer me." "Do you need an encouragement today from the Lord?" "And if you do, just wait on Him." "He will encourage you, He will give you a word of encouragement in His time, and it will be so precious to you that it will give you strength to continue on." "I say, Lord, in spite of the opposition that I have in my life today, thank you for these encouraging words."

"I'm going to continue to follow Yeshua, the Messiah." "You know, it's not necessarily that heaven is going to open, and you at night time are going to have Revelation chapter 23." "It's not that, but the Lord is going to use someone to encourage you, or event in your life, or a situation." "Something He's going to use to encourage you to say, do not be afraid, carry on in following me, following in a ministry that I have given you to do." "So, the Apostle Paul remained there for one year and six months from the time that he heard the Word, and he taught the Word of God." "And what a blessing it must have been for

him to see fruit and growth in the city of Corinth." "Well, let's move on.

We are nearing that portion where we finish that second missionary journey." "From verse 12 to 17, we find Paul before Galileo. He was a deputy of Achaia." "Look at this. You can see the kind of attitude that this man by the name of Galileo, the deputy head." "Listen to this. Verse 12, first of all, and 13, the Jewish people brought Paul to the judgment seat." "And when Galileo was a deputy of Achaia, the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul." "And they brought him to the judgment seat. And they said this fellow, persuading men to worship God contrary to the law." "Here the Jewish brethren, those who didn't believe in the Messiah, took Paul, a Jewish man who believed in Yeshua." "And they brought him into the judgment seat.

And it was at a time when Galileo was the deputy of Achaia." "And they told him, they accused Paul that Paul was persuading men to worship God contrary to the law of the people of Israel." "Now do you remember who was accused as well?

You remember Stephen in Acts chapter 6 and 7 where he was accused that he brought a learning, a teaching that is not in accordance with the law of Moses." "And that he was speaking seemingly against God and against the temple." "He was accused by the Sanhedrin." "Paul is the same thing here, being accused." "As if believing in Yeshua the Messiah is contrary to the law." "But the law and the prophets spoke about the coming of the Messiah." "The law and the prophets again typified and prophetically spoke about the coming Messiah." "And therefore to accuse Paul before Galileo was wrong." "And so in verses 12 and 13 they put him there in the judgment seat." "And

in verses 14, 15 and 16, Galileo the deputy responded to the Jewish people of the city of Corinth." "And he said to them." "Look at this, verse 14." "When Paul was now about to open his mouth, Galileo said unto the Jewish people there." "If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness, all ye Jewish people," he said, "reason was that I should bear with you." "In other words, if he did something wrong, I should listen to it and I'll bear with what you accuse him." "But if it is a question of words, of names, of your law," "he says, look ye to yourself," he said, "for I will not judge of such a matter."

"And he drove them away from the judgment seat." "You know what he's telling them?" "If he did something wrong and I need to judge him, fine, show me what he did wrong." "But if it is a matter of names and your law," he says, "I'm not going to involve myself in a religion." "In other words, brothers and sisters, apparently, when it comes to the word names here," "Paul was naming the name of Yeshua." "Then it is the name of Yeshua that was rejected." "And the Bible said there is none other name given among men whereby we must be saved." "It is the name of Yeshua." "You remember what we read in Philippians?" "That the name

of Jesus and the name of Yeshua," "the knee will bow." "Every tongue will confess that Yeshua the Messiah is Lord to the glory of God the Father." "So it was the name of Yeshua that they refused to accept." "And it is the name of Yeshua that today people around us refuse to accept Jewish people and non-Jewish people." "Fusing the name of Yeshua, which means salvation." "And so he said to them, if it is words of names of your law," he says, "Look you to yourself, I will not judge in such a matter." "And he drove them away from the judgment seat." And now we arrive to verse 17.

Here we find out that all the Greeks took Sostenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment seat. And notice that Galio cared for none of those things. "What we learn here from verse 17, that this man by the name of Sostenes, he replaced apparently the chief ruler, Crispus, that we read of him in verse 8 of this chapter. And apparently he became a believer as well. And so the Greeks now took this man, Sostenes, the chief ruler of the synagogue, and they beat him before the judgment seat. And so what we learn from these verses, that both Jewish people as well as Greeks, persecuted those who were believers in the Lord Jesus, the Messiah.

And so Sostenes was beaten, and Galio did not care. He is that deputy who said previously that he does not want to judge on a religious matter. But apparently when Sostenes was beaten, Galio did not do anything about it. He cared for none of those things which were done unto the believers there before the judgment seat. And there finally, brothers and sisters, that in a sense was the end of the time of the Apostle Paul spending there in the city of Corinth. Because in the last five verses, 18, 19, 20, 21, and 22, the Apostle Paul leave Corinth. And he's moving on now on the way to Antioch through a visit to the city of Ephesus.

And so we find in verse 18, that after he tarried there yet a good while, he took his leave of the brethren, and he sailed unto Syria. Again, he was heading towards Antioch in Syria. He took with him Priscilla and Aquila. And then notice, brothers and sisters, he shone his head in Sancherah, for he had a vow. Now, most of us believe that the vow that the Apostle Paul had as a Jewish man, it was the Nazarite vow found in the book of Numbers, chapter 6. But when the vow was ending, there was a responsibility of the person who took the vow to shave his head. You remember the Nazarite was called to have long hair, not to have any knife touching his head, not to touch a dead man, as well as not to drink any alcoholic beverages.

And so it seemed to be here that the vow that the Apostle Paul had, maybe a commitment to the Lord to serve him, maybe a thankfulness to God for what he had done for him. He had a vow. And now when he was leaving Corinth in Sancherah, Sancherah was a port of the city of Corinth. He shaved his hair because he ended his vow. You can read it in Numbers, chapter 6, verses 13 to 18. When you have time, read that passage. And so he cut his hair. He shaved his head because the vow, the commitment that he had, the Nazarite vow have ended. And now he was heading on now towards Antioch through Ephesus.

Notice that, verse 19 to 21 there. He went to Ephesus and he left them there. This is Priscilla and Aquila. But he himself entered again, notice that, into the synagogue. Coming to Ephesus, the first thing he does, he's going to the synagogue. And again, he's reasoning with the Jewish brethren. Again, from the Word of God. Yeshua is the Messiah. Look at what we read in Scripture. The law, the prophets, the writings, speaking about the Messiahship of Yeshua. But in Ephesus, he stayed very little time. We're going to speak about it later on when we're going to get to chapter 19. And when they desired him to tarry, apparently these Jewish people in the synagogue of Ephesus wanted him to stay longer.

Paul, stay longer, Paul. But Paul said to them, no. He said to them, he consented not. Why? Because he wanted to go to a feast in the city of Jerusalem. It says in verse 21, But he bade them farewell. He said shalom to them. And he says, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh in Jerusalem. But I will return unto you again if God will. So nice to see this with the apostle Paul. He wanted to keep a feast in Jerusalem. Again, remember, he is a Jewish man, believer in the Messiah, understanding the truth of the church, of the body of Christ, the body of Messiah.

But yet, in certain customs and certain things, as a Jewish man, he kept not as binding under the law, but as a freedom, as a believer in the Messiah, he had liberty to keep certain things, like the vow of the Nazarite that he gave, like the feast that he was going to keep now in the city of Jerusalem. You know, he taught in Romans 14, that there are liberties that believers have. Some want to keep a certain day. Some do not want to keep a certain day. Some want to eat a certain food. Some do not want to eat a certain food. But we have liberty.

We are not binding ourselves under the law. But there is a liberty as believers in Yeshua, the Messiah, which we see the liberty that he had as a believer. In the Lord Jesus, the Messiah. And finally, in conclusion, beloved brothers and sisters, verse 22, we find that when he had landed in Kessaria, that was the regions of Israel. He was already in the land of Israel, in Caesarea, in Kessaria. Notice that, what he does. He gone up, saluted the church, and then went down to Antioch. Notice, up and down. Up is going to the city of Jerusalem. Down is going away from the city of Jerusalem.

And you know in Scripture, you remember Isaiah chapter 2? Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob. Going out of the city of Jerusalem is going down away from the city of Jerusalem. This is again and again mentioned to us in the word of God. Going up to Jerusalem, going down from Jerusalem. So apparently, what we learn from this verse 22, that he visited the assembly in the city of Jerusalem. He took the time to visit those brethren, the leaders, and the people in Jerusalem, that were where the beginning of the church has begun. He made a visit to the city of Jerusalem, and then he went back to the city of Antioch, from which he was commended to the Lord's work in Acts chapter 13.

That's where he started his ministry. So with this verse, beloved brothers and sisters, the Apostle Paul concluded his second missionary journey. Always going back to Antioch, where he started, and he must have been sharing with the brethren. Hey, brethren, look what has happened to me. I've been here, and I've been there, and I've visited there. And the encouragement that he could encourage, the brothers and sisters in the city of Antioch. And brothers and sisters, I'm going to stop right here, where the second missionary journey of the Apostle Paul have ended. And may the Lord use us and encourage us, just the same like he encouraged the Apostle Paul when he said to him, Fear not, carry on in the service for the Lord.

Carry on in what you have in your hand to serve the Lord and to minister to others until the time that the Lord will come and take us to be with Him in glory.