Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Acts 18:10
God is With You
If God is for you, who could ever be against you? That’s the rhetorical question the Apostle Paul asked in Romans 8:31-32, writing, “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things?” What is true then is true now. God will not turn against those who have been redeemed by His Son, Jesus Christ.
God will Protect You
When Paul was thinking about his next missionary trip, “the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city” (Acts 18:9-10). God has many souls in the city of Corinth to save and so he assures Paul that no harm will come to him so he must not be silent and “go on speaking…for I am with you.” That should have given Paul all he needed to hear, although even without the Lord’s speaking to him, Paul would have probably preached to them anyway.
God’s Desire to Save
Note in Acts 18:10 where God says, “for I have many people in this city,” meaning, don’t be silent, speak up, God is with him, and there’s no reason to be afraid, meaning that Paul must have had at least some fear, and it was a fear that was well grounded because he had been beaten, imprisoned, whipped, stoned, and endured hunger and pain, yet God was with him through all of that. The reason God told Paul, “no man will attack you in order to harm you” was because God had “many in this city” yet to be saved. Is that our desire too?
Conclusion
Wouldn’t it be great if God still spoke audibly to us and could tell us “don’t worry, no one will harm you?” God actually does speak to us today but it is through His Word and by His Spirit and He is still telling His children, “I am with you…so do not be afraid any longer…go on speaking and do not be silent.” Let’s follow that admonition in proclaiming the gospel.
