Creekside Church, Sunday, June 6, 2021

Acts 18:1-11

1After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 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, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.

5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 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.”

7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized.
9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God.

---

The Dip: A little book about when to quit and when to stick
by Seth Godin

In order to do anything meaningful or great in the world we have to persevere through the dip. However, not every dip is a dip. Some are dead ends. Our task is to become good at deciding when something is a dip and when something is a dead end.

In Acts 18 we see Paul identifies a dead end in the synagogue.
However, he also perseveres through the dip in order to build the church in Corinth over the course of a year and a half.

---

It's so important that we learn to identify dead ends and push through dips.

You don't want to be the person who quits and never pushes through a dip.

You also don't want to be the person forever stuck in a dead end. Think "dead end job".

---

Reactive quitting vs. Strategic quitting:

Most people quit reactively. They quit when it gets hard or they are frustrated or panicking.

We want to strategically quit. To do this, you have to decide ahead of time under what conditions you will quit.

Jesus teaches his disciples when to strategically quit in Matthew 10:11-14
11Whatever town or village you enter, search there for some worthy person and stay at their house until you leave. 12 As you enter the home, give it your greeting. 13 If the home is deserving, let your peace rest on it; if it is not, let your peace return to you. 14 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your words, leave that home or town and shake the dust off your feet.

---

Questions to ask before quitting:

1. Am I panicking?
2. Am I being rejected by everyone or just some people?
3. Am I avoiding the remarkable as a way of quitting without quitting?

---

How can you make it through the dip?

Before you begin, ask yourself:
1) Is the pain of the dip going to be worth it?
2) Do I have the resources I need to get through the dip?
**If the answer is no, then quit before you begin. The best time to quit is before you even begin.

Jesus gives similar advice in Luke 14:26-33
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters—yes, even their own life—such a person cannot be my disciple. 27 And whoever does not carry their cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.
28 “Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? 29 For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, 30 saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’
31 “Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Won’t he first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? 32 If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace. 33 In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have cannot be my disciples.

During the Dip:

1) Realize this is normal
2) Change up your method/strategy
3) Listen for the voice of Jesus

---

Ultimately, in order to make it through the dips that we're called to go through we need God to carry us. Notice how this happens for Paul when he is brought before Gallio. He doesn't even have to speak.

Acts 18:12-17
12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.”
14 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. 15 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.” 16 So he drove them off. 17 Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.