Acts 18: Following God's Will in Everyday Life

Introduction

"If I look at the life of any Christian who takes following the Lord seriously, we want to follow God's will, don't we?" Pastor Chris Hammond, at South West Baptist Church in Australia, continues his verse-by-verse series in the book of Acts. That morning, he stops at Acts 18:12-22 and a simple theme: following God's will.

The passage tells the end of Paul's stay in Corinth. The Jews accuse him before Gallio, proconsul of Achaia, who refuses to judge what he sees as arguments about their law. Paul stays a good while longer, has his head shaved at Cenchreae because of a vow, stops at Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila, then reaches Caesarea and Antioch.

The pastor asks a question: did Paul have a GPS? How did he know how long to stay in a city, who to speak to, how many sermons to preach? He hopes this message will encourage you in your everyday decisions, because the book of Acts is not only the story of the early church: it holds applications for your life.

Outline of the Message

1. No Random Method

Pastor Chris opens with a made-up story. A man prays to know God's will and asks for a sign. The next day, he opens his Bible at random and puts his finger on Matthew 27:5: Judas "went away and hanged himself." This cannot be God's will.
He tries again and lands on Luke 10:37: "Go and do likewise." On the third try: "What you do, do quickly" (John 13:27). He closes his Bible: "Maybe I need a better method for finding God's will."
The pastor draws three serious points from this story. Suicide is the murder of oneself and is never in God's will. God will never guide you against the basic principles of his Word. And be careful how you use the Word: the context of verses matters.
This is not how you seek God in his Word. "Don't be like the guy in that made-up story."

2. Follow God's Directions in the Bible

In Corinth, a commercial and industrial city where many travelers passed through, Paul works at his trade as a tentmaker with Priscilla and Aquila. He sees the sin of the people there and carries a burden for them.
The Lord speaks to him in a vision: "Do not be afraid, but speak and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you, for I have many people in this city" (Acts 18:9-10). These people are those not yet saved whom God wants to reach through Paul.
So Paul stays "a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them" (verse 11). Did the Lord tell him to stay eighteen months? The text does not say. Did he tell him when to leave? That is not written either. Paul received a special revelation, like the Macedonian call (Acts 16:9), but not for every detail.
When you make a decision, start with the Scriptures: what is clearly revealed about God's will? If you are a child living at home with your parents, the Bible tells you: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right" (Ephesians 6:1).
If you are a husband and you have had an argument with your wife, the Bible does not tell you to leave and come back in a day or two when you have cooled off. It says: "Husbands, love your wives" (Ephesians 5:25). Your wife, too, can find God's will for her in the Word: to submit to her husband.
For single people, 1 Corinthians 7:34 speaks of the unmarried woman who "cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit." Whatever your situation, God speaks to you and shows you his will. "Take your directions from the Bible."

3. Serve Jesus Within His Will

Verse 18: Paul sails for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila. "He shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow." Cenchreae is about six miles from Corinth.
We have no other information about this vow. Some speak of a Nazirite vow, which the pastor considers unlikely. Others see a Jewish way of thanking God for keeping his promise to protect Paul in Corinth, or a commitment to live for him. "I don't know. When we get to heaven, we can ask him."
Why Ephesus? It is a large city, the capital of the Roman province of Asia, a trading city that is home to the temple of Artemis, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Paul's method is to go to the big cities, then to the synagogue, where a rabbi was readily allowed to speak. There he shows how Jesus of Nazareth fulfills the prophecies of the Old Testament.
Did Paul sit down and say, "I'm not moving until God tells me what to do"? The text does not say so. He had a missionary method and he followed it.
Why does he take Priscilla and Aquila with him? The Bible does not say, and Luke reports no vision at that moment. They made tents like Paul. It seems natural that he asked them to come and support the ministry. "That's a guess, but it makes sense to me."

4. Circumstances Do Not Always Show God's Will

How many times have you heard: "I knew I had to do it because God opened a door for me"? An open door is an opportunity, like a job in another city. It may well be from God, but it is only an open door.
Thankfully, we do not reason this way about marriage: "God just opened a door for me with this other woman." And if a man asks you to marry him, are you obliged to say yes? No. You follow God's will.
Paul himself does not walk through every door. In Ephesus, the Jews "asked him to stay with them a longer time, he declined" (verse 20). The invitation came from well-meaning people, and he said no.
You can have several open doors at the same time: several jobs, several possible ministries. You cannot take them all. The pastor quotes this saying: "Open doors sometimes lead to empty elevator shafts." And you are not required to stay in a place until you are pushed out, just because there is no open door to leave through.
About six months ago, Pastor Chris and his wife visited their son, daughter-in-law and grandchildren in Canada. Their church had no pastor, and two deacons carried most of the ministry. Over coffee, each of them asked him to become their pastor, half joking. "It's an open door. It's not an open door for me. The Lord's will and calling are here."
Sometimes, in your daily reading, the same thought keeps coming back, as if God were pointing a finger in one direction. That is often, quite simply, how he shows his will.

5. Submit to God's Sovereign Will

Paul takes his leave, saying: "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem, but I will return again to you if God wills" (verse 21). It was his desire, and he thought that returning to Ephesus would glorify God. But he leaves it in God's hands.
Theologians of old spoke of God's "secret" will, because it cannot be known in advance. Deuteronomy 29:29 says so: "The secret things belong to Yahweh our God; but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law."
"Pastor, when is Jesus coming back?" The pastor does not know. It could be soon, and that is why we look up, because our redemption is near (Luke 21:28), the church's theme for this year. "When will Jesus take me to be with him?" He does not know that either. God knows the day of your birth and the day of your death.
We do not know what will happen in our country, or during the vacation the pastor is about to take with his wife. We cannot demand to know these things. We submit to his sovereign will.
For Paul, it went well: he will return to Ephesus on his third missionary journey. James writes: "You ought to say, 'If the Lord wills, we will both live, and do this or that'" (James 4:15). Hence the habit of saying: "See you tonight, if the Lord wills."

6. Unless God Clearly Directs Otherwise, Finish the Job

Verse 22: "When he had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the assembly, and went down to Antioch." The second missionary journey ends where it began.
Finishing the job takes faithfulness. Starting something is exciting, finishing is harder: there is tidying up, cleaning up. The pastor smiles: "Ladies, if a man says he will fix it, he will. No need to remind him every six months."
Sometimes God prevents you from finishing. Pastor Chris says he started one or two preaching series that he did not finish, because God clearly directed him elsewhere. But as a rule, when you have made a commitment, you keep it.
In Antioch, Paul greets the church and gives, in a way, his missionary report, like the missionaries we support with prayer and gifts and love to hear from in person. Jerusalem is no longer the center of Christianity, Antioch is. Paul has finished his work.
Many Christians spend their lives walking through open doors. Others claim that God told them to do something and throw themselves into it without seeking counsel or waiting for confirmation. The pastor once heard a man say that God wanted him to leave his wife, divorce and marry another woman. "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt. Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

7. Simple Everyday Steps

God has given us his complete Word, we hold it in our hands, and it says: "This is the way. Walk in it" (Isaiah 30:21). The pastor does not say that God cannot speak in other ways, but he believes that today, as a general rule, God guides Christians through his Word.
Do not sit on the edge of your bed saying: "I'm not moving a muscle until God tells me what to do." You can sit on the edge of the bed, but pray: "God, help me love you. Help me love others. Give me wisdom to know how to do it."
Then get up, open your Bible, do your reading, pray from the Scriptures. He walks with you all day long: pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
"We don't have to look for spectacular, grandiose things." Be humble, walk faithfully with God, be quick to obey, and he will show you each day what you need to do.
The pastor concludes with the prayer of Proverbs 3:5-6: "Trust in Yahweh with all your heart, and don't lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

Key Takeaways

You do not find God's will by opening the Bible at random: you seek it in his Word, respecting the context.
Always begin with what God has clearly revealed for your situation: child, husband, wife or single person.
An open door is not necessarily God's will. Paul said no to a sincere invitation.
The secret things belong to the Lord: say "if God wills" and submit to his sovereign will.
Unless God clearly directs otherwise, finish what you have started and keep your commitments.

Personal Application

What decision do you face right now, and what does the Bible already clearly reveal about it?
Is there an open door that you took for a sign from God without really seeking his will?
In your plans for this week, can you sincerely say "if the Lord wills"?
What commitment have you left unfinished when God has not directed you elsewhere?
Tomorrow morning, on the edge of your bed, could you pray: "Help me love you, help me love others, give me wisdom"?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

How can you know God's will according to Acts 18?

For Pastor Chris, you always start with the Bible: it clearly reveals God's will for children, husbands, wives and single people. God has given us his complete Word. He guides us first through it, in a humble and faithful walk, rather than through visions or signs.

Is an open door always a sign of God's will?

No. In Ephesus, the Jews ask Paul to stay longer, but he declines (Acts 18:20). An opportunity is not necessarily God's will for you. As Pastor Chris reminds us, some open doors lead to an empty elevator shaft.

What does "if God wills" mean?

It means acknowledging God's sovereign will, those secret things that belong to the Lord (Deuteronomy 29:29). Paul tells the Ephesians: "I will return again to you if God wills." James 4 invites every believer to speak this way, because we do not know what will happen tomorrow.