Acts 18:18-22: Good Ideas Are Not Always God Ideas

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1)     Recall the lesson on Acts 16:2-12: What does God want me to do? (Aug. 2, 2026)

A)   Acts 16:6 – Paul wanted to go to Asia, but God said no.

1)     He was uncertain about what God wanted him to do.

2)     Then, he had a looong trip that was fruitful, but it was hard

(a)   Beaten and arrested in Philippi

(b)   Run out of Thessalonica

(c)   Run out of Berea

(d)   Alone in Athens

(e)   Corinth for 18 months

B)    Prov. 3:5-7 – “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and turn away from evil.”

2) Acts 18:18-22 – He finally made it to Ephesus.

A)   vv. 19-21 – He went into the synagogue *and they asked him to stay!

B)    1 Cor. 16:8-9 – Later, when Paul was there was good work…just like he knew there would be.

C)    v. 21 – But he left.

3) Why didn’t he stay? (There are a lot of maybes here. I don’t know the reason.)

A)   Maybe because he knew Aquila and Priscilla could handle it?

1) vv. 18-19 – He took Aquila and Priscilla with him, and they did some great work

2) vv. 24, 26 – They handled Apollos

3) 1 Cor. 16:19

(a)   “The churches (plural) of Asia…”

(b)   Aquila and Priscilla had a church in their house in Ephesus

4) POINT: Christianity is not a one-man show.

B)    Maybe he needed to fulfill his vow?

1) v. 18

2) Most prominent view:

(a)   This was something like a Nazirite vow (Num. 6:1-8, 13, 18, 21).

(b)   Why did he make it? Maybe vv. 9-11 – God kept him safe.

3) e.g. 1 Sam. 1:11, 27-28 – Hannah’s vow (this one would be hard)

4) Sometimes there is the right thing to do, and there is a hard thing to do, and often they are the same thing.

(a)   It’s likely that Paul needed to take his hair to Jerusalem to fulfill his vow, and that responsibility trumped anything else that he might want to do instead.

(b)   Matt. 5:37 / James 5:12 – “Let what you say be simply ‘Yes’ or “No’; anything more than this comes from evil.” James “…so that you may not fall under condemnation.”

(c)   It would be easy to justify staying in Ephesus because he was doing good work for the Lord.

C)   Maybe he was respecting God’s timing? (Wisdom)

1) There is such a thing as doing the right thing at the wrong time.

(a)   Just because there is an open door in front of you doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s best to step through it.

(i) e.g. Taking a new and better job when your wife is established and your kids are mid-semester and dealing with normal teen issues.

(b)   “Timing is everything. You can do the right thing at the wrong time and it becomes the wrong thing.” (John Maxwell, The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership (ch. 19: The Law of Timing))

(i) The wrong action at the wrong time = Disaster.

(ii)  The right action at the wrong time = Resistance/Mistake.

(iii)          The wrong action at the right time = Error.

(iv) The right action at the right time = Success.

(c)   Ecc. 3:1 – “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.”

2) There is a difference between a “good idea” and a “God idea.”

(a)   “There is a vast difference between asking God to bless what you are doing and asking Him to lead you in what He wants done.” (Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God: Knowing and Doing the Will of God)

(b)   Sometimes what we want is not what God wants?

(c)   Mk. 1:32-39 – People wanted Jesus to stay, but he had work to do.

3) There is a difference between good things and best things.

(a)   e.g. High achieving students who go off to their first semester and sign up for all the things:

(i) 18 hours of classes

(ii)  All the clubs

(iii)          Extra-curricular sports

(iv) And a part-time job

(b)   Lk. 10:41-42 – “Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.”

(c)   Phil. 1:9-10 – “It is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ…”

(d)   Corrie ten Boom: “The enemy of the ‘best’ is often the ‘good.’”

4) KEY: v. 21 – “I will return to you if God wills.”

(a)   Lk. 22:42 – “Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done.”

(b)   Rom. 1:10 – Paul to the Romans: “Always in my prayers asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.”

(c)   James 4:13-17

(i) Diligently and responsibly plan for the future…

(ii)  But never forget that God is in control of tomorrow.

(d)   Prov. 16:9 – “The heart of man plans his way, but the Lord establishes his steps.”

4) Conclusion

A)   I don’t know why Paul didn’t stay in Ephesus, but here are some things I think I know:

1) Paul wanted to be in Ephesus.

2) He put his own desires on hold (for some reason).

3) That reason was almost certainly rooted in God’s will.

B)    POINT: Serving God and doing his will is infinitely more important than anything we want in this life.