Well, I am glad you're here. If you're new, this
is not normally what we have on Sunday mornings.
Just so you know, we're not building sets every
Sunday for the Sunday message. But we have VBS
this week, obviously. And I'm thankful that VBS
recognized a great name. I mean, Carpenter Joe's.
That's just wonderful. I saw that. I thought,
wow, they're really thinking of me this year.
And I just appreciate that. But I do want to
say thank you to Brie and Olivia, Matthew, and
many others who came. I came here on Wednesday
night and saw the many hands that were helping.
It was like craft day for adults, just building
all these sets and painting. everybody was having
fun and in good mood and so thank you to all
the volunteers who have come this week to set
up and we'll be here this afternoon and this
week helping out as we're going to see little
hearts come into our church and we get to present
them with the gospel of Jesus Christ, the song
that we just sang. We get to do that and in a
fun way, in an energetic way, but also in a clear
and compassionate way wanting to share Jesus
to even the littlest of hearts. That we get to
shepherd and care for so thanks to all the the
volunteers. I have a couple other announcements
as well This one is for for you guys that Mathias
and Maisie are gonna have a baby Mazie's gonna
have the baby, but together, yeah, they're gonna
have a child. And they wanted me to make that
announcement. They're not here right now, but
if you see them when they come in for second
service, make sure that you congratulate them
as they're gonna be having a child in the beginning
of January. beginning of January. Secondly, I
have an elder update for you guys. I wanted to
announce to you guys that the elders have decided
upon bringing Matt Worthington on to the team.
Matt is a man of character. He is a man who shepherds
well within the church and is someone that we
have been going through the process for well
over a year now. of wanting to ensure that he'd
be a good fit and match up philosophically, theologically,
and all those things. What your part is in this
now is for the next month before we confirm him
and bring him on and lay hands on him and pray
for him is you get an opportunity to get to know
Matt, ask questions, even ask questions of the
elders as well, even what the process was. If
you want to know anything about that over the
next few weeks, you have opportunity to do that.
and to ask questions in that way. And then in
July, we'll pray for him and officially bring
him on to the elder team. Obviously big news
for us, we haven't added an elder to the team
for quite some time, but we're excited to have
Matt and Mindy got to play mini -golf with the
boys yesterday at the Masters mini -golf. You
didn't know the youth had a mini -golf event.
symboling the Masters, and so I got paired up
with David and Jay, and had a nice round of golf
with them. But anyways, if you have questions
about that, not about the Masters mini golf,
you can ask me that if you'd like, but about
Matt Worthington coming on as an elder, please
do come up and ask me about that. All right,
well grab your Bibles. We are in the Book of
Acts. and we are in Acts chapter 18 and we are
going to finish Acts chapter 18 and we're going
to get a running start into Acts chapter 19.
I know this is a big endeavor for me to do, but
I feel like it's appropriate for us to just grab
this chunk of passage together and see what God
has to say about that and what He's going to
teach us. This morning, so let me just read for
us. I want to just read one verse for us. It's
Acts 18 verse 23 Together and then I will pray
for us and then we will dive into God's Word
Here's what it says Acts chapter 18 verse 23
after spending some time there He departed and
went from one place to the next through the region
of Galatia and Phrygia strengthening all the
disciples. Our Heavenly Father, we get the privilege
to jump into Your Word. We get to study it. We
get to hear from You. We get to be challenged
in our faith. We get to learn new truths. We
get to be reminded of truths that we've forgotten.
And all that in a mysterious way, by the work
of the Holy Spirit, works in our hearts to transform
us to make us like Christ. And we're even going
to learn this morning that it's not about head
knowledge. It's not about just what you know.
It's about what you believe. It's about your
convictions. And Lord, I just pray that in all
of this, you would draw us closer to you. Make
us like Jesus. It's in His name we pray. Amen.
We start out with a quote by Charles Swindoll
when it comes to the book of Acts that we don't
want to forget. Sometimes we're getting into
just these stories and we're forgetting the bigger
picture. But Charles Swindoll says this when
we study the journeys of Paul in the book of
Acts, we're not just reading a travel log of
a man. We are observing the redemptive plan of
God unfolding as he promised. Through the ministry
of Saul of Tarsus, God's mission to reclaim his
creation from the death grip of evil would move
to its next stage. The plan of the mission was
outlined in the Lord's promise at his ascension
where he said you will receive power When the
Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be
my witnesses It's unfolded in Jerusalem Judea
and Samaria and even to the remotest parts of
the earth now remember in the midst of all these
stories and all these places that the Apostle
Paul is going that Barnabas is going that that
we see of Silas is going and Timothy is going
and all these places that they're going as we're
reading these stories kind of individually we
can't forget the bigger plan of God in redemption
that's happening throughout the book of Acts
right in Acts chapter 1 and verse 8 God Said
that they will go out and be witnesses to the
ends of the earth or watching this masterful
plan of salvation unfold one story at a time
one city at a time one person at a time as they
are saved and come to know Christ and From the
beginning from the very beginning in the book
of Acts. There's always been a strong emphasis
on the Word of God getting out That was the means
by which they were going to see people come to
know Christ was the proclamation of the Word
of God. That was the philosophy of ministry that
they had. If the apostles did not have the Word
of God, they had nothing. They had nothing to
offer. They needed the Word of God. That was
the means by which God's Word would get out.
In fact, if you have, just go back with me. I
want you to see this. Let's just trace this.
Go back to Acts chapter 2. In Acts chapter 2,
In verse 42 and 41, when they got together, they
devoted themselves to the teaching, to the fellowship,
to the breaking of bread. In Acts chapter 6,
in verse 7, and the word of God continued to
increase. The number of disciples multiplied
greatly in Jerusalem and a great many of priests
became obedient to the faith. In Acts chapter
7, we see Stephen preaching an entire message
on the Old Testament using Old Testament scriptures.
In Acts chapter 8, in verse 14, in verse 25,
and in verse 35, you see in verse 25 that the
preaching, the gospel to many villages of the
Samaritans. This is just what the apostles did.
they marched through preaching and teaching the
gospel of Jesus Christ. In Acts chapter 11 in
verse 1, here it is again, they received the
word from God. Acts chapter 12 in verse 24, again
the preaching of the word of God is sent forth.
In verse 24 it says the word of God increased
and multiplied. Acts chapter 13 verse 5, Acts
chapter 13 verse 44, Acts chapter 15, 35 and
36. The result in verse 41, there's the strengthening
of the churches. In Acts chapter 17, getting
closer to where we are, in Acts chapter 17, in
verse 2, Paul went into the synagogue as was
his custom. Three -day Sabbath, he reasoned with
them from the Scriptures. In verse 10, it was
the Bereans who studied the scriptures with great
joy. In Acts chapter 18, in verse 5, Silas and
Timothy arrived in Macedonia, and Paul was occupied
with the Word. In Acts chapter 18, in verse 11,
he stayed a year and six months teaching the
Word of God among them. This is what the apostles
and the disciples did. On every missionary journey,
the goal was this, get the Word of God out. Don't
conceal it, don't hide it, but use it by which
the means to see people come to know Christ and
the means by which people are strengthened and
discipled. It's through the Word of God. Without
the Word of God, the apostles, as I said, the
disciples, they had nothing to go with. They
wanted people to see Christ, so they showed them
in Scripture. They wanted people strengthened,
so they showed them in Scripture, and they continued
to use the Word of God. And we also need to remember
in the book of Acts, again, just some themes
that we're remembering here, is that the book
of Acts is a book of transitions. You're transitioning
from one era or one dispensation to the next.
You're watching Jews come to know Christ. and
embrace Christianity. There's a transition there,
a letting go of Judaism and embracing of Christianity.
You have Gentiles who are leaving their foreign
gods and their foreign idols to come to know
Christ. There's a transition there from an old
way of living to a new way of living. There's
a transition now from there being no church to
having the church era begin. And a transition
where the Holy Spirit was not with them and then
when Jesus ascended into heaven, the Holy Spirit
came down and was upon them. This whole book
is about transition from even the gospel being
just in Jerusalem to now being spread out to
the ends of the earth. The whole book is continually
stories of transition from one era, from one
thing to the next, from one believer to the next
believer. But through all these transitions,
that are happening what remains is that the word
of God must go forth through every generation
from the very beginning even up to our generation
now the main thing is this is that the word of
God must go forth if people are going to come
to know Christ and if people are going to be
discipled by the word of God it's all found in
God's word to strengthen the church you must
Give people the word of God. For people to come
to know Christ, you must give people the word
of God. Through all the transitions, through
all the eras, that remains the same. Now when
we come to this section of Scripture in Acts
chapter 18, it's actually right in the middle
of the chapter, even right in the middle of the
paragraph of verses 22 and 23, you have the ending
of Paul's second missionary journey. You have
the start of his third missionary journey. I
know they kind of pulled a fast one on us right
here in the middle There's no heading that says
hey, this is the start of Paul's third missionary
journey We're all dependent upon that and it's
not there But it's right at the end in verse
22 Paul's second missionary journey ends and
in verse 23 the third missionary journey begins
Now watch this. What does he do in his third
missionary journey? Well, it says it there the
goal right there at the end of verse 23 we already
read it it is to strengthen all the disciples
how was this going to happen it was going to
happen through the teaching of the word of god
look at the end of verse 28 this is apollos he
powerfully refuted the jews in public showing
by the scriptures that the christ was jesus look
at verse 20 of chapter 19 so the word of the
lord continued to increase and prevail mightily
The Apostle Paul didn't sit back while he was
in Antioch as it says there in verse 22. He's
in Antioch his own church He didn't sit back
and say to himself. You know what my my philosophy
of ministry needs to change You know, I think
I need to add a little bit more creativity to
this missions trip You know, I think I need to
change things. I need to start drawing people
in in different ways. You know, I'm getting beat
up a lot. I'm getting persecuted a lot. You know,
let's try to maybe candy coat the mission, the
message a little bit. Let's sweeten it up a little
bit. Let's soften things a little bit. And let's
start this third missionary journey far different
than the first two. He didn't do that at all.
He didn't change anything. All he got was a little
bit of rest when he was in Antioch and then off
he went again with the same goal, with the same
purpose, with the same means by which he would
achieve that goal. Let's get the Word of God
out again. And it continues to work. In this
third missionary journey, we will see this at
the Triune God, the work of the Father, the Son,
and the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul.
Through other key men and women, they advance
the kingdom of God and the devil will lose territory
as God's kingdom advances and expands. Most notably,
in Paul's third missionary journey here, we'll
see him in the city of Ephesus. The city of Ephesus,
and he spends some time there and even writes
a letter to them in Acts chapter 20 talking even
about the Ephesian elders. That are in the city
of Ephesus But this is the Apostle Paul getting
ready and getting started on this second or ending
his second missionary journey Starting his third
missionary journey same philosophy of ministry
as as he goes Let's start reading then in verse
18 as we close out this second journey Paul's
was in Corinth He stayed there for about a year
and a half maybe in total about two years Verse
18, after this, Paul stayed many days longer,
and then took leave of the brothers, and set
sail for Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila.
At Sincrae he had cut his hair, for he was under
a vow. And they came to Ephesus, and he left
them there, but he himself went into the synagogue
and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him
to stay, for a long period he declined. But on
taking leave of them. He said I will return to
you if God wills and he set sail from Ephesus
When he had landed in Caesarea, he went up and
greeted the church and then went down to Antioch
So here's the close of his missionary journey
here and I guess of note kind of the the main
thing of note here besides the different areas
that he went to was number one Priscilla and
Aquila go with him Alright, and here's his new
friends, longtime friends, or not longtime friends,
new friends who would become longtime friends
of him, who would stay on this missionary journey
with him, is Priscilla and Aquila. They just
say, hey, you know what? We didn't really care
for Corinth the whole lot. We weren't there very
long. Let's just go with Paul. Let's support
Paul. Let's go with him. Let's be of aid to him.
Let's come alongside him and let's see what the
Lord does with us as we travel with Paul. So
they go with them to Sincreate. Now while he
is there, it says that Paul received a haircut.
I find this fascinating that this is of note
here. We know nothing of Paul bodily at all except
that here he found himself a barber and went
ahead and got a haircut. And it says there that
he was under a vow. Why is this here? Why is
this in the text? Well, the Apostle Paul was
under a a Nazarite vow if you want to more study
on a Nazarite vow It's found in Numbers chapter
6 of verses 1 to 21 It was a vow that was entirely
voluntary entirely voluntary Where you would
commit to a kind of service for a period of time
and you would make a special vow It was a public
vow. It was a costly vow. It was a temporary
vow It involved three elements, one of which
was this, was that you would not cut your hair.
My son Drake, he's not here, but he's under a
Nazarite vow right now. You guys are wondering
why he had such long hair. He's under a Nazarite
vow in just gratitude for his father. So that's
why Jonah is on his way to a Nazarite vow right
now. I'm still teasing it out of him what's going
on there. Some of you would never be under a
Nazarite vow. You couldn't grow your hair out
any longer. The point here of this, the point
is this, the point of not cutting the hair was
for people to see that you were under a special
vow to the Lord. The vow would end when you'd
have your hair shaved off and you'd actually
have to take the hair to Jerusalem and set it
on fire. That was how you would end the vow.
But it seems as though the Apostle Paul had made
a vow in Corinth and it was out of gratitude
and thankfulness For the way God had protected
him and the way God had even said to him that
no one will attack you and no one will harm you
That I believe the Apostle Paul put himself under
this vow as a way of showing gratitude For his
time in Corinth and during that time he was in
Corinth A vow of deliverance from his accusers.
And now he cuts his hair out of thankfulness
and out of acknowledgement for what God has done.
His time in Corinth was done. This vow that he
put himself under was over and he went ahead
and shaved his head to show the people that God
had protected him, but now it's time for him
to move on. Now remember, the book of Acts is
a book of what? Transitions. The Apostle Paul
also is transitioning out of Judaism and into
Christianity. And this here would show that the
Apostle Paul was no longer under the Old Testament
law, no longer under those obligations. He was
breaking away from it, but put himself under
the law to show, or under this Nazarite vow,
to show his thankfulness for the way God had
protected him for all that time in Corinth. So
he's with Priscilla and Aquila. He has this new
haircut, the shaving of the head. They go to
Ephesus. He makes his way to the synagogue. He
reasons with the Jews. They want him to stay
and he leaves there. He sets sail from Ephesus.
He heads back and eventually makes his way to
Antioch. What's Antioch? Antioch is his home
church, kind of the ending of the second missionary
journey. And it is there that I believe that
he found what he was was missing in his life
for so long, which is a little bit of rest. little
bit of relaxation, a little bit of home cooking
back at his home church where he would have been
prayed for and cared for, but that did not last
very long. Verse 23, after spending some time
there, he departed and he went from one place
to the next through the region of Galatia, Phrygia,
strengthening all the disciples. And now we get
his third missionary journey with the goal there
to strengthen all of the disciples to continue
on the work that he had started to go back to
the churches that he had been to. Now, as we
approach verse 24 down to chapter 19 in verse
6, I want to show you guys three people, or there's
some groups of people here, and I want to give
you three lessons. All right, we're just going
to do three people and three lessons as we approach
now. this third missionary journey and specifically
what is going on in the city of Ephesus. By the
way, if you have a map, I don't have one for
you guys this morning. I couldn't decide which
one to choose between the maps. So you can consult
the back of your Bible. You can see the city
of Ephesus where Paul was, but now he's in Galatia
and Phrygia. But the movie or the story moves
on. And the first person that I want to introduce
you to, I call him the halfway Christian. The
halfway Christian, and his name is Apollos. Apollos,
let me read verse 24 down to verse 28. Now, a
Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came
to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent
in the scriptures. He had been instructed in
the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit,
he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning
Jesus. though he knew only the baptism of John.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but
when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took
him aside and explained to him the way of God
more accurately. And when he wished to cross
Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote
to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived,
he greatly helped those who through grace had
believed. for he powerfully refuted the Jews
in public, showing by the Scriptures that the
Christ was Jesus." Now even though the Apostle
Paul has not made his way into Ephesus, in fact
he had left and is in a different region, the
story moves forward and Luke takes us into Ephesus
and he introduces us to a man by the name of
Apollos. Not to be mistaken with Apollo. from
the Rocky movie, that is not who we're talking
about. This is Apollos. Apollos, his very name,
it means this, destroyer, destroyer. And Apollos
was a very passionate man. In fact, it's described
for us, there's many description of Apollos.
I'm going to give you these descriptions of him.
Number one is this, is that he was a Jewish man.
It says there, verse 24, now a Jew named Apollos.
We find out that this man was awaiting the arrival
of Jesus Christ. He was waiting for him to come.
He believed that the Messiah would come. He was
a Jew, but he wasn't a Jew who came from Israel.
He was a Jew that came from, as it says there,
he was a native of Alexandria. And Apollos was
also not just a Jewish man, but he was also a
brilliant man. To say that he was a native of
Alexandria, it would tell us this. The city of
Alexandria was in northern Africa, in Egypt.
It was a great city, a prominent city, right
up there next to Rome, and Alexandria was founded
by Alexander the Great. It was one of the great
centers of Greek culture right there in North
Africa. And in Alexandria was a large university.
It had one of the finest libraries in all of
the world. There was, in fact, in this library,
over 500 ,000 volumes. Half a million volumes
there in... Alexandria, which would tell us that
this was a great source of learning for the ancient
world. If you wanted to grow in your understanding,
if you wanted to learn, if you wanted to go to
university, then you would say, my goal is to
get down to Alexandria because that's where the
finest professors are with the finest volumes
of material to read and to study. Now, unfortunately,
that library has since been destroyed. And all
of that learning has been lost to the world today.
But during that time, that was the place to go.
And it would tell us that Apollosthen was a very
educated man. He was also, number three, he was
an eloquent man. That's what it says. It says
that he was an eloquent man, meaning this, that
he was learned. He was a man of rhetoric. He
was a man of the catechism. He would learn by
question and answer. He was also an eloquent
speaker. He was smooth in his speech. People
would listen to him even though they wouldn't
agree with him. They just enjoyed the manner
by which he spoke and the way that he spoke.
He was eloquent in his speech. Number four, he
was a scriptural man, you could say. Says that
he was competent in the scriptures. Another way
of saying this is that he was mighty in the scriptures.
He was well versed in his understanding of the
Old Testament He preached with power Even though
he didn't know much about Christ or anything
about Christ other than what the Old Testament
had had taught him But he was a man of the Word
of God When described people would say oh oh
you're talking about Paul's oh you're talking
about the guy that's mighty in Scripture You're
talking about the guy that's competent in Scripture.
Man, what a great description to have when people
say, your name. Oh, yeah. Oh, that guy. Man,
that guy really knows his Bible. That guy can
speak with power because he speaks from the word
of God and he knows the truth and he understands
theology. He knew just that he knew the Old Testament.
He was competent. In fact even that Greek word
for competent there It's the word dunamis where
we get the word dynamite from and power from
it and he had this this mighty power about him
in his understanding of the Bible That's just
fascinating See understood the Word of God and
he would teach them as much as he knew about
the Old Testament Number five is this. Apollos
was also a zealous man. He was a zealous man.
He was, as it says in verse 25, he instructed
in the way of the Lord and he was, what, being
fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately
the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only
the baptism of John. He was a zealous man, full
of energy, fervent in spirit, his own spirit.
He was passionate. He was excited when he talked
about the Word of God. People were just intrigued
because he was so excited to talk about it. He
was a man who knew the Old Testament, who was
passionate about it, faithfully waiting for Christ
to come. Apollos also felt what he preached and
taught. He was able to persuade men. But number
six is this, he was an uninformed man. He was
an uninformed man. He taught accurately the things
of Jesus concerning Jesus, what he knew up to
the point of knowing Jesus, though he knew only
the baptism of John. Was a typical you could
say Old Testament Jew in the sense that he was
still awaiting the coming Messiah Even though
the Messiah had already come He was still under
the baptism of John and the baptism of John is
is one that taught repentance But it also taught
that you were to believe in the coming Messiah
in fact the whole Ministry of John was to prepare
the way for the Messiah to come and that's exactly
what Apollo's believed He believed that the Messiah
was still to come Not that he had already arrived.
And so he was uninformed. He did not have the
full message of the gospel. He was still teaching
that Christ was coming. He was still teaching,
as John did, that the voice of one crying in
the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord,
make his path straight. This was Apollos. This
is what he believed. Apollos knew the teaching
of John the Baptist. There's going to be one
a Messiah to come his name would be Jesus He
would be the anointed one the chosen one the
Messiah But listen the message of Apollo's fell
short of the message of the cross He got all
the way to John the Baptist and then stopped
He got all the way there to this coming Messiah,
but he missed the most important part about the
Messiah, and that is this, is that he was the
Christ, the resurrected Jesus Christ, the one
who died for the sins of the world, and then
three days later validated that he was the Messiah
by rising again. Apollos was halfway there. He
didn't quite cross the finish line. He had all
the theology, he had all the training, he had
all the upbringing, he had all the passion, he
had all the boldness, he had the eloquence to
speak, he had the zeal, but he did not have the
Holy Spirit within him. He was not saved because
he did not know of the cross of Jesus Christ.
That's an important part to understand. In fact
in many ways this is what separates a Jew from
a believer. The Jews are still awaiting the coming
Messiah and believe in a coming Messiah. But
we know that the Messiah has already come and
we know that he had validated that he had come
because of his death, burial, and resurrection
from the cross and from the grave. Pastor Kent
Hughes in his book on Commentary in the book
of Acts he tells the story of a man and maybe
you know this great theologian John Wesley You
guys familiar with the name John Wesley? John
Wesley grew up in the home of a pastor He was
taught in the school of Oxford. He even he even
taught Greek at Lincoln College He was an ordained
minister in the church He would go and do missions
work and one night he realized after teaching
in this college, after being brought and raised
up in a Christian home, doing even mission work,
going overseas to do missions work, he came back
to London because he was inspired by a group
of believers who clearly had a transformed heart,
and he said this, that he was clearly convinced
of unbelief, and he wanted the faith that whereby
alone we are saved." And he wrote this in his
journal. It was an evening. I went very unwillingly
to a society in Aldersgate Street where one was
reading Martin Luther's preface to the Epistle
to the Romans. About a quarter before nine, while
he was describing the change which God works
in the heart through faith in Christ, this is
his own pen, his own writing, I felt my heart
strangely warm. I felt I did trust in Christ,
Christ alone, for my salvation and an assurance
was given to me that He had taken away my sins,
even mine, and saved me from the law of sin and
death. That warming of the heart was the actual
regeneration of His heart and the work of the
Holy Spirit in His life. This is John Wesley,
a man who knew more theology than we would ever
know. This is a man who grew up in the church.
This is a man who grew up in the the home of
a minister This is a man who went on missions
trips and this is a man who had not come to know
Christ yet He did not know Christ or saving power.
In fact, he was in church, but he was still condemned
And this was Apollo's All this passion, all this
theology, all this understanding, a man who was
eloquent, he was competent, he was fervent, he
was bold, he was accurate in what he knew, only
up to what he knew, and yet he did not know the
saving power of Jesus Christ. Let me give you
a lesson here. Let me give you the lesson here
that we can learn from Apollo said is this just
because you know your Bible or Theology and you
go to church that does not make you a Christian
That does not make you a Christian a Repentant
regenerated hearts that believes that Jesus is
the Messiah One that is filled with the Holy
Spirit makes you a Christian. Don't mistake it.
Just because you know the truth does not mean
that you believe the truth. It must transform
your heart. It must move. from your head to your
heart. This is what we pray on Sundays, Lord.
We don't want it stuck in our heads. We want
it to transform our hearts. This is why. Passion
doesn't save you. Boldness doesn't save you.
Theology doesn't save you. Eloquent speech doesn't
save you. Mighty in Scriptures doesn't save you.
A broken heart that falls before the Lord and
says that I am a sinner in need of a Savior,
in desperate need of my heart being transformed.
That's what saves you. This was Apollos. Let
me give you the second people group here that
we come to, and that is this, the hospitable
couple. The hospitable couple. We have the halfway
Christian and now we've got the hospitable couple,
Priscilla and Aquila. Verse 26, he began to speak
boldly in the synagogue, alright, it was just
custom. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him,
they took him aside and explained to him the
way of God more accurately. Now we get a description
of how Apollos is this, he's a teachable man,
or you could say he's a humble man. And here's
this hospitable couple, Priscilla and Aquila,
apparently they're there, they're sitting there
listening, they're probably like, hey, let's
go listen to Apollos, let's go hear what he has
to say. I've heard that he's he's mighty in scriptures.
Let's go. Let's go hear what he has to say and
I bet they're sitting there listening to him
attending the synagogue here for worship and
and listening to what he has to say and they're
probably going wait a minute And he brought us
right right to John the Baptist does he not know
Does he not know who Jesus is? What's interesting
here with a Priscilla and Aquila is that, as
it says there very specifically, they took him
aside and explained to him the way of God more
accurately. They didn't criticize him. They didn't
pass judgment on him. They didn't go, ah, we're
out of here. He's got a different theology than
us. Who is this guy? We got one shot and now
he's gone. They didn't do any of that. They weren't
hitting each other going, wait, this is this
guy. He's way off. Can you believe this guy?
They didn't smirk at his lack of knowing Jesus.
No, they were deeply moved by this man's passion
and his zeal and what did they do and their kindness
and with their gracious heart and their patient
heart, they said, hey, Apollo, come over. We
need to discuss some things with you. They wanted
to tell him. They wanted to explain to him even
more clearly that the one that they speak of
who is coming He has come and he has died on
the cross and he has risen from the grave now
he is the Christ and Here again we find another
fascinating story of apollos in Transition listen
from partial revelation about Jesus to full revelation
about Jesus And this is what I love about this
story, okay? This is what I love about this story,
ready? That God used just an ordinary couple
in the church to do this. He didn't use some
elder or some pastor in the church. No, it's
Priscilla and Aquila, a couple of tent makers
who just are sitting in church and they're going,
hey, something's off. Let's get up there and
criticize him. No. Hey, come to my home. Paulus,
just come over. Just come to my home. I want
to invest in this young man. I just want to pour
into him. I just want to ask him about Christ
and what he knows, and maybe he just doesn't
know. I just want to love on him and care for
him. Just an ordinary couple in the church doing
what ordinary couples in the church should do
pour into other people love other people Care
for other people speak truth into their lives
God didn't use the Apostle Paul God didn't use
Peter or John or Barnabas or Silas or Timothy
to pour into the Apostle Paul He used Priscilla
and Aquila in ordinary couple just attending
church. I love that. God can use anybody to pour
into anyone. I love the intentionality here.
I love the kindness here. I love the patience
here of Priscilla and Aquila. They didn't give
up on him. They didn't turn aside from him. They
didn't just walk away from him. No, they did
the opposite. They said, hey, man, this guy's
a little bit off, but I love his passion. I love
his zeal. He's mighty in scripture. I'm just
going to bring him into my home and I'm going
to ask him a few questions. I'm going to ask
him about Christ and his theology to clear it
up and to even speak more truth into his life.
So what's the lesson here? Let me give you a
second lesson then. That's our second group.
This is our second lesson from Priscilla and
Aquila. It is this. Great ministry happens from
those who are faithfully hospitable and speak
truth and love. Don't give up on people who don't
have the same theology as you. Don't give up
on people who don't have the same theology as
you. Be patient. Be hospitable. Be loving. Speak
truth. Be a Priscilla and Aquila in another Apollos's
life. Invite them into your life. And now what
happens? Verse 27. He wants to go to Achaia.
The brothers encouraged him. Yeah, this is a
good idea. Well, write a letter. They wrote the
disciples to welcome him when he arrived. He
was greatly helped by those Who through grace
had believed and here's here's our new man for
he powerfully refuted the Jews in public where
it is Showing by the scriptures what that the
Christ was? Jesus he got it He got it and now
you got an Apollo's speaking the full gospel
of Jesus Christ A man on fire. By the way, if
you're wondering, if this is the Apollos that
is spoken of in 1 Corinthians, it is. In fact,
the Apostle Paul would write this as Apollos
would go back to Corinth and pour into the church
in Corinth. He would write this in 1 Corinthians
1 and verse 12. He says, what I mean is that
each one of you says, I follow Paul, or I follow
Apollos, or I follow Cephas. I follow Christ
Paul is addressing these divisions that were
happening within the church because because of
the the the men wanting to attach themselves
the individuals One of those individuals was
this man right here Apollos There's also in first
Corinthians chapter 3 in verse 6 is is where
where the Apostle Paul says this I planted Apollos
watered, but God gave the growth. That's this
Apollos. So Paul goes to Corinth first, establishes
the churches, leaves. He plants the seed, sows
the seed. Apollos now goes back and he does the
watering. That's what's happening here. Right?
Just kind of tie these things together. It makes
the Word of God so amazing. And here it is. Paul
and Apollos doing this incredible work of missions.
great things for the Lord. And who was the one
that poured into Apollos? Just Priscilla and
Aquila. This man, they didn't recognize, they
didn't know that Apollos would be this kind of
a missionary for the Lord. They just knew his
theology was a little bit off and he needed someone
to speak the truth to him in love. So my encouragement,
my encouragement church, start ministering to
people. Who knows? Who it is that you're going
to minister to? What young man? What young woman?
What other couple? What children that you pour
into where they turn out to be another Apollos?
We just don't know. Let me give you a third group.
We'll be quick. I had to get a little creative
here, but I think it works. The Holy Spiritless
Cohort. The Holy Spiritless... cohort these are
this next group of people are 12 disciples of
john chapter 19 12 disciples of john let's read
it as it happened while apollos was at Corinth
paul passed through the inland country and came
to effesus There he found some disciples and
he said to them did you receive the Holy Spirit
when you believed and they said no we have not
even heard that there is a Holy Spirit and he
said to them and to what then were you baptized
and they said into John's baptism and Paul said
John baptized with the baptism of repentance
telling the people to believe in the one Who
was to come after him that is Jesus on hearing
this they were baptized in the name of the Lord
Jesus when Paul had laid hands on them the Holy
Spirit came on them and they began speaking in
tongues and prophesying these were about 12 men
in all so you have this group of men who have
the same problem that Apollo's has not spirit
-filled, they were not saved, they had not understood
the full revelation of the gospel of Jesus Christ,
and the Apostle Paul comes to them, he finds
these men, these people are learning, these people
who are understanding, these disciples, he says
to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit? And
they said, we haven't heard of the Holy Spirit.
Meaning, they did not know that one could receive
the Holy Spirit. They did not know that one could
actually have the Holy Spirit upon him and it
says there that they were baptized into what
into John's baptism into John's baptism is similar
to what Apollos is saying is that well I am of
the understanding and the teaching of the baptism
of John That there would be one to come the Messiah
to come and here it is that that Paul would teach
to them the full understanding of the Holy Spirit.
That the Holy Spirit, once one believes, would
come upon you and would transform your heart,
transform your life. As it says, they're telling
the people to believe in the one who is to come
after him saying, that is Jesus. Jesus is the
Messiah. Verse five, on hearing this. They're
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus, one of
the only places we find in scriptures of someone
being re -baptized, this time baptized in the
name of the Lord Jesus. And when that happens,
verse 6, when Paul laid his hands on them, the
Holy Spirit came upon him. They began speaking
in tongues and prophesying, and there were about
12 men in all. This is the fourth time here,
okay, that there's a group of people who speak
in tongues, right? Kind of this fourth... or
third mini Pentecost, the actual one, and then
they had these other ones. It was first the Jews
in Jerusalem, the Samaritans through Philip and
Samaria, the Gentiles by Peter, and then fourth,
the dispersed Jews through Paul, right? So these
four major groups of people where when the Holy
Spirit came upon them, they began to speak in
tongues and prophesying just as a way for the
people to see around them that the Holy Spirit
had came upon these people. Not normative today.
Again, what do we start out with? This is a book
of transitions. We're transitioning from one
theology, one understanding to the next. And
this is a moment of transition again. In fact,
this whole section here is moments, little moments
of transition. And here, the Holy Spirit coming
upon this group of people. known, understood
the role of the Holy Spirit upon them, and this
would be then the proof that they were believers.
And let me give you the third lesson here, and
then we'll be done. It is this. What's the lesson
from these 12 disciples? It is this. True believers
are marked by the Indwelling Holy Spirit. True
believers are marked by the Indwelling Holy Spirit.
This is how you know someone is saved not their
theology not their passion Not their competence
in Scripture not their eloquence But what do
they have the Holy Spirit within them are their
lives? Transformed are they changed? Do they
love what Jesus loves? You say, how do I know
if somebody is marked by the Holy Spirit? It
is this. When the Holy Spirit comes upon them,
the seal of the believer comes upon them for
all eternity. They're sanctified. They have the
spiritual gifts that are upon them. And you will
know this by their fruit. What is the fruit of
the Spirit? Galatians 5, 21 to 23. That's how
you know. Do they possess the fruits of the Spirit?
Do they love being with Jesus' people? Christians
love being with other Christians. Do they love
and serve the church? Do they love what God loves?
God is within them, then they're going to love
what God loves. And this is what happens here.
Well, we're off now. This third missionary journey
and we'll find ourselves in Ephesus. Let me tell
you things get crazy really fast Okay, so if
you want to peek ahead this week as to what happens
in Ephesus Go ahead and we'll take a look at
it next week Lord. Thank you For this crash course
here on understanding That you are the Messiah
you have come there's no more waiting around
for the Messiah you are here And a true believer
is one who has placed their faith in Jesus Christ,
repented of their sin, and the Holy Spirit has
come upon them and transformed their hearts.
Lord, I pray that to be true for everyone here.
Their hearts have been gripped by the Holy Spirit,
and if not, would today be that day of salvation?
For their hearts are warmed by your Holy Spirit.
transformed, changed into the image of Christ.
What I do pray is we were all encouraged to be
again like Priscilla and Aquila, just regular
churchgoers, passionate about the mission of
Christ, who want to see other people grow in
the things of the Lord. We saw their patience,
we saw their kindness. We know they spoke the
truth and love. Lord, may we endeavor to be those
who have that kind of intentionality with people.
Let's just reach people. Let's just disciple
them. Let's just love them. And let's see how
you work and grow in those hearts. Lord, help
us to be faithful in these things. In Jesus'
name, Amen.