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From Fear to Faith: Paul’s Missionary Endeavors
The Sunday Evening Service at Middletown Baptist Church on March 2, 2025, hosted by Pastor Josh Massaro, delves into the profound significance of the Book of Acts, particularly focusing on Acts 18. Throughout this discourse, Pastor Josh emphasizes the essential nature of the church, asserting that the church is not merely a building or a program but rather the collective body of believers. He elaborates on the conclusion of Paul’s second missionary journey and the onset of his third, highlighting the transformative power of the Gospel as evidenced in Corinth, a city rife with moral depravity. The narrative portrays Paul as a steadfast herald of the faith, undeterred by adversity and driven by divine assurance of God’s presence and protection. The pastor invites the congregation to reflect on their role as the church and their responsibility to proclaim the Gospel with boldness, drawing lessons from Paul’s unwavering commitment amidst challenges.
Takeaways:
- In this podcast episode, we delve into the significance of being part of the church, emphasizing that each individual constitutes the church rather than merely being a part of it.
- Pastor Josh Massaro elaborates on the journey of Paul, highlighting the transformative power of the Gospel as it reaches individuals in morally depraved places like Corinth.
- The narrative stresses the importance of obedience to God, especially in the face of fear, as demonstrated by Paul's experiences in his missionary efforts.
- Aquila and Priscilla serve as exemplary figures in the church, illustrating the crucial role of mentorship and discipleship in nurturing upcoming leaders like Apollos.
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This podcast is produced by Ralph Estep, Jr., host of the Ask Ralph Podcast, a daily podcast on Christian Finance you can find it at https://www.askralphpodcast.com/
Transcript
Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast, where we are proclaiming the truth to the world.
Speaker A:My name is Pastor Josh, and I want to thank you for listening to this podcast.
Speaker A:I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen you in the word of God.
Speaker A:Now, come along.
Speaker A:Let's look into the Bible and see what God has for us here today.
Speaker A:If you have your Bibles, we'll be in Acts 8, 18.
Speaker A:Acts 18.
Speaker A:And we've been studying the Book of Acts now for.
Speaker A:For a long time, and I hope that this has been a beneficial study for you.
Speaker A:When you look at what it means to be part of the church, what it really means to be the church.
Speaker A:By the way, you are the church.
Speaker A:You're not just part of the church.
Speaker A:The Bible says, biblically speaking, that you are the church.
Speaker A:Not this building, not a program, not even just one person that's preaching.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's the people that make up the body of believers that are the church.
Speaker A:And so we've been studying the Book of Acts, and we've been looking at that acronym, Authentic Church through Scripture.
Speaker A:And so we've been, for the last really few months, we've been tracking Paul and his missionary travels.
Speaker A:And so here this week, we're going to be seeing the end of Paul's second missionary journey and the beginning of his third.
Speaker A:And we're going to try to cover as much as we can here this evening.
Speaker A:So Paul's second missionary journey is going to end.
Speaker A:He's going to go back to his home church.
Speaker A:And then we don't know how long of a stay he had there at his home church.
Speaker A:But the text really reads as it's a pretty quick turnaround, and he goes right back out for his third missionary journey.
Speaker A:So if you remember where he was at, where we left off last week, he's in a place called Corinth.
Speaker A:Very appropriate because we were studying Second Corinthians on Sunday mornings.
Speaker A:And so we can kind of tie those two things together.
Speaker A:But if you remember, Paul comes to this place of Corinth.
Speaker A:It's a place of.
Speaker A:Of empty of morality.
Speaker A:It's heathen, it's pagan.
Speaker A:It's.
Speaker A:It's temporary.
Speaker A:Terrible.
Speaker A:And so Paul is there and he's around a bunch of moral depravity, but he preaches the gospel.
Speaker A:And as he preaches the gospel, the power of God changes the lives of these individuals.
Speaker A:They hear the gospel, the gospel makes sense to them in their minds.
Speaker A:And so they.
Speaker A:They believe and they trust, and they're changed.
Speaker A:Now some reject.
Speaker A:But the Bible teaches us that we don't make that decision on who's going to receive or who's going to reject.
Speaker A:We just preach the Gospel.
Speaker A:And then we know that the Jews there were upset about Paul preaching.
Speaker A:So they bring him before the leader there.
Speaker A:And ultimately that backfires on them.
Speaker A:But in that whole process, God reassures Paul that he is going to take care of them there in.
Speaker A:In Corinth.
Speaker A:And so if you go back to verse number eight in Acts 18 says, Then spake the Lord to Paul in the night by a vision, be not afraid, but speak and hold not thy peace.
Speaker A:And so he says, paul, you might feel the draw to be afraid.
Speaker A:You might feel the desire to be quiet.
Speaker A:But he says, do the opposite, all right?
Speaker A:Don't be afraid and speak so.
Speaker A:So the way to combat fear is obedience.
Speaker A:And obedience at that point was to speak the truth.
Speaker A:Don't hold your peace.
Speaker A:Verse 10.
Speaker A:For I am with thee.
Speaker A:So God reminds him that there is power there in the message.
Speaker A:And the power is because of the presence of God.
Speaker A:I'm with thee.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And he goes on to say, therefore I'm with thee.
Speaker A:And no man shall set on thee to hurt thee.
Speaker A:Meaning there will be people that come against you, but none of them are going to be able to stop you.
Speaker A:None of them are going to be able to hurt you and stop the message of the gospel.
Speaker A:He says, I.
Speaker A:I have much people in this city.
Speaker A:And that meant that God had a plan for many people to come to Christ.
Speaker A:And so remember that verse when we talk about the end of Paul's trip here and what happens in Corinth.
Speaker A:So jump ahead with me to verse number 18.
Speaker A:Verse number 18.
Speaker A:This is where we left off last week.
Speaker A:It says, and Paul after this.
Speaker A:After what?
Speaker A:This is when the Jews brought him before the.
Speaker A:The guy, the leader there, Galio.
Speaker A:And basically he said, hey, there's nothing wrong with him.
Speaker A:And then they actually, the Greeks, the Gentiles, turned against the Jews.
Speaker A:And so after all this, Paul Terry there yet a good while, meaning he stayed there in Corinth, which was interesting because in most places Paul was chased out.
Speaker A:Here in Corinth, he had the freedom to stay and to preach.
Speaker A:And that was God's working there.
Speaker A:That was God's plan.
Speaker A:So God's plan was that Paul would invest into this city of Corinth.
Speaker A:And so it says, after this, he tarried there yet a good while and then took his leave of the brethren.
Speaker A:So eventually God moves him on and he sailed fence into Syria and with him, Priscilla and Aquila, having shorn his head in Centria, for he had a vow.
Speaker A:Now, we're not going to talk about that vow here right now, but what we're going to talk about is his relationship to Priscilla and Aquila.
Speaker A:Priscilla and Aquila, this married couple, were partners in the ministry with Paul.
Speaker A:So much to say that they go with Paul, they leave Corinth, and they travel with Paul.
Speaker A:And we're going to see that Paul leaves them in a place called Ephesus.
Speaker A:And there's a purpose for them being in Ephesus.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But I want to stop there and I want to look at the character of Aquila and Priscilla and who they were, what they did, and.
Speaker A:And how we as a church need more Aquilas and Priscillas.
Speaker A:We need more individuals that are there to support.
Speaker A:We need more individuals that are there to have hospitality.
Speaker A:We need more individuals that are there to edify, to teach.
Speaker A:And that's really what I think sometimes is.
Speaker A:Is lacking within churches in America is that there's so many people, but yet everyone's detached.
Speaker A:That's their problem.
Speaker A:This is my problem.
Speaker A:Aquila, Priscilla, are going to invest in the lives of many people, specifically a guy named Apollos that we're going to talk about here in this chapter in.
Speaker A:In a few moments.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So Paul sees the benefit of Priscilla and Aquila, and so he takes them with him.
Speaker A:And so Paul develops a deep friendship and we would even say a partnership with this couple that he decided to say, hey, come along with me.
Speaker A:And they agreed.
Speaker A:And so they headed east with him.
Speaker A:And so Paul stays.
Speaker A:God moves him on.
Speaker A:He takes Priscilla and Aquila.
Speaker A:And then it says, having shorn his head in Centria, for he had a vow.
Speaker A:Now, what is this?
Speaker A:Well, we don't know specifically, but the vow was most likely a Nazarite vow that we see in Numbers, chapter six.
Speaker A:Usually this vow was taken for a certain period of time, and when it was completed, the hair which was growing during that time would be cut off and offered to the Lord as a ceremony of sacrifice in the temple in Jerusalem.
Speaker A:So this shows that Paul had not separated himself completely from Jewish tradition.
Speaker A:Even though he wasn't trusting in the Jewish tradition to save him, he took this Nazarite vow to commit himself to the Lord.
Speaker A:So the purpose of this vow for the Nazarite was to express consecration to God and abstaining from certain things, if you remember Samson, to abstain from anything of the grapevine, to not cut one's hair and to not come near and to touch a dead body.
Speaker A:And that would be done to separate himself for the specific work of God in his life for that time.
Speaker A:And so Paul's vow here shows that he wasn't opposed to Jewish ways.
Speaker A:He wasn't anti Jewish, so to speak, even though one might argue that because the Jews are against him.
Speaker A:But what we do know is that ultimately he preaches Christ above the tradition.
Speaker A:And so Paul does this out of worship, Paul does this out of commitment.
Speaker A:Paul does this out of fellowship with the Lord.
Speaker A:So, so we'll talk a little bit more about that as we go along.
Speaker A:So he leaves verse 19.
Speaker A:And he came to Ephesus.
Speaker A:Ephesus is a very important place when it comes to scripture as, as we know, even culture back then.
Speaker A:If you know anything about the book of Ephesians, that is the letter that was written to the church at Ephesus.
Speaker A:And so Paul comes to Ephesus and who does he leave there?
Speaker A:He leaves Aquila and Priscilla there for a purpose.
Speaker A:And we're going to see what that purpose was.
Speaker A:Even though they might not have completed completely seen that purpose at this very moment.
Speaker A:We're going to see that Aquila and Priscilla were there to exhort and to encourage and to edify a guy named Apollos who's going to be coming on the scene here in, in a few verses.
Speaker A:So they stay in Ephesus.
Speaker A:So remember that.
Speaker A:But he himself entered into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews.
Speaker A:And so that's Paul's character, right?
Speaker A:We, we know Paul, we know Paul is going to go into the synagogue and he's going to reason with the Jews.
Speaker A:Even though he was a minister to the Gentiles, even though we know that he got upset with the Jews for rejecting the Gospel, he still had a heart for his people.
Speaker A:If you doubt that, read the book of Romans.
Speaker A:Paul still loved his people.
Speaker A:Paul would do anything for the Jewish people to come to the Lord.
Speaker A:And so he has a heart for the Jewish people there.
Speaker A:And he reasons with the Jews and that that word reason really just means that he tries to take them and show them the truth of Christ, shows them the truth of the gospel, verse 20.
Speaker A:And when they desired him to tarry longer time with them, so they want him to stay, they say, hey, Paul, we need you here.
Speaker A:This is interesting.
Speaker A:He consented not.
Speaker A:You know, if you look at Paul's life and you track his ministry, it kind of seems strange because in some places he stays, in other times he leaves.
Speaker A:In some Places he.
Speaker A:He takes persecution in other places, he flees persecution.
Speaker A:And you would say, so.
Speaker A:So what's different?
Speaker A:Well, because Paul understands that he has to follow God's will.
Speaker A:He has to follow God's way.
Speaker A:He has to understand God's timing.
Speaker A:If you remember, Paul had a desire to go to Asia and preach the Gospel.
Speaker A:What happened back a few chapters ago, Acts 16, God closed that door.
Speaker A:Paul probably didn't understand that at that point.
Speaker A:But God has a plan and a purpose for Paul to go and to move.
Speaker A:And so there's.
Speaker A:There is a time for us to move on.
Speaker A:There's a time for us to close the door.
Speaker A:There's a time for us to.
Speaker A:To not stay.
Speaker A:But here, in this case, we see that he can sense not why, because he has a purpose and he has a place to go.
Speaker A:Verse 21.
Speaker A:He bade them farewell, saying, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh into Jerusalem.
Speaker A:So this is tied to that vow that he had.
Speaker A:He needed to get back to Jerusalem in a specific time frame.
Speaker A:So he says, I need to get back to Jerusalem, but I will return again unto you if God will.
Speaker A:And I like how he says that.
Speaker A:He basically says, I.
Speaker A:I will return.
Speaker A:My desire is to return to you.
Speaker A:If God wills this.
Speaker A:He's learned.
Speaker A:He's basically said, I want to, but I don't know if it's God's will yet.
Speaker A:But if it is God's will, I will be back.
Speaker A:I've tried to learn that in my life.
Speaker A:When I tell people, hey, I'll be there.
Speaker A:God willing.
Speaker A:Lord willing, right.
Speaker A:Because sometimes it's out of our control.
Speaker A:And so what we learn from this.
Speaker A:I know that's such a small little cliche.
Speaker A:It's a Christian cliche.
Speaker A:Everyone says, lord willing.
Speaker A:But it's important, I think theologically it's important to understand that we can make our plans and we can have desires, but God can change those very quickly.
Speaker A:And so it's understanding, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:My heart is for the people here in Ephesus.
Speaker A:My heart is for the people here at Middletown.
Speaker A:My heart is for this or my heart is for this ministry.
Speaker A:And if God wills it, I will do it.
Speaker A:But if he doesn't, I understand.
Speaker A:And I'm willing to have my course corrected.
Speaker A:I'm willing to go through that detour.
Speaker A:And that's exactly what Paul is telling us here.
Speaker A:So he says, I will be back if God will.
Speaker A:And he sailed from Ephesus.
Speaker A:So he leaves.
Speaker A:He leaves Ephesus.
Speaker A:He says, but if I can, I will be back.
Speaker A:And I think that's important to see.
Speaker A:So, so Paul wanted to preach in Ephesus two years earlier, but was prevented by the Holy spirit.
Speaker A:Acts chapter 16.
Speaker A:Now the Holy Spirit gives him opportunity, gives him liberty to preach in this city.
Speaker A:And we're going to see that there are great results.
Speaker A:And I think that the lesson that we can learn here is that God has a special timing for everything in our lives, in our ministries, in our personal lives, in our spiritual lives.
Speaker A:And so if we could really think about it from the perspective of God, even though we don't know his plans, if God changes our path, it's the right path.
Speaker A:And I know that's sometimes hard for us to understand.
Speaker A:It's hard for me to understand, right, because I'm a planner.
Speaker A:I, I don't know if any of you guys like to know what's going to happen tomorrow, in the next week, in five years and 10 years.
Speaker A:I did, believe it or not, when we moved to Delaware, prior actually to moving to Delaware.
Speaker A:I had a five year plan and I had a ten year plan and I had written those out and I have those on file.
Speaker A:And I go back to it sometimes to get a good laugh because I think about what I have planned and I'm like, this is not what I have planned.
Speaker A:This is not what I was expecting.
Speaker A:Now there are certain things that do cover, you know, cover over.
Speaker A:But the truth is, is that we all have a desire to do something for the Lord, but sometimes it's not God's plan that we do it in the way that we want it to be done.
Speaker A:And so Paul is going to have a chance there in Ephesus.
Speaker A:It wasn't the time before, but now it's God's time and we're going to see that there is more work to be done.
Speaker A:And so he leaves Aquila and Priscilla to stay in Ephesus.
Speaker A:And we're going to see that there's something good happening in Ephesus.
Speaker A:And Paul, Paul wanted to continue that with his trusted friends.
Speaker A:He wanted to leave that work in Ephesus with people that he trusted.
Speaker A:And I think it's important to understand that we need the right people in the right areas.
Speaker A:There are certain people that are cut out for specific jobs within the church and we need to utilize them for that specific reason.
Speaker A:And, and he knew that Aquila and Priscilla would be great there and maybe not specifically knowing exactly how that would all play out, but we know that this was God's plan for them to stay and so he leaves and we're gonna see that he heads.
Speaker A:He continues on.
Speaker A:So let's look at verse 22.
Speaker A:And when he had landed at Caesarea and gotten up and saluted the church, he went down to Antioch.
Speaker A:So he lands in Caesarea.
Speaker A:And then he goes up, he greets the church and.
Speaker A:And when it says that Paul had gone up and greeted the church, it means that he went up to, to Jerusalem.
Speaker A:If you've never been to Jerusalem, you won't understand this, but I can explain it to you.
Speaker A:Jerusalem is up in elevation.
Speaker A:So sometimes people go, well, there's a contradiction, right?
Speaker A:They're going up, but Jerusalem's down.
Speaker A:Well, it means that they're going up in elevation to Jerusalem, to the church there.
Speaker A:So if you're going to Israel, one day you will know that when you're going into Jerusalem, it's.
Speaker A:It's up, it's an elevation, it's on the mountain.
Speaker A:And so it's important to notice that.
Speaker A:So when it says that he went up and greeted the church, it means that he went up to Jerusalem to fulfill his Nazarite vow in the temple to greet the church, to, to try to give them some type of encouragement.
Speaker A:He says there saluted the church, but then he went down to Antioch.
Speaker A:Now why is it important that he leaves Jerusalem and goes to Antioch?
Speaker A:Well, Paul's returning to his home church in Syrian Antioch.
Speaker A:That's.
Speaker A:That's his home church, Syrian Antioch.
Speaker A:That's where he was launched from.
Speaker A:And I think that it's important that he goes back there.
Speaker A:And so they, they must have been pleased to have Paul returned to tell them what's been going on here for the past three years.
Speaker A:And so he goes to Jerusalem, and then he goes down to Antioch and goes back to his home church.
Speaker A:And then we see verse 23.
Speaker A:And after he had spent some time there, I love how that's just skims over.
Speaker A:Spent some time there.
Speaker A:Who knows how long it was.
Speaker A:Probably, if you do the math, I'm sure scholars could go and get a basic understanding of how long that was.
Speaker A:But he departed and went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
Speaker A:And so he is now going to go out into his third missionary journey.
Speaker A:And we see that he has a goal in this missionary journey, not necessarily to start new churches.
Speaker A:There is a time and a place for that.
Speaker A:There's been a time and a place to find new converts.
Speaker A:But in this case, his goal was to go back through the churches that he had already seen Planted and strengthen the disciples.
Speaker A:Strengthening the disciples.
Speaker A:And so I think that this is important to see because Paul's passion was not just getting people.
Speaker A:It was not just con.
Speaker A:Seeing converts.
Speaker A:I mean, that, that is important.
Speaker A:There, There are people that come through our churches that are gifted in evangelism and, and their mission is to see souls come to Christ only and, and move on.
Speaker A:And that is an important ministry.
Speaker A:There are people that are gifted in that ministry.
Speaker A:And I believe Paul was a great evangelist.
Speaker A:But we see that Paul had a heart for discipleship, strengthening the disciples.
Speaker A:And so Paul's passion was not just making converts, but he had a passion for building disciples.
Speaker A:And it's evident through his ministry.
Speaker A:And this work was important to Paul.
Speaker A:And that's why he's going to dedicate this trip to strengthening the disciples.
Speaker A:Now, what does it mean to strengthen a disciple?
Speaker A:What is a disciple?
Speaker A:I guess we should answer that first.
Speaker A:A disciple is a committed follower of Christ.
Speaker A:That word disciple in and of itself literally means learner.
Speaker A:So I'm going to learn of somebody.
Speaker A:Now we know that Paul was adamantly against people being disciples of other preachers.
Speaker A:We know that Paul says, don't be of me, don't be of Peter, don't be of Apollos, be of Christ.
Speaker A:And so we see that there are individuals here that they convert.
Speaker A:They, they, they're transformed, they're saved.
Speaker A:I need that discipleship.
Speaker A:You need that discipleship.
Speaker A:Basically every Christian in this world needs that edification, that building up, that exhortation.
Speaker A:And so Paul says, hey, I need to go strengthen these disciples.
Speaker A:And so if Paul were to visit our congregation here, I don't think Paul would say, hey, how many ministries do you have?
Speaker A:I don't think Paul would come and say, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:How many outreach opportunities are you having this year?
Speaker A:How many.
Speaker A:How much money do you have in your bank account?
Speaker A:How much property do you have?
Speaker A:I don't think those are the questions that Paul would ask.
Speaker A:If you look at his, his.
Speaker A:His ministry that he would ask is, how many disciples do you have?
Speaker A:How many.
Speaker A:How.
Speaker A:How many people are teaching now?
Speaker A:How many people are on the meat and off of the milk?
Speaker A:How many people are serving?
Speaker A:How many people are now the ones that are.
Speaker A:Ones that are being the doers?
Speaker A:What are you doing to strengthen your walk with Jesus?
Speaker A:Your walk with Jesus Christ?
Speaker A:He would remind us all that it isn't.
Speaker A:That it isn't enough beginning.
Speaker A:That's good to have a strong beginning, but we need to.
Speaker A:But we need to be able to in our grace, grow in our knowledge of Christ, and that's that process of strengthening.
Speaker A:So let's.
Speaker A:Let's pause looking at Paul and let's look at us, okay?
Speaker A:What can we learn from this?
Speaker A:What we can learn from this is that, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:This is a wonderful church.
Speaker A:I'm thankful for this church.
Speaker A:I'm thankful for the folks that comprise this church.
Speaker A:But we cannot say that we have arrived.
Speaker A:We all must be willing to be strengthened in the truth.
Speaker A:We all must be willing to either be the ones who are exhorting.
Speaker A:Now, again, we have to remember what that word exhort means.
Speaker A:I've said this many times recently, and, and sometimes a word that we don't use frequently can sometimes just become noise.
Speaker A:Exhortation means coming alongside of somebody and challenging them in the truth.
Speaker A:Okay, so what does that look like practically?
Speaker A:Hey, I'm gonna read through a book of the Bible.
Speaker A:How about you read through that with me and let's talk about it.
Speaker A:Let's meet once a week and just go over the reading.
Speaker A:That's exhortation.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I could do this.
Speaker A:I could say, micah, come here.
Speaker A:Come here, son.
Speaker A:Micah, read your Bible, okay?
Speaker A:Read your Bible.
Speaker A:I want you to read all of the book of John, okay?
Speaker A:And you come back and he could go read the book of John and might get something from it.
Speaker A:Or I can say, hey, Micah, let's read through the book together.
Speaker A:Okay, so.
Speaker A:So let's open it up.
Speaker A:And I want you to read verse one through five.
Speaker A:And I want you to see what kind of question, what kind of questions do you have in these five verses?
Speaker A:And he might say, well, I don't know what is.
Speaker A:When it says, in the beginning was the word, what's this talking about?
Speaker A:I might need to sit with him for.
Speaker A:For two weeks.
Speaker A:And what that word, word means, right?
Speaker A:And explain to him that's talking about Jesus.
Speaker A:And it's that exhortation process.
Speaker A:And so it's coming alongside.
Speaker A:If I sit here behind him and say, go, go, go, go, or if I come alongside of him and say, son, here's what we need to do.
Speaker A:We need to go do that.
Speaker A:And so that's the picture of exhortation.
Speaker A:It's coming alongside of someone and saying, I'm willing to go through this with you so that you can be strengthened.
Speaker A:And that's what Paul is doing.
Speaker A:This in this case, he reminds us all that we all need strengthening.
Speaker A:And so I think that's a lesson for us to learn within our churches today, is not just to assume that when someone gets up here and gets baptized, or when someone gets up here and gives a testimony, or when someone actually has this great spiritual success in their life that we just assume that everything's okay in their life.
Speaker A:Just because someone gets up and teaches, just because someone gets up and proclaims that everything's good in their life, that doesn't mean that that's how it's always going to be.
Speaker A:And, and, and the truth is, is that what we have to do is we have to stay on track with the goal.
Speaker A:We have to stay on track with the purpose.
Speaker A:And that's what Paul did there when he went to strengthen those disciples.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So now we're going to shift gears.
Speaker A:Okay, so Paul's on his third missionary tour, and he's strengthening.
Speaker A:He's strengthening the disciples.
Speaker A:So then verse 24.
Speaker A:And a certain Jew named Apollos.
Speaker A:And so it's kind of like in a movie when you have the focus on one person and then all of a sudden it shifts to a new character.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Now it's kind of shifting our focus to this new guy named Apollos.
Speaker A:And so we're going to see a little bit of a biography of Apollos, okay?
Speaker A:We're going to see a little bit of a background on who he is and what he's all about.
Speaker A:And so it says a certain Jew named Apollos.
Speaker A:So we know one thing about Apollos.
Speaker A:He's a Jew, okay?
Speaker A:Born at Alexandria.
Speaker A:So we see where he's from.
Speaker A:So he's a Jew from Alexandria.
Speaker A:And we see that he's an eloquent man.
Speaker A:Eloquent man.
Speaker A:Very interesting here.
Speaker A:And then it says mighty in the Scriptures, meaning he knows the Scriptures.
Speaker A:He's strong in the Scriptures.
Speaker A:He came to Ephesus.
Speaker A:Now we see that possibly God led him to Ephesus, or he just went to Ephesus, but he's there at Ephesus.
Speaker A:Remember where Ephesus is?
Speaker A:Remember who's there?
Speaker A:Quilla and Priscilla and a bunch of other Christians.
Speaker A:Okay, so he's there.
Speaker A:Verse 25.
Speaker A:This man was instructed in the way of the Lord.
Speaker A:So he's been taught in the ways of God and being fervent in the Spirit.
Speaker A:I love that phrase, fervent in the Spirit.
Speaker A:We see that same phrase used in Romans, chapter 12.
Speaker A:Fervent in the spirit means literally in the Greek, it means boiling.
Speaker A:His spirit was boiling.
Speaker A:Or you could say it this way, he was on fire for God.
Speaker A:So.
Speaker A:So Apollos was taught in the word.
Speaker A:He was eloquent.
Speaker A:So that means he was taught how to speak publicly opposite of Paul.
Speaker A:Remember, Paul didn't speak well.
Speaker A:Apollo spoke well.
Speaker A:And again, it doesn't mean that anyone who speaks eloquently is wrong.
Speaker A:It just means that that's not the only category of someone who's speaking the truth.
Speaker A:But anyway, Apollo speaks well.
Speaker A:And then it says he was fervent in the spirit.
Speaker A:He spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord.
Speaker A:So he diligently preached and taught the things of God.
Speaker A:But then we see there's an interesting caveat here.
Speaker A:Knowing only the baptism of John.
Speaker A:So we know that Apollos's education was limited in the concept that he knew about what John was preaching.
Speaker A:If you remember what he's talking about.
Speaker A:John the Baptist, Remember what John the Baptist was preaching.
Speaker A:Repent and believe because the Messiah is at hand.
Speaker A:And even John the Baptist said, look, behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world.
Speaker A:And so what we know is that Apollos would have known to repent because the Messiah was coming.
Speaker A:We know that Apollos believed that Jesus was Messiah.
Speaker A:But some scholars believe that maybe Apollos had a limited understanding of the complete work of Jesus Christ, or at least understanding every nuance of that, that maybe Paul understood by his direct learning from.
Speaker A:From the Lord.
Speaker A:So it says, knowing only the baptism of John, and he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.
Speaker A:So he's doing the right thing.
Speaker A:He's proclaiming the truth.
Speaker A:Whom, when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, so they hear his preaching.
Speaker A:Remember, they're in Ephesus, they've been taught by Paul.
Speaker A:They actually ministered to Paul.
Speaker A:And so they're Paul's partners.
Speaker A:They know how Paul would minister.
Speaker A:They know the truth.
Speaker A:When they heard, they took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly, more, more completely.
Speaker A:So what do we have going on here?
Speaker A:Because this could be kind of confusing.
Speaker A:I thought Apollos was doing the right thing.
Speaker A:And now Aquila and Priscilla are going to come alongside of him.
Speaker A:It's what we were talking about in the concept of discipleship.
Speaker A:And so let's go back.
Speaker A:Apollos was eloquent.
Speaker A:Apollos knew the scriptures.
Speaker A:He was instructed in the ways of God.
Speaker A:He was fervent in the spirit.
Speaker A:He was.
Speaker A:He was bubbling over with enthusiasm.
Speaker A:And Apollos spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord.
Speaker A:Everything that he knew, he brought forth accurately.
Speaker A:And so it seems like Apollos was a missionary who wanted to come to Ephesus to preach the truth of God.
Speaker A:But we know that he only understood the baptism of John.
Speaker A:So So we again see the reputation of John goes farther than maybe we would even expect.
Speaker A:It went farther than just the Jews.
Speaker A:It went as far as Alexandria because that's where Apollos is from.
Speaker A:And so because Apollos knew of the work of John the Baptist, it's likely that he preached the Messiah, that of Jesus.
Speaker A:He.
Speaker A:He preached that Jesus had come.
Speaker A:He preached that they must repent, they must respond to Jesus.
Speaker A:But maybe he wasn't preaching the full work of the person of Jesus Christ properly.
Speaker A:And so what could have happened here?
Speaker A:Well, he was speaking boldly in the synagogue.
Speaker A:And so Apollos didn't know everything, but he.
Speaker A:He knew enough to teach accurately and with bold passion.
Speaker A:He preached in the synagogue.
Speaker A:And Aquila and Priscilla hear him now.
Speaker A:What could Aquila and Priscilla do?
Speaker A:They could have done many things.
Speaker A:They could have condemned Apollos and called him a false teacher.
Speaker A:They could have gotten everyone there in Ephesus.
Speaker A:Don't listen to Apollos.
Speaker A:Apollos is a false teacher.
Speaker A:He's not preaching completely the message.
Speaker A:No.
Speaker A:What do they do?
Speaker A:They do the right thing by pulling him aside and discipling him, exhorting him, expounding unto him the way of God more perfectly.
Speaker A:We need more Aquas and Priscillas when it comes to people in the church.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because we see Apollos having passion for God.
Speaker A:We see someone on fire for God.
Speaker A:We see him wanting to preach the Gospel, preaching everything that he knows about the truth.
Speaker A:But he might have been off just in one area.
Speaker A:What happens here is that they take him aside and they say, hey, we want to teach you more completely the truths of God.
Speaker A:This is what we need to do with people in our church that are excited for the Lord.
Speaker A:Don't squash their excitement for God.
Speaker A:I've been there.
Speaker A:I've been the one that hears someone teaching and going, oh man, they're getting in a bad place.
Speaker A:They never teach again in our church.
Speaker A:But the truth is that, hey, if they have a passion to teach, they have a desire to honor God, we take them and we say, hey, look, here's some things that you might need to reconsider when it comes to what you're teaching.
Speaker A:Here's what the scriptures say, here's what we understand it to be.
Speaker A:And we disciple people that are excited for the Lord.
Speaker A:That's exactly what we see here.
Speaker A:And so they come alongside of him and they do something valuable for the kingdom.
Speaker A:They help someone who had passion for God and.
Speaker A:And some power in serving him.
Speaker A:But maybe limited knowledge come to a place of more effective ministry.
Speaker A:By teaching him and encouraging him and discipling him in the truth.
Speaker A:And so we see that Aquila and Priscilla had a heart for teaching and discipleship, just as Paul did.
Speaker A:And Apollos needed that discipleship to be able to do the things that God had wanted him to do.
Speaker A:Um, so look at verse number 27.
Speaker A:We'll, we'll finish these two verses and then we'll kind of conclude it.
Speaker A:Here it says in verse 27, and when he was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him.
Speaker A:Meaning he, he got, he has some credibility.
Speaker A:He, he got the backing of the brethren when, when he was come, helped them much with much which had believed through grace.
Speaker A:For he mightily convinced the Jews and that publicly showing by the Scriptures that Jesus was Christ.
Speaker A:And, and, and so Aquila and Priscilla helped him.
Speaker A:Um, so with the instruction from Aquila and Priscilla and the letters of reference from the church in Ephesus, Apollos served in the greater area, especially among the Jews.
Speaker A:And so from his teaching from Aquila and Priscilla, from the power of God already on his life, from the passion of God in his life, and from the letter of recommendation from Ephesus, he went out and reached people in the region of Achaia, that's the broader region there.
Speaker A:And so he was effective because Priscilla and Aquila were willing to invest into his life.
Speaker A:Who knows what would have happened with Apollos later on if he didn't get that help there at the early start of his ministry.
Speaker A:And so when Apollos went into that region, the broader region, it probably means that he went to the city of Corinth.
Speaker A:The reason why we know that is Paul wrote in First Corinthians about the remarkable ministry that was there.
Speaker A:And we even know that Apollos is mentioned in First Corinthians.
Speaker A:Um, and actually, believe it or not, the Corinthians, Paul condemned the Corinthians for keeping their eyes on Apollos.
Speaker A:If you go to First Corinthians, chapter one, I think this is important to tie together not that, not I don't believe that Apollos was a false teacher.
Speaker A:I think that the people in Corinth had their eyes on a good preacher.
Speaker A:And that can happen.
Speaker A:Like someone could get up and preach the truth, and someone can get up and present the Gospel clearly and properly, and people can put their eyes on a person instead of the message.
Speaker A:And so in First Corinthians chapter 1, verse 12, it says, now this I say that every one of you saith I am a Paul, and I have Apollos, and I have Cephas.
Speaker A:And he goes, and I of Christ.
Speaker A:And so I think it's important to see that.
Speaker A:That he goes on to say, is Christ divided?
Speaker A:Was Paul crucified for you, or were ye baptized in the name of Paul?
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I thank God that I baptized none of you but Crispus and Gaius.
Speaker A:And so he goes on to say something of.
Speaker A:Of this nature.
Speaker A:Don't keep your eyes on me.
Speaker A:Don't keep your eyes on Apollos.
Speaker A:Don't keep your eyes on anybody except for Christ.
Speaker A:Christ is the one that died for you.
Speaker A:And so if you go back to that understanding of who Apollos is, Apollos was not a false teacher, but people were willing and, and ready to keep their eyes on him instead of the message of the gospel, probably because of his eloquent speech, probably because of his powerful nature of bringing forth the gospel.
Speaker A:So how can we conclude here?
Speaker A:Well, we conclude with the fact that Paul regarded Apollos as a trusted colleague.
Speaker A:First Corinthians, chapter three says, you know, the whole passage there where he's talking, who then is of Paul and who is of Apollos but ministers by whom ye believed?
Speaker A:He says, hey, Apollos is a minister just like me.
Speaker A:Even as the Lord gave to every man I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
Speaker A:And so he recognizes that Paul was the one that watered, right?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:What?
Speaker A:Paul planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase.
Speaker A:You know, we're.
Speaker A:We're living in a world today that you might be the one who is the planter.
Speaker A:You might be the first person that talks to someone about the gospel.
Speaker A:That's sometimes a hard position because you get immature Christians, you get people that maybe even are rejecting.
Speaker A:But the idea is some of us need to plant the seed.
Speaker A:Some of us need to be that Paul the groundbreaker.
Speaker A:Some of us need to be the Apollo.
Speaker A:Some of us need to be the one who's going to come back and water that.
Speaker A:We don't know that maybe someone that you come and witness to or serve in your ministry, hey, maybe someone 20 years ago witnessed to them and served them.
Speaker A:And now you're watering what has already been planted.
Speaker A:But we know that ultimately it's God who gives the increase.
Speaker A:And what we have to do is we have to be willing What.
Speaker A:What we want.
Speaker A:What.
Speaker A:Let me, let me speak for me.
Speaker A:What I want.
Speaker A:I want to be the one that gets the increase, right?
Speaker A:I want to be the one that sees people getting saved.
Speaker A:I want to be the one that Sees people sent out.
Speaker A:I want to be the one that gets the increase.
Speaker A:But what happens is, is that the.
Speaker A:The.
Speaker A:What I would say is the problem is that many of us, including myself, don't want to go through that difficulty of being the planter in the water, because sometimes those aren't the immediate results.
Speaker A:But.
Speaker A:But we have to do that.
Speaker A:There.
Speaker A:There were people that.
Speaker A:That planted the seed here at Middletown Baptist Church decades and decades ago, thankful for that.
Speaker A:I'm thankful the folks that came along and watered that, and we're getting the increase from much of that.
Speaker A:But what I would also say is that think about people.
Speaker A:If God tarries, think about people in another 50 years, are we willing to plant the seed now for the things that are to come 25 years, are we willing to water the seed that was planted 20 years ago for the people that are coming 20 years from now?
Speaker A:Look at our children.
Speaker A:Are we willing to water that?
Speaker A:Are we willing to be willing to go into that and say, you know what?
Speaker A:I don't need to see the increase.
Speaker A:And so ultimately, God gives that increase.
Speaker A:And so we conclude here with Apollos being a Jewish man.
Speaker A:He's described as eloquent, fervent in the spirit.
Speaker A:He, as we see at the end of verse 28, he showed the Jews the scriptures.
Speaker A:He convinced the Jews.
Speaker A:And so because of these things, you know, I.
Speaker A:I think that God mightily used Apollos for a specific purpose, and that was to reach the Jews there in that region.
Speaker A:God gifted Apollos with many things, but without Paul and without Aquila and Priscilla, Apollos would not be who we see at the end of verse 28.
Speaker A:There must be those that are willing to disciple.
Speaker A:Think about a young.
Speaker A:Let's use.
Speaker A:Let's use a real world example here.
Speaker A:Let's think about like a young man in the youth.
Speaker A:All right, so Pastor John has a young man come up to him and say, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:I want to be a preacher.
Speaker A:I want to.
Speaker A:I want to learn how to preach.
Speaker A:And, and I'm not throwing Pastor John on the bus.
Speaker A:I'll put me as a youth pastor.
Speaker A:I used to be a youth pastor.
Speaker A:Let me put me in the.
Speaker A:In there.
Speaker A:Someone comes up to me and says, I want to be a pastor.
Speaker A:And I say, okay, well, go ahead.
Speaker A:You can preach next Wednesday night.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:So he gets up there and he's doesn't know what he's talking about.
Speaker A:He might get.
Speaker A:Give a false teaching accidentally because he's trying to read the Bible and he messes up and, and he has A passion for it.
Speaker A:He gets up there and he, what did they say in Bible school?
Speaker A:He couldn't preach himself out of a wet paper bag.
Speaker A:Like, he's just trying to do it.
Speaker A:He's trying to get himself out of it.
Speaker A:And the idea would be this.
Speaker A:We don't go along and say, well, maybe, maybe preaching isn't for you, buddy.
Speaker A:You know, move on.
Speaker A:No, what we do is we say, okay, hey, that was amazing that you desired to do that.
Speaker A:So how can we grow?
Speaker A:Let me, let me show you a few things here.
Speaker A:And so the idea would be, and that's in the case of preaching, but let's look at the case of everything in the ministry.
Speaker A:Serving, teaching, sacrificing, whatever it might be giving.
Speaker A:We need to come alongside of people and don't just write them off when they don't get it right on the first end of things.
Speaker A:Be in Aquila and Priscilla and say, hey, you've got passion for God.
Speaker A:Let's try to use that passion in the right direction.
Speaker A:And that's an exciting thing that we can do within our church.
Speaker A:That's the authentic church.
Speaker A:We don't just pray.
Speaker A:Here's, here's what some preachers will pray.
Speaker A:And this is a prayer that I'm confessing.
Speaker A:I've prayed in the past.
Speaker A:Lord, just send us a bunch of really mature Christians that, that have had a bunch and we get that.
Speaker A:I mean, I praise God for that.
Speaker A:I'm praising God for people that have come our way, that have served in other ministries and they're here now.
Speaker A:That's awesome and that's great and we want that.
Speaker A:But if we only want those type of people, where is that discipleship process?
Speaker A:We should also be praying, Lord, send us people that are, that are broken.
Speaker A:Send us, Send us people that need the gospel.
Speaker A:Send us people that are going to mess up because we can come alongside of them and serve with them and teach them.
Speaker A:That's the most exciting thing.
Speaker A:It's the most exciting.
Speaker A:I love, I love serving with my family.
Speaker A:I love it.
Speaker A:I enjoy it so much because I love to see my children get excited for serving God.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:We don't want our children ever to think that going to church is like, ah, Dad's work.
Speaker A:We gotta go up to church again, dad.
Speaker A:No, it's like, hey, we get to go because we get excited about serving.
Speaker A:I'll never forget Micah was about three years old and Nora was, was a newborn in a stroller.
Speaker A:And my dad was in town and I said, hey, we're gonna go out and we're just gonna knock on doors and we're gonna try to reach people for the gospel.
Speaker A:So I get my family in the car.
Speaker A:I didn't know anything about Middletown really.
Speaker A:And we drove to an area that just gonna be honest, not a lot of people go there unless you have a reason to go there.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:And we drove and we parked our car and my dad's like, son, are you sure you want to take your family down this road?
Speaker A:I was like, yeah, why not?
Speaker A:Let's do it.
Speaker A:So we got there and I just remember walking down that road and knocking on doors and seeing my kids excited about that.
Speaker A:And as they've grown, I've just been like, wow, you know what?
Speaker A:Sometimes we do things out of ignorance and sometimes we do things out of God's call for our life, but how about we take more people that are, hey, you know what?
Speaker A:You, you might go serve with someone that might not know what they're doing and they might actually come across as, hey, they.
Speaker A:It's not someone that I might want to hang out with on a normal basis.
Speaker A:But you know what you can do?
Speaker A:You can influence their lives for the cause of the truth of the gospel.
Speaker A:Don't just write somebody off.
Speaker A:Apollos could have been written off here.
Speaker A:We know that wasn't God's will, okay?
Speaker A:And we can speak to the sovereignty of God on that.
Speaker A:But God used Aquilla and Priscilla to influence Apollos's great ministry.
Speaker A:And, and, and who knows, I'm going to get on a rabbit trail here, but who knows who the next preacher is that comes through these doors?
Speaker A:You don't know what, what if in 10 years one of these people that come into our church and get saved are going to get called to be a missionary, to go across the world to be on the mission field and you got the opportunity to teach them in a Sunday school class.
Speaker A:You had an opportunity to do a Bible study with them.
Speaker A:Who knows, maybe, maybe the future missionary is sitting right here.
Speaker A:We don't know.
Speaker A:And who knows what God has in our case?
Speaker A:And it doesn't have to be that.
Speaker A:It.
Speaker A:You know, I used to grow up thinking, well, the only people that are the ministry heroes are the people that are in full time Christian service.
Speaker A:I used to hear that all the time in my school.
Speaker A:I want to be in full time Christian service.
Speaker A:That meant basically vocational ministry.
Speaker A:That's a job that you're doing for the Lord.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:But I have come to realize that.
Speaker A:I don't like that phrase, full time Christian service.
Speaker A:Every believer should be in full time Christian service.
Speaker A:Okay?
Speaker A:Whether you're vocational or not, whether it's your job or not, we're all in full time Christian service.
Speaker A:And so the idea for me is I don't care if you're a pastor, I don't care if you're working on a farm, I don't care if you're working in wherever.
Speaker A:And I want to use any examples of anyone here, but just wherever you're working, you're in full time Christian service.
Speaker A:That's your mission field, that's your discipleship model.
Speaker A:You have a Sunday school class.
Speaker A:That's your mission field, that's your discipleship model.
Speaker A:And so I just think about that when it comes to Apollos, Aquila and Priscilla.
Speaker A:So we need some Aquilas and Priscillas, we need some Apollosis, we need some Pauls.
Speaker A:But ultimately we know that God will give the increase.
Speaker A:All right, so we're gonna come back next week and we're gonna look at chapter number 19.
Speaker A:Very interesting chapter.
Speaker A:Very, very interesting.
Speaker A:Chapter one that can be hotly contested when it comes to the indwelling of the Spirit.
Speaker A:I'm within the church and we'll talk about it.
Speaker A:It's a difficult passage, if I was honest with you, which I will be tonight.
Speaker A:These are the types of passages of scripture that I say, oh, we're on Acts, chapter 20 next week.
Speaker A:Because there I don't have a great answer for some of the things that are gonna be coming up in this next passage, other than the fact that we're working under a different framework in the book of Acts.
Speaker A:Okay.
Speaker A:I hope you understand that we, we don't look at the church in Acts and say everything that happens in the church at Acts is what happens in our church today.
Speaker A:Why?
Speaker A:Because if you remember, the.
Speaker A:The complete canon of scripture is not completed yet when we're reading the book of Acts.
Speaker A:Right?
Speaker A:So the book of first John, second John, third John isn't written.
Speaker A:Matthew, Mark, Luke, John are not written.
Speaker A:They're working off of the framework of the Old Testament in the message of the Gospel through the apostles and through divine revelation.
Speaker A:Okay, so we're going to see some things happening in the book of Acts that are going to be unique to the book of Acts.
Speaker A:Not to say that God isn't working miracles today.
Speaker A:Not to say that God isn't miraculous today.
Speaker A:But what I'm saying is that there are certain things to cause validation to what the apostles were preaching.
Speaker A:I don't want to get ahead of myself, but I'm trying to whet your appetite for next week.
Speaker A:So come on back next week and we'll talk about the baptism of John's disciples.
Speaker A:All right, well, I'm going to go ahead and pray.
Speaker A:I have a few announcements for you and then we will be dismissed.
Speaker A:Lord, I thank you for this time that you've given us.
Speaker A:I thank you for the opportunity to study your word.
Speaker A:I thank you for the opportunity to see how your powerful direction works in the church and in our lives.
Speaker A:I pray that we can be those folks that are dedicated to discipleship.
Speaker A:Lord, I pray that we can be those folks that are interested in what it means to be a disciple and being strengthened in our own walk with you.
Speaker A:Lord, I thank you for your love and for your grace.
Speaker A:I thank you for those folks that are willing to sacrifice for for me in my life, to teach me and to model before me what it means to serve you.
Speaker A:And Lord, I thank you for those folks that are beneficiaries of that today.
Speaker A:Lord, I thank you for your overwhelming presence in our walk with you.
Speaker A:We know that if we seek you, we will find you.
Speaker A:And Lord, I pray that you can continue to help us as we navigate this broken world.
Speaker A:I pray that we can be busy about the time at hand and redeeming the time because the days are even so.
Speaker A:Lord, I pray that you bless us as we go our separate ways.
Speaker A:We thank you.
Speaker A:We love you.
Speaker A:In Jesus name, Amen.
Speaker A:Amen.
Speaker A:Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church podcast.
Speaker A:I hope that this sermon has been a blessing blessing for you.
Speaker A:If you would like to find out more information about our church or this sermon, you can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find us on Facebook or YouTube.
Speaker A:You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast, please subscribe and follow along for future podcasts and updates.
Speaker A:Thank you so much.
Speaker A:God bless.
Speaker A:Have a wonderful day.
