Sermon Tone Analysis

Good Morning Calvary Chapel Lake City!

Please turn in your Bibles to Acts 18.

We are looking at Acts 18:23 - 19:7.

Last week we finished Paul’s Second Missionary Journey which ended in Acts 18:22.

The following verse… V23… where we pick up today starts Paul’s Third Missionary Journey.

I have a slide outlining Paul’s three Missionary Journeys…

Some consider his voyage to Rome as a prisoner a 4th missionary journey since Paul was always on mission.

For you note takers, we’ll leave this slide up for a minute as we recap last week.

Paul was in Corinth in the Roman region of Achaia (today Southern Greece)… where he went to preach Christ Crucified.

There he met the Jewish couple Aquila and Priscilla and they became friends and colleagues with Paul in the tentmaking trade.

Once Silas and Timothy joined Paul in Corinth, it seems Paul was able to devote himself to full-time ministry because Silas brought financial aid from Philippi.

It’s always a blessing when Christians support other Christians called to missions work or full-time ministry.

And, that’s what Philippi did for Paul.

After some time, non-believing Jews in Corinth opposed and blasphemed the message of the Cross.

So, Paul shook his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your own heads, I am clean.

From now on I will go the the Gentiles.”

Paul’s job as a watchman was done.

He let them know the truth, and they rejected it.

Which was a reminder to us that we hold a responsibility to tell people about Jesus.

What they do with the Gospel… accepting or rejecting… is on them.

Prayerfully they accept.

After Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, and many Corinthians believed… the Lord appeared to Paul in a vision… to assuring Paul NOT to be afraid, and NOT to keep silent… “for I am with you.”

A message that God has reiterated to His people since the OT… and His presence in our lives has NEVER ceased… and NEVER will.

And even as Paul was brought before the Roman Governor… charged with teaching an illegal religion… God’s words were true… the case was dismissed… nothing to fear.

After 18 months at Corinth, Paul left briefly went to Ephesus… and they longed for him to stay longer, but Paul’s eyes were set on Jerusalem to keep the coming feast… perhaps Passover.

And, after Jerusalem, Paul returned to Antioch in Syria ending his Second Missionary Journey in Acts 18:22.

Paul’s third missions trip starts out right… with receiving the Baptism with the Holy Spirit… and there’s no better way to begin a missions trip then with the power to be a witness through the Holy Spirit.

Our title for today… “Paul’s Third Missionary Journey Begins.”

Let’s Pray!

Acts 18:23 “After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.”

Let’s pull up a map of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey.

Paul had spent some time in Antioch in Syria… which became a headquarters for Christianity… along with Jerusalem.

No doubt Paul… upon returning to Antioch spent time there sharing the many testimonies from the 2nd Missionary Journey.

When my family returned on furlough from the Philippines… we visited various churches and our sending church… and they wanted to hear about the work God was doing in the Philippines.

And, sometimes they would ask, “Did you eat the Stinky Fruit?” Durian.

And, yes I did… Kyla and I loved it in fact.

Sometimes after church we would have 15 or more people in our SUV… no joke… and I’d stop by the market and sneak a Durian in the back…which Amanda noticed in seconds… she REALLY loved it when I did that as expressed by her saying, “Oh Marc!”

Well, after connecting with the saints at Antioch (A on the map)… Paul travelled north and would pass by his hometown of Tarsus in Cilicia.

We know he passed through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia on his was to Ephesus.

Paul would need to eat and rest, so he naturally would stop by cities… likely he would return to the same cities in Galatia where he planted churches on his first and second missions trip.

Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Pisidian Antioch… not just because this is logical, but also because at the end of V23 we read the focus of the missionary journey… “… strengthening all the disciples.”

On this Third Missionary Journey, Paul was not focused on planting new churches… he was focused on strengthening all the disciples.

When Jesus gave the Great Commission, in Matt 28:19-20, He said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

“Make disciples” is the imperative… the command… and the three participles “Go, baptize, and teach” describe HOW we make disciples.

This is exactly what Paul was doing… this was a Missions Trip focused on Discipleship… which Paul did by going to them… and teaching them about the Baptism with the Holy Spirit… which we will see shortly.

Making strong disciples has sadly taking a back seat in many churches, as many churches deny the power of the Holy Spirit.

The baptism in the Great Commission is not just about water… it’s about power to be witnesses.

It’s about the Holy Spirit.

I don’t know how you make strong disciples without the Promise of the Father…

We will see this as we enter Acts 19… Paul obviously took this seriously, because his first order of business in Ephesus is Baptizing them with the Holy Spirit.

But, first… a little parenthetical on Apollos…

Acts 18:24-28 “Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.

26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue.

When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.

27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.”

Enter Apollos.

What do we know about this man?

First, he is a Jew, so he is permitted to speak in synagogue, as we see in V26.

His name is of Gk. origin (after the Gk.

diety Apollo) and the name means “destroyer.”

He is from Alexandria, which helps understand why he was eloquent and had a good grasp on scripture.

Alexandria was founded in 332 B.C. by Alexander the Great, and was one of the greatest cities of the Mediterranean world during this time.

Home to the Lighthouse of Alexandria… one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World… as it was one of the tallest manmade structures in the world with a height of approx.

330’.

Alexandria was a center for Greek scholarship, science, and free thinking… it formerly had one of the largest libraries in the world.

The Library of Alexandria held hundreds of thousands of scrolls… estimates range from 200,000 to 700,000 scrolls.

In 48 B.C. the Library was destroyed accidentally by fire during Julius Caesar’s civil war.

Popular opinion blames the Romans… though some suspect either Christians or Muslims to be the culprit.

While the Library was gone during Apollos days in Alexandria… a research institute remained.

So, with this quick glimpse into Alexandria, hopefully you get a better picture where Apollos came from… a major scholarly city that no doubt influenced Apollos to be a serious scholar in the scriptures.

And, what a description of Apollos “...an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures...”

If you were to be known for something… it’s not too bad a thing to have a reputation for being well-versed in scripture and having the skill to articulate God’s word clearly to others.

Not that is was a good thing, but it’s not surprising that later in 1 Cor Paul mentions there were those in Corinth would would say, “I am of Apollos.”

He had a following… as did Peter, Paul… which Paul rebuked for following any man over Christ is carnal.

I hope you’re not here for me.

Don’t be.

Fortunately, Apollos encountered Aquila and Priscilla before he went to Corinth because they discipled him to the full picture of Messiah.

And, you get the sense of his strength and what Apollos was lacking as you look at V25.

Apollos “had been instructed in the way of the Lord...”

By whom we don’t know, but it’s always a strength to have someone in your life that will serve as a guide.

We read he was “fervent in spirit.”

Fervent lit.

means “to be hot, to boil.”

He was passionate or enthusiastic about the things of God and telling others what he knew.

Another strength.

We should all be fervent in spirit regarding God’s word and telling others.

Apollos also “spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord...”

Certainly a strength.

This is something that weighs on me each week and why I study God’s word before I teach God’s word.

In 2 Tim 2:15, Paul instructed Timothy, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

It’s no small thing to handle the word of God… in fact James warns in James 3:1 “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.”

When I die, I fully expect to stand before the Lord to give an account for all of my teachings… all of the words I have said to represent God and his word.

I told a guy I went to church with that he would do a great job teaching and he said, “No way because of James 3:1.”

It’s serious.

Any of you who desire to teach… Don’t overlook that verse.

A couple verses that don’t weigh too heavy on me are Acts 20:26-27 “Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.

27 For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.”

Since we teach chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse… line upon line, precept upon precept… I know we will teach the whole counsel of God…

From Genesis to Revelation… I’m not sure we’ll finish before the Lord returns, but we’ll teach faithfully until that time.

Back to V25… everything was good about Apollos and his approach, except he was lacking or deficient in that “he only knew of the baptism of John.”

All that John the Baptist taught was all the information Apollos had.