Getting Your Grades Up In The School of Christ

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Read Acts 18:24-19:10

O LORD,

We spend time with You every day,         but week days are worldly days,   and worldly concerns reduce heavenly thoughts. We bless You therefore for the day sacred     to our souls   when we can wait upon You and be refreshed; We thank You for your commandments   by use of which we draw near to You     and You to us; We rejoice in another Lord’s Day   when we set aside the cares     of the world   and think about You without distraction; Let our rest be devout,   our conversation edifying,   our reading holy,   our hearing profitable,     that our souls may be encouraged and strengthened. We are going to the house of prayer,   give us grace and answered prayers; We are going to the house of praise,   awaken in us every grateful and cheerful emotion; We are going to the house of instruction,   show Yourself in the Word that is preached,     and glorify it in the hearts of all who hear;   may it teach those who do not know it,     awaken the careless, reclaim the wandering,     establish the weak, comfort the doubting,     make ready a people for their Lord.

Protect those who cannot come, Remember those who never come, And help us   love those we take care of,   forgive our enemies,   make peace with our neighbors,   open our hearts towards our fellow Christians.

AMEN

(40m)

If you want to get your grades up in the school of Christ, you have to…

Go to Class

Apollos was teachable.

Acts 18:24–26 NASB95

Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John; and he began to speak out 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.

Apollos was smart, but he wasn’t arrogant. We have to be careful that we don’t think we have nothing to learn from anyone else.

How many blessings have we missed from God because we rejected the person He sent to teach us?

(35m)

The Ephesian believers were teachable.

Acts 19:1–4 NASB95

It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples. He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.” Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

The Ephesian believers were saved, but they hadn’t been baptized.

Baptism is a sign/stamp that you are identified by (i.e. Cover Up Tattoos).

When a baby passes through the water of the womb it receives the name of his or her father, showing who the baby is identified with. When people follow someone in the Bible through water it is a sign that they are not identified with that person.

We received the name of our earthly father when we were born, but we also recieved the name of our first father, Adam. Since Adam was cursed by sin and we are identified with him, we are also cursed by sin.

The Israelites were baptized into Moses (1 Cor. 10:2) when they identified with him by following him through the Red Sea and became God’s people by faith.

The Ephesian believers were baptized into John when they identified with his call to Israel to repent and trust again in the Messiah that God was sending for them.

Paul now explains that the Messiah John told them was coming is Jesus, and that they needed to be baptized into Christ, the only perfect sacrifice who can forgive sins and give eternal life.

Baptism shows that you believe the teachings of the person in whose name you were baptized. What does your baptism show you believe in? (25m)

Are You Teachable?

James 3:13–4:17 NASB95

Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, unwavering, without hypocrisy. And the seed whose fruit is righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. What is the source of quarrels and conflicts among you? Is not the source your pleasures that wage war in your members? You lust and do not have; so you commit murder. You are envious and cannot obtain; so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures. You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. Or do you think that the Scripture speaks to no purpose: “He jealously desires the Spirit which He has made to dwell in us”? But He gives a greater grace. Therefore it says, “God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be miserable and mourn and weep; let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the presence of the Lord, and He will exalt you. Do not speak against one another, brethren. He who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks against the law and judges the law; but if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge of it. There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin.

You can’t be like Jesus until you look around the room and see everyone else as more important than yourself.

(20m)

If you want to get your grades up in the school of Christ, you have to…

Complete The Assignments

Apollos practiced what he learned.

Acts 18:27 NASB95

And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace,

Apollos wasn’t waiting for perfect knowledge of Jesus and the Bible before he started sharing the Gospel but the more he learned, the more he wanted to share.

The Ephesians practiced what they learned.

Acts 19:5 NASB95

When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

These believers were so committed to Jesus that they didn’t hesitate to follow Him in baptism once they learned what it was.

Will you practice what you have learned?

Philippians 4:4–9 NASB95

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentle spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things. The things you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Like Apollos and the Ephesians, we should be ready and willing to obey God whenever we learn something from His Word.

(10m)

If you want to get your grades up in the school of Christ, you have to…

Check Your Report Card

God rewarded the work of Apollos.

Acts 18:28 NASB95

for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

Apollos was already a great preacher, but with his teachable attitude and the help of other Christians he became even greater!

God rewarded the work of the Ephesians.

Acts 19:6–10 NASB95

And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men. And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

When the Ephesians obeyed the command to be baptized, God blessed them by giving them spiritual gifts and boldness. Even when persecution came, the believers still gathered together daily and continued learning. As a result of their obedience to share the Gospel and study God’s Word, ALL who lived in Asia heard about Jesus!

(5m)

Is God rewarding your work for Him?

Revelation 22:10–13 NASB95

And he said to me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near. “Let the one who does wrong, still do wrong; and the one who is filthy, still be filthy; and let the one who is righteous, still practice righteousness; and the one who is holy, still keep himself holy.” “Behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.”

CONCLUSION:

We can thank God that our salvation is based on the works of Jesus and not our works, or no one could be saved.

We will still be judged by God for rewards based on what we do for Him.

Apollos became even stronger in his gift when he humbled himself and learned from his church family.

The Ephesians brought the Gospel to all of Asia when they obeyed Jesus in baptism and told others about Him.

When the report cards are handed out on the last day of history, what grade do you want to receive from Jesus?

Moment of Silence

Pray