Your Lifetime Commitment

Jacob Winters

Acts • Sermon • Submitted 3 months ago • Presented 3 months ago

Acts 18:18–28

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Introduction

Scripture

Father God, we thank You for Who You are. A great Big God who sees each and every one of us here and cares deeply about us. We ask this day, as we are continuing in this time of worship to You, reading Your Word and hearing Your Word, that You refine us with it. Mold us, make us, shape us, rearrange us so that we can more like You, and more made into the image of Christ. Help us be a people who love You and love others so much, that we are moved into action by whatever it is You are going to show us about Yourself today and what that means in our lives. Help us do this, because all to often our selfish and sinless flesh war against our will to follow Yours. As we are doing this, and as we are coming into Your Word today, we ask that You take away any distraction that we may have, and make it go as far away as it possible can, because we want to see and we want to know You better. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

18 After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined, 21 but he said farewell and added,[e] “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus.

22 On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch.23 After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.

24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit,[f] he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside[g] and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah.

Context

Today’s text begins at the end of Paul’s long stay in the town of corinth, whom as you will remember he would later write the 1st and 2nd letters to the Corinithians in your Bible’s. In this town, Paul met and stayed with 2 Jews that were displaced from their home in Italy who were fellow tentmakers or leather workers by trade. Of course, they join Paul on this 2nd missionary journey, that was now quickly coming to a close.

In this Corinth, we know a church was formed, as last week’s text shares with us that a great many in the city believed, the church met next door to the synagogue, and the vengeful jews of the town tried to bring harm to Paul by bringing up false charges, but instead harm was brought upon them by the crowds.

At this point in Paul’s life, he had been a follower of Christ for several decades now, and it’s clear that his “all in” was always on the table for Jesus. This is a lifelong pattern, habit, a way of thinking that you are to have, follower Christ. As Paul would later write to the Corinthians, imitate me as I imitate Christ. Well, if we were to imitate Paul, our lives would be like ones that consider ourselves, our families, our everything we have 2nd and of little account when compared to the Kingdom Work that Christ has appointed for you. Just look at the text today, Even though this missionary journey of Paul and company is coming to end, it is clear to us from Paul’s example that we are to have habits, patterns, and ways of thinking as we follow Christ. What i’m saying here is that Committing to your faith requires lifelong life patterns. These patterns go much deeper than what you do on a Sunday morning and Wednesday Evening. It goes much deeper then spending time and prayer and devotionals daily, while yes those are part of it, in fact they are a expectation from Christ to His followers, from God to His children. However, that is not the whole story. So, let’s take a look at some points from today’s text that help inform us on how we align and rearrange our lives because of our commitment to Christ. So, let’s jump in and From the text, I want you to see, do, and have these actions in your Lifetime Commitment.

Message

The first point I want you to do is to: Move towards your objective (18-21)

So, the time had come after a long stay in Corinth, so Paul left and sailed to Syria with Pricilla and Aquila. At the eastern port town of Corinth of Cenchreae, Paul had his head shaved because of a vow he was under. While the text doesn’t say explicitly what this vow was for, it seems that this was a Nazarite vow, a vow someone would make when they were dedicating themselves to God in a special way. This vow would include many rules and restrictions that a person had to observe, that would end with a required offering being made at the temple in Jerusalem, so, for Paul it was time to move towards Jerusalem for the appointed time. Along the way, Paul stopped through Ephesus, where he had before visited, and spent a very brief while there, taking the time to go into the synagogue and evangelize again. The church of course, asked him to stay for longer, but he had to decline because of his timeline and vow, though he clearly wished he could have stayed. So, he left the town with the hopes of returning, but the beloved Pricilla and Aquila remained in the town.

I’m sure many of you in the room have seen the 1970 claymation hit and classic Christmas movie, Santa Clause is coming to town and maybe you even watched it with your Children or Grandchildren. You know, the one where it tells Santa’s back story as a baby to when he becomes an adult, complete with other characters like: Topper the Penguin, The Winter Warlock, Burgermister Mister Burger, and of course Misses Clause. In this cartoon is a famous song, “Put one foot in front of the other.” Where the winter warlock was sad because he was so bad, but wanted to be good. Which then leads to that fun song about making a decision (to be good), and then moving towards it (putting a foot forward), what’s next? And soon you’ll be walking out the door.

While we know a lifetime commitment is often more difficult than a whimsical children’s song makes it seem, the premise of the song is still right. You believer, have to make a decision. Will I be a lukewarm Christian? Will I not be one? Or will I be an on fire Christian who desires to Christ Honored and see God glorified? We know the answer to that question, and if you're not the last, then I urge you to repent right now……. But, are you honestly and earnestly, taking steps and making decisions that are based on seeing your Lord and Savior high and lifted up as the Holy God that He is? This means, of course you have to make a decision. This is how I believe that I am to honor Christ, so I am going to do it. But the next step, is to make a plan. This is how i’m going to get there. And then after that, to do it. Just as proverbs taught us with our finances The plans of the diligent certainly lead to profit, but anyone who is reckless certainly becomes poor. And The prudent see danger and take refuge, but the simple keep going and pay the penalty. – Also Jesus asked the question, For which of you desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost- whether he has enough to complete it. We are to make plans and then do them, of course being flexible enough to change them as God redirects. If you don’t make plans, and then you don’t do them, then you fall into that old adage, “ you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” If you aren’t aiming and making efforts that God would be glorified through your life, then believer you need to honestly ask the question, what is going on and what is wrong? Why am I holding back, and what do I need to do to let go and let God do whatever it is He is going to do through me? Committing to your faith requires lifelong life patterns. In this case, a lifelong pattern, of having objectives and seeing them through.This should be a regular and active part of Your Lifetime Commitment, move towards your objective.

The next point I want you to see and do is to have: A Life of Service seasons. (22-23)

This short set of verses, even though it isn’t action packed, says a lot. Look, from Ephesus he makes it to the port town of Caesarea, which is near his destination, Jerusalem. He went there, obviously to give his offering and to visit the church, and the other apostles that would have been there. It is unclear how long he would have been there or even if he would have stayed a while, but it is clear that he would go back to his base operations and sending church in Antioch. Then, the text goes quite in details, which means what? He must have rested for a time, we know he was there for awhile, at least several months, most likely the summer season. If there was much to report, it would have been reported, but it seems as though there wasn’t, so there were no other other things to mention. After this season, he starts his 3rd missionary journey, traveling to the regions of Galatia and Phrygia.

As every farmer knows. You can’t do everything all at once. If the objective is to make a living by selling crops. Well, you don’t just in a few days time go from start to finish. No, rather their are patterns and seasons you have to follow. The ground has to be prepared, the seeds to be planted, the plants have to grow, they have to mature, they have fruit, then they have to dry, be harvested, put in a truck, and then moved down the road and sold. As much as we would love instant crops, that’s not how it works. Time has to pass, and the conditions have to be right, so to get those desired weather conditions, we know that their is a time for everything. As King Solomon wrote in the book of Ecclesasties, For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven:2 a time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;

For Paul, the objective and goal was to see Christ glorified through himself. So, he had a habit of observing regular religion, but he also went out and made targeted and planned efforts that took a lot of time and energy, but notice what else he did. Outside of the regular weekly sabbath, he came back after his long multi year journey and rested for several months. Ministry is tiring work, having your all in, in all the time, requires times of rest and recuperation. The same was observed in the land in Israel, as the land would be worked for so long, then allowed to rest for a time. Just as the biblical idea of a sabbatical exists for those that have set their life apart to serve God, every 5-7 years they are given a time of rest for their tired body and souls which in turn also allows the next generation to be built up and prepared. You have seasons as well. For example, if you are a parent of children at home, then in most cases God is not calling you to a radical “going out” ministry. Rather, your ministry right now is, “staying in,” raising your children to know The Lord and showing other nearby families when you have the chance. When you get older, and don’t have the rigorous work and children requirements, odds are believers that you are being called into greater service than in your previous seasons. And eventually, as you get old enough, the season will be for you to let go and let those behind that you have trained make a return by ministering to you. Your life, believer, has seasons. How and the manner in which serve The Lord will have season, in fact, your life is a life of service seasons. We can see and know this because Committing to your faith requires lifelong life patterns. So, think about your life time commitment, and dwell upon if you are in the right place for this season you are in.

Another point I want you to see and do is to: Invest in the next generation (24-28)

Here, a trained and competent man in the scriptures named Apollos came to Ephesus and was doing much like Paul had done there previously, though he was missing a few key components of his faith regarding Jesus. The text seems to imply that he was one of John the Baptist Followers, or maybe descended from one who had not had the fulness of scripture revealed to him yet. Priscilla and Aquila, did a great thing here. After he had taught and they had observed him, they took him aside quietly and filled in the missing pieces for him. No doubt, they shared with him the work that Paul had in the region of Achaia, especially the town of Corinth (as we read about in Paul’s letter to the corinthians), so he decided to go there to help the church, continuing Paul’s lengthy ministry there, taking with him a sort of letter of recommendation from the Ephesian church. When he got there, the text says he was a great help to the other believers, and showed the Jews in Public that through their own scriptures, Jesus is the Messiah that they were looking for.

Pricilla and Aquila here, took the time to care for the future of God’s kingdom. Here, they recognized the giftedness and potential that Apollos could be for the kingdom, so they corrected Him, they invested in Him. They got him on the right track to be a powerful witness for Christ. Anything that isn’t future minded is destined to fail and fall apart. I can not think of a better example of this in America than the epidemic we see of churches closing today. In fact, in the last few years on average 4,500 protestant churches close while only 3,000 open. Meaning, on average some 27 churches in America close each week of the year. While of course there are exceptions, most of these churches held on for a long time, until their members all perished or moved away, for many years they didn’t focus on the next generation, for many years none of them saw the use of personal evangelism and spending much of the churches time and efforts on the people in the community that weren’t like the people already in the church, so what happened? The next generation moved on to somewhere that made them feel welcome or met their spiritual needs or unfortunately in many cases even acknowledged they existed.

Believer, both individually and collectively we, you, are called to do this, to invest in the generation. We should all be working to make it to where in their faith lives the next generation should have it better than we did, meaning we spend time and invest in them, we encourage them, we do this realizing that while we are treasured by our God and our church body, in the same breath we are to be actively replacing ourselves. I mean, just look at Paul, he let go of a fruitful ministry in Corinth, and God sent in his replacement. This means for parents, you ensure that your and your children’s faith life is of the most importance. It means as a church and as individuals we have to be students of the people around our church and rise to meet their spiritual needs over our own spiritual wants, that the church body will grow and Christ will be glorified through the growth of His kingdom. It means, we all have to sacrifice, we all have to do things we don’t want to do because we love Christ and we love His body, the church, more than we love ourselves. This is a continuous thing in the life of a believer. One that has patterns of ups and downs, and changes, and remains. Committing to your faith requires lifelong life patterns. So commit to those patterns, invest in the next generation while you do it, this is part of your lifetime commitment as a Christian.

Conclusion

Beloved, what in your life needs to change as you surrender to the new seasons God has given you? Your lifetime commitment to God demands that Move towards your objective (18-21), you pick your objective, make a plan, then do it. It implies that you live A Life of Service seasons. (22-23). Some times you will do this, some times you will do that, but at all times you will be doing something. Along the way though, remembering that our mission is to love God, love others, and make disciples, we have to Invest in the next generation (24-28) because the work continues well after we are all gone, we have to be future minded. So, are you thinking about yourself, or are you thinking about what you do in your faith life has long term effects on the kingdom of God? Make the choices that honor Him.

With all of that being said, I would be remised if I didn’t share the Gospel (or the Good News) of Jesus Christ with you today, for the benefit of both believer and non-believer in the room. This begins all the way back at the beginning, God created everything, and he created all things good. He gave His most treasured creation (us, mankind) the ability of free will, the ability to choose Him or rebellion. Man was deceived by Satan and desired to be like God and sinned (or rebelled against God). This brought the curse of sin and death into the world and it remains with us to this day; which separates us from God. God though, loved His creation (mankind) so much that He worked through history to redeem all mankind that would turn to Him from sin so that we can experience a full and perfect relationship with Him again. This was through the perfect and final sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the pay for sins. Accepting this free gift from God, makes you new and forgiven. All you have to do accept this free gift by repenting and believing in the Lord Jesus and you will get to experience the good side of God’s justice forever. So, now that you know this, you can no longer plead ignorance. I invite and urge you to respond today non-believer and apply this to every part of your life believers in the audience today.

With that, Let’s conclude. Brothers and Sisters, I love you all. During our last song together, if you need prayer, or want to talk more about Jesus, or have something you want to talk about, I’ll be here, don’t be afraid to come on down. Let’s pray. Father God, we thank You for who You are and what You are doing to us here in this place. May whatever it is that You are doing in each of heart here, continue as we leave go out into the world this week. Change us, mold us, make us, re-arrange us, that we can be both better lovers of You and better showers of You. It’s in these things that I ask and in Jesus Christ’s Holy and precious name that I pray, Amen.

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