Keep Learning
Notes
Transcript
Planning
Planning
Passage
Passage
1 After this, Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. 2 There he met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, 3 and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them. 4 Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks. 5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah. 6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” 7 Then Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titius Justus, a worshiper of God. 8 Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his entire household believed in the Lord; and many of the Corinthians who heard Paul believed and were baptized. 9 One night the Lord spoke to Paul in a vision: “Do not be afraid; keep on speaking, do not be silent. 10 For I am with you, and no one is going to attack and harm you, because I have many people in this city.” 11 So Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, teaching them the word of God. 12 While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews of Corinth made a united attack on Paul and brought him to the place of judgment. 13 “This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in ways contrary to the law.” 14 Just as Paul was about to speak, Gallio said to them, “If you Jews were making a complaint about some misdemeanor or serious crime, it would be reasonable for me to listen to you. 15 But since it involves questions about words and names and your own law—settle the matter yourselves. I will not be a judge of such things.” 16 So he drove them off. 17 Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever. 18 Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sisters and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. Before he sailed, he had his hair cut off at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to spend more time with them, he declined. 21 But as he left, he promised, “I will come back if it is God’s will.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. 24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately. 27 When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers and sisters encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. When he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah. 1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Passage structure
Passage structure
Paul in Corinth (Acts 18:1-17)
vv. 1-3 - Paul spends time with Priscilla and Aquila
vv. 4-5 - Paul reasons in the synagogue
v. 6 - The Jews oppose Paul, who leaves to go to the Gentiles
vv. 7-8 - Crispus (the synagogue leader) and his household believe and are baptised
vv. 9-11 - Paul stays in Corinth since Jesus appears to him in a vision
vv. 12-17 - The Jews accuse Paul before Gallio, who dismisses the case
Paul’s pitstops in Ephesus, Caesarea, and Jerusalem on the way to Antioch, then travels throughout Galatia and Phrygia (Acts 18:18-23)
v. 18 - Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila leave Corinth
vv. 19-21 - Paul leaves Priscilla and Aquila at Ephesus, promising to come back if God wills
vv. 22-23 - Paul lands at Caesarea, spends time with the churches in Jerusalem and Antioch, and begins his third missionary journey by strengthening Christians in Galatia and Phrygia
Apollos is educated and refutes Jews (Acts 18:24-28)
vv. 24-25 - Introduction of Apollos
v. 26 - Priscilla and Aquila explain the way of God more adequately
vv. 27-28 - Apollos is a great evangelist in Achaia
Ephesian disciples (of John the Baptist?) are baptised in the name of Jesus (Acts 19:1-7)
vv. 1-4 - Paul and some Ephesian disciples of John the Baptist talk about baptism
vv. 5-7 - The disciples are baptised in the name of Jesus, the Spirit comes on them, and they speak in tongues and prophesy
Big stuff
Big stuff
Big idea: God has given us people who we can learn from, especially for salvation and ministry.
Fallen condition focus: We try to figure out things for ourselves, without help from the people God has given us.
Good news statement: We can learn about our salvation and ministry through people God has given us.
Felt need: We want to learn more but we sometimes feel overwhelmed.
Big question: How do we learn about what matters in life?
Sermon structure
Sermon structure
Intro
Fake news, fact checking, AI videos
How do we learn about what matters?
Easy, straight-forward answer: Bible
But also: Others
Not just focussing on Paul… won’t just see Jesus’ unstoppable mission
But we’ll see (big idea) that God has given us people who we can learn from
Sermon outline
1, Learning for salvation (Acts 18:1-17, 19:1-7)
Context: Corinth (map) and vv. 1-4
Acts 18:5 “5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.”
Preaching and learning (or not learning)
Acts 18:6 “6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.””
Ezekiel 33:4 “4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.”
The Jews would’ve understood this reference.
Warning of the sword in Ezekiel -> warning of hell
Challenge to non-Christians to learn (not to just come to church for whatever reason) and to repent.
vv. 7-8 - some people do learn from Paul about the gospel and are saved
Who to learn from?
Paul, who is an apostle (vv. 9-11), set apart to preach, leading to the salvation of the elect who will learn from him
Nowadays? (Later, brothers and sisters in Christ) Elders/ministers, people set apart for teaching
1 Timothy 5:17 “17 The elders who direct the affairs of the church well are worthy of double honor, especially those whose work is preaching and teaching.”
Application: Learn at church from the ministers
Pray, notebook, put away your phone
Second negative consequence of not learning: anger and violence (vv. 12-17)
Explain passage
Rejection of God’s good ways leads to living in our bad ways
Rejection of forgiveness, love, generosity
Not just about eternity but about now
Application to non-Christians
Is your way of living working?
Lots of non-Christians come to church because their way (or the world’s way) of living isn’t work
Learn God’s better way, which isn’t about legalism but starts off first with trusting in Jesus and then is about living that out
Positive example of learning for salvation (Acts 19:1-7)
Map and vv. 1-7
“Disciples” of John the Baptist who had distorted teaching, since they didn’t know about the Holy Spirit
Luke 3:16 “16 John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”
Speaking in tongues and prophesying marking a significant event (conversion of John the Baptist’s disciples) - c.f. conversion of the first Jews, first Samaritans, first Gentiles
These disciples of John the Baptist are almost there.
Application: For people who are ‘almost there’, learn, believe, and be saved.
Transition: Learning isn’t just about salvation (from converting from non-Christian to Christian). It’s also about perseverance.
2, Learning for perseverance (Acts 18:18-23)
Context: Map and vv. 18-23
Vow: Seeking divine blessing (Numbers 6) or helping the Jews trust him (Acts 21:20-24)
God’s will is for Paul to come back to Ephesus
End of second missionary journey and start of third missionary journey
‘Perseverance of the Saints’
Define
John 10:27–28 “27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand.”
Ephesians 1:13–14 “13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Does that mean that once we know the gospel, we don’t need to be reminded of the gospel?
Does that mean that once we know the gospel, we don’t need to continue strengthening our faith?
No, part of our perseverance is through continual learning. God preserves us by giving us means, including people, to stay in the faith.
Paul doesn’t just go to new territory.
Acts 18:23 “23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.”
Map of all Paul’s journeys
Disciples learnt from Paul.
Acts 14:21–22 “21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.”
Acts 15:36 “36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.””
Acts 15:41 “41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.”
Application: Recognise that we need our faith strengthened.
Reason 1: Opposition
Story of high school doubts and finding answers with from youth group leaders
Reason 2: Suffering
Stories from church about people undergoing suffering and doubting God
Application: Keep learning
Encouragement from older saints about their humility
Keep learning: at church, home group, personal Bible reading
Transition: Learning not just for perseverance but for ministry
3, Learning for ministry (Acts 18:24-28)
Map and vv. 24-28
Acts 18:25 “25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.”
Acts 18:26 “26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.”
Not arrogance but humility
Learning from who? Two Christians
The result of this learning is more effective ministry
Acts 18:28 “28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.”
Corinth in Achaia (c.f. 1 Corinthians)
Application: Keep learning for ministry
Personal example of learning from members of the church
Humility
Testing with the Scriptures
Sometimes agreeing, sometimes disagreeing
Requires humility
Proclaiming the gospel
Training in particular ministries (e.g., welcoming, Bible reading)
Those thinking about full-time ministry
Similarities to Apollos
The rest of the congregation’s similarities to Priscilla and Aquila in wanting these people to be trained well
Apprenticeship and Bible college
Result: Effective ministry - people coming to faith and being strengthened in the faith
Conclusion
Fake news
God has given us people (ministers and other Christians)
God has given us his inerrant word.
Feedback from Tim (with my additions)
Feedback from Tim (with my additions)
12.56 to 1.24 = 28 minutes
Good
Structure is clear
Improve
Throughout
Make sure the theology is clearly tied to the passage.
Highlight the need
Intro
Remove section on ‘who’ we’re to learn from - just say that we learn from God’s word and from people
Point 1
Can make more personal
Maybe shorten section on Paul and remove section on elders’ teaching
Remove application on listening to the elders’ teaching
Point 2
Point 3
Give an example of another Christian who has been corrected - e.g. Bible reading
Sermon
Sermon
Intro
Intro
We live in an era of fake news.
We watch videos where we’re not sure if they’re real or AI.
We listen to politicians, some of who are truthful and some who just assert lies as the truth.
We see people make things up on social media just to generate more content.
With some much falsehood out there, how do we learn about the truth?
How do we learn about what really matters?
Some people say you just need to work it out yourself.
But that’s a huge burden to carry.
We’re already busy, we’ve got lots of responsibilities, limited time and capacity, lots of opposing voices...
How are we supposed to figure out the truth by ourselves?
Others… give up.
It’s just too hard.
They have to force themselves to be content with not knowing the truth.
But it’s hard to be content when you don’t know the truth about the big things in life like meaning and purpose.
In an era of fake news, how do we learn the truth?
How do we learn about what really matters?
Well the good news is that God doesn’t expect us to work it out ourselves.
Neither do we have to give up on finding the truth.
The good news is that God has revealed the truth to us.
What truths has he shown us?
Truths about what matters: about God, salvation, and life in this world.
How has he revealed these things to us?
Ultimately, in the Bible.
But he has also given us brothers and sisters in Christ who we learn from.
See, this morning, we’re not just focussing on the apostle Paul.
We’ll focus on the people who hear the gospel and what’s taught in the Scriptures.
And we’ll see how important it is for us to learn the truth from God.
We are looking at the whole of Acts chapter 18 and the first seven verses of chapter 19.
And we’ll see three big things in today’s passage.
1, Learning for salvation (Acts 18:1-17, 19:1-7)
2, Learning for perseverance (Acts 18:18-23)
3, Learning for ministry (Acts 18:24-28)
1, Learning for salvation
2, Learning for perseverance
3, Learning for ministry
We’ll start with the first point.
1, Learning for salvation (Acts 18:1-17, 19:1-7)
1, Learning for salvation (Acts 18:1-17, 19:1-7)
Learning for salvation.
Our passage starts off in Corinth.
Corinth is in what we now call Greece.
In Paul’s time, it’s in a region called Achaia.
I’ll put this up on the screen.
Here we have Paul’s second missionary journey.
You might know that Paul has three missionary journeys where he goes out to share the gospel and build people up in their faith.
Last week, we were in Athens.
And now, we’re in Corinth.
That’s in the green on the left side of the screen.
In Corinth, Paul makes friends with two Christians, Priscilla and Aquila.
We’ll hear more about them later.
And in Corinth, Paul does what he usually does.
He preaches about Jesus.
Let’s read Acts 18:5.
5 When Silas and Timothy came from Macedonia, Paul devoted himself exclusively to preaching, testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah.
Now, if Paul is teaching the Jews that Jesus is the Messiah, how should the Jews respond?
If Paul is teaching, what should the Jews do?
Well their proper response is to learn.
To learn about Jesus.
To learn that Jesus is the Messiah.
To learn about the salvation found in him.
But that’s not what they do.
Let’s keep reading on to verse 6.
6 But when they opposed Paul and became abusive, he shook out his clothes in protest and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am innocent of it. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”
This is a harsh message of condemnation.
And the Jews would’ve felt it even more strongly than we do now.
See, if they were familiar with their Jewish Scriptures, which we now have in our Old Testament,
If they’re familiar with their Scriptures, they would recognise this phrase about blood on their heads.
It comes from Ezekiel 33.
[Don’t read]
4 then if anyone hears the trumpet but does not heed the warning and the sword comes and takes their life, their blood will be on their own head.
In Ezekiel 33, God warns his people Israel through the prophet Ezekiel.
If the people learn from this warning, if they repent, then they will be saved.
But if the people reject the warning, then they will be destroyed.
Their blood will be on their heads.
It’s the same with the Jews in Acts 18.
God warned them through the apostle Paul.
They were supposed to learn from Paul about the coming judgement and the salvation found in Jesus.
But they didn’t.
Their blood will be on their heads.
They have sinned and are deserving of God’s judgement.
They have heard about the second chance God gives us… about Jesus taking on our sins and rising to new life.
But they have rejected that too.
And they will face judgement when Jesus returns.
This is the first consequence of not learning about salvation.
It’s eternal condemnation.
But not learning about salvation doesn’t have impact only in eternity.
It also impacts life now.
Let’s keep going in our passage and we’ll see the second consequence of not learning about salvation.
Paul leaves the synagogue and starts talking about Jesus elsewhere.
And some people do learn from Paul and they believe the good news and are saved.
Paul even receives a vision from Jesus, who tells him to stay in Corinth and keep proclaiming the gospel.
But as we come to verses 12 to 17, we’ll see what happens when people don’t learn about salvation.
In verses 12 to 17, the Jews who rejected God’s salvation also reject his way of life.
They turn to accusations on Paul.
When those accusations aren’t dealt with, they resort to anger and violence.
Let’s read verse 17.
17 Then the crowd there turned on Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the proconsul; and Gallio showed no concern whatever.
These Jews are the bad guys are this story.
But it wasn’t always the case.
Do you remember how the Jews responded at the start of Acts?
Let’s read Acts 4:32-35.
Acts 4:32-35.
32 All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had. 33 With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And God’s grace was so powerfully at work in them all 34 that there were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned land or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales 35 and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone who had need.
Two groups of Jews.
Group 1 - Acts 4.
They learn about the gospel, they trusted in Jesus, and they live lives of love and peace.
Group 2 - Acts 18.
They don’t learn about their salvation, they don’t trust in Jesus, and they respond in anger and hostility.
That’s what you’d expect when you think about it.
God knows exactly what’s best for us.
That includes salvation in Jesus.
But it also includes how we should live.
It includes lives of forgiveness, love, and generosity.
And so, when people reject God’s salvation in Jesus, they often reject his good way of living as well.
They choose other ways of living.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean violence like in this passage.
But it does mean other ways of living aren’t as good as God’s way.
So to those here who don’t follow Jesus at the moment...
Is your way of living working?
Are you satisfied that your worldview and your actions are for your good and the good of those around you?
Throughout history, lots of people have come to church because they realise that their way of living isn’t working.
But at church, they’ve seen the love of the church community.
And that has pointed them to the truth of God’s love.
It’s what many pastors are seeing even now.
In churches across Australia, people are looking for the right way to live.
They hear society telling them to choose their own identity, to choose their own path, to decide for themselves what’s right and wrong...
But they find that way of living hollow and superficial.
Lots of people are going to church now to find those answers.
Some of them are becoming Christian.
They are seeing that God’s way is best.
It’s not grounded in our constantly changing feelings and beliefs; it’s grounded in God himself.
If that resonates with you and you want to learn God’s better way, it starts off with learning about salvation.
People only start living God’s way once they’ve accepted Jesus as Lord and Saviour.
That’s why point 1 of this sermon on learning for salvation is the longest point of this sermon.
Salvation is where the Christian life starts.
So we’re going to finish point 1 by looking at one more episode in Paul’s journey.
We’ll skip over to the start of chapter 19 and we’ll see more people learning about the gospel and being saved.
The start of chapter 19 is Paul on his third missionary journey and he’s now in Ephesus.
And there he meets some disciples.
They’re not disciples of Jesus because the rest of the passage shows their ignorance of Jesus and the Holy Spirit.
So they’re disciples of John the Baptist.
These men (twelve men according to verse 7)… these men are almost Christians.
They’re almost saved.
But not yet.
They’re almost there because they’ve had some sort of baptism and they’ve repented.
But they’re not saved yet because they haven’t learnt about Jesus.
So Paul teaches them about Jesus.
They learn from him.
They trust in Jesus.
And they’re saved.
They are baptised in the name of Jesus, which shows they are now disciples of Jesus.
It’s possible there are some people here who are almost there.
Maybe you believe in God.
Perhaps you’ve come to church for a while and you see the truth of the teaching but you just haven’t committed yet.
If that’s you, today could be the day to commit.
You’ve learnt about Jesus and now’s the time to trust in him and be saved.
Trust in Jesus is something that goes on in the inside.
It’s about recognising that you’ve sinned and need a Saviour.
And it’s about relying on Jesus as that Saviour and living your life for him in response.
At the end of this sermon, I’m going to express what’s on the inside in a prayer.
And if you want to trust in Jesus, if you want to be saved, then I invite you to join with me in that prayer.
We will ask God to forgive us for our sins through Jesus.
And we can be confident that God does answer that prayer.
Now learning isn’t just about salvation.
It’s not just from moving from being a non-Christian to being a Christian.
We also learn to persevere in that salvation.
We’re at point 2.
2, Learning for perseverance (Acts 18:18-23)
2, Learning for perseverance (Acts 18:18-23)
Learning for perseverance.
Let’s come back to chapter 18.
Paul has been teaching in Corinth.
And now he leaves Corinth with his friends, Priscilla and Aquila.
Let’s put the map back up on the screen.
They go to Cenchreae.
There’s an interesting line in verse 18 about Paul cutting his hair off because of a vow.
We don’t know exactly why he took this vow.
Maybe Paul made a Nazarite vow, described in Numbers 6, because he wanted to dedicate himself to God.
Or maybe he took this vow to help the Jews trust him more, which happens later in Acts 21.
We’re not told why he took this vow, but we do know that he cut his hair at Cenchreae.
Paul, Priscilla, and Aquila then sail to Ephesus, where Paul preaches to the Jews.
Priscilla and Aquila stay in Ephesus...
...While Paul continues on to Caesarea, to Jerusalem, and then back to Antioch.
Antioch is like the missionary headquarters of the early church.
They are the sending church for Paul and others, so it makes sense for Paul to report back to them.
And that’s the end of Paul’s second missionary journey.
We’re now at the start of Paul’s third missionary journey.
Where do you think he’ll go next?
Will he go to new places?
Will he go to share the gospel with people who have never heard of it before?
Let’s find out.
Acts 18:23.
23 After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and traveled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.
Paul doesn’t start his third missionary journey going to new places.
He’s going to regions he’s been to before.
That probably includes the churches in the cities of Tarsus, Derbe, Lystra, and Iconium.
See, ministry isn’t just about helping non-Christians become Christian.
It’s also about strengthening Christians in their faith.
Because Christians need to learn to persevere.
This isn’t me making a big deal out of one verse.
It’s something we see throughout Acts.
We saw it three weeks ago in Acts 15 when Paul and Barnabas go back to visit the previous churches.
It’s on the screen but I won’t read it aloud.
[Don’t read]
36 Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.”
We saw it a week before that, in Acts 14.
[Don’t read]
21 They preached the gospel in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch, 22 strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. “We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God,” they said.
In Acts 14:21-22, after preaching the gospel in Derbe, Paul returns to cities where people had recently become Christian.
See, Paul isn’t just about bringing people to salvation.
Paul wants to strengthen people to persevere in that salvation.
And the Christians in that time learn from Paul so that they can persevere.
Why do Christians need to persevere?
Well, looking at this Acts 14 passage that’s still on the screen, there’s the reality of hardship.
Hardship makes it difficult to persevere.
That hardship includes opposition to the gospel.
I remember when I was in high school.
I became a Christian in high school.
And one of my close friends was an atheist.
He didn’t just call himself an atheist.
He called himed an antitheist.
Someone who actively opposed belief in God.
He would give me reasons not to be a Christian.
He’d tell me there was no sufficient proof for God’s existence.
He’d ask me questions that I didn’t know how to answer.
I was filled with doubt.
Thankfully, I was in a youth group.
And God had provided me youth group leaders who I could learn from.
They helped me with my doubts.
They told me answers for the questions my friend had.
And learning these answers helped me to persevere.
Notice that I didn’t learn from my youth leaders to persevere.
I learnt answers to big questions, and that helped me to persevere.
As Paul said in Acts 14, the reality is... we will face hardship in our lives.
Opposition.
Suffering.
Those hardships will make it difficult for us to keep going in our faith.
As a pastor, I see Christians struggle to keep going when they go through a hardship and they haven’t learnt the truths to persevere in that hardship.
Like when a Christian experiences difficult health issues but hasn’t learnt about what the Bible says about suffering.
Or when a Christian is accused for holding a discriminatory view of marriage but they haven’t understood the goodness of God’s design for marriage.
Or when a Christian experiences injustice in the workplace but hasn’t appreciated how and when God carries out his justice.
You can probably think of something difficult in your own life that has made you question God.
And as I look around this room, I also see Christians who have experienced great hardships but persevered.
How did they do it?
They come to church week after week, they go to home group, they study the Bible by themselves...
It means their faith is strong.
And when the hardship comes, their faith is still strong.
It doesn’t take the hardship away.
It doesn’t make it easier.
But they have learnt to persevere.
Of course, this isn’t just their own doing.
This is ultimately God’s grace.
He has given us his truth, which helps us persevere.
He has given us the church, brothers and sisters, who we can learn from.
And so as his people, we respond by continuing to learn about everything that God is teaching us.
We keep learning about everything God is teaching us.
Brothers and sisters, God has given us his perfect, infallible word in the Bible.
That’s our ultimate authority that we learn from.
Let’s keep learn from the Bible.
But he has also given us people who we learn from as well.
We learn here at church in the preaching of the Bible.
We learn in our home groups as we discuss the Bible together.
We can learn from Christian books, podcasts, conferences, and much more, always making sure that what’s taught matches the Bible.
And when we do learn more from God, we see all the more his goodness.
His good way of living.
His mercy in sending Jesus.
His power and authority in working all things for our good and his glory.
And as we see these things more, they will help us to persevere in him.
Of course, we don’t learn from the Bible just to be saved and just to persevere.
We also learn for the sake of ministry.
We’re at point 3.
3, Learning for ministry (Acts 18:24-28)
3, Learning for ministry (Acts 18:24-28)
Learning for ministry.
We’re looking now at verses 24 to 28.
And we’re no longer following Paul’s journeys.
Paul has already sailed on from Ephesus.
But his friends Priscilla and Aquila remain there.
Then someone named Apollos comes along.
Apollos is quite impressive!
Let’s read about him in verses 24 and 25.
24 Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.
If anyone’s wondering about the difference between the baptism of John and the baptism in Jesus’ name,
The Gospels describe the baptism of John as a baptism of repentance.
That baptism represents repentance.
Repentance by itself doesn’t lead to salvation.
It’s only the first step of turning away from sin.
Salvation comes not when someone turns away from sin but when they turn to Jesus.
When they trust in him and live for him.
The baptism in Jesus’ name represents belonging to Jesus.
People in Acts got baptised when they joined the people of God.
So John’s baptism was just a shadow of the real thing.
It was just preparation for Jesus.
But let’s come back to Apollos.
Even though Apollos is passionate and teaches about Jesus accurately, he’s also humble.
He’s willing to learn.
Let’s read about this humility in verse 26.
26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
Apollos’ humility is a great example to us.
Because there’s always more to learn.
And notice who he’s learning from.
Priscilla and Aquila aren’t apostles.
As far as we know, they’re two ordinary Christians who made tents for a living.
What’s the result of Apollos learning more from Priscilla and Aquila?
His ministry is more effective.
He goes to the region of Achaia.
That region has the city of Corinth, and if you read the letter of 1 Corinthians, you’ll learn that Apollos was such an effective leader that some people unfortunately put him on a pedestal.
Back in our passage, we see the benefits of his learning in verse 28, where:
28 For he vigorously refuted his Jewish opponents in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah.
Apollos is a great example to me.
I like to think of myself as someone similar to Apollos.
I believe I have a decent understanding of the Scriptures and that I teach about Jesus accurately.
But I’m reminded to be humble.
There’s always more to learn so that I can do my ministry better.
That’s part of why I love home group.
Even though I’m the leader and I’m helping others understand the Bible better, they often show me things I hadn’t seen before.
I praise God that he has given me brothers and sisters who help me to keep learning from his word!
What about for those of us who aren’t pastors?
Is he a good example for the rest of us as well?
Yes, because ongoing learning is something that benefits every form of ministry.
From raising your children in the Lord to sharing Jesus with your colleague to making a meal for someone in need...
We keep learning for every form of ministry.
Even the ministry of, for example, public Bible reading at church.
Lots of people think reading the Bible at church is easy.
Maybe you might practise saying some tricky words in the passage.
But basically you just get up here and read the passage, right?
One woman took part in some Bible reading training.
And afterwards, she said she learnt how important tone is in helping people understand the passage.
She learnt that a flat reading of the passage isn’t a neutral reading but actually presents a particular view.
She was encouraged to understand the passage to learn the tone of the passage.
And to read with the tone of the passage so that others could understand the passage better.
This sort of thing is why our church has training for our different ministries.
We believe we can always learn more.
And as we learn more, we do that ministry more effectively.
We read the Bible more clearly.
We welcome people better.
We lead prayers more clearly.
All of this helps people to learn about the salvation in Jesus and to persevere in him.
So let’s keep learning.
Let’s keep learning for whatever ministry we’re involved in.
It could be the everyday ministry of raising a child in the Lord.
Or the unrostered ministry of checking in with someone after church and praying for them.
Or the formal ministries like Bible reading at church.
Let’s keep learning so that we minister to people better.
That is especially true for the small number of people here who are thinking about serving in full-time ministry.
If you’re thinking of becoming a pastor, a missionary, of working in university ministry...
Perhaps you’re like Apollos.
You know the Scriptures well and you’re passionate about speaking about Jesus to others.
The rest of our church want you to keep growing.
We want you to keep learning so that you can do your ministry well.
That’s why, in the past, our church has had ministry apprentices.
People have set aside two years to work at our church and be formally trained for ministry.
We’re still keen to train more ministry apprentices so that people can be equipped well for a lifetime of ministry.
Tim and I would love to have a chat with anyone who’s interested.
It’s also why we encourage people go to Bible college.
We want the next generation of Christian leaders to know and teach the Bible well.
So if you are considering full-time ministry, keep learning.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Well I shared at the start about our culture of fake news.
It can be hard to trust what we see in our media and hard to figure out what’s true.
Thankfully, God has revealed himself to us so that we can know the truth.
He has shown us what the truth is.
Truth about our salvation in Jesus, truth that helps us to persevere, and truth to help us to minister to others.
He has also shown us how to learn this truth.
We have his word in the Bible.
And we have people to learn from, the whole body of Christ, that we would continue growing.
Let’s thank God that he has shown us the truth and ask for his help in growing in him.
Let’s pray.
Heavenly Father,
We thank you that you teach us through your word. You show us your holiness and our sin. You reveal our need for a Saviour. And we know that Jesus is that Saviour, who died on the cross for our sins and rose to life so that we can have new life.
Please forgive us through Jesus. Grant us new life through Jesus. Thank you that we can have assurance of that life because your word promises us life when we trust in Jesus.
So please help us to persevere. Keep teaching us by your word, with the help of brothers and sisters. Help us to be humble and to learn. Grow us in our maturity in Christ so that we would continue in the faith and serve you and your people more and more.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen
We are now going to celebrate the Lord’s Supper.
The Lord’s Supper is a reminder and a celebration of the salvation we have in Christ.
Tim will lead us in the Lord’s Supper soon, but before he does that, we’re going to sing.
And while we sing, the elders and Tim Robertson and I will each take a tray of bread, which is gluten-free, and a tray of juice.
If you call on Jesus as your Saviour, please take some bread and juice.
If that’s not you, you can just let them pass by and you might like to use this time to consider what’s stopping you trusting in Jesus.
Let’s do all of that now.
I’ll invite the band to the front and everyone can stand as we sing our next song.
