RELIGION IS NOT ENOUGH
Notes
Transcript
Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures.
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.
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.
When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.
Introduction
What happened to Apollos needs to happen in every church today
What he experienced is our greatest need today
Apollos is a patron saint of those who found religion is not enough
He discovered the missing dimension of his life
What happened to him also happened to the disciples of John the Baptist
Discover what God wants to give to religious people who do not know him
I like to think what happened to the disciples of John is what the Lord wants to happen in all our churches today
Luke tells us that when Paul laid hands on them the Holy Spirit came upon them and the spoke with tongues and prophesied
The Lord still gives this gift today, but it should not be sought after nor used as a lever of judgment on those who have not received it
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples
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.”
So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.
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.”
On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
There were about twelve men in all.
I have an idea that these religious, uptight disciples of John needed the gift to break free and glorify God with adoration and exultation
But the sure sign that people have received the Holy Spirit is love for God expressed in a life of praise and in a desire to communicate what they have found to other people
The gift of prophecy is the sensitive, incisive, and empathetic communication of the implications of the Lordship of Christ in the context of supernatural, Spirit given insight and wisdom into the needs of the people we want to help
When the Holy Spirit is released among the contemporary religious disciples of John in our churches today, there are undeniable signs of love, warmth, passion to share with people who do not know the Savior, and compassion for the world and its needs
Olgovie said “My passion is to introduce religious people to the living Lord and to help them receive his power. There is no limit what we could do the change the world, share the faith, and help people, if religious people in our churches were filled with the Holy Spirit”
That’s why understanding what happened to Apollos and the disciples of John is such a crucial aspect of our study of acts.
The Drumbeat of the Master - the living, present Holy Spirit - replaces the chill of distance with the intimacy and intensity of dynamic power
Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria
Apollos was a Jew from Alexandria
It was a great learning center
The finest learning of judaism and Hellenism flowed together in this city of scholars
The wisdom of Plato and Moses Met in Alexandria
Greek, Latin, and Hebrew grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, mathematics, geography, and history filled the atmosphere in which apollos was raised and educated
If anyone had a right to be intellectually secure and confident, it was Apollos
Apollos was an eloquent man
Apollos was an eloquent man
Learned in knowledge and the ability to express it
He was able to put his thoughts in such a way to capture the minds and the emotions of his listeners
He could marshal words and shades of meaning as a skilled conductor of a highly trained orchestra draws out the most subtle nuances of sound
Apollos was well versed in scripture
Apollos was well versed in scripture
He was able to interpet them is force and meaning
No dry philosopher scholar
He could open windows so that his listeners could see thru to truth and receive fresh vitality
He probably knew most of the Old Testament by heart
Apollos was among the Jewish scholars who were interested in the “way of the Lord” and had experience the baptism of John
Apollos was among the Jewish scholars who were interested in the “way of the Lord” and had experience the baptism of John
I think he was a leader of the band of faithful disciples of John living in and around and around Ephesus
This excellent preacher could teach accurately the things concerning Jesus
This excellent preacher could teach accurately the things concerning Jesus
But for all his learning and eloquence , he had only the characteristics of John without the living Christ
This was religion without release
Apollos was fervent in spirit
He was boiling over in emotional enthusiasm
his conviction gave him a cause which could not be deterred
Apollos sixth quality was courage
Apollos sixth quality was courage
Apollos spoke boldly in the synagogue , taking a stand that was very unpopular at this time
he put it fearlessly before his audience
Quite a Man
birth, culture, education under the greatest scholars, intellectual acumen, insight into scriptures, right beliefs, boldness, courage, and convincing communication techniques - everything
And what can you give a man who has everything.
The same question we must ask about many church people
Like Apollos, they need the missing dimension
Religion is not Enough
Priscilla and Aquila show him even more
Priscilla and Aquila show him even more
Approached him and thanked him for his message
They had little in common with him intellectually or culturally but they shared the belief that Jesus is the Messiah
They told Apollos the exciting news that Jesus was alive as the living, loving, personal, and present Lord in the Holy Spirit
Jesus was not just a fact of history, but a friend of hope
No longer was the content of the Christian proclamation only the Messiahship of Jesus, but the indwelling power of the Lord
The Christian Life was not just living for Christ, but Christ living in the believer in the presence of the Holy Spirit
His greatest was not in his previous learning, but in his willingness to learn from two uneducated tentmakers+
It is possible to preach Christ, the Cross, outline the plan of salvation, and stir people with Admonitions of Christian Ethics without helping them to experience the power of the Living Christ,our Contemporary, The Holy Spirit
I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.