A More Effective Ministry

a native of Alexandria came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures.

He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught

accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak

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. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged

him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through

grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the

Christ was Jesus. Chapter 19, and it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through

the inland, or the highland country, and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples, and he said

to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, no, we have not even heard

that there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, into what then were you baptized? And they said, into John's

baptism. And Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the

one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus. On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the

Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began

speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about 12 men in all. And he entered the synagogue, and for

three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became

stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the way before the congregation, he withdrew from

them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two

years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.

That's our passage for this morning. And the idea that I want to present from this passage is that

God uses the people of his church to strengthen his church. And we're going to see it in a couple

areas throughout this passage. But before we talk about that, I wanted to spend just a couple minutes

to talk about bamboo plants. Seems like an odd thing to bring up, but bamboo plants are pretty cool.

Not only are they the strongest material, most on earth, being stronger even than steel, but they're one of the

fastest growing plants in the world. And the interesting thing about bamboo, at least there's a couple

different categories. One of them is runners. So how it grows is you have the first shoot will pop up,

and it grows for a while, for several months, and then it stops growing. It continues to be alive. Its

plants and its branches are there, but it doesn't continue to grow in height. What it does is it takes

its energy and it sends it out through its shoots underground, and it sprouts up other shoots,

other canes, as it grows. And these can be very far apart.

It could easily be 100 feet away from the two sprouts as they pop up. And so this is why,

depending on the type of bamboo that you get, you could have a problem controlling bamboo if you

don't keep it in its territory. But the thing about bamboo is the fact that it seems that one of its goals

is to strengthen itself. And it does that by, like I said, after it grows for a while,

it takes its resources and energy. And instead of continuing to grow, it maintains life, but it sends

the rest to the rest of the plant, the group itself. And so while it's not a perfect example of Christian

life, because we're not called to grow to a point and then stop, it is really a good example of how we

are to take what we are given and the resources that we have and pass those on to others to strengthen

them. And that's what we're going to see in our passage today in several different ways.

So the main idea, God using the people of his church to strengthen his church. Now in saying

that, I want to clarify that God does use other means to strengthen each one of us. We know the

primary ways that he does that is through his word, through prayer, through the Holy Spirit. So when I say

that, I want you guys to know that God just doesn't use one another, but that's where the focus is of

our message this morning. So as we're starting out here in verse 24, just to get context about where we

are, Paul is just ending his second missionary journey, and he's starting out on his third one.

His goal here is to travel back across areas where he's been before, where he has started churches,

and he's looking to encourage those churches, encourage those who believed when he spread the

gospel to them the first time, and to hopefully strengthen them in where they are. So he's going

back to places like Antioch, that is the smaller Antioch, not the one in Syria, which is where he's

being sent from. Iconium, Lystra. But if you think back from our previous

sermons, these weren't areas where he was welcomed from the beginning to the end. If you remember,

in Antioch, he was driven out. In Iconium, he fled just before he was getting stoned,

and at Lystra, he was actually stoned and drunk out of the city. So not really the most inviting

of places to be going back to, and yet Paul still knows that that is God's plan for him. So even in

the face of knowing what could be coming at him, he realizes that God's calling him to go back and

encourage fellow believers in struggling churches. So as we come to verse 24, we see a break that the

author gives us, right? We were talking about Paul and his travels, and we break from that story for a

time, and it brings us to this short five-verse story about a Jew named Apollos. Now Apollos is from

Alexandria, which at this time is the capital city of Egypt, but not just the capital city, but the

educational intellectual center of Egypt at this time. So kind of like Cambridge, Massachusetts is

an intellectual center for this area, some could say for a large part of the United States.

In addition to that, they have the largest Jewish population. It is also in Alexandria where

we learn that several hundred years before the Septuagint, right, which is the earliest surviving

Greek translation of the Old Testament, was created here, or was produced here. So it's no surprise

that in addition to that, they have a world-renowned library in Alexandria containing hundreds of

thousands of thousands of scrolls. Sorry, I'll try to keep this still.

This was Apollos' birthplace. This is where he had an opportunity to become educated, and he was. God used

that opportunity to educate him, and we see how educated and how gifted he was, as Luke describes for us

Apollos. Luke says that he was eloquent with his words. He was competent in the scriptures.

He was skilled in speech, and strong in debate, and teaching from the Word of God.

Verse 25 says that he had been instructed in the way of the Lord. That is, the Christian way, the way of the Messiah.

It also says that he was fervent in spirit, and he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus.

In some translations, that fervent in spirit, that spirit has a capital S.

And so there's some question, is that fervent because the spirit was with him, or did he have just a

personality that was very fervent and strong?

But I think in either case, there is a power of the spirit that is needed

in order for him to be passionately teaching and accurately teaching the things concerning Jesus.

That's something that we don't, outside of the work of the Holy Spirit, we do by ourselves.

But in all of that, there's something missing from Apollos' teaching.

Verse 25 says that he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus,

though he knew only the baptism of John.

Now, we don't know exactly here what Apollos is lacking.

Luke doesn't let us in on what he's missing, nor does he let us in on what Priscilla and Aquila

talked to him about.

Most likely, Apollos was unaware of the ascension of Jesus,

and maybe the giving of the Holy Spirit of Pentecost,

those things that happened late that he just didn't know about.

But as you can imagine, not knowing about how the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost would be a big thing

to share when you are encouraging believers, when you're wanting to

talk about the gospel and its effect in a Christian's life.

But the fact that Luke doesn't tell us exactly what is missing,

it seems to indicate that that's not really the point of the story,

but rather that he was taught something which was hindering his full potential.

In gospel proclamation.

So the baptism of John was one of repentance and turning to God.

Apollos knew that.

He knew the Old Testament.

He knew Jesus was the promised Messiah.

He knew of Jesus' life and his teachings.

And that's what he was boldly proclaiming in the synagogue.

And in doing this, that's when Priscilla and Aquila take notice.

They hear him.

And I love, I really love verse 26 because it's so, it's so concise.

It's so smooth and clean.

It's so loving and Christ-like.

We have Priscilla and Aquila who have been doing ministry with Paul up until this point,

but then they remain as Paul continues on.

And they're just, they're just lovers of other Christians and wanting to do what God calls them.

They hear what Apollos is saying and they pick up on something that's missing.

Now, at this point, a couple things could happen.

If we were to put ourselves in their situation, a couple things could happen, right?

They could have just ignored it.

They could have just not bothered with it.

But that wouldn't have helped Apollos.

It wouldn't have helped them, actually, as God seeks to use them to strengthen others.

And it wouldn't have been a help to the larger church body as well.

They could also complain about his teaching amongst themselves.

And we can do that at times, right?

Ah, remember that Paul, that lead teacher we had back at Corinth Community Church?

He was so good.

I mean, this guy is good, but, like, he's missing some stuff.

We do that, right?

We pick those we like and those we don't like.

But that's not what took place.

That's not what was here.

They saw an opportunity to come alongside him and teach him.

And they did it in a way that was loving.

They respectfully take him to the side.

I imagine they invited him over their house after a time at the synagogue one day.

And they share with him, they explain to him the way of God more accurately.

Luke said in the previous verse, he said that Apollos spoke and taught accurately.

And then Priscilla and Aquila explained to him the way of God more accurately.

This is a beautiful picture of how God uses his people to strengthen his people in gospel accuracy.

And that's our first point this morning is gospel accuracy and how God uses that, uses us to strengthen one another.

It's also a reminder to us to be humble that even when we think we know about something, there's always room for growth in our knowledge.

And not to come to a spot where we just think we have arrived.

There's always room for growth.

So Apollos was strengthening by becoming more gospel accurate.

But that's not all that takes place here.

And that's the cool part about how God works is it's not just the one main thing, but it's a lot of other things.

Kind of like the bamboo that sends sprouts out while it's growing.

There's more going on.

It might be under the surface you don't know about.

But Priscilla and Aquila, they grew in their care for one another just by them reaching out.

By them feeling that the Spirit wanted them to say something, they didn't hold back and they reached out and cared for Apollos.

It also, as you know, helped Apollos become more accurate in his teaching of the gospel.

And then adding to that in verse 27, it says that the broader church body was strengthened by his increased ability to show Christ in the scriptures.

And.

So.

As they correct him, he's eager still.

And notice how he's not like knocked back by this correction.

He's he's encouraged by it.

He he absorbs it.

He he quickly just moves on.

But in a way that is helpful to the church, he wants to cross over to Achaia and they don't know him.

So the people where he's at send letters to say, hey, this guy is coming.

Can you encourage him?

And and so they do.

But what happens is he also blesses them because he comes alongside other brothers and sisters who have been.

It says helped those who through grace had believed.

So a picture of a group of young Christians who who believed.

But then they're they're they're they're face to face with the Jewish crowd that is very much against what they have believed and accepted.

And then Apollos steps in and he's this strong voice that is refuting them in public, showing that through the scriptures that the Christ is Jesus.

And so this is very much a welcomed addition to their church at this time.

So from Priscilla and Aquila to Apollos to the larger church body of Christ, we see this strengthening taking place.

Really, it's it's the living out of the Great Commission that we read from Matthew 28.

Go, therefore, make disciples.

That is teaching one another.

Colossians 3 16 says, let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom.

That's exactly what they do.

So we need to be teaching and growing in our gospel accuracy.

Now, before I move to the next section, I just want to point something out because I want to I want to bring it to your attention because I think Luke strongly brings it out to our attention.

And that's this.

If we if we look if we step back and look at Acts, the book of Acts as a whole.

So from chapter 13, right when Barnabas and Paul are called out by the Holy Spirit from then all the way to the end in chapter 28, Paul is mentioned either he's doing the action or the action is happening to him in every passage.

So for 16 chapters in every story, Paul is doing something or something is done to him.

That is, except for this section, these five verses, Paul is not involved with.

It's all about Apollos.

And so there seems to be a special intention that Luke brings out for this passage.

And I think it is.

I think it's for a couple of things.

The first one we've talked about, and that is this teaching that we see from Priscilla and Aquila.

It's a unique situation, but an opportunity that Luke wants to bring us in on to see how the church can can strengthen and teach one another.

And then secondly, I think Luke brings this out because he wants to point to Apollos.

Take a few verses and point out Apollos.

Why?

Because Apollos is used greatly for God.

He's just not mentioned a whole lot.

So we hear a lot about Paul.

But Apollos was gifted greatly by God and used by God in teaching and apologetics and encouraging believers.

And so it's helpful for us to see that there were other God-placed personalities in the early church besides Paul at this time.

And it's helpful for us to see that ministry that goes on.

We know that Apollos did some great work, even though Paul doesn't mention him because, or I should say Paul does mention him, but in very small little bits.

But what he says is big, I think.

Listen to 1 Corinthians 3, verses 6 to 7.

1 Corinthians 3:6–7

This is when Paul is dealing with divisions in the church.

He says,

And encourage and grow a large number of believers.

So as we move to now, chapter 19, we come into another story where Apollos, we leave behind and we join Paul again.

Paul's making his way into Ephesus.

And as he does, he comes across a group of disciples, around 12 of them.

12 guys that don't quite get the gospel.

That sounds a little familiar, right?

Luke calls this group disciples.

But Paul uses this, or Luke, the author, uses this to describe that they are disciples of John the Baptist.

They're not disciples of Jesus.

And we know this because of the next few verses.

Paul witnesses somehow.

Somehow, he perceives somehow, something from this group as he comes into their presence.

I don't know that situation.

Did he just walk into the town and he sees a group of 12 guys talking and he senses something is missing?

I'm not sure how that looked like, but we can imagine.

And so as he approaches this group, he begins to ask them a couple questions.

In verse 2, Paul says,

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

And they said, No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

Now, the wording here can throw us off a little bit.

So just to clarify, it doesn't mean that they've never heard of the Holy Spirit at all.

Because the Spirit is referred to many times in the Old Testament.

And John the Baptist, whom they're followers of, had also preached about the Messiah.

That would come and that would baptize with the Spirit.

We see that in Luke 3, verses 15 and 16.

Luke 3:15

It says,

As the people were in expectation and awe were questioning in their hearts concerning John the Baptist,

whether he might be the Christ,

John answered them saying,

I baptize you with water, but he who is mightier than I is coming.

The strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.

He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.

So what they meant by saying that is not that they hadn't heard of the Holy Spirit at all,

but that they had heard of the Messiah's prophecy,

but they didn't know that it was fulfilled.

They didn't know that the Spirit had come and been poured out on his people.

Next, in verse 3, Paul asked them,

And to what then were you baptized?

And they answered,

And to John's baptism.

They had believed in a Messiah that was coming,

and that they should repent,

but they didn't know who that was,

who that Messiah was going to be,

or if he had even come.

They didn't know of this new kingdom that Jesus preached about,

that he was ushering in.

They didn't know of being baptized into his life,

and into his death,

and being resurrected,

being brought out of the waters of baptism into new life.

And they didn't know of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

So, in a sense,

we are seeing that Pentecost hadn't caught up with them.

To their response of being baptized into John's baptism,

Paul says this in verse 4.

John baptized with the baptism of repentance,

telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him,

that is Jesus.

So, building on what they know,

Paul gives them gospel knowledge that they are missing.

And on hearing that,

they are baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

The message that they had heard and believed from John

was now fulfilled.

They were waiting for the Messiah,

and they're now just been told that that Messiah

is Jesus the Christ.

And so,

we see here that God is using his people,

Paul in this case,

to bring strength

to this group of disciples

through gospel knowledge.

Gospel knowledge

that they were lacking.

So, the Spirit was already at work in their heart.

They were seeking him,

which means that the Spirit was working, right?

But there was a missing knowledge

knowledge part of their gospel

that they needed.

And that's where Paul met them.

Next, we see something interesting happen, though.

In verse 6, it says,

When Paul laid his hands on them,

the Holy Spirit came on them,

and they began speaking in tongues

and prophesying.

They repented.

They believed in Jesus.

They were baptized.

At this point,

the Holy Spirit is already dwelling inside of them.

So, what takes place

when Paul lays his hand on them

is not Paul giving them the Holy Spirit,

but the Holy Spirit coming on them

in a visual,

public display,

similar to what we saw

at Pentecost.

It's also something that

isn't normative

for believers to experience.

experience.

And I know there's some

denominations that might teach that,

that salvation doesn't come

until there's this outward display

of the Holy Spirit

in someone's life.

So, it's not normative,

but we do see it happen

in the New Testament

a couple times,

but it's for specific reasons.

Here, we have a group of Baptists,

John the Baptist,

followers of him.

But John the Baptist

was a forerunner

of the Messiah,

Jesus.

Once Jesus comes

and fulfills that gospel,

then the message of salvation

is complete

and they no longer need to be

John the Baptist,

right?

They're followers of Jesus.

So, this mini Pentecost

is like the larger one

that we saw in Acts 2.

And it was meant to demonstrate

visually, publicly,

that there are particular groups

that when the people

in those groups,

groups like the Gentiles,

Samaritans,

the John the Baptists,

when those people

believe in Jesus Christ

and are baptized,

they are followers now

not of what they previously followed,

but of Jesus Christ.

And so, this large separation

that was very difficult

culturally at this time,

the Holy Spirit moved in on

and allowed these things

to visually happen

so that we understood

accurately what God was doing

in his church

and in his people.

We talked about this,

Sean brought this up

in passages before,

where we see the Jews

struggling with these Gentiles

who say they are part

of the church,

and it is that proof

of the Holy Spirit

that comes on them

that silences the crowd

as they realize

they are now part

of the church,

even though they are Gentiles

by birth.

They've been brought

into the family of God,

united with Christ

through the Holy Spirit.

In the last couple verses

of our passage,

we see Paul going

into the synagogue

as he is accustomed to doing,

and for three months,

that just sounds like a long time,

for three months,

he goes back

and he is reasoning,

he's persuading the Jews

trying to

about the kingdom of God.

The RSV translation

says that he argued

and pleaded with them,

trying to show them

from the Old Testament

that Jesus

is the Christ,

the Messiah,

the one who has inaugurated

or brought in

the kingdom of God.

But after three months,

verse 9 says

that they became stubborn

and continued in unbelief.

They stopped listening.

They were done.

They became obstinate,

even.

They were refusing

to hear anymore.

The discussion

actually turned nasty.

I'm sure you guys

have been in those conversations

where you're trying

to make a point

with something

and the wall

just comes down

on the other side

and they're not listening to you.

And as you continue,

the conversation

turns nasty.

And that's what happens here.

In the synagogue,

in front of the congregation,

in front of these

new believers,

they start slandering

and bad-mouthing,

saying evil things

about the way,

the way of the Christian believer.

So Paul,

knowing that this atmosphere

is becoming toxic,

he leaves the synagogue.

And you can imagine

at this point,

he's saddened

because the Jews

are his people.

He's wanting

to convince his people

about the kingdom of God.

And yet,

it ends

in this argument,

this evil,

bad-mouthing

that they just

don't want to hear anymore.

And so he leaves.

He knows that God's mission

for him,

even though not successful

in the synagogue,

is not done.

So his failure

in the synagogue

doesn't mean

God sees him

as a failure,

he still has a mission

for him to do.

And so he continues on.

Paul changes

from the synagogue

trying to reach

the Jews

to a public hall

trying to reach

the Gentiles.

It says that

he begins reasoning

and debating daily

in the hall

of Tyrannus.

And again,

Luke doesn't give us

any information

about Tyrannus

or even what this

hall is,

what it's used for.

Was Tyrannus a,

actually the name

itself means tyrant?

Did his parents

give him that name?

Was he a teacher

and his students

gave him that name?

We don't know.

At the end

of verse 9,

some manuscripts

add in

that this time

of reasoning

happened every day

between the 5th

and the 10th hour.

That would have been

from 10 a.m. in the morning

until 4 in the afternoon.

Paul was able

to dialogue

and reason

with those

that came

into the hall.

So through

God's provision

in ways we don't

know about,

this Tyrannus

allowed his

lecture hall,

this rented

facility,

out to Paul

the evangelist.

So it feels

a little similar

to what we have here,

right?

For some

unknown reason,

the Cambridge

Community Center

has allowed us

to rent

this gym

for a time

during the day

for our

worship of God

but also

gospel proclamation.

And Luke

says in verse 10

that this continued

for two years.

Two years

Paul shows up

and teaches

and argues

and points

to the scripture

and encourages

so that

all the

residents of

Asia

heard the

word of the

Lord,

both Jews

and Greeks.

So God

provides

the means

by which

his people

could be

strengthened

through

gospel outreach.

And that's

our third

point from

this passage

is how

God uses

gospel outreach

to encourage

and to

strengthen

his church.

So again,

God uses

the people

of his

church

to strengthen

his church.

And we saw

in this passage

in areas of

gospel accuracy

and gospel

knowledge

and in gospel

outreach.

Those are what

we see in the

passage but

there are

other ones.

Again,

looking back

to the bamboo

plant and how

it spreads out

and we don't

know all the

ways where

things are

growing,

there are

other things

that happen

as those

areas are

giving to

by the people

of the church.

As those are

done well,

then there are

other things

that happen.

There's

encouragement

for one

another.

There's

love for

one another.

There's

compassion

for the

hurting.

There's

generosity

for the

needy.

There's

a care

for the

lost.

There's

a concern

for those

who are

hurting and

struggling.

There's

thoughtfulness

towards those

who are

outside.

Like

Priscilla and

Aquila,

like Apollos,

like Paul,

they allow

themselves to

be used

by God

in order

to strengthen

the people

of God.

And we

also know

that through

that they

themselves

are strengthened.

It's not

just I

give my

everything to

others,

but God

strengthens

us in

that.

So the

question that

this passage

leaves for

us then is

how do we

do that?

Now it's

hard to get

into specifics

because each

one of us

that's going

to look

different for.

Each one

of us

are not

gifted like

Apollos.

We're not

like Paul.

We may be

more like

Priscilla and

Aquila.

We're all

gifted uniquely.

We're also

each placed

in different

parts,

different jobs,

different schools,

different families,

but placed

there for a

purpose that

we could

allow ourselves

to be used

by God

to encourage

someone else,

to strengthen

someone else.

And

whatever the

gifting,

whatever the

location,

the formula

for that is

still going to

be the same.

And that is

submitting to

God,

allowing his

plan to be

our plan and

not the other

way around,

and then

allowing him

to use us,

to strengthen

someone else,

to encourage

someone else.

So we have

examples in

this passage.

We have

these three

sets of

people who

are great

examples of

that.

And there's

nothing,

it's actually

helpful to

look at them

and what they

did as an

example.

But our

ultimate example

that we look

back to is

Jesus Christ.

Right?

He submitted

to the

Father.

He submitted

to God,

which meant

he gave up

his throne

and came

here to

earth to

die for

us.

That's what

he did when

he submitted

to God.

God.

And he

allowed God

to use

him to

strengthen

his church.

And by

strengthen,

I mean

that strengthen

us in our

brokenness,

in our sin.

Strengthen

us in that

place where

we could not

have strengthened

ourselves.

Jesus reached

in and

strengthened us

when we could

not strengthen

ourselves.

He's the

example.

He's the

author of

our salvation.

He's the

one that we

look to.

for how

do we do

that?

How do we

be like

Christ?

So,

if you

are this

morning

are a

believer in

Christ,

then I

want to

encourage you

to continue

to look to

him as

our example.

If you're

not a believer

this morning

and you hear

this passage,

then I want

to encourage

you to

read more

and to

learn more

about Jesus

Christ and

what he

did on

the cross

because

without

Jesus

Christ and

our belief

in him,

we remain

broken and

in our sin.

And that also

means that we

are separated

from God

and we will

remain that

way until

judgment.

So,

God uses

us,

each one

of us.

I say he

uses the

church,

but you

know that

that means

he uses

you and

he uses

me to

encourage

you and

me.

That's how

God works.

So,

as we

close,

let's allow

God to

use us.

Use us

to strengthen

others and

use us to

strengthen his

church.

Let's close

in prayer.

Lord,

we are

thankful

for the

strength that

you gave

to Paul

and to

Priscilla

and Aquila

and to

Apollos.

We're

thankful for

the examples

that we see

of them

in the

Bible.

Lord,

we know

that you

call us

to be

examples

for you.

You call

us to

look to

Christ,

to submit

and to

have a

life that's

oriented

towards what

you are

trying to

accomplish and

not what

we're trying

to accomplish.

It's about

your church,

your glory,

and your

work.

So,

God,

we pray that

you would

humble us

in areas

where we

are holding

on to

that glory

for ourselves

and not

letting it

go and

allowing you

through us

to strengthen

one another

like the

plants of

a bamboo

group,

a plant,

a collective

that grows

larger and

stronger as

it seeks to

care for

and sends

its resources

to one

another.

Lord,

help us to

be like

that.

Teach us,

Lord,

we ask.

May you be

glorified.

In your name

we ask.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.