Missions Paul

Who are you overwhelmed by?

Acts 19:3  So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied.

 

The Jews had been using baptism as a cleansing ritual for some time. John the Baptist in his role as the forerunner to Christ adopted this as a means of preparation to receive the Messiah. It soon became known as ‘John’s baptism’ and he had gathered disciples who were obviously still around long after his death. The ones Paul encountered as he entered Ephesus had become disciples of Christ but had not received the Holy Spirit.

Theirs was a baptism of man.

• Submerged and overwhelmed by the ministry of man.

This is still available today. There are still well-intentioned John the Baptists today. They point to Jesus but their followers sometimes fall into the trap of pointing to them and not HIM.

Churches can be identified by such branding. “That’s a x church” describing perhaps its worship style or ministry/community approach. There’s nothing wrong with this obviously. But sometimes it all gets a bit much and we forget it is Jesus’ Church and the brand is man.

Promoters of Christian events in order to attract the crowds are faced with running out of superlatives to get the much needed ticket sales. Jesus is awesome, powerful and supernatural, it is good to remind ourselves of this.

Are you marked by man or by HIM?

These men were disciples of Christ but their identification was that of John. Paul was soon to make sure this was changed.

May we all be identified by the right person.

 

 

 

 

Is He here?

Acts 19:2 “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.”

Paul enters Ephesus and he stumbles across some Christ followers and the first thing he asked them was not about what they believed but what they have received.

He didn’t ask them about what was in their head but who was in their heart.

He didn’t ask them about the size of their church, what events were coming up, he didn’t ask them about the challenges they were facing. He didn’t ask whether they were changing Ephesus, he asked them whether the One was changing them.

Is He in you? Is He transforming, overwhelming and moving in you? Has the extraordinary invaded the ordinary? Has your strength been energised by His power? Is your life categorised by thinking, doing or have you learnt how to receive?

Today, He who is in you is not only greater than he that is in the world but also greater than what you do in the world. God in you. It is not what you know but who you know.

The answer cannot be ‘I do not know’. It is YES or NO.

Maybe approaching your day knowing that you have received God into your life, the fire of God, the life-changing, miraculous, guiding, resurrecting power of God is resident in your life, then maybe that is all you need to know.

 

 

Mountains

Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.

The CEV translates ‘through the interior’ as ‘travelled across the hill country’. The Message says “Paul made his way down through the mountains”.

Whilst Apollos was taking on the Jews in vehement debate, Paul was walking the mountains.

A couple of days ago I received this text:

“Please pray for me as I am going to the mountain area today to see one young Buddhist man who has come to Christ and also I will be meeting others who came to Christ before. For me, like Jesus left 99 sheep and went to look for one sheep that went lost. I think one soul matters. I am going for this one soul, this is me and my passion of love for Christ and the people to be saved for Christ so I cannot wait and sit in this city without this happen. Daunting amount of emails and paper works in the office, my body don’t matter to me much compare to one soul that can be saved into the Kingdom of God, this matters the most. I am proud to be the ELIM missionary. Together for His Kingdom and glory. With love”

This missionary trekked for 12-13 hours up a mountain that was 4,000 feet high and he ate only frogs that he caught. He did all this because he wanted to encourage young Christians.

Paul trekked the mountains to reach Ephesus to find followers, to encourage the Church.

Sometimes life is a journey of mountains that you have to climb. Today may be that day. But you do it because God has called you onward. He has called you to something. Others are waiting for you.

We all need an Apollos and to be one at times!

Acts 18:28 “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.”

It wasn’t that the believers in Achaia were not witnessing. They had told of Jesus. However, they were under attack from the Jews and the believers were no match for them.

Apollos stepped into their area of difficulty to do what they were struggling to do.

Apollos gave everything, he was not afraid to become angry and throw his whole weight behind what he was saying. With passion, and an attitude of ‘I am not backing down’ he knew he was right and he strained to make sure he was understood.

Apollos was not just using energy, he was able to prove that what was being said was wrong. He understood the opposition, he could analyse and reveal the errors.

Apollos confronted every opposing argument and then brought every accusation down. He was able to attack as much as the opponents. His tactic was not just defence.

Apollos could see behind the Jews arguments. The meaning of refute carries the ability to expose blame, he showed their true colours.

 

What kind of friend do you have? What kind of friend are you?

Acts 18: 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.

Priscilla and Aquila would no doubt have told him of their efforts and ongoing concerns for the church in Corinth. So it is no surprise that Apollos wants to go to that region of Corinth and Athens.

We know from Paul’s letters to Corinth the impact that Apollos had on the church. They loved Apollos and his ministry.

Apollos was added value. He was a ‘great help’ so that the Church advanced in understanding of God and their witness in the world.

That would never have happened without Priscilla and Aquila.

They didn’t interfere, they influenced for the good. They helped the situation they didn’t hinder it. Sometimes people meddle and they muddy the waters. We all need to be careful who we allow to speak into our lives. But we all need friends who:

1. Are able to give us correct information. Priscilla and Aquila had been in Corinth. It is without doubt they spoke to Apollos about their experiences. Their concerns were legitimate because it was first-hand. Their love for the people was genuine.
2. Are outside of the situation. The ‘brothers and sisters’ encouraged Apollos. These were his Ephesian friends as The Message and the Amplified indicate. Apollos didn’t rely only on those who knew the church in Corinth but also those who were not involved and didn’t know. Wisdom is sometimes found outside not from within.
3. Encourage. This is not to magnify the weakness in our lives, the doubts, the insecurities, but to strengthen those so that we can go forward. I don’t need a friend to tell me how difficult it may get, I already know this. I need a friend to tell me I can do it.
4. Can open a door for us. Leaving it to God and trusting Him in it all is at times necessary. But there are times when we need someone to open the door for us. “We are sending Apollos, he is a good man, please welcome him.” Apollos didn’t need to try and prove himself. He was able to go in with confidence because of what his friends had done.
5. Can bring change. We need friends who do more than recommend but who do what the Amplified and the Message state, “urge”. They present their case, they persuade, they answer the questions, defend, they put pressure on a person to change their mind about you.

Preaching with accuracy

Acts 18:26 “… and Apollos began to speak boldly and fearlessly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained more accurately to him the way of God [and the full story of the life of Christ].”

Apollos needed the full version. He needed the facts about the cross, resurrection, ascension and the Pentecost story.

Apollos needed Priscilla and Aquila in his life and we all do.

He was a good communicator already but he needed some mentoring. He needed fine tuning. He needed to be held accountable.

This good preacher needed someone to come alongside and critique his messages and bring positive criticism.

Church problems happen when we don’t advocate such mentoring. This means there is a need for vulnerability and transparency. We become a weaker Church if we cannot improve and how can we improve if we are not corrected?

Today my prayer is as I go out to preach is that all over the world preachers will preach with boldness and without fear. But they will preach accurately the ways of God having a full knowledge of the story of God. May it be so in your Church today.

The passion of Peter Griffiths and those he worked with.

Acts 18:25 “He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervour and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.”

Apollos knew the way, he knew the facts about Jesus and he knew the need for repentance. But it wasn’t what he knew that was the key to his influence, it was what he had. He had “great fervour.” The Message says “fiery in enthusiasm.” The Amplified says, “and being spiritually impassioned …”

May God continue to give me this passion. That is my prayer this morning.

Passion opens the door for achievement – whether it be in business or in discovery, great leaders, record breakers, they all had passion. Commitment will automatically follow passion, you won’t have to try to keep going. Passion will cause you to enjoy the journey as much as the destination.

“Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervour, serving the Lord.” Romans 12:11

When Jesus overturned the money tables in the temple offended that it wasn’t being used as the house of prayer that it should have been, the disciples later remembered the Psalmists words “Zeal for your house will consume me.”

We understand the word passion to mean: A powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate.

Yet walk into churches today, speak to Bible believing Christians and you don’t have to go too far into the conversation with some of them to know that there is no powerful emotion for Jesus there is no compelling feeling for Him.

They have become “neither cold nor hot” God says in Revelation 3 “I wish you were one or the other and not lukewarm”.

But as I sit here asking for more passion I am also aware it means suffering and submission as like Jesus’ death on the cross. So it is not only about the excitement of the heart but it is about the bended knee.

Next to me is The Axe and the Tree, a compelling read by my friend, Stephen Griffiths. You can purchase this by typing the following into your browser:

http://www.elim.org.uk/Shop/Products/498661/The_Axe_and.aspx

I have read this book a few times now. It is full of passion. It is passionately written. Stephen is a son of the late Peter Griffiths, the Principal of the Elim School and a British missionary with his wife, Brenda, at the time of the murder of our Elim missionaries in what is now Zimbabwe.

Yesterday morning, the 23^rd, I remembered the tragedy and the book helped me. Our missionaries carried passion in their souls and it took them to Rhodesia and it was passion that brought them to their knees in surrender.

This story even though it is 39 years later is still impacting, still stirring, it is still passionately moving.

Let me give an excerpt of what happened on this day, the day after the surrender. The Griffiths family were on furlough in the UK at the time.

Stephen writes, “We got up early on Saturday 24 June 1978 to travel together as a family to Surrey. My father was going to speak at the Elim Bible College graduation, in the Surrey village of Capel.

The sunlight came flickering through the trees as we drove through the green countryside of early summer. I leaned my head back against the car window, staring up into the vault of blue overhead. It was a summer’s morning to fill the heart with a numinous joy.

As we drove up through the grounds, we expected to see the spreading lawns of the college splashed with colour; students, their families, and friends strolling on the grass anticipating a day of celebration. But the lawns were deserted. Pulling up close to the main entrance, we were curious and amazed to find that all was quiet. On graduation day we expected noise and movement and laughter. A student stepped out of the shadow of the doorway and quickly stepped forward. “I’m here to take you straight to the Principal’s office,” he said, an unexpectedly solemn look on his face.

We followed him in a small family knot, increasingly bemused. Here and there we saw one or two people as we made our way through the building but they drew back or turned away as we passed. The door to the Principal’s office was opened and we saw Wesley Gilpin, the Principal, standing behind his desk. My father advanced towards him, smiling, with his hand outstretched, and we followed him in.

Without preamble the Principal said, “Pete, I’ve got some bad news for you.”

My dad’s face changed and he said abruptly, “They’ve killed Phil.”

Very gently the Principal said, “I’m sorry, Pete. They’ve all been killed.”

With those words, my father staggered as if he had been punched, falling down backwards with the shock. My mother stood, shaking all over as if she had a fever, saying, “Why are we still alive? Why have we got life and they’re all dead?” I was traumatized both by hearing words which didn’t make sense at first and then seeing the reaction of my tough, capable father who had coped with so much. The room rocked and swayed and a strange buzzing rang in my ears.

The summer light drained from it, the day passed in a colourless blur of faces coming into view and fading away again. Broken fragments of sentences. Joy Bath’s face, normally so animated and full of fun, running with tears as she stood enfolded in my parents’ arms. Treading carefully, unsure of feet and balance in the weightless atmosphere of shock, I was intensely aware of each movement and moment.

The Bible College graduation service went ahead. Although others offered to take his place as the speaker, my father felt he should do it. He had already planned to speak from Paul’s letter to the church at Philippi: “It is my eager expectation and hope that I shall not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”[i]

Tears ran unchecked down my father’s face as he recalled his friends and colleagues one by one and spoke of their determination to follow their Lord. A graduating student recalled, “I can see him now … his bloodshot eyes seemed to be alive with grief and hope. He paused for a long time, looked into our eyes again, and asked us if we would be faithful to the Lord Jesus whatever the cost. As we knelt to pray we were sobered but determined. His was one sermon I will never forget.”

That’s it, isn’t it?

Whatever the cost, will we be faithful?

Are we determined?

Do we have zeal?

Is there passion within?

Will this passion compel us to love and will it bring us to our knees in surrender if that is required?

Will you say YES to these questions as I ask them myself also?

 

 

Meanwhile

Acts 18: 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.”

Meanwhile:

At the same time as you are doing what you are doing, whether you are in success or struggling when perhaps the centre stage is the whole stage and you see no one else or nothing changing remember this word: Meanwhile.

You see in another place, far away perhaps, someone can be travelling towards you. God can have trained someone to come to help you.

Meanwhile … Apollos.

You don’t see it all.

You are only part of God’s story not the other way round.

In His story He has many people and He moves them into place.

You may lose a friend, a loved one.

You may be struggling in that job, in that place.

But it may not be how it is for much longer.

There are things happening right now that you do not even see or could possibly imagine.

Things are shifting, circumstances are changing for other people, preparations are taking place, do not give up hope.

You are part of the community of God who believe in this:

Meanwhile!

Strengthening

Acts 18:23 “After spending some time in Antioch, Paul set out from there and travelled from place to place throughout the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples.”

Paul decided not to sail but to go by land and visit the churches. The purpose was to make those disciples stronger.

I have a new friend, he is a Pastor but also a fitness trainer. I like him a lot. But 2 days ago I didn’t like him too much as he gave me a fitness session. I haven’t had a personal fitness session before. It hurt. It hurt the next day too. I felt my body ache in places I didn’t think it could ache. His name  is Reenu and he wants to try and renew my body!

The exercises he gives me are meant to strengthen my body. This finely toned body of muscle challenges me by saying that his body used to look like my body and that I can change!

In 2 weeks time I will once again submit myself to 3 Pastors who will gather around me to challenge my vision, my plans, my spiritual well-being and the hours I spend in work,rest and play. I created this group 4 years ago because I wanted to be the best I could in what was then a whole new chapter for my life.

A few days before this I will have a one to one with my boss who will go even further in stretching my thinking and who at the moment is getting me to imagine what could possibly be.

In all 3 of these scenarios at times it is uncomfortable being vulnerable, but it has to happen in order that I become stronger.

Every day the Bible strengthens me as I read the beautiful Scriptures. But I need people, I always have. Over the years some have left me and I have had to move on from some but new friends come and they impact me positively.

Let me just leave you with 2 questions today:

Who strengthens you?

Who do you strengthen?

 

Which place are you in?

Acts 18:22 “When he landed at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church and then went down to Antioch.”

 

Luke has become very quiet on the activity of Paul though this would probably have been a journey of over a thousand miles and be a period of up to 1 year. He just mentions the places. Maybe that is all that was needed. Maybe the places alone indicate the importance of what was in Pauls mind or certainly the activity of what was taking place.

Let me illustrate:

“It was a Gethsemane moment” meaning it was a place of decision in my life.

“I knelt down at Calvary” meaning I surrendered to the importance of the cross of Christ.

“It was an upper room experience” meaning it was a time of an outpouring of the Holy Spirit.

Places are sometimes enough to indicate activity or the importance of what is going on in a persons life.

He landed at Caesarea, named to honour and flatter the Caesar, a harbour city of which everyone had to come through to proceed on their journey. Man’s finest hour was all around. Power, praise, man’s success, wealth and prestige. Some people who land here think they have arrived, they have reached the top, there was no place higher. Paul landed but he hadn’t arrived. He had to go up, there was another level.

He went up to Jerusalem and greeted the Church. Throughout the gospels we read of how in order to go to Jerusalem ‘Jesus went up’. But Jerusalem was the place of the death of Jesus and the desertion of the disciples. It was the place of surrender and restoration. Going up to Jerusalem was actually going down to submission. Paul went up but he went down and we are led to believe from previous verses he laid the offering of his cut hair from the Nazirite vow in the temple fire. He went up to lay his life down.

He went down to Antioch where he had first been sent out with Silas almost 3 years ago. A reminder he was a missionary. He had been raised from the Damascus Road to GO. We all need reminding of our purpose, the reason why we are here, what our life should be about. We are sent.

So maybe Luke didn’t need to write about the activity, maybe the place is good enough.

Caesarea, the place of the power of man. Leave it.

Jerusalem, the place of the offering of your life. Surrender it.

Antioch, the place for the purpose of your life. You are sent.