Hero Makers, Pathway To Greatness Series

Sermon – Hero Makers, Pathway to Greatness

Key Scriptures - Acts 18:1-4 (Paul Meets Priscilla and Aquila in Corinth)

“Then Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he became acquainted with a Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, who had recently arrived from Italy with his wife, Priscilla. They had left Italy when Claudius Caesar deported all Jews from Rome. Paul lived and worked with them, for they were tentmakers just as he was. Each Sabbath found Paul at the synagogue, trying to convince the Jews and Greeks alike.”

Acts 18:24-28 (Apollos Instructed at Ephesus)

“Meanwhile, a Jew named Apollos, an eloquent speaker who knew the Scriptures well, had arrived in Ephesus from Alexandria in Egypt. He had been taught the way of the Lord, and he taught others about Jesus with an enthusiastic spirit and with accuracy. However, he knew only about John’s baptism. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him preaching boldly in the synagogue, they took him aside and explained the way of God even more accurately. Apollos had been thinking about going to Achaia, and the brothers and sisters in Ephesus encouraged him to go. They wrote to the believers in Achaia, asking them to welcome him. When he arrived there, he proved to be of great benefit to those who, by God’s grace, had believed. He refuted the Jews with powerful arguments in public debate. Using the Scriptures, he explained to them that Jesus was the Messiah.”

Introduction – Supportive and mentoring believers are hero makers! I have entitled this message, “Hero Makers, Pathway to Greatness. Aspiring to be great without a strong commitment to a life of service is a complete waste of time, but with a genuine heart of service, there is no telling how far you will go in life. This lesson is about some of the great heroes of faith and how they got there! The pathway to greatness is not straight or smooth. It is filled with ups and downs, successes and failures, joy, and disappointments. We all have those periods of our lives where we feel like everything is falling apart. It isn't just that the world is falling apart around us, it is also the feeling that no matter what we do, nothing is getting better. I bring this up because Paul has one of those moments in Chapter 18. You can sense his frustrations and feelings of failing and wanting to quit. What does a Christian do during the real difficult times in life? One great lesson revealed in Acts Chapter 18 is how God renews and refreshes Paul. God used some supportive mentoring believers, to get Paul back on his feet. This is one of the great secrets to Christianity. The fact is that Christianity was never intended to be a solo act. Whenever you find a "spiritually weird" Christian who has a strange doctrine. You will usually find they spend too much time alone and not enough time with other Christians. This is why the Bible stresses gathering with other believers. (2 Thes. 2:1).

Acts Chapter 18 introduces the readers to several new characters. You will notice the importance of teamwork in the kingdom. When Paul gets down in the dumps, God uses his friends to encourage him, pick him up and gives him the strength to move on. We are introduced to a husband-and-wife team named Aquila and Priscilla. One of the great promises of the Bible is that God will provide for all of our needs according to His riches in Glory (Philippians 4:19). Yet many times those needs are supplied through supportive mentors and friends here on earth. During a time when Paul's companions were not with him, God brings new friends into Paul's life for support and companionship. That is a wonderful way God works.

Paul is in the middle of his second missionary journey. He and Silas left Syrian Antioch and traveled by foot north and west through central modern-day Turkey. In Lystra, they met Timothy; Paul saw Timothy had the potential to be a leader in the church and brought him along. Priscilla and Aquila became friends of Paul, co-laborers with Paul and later became mentors to Apollos. They are shining examples of teamwork and demonstrate the daring and beautiful possibilities of men and women working together for the flourishing of the kingdom.

History and fiction are replete with stories of dynamic duos. Cleopatra and Mark Antony. Romeo and Juliet. Sonny and Cher. Ike and Tina. These powerful pairs united their individual gifts and abilities to accomplish incredible things. The Bible also records important husband-and-wife combinations. Abraham and Sarah. Moses and Zipporah. Ruth and Boaz. But no marriage was quite like that of Priscilla and Aquila. And consequently, no ministry was quite like theirs. Crazy as it sounds, Scripture suggests that without Priscilla and Aquila, the church might not have turned out the way that it did.