A Servant Church Trains
Acts 18:24-28
Teach the way of God more perfectly.
And a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures; came to Ephesus. This man was instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in the spirit, he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard; they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
Have you every meet someone that needed to be informed, but you couldn’t tell them anything? You know a person who gets part of the story, but not the entire story; a person who runs off half-cocked with a part of the truth, but not the whole truth and nothing but the truth.
Interestingly, I believe everyone at some point in one’s life takes action on incomplete information: a rumor, a saying often repeated. One of the dangers I find with talk radio is that a lot of people only really want to hear themselves talk. They will talk and talk and talk, but when you question their information, you’ll find that they really don’t know what they are talking about.
Let me say it this way, how many persons driving on a trip without looking at a map drive the wrong way, not listening to your loved one telling you to pull over and ask for directions, because you know where you are going, and its just a little way up the road. And the little way up the road, turns into miles to go before we sleep.
History is always under revision because we find out new information every day. Can you imagine the number of people who died and went to heaven thinking the world was flat? Or, thinking that people of color where inferior?
You remember the infamous news report stating the Gore had won and then pulling back the information because of Florida. Headlines where printed. News Stories were told. Only to find out that our worst nightmare was true – Bush won!
Some of my more seasoned members remember the Presidential election of Thomas Dewey and Harry Truman. Many of you went to bed at night thinking because the headlines said, “Dewey Won” and to find that Truman was indeed the president.
Partial information, unsubstantiated information, false information, misleading information, unproven information has found itself in historical and political life.
Nevertheless, in the world of religious faith, not having all the information, not having the correct information, not having the true information – in other words being ignorant to the truth can bind one’s soul, mind and spirit to an inescapable reality of spiritual bondage.
Jesus talking one day to a group of Jews as recorded in the Gospel of John, “and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
That’s what this text is all about the liberating spirit of the truth. I say to you that the Servant Church that trains is a church that releases people from spiritual bondage.
I thought at one time that the essence of our problem as a people was political, economic or academic. Politically, we as a people have elected more people to office across this country, but our conditions are worse than ever. I believe more there are more than 9,000 Black elected officials in America. We may have a problem electing an African American to the top spots in Maryland, but as a race of people even in this state we have more Black elective officials now than at any time in our history. But our schools are in a troubled state and we as a people appear to be retrogressing instead of progressing.
I even thought that maybe our problem is economic. When you look at the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites, you will find that there has been little change in that ratio since the time of Dr. Harvey Johnson over one hundred years ago. Even through as Black people in America we have a gross national product of over 790 billion dollars, because we are a race of consumers, the wealth gap between Blacks and Whites remains the same.
Our problem is not even academic. I understand that over 17% of Black people in America have a college degree or better. A speaker said we have surpassed W.E.B. DuBois’s vision of a talented tenth and we are on our way to a talented twentieth.
Given our academic acumen, we have enough college trained people to have a one on one relationship with every public school student in America.
In our church according to our own 2003 demographic survey almost 60% of our congregation has a college degree.
I’m convinced now that our problem is not political. It’s not economic. It’s not academic. Our problem is spiritual. We are in spiritual bondage. And the only way you can be released from spiritual bondage is by the Spirit of Truth.
Jesus continues in the Gospel of John and tells his disciples that even through I am going away, I will send the Comforter that he may abide with you for ever. And Jesus calls the Comforter the Spirit of Truth and he says that the Spirit will dwell in you and shall be in you.
We talk about God as the Father. We talk about God as the Son. But, we get leery about talking about God as the Holy Spirit.
Again I say that, the Servant Church that trains is a church that releases people from spiritual bondage.
You find in this text three characters: Apollos, Aquila, and Prisiclla.
Apollos was a man of faith: charismatic, dapper, intellectually adroit. He was precocious.
He was like our precocious children meaning they show early signs of menial aptitude.
He was smart, our children are smart.
Apollos problem was not his intelligence. His problem was not even his inspiration. His problem was his information.
He only had part of the story. He had not yet studied to show himself approved. What he had studied was just the Torah. He had an Old Testament understanding of God. That what that mean when it says he only knew the Baptism of John.
He only had an Old Testament understanding. An Old Testament understanding is good foundationally. An Old Testament understanding is good substantially. But an Old Testament understanding by its self is not good spiritually.
But the Spirit though it is evident in the Old Testament, does not come to fulfillment for us until Jesus Christ releases it into the earth realm for our benefit.
Here you have a young man with zeal, with zest, but preaching mess. He had the whoop. He had the hum. He had the cadence. He had the tune. But when you listened to what he was actually preaching he was incomplete in telling the story.
Today you will find that he code on the street is an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. That why we have so much violence. Our young folk have an Old Testament understanding of retribution. They where symbols around their necks as ornaments, but do not understand the bejeweled cross is more than an attractive ornament – it’s the spiritually avenue for their liberation.
Another very real situation is that you will find some people get a little bit of religion. Still at the grade school level, but want to preach and teach from their minimalistic vantage point. In other words they see through a glass darkly and they want to preach the dark and not the light.
Jesus says “Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. I am the vine and you are the branches… If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love.”
Servant Church that trains is a church that releases people from spiritual bondage.
Aquila and Priscilla, a husband and wife ministry team, had a church in their home. They was collaborators with Paul was where taught by him. They were genuine in their faith. They believed and understood that training people in the way of the Lord was the path to liberty and freedom.
They where obviously politically astute – they where land owners. They where obviously academically perceptive – they where religious teachers. They where obviously economically clever – they where tent makers.
But, there real strength was that they were spiritually endowed.
They could discern that Apollos had talent and all he needed was the right training.
Our young people are talented. They are smart. All they need is the right training.
Many of you remember someone in you life a man or woman who “pull you up at the right time.” Who talked to you in a manner that was for your collective and protection.
Why is it that we find ourselves not able to talk to the children of our time. Afraid to collect them. Afraid to engage them. Afraid to tell them they are traveling in the wrong way. Afraid of our own children.
Aquila and Priscilla were not afraid to pull Apollos to the side and talk with him and instruct him.
Servant Church that trains is a church that releases people from spiritual bondage.
Let me leave you with these two points and then I will close.
To release people from spiritual bondage the Servant Church must train people in the perfect way of the Lord.
What Aquila and Priscilla did when they took Apollos to the side was expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.
You have to deal with the fact that Jesus Christ was born of a woman. You have to understand that God said this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. You have to deal with his humanity and his divinity. He was fully man and fully God. He bore our sins and burdens and took them to the cross and died for you and for me. They crucified and buried him on a Friday and early Sunday morning he got up with all power in his hands. And by his strips we are healed, we are redeemed, and we are saved.
To release people from spiritual bondage the Servant Church must train people in the perfect way of the Lord.
Finally. The Servant Church must train people in the excellent way of the Lord.
Yet I show you the more excellent way. (KJV)
But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all. (NLT)
Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not love, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling cymbal.
2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing.
3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not love, it profiteth me nothing.
4 Love suffereth long, and is kind;
love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, 5 Doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil;
6 Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth;
7 Beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.
8 Love never faileth:
To release people from spiritual bondage the Servant Church must train people in the perfect and the excellent way of the Lord.
