How Does a Christ-Follower Respond?
Acts 16:1-12
Introduction
The Christian brothers and sisters at Antioch had good reason to rejoice
-- They had been at the center of a great controversy; and stood firm in it
-- The controversy? Answering, “What must we do to be saved?”
The “church” wanted to set standards for Gentiles who accepted Jesus
-- But after debate, discussion, and prayer, they came to the right conclusion
-- They were made free ONLY because of Jesus Christ and His redemption
-- Jesus died on the cross. Jesus was raised from the God. Jesus is Savior!
Last week: We will not ALWAYS agree on EVERTHING – it is impossible
-- Anyone who thinks this way is really one who is out of touch with reality
-- The Disciples were humans and disagreed – and we will experience this as well
As believers, we are called to have a common purpose in what we do
-- The purpose is to worship, to love, and to celebrate Christ and share Him always
-- That is our challenge, mission, and it is where we find ourselves today
Title is, “How Does a Christ-Follower Respond?”
Read Acts 16:1-12
We’ve got four areas to cover this morning …
Point 1 – A follower pays it forward (1-3)
- Christ-followers are willing and able to share the good news with others
-- Paul was willing to take Timothy under his wing to train him further
-- Timothy knew the Lord, but admittedly needed more training in discipleship
-What do we know about Timothy?
-- Timothy was Jewish through his mother, but had never been circumcised, probably because his Gentile father did not believe it served any good purpose.
-- Paul had him circumcised so would be able to minister without offense
-- IMP: Paul knew that Timothy would get grief, so he took care of the issue
-- What we LEARN from Timothy is he’s willing to do whatever it takes
Last week we talked about John Mark, who appeared to lack commitment
-- By contrast, Timothy was willing to do whatever was necessary
-- He traveled with Paul, ministered in various places, and eventually became the Pastor (also referred to as an elder) at the church in Ephesus
Even though Paul was carrying a letter regarding circumcision’s non-value
-- Timothy was willing to do whatever it took to reach people at any level
THREE WEEKS AGO: You get on their boat, they WILL get on yours!
-Well, Paul invested in Timothy and trained him to be an effective Christ-follower. He encouraged him to boldly share the good news about Jesus.
He wrote to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7-8, “For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God.”
-Furthermore, Paul trained Timothy to keep investing in others so that more and more people would learn to teach others about Jesus: 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.”
-Trans: When you pay it forward, you strive to work towards the same mission
Point 2 – A follower works as a team (4-5)
Paul knew that he wasn't the only one with a gift to teach, he deferred to others
-- Paul knew that these were men also called to lead, so he respected them
-- He may disagree with them later, but they were still qualified to teach
- Paul though, understood that the message must be one of unity and agreement
-- Galatians 2:11, “When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong.”
-- Paul did not undermine Peter or discredit his calling as an apostle of Christ
He was willing to face problems and work them out
-- He was loyal to the other apostles and leaders, and as we see in v.4-5
-- He carried their decisions to many churches
-- He knew he was no one-man show, but part of a team
- Even as a leader here I don’t (and will NEVER) seek blind allegiance
-- But, we should look to work together, following and serving in unity to Christ
-- I openly admit that I don’t have all the answers; but together WE have it all
Trans: Every believer can hear from the Holy Spirit, and we must listen
Point 3 – A follower listens to the Holy Spirit (6-8)
Do you regularly hear from God? (Deeper: Do you regularly LISTEN for Him?)
-- Have you developed your spiritual listening skills? (Listening … not talking)
-- 7 times in the book of Revelation John writes, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.”
-- APP: We must be able to hear from the Spirit when He is speaking to us
If you have trouble hearing from God I’d to recommend two things to consider:
-- Are you dealing with sin in your life that is un-confessed and blocks Him?
-- Are you too busy doing everything else but listening for Him to speak?
I urge you to actively pursue interaction with God.
The HS desires to speak to our hearts, and He can teach us to recognize His voice
Trans: When we do hear from God, there is something more required of us
Point 4 – A follower acts when God reveals His plan (9-12)
God reveals His nature, His plan, and many other things to us through the Bible
-- God may also speak to us through impressions in our hearts or spirits
-- He may give us a special burden of prayer for a certain person or people
-- He may give us a dream or a vision to show what He wants us to do
-- In this case, Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia who was begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
This vision convinced them that God wanted them to go to Macedonia and proclaim the good news about Jesus … So, what did they do?
-- They got ready, boarded a ship, and headed for Macedonia
-- They acted on the revelation they had received
I believe that God is sometimes silent and waiting on us to take action
-- He has already directed us to move; and so He says nothing else till we do
-- God wants us to learn to trust Him and be quick to do what He asks
God wants us to totally follow Him; we don’t always need second opinions
-- God provides us the information we need, and then we have a choice
-- Here’s the choice we have from God: Obey or Disobey … that’s it!!
Trans: So, where does all this leave us today to ponder this coming week?
Big Ideas
1. As we close today, are you a Christ-follower?
-- Are you effectively following Him?
-- Are you paying it forward, telling the good news about Him, and training others to do the same?
2. Are you working as a team with the other believers God has placed in your life?
-- Are you in sync with the rest of the body of Christ, or on a different wavelength?
-- Do you regularly hear the Holy Spirit as He reveals God’s will to you?
-- Have you been faithful to act on what you've heard from God?
If you answered no to any of these questions … you are NOT alone!
-- It means that we need to take more steps towards God; WE have room to grow!
Have you asked the Lord where you need to make changes?
-- Lord, how can I share my faith and help train others to do so?
-- Lord, how can I be a better team player?
-- Lord, how can I hear your voice more clearly?
-- Lord, help me to act on what you've already shown me.
Maybe you just need to ask God: “How do I need to obey you more?”
Pray
** Outline used graciously from Rev Mark Opperman **
