1. Teamwork
A traveler was driving along one day and had an accident. He drove his car into a ditch in a desolate area. A local farmer came by to help with his horse named Buddy.
Well, the farmer hitched Buddy up to the car and yelled, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn't move. Once more the farmer hollered, "Pull, Nellie, pull!" Buddy didn't respond. The farmer repeated this action again, with the same results.
Then the farmer nonchalantly said, "Pull, Buddy, pull!" And the horse finally dragged the car out of the ditch.
The motorist was really appreciative but he was also curious. He said to the farmer "I really appreciate what you did for me, but why did you call your horse by the wrong name?"
The farmer said, "Oh, Buddy is blind - and if he thought he was the only one pulling, he wouldn't even try."
2. The bible reminds us that we are partners in the gospel
a. Partners with God
b. Partners with one another
3. An incident happened two weeks ago in worship that has strained the partnership of the gospel here.
a. Two small groups of people have pushed to extremes on the issue
b. The rest of us have been caught in the middle -- to you I apologize for this message, but then again, I don't as we all deal with conflict and differences from time to time
c. Recall a slogan from the founders of our Movement in America:
In DOCTRINE -- Unity; In OPINION -- Liberty; In ALL THINGS -- Charity
4. Acts 18.24-28
I. Aquila and Priscilla were a Team
A. In their Marriage
1. Sometimes Aquila is mentioned first (18.2; 1 Corinthians 16.19)
2. Sometimes Priscilla is mentioned first (18.26; Romans 16.3; 2 Timothy 4.19)
3. It means they were teamed together as one
B. In their Occupation as tent makers--18.1-4
C. In their Ministry -- "fellow workers" with Paul
II. Priscilla and Aquila were True:
A. To God -- part of the deportation of Jews from Rome under Claudius
1. Some think they were expelled because of Jewish believers and "Chrestus"
2. Regardless, they did not deny their heritage or hide; but went with God
B. In their Understanding of Jesus
1. Messiah-El
2. Savior
C. In their Understanding of Scripture
A bible class teacher starts each new member class with a jar full of beans. He asks his students to guess how many beans are in the jar, and on a big pad of paper writes down their estimates.
Then, next to those estimates, he helps them make another list: Their favorite songs. When the lists are complete, he reveals the actual number of beans in the jar. The whole class looks over their guesses, to see which estimate was closest to being right. He then turns to the list of favorite songs. "And which one of these is closest to being right?" he asks. The students protest that there is no "right answer"; a person's favorite song is purely a matter of personal preference.
The teacher asks, "When you decide what to believe in terms of your faith, is THAT more like guessing the number of beans, or more like choosing your favorite song?" Some things are objective, some are subjective. Worship styles fall into the subjective arena.
1. Apollos had understanding of scripture -- TaNaKH
a. He knew the facts about Jesus and his DBR
b. He lacked the understanding and the of the HS
2. He may have been similar to Saul (Tarsus), from a different part of the world
3. God is not focused on only a small group of people -- he calls people from all places
D. In their Treatment of Apollos
1. Kindness -- took him aside
a. Did not interrupt his sermon
b. Did not insult him or belittle him
c. He may have been where they once had been
2. Instructed further in the WAY of the LORD
a. Way = path, road, manner of life
b. Jesus refers to himself as the "Way" -- John 14.6
c. Those following him were also "the Way" -- Acts 9.1-3
But Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues at Damascus, so that if he found any belonging to the Way, men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. 3 Now as he went on his way, he approached Damascus, and suddenly a light from heaven shone around him.
3. His response was one of humility
a. He was eloquent
b. He understood scripture
c. He was Teachable -- We must never stop learning the scriptures
1. From time to time we differ with one another
2. The differences generally do not matter
3. What is of more importance is how we treat one another -- Leviticus 19.10
4. [John Wooden
John Wooden is considered by many to be the basketball coach of all time. He coached the UCLA Bruins to more college basketball championships than any other NCAA coach in history. What was his secret to success? Teamwork.
Every year he put together the best group of players he could find. And the 5 men who best complemented each other and worked together are the ones he started. But he didn't consider them to be any more important than the substitutes, his assistants, or even the equipment manager. His motto was, "The most important player when we win -- is the rest of the team."
Wooden used to encourage his players to acknowledge the assists of their teammates. If one player received a pass that allowed him to score, Wooden wanted that player to give the other man a wink or point to him as they moved down to the opposite end of the court.
A new player once asked, "But what if the other player isn't looking when you point to him?" Wooden just smiled, "Oh don't worry. He'll be looking."
5. God is looking as he" passes us the ball" -- how are we behaving towards one another?
