THE NEXT ENCOUNTER
I got a call from a former member who met a young man and as the conversation turned spiritual, the young man mentioned his connection with Cornerstone, unaware the other guy also had a history with Cornerstone. They planned on getting together again and so he called me to get some insight on how to better minister to him since I already knew the guy. That made me think of how God has a marvelous way of putting people in our paths.
There are times we meet someone and go on to have a long lasting relationship with them. Then we have the people we connect with and minister to, then at some point they move on. We can get discouraged over that.
We spent all this time with them and it seemed everything was going well but now they're gone and we don't know if we will ever see them again. We may conclude that all our effort was for naught. What we need to consider is perhaps God put them in our path only for a season and now it was someone else's turn.
Perhaps we've done all we needed to do and God was going to put this person in someone else's path so they could pick up where we left off. It's likely that the ones who come into our lives that do stick around have been ministered to by someone before they came into our life. It shows how much God doesn't give up on people.
If one of his servants did their part but it didn't produce the results God was hoping for he sends another one to make another attempt. God never gives up on us. And it's usually not the first encounter that produces the desired result but it could be the next. Let's see what the bible has to say about the next encounter.
1) The next encounter.
Acts 18:24-28, "Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John.
He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
When Apollos wanted to go to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On arriving, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public debate, proving from the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ."
Apollos was an educated man. Although he had a thorough knowledge of the scriptures, there were some things he didn't know. Though he taught about Jesus accurately, Priscilla and Aquila needed to teach him about baptism in the name of Jesus. And we know by the verses that follow that Apollos was humble and teachable.
God knew who to send Apollos to. Priscilla and Aquila had a thorough understanding also. In Rom. 16, Paul mentioned they were his fellow workers in Christ and that they even risked their lives for Paul. Acts 18 states they were tentmakers and Paul met them in Corinth. He stayed with them and learned the trade of tent making.
When Paul left Corinth to sail for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila went with him. When they got to Ephesus, Paul went on but Priscilla and Aquila stayed. Soon after they met Apollos. After listening to him, it became clear to Priscilla and Aquila that he didn't know about baptism in the name of Jesus.
So they invited them to their home to be able to spend time with him and teach him more sufficiently. What Apollos gained by his time spent with them was priceless since we see that he went on to be a valuable asset to Paul and the church.
It's obvious that Apollos had previous encounters as it says he had been instructed in the way of the Lord. But he needed his next encounter with Priscilla and Aquila to gain what he was lacking so he could be a better agent of Christ.
Who have been the next encounter people God has placed in your life that helped you learned the way of Christ more adequately? We need to make sure we show appreciation for those who've been influential in teaching us the truth.
Not that this takes away from the first encounter people in our lives. I'm sure Priscilla and Aquila were very thankful for those who ministered to Apollos before they met him. We need to be thankful for the ones who had previous encounters with people before we were given the opportunity to be their next encounter.
2) It's not a competition.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, we see Paul dealing with a situation that was creating division.
1st Cor. 1:10-13, "I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.
What I mean is this: One of you says, “I follow Paul”; another, “I follow Apollos; another, “I follow Cephas’”; still another, “I follow Christ.” Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul?"
Paul had been to Corinth and established the church before moving on. After that, Apollos came and ministered to the Corinthians. At some point divisions arose with some holding an allegiance to Paul and some Apollos and others Peter. And then there were the ones who actually got it right by stating, "I follow Christ".
I don't know what Apollos did to try to settle these issues but obviously Paul got wind of it and addressed it in this letter. So it looks like Paul would've been their first encounter as he planted the church and Apollos was their next encounter as he came after the church was established.
And we don't know where Peter fits into the equation, but we see that the people had multiple encounters and with multiple influential men. But instead of just rejoicing in these encounters they were picking favorites and causing division.
Paul points it all back to Jesus, where the focus should be. You don't follow anyone but Jesus because all these guys you mentioned are only following Jesus. You're all fighting, you're all divided, but Jesus isn't. It isn't about who taught you first, it isn't about who you like the most, it isn't about who baptized you-it's about Jesus; it's always only been about Jesus.
Paul picks up the subject again in chapter three.
1st Cor. 3:1-8, "Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly—mere infants in Christ. I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready. You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men? For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe—as the Lord has assigned to each his task. I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow. The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor."
Paul, Peter and Apollos were all different men; each with their own personalities and approach and gifts but all serving one God. It's natural for people to gravitate toward certain leaders or mentors based on personal preference. That's fine; what isn't fine is when it causes disunity.
If they were saying, "I favor Paul" or " I favor Apollos" that may have been ok. But that's not what was happening here. I can favor one over the other and still be unified. But when you have some saying "I follow Paul" and others saying "I follow Apollos", now you have a problem.
Paul makes it clear that we're all servants and that this isn't a competition. It doesn't matter who brings someone to Christ, the important thing is that the person was brought to Christ. You may have met me first and I studied with you but then you befriended someone else in the church and you began studying with them.
If by spending time with them you came to the place where you were ready to turn your life over to Christ that's a good thing. I shouldn't be jealous that your next encounter helped you get there. That's irrelevant but if I'm not careful I'll make it prevalent.
And it doesn't matter who plants and who waters because it's God who brings the growth. So we don't jockey for position; we don't try to upstage one another because the only one who deserves the glory is God. We can't make growth happen, only he can. We are merely servants who need to work together to aid in the process.
If we fight against one another we can be sure we will destroy what God is trying to build and I don't want to be responsible doing that.
3) Unity of the Spirit.
Eph. 4:1-8, "As a prisoner for the Lord, then, I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received. Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
There is one body and one Spirit—just as you were called to one hope when you were called—one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all. But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”
We are to live up to the calling we have received. First-as a Christian we are to live up to the new creation God has made us into. We no longer operate under the sinful nature but the new nature. Secondly, we live up to the specific calling we each have received according to the ways God has gifted us.
We have an obligation to live in accordance with the Holy Spirit who has taken up residence in us. And we're to live up to that calling in humility; not boasting in our accomplishments but recognizing that without God we are nothing.
We need to be patient with one another as we all don't progress at the same speed. Some have more struggles and difficulties to contend with than we do. Instead of being impatient we come along side of them, encourage them and help carry their burdens.
Unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. God has made us all different. One of the ways we establish unity and peace is when we appreciate each other's differences. I shouldn't want everyone to say, think and act exactly like I do. There may be one God, one faith, one ultimate purpose, but the way to accomplish that purpose varies.
And you'll be better equipped to reach certain people because of your personality, background and experiences. God made us all to be individuals, working together under one accord for his glory. We need to complement one another, not compete against one another. We work alongside one another not against one another.
John and I had different personalities which sometimes resulted in having a different approach or a different way of doing things. Our goals were the same but how we went about it was different sometimes. Yet we worked well together; we were a good team. Our differences actually enhanced our effectiveness.
John didn't strive to make me like him. I learned from him and adopted some of the ways he did things but I remained my own person. That's the way it should be; that's really the only way it can work. Although there may be differences within the body it's still one body. There's a quote that goes, "Diversity will only be beneficial where unity exists."
We share the same gospel and the same scriptures but we all have different gifts, different personalities, etc. Because of this, we may be able to help a person only to a certain degree. We did our part according to the skills we had. Then the next encounter happens through someone else. This person can have a different skill set and a different personality that gels better with the person.
That's okay; it doesn't make us inferior; it doesn't mean we're less effective-it means that the next encounter person was better suited in some ways to reach them than I was for whatever reason. But we're all used to help bring about the end result.
God wants us to operate as a team that values each other and knows we all need to work together to serve the greater good. That's the divine design. But, if we are people who are jealous and feel like we're in competition with each other-we will sabotage the work that God is trying to accomplish.
I encounter you and you tell me about your relationship with so and so before me and how much they helped you and so on. If I have a jealous nature and a competitive spirit, I'll go out of my way to discredit that person to make myself look good.
This can happen when someone comes from another church. If a church folds or moves, certain members end up finding another church to call home. In their new church they may talk about their old church or Pastor; not for comparison reasons but just out of a fondness for their old church or Pastor.
We may have to fight back a spirit of jealousy there. I as a Pastor may feel I need to outshine any Pastors you had before me. If you tell me about the things your old church did or something profound your old Pastor said will I rejoice in that or be cynical about it? Will I be thankful that a foundation has been laid and now I get the privilege of building upon it or will I try to tear down whatever was built so that I can rebuild it my way?
The unified church doesn't have any room for jealousy and competition; it's a waste of time and effort not to mention completely counterproductive. There's no room for pride and jealousy; we're all working together and it's all about God.
If I spend time with you trying to reach you with the gospel or trying to disciple you and then you move on for whatever reason and then God sends someone else in your path and they have more success with you than I did should I be upset or jealous? No! Because it's not about me; it's about the end result. We need to be thankful that we were used in helping someone to reach the goal.
I'm sure most of us have had multiple encounters with different people along the way. This shows how much God is interested in reaching people. Someone plants the seed and maybe the person rejects it or they only let it sink in so far. Then, God sends someone else to minister to them. They water the seed that was planted before.
With this next encounter, the person may start to listen or allow it to sink in a little deeper. It may take a bunch of encounters before the person is ready to give their life to Christ or repent from a specific sin. God never gives up on us. He keeps sending people into our lives to plant and water and cultivate and weed; whatever is needed for the purpose of reaching us and drawing us close to him.
If you are someone's next encounter, be sure to appreciate the opportunity and be thankful for the ones who ministered to this person before you. Through the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace there is no competition but only partnerships. We need to keep the focus on the main things-salvation and sanctification. When we all operate in love and singleness of purpose then God will get all the glory.
