Apollos: - ¡§they explained to him the way of God more accurately¡¨ Acts 18:24-28 WBC 20/10/02 pm
Illustr: Kathy, Bea and Kate¡¦s current Alpha
Gen(the south African) said today that she has been dying to tell me(but gadding off to Paris) that she left "on a real high " last week and on the way home in the car, all the lyrics on the radio talked about ’the meaning of life’, this is the real thing etc. then she saw a car the same as Bea’s and was looking hard for her dog so noticed a sign in the back with JOHN 3:16 written on it she felt this had to be significant and raced home to look it up!! with fear in her heart (she said) that it would mean nothing and she would be disappointed. She could not believe it when she read it and it was " just like ewen had said" PRAISE THE LORD!! she doesn’t think this can be a coincidence and has been telling all her friends about it!
- seek and you will find, I say! Find stuff/truths/witness that has been there all along
- wow! Brilliant
Current Alpha: many people just WAITING to be told. Wanting to be told.
- good. Faithful. Go to church. Involved. Believe all (most) of what they¡¦ve heard
o worthy of RESPECT! (for what believe and discipline)
They are just waiting for someone to explain it more accurately
- and when they do they recognise it for what it is
This is much what happened to Apollos, here
- note: no condemnation, ¡¥looking down¡¦ on Apollos at all
o = very flattering of him
- BUT THERE WAS MORE. And he needed to hear it
Let¡¦s have a look at all the things he¡¦s commended for
1) SCRIPTURE- ¡§He was a learned man¡¨ v24
¡K¡¨ with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures¡¨
technically- not the Bible. Just the OT, then
- but this man really knew his stuff¡K and showed his seriousness towards the scriptures
Some of it might go over our head (missed) but says here he was from
¡§Alexandria¡¨
- like saying ¡§he was from Cambridge¡¨/¡¨Harvard¡¨
- N coast of Egypt. Financial centre
- 2nd largest city in Roman empire
- city of learning. Before library burnt- 700,000 scrolls!
- Huge Jewish population & heritage
o Source of LXX 200BC
- Home to Philo (round this time). ¡V philosophy!
o Jew who sought to reconcile Gk philosophy and wisdom with the Jewish scriptures
o His approach produced a great love and respect for their scriptures with an allegorical approach to interpretation
„X Not fighting over jots and tittles
„X Finding what¡¦s behind the text
„X Lots of pictures, ¡¥types¡¦ etc
- It¡¦s THIS (^) approach that makes some think that Apollos was the author of ¡¥Hebrews¡¦
o V. allegorical. Respectful. Learned
Funny- some are really against ¡¥Christian education¡¦
- emails this week (re how much students have to have chased out of them after Seminary)
- irritates me, actually.
Such an attitude really is not there in scripture
- applauds learning¡K knowing your Bible
- often find those who are most against ¡¥such learning¡¦ are the ones who fight over jots and tittles (which is an academic approach/style!)
o it¡¦s just they want to make sure it¡¦s THEIR style
I am NOT about to fight over jots and tittles
- but do I love THIS? Is it the ¡¥norming norm¡¦ for all our matters of faith? Is it the book of my life?
- oh yes!!
One time preacher John Wesley received a note from a self-made and self-appointed preacher. He wrote, "The Lord has told me to tell you that He doesn¡¦t need your book learning, your Greek and your Hebrew."
Wesley replied, "Thank you, sir. I already knew the Lord had no need of my ¡¥book learning,¡¦ as you put it. However, even though the Lord has not directed me to say so, but on my own responsibility I would like to say to you that the Lord doesn¡¦t need your ignorance either."
I want to KNOW this book and know what God is saying to me through this book¡K and know the context in which it was originally said¡K and HOW to read it/apply it
- true to say: WE should know how to handle the Bible
- how to ¡¥rightly divide the word of truth¡¦ as it says in 2 Tim
- should know where to find
- bits in OT that speak of Jesus. Evidence for the messiah
- bits in NT that answer people¡¦s questions about
- whether God cares. Suffering. How Jesus is God. How we know God through Jesus. How God is gracious. But how all of us will be judged. Etc.
So- he was learned in the scriptures.
The word ¡¥learned¡¦ could also mean ¡¥eloquent¡¦
- so: not only was he ¡¥a learned man with a thorough knowledge of the scriptures¡¦
o but, man!- could he communicate them
o he was a PREACHER as well as a teacher
It says ¡¥he spoke with great fervour¡¦
- this man had conviction! Convictions!
- ¡§with great fervour¡¨ = lit ¡¥boiling hot¡¦
o = same as Rom 12:11 11 Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord¡¨
I wonder whether you could do with a good does of what Apollos had?!
- we shouldn¡¦t lose our zeal¡K heat
- knowledge/maturity shouldn¡¦t make us lose it
- he had ¡¥erudition and enthusiasm¡¦
2 SAVIOUR- ¡¥he taught about Jesus accurately¡¦ v25
It says ¡¥he had been instructed in the way of the Lord¡¦
- could be either ¡¥God¡¦, generally ¡V or Jesus
But he knew about Jesus- for sure (v25 has ¡¥Jesus¡¦ in it, though some Bibles put in ¡¥Lord¡¦)
So- he knew how OT looked forward to Jesus.
- knew message about Jesus¡¦ death, resurrection, ascension
- how Jesus was/is the saviour
- how He was/is LORD
So- it would be right to call him a Christian.
- didn¡¦t know it all (but who does)
- but was consistent with what he knew
o lived and spoke it
„X ACCURATELY (v25)
But there was more. More needed.
- Priscilla and Aquilla notice it as they listen to him speaking in the Synagogue
o Plenty of knowledge, zeal, hoil¡K. There
Priscilla and Aquilla are such an example to us (and Apollos)
- they don¡¦t correct him publicly. Relish challenging him
- they are bold, but humble¡K gentle
o (takes courage to approach someone of Apollos¡¦ zeal and stature)
- they take him home, and over Pizza explain
o ¡§there¡¦s more, Apollos. More for you to learn. More for you to experience. More for you to pass on¡¨
Note Apollos, too
- NO sense of ¡¥what are you doing correcting me, you whippersnappers!¡¨
- He is open and teachable
- He has TRUE wisdom- which tells you (him) ¡¥you don¡¦t know it all¡K and there¡¦s always more to learn/experience¡¨
Are you teachable???
= the greatest attribute!
Are you teaching and encouraging OTHERS?
- like Priscilla and Aquilla
Are you of such humility/winsomeness you could have input into the life of someone v senior
- Illustr: Gloria
Anyway. What did they explain to him ¡¦more adequately¡¦
- lit ¡¥accurately¡¦
o taught about Jesus ACCURATELY. But more ACCURACY needed
3) SPIRIT ¡§He knew only the Baptism of John¡¨
I think this tells us what he lacked. What he hadn¡¦t understood/experienced yet
To me- = clarified by the bit ¡¥yet he knew only the Baptism of John¡¦
- John¡¦s baptism was a baptism of repentance, looking forward to Jesus
o He knew about the need to repent, and receive Jesus
But he hadn¡¦t received the baptism of Jesus, yet
= in the name of Father, Son & Holy Spirit
- Mt 28:19 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 2
= one of power
Mt 3:11 MT 3:11 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.
= one of the HOLY SPIRIT
- `The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’
There was nothing wrong with all his knowledge, enthusiasm and erudition (?)
= gifts from God- that he had developed. But they, in themselves, aren¡¦t enough
He needed to know about¡K experience¡K God¡¦s Holy Spirit
- how God can come and fill us¡K empower us- now
He could only take others as far as he¡¦d gone himself
- maybe he was the one who didn¡¦t deliver the babies in Ephesus correctly (ch19)
THIS is the ¡¥more adequately¡¦ that he needed. The ¡¥more accurately¡¦
Was he a Christian?
- yes, I believe
had he had a full encounter with the HS?
- no. I don¡¦t think.
There was MORE to come
- and like these folks on Alpha- he was just ready for it. Recognised it
- but hadn¡¦t heard about it before. So- not to be condemned for that!
and for SOME of us there¡¦s more to come
- in a BIG way. Actually- we haven¡¦t welcomed the HS in, big time, yet
For ALL of us ¡V there¡¦s more to come
-in ONE way: as there are as many FILLINGS of the HS as there are days of the week and seconds in the day!
- ¡§Go ON being filled with the HS¡¨
So- be serious about the
- SCRIPTURES
- SAVIOUR
- SPIRIT
-
Sometimes he makes you wait, tarry for it (Him)
-DL Moody’s testimony. From "The Life of DL Moody"
1871. Had largest congregation in Chicago
- people kept telling him he needed the power of the HS
"My heart was not in the work of begging", Mr Moody said "I could not appeal. I was crying all the time that God would fill me with His Holy Spirit. Well, one day, in the city of New York- oh, what a day!- I cannot describe it, I seldom refer to it; it is almost to sacred an experience to name. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me, and I had such an experience of His love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand. I went to preaching again. The sermons were not different; I did not present any new truths, and yet hundreds were converted. I would not now be placed back where I was before that blessed experience if you would give me all the world- it would be as the small dust of the balance
- Wesley¡¦s experience, too. Vicar for many years till had 1) assurance 2) filling of HS
