I. PRAYER
II. Introduction
a. The story is told of a little boy that was very impressed with a missionary that had come to his church. The missionary had come to the small church hoping to recruit men for the mission field in South Africa, but he was disappointed to find that there were only women and one young boy in attendance that Sunday.
b. The missionary taught the same message that he had planned, exhorting all of the men to step out into ministry, and join him on the mission field, forsaking the life they knew.
c. At the close of the message, on offering was taken up for the support of the missionary. When the plate passed in front of the boy, he dropped in the plate a note, and it read simply this –
d. Dear Sir, I have no money to give to support your mission work, but what I will give is myself. I give myself to mission service. Very Truly yours, David Livingstone
e. That young boy stayed true to his vow, and later went on to become a famous missionary to Africa, reaching many previously unreached tribes for the Lord.
f. The point of this little story is that God can and often does use anyone He chooses, regardless of their age or social standing, or anything for that matter. Keep this in mind as we study this morning.
III. Background
a. As pick up God’s Word today, we will be looking at the close of Acts chapter 18. In it, we look at some things drawing to a close, and some things beginning.
b. What is drawing to a close today, is Paul’s Second Missionary Journey. Paul’s Ministry is compartmentalized or divided into three Missionary Journeys. Paul was simply walking with God, and being led by the Spirit.
c. But Paul went on these trips, each marked by Paul’s leaving our from Antioch, and at the end of that journey, returning to Antioch for a time of rest and recharging.
d. Antioch of Syria is the home base for the gospel outreach to the gentiles. It was this church that sent out Paul and Barnabas beck in Acts chapter 13. This is significant, because we see that this was really the only major church at the time that was focused on outreach to the gentiles. The church at Jerusalem was focused on reaching the Jewish nation, as we will see later on in Acts.
e. We also see a few things beginning in this passage. We see what is called Paul’s third missionary journey begin. We also see the public ministry of Aquila and his wife Priscilla starting up. The last thing that we see beginning is the ministry of a man we are introduced to here today called Apollos.
f. Our passage today is really a passage marked by transition and change. It has been said that the only thing that we can count on in this life is change, and this is certainly true in this instance as well.
g. We saw last week where Paul stayed on in Corinth for a year and a half, and he stayed there because the Lord told him, “I have many people in this city.” The Lord knew who would accept Him and who would reject Him, even before these people were called.
h. I don’t think I brought this out as well as I should have last week, but it is important for us to realize that we are not responsible for bringing people to salvation. We may be the vessel that God uses to speak to people, but we are not the agency of conversion. I just wanted to clarify this, because I don’t think I made this real clear last week.
i. Jesus told us in John chapter 16, that the Holy Spirit would be the one who would convict men of sin. Jesus said that He would draw all men unto the Father. As Christians, we are really incapable of drawing anyone to God in and of our own power.
j. All we can do is to be a vessel that God can use. We can be a vehicle that God uses to share the gospel. It isn’t our job to move people, but His. What we are to do is to live in such a way as to not grieve, or quench the Holy Spirit from doing His work.
k. Don’t get caught up in the trap of thinking that you had anything to do with someone else’s salvation, or any other move of God for that matter. It will be tempting though. People will say, “It was your testimony that led me to believe.” Or, “Thank you for praying for me, I was healed completely! Our first thought is “I did that? The truth is, No, you didn’t. God did, and he simply used you as a vehicle to do it. God touched that person through you.
l. Pastor Chuck Smith has said many times, “God isn’t looking for ability, He’s looking for availability.” The question then becomes, “Will I step out, when God calls me to do this thing or that?”
m. So, let’s get into our study this morning. Turn with me to Acts chapter 18, starting at verse 18, and continuing to the end of the chapter. If you are counting, with 18 finished today, we have just 10 more chapters left in our study of Acts, and we should be finishing up around March or April of next year.
n. And So, let’s read.
IV. Study
a. Intro
i. 18 So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow. 19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 21 but took leave of them, saying, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus. 22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23 After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
ii. 24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
iii. We pick up this week with Paul in Corinth, and I want to start off with a little geography lesson. Remember last week I said that the city of Corinth was the major commercial center for the ancient Roman Empire? Well, reason for that is because it’s location. If you look at the country of Greece on a map, you will see what’s almost an island at the south end of the country that’s connected by an isthmus, a narrow strip of land that separated this landmass, called Achaia in those days, from the rest of the country.
iv. Well, Corinth was located on the narrowest point on this isthmus, and traffic from the south of Greece to the north of Greece passed through there. Also, east-west routes by sea passed through there as well, routes from Greece to Asia and the Middle East leaving from the port on the Eastern side, and Routes from Greece to Italy leaving from the port on the western side.
v. I’m just going over all of this to give you an idea of what is going on in our passage today, because we see a lot of traveling around by various people, and without the aid of a map, I wanted to describe all of this for you guys.
vi. In our study this morning, we are going to look at five points in this passage, five different logical breaks in the passage, if you will that we are going to look at in more detail, so that hopefully at the end you’ll have a better understanding of what is going on in this passage.
vii. There’s a place to take notes on your handout, and I would encourage you to, as we look at A Vow, A Visit to Ephesus, A Vacation for Paul, A New Voice, and last, A Vigorous Defense, as we continue through the Book of Acts.
viii. Our first point has to do with a very unusual activity that Paul did before leaving the area of Corinth, and we see this in verse 18. It says -
b. A Vow (Acts 18:18)
i. 18 So Paul still remained a good while. Then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria, and Priscilla and Aquila were with him. He had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.
ii. The first thing that we see is that the first part of verse 18 is tied to the first half of the chapter, it tells us that Paul remained in Corinth for a good while. Last week, we saw in verse 11 that Paul stayed on there in Corinth for a period of a year and a half.
iii. We see that Priscilla and Aquila, the tent making couple from Rome are with Paul at this point. Remember last week, they were run out of Rome by Claudius Caesar, along with all of the other Jews, because of the stir they were making about Jesus.
iv. Paul says his goodbyes to the church at Corinth, and promises to write, which he does, not once, but twice. So, they go down to the port on the east side of Corinth, which was the port city of Cenchrea.
v. From here, you could easily catch a ship sailing east, to Asia Minor, and on to the Middle East, which is exactly what Paul has in mind at this point, to catch a ride first to Ephesus, and then on to Judea.
vi. What sticks out to most people though in this verse is that last sentence. Paul had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, because of a vow he had taken.
vii. I read that and I go, huh? What do you mean Paul took a vow? Just to give you a little background, vows are associated with Judaism. In particular, there was in Judaism what was called the Nazirite vow. Since we see here that Paul gets his hair cut off, makes it somewhat obvious that this was the vow he had taken.
viii. The Nazirite vow was a separation vow for the person. A nazir in Hebrew is a separation. Don’t confuse this with the word Nazarene. Jesus was a Nazarene, because He was from the city of Nazareth.
ix. We find what is required of a person who took a Nazirite vow in Numbers chapter 6, beginning in verse 1. Turn there with me if you would.
x. 1 Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2 "Speak to the children of Israel, and say to them: ’When either a man or woman consecrates an offering to take the vow of a Nazirite, to separate himself to the Lord, 3 he shall separate himself from wine and similar drink; he shall drink neither vinegar made from wine nor vinegar made from similar drink; neither shall he drink any grape juice, nor eat fresh grapes or raisins. 4 All the days of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin. 5 All the days of the vow of his separation no razor shall come upon his head; until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the Lord, he shall be holy. Then he shall let the locks of the hair of his head grow. 6 All the days that he separates himself to the Lord he shall not go near a dead body. 7 He shall not make himself unclean even for his father or his mother, for his brother or his sister, when they die, because his separation to God is on his head. 8 All the days of his separation he shall be holy to the Lord.
xi. We see three very special Nazirites in the Bible. These were men who were Nazirites from their mother’s womb. These were special people that God told their mother’s to take the Nazirite vow while the child was still in the womb, so that this child would be separated to God, even while in the womb. These were special people who would lead the nation back to God, from times of drifting away.
xii. One was Sampson. Sampson had the long hair because of this Nazirite vow that his mother had taken while he was still in the womb. When his hair was cut, his strength was gone. Not because there was anything special about his hair, no, the strength was in the vow to the Lord. When his head was shaved, it meant that the vow had been broken, and the power of God left Sampson.
xiii. The next Nazirite we meet in the Bible is Samuel. Samuel’s mother made the vow to give him to the Lord even before he was born, because she was barren until this point. Samuel became the judge over Israel, and the Word of God went forth in Israel during this time.
xiv. Can anyone name who was the last Nazirite we find in scripture? - John the Baptist. Here again, his mother was barren, until the Lord blessed her in her old age with a son. John was the person whom the prophets spoke of as being a fore-runner to the Messiah. He was the voice crying out in the wilderness.
xv. So, a Nazirite vow was something that carried prestige in Jewish circles. Men in Israel with long hair were considered to be very wise, and spiritual. The long hair became a symbol of one who separated themselves to God.
xvi. Sometimes, they took these vows out of thanksgiving to God, for a blessing He bestowed upon them. Other times, they took these vows to obtain a special blessing or favor from God.
xvii. So, we know that Paul doesn’t consider himself under the law. We saw back in Acts chapter 15 where Paul went down to the council in Jerusalem to make the case that the gentile believers were free from the Mosaic Law.
xviii. So, the question comes, “Why is Paul taking a Nazirite vow?” Some commentators theorize that Paul was thanking God for the harvest of souls in Corinth, and others say that he was doing it in lieu of his trip to Ephesus, for safe travel.
xix. Neither one of these make a whole lot of sense to me. I believe that the reason is much clearer than that. In Acts chapter 21, we see Paul after he had returned to Jerusalem from Ephesus, and he takes the vow of a Nazirite a second time. The reason given there is much clearer. Read along, Acts chapter 21, starting at verse 17.
xx. 17 And when we had come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us gladly. 18 On the following day Paul went in with us to James, and all the elders were present. 19 When he had greeted them, he told in detail those things which God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry. 20 And when they heard it, they glorified the Lord. And they said to him, "You see, brother, how many myriads of Jews there are who have believed, and they are all zealous for the law;
xxi. That’s interesting; they get saved, and become better Jews….
xxii. 21 but they have been informed about you that you teach all the Jews who are among the Gentiles to forsake Moses, saying that they ought not to circumcise their children nor to walk according to the customs.
xxiii. This was true… Paul was going around teaching that…
xxiv. 22 What then? The assembly must certainly meet, for they will hear that you have come. 23 Therefore do what we tell you: We have four men who have taken a vow. 24 Take them and be purified with them, and pay their expenses so that they may shave their heads, and that all may know that those things of which they were informed concerning you are nothing, but that you yourself also walk orderly and keep the law. 25 But concerning the Gentiles who believe, we have written and decided that they should observe no such thing, except that they should keep themselves from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality." 26 Then Paul took the men, and the next day, having been purified with them, entered the temple to announce the expiration of the days of purification, at which time an offering should be made for each one of them.
xxv. Paul gives us another clue to this as well. Paul says in 1st Corinthians chapter 9, verse 19, he says 19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more; 20 and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I might win those who are under the law; 21 to those who are without law, as without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward Christ+), that I might win those who are without law; 22 to the weak I became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. 23 Now this I do for the gospel’s sake, that I may be partaker of it with you.
xxvi. It is my thought that Paul took the vow to become like a lawful Jew, because he knew he was going to Ephesus, and he was going to be in contact with Jews, as there was a good-sized Jewish community in Ephesus. In Jewish circles at this time, men with really long hair and men with shaved heads were revered as holy men, because they had taken this Nazirite vow.
xxvii. Some have said that the response the Paul got in Ephesus was tied to his shaved head, and his appearance as a consecrated Jew there, even though he was preaching the gospel these, and we see this in the next 3 verses.
c. A Visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19 – 21 )
i. 19 And he came to Ephesus, and left them there; but he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay a longer time with them, he did not consent, 21 but took leave of them, saying, "I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing." And he sailed from Ephesus.
ii. So we see Paul reaching Ephesus, if only for a short while. The verse kind of makes it sound like Paul leaf Priscilla and Aquila outside, while he went in to the synagogue to teach.
iii. This is not the case, but rather it is a clumsy translation of the verse. It better reads in some more modern translations. In the Living Bible, verse 19 reads – When they arrived at the port of Ephesus, Paul left the others behind. But while he was there, he went to the synagogue to debate with the Jews. So, verse 19 simply says Paul arrived in Ephesus, and it was there that he left Aquila and Priscilla.
iv. Ephesus was the largest city in the Roman province of Asia, and it was at the mouth of the river Cayster. Ephesus was the religious center for the Roman Empire, with three temples devoted to Caesar there, and the temple of Artemis or Diana was also there.
v. So when Paul arrives, he goes into the synagogue, as his normal mode of operation was, and he had some good spirited dialog with the local Jews, and when it came time for Paul to leave, they ask him to stay, as we see in verse 20.
vi. So, everywhere else Paul goes, the local Jews want to run him out of town on a rail, but not here in Ephesus, they want him to stay. But, Paul cannot, and he tells them so.
vii. Paul’s reasoning is that he has to take off for Jerusalem for the upcoming feast. The feast that he was talking about was Passover, and his window for traveling to Judea by sea after the navigation opened up in spring was short.
viii. I think it is interesting that Paul told the Ephesians that he would come back to Ephesus if it was God’s Will. What Paul was saying is that he wanted to come back, but he was under God’s commands. He would only be back if that is what God wanted. So, Paul sails from Ephesus, and we see where he ends up in the next couple of verses, 22 and 23.
d. A Vacation for Paul (Acts 18:22- 23)
i. 22 And when he had landed at Caesarea, and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch. 23 After he had spent some time there, he departed and went over the region of Galatia and Phrygia in order, strengthening all the disciples.
ii. In verse 22, we see that Paul’s ship lands in Ceasarea, and he goes up to Jerusalem to visit the church there. Paul was in submission to these men. He wasn’t inferior to them, but God placed him under their authority.
iii. So, after Paul goes to Jerusalem and greeted the church, he goes down to Antioch. That phrase there is a Jewish figure of speech. You always go up to Jerusalem, and down to somewhere else, even if it is up geographically, like Antioch.
iv. Paul spends some time there in Antioch, teaching and fellowshipping, just kind of recharging his batteries, waiting for the Lord to send him out again.
v. Paul knew that rest and restoration was important for his continued ministry. He’s not unlike the man who challenged another to an all-day wood chopping contest. The challenger worked very hard, stopping only for a brief lunch break. The other man had a leisurely lunch and took several breaks during the day.
vi. At the end of the day, the challenger was surprised and annoyed to find that the other fellow had chopped substantially more wood than he had. “I don’t get it,” he said. “Every time I checked, you were taking a rest, yet you chopped more wood than I did. “But you didn’t notice,” said the winning woodsman, “that I was sharpening my ax when I sat down to rest.”
vii. Paul would need this time to rest and sharpen his ax as it were, because after a while, God would call him out to go minister the word abroad again, and we see this at the end of verse 22.
viii. After getting some much needed rest, Paul strikes out again, this time visiting Galatia and Phrygia, and .all along the way teaching and strengthening the churches there.
ix. This would be the start of what is called Paul’s Third and final missionary journey, and we will look at this more in depth next week, but in the last five verses of chapter 18, Luke gives us a brief description as to what was happening at Ephesus and Corinth while Paul was away in Antioch. We are introduced to a new face in the church in verses 24 and 25.
e. A New Voice (Acts 18:24 - 25)
i. 24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. 25 This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John.
ii. I believe that Luke shares this with us because he thought that it was important. He thought that this was something that we should know, and apparently he was right.
iii. Turn over to 1st Corinthians chapter 3 for a minute with me. Starting at verse 4 - 4 For when one says, "I am of Paul," and another, "I am of Apollos," are you not carnal? 5 Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers through whom you believed, as the Lord gave to each one? 6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase. 8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one, and each one will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, you are God’s building. 10 According to the grace of God which was given to me, as a wise master builder I have laid the foundation, and another builds on it. But let each one take heed how he builds on it.
iv. Without this narrative from Luke in Acts, we would have no idea who this Apollos was, and why people were saying that they were followers of his in 1st Corinthians.
v. So, we know that Apollos was a Jew, and we also know that he was from the city of Alexandria. Alexandria was located in Egypt, and it was the second largest city and the agricultural center of the Roman Empire. The Romans depended upon Egypt for their wheat. There was a large Jewish community there in Alexandria, with a full third of the city being Jewish.
vi. The first Greek translation of the Old Testament, called the Septuagint, was written here in Alexandria, about 200 years before Christ. Apollos was given an education that was quite uncommon for those days, because we see that Apollos was very eloquent and mighty in the scriptures.
vii. At this time, the first group of people who responded to the gospel were slaves. These were uneducated people, not well spoken. Another group that responded in numbers were the women. They lived in a society where they were regarded as little more than property, and weren’t educated as well. But both of these groups wanted some hope for their existence.
viii. So, a man like Apollos would really stand out in the early church. Not only because of his education and intellect, but like we are told in verse 25, he spoke with great fervor. That word translated fervent here is the Greek word zeo, and it describes a pot boiling over. That’s what Apollos’ teaching was like, he was boiling over with enthusiasm. Jesus said in John 7:38 that He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." and Apollos had that.
ix. Apollos could not help but to share the gospel. He had that infectious kind of faith and an intensity that he wanted to share around. He had found Christ; it says here that he had been instructed in the ways of the Lord. But very notably he wanted people to know about it.
x. More important though, we see in verse 25 that Apollos taught about Jesus accurately. There are a lot of people who talk about Jesus, but don’t do it with accuracy.
xi. Paul would later address this very problem in 2nd Timothy 2:15 - 15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
xii. So, it is important to correctly handle God’s Word. Rightly dividing it, because we are talking about God’s Truth. We need to become so acquainted with God’s truth that when bad things come out, you spot it as counterfeit.
xiii. That’s how they train bank tellers. They make them handle real money so much, that they can spot or feel counterfeit bills right away. Apollos wasn’t passing counterfeits, he is passing the real thing.
xiv. That’s one of the benefits that we from teaching God’s Word verse by verse. It is hard to get off onto bunny trails, and into pet doctrines, when you are simply teaching the Word in its context. I don’t have a chance to pull in a few scattered verses and try to build my own ideas out of it. Also, as we study God’s Word verse by verse, we get a better idea, I believe as to the character and nature of God, because it is His book after all.
xv. Paul would later tell the Ephesian elders that he did not shun to teach them the whole counsel of the Word of God, and that is what Apollos is doing here.
xvi. Now, the last phrase in verse 25 is rather peculiar. Apollos knew only the baptism of John. In chapter 19, we see a group of men Paul runs into that were disciples of John.
xvii. Both Apollos and this group of men had traveled to Jerusalem at some point, for Passover, or some other celebration, and while they were there, they were exposed to the teachings of John the Baptist, or Jesus. But, they only stay around for a little while, and oftentimes, they didn’t get the whole story, even though they did believe. Apollos is one of these people. But, look at what Luke goes on to tell us in the next three verses, and we’ll close there today.
f. A Vigorous Defense (Acts 18:26 - 28)
i. 26 So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he desired to cross to Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the disciples to receive him; and when he arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace; 28 for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
ii. So, even though Apollos’s teaching was accurate, he didn’t have the whole story. So that when he comes to Ephesus, and he goes into the synagogue there to teach. Aquila and Priscilla hear Apollos teaching, and they realize that Apollos hasn’t gotten the whole story.
iii. They decide to take Apollos aside and explain to him they way of God more accurately than he had known before. They didn’t call him down publicly, they didn’t make a big scene, they just kind of went to him and said, “Hey, we heard what you were teaching, and we wanted to talk to you some more about it.” Apollos agrees, and they teach him more.
iv. I am impressed with Apollos’ teachable spirit here. Even though he was very knowledgeable about the scriptures, and had heard about salvation through Jesus, he didn’t think he knew it all.
v. But think about this, on the one hand we have Apollos, this educated, eloquent man, might in the scriptures, being taught by these two tentmakers. Talk about a humble spirit.
vi. That’s how I want to be, and I think that’s how God wants all of us to be. He doesn’t want us to ever feel like we’ve arrived. We can never know everything about God. Then only time we will have arrived is when we get to heaven, and we will have the mind of Christ when we get there.
vii. But here, while we are on earth, we are to maintain that teachable spirit towards the things of God, because as I have found, it is a lifelong experience with God; always learning. Almost without exception, every time I read the Bible, I understand something different that God has shown me.
viii. Teachability is a valuable thing. Solomon wrote in Proverbs 9:9 this - 9 Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; Teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. Apollos was a wise and just man, and he was a teachable man.
ix. But we see that after this period of instruction for Apollos, he felt led to go and share some more. God was leading him to go to Achaia, more accurately; he was going to the city of Corinth.
x. The church there in Ephesus saw the calling of God on Apollos’s life, so they wrote letters to the church at Corinth commending Apollos to them, and exhorting them to accept Apollos as a visiting teacher.
xi. Lo and behold, when he arrives, he begins to build up and strengthen the church. He does that by rightly dividing God’s Word, and teaching it to God’s people. Jesus said, “Feed my sheep.” That’s what Apollos was all about.
xii. He went on to debate the Jews publicly, and that he did so vigorously. The older translations read that he mightily convinced them, and he did this by using God’s Word. The scriptures pointed to Christ, and all Apollos had to do was to open them up to the listeners.
xiii. Well, we’re going to wrap up here today in verse 28, but before we close I would like to leave you with three things that really stand out in this message that we need to apply to our lives.
xiv. Number one is that we need to be yielded to God’s direction.
xv. Number two is that people involved in ministry need breaks.
xvi. Number three is that we need to be teachable.
xvii. Maybe you’re here today and you don’t know Jesus as your Savior. If that is you, we are going to pray and give you that opportunity in a few minutes.
xviii. First though, I‘d like to close with a short story.
g. Conclusion
i. An elderly widow, restricted in her activities, was eager to serve Christ. After praying about this, she realized that she could bring blessing to others by playing the piano. The next day she placed this small ad in the Oakland Tribune: “Pianist will play hymns by phone daily for those who are sick and despondent—the service is free.” The notice included the number to dial. When people called, she would ask, “What hymn would you like to hear?”
ii. Within a few months her playing had brought cheer to several hundred people. Many of them freely poured out their hearts to her, and she was able to help and encourage them.
iii. You know, I don’t see anyone in this passage just sitting around for the Lord. Even while resting, these folks are ministering. What has happened to this attitude in the church today? The question before us this morning is the same question that faced Paul, Apollos, Priscilla, and Aquila so long ago – Will you step out into whatever God has called you? Will you accept His challenge?
h. Let’s Pray.
