Acts 18 pt 2 Our Ways are in His Hands

 

Scripture: Acts 18:27 Apollos desired to cross over to Achaia, so the believers encouraged him on his way

 Title: Our Ways are in His Hands

          Determining dates of events in the Bible is not an easy thing to do. However, in the case of the next section of Acts we can pinpoint the date down to a 1–2-year time period, 51-52 AD. Gallio’s brother Seneca was a prolific author, and much was written about Gallio and the events of his time.

          If we look at the life of Paul, we can calculate to this date as well. Paul was about 18 when he stood by and watched the elders of Israel stone Stephen. (Acts 7:57) The stoning took place within a few years of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. We can place the stoning at a point around 34 AD. His subsequent trip to Damascus to continue the persecution of Jesus followers, opened his eyes to the truth of the good news. He came back to Jerusalem as a believer and was encouraged to leave town and return to his homeland of Tarsus. Ten years later, Barnabas came to Tarsus to recruit Paul to help with the ministry in Antioch. That might have happened around 45 AD. Paul traveled with his companions on the first journey, returning to Antioch a year or so later. He found the need to settle a dispute by taking a side trip to the apostles in Jerusalem. When he and his companions returned, he set out on the second of his missionary journeys, this might have happened around 48 AD. After traveling through what we call Turkey, he ended up in Corinth and stayed for a year and a half. During this stay in Corinth, Gallio was the deputy governor of the region for a short while.

Acts 18:12 During a period of time when Gallio was the deputy governor of Achaia some of the Jews accused Paul and demanded that he be judged. 13 They stated how Paul encouraged people to worship God, but in a way that was against the law of the land. 14 As Paul started to make his defense, Gallio spoke up saying to the Jews, “This is not a matter of disobeying the law or committing some crime. If so, I would be happy to hear the case. 15 But you are bringing up issues of words and names and Jewish laws. These are things you need to address without my help. I will not make a ruling or hear the case.” 16 He dispersed the crowd and moved on to other things. 17 The accusers began to beat Sosthenes, a leader in the synagogue. Even though this took place in front of Gallio, he turned his attention back to his other work.

Gallio did not wish to rule over issues related to specific doctrines of religious sects. His role was to be a judge over civil matters of the Roman Empire. Even when the accusers chose to beat Sosthenes in front of him, he saw it as a ploy on the part of the Jews for him to get involved in their petty rivalry and so he chose to ignore them.

Acts 18:18 After some more time in the city, Paul left the brethren there and set sail for Syria. He took Priscilla and Aquila along with him. During their travels, he cut his hair which he had let grow while he was keeping a vow. 19 When they arrived in Ephesus, he parted ways with Priscilla and Aquila and entered the synagogue alone, to discuss with the Jews the matter of Jesus, the Messiah. 20 Many of them wanted Paul to stay longer but he chose to leave continue his trip. 21 He promised to return in the future if it was in God’s plans for that to happen.

Acts 18:22 The ship landed in the port near Caesarea and Paul greeted the believers in that community but went on to Antioch, the city from which he originally was sent out. 23 After spending a period of time in Antioch, Paul again set out on his third mission trip to encourage the young believers from all of the cities and towns where he and Silas had traveled.

           Gauging from the travels Paul arrived in Antioch around 53 AD and spent some time there. This was the fellowship of believers where Paul helped Barnabas with the teaching. Up to this point he has made three trips that we know of from the home base of Antioch; the journey to Cyprus and southern Turkey; the visit to Jerusalem; and the journey through Turkey and into Greece and home again. He would now be close to 40 years old and still in the mood to travel.

           From the next few verses, we get a glimpse of the work of other saints in the spreading of the good news. Paul left Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus so they could work with the believers in that town. If the Lord only used Paul, the church still would have grown to be a mighty force in the world, but we know that many people took the message of Jesus, the Messiah, out to regions of the world beyond Israel. Whether it was to Egypt and Africa, or India, or into regions to the Northeast of Israel, the number of believers continued to grow. The church today focuses on the teachings of Paul because they were written down, through his letters and through the work of Luke in his gospel and the book of Acts. How much fun would it be to have letters and journals from all of those who left their homes and went out into the world to share the love Jesus?

Acts 18:24 At the same time, in Ephesus, a man named Apollos came to town. He was a Jew, born in Alexandria, Egypt, and eloquently spoke a powerful message from the Scriptures. 25 He had received instruction in the ways of Jesus and spoke with a fervent spirit. He instructed people accurately about the teachings of the Lord and yet was not aware of the Holy Spirit, having only been baptized in John’s baptism. 26 He came to the synagogue with his bold teaching and caught the attention of Priscilla and Aquila. They spent some time with him helping him know more about the Holy Spirit and His role in a believer’s life. 27 Apollos desired to cross over to Achaia, so the believers encouraged him on his way with a letter to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he taught the believers and helped them walk in the grace of the Lord. 28 With his knowledge of the Scriptures he had a powerful witness to the Jews, being able to show them how their writings spoke of the coming of Jesus as the Messiah.

           The story of Apollos is instructive to us even today. He grew up in the Jewish traditions in Egypt. Along the way he learned the Scriptures, the portion of the Bible we call the Old Testament. Being a teacher with some eloquence he had much to say to others when he met them. At some point in his life, he learned of Jesus and that became the center of his teaching, but he was lacking the Holy Spirit, since he had heard of Jesus through the ministry of John the Baptist.

           The baptism of John brought a person to a point of repentance of their sinfulness and a need to turn back to God and His ways. John also reminded people that One was coming after him and we should all look to Him as the Messiah. So, in this vein, Apollos knew about Jesus and the need for repentance, but he had not yet heard about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit or the power and benefit that would bring.

           This story teaches us two things. One, it was not necessary to have Paul around for Apollos to find the Holy Spirit. Priscilla and Aquila helped him gain a full understanding. They were not apostles, they were disciples just like all of us. God is not limited in His work by needing trained and ordained clergy do all of the witnessing. Every one of us who believes has been instructed by Peter to, “Be confident of our faith, and ready to gently and reverently talk about what we have gained from knowing Jesus.” (1 Peter 3:15 EBV)

           Two, as an offshoot of that thought, God does not leave a group of believers without leadership just because the “pastor” is called to move on to another ministry or situation. The Holy Spirit always has another person waiting in the wings to take over the leadership when needed. That other person may not know that will be their role, but when the time comes, they will be ready.

           Life does not happen according to our plans, but our plans are in the hands of God and “One of the things we know for sure is that God cares about us and is always working in our lives to bring about good things.” (Romans 8:28 EBV) Our task is to trust in the fact that God cares more for the outcome of our lives than even we do. And in the long run, He has the ability and the power to make things work out for the best if we just let Him continue to be in charge of our lives. We call that faith.

           Letting God be in charge involves our asking for His help in our prayers, relieving our anxiety by coming back to Him in prayer, and seeking from the Scriptures how He might desire for us to live our lives.

           I bless you in the name of Jesus with confidence in God Almighty, with a listening heart to hear his ways, and with wisdom to make the right choices in all you do. Be thankful that He watches over you.

 

Edd Breeden