Give Yourself Completely to the Lord
Acts 18:18-28
As we studied Acts 18 at Calvary, I taught what it means to give ourselves completely to the Lord. I want to break down the key points from my teaching and give you solid direction to help you deepen your spiritual walk.
Today, so many things will take our eyes off the Lord. Money, relationships, sports, retirement, raises, houses, cars… the list can go on and on. Sometimes, we can even let these things become the end goal. But as believers, we must make a determined decision to yield ourselves to the Holy Spirit, choosing to look at Jesus. Remaining focused intently on Him. That’s where we find Paul after the Lord ministers to him in Acts 18. Paul takes the Nazarite Vow. (You can read all about what that means in Numbers 6:2-5) Paul took this vow not because he had to or was being pressured to but because he wanted to. He knew this was a practical way to starve his flesh and feed his spirit. He knew this vow would draw him closer to Jesus! Now, I’m not sure that we would stand in line to take this vow today, but I want to share with you how you can apply the principles of the Nazarite vow to your life today because these willing consecrations and commitments are SO VITAL to your spiritual life.
- Daily Devotionals: Set aside a specific time each day for reading and reflecting on the Bible. This practice helps you stay connected to God’s word and gain deeper insights.
- Prayer: Cultivate a habit of regular prayer, seeking God’s guidance and encouragement. Prayer is a powerful tool for spiritual growth and maintaining a close relationship with God.
- Bible Study Sessions: Attend Bible study sessions to gain a deeper understanding of scripture and connect with fellow believers.
In areas where the Bible does not explicitly command or prohibit specific actions, I have eight practical questions to help discern whether your choices will contribute to your spiritual growth and glorify the Lord in your life!
- Will this help me honor God?
- Will this sanctify me, set me apart for God?
- Will this help my usefulness for the Master?
- Will this prepare me for every good work?
- Does it build me up spiritually?
- Can it bring me under its power?
- Does it give me an uneasy conscience?
- Could it cause someone else to stumble?
There is so much for us to learn in this section of scripture. In Acts 18:24, we meet Apollos, a knowledgeable and eloquent man who knew the Old Testament well. Apollos knew Jesus but had a limited understanding of the Gospel. But Apollos had something that was so important and would benefit each of us to follow his lead today. He was open to learning and growth. This openness led to significant contributions to the body of Christ. Here’s what we can learn from Apollos:
Be Open to Learning: Always be willing to learn and grow in your faith, even if you think you already know a lot. There is so much more!
Seek Fellowship: Surround yourself with other believers who can provide guidance and help you gain a more accurate understanding of God’s Word.
Apollos continued to be effective for the Lord because he allowed himself to be taught by Priscilla and Aquila! This section of Acts causes many in the church today to say there is no place in the church for women to teach or instruct. This is not at all true. The Bible is full of examples of women who have significant roles in the body of Christ. Priscilla, Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, Anna, and Phoebe are a few of them. We must understand that men and women are equally important in God’s plan, even though they may have different roles and responsibilities. As we acknowledge and respect the ordained distinctions and authority established by God, we can celebrate the unique contributions of each of us, male and female.
Church – listen, I urge you to avoid unnecessary arguments and debates about secondary matters in the Bible. Instead, we can maintain a focus on growth if we:
Seek the Heart of God: Focus on understanding the heart of God in the text rather than getting caught up in unproductive arguments.
Look for Ways to Help Others Grow: Look for opportunities to help others grow in their understanding of the Gospel. Be supportive and encouraging to one another.
By embracing a personal commitment to live a life completely surrendered to the Lord, developing consistent habits of devotion and prayer, responsibly using our freedoms in Christ, and recognizing the equal value of men and women in the church, we can deepen our personal relationship with the Lord. Trusting in God’s timing and guidance, avoiding unproductive arguments, and focusing on ongoing learning and growth are essential steps to grow in our faith. Let us take these lessons to heart and strive to live a life fully dedicated to God.
10 Bible Verses About Obedience to God
Adversities Are Full of Opportunities (Lead2Serve Podcast 401)
FULL TRANSCRIPT:
Welcome to the Study of God’s Word with Pastor and Author Ed Taylor, recorded live at Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado. To learn more about the many resources available through Abounding Grace Media, or to tune in to our live stream services, visit us online at calvaryco.church, or download our free Calvary Church app. Now here’s Pastor Ed to take us into our study.
Open your Bibles to a couple of places. Numbers 6 and Acts 18. We’ll finish the chapter today, but we’ll use Numbers chapter 6 in the beginning of our study today. And I’ve entitled the study, “Give Yourself Completely to the Lord.” That’s where Paul is. He’s in a place of examining his life and going deeper in the things of God, which is an interesting thing to consider, because Paul was one of those guys, I think, had that personality of being, “all in.” And you might look at him and go, “How much more could the guy give?” “How much more could he dedicate?” “How much more could he expend himself for the gospel?” And we’ll see again, it was more personal.
I mean, outward activity is one thing, but Paul understood the significance of personal consecration, or personal separation, or personal commitment. He understood what it was to develop his character and to be a man of integrity. He understood that it was important that he examine his life to go deeper than he did yesterday or last week. He was able to pay attention to his own spiritual walk. I mean, you think of that phrase, “pay attention.” How many times have you heard that? Pay attention. How many times have you said that to someone or parents to your kids? “Pay attention.” Pay attention to the details, because you can think of all the things that take our eyes off of the Lord. In Hebrews chapter 12, remember, we were told in Hebrews 12, “we’re surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses.” He said, “lay aside the sin and the weight that’s so easily holding you back.” I’m paraphrasing now, “looking unto Jesus.” And how many things take our eyes off of Jesus in life? It’s so many.
I mean, I think of money, relationships, sports, retirement, careers, like getting ahead, raises, cars, house, I mean, you name it. These things not only can distract us, but they can actually replace our worship. We read in the Psalms today about gods being idols. Or you could even reverse that idols being gods, “little ‘g’.” And Paul reminds us that we need to pay attention. And it’s not just somebody telling us. We’ve got to take care of ourselves personally; really going deep. So let’s pick up now in verse 18 of Acts. Chapter 18, it says,
So Paul still remained a good while, and then he took leave of the brethren and sailed for Syria. And Priscilla and Aquila were with him. And he had his hair cut off at Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow and he came to Ephesus, and left them there. But he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews, and they asked him to stay a longer time with them. But he did not consent, but took leave of them, saying, I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem.But I’ll return again to you, God willing. And he sailed from Ephesus. And when he had landed in Caesarea and gone up and greeted the church, he went down to Antioch.
Now we pick up in verse 18. We were just previously in verse 17. So when it says Paul remained a good while, he stayed in Corinth for 18 months. A year and a half. We learned last time that something happened in the heart of Paul. He probably came into Corinth a little discouraged of what was happening in Athens. And he had Thessalonica, and it would seem to be good. And then Berea; seemed to be good. Athens…not so much. He rolls into town, into Corinth. He meets Priscilla and Aquila. He starts to work with them as tentmakers. And then something happened. Something happened to provoke this discouragement. I mean, really, you could work backwards a little bit and you can see the things that were on Paul’s mind. One. What is his purpose in life? Because God encourages him, remember, He says, “Go ahead and do what I created you to do, Paul. You’re going to be fine” (Acts 18:9).
And then he was probably questioning the presence of God, like maybe God had left him. But God told him, no, “I’m going to be with you. I am with you. Don’t worry about it.” And then I’m sure that he had that sense of being afraid because they were after him and dealing with him and coming like he was just facing all this difficulty. And He said, “No, I’m going to protect you.” And then there was maybe that sense of loneliness where God said, hey, “I have a lot of people in this town,” don’t worry about it (Acts 18:10).
And so he’s got this concern about him. God met him, encouraged them. He stayed 18 months in Corinth, but it was time to go. And notice, it says that he left and went for Syria, “and Priscilla and Aquila were with him” (Acts 18:18). These are his new friends in the in the ministry, his new “gospel partners,” if you will, that God is using to encourage him; come alongside of them.
And then notice in verse 18, he had his “hair cut off in Cenchrea.” And as you’re reading through that, you’re like, “What?” “What’s he doing?” “What kind of vow is this?” “What kind of vow requires someone to cut their hair?” Well, notice back in Numbers, chapter six, let me explain it to you, what Paul is doing here. So go back to Numbers with me. Chapter six. This is the value of knowing the Word of God. Remember, the Word of God is always its best commentary. So let’s find out what he’s doing here. Really, what he’s doing is he’s making a deeper commitment. He’s made a vow to the Lord on top of everything else, to really press in to the things of God. And this is the vow he’s taken. Notice with me, verse one of chapter six. It’s called the “Nazarite vow.” He’s taking the Nazarite vow. And here it is in verse one. “Then the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘speak to the children of Israel, and say to them, ‘when either a man or a woman consecrate an offering to take the vow of a Nazarite to separate…’’”
And here’s the key, to “separate himself to the Lord” (Numbers 6:2). That’s what Paul is doing here. He is obviously examined his life. It’s been a rough few years. It’s been a challenging few years. It’s been a challenging year and a half, thinking of the ministry in Corinth. And now Paul has taken a vow to separate himself. I want you to consider that in your own life. This particular vow had three parts to it.
Notice it says, “He shall separate,” verse three, “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 any fresh grapes or raisins.” That’s number one. He’s going to give up something for the Lord. He’s going to give it up.
Number two, notice “All the days,” verse four, “of his separation he shall eat nothing that is produced by the grapevine, from seed to skin.” Verse five, “All the days of the vow of his separation,” here’s the second part, “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 his hair of his head grow.”
Verse six, “all the days that he separates himself to the Lord, he shall not go near a dead body. 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. In all the days of his separation, he shall be holy to the Lord.”
What’s happening with Paul here, as he’s leaving Corinth, is he is making a deeper separation. He’s making a deeper commitment to the Lord. And again, you look at Paul and you’re like, what more commitment can you make? You might even look at your own life and just think, you know, what more commitment could I make? What more could I do? And the equivalent that we might look at today is this personal call to prayer and fasting.
Like to teach yourself the…and refrain from food for a season or other things you can refrain from. You can refrain…you can fast social media for a while. You can fast sports for a while, you know, watching it. You participate…there’s a lot of things that you can step away from, but fasting is really the separation of food. Staying away from food so you can teach your body every time it’s hungry, that the Spirit is more important than the flesh in your life, that you can get through it. You know you might take a commitment to start fasting, and I mean the very first breakfast you’re going to skip, your body is going, “are you out of your mind?” Like, “what are you doing?” “I’m hungry.” “I’m hungry!” And that seems to be all that you hear, “I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry.” You never…you haven’t eaten McDonald’s in 30 years. But you smell the French fries that morning. You’re like, “are they using new oil or what are they doing? The winds are blowing,” because your body, you’re just used to it.
You’re just used to paying attention to your body. You’re used to eating when you want to eat. You’re used to snacking when you want to snack. You’re just used to taking care of yourself. And fasting reminds you that you are more than your body. You’re more than your physical appetites, so that when you make a commitment to pray and fast, you’re doing very much what Paul’s doing here. Says, you know what, “I’m not doing this for anybody; I’m doing this for me and the Lord; this isn’t for anyone.” Now, the difference between prayer and fasting today and the Nazarite vow, of course, is when you take a commitment to pray and fast, you don’t tell people. You don’t make it obvious. This was an obvious fast because of…commitment, because of what he did with his hair. He cut it off and then let it grow for as long as the commitment was. So you can get the picture of it kind of being scraggly and unkempt and, and every time he would see himself, every time he would come into the company of other people, he would be reminded, “I’ve separated myself to the Lord.”
So how could we apply the Nazarite vow to us today? What are kind of what are some of the commitments that would be very helpful as you go deeper, as you choose to pay attention to God? Well, let’s take the one, the cutting of the hair. You know, what can how can the cutting of the hair relate to us today? Because they want to cut their hair. I mean, they were to let it go. They they were to not touch and just let it go. Well, I think that would speak to many today is to not be so concerned and overly concerned about what you look like. About all the selfies that you’re taking and how you’re going to present yourself, and not to be so worried about what people think about you. Make that commitment unto the Lord and be more concerned about what God thinks about you. And let people say what they say and see what they see, because your commitment is to the Lord. And perhaps that would be a reminder to many today.
It’s just you and God and it doesn’t really matter. I know we say this and we say it until somebody has some criticism or something, and then we start worrying about it again. But it really doesn’t matter what people think about you. It matters what God thinks. Number one, how about that? Drinking any wine and avoiding anything from the grape. Well, there is a physical fasting component to that, but there’s also a reminder of sobriety. It’s important that you stay sober and clearheaded, and that you make that commitment. Even though you may have some liberties and you take some liberties, like, don’t even go there. Stay away from it. But there was a deeper commitment here. It wasn’t just drunkenness that came from wine. The water in that day was very dirty. It could make you sick. So one of the things they would do with the water is they would add a little bit of wine to it that would kill the bacteria and kill everything that was living in it. So this commitment would mean that now Paul would have to drink dirty water. Because that’s the commitment that he made. So what kind of commitment would that be?
But he’s trusting God with his life. And whatever sickness that might come. And whatever might come from dirty water, he’s like, “Nope, whatever, I’ve made this commitment to you, Lord; I’ve made this commitment.”
And then thirdly, “Don’t be around dead bodies.” This was a commitment to not put yourself in a place where you became ceremonially unclean, like, you were thinking about your spiritual life. The Jews viewed touching of the dead body or being by a dead body as contamination of uncleanness. And you’re just focusing on God. How to stay clean in your life. How to stay clean.
So we have to ask, as we come back to where Paul is…it’s kind of an interruption if you’re reading through the Bible and you go, what is going on here? He’s ministry, ministry, ministry, ministry – he cut his hair off for a vow. And what’s going on? God is interrupting him. God is interrupting him to draw him into deeper level of relationship for what’s up ahead, which is what God wants from you.
He wants from you a deeper separation to Him not, I mean, these are days when it requires more, not less, of you. In Romans chapter 12:, it says, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.” And you remember the next verse, in verse two. This so covers the Nazarite vow. He says, “don’t be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you might prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” These deeper commitments of consecration, you know, staying away from things, are your attempt and mine, to be farther and farther away from the culture in which we live and closer to the things of God in our lives. Because the odds are against us, you know, because we live in the world we breathe in this world we purposely take in this world. And I mean, you have to admit, there are times when you sound and look just like the world and the culture and so far from the things of God.
And there’s that need for self-examination, and even as you’re being used of God. There’s no great sin in his life here. It’s not like you have to have this big sin and “Oh my gosh, look at me. I failed so big,” like, no, there’s no big sin here. He just senses in his life that I’ve got to go deeper, that there’s something going on inside of me. Maybe he looked back and he’s like, “I don’t want to feel like I did in Corinth ever again. I don’t want to be in such a place where it’s going to require God to show up and encourage me. I don’t want to be there. I need to be closer to the things of God,” and he makes this commitment. Why did he do this? Well, you know, he took this vow not because he had to because but because he could. And that’s how you want to approach things in the body of Christ and your relationship with God. He didn’t have todo this. He got to do this.
This wasn’t mandated on him. There was nowhere. He woke up in the morning. Okay. “This is the day for consecration.” “This is the day for separation.” And I just want you to I just want you to examine this, like, just be honest with yourself, and you might fall on a positive side of this, or you might fall on a negative side of this, but please, just just be honest with yourself today. Just just allow God to speak to you. I mean, you’re in a church that is dedicated to God’s Word. You’re in a church that teaches the Bible verse by verse. You’re in a church with dedicated men and women that serve. That have a real desire to please God. And yet you still you find yourself hearing a pastor continue asking you to read your Bible every day, and you don’t even read your Bible every day. So I’m talking about this deeper consecration. But you’re like, not even doing the ABCs. I’m asking you to write essays and you’re still learning the ABCs. Why?
Don’t you see the world in which you live? Don’t you see what’s happening to the kids? Don’t you watch it and live it? Aren’t you experiencing it? And you’re still hearing a pastor beg you? Now, for some of you, you’re like, well, yeah, that “I answered that last year,” and “I answered that two years ago.” And I say, “Good, it’s been good for you, hasn’t it?” Not because you have to. I’m not asking you to read the Bible because, well, you know, you’ll make me happy somehow. That’s all secondary. You will make me happy because it’ll change your life. The Word of God has just come alive. It will change you. God promises that. But so many are just okay with outward morality and, you know, church attendance, whatever, whatever it is, whatever our motives are, where you can be so close and actually be the farthest away possible. Remember the man that came, the “rich young ruler,” how he’s referred to that came to Jesus at night.
Remember that he was so close. And yet so far.
Because he wouldn’t bridge the gap of obedience. He got so close. Now, later on in his life, he did bridge that gap of obedience. But in that episode he left worse off than when he first came. And you look at a consecrate…you look at a decision like this, and some of you just got to come to terms with the reality of the grace in which you live. One of the reasons why you’re not reading your Bible is because you don’t care. And that should stir you a little bit. It’s not that you don’t care about everything, but you just don’t care about your spiritual life. Maybe you’ve forgotten where you came from. Maybe that’s where it is. Maybe you’ve just forgotten the grace of God. The goodness of God. Taking things for granted, perhaps. Maybe this was a season in…because we don’t know exactly what’s going on. I’m trying to find different angles of what’s happening in Paul’s life, but perhaps he’s just overwhelmed with the sense that he gets to be doing…like he’s in the middle almost at the end of his second missionary journey, and he just looks back and he remembers who he was.
Remember who he was. The guy that was going to kill Christians. The guy that was religiously zealous. The guy that was “lost as lost could be,” except that he was very religious. And he just stops and goes, “This is amazing, God, I want to give you more of myself; I want it to be tangible; I want to feel it.” Because the grace of God will lead you to deeper levels of relationship with God, because you’ll just be plumbing the depths. I’ll be plumbing the depths of what God is doing in my life. Like you have, you have the freedom to take these kind of vows. You have the freedom to take these kind of vows, to say, I want to go deeper, and I maybe I don’t want to just start reading my Bible, but this year I’m going to read the whole Bible. You can make that commitment. You can make that commitment and even stumble a couple of times during the year and pick it right back up. Why? Because you want to learn from God.
I mean, you think about this…might be a passage of Scripture you’re reading and you go, “I don’t understand this; I’m not reading the Bible anymore.” So let’s just read verse 18 again. Let me show you the value of reading the Bible. So you just wake up in the morning, you’re not in a hurry. Maybe you’ve segregated ten minutes of your time. Not a lot of time. You set your alarm early. You do get up. You go downstairs. You maybe set up your coffee machine, whatever. It’s all ready for you. And then you open up to Acts 18:18. And this is the verse you read for the day. “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 in Cenchrea, for he had taken a vow.” And you stop in verse 18 and go, “I don’t have any idea why I’m reading the Bible. This doesn’t make any sense to me.”
You know, even that word Cenchrea, you don’t even. How do I even pronounce that? And what’s going on in his life? And you miss like, for example, you’re in a church that’s taught you how to do this, so you can just apply it. You know, verse 18, that there’s a verse 17 and 16. So you’re not just dropping into the Bible like out of the blue. This is an episode in a man’s life. And so when I read this, “Paul remained still a good while.” We’re like, well, where did he remain? What? What do you mean? He remained for a while. Well, we know where he remained, because if you go back to verse 17…16…15, you know where he’s at. Where is he? At church. Corinth. So he stayed in Corinth for a while. What’s the big deal about that? Well, if you go back a little bit to verse nine, ten, and eleven, you see words in your Bible that are red.
The words in your Bible that are red reflect the language that is attributed to Jesus Christ. So here he gets a visitation from Jesus. And if you were in our Bible study last time, you know that he was encouraged in four ways from God; that God met him in his discouragement. And then there you are, just reading the Bible, and you just taking a few seconds here and you’re like, “man, I’ve been pretty discouraged” and “I’ve been in the same place for a while.” And then you begin to pray, “God, would you encourage me?” “Would you help me in this tough time?” You know, what am I…?” You know, some of you get so discouraged, and this is how you respond, “I don’t even know why I’m discouraged.” Because you start looking at things in your life. You go, “this is pretty good.” “This is pretty good, but I don’t even know why I’m discouraged.” But because you’re in the Word of God, you immediately are taking that discouragement to Him, asking God to help you and strengthen you.
If you did that 365 days a year, don’t you think you’d change? Don’t you think your mind would change? Don’t you think your prayer life would come alive? Don’t you believe that God would meet you there? That God would lead you? That God would speak to you? That God would help you? What if you did it once in the morning and once at night? Do you think 700 times a year to turning your heart toward the Lord would help you? Oh, wait a minute. Why don’t you add to that you come to Bible study 50 times a year, so don’t you think 800 times seeking the Lord? Oh, wait a minute. You got mad on I-25 300 times, don’t you think? As you prayed to God in your car 300…1000 times? You see the power? If you will just decide to separate yourself to the Lord, you’ll be changed. We used to have issues. Of course, we still have discouragement for sure. We still face all the things you’re already facing.
Yes, but here’s what happens with the grace of God. This is what happens. This is right now. I’m declaring to you as a pastor, you have freedom. You can read your Bible. You don’t have to. You get to. You have freedom to pray. You don’t have to. You get to. You have freedom to serve. There’s so much freedom to go deeper into the things of God, to cut your hair and don’t touch it and let it go for the sake of the vow. Stay away from alcohol. Stay away from drunkenness. Even stay away from your favorite foods or the most common things. Put your life in a place of trust. Don’t live a life that’s unclean. Watch what goes in your eyes and your…you have the freedom. But this is not how Christians…somehow they don’t use freedom that way. They do the exact opposite. And this might be for you today. You know, when I hear people start talking to me about freedom, “freedom in Christ,” it’s rarely, if ever, freedom to go deeper in the things of God.
You know what I hear? I hear this, “Hey, bro, you should be watching out for this in your life because it’s not good for you.” “Hey, brother, stop judging me. I’m free in Christ.” All right, bro, I guess you don’t want to go deeper into the things of God. “You can’t judge me! You can’t tell me what to do! You can’t! I have freedom in Christ!” And almost always, freedom in Christ is used by believers to see how close they can get to sin. Or how many compromises they can make. Instead of, “Hey, you have freedom in Christ to stay away from sin.” You don’t even have to try to get close. You don’t even have to mess around with that stuff. “Well, you know what, pastor? You can’t tell me whether I can smoke marijuana or not. It’s legal.” Come on, man, seriously? And yeah, it is serious. You know, pastors back in the day, they would they would be asked this question.
“You know, pastor, is it okay to take edibles and smoke pot?” And the pastors would right away go, “of course not; it’s illegal.” Which was always the wrong answer. That’s always the wrong answer because laws change and governments want more taxes. So things that were illegal three years ago might be legal this year. Here’s the right answer, “Do you really want to be under the influence of something that takes your mind off Christ?” “Do you really want to put yourself under the control of some substance that will take you away from worshiping God?” “Do you really want to disobey the Bible when it says ‘don’t be drunk with wine, which is in excess, but to be filled with the Holy Spirit.’” To which somebody might go, “Oh, you know, it’s not wine, it’s marijuana.” All right, man. How do you argue with somebody like that? Because you always have your reasons. And you always have your excuses to indulge in things that will keep you in a place farther from God. That’s natural.
That’s not where Paul is right here. If you just did your devos in these verses, you would learn the commitment that God wants…you might even get a personal word from the Lord. This is the kind of commitment I want you to make, and then you can already hear it. “Do you want me to never comb my hair again?” No you don’t. That’s not…I’m not asking you to take the Nazarite vow. I’m asking you to give that up. Or I’m leading you to take care of that situation. Or, you know, for some, “I’m telling you to go flush the drugs.” Just directly. Where you get that from God’s word. You see, your freedom is to be used for you to grow deeper in the Lord, not less. It’s not to make excuses for all kind of behavior. If you want to keep living, like, this life that really doesn’t seem to make much progress for God, then go ahead and try to get as close to sin as you can without sinning, which is impossible, by the way.
So when you start heading your life, like, if the edge of the stage is sin, you sit…you go toward the edge. There’s only the next step. There’s no more edge. You’re going to go over the edge. It’s just the facts. So when you think of Paul cutting his hair off in Cenchrea, leaving Corinth, heading to Ephesus, I want you to remember God wants you to make those separations and consecrations as well. Which, by the way, one thing you may notice, but maybe you didn’t, is in verse 19 that it says, “he came to Ephesus.” Why is that such a big deal? We’ll notice in verse 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.”
Why is that such a big deal? You want to know why? Acts chapter 16. Remember Paul in Acts chapter 16. He wants to go where? Into Asia. And what does God say? No. And then he tries a different way and tries to go into Phrygia a different way. And what does God say? No. And we spent a lot of time on this, learning how to respond to what we call “closed doors,” or what I’ve been calling a “hard no,” from God. And here Paul, he ends up where? In Asia. Now I want to give you some homework. “I didn’t do it.” “I was going to do it, and I didn’t get around to doing it.” So you’re going to do it. Okay, so here’s some homework I want you to take from here in Acts 18, in this section up to verse 23. And I want you to go backwards in the Bible to Acts 16 and I want you to jot down everything that happened in his life. From the closed door to now the open door. So I want you to look and just say, “Oh, he went to Thessalonica; people got saved. He went to Berea; people got saved.” So I’m giving you a few of the answers ahead of time. So that’s what I want. That’s what I want you looking for because none of those things would have happened if God didn’t “close the door.” The Bible would have been written differently if the “hard no,” wasn’t in Asia. Which reminds us that God knows what he’s doing with your life. He knows what He’s doing with your life. He knows where He wants you. He knows how He wants to use you. He knows the people that you are to meet and to become a part of. And there is a lot between the closed doors of life and what God has in the future. And there was a lot in Paul. And don’t you think the believers in Thessalonica were happy that God closed the door? Paul wasn’t happy. But they were, because that’s how he got there. And don’t you think, and who knows, the conversations even in Corinth here. He would have never had 18 months in Corinth. He would have never experienced the depth of discouragement. He would have never received the encouragement from God Himself, Jesus coming to him and encouraging him, if he didn’t go back to that closed door; which was also a discouraging moment. And go back and do the homework and you’ll see the power of God using even these things in our lives.
So Paul’s laser-focused here. And by the way, those of you that are wondering, you know, “How do I use my freedoms?” You know, because I might have described you today. You’ve always used your freedoms to excuse, you know, borderline behavior. Oh, you know what, “don’t judge me; oh, you’re holier than thou.” All that kind of nonsense. Let me give you eight things. So if you want to draw them down. Eight things. Eight questions to ask on how to use your freedom. And how you answer these questions will either take you closer to God or farther away. Okay, so you’re about to make a decision. And I think we like to call them, you know, “decisions in the gray areas of life,” where you can’t open the Bible and the Bible says, “no, don’t do this.” It’s like either or, “how should I,” and “should I do this?” “Should I not do this?” Ask these questions and you may not even have to ask all eight of them.
You may, after a couple of them, you go, “Nah, I should probably leave that alone.” It doesn’t make me…it doesn’t help my holiness. It doesn’t help me grow in Christ. It doesn’t help me be a better example to my kids and to my family and friends. It doesn’t help me on my discipleship journey. It doesn’t help me follow Jesus. Here are some questions. Ready?
Number one, if what you’re about to do, ask this question. “Will this help me honor God?” Because if it’s not going to honor God, why are you doing it? And you should consider that.
Number two. “Will this separate me to God.” Will it consecrate me to God? Is it a unique thing about me that it will show that I’m a follower of Christ? Will it separate me…well, make me number three, more useful. They kind of go together.
But the third question asks, “Does what I’m about to do make me more useful for the Master?” Because, if it doesn’t, we’re just going to be wasting our time.
It’s going to be something that’s not eternal. You know how a pastors are always telling you, “make your life, man…go for it…make an eternal difference?” Well, you know, the things that aren’t making you use for useful for God are not eternal. They’re not going to last. How about this one?
Number four. “Will this prepare me for every good work?” Will this prepare me for every good work? This might be the one question, because what are you’re about to do isn’t good at all. So just stop it. Avoid it. It’ll help you.
Number five. “Does this build me up spiritually?” That’s an important one. It’s going to help me in my marriage; help me in my singleness; It’s going to help me love God more. Then I should probably avoid it if it doesn’t.
The next one is number six. “Can it bring me under its power?” And so that’s the question that gets asked about alcohol and drugs. And, you know, if it’s going to bring you under its power, why do you want to live that way where you can’t connect with God? You’re not being able to hear him.
How about this on number seven, “Does it give me an uneasy conscience?” I know this is a big one because I find a lot. This is where the uneasy conscience, this is where Christians throughout the ages, we have all ignored our conscience and “grieved the Holy Spirit” (Eph 4:30). Grieved the Holy Spirit where God has clearly enlivened our conscience. That’s the ability, the innate ability, to know right from wrong. You just know it doesn’t matter what the law says. Doesn’t matter. God put that into us. That innate sense of right and wrong. And then as a believer, your conscience is enhanced by the Holy Spirit. And when you go against your conscience, you grieve the Holy Spirit. Listen, this is a warning, because if you grieve the Holy Spirit over and over again, you harden your heart. Your heart becomes hard toward God and a hardened heart and a believer then ends up having a conscience that is seared by the Holy Spirit. Where you’re just not even feeling anymore. Your conscience has been seared, like with a hot iron. And it’s just sealed up to the Holy Spirit, is a better way of putting that, where you don’t even feel Him anymore. That’s why you don’t read the Bible, and that’s why you’re not in prayer. Because this sweetness of relationship has been replaced with condemnation and shame pressing you away. Why? Because of sinful behavior. It’s actually a quite a very simple process to follow Christ. It’s been complicated over the years. You want to pay attention to your conscience.
And then, number eight. Another question to ask is, “Could it cause someone else to stumble?” If you couldn’t write them all down, email me. I’ll send them to you. I can copy and paste them very quickly. Very important questions to ask. I’ve done Bible studies on this, in particular, if you want to listen to them in 1 Corinthians 6 and also 1 Corinthians chapter 10. You guys might be familiar with the passages. 1 Corinthians 6:12 says, “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful.” Can I get an “amen,” on that? I can…I have freedom, but not everything is going to help me. They’re not going to be helpful for the Lord.
“All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any,” 1 Corinthians 10:23. All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful. All things are lawful for me. But not all things edify or build us up. So, “Let no one seek his own, but each one the other’s well-being” (1 Cor 10:24). That’s where Paul is in his commitment here. Just a simple paragraph is so packed with weight and understanding. One more thing before we finish the chapter. It says, I don’t want you to pass over this phrase in verse 21, he says, “I’ll return to you, God willing.” Did you see that? “I will return again to you, God willing.” This separation, this consecration, is now revealed to us by Paul’s dependence upon God for the timing. We have to think, being in Ephesus. Did he not remember the closed door that he wanted to be there a few years earlier? And he goes, you know, “Here I am; this is unbelievable!”
There have been times where God has opened doors for me and I’m somewhere teaching or I’m just somewhere ministering, and I’m like, “This is unbelievable that I’m here right now!” “This is unbelievable, Lord, that you’ve allowed this.” It’s unbelievable in Ephesus. Paul could be in a place where he’s like, “man, I know that I have to depend on God’s timing.” I know I have to trust if it’s in his will. And that’s the way we need to pray. There are those that would teach today, some within the church that would say, “We’re not to say this, that that’s a sign of a lack of faith.” It’s actually not a sign of a lack of faith at all. It’s a sign of deep faith. “Whatever you want for me, God, I’ll go,” and I’ll be, “I know what I want, but ultimately, God, what I want is what You want for me.” And this concludes Paul’s second missionary journey. I want you to mark at the end of verse 22. It says that, “He went down to Antioch.” Okay, church, say it out loud. What is so important? What is at Antioch? Anybody know? A church! The church that actually sent him out! So he comes back to the church, gives us his update and encourages the church, only to leave again on his third journey, which will be a lot more time in Asia. But he came back to encourage the church. That’s why we love to have our missionaries back, listen to them and interview them. Hear what God’s doing in their life because it’s super exciting. So he stays in Antioch. And then it says in verse 23, he spent some time there. He took off. If you’d like to write in your Bibles above verse 23, I want you to write, “Third Missionary Journey,” because this is now his third journey. It’s going to take a little bit longer, but he’s on his third journey. This is…he comes back to home base and then he heads out again and it says in verse 24,
Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born in Alexandria, an eloquent man, mighty in the scriptures, came to Ephesus. 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 of the baptism of John. 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 the God more accurately. 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 believe through grace; for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the scriptures that Jesus is the Christ.
Paul takes off, leaves Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, and this episode takes place. Which tells me we can interview Apollos here, and he would tell us, “Man, I’m so glad God closed the door for Paul the first time he wanted to come to Asia.” What are you talking about, Apollos? “Well, you don’t understand; if God didn’t close that door, then Paul wouldn’t have went on his travels and connected with Priscilla and Aquila. I would have never met them in Ephesus, and I would have never been accepted by the church.” And you could hear all these testimonies, “thank God for the closed doors!” Except for the person experiencing it. It takes some time. But eventually you’ll see, by God saying “no,” of what God wants to say “yes,” to. You’ll see you just got to wait on Him and trust Him.
So here’s this guy, Apollos. He’s very smart, very well spoken. He’s also a student of the scriptures. I believe he’s a real believer, even though he doesn’t have the full understanding of everything. Yet he only understands John the Baptist, so he’s still believing in Messiah to come, even though he’s not keeping the law. He’s kind of like an “in-between-er,” where he’s moving forward and God is giving him what he needs. And this is where, you know, sometimes you’ll hear that question, “What about those that don’t believe?” Or, “What about those that have never heard the gospel?”
Listen, there’s no such thing. There’s no such thing as a person that’s never believed, because you might even be in the place where you’re studying the Bible, reading the Bible, or thinking about God, and all of a sudden he connects them with Priscilla and Aquila, just like those that might be in the deep, dark jungle somewhere. Don’t know the English language. God has a way of reaching everyone. No one will be able to stand before God and say they’ve never heard. No one. Ever. Apollos couldn’t say, “Hey, you know, I don’t know what…I’m searching the scriptures….I don’t know,” because God knew what he needed. He needed Priscilla and Aquila to meet him and to take him aside. It says in verse 26, “And explain to him the way of God more accurately.” And after that, he’s a quick learner. God uses him greatly, and he becomes a very important part of the body of Christ. This is an encouraging section for Apollos, but it’s also an encouraging section of the Bible for Priscilla and Aquila.
These are the “tent making gospel team,” this married couple. Which, by the way, married couples, it’s important that you serve together. That you are a team together. That God uses you together. You are individual, yes, but you’re also “one in Christ.” So here you have Priscilla and Aquila. When they heard him notice what happens. It says in verse 26, mark this word, “they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.” They were both used as instruments of God to explain the way of the Lord more clearly to him. They did it together. They did it as a team. And that’s important to step back because many in the church today…there’s such a big debate going on in the church at large. Maybe you’ve been involved in it or not, but like in the church world, it seems like sometimes, you know, people in the church, all they want to do is argue. And this is a big point. And that is the argument over the role of women and the value of women in the church.
And there are a lot of different viewpoints on this, from, you know, “demeaning of women,” which is absolutely not biblical. Or, the “over elevation of women,” which also isn’t biblical. But I want you to see here in this topic of whether women can be in key leadership in church. I want you to see this. The answer to that question is “yes.” We have an example here of a woman that God used to teach a man. You see it right here. They both explained to him, which means they took the scriptures and explained to him the way of the gospel. They taught him where he was wrong and where to be right.
And it’s important for us today. We’re not going to jump into the debate today, but it is important for me to share with you. Ladies, you are just as important to the plan of God as men are. Equal in every way. Do you know how the Bible says there’s “neither Jew nor Greek, male nor female?” Well, God means that you are valuable and important to the plan of God. I like to throw out a word at times like this to remind you, and so you can understand the layers. “Ontologically.” That’s a big word I learned in a book, ontologically, which simply means “in your nature,” who you are as human beings. Created in the image of God. Men and women are 100% equal in every way, ontologically. However, that doesn’t mean there isn’t a distinction between the genders. There is a distinction between the genders that God lays out as you open the Bible and the very beginning, there is man and there is woman. There are distinctions, while there is equality before God in value and importance and usefulness. There also is distinction. Male and female. Which in the history of God using men and women, it is clear that God uses men and women differently. So not only is there a distinction in gender, but there also can be a distinction in role and responsibility. There are things that women cannot do, and the ladies don’t jump me yet, okay? Don’t.
Because there are things, men, that you cannot do. And you got to understand. We don’t have to get caught up on all the arguments if we just let the Bible speak. For example, I’ll give you an example. Men, for the rest of your life, I don’t care how much you dream about it, want to do it, how much you are going to say you’re going to. You can even say you’re doing it. But it’s not true. You’re not…men…you can never, ever, be a mother. Ever. Let me go a little bit deeper. Men, you can never, ever the rest of your life until you take your last breath, conceive and give birth to a child. To which all the men say, “Amen!” Oh, it hurts! You know, it’s like…it’s just impossible. In a culture that might say you can do whatever you want to do, that’s not true, ladies. You can never be a dad. Ever. That role is exclusive for men. No. No one.
Now, I understand that sometimes as a mom, you’re a single mom and you have to do double duty. And to that, we applaud and celebrate you because that’s not easy. But you’re still not a dad. There are many, many things that we are limited in our lives. That’s just the facts. You can choose and you can create confusion. And in a world today, now we have all of this identifying. “I identify.” But as much as you identified, you still are who you are by the grace of God (1 Cor 15:10). You don’t have to get caught up in all this confusion. You don’t have to let the cultural pressure change what God’s Word says. So let me take it home to us in the scriptures before we leave. While the role of pastor and elder within the church is limited to men, leadership with women is great within the body of Christ, while the role of pastor and elder is limited to men within the church. The ability for women to be used in great and amazing ways is all throughout the Bible.
If you want to jot them down, I’ll give it to you. First of all, here we have Priscilla. She’s an amazing Bible teacher. We have Miriam is a worship leader in Exodus chapter 15. We have Deborah, who is a national leader. She’s a judge in Judges 4. Huldah is a prophetess in Second Chronicles 34, which means she’s speaking forth the Word of God. We have Anna is in the New Testament in Luke 2, is a prophetess. We have Phoebe, in Romans 16, is a deaconess within the church. Besides the many women that were around, supporting and encouraging alongside of Jesus and the disciples. And so women, it’s very important that you rise up and hold on to what God has given to you in the ministry, but also, to recognize your role and responsibility. Not trying to be something that God has limited in your life. Now, this whole thing of teaching, it’s important because like, “you demean women when you go, ‘you can’t teach.’” I mean, that’s like Marie. She might be watching. She’s here today, but she might be watching. Well, she’s here today. So on the way home, she goes, “You know, you really blew that teaching today.” “Really?” “Really. You blew it. Yeah.” And said, well, “I’m about to teach you, what, the right way on that text.” One thing she’s not going to hear in the car ride home is “Woman, thou shalt…!” Whatever I’m saying, I’m all nervous. She’s right there. Sorry. It came out just fine yesterday because she wasn’t here. But, “Woman!” Let’s start over. And put my hand out, just like that, while I’m driving. “Thou art a woman, and you are not allowed to teach me, because….” Doesn’t that sound dumb? I mean, if she’s right and I’m wrong, then I’m going to learn from her. I’m never going to admit that I’m wrong, but I’m going to learn from her. Of course Marie can teach me.
Of course God can speak to her. Of course God can give insight. I mean, think of moms today. You have adult men that are your sons. Is there ever going to be a day you don’t teach them? Moms? Never. Never. What we’re talking about is roles and responsibilities. What we’re talking about as God’s ordained prescription for authority. It’s not a statement of demeaning you in your in your womanhood or your personhood. It is something God has ordained as He established …back…Adam and Eve. All the way back to the beginning.
Look, Priscilla and Aquila encourage me because they’re a team. And you can see how sometimes you’ll lose the significance of a Bible verse because of the arguments. I wanted to share the argument with you, so you’re prepared for it. But what’s more significant to me is to see the beauty of a husband and wife team here, where they’re just going for it together. The significance of the sovereignty of God that would bring Paul to meet them and spend 18 months making tents with them and doing ministry with them, so much so he says, “Hey man, join me, I’m heading off to Asia. You will not believe the story about Asia, how God closed the door and I was so discouraged.” Like you can imagine the story they were going through. And then when he leaves them there, they’re just ready to do ministry. And they find this guy and they go, “Man, I think he could do more for the kingdom.” Is that how you see people when you meet them? I mean, he’s obviously limited. He obviously doesn’t have the whole story. He obviously has something to learn. Is that how you view people? Man, this guy could be really used for the kingdom. If I could just teach him a little bit, he could be really used if I could connect with him. I mean, how did Paul look at Priscilla and Aquila? “Oh, you know, just the tent makers, I guess I’ll go work with them and then I’ll leave.” No, no. He saw his job as an opportunity to connect with someone and stay lifelong friends with them in the gospel.
It’s amazing what you do when you use your freedoms as we learn to get closer to the Lord, not excuse sinful behavior. And if you’re just as a side note as we end today, if you’re one of those guys and you’re one of those gals that just loves to argue and fight with people about the Bible all the time, here’s the word of the Lord to you. Ready? “Stop it.” You’re going to miss out. You’re always trying to make your point. And like, people avoid you because they don’t want to argue anymore. I’m going to ask you to start praying and look for the heart of God in the text. Look, don’t misunderstand me, there’s some doctrines we have to take a stand for. I’m not talking about that. That’s actually not an argument. But when you’re arguing about secondary things and you’re going to place the place and people are avoiding you, don’t you think that’s something to improve in? That God would use you for the kingdom of God so that you can meet a guy like Apollos?
“I can’t believe it, you don’t even know Jesus!” Instead of like, “Hey, let’s sit down and talk about this, because I think if I gave you just a little bit more, you’ll be so amazing for the for the gospel of Jesus.” And if you can just start looking at people like that, like, seeing what they could be rather than what they are, it’ll help you. Amen?
So, Lord, thank You for this text and for the opportunity to learn today. And we are grateful. But we also get caught up, Lord, we…there’s some that still aren’t reading their Bible. There’s some that are involved in all kinds of, you know, sin and compromise that are wrecking their lives. And they’re so close, but so far. So I just pray, Lord, You’d help them and that we would just rise up and be the church, that we would stop, you know, talking about it to some degree and start doing it. Embrace Your will for our lives and find that Your Spirit will overwhelm our flesh. In Jesus name, Amen. Amen. Let’s stand together. Church.
We pray that you’ve been encouraged by this Bible study delivered live from the sanctuary of Calvary Church. For prayer, call us at 877-30-GRACE. That’s (877) 304-7223. To listen to this message in its entirety, or to join us for our live stream services, visit us online at calvaryco.church, or download our free Calvary Church app. Be blessed as you worship Jesus this week.
