Acts: Go & Be Chapters 10-18Sample

What is this passage saying?

Verse 19 tells us that Paul left Aquilla and Pricilla in Ephesus and little did they know the Lord had plans for them. Apollos, a gifted speaker, comes to Ephesus. The Bible says he was instructed in the scriptures and the ways of the Lord. He spoke accurately about Jesus, but he only knew the baptism of John. Tony Evans writes, “…he has not yet heard about the coming of and baptism of the Holy Spirit.” He was speaking in the synagogue with boldness, Aquilla and Pricilla heard him and kindly took him aside and explained the way of God to him. This a moment of a godly man and woman, a husband and wife, teaching a man the ways of the Lord. They were discipling him in the ways of God. Tony Evans also notes that they did it privately as not to embarrass him. Ultimately, their goal was to make sure that Jesus was being preached completely. And thank goodness they did because Apollos would be a mighty worker for the Lord. The Church sent him to Achaia and the Bible states that he was a great help, and he powerfully refuted the Jews. Apollos knew the scripture and knew from the scripture that Jesus was the Christ. He used this knowledge to convince others to believe in Jesus.

What is this passage teaching?

There is kindness in correcting someone in a loving way with the intent of pointing them to Jesus. You need to be led by the Lord when doing this. Apollos had raw talent and basic knowledge. Aquilla and Pricilla saw how talented he was with only half the story. Once he had the full story, he would be unstoppable. The Lord had divinely orchestrated his path to Ephesus where he had divinely place Aquilla and Pricilla for the three to meet and for the married couple to coach a fellow believer. Aquilla and Pricilla were just being faithful, they were in the synagogue, and they happened to meet this man. Their consistency was used by God to teach a new believer in the accurate ways of God. God uses believers in the lives of other believers. Ananias was used mightily by God in the life of Paul. Because someone witnessed to you, your life has been changed forever and your eternity is sealed. You have no idea who God will bring into your path. We need to be faithful every day to follow after Him so we don’t miss the blessing of ministering to another believer. The Lord will find someone else if you don’t, but don’t miss out on the joy of being used by God.

How do I respond?

Keep being faithful. Faithfulness is consistency. You don’t need to be doing something extraordinary for it to have value. You could be on the same path you take every day, and the Lord could put someone on that path that you can minister to. Continue to tune you heart and mind to ways and voice of God- He will guide you. Be faithful.