The Book of Acts - On Mission As A Church (Acts 18:24-28)

If you got your Bibles and I hope you do grab them we're gonna be in Acts chapter 18. Good morning I'm glad that you were here Worshipping with us here at the church for 1122 at 1122 I've always got to tell you that we have other services that I would love for about 400 of you to check out So that everybody could get a seat etc. We have a 722 service on Thursday night. We have a 9 a.m. Service I know that's early for some of you. We have this service and then also tonight at 522 we have another service. So if you really like this one, you know, you can grab a friend and bring them back to 522 tonight and just to let you know House 5 house 522 Sunday afternoons going last Sunday our second one. There were 390 people here for our video service Amen, that's super good Because if 390 people couldn't be here in this room right now So we're so glad that God is blessing that and that is working We're in week three of this of this series called on mission week one we talked about the fact that God has called us to be on mission in this city and we just celebrated a lot of the things that God has done through the Church of 1122 in this city and also Just the reality that we are called to partner with other churches and other Ministries and other believers in this city for the sake of the gospel and then last week we talked about what it looks like to Be on mission wherever you are That being on mission isn't a destination it's not about where you are It's about who you are And so wherever you are that we're called to be on mission Jesus said it this way in Matthew 28 in the Great Commission Oftentimes it gets translated therefore go and make disciples of all nations But really it means as you are on the go So wherever you're going work school your neighborhood wherever God has placed you on purpose To be on mission for him and I was going through the prayer cards this week Every person on staff prays for every card every week So I was going through this one with this week from this past week and it starts out this way Teachers are on mission every day in the classroom and school started last week

And yes and amen to the teachers that are on mission in classrooms And I probably if I was smart enough I would have done this last week before school started but better late than never So I want to Confirm and affirm that teachers we we do believe that you were on mission in the classroom And so if you were a teacher or an administrator, would you just please stand up regardless of the school? It could be public private and amen now remain standing teachers Remain standing because we live in a culture that says they're trying to remove God from the classroom But here's what I know as long as you're in the classroom Then God is in the classroom because God has placed you in that classroom on purpose And I know you're trying to figure out how to share the gospel in the appropriate way and so just know that that we want to be the kind of church where you could come here and you get fed and Fueled and prayed for and prayed up so that tomorrow morning When you go into your classroom that you are stepping into the mission field and you've got a church behind you That's praying for you so that you can demonstrate the love and the patience and the goodness and the grace of Jesus Christ To those kids that God has placed under your care And so we're gonna commission you just like we do for a mission trip, but it's to your class tomorrow morning Regardless of what you you teach or especially like you math teachers, right? We're really gonna pray for you And so if you if you're sitting around these folks if this weirds you out a little bit it gets worse So just reach over and grab their hand or put your hand on their shoulder or just reach out to one of these teachers or Administrators and let us pray for our teachers going on mission every week of their life dear Father in heaven Lord I thank you and I praise you that you have given these men and women the gift of teaching and Lord I thank you that it wasn't just genetics or schooling that determined that they would They would excel at teaching math or science or English or whatever it is God and it was not the the school board that placed Them in their classroom, but sovereign God you have placed each one of these teachers in their classroom for this season To be to be a light in a dark place to be a city on a hill that when those Students God I pray that when they see the way their teacher loves them and cares for them and is patient with them and forgives

Them they would see the gospel and then as they see the good works of their teachers God They would be able to give you in heaven praise Lord. I pray for just revival and an outreach in our schools through these teachers and then Lord I pray week after week after week that these teachers could come back in this place that they could be fed and fueled by your Spirit and with your word and that they would know that they are loved loved They are cared for and they are commissioned by the Church of 1122 to be on mission in whatever school They go out into tomorrow. We pray it in the good strong name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. All right. Thank you teachers I Feel like we're not a bunch of teachers Stand up, I kind of get a little bit nervous. I feel like I owe you as a career an apology just for some of the things I put you people through. So, we're in week three of On Mission and today what we're gonna talk about is what it means to be on mission as a church. Because I don't know if you are aware of this, but mission drifts, all right? Vision leaks and mission drifts. And organizations can start out to do something and over time they can begin to drift away from that very thing that they intended to do. In fact, did you know, speaking of school, the original mission statement of Harvard University was to prepare pastors and ministers in the gospel for their churches. So, I'm not saying, I mean Harvard's a great school. I'm sure if you go here, none of you got a chance of getting in, but it's a great school. But they may be a little off mission, right?

I don't think they're doing what they intentional, what they were intentional about early on. In fact, a diploma from Harvard says, it says it in Latin, but it says truth for the sake of Christ and his church. And so, they may have drifted a bit from their original mission. And so, what we're gonna do is we're gonna study Acts chapter 18 verses 24 through 28 and I wanna read it in its entirety and then I'm gonna come back through and we're just gonna unpack those few verses, talk about some of the things that mark the ministry of this guy named Apollos, we've never met him before. And so, we're gonna look at what marked his ministry and then really kind of hold up the mirror to the church of 1122 and talk about some of the things that we hope will mark our ministry as a church so that we can be on mission as a church. So, just to honor God's words, would you please stand up? And I know there's been a little stand up, sit down, but that's to make you Lutherans and Catholics feel like you're at church, all right, welcome. See, we're a real church too. All right, here we go. Acts chapter 18 verse 24. Now, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord

and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him and they explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he had wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and they wrote to the disciples to welcome him. And when he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed. For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public showing by the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. May God add blessing to the reading and to the hearing of his word, amen. You may be seated. All right, Acts chapter 18. Again, beginning in verse 24, we were just gonna walk through, there's about 10 things that describe the ministry of Apollos. And I would love if as we continue to grow and go as a church, that these would be the kind of things that mark our church. So verse 24, now, a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria came to Ephesus. The first one is this, and I put them all in your notes. The first one is this, that he was on the go. He's from Alexandria, he goes to Ephesus,

later he's gonna go to Achaia. And so, and that's not Ikea, ladies, all right, Achaia. It says right there in the scriptures, baby. No, he is on the go. It's what we spent all of last week on, that as you are on the go, that we would make disciples. So you gotta listen to last week if you want more on that. Then it says, now, he was an eloquent man. Now, let's just be honest, I don't think very many people are gonna walk out of the church of 1122 and say, now, there's an eloquent man, all right? I'm pretty sure people are leaving here going, yeah, eloquence is what defines the teaching ministry of that church. In fact, I had a friend of mine tell me, he's like, man, I told this guy to go to your church, and I think he was trying to give me a compliment, and he said, you should go hear the pastor there. He's like a Christian version of Larry the Cable Guy. I didn't really perceive that as a compliment, so I complimented him back. Well, you know what, you don't sweat much for a fat fella, all right? So, yeah, I get it. I don't think a lot of people are leaving here going, that was eloquent, the way he tied together deer hunting, duck dynasty, Georgia football, and the gospel all in one big bundle of eloquence, but I do want you to know that in 1 Corinthians 2 1-5, Paul talks about his preaching ministry,

and there's a wall right back here behind that screen, and my office is on the other side of that, and so when I walk from my office to this stage, we have these verses up on the wall. It's about six foot tall. It's 1 Corinthians 2 1-5, and this is kind of the attitude by which I stand in front of you to preach and teach every week. It says, and I, when I. I came to you, brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom, for I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness and in fear and much trembling. You have no idea the heaviness of the weight that I feel week after week after week. So I stand up here with much fear and trembling in weakness, not because I don't think I'm going to do a good job. It's not like I'm trying to perform or keep us all engaged for the hour. It's not that whatsoever. But I just know the weightiness of what happens in this room, that there are some of you right now and you don't know Christ and your future is a Christless eternity, a forever separated from Him. And today, as I lay out the gospel, I understand that literally life and death for all eternity hang in the balance. And there is a heaviness to that. There is a weightiness to that. Now, my job is not to entertain you. My job is just to bring the gospel. And so it is with weakness and in fear and much trembling. And verse four, and my speech and my message were not implausible words of wisdom. Like I don't think anybody's walking out of here going, that dude is brilliant.

I don't think anybody's doing that. But I hope and pray this is happening, but in the demonstration of the spirit and of power so that your faith may not rest in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God. And so week after week after week, it might not be eloquent. It might not even be in plausible or lofty speech. But what I try to do is just preach and teach in a way that is clear and that clearly communicates the love and the gospel of Jesus Christ. And I can't explain to you what's happening in this place. Because sometimes you guys will send me an overwhelming amount of emails and Facebook messages about how amazing the sermon is. And after you read it 23 or 24 times, you go, maybe that was a good one. So I go back to the website and I watch my sermon that you said is awesome. And then I watch it and go, it was really like a C plus at best. It's not that good. I feel like I should have banjo music playing behind me as I'm trying to preach and teach. But what I know is some of my friends, anytime you lead a growing church, pastors just write books now. And so they asked me, so when are you going to write a book? And I go, well, here's what I'm going to do. I'm going to write a preaching book and it's going to be called Moderately Delivered, Exceptionally Received. Because that's what happens here. Okay. Apparently the Holy Spirit has like a little film right here, all right, a little filter. And I think the delivery is very moderate at best. And then somehow he just takes it and by the time it gets to you, it just lands in the right places in the right hearts. And then the Holy Spirit just does stuff. So I think part of the reason God chose me to be a preacher is because, well, one is because I'm just like you.

I'm just like you. All the regular dudes in the room, me too. Okay. I'm not wearing a robe or a hat or a staff and I don't have anything that, you know, smokes and swinging that around. All right. This is not how I roll. I'm more like into camouflage and football and just regular stuff, all right. But I know that the Bible says that God could use the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. And so I think when God was looking for a preacher for our church, he goes, hey, we need that verse to just be personified. I got it. We'll take the redneck from Dylan and put him in charge. Take off, Hoss. So are we eloquent? Not, well, not in the way that we think of eloquent, but that word literally means learned or well-educated, that Apollos was well-educated. And so you might be surprised at this, but I do have a master's degree, a master's of divinity that I studied at a graduate level, you know, the Bible and theology and doctrine and did, and I went ahead and got the tough one to get, which is with, I did Hebrew and Greek and did all of that. So if you look at this, this little phrase, eloquent man, competent in the scriptures, you really have to look at those two together. So although we might not be eloquent in the way you think of eloquence, we do want to demonstrate the power of God by delivering the gospel week after week after week. And I do study a lot. I mean a lot. And the reason is because the next thing that describes Apollos, I want to describe us, that we want to be competent in the scriptures.

We want to be competent in the scriptures. So in addition to the schooling I did a long time ago, week after week after week, I study about 16 to 20 hours a week to get ready for this, what we do right here every week. Because I want to be competent in the scriptures. I want to really know what it says. So I mean, you know, not only do I study the word of God, but I also study commentaries and listen to lots of other pastors and just study, and I'm a little bit of a Bible nerd, so there's a part of the way I'm just wired. I just love that kind of stuff. But I do it over and over. It's been hour upon hour upon hour because I want to be competent in the scriptures But not just that because I know that the scriptures are competent. Not only are they true, but it's trustworthy And so we're not gonna get a lot of me just expounding on my own ideas about how you could be a better version of you But week after week after week what we are gonna do is we're gonna open up the Word of God and we're just gonna walk through the scriptures and so Now again that word eloquent It really means like well-educated like he knows what he's talking about and competent in the scriptures that word for competent It's the word dynamos. We get we get the word dynamite. It means powerful And so I know that according to Isaiah chapter 55 if I just I'm like the mailman, right? I don't write the mail I just deliver it if I just Deliver the mail every single week that the Word of God will do what the Word of God is gonna do that by the power Of the Holy Spirit. He will take his message from his word planted deep in your hearts And then God will do in you what God is gonna do That's why if you'll look at our notes week after week after week, there's just a lot of Bible verses There's not a lot of opinion from your pastor here There's just a lot of Bible verses because we want to be learned in the scriptures We want to be competent in the scriptures, but I want you to know that the scriptures themselves are Competent and then it keeps going Says he had been instructed in the way of the Lord. So this is really kind of more of the same thing

That if you come to the church of 1122, then you are going to get instructed in the way of the Lord That week after week after week We're gonna open up the scriptures and we're gonna instruct you in the way of the Lord You're not gonna get a lot of instruction on how you can become a better version of you You're just gonna get instruction in the gospel that just week after week after week We're gonna instruct you in the way of the Lord. I have a friend of mine was asking me He's playing in a church and he was asking me Do you preach felt need sermons and I go well sort of because everybody needs Jesus and I talk about Jesus every single week And I don't know if you feel like you need him or not, but that's irrelevant What you really need is Jesus and so we don't do a lot of like self-help type sermons here And I know that we live in kind of a self-help craze society, right? If you go into Barnes & Noble the largest section in the whole bookstore is what self-help You know what? The fallacy of the self self-help movement is they treat the problem as the solution Like you're the idiot that got you in the place where you're cruising Barnes & Noble looking for self-help books You might not be the answer to your problems. I think you're the problem And so that's why that's why you won't show up to the Church of 1122 and get a bunch of You know Hey here's four ways to be a better version of you and here's three ways to have better friends and six ways to deal with doubt because What we will do over and over and over is we'll just come back to the gospel. We'll just point it to the gospel We'll just talk about you in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ that you're not a bad person that needs to be better You're a dead person that needs to needs to be brought to life by Christ that you've been the Lord of your own life and that's why you're rummaging around in the self-help section and it's time to put the Lord as as the Lord of your life and then and then we Let the gospel illuminate all the stuff that we're dealing with as opposed to just trying to deal with kind of that behavior management Because in a lot of places the way it works. I mean, I've got some friends of mine that have said well Here's how we here's how we do church we we pull the audience and kind of see what everybody's dealing with and Then we try to address the needs of what everybody's dealing with So for instance, everybody always wants to talk about money and finances and that kind of stuff not give more to the church

but how you can have more for you and so And so the way it happens is a lot of places as churches will say, okay Look, a lot of our people are in debt. So we need to do something about debt, right? No, we need to teach our people about debt Bible talks about debt So you get the creative team together and say, okay folks We're talking about debt and we're gonna do a four-week series called dead is dumb All right, that is dumb. And so Ben I need you in the band Why don't you write a song about that is dumb? and then so finally you get to the day where we're gonna talk about debt is dumb and Ben comes out with the band is Like if you got three dollars and you spend 11, that's dumb bring, you know, and And then I come up and say hey look Bible says dead is dumb, right and we walk through it all and so here's four steps on how to get out of debt and Do you know what the problem with that is? The problem is is that you being in debt is not the problem Do you really need to show up here on a Sunday morning for me to describe you and explain to you if you don't have Money for stuff don't buy stuff You really need to if that's what you need then you've got greater issues than I have time to deal with The problem It's a gospel problem. The problem is that you don't know who your identity in Christ is. Should you be in debt? No, you shouldn't be in debt. You should be a good steward of all that God has given you to steward in this life. But if you think just climbing out of credit card debt is going to change everything, then that's like mowing over the weed in your yard. It looks great until three minutes later when it rains again and then the weed pops right back up. But the gospel deals with the root issue. And the root issue is if you are trying to find your identity in the shiny things of this world, then you're just doing laps in the cul-de-sac of stupidity.

Stuff did not buy me happiness, so I'll get more stuff and see if that buys me happiness. I mean, it's just an exercise in futility. You experience it every time you try on new clothes in the changing room. You walk in there and you look at these clothes and you think, these clothes are terrible. It must be the lighting. It's not the lighting. It's you. Okay? That's you looking back at you. And you take those old clothes off and you throw them over there and you think, I can't even believe I used to wear that kind of junk. And then you put on some new clothes and you'd be like, ooh, yeah, man, this is awesome. You said that about those clothes six months ago. And now you'll just take another lap in the cul-de-sac of stupidity. The reality is that it's a gospel problem. You need Jesus first and foremost. You need to surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ. Not so that you can get cash and prizes, but he is the prize. And then as he begins to renew you and you begin to understand your fullness and worth in light of the gospel, then it affects the way you spend all of your money. So you see how we just teach in the way of the Lord? And then you just take whatever that problem is and you just let the gospel illuminate the problems there. Some of you say, well, pastor, I have a marriage problem. When are we going to talk about marriage? Well, you know what? If you've got a marriage problem, you've got a problem with the gospel. Ephesians 5.21, the preeminent text on marriage in the New Testament, it starts out with submit to one another out of reverence for Christ. So if you haven't submitted your life to Christ, then husbands, you won't know how to be a

Wives, you won't know how to be a wife. Wife, you've got no chance of submitting to your husband as unto the Lord if you haven't submitted to the Lord because he's perfect and you haven't submitted to him and that joker sitting on your couch, you're going to have some difficult submitting to him as unto the Lord. And husbands, love your wife as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her. If you're not loving her that way, then it's a gospel problem. So the answer isn't date night. Now, should you have date night as a response to the gospel? Yeah, because Christ pursued us and you better keep pursuing her. So yes, but if you think date night's going to fix it, you're too dumb to talk to. You'll just be reading self-help books. And you know how I know they don't work? Because, because there's a volume two. If it worked, there'd just be one and done, but there's not. And so, what we will do over and over and over is we will just instruct in the way of the Lord. We will seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and then all these things will be added unto him. Now, yes, we'll talk about all of those other things. We'll talk about marriages and money and all of that kind of stuff, but from the point of view of the cross, can I just tell you how much I love that our church meets at an old Walmart? That this literally was ladies' accessories. And this used to be a place where some insecure woman thought she was going to find her identity in tacky Walmart jewelry. And now there's a cross and the Bible and the gospel week after week after week after week and we can pick on that insecure lady, all right, but her dumb husband was over there thinking a riding lawnmower would make the difference in his life, okay? So, we just, over and over, week after week, we just instruct in the way of the Lord.

He goes on to say, and being fervent in spirit. Now, theologians and historians kind of wrestle over this one. They're not sure that the text makes it kind of hard to understand. It's a little ambiguous. Does this mean he was fervent in the Holy Spirit, like he was full of the Holy Spirit, or does this mean he was fervent in his own spirit, meaning passionate? Well, for our church, for the church of 1122, I'll take both. I'll take both in. I want our church to be a spirit-filled church, full of the Holy Spirit, full of the Holy Spirit, that God has an easy time directing us, that we lean strong into the Spirit's work in our life. And I also want our church to be a passionate church. We are a passionate church. We're passionate in the preaching and teaching. We're also passionate in the way that we worship God. And so if you're new to passionate worship like this, let me just tell you the reason that the people are beside you are singing With the intensity that they're singing and the reason that that chick has her hands up next to you And she keeps elbowing you in the head and you know, it's because this isn't just a belief system But we actually believe that God Almighty the maker of heaven and earth that he loved you He loved you enough that he would send his son on a rescue mission for you And when we all get together we celebrate that and we sing not just karaoke But we sing to him and if you come in anybody, I don't really like the music Well, Jimmy cracks corn and I don't care cuz we ain't singing to you. I Hope you understand that this isn't like a concert where you get to go. Hmm. That was good. I know These are like the the directors of the play We all together out here are the actors and God is the audience of one And so we think he's kind of into it when we sing him songs About about the gospel and about who he is and what he's done for us And so there's freedom in this place to kind of get into it. Now. Let me just tell you I'm not sure again last week We talked about those of you that worship like this

Like you were weaned on a pickle so I just need you to know that I'm Not sure how you encounter the Almighty Living God and you're full of the Holy Spirit and you knew what a wretch you were I mean you were just wretched and crooked and depraved and hopeless and on your way to hell and that God would reach down and redeem And save you. I'm not sure how when you've experienced that fully and then you gather at the big old family reunion every weekend And we're gonna sing to our Heavenly Father that there's not some Abba Father Welling up in you and that you're gonna reach out to him and it can be a little emotive and a little expressive Okay, I know that when I go home and my three-year-old Reagan sees me walk in the door She didn't just go so she runs to me with her hands up saying daddy And that's a little bit of what worship is in this place So if you're new to church and it weirds you out, I understand But if you came on a date with me and Gretchen, it would weird you out a little bit, too You would think oh, whoa, this is intimate. Right, because I really love her And if I was sitting across from her in a restaurant and we were talking intimately you would feel awkward at the table So if you're new to church and you're kind of like wow the people around me are into this It's because they actually believe it. They're fervent in spirit And so for some of you, you know that you've gotten your hands from here to here I just want you to know, you know, the Bible says raise your hand in the sanctuary So you have freedom in this place All right freedom in this place to and we want this place to be a place that worships and just loves God Passionately that we are fervent in spirit It goes on to say and he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus that we want to speak and teach Accurately the things concerning Jesus that doctrine matters that theology matters When I was being trained like in seminary We were sort of taught that you had to make a decision You could have a kind of a passionate Expressive kind of church, you know everybody it was kind of a bring your own tambourine and banner kind of church or You could teach the Bible and be doctrinally accurate. We'll see. I think it's a false dichotomy That I think that to look at God rightly stirs in us worship for who he is and what he's done

That doctrine matters that theology matters Explain it to you this way if I were my wife sitting on the front row if I were to take her home this afternoon and say sit down right there Baby, and I got on one knee and just said I love you so much I mean, there's something that's just stirring in me right now. I love you more She loves it when I do this when y'all are all here for it, too. Okay, I Love you so much. I love you more today I did when when we got married and the thing I love you the most about you is I love the way the Sun glistens Off your bright red hair. I just love it Now you would say well what's wrong with that she didn't have red hair That's gonna be problematic for me right husbands. Yeah, really problematic so doctrine matters You've got to get those things right that are about God And so we we will study and teach accurately about Jesus because it matters And so that's why we just open up the word and every week just verse by verse by verse through his word And so it says he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. No, he knew only the baptism of John I'll come back to that He began to speak boldly in the synagogue one of the marks of the Church of 1122 is that we will speak and preach and Teach boldly the truth of the scripture that we will not shy away from controversial subjects We will not shy away or or tower down just to the movements of our culture Now that doesn't mean that we will just try to stir stuff up and poke people in the Just to kind of take them off because there's a lot of churches that do that too That's not what we're trying to do But we want to teach accurately the scriptures and speak boldly the truth that is God's Word now a Big part of what that means like like one of the boldest things you can say That really stands against the ultimate idol in our society and that idol is tolerance What one of the boldest things you can say is that Jesus Christ is the only way Salvation. I mean people would say how in the world. Can you be so intolerant? Well, listen tolerance is not a biblical value. Okay Tolerance is not a biblical value. Love is we are not called to tolerate people. We're called to love them

Tolerate means I'll just put up with you if you stay over there I'll stay over here and I could just kind of put up with you. No, no, we are not called to coexist We are not coexist with the Gators. You understand what I'm saying? Like I I Kind of understand you're out there. It's not your fault. You're raised in it. You can't help it, but I don't I don't I'm not called to just I love I have to love I have to love your enemies. That's what we've been called to do love and so at the Church of 1122 We love people enough to lovingly say you are not just a mistake or in need of a life coach You're a sinner in need of a Savior. It is not love for me to overlook The fact that you are living a life apart from God your Creator and that the only way for you to have the life that you were created to live is to surrender your life To the Lordship of Jesus Christ. Is it narrow? Yes, it's narrow, but I'm just quoting him He said I am the way the truth and the life and no one comes to the Father except through me So on the one hand, it's narrow it but the on the other hand, he says it's everybody's welcome Everybody's welcome. Everybody gets in the same way and Christ has paid the price for us all and so we will not just Tolerate one another and we will not just tolerate this city We live in and tolerate the world that we live in and hope that we can just coexist We're gonna love people enough to say you The problem is that you're not just bad, but you're dead You're an enemy of God An almighty perfect God and you've earned his wrath But God is rich in mercy his love endures forever and even when you were still a sinner He demonstrated his love for you and this that he sent Christ To endure the full wrath of an almighty God so that you could be made righteous. You could be in right Relationship with God and week after week after week. We will boldly proclaim the gospel Boldly proclaim the gospel and it's because we love you Look when I was a kid in first grade The most popular restaurant in Dillon, South Carolina was right down that road from my house two blocks It's McDonald's. It's like the nicest place and so

We kind of a busy street, you know for Dillon And so me and my friend Joey peel are riding our bicycles in front of my house in the street And my mom comes out there screaming her head off Joseph Perry Martin the third quit riding your bicycle in the street just screaming, you know Scary-to-death kind of scream and I pull over to the curb and I'm kind of mad at the mama You don't love me if you love me You wouldn't yell at me and she said scream back if I didn't love you. I would let you ride your bike in the street My man Joey right here behind me. I can hear him just kind of start going He starts crying Joey peel what is wrong with you? He goes my mama lets me ride the street So I'm just gonna tell you because Christ first loved us and rescued us We love you enough to tell you the truth to tell you the truth Trying to be good will never be good enough You got to surrender your life to Christ That God made him who was without sin to be sin for us that we would be made his righteousness It's not about going to church and being a better person Being a better version of you and cussing less and drinking less and working harder We think that those things may happen as a result of you knowing Jesus You got to surrender your life to the Lordship of Jesus and that also means that we're not at the Church of 1122 We're not gonna try to give Jesus a makeover. So he'll be more palatable to your neighbors and friends Hey, if you're a guest praise God, thank you so much that you're here. Thank you We're expanding this place So more of you and your friends and family can join our family and love Jesus and worship Jesus But Jesus doesn't need a makeover We're not gonna bleach his robe and give him a new Miss America sash and feather his hair and and leave out some of the Things that he taught it was a brutal death that he died on the cross for you brutal He endured the full wrath of an Almighty God. He screamed out my God my God Why have you forsaken me and he was telling everybody I am the Christ the Lamb of God that has come to take away the sin of the world and we love you enough to diagnose the problem

that you're a wretched black hearted sinner and so am I but I'm redeemed I'm saved I'm rescued and you can be too through Christ and so Apollos he would speak boldly he began to speak boldly in the synagogue the seventh one or the eighth one but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately so I hope I could do a good job of explaining this so we've already established or the text has already established that that Apollos was an incredible preacher I mean he was eloquent he was competent in the scriptures he taught accurately about Jesus he was fervent in spirit he spoke boldly all of those things are great but then Priscilla and Aquila come along and they hear him teaching and they think man this guy is really good he's got some gifts and talents and he loves Jesus and preaches the word but he's kind of messing up the whole baptism thing that's what it means when it says he only knew of the baptism of John so what most historians and theologians believe is that Apollos probably got saved during Jesus's earthly ministry and so he believed that he was the Lamb of God that came to take away the sin of all mankind and that he taught accurately about Jesus so he knows about his death and resurrection but he probably was not there when Christ ascends into heaven and gives the great commission to go and make disciples and baptize them in the name of the Father and Son and the Holy Spirit so he knows of the baptism of John a baptism of repentance but he doesn't know of the baptism of Jesus this this Christian baptism to declare your personal relationship with Jesus this baptism of forgiveness and he probably wasn't around on the day of Pentecost when though he personally had the Spirit he didn't realize that the Holy Spirit of God had fallen on the church the big C Church and that there was a spirit driven life that was available to the Christian so Priscilla and Aquila they hear him teaching and they love him enough to not talk about him but talk to him they love him enough to not start a blog and a Facebook page about Apollos is you know heretical teaching but they go and it says do you see the maturity here it says that they they took him away or they say to him in other words

what they do is they take him privately and they instruct him in the way of God more accurately so one of the things that marks Apollos that I want to mark us as a church is that Apollos was a humble learner and at the church of 1122 we are gonna position ourselves as humble learners think about the humility it took for Apollos this incredible teacher who was a first century Jewish man who was he back being taught by Priscilla and Aquila a woman and a man that he humbles himself under her teaching that was I mean I can't describe to you how big a deal that was in the first century and and he didn't push back on that say who do you think you are to tell me what to do all right listen to all these people listen to me and you just got saved last chapter all right during week two of omission so who do you think you are none of that he humbles himself and he learns from them so things are going exceedingly well at the church of 1122 I couldn't be going better all right we're 11 months old we're in a building campaign I mean it's going really really really great a lot of hundreds of people coming to Christ people are growing marriages are being renewed and fam I mean just crazy everything's just up and to the right and amazing and let me just say this church and we're not there yet we will not strut around as if we know what we're doing absolutely not we have so much to learn we will continuously put ourselves in a position to be a student first and not a critic we live in a society where everybody's critical of everybody that will not be the posture of the church of 1122 there are lots of people in the city and around the world that have so much that they can teach us about what it means to be a church and ways that we could do things better and teach us even more accurately the things of God for instance you know we're doing the this revival in September saturated we want to be saturated in the presence of God and the Word of God and the love of God I've invited all these pastors from different churches different kinds of churches to come in here and to preach and teach and for 21 days before that saturated event starts we're calling our church to a Daniel fast all right to a Daniel fast some of you don't even know who Daniel is like I don't need three rows down for

me who's Daniel okay Daniel's a guy in the Old Testament that gets captured by by this King and so he feels like God's leading him to not eat the King's food or drink of the King's wine and so it's kind of based on that description that Christians for a long time have said all right we're gonna only eat the things that Daniel ate in the Old Testament as a way to fast and some of you will look at that and be like oh the King's wine what I can still drink my box wine I think I'm okay I don't drink Kings one And I'm just gonna admit all right. I was I was ordained Southern Baptist. It's not like the epicenter of fasting You know what? I mean, it's just just wasn't a part of kind of how we grew up in our walk with Jesus But Jesus talks a whole lot about fasting and so we're gonna call our church to fast And so what I've done if I've invited in someone another pastor in our city pastor Stovall Williams at Celebration Church to help us so that we can learn a little about what it means to fast So why we made his books available out here in the lobby Okay, because he's kind of an expert on it and in particular the Daniel fast And what I love so much about his book is pastor Stovall The expert says that in the Daniel fast you can drink coffee praise Jesus Because there's some heretics out there that say you can't and anybody tells you you can't drink coffee That's a cult and you should run away. All right, so So If you don't if you need help with that like I need I got the book Okay, I need help with the two that we will be a church that just humbly learns from others I'm in two coaching relationships with pastors that have been been lead pastors at their church for more than 10 years each I'm in a group of I'm in this group where we're pastors with growing churches under 40. I just made it in under 40 Got invited to be a part of this this network where a few times a year we get together and these older pastors these guys That have been doing it for 20 years plus where they they pour into us There are men and women all throughout this room right now that are great leaders and whatever industry God has them in and I just Sit under those men and women and just look forward to them pouring into me once a month in our staff meetings

We bring leaders from really all over our city like whether they lead churches or not pastor So falls come in and talk but also the mayor's gonna come in and teach and restaurant owners and CEOs and presidents and all kind Of leaders just come in and teach us as a staff. And the reason is because I want to continuously Position us as a church to be a humble learner that we will know that that that we might be able to help some other People but we are we know that we have not arrived yet and there's so much that we have to learn We are going to be a student first and not a critic verse 27 And when he wished wished across to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him The ninth thing is that he received encouragement through fellowship. He received encouragement through fellowship that That Apollos had some real like biblically based Rooted deep-rooted relationships with with some people that he could call brothers in your disciple making process I think this is a major part of it I think you being here on the weekend and us doing Bible study together for an hour every single week I think that's a major part of it But something that you have to have in your life is your life needs to be marked by true biblical fellowship You need some people in your life when you think God is calling you to do something that you've got some brothers and sisters That can encourage you I'm just gonna say it's gonna be hard to find that just by sitting in rows on the weekend again I think this is a major part of your discipleship But I think you've got to take it to the next step and get in true biblical fellowship where you can have brothers and sisters That encourage you. Do you know how easy we've made it at the Church of 1122? Look, this is on you. If you want to get connected here, we called the thing to connect Center It's the center of connection. You just walk back there and go I'd like to get connected and I know it's 2013 but we have real live human beings there that will help you get connected to other real live human beings I know you have 600 friends on your Facebook way to go. Your mama's proud, but it's irrelevant You got to have actual people in your world that that that you can call brother and sister and that encourage you so Please get involved there And then it says and when he arrived he greatly helped those who through grace had believed That the that Apollos wasn't just about converting large crowds

He was about making disciples that the Church of 1122 Look we praise God for the numbers of people that are showing up right now because we know that every number is a person Every person has a story every story matters to God But we also know that that conversion moment that moment when you surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ That's just the beginning of the discipleship process that we've been commanded to make disciples and so we are just concerned about you growing in Christ as we are and you meeting him for the first time that we want you to discover and Deepen that relationship with Jesus and then it finishes off about Apollos in this it says For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public showing By the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus That he taught the scripture and he pointed to Jesus. He taught the scripture. He pointed to Jesus. That's what marked his ministry He taught the scripture and he pointed to Jesus now, here's what I know I know that vision leaks and mission drifts just like we started I know that churches start out one way they start out about Jesus and it's not long and it's just kind of about bake sales And softball leaks, okay And so we want to continuously just teach the scripture and point back to Jesus And so for us to stay on mission as a church We got to stay firmly established in the word and we got to forcefully advance his kingdom. We got to teach the scripture We got to point to Jesus. I Learned that so well this week in my very own home, you know school started this week. And so JP moved to a new school. We love it. It's great. And so he's got new friends He's playing with this this kid out in our front yard and a new friend brand new friend and he comes up to me And he says daddy. I got to talk to you about my new friend. I'm like, what's up, buddy? And he leans in he goes he says all the bad words Now as a parent when I hear he says all the bad words, you know what I think you better watch your mouth That's what I think in Proverbs 423 the Bible says above all else guard your heart. It is the wellspring of life So the Bible says guard your heart what most of the time we do is say watch your mouth or watch your step And so I talked to JP a little bit, you know, and he says daddy says all the words It's f word and the s word and the L word. I'm thinking L word

Well, I don't even know but I didn't ask him to repeat it because I don't you know No, there was an L word and so So we talked about it a little bit and then then the next day I'm here at work and There's this group of girls that kind of hang out at my house My wife sort of disciples them and they're just kind of there a lot And so JP just runs into the house and he goes I need my action Bible I need my action Bible and and Dakota one of our new gen staff She's she's at my house and she goes well why what's going on? He goes because my friends out there and I I need it He's the one that says all the bad words and I need to tell him about the gospel That's what he says now Let me just tell you that that is that is a result I mean, we love Jesus and try to disciple our kids and raise them in the gospel, but that's also partnering with our new gen staff here that have partnered with us to help us all together raise our kid in the glory in the Gospel of Jesus Christ and so he comes in he goes I need my Bible and so he gets his action Bible Which one of the new gen staffers gave to him as a president a couple years ago And so then he heads right back out the door to share the gospel with his friend his words And so this little group of girls, they don't they don't really respect, you know personal privacy That's why they're in my house all the time. And so they just they go out into the garage to eavesdrop on JP And say JP gets out there with his action Bible in hand and he just looks directly at his friend and he goes hey He calls his name. He says do you know Jesus? Do you know Jesus? Kids like no, I don't think so so JP says Well, he's the he's the son of God and God sent him to come on this earth and to die on a cross for our sins See and then he opens the Bible. It's his favorite picture and he just goes to the action Bible and finds all the blood pictures That's what he does. Okay, he's got a mark And so he just opens up to the picture of Jesus on the cross and he begins to kind of describe who Jesus is He's just laying out the gospel to the seven-year-old and then the kid goes, oh, I think I've heard of him

All right. And so then JP folds up his Bible and he says Do y'all go to church? And the kids like now we you know, we're kind of busy We just hang out on Sundays and JP says tell your mom go inside and tell your mom to Google the church of And if they'll come there Pastor Joby will tell your parents about Jesus and if you'll come to new gym with me You could learn more about Jesus and he says do you want to hear some more about him? And the kids like not really and he's like, all right So he just comes back in the house Drops off his Bible high fives him and says I just shared the gospel and he runs right back out now Listen now that he's no saint. Okay, so don't let me I know I I could share lots of other stories, too But Here's What I was confronted with as a parent just as a guy when I encounter sin Most of the time I think watch your mouth watch your step. You got to fix that Well my seven-year-old when his first thought was Do you know Jesus? Do you know Jesus? So this kind of church I want our church to be The we're a church for all people all kind of people and if you got some junk you walked in with junk You're just that just means you're one of us, but the response is not watching your mouth and watch your steps the response is above all else guard your heart is Jesus the Lord of your heart and so regardless of who you are where you've been or what you have done even if we're talking about what you've done was last night let me just ask you this do you know Jesus and then let me tell you this to Christians don't think that the gospel is to help unsaved people get saved yes and amen but it's not just from them okay that we as believers in Christ need to constantly remember the gospel it's not like you meet Jesus at the cross and then you start growing off in this other direction that means you

would move further and further away from the cross that you'd never graduate from the gospel you never graduate from the cross we just need to constantly be reminded that God knew what he was getting into when he purchased you that if you could have a conversation at your conversion and say Lord are you sure because I think I got a lot of sin still left in me he goes yeah I know the deal and I'm gonna get into it I'll take you as you are and that's why I died on the cross because it's not gonna be you just getting to be better but you need to die to yourself and surrender your life unto me and that's why the Bible says things like God demonstrated his love for us and this that while we were yet still sinners that Christ died for us and it says things like for God so loved the world that whosoever did you know you're a whosoever that whosoever would believe in him would not perish but have everlasting life so let me ask you the question that my seven-year-old evangelist in my house asked this week not about control your behavior but do you know Jesus do you know Jesus you know that God sent his only Son for you to die on the cross for you that God made him who was without sin to be sin for us that we could be made his righteousness that we could be in a right relationship with him not by going to church more not by saying magic words in a prayer not by raising our hands but by surrendering our life to the Lordship of Christ not by your performance here on earth but by his performance on the cross and his resurrection that you could know Jesus as your Savior would you please bow your head right where you are if you were here this morning and for the very first time you would like to know Jesus as your Savior maybe you've known about him maybe if you've got some church background or maybe you've never really been to church and this might be the first one where you've ever thought that you could come back but today you regardless of who you are what you've done for the very first time are ready to surrender your life to the Lordship of Christ and you would say I want to know him I want to surrender my life and know Christ as my Savior would you raise your hand right where you are and those of you with your hand in the air raise it high and I want you to just talk to God in whatever words that you

want to use there's no magic words this isn't an incantation it's a prayer and you just admit to God that you are a sinner you are far from God that you would believe in Jesus and that you would confess him as your Lord and Savior and the Bible says that you even in this moment are being saved that your sins are washed away by what Christ did on the cross and through his resurrection and new life today begins in you dear Father in heaven Lord thank you so much that there's salvation in this place thank you that you love us God thank you that you pursue us God thank you I thank you for the example that you gave me this week and Lord I pray as a church I pray as a church whenever we encounter sin God we would just ask the question do you know Jesus and that whosoever would be invited to come to know Jesus God I pray that this would always be a safe safe safe place a safe church to hear a message that's dangerous to the way we live and so God we love you because you first love us we pray it in Jesus name amen if you would please stand we respond to the gospel every week God initiates and we respond he initiated by coming after us on the cross and he initiated today by by sending out his word and so we respond we respond by all singing together we respond by coming to the altar and just dealing with some stuff with you and your heavenly Father and if you call this church your home church then we respond by bringing our tithes and offerings to the giving boxes around the room or the giving kiosk in the back however you need to respond I hope you will let's respond