The Tabernacle Today

The Overwhelmed Apostle Acts 18:9-18a

The simplest meaning of the word apostle is “sent one.” There are no more apostles in the sense of Paul and the others who wrote the New Testament. But all Christians are “sent out” to minister in their sphere of ______________________ and beyond.

112 Hours

God _____________________ encourages the overwhelmed apostle   V. 9-11

2 Corinthians 11:22-33

This is the third of 6 visions for Paul in the Book of Acts:

9:3-6 16:9-10 HERE 22:17-18  23:11 27:23-24

3 Commands:

Don’t be afraid!

Keep on _________________!

Don’t be silent!

3 Promises:

God’s __________________________

God’s __________________________

God’s productiveness

The ______________________ of Paul’s endurance V. 11-17

Here we have another time stamp – Gallio being proconsul of Achaia. An inscription at Delphi has Gallio assuming his post in early 51 A.D. He stopped being proconsul in 52 A.D. Therefore, this event probably happened in 51 A.D.

If Paul hadn’t ________________________ and continued to share Jesus, Sosthenes might not have been among the “other people” to be saved in this city. Who won’t be reached if you quit?

112 hours

Working hours each week =  50-80 hours

Ministry of Preaching & Teaching  20 hours

Preaching & Teaching 3 plus times a week

Studying the Biblical text to preach and teach

Supplemental reading and studying

Writing

Ministry of Prayer and Presence  5-10 hours

Praying for church members – a letter a day

Visits, calls, letters, social media

Attending events related to members

Attending community events as the Tabernacle Pastor

Acts 1:8 Evangelism and Missions  5-10 hours

Personal evangelism: several times a week

Missions coordination/ encouragement

SBCV/ SBC involvement

Ministry of Discipleship & Mentoring  5-10 hours

Personal discipleship: several “Timothy” relationships

Sunday School teacher coordination/ New Members Class

Mentoring future leaders within the church

Mentoring younger pastors and potential workers

Pre-marital counseling

Ministry of Leadership & Administration  5-10 hours

Daily leading and office decisions/ Ministry coordination

Appointments with lay leaders

Oversight of staff/ staff meetings

Board of Directors meetings

Ministry of Pastoral Care  10-20 hours

Counseling: several appointments each week

Hospital visits

Funerals

Deacons meetings

That leaves for Family, Friends, Self 32-62 hours

Time with God

Time with Family/ Time with Friends

Time for Self

Walk, Watch and Worship

Read Colossians 2:6-10 Walk, Watch, and Worship Let’s Pray! 

Three Responses to the Treasure we have in Christ: 

1. Keep a focused walk V. 6-7

The word walk is peripateo (G 4043), which occurs 96 times in the N.T. It conveys the idea of conducting one’s life in accord with biblical truth. 

First, this walk is rooted in Jesus Christ. 

Second and Third, this walk is built up and established in THE faith.

Faith is following the person of Jesus, that’s why we say Christians are in a relationship. THE Faith is being committed to the great doctrines of our faith presented in the Bible. That’s why we say Christianity is a religion – there are tenants that Christian adherents are expected to believe

Fourth, this walk is characterized by abounding in Thanksgiving.

2. Keep an informed watch V. 8

Philosophy simply means the love of wisdom, but when combined with the words empty deceit we get the godless philosophies that lead astray so many.

Some of the Judaizers in their midst did not want to give up adherence to the Jewish law and insisted the Old Testament civil law was still binding, even though the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15 said it was not! 

Too often then and now there is superstitious worship of nature, and stars, and occult activity that invites demonic angels from the spirit realm into our presence. When they come in, they come in like a wrecking ball! 

There is a great contrast between hollow philosophy and the fullness in Christ. -African Bible Commentary

3. Keep filled up on the One we worship V. 9-10

Nicene Creed (A.D. 325)

We believe in one God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth, and of all things visible and invisible. And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God, begotten of the Father, Light of light, Very God of very God, begotten not made, being of one substance with the Father; by whom all things were made; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down from heaven, and was incarnate and was made man; He suffered, and the third day he rose again, ascended into heaven, from there He shall come to judge both the quick and the dead; and in the Holy Spirit.

Even as we try to quantify what the Spirit does now in our lives we need to be reminded that it is the Spirit of Christ that indwells us, not an impersonal force. To walk in the Spirit is to see Christlikeness produced in and through your life.

The Struggle is Real

Cardinal Hugo put chapter divisions into the Latin Bible in AD 1250. Robert Estienne produced a Greek New Testament with verse divisions in AD 1551. The first entire English Bible to have verse divisions was the Geneva Bible in 1560.

Read Colossians 2:1-5 The struggle is real Let’s Pray!

We must exert ourselves to help believers get it right   V. 1

No one today is an apostle like Paul was but we all have a sphere of influence – and when we know we are influencing people we should remember them in prayer, encouragement, and exhortation.

We must encourage believers to treasure Jesus Christ  V. 2-3

That’s what should be happening in your growing knowledge of biblical truth – things you didn’t understand before should be falling into place as the knowledge about Jesus you are obtaining flows together.

We must exhort believers to escape false teaching  V. 4-5

Psalm Chapter 6 Worksheet

The word Sheminith is related to the word for _______________________. 

David seems to indicate the source of his trouble is not only from without, it is also from ______________________!

Perhaps David understood what we need to:  

David ________________________ great grief and anguish V. 6-7

David’s grief and anguish affected his overall _________________ V. 1-3

David cries out for _________________: he wants to keep making a difference! V. 4-5

Sheol was a type of holding tank for all the dead, but it appears to have been divided into two sections – one for the righteous and one for the ________________________________. 

Psalm 23 Luke 16 Ephesians 4:8-10 I Peter 3:18-19

Today when saints die, their spirits are ___________________________ directly into Heaven. 

2 Cor. 5 says that to be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. 

David’s words in verses 4-5 should be understood as a _____________________; he is pleading with God for God to extend his life. 

David is suddenly overwhelmed with assurance and ____________________ V. 8-10

What does the statement in verse 10 remind us of?

Do you understand who has moved in this Psalm?

O keep up life and peace within, 

If I must feel Thy chastening rod!

Yet kill not me, but kill my sin,

And let me know Thou art my God.

O give my soul some sweet foretaste

Of that which I shall shortly see!

Let faith and love cry to the last,

Come Lord, I trust myself with Thee!

-Richard Baxter (1615-1691)

Mysteries Made Known

Polycarp was arrested by Herod when Philip was High Priest during the Proconsulship of Statius Quadratus – BUT WHILE JESUS CHRIST WAS REIGNING AS KING FOREVER – TO HIM BE GLORY, HONOR, MAJESTY, AND THE ETERNAL THRONE, FROM GENERATION TO GENERATION. -The Martyrdom of Polycarp

Read Colossians 1:24-29 Mysteries Made Known Let’s Pray!

Three Mysteries that have been made known to Christians

1. Why Christian missionaries are willing to suffer V. 24-25

Christian missionaries are willing to suffer to get the word out into this world.

Christ suffered to actualize salvation for all who believe; Christians suffer to give people access to that saving message.

2. Why Jesus the Messiah was willing to die V. 26-27

Jesus the Messiah was willing to die to get Himself into the heart of believers.

3. Why Christian messengers won’t give up on you V. 28-29

Christian messengers won’t give up on you so they can get you ready to go up to Heaven.

The Last Thing Out of the Box! Acts 18:1-8

Pandora’s Box

New Co-__________________ raised up in a New City for the gospel   V. 1-4

The phrase “to Corinthianize” was used throughout the Roman Empire to refer to sexual immorality. Bodies that have been dug up and evaluated suggest that sexually transmitted diseases were __________________ there.

1 Corinthians 2:1-5

“Claudius banished from Rome all the Jews, who were continually making disturbances at the instigation of one Chrestus.”    -Roman Historian Suetonius

Romans 16:3-4

It looks like Aquila and Priscilla spent AD 50-53 in Corinth, 53-57 in Ephesus, and 57-62 in Rome. Think about this: they included strategic _____________________ into their life for the sake of the gospel!

The Christian’s Role as a Witnessing ______________________   V. 5-8

2 Corinthians 11:9

1 Thessalonians 3:7-10

Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God concerning them is for their salvation! -Romans 10:1

Ezekiel 3:17-21

Blood on your hands would mean you bear the responsibility for another’s death because you were not faithful to warn him. But to have blood on your head means you are to blame for your own judgment. You had the opportunity to be saved, but turned it down.    -Warren Wiersbe, 380

Paul’s headquarters was the home of Titius Justus, a Roman God-fearer who lived right next to the synagogue.

I Corinthians 1:14-16

Gaius, who is host to me and the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother Quartus greet you. -Rom. 16:23

An inscription has been dug up at the theater at Corinth that gives credit to Erastus, the treasurer of the city who provided the funds for the plaza. -Ken Gangel, 305.

Do not be deceived: no sexually immoral people, idolaters, adulterers, male prostitutes, homosexuals, thieves, greedy people, drunkards, revilers, or swindlers will inherit God’s kingdom. Some of you were like this: but you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of God.  -I Corinthians 6:9-11

Psalm Chapter 5 Worksheet

This Psalm speaks of talking to God at daybreak in verse three, making it a good psalm for the _______________________ time!

There is a back and forth contrast between the person who is seeking God and the __________ person who does not.

David ______________________ God to act! V. 1-2

Sometimes we sigh or groan because even though we are thinking hard about something, and praying a lot about it, we just don’t ____________________

and we really don’t know what to do or even how to pray. Romans 8:26

David prayed at _____________________________! V. 3

David reminds God what He _____________________!  V. 4-6

Verse 6 is another instance of the one praying reminding God of His ____________________

David’s delight in going to God’s ______________________!  V. 7

Ecclesiastes 5:1-7

David shows that real men ask for ________________________!  V. 8

David’s not done _______________________ about the wicked!  V. 9-10

David had probably been the victim of a lot of _____________________ abuse.

David took that stuff to the Lord, so he could hold his head high and act with a king’s dignity out in _____________________.

Most of us respond to criticism in one of three ways:

It seems like a contradiction to us, but in scripture it is not, it is one of the Bible’s paradoxes: We pray _________________ for the wicked to reap what they sow and for God to save them the way He saved us!

David _________________ his day to the Lord!  V. 11-12

Genesis 18:25

Jesus Christ is Lord of His Blood-Bought Church

Today we will see that the Founder and Owner of the Big ‘C’ Church is Jesus Christ. We will also see that all little ‘c’ churches like the one in Colossae are called to continue to be what our Founder expects us to be!

Read Colossians 1:18-23

Jesus Christ is Lord of His blood-bought Church! Let’s Pray!

In the New Testament letters, which covers the Book of Romans through the letter to Jude, often the passages interlink with each other like a links in a chain.

Jesus Christ is Lord of His Church  V. 18

For a human body to be functional every member must respond to instructions from its brain, its head. For the church body to be functional we must remember who our leader is – Jesus!

The Big ‘C’ Church will never stop existing, and the members of it will one day live on the new earth with new bodies forever.

But little ‘c’ churches can and do cease to exist. That’s why when Jesus spoke to another church from Asia Minor, the Ephesian church that Jesus spoke to in Rev. Ch. 2, He told them if they didn’t repent He would remove their lampstand.

Jesus always needs to have first place in His Church and churches.

Jesus Christ is the Reconciler of All and the Redeemer of His Church   V. 19-22

It is finished! -John 19:30 Tetelestai!

For there is One God, and there is One Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all… 1 Timothy 2:5-6a

Here Paul in verse 22 says the consequence of being in Christ and possessing His righteousness is that in God’s eyes Christians are as holy, blameless, and above reproach as Jesus Christ Himself is!

Jesus Christ has a specific purpose for His Big ‘C’ Church and little ‘c’ churches  V. 23

He is telling us here what is true of every member of the Big C church and is expected of every member of the little ‘c’ churches like the one in Colossae. It is understood that true Christians will “continue in the faith” and preach Jesus.

Perseverance in believing is one of the fruits of the new birth experience (initiated by God) we obtain when “by grace we are saved through faith.” Progress in Christian behavior is also fruit – not perfection yet, but progress. We continue to make progress now, however imperfect, toward the positional perfection we already have in Christ and can never lose.

The God Who Overlooks Our Days of Ignorance Acts 17:22-34

“All things happen according to the Logos” and “the Logos is the judge of truth.”  -Heraclitus (560 B.C.)

There are several places in the New Testament where we see Christian preachers engage the Greek mindset to share the good news of eternal life in Jesus. They wanted the Greeks to know that the principle behind the universe and inside people was really a ____________ they could know: Jesus Christ, Conqueror of the grave!

Paul uses a gospel “on-ramp.”  V. 22-24

Look at verse 22. The word for extremely religious there is “________ of the demon gods.” When it came to the gods, the people were very careful to appease their gods lest they be angry and create havoc.

Creation and Conscience are God’s general revelation to all mankind. Romans 1 says that these are both such powerful testimonies about God that all people will be without _________________ before God on judgment day.

Paul proclaims the Bible’s truths about God and salvation…    V. 24-31

Paul’s point is the absurdity of idolatry: We are made in God’s image; idolatry gets it ________________ – it makes gods in man’s image!

The Choice before People: Have your sins looked over or overlooked   V. 30

You don’t want God to look over your sins on judgment day; You want Him to overlook your sins because you have __________________!

Different ___________________ to the gospel  V. 32-34

This is cool – some who mock or persecute later will receive the truth they at first rejected! This passage shows that had happened with Paul…

Stephen in Acts 7:48

Paul in Acts 17:24

However, the Most High does not dwell in sanctuaries made with   hands…

The God who made the world and   everything in it-He is Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in shrines made by hands…

The early church historian Eusebius reports that Dionysius was the first bishop (pastor) of Athens! Today when you go to Athens and tour the ruins of the Acropolis, you take Dionysiou Areopagitu street: Dionysius the Areopagite Street!

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It is clear that that by using poetic examples from the Phaenomena of Aratus Paul approves of the best statements of the Greeks. Besides, he refers to the fact that in the person of the unknown God the Greeks are indirectly honoring God the Creator and need to receive Him and learn about Him with full knowledge through the Son.   -Clement of Alexandria (150-215), ACC, p 220

Like the Athenians, Africans are very religious and have numerous shrines. The concept of the Supreme God in African Traditional Religions (ATR) is also shadowy, not unlike the concept that led to the erection of an altar to the unknown God.   -African Bible Commentary, 1331

Jesus Christ is Lord of ALL

There is nothing I will face today that Jesus is not able to help me survive and even thrive in the midst of!

Read Colossians 1:15-19 Jesus Christ is Lord of ALL! Let’s Pray!

4 key things we learn about Jesus:

1.  To see Jesus is to see God, because Jesus is God!

2. Jesus is the God who Created All Things!

3. Jesus is the God who holds all things together so they can fulfill their purpose

By Him all things were created – Jesus is the Architect of the universe.

Through Him all things were created – Jesus is the Builder of the universe.

For Him all things were created – Jesus is the Homeowner of the universe.

4. As God the Son, Jesus is the ranking authority over EVERYTHING

But in a recent poll 43% of evangelicals agreed that Jesus was a great teacher but He was not God. That percentage is up 13 point in just 2 years.

Word studies are very helpful, but individual words must always take into account their range of meaning and yield to the context of the passage they are found in and overall biblical theology.

Let “Christ above all” be your cry – “in all things Christ pre-eminent!”