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Good morning. We'll continue our series on family life. And today we're going to focus on family on mission. I titled the sermon as Together for the Gospel, a family on mission. This is not based on one particular text, but it's a kind of a topical sermon. So we'll be looking at multiple scriptures.
We'll turn our Bibles to Joshua chapter 24 and we'll read verse 15. Joshua chapter 24 verse 15. We'll read it together. I'll be reading it from the NASB version. “If it is disagreeable in your sight to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves today whom you will, whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”
Let's pray. Dear gracious and heavenly Father, Lord, we come before you. O Lord, as a people in need of your grace and wisdom, Father, we confess that we have hearts that are prone to wander from your purposes. We seek Lord comfort of our own souls and of our own lives.
Lord, but help us Lord be reminded that we are part of a kingdom and we are serving a—we are advancing a kingdom. And Lord, we pray that you would give us grace and impress upon our hearts our responsibility as kingdom citizens, as witnesses of this kingdom, Father.
Give us grace so that we may order our lives according to your will and your purposes. Father, give grace, Father. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen. When Lord Jesus Christ gave his disciples the Great Commission in Matthew chapter 28, verses 19 till 20, he wasn't only speaking to pastors or missionaries or church leaders. He was talking to all of his followers, which also included families, right?
A missional family is not just a family that supports missions, nor is it a family that occasionally goes on to a mission trip. It is also not a family that goes as missionaries. It is not also a family that serves in full-time ministry.
They may go as missionaries if the Lord burdens their hearts and the church sends them. But the understanding of a missional family is much broader. What is a missional family? Every redeemed family should be a missional family because the Great Commission is for every disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ.
It is a life rooted in the gospel and live with gratitude to God for the redemption he has brought into our lives. If God has chosen us, according to Ephesians chapter 1 verse 4, before the foundations of this world, so it is not just for our benefit that we live, but according to Ephesians 1 verse 12, we live so that our lives might be to the praise of His glory.
Therefore, due to gospel gratitude, a missional family is not just consumeristic in their mentality, thinking about what others will do to me, how the people will serve me, what will people do to me, what benefit I get if I go to this church or that church, but instead, they focus on serving others.
A family or people who are shaped by the gospel and who has a cross before their eyes, their desires and aspirations are always shaped by it. And one of the primary outlooks in their lives is that how they can serve others. How they can serve others. So it's a reminder that you and your family are created for a purpose greater than just your own happiness.
You also recognize that in God’s sovereignty, he has determined our appointed times and boundaries of our habitation according to Acts 17, verse 26. This means that God has fixed your place of residence, placed you in a specific family. You’re not by accident in your family. And arranged your living conditions to serve as his witnesses.
It signifies that God has positioned you in your particular vocation, in your place in a particular neighborhood or social circles by sovereign design. Therefore, both you as an individual and your family, as a family, you are salt of the earth and the light of this world.
It doesn't change anything if you keep thinking, keep on thinking that I wish I was born somewhere else, I wish I was not there here. I wish I had a different profession. I wish I looked differently. You know, it doesn't change anything. You keep thinking, you keep thinking, you keep sulking, and it doesn't change anything.
But as a believer, you should focus on how you can live for the glory of the Lord. Before we go into the main aspect of this sermon, I want to show a biblical theology on missions and how that is connected with the families. Now the story of missions, it began in the Garden of Eden. Demanded that God has given Adam and Eve. No, you remember Genesis chapter 1:28, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth.” You know, “be fruitful and multiply” is not, it was not just a command to procreate, but
it is a God’s mandate to the image bearers of God to procreate image bearers of God and spread throughout the earth and bringing God’s order in every corner of this earth and bringing everything under subjection to God. Adam and Eve were God’s representatives. As the vice-regents, they were supposed to bring the entire creation under the rule of God. But sin entered in Genesis chapter 3. Now there is sin, there is curse, there is death, there is judgment. But even these things did not alter God’s purpose. That did not alter God’s mission.
Even in judgment, God promised redemption through the seed of the woman in Genesis 3.15. That's the first gospel message in the Bible. Genesis 3.15. 15 and in the biblical storyline we as we go forward as we progress in the biblical storyline we see the call of Abraham and out of all the people in Israel God chose a pagan Abraham and we see that call in Genesis chapter 12 verses 1 2 & 3 Genesis 12 verses 1 2 & 3 let's read it together Genesis 12 verses 1, 2 and 3.
Genesis is the first book in the Bible. If you are confused. Genesis chapter 12 verses 1, 2 and 3. Now the Lord said to Abraham, “Go forth from your country and from your relatives and from your father’s house to the land which I will show you. And I will make you a great nation and I will bless you and make your name great, and so you shall be a blessing. And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in all the families of the — and in all — and in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.” And this call of Abraham, it becomes the foundation
for all future global missions. All the families of the earth will be blessed. Then we see God making a nation out of Abraham. And the formation of Israel as a nation provides the next stage in God’s missional plan. At Mount Sinai, God declares His purpose for Israel. In Exodus chapter 19 verse 6 he says that, he says these words to the nation Israel. He says that, “you shall be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” “You shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” And also you see that if you read Psalms, repeatedly call for God’s praise among the nations. And also you see that in the story of Israel, here and there you see that the people from other nations embraced the God of Israel. During the days of Joshua, Rahab became part of
Israel, and later Gibeonites him a part of Israel to a treaty. But Israel, but you know that, then the story of Israel, as you know, as you go through the story of Israel, you see, we see that Israel miserably failed in their missional calling. Isaiah prophesies that Israel will be, in Isaiah chapter 49 verse 6, Israel will be “a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” How do you think this was fulfilled? How is this prophecy of Isaiah fulfilled? With the coming of Christ and the birth of the church, God’s mission reaches its peak.
Jesus, the seed of the woman, in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15, the ultimate seed of Abraham, fulfills Israel’s calling to be a light to nations. Through his death and resurrection he breaks down the barriers between the Jews and the Gentiles in Ephesians, according to Ephesians chapter 2 verses 14 to 16. The Great Commission as we read in Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 to 20 doesn’t start God’s mission but commissions the church to finish what he began with Adam and Abraham.
Israel failed. But God brings in the church. Through the gospel. He birthed these people through the gospel. And he commissions them to take that mandate. To be a blessing to all nations. To be the light and the salt in this world. The church, a multicultural, multinational people is a conduit for God's blessings to all the nations. And the book of Acts documents this expansion. Acts chapter 1 verse 80 records that from Jerusalem to Judea, Samaria, the ends of the earth that's how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to Judea Samaria and the ends of the earth and the mission is still not over the today's church still has a mission to take the gospel to be the light
and the salt in this world. Brothers and sisters, this mission can only be accomplished when every believer, every disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ, every Christian family takes this commission seriously. This call to take the gospel to the ends of the earth is upon every redeemed family, every redeemed individual. So what does this reveal? From creation to consummation, the mission lies at the core of God’s plans. It is not merely an activity for especially passionate Christians.
but it is a fundamental identity and God’s call for all people of God. As God’s people, we should be prepared to serve in whatever capacity God burdens us and enables us. We should be willing to serve. You may be thinking that, you know, this is a topic about family. Yes, it’s a topic about family. Every Christian family should be a missional family because the Great Commission is for every disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. From the beginning you see that, from the beginning, and God has used families in this mission. You survey the history of missions in the church history.
You survey the history of missions. You see that God sent families. You hardly see individuals going out. You see that they went as families with kids, with newly married spouses. They went, they served, they sacrificed their lives, they died, they buried their families in foreign lands.
From the beginning God has used the families for his mission. In the Garden of Eden both Adam and Eve were called to be fruitful and multiply. There cannot be a passive spouse, there cannot be a passive spouse, both must serve. God not just as an individual but as a head of the household, right? Wherever he went Sarah followed him, Sarah followed him, even to the most challenging places she followed him, even when Abraham was foolish. The covenant that God made with Abraham was reaffirmed to both Isaac and Jacob. And when the nation of Israel, as part of being a light to the world, he gave laws to keep them separate from the surrounding nations.
And he commanded parents to teach their children diligently. Deuteronomy chapter 6 verses 4 to 7. Ensuring a multi-generational covenant faithfulness so that the families are prepared to live faithfully to the Lord and together as a nation they can be light. And that legacy can be passed on to next generations. So parents had to teach their children diligently. Diligently.
And in his final address to the nation of Israel, Joshua presents to the people with a choice. Serve God or serve foreign gods. And he declares, Joshua declares in Joshua chapter 24 verse 15, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” “As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” A church and its individual families cannot remain passive.
They cannot remain passive. Instead, they must actively serve the Lord. No spouse should be passive. No Christian spouse should be passive. If you’re an unbeliever, if your spouse is an unbeliever and she or he is passive, that is understandable. But if a Christian spouse, a Christian is passive, that is rebelliousness. That is rebellion against God. There is rebellion against God’s purposes. You cannot be passive if you’re a believer. If you’re passive, there is something wrong with, there is something wrong fundamentally with you.
However, as a believer you are expected to serve the Lord alongside your spouse. Pray and under the direction of your church determine the best way to serve. And if you are a wife, follow your husband’s leadership and support the work. As Paul Washer says, there are, you are either called to go down into the well or you are called to hold a rope for those that go down. Either way there should be scars on your hands. This means everyone has a vital role to play, whether directly participating in missionary work, that is going into a foreign land or unreached place, or providing crucial support, that is holding rope.
You’re either going to a new mission field or staying in your church, serving there, being a witness in your community and supporting those who are in a new mission field. You’re doing either this or that. You’re either here serving faithfully in your local church, serving faithfully in your community, you are sending people as a church to different places, or you’re going to different places either through your vocation or either through, no, as a full-time missionary. You’re going somewhere, but you’re not passive. You’re not enjoying this well, you’re not relaxing here. And a word of caution here. And now this doesn’t mean that you as a family should start a separate ministry. There are many people who do like that. You should always be a healthy member of a local church and serve in the church and serve along with the
church by being accountable to the church outside the church. Right? So what am I supposed to do? I’m uncertain about where I should serve. Begin by doing regular tasks in your church and be available for any work. Be concerned for people. Pray for people.
Start with simple menial tasks. There are a lot of, you know, I’ve heard this illustration recently from Harshith. Let’s say there are a lot of musicians in our church, there are, right? A lot of musicians, a lot of singers, guitarists in our church, you know, beautiful vocals. Now let’s say you are gifted at playing the guitar and there are already some people filling that role. What will you do? Because you are gifted at playing the guitar, it doesn’t mean that 20 men and 20 women come on the stage and start playing the guitar. That looks so hard, right? No. If that is being done by someone else, you should do
something else. See where there is a need, see where you can and serve, and start serving. We are supposed to do general things, preaching the gospel, encouraging one another, praying for one another, being hospitable, etc. And maybe, may not, or may not also, sometime later God enables us and leads us to do some specific work. You may do that, but until then, start doing this regular duties for the glory of the Lord and for the edification of the church. I would like to bring to your attention a Christian couple who do not claim to have an extraordinary calling on their lives. They just did what they were supposed
to do in their life circumstances and the in that family. They risked their lives for the sake of God's kingdom. Any guesses? Any guesses? Any guesses of that family recorded in the Bible? Huh? Rajwa? No. Yeah, it's Aquila and Priscilla. We don't hear much about them. There are only a few verses that speak about them.
However, we can learn great details from the few verses in the Bible. The details about them are recorded in Acts chapter 18, verses 2 and 3. Acts chapter 18, verses 18 and 19. Acts chapter 18, verse 26. Romans chapter 16, verses 3 and 4. First Corinthians chapter 16, verse 19. Second Timothy chapter 4, verse 19.
Who are these, this couple, you know, Aquila and Priscilla? Aquila was a Jew living in the diaspora. Is like the Jews dispersed in the, uh, during the time in the Roman, uh, province that dispersed elsewhere. So Aquila originally was from Pontus in the province of Galatia.
And Priscilla was not a Jewish lady. Her name is a classical Roman name indicating that she was a Roman citizen. And they resided in Rome and were already believers by the time Paul visited them. Though the specifics of their conversion are unknown, they may have believed the gospel when Peter preached on Pentecost. In Acts 2, verses 9 and 10, we see there that few Jews from Pontus were present. Probably Aquila was present there. Aquila and Priscilla were present.
Priscilla was a proselyte. Alternatively, they may have believed that after the Jews scattered following Stephen's martyrdom. You see that story in the book of Acts that they left Jerusalem and wherever they went, they started preaching the gospel. Probably they heard the gospel. Regardless of how they came to faith, they were believers and worked professionally as tent makers.
And briefly about their association with Paul. We’ll see more on that. Claudius, the Roman emperor, ordered all Jews to leave Rome at one point of time. So all the Jews moved out of Rome and Aquila and Priscilla to Corinth, a large city in the Roman Empire, where they established their home and business. And Paul was on his second missionary journey. And after preaching the gospel in Athens, he went to Corinth, met this godly couple or the believing couple, and he stayed with them. They just opened their home for Paul. He preached the gospel and many believed, and later Silas and Timothy joined him and they worked together in Corinth for nearly 18 months, that is one and a few years. Aquila and Priscilla accompanied Paul on his journey. From Corinth they moved to Ephesus. Probably Paul asked
them to join him, and Ephesus was another trade city. Then Paul returned to Antioch while this couple remained in, remained at Ephesus. Paul mentions and commends them in a few of his letters. If you turn your Bibles to First Corinthians chapter 16, verse 19, we see there that “churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Prisca greet you heartily in the Lord, with the church that in that is in their house.” The church was meeting in their house. And Romans chapter 16, verses 3 to 5, Paul is writing this epistle to Romans: “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life
risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks but also the churches of the Gentiles. Also greet the church that is in their house. Right? See the number of places there. They were, they were in Rome, they were in Ephesus, right, they were in Corinth. And then Second Timothy chapter 4 verse 19, writing his final letter, Timothy was at Ephesus now, he says, “Greet Prisca and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.”
What lessons do we learn from Aquila and Priscilla? Number one, they were passionate about serving the church. They were passionate about serving the church. They were not apostles of Christ. They did not claim to have any extraordinary calling in their lives. They were ordinary believers with their own tent-making business.
They were not so-called full-time workers. They were dedicated to serve the Lord in whatever way they could. And they embraced the Great Commission as part of their lives. They found no excuses to neglect serving the Lord and his people. They did not say, “I have a busy career, I have a career to focus on, I have a business to build up or a family to take care.”
Instead, they as a family were willing to pay any price. For the sake of the gospel and the church. How did they serve the church? One of the ways they serve the church is through hospitality. No, you read their lives, you get a different view on hospitality altogether. No, hospitality, you know, we may be thinking that okay, or no, calling a couple home and offering lunch, you know, and then sending them away with some prayer. No, that’s not — that’s hospitality, yes, that’s hospitality, don’t misunderstand. But the kind of hospitality these people did is altogether different. They opened their home to Paul. It’s altogether a stranger, probably they may have heard about him, offering not
just a place to stay but also a base for ministry in Corinth. Paul stayed with them not for one day, not for one week, not for one month. He remained there for nearly one and a half years. Paul arrived at their home when he was in dire need.
He was on his second missionary journey, which started from Syria, included Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, Macedonia, Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, Corinth, and then Ephesus. We see that in Acts chapter 15, verse 40, till Acts chapter 18, verse 22. And during this second missionary journey, Paul faced significant financial struggles.
couldn’t work until he reached Corinth. You, in Philippians chapter 4 verses 14 to 17, he says that, “And it was kind of you to share my trouble. And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel” — he was talking about this missionary journey — “when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only. Even in Thessalonica,” that is the second missionary journey again, “you sent me help for my needs once again. Not that I seek the gift, but I seek the fruit that increases to your credit.”
Acts chapter 16. Paul enters Philippi. Lydia gets saved. A slave girl is delivered from the spirit of divination. And Paul and Silas were arrested and then the jailer and his household were saved. Afterward they were released. They visit Lydia again and meet other believers. Perhaps, perhaps when they left Philippi here, the believers there offered financial help.
connecting the dots with the verses in Philippians. And then in Acts chapter 17, the believers in Philippi sent financial support while Paul was in Thessalonica, again connecting the dots in, from Philippians. From there he moved to Athens and then to Corinth. He came, he on this missionary journey, and Timothy. But when he went to Corinth, he went alone. He went alone. Acts 18, Paul arrives in Corinth and encounters this believing family, believing couple, Aquila and Priscilla. By this time he likely spent all his money, right? God’s provision is evident here. Aquila and Priscilla had recently moved into the city by the decree of the emperor.
And they took him into their house, into their home. Although Paul was a tent maker, he probably didn’t carry his tools to do his work. Since Aquila and Priscilla were also tent makers, they employed Paul, providing him with money, food and shelter, to stay with them for nearly one and a half years, one and a half years, would you host someone for that long?
Would you host someone for that long? One day? Two days? Two days? How long will that person stay? When will he go? Should we not have privacy? Don’t we need our own family time? Their hospitality wasn’t merely about providing food and shelter. It was about creating spaces where the gospel could flourish.
They served with that agenda. And in an era when Christians had no church buildings. Homes like theirs served as sanctuaries where believers could gather, worship and also deepen their faith. Lesson number one, they utilized their platform, home as hospitality and work also to advance the kingdom of God.
The principle is this. Utilize whatever the Lord has given you, wherever he has placed you, to serve the Lord. To serve the Lord. Do not grumble, but serve the Lord. Number two. They were passionate about missions. Remember, they were working people who had their own trade, right? They were business people.
They moved from place to place, not just for more work, but also with the purpose of expanding God’s kingdom. In Acts 18, verse 2, we see there, they moved from Rome to Corinth in 52 AD. And in Acts chapter 18, verses 18 till 19, you see that they moved from Corinth to Ephesus along with Paul in 53 or 54 AD. And and they didn’t move only because of their trade or because Ephesus was much better city than Corinth, that could be one of the reasons, but they were also accompanying Paul to establish God’s work in that place.
Acts 18, verse 19, we see there that they came to Ephesus and he left them there. Who left them there? Paul left them there. And in verse 21 Paul said sail from Ephesus, while this couple left the were remain there. It says Paul left them there. Maybe they wanted to move with Paul, but Paul left them there. If that is not the case, Luke could have written this way: “Aquila and Priscilla remain in Ephesus while Paul sailed from Ephesus.” But it doesn’t say like that. It says that Paul left them there.
Maybe he gave them instructions to stay there and probably host the church, probably oversee the work there. He’s going to send Timothy there help him, whatever. Right? They were not leaders in the church. And to further established their heart for God’s kingdom, when Paul wrote the letter to Corinth, he was in Ephesus.
And during that time, the church at Ephesus was gathering in Aquila and Priscilla’s house in 1 Corinthians 16, verse 19. And then in Romans 16, verse 5, maybe after the death of the emperor Claudius, they moved back to their hometown sometime in maybe 58 AD or 57 AD. And soon a church began to gather in their house.
The church could be one of the churches in Rome. And they worked for the church and along with the church. And you read in Romans chapter 16 verse 3, it says that, “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.” Now Paul calls them fellow workers in Christ Jesus. Fellow workers comes from the word sunergos. Sun means companionship or association and ergon means toil or labor.
Sunergos in Christ Jesus means that they toiled along with Paul for the sake of the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul remembers their toil in Corinth, Ephesus, and now in Rome. Now in Rome. And in 2 Timothy 4, verse 19. In AD 64, that was one of the final letters of Paul.
Aquila and Priscilla moved again to Ephesus. From Rome they moved again to Ephesus. Probably due to persecution in Rome by Emperor Nero. During that time the persecution broke out in Rome. The church gathered in their house for nearly 10 years until a major fire broke out in Rome. Historians say that Nero set the city on fire to rebuild it and blamed the incident on Christians. As a result, he began persecuting Christians by killing them, offering them to lions and dogs and also burning them at stake and because of this persecution many Christians fled Rome, including Aquila and Priscilla, who fled to Ephesus where Timothy became the new leader of the church. Right? Lesson number two, they embrace
displacement as an opportunity to serve God. They had to move from place to place, from place to place. Now moving houses, you know, is so difficult. If you are living in a rented house, you know that. Moving houses is difficult, right? You need to pay advance, you need to move all the stuff into the cartons and boxes. I know there are movers and packers but unpacking them and putting them in places is difficult. But moving places, they are moving from city to city.
They embrace displacement as an opportunity to serve God. They viewed this moving as an opportunity for the gospel. They were eager to move also so that they could be servants of the gospel. Though they were not primary missionaries, they realized that they can support the gospel work in some way.
They moved to a different place. They did not grumble but were willing to start off again for the Lord. So, do not move just for the sake of better opportunities or better pay, but move as kingdom citizens to influence people for the Lord.
You can observe one thing in their lives. Whenever they moved, their lives were deeply intertwined with the life of the church. Get rid of that individualistic mentality. I made my decision, so I move on. I made my decision, so I move on. No, God placed you in a community of believers with a purpose. Talk with other kingdom-minded believers, pray with them, and make the right choice.
Make the right choice. Don’t suddenly come up and said, “Oh brother, tomorrow I’m moving. Well, tomorrow I’m leaving the city.” I’m — you are part of this church. You are part of a church. You know, you associated with other believers. Pray with them, talk with them, discuss with them, and make a right choice. Your life is intertwined with the life of the church.
Thirdly, they were risk takers. Look at Romans chapter 16 verses 3 and 4. “Greet Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks but also all the churches of Gentiles.” And we do not know the specific details how there is their lives, but Paul is testifying to that they did not choose a laid-back life. Believers who say, “Touch me not. I will mind my own business, you mind your own business, I’ll come to the church, I’ll keep to myself.” No, you don’t bother me.
No, they were devoted Christians who worked hard for the sake of the gospel, risked their lives for it and opened their homes for the church. Opening one’s home for a church gathering was not an easy thing during the early church times. It involved a lot of risk. It involved a lot of money and so on. And this means they used their resources carefully for the sake of the kingdom. And these house churches served as a platform to advance the gospel with a family culture that attracted non-Christians through shared love. This threatened Jews and the Roman authorities as well, as house churches being tracked down could cause Jewish uproar and also Roman intervention leading to trials, persecution.
Pliny the Younger served as an imperial magistrate. You can see a note of irritation letter to Trajan, the Roman emperor in 180. As he describes the rapid growth of Christians in this province, see how people, how the early church lived, how the early church were. I’m ashamed of the gospel and ashamed of suffering. You know, he writes this. A Roman ruler writes to the emperor, “The question of how to deal with Christians seems to be worthy of your consideration, especially in view of the number of persons endangered. For a great many individuals of every age and class, both men and women, are being brought to trial as Christians, and this is likely to continue.
It is not only the towns but villages and rural districts too which are infected through contact with this wretched cult. I think though it is possible for it to be checked.” He says that for a great many individuals of every age and class, both men and women, are being brought to trial.
That’s how the early church lived. If persecution were to begin, Aquila and Priscilla would likely be the targets. And they risked their lives for the gospel and for the church. They were willing to lay down their lives for the sake of the gospel. Lesson number three.
Be willing to take risks for the gospel and the church. They were ready to risk their own safety for Christ and for the followers of Christ. Number four. Passionate about the truth of the scriptures. They were passionate about the truth of the scriptures. In Acts chapter 18 verses 24 till 28, Apollos, a Jewish Jew from Alexandria, now he was a learned man, is mighty in scriptures, you can read that passage later. He was mighty in scriptures. He was very eloquent and a great orator. He came to Corinth and began teaching about Jesus in the synagogues, right at the time Priscilla and Aquila were in Corinth. And however, he was only familiar with the teachings of the John the Baptist. And later Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos, and after hearing that they realized
that he doesn’t have a full understanding of the gospel. So what did they did? They took him aside, they took Apollos aside, probably to their house, and explain to him the way of God more accurately. It says they explained to him the way of God more accurately. And subsequently this man Apollos embraced that teaching from this humble couple. They were not right, but they, he humbly heard from them, learned from them, and then also he became an influential preacher in the churches of the Roman provinces. He learned, he learned, and then left for other places where he powerfully refuted the Jews and
demonstrated that Jesus was the Christ. He became one of the powerful apologists of his times. This godly couple was well versed in the scriptures and the fundamentals of Christian theology and was able to explain them accurately to others. How well do you know the scriptures? How well are you training yourself in the Word of God? How well are you investing your time and your energies, your mental capabilities, into the Word of God so that you are equipped and shaped by the scriptures? Can you explain the fundamentals of Christian faith? Can you explain the gospel without fumbling? Can
you describe who Christ is from the scriptures his divinity his humanity can you explain the biblical concept of Trinity of God brothers and sisters do you make an effort to learn and study and to know No more can you interpret a verse properly in its context.
Take time to study the scriptures carefully and learn biblical doctrine. Remain illiterate of the scriptures. Learn, grow, grow. Lesson number four. Be well versed in the scriptures and theology for your own soul first and then to help others. Priscilla and Aquila did not have a pulpit.
They did not aim at a pulpit, but they used their learnings to invest in others and to build them. Today you have little knowledge, people aim for pulpit, they aim for platforms. They want a woman ministry, you know, or a man, men ministry, or youth ministry, you know, only then they will serve, right? These people, this couple, they did not aim for a pulpit or a platform.
They invested in their regular life, daily life. They communicated the scriptures with people. They met with people. Number five. They were passionate for one another. In all their endeavors you see there, this couple were always together. They were always together. They served the Lord and the church with a unified purpose.
They shared the same goals and the priorities were right. Priscilla did not complain about serving the guests or hosting people for days at a time. If Priscilla grumbled and complained, they wouldn’t have hosted people at their home. Even if Aquila was not willing, they wouldn’t have hosted people at their home.
Although they had to move frequently from place to place, they trusted God’s sovereignty. And in a culture where women rarely receive public recognition, Priscilla is mentioned alongside her husband in nearly every biblical reference. And in several cases, her name appears first, suggesting she may have been the more passionate of the two.
Maybe she was encouraging, pushing her husband more. And they did not compete with each other or worked alone. They complemented each other’s gifts and showed a united front in their service to Christ. Don’t be insecure about your spouse’s knowledge. If your, if your wife is more knowledgeable than you, be glad, be rejoice, encourage her to be a blessing to others. You can, you can, you can have a disc, you can have a discourse with your spouse and learn from, there’s nothing wrong. How about your priorities? Are your priorities is misplaced, let’s examine our life’s priorities. If our priorities are right, we will be valuable in the kingdom of God.
Young brothers and sisters, choose your life partners carefully. Make sure you're marrying the right person. Make sure you're right first and make sure if you're not right, you'll make your future spouse's life miserable. And if you're right and if you're not making the right choice in marrying the right person, your life will become miserable and useless and purposeless. Don't just go for the sake of beauty, money, you know, all that stuff. After marriage, all that will go, go away, brother. They'll just fade. You'll live in regret rest of your life. No, why I married this person? I should have waited for some time. Then you will realize that no, the inner beauty is more valuable than the outer beauty. Right? Be careful, be careful. Lot of families have been destroyed because of that. They have become
useless. Altogether useless for the kingdom of God. They keep fighting, they keep struggling. Otherwise you will have to suffer, you have to suffer. Do not look for money, beauty and things that like that. Seek to serve the Lord, seek to serve the Lord. Lesson number five: stay in love with your spouse forever. Pray with your spouse, work with your spouse. We can be more effective in our work for the Lord when we work as a team, when we work as a team. Remember, he was a suitable helpmate in the task God had given to Adam.
Right? She was a suitable helpmate. Brothers and sisters, in our age of celebrity Christianity and platform-focused ministry, Aquila and Priscilla remind us that the kingdom of God advances to the faithful service of ordinary believers who are willing to use whatever gifts, whatever resources and opportunities they have for the glory of God and for the good of others.
Aquila and Priscilla's faithful service in ordinary ways, making tents, opening their home, teaching and mentoring, building relationships, proved essential to the early church growth and its health. So be encouraged, brothers and sisters, ask these questions. Ask these questions. How can I use my life? How can I use my house? How can I use my work? How can I use my relationships? How can I use my circumstances to serve the gospel? Whatever difficult circumstances that you have in your life, you can still serve the Lord if your eyes are focused on the cross of Jesus Christ. And if you trust in the sovereignty of God.
Don't complain, don't grumble. Do away with every kind of grumbling and complaining. Look at these people who lived in one of the most difficult times. Difficult times. But yet they gladly serve the Lord. Then how can I equip myself and how can I equip my spouse and work together to make a greater impact than I could alone do? Then am I willing to take risks and sacrifices for the sake of Christ and his church? Are you a risk taker? Are you a risk taker? Or you just want to be safe, protect yourself? We have one life. Use it for the glory of God. Even if you have to die the next day, don't worry about it. You have served the Lord well, you have served the Lord well. Let's pray. Father, we thank you, Father, for calling us
insignificant people into your kingdom, weak people into your kingdom. them. Father, we pray, we confess that we are weak, we are prone to wander, we are prone to be attracted to the things of this world, we want to be like this world, we want the comforts of this world into our lives. But Lord, give us grace like Joshua to make a commitment that “as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” Give us grace to be like Aquila and Priscilla, to be risk takers, to lay down our lives in whatever life circumstances that you have put us, oh God, to serve the church gladly, to serve the kingdom of God gladly, with open hearts
with open houses. Oh God, give us grace. Oh Lord, give us grace to risk our lives for the sake of the gospel and Christ and the church, because it's worthy, it's worthy, because Christ is worthy, even if we have to lose our lives, to be plundered of our properties. Oh God, we pray, may we joyfully accept, like the early church did, joyfully accepting the plundering of our resources and of our properties for the sake of the gospel and of the church. God, give us grace. Enable us through your Holy Spirit to serve you faithfully. Give us grace that we may not be self-centered, self-focused, but Lord, be focused on the cross of Jesus Christ and the purpose of Christ Jesus, oh God.
Have mercy, oh God. Help our lives be intertwined with the purposes of Christ Jesus. And help us be intertwined with the life of the church. Give us such grace. Enable us through your Holy Spirit to serve you faithfully. God, give us grace. In Jesus Christ's name we pray. Amen.