5. Apollos preached the SCRIPTURES not his opinions 28

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1 Read Prayer: Lord Jesus, strengthen your people to heed Your loving words of truth found only in Your Word. We love You, Lord Jesus. In Your name, Amen. 5. Apollos preached the SCRIPTURES not his opinions 28 Acts 18:28 (NKJV) for he vigorously refuted the Jews publicly, showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. I. he powerfully refuted the Jews publically How did Apollos greatly help those who believed through grace? He did so by vigorously or powerfully refuting the Jews in public debate. Apollos was not afraid to publically debate the Corinthian, Jewish scholars. He knew the truth of Christ, and he knew how to defend the truth, powerfully. Can we defend the truth of the Gospel, convincingly, powerfully? May we grow to become such people. How did Apollos powerfully refute the Jews? II. showing from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Christ. He showed or demonstrated by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah, and this is how we win souls. Apollos was not armed with a plethora of human strategy or with a dependence upon his wit and wisdom. Apollos s full scale assault on the unbelieving Corinthian Jews was lead by the Scriptures. He showed by the Scriptures that Yeshua of Nazareth was the Messiah of Israel. A. What Scriptures did Apollos use to publically refute the Jewish scholars? Here are a few: 1

2 1. Genesis 3:15 (NASB95) And I will put enmity Between you and the woman, And between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, And you shall bruise him on the heel. 1 This is the first prophecy, spoken thousands of years ago, of the coming of the Messiah of Israel who would crush Satan s skull at the Place of the Skull called Calvary where Jesus of Nazareth purchased our redemption! 2. Genesis 12:1 3 (NASB95) Now the LORD said to Abram, 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 you all the families of the earth will be blessed. Through Abraham s posterity, the Messiah would be born from the seed of the woman and all the families of the earth would be blessed! Acts 3: Genesis 22:7 8 (KJV 1900) And Isaac spake unto Abraham his father, and said, My father: and he said, Here am I, my son. And he said, Behold the fire and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? 8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together. God will provide, Himself, the Lamb for the burnt offering. This prophecy communicates that God will become a man! On Mount Moriah, Abraham looked down through the ages and saw the Messiah of Israel on the cross as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world John 1:29. 1 Enmity is hostility between the Lord Jesus Christ and Satan. Jesus wins! 2

3 4. Psalm 2:1 12 (NKJV) 5 Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, And distress them in His deep displeasure: 6 Yet I have set My King On My holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: The LORD has said to Me, You are My Son, Today I have begotten You. Psalm 2 is a Messianic Psalm written 3,000 years ago; it s loaded with Messianic prophecy! This chapter blows the lid off of Genesis 3:15! No one can read this Psalm and not conclude that the world is in trouble unless they submit to the Son of God who is the Yahweh s King! This Psalm spells out the Last Day s scenario, the resurrection of the Messiah (Acts 13:33), and His kingdom rule on this earth. This is a fantastic, exciting, prophecy of our Lord Jesus Christ. 5. Psalm 16:8 11 (NKJV) I have set the LORD always before me; Because He is at my right hand I shall not be moved. 9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoices; My flesh also will rest in hope. 10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption. 11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. According to the apostles, this is a resurrection proclamation! Acts 2: Psalm 22:16 (NASB95) For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet. Psalm 22 is another Messianic Psalm filled with predictions about our Lord s crucifixion Matthew 27: Psalm 89:3 4 (NKJV) I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: Your seed I will 3

4 establish forever, And build up your throne to all generations. Selah God promised king David that he would have a Son who would sit on the throne of Israel forever. That Son of David is Jesus Christ Romans 1:3. 8. Psalm 110:1 (NASB95) The LORD says to my Lord: Sit at My right hand Until I make Your enemies a footstool for Your feet. This verse predicts the ascension of Christ into heaven where He presently sits at the right hand of the Father Acts 2: Psalm 118:22 23 (NKJV) The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the LORD s doing; It is marvelous in our eyes. Most of the Jewish religious leaders rejected the Lord Jesus Christ; this verse predicted their rejection Matthew 21: Proverbs 30:4 (NKJV) Who has ascended into heaven, or descended? Who has gathered the wind in His fists? Who has bound the waters in a garment? Who has established all the ends of the earth? What is His name, and what is His Son s name, If you know? The answer to Agur s questions are found in the Scriptures. The Son of God is Jesus of Nazareth John 10:36 ( I Am the Son of God Jesus). 11. Isaiah 7:14 (NKJV) Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel. The virgin was Mary of Nazareth who married Joseph. In accordance with Genesis 3:15, her virgin born son was Yeshua Matthew 1:23. 4

5 B. Only the Scripture can make a person wise to salvation: 2 Timothy 3:14 15 (NKJV) 14 But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, 15 and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. John 5:39 (NKJV) You search the Scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me. James 1:21 (NASB95) Therefore, putting aside all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness, in humility receive the word implanted, which is able to save your souls. Apollos demonstrated by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Messiah of Israel! C. The ministry of the Word. Acts 6:2 (NKJV) Then the twelve summoned the multitude of the disciples and said, It is not desirable that we should leave the word of God and serve tables. Acts 6:4 (NKJV) but we will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. Psalm 19:7 11 (NKJV) The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple; The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes; The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, Yea, than much fine gold; Sweeter 5

6 also than honey and the honeycomb. Moreover by them Your servant is warned, And in keeping them there is great reward. 2 Timothy 4:1 5 (NKJV) I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: 2 Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. 5 But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry. Like Apollos, the minister of Christ is called to preach the Word of God. Let us not be slack in this most sacred and high calling of Christ preach the Word of God pastor teacher, evangelist, apostle, and prophet! The saints need to be fed the rightly divided truth of the written Word of God through the power of the Holy Spirit. Our opinions, dreams, visions, and prophecies are not the means by which God s people grow. God s people grow through the continual nourishment of the Word of God: 1 Peter 2:1 3 (NKJV) Therefore, laying aside all malice, all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and all evil speaking, 2 as newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, 3 if indeed you have tasted that the Lord is gracious. D. The sword of the Spirit. Paul told the Ephesian believers to take the whole armor of God. Included in the armor of God is the sword of the Spirit: 6

7 Ephesians 6:17 (NASB95) And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The word of God that is the Spirit s sword is the Greek word rhema. The rhema Word of God is heart knowledge of the written Word of God. It is what Christ s Parable of the Sower teaches about the good ground that symbolizes the good heart that receives the seed or Word of God and bears fruit: Mark 4:20 But these are the ones sown on good ground, those who hear the Word, accept it, and bear fruit: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred. The rhema word of God is knowledge of God learned from the written Word of God as a revelation of the Holy Spirit in the life of the one in whom He dwells. It is what Paul prays for the Ephesian Church to receive: Ephesians 1:17 18 (NKJV) 17 that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, 18 the eyes of your understanding being enlightened We need the eyes of our understanding to be enlightened by the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God so we can know and do the written Word of God from our hearts. Enlightened in enlightened by the spirit of wisdom and revelation is translated from the Greek word phōtízō (pronounced phoe-teez-oh) and means to illuminate or illumination the true biblical illuminati! When the eyes of our understanding are enlightened, our enlightenment is due to the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of God. This is the rhema of God. The spirit of wisdom that is from God gives us His wisdom, His skill, in applying His knowledge found in the Bible. The 7

8 spirit of revelation is when the meaning of the Scriptures comes alive in our hearts and we obey. The Pharisees were blind guides who strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel. They were blind! They searched the Scriptures because in them they thought they had eternal life, but they refused to believe in Yeshua of Nazareth which the Scriptures demanded (and still demand) in order to receive the eternal life that the Scriptures teach! They were blind to the words of the truth found only in the Scriptures. They did not have the rhema word of God. The eyes of their understanding were not enlightened. Their eyes were blind. The rhema word of God is understanding God s written Word as He intended and designed it to be understood, and making His applications to our lives through the power of the Holy Spirit in loving fellowship with Christ Jesus. Obedience to the written Word of God is never separated from fellowship with Christ. It cannot be, for that way of living is legalistic, and it is bondage. Legalistic bondage is all the Pharisees and Sadducees ever experienced because they refused to believe the rhema of God revealed by the Holy Spirit through the written text of His Bible. The rhema of God is the sword of the Spirit, and Apollos drew the Spirit s sword and began lopping of heads and piercing through hearts like a knight in the days of yore: Hebrews 4:12 13 (NASB95/NKJV) For the word of God is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul (and soul) and spirit (and spirit), of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account. 8

9 Like Apollos, we are to put all of our confidence in the Scriptures, for they are living and powerful, not us. The Scriptures do their job! They sever the soul like a sharp knife through a stick of warm butter. They slice clear through one s spirit with gentle, unstoppable truth. This is a great encouragement. No one can withstand the power of the written Word of God believed and communicated through the Spirit. It will penetrate the soul and the spirit and make its path all the way to the human heart. Nothing else on earth can do this! (That is a marvelous thought!). Is our confidence in the written Word of God the Sword of the Spirit? Through the Scriptures, Apollos proved that Jesus was the Christ! Apollos did not base his teachings on his opinions or his experiences; he taught the Scriptures the Old Testament Scriptures. He proved from the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel. May we be able, through the Spirit and the Scriptures He has written, to prove that Jesus is the Messiah of Israel. May we lead people to Christ, and may we have the passion of the Spirit to lead others to Jesus! Bless the people: May we stay faithful to the Scriptures as many become unfaithful to them. May we believe the Doctrine of Biblical Grace. May we lead others to faith in Christ. May the families at Vision be used to lead other families to Jesus. May we know the rhema (word) of God. 9

10 Prayer: Lord Jesus, may we be faithful to Your Words of Truth found only in the Bible. May we live them in our homes, with our children, with our spouses, and among our coworkers. In Your Name, Lord Jesus. Amen. Dear saints, I pray that you will remain true to the Written Word of God authored by the Holy Spirit in this day and age of great deception, confusion, and apostasy. Many are no longer faithful to the Apostolic creeds found only in the written text of the Scriptures. Many claim to have the Spirit of the Lord, but fail to love the Spirit's written Words. Many love the words of men who claim that their words are from God but contradict what the Bible teaches. The great deception is rejecting the written truth found only in the Bible and following the words of men who claim to be speaking in the name of Christ but seldom invite Holy Spirit, apostolic, written, biblical scrutiny into their lives unlike true biblical prophets and apostles. There is a deception so vast and so powerful that even those who once knew the radical written truth of the Holy Spirit's historical doctrines forever delivered to His faithful people are now, sadly, in the ranks of the compromised. May we be faithful to what the Holy Spirit has written and not to the words of men who contradict what the Holy Spirit has already, historically declared. God bless, you, dear saints. 10