Advice From a Godly Couple
Tom Shrader walks through the close of Acts 18, covering Paul's departure from Corinth, his brief stop in Ephesus, and the completion of his second missionary journey before beginning his third. He then introduces Apollos, the eloquent Alexandrian who knew only the baptism of John, and shows how Priscilla and Aquila privately corrected and equipped him for greater gospel usefulness. From the example of this couple, Shrader draws five practical lessons about using one's material resources, personal freedom, biblical knowledge, home, and even one's life in service of God's kingdom rather than one's own.
“God, everything that I have is yours. All of my stuff, God, is available, not to build my kingdom, but to build your kingdom. Not to fulfill my agenda, but to fulfill your agenda.”
— Tom Shrader
Series: Acts
Recorded: 2000 at East Valley Bible Church
Duration: 44 min
Themes: generosity, hospitality, mentorship, service, correction, stewardship, gospel, discipleship, married couple, new believer, mentor, feeling inadequate, wanting to serve, young adult, navigating correction, seeking purpose
Scripture: Acts 18:18-28, Acts 16, 1 Corinthians 16, Romans 16
Theological Themes: missiology, spiritual gifts, sanctification, biblical knowledge, ecclesiology, gospel proclamation, discipleship, stewardship
Full Transcript
Welcome and Introduction
Last week, we said thank you to Les Taylor — it was not goodbye. We tried to emphasize that. I feel like I've been to about fifteen Les Taylor thank-yous. This has gone on longer than Kathy Lee's goodbye. But finally, we've said thank you, and Les and Jerry continue to be an important part of the church. In fact, Les and Jerry are at Hume Lake right now. Next week, Les heads to Paraguay, and that will be interesting because he doesn't like bugs and he doesn't like foreign food. But we're excited for him.
We are equally excited about what God has done to fill that vacancy as our pastor and director of administration and operations. Neil Pitchell rose quickly to express an interest in that position, and we moved with equal speed in accepting and welcoming him to the church. When we look to hire somebody, credentials are a given — competence is expected. What matters to us is that we have someone who shares our philosophy of dealing with people and our attitude of working in a cooperative way. Neil has just successfully completed his first week here at the church, and I've asked him to come and take a few minutes to introduce himself to you.
Neil Pitchell's Introduction
Good afternoon. First, let me say what a privilege and an honor it is to be part of the staff at East Valley Bible Church and to follow in the footsteps of a man like Les Taylor. In my first week, the most frequently asked question was: are you going to continue the tradition of the candy drawer? For those of you who are parents and know what that means — yes, I am. I will continue to have candy in my office.
For the last ten years or so, I have been the pastor of administration at Bethany Community Church in Tempe. Besides the regular duties of administration, finance, and operations, over the last couple of years I have been responsible for the church's caring ministries and their senior adult ministry, and I have also taught for a number of years in their adult education department. Personally, my wife Kate and I have been married for twenty-three years and we live here in Gilbert. We have a daughter who is a tenth grader at Mesquite High School and a son who is a seventh grader at Mesquite Junior High.
Neil's Journey to Faith
I grew up in a Jewish family in a very Jewish neighborhood just north of Boston, with very little, if any, exposure to Christianity. My first real exposure came when I was in the eighth grade. I was invited to a friend's house for a Christmas dinner, and I was pretty excited. When I got there, they had a present for me under the tree, a wonderful dinner, and it was just a great day. I remember walking home thinking to myself, this Christianity stuff isn't half bad.
After being bar mitzvahed and pledging to stay away from the temple for the rest of my life, I didn't really think much about God or a relationship with God until I was a freshman at the University of Massachusetts. I was sitting in my room one evening studying when two guys I had never seen before walked in. I had a poster on the wall that said, "I believe in God even when He is silent." One of the guys said, "Do you really believe in God?" I said, "Yes, sure." He said, "Do you believe that you can have a personal relationship with God?" I said, "Absolutely not." God is holy, and I know who I am. In fact, we used to wear yarmulkes in the temple so that God wouldn't have to be exposed directly to us sinful people. A personal relationship simply didn't make sense to me.
He said, "I'd like to explain to you how that's possible," and pulled a little orange booklet out of his pocket. Just at that moment, my roommate walked in — he was Catholic, from Connecticut, and we were quite a pair. So these guys sat down with the two of us and started to go through something called the Four Spiritual Laws. It went absolutely right over my head. I didn't understand a thing. But God moved in the heart of my roommate, and he prayed to receive Christ right there. His life started to change immediately, and I wasn't really thrilled about that — so I moved out.
A Pattern of Running
I moved in with another guy I knew, and about halfway through the first semester with him, he accepted Christ. So I moved into a fraternity, knowing I'd be safe there. During this time, a very dear friend of mine from high school, who was at Boston College, also came to know the Lord as his Savior through the ministry of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. When I'd come home, he would talk to me about Jesus and a relationship with Him. When I'd go back to school, these guys would talk to me about it. And of course, when I was with my fraternity brothers, we didn't talk about that at all.
I really liked those believing guys, though. I really thought they were nice people and I liked to be with them. In fact, when I was with them, I acted like them — and when I was with my fraternity brothers, I acted like them. So I spent about four years firmly sitting on the fence. I had finally come to the conclusion, after hearing about Jesus and doing some studying, that He was a great prophet and a wonderful teacher. I even put Him on the level of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and that is very big for a Jew. I had become very comfortable with that.
God Puts Neil on His Back
I graduated from college and went back home, and my friend was very frustrated with me. He had been sharing with me for a long time and he said, "Neil, someday God is going to put you on your back and you'll have to look up." Three months later, I ruptured a disc in my back and was about to have surgery. While I was waiting for surgery, a friend brought me a book called *Mere Christianity*
Paul's Vow and Departure from Corinth
Would you open your Bibles, please, to the book of Acts in the 18th chapter. Tonight we finish the 18th chapter. Paul has been in Corinth, and remember what we looked at last week? He had a favorable verdict from Gallio, in a sense legalizing the Christian religion in Corinth, at least breaking down any formal opposition that the Jews might raise against Paul.
So verse 18 of chapter 18 makes a lot of sense: "Paul having remained many days longer." Paul was in a perfect climate for him. He was with lost people who knew they were lost. He was reaching out to them, and there was no formal opposition against him from the Jews at this point. It was a difficult time, to be sure, but Paul stays — an extended period of time, a year and a half, maybe longer.
"And then he took leave of the brethren, and he put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila." We met them previously, and we are going to talk about them again a little later. Priscilla and Aquila are a couple, husband and wife. They had left Rome under the expulsion of Claudius and had arrived in Corinth, where they had been leaders in that church.
This leads me to believe, knowing how Paul thinks, that new leadership had surfaced in the church. There is no way he would abandon those people without leadership. And so he takes Priscilla and Aquila with him.
"And at Cenchreae he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow." I will spend a moment on this. A good number of the scholars I read were very critical of Paul at this juncture, feeling that he was reverting to his Judaism. But I think what he is doing here is simply expressing thanks to God.
The Meaning of Paul's Nazarite Vow
Here is what Ray Stedman writes: "Actually, this is a religious vow. According to the law, this was a way of expressing thanks. He vowed that for 30 days he would not cut his hair, but give thanks to God and worship Him. He also probably fasted during this period, refraining from certain foods. At the end of the 30 days, he would cut his hair, having fulfilled the vow. It was simply a Jewish way of giving thanks."
John MacArthur essentially says the same thing, noting that this was to show God his gratitude for helping him through his difficult time in Corinth. He took a Nazarite vow — a special pledge of separation and devotion to God. Frequently, this vow ended with the individual making a trip to Jerusalem, and we are going to see that is exactly what Paul does.
Paul Stops in Ephesus
Paul leaves Corinth with Priscilla and Aquila, and they come to Ephesus. Paul had intended to go to Asia before this. Back in Acts chapter 16, we saw that the Holy Spirit stopped him — God had something else in mind. That is what we have been studying for several months: Paul worked his way through a different area, over into Asia Minor and into Greece, teaching and establishing churches there. Now he goes to Ephesus.
"And he left them there" — that would be Priscilla and Aquila. "He himself entered the synagogue, and he reasoned with the Jews." He leaves Priscilla and Aquila and begins what is his normal pattern, his normal strategy. He goes to the synagogue and reasons with the Jews.
The church there asks him to stay, as we see in verse 20, and that makes so much sense. They are so touched and blessed by this apostle that they say, "Please stay." But he does not consent to stay. Taking leave of them, he says, "I will return to you again if God wills," and he sets sail from Ephesus.
Paul Returns to Jerusalem and Antioch
He leaves this strategic location, but he will return. Here is what he does: he lands in Caesarea, and from there he went up — up to Jerusalem — where he completes his vow and greets the church. We live in this age of instant communication, but Paul had not seen these men for quite some time. Now he has the opportunity to give them a firsthand report of what God is doing — how God is opening doors, reaching out to the Gentiles, opening hearts, saving people that the Jews thought might never be saved.
Then he went down to Antioch, and that completes Paul's second missionary journey. In those moments when you are looking for something to do, you can flip to the back of your Bible, where most will have a map of Paul's first, second, and third missionary journeys. When you trace that second missionary journey, it begins in Antioch and circles through all the cities we have been studying.
Paul's Third Missionary Journey
Paul returns to the city of Antioch and spends some time there before departing and passing through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. This marks the beginning of Paul's third missionary journey, and strategically speaking, it is a little different from the first two. In the first two journeys, Paul was going into areas where the gospel had never been preached, establishing churches among people who had perhaps never even heard of Jesus Christ. He brought them the gospel, God used that time to touch lives, people came to Christ in repentance and faith, and churches were established — very much, if you will allow the phrase, a pioneering ministry. That changes in the third missionary journey.
The emphasis now is on what we see in Acts 18, verse 23: strengthening the disciples and strengthening the churches. You do that in two ways. The first is by developing leadership and making sure you have sound leadership in place. The second way — and perhaps the most important, or certainly equally important — is to teach the Word. That is how you mature.
By now, there is no way to microwave your spiritual growth. There is no way to push a button and arrive at maturity. You can speed the process along if you spend time in God's Word, and when people ask what the key to growing spiritually is, the answer is studying and knowing God's Word. Paul comes to these churches, produces maturity and fruit by teaching the Word of God to the people of God, and the Holy Spirit of God applies that Word to their hearts. That is how Paul's third missionary journey begins.
Introducing Apollos
Beginning in verse 24 and through the balance of the chapter — through verse 28 — Luke adds what is almost a parenthetical insert by introducing us to a man named Apollos. Here is what we read in Acts 18:24:
"Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus and he was mighty in the Scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord. Being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John."
A little background on Apollos: he is from Alexandria, and at this point in his life, there were probably a million Jews in that city. The city was divided into five wards or districts, two of which were Jewish. Alexandria was known for intellectualism and scholarship — an erudite, thoughtful people — and Apollos is a great representative of those people.
Five Facts About Apollos
We can draw five facts about Apollos from these two verses. First, he was a learned man — educated, trained, and eloquent. That word "eloquent" appears here and only here in the New Testament, and it speaks of someone who is either a man of words or a man of ideas. Apollos was probably both: articulate, but also a man of great ideas and great thoughts.
Second, he was knowledgeable in the Scriptures. The phrase used in verse 24 is that he was "mighty" — powerful — in the Scriptures. He knew his material, and as a result he was very effective in reasoning with and speaking to the Jews. We will see in verse 28, after his conversion, that he was equally powerful in refuting them.
Third, he was instructed in the way of the Lord. When we use the word Lord, we often think of the Lord Jesus Christ, but here this refers to Yahweh. Apollos understood the Old Testament and the things of God revealed to people through it. Fourth, he was fervent — a man of great enthusiasm and vigor. Fifth, he was passionate. Picture what a force this man would be: someone who could speak with great passion about something he knew very well.
The Limits of What Apollos Knew
He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus — as far as he knew. The critical limitation is stated plainly: he was acquainted only with the baptism of John. The baptism of John proclaimed that repentance was important, that the Messiah was coming, and Apollos may even have gone so far as to identify Jesus as the Lamb of God. What Apollos understood was that the old sacrificial system was finished once the Messiah came, and that individual repentance mattered.
What Apollos did not know was what the cross was all about. He did not know about the resurrection. He did not know about the Holy Spirit coming at Pentecost. He did not know about the establishment of the church. He was arguing, explaining, and teaching Christ as far as he knew Him — but he did not know about the cross, the resurrection, Pentecost, or the church, and he did not yet know the Savior.
That is about to change. Verse 26 tells us he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him —
Apollos Encounters a Faithful Couple
When Priscilla and Aquila heard Apollos speaking boldly in the synagogue, they realized something very important was missing. He was not speaking about the cross. He was not speaking about the resurrection. He was not speaking about Pentecost or the church. They realized he simply did not know about these things.
What do you do in that environment? What do you do when somebody — perhaps standing up front, or speaking in a discussion group — is missing something essential? Do you stand up and rebuke them in the name of Jesus? Do you confront them right there in public? What Priscilla and Aquila did was take him aside. Most scholars agree they invited him over, saying, "Come, we want to talk to you." These two people, this couple, not very long in the faith, sat down with this eloquent and knowledgeable man and said, "We want to tell you the rest."
How do you not admire that? And perhaps even more admirable is Apollos himself. He was a very articulate, powerful, and passionate man, yet two things appear in him that you do not frequently see in high-profile people. First, he was approachable. Second, he was coachable. Not only did he spend time with them — he listened.
God opened his heart, and he understood about Jesus being the Messiah, the crucifixion, the resurrection, and the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and in the church. It all made sense to him. Priscilla, Aquila, and Apollos were very different people — one from Egypt, the others from Rome, or originally Pontus. One was a couple, the other single. One was working class, the other an intellectual. But now they shared the Holy Spirit in common.
Apollos Goes to Corinth
Now Apollos was articulate, eloquent, and knowledgeable, and he also knew the crucifixion, the resurrection, and Pentecost. He was ready to be used by God — and used he was. Look at verse 27: when Apollos wanted to go across to Achaia, specifically to Corinth, the brethren encouraged him. Some time had passed and he had begun to prove himself to the Christians there. They encouraged him, and in fact wrote to the disciples to welcome him, giving him letters of recommendation and introduction.
When he arrived, "he helped greatly those who had believed through grace. For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ." The word translated "refuted" is an intense double compound word. As one author writes, Apollos was so effective in his discourse that "he crushed his opponents, totally disproving them at every point."
So powerful was Apollos that when we look at 1 Corinthians in a few weeks, we will see that the church was divided — some were of Paul, some of Peter, and some of Apollos. That is pretty heady company for this man. To be mentioned alongside Peter and Paul speaks to how powerfully God was now using him.
Five Lessons From Priscilla and Aquila
I want to spend the remaining time on this couple we have met over the last two weeks — Priscilla and Aquila. Chuck Swindoll has been writing a series of books on individuals: David, Joseph, Elijah, Moses. Almost always, we see books on individuals. Rarely do we see books on a couple. It is hard to think of another couple in the New Testament about whom we have much information at all. But we are introduced to Priscilla and Aquila, and from them I think we can learn something. There are five things to draw out, three of which we have already examined.
They Used Their Work and Their Stuff for the Kingdom
First, they used their work to serve the kingdom. Beyond that, we might say they used their material things — in the George Carlin phrase, they used their stuff for the kingdom. When Paul arrived at Corinth, he found Priscilla and Aquila. They had been exiled from Rome, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them and worked with them, for by trade they were tentmakers.
Paul arrived in town needing a job and a way to support himself. He heard that Priscilla and Aquila's tentmaking shop was down the road. He walked in and said he needed work. They asked about him, and they hired him. Then he said he needed a place to stay, and they said, "Stay with us." They opened up their place of employment, they opened up their home, and they opened up all that they had to him.
This is an interesting distinction worth pausing on. When we think of sharing, we typically think of giving — taking an asset or resource and transferring ownership of it. But what Priscilla and Aquila did was not just give; they shared. You may be saying, "I am already giving all I can give." That is fine. But how about sharing? Sharing likely brings with it a great deal of inconvenience, and in some ways may be harder than giving. Priscilla and Aquila looked around and said, "It appears that God's hand is on this man, and we are going to open everything we have to him."
Using Your Resources for God's Kingdom
If we are really serious about this faith, and if we are really serious about being used by God, then we have to take everything we have and use it for His kingdom. Priscilla and Aquila were serious about using their resources to serve the kingdom. They also used their freedom to serve the kingdom.
Consider the very first verse we looked at tonight. Acts chapter 18, verse 18: "And Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria. And with him were Priscilla and Aquila." Remember, they had been exiled from Rome and then landed in Corinth, where they established a tent-making business. That business was just getting off the ground when Paul said, "I'm on my way to Syria. I'm on my way to Asia. Come with me."
We have no record of a dialogue that took place, but I would guess it was much like what we see when Jesus called men. Jesus said, "Follow me," and what the Gospels tell us is that immediately they left. It doesn't say they had to pray about it. They were gone.
The Freedom to Go
There are a couple of things to notice here. Priscilla and Aquila were free, so they could go with Paul. In that day and age, a vast majority of the population were slaves, conquered people, or men and women who had indebted themselves to others and now submitted to them as slaves. Priscilla and Aquila were free, and that was critically important. But beyond that, they were free and they went. They followed Paul when the opportunity was given to them.
How does that apply to your life? Are you free? Well, sure, we are not slaves. Really? Do you not send a check to Bank of America every month? Or to some mortgage company? Or a car payment somewhere? Free? You can go do whatever you want to do? Well, not when you put it that way. The statistic is that 90% of those who apply to go to the foreign mission field never get there because of personal debt. Can you imagine saying, "I know God has called me, but I have this new car, I had to have those new widgets, I have this lightning-fast computer, and I'll go as soon as I get this thing paid for"?
There is a class that is not part of the adult elective curriculum at East Valley Bible Church, and it should be. It is not because it has not been written — we have been calling it, in theory, for almost fifteen years, "Freedom at 50." This is especially relevant in this service, where we talk to so many young men and women who are just starting out, still in school or just out of school, and about to make some extraordinarily unwise financial decisions.
You are about to go into debt, and I cannot believe the number of people who have talked to me about that compound interest chart we had on the screen a couple of weeks ago. They come up and say, "Wait a minute — are you telling me that if I put away $1,000 a year for eight years, from 21 to 28, I will really have $480,000 at 65?" I think we are so serious about doctrine here, and that is good. But we should also be helping you to be free — not entangled in the things of this life.
Free for What?
Getting free is one part. But here is the second part: free for what? Not just free to get your golf handicap to single digits. Not just free to do whatever you please. The average visit to the Grand Canyon is seven minutes — ours was not even that long. We got there, I said, "My goodness, what a gully," the girls said they were going to the gift shop, and we were out of there in about three minutes. That is not the kind of freedom we are talking about.
The goal is to be free so you can go where God calls you to go and do what God calls you to do. Not free to serve your own agenda and build your own kingdom, but free to build His. Do you see that in Priscilla and Aquila's life? Think about how hard it was when they had just gotten their business established. Don't sterilize this — you know how hard it is to get a business going. They had just gotten it going, and then, just like that, away they went.
Using Your Knowledge to Serve the Kingdom
Here is a third thing we see from them: they used their knowledge to serve the kingdom. Apollos was a powerful, eloquent, passionate, and knowledgeable speaker. But when he began to speak, Priscilla and Aquila realized he was missing some things — namely, the crucifixion, the resurrection, Pentecost, and the church. So they took him aside and explained these things to him.
You know why they were able to do that? Not just because they were willing, but because they actually knew something. I have a lot of people who try to speak into situations without knowing enough to do so. I once met a man who was lamenting the fact that he did not know much, saying, "But I'm just a baby Christian." I asked him how long he had been a Christian. He said seven years. Seven years is not a baby Christian. If you have been a Christian for a year and you do not know anything, it is no one's fault but your own.
There are tools in the bookstore. There are resources on the internet. There are books available everywhere. There is more information than you could ever work through. You can study and grow — and not just so you can show off your Bible knowledge. The point is to study so you can be used by God in exactly the way Priscilla and Aquila were used: to share with people and explain things to people. Do not miss this. They were not formally trained. They had only been Christians for two or three years, and yet they knew the things of God well enough to be used by Him.
Committed to the Local Church
Two more things are important. They were committed to the local church.
Opening: The Church in Their House
We see this not in the passage before us in the book of Acts, but in 1 Corinthians chapter 16. Paul is writing back to the church at Corinth, and he is saying goodbye to them in chapter 16. Here is what he writes: "The churches of Asia greet you. Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord, along with the church that is in their house."
They did not just check a box that says "I'll attend a small group leadership function." They did not just say, "I'll serve." They said, "Come on over to our place and we'll do it right here." They opened up their house.
The Cost of Hospitality
I am going to guess that was pretty inconvenient for them. I am going to guess that when people came in — because I have seen this happen — they hit the door and say, "This is a great place. What have you got to eat? What's in the refrigerator?" I am going to guess that when they came in, they began to spill. They began to ding things.
And there is that chair — your great-great-grandmother's chair, passed down through the generations, and now it is yours. There is a chance that if somebody comes in, they will ding it. Let me help you out here: it is a chair. If it is that special to you, put it in the master bedroom where no one can get at it, or put it in storage.
But you see what Priscilla and Aquila said? They said, "Stuff is going to get broken. Somebody is going to spill something. Things are going to be a mess. It is going to be an inconvenience. It is going to be a hassle." But they were committed to the local church. They did not have buildings like this. They did not have a place to meet. So they said, "Come over to our house. That is where we will do it."
It may be that you are in that place, and you have created such a palace that nobody can get in. I mentioned this may be an argument against interior decorators. After the second service, an interior decorator came up — and she was terrific, by the way — and she laughed. She said it is just absurd: people get all this furniture, and literally within a year they are changing their minds, and the value of the furniture is fifty percent of what it was. Sometimes we are so concerned about getting everything just right that we could not possibly have anyone come in who might spill something.
Pride and the Other Side of the Argument
Let me give you the other side of this, because this is equally problematic. You may be saying, "I could never open my house, because we do not have very nice stuff." I understand — but your pride is in the way of your serving. If people come in and are not impressed, or if your home is an inconvenient place for them, that is their problem, not yours.
Risking Everything
One more thing. Priscilla and Aquila risked everything for their faith — everything. Look at what Paul writes. Priscilla and Aquila have left Corinth, have left Ephesus, and now they are back in Rome. Paul writes to this church an extraordinary doctrinal treatise, and as he closes the letter he lists almost thirty people, specifically greeting them and commending them. At the top of that list were Priscilla and Aquila.
"Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus." Paul is saying, "When you think of me, think of Priscilla and Aquila, because we go hand in glove. We work together." He continues: "Priscilla and Aquila, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only do I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles."
We know that Scripture is infallible. We know that Paul is not exaggerating. He is saying they risked their lives to protect him. They laid everything on the line. They held nothing back, including their very lives.
The Humanity of the Business
Do not miss this. I know I keep returning to the business angle, but I want you to understand the humanity of it. Understand how hard it is to get a business started. They have to rent space, print up cards, get materials, find someone to go out and sell, take tent orders, manufacture the product, distribute it, deliver it, set it up — and, the critical thing, get paid. That takes time, and you have just gotten all of it going.
So many people say it is so hard to get a business started. Look at what Priscilla and Aquila had. A business in Corinth — gone. A business in Ephesus — gone. And now they are back in Rome. Why? Because they are holding nothing back.
Surrendering Everything to God
They are saying, "God, everything I have is Yours. All of my possessions, God, are available — not to build my kingdom, but to build Yours. Not to fulfill my agenda, but to fulfill Yours. God, I am free. By Your grace I have been blessed with freedom, so God, You tell me where to go." Not what is easy, not what is convenient, but what is going to advance His kingdom.
"God, I am going to prepare myself. I am going to study. I am going to be ready. And God, I understand what You have chosen to use. You may use FCA here, or Young Life here, or Priority Living here — but God, what You have ordained is the church. We are going to give our time, energy, effort, and money to that church. God, we will hold nothing back. Here is our life. Take it."
A Word to Couples — and to the Men
Let me make one final point. Since this message is directed to couples, I should note that the same principles apply if you are single — everything said here applies equally. But let me speak to couples specifically for a moment, and particularly to the men.
Guys, this is never going to happen in your family if you do not lead the way. It is not going to happen if you do not step up. I was talking to a man not long ago about his teenager. He said, "This kid is driving me nuts. He is so narcissistic — all he thinks about is himself." He said, "Here is the word picture, and I love it: I feel like a human ATM, where he just comes up, pushes the buttons, and my little bills —"
Lead Your Family Toward God
I realized I had modeled it perfectly for him, for that is how I have lived. Men, I do not think this happens naturally. Are there exceptions? Sure, but we call them exceptions — that is what they are. Family does not just naturally move and grow on its own. You have to drive it. You have to fuel it. You have to step up and take the lead.
You are the one who has to say, "God, our stuff is yours." We talk about staying on a budget all the time. A woman might go overboard and buy a dress, but a guy goes crazy and buys a boat — big difference. You are the one who has to say, "God, everything I have is yours."
Say, "God, we are going to study. We may not know what You are going to do, but we are going to study so that when the opportunity presents itself, we are ready." Say, "God, we are free — not free just to have fun, but free to serve You." Commit your time, your energy, your effort, and your money. Declare that you will give, you will share, and you will go wherever God calls you.
Dream and Go for It
Men, if you do that, you will have a life beyond anything you have dreamt. Do you ever dream anymore? What would you love to do for the Lord Jesus Christ? Would you do it if you knew there were no boundaries and you could never fail? What would you do?
At that point, men, you have a dream, a goal, and a plan. I pray that by God's grace you will go for it. Let me give you one last secret: she is waiting for you to lead. Just go. She is not going to fight you on this. Just lead. Just be the man God has called you to be.
The Example of Priscilla and Aquila
If you lead as God calls you to, you will have a life like Priscilla and Aquila. Can you imagine how gratifying it must have been to open a letter and have the apostle say, "Say hi to my friends — we are co-workers"?
Father, we hold our lives up to You. We pray that You make us men and women who are willing to be used by You, no matter what it takes. God, let us give our time, energy, effort, money, and all of our resources to advance Your kingdom. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen.