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Page 4...The Portland Observer...October 23,1991
I Portland Observer
Scripture o f the V ’erti
RELIGION
Get The Whole Story On Jesus
BY MICHAEL LINDSEY
Dean of North Portland Bible College
educated generally, and also well-
educated in the O ld Testam ent scrip­
tures. T here’s nothing wrong with a
good education foraC hristian. Itopens
doors o f opportunity which would not
be available otherwise. But it is even
more im portant to be well versed in the
B ib le -to know w hat it says, and what
it m eans, and to know by experience
how to obey its teachings.
But Apollos clearly made quite an
impression on the synagogue, for he
knew about the “ way o f the L ord,” a
description of Christians and their
doctrine (compare 9:2; 19:9,23; and
others), and taught it fervendy. H ow ­
ever, he only knew about the baptism
of John (25). Given the accounts in the
gospels, one would have thought that
the movement o f righteousness and
repentance started by John the Baptist
died out not long after he was be­
headed. After all, he was the forerun­
ner, who prepared the way for the Lord
Jesus, and he explicitly pointed his
own disciples to follow Jesus. But
apparently some o f John’s disciples
continued to teach on their own, and
some also knew about Jesus, and ac­
cepted his ministry and ethics.
Apollos was a result of their m in­
istry, now some 20 years after Jesus’
death and resurrection. He knew only
the baptism of John, implying that he
did not know about Christian baptism,
which symbolizes the death and resur­
rection o f Christ and our identity with
Christ. Neither did he know about the
baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the
great events o f the day o f PentecosL So
Apollos still had a lot to learn, and
Aquila and Priscilla were ready to teach
him.
A fter they took him aside, and
taught him about Jesus, Apollos con­
tinued to be a pow erful preacher and
debater, but now he had the whole
truth about Jesus Christ. He was taking
on the Jews in their synagogues, both
in Ephesus and Corinth, and proving
throcgh Old Testam ent evidence that
Jesus must be the Christ.
There is no evidence that the two
tent-m akers were eloquent, or natural
The text fo r the Sunday School
lesson (International Series) fo r next
Sunday is A cts 18:24-28; and 19:1-6.
We encourage our readers to study the
lesson this week and attend Sunday
School at a good Bible-teaching church.
M ake Sunday School a good habit fo r
the w hole fam ily.
T he tw o incidents recounted in this
w eek ’s lesson are very different, and
yet they have several things in com ­
mon. Each story happened in the city of
Ephesus, each involves disciples of John
(that is, John the Baptist), and in each
case these disciples o f John received
the good news o f Jesus Christ, and
becam e His disciples.
Paul had earlier w anted to go to
Ephesus, the capital o f the Roman prov­
ince o f Asia (the west coast of modem
T urkey, Acts 16:6). Instead the Spirit
o f G od led him into successful m inis­
tries in Philippi, Thessalonica, Berea,
A thens, and finally m ost extensively,
in Corinth. The missionary band had
great success in Corinth, with a strong
church established over a space of eight­
een months.
At the beginning o f this m inistry in
Corinth, Paul had met a couple of
Christian Jew s from Rome, Priscilla
and Aquila. They were apparently w ill­
ing to travel for the spreading o f the
gospel: ready-m ade, bi-vocational
missionaries. They were “ tent-m ak­
ers,” as was Paul, a term which really
m eant leathers w orkers, and they had
already traveled from rome to Corinth
(18:1-3). Now they accom panied Paul
across the Aegean Sea to Ephesus, and
stayed there in w aiting, while Paul and
his gospel team reported back briefly to
the churches in Jerusalem and Antioch
(20-22).
W hile Paul was aw ay, Priscilla A
Aquila continued to worship in the Jewish
synagogue, and undoubtedly they were
bearing witness for the Lord Jesus. Here
they m e ta m ost interesting man, Apol-
los, a Jew of A lexandria (Egypt), de­
scribed as “ an eloquent man, and mighty
in the scriptures” (24). He was well-
Nowadays, everywhere you go -
there is trouble. I also found in my
search, that there is little or no encour­
agem ent to be received from anybody.
There is so much hatred. There is so
much rivalry. There is so much je a l­
ousy. Just plain, old mean faces.
When you approach someone and
ask the question, “ How are you to­
day?” are you prepared to receive and
process the response? How big is your
heart? How big are your ears? How
long is your patience?
You know how it is, don’t you?
You get in trouble and you just need
someone to talk your troubles over with.
Well, unless that person is deeply rooted
in the Lord, you will not receive the
type of advice that will be helpful to
you. Oh, you might be given some kind
o f remedy. “ Rub these herbs on your
forehead for seven days and then on the
very next day - boil it and drink it. All!
O k ?” You might be allergic to the
contents of w hatever this concoction is
or drinking it might kill you; but if you
had the Lord in your life, you w ouldn’t
need these kinds o f get-w ell-quick
remedies.
Not all the time is it the person
giving the a d v ic e -b u t maybe, just
maybe, it’s you.
Do you have a bad attitude? Is it
hard for you to receive advice from
others? Do you have a bad habit of
accepting advice that you never in­
tended to use? If your answ er to all
three questions was an unequivocal
“ Y E S!” then you need the sound ad­
vice and assistance of the HOLY SPIRIT.
We must learn to live together,
work together, learn together, pray
together, and talk together. Some are
able to converse on a one-to-one basis;
THE
P O R TLA N D
O BSER VER
M allory
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10:45 am .
M en’s Training Leadership
Women’s Bible Class
Radio Ministry each Sunday, 8:00 A.M.-KBMS
Sunday School
M orning W orship
Tuesday Bible
Study and Prayer
A Teaching Church With A Reaching Ministry
Dr. James E. Martin, Senior Pastor
5:00 pm.
Evening Worship
Church Office 116 N.E. Schuyler,
Ctenzse Ff. Bell, Pastor
VANN & VANN
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D IR E C T O R S
Family Owned and Operated
Since 1954
Serving the City of Portland
for over 37 years
In your hour of need
Vann &Vann are there to serve
•. l : i
Minister Gregory Fobbs
J k tu l
288-1092
^ B a p tis t (C tju r c tj
RESTORING
NEW TESTAMENT CHRISTIANITY
8101 N. Fiske Avenue
Portland, Oregon 97203
C hurch P hone: 2 8 9 - 0 1 4 7
Study P hone: 2 8 9 -1 9 1 1
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Them e: W hatever you're going to do
fo r th e Lord, do it now
503/281-2836
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521 1 N. W illia m s P o r tla n d , O r. 9 7 2 1 7
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Radio Ministry Each Sunday, 11:00 AM - KBMS
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C hrist
SUNDAY SCHEDULE
Bible Study
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of
NE M A L L O R Y
Stone Tower Church,
N.E. Sandy Blvd. & 30th
Worship Services 8:00 A.M. & 11:00 A.M.
Church School 9:30 A.M, to 10:30 AM .
Bible Study, Wednesdays, 116 N.E.Schuyler
10:30 A.M. and 6:30 P.M.
"Come to me all you who ore
weary and heavy laden and I
will give you rest*
understand my dilemma. Tell me that
you can feel my anguish. I feel that all
the walls are closing around me and
there is no way out. Lord, Jesus! I need
your encouragement. Let me feel your
gentle touch. In the name o f Jesus!
W e all experience m om ents in our
lives that sound so fimiliar to this out­
cry. G od - alone, can relieve you of
your burdens. He can give you fresh au­
to breath. God urges us to set our hopes
in Him. No m atter how big the burden,
no matter how hard the task, G od knows
just how much we can bear.
Right now, we feel that everything
is happening to us. “ I ju st can ’t take
any more. Lord! ’ ’ But one day we shall
all be at the receiving e n d -y o u can
count on it. We shall be the ones in need
of affirm ation, encouragem ent, and a
gentle touch o f tenderness.
Reach out and touch som eone with
kindness, with love, with understand­
ing and you will be surprised how soon
that same touch will com e back to you.
The feelings o f m ost who seek
help are fragile and delicate. Yes, those
in need, need to sense that w e (Chris­
tian Believers) are there because we
care... not just because it is something
we have been assigned to do.
Help...because G od’s love within you
dictated your actions.
The noted author and com m unica­
tor, Chuck Swindoll, wrote, “ Truth
and tact make great bedfellow s.”
Be sym pathetic,b ecarin g .b e kind,
show mercy and love; let G o d ’s love
shine through YOU.
Be of good courage,
and he shall strengthen
your heart,
all ye that hope
in the Lord.
Psalms 31:24
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while some are very uncomfortable.
Philippians, the second chapter and
verses 1-5 says, “ Now if your experi­
ence of C hrist’s encouragem ent and
love means anything to you, if you
have known something of the fellow ­
ship o f his Spirit, and all that it means
in kindness and deep sympathy, do
make my best hopes for you come true!
Live together in love, as though you
had only one mind and one spirit be­
tween you. Never act from motives or
rivalry or personal vanity, but in hum il­
ity think more o f one another than you
do o f yourselves. None of you should
think only o f his own affairs, but each
should learn to see things from other
people’s point of view. Let Christ be
your exam ple as to what your attitude
should be.
D on’t go trudging along life’s
highway with your mouth all poked out
and your rear-end sitting squarely on
top o f your head. There IS a better way.
There IS a better answer.
We must learn to encourage with
love and we must learn to accept en­
couragem ent
O ne of the great authors o f Chris­
tian literature, W illiam Barclay, said
“ One of the highest of human duties is
the duty o f encouragem ent...it is easy
to laugh at m en’s ideas; it is easy to
pour cold water on their enthusiasm; it
is easy to discourage others. The world
is full o f discouragers. W e have a C hris­
tian duty to encourage one another.
Many a time a word of praise or thanks
or appreciation or cheer has kept a man
on his feet. Blessed is the man who
speaks such a w ord.”
How many times have you gone
down on your knees and just asked the
Lord for some encouragem ent? “ Lord,
please speak to me. Tell me that you
BY MATTIE ANNE CAt.LIER-SPEARS
MT OLIVET BAPTIST
CHURCH
God's Presence promises
Power through Jesus Christ In
G ood Times and Sad Times
9:45am
11:00am
7:50pm
How Are You Today?
leaders, or convincing debaters. They
did not try to mount an evangelistic
outreach in Ephesus while Paul was
away. But they did know their Bibles
(the O ld Testam ent), they loved the
Lord, and they were strong and sure in
their faith. And given the opportunity,
they led Apollos to a deeper, fuller com -
mitment to Jesus. And as a result, A pol­
los used the natural gifts God had given
him to advance the good news o f G od’s
kingdom, and encourage the believers.
Upon his return, Paul found a small
group o f John’s desciples in Ephesus,
and he also taught them the whole truth
about Jesus Christ. They also responded
com pletely (19:1-6).
These two stories, especially the
former, ought to remind us o f some
basics about doing the Will of God in
our lives. Let me mention three things.
(1) A lot of people around us have
gotten part o f the truth about Jesus, but
don’t really see the whole picture. If
you think you might be one o f those
people, I’d invite you to contact me
through NPBC (288-2919) or this pa­
per. M aybe I can help.
Sometimes Christians forget this
truth, and assume that anyone who says
“ Praise the Lord,” or attends the church,
or prays every night, is all right with
God. T here’s a lot of folks around us
who are still struggling in spiritual dark­
ness, though they may seem to be good,
moral people. L et’s be careful, and ask
for the Spirit’s guidance to know how to
help others.
(2) You d o n ’t have to be a Bible
scholar to tell others about Jesus, and
lead them to the truth. That song says it
well: * ‘Ordinary p eo p le-G o d uses ordi­
nary people. He uses people just like
you and me, who are willing to do as He
com m ands.” God is not as interested in
our ability, as in our availability.
(3) In some situations, we have to
stand alone for Christ. But if w e are
faithful, and available, God can win
some exciting victories through us. Why
settle for boring Christianity? L et’s let
others know about the great G od and
Savior we serve. Jesus Christ!
M allory Avenue
Christian Church
Matthew 25:31
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