Everybody loves an underdog story, right? Someone who overcomes obstacles in
their way, uh, to do something great. I think of Kurt Warner, a gentleman who
was stocking shelves in a grocery store and becomes a Super Bowl champion. And
almost 2 time with the Cardinals, so close, so close, but making it to the Super
Bowl with two different teams. I think about an author who was struggling to
publish one of her manuscripts as she was working as a single mother. And while
many said no. Eventually one publisher said yes to JK Rowling and this Harry
Potter series was developed. I think about a gentleman who grew up in public
housing, grew up poor. Uh, took over a coffee shop that he was working at and
turned one coffee shop. Into a global brand. And Howard Schultz now, uh, who has
led and developed the Starbucks brand all around the world. You know, I think
about an actor who was starving himself and, and, and was struggling and and
came from a poor situation. And he had this script that he knew was great and
that he would be great for. And he shopped the script around and people wanted
the script, but they didn't want him as the actor in the movie that he had
written. But he held on to his belief and he kept going around and finally
someone said yes to him, and they filmed the movie Rocky. And the actor was
Sylvester Stallone. We love an underdog story because we love to see everyday
ordinary people doing extraordinary things. And this morning's message is
entitled How to Make a difference. Because I think for the most part. It's
common for all of us to want to make a difference. But the question is how?
Cause I don't, I don't know if you've ever felt this way. I felt this way,
especially as a pastor, but I read the characters in the Bible and I'm amazed.
I'm like, wow. And then I guess gotta go through my week, right? And, and it's
easy to feel like we don't measure up to guys like Moses or Noah or Ruth, or
Mary, Peter, Paul, like, like, wow, they're doing amazing things and like, I
can't even follow up on an email, you know. Right? Like, I, I, I gotta go fold
laundry that I left for days on end, right? I gotta go uh find my kids' shoes,
right? Some of you were screaming at each other on the way to church this
morning. OK? And if you're not laughing, we know it was you. Right? Like
everyday life just seems hard sometimes. And so you read these inspirational
stories, and we get encouraged and we get fired up and we're like, I got a
business meeting tomorrow, you know. It's like I gotta, I gotta play parent Uber
to all my kids' activities that I regret signing them up for, but I love them so
much, not all the time, but most of the time, you know what I'm saying. Anyone
else ever feel that way? Well, today, we're gonna take a look at an underdog
story. And we've been walking through the Book of Acts, and, and the Book of
Acts primarily follows the ministry of Peter and of Paul. But today in Acts
chapter 18, we're gonna take a look at two characters that I think we can all
identify with. And I say that. Because they are ordinary people that make an
extraordinary difference. But how they do it might surprise you. And actually
offers you and I a template that we can follow to make a difference as well.
That's why this morning's message is not can you make a difference, but how? You
can make a difference. So we're gonna be jumping into Acts chapter 18, but if
you're taking notes, go ahead and write this down, that faith moves at the speed
of relationships. Faith moves at the speed of relationships. You ever noticed
that everywhere Jesus went, he walked. I mean, maybe that should tell us
something about against running, but um, OK, not really, but um he walked. You
don't see him in a hurry anywhere, do you? Why is that? I think Jesus walked
because walking is a relational pace. Walking is a relational pace. Sometimes
the people in our lives can feel like we're attending a NASCAR race. You have
people in your life that are like that? Right? You go to see them and you're
like, and there was. Right, just passes by. Maybe at school you just pass by,
hey, how are you? Good? You good? OK, boom. All right, we're connected, right?
Right. You know what I mean though? Like it just seems like we're going from one
thing to the next to the next, next, next, next. But Jesus walked everywhere and
never seemed in a hurry. Right, cause walking is a relational pace. And faith
Making a difference, doing big things for God, faith moves at the speed of
relationships. Now, our story takes place today in the city of Corinth. And
before we focus in on our characters, let's actually understand the context in
which they were living. You see, Corinth was the city that got destroyed in 146
BC but got rebuilt in 44 BC by Julius Caesar to become a Roman colony. It really
sat in a strategic place on a peninsula here that had two ports on it. So
there's the there's the Gulf of America, just kidding. I just, I guess we can
just rename things now. Um, anyway, OK, OK. Hey, it's not a political sermon,
calm down. Both sides like both sides like, yeah, we're like, OK, anyway. The
Gulf, of course, and we have the Aegean Sea on the other side. So you had two
ports here. You had this major metropolitan area. It was seen as a trade
destination between Asia and Rome or Asia and the and the uh Western European
countries. And so it was a key city. So it was wealthy, it was diverse, and let
me tell you, it was also very pagan. Because they had all this money, all this
diversity, all this trade people transit people coming in and out of the city,
and it was known as like the original Las Vegas if you will, you know, people
call Las Vegas Sin City. Well, the word to corinthessize, so the name of the
town to corinthessize is to act sexually immoral. So to do something immoral
was, oh, you're being like a Corinthian. So this is the context in which we find
ourselves. The city itself also had the temple of Aphrodites, the goddess of
love, and the temple was surrounded by thousands of prostitutes. And so here is
the city, it's wealthy, it's diverse, it's transient, there's all these
different pagan backgrounds and religious backgrounds and people pursuing
pleasure. And as we know that what happens in Corinth. Actually gets written
down into the book for 2000 years that we read forevermore. Come on, we know
that to be true, right? Nothing that happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. And same
thing happens here. So this is the context in which Paul's gonna start a church,
and he's gonna need some help. So he comes from Athens, he's gonna start a
church here. He's gonna actually live here for a couple of years. And then he's
gonna go away and he's gonna write two letters back and so that's why you
actually understand we don't have time to dive into it now. But that's why the
letters of 1 and 2 Corinthians has this mixture of like, here's how you operate
as a church, and here's how you live and to flee sexual morality. Think about
this. So Corinth, the temple of of the goddess of love, right? now has the
church that he writes the love chapter two. Do you ever think about that? 1
Corinthians 13, the love chapter. It's like Paul was saying, hey, let me tell
you what love actually looks like. This is what you're actually searching for
and actually should be within the church setting. Yes, marriage, but even more
so in our everyday relationships, how we should love and treat each other. So
this is a backdrop from our story today and Paul's gonna need some help. So,
starting in verse one. So after this, so after Athens. He left Athens and went
to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus recently had
come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the
Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them, so I wanna pause here for a second
because here's our characters that we're talking about today. I encourage you to
read all of chapter 18 and really the surrounding to get the context. So don't
ever just take my word at face value. Compare what I'm saying and use it as a
catalyst to jump into the word for yourselves and within smaller group settings
because that's really where the word comes alive. But I want us to focus on
Aquila and Priscilla today, because they're not, they're not found in scripture
a lot. In fact, they're only found in 4 places in the entire Bible, and we're
gonna read all of them. They're found here in Acts chapter 18. And then they're
found in a couple of other places is being acknowledged for who they are, but
what we're gonna see is the everyday ordinary people of Aquila and Priscilla
make an eternal difference for God, and it starts their journey starts as far as
we know here from being persecuted and being forced out of their home and losing
everything that they have. So they are coming into another country, uh, so their
way of escape is to, is to leave. Their Roman home that they know and go to the
most pagan city at the current time because that's the only place they can even
live. So they, they leave family, they leave culture, they leave community, they
leave possessions and now they are in this place, of course. Now if you put
yourself in that position. And you got kicked out. For being religious and being
Jewish. And you, you come across Paul. Who, as we've seen earlier in our study
of Acts, repeatedly got kicked out, stoned, and imprisoned. If you come across
him, are you tempted just to kind of like put your head down? Not only do they
not put their head down, they actually embrace him, say, hey. We can help. Verse
3. And I came to him because he was of the same trade, and he stayed with them
and worked, for they were tent makers by trade. And he reasoned in the synagogue
every Sabbath and tried to persuade Jews and Greeks. I love this. You know why?
Because 6 out of the 7 days, they were tent makers. They were just going through
everyday life, business people. Using their hands, using their skills to develop
a new life. And then on the Sabbath, Paul would go and try to reason and
persuade people. For Jesus Now they would have people in their home. We're gonna
see that cause they everywhere they went, they took people in. But I love this.
So, so they're not these disciples. They were called out by Jesus himself. They
were not kings. They were not priests. There were immigrant refugees that had
been kicked out of their country, put into a new colony, they were just trying
to make ends meet. Tent makers, risk takers, life givers, Aquila and Priscilla.
This is why I love their example because we might think, oh I can't be Paul.
Probably not. It's not our context. Maybe someone in here will be. But all of us
could be Aquila and Priscilla. Because they realized that their vocation was for
the glory of God. OK. So Paul would preach and people were getting saved and as
was custom, people didn't like that people were getting saved. So then they
caused up trouble. He gets locked up again briefly, but the ruler in that
calling he goes, Wait a second, wait a second, you want me to take kick this guy
out because of words? No, just you guys figured this out. And like people are
getting beat up and it's just getting crazy. And so Paul's like, OK, I should
probably move on. He had been there for about a year and a half. I was gonna
stay longer, but he's like, it's time to go. OK. So we pick up our story in
verse 18. And after this Paul stayed many days longer. And then took leave of
the brothers and set sail for Syria. And with him, Priscilla and Aquila. And
Cesare he had cut his hair, for he went under a vow. Now I don't know why we
need that detail, but it made sense in that context, right? So there was
something about his identity as well as the context in which he's reading.
Right, that Paul needs a haircut, but I don't know why you include that detail
other than Luke is a doctor, he likes details, right? And it, it, and it played
a factor into their story and into his story. So when there's a detail, he's
just sharing what happened, right? And in verse 19, it says, and they came to
Ephesus, and he left them there. But he himself went to the synagogue and
reasoned with the Jews. So here we have Aquila and Priscilla. They were in Rome.
They were in Chorus. Now they're gonna go to Ephesus, and then Paul trust them
and I said, OK, you minister here and I'm gonna go here. And there's some crazy
stuff that goes down in Ephesus, but you're gonna have to save that for next
week as we jump into Acts 19. So they're serving, now we're gonna pick up our
story here in verse 24. And now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria,
came to Ephesus, and he was an eloquent man competent in the scriptures, and he
had been instructed in the way of the Lord and being fervent in spirit, he spoke
and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he only knew of the
baptism of John. So he knew part of the things. He knew Jesus was important, but
he didn't quite know the whole story, OK. So verse 26, so he began to speak
boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquilla heard him, they took him
aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And then when he
wished to cross the. The chea there, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to
the disciples to welcome him. And when he arrived, he greatly helped those
through grace had believed. For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public,
showing uh by the scriptures that Christ was Jesus. So here is this great
orator, this great speaker. And Priscilla and Aquila. This couple noticed that
he doesn't quite have the whole story. And they don't call him out and shame him
in public, but rather they pull him aside like, hey, hey, hey. Hey, you got, you
got a minute? And they show through the scriptures, through the letters, through
the stories, through the Old Testament, the teaching of who Jesus really was.
They disciple Apollos. They invest in him. They encouraged Paul, the disciple
Apollos, and we see his life changed and he goes on to be one of the greatest
preachers of the early church. We know this because later when they're talking
about him, people are saying, well, you don't preach like Apollos because that's
that's how good he was as a communicator. Or as good as he was in communication,
he got his faith. From a one on one relationship, face to face with Aquila and
Priscilla. Now what we see here, this is the one section that we find them and
we only see their names pop up in 3 other locations. But what's interesting is
that they always pop up together. There's a value in and, and they always say
the same thing. So they served in different places, but kept the same story.
Their situation changed. But their service did not. Their circumstances changed,
but their calling did not. They were not famous. But they were faithful. So
let's walk through these verses together. First we see in here that they were
together in Corinth. Again, Paul's writing to the church in Corinth. He's
writing back letters later in his life, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and we see this in
verse 19 of chapter 16. It says, in the churches of Asia send you greetings,
Aquila and Priscilla. So Prisha is just like a short name for Priscilla. I think
John, Jonathan, Nathan, Nathaniel. OK, same person. I'll just gonna, I'm gonna
keep saying Priscilla, OK. So Aquila and Prisha, or Priscilla, together with the
church in their house. So not only are they working, But they're hosting the
church. As well, they send you hearty greetings in the Lord. Now again, they
came from a place where they were kicked out. Now they're serving and giving and
hosting in their house. But not just in Corinth, we also see that they end up
going back to Rome as well. Because together in Rome, at the very end of a
letter to the Romans, Romans chapter 16 verses 3 and 4. Paul's writing from
prison and make sure you greet Priscilla and Aquilla, my fellow workers in
Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give
thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks to them as well. Romans
is one of the most me if not the meatiest, most intense, most deep writings in
all of Scripture and at the end of it, Paul gets up when he gives his Oscar
nomination or, you know, celebration speech. He says, let me thank Aquila and
Priscilla. Not only did they help me, they risked their neck, their lives for
me. But every single Gentile church. Every single church should thank them.
That's how powerful they were. Right. What we're seeing here is that if early
Christians were wearing Paul pajamas, Paul was wearing an Aquila Priscilla
t-shirt, you know what I mean? Like, you know, they go to the concert and, and
you grab the t-shirt, right, the Taylor Swift, the Coldplay, the whatever,
right? Like you wear the shirt, like, he's rocking with the Quilla and
Priscilla. It's like they're the best. Right. It's like when a famous chef says,
oh, I learned my cooking from over here. Paul was like, I learned my cooking
from Aquila and Priscilla. And just a complete really the analogy here, they
weren't actually wearing the clothes, OK, like, oh, they were wearing pajamas.
No, like, just get in the picture here, because in reality, they're everyone is
pointing to Jesus, that's what they're doing. Their whole lives are pointing to
Jesus. And Paul, who risked it all, the one that we know about because of
everything he wrote. This person said, oh, let me tell you about Aquila and
Priscilla. Make sure they say, make sure they get my thank you card. So we see
it in Corinth, we see it in Romes. We also see it in Ephesus. When Paul gets to
the end of his life, he writes to Timothy, his mentee, his spiritual godson, if
you will, who is the pastor in Ephesus. And so at the end of his life, he
doesn't have much left. He's writing this personal letter to Timothy,
encouraging him to don't let anyone look down because of his youth, but to set
the example, right? To preach the word, right, to fan into flame the gifts God
has given you, for God did not. Give you a spirit of fear but of power, love,
and self-control. Some of the most inspiring words in all of Scripture are found
in 1 and 2 Timothy, who's pastoring in Ephesus, and when he gets to the very
end, what does he say? Oh, Timothy, make sure you greet Priscilla and Aquila. In
the household of, what is that, 1 Z4S, I don't know, I can't pronounce words,
but. Right. He gets to the end of his life, oh please, please, please, please
say hello. To my dear friends, Aquila and Priscilla. So we see them in Rome, we
see them in Ephesus, we see them in Corinth, and everywhere they go, they're
making a difference. You know, there's a phrase that's common in culture. And in
fact, I use it as well, and so I can't knock it too much. I just don't think
it's complete. Especially here in GCU lopes up, who, um, I guess, I guess first
hour is the GCU hour, OK. Um, and, uh, if you've seen the commercials where it
says find your purpose, right? Find your purpose. That, that sounds inspiring,
right? And I've said that before. Right, I just don't think that phrase is
complete. Because when you say something like, find your purpose, it's like
you're playing hide and seek. Come here, purpose, purpose, purpose. Over here
purpose? And you're trying to find something and then if you don't have it, you
don't find you're like, oh, I didn't find it. Still looking I think a better
version. A stronger one really is from this idea of live with purpose. You see,
Aquila and Priscilla. Everywhere they went, they preached Jesus. Everywhere they
went, they invested in people. Everywhere they went, they just humbly served.
And they were making a difference. And you put it in one context, you're like,
OK, but yeah, look, they were with Paul. OK, what about an emphasis? What about
in Rome, the same place that kicked them out? Like we don't know a lot about
their story. But what we know is that while they might not have been famous,
they are faithful. And they approached every single day. With purpose. And I
think that's a great example for you. And for me, In fact, I think what we see
in here is not only a great picture of marriage, but also a great picture of
ministry. And from what we see in these brief passages are 5 qualities. Of a
healthy marriage and ministry. I want to emphasize this because we don't have a
lot of great examples in the New Testament. You look at the Old Testament, a lot
of messed up marriages. In the New Testament, the best picture we have of
marriage is actually Christ in the church. And so when you do get a positive
example, I want to really emphasize and put, point that out. Because everywhere
you see Priscilla, you see Aquila. Everywhere you see Aquila, you see Priscilla.
You always see the end. There is power in the end in being united together. So
this is A healthy characteristic for a healthy marriage. But not everyone in
this room are, are watching online or watching later or in that category. But I
wanna encourage you this still applies to your life. I'll walk through these 5
qualities and we'll talk about how this applies no matter your circumstance
right now. First thing we see from them. Is that they were resilient. They were,
they were resilient. They overcame obstacles through obedience. They didn't know
the outcome. They didn't know the outlook they didn't know what the next day was
gonna bring, but they were obedient in the present moment. OK, God, you took us
out of Rome. We lost everything. Many of us would have been tempted to just kind
of put our heads down and say, well, we gave it a try. They actually embraced
Paul, invited him into their house. They made tents together, and they, and they
started over. They were resilient. Second thing we see here is that they were
generous. They actually funded ministry with their work. I love that. They
didn't just view tent making as a. Vocation, they viewed it as a calling. They
viewed what they were doing for the glory of God. This is why I think this can
relate to so many of us today because not all of you will be called to be
pastors, but all of us are called to be disciple makers. And that's why we're
called to be generous, to live generous, and so they worked hard. And they gave
why? Because they viewed their resources as gods. They were stewards of what God
gave them. God, you've given us the ability to make tents, so we're gonna make
tents for your glory. It's not about an amount, it's a mindset. I think too many
of us have a mindset where they view everything as ours and we come at it, we're
like, OK, this is mine, mine, mine. No, mine, can't touch it, can't touch it.
Oh, here you go. Like which one seems more generous to you? Oh, OK, you can,
yeah, OK, you can have that, but this is mine, don't touch. Or do you say, God,
all of this is yours? I'm a steward of it. Whatever you call me to do, I'm gonna
do it. And it's not like they had to leave the tent making business to go do
ministry, they actually did ministry through the tent making business. See, we
live in an age where they teach you that there is sacred. And they're secular.
Right? There are spiritual things and then there's just everyday life things.
And that makes sense from a practical standpoint, doesn't it? Yeah, we can sing
Yahweh, we love you. If I go into the business meeting saying that, that's gonna
be a, I'm gonna get some looks. Right? Like I can sing Yahweh, we love you, but
I got a full inbox on Monday. You know, I got that dirty diaper to change. I
got, I gotta be parent Uber. I gotta remember all the activities. That we sign
our kids up for and then resent them for us signing them up for, OK, anyway,
and. Parents are tracking with me, OK? Right. But here's the beauty of
Christianity. There isn't Sacred and secular. Everything is sacred. I love that.
Everything is sacred. Do you know you can eat to the glory of God? Praise Jesus
There's one commentator that says you can describe the writings of Luke, same
guy who wrote Acts, by the way, as either going to a meal at a meal, or just
leaving a meal. Think about the most important discussion in the history of the
world. What do we call it? The last supper. Yes, praise Jesus. You can do
anything and everything to the glory of God. Why? Because he wants your life, he
wants your heart, he wants your soul. So you can teach, you can be in a meeting,
you can reply to emails, you can work in healthcare, offer a treatment, coach a
team, go for a walk. for the glory of God. We need to stop separating it instead
saying, Jesus, here's my life. You have given me everything and so I'm gonna
give you everything. They were resilient, they were generous. Third, thirdly, we
see that they were hospitable. They hosted ministry in their home. So we don't
need a synagogue. Come to our house. You don't think being a tent maker of the
house was messy from time to time? And if we're being real. OK. That was a much
more challenging thing to do than it is now. And I get it. I'm with you. I'm
not, I'm not saying this from, I'm on stage so that you can see me, but we are
on the same playing field as in humanity, OK? We are brothers and sisters in
Christ. I'm just as much in this as you are. But opening up their home could
literally cost them their lives. And they did it in Corinth, in Rome, in
Ephesus, over and over and over and over again. They welcome people in. I love
that. Fourth thing we see from them is that they were humble. They were humble.
I think the fact that we don't know a lot about their lives outside of these
brief scriptures show us. That their significance came through their service.
Behind the scenes. You don't have to be famous to be faithful. God sees you
That's how Jesus even came into the world. Think about that. In Bethlehem in a
stable at night through Joseph and Mary. God sees the small things, the little
things. Sometimes the greatest thing you do is not something you're gonna do,
but a person you're gonna raise. Sometimes it's that conversation that spurs and
changes somebody else. Sometimes you are gonna strengthen somebody else's soul.
Sometimes you walk through. The sickness and the illness so that you can
actually minister to those going through that same thing. Sometimes you're gonna
walk through something so bad that you can only describe it as a living hell,
but you do that so that you can proclaim an eternal heaven that's available to
people walking through what you just walked through. They were humble. They
didn't make it about them. They could have been arrogant when they challenged
Apollos. He was in the wrong. But instead of like, hey, hey, hey, can I show you
what it actually looks like? And the discipled. Last thing we see here is that
they were relational. They established influence through their investment in
people. They didn't put up billboards for Aquila and Priscilla tents. Right?
They didn't say they could have, it's not wrong to own and, and launch a
business, but what they did was they said, you know what, we're gonna invest in
people. And wherever God has us, however it's money, God calls us to make,
wherever we go, whatever persecution comes or doesn't come, no matter the city,
no matter the circumstance, we don't care if we go back to the same city that
just kicked us out. We're gonna preach the gospel and we're gonna love and serve
people. And they understood that it was about relationship. Now think about
this, think about those 5 qualities, OK. Isn't that what you want for your
marriage? Someone who's resilient. Generous, hospitable, humble, and relational.
If you're not married, but you wanna be. Isn't that what you want? This next
comments for free, OK, not part of the sermon, but look, if you are dating, can
I just encourage you with something? Stop looking for the right person and start
becoming the right person that the person you're looking for is looking for.
Right, we get so obsessed with finding Mr. and Mrs. Right. But if you became Mr.
and Mrs. Right, if you run your race so hard, so fast for the name of Jesus, and
you're running after him with all that you are with purpose every single day,
every class, every work opportunity, every conversation, if you're running after
God and you're becoming resilient, generous, hospitable, humble, relational, and
you're going after God, at some point you're gonna look up and you're gonna look
around and you're gonna see who's running with you. I You gotta be the person
that you're looking for is looking for. Be that man or that woman of God. Like,
OK, John, but I'm not in a relationship, I'm not in there. OK, let me ask you
something. If you're an employer, don't you want these qualities in an employee?
Let's put it a different way. You wouldn't hire the reverse. Think about someone
who comes in and they're the opposite of these five things. It's like, well, I
see your resume here. Tell me, what are, how would you describe yourself? Well.
Um, I am not resilient. I, uh, I am weak and I falter at the slightest
inconvenience. Uh, I am, I am selfish. I do not, everything is mine, and I'm in
it for myself. And I will only give you the hours that you pay me for nothing
more. And I'm in it for myself on any group project, uh, I am not hospitable, so
do not dare come into my space. I am prideful. It is all about me. And it should
be. In fact, I should have your job, but we'll wait on that. And then I'm not
relational. I do not want to work with people. You're in the hospitality
industry. Nope, but I don't wanna work with people. Leave me alone. When do I
start? When do I get my race? Can I have your job? Is that available? OK, great.
Not you. Like, no, you wouldn't do that, right? Not intentionally. But don't we
default into those modes? Something hard happens. What do we do? We pull back.
Instead of being resilient. Right, we, we, we, we feel sad and and oppressed and
like, oh, I'm being attacked. OK, you just had avocado toast, calm down. You
know what I mean? Like there are some very serious things, don't get me wrong.
There's more persecution in the world than ever before. But you know what you
see in those countries? The gospel is exploding. Why? Because faith is
resilient. We have not been overcome with the world, but we overcome the world.
What? With our faith because faith moves at the speed of relationships. And if
you have a God, if you have a God, That created the world, came back from death
and says, I'm gonna offer that same power to you, and there is nothing you can't
handle. We have a God who is generous, who gives us all things who for God so
loved the world that he took. No, that he gave. That we can walk into any room,
any relationship with the mindset, not of an amount, a mindset of not getting
something from you, but what can I give? Cause God's already given me everything
that I need. That we can walk into our situations and be hospitable. So I get
it. There are personalities, right? Some people are not hosting people. I get
it. I'm tracking with you. But can you be hospitable in the moment? Right? In
the conversation? Have you ever had a conversation with someone who you're
talking to them and like, uh-huh, yep, yep, and they're looking past you? You
can't be everywhere 100% of the time, but wherever you are, choose to be there
100%. If it's a 1 minute conversation, if it's a 30 minute conversation. You
know, you, you might not make every kid's game, but the games that you're at, be
present, be loud, be cheering, blame the refs, right? I'm all in, it's always
the ref's fault. I'm I'm still falling OK. Right? Even if you're not that
hosting person, you can still be hospitable. It's again, it's a mindset, it's a
heart thing. I think we can all do a better job of being humble. It would be
amazing what God could do through the church if we weren't so focused on being
famous but instead focused on being faithful. We can't do what we do without the
faithful service of people in this room and beyond. Right. The last thing here,
it's about people, it's relationships. It's not about extrovert introvert, some
people might have 100 friends, some people might have 5. But whatever that is,
can you invest in those people? And your spouse and your kids and your
coworkers. They're not projects. Right? They They're people That God created and
died for. I love Quilla and Priscilla because those are all things that we can
strive for and live out right now. I see it, cause I see of people in this room.
Hosting groups, changing diapers, sweeping the floors, setting up chairs.
Running tech, playing music. We all have different gifts and abilities that when
we come together, we can make a difference. That you would be amazed at what you
can do for God when you give it over to him. When Jesus fed the 5000. He did it
with the little boy's lunchable, some bread and some fish. The boy didn't feed
the 5000, just gave it to Jesus, who then turned did it. Right, when you give
what's in your life over to him, time, talent, treasure, you'll be amazed at
what he would do if you just choose to be faithful. I see time and time again
our group leaders. People cleaning the building, people out in the public. I, I
think about those knitting hats for the homeless. I think about those who are
cooking meals for those and bringing a meal to a family who just had a baby. I
think about um those who started a Bible study at their workplace. Right My mind
goes to some people who helped to start this church. I think of Kevin and
Priscilla. How fitting. Her name is Priscilla. They were halfway there. I
actually talked to Kevin this week and I really begged him to legally change his
name to Aquila. And he refused. But how awesome, I mean, what ministry, what
marriage ministry would you go to? Kevin and Priscilla? Or Aquila and Priscilla?
But he wouldn't do it. OK, it's OK. Uh, but you can actually see the picture
here. Uh, Debbie's in the room. Kevin's mom, Kevin's a great name, by the way,
Debbie. So since the person who named him is in the room, gotta be kind. Uh, no,
Kevin was actually for those who don't know him, he, uh, was one of our first
staff members helped to start the church, and everywhere they went, they had a
group of people around them and 4 kids and working multiple jobs because we had
no money as the church back then. And, and so they're hosting and they were
loving and they were sharing and they were coaching and doing all the things.
We, we end up getting called down to a foster care ministry in South Phoenix, so
they moved away. And guess what they did? They started a Bible study. They
started hosting, they started coaching, they started loving, they started
serving. Here's a group actually not at Mission Grove, just here down in South
Phoenix. They just started opening up their home. They started sharing Jesus,
they started working, they started teaching, they started going. Well, just this
year, uh, then God called them out to a church on the East Valley. Then they
decide, guess what they're doing now? They started a Bible study, they're
hosting, they're loving, they're coaching, they're just faithfully serving.
Everywhere they go. God's been faithful. Why? Because they're being faithful.
It's a mindset, it's a heart thing. And just as they did it. You and I can do
this as well. So let me end this morning with 3 thoughts. Number one, You need
community. You need community. And you need community even beyond your marriage
because who did Paul or who did Paul go to? Paul went to them. Everywhere Paul
went, he had relationships. There's so many names in these letters. Jesus, God
himself, what had disciples. There is a 12 and then there is the 3. There are
over 50 1 another commands in the New Testament alone. Christianity is not a
solo sport and life is too difficult. For you to go through alone. The church
needs you and you need the church. You need community in your life. Secondly,
You don't have to wait for your someday to make a difference today. I don't know
what some day is for you. That's why I put it in quotes because you might think,
oh, if I get out of school, or if I get through this class, or if I get the
promotion, if I get the house, if I find the right person, if I move to this
place if I, if I become more knowledgeable, you don't have to know everything.
If you know anything, guess what you can do. You can disciple somebody. Why I
only know 3 things? Share those 3 things with somebody else. That you don't have
to wait for someday to be obedient today. That it's, it's not just your position
in life, it's your disposition in this life and that you can actually say, God,
everything you have is yours and I'm gonna serve today. And I started this
morning by asking the question, where do you start? What do you use and, and,
and what do you even do? And something that's been impactful for me in these
early days in church planning where we had no resources, no people, no building,
no chairs, no tech, anything. We use this adage to start the church and so I'm
gonna share this with you as well. Is that wherever you are in your spiritual
journey, Start where you are. Use what you have. And you do what you can. Yeah,
I don't have a lot of resources, but you got something. I don't have 1000
friendships, but you probably have one. Or 10 Or workplace or a school or a
team. Or neighborhood Or family member Do what you can. Conversation and
encouragement, a text, a note, a meal. Yard work We had guys glorifying God this
week by trimming trees out in the front so people can see the building better.
We have people praying on Thursdays. We have people writing cards for people who
can't be here. And people cooking meals so that they can come for the art of
marriage class coming. You have people eating meals for the glory of Jesus.
That's my type, right? Start where you are, use what you have, do what you can.
And if we keep showing up. Dad's gonna show off. Faith moves at the speed of
relationships. May we take the example of Aquila and Priscilla? We don't have to
be famous to be faithful. And God can use the faithful, humble acts of a few. To
change eternity. That's something I can jump on board with you pray with me.
Dear only father just thank you. Thank you for this underdog story. Of a couple
that lost everything, had to leave everything they knew. And yet when they came
to Corrus, Corinth, they followed you, they ministered, they served, they
worked, they gave. And when they went to Ephesus. They worked, they served, they
gathered, they gave. When they went to Rome, they discipled, they loved, they
serve, they gave. That they had the mindset of making a difference. Knowing that
anything good we have comes from you. Help us to follow their example. And to
live our everyday life. For the purpose of making an eternal difference. May you
have the glory. May you have the fame. And may we remain faithful with our
everyday obedience. We love you, God, and your son's and we pray. Amen.