and when he wished to cross to achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. when he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. [acts 18:27–28]
bold, yet teachable. confident, yet humble.
i believe God’s word is giving us an example of how we can make ourselves available for gospel work.
in apollos we see a man who sees teaching the gospel as more important than being right. more important than knowing all the answers.
in boldness he starts teaching the things concerning Jesus. and though he’s not perfectly correct, the Lord gently makes him teachable by priscilla and aquila.
and the fruit of apollos stepping out to teach the gospel is great help to the disciples and powerful refutation of the jews in the synagogue through proof that Jesus is the Christ.
the fruit in this instance is incredible. we don’t get to decide what the fruit will be, if any, but we do get to decide to own our call as ambassadors and obey the prompting of the Holy Spirit in each of our own lives.
so, how can you and i become more available for gospel work today?
-is there an area in your life that the Holy Spirit is prompting you, but you’re ignoring?
-is there an area of life where you are living in fear because you think you don’t know enough or you’ll say the wrong thing?
-is there an area of life where do you need the wisdom of a friend, mentor, or pastor, but your pride is getting in the way?
imagine the potential fruit that could come from sharing the gospel, loving on a friend, or encouraging a coworker.
imagine the fruit that could come if you and i were more concerned with teaching the gospel and loving those in our context than with saying the right things or being right.
Lord, make us available today.
amen.