Title: A Passion For God’s Word

Date: 2009-05-31

Reference: Acts 18: 24-28

"The early disciples, later John Wesley, and many others over the years have understood how true, vital Christianity is not another organization one joins or a set of rules to follow. Christianity is an exciting, daily, personal relationship with a loving God. This relationship makes every day an exciting adventure. We were all created for such a relationship. Enjoying a walk with God is fulfilling.

I believe we have three reasons for being here, as a church, this day. First we are to introduce persons to Jesus Christ is a positive way. We help believers grow in their faith and we are called to relive suffering in the name of Jesus. In short, to know Jesus, and to make Jesus known by serving others.

Many churches are more museums than anything else. Too many congregations today are dedicated only to remembering and preserving the past. So many churches today are barely holding on. Their buildings are empty of activity, they have trouble paying the bills, and their worship services are sparsely attended. This was not what God had in mind on Pentecost, when God sent The Holy Spirit to us.

Pentecost is the birthday of the church. But today we celebrate so much more than the observance of a long ago event. This day we wish to open our lives and our church to the presence of the Holy Spirit. When The Spirit comes among us our faith becomes a viable daily walk with God that makes a real and lasting difference.

The Spirit creates within us a passion for God, a passion for worship, a passion for service, and a passion for God’s word. Passion is often what we lack.

An author tells the story of a new Christian who lost his eyesight and both hands in an explosion at work. This man’s greatest disappointment wasn’t his loss but that he was no longer able to read the Bible. He heard about a woman in Europe who read braille with her lips. Hoping he could do the same he sent for some books of the Bible in braille. He was devastated to learn the accident had also damaged the nerve endings in his lips. One day as he brought the braille pages to his lips his tongue touched a few of the braille characters and he realized he could use his tongue to read the Bible. In this way the man read through the entire word of God four times. This is a passion for the Word of God. The kind of passion we need if we are going to change the world for God.

Apollos had that kind of passion. He was a gifted, educated, Jewish man from Alexandria. Apollos loved God and loved to teach the Word of God in synagogues. He had one limitation. He didn’t fully understand the significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Apollos was a man with an incomplete message. He knew the Old Testament Scripture and was a gifted teacher. He was energetic, sincere, and enthusiastic. But he was declaring an incomplete Gospel. His message got as far as John the Baptist and stopped. He knew nothing about Calvary, the Resurrection or the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. He had zeal but he lacked Spiritual knowledge. John the Baptist message was good but not complete. His was a baptism of repentance and those who were baptized by John looked forward to the coming of a Messiah. John announced that one day the Spirit of God would come as well. This baptism of the spirit John spoke about happened on Pentecost. Apollos knew about the promises but didn’t know about their fulfillment. The message Apollos shared was not inaccurate or insincere.

It was just incomplete. He did not know or possess the Holy Spirit.

This is descriptive of many church members today. There are many good, hardworking, people who believe in God, who maybe even love God and who want to make the world a better place. They are anxious to serve. But,. Like Apollos, they don’t really understand the significance of Jesus’ sacrificial death on the cross or his resurrection from the dead. They have no idea who the Holy Spirit really is.

Recently I was going through some old boxes I had left at my mother’s home. I found an old map of Colorado Springs. It was printed in the 70's and it was very outdated. This map was accurate in it’s day but not up to date. The map Apollos was using was accurate in it’s day but he needed a new map which was supplied by Priscilla and Aquila. They heard him preach, took him home and told him about Jesus Christ and the coming of The Holy Spirit. They led him into a deeper knowledge of Christ.

Apollos finally received that understanding when he visited Ephesus and learned from Aquila and Priscilla. When Apollos believed in Jesus and received the Holy Spirit, nothing could stop him. The very next Sabbath he returned to the synagogue and presented the rest of the story. He moved to Corinth where he met the Apostle Paul. Paul considered him a valuable co worker and always spoke highly of him. He made such an impression on the church there that many of the believers considered him the leader of their church. Apollos was naturally an eloquent speaker but he became a great teacher and preacher when he developed a passion for God and God’s Word.

We too need the rest of the story. Ours is often an incomplete Gospel.



We believe in God and love God but often we don’t enjoy a personal, daily relationship with God. We work hard trying to serve God but wear ourselves out because we don’t have the power source God provided for us.

On another occasion the Apostle Paul met twelve men who professed to be Christian Disciples. Paul listened to their teaching and sensed something was missing. There was no power in their lives, in their message, in their ministry. They were treading water and getting no where. Paul knew the problem and asked them: “When you were baptized did yo receive the Holy Spirit?” Like Apollos, these men had been baptized by John. They knew that one day the spirit would come. They did not know about Pentecost and the coming of God’s Spirit. These were 12 good men but something huge was missing in their lives and in their ministry. They were trying to be faithful but they did not have a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Paul explained how to be baptized in the spirit. Armed with the complete Gospel these men went on to very productive ministries.

The Holy Spirit has always been the power source for the individual Christian and for the church. Sadly, today, many still do not know the Holy Spirit. Apollos knew about Jesus but didn’t know him personally. Apollos had heard about the Holy Spirit but had never received the Holy Spirit into his life.

The Bible says many people knew about Jesus. They know who he is. Even the demons in hell know who Jesus is. Knowledge is not the same as enjoying a personal relationship with Jesus. Knowledge is certainly not the same as having the Holy Spirit of God in one’s life. The Holy Spirit, given to us at Pentecost, is our power source. Without Him we don nothing lasting. The Holy Spirit makes us passionate for the things of God. The Holy Spirit makes us passionate for the Word of God. The Holy Spirit allows us to live Godly lives.

John Wesley had three simple rules for the early Methodist People to follow. He believed these three simple rules had power to change the world. They were: “Do no harm. Go about doing good. Seek to stay in love with God.” Wesley listed the practices that kept the relationship between God and Human beings vital, alive, growing, and passionate. They are public worship of God, The Lord’s Supper, private and family prayer, reading the Bible, Bible Study, and service of God. These are things that help us deepen our relationship with God and allow us to stay in love with God. These daily practices help us listen for the leading of the Holy Spirit and helps us to be responsive to God’s slightest whisper of direction.

Wesley understood the Holy Spirit comes to help us live life from the inside out. When we are in worship, prayer, when we are sharing communion and serving God by serving others we are in a position to hear from the Holy Spirit.

When the Holy Spirit came at Pentecost, He used ordinary persons like each one of us to change the world. We sometimes believe the persons in the New Testament Church were special and perfect, that the early church did not have problems as we do. Reading through Paul’s letters, we quickly see they faced the same challenges and issues we face. The church has always been composed of redeemed sinners. So we have never, ever, been perfect in any way. There was a time when the church was excited. There was a time when the church was on the march confronting evil in the world.

There was a time when the world would not have described the church as being irrelevant, boring, or predictable. Whenever the church and it’s people depend on the Holy Spirit and welcome Him among us powerful things happen. The Holy Spirit came at Pentecost. He is ready to come again today as well. He will bring a new and fresh perspective and will allow us to be passionate for God and God’s Word. This is our only hope.

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