Couples Serving God

Introduction

I invite you to please get out your Bible this morning and make your way into your New Testament to the book of Acts. Will you please go with me in your Bible to Acts the 18th chapter? Please go in your Bible to Acts 18. We’re gonna read some scriptures there in just a moment. But as you turn there, let me just say, it’s so good to see you this morning. I know we lost an hour last night, and I’m kind of dragging a little bit. And maybe you are also. I gotta get used to this because in Arizona, they don’t do this daylight savings time thing. So I gotta get used to that all over again. But it’s a blessing to be together. God has blessed us with a beautiful day, and I get to be with my favorite people, which are the members of the South Bumby Church of Christ.

I’m so excited about that, and I’m excited that we have guests here with us. People I know from around the country are here today. People from Mississippi, Tennessee, Arizona. We are just so blessed to have you here and thank you for worshiping the Lord with us today. We are about to study the Bible right now, and we’re going to begin with Acts, the 18th chapter, verse, beginning in verse 1, Acts 18, 1. After these things, he, referring to the apostle Paul, left Athens and went to Corinth, and he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome.

For by trade, they were tent makers. As you ponder on these verses for just a moment or two, I want to begin by asking you have you ever found yourself reading and studying about people in the Bible? And while you’re doing that, you think to yourself, I’m not sure I could do what they did. I’m not sure I would be willing to sacrifice and kill my child on an altar like Abraham was willing to do. I’m not sure I could muster up the courage to go out on a battlefield against a nine and a half foot tall giant named Goliath, like David did. I’m not sure that I could engage in a showdown with 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel like Elijah, or lead an entire nation of people out of slavery like Moses, or be willing to be thrown into a fiery furnace for my faith like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.

Have you ever found yourself thinking those kinds of things before? I have on numerous occasions, but I don’t, when I read about these people here in Acts 18. I don’t find myself thinking that. When I read about this couple here in the Bible, let me ask you something. When is the last time you seriously considered what the Bible tells us about this couple in Acts 18? When is the last time you seriously considered what the scriptures say about Aquila and Priscilla? If you haven’t done that in quite some time, don’t feel too bad because this couple is not typically considered to be a Mount Rushmore couple of the Bible. They’re not well known and very popular. They’re not like Paul or Peter or Abraham or David or Moses.

They didn’t write any books of the Bible. They don’t have any letters named after them. They didn’t lead armies out to battle or do miracles. They were not apostles. They didn’t even see the risen Savior with their own eyes. They didn’t do any of those kinds of incredible things. Instead, they were just like us. They were just ordinary and regular folks. They were just a bunch of average Joes who, despite their averageness, they serve the Lord and accomplish remarkable things for his glory.

What the Bible reveals about them, I can’t help but also not be reminded of how relevant they are to our theme this year. Remember, our theme this year is family serving God. And I don’t know about you, but when I look out at this audience of people, and when I stop and consider the makeup of this congregation, the South Bunby Church of Christ, you know what I notice? I notice a lot of different kinds of families.

1. They Worked

I also see a lot of people who’ve been married for 20, 40, and 50 years. And I see some people who are newlyweds, people who have recently gotten married, and I see a lot of people who are married, but they don’t have kids, or maybe their kids are grown, and they’re no longer at home. I see all kinds of couples in this church family. And the question is, what can they do? What can we do? How can we be couples who serve God? Well, I submit to you this morning that this couple here in Acts 18, they can give us some Bible answers to that question. In fact, there are at least four things that this couple, Aquila and Priscilla, did in their service to God, and the first one is this the first thing they did to serve the Lord is number one, they worked.

That’s right, they worked, they had a job. That’s the first thing we learn about them. And Acts chapter 18. Did you notice that? Going back to Acts chapter 18, after the Bible tells us that the apostle Paul eventually found himself in Corinth in verse number two of Acts 18. In verse 2, it says that he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, having recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. He came to them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they were, they were working. For by trade they were tent makers. Notice what we learned right away about this couple here. Notice how after this chapter begins, it tells us not only does the apostle Paul find himself in Corinth, but he gets acquainted with Priscilla and Aquila.

He meets Priscilla in Aquila after he leaves Athens, and he begins doing the work of God in the city of Corinth. Verse number two tells us that Priscilla and Aquila or Aquila and Priscilla were Jews who had recently been forced out of Italy due to persecution by the Roman government. Now, were they Christians already before they met the Apostle Paul? The text doesn’t tell us, but what it does tell us is they were of the same trade as Paul.

These were responsible people. And let me tell you something, my friends, that’s a big deal.

That is a big deal. In fact, the Bible opens up telling us this was a big deal.

Remember after God made the first man Adam and placed him in the garden of Eden, one of the first things God told him to do is get to work.

God didn’t make man to sit on his couch all day and watch prices right and family feud. God didn’t make a man to depend on others to take care of him and provide for him. He didn’t make man to depend on the government to take care of him. He didn’t make a man to depend on society to take care of him. He didn’t make a man to depend on the church to take care of him. No, God, all the way back in the beginning made a man to work. We find it all the way back in the beginning. But not just that. Think about how when we’re introduced to so many famous Bible characters. When we’re introduced to people like David and Moses and Nehemiah and Daniel and Peter and Matthew, like Priscilla and Aquilah, one of the first things we learn about those people is they had jobs.

They worked, they were responsible. They either were shepherds or farmers or cupbearers or politicians or doctors or tax collectors or fishermen. All of these people worked. And they were responsible. And then think about all the numerous passages that directly in the Bible deal with this subject. Think about Proverbs chapter 10 and verse number 4. Where Solomon says, Poor is he who works with a negligent hand, but the hand of the diligent makes rich. Think about that verse. And then think about 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 10. Where Paul told the Thessalonians that when he came to some lazy brethren among them, he says that if a man doesn’t work, neither should he what? Neither should he eat. You know that verse. And then look at these other verses that we find here in our in our New Testament.

Because they’re saying the same thing. Look at Colossians chapter 3, please. In Colossians chapter 3, Paul here in this context is talking about the relationship that is to exist between a slave and his master. Many of you are familiar with the fact that in the New Testament world, slavery was a big deal. Much of the Roman Empire was enslaved. So Paul is dealing with that in this context, but we could apply that these principles to the relationship that exists between an employee and his or her employer. These principles can be applied. And so look at Colossians chapter 3, and Colossians chapter 3 and in verse number 22. Listen carefully to what the Bible says. In verse number 22, Paul says, slaves, workers. And all things obey those who are your masters on earth, not with external service, as those merely who merely please men, but with sincerity of heart, fearing the Lord.

Whatever you do, do your work heartily as for who? The Lord. Rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance, it is the Lord Jesus Christ whom you serve. Paul is saying the same thing over and over again here. In fact, he also says it in Ephesians. Look at Ephesians chapter 6, please. Because we find some parallel thoughts here in Ephesians chapter 6. The book of Ephesians and the book of Colossians have a lot of similarities between them. And Paul says in Ephesians 6 and verse 5, slaves, be obedient to those who are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, and sincerity and the sincerity of your heart as to Christ. Not by way of eye service, as men pleasers, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.

With good will render service as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that whatever good thing each one does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether slave or free. Do you see what Paul says in both of those sections of Scripture? Notice how in both of those sections of Scripture we learn that when it comes to the things we do on our jobs five or six days a week, it isn’t just about us getting a paycheck. It isn’t just about us earning some money so we can pay our mortgage and our cardinal and our light bill and our water bill. It isn’t merely about an employer or avoiding having to depend on others to take care of us. No, the Bible says the work we do on our jobs is first and foremost for the Lord.

It is to please the Lord, it is to serve the Lord and do his will from the heart. That’s what the Bible says. And how often do you think about that? How often do you think about that as you get up and go to work every single day? For those of us who work a job, whether it’s a man who is the sole provider for his family, or it’s a woman who must support her children all by herself financially, or if it’s a husband and a wife who are put pulling together to put food on the table in this rough economy that we live in, how often, when you go to work every day, do you stop and think about how, according to the Bible, what I’m doing is good, it is right, it is responsible, it is actually an avenue I have been blessed with to serve the Lord.

How often do you think about that as you go to work every single day? I want to suggest that if we think about this all the time at work, it’s going to impact us. It’s going to help us in some very powerful ways. It’s going to help us understand that when we think about family serving God or when we talk about family serving God, we don’t need to limit that service to the stuff we do in this building. We don’t need to limit that to the worship we offer God on Sunday. We don’t need to limit that doing things like reading our Bible as a family or praying together as a family or having spiritual conversations around the kitchen table. Don’t misunderstand. Those things are important.

And they are necessary, and they are a big part of a family serving God, but according to the Bible, so is going to work. So is being responsible. So is striving for excellence on our jobs every single day. You see, when Christians work hard on their jobs and with the right attitude, they do as Jesus says in Matthew 5, verse 16, and they shine their lights. They shine their lights in this dark and sinful world. They display something that is lacking in the world today. They display work ethic, integrity, dependability. They do something that will enhance their influence and their ability to talk about Jesus with their co-workers whenever those opportunities present themselves. They do something that God’s servants have been doing since the very beginning.

They earn money the right way, which allows them to hopefully be generous and ready to share and be ready to financially support the Lord’s work. They also provide a righteous example to their children. They show something important to their children. They show their children their work is good. And it is honorable and it is right and it’s rewarding. And through it, through going to a job and doing right on that job, we can glorify God and serve Jesus. That’s what Priscilla and Aquility is. That’s the first thing the Holy Spirit wants us to know about them. They worked.

2. They Helped Other Christians Grow

Acts the 18th chapter again, but now we’re going to drop down to verse number 23. Look at verse 23. In Acts 18 and verse 23, it says about the Apostle Paul, and having spent some time there, he left and passed successfully through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Verse 24. Now a 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, and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John. And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside.

They took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. And when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace. For he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. So notice how after introducing us to Aquila and Priscilla, at the beginning of this chapter, towards the end of this chapter, we’re introduced to another disciple, and his name is Apollos. We’re introduced to Apollos here in the Bible. You see, like Priscilla and Aquila, Apollos was also a Jew by birth, but he came not from Italy. No, he came from a very sophisticated part of the world at this time.

Apollos came from Alexandria, Egypt, and he was eloquent. He was a great communicator, he was a mighty and powerful presenter of the word of God, but he had a problem, didn’t he? He had a big problem. Oh, he was a powerful and zealous speaker of the word of God. Unfortunately, he wasn’t preaching the truth about one of the most important issues in the Bible, and that’s the issue of baptism. That’s a big deal. That’s the issue of baptism for remission of sins, immersion in water for the forgiveness of sins. Unfortunately, Apollos was trying to persuade people in Ephesus to submit to a baptism that was no longer in force. He was trying to persuade people to submit to John’s baptism. He was unaware of the fact that John’s baptism wasn’t going to do anything for people now that the Lord had established his kingdom.

It reminds me of something, and maybe you’ve heard this before. It reminds me of something that one of my mentors told me over 20 years ago when I first started preaching. Many of y’all know Max Dawson. He was here a few weeks ago. And one of the first things he told me when he was training me to preach the gospel is he told me something about false teachers. And he says, when it comes to false teachers, there are usually two kinds of false teachers. You got the mean ones and the green ones.

Who are the mean ones? Well, the mean ones are those who intentionally teach error. They know better. They actually know the truth. They know the truth about baptism. They know the truth about the quote unquote sinner’s prayer. They know the truth about marriage, divorce, and remarriage, and how women shouldn’t be preachers. They know the truth about worship that pleases God, but they don’t care. They don’t care what the truth is, they care more about money, or about fame and popularity, or about keeping the pews full of people. The mean ones are those who intentionally lead people astray, but the green ones, the green ones are different. You see, while the mean ones intentionally lead people astray, the green ones, though they’re still wrong, they just don’t know any better.

Their heart may be in the right place. They may have a lot of zeal and a lot of passion, but they don’t have a lot of experience and knowledge of the word of God. They’re not very skilled and studied in the word of God. They need somebody to pull them aside and help them. They need a Priscilla and Aquila. You see, while Priscilla and Aquila, when they notice Apollos teaching error when they when it came to baptism, notice what they didn’t do. Notice they didn’t go and gossip about him to other people.

You are a bad person. They didn’t do that stuff when it came to Apollos. Instead, the Bible says they took him aside privately and they helped him. They taught him.

They patiently and gently explained to him the way of God more accurately. They did for him. And to Apollo’s credit, he listened, didn’t he? He humbled himself. He heeded their wisdom. He didn’t say, Well, who are y’all to try to tell me anything? I’m from Alexandria, Egypt. I’m smarter than you. I’m more educated than you. I’m more eloquent than you. No, Apollos could have said that stuff, but he didn’t. He allowed them to help him grow and be better for the Lord. They did that for him, and let’s just be honest about it this morning. What they did for him here, that is hard. That’s not easy to do what Priscilla and Aquila did. You know what the easier thing to do is? The easier thing to do, we see this all the time in the church today.

The easier thing to do to somebody when you see them in error is just chastise them. It’s embarrassed them in front of everybody. It’s humiliate them. It’s discourage them. It’s emotionally beat these people down. Beat them to a pulp. That’s the easy thing to do. But it’s a lot harder to see a newly converted person doing something not right, saying something not right, and ask them to have a cup of coffee with you. Ask them to go to lunch with you the next day. So you can gently and patiently talk to them. So you can gently and patiently help them see the error of their way so that you can gently and patiently open up the Bible with them and pray with them and encourage them and maybe even take the time to show them exactly where they are wrong.

Doing that is a lot harder. And let me just ask you have you ever had someone do that for you? Have you ever had a Christian couple do that for you? Brothers and sisters, I have had Christian couples do that for me on numerous occasions, and I’m so thankful. I’m so thankful. I’m so thankful that throughout the course of my walk with Jesus, I’ve had a lot of strong and mature Christian couples who saw me doing things that were just flat out wrong and ignorant and immature, but they didn’t give up on me. They didn’t rip me to shreds. They didn’t publicly humiliate me and point their finger in my face, and they pulled me aside in private. And they invested time trying to help me.

They expressed a sincere desire to help me be the best I could be for the Lord and his people. I am so thankful for all the Priscilla’s and Aquillas I’ve met throughout my life, and may God bless us with more of those kind of couples in the church. We need those couples in the church. We need less complainers and gripers and grumblers and people who are seeking to seek and destroy. And we need more Priscilla’s and Aquillas. We need more couples who, whenever they notice a new Christian doing something wrong, or saying something not quite right, or needing to grow in a particular area, instead of going tell the elders first and hoping the elders would do something about it first, or instead of gossiping about it or blasting the new Christians because they expect them to grow overnight, they step up and help.

3. They Were Fellow Workers in the Kingdom

They help their brother, they help their sister, they invest time studying with them and praying with them and patiently explaining to them what the Bible says and encouraging them. That’s what Aquila and Priscilla did to serve God. They worked hard on their jobs. They helped other Christians grow. But go in your Bible now to Romans chapter 16. I want to show you something in Romans 16 before I put the next point on the slide here. In Romans 16, we read about Priscilla and Aquila again. And the Bible says in verse number 3 of Romans chapter 16, the Apostle Paul says, Romans 16, 3, greet Prisca, that’s Priscilla, and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. So notice how, in addition to working and helping other Christians grow, the Bible says another thing this couple did to serve God was they were workers.

They were fellow workers, they were active workers in the kingdom. What kind of work were they doing in the kingdom? Well, look at verse number five of the chapter. Because after Paul says they risked his, risked their lives for him, in verse number five, he says, also greet the church that is in their house. You see that. Paul tells us they were doing the same thing when they were in Ephesus. According to 1 Corinthians 16 in verse number 19, during a time when there were no church buildings like we’re blessed to be in this morning, Priscilla and Aquila used their home to provide a place of assembly for Christians to worship God. They use their home to practice hospitality. That’s the kind of work they were doing 2,000 years ago.

And that’s some important work. That’s some critical and necessary work. You see, according to what the Bible is saying here, Priscilla and Aquila, if they were alive and among us today, they would not be a couple here at South Bumby who will be content with just filling a pew on Sunday. They would not be a couple who would be just satisfied with showing up the church. They would not be a couple who believe that the sum total of Christianity is the stuff we do in this building. Instead, they would be workers. They will be busy. They will be active. They will be a couple who rolled up their sleeves and got on their knees and served God’s people. That’s the kind of couple they were. The question is, what about us?

What about us as couples today? I mean, as Christian couples today, are we like Priscilla and Aquila? Are we working in the church with our spouse? Or are we doing something with our spouse? Maybe behind the curtain that nobody else knows about but God, but it is helping this church. It is helping it thrive and flourish and grow. Are we doing that right now? Or are we merely just filling a filling a pew with our spouse? Or are we just content with showing up with our spouse? Or are we just satisfied with us and our spouse being in the membership directory? Someone says, or Brother Sean. Me and my spouse, we want to do stuff around here. Me and my spouse, we want to be active.

We want to teach Bible classes. We want to step out of our comfort zones and check on people who are sick and shut in and haven’t been to services in quite some time. We want to try to set up a Bible study with the lost. We want to be part of group meetings. We want to be part of the VBS. We want to have people in our homes and practice hospitality. We want to do that stuff, Brother Sean, but we’re too busy. We got too much going on right now. We got too much going on with our kids right now. We got too much going on in our jobs right now. We got jobs that demand a lot of our time. Maybe there’s someone thinking those kinds of things right now, and if so, I’m taking you back to point number one.

4. They Had a Godly Marriage

I’m taking you back to point number one because I was setting you up with that point the whole time. I want you to notice that Priscilla and Aquila had jobs. They had jobs just like we had jobs, but they never let their jobs get in the way of them working for the Lord. They didn’t let their jobs get in the way of them rolling up their sleeves and searching the people of God. They didn’t let their jobs get in the way of them seeking to build the body of Christ. They were two Christian people who clearly had their priorities in order. We can learn from them. Despite having jobs, they were active and working for the Lord. And maybe the reason why is because, fourth and finally, they had a godly marriage.

They maintained a godly marriage. You know, it’s interesting to me that every time Priscilla and Aquila are mentioned in the Bible, they’re always mentioned together. Have you ever noticed that before? They’re never mentioned alone. They’re always mentioned side by side. They’re always mentioned as serving the Lord as a couple. They helped apostles as a couple. They labored with the Apostle Paul, the cause of the gospel as a couple. They housed the church in Rome as a couple. They’re always together. In fact, look at 2 Timothy chapter 4. Here’s another verse where they’re mentioned together. And this is the Apostle Paul towards the end of his life. Very soon, he’s about to be executed by the government for his faith. And as he gets ready to close his contribution to the New Testament, he says in 2 Timothy chapter 4 and verse 19 to Timothy, he says, Greet Prisca, that’s Priscilla and Aquila.

And the household over Nephorus. Interesting verse. Interesting verse. Here we find another reference of the Apostle Paul to Priscilla and Aquila, only this time, notice they’re not in Rome. They’re not in Italy when Paul greeted them when he wrote the Roman letter. Instead, some time has elapsed and they’re back in Ephesus for some reason. They’re back in Ephesus. Someone says, How do you know they’re in Ephesus? Well, I know that because that’s where Timothy is. In 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 3, we learn that Timothy is in Ephesus. They are where Timothy is. And the question is, what caused them to go back there? The Bible doesn’t tell us.

The Bible doesn’t tell us. You know what the Bible does tell us? The Bible does tell us that even though they’re back in Ephesus, they’re still together. They’re still side by side. They’re still working and serving the Lord and his people together. I love that.

I love it because it shows us that these people, Priscilla and Aquila, they had a godly marriage. They had a marriage the way God intended it to be from the beginning, and we can have that as well. For all the couples here this morning, we too can have a marriage. That is not only about romance and intimacy and fun times and making happy, memorable moments, but it’s also about having a relationship where two people are willing to endure hardship together. And they’re willing to move together and be committed and loyal and devoted, and they grow old together and through the various seasons of life together. They grow in their worship together. They grow in their faith together. They grow in their prayer lives and in their knowledge of the word of God together.

Conclusion

They grow in their grace and compassion and forgiveness and in their example to singles in the church together. Like Priscilla and Aquila, couples today, right here, can serve the Lord by just having a godly marriage. By just striving to put God at the center of your marriage by being devoted to one another and committed to each other and helping each other every single day. Go to heaven to be with God. Now there’s a lot more we could say about this couple. But what I just want you to see is while they’re not mentioned as much in the Bible as Paul or Peter or David or Moses or Abraham, they can still help us. Do you see that this morning? They can help us. They can help us grow.

They can help us learn how to glorify God, serve God, and love God with our spouse, and even if we’re single. They help us with our theme of family serving God. The question is: are you serving God this morning? If you’re not serving God, we want to give you the opportunity to do that right here and right now. Whether that means you need to do that for the first time. I believe it in Jesus and repenting of your sins and being baptized in water for the forgiveness of your sins, according to Acts 2 and verse 38. Or if you’ve left the Lord and you need to come back, we’ll pray with you and pray for you and encourage you if you repent and you ask for those prayers.

If there’s anyone here this morning who needs to respond to the gospel, we’re going to sing this song and invite you right now. Let’s stand, let’s sing together.