God’s Strategy for Successful Service Part 1

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And so I want us to open our Bibles and begin to study together in Acts chapter 16. We serve a great God, and we are grateful to be able to gather this morning and to be able to share God’s Word with you, and we’re going to be in Acts chapter 16.

This morning, Acts chapter 16, while you’re turning there, I want to share a story I read in Sports Illustrated, and it says most people haven’t heard of the pro football running back named Tony Richardson.

That’s because his primary role involves helping other running backs succeed. He blocks so that they can run. Over the span of 17 pro football seasons, teams have often paired Richardson with some of the best backs in pro football.

In 2001, he was slated to be the main running back, but instead he went to his teammate Priest Holmes, and he told him, it’s time for me to step out of the way. You need to be getting the ball, and I’m going to do everything I can.

to help you. Holmes went on to lead the league in rushing, but Richardson never grew envious or resentful. As Holmes would report, he used to call me up and say, I just saw you on SportsCenter. He was happier for me than I was for myself.

All of the running backs that Richardson helped succeed content that his influence went beyond blocking for them. He would constantly talk to them through the game, advising them, pushing and encouraging and inspiring them.

In a recent interview, Tony Richardson said, I can’t explain it, but it just means more to me to help someone else achieve success. There’s something about it that feels right to me. And this morning I want to talk to you about God’s strategy.

for successful service, and I think it really aligns with what that story encompasses, that God is calling each and every one of us, not only to think about our role in the kingdom of God and our responsibilities that we have, but to be thinking about others and how it is that we could help them to be successful, to achieve what God is calling them to do.

Now for context purposes, let’s again go back to chapter 15, because a couple of weeks ago you remembered that we shared with you how to agree to disagree, and you recall that Paul and Barnabas, two great men in the church were getting ready to launch out on what is referred to as the second missionary journey of the early church, yet they had a dispute, they had a difference of opinion.

In verse 39 of chapter 15, the Bible says, then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. The idea of this word contention is a strong disagreement, and the disagreement was over a young man named John Mark, for he had already been on the first missionary journey, but for some reason not known to us, it is only speculative of what it could be, but that John Mark had left in the middle of the journey,

that he had departed, whether it was personal, health reasons, perhaps it could have been spiritual, perhaps it could have been other things that were going on in his life, but whatever it was, it was so significant that it influenced the apostle Paul to say no, we cannot bring John Mark because there is no reliability, but Barnabas feeling so much different about that, wanted to take John Mark, and I want you to imagine these two great men who have been strong in their leadership in the church,

and they have impacted the lives of many people in the church. The ripple effect of this disagreement that these two men have made. Luke under the influence of the Holy Spirit, he does not pick sides.

He just gives us a narrative of what took place. And the Bible says in verse 39 in the middle, And so Barnabas took Mark, and he sailed to Cyprus. But Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.

And he went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches. I left you with this thought a couple weeks ago that I think is important for us to reaffirm in our hearts again as we launch into what I want to share with you today.

that our God is a sovereign God and that He is a God who is bigger than all the differences of opinions between His servants. That God is big enough to overcome the disagreements that God’s people might have with one another and that though Barnabas and Paul could not see eye to eye on this matter relating to John Mark which I shared with you was very redemptive in its nature because it would all come full circle in which the Apostle Paul would say send me John Mark for he is profitable for the ministry.

God works in different ways even in our disagreements even when we can’t see eye to eye. Our God is still working out His purpose, His plans, His mission of reaching the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ and that’s what we’re left with when we come to verse 41.

We see now we have two teams going out. It’s Barnabas’ team with John Mark and it’s Paul’s team with Silas. We come to chapter 16 and here we see the work of the Apostle Paul. He is continuing this work of going out to spread the gospel but I want you to see in verse 1 it says then he came to Derbe and Lystra and behold a certain disciple was there named Timothy.

The son of a certain Jewish woman who believed but his father was Greek he was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium. Paul wanted to have him go on with him and he took him and circumcised him because of the Jews who were in that region.

For they all knew that his father was Greek as they went through the cities they delivered to them. the decrees to keep, which were determined by the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in the number daily.

Do you see that church? Do you see that when we go back to verse 41, we see that the churches are strengthened? Do you see that in verse five, that we see again the churches are strengthened and that the number of believers and followers of Christ is increasing, not just on a monthly basis, but daily?

That God is working effectively, not only in the life of Barnabas’ team, because we know that to be true, though it is not, it is not recorded in great detail like Paul’s ministry. But we see the outcome of John Mark, who did have some struggles, but here is Barnabas, an encourager, coming alongside John Mark and pouring into this young man, and that he would eventually be that person that the apostle,

who being a type A personality and being a very driven person and very committed to the task that God had given him, would say, send me John Mark, for he is profitable for the ministry. What I want you to see is that even in the differences that our God is bigger than all this, he’s bigger than every difference you have with other believers, he’s bigger than any maybe perspective that you have, that God is still going to achieve the ultimate purposes of redeeming mankind and bringing glory to his wonderful name.

And so let’s learn this morning how God can use us in his strategy for successful service. The apostle is gathering additional team members to continue his work that God has called him to. And the first thing that I want you to see in this text is that we are called to train the next generation of leaders.

Again, whether it is that Barnabas is training John Mark or it is that Paul is training Silas and Timothy, we know that God is working and that God is calling all of us to train the next generation of leaders.

We know that Luke is a part of this team that Paul has because though that Luke has been relying on many witnesses to share the unfolding events of the early church, he is also a part of this team and he himself is a witness.

We come down to verse 10 and we see that in chapter 16. Now after he had seen a vision referring to the vision that the apostle had received, immediately we. Well, who’s the we? Obviously. Luke is on that team.

Luke is the human author under the inspiration of the Spirit of God, penning down the words. Immediately we sought to go to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Verse 11, therefore, sailing from Troas, we ran a straight course. And so what I want you to see here is, again, over in these set of verses, Luke is revealing that He is on this team, this missionary team.

Yes, there was a difference, but now there’s another team, and God is using both teams to accomplish His purpose. But for us this morning, what we need to remember is that God is calling us to train the next generation of leaders.

We come back to verse 1, and we see this phrase, a certain disciple. His name was Timothy. Timothy is referred to as the Apostle’s son in the faith. and Timothy would eventually become the apostle’s right -hand man.

He would be an important part of the missionary team. If we go to 1 Timothy chapter 1 and verse 2, we see that as the apostle is writing to the young pastor, Timothy, he says, to Timothy, a true son in the faith, grace, mercy, and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord.

Timothy joins Paul and Silas and Luke. He joins this team to serve, but he was very much like a son in the faith to the apostle, and he was a valued member of the team. He would serve as a pastor at the church at Ephesus.

Timothy had been developed, he had been trained, he had been encouraged, he had been discipled by the apostle Paul. We see in 1 Timothy chapter 1 verse 3 that as I urged you, again Paul writing to Timothy, when I went into Macedonia, remain in Ephesus that you may charge some that they teach you no other doctrine, so Timothy was equipped.

He was equipped by the apostle that he might be able to push back on the false teaching and that Timothy might be this bold leader that would continue to guide the church, this important church at Ephesus that would have huge effect upon the region.

What kind of a man was Timothy? The Bible tells us in chapter 16 of Acts that the son of a certain Jewish woman who believed but his father was a Greek. We know in 2 Timothy that Timothy as a young man was raised in the gospel, that his mother and his grandmother taught him the word of God.

And you remember the Apostle said to Timothy that he had learned the scriptures that were able to make him wise unto salvation. Verse 2, we see more about his character. He was well spoken of by the brethren who were at Lystra and Iconium for the needs of what the Apostle had, for the needs of what he would encounter, what we will see in the next few chapters, the challenges that would face this team going out on this second missionary journey.

It was essential that he had a man like Timothy. He is a man of good character. Timothy is well spoken of. His reputation extended beyond his own community, his own family, and other believers recognize that he was a strong leader.

Philippians 2, verse 22, describes this. When Paul was writing to the Philippian leaders, he begins to describe the character of Timothy, and he says, you know his proven character, that as a son with his father, he served with me in the gospel.

The apostle would send Timothy out to address problems in churches, to deal with issues, to be an advisor to the elders and the leaders of the local congregations. Not only did he serve in Ephesus as a pastor, but he served as the apostle’s right -hand man, and so that they would listen to this man, Timothy.

Paul says his character is proven, and he has been loyal and served with me in the gospel. I want you to understand that what we’re seeing is the outcome of a life, the life of Timothy. That a man who has been trained, a man who has been poured into, a man who has been equipped, and that reminds me that our success is not measured.

Every one of our success as believers is not measured by what we have done, but by what those we have mentored have done and achieved for God. I want you to think differently in the kingdom of God. So many times it’s about us, and it’s about what we do.

But I think God is calling us, even in these unique times, to train the next generation. You’re familiar with 2 Timothy 2 ,2, which says the things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses.

And trust these two faithful people who will be able to teach others also. This word and trust means to deposit a treasure, to commit this treasure to the people, the things that you have learned, this gospel, the things that you have learned.

from others. Every one of us stands on the shoulders of other people. We are where we’re at because of the influence and the impact of people upon our life. It was Paul’s continuing mentorship of Timothy throughout his ministry that resulted in Timothy not only being a great man of character but being a catalyst in transitioning from the early church from the Apostles into elders and pastors who would lead the church and it would be Timothy that would be at the spearhead of all of that transition that would pour in to many other great leaders who would continue the work of Christ.

You’re familiar with Proverbs 27 verse 17 that tells us that iron sharpens iron and so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend. I ran across this statement I did not have down in my notes who said it, but I really believe it.

Older believers who don’t invest in new believers soon become stagnant believers. This morning, my challenge to you as brothers and sisters in Christ, that as we are observing the transition of a conflict into the success of God’s work continuing on, that we recognize our responsibility to train the next generation of leaders.

It was always the Apostle’s heart that he would be able to invest in others. He said in Colossians 1 .28 that him referring to Christ we proclaim, warning everyone and teaching everyone with all wisdom that we may present everyone mature in Christ.

You and I have this responsibility not to live our lives unto ourselves, but to be thinking about the next generation. I often hear people say, well, the young people, they’re the church of tomorrow.

No, they’re not, they’re the church of today. And when you tell the young people they’re the church of tomorrow, they’ll sit back on the sidelines and they’ll wait for tomorrow, but the devil will get them before tomorrow ever comes.

The key is today, get the young people involved. Today, pour your life into somebody. Today, take under your wings new believers and young believers and to begin to train the next generation of leader.

When I think about my own life, not that in any way it’s somehow a perfect life, but I just want you to understand that as I stand here today, it’s not because of my own achievements, it’s because of other people who have poured their life into me.

Some of those that… you may know and others you may never have heard of but all critical to the development of Mike Sanders. I’m taking this course on pastoral ministry and the question that the professor proposed to us was to write down all the people that have influenced us for ministry.

And it was very reflective and it just so happened to tie in the fact that I would be preaching on this text. But it was very reflective and affirming in my heart to know that there are others that have poured into me.

But I just want to ask you, who are you pouring into? I’ve said to you before church, I’ve learned it from someone somewhere. I mean you know nothing’s new under the sun but I just want you to know that I want to encourage you that every one of us need a mentor.

We all need an Apostle Paul in our life. And you need to find those mentors, and sometimes those mentors take on different influences upon us, meaning that one mentor may be good in this area and another mentor may be good in another area, but they are pouring into our lives.

But not only do we need an Apostle Paul, we need a Timothy. We need to be pouring our lives into someone else. And we also need a Barnabas, an encourager. They’re just certain people who are gifted, it doesn’t matter.

Every time you are with them, everything’s wonderful. I mean, the whole world could be collapsing, but it’s wonderful. They’re just encouragers. It’s not that they’re lying, it’s just that the way they see the world, they’ve just been designed by God to be an encourager.

And if you need to be lifted up, you just need to hang around some of those Barnabas that are always coming alongside others and encouraging them. We need these people in our lives. And if we’re gonna see this happen, we must be intentional.

We must be intentional. It must be a goal that we would find these mentors in our life. But also, number two, we must take the initiative. And I’ve always, and in pursuing mentors, I have always taken the initiative.

Usually, mentors don’t come running to me and say, Mike, I wanna pour my life into you. But I go to them and say, hey, can I have 10 minutes? Can I take you to lunch? Hey, I got some questions. And the relationship just evolves from there, and God bless us.

Some doesn’t evolve, but some it does. And I love it when I get to meet with other young pastors and helping them. And I, tomorrow, have an appointment. I won’t be available from, well, I got the radio station, then I got to drive to, I know you’re not gonna believe this, but I have a breakfast meeting.

At Cracker Barrel, I don’t know why these people always want to go to Cracker Barrel. But anyways, with a young pastor, first year pastoring, and he wants to sit down and we meet once a month and we talk about ministry and we talk about problem solving and different ways that can help him.

One of his deacons called me one time and said, thank you, Pastor Mike. Thank you for pouring into our pastor because every time he comes back, he has a hundred new ideas. I promise you, I don’t give people a lot of ideas, I just try to give them principles.

But the thing is this, all of us need to do it and I always share that with you because I want you to know I’m not standing up here telling you to do something I’m not doing. And we all need to find people that we can pour our lives into and that we can be a blessing to and that is part of God’s success strategy.

We cannot wait, church. We cannot wait. Our church. has dropped over 30 some volunteers. We just had a little staff get away and we walked through our numbers and the number of volunteers since before COVID into now has just dropped drastically.

Now our attendance is coming back and it’s pretty exciting to see how God is pulling his people back into the fold. There’s a few that still haven’t come but I’m not sure they’re ever coming back and there’s nothing I can do.

I’ve done everything I can to bring them back. But everybody has to seek the Lord and whatever they believe is right. But here’s what I want you to understand. Is that when we think about how are we going to make up that gap, I’ll tell you what it’s gonna be.

It’s gonna be each one of you not only volunteering and stepping up and I’m doing things that, it’s not that I said, hey, I love this or I wanna do this. But it’s gotta be done. But also it’s us training the next generation.

It’s training the young people and the new believers and the new families coming into the church. It’s training them and helping them to get engaged and you do that by this way. Never do ministry alone.

Never do ministry alone. Whatever God has called you to do, you pick up the phone and you call somebody or you text them and you say, come alongside, let’s do this together. I want you to know that when I was a young man in my small church that I came to Christ to believe in that the pastor there, like we didn’t have this big mentoring program and we didn’t have all these classes and all these Bible studies and I’m not against any of that,

okay? So don’t walk out of here upset and send me an email this afternoon because I’ll be watching football and falling asleep, okay? I’m just being honest with you, okay? But here’s the thing. The pastor just said, Mike, I’m gonna go make some visits.

Would you like to come along? Sure. Mike, I need to go run an errand. Would you like to come along? sure would you like to help me on this project I gotta do some things at the church can you help me with this project sure glad to do it now of course I was a new believer hungry desiring wanting and growing and wanting to learn more and probably drove my pastor crazy and just asking him so many questions about what I read in the Bible and what in the world that that meant how that applied to my life but what I want to say is this here was a pastor who never did ministry alone and that’s the your mindset’s gotta be is that as you are training the next generation is that you’re always thinking about who can we get it’s not just that we sit and drink coffee that’s good but we serve together and we train these young people and these new believers and new families and we get them engaged in training the next generation the second thing that I want you to see out of this passage is that we must strengthen the faith existing Christians.

Look at verse 4 and 5. Again we see as they went through the cities, they delivered to them the decrees to keep, which were determined by the Apostles and elders at Jerusalem. So the churches were what?

You can do better. The churches were what? So the churches were strengthened in the faith. They were strengthened. This is our role church. This is God’s success plan, is to strengthen other believers.

Now let’s back up a little bit and understand what’s going on in this text in verse 4. We’re reminded that the Apostles, they brought, they delivered a decree for them to keep or to obey or to follow.

The ruling that was given by the Jerusalem Council is what they were delivering. So let’s go back to chapter 15. Again it’s good for you to see everything in context and understand what is happening and not just rush through the text.

And not fully grasp what God is trying to show us here. We go back to verse 11 chapter 15. Remember there was this debate. Did new believers, Gentile believers, have to follow the customs of Judaism?

Did they have to follow the rituals and the ceremonies of Judaism? What was that conclusion? We look at verse 11 of chapter 15, but we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, we shall be saved in the same manner as they.

Meaning you don’t get saved differently in the kingdom of God. That just as the Jews were saved by the grace of God, so shall the Gentiles be saved by the grace of God. Well this strategy of serving is something that we see in the life of the early church and the apostles and how they effectively shared the gospel and they were willing to take it to wherever they could and of course we think about those early men of God like Philip in the Bible who were not ashamed of the gospel and they were bold in their faith even though they faced a lot of pushback.

We are grateful that you and I can learn from their examples and we are encouraged that they have stood so strong and so I hope today that as you look at the Word of God and you can find this model and this example that’ll help you in these unique times that we live in.

Well I want to encourage you to make sure you check out our Hope Worth Having website, hopeworthhaving .com. We have a contact button up there on the right. I’d love for you to share your prayer requests so if you have a special prayer request just hit that contact button on the website and we’ll be able to hear your requests and then be able to pray for you.

We not only want to share God’s Word but we want to continue to help in praying for you so I hope you’ll take advantage of that.