Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Evening Sermon Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/ev/ev20130217.htm

DISCIPLING DIFFICULT RELATIVES AND PRODIGALS
Part III: Nurturing Any Discipling Progress With Difficult Relatives
(Acts 19:1-10)
  1. Introduction
    1. Once the believer who seeks to disciple a difficult relative or prodigal has assumed a mental posture of self-sacrificing love, and once the Lord has led him into an unavoidable ministry of confrontation with the relative designed of God to testify of the truth and the relative's need to repent, the response in the one being discipled can be as varied as relationship and personality issues involved can produce.
    2. However, there are times when just a small amount of discipling progress occurs, when the difficult party seems to soften ever so slightly, even though he does not fully return to the Lord. What then?
    3. Paul exampled the discipler's need to nurture even the slightest such progress in Acts 19:1-10 as follows:
  2. Nurturing Any Discipling Progress With Difficult Relatives, Acts 19:1-10.
    1. Paul nurtured even weak discipling progress with some partially instructed men, Acts 19:1-7:
      1. We know from Romans 9:1-3 that the Apostle Paul dearly loved his fellow Hebrew countrymen, for he wrote he could wish that he were eternally accursed from Christ if it would mean their salvation.
      2. However, we before learned that passages like Acts 13:45; 14:1-2, 5-6 and 19 showed how many of his countrymen repeatedly and severely persecuted Paul for his discipling efforts for Christ.
      3. Nevertheless, after getting into conflict with them by God's permissive will with Paul rightly standing firm on the truth (as in Acts 18:5-18 as we learned in the last lesson), some of his countrymen responded positively, and Acts 19:1-9 reveals Paul worked hard and long at nurturing this progress:
        1. Upon arriving at Ephesus, Paul found certain disciples, men who had been baptized by John the Baptizer, the Forerunner of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, Acts 19:1, 3.
        2. When Paul asked them if they had received the Holy Spirit when they had believed (Acts 19:2a NIV, ESV), they replied that they had never heard that there was a Holy Spirit, Acts 19:2b.
        3. This response showed these men had either been poorly discipled, or that they had not paid proper attention to John the Baptizer's teaching, for John had taught Israel about the coming of the Messiah and one's need to be baptized of Him for rece iving the Holy Spirit, Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:7-8.
        4. However, Paul did not rebuke these men for spiritual dullness or complain about how poorly they were discipled, but he nurtured what faith they had, leading them further into the truth, Acts 19:4-7:
        5. (1) First, Paul explained how John had baptized Israel for the baptism unto repentance in preparation for the coming of the Messiah, teaching Israel to trust in Him, Acts 19:4a,b. Paul thus patiently and in kindness repeated John's teaching instruction that these men had failed to learn.
        6. (2) When these men heard about Jesus, they submitted to being baptized in His name, Acts 19:5.
        7. (3) Thus, Paul laid hands on these men and they received the Holy Spirit as had believing Jews in Acts 2 on the Day of Pentecost, and as had believing Samaritans in Acts 8:14-16, and as had believing Gentiles in Acts 10:44-45; Acts 19:6-7.
    2. In a later incident at Ephesus, Paul faced confrontation from Hebrews in the synagogue as he taught the Gospel of Christ there, so he separated weak believers from them to nurture them, Acts 19:8-9, 10:
      1. When some Hebrews became "obstinate" and "publicly maligned" the Christian faith as he taught in the synagogue at Ephesus, Paul separated new converts from them, taking these converts into the secular lecture hall of Tyrannus that was likely used to teach students rhetoric, and that was available to journeying philosophers or teachers, Acts 19:8-9; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Acts 19:9.
      2. Paul continued teaching daily in this hall for two years, strengthening these new converts, Acts 19:10a.
      3. Also, since Ephesus was a hub of commerce for the whole province (Zon. Pict. Ency. of the Bible, vol. Two, p. 325-326), as people came into the city for business, they heard Paul's ministry, and many believed and took the truth with them back to their homes scattered throughout the province. In this way, everybody in the province of Asia came to hear the Gospel of Jesus Christ, Acts 19:10 NIV.
Lesson: Though Paul faced opposition from his countrymen, when any of them even slightly showed discipling progress, he worked long and hard at nurturing this discipling progress.

Application: In discipling difficult relatives, may we like Paul work at nurturing the slightest progress.