Classified ad in the San Francisco Chronicle was really interesting. Under "Help Wanted" it says: Executive age 22-80. Job entails sitting with feet on desk from 10 am to 4:30 pm watching others work. Must be willing to play golf every other afternoon. Salary starts at $1,000 a week. There was this footnote: We don't really have this job open. We just thought you'd like to see in print what everybody is applying for. [Associated Press 6-20-90 ]

We honor the working force of America. From the truck driver, the Wall Street Broker, the business owner, the Mill worker, the ditch digger, the garbage man, and the CEO.
We salute you. You are doing your part to make America Great! You are America. I would like to introduce you to a married couple who lived many years ago.

They were simple people. This couple are always mentioned together. They ministered with Paul, they had the same occupation as Paul - Tent makers. They would not understand our 40 hour work week. There were no unions, no week- ends off. They stand out in the scripture as a couple who found time to labor for the Lord Jesus. Their impact on the Church has been felt for years.

This labor day, look with me at Aquilla & Priscilla. They were More Than Tent-Makers. They were tent makers who cared! Tents earned their wages, but sharing Jesus and working for the Lord was their concern.

In Romans 6:3 Paul calls them his fellow-workers. I don't think he meant, tent- makers! They were more than tent makers for sure.

Acts 18:24-28 (NIV)

Aquila and Priscilla ached inwardly as they saw their world in need of Jesus. They sold tents to people who need a temporal home As they sold their tents, but hoped to share their Savior. Aquila and Priscilla Believed that the Lord Jesus was the only answer to man's needs. They knew man's greatest need were not shelters, but the Savior. They dedicated themselves completely to sharing Jesus with whomever they could.

Aquila and Priscilla were the kind of people who: Gave, without regret, without ever looking back. Aquila and Priscilla cared. They were concerned. They had compassion. They could see the big picture. Tent-makers, but they were far more than that.

From early in the morning, until long after the sun went down, they were tent-makers. They found time to do things for the Lord. It was a priority!

You are not just a mill worker, or a laborer, or an employee, a painter, or a truck driver, or a teacher. If you are a Christian, Jesus is first place in your life. You are first and foremost for the Lord Jesus. You work to earn a living. Even there, you are a laborer for Jesus. Even there, without saying a word your witness for Jesus is felt. With words, the witness is felt even more. This Labor Day weekend, tell Jesus that you want to be a committed laborer for Him. Regardless of the position you hold, be a force for Him. Make your witness seen, heard, and felt. Be the kind of person He wants you to be.

Make your attitude, actions, behavior, and work ethic, shouts volumes to those who are near you. You're more than a tent-maker, you're one of God's fellow workers.

Their ministry to Apollos

The most outstanding thing this married couple ever accomplished for the Kingdom was to share the gospel with a preacher named Apollos. One day they heard a powerful message from Apollos. Look at what they saw in Apollos:

#1. He is an eloquent speaker! (NAS) He had what seems to be a natural ability to speak. He was a communicator.

#2. He had a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. NAS says, "Mighty in the scriptures". Put eloquence and knowledge of the Word together, with a man who can communicate, and you will have a preacher who is in demand.

He knew his book! He knew the word! This is necessary for each one of us.

#3. He spoke with fervor! He was enthusiastic. He was someone people wanted to hear. Knowledge without zeal is a poor balance. Be enthusiastic in sharing your faith.

#4. He had boldness! Sometimes this is confused with the ability to intimidate or manipulate people. It has to do with confidence and assurance in the message we preach. This was a great man.

Yet he lacked "...taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John..." He did not know the whole story. He hadn't been taught about the beginning of the Church and the baptism that leads to salvation in Jesus. What were Aquila & Priscilla to do? What would you have done?

This passage from 1 Corinthians shares with us how vital the ministry of Apollos became to the Church. 1 Corinthians 3:6 (TLB) "My work was to plant the seed in your hearts, and Apollos' work was to water it, but it was God, not we, who made the garden grow in your hearts."

There may never have been an Apollos, if there hadn't first been a couple named Aquila & Priscilla. Look at what this pair of tent-makers did. They heard him, and were moved with what they heard. They were able to see his love and fervor for the Lord Jesus.

They also were able to catch that He didn't have the whole picture. He was pointing them to Jesus, to the Cross, to heaven, he had missed a turn along the way. They invited Apollos, an incredible preacher over to their home to do the most amazing thing.

They were going to teach him the rest of the story. He was a preacher- as far as I know, Aquila never preached a sermon. He was eloquent - Aquila & Priscilla were just tent makers. He could move people - they could make tents He could draw a crowd - they could draw on canvas. He could speak with boldness - they could have been intimidated. They invited him into their home to share with him the way of God more adequately. Their message was not spoken from a pulpit.

They could have, said: We're only tent-makers. He probably won't listen anyway We don't know enough. What they did was touch more people for eternity than they could have ever touched on their own. Hundreds of men and women were taught by Aquila & Priscilla, through Apollos. There never would have been a successful Apollos, without those two tent-makers.

I see four qualities that must never be lacking in our lives.

1. Never lose your sense of eagerness! Apollos was one eager to preach and teach. He was, also, eager to learn and listen. That is a balanced individual!! Aquila & Priscilla were eager to hear, and eager to help. Eagerness is being ready to take advantage of all opportunities to serve our Lord. Eager to learn, to share, to worship, to be fellow laborers for the Lord. Are you eager to be used of God?

2. Never lose your enthusiasm. Fervent in Spirit, to serve him, to share Him, to know him. Enthusiasm for each ministry God calls us to. Apollos certainly had it. Aquila & Priscilla didn't preach a sermon to anyone, however, they were just as fervent in sharing the gospel as this preacher. Never lose your enthusiasm for Jesus Christ and his beloved Church. Never lose your enthusiasm to worship, to attend, to make the Lord a priority in your life. Never lose the enthusiasm that comes from growing closer and closer to Jesus.

3. Never lose our sense of evangelism. Aquila & Priscilla never had a pulpit, they built tents. They lived "life-style evangelism" before it was coined as a phrase. Evangelism at its most natural level will never be accomplished here in the Church building. It cannot be done by the preacher. It's you. You in the pew who are going to make the difference in your community.

You are tent-makers. You are the ones who will win the community. You are the "Aquila's and Priscilla's" of our time. You are really the shakers and movers in our church. If you don't do the shaking and the moving, it won't get shook or moved. There are Apolloses out there that need us to take him under our wings and share the Word with Him!

4. Never lose our priority! Aquila & Priscilla knew the tents would eventually rot. They lived in a decaying world. They knew souls would last. They made tents so they could support their real mission. Their real labor was helping souls to know Jesus. These souls would live forever. As Christians, we are eternal beings. We need to continue to see life through the eyes of eternity. We are here, placed by God, to be another Aquila, Priscilla, or Apollos. To preach, to share, to invite folks to know Jesus.

What a team they made! What a team you are. Be an active part of the team. Join hands with Aquila & Priscilla. Become people who are: eager, enthusiastic, evangelistic, understand our priority.

Laborers: that's what we are. That's what we are called to be. Laborers where we work to make our living, but laborers for the Lord of the Harvest. Each of us together making a difference in the eternity of people.

Today we salute the work force of America. You have made a better Country... We salute you "Aquila & Priscilla", laborers for the Lord. We salute you present day Aquila's and Priscilla's who are making your impact felt today.

Tomorrow, long after we're gone, our impact will still be felt for eternity.

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