Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 12

So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. (Acts 17:22-27 ESV).

The whole of this chapter should be read even though I’ve selected just a part of Paul’s sermon at the Areopagus in Athens, Greece. It is obvious that Paul was not impressed with the spirituality of the Atheneans. It seemed like every family had their own god who they serve. All the area was filled with different shrines with the name of various gods written on the altars. Observant enough for Paul, he was able to see a shrine on which altar "To an unknown god" was the inscription. It was fair enough for the people of Athens to have forgotten the names of some gods in that generation, since it was the citadel of several many Greek gods at that time. But it was funny that some of them still worshipped and dedicated a shrine to an unknown god. Paul immediately gathered the Jews and Gentiles he could meet within the short moment of his arrival to discourage them from the act of idol worshipping. Some market women joined him to hear about the "new God" he was introducing to them. Some of the councilors (the Epicureans) of Areopagus where Religion and Education matters are being discussed saw Paul talking about a strange God and brought him to the council to hear more about the god he brought; but they were disillusioned when they were told of the God who doesn't dwell in manmade sanctuaries. Just as the people of Athens were engrossed and in love with their many small gods, our culture seems to be in love with ours. We have turned to money, science, or technology for answers to our quests. We've failed to bear in mind that there is a God who was not created by humans, but Himself is the creator of all things. We run after these things in pursuit of happiness and peace which only Jesus can give. The same message of Paul should be applied today. The Lord is searching for us through this same Gospel. Perhaps it is time for us to retrace our steps to Christ who is the author and finisher of our faith.

Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 11

About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them, and suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken. And immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone's bonds were unfastened. When the jailer woke and saw that the prison doors were open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, supposing that the prisoners had escaped. But Paul cried with a loud voice, “Do not harm yourself, for we are all here.” And the jailer called for lights and rushed in, and trembling with fear he fell down before Paul and Silas. Then he brought them out and said, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” And they said, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.” And they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their wounds; and he was baptized at once, he and all his family. (Acts 16:25-33 ESV).

Becoming a Christian means recognizing that there is a great God who created all things and all persons for his glory—to display the greatness and beauty and power of who he is. Becoming a Christian means recognizing that this is why every person exists. This is our reason for being. This is the meaning of human life—to reflect back to God and to reflect to each other the glory of our Maker and all his attributes, by loving him and trusting him and thanking him and obeying him. Becoming a Christian means recognizing that we have all failed to do this. We have fallen short of living for his glory. We have exchanged it for other values we preferred, and so we have scorned his glory. This is what the Bible calls sin. And we are all guilty. Becoming a Christian means recognizing that we are all therefore condemned justly by God to eternal punishment for the infinite guilt of dishonoring an infinitely glorious God. And becoming a Christian means recognizing that the love of God moved him to send his Son, Jesus Christ, into the world to provide eternal life for helpless sinners. When Jesus died for sinners, he became our ransom, our substitute, and the vindication of God's glory on our behalf. However, these are not works to be “done.” All of that which was required for our atonement has been done in the work of Christ. So, the Bible is jealous not to let salvation be by works because that would rob God of glory in the work of salvation. If we try to work our way to salvation, it draws attention to our strength and our value and our contribution. But faith on the other hand throws all attention on the value and the sufficiency of who Christ is and what Christ did. Faith glorifies God. Works glorify us. The root reason God will not let salvation be by works—why he will not let salvation be earned by our efforts—is because this would rob Jesus of his glory. God began by creating the world for his glory, and he is now saving the world in a way that restores that great purpose. So anything that diminishes his glory in the work of salvation will not be accepted. Thanks be to that great God!

Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 10

And all the assembly fell silent, and they listened to Barnabas and Paul as they related what signs and wonders God had done through them among the Gentiles. After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, “‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’ Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God.”(Acts 15:12-18 ESV).

It's now about 15 years since Jesus died and rose again. Some zealous Jewish Christians from Jerusalem make a trip to Antioch and begin to preach among the Gentile Christians: "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1). This does not go over well with Paul and Barnabas. In fact, if we can judge from Paul's attitude in his letter to the Galatians, the controversy was red hot. The church decides to send Paul and Barnabas to the apostles and elders in Jerusalem to see if some doctrinal unity can be achieved. Our text is the response of James to the declaration of Paul and Barnabas. He quotes from Amos (cf. Amos 9). What the prophet recounts from God is that the time is coming when his anger will be turned away and that the ruined people will be restored. It's PEOPLE that he has been talking about in the preceding verses: "All the sinners of my PEOPLE shall die by the sword" (v. 10). And, it is people that he has in mind in verse 12: "That THEY may possess the remnant of Edom." We must conclude that the repairing of the booth or the tent of David (v. 11) is a graphic way of speaking of the restoration of his people to spiritual wholeness. It is the people who have fallen into the ruin of sin and judgment. Now it is the people who will be repaired and rebuilt. Then the purpose of that rebuilding is that Edom, the typical hostile Gentile nation, might be possessed by the new, rebuilt people of God. At first that might sound merely like defeat and subjugation of Israel's enemies. But, the purpose of repairing and rebuilding the sinful people is not merely to possess the remnant of Edom, but to possess "all the nations who are called by my name, says the Lord" (cf. Amos 9:12). If defeat and subjugation were in view, he would not say that the target is the nations called by God's name. These are not enemies. People called by God's name are God's people. So the point in this text is not defeat and enslavement, but conversion and ingathering. This is world missions, not world domination. This was the purpose of God in the mission to the gentiles. We would do well to remember that is our calling as well.

Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 9

Now at Iconium they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord, who bore witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands. But the people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles. When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews, with their rulers, to mistreat them and to stone them, they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and to the surrounding country, and there they continued to preach the gospel. (Acts 14:1-7 ESV).

Again I can only introduce the sermon for today’s devotional. I hope you will take the time to read the full context of our reading today. It will give you some depth in regard to the thought I’ve singled out today. It is always difficult to measure success in sharing the Gospel. In fact, sometimes the reaction of our audience would indicate anything but success For that reason we need to exercise caution not to be concerned with what people think about us. Paul and Barnabas prove that in today’s example. We do hunger for human approval. By nature, we think more about what people think of us than about what they think of Jesus. We crave acceptance and dread rejection. The apostle Paul lived differently. Apparently he had been liberated from the need to be liked, or even respected. He moved from town to town, in and out of crowds, anchored in the safety and satisfaction of knowing Jesus. Many adored him, even to the point of worshiping him, and others hated him, even to the point of trying to murder him. But he lived and served above approval ratings. Everywhere Paul went, he met dramatically mixed reviews. We see that in our text today. In a town called Lystra they came to a man crippled from birth. Paul saw through the man’s disability into his heart and he saw faith. So Paul healed the man’s legs (v. 10). The crowds saw the man walking, after sitting for so many years, and they rushed Paul and Barnabas. They treated them like gods (v. 11). They even brought oxen to sacrifice to them (v. 13). Their reaction is instructive. They did not bask in the attention, building their million dollar mansions and bulging bank accounts. They did not change their monikers to @Zeus and @Hermes, and retweet a few lines of the people’s praise. They ran from their raving fans as fast as possible (v. 15). To Paul and Barnabas, the allure of human approval, acceptance, esteem, and intense admiration seemed more dangerous than enticing, more threatening than tempting. And they knew the roots of the crowd’s flattering idolatry would eventually kill each and every one of them. So they confronted them, risking their skyrocketing social statuses, with a brave call to worship the living God and live. We would do well to mimic them in our ministry!

Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 8

Now Paul and his companions set sail from Paphos and came to Perga in Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem, but they went on from Perga and came to Antioch in Pisidia. And on the Sabbath day they went into the synagogue and sat down. After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the rulers of the synagogue sent a message to them, saying, “Brothers, if you have any word of encouragement for the people, say it.” So Paul stood up, and motioning with his hand said: “Men of Israel and you who fear God, listen.” (Acts 13:13-16 ESV).

This is the first sermon in the book of Acts that we hear from the apostle Paul. And one way to understand it is to see two main points. One point is that everything in the history of Israel was leading up to the coming of Jesus and the great salvation for sinners that he would accomplish when he died and rose again. The other point in this sermon is that the story behind Jesus is God's story. This text is utterly saturated with God. Sixteen times Paul presses home the truth that God is the central Actor in history (vv. 17-30). I would encourage you to read those verses and note how Paul’s sermon undeniably declares God is responsible for all of history, both collectively and individually. Now think about all this for a moment. Don't take this kind of narration of history for granted. Let it strike you as strange as it really is. We don’t usually tell our stories from this perspective. When we tell somebody about the past, do you say, "God did this and God did that and God did that and God did that."? Do you say that God did virtually everything? I know I fall woefully short in that regard. So, Paul didn't have to either. He chose to preach this way. He consciously chose to narrate history this way. He was making a statement. It is a point we need to listen to again and again today. He was saying, There is a great and glorious God. Know him. Reckon with him. Think about him. He was saying that God is really working in history. He is the main Worker in history. He is the explanation for, the meaning of, everything. We live in an age where this is not believed. We assign responsibility for outcomes based on what we do. While it is true that there is a consequence for every choice, we are not the basis for that consequence. That is simply way above our pay grade! We live in a superficial and naïve age. It is superficial and naïve to discuss events and never deal with their most important connections; namely, their connections are with God and his purposes. Dealing with this truth and being intentional in our message to ourselves and others is the only means to contentment. We cannot be overcomers until we are in touch with the One who has already overcome! The message of Paul was joyfully accepted by some and violently opposed by others. The outcome of the truth is never our responsibility. It is our responsibility to declare it. That is the path to freedom for all men. Indeed, if God brings you to it, He will bring you through it!

Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 7

Now the apostles and the brothers who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcision party criticized him, saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” But Peter began and explained it to them. (Acts 11:1-4 ESV).

The whole of Peter’s sermon introduced in our reading today goes beyond these few verses. And, there is much more to explore than we will have time to do so in this format. However, I want to minimally begin to draw our attention to a central truth that is essential in the mission of the Gospel. Simply put, it is a work of grace for all men who are called to be the children of God. Having pastored churches through the tumultuous times of the seventies and eighties I can identify with Peter in this text. He has been “called on to the carpet” for his “shameful” behavior with the gentiles (uncircumcised men). Why, he even ate with them… my, my! I could tell the stories of similar experiences whether it was baptizing the first black in our First Baptist Church of the “county seat” town in East Texas, or starting missions to other racially different peoples in our building in North Texas. I must confess I was not nearly as subtle as Peter. My approach was to simply declare the truth that the Gospel was for all men. That was not as well received; however, it has stood the test of time as these efforts have produced great ministries these decades later. It should be noted elsewhere in the book of Acts even those who are the most God-fearing and ethical, namely, the Jews, are told that they must repent and believe in order to be saved. The Jews at Pentecost were called "devout men" (cf. Acts 2:5) like Cornelius was called a devout man (cf. Acts 10:2). But Peter ended his first sermon (cf. Acts 2) by calling even devout Jews to repent and be baptized in the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins (v. 38). So Luke is not trying to tell us in this book that devout, God-fearing people who practice what's right as best they know how are already saved and without any need of the gospel. The gospel got its start among the most devout people in the world, namely, the Jews. They had more advantages in knowing God than any of the other peoples of the earth. Yet they were told again and again: devoutness and works of righteousness and religious sincerity does not solve the problem of sin. There is no place, nor people, who do not need the truth of the Gospel. We must separate ourselves from every human barrier to this mission. We must believe the only hope is to believe on Jesus. It was true then, it is true today; and, it is true for all men everywhere!

Sermons Worth Stealing - Pt 6

So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word. (Acts 10:34-35, 44 ESV).

It never ceases to surprise me that the Bible is so candid in the expression of the Gospel. From Genesis to the Revelation we are able to see clearly God’s work of grace in Christ. Further, our reading today is one of those key passages, particularly for we who are classified as “Gentiles.” By the way, if you are not quite sure what a gentile is, you probably are one. It’s everyone else; if you are not Jewish by birth, you are a gentile. Up to this point in the story of the early church, the Jewish people thought that salvation was limited to them. At the very least the path to salvation had to travel through Judaism. Peter’s vision would change all of that. It would bring a balance to the people of God. The truth is that the Gospel began in the beginning and centered in Abraham; however, it was never intended to be a work solely for the direct descendants of Abraham (cf. Genesis 22:18). It is indeed one gospel for all people. In the book of Acts the first three individually documented stories of salvation are a sorcerer (cf. Acts 8:9-24), an Ethiopian eunuch (cf. Acts 8:26-40), and an accomplished member of the Jewish high court, Saul (cf. Acts 9:1-19). There is no doubt this would not be the “ideal” start-up for a church. So, we see now Peter introducing the Gospel to a Roman Soldier. He was not doing this because he wanted to but because he was led to by the Holy Spirit. At this point you can clearly see that the Gospel is not limited to a social class, a race, or those that we like the most. As believers we are called to listen to the Holy Spirit for whom he wishes us to share the Gospel with or at least invite to church. We should not miss the truth that the human condition is the same regardless of race. Whether people are in the United States or scattered to the four corners of our globe, they all want to be loved. They all want safety and security for their families. They all want hope in this world and for eternity. The answer to their needs is only found in Jesus. When you share the truth of Jesus Christ, it transcends culture, it transcends people, it transcends gender, and it transcends needs. The Gospel is for everyone and I thank God that He made that clear from the get go. My call is to act on that truth!