WEBVTT 00:00:00.740 --> 00:00:08.220 S .O .S. is sharing our Savior. Acts chapter 00:00:08.220 --> 00:00:13.539 5 verse 42 says, day after day, in the temple 00:00:13.539 --> 00:00:16.399 courts and from house to house, they never stopped 00:00:16.399 --> 00:00:20.480 teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus 00:00:20.480 --> 00:00:25.820 is the Christ. At a recent commencement exercise, 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:29.489 a student who is a professing Christian gave 00:00:29.489 --> 00:00:34.070 one of the addresses. When I saw his name on 00:00:34.070 --> 00:00:38.390 the program I thought to myself what a marvelous 00:00:38.390 --> 00:00:41.909 opportunity to speak to hundreds and yes even 00:00:41.909 --> 00:00:46.070 thousands of people who are gathered here. That 00:00:46.070 --> 00:00:50.789 was a secular school to be sure. But I was certain 00:00:50.789 --> 00:00:53.130 that this student would say something about God 00:00:53.130 --> 00:00:59.280 or about biblical values at least. or the Christian 00:00:59.280 --> 00:01:05.239 worldview. But sadly, the speech was pure humanism. 00:01:06.680 --> 00:01:10.159 It would have been applauded at any New Age meeting. 00:01:11.540 --> 00:01:13.780 Or actually, any convention of atheists would 00:01:13.780 --> 00:01:16.640 have stood up and cheered and said, what a wonderful 00:01:16.640 --> 00:01:21.859 speech that was. Now whether the student was 00:01:21.859 --> 00:01:26.730 intimidated by the circumstances, or is oblivious 00:01:26.730 --> 00:01:31.390 of the doctrinal heresy in his speech, or is 00:01:31.390 --> 00:01:35.049 himself a deceived proponent of error, which 00:01:35.049 --> 00:01:39.250 he spoke, I really don't know. But I know this, 00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:44.150 that it was a missed opportunity. But that student 00:01:44.150 --> 00:01:49.989 is not alone. All of us have from time to time 00:01:49.989 --> 00:01:55.400 failed to confess what we know is true. and to 00:01:55.400 --> 00:02:00.500 stand up for what we believe. We too have compromised. 00:02:02.280 --> 00:02:06.400 We perhaps have been intimidated. We have been 00:02:06.400 --> 00:02:08.900 challenged to keep our religion private and to 00:02:08.900 --> 00:02:14.280 ourselves. But we as the people of God are not 00:02:14.280 --> 00:02:19.180 called to live that way. We are called to make 00:02:19.180 --> 00:02:26.219 Jesus Christ the issue in our world. The whole 00:02:26.219 --> 00:02:28.819 movement of our culture is in the opposite direction. 00:02:29.719 --> 00:02:35.039 To keep your beliefs to yourself. But the Bible 00:02:35.039 --> 00:02:38.599 says that as those who love the Lord Jesus Christ 00:02:38.599 --> 00:02:43.280 and who believe that God reigns in his world, 00:02:43.979 --> 00:02:48.060 we are to make our faith an issue. Now we're 00:02:48.060 --> 00:02:52.419 to do that in a way that will be appreciated. 00:02:53.329 --> 00:02:55.629 or at least in a way that will be acceptable. 00:02:55.830 --> 00:02:58.469 We're not to make it an issue in a negative sense. 00:02:59.569 --> 00:03:02.490 We're not to make ourselves troublesome and irritating. 00:03:04.069 --> 00:03:06.909 But we are in the most positive way God enables 00:03:06.909 --> 00:03:11.349 us to make our faith an issue in our world. We 00:03:11.349 --> 00:03:15.169 are to share our Savior. Jesus Christ is the 00:03:15.169 --> 00:03:18.770 only solution really to what is ailing the world. 00:03:20.289 --> 00:03:26.270 From America to the Balkans that is true I'll 00:03:26.270 --> 00:03:28.449 tell you what is the heart of the problems in 00:03:28.449 --> 00:03:30.710 the United States of America today. It's not 00:03:30.710 --> 00:03:35.990 economics It is true that we are in an economic 00:03:35.990 --> 00:03:40.990 mess and Some people say there's no way out but 00:03:40.990 --> 00:03:45.969 collapse It is true. We are in an economic mess 00:03:45.969 --> 00:03:50.650 We are in a political mess Boy are we in a political 00:03:50.650 --> 00:03:55.590 mess. But the problems in America are neither 00:03:55.590 --> 00:04:01.610 economic nor political. The problems in America 00:04:01.610 --> 00:04:07.310 are moral and spiritual. We could get out of 00:04:07.310 --> 00:04:11.129 our economic problems in this country if everyone 00:04:11.129 --> 00:04:16.769 in America were tomorrow to live morally. If 00:04:16.769 --> 00:04:19.629 everyone were to be honest. Stop cheating. Stop 00:04:19.629 --> 00:04:24.370 defrauding. It would not take very long for us 00:04:24.370 --> 00:04:26.790 to get out of our economic mess without any kind 00:04:26.790 --> 00:04:30.370 of a tax increase. I am not running for office. 00:04:35.529 --> 00:04:38.509 The problems in the Balkans? The United Nations 00:04:38.509 --> 00:04:43.029 doesn't have a solution for it. Europe doesn't 00:04:43.029 --> 00:04:45.769 have a solution for it. Certainly our nation 00:04:45.769 --> 00:04:47.589 doesn't, being on the other side of the ocean. 00:04:49.389 --> 00:04:53.149 The deep -seated hatred that exists among the 00:04:53.149 --> 00:04:56.790 various cultures and the Balkans can only be 00:04:56.790 --> 00:05:01.569 solved by Jesus Christ, a spiritual awakening. 00:05:02.529 --> 00:05:04.829 You can go to every problem that's in the world, 00:05:05.029 --> 00:05:08.550 from Sri Lanka to Somalia, from the White House 00:05:08.550 --> 00:05:11.389 to the Kremlin, and Jesus Christ is the answer. 00:05:11.769 --> 00:05:15.250 And you know something interesting? The people 00:05:15.250 --> 00:05:18.470 in Russia are a lot closer today to understanding 00:05:18.470 --> 00:05:20.610 that truth than the people in the United States 00:05:20.610 --> 00:05:25.870 of America. Because the public schools in Russia 00:05:25.870 --> 00:05:29.310 are begging for people to come and to teach them 00:05:29.310 --> 00:05:33.490 morality in their schools. And I'm talking about 00:05:33.490 --> 00:05:36.470 biblical morality. I'm talking about teaching 00:05:36.470 --> 00:05:39.629 the Bible. teaching the truths of Christianity 00:05:39.629 --> 00:05:42.949 in the public schools. They realize that is the 00:05:42.949 --> 00:05:48.089 only way out of their problems. The United States 00:05:48.089 --> 00:05:50.329 is heading in exactly the opposite direction. 00:05:52.389 --> 00:05:55.589 What an exciting day to be alive as a Christian 00:05:55.589 --> 00:05:58.029 and to have the opportunity of sharing Jesus 00:05:58.029 --> 00:06:01.370 Christ when people all around the world are being 00:06:01.370 --> 00:06:05.079 confronted with the helplessness, the hopelessness 00:06:05.079 --> 00:06:07.379 of the answers they've tried to find on their 00:06:07.379 --> 00:06:11.660 own. Jesus Christ is the only Savior for what 00:06:11.660 --> 00:06:15.819 is destroying lives, for what is destroying economies, 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:19.420 for what is destroying cultures. He is the only 00:06:19.420 --> 00:06:24.139 Savior from sin. Sharing our Savior is the calling 00:06:24.139 --> 00:06:28.800 of every Christian. The book of Acts begins with 00:06:28.800 --> 00:06:36.089 its theme statement when it says, to me. That 00:06:36.089 --> 00:06:38.970 is the theme of the book of Acts. In the power 00:06:38.970 --> 00:06:42.509 of the Holy Spirit to be witnesses of Jesus Christ 00:06:42.509 --> 00:06:44.930 beginning in Jerusalem and then going to the 00:06:44.930 --> 00:06:49.069 uttermost parts of the earth. In the book of 00:06:49.069 --> 00:06:52.629 Acts we learn several lessons about sharing our 00:06:52.629 --> 00:06:54.670 Savior. These are lessons that are important 00:06:54.670 --> 00:06:58.889 for us today. They basically arise out of Acts 00:06:58.889 --> 00:07:03.569 5 42 and its context. Lesson number one is this, 00:07:03.750 --> 00:07:07.649 sharing our Savior involves a lifetime of mission. 00:07:09.290 --> 00:07:12.949 That is our mission, to share the Savior. You 00:07:12.949 --> 00:07:15.769 notice these early believers, it says, day after 00:07:15.769 --> 00:07:22.209 day, never stopped talking about Him. They realized 00:07:22.209 --> 00:07:24.670 that that's what Jesus Christ had called them 00:07:24.670 --> 00:07:29.750 to do. It is true of us today. Sharing our Savior 00:07:29.750 --> 00:07:34.050 involves a lifetime of mission. Whether it was 00:07:34.050 --> 00:07:38.129 in the temple courts or the synagogues, the marketplaces, 00:07:38.430 --> 00:07:41.569 the palaces, the prisons, wherever they were, 00:07:41.750 --> 00:07:43.910 whatever the opportunities, they took advantage 00:07:43.910 --> 00:07:47.730 of those opportunities. Sometimes it was in the 00:07:47.730 --> 00:07:51.430 midst of intimidation. They were threatened. 00:07:52.470 --> 00:07:58.160 You are no longer to speak this name. It's the 00:07:58.160 --> 00:08:00.379 same kind of intimidation that is being used 00:08:00.379 --> 00:08:03.420 today in the public places of America. You may 00:08:03.420 --> 00:08:08.839 not speak his name. The early Christians knew 00:08:08.839 --> 00:08:13.579 the proper response to that. And they said, whether 00:08:13.579 --> 00:08:16.379 it's right to obey you or God, you be the judge. 00:08:17.480 --> 00:08:20.839 We can't help but speak this name. And we ought 00:08:20.839 --> 00:08:24.680 not to be intimidated to silence either. By those 00:08:24.680 --> 00:08:27.920 today who like those people opposing Christianity 00:08:27.920 --> 00:08:30.939 and acts said don't talk anymore about Jesus 00:08:30.939 --> 00:08:35.899 We will talk about Jesus. He is the issue He 00:08:35.899 --> 00:08:38.700 is the solution to the world's problems and we 00:08:38.700 --> 00:08:42.460 are called to a lifetime of mission sharing our 00:08:42.460 --> 00:08:46.419 Savior Sometimes it was in the marketplace of 00:08:46.419 --> 00:08:50.179 ideas where this happened. I think immediately 00:08:50.179 --> 00:08:54.639 of course of Paul going to Athens And they're 00:08:54.639 --> 00:08:58.600 being invited to go to the place where the intellectuals 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:02.980 met on Mars Hill. It was there that they shared 00:09:02.980 --> 00:09:06.279 ideas. They talked different philosophies. They 00:09:06.279 --> 00:09:08.419 didn't accomplish a whole lot, but they talked 00:09:08.419 --> 00:09:10.919 through all these different philosophies and 00:09:10.919 --> 00:09:14.039 enjoyed that exercise. And when they heard Paul 00:09:14.039 --> 00:09:17.019 talking about what he was talking about, they 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:19.220 said, come on up here and share with us. And 00:09:19.220 --> 00:09:22.500 so he went to the marketplace of ideas, roughly 00:09:22.750 --> 00:09:26.190 that would today be the equivalent of universities. 00:09:28.049 --> 00:09:31.330 The place of education, higher education in particular. 00:09:32.190 --> 00:09:33.870 They said, come and tell us what you want to 00:09:33.870 --> 00:09:38.289 say. And so Paul stood before them and he proclaimed 00:09:38.289 --> 00:09:41.330 Jesus Christ, risen from the dead, appointed 00:09:41.330 --> 00:09:47.350 by God as the judge of all men. Now, it took 00:09:47.350 --> 00:09:50.009 a while to get to that point. We'll see in a 00:09:50.009 --> 00:09:52.590 moment there's a reason why. But that's where 00:09:52.590 --> 00:09:58.009 he ended up. In the marketplace of ideas, they 00:09:58.009 --> 00:10:01.370 were unafraid to share the Savior. We ought to 00:10:01.370 --> 00:10:05.149 be the same way. And not be intimidated, not 00:10:05.149 --> 00:10:08.450 be afraid, not be cowardly about sharing the 00:10:08.450 --> 00:10:12.769 Savior wherever ideas are bantered about. Another 00:10:12.769 --> 00:10:16.370 wonderful place to do that is in the letters 00:10:16.370 --> 00:10:18.850 to the editor of the newspaper. Some of you have 00:10:18.850 --> 00:10:21.950 begun writing to the editors of our newspapers. 00:10:22.029 --> 00:10:24.549 I enjoy reading your letters, the ones that make 00:10:24.549 --> 00:10:28.309 it in. And I appreciate how you phrase things 00:10:28.309 --> 00:10:31.669 and how you put it in a winsome, winning way. 00:10:32.830 --> 00:10:35.169 And how sometimes you don't even mention religion, 00:10:35.250 --> 00:10:38.210 but you get Christian values out there in the 00:10:38.210 --> 00:10:46.320 marketplace of ideas. There are many avenues 00:10:46.320 --> 00:10:50.000 by which we can share the Savior where people 00:10:50.000 --> 00:10:53.679 are talking about ideas. We ought to be using 00:10:53.679 --> 00:10:58.080 every one of them. Then in the milieu of persecution. 00:11:00.179 --> 00:11:02.740 The early church was persecuted and one of its 00:11:02.740 --> 00:11:06.809 chief persecutors was Saul. A couple of later 00:11:06.809 --> 00:11:09.490 chapters here in Acts, we see that he was putting 00:11:09.490 --> 00:11:12.049 Christians in prison, and he was bringing them 00:11:12.049 --> 00:11:14.809 to the courts, and they were being sentenced 00:11:14.809 --> 00:11:18.950 to death. As a result of that, the Christians 00:11:18.950 --> 00:11:22.190 who were in the environs of Jerusalem were scattered. 00:11:22.370 --> 00:11:25.629 It says, wherever they went, they preached the 00:11:25.629 --> 00:11:29.450 Word. Look in chapter 8 and verse 4, just at 00:11:29.450 --> 00:11:32.309 that verse. Those who had been scattered preached 00:11:32.309 --> 00:11:37.000 the Word wherever they went. You see, they grasp 00:11:37.000 --> 00:11:40.440 this idea that I'm talking about. That sharing 00:11:40.440 --> 00:11:42.379 the Savior is not just something you do when 00:11:42.379 --> 00:11:46.240 you go out calling. It's not something you do 00:11:46.240 --> 00:11:48.740 merely when you invite someone to come to church. 00:11:49.980 --> 00:11:51.919 It's something you do every day. You just keep 00:11:51.919 --> 00:11:54.460 looking for the opportunities that God presents 00:11:54.460 --> 00:11:58.200 in every context you have to see it as your mission 00:11:58.200 --> 00:12:01.679 in life. You may have a vocation. You may have 00:12:01.679 --> 00:12:04.419 hobbies and sports you like to get involved in. 00:12:04.519 --> 00:12:07.080 You may do a lot of things, but understand that 00:12:07.080 --> 00:12:12.879 as a child of God, your mission is to share the 00:12:12.879 --> 00:12:16.659 Savior. The second lesson that I see is that 00:12:16.659 --> 00:12:23.080 sharing our Savior utilizes a diversity of methods. 00:12:24.779 --> 00:12:26.539 Now notice in this verse that we're looking at 00:12:26.539 --> 00:12:30.740 this morning. They never stopped teaching and 00:12:30.740 --> 00:12:35.250 proclaiming two different verbs. Teaching seems 00:12:35.250 --> 00:12:37.509 to be rather obvious. It means to lay out the 00:12:37.509 --> 00:12:42.669 facts to someone as a teacher to students. Proclaiming 00:12:42.669 --> 00:12:45.509 means to make an announcement. It's not exactly 00:12:45.509 --> 00:12:47.990 the same as teaching. It means to stand up in 00:12:47.990 --> 00:12:50.570 public and make an announcement like a herald. 00:12:52.389 --> 00:12:54.409 So you see a couple of different methods here. 00:12:55.350 --> 00:12:57.070 There's the teaching method, and then there's 00:12:57.070 --> 00:13:00.450 just the public announcement, such as in the 00:13:00.450 --> 00:13:04.340 marketplace. But listen to some of the verbs 00:13:04.340 --> 00:13:08.159 that are used in the first part of the book of 00:13:08.159 --> 00:13:12.620 Acts in telling about how the church went about 00:13:12.620 --> 00:13:17.600 its mission of sharing the Savior. They taught 00:13:17.600 --> 00:13:22.299 and proclaimed But they also warned, they pleaded, 00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:25.679 they testified, they evangelized, they preached, 00:13:25.940 --> 00:13:28.639 they told the message, they urged, they preached 00:13:28.639 --> 00:13:30.919 the good news, they reasoned, they explained, 00:13:31.100 --> 00:13:33.720 they proved, they persuaded, they vigorously 00:13:33.720 --> 00:13:39.659 refuted. All of those are different verbs describing 00:13:39.659 --> 00:13:44.320 how the church went about its mission. Sharing 00:13:44.320 --> 00:13:49.970 the Savior involves a diversity of methods. We 00:13:49.970 --> 00:13:53.690 ought to use whatever appropriate means we can 00:13:53.690 --> 00:13:58.450 to share the Savior and to be creative in doing 00:13:58.450 --> 00:14:04.590 that. There were thousands of believers yesterday 00:14:04.590 --> 00:14:10.929 who marched in Minneapolis. Now that may not 00:14:10.929 --> 00:14:13.649 be the way everybody would do it, but there were 00:14:13.649 --> 00:14:18.480 thousands of people who did it that way and They 00:14:18.480 --> 00:14:25.539 exalted Jesus Christ as Lord. That's one way. 00:14:27.860 --> 00:14:31.159 But what about a backyard Bible club for boys 00:14:31.159 --> 00:14:35.539 and girls? That's another method. To invite the 00:14:35.539 --> 00:14:38.460 neighborhood children in to be taught Bible stories. 00:14:40.779 --> 00:14:45.820 What about the Outdoors Worship Service? Or what 00:14:45.820 --> 00:14:49.320 about a backyard barbecue inviting your neighbors 00:14:49.320 --> 00:14:53.340 in? Or using a special season of the year to 00:14:53.340 --> 00:14:55.220 invite your neighbors to come together at your 00:14:55.220 --> 00:14:57.620 home to think about the meaning of Easter or 00:14:57.620 --> 00:15:02.759 Christmas? What about the sermons from science, 00:15:03.700 --> 00:15:05.879 this marvelous opportunity we have in August 00:15:05.879 --> 00:15:08.740 to invite people to come? and to have them see 00:15:08.740 --> 00:15:11.580 the laws of science demonstrated here and the 00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:15.600 gospel arising right out of the laws of science. 00:15:16.320 --> 00:15:19.000 It's called Sermons from Science. It's a marvelous 00:15:19.000 --> 00:15:22.659 evangelistic opportunity in August for all of 00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:28.240 us in our church. We need to use all of the diverse 00:15:28.240 --> 00:15:31.860 methods that God allows us to, that are within 00:15:31.860 --> 00:15:37.879 our means, that we might share the Savior. Whatever 00:15:37.879 --> 00:15:41.080 method we use, it needs to be with the same compassion 00:15:41.080 --> 00:15:45.720 and conviction which these early believers had 00:15:45.720 --> 00:15:49.919 as they shared the Savior. The third lesson that 00:15:49.919 --> 00:15:55.419 I see is that sharing our Savior requires contextualization 00:15:55.419 --> 00:15:58.940 of the message. You say, what in the world does 00:15:58.940 --> 00:16:01.139 that mean? Well, you know what context means. 00:16:02.799 --> 00:16:06.019 When we talk about the contextualization of the 00:16:06.019 --> 00:16:09.639 message, We're saying that this message needs 00:16:09.639 --> 00:16:14.519 to be put into the context of the hearers so 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:16.960 that they can understand what we're trying to 00:16:16.960 --> 00:16:20.320 say to them. Now we see it here in this verse 00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:23.519 where it says that they proclaim the good news, 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:29.840 there's the message, that Jesus is the Christ. 00:16:31.820 --> 00:16:34.519 What does the word Christ mean? Can someone tell 00:16:34.519 --> 00:16:39.340 me? What's another word for it? Well savior is 00:16:39.340 --> 00:16:44.559 a synonym, but it Messiah Messiah Christ is Messiah 00:16:44.559 --> 00:16:48.159 Christ is the Greek Messiah is the Hebrew term 00:16:48.159 --> 00:16:51.879 Chosen one that's an English transliteration 00:16:51.879 --> 00:16:56.840 now. Tell me this What group in the world? would 00:16:56.840 --> 00:17:04.660 understand what Christ means Jews exactly You 00:17:04.660 --> 00:17:08.400 could not preach Christ to the average Gentile 00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:11.859 and have him understand it. That was not a term 00:17:11.859 --> 00:17:15.299 that connected with him. He may have recognized 00:17:15.299 --> 00:17:18.619 it as something Jewish, but it didn't come down 00:17:18.619 --> 00:17:20.799 into his life. It wasn't a part of his world. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:25.460 And so we see the church preaching the Good News 00:17:25.460 --> 00:17:32.529 in the context of the Jews first. And as they 00:17:32.529 --> 00:17:35.990 did that, they proclaimed Jesus as the Christ. 00:17:36.390 --> 00:17:40.069 Now to the Jew, that term had all kinds of colorful 00:17:40.069 --> 00:17:44.069 meanings to it. They recognized it coming right 00:17:44.069 --> 00:17:47.450 out of the Old Testament as being the chosen 00:17:47.450 --> 00:17:51.089 one of God, as being the one who would come to 00:17:51.089 --> 00:18:00.630 redeem and rescue Israel. Now when the believers 00:18:00.630 --> 00:18:03.650 went to Samaria. What do you think they talked 00:18:03.650 --> 00:18:10.009 about? Do you know who the Samaritans were? The 00:18:10.009 --> 00:18:12.910 Samaritans were despised people, yes. They were 00:18:12.910 --> 00:18:17.569 people who were disliked intensely by the Jews, 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:23.289 although they were half Jewish. The Samaritans 00:18:23.289 --> 00:18:28.009 of Jesus' day were the descendants of Jews who 00:18:28.009 --> 00:18:34.259 had been carted off to Assyria 700 years before 00:18:34.259 --> 00:18:41.380 and who had intermarried with Assyrians. Thus 00:18:41.380 --> 00:18:44.579 they were called the half -breeds. They were 00:18:44.579 --> 00:18:50.119 hated. But the Samaritans, although they were 00:18:50.119 --> 00:18:53.880 different than the Jews, brought a lot of Jewish 00:18:53.880 --> 00:18:58.470 ideas into the religion they created. They did 00:18:58.470 --> 00:19:03.990 not look down to Jerusalem, obviously, as the 00:19:03.990 --> 00:19:06.230 headquarters of their religion. They had their 00:19:06.230 --> 00:19:09.750 own headquarters in Samaria. And they had some 00:19:09.750 --> 00:19:13.329 other ideas that were extraneous, but at the 00:19:13.329 --> 00:19:16.069 heart of it were some of the Old Testament ideas 00:19:16.069 --> 00:19:21.150 including the Christ that connected with them 00:19:21.150 --> 00:19:25.750 too. If you go to John chapter 4, it's very interesting 00:19:25.750 --> 00:19:29.119 to see that that's who the woman at the well 00:19:29.119 --> 00:19:35.440 thought Jesus was. Are you then the Christ? And 00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:38.759 so when the church went to Samaria and preached 00:19:38.759 --> 00:19:43.940 the gospel, we see in chapter 8 and verse 5 that 00:19:43.940 --> 00:19:48.660 Philip proclaimed the Christ there. Why? Because 00:19:48.660 --> 00:19:53.480 it connected, that same message. It was a context 00:19:53.480 --> 00:19:58.349 they would understand. Well, let's go over to 00:19:58.349 --> 00:20:01.589 chapter 10 now and look at kind of a different 00:20:01.589 --> 00:20:05.170 type person, a different culture, different context. 00:20:06.269 --> 00:20:10.349 Let's look at the God -fearing Gentile. Here 00:20:10.349 --> 00:20:16.390 is a Gentile who has not yet converted to the 00:20:16.390 --> 00:20:18.529 Jewish religion, but he's intrigued by it. He's 00:20:18.529 --> 00:20:22.470 listening to it. He believes it, basically. But 00:20:22.470 --> 00:20:25.690 he's not a convert to Judaism. He's a God -fearing 00:20:25.690 --> 00:20:28.809 Gentile. Well, let's look at chapter 10, verse 00:20:28.809 --> 00:20:33.329 34. Peter began to speak. Now he is speaking 00:20:33.329 --> 00:20:38.190 to Cornelius, who is a God -fearing Gentile. 00:20:39.089 --> 00:20:43.829 I now realize how true it is, he says, that God 00:20:43.829 --> 00:20:47.869 does not show favoritism, but accepts men from 00:20:47.869 --> 00:20:51.190 every nation who fear Him and do what is right. 00:20:51.650 --> 00:20:55.400 You know the message of God. the message God 00:20:55.400 --> 00:21:00.460 sent to the people of Israel. Now he did. He 00:21:00.460 --> 00:21:03.380 was a God -fearing gentile. He says, now Cornelius, 00:21:03.400 --> 00:21:07.940 you're not a Jew, but you know the message. Telling 00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:10.779 the good news of peace through Jesus Christ who 00:21:10.779 --> 00:21:13.880 is Lord of all. And he goes on, he picks up on 00:21:13.880 --> 00:21:16.279 basically the same theme to this God -fearing 00:21:16.279 --> 00:21:21.349 gentile. Helping him to understand that Jesus 00:21:21.349 --> 00:21:25.470 is the Christ, the one who fulfills the Old Testament 00:21:25.470 --> 00:21:31.269 Scriptures. Now if you turn over to Acts chapter 00:21:31.269 --> 00:21:36.910 17, which we'll do just briefly, you'll see years 00:21:36.910 --> 00:21:40.150 later the Apostle Paul going to a different crowd. 00:21:42.809 --> 00:21:46.130 Here he is talking to people who are raw pagans. 00:21:46.349 --> 00:21:50.140 They're intellectual. but they worship all kinds 00:21:50.140 --> 00:21:55.720 of gods. It says in verse 16 of Acts 17, while 00:21:55.720 --> 00:21:59.759 Paul was waiting for his group in Athens, he 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:02.640 was greatly distressed to see that the city was 00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:06.539 full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:11.859 with the Jews and the God -fearing Greeks. Where 00:22:11.859 --> 00:22:16.220 did he reason with them? In the synagogue. That 00:22:16.220 --> 00:22:23.380 was the connecting place. and as well in the 00:22:23.380 --> 00:22:26.720 marketplace day by day with those who happened 00:22:26.720 --> 00:22:32.460 to be there. Another context. Well, he goes on 00:22:32.460 --> 00:22:34.460 to tell us who some of those people were and 00:22:34.460 --> 00:22:38.559 they ask him to come and to talk about his message. 00:22:39.660 --> 00:22:44.220 And so in verse 22, Paul stands up in the Areopagus, 00:22:44.619 --> 00:22:48.029 Mars Hill. And he says, men of Athens, I see 00:22:48.029 --> 00:22:51.809 that in every way you are very religious. For 00:22:51.809 --> 00:22:54.269 as I walked around and looked carefully at your 00:22:54.269 --> 00:22:58.490 objects of worship, I even found an altar with 00:22:58.490 --> 00:23:04.210 this inscription to an unknown God. Do you see 00:23:04.210 --> 00:23:07.009 what he's doing here? He has not mentioned Jesus 00:23:07.009 --> 00:23:09.410 Christ. He has not mentioned the Old Testament. 00:23:09.490 --> 00:23:13.980 He has not mentioned God. He is connected with 00:23:13.980 --> 00:23:17.759 these pagans on a different level. He says, I 00:23:17.759 --> 00:23:20.319 see that you're very religious, and they were. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:25.240 People say that there were more altars and more 00:23:25.240 --> 00:23:28.500 gods in Athens than there were people, and there 00:23:28.500 --> 00:23:33.700 were hundreds of thousands of them. And he says, 00:23:33.799 --> 00:23:36.500 as I was looking at some of your altars, I noticed 00:23:36.500 --> 00:23:41.789 one with this inscription. to the unknown God. 00:23:41.890 --> 00:23:44.430 Now the superstition of these pagans was that 00:23:44.430 --> 00:23:47.029 they had to worship all the gods. If they missed 00:23:47.029 --> 00:23:49.109 one, they would be in lots of trouble from that 00:23:49.109 --> 00:23:51.769 God. And so they put up this idol that said, 00:23:51.990 --> 00:23:58.890 to the unknown God, to cover all the bases. And 00:23:58.890 --> 00:24:01.210 that's the idol, that's the altar, rather, that 00:24:01.210 --> 00:24:05.250 Paul saw. And he said, now you're worshiping 00:24:05.250 --> 00:24:07.670 the unknown God. I want to tell you about it. 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:12.140 And then he begins to preach about the God of 00:24:12.140 --> 00:24:15.559 creation. He goes all the way back and picks 00:24:15.559 --> 00:24:17.859 up the story of how God is the creator and gives 00:24:17.859 --> 00:24:21.039 to all life and breath. And notice that it's 00:24:21.039 --> 00:24:24.640 not until almost the end of his message that 00:24:24.640 --> 00:24:28.019 he brings up the name of Jesus. He says we're 00:24:28.019 --> 00:24:32.299 all God's offspring, in verse 29. Verse 30, in 00:24:32.299 --> 00:24:35.259 the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now 00:24:35.259 --> 00:24:38.200 he commands all people everywhere to repent. 00:24:38.460 --> 00:24:43.140 Who does? This unknown God. He says he has set 00:24:43.140 --> 00:24:48.519 a day when he will judge the world with justice 00:24:48.519 --> 00:24:53.579 by the man whom he has appointed. He has given 00:24:53.579 --> 00:24:56.839 proof of this to all men by raising him from 00:24:56.839 --> 00:25:01.119 the dead. Now as at this point he's really interrupted, 00:25:01.259 --> 00:25:04.299 the message does end because the resurrection 00:25:04.299 --> 00:25:08.400 of the dead was not well received. by these intellectuals. 00:25:08.619 --> 00:25:13.200 But my point is that Paul preaches to them the 00:25:13.200 --> 00:25:16.200 truth about God in the context of where they 00:25:16.200 --> 00:25:24.180 were. Now ladies and gentlemen, this third lesson 00:25:24.180 --> 00:25:26.700 has never been more important for you and for 00:25:26.700 --> 00:25:32.559 me than it is today. Past generations have been 00:25:32.559 --> 00:25:35.440 able to witness fairly casually and easily in 00:25:35.440 --> 00:25:39.660 the United States because our whole culture was 00:25:39.660 --> 00:25:45.180 formed around Christian values and ideas. That 00:25:45.180 --> 00:25:50.640 is different today. We can no longer assume that 00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:55.859 people know who God is. I think of the person 00:25:55.859 --> 00:25:58.000 who just a few months ago made the comment to 00:25:58.000 --> 00:26:02.009 someone in our church, Well, I've heard about 00:26:02.009 --> 00:26:10.109 Easter, but I don't even know who Jesus is. There 00:26:10.109 --> 00:26:12.390 are many people out there today who don't have 00:26:12.390 --> 00:26:17.190 a clue as to who God is, other than the higher 00:26:17.190 --> 00:26:22.769 power. That's why I think that the method that 00:26:22.769 --> 00:26:25.609 we are using and developing in our church called 00:26:25.609 --> 00:26:29.529 the Chronological Bible Study, It's such a key 00:26:29.529 --> 00:26:32.890 method in our culture. Because what it does is 00:26:32.890 --> 00:26:35.269 it starts back with the book of Genesis and it 00:26:35.269 --> 00:26:40.269 explains who God is. And then it works its way 00:26:40.269 --> 00:26:43.410 through the Old Testament talking about how God 00:26:43.410 --> 00:26:47.549 has revealed Himself. And it actually concludes 00:26:47.549 --> 00:26:50.490 then with the gospel message of the Lord Jesus 00:26:50.490 --> 00:26:53.450 Christ. It really patterns itself after Acts 00:26:53.450 --> 00:26:59.339 chapter 17 in a lot of ways. If you want to have 00:26:59.339 --> 00:27:02.880 a Bible study in your neighborhood, that is probably 00:27:02.880 --> 00:27:08.279 a tool you ought to consider. A chronological 00:27:08.279 --> 00:27:10.279 Bible study that starts at the beginning and 00:27:10.279 --> 00:27:14.480 then just unfolds the truth of the gospel. We 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:18.640 are to share our Savior, but to do that, we have 00:27:18.640 --> 00:27:21.579 to put the good news in the context of what people 00:27:21.579 --> 00:27:25.289 can understand that we're talking to. You can't 00:27:25.289 --> 00:27:27.150 go to your neighbor and just assume he's going 00:27:27.150 --> 00:27:32.369 to understand the four spiritual laws When it 00:27:32.369 --> 00:27:35.069 says God loves you and offers a wonderful plan 00:27:35.069 --> 00:27:37.730 for your life because they don't know who God 00:27:37.730 --> 00:27:45.849 is That's an important lesson for us to learn 00:27:45.849 --> 00:27:48.769 we are called to a mission a lifetime mission 00:27:48.769 --> 00:27:53.890 to share our Savior And it requires contextualization 00:27:53.890 --> 00:27:57.930 of the message. Well, finally, let me just say 00:27:57.930 --> 00:28:00.609 that sharing our Savior results in a contrast 00:28:00.609 --> 00:28:04.730 of movements. We see that as the early church 00:28:04.730 --> 00:28:08.470 did this, their numbers grew. We're here in Acts 00:28:08.470 --> 00:28:11.890 chapter 5. Just turn back to verse 14 for example. 00:28:15.849 --> 00:28:19.369 It says, nevertheless, more and more men and 00:28:19.369 --> 00:28:22.250 women believed in the Lord and were added to 00:28:22.250 --> 00:28:25.269 their number. You can see that kind of phrase 00:28:25.269 --> 00:28:29.109 throughout the early part of Acts. God added 00:28:29.109 --> 00:28:31.289 to the number. The number of the disciples was 00:28:31.289 --> 00:28:35.369 multiplied. There was growth. It was true also 00:28:35.369 --> 00:28:40.269 in the ministry of Paul. Chapter 16, for example, 00:28:40.470 --> 00:28:51.299 and verse 5. So the churches were strengthened 00:28:51.299 --> 00:28:56.380 in the faith and grew daily in numbers. These 00:28:56.380 --> 00:29:00.400 are the churches that Paul had planted. And they 00:29:00.400 --> 00:29:04.039 were every day growing spiritually and numerically. 00:29:05.119 --> 00:29:07.960 We need to get rid of the idea that somehow is 00:29:07.960 --> 00:29:10.740 developed in the 20th century American mindset 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:13.859 that a church can be a healthy church and not 00:29:13.859 --> 00:29:19.140 grow. Numerically. Now, there are some exceptions 00:29:19.140 --> 00:29:21.559 to that, I suppose, when the church is under 00:29:21.559 --> 00:29:24.140 persecution. There might be reason for it not 00:29:24.140 --> 00:29:27.220 to outwardly grow numerically, although that 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:34.059 isn't what happened, is it, in China. There may 00:29:34.059 --> 00:29:38.279 be a rural place where there are limited numbers 00:29:38.279 --> 00:29:41.920 of people and a church can... grow to a certain 00:29:41.920 --> 00:29:44.519 point and then it's struggle from then on to 00:29:44.519 --> 00:29:47.200 grow anymore because of just the the numerical 00:29:47.200 --> 00:29:50.700 odds are against them But let me tell you in 00:29:50.700 --> 00:29:57.099 a metropolitan area. There's no excuse The idea 00:29:57.099 --> 00:29:59.740 that a church can grow spiritually without growing 00:29:59.740 --> 00:30:02.140 numerically is a false idea. It's unbiblical 00:30:02.140 --> 00:30:04.799 But we've accepted it just as being well, of 00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:08.420 course, that's true. It's not true Now it may 00:30:08.420 --> 00:30:12.259 grow by 1 % or it may grow by 100 % but it's 00:30:12.259 --> 00:30:15.319 going to grow. Because people are going to come 00:30:15.319 --> 00:30:18.599 to Christ if the church is healthy spiritually. 00:30:19.359 --> 00:30:22.000 Now it can be a happy, content and complacent 00:30:22.000 --> 00:30:24.940 church and debtor than a doornail. It's not going 00:30:24.940 --> 00:30:27.059 to grow. But that's not a healthy church, is 00:30:27.059 --> 00:30:32.160 it? A healthy church must grow numerically as 00:30:32.160 --> 00:30:35.039 well as spiritually. So that's one movement. 00:30:36.029 --> 00:30:38.190 As we are sharing our Savior, there's going to 00:30:38.190 --> 00:30:41.509 be growth. It has to happen. And we have to provide 00:30:41.509 --> 00:30:44.730 for it. On the other hand, there's a movement 00:30:44.730 --> 00:30:46.769 the other way of resistance. And you see it beginning 00:30:46.769 --> 00:30:48.829 to build up in Acts from the early chapters. 00:30:49.569 --> 00:30:51.809 People who are opposed to this, they don't like 00:30:51.809 --> 00:30:54.890 it. It's stepping on their territory. Their enemies 00:30:54.890 --> 00:30:58.130 mobilized. And let me tell you, when a person, 00:30:58.609 --> 00:31:01.670 when a church is serious about sharing the Savior, 00:31:02.570 --> 00:31:05.410 And it's using methods that are effective in 00:31:05.410 --> 00:31:08.549 the context of the culture where it is. You can 00:31:08.549 --> 00:31:12.049 count on it. There will be opposition that will 00:31:12.049 --> 00:31:17.569 rise up. Now remember, the opposition is not 00:31:17.569 --> 00:31:21.450 really flesh and blood, is it? We don't wrestle 00:31:21.450 --> 00:31:24.250 against flesh and blood, but against principalities 00:31:24.250 --> 00:31:27.430 and powers, against spiritual forces in the realms 00:31:27.430 --> 00:31:31.420 of darkness. It's demonic opposition that uses 00:31:31.420 --> 00:31:34.059 flesh and blood. But believe me, it happens. 00:31:35.460 --> 00:31:37.940 To some degree, it was even evidenced yesterday 00:31:37.940 --> 00:31:43.799 in the march for Jesus, where there was opposition. 00:31:46.480 --> 00:31:50.200 Resistance is inevitable. That ought not to stop 00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:54.119 us. It must not stop us. We must continue to 00:31:54.119 --> 00:31:58.759 be the people of God. Why? Because people need 00:31:58.759 --> 00:32:03.119 the Lord. Because people need Jesus. Because 00:32:03.119 --> 00:32:06.279 He is the solution to their problems. That is 00:32:06.279 --> 00:32:11.200 not a simplistic statement. It's the truth. Jesus 00:32:11.200 --> 00:32:16.299 Christ is the solution. He is the answer. And 00:32:16.299 --> 00:32:21.160 we are the ones called by God to that privilege 00:32:21.160 --> 00:32:24.339 of sharing Him. I liked what we sang just before 00:32:24.339 --> 00:32:28.740 the message. When we said, blessed to be a blessing, 00:32:29.700 --> 00:32:34.759 that's us. Privileged to care. Challenged by 00:32:34.759 --> 00:32:39.700 the need apparent everywhere. Where mankind is 00:32:39.700 --> 00:32:42.940 wanting, fill the vacant place. Be the means 00:32:42.940 --> 00:32:48.599 through which the Lord reveals His grace. That's 00:32:48.599 --> 00:32:58.180 our calling. Whenever I go into one of our department 00:32:58.180 --> 00:33:03.079 stores and pass by the fragrances, I like to 00:33:03.079 --> 00:33:06.660 go over where the men's fragrances are and see 00:33:06.660 --> 00:33:08.880 the samples that are out. Now, you men do this 00:33:08.880 --> 00:33:11.460 too, so don't stare at me like I'm some oddity. 00:33:12.880 --> 00:33:15.279 I like to go over there and I pick out one and 00:33:15.279 --> 00:33:18.059 put a little bit on my hand. You know, like I'm 00:33:18.059 --> 00:33:20.440 going to buy it. Just want to see what it's like. 00:33:20.500 --> 00:33:21.880 And then when they're not looking, I go like 00:33:21.880 --> 00:33:27.740 this. And then I like to go find my wife and 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:35.740 give her a hug. I say, ooh, you smell good. I 00:33:35.740 --> 00:33:37.640 guess it's a contrast to what she's used to, 00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:43.380 I don't know. But there's that fragrance. On 00:33:43.380 --> 00:33:46.119 the other hand, have you ever gone into a restaurant 00:33:46.119 --> 00:33:51.140 and the no smoking section was filled and you 00:33:51.140 --> 00:33:53.000 couldn't wait and so you had to get in the smoking 00:33:53.000 --> 00:33:56.170 section to eat? And they say, well, there's nobody 00:33:56.170 --> 00:33:58.509 smoking there. You can go ahead and sit down. 00:33:58.529 --> 00:34:03.089 As soon as you do, they pull them out. And you 00:34:03.089 --> 00:34:06.390 leave there, and you just reek with the smoke. 00:34:07.769 --> 00:34:10.809 And you walk home, and your husband or your wife 00:34:10.809 --> 00:34:14.230 says, whew, where have you been? Have you ever 00:34:14.230 --> 00:34:16.989 noticed? You can just smell it. It hangs on you, 00:34:17.130 --> 00:34:21.530 on your clothes. It shows where we've been. Oh, 00:34:21.530 --> 00:34:25.139 that our lives. as we walk among people, that 00:34:25.139 --> 00:34:27.920 our lives would be fragrant with the sweetness 00:34:27.920 --> 00:34:33.019 of Jesus. That the aroma of His life and His 00:34:33.019 --> 00:34:36.460 love, His compassion, His caring for people would 00:34:36.460 --> 00:34:40.219 be so strong in our lives that people, when they 00:34:40.219 --> 00:34:43.320 meet us, would say, boy, there's something awfully 00:34:43.320 --> 00:34:49.880 fragrant, awfully sweet about that person. We 00:34:49.880 --> 00:34:53.400 are called to share the Savior. That's our lifetime 00:34:53.400 --> 00:34:56.800 mission. What a privilege. What a calling. Let's 00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:00.119 do it. Because people need Jesus. Let's pray. 00:35:02.719 --> 00:35:05.000 I want to call you to this step of obedience 00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:08.480 today. Will you say in your heart, Lord, I will 00:35:08.480 --> 00:35:12.159 be obedient to share you with others this week. 00:35:13.260 --> 00:35:17.219 I will look for the opportunities. I want you 00:35:17.219 --> 00:35:21.860 to be the fragrance in my life. I want you to 00:35:21.860 --> 00:35:25.980 be the sweet aroma of God, of the good news. 00:35:28.300 --> 00:35:30.340 And Lord, I will look for the opportunities to 00:35:30.340 --> 00:35:33.119 open my mouth and to put the gospel, the good 00:35:33.119 --> 00:35:35.659 news, in the context of that person that's listening 00:35:35.659 --> 00:35:42.400 to me so that they can understand it. Now, you 00:35:42.400 --> 00:35:44.940 may have been living this way for the last week 00:35:44.940 --> 00:35:50.280 or a year or 50 years. Or you may just today 00:35:50.280 --> 00:35:52.719 be saying for the first time, I really want to 00:35:52.719 --> 00:35:56.380 live that way as a child of God. But if that 00:35:56.380 --> 00:35:59.800 is your prayer, whichever situation may be yours, 00:36:00.119 --> 00:36:02.599 you're saying, Lord, I want my life to be a fragrance 00:36:02.599 --> 00:36:04.659 of Jesus to others. Would you just lift your 00:36:04.659 --> 00:36:06.699 hand and put it down? Just lift it so he can 00:36:06.699 --> 00:36:09.639 see it. As a testimony to God, God, this is what 00:36:09.639 --> 00:36:15.139 I want my life to be. Amen. Lord, this week, 00:36:16.490 --> 00:36:20.030 May the aroma of Jesus be upon us, the sweetness 00:36:20.030 --> 00:36:23.630 of God, and may there be something about our 00:36:23.630 --> 00:36:28.650 lives that will attract others to Him. And Lord, 00:36:28.730 --> 00:36:34.849 fill us with courage. Fill us with wisdom that 00:36:34.849 --> 00:36:38.829 we might share the Savior with others. Amen.