Participants: Delmar Austin
Series Code: OTR
Program Code: OTR000922
|
01:00 Oh! Good morning boys and girls this morning.
01:03 Good morning! I guess some of your friends 01:07 are still sleeping in this morning. 01:11 Well, our story today is about a little girl, 01:14 a young girl, by the name of Flora Marshall, 01:18 what's the name of the girl? Flora Marshall. 01:20 Oh! You remember that well. Flora Marshall. 01:24 Now Flora Marshall in her home there were 01:28 rules, how many of you have rules in your 01:30 homes? Some of you do? Wow, are they 01:34 good rules? No. Rules are actually good 01:40 for you, okay. Especially, if you come from a 01:43 Christian homes. Flora Marshall had rules in 01:47 her home that was given by the mother and 01:50 one of the rules was that none of them was 01:54 to touch any of the fruit before mealtime. 02:01 But one day Flora was just sitting in her 02:03 room waiting for her friends and Linda and 02:07 Janet to come over and visit, and as she 02:10 was waiting it was kind of long wait and as 02:14 she was waiting, she was tempted to go 02:18 down and take one of the oranges that 02:23 momma had said not to touch until mealtime. 02:28 So, Flora thought about it, okay decided I'm 02:32 going to go and take one of the oranges, 02:35 came out looked through the hall where no 02:37 one is looking, and then ran right down the 02:42 stairs going down to the kitchen went into 02:44 the dinning hall, looked around, no one was 02:46 in the dinning hall, in the dinning room and 02:50 then came right up to where the oranges were, 02:54 I know there are only two oranges here, 02:56 but the story there were pile of oranges. 03:00 She came and looked at the oranges that's 03:02 what she wanted and then she looked 03:04 carefully, look carefully she was looking for 03:07 the biggest orange. Grabbed it, looked around, 03:14 nobody is looking, put in her pocket, 03:17 came right into the hallway, 03:19 looked around and stormed right up the 03:21 stairs in right before she got into her room 03:25 brother called Flora, Flora, your friends are 03:30 coming through the gates. Now, she thought 03:33 okay, I have to go right back down before 03:35 she got to the room, she stormed right 03:37 back down open up the door and they were 03:41 her friends Linda and Janet. Oh! Hello 03:45 friends, they came right in, but you know 03:49 something had changed dramatically on 03:52 Flora's attitude, well not only that but 03:57 Flora started to turn pale, she looked 03:59 miserable, she looked shameful. 04:04 But of course her friends had come in 04:06 she had to treat them well they're 04:08 visitors, come on in friends and Flora took 04:12 her friends right into the living room to 04:14 where momma is. They came over to 04:16 momma, they started talking with momma, 04:20 laughing together but you know there 04:22 was a problem with Flora, as I've shared, 04:26 she was miserable, she tried to laugh and 04:29 talk happily but she just couldn't, 04:32 do you know why? Do you think why 04:34 she was like that? Yes, she took one of the 04:36 oranges, because she took one of the 04:39 oranges without permission. You know she 04:43 couldn't get her mind off the oranges that 04:46 she had taken but not only that she 04:48 hadn't had a chance to eat it. 04:51 She hadn't had, she couldn't have a 04:52 chance to put it away because everybody 04:54 was around now, but then they went 04:59 on with their visit together momma then 05:02 said alright its dinner time guys, so let's 05:05 get together on the table and its time 05:08 to eat. So they gathered together and 05:11 they started eating, as they were eating 05:14 momma noticed something on Flora. 05:19 She looked over Flora wasn't eating at all, 05:23 momma then said Flora dear, you're not 05:27 eating what, is there anything wrong? 05:32 But this Flora was so miserable, 05:35 she wanted just burst out crying and 05:37 just ask for forgiveness. But then, 05:43 she thought okay she's just gonna hold on, 05:47 then her time is over. Now it's time for 05:49 games and how many of you like to play 05:51 games? Yes, you know even when your 05:54 friends come over there you play games 05:56 with them right. Well, it was game time. 06:00 Now supper was over, now game time is 06:03 they gather together, play games they 06:04 played one game, they played another game, 06:08 they played another game, but throughout 06:10 this game you know guess what happened 06:13 to the orange it kept oops, it kept falling 06:16 down, and Flora was sometimes oops could 06:21 move over to the corner and try to stuff 06:23 things into her pocket to block the orange 06:25 in because it was embarrassing, 06:27 she doesn't want to get caught by 06:29 momma. Now, game time was over and 06:36 you know usually when the games are 06:37 over it's. You become sad because people 06:40 are going home, nothing to do now and that's 06:42 exactly what happened with Flora, 06:45 friends went to home, the brother and the 06:48 rest of the siblings went to sleep and only 06:51 Flora and the parents were still up. 06:54 Flora then thought to herself how could 06:58 I have done such a selfish and sinful thing. 07:04 Poor Flora, she was she had sinned against 07:08 God and also to her mother. And she had 07:12 though this she sat quietly for awhile and 07:15 then she said okay, I'm gonna go over to 07:18 momma. She then walked slowly over to momma, 07:25 her heart started beating a little fast, 07:28 you know what she is gonna do now right? 07:30 What do you think she is gonna do? What? 07:33 Tell her mom what she did. Tell the mom 07:37 what she did exactly, when she came over 07:40 to momma, momma looked over and said 07:43 oh dear, you look so exhausted, 07:46 you look tired, did you just come to say 07:49 goodnight to momma? She then said, momma, 07:57 I have been so wicked and she cried and she 08:02 knelt down and held momma's part of the 08:04 dress and put in her face and cried and she 08:08 reach into her pocket, here you go momma, 08:14 she handed the orange over to mom. 08:18 And you know what momma did? 08:20 Momma then said Flora, I'm not gonna punish 08:26 you I've watched what you've got through, 08:30 I've watched you've been so miserable, 08:32 I watched you pale, that was enough 08:34 punishment already. I forgive you. 08:40 Well then momma then said, well there is 08:42 somebody else you need to ask 08:43 forgiveness to, who do you think that is? 08:46 God, Jesus, yes, momma then said, 08:51 you need to ask God for forgiveness. 08:55 You see when we do wrong at home not 08:57 only are we doing wrong to our parents 09:00 but we are also doing wrong to who, 09:03 to God. Okay so there is a little girl Flora 09:06 knelt to her knees and prayed dear Jesus, 09:11 please forgive me for taking the orange and 09:14 please help me not to fall into temptations. 09:18 Amen, and that was her prayer. 09:22 Just remember guys when you do wrong, 09:27 you don't feel good and that's what the 09:28 devil wants to happen to you, okay. 09:32 But when you confess, when you ask for 09:34 forgiveness to mommy and daddy, 09:36 especially to God you will be free and then 09:39 you can get, then you get to enjoy life 09:42 once again, okay. So, if you ever done wrong 09:47 what do you do? What do you do when 09:50 you do wrong? Tell your mom and dad 09:55 what you did and pray to Jesus, 09:57 okay good, good. Let us pray together alright, 10:01 anyone would like to pray? Lets close. 10:04 Okay, let's have a prayer together. 10:07 Thank you for the Lord, thank you for this day, 10:12 amen, amen. God bless you all 10:15 you can now to your seat. 10:58 About seven years ago, in this church we 11:03 decided to do a mission trip. We wanted 11:08 to go to the Dominican Republic and build 11:12 a church building for members that 11:15 needed a place to meet. And so, it was 11:20 around 15 or 20 of us that volunteered 11:25 to go on the trip. Jim Moret you were 11:29 with us and Punk you were with us I know. 11:34 We went over to the Dominican, we solicited 11:37 the help of Luis Leonor who was then 11:42 working with the Lake Union. He coordinated 11:46 the trip for us, we met Luis in Santo Domingo 11:53 from there we took some buses to the city of 11:57 Cotuí and then east to a small little village 12:02 just on the other side of the city of Cotuí 12:06 and it was there that the members of a 12:10 small little congregation wanted us to build 12:13 a church. We stayed right in that little 12:17 village, we stayed at the home of someone 12:21 who was willing to just open up their home, 12:23 the ladies stayed there in that home, 12:26 the men stayed in the building which had 12:28 been the place of the church was meeting 12:30 together, it was a small building, 12:32 it had no windows. The members had 12:36 brought together some beds, so we had 12:37 a place to sleep and the men slept together 12:39 in that building, and everyday we would 12:43 walk though town to the site where we were 12:46 going to build this church building. 12:49 It was a small, small piece of property and 12:52 it was pretty rough, took us quite a bit of 12:55 work to be able to prepare the, the land 13:00 so that the church could be built there. 13:03 But we did that, we worked together and 13:06 as we went to work everyday we began to 13:09 connect with the people that lived there 13:10 in that little village. Not just the church 13:12 members but all the people along the way 13:16 in fact they took a special fascination in 13:18 the project that we were doing. And there 13:21 were very few if any automobiles in that 13:24 little village but there were motor scooters 13:26 and so as we were on our way to the work 13:28 site they would give us a ride on the back 13:30 on their motor scooter. And we got to know 13:33 the people there very well, they would 13:35 come and watch us work and they volunteer 13:37 to work and sometimes we didn't want 13:38 them to help us out, but they would help 13:40 us anyway and we were able to get a lot 13:44 accomplished. We didn't finish that church 13:47 building but we were able to put up the walls 13:49 and put up the barn beam and hopefully 13:52 that church is in use now and I know it is 13:55 because I remember that it was finally 13:58 finished off. But we had a very good week 14:01 there and I remember the final night was a 14:04 Saturday night before we left and we met 14:09 together, we invited over some of the church 14:12 members to come and just kind of have a 14:15 little farewell time together. And not only 14:18 did the church member show up but also 14:22 a good portion of that community came out 14:24 that night and they came over to the location 14:28 where we had been staying and they were 14:30 just very excited to see us and to talk 14:33 with us and even though we had difficulty 14:36 talking back and forth with our English and 14:38 their Spanish, they were just so happy that 14:41 we had come. And, I remember we had 14:44 a translator that was going and I gave a 14:47 little speech, a little thank you to the 14:49 community for all that they had done and 14:50 we just wished them the very best and 14:52 I got through and I thought the evening 14:54 was over and no they wanted hear a 14:56 speech from everyone, each one of our group, 15:00 and we went on into the night and shared 15:03 with them and talked with them, 15:05 and just had a great experience together. 15:08 It was a very bonding experience with that 15:11 community. And I though about the Apostle 15:14 Paul and how Paul as he began his ministry 15:19 called to be an Apostle to the Gentile how 15:21 Paul must have known that he had to be 15:23 all things to all people. Although, Paul had 15:29 grown up in a Gentile environment, 15:33 when God called him now to be the 15:36 apostle to the gentiles, the one that would 15:37 go out and preach the gospel in many 15:40 different places he realized that now he 15:43 would be going into many communities, 15:44 many different cultures and he would have 15:46 to learn how to connect with the peoples 15:49 that were there so that he could 15:51 communicate the gospel, the story of 15:53 Jesus Christ. That takes quite a gift to do 15:58 that, doesn't it. Evangelist Rick, but God 16:03 had called him for that purpose, God had 16:05 called him to connect with people all around 16:11 and to share the Gospel story. One of 16:14 maybe the most difficult experiences that 16:17 Paul ran into was when he visited the city 16:20 of Athens. Athens is the, and the time 16:24 of Paul, it's the great cultural center of 16:26 the world, the center of power of course 16:28 is Rome, under the Roman Empire, 16:31 but the center of culture is Athens. 16:35 All the philosophers of the age lived there 16:39 in Athens, all the people with refined 16:43 knowledge and taste they are the ones that 16:46 lived in Athens. Paul now comes to speak 16:53 to this community, actually God has given 16:55 him a call on his second missionary journey 16:58 to come over to Macedonia. So he travels 17:02 across the Aegean sea, begins his work 17:05 and Macedonia, stops in several different 17:08 locations along the way and every place 17:10 where Paul speaks there is trouble, 17:13 there is opposition to the work that he's 17:15 doing, and so he has to continue to move 17:18 on and on and finally in the last place that 17:21 we read about in Beria, there is opposition 17:23 again that takes place and he has to leave 17:25 behind Silas and Timothy. So that he can 17:31 be protected from whatever violence may 17:34 erupt. He goes on to Athens, he's waiting 17:37 for them to come and this is where we pick 17:40 up the story in Acts chapter 17 and verse 17:43 16 if you have your Bibles this morning I 17:45 invite you to open them up to Acts 17:47 chapter 17 verse 16, Paul is alone, 17:52 he is here in this cosmopolitan city of 17:57 culture, Athens, Grease. How is he going 18:02 to be all things to all people here? 18:04 How is he going to connect with the 18:06 people of Athens and share the message 18:09 of the gospel? Acts chapter 17 verse 16, 18:15 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, 18:19 his spirit was provoked within him when 18:23 he saw that the city was given over to idols, 18:28 there were idols everywhere, there were 18:31 Roman idols, there were Greek idols, 18:35 there were idols that went back to all 18:36 sorts of, the many forms of Pagan worship, 18:40 there were idols that were all over the city 18:45 and it brought a conviction to the heart 18:46 of Paul that he must speak out, that he 18:50 must introduce the men and women of 18:52 Athens to the true God, the one and only 18:56 true God. Verse 17 therefore he reasoned 19:00 in the synagogue with the Jews, and with 19:03 the gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace 19:06 daily with those who happened to be there, 19:10 then certain epicurean and stoic 19:11 philosophers encountered him and some 19:14 said what does this babbler want to say? 19:20 These are men that are probably well 19:22 trained in communication and in philosophy 19:28 and they look at Paul and they say, 19:30 what is this man babbling about? 19:34 Others said he seems to be a proclaimer 19:36 of foreign Gods, because he preach to 19:38 them Jesus and the resurrection. 19:42 And they took him and brought him to 19:45 the Areopagus. Now, the Areopagus 19:49 was a place but it was also a group of 19:51 men, it was a place on Mars Hill where 19:56 people had came together to talk, debate, 20:01 philosophize, it had been a place where 20:04 actual trials had been held. The meaning 20:08 of the word Areopagus is actually a rocky 20:11 hill, it was on that rocky hill that Paul 20:14 was brought before this group, the council 20:17 if you will of Athens. Now think about this, 20:20 Paul had an opportunity here to preach 20:26 the gospel, to share the story of Jesus as 20:30 probably as publicly as could be as could 20:33 be wanted for him. This is what he was 20:36 looking for, the opportunity to share the 20:38 gospel now in front of all the well known men 20:43 of Athens. He has the opportunity to tell 20:46 the story about Jesus. They took him, 20:50 they brought him to the Areopagus saying, 20:52 may we know what this new doctrine is 20:56 of which you speak? For you are bringing 20:58 some strange things to our ears, 21:02 therefore we want to know what these things 21:04 mean, for all the Athenians and the 21:06 foreigners who were there spent their time 21:09 in nothing else, but either to tell or to 21:12 hear some new thing. They wanted to 21:16 hear whether they believed it, whether they 21:18 followed it or not, not important, they just 21:19 wanted to hear it, what was it that Paul 21:23 was saying? What was it that he wanted 21:24 to share, verse 22, then Paul stood in the 21:29 midst of the Areopagus, and said, "men 21:32 of Athens, I perceive that in all things 21:36 you're very religious, for as I was passing 21:40 through and considering the objects of your 21:42 worship, I even found an altar with this 21:46 inscription: To the unknown God. 21:50 Therefore, the one whom you worship 21:54 without knowing him I proclaim to you". 21:59 So you worship the unknown God well I 22:00 want to tell you about the unknown God. 22:04 I want to tell you who he really is. 22:08 People of Athens had a lot of Gods. 22:12 Politically correct, wanted to make sure 22:14 that every God got mentioned, you can 22:17 worship any God that you wanted to, 22:19 that you wanted to worship, didn't matter 22:21 which ever was fine. In fact somebody 22:24 wanted to be so politically correct and 22:26 wanted to make sure that no God was 22:28 missed out on and so they put up a 22:31 monument of some kind to the unknown God. 22:37 Now let me suggest this morning that 22:38 having an unknown God is rather convenient, 22:43 it's rather convenient for a sinful heart. 22:49 What kind of characteristics would an 22:51 unknown God have? Oh! An unknown God 22:57 would not be very personal right, 23:00 would not be a God that knew you, 23:03 if you don't know Him then he must 23:06 be pretty impersonal, he must be like the clock 23:10 maker God, the one that just kind of 23:12 puts the parts together and set it 23:13 in motion but really has nothing to do beyond 23:18 that. This the kind of God that the 23:21 Athenians are worshiping the, 23:24 the God that is unknown, we don't know 23:27 who God is. He is out there, there is 23:31 a divine power that's out there some place 23:34 but we really don't know much about him, 23:36 so we really can't say much about who 23:39 he is what he is like. And of course if God 23:44 is an impersonal God, then he cannot 23:48 make many demands upon your life, 23:53 if you don't know God, if you don't know 23:55 what he's about you don't know what 23:57 his character is like, then he is not gonna 23:59 make any demands upon your lives. 24:03 You can do as you please and you can 24:05 have the approval of God, because you 24:09 don't really know what God wants and 24:10 what God approves of. So everything's fine, 24:16 that is the unknown God. I'd like to suggest 24:20 this morning that a little of people like to 24:21 serve the unknown God. They like to serve 24:25 the God that is unknown, that is impersonal, 24:27 that is way out there some place, that makes 24:29 no demands upon their life, so they can live 24:33 anyway that they want to. Not a personal God, 24:40 not a God that takes specific interest in you, 24:44 amen. Boy, the unknown God so different than 24:48 the Jehovah God that is talked about in the 24:51 Old Testament right? The Jehovah God that 24:55 was the God of Israel, was a very personal 24:58 God. In your face God, not in a bad way, 25:02 but close up that's right. God calls Abraham, 25:10 he calls him, Abram, he's Abram first calls 25:12 Abram, go from your land, I want you to 25:15 move to a different location He tells him 25:18 where to go, that's a pretty personal God, 25:21 when He tells you where to move right? 25:24 Amen. God changes His name, He says we're 25:27 not gonna call you Abram anymore we're 25:29 gonna call you Abraham. Man, if a God 25:33 changes your name that's pretty personal 25:36 too, usually just your parents think over 25:38 that right. And not only that, one day God 25:43 shows up for lunch, you remember that story 25:47 Abraham, sitting out in front of his tent, 25:49 suddenly coming down the road, 25:51 there is God, a couple of angels with Him 25:54 want to stop in for lunch. Abram, what you 25:56 got for lunch today. Hey, that's a pretty 25:59 personal God I think. Story of Jacob, 26:05 Jacob is coming back to the land of Israel 26:07 again and he is so worried about what his 26:08 brother's gonna do and in the middle of the 26:10 night guess what he ends up wrestling with 26:15 God the Bible says. Boy, the God of Israel 26:21 is a personal God; the God of Israel is one 26:25 that knows you, that cares about you, 26:29 that is concerned about you and certainly 26:31 one that makes demands upon your life. 26:35 Aren't those that know you and love you, 26:38 ones that are going to make some, 26:41 have some expectations for you life, 26:44 like mom, did you brush your teeth? 26:49 Did you change your underwear this 26:50 morning? Take a sweater before you go 26:55 to school and when you get out there look 26:57 both ways before you cross the street. 27:01 There is someone who loves you, 27:03 there is someone who has expectations for you, 27:08 someone who is very personal, 27:10 who can be more personal than mom, 27:14 that is the God of Israel, that is not an 27:17 unknown God. Now people of Athens, 27:22 the Athenians worship an unknown God, 27:26 I believe a lot of people today still want to 27:28 worship the unknown God, they want to worship 27:31 a God that doesn't make any demands upon 27:35 them. So yeah there are a force out there 27:36 somewhere, some place, but we really don't 27:41 know anything about God so you know we 27:44 can't come to any conclusions about what is 27:45 right and wrong. Folks, I believe evolution has 27:49 helped teach us that God put it all into the 27:53 work somewhere, not the God that leaned 27:58 over man, formed him from the dust of the 28:00 ground, breathed into his nostrils the breath 28:03 of life. Now somehow just like push the 28:07 button up in heaven some place and or if 28:10 some chemical reaction happened down here 28:12 on earth, and life was formed in some 28:14 primeval pond and it all got started. 28:22 Bible consistently tells us that God is a 28:26 personal God, He knows us individually, 28:29 He knows everything about us, He made us, 28:33 He is our creator and that is exactly the 28:37 argument that the Apostle Paul used when 28:40 he was in Athens, when he was dealing with 28:44 this group of wise philosophers, he said 28:48 wait a minute I want to tell you, you 28:50 worship the unknown God I want to tell 28:53 you who that God is. Verse 24 he said God, 29:00 who made the world and everything in it 29:03 since he is Lord of heaven and earth, 29:05 does not dwell in temples made with hands, 29:09 nor is he worshiped with men's hands, 29:12 as though he needed anything, since he 29:14 gives to all life, breath, and all things. 29:20 And he has made from one blood every 29:22 nation of men to dwell on all the face of the 29:24 earth, and has determined their pre-appointed 29:27 times, and the boundaries of their habitation. 29:30 See what Paul is saying here not only did 29:32 God create man from the dust of the earth, 29:36 not only did he make each of us individually 29:40 but he is working in our lives, he is 29:43 determining where we're gonna go and 29:45 what we're going to do. God is involved in 29:47 your life. God is a personal God. Verse 27, 29:54 so that they should seek the Lord, 29:57 in the hope that they might grope for Him 29:59 and find Him, though He is not far from 30:01 each one of us; "For in him we live and 30:06 move and have our being." as also some 30:09 of our own poets, your own poets said, 30:12 for we are also his offspring, we are his 30:16 children. We're sons and daughters of God. 30:20 You may not know it, you may not recognize it, 30:23 but you're a son and daughter of God. 30:25 God made you, he knows everything about you, 30:29 He knows your thoughts, He knows your desires, 30:33 he knows your wants, he knows your needs, 30:36 he is a God that cares about you. There is always 30:39 a temptation to think that God is out there 30:41 some place He really doesn't know me, 30:43 He really doesn't care about my life why 30:46 doesn't He give me the things that I want 30:48 you know when I ask something in prayer 30:50 why doesn't He give me exactly what 30:51 I want? There is a temptation that's always 30:54 out there to think that God doesn't know me, 30:57 he doesn't really care for me and the Bible 30:59 says that God does know us individually and 31:03 He is active in our lives. God is a personal 31:08 God, and this is the message that Paul is 31:10 preaching to the Athenians. And because 31:15 He is a personal God, because He knows 31:18 us so well, because He loves us so much, 31:20 He has demands that he is going to make 31:23 in our lives. His expectations of what he 31:27 wants to see happen to us. Verse 29 31:32 "Therefore since we are the offspring of God, 31:36 we are not to think that the divine nature 31:38 is like gold or silver or stone, something 31:42 shaped by art and man's devising, 31:45 we loose our picture of how big and great 31:48 God is when we make an idol. Truly, these 31:54 times of ignorance God overlooked, 31:57 but now commands all men everywhere to 32:01 what? To repent, it's time to repent now. 32:07 Because he has appointed a day on which 32:09 He will judge the world in righteousness, 32:11 by the man whom He has ordained; 32:16 there's gonna be a judgment, there is gonna 32:18 be an accounting for everything you've done 32:20 in this life, because God has expectations 32:25 of you lives. So if you are a sinner and 32:28 all of us are, then it's time to repent. 32:32 Make your life right with God, God who 32:36 loves you, how knows everything about you 32:38 who knows everything that you've done 32:40 wrong since now, repent because the day 32:43 of judgment is coming. That's the argument 32:47 that Paul uses to this very sophisticated group 32:53 of Athenians who are trying to worship an 32:55 unknown God. Guess what folks? 33:00 That is a message that is going to the world 33:04 before Jesus comes again, this message 33:05 right here in Act 17, God is the creator and 33:10 a day of judgment is coming. Revelation 33:14 chapter 14, you know I was going there 33:16 didn't you. Revelation 14, verses six and 33:20 seven, tell me this, how many angels are 33:22 in Revelation chapter 14? How many angels, 33:27 no? How many angels, six angels, you need 33:31 to know that. The three angels, the last 33:35 three angels are involved in the harvest of the 33:37 world right. And that's when Jesus returns, 33:41 but those first three angels in Revelation 14 33:44 are taking a message to the world before 33:47 Jesus comes again. Revelation chapter 14 33:50 verses six and seven Then I saw another 33:53 angel flying in the midst of heaven, having 33:55 the everlasting gospel to preach to those who 33:57 dwell on the earth to every nation, tribe, 33:59 tongue and people to everyone, all things 34:04 to all people that's what God's called us 34:06 for in the last days right, saying with a 34:10 loud voice, here's the message, fear God and 34:13 give glory to him why for the hour of his 34:16 judgment has come. There is a judgment, 34:20 there is an accountability because 34:22 God has expectations of your life, 34:27 and also worship him who made heaven 34:31 and earth the sea and the springs of water, 34:35 because God is the creator. He made 34:38 everything and He made you, and God is 34:42 a personal God and he knows you and He 34:44 loves you. Therefore He wants you to 34:47 repent, before that final time of judgment 34:51 ends and it is too late that is a message that 34:55 goes to the world and folks our world is 34:58 even more sophisticated today than Athens, 35:01 Greece was back in Paul's time. Much more 35:04 sophisticated and there are many people 35:05 have decided that they don't need a God, 35:08 they certainly don't need a personal God, 35:10 if there is some kind of power out there 35:12 somehow that's fine, okay but don't 35:14 expect that God to make any expectations 35:16 upon me or any requirements upon me. 35:19 Folks that is not what Bible teaches, 35:21 the message they need to hear is that there 35:24 is a God that knows you, that loves He 35:26 is a personal God, He wants to work in your 35:28 life and He wants you to repent and turn 35:32 to him before Jesus comes back to this 35:35 world again, amen. That is what we are 35:37 called to preach to this sophisticated world 35:40 today. In Paul's situation unfortunately 35:48 there were not many that responded. 35:52 Acts chapter 17 verse 32, the end of 35:56 the story here, and when they heard of 36:00 the resurrection of the dead, because Paul 36:02 was talking about Jesus who's raised back 36:04 to life again. When they heard of 36:07 the resurrection of the dead, some mocked; 36:09 while others said, we will hear you again 36:14 on this matter. At a later time you can 36:17 come back and tell us again we will put it 36:19 off for now. The same thing that Felix told 36:23 Paul at another date at a better time, 36:29 come back and I'll hear you again, I'm too 36:31 busy right now. And opportunities are missed, 36:39 opportunities for salvation, because people 36:43 are not listening to the voice of their 36:46 conscious, the Holy Spirit speaking, convicting 36:49 their hearts that they need to respond to 36:52 the gracious mercies of God and be 36:56 forgiven of their sins. However there is 37:01 some good news verse 33, so Paul departed 37:03 from among them, however some men joined 37:06 him and believed, among then Dionysius 37:12 the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, 37:15 and others with them. There were a few 37:18 that listened even in Athens, even in this 37:21 sophisticated center of culture there were a 37:25 few that listened and responded and folks 37:28 there are still a few that will always listen, 37:32 there are some that are open and ready to 37:34 respond to the spirit of God that's why we 37:37 have to keep telling the gospel, that's why 37:39 we have to keep preaching the message, 37:41 because there will be a few that will hear 37:44 and respond and don't get discouraged if it's 37:48 not in huge numbers, because it wasn't that 37:53 way always in Paul's time either. 37:56 But God used him and there were a few 37:58 that responded. And according to 38:02 church history Dionysius became the elder 38:06 of that church in Athens, amen. And there's 38:08 been a Christian Church in Athens ever since 38:12 that time, there were a few that responded to him. 38:20 When I was a young boy, growing up 38:22 in rural Texas our electricity was provided 38:29 through a group that through a co-op group. 38:33 That wanted to promote the usage of 38:36 electricity, can you imagine that, we talk 38:38 about too much use of all sorts of things that 38:45 are out there today, that all sorts of 38:47 resources that are available, but back at 38:50 that time they wanted to promote the usage 38:52 of electricity and so now and then our 38:55 co-op in the area would have special 38:58 meetings and they would invite people to 39:00 come and they would giveaway free things 39:01 like toasters and special gifts to the children 39:05 and one time they had a silver dollar, 39:08 back when there were silver dollar, 39:10 they gave a silver dollar out to each child 39:13 that came up and I came up and I got 39:16 my silver dollar and I was so proud of 39:19 that silver dollar. And a couple of weeks 39:22 later we were gonna go visit my 39:24 grandparents in Oklahoma and I was so 39:27 excited about that because I could show 39:30 my grandparents that new shiny silver 39:33 dollar that I had. And I laid it carefully right 39:38 there on my chest of drawers in my bedroom 39:41 and it laid there and it laid there, 39:46 and the day came, the night that we packed 39:50 to go the next to see my grandparents. 39:54 And that night as I was packing my clothes, 39:57 I came up and I looked on my chest of drawers 40:00 and my silver dollar was not there, I don't 40:04 know where it went, I don't remember moving 40:07 it, but you know my wife thinks I forget 40:10 things for all the time and she's probably 40:12 right, but I don't remember moving it, 40:16 but it wasn't there. Now, I'm only a boy 40:21 of about seven or eight years old, 40:25 I don't know what to do, I start looking 40:28 through my bedroom, I look everywhere through 40:30 that bedroom I looked under sheets, 40:32 under pillows, under the bed, past the 40:35 dust bunnies you know, I look all around, 40:38 I look through the closet, I look through the 40:40 chest of drawers, I cannot find it anywhere, 40:44 I'm very upset, but I decided to pray, amen. 40:49 I get down on my knees by the side of my bed 40:51 and I began to pray and I said, Lord, 40:54 and this is probably a pretty selfish prayer 40:55 but I prayed it anyway Lord I want that 40:57 silver dollar, I want to show grandma and 41:00 grandpa that silver dollar, help me find that 41:03 silver dollar, and I get up and I look around 41:06 and I can't find it anywhere and I look and 41:08 I look and I look and I go through the house 41:10 now and I'm looking through the whole house 41:12 and I can't find it now I go back and I pray 41:14 Lord help me find the silver dollar and I do 41:17 this quite a few times back and forth and I'm 41:19 praying and praying and finally I can't find it 41:22 and I'm mad, I'm mad at God and I'm mad at 41:24 whoever took my silver dollar and I am just 41:27 upset, I was gonna go to bed I don't care 41:29 anymore and I come stomping into the 41:31 bedroom and I looked at my chest of drawers 41:34 and right out in the open it's there, 41:38 it's laid on top of my chest of drawers, 41:43 and I know I couldn't have missed it before. 41:48 I know something special happened and I 41:51 don't know what kind of means that God used 41:54 to get it there, but for some reason it's there, 41:57 amen. And I know God answered that prayer, 42:07 and suddenly I was filled with this 42:10 overwhelming sense that God is a personal 42:15 God, that he even listens to silly selfish little 42:21 seven or eight year old boys as they're praying 42:25 about their silver dollar, suddenly I know that 42:30 there is a personal God that cares for me 42:35 and if there is a personal God I know that that 42:38 God has expectations in my life. Folks, that 42:43 is a message people need to hear today. 42:47 There are so many trying to live their lives 42:49 without God. There are so many individuals that 42:53 have no sense that God cares for them, 42:56 that God is a personal God, that He is there 42:59 for them, that He will respond to their needs. 43:03 That is a message that Paul gave, 43:05 that is a message that we are called to give 43:08 to the world, by the grace of God may we be 43:14 faithful in telling the world it is not an 43:18 unknown God. There's a God out there that 43:22 knows us and loves us and wants 43:27 us in His kingdom some day. |
Revised 2014-12-17