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First Baptist Church Bartow
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First Baptist Church exists to develop disciples who love God, love the church, and love others. Find out more at www.bartow.church.
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“Objections to Sharing the Gospel”
Jan 19, 202500:36:57Tap to summarizeAn objection is a reason that you are against something or don’t want to do something. I may want my kids to go outside because they’re causing chaos inside. They may object by saying, “It’s too hot outside.” My kids may want to go outside to ride their bikes. I may object by saying, “It’s too dark outside.” An employee might be asked by their boss to do something. That employee may object by saying, “I don’t get paid enough to do that.” A husband may ask his wife if she’s ok with him going fishing. She may object by saying, “Not as long as that garage is still a mess.” You see, we come up with all kinds of objections to situations. Sometimes these objections are legitimate, and sometimes they are not. Today, we’re going to learn about “Objections to Sharing the Gospel.” Before we do, let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us. (prayer) Today, we are concluding our series called “Gospel Tools for Gospel People.” Thus far, we’ve learned how to share our story, and we’ve learned how to share The Three Circles. The reality is, we can have all the tools in the world, but if we’re not willing to put those tools to work, then they are no good. We have to be willing to share the gospel of Jesus Christ with a lost and dying world. However, not everyone is willing. In fact, some people come up with excuses or objections about why they don’t share the gospel with others. Let’s take a look at four of those objections now and then respond to those objections. First, . . . Objection #1 – Sharing the gospel is scary. Some things can be scary, right? Asking someone to marry you can be scary. Having children can be scary. Starting a new job can be scary. Moving out on your own can be scary. Moving to a new location can be scary. Letting your teenager drive can be scary. Buying a new home can be scary. Eating a burrito can be scary. Things can be scary, but that doesn’t mean that they’re not worth doing, right? Sometimes, we have to be brave in order to do something that is worth doing. Bravery is something that most of us value in others. We want our kids to be brave. We want others to be brave. Perhaps we even want to be brave ourselves. Do you know that bravery is not the absence of fear? Bravery is doing what should be done in the midst of fear. Listen to what the Apostle Paul said to Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:7 “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” You see, Church: In Jesus, God gives us a spirit of power, love, and sound judgment. He has not given us a spirit of fear. He does not want us to be afraid. What’s more, when we are afraid, the people of God are to press forward. We are to be brave for the glory of God. Additionally, as we live our lives on God’s mission, Jesus is with us along the way. Listen to what Jesus said in Matthew 28:19–20: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” Friends, we are not on our own. We have Jesus with us. He is with us always, to the end of the age. The knowledge that Jesus is with us should bring us courage. As a parent comforts a child in the dark. As a guide comforts someone in the wilderness. As an expert comforts a young apprentice. So also, Jesus comforts us because He is with us along the way. Sharing the gospel may be scary, but we are not to let fear stop us. We should have a spirit of power, and we should remember that Jesus is with us. Another objection is . . . Objection #2 – Sharing the gospel is hard. Well, that’s true in one sense and not true in another. Sharing the gospel is not hard in terms of knowing what to say, right? We just learned last week how to share The Three Circles. There are even simpler gospel outlines, such as the ABCs (Admit, Believe, Confess). Listen: You don’t need to have every answer from the Bible memorized to explain to someone that they are a sinner in need of being saved and that Jesus is the way for them to be saved. So, in that sense, sharing the gospel is not hard. We can and should know the basics of the gospel and be prepared to share. After all, we should remember the words of 1 Peter 3:15 to be “ . . . ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” It’s not hard in the sense that it would be too complex for us to do. We should simply be prepared (in terms of knowing what to say) and be ready (in terms of being willing to share). What can seem hard is taking that step of opening the door to actually share the gospel, right? First of all, some of us are more outgoing than others. Many of us would be fine not talking to anyone all day. In fact, some days that may seem like a dream come true for you. So, just approaching someone with the topic of anything may be hard for some of us. Also, for others of us, even if we are comfortable talking to people, we’re not always comfortable talking about Jesus. That issue goes back to the objection of being scared. Also, it has some overlap with the fourth objection, which we’ll look at soon. Here’s what I want to say about this subject for now: It may seem hard to share the gospel, but we must remember that God has given us a Helper. God has given us His Holy Spirit to help us and guide us along the way. Listen to what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit in John 14:16–17: “I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him, because he remains with you and will be in you.” So, it is hard at times, but we have a Helper; we have a Counselor; the Holy Spirit of God is with us. Next, we see . . . Objection #3 – Sharing the gospel is not my job. Let me just state this plainly: If you are a follower of Jesus, it is your job to be on mission for the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus commissioned us to be His witnesses. Jesus commanded us to go and make disciples. Jesus said in Mark 16:15, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” That command is pretty clear, isn’t it? All the world to all of creation. Brothers and sisters, we have a monumental task in front of us. We have a job to do. We must be about the task of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. Sharing the gospel is the job of every follower of Jesus. It’s not just for pastors. It’s not just for missionaries. It’s not just for evangelists. It’s not just for “super Christians.” Sharing the gospel is the responsibility of all of us who have called upon the name of Jesus for salvation. The final objection for today is . . . Objection #4 – Sharing the gospel may be offensive. Indeed, the gospel may be offensive. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 1:23, “ . . . we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to the Jews and foolishness to the Gentiles.”</s...
Transcribe →“The Three Circles”
Jan 12, 202500:37:11Tap to summarizeHow many of you here think you are pretty familiar with tools? Well, let’s take a little quiz on tools and see how you do. You’ll have to grade yourself on the honor system. Ok, here’s the first tool. Do you know what this is? It’s a toilet bowl flange removal tool. Here’s the second tool. Do you know what this is? It’s an oil filter removal tool. Next, here’s the third tool. Do you know what this is? It’s a pair of end-cutting pliers. Ok, here’s the fourth tool. Do you know what this is? It’s a cross-peen finish hammer. Finally, here’s the fifth tool. Do you know what this is? It’s a pulaski tool used for forest-firefighting. You see, we use tools for all sorts of special tasks. The truth is that most tasks for which we use specific tools can be completed without those tools. After all, I’ve taken an oil filter off by jamming a screwdriver into it and turning it. However, having the correct tool makes the task a lot easier, doesn’t it? Today, we’re continuing our series called “Gospel Tools for Gospel People.” Last week, we learned about telling our story; we learned how to tell our gospel story. This week, we’re going to learn how to share the foundational elements of the gospel using a simple tool called, “The Three Circles.” Some of you may remember this tool; that’s great if you do. However, many of you may not be familiar with it, and all of us can probably brush up on it. So, let’s learn about this tool, which will make the task of sharing the gospel easier. So, let’s go to the Lord in prayer, then prepare to learn about The Three Circles. (prayer) Ok, let’s dive into The Three Circles. What I love about this gospel tool is that it’s easy to explain, it’s easy to remember, and nearly anyone can understand it. The Three Circles tool is composed of three circles (believe it or not). So, in your bulletin, you’ll see those three circles. Let’s learn what those circles are. In the first circle, write . . . I. God’s Design So, we’ve already provided a rough outline for you in the bulletin. However, the great thing about this outline is that you can draw it on nearly anything. So, in that first circle, write God’s Design. This is where the gospel story starts, right? God designed everything in our universe. He designed the planets, He designed nature, He designed animals, and He designed each and every person. Part of God’s design for His creation is that it would be good. Genesis 1:25 says, “So God made the wildlife of the earth according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that crawl on the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.” God had a good design for all of us. God’s good design is that people would have joy, and purpose, and happiness, and love, and fulfillment. God has a good way for us to live and a good way for us to operate our lives. Think about this: No one knows what’s better for the creation than the Creator, right? The Creator teaches the creation how to operate. God teaches us how to find joy. God teaches us how to find wisdom. God teaches us how to find love. God teaches us how to find life. God teaches us about healthy relationships. God teaches us what it means to be a man or a woman. God teaches us about family relationships. God teaches us about government and authority. God teaches us how to operate a church. God is our Designer and He has a perfect design for our lives. Part of God’s good design is that we would be in a relationship with Him and would enjoy His creation with Him. God’s creation was created perfect and good. However, we’ve learned that the world we live in is not perfect and good, is it? What we see sometimes is that the world is messed up. What we see sometimes is brokenness. That takes us to our second circle. II. Brokenness You can write the word brokenness in the second circle. When we speak of brokenness, we mean that things are not perfect. Things are not operating the way they are supposed to operate; things are broken. If a child brings you a toy and it’s not working properly, they will often say, “This is broken.” Some of us have looked at the world, or we’ve looked at our lives, and we’ve said, “This is broken.” Well, what causes brokenness? Brokenness is caused by sin. I say this a lot, and it’s important for us to remember: Sin messes up everything. As you’re using this tool, it’s important that you share with someone what sin is. We don’t simply say that sin causes brokenness and then move on. We must explain that to sin means to depart from God’s design. To sin means to reject God’s good ways and go our own way. That departure from God’s design leads to brokenness in our world and brokenness in our lives. It’s also important that we point out how widespread the problem of sin is. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” All mean all, right? All of us have sinned and it has lead to brokenness in our lives. Sin is the reason we have messed up things in our lives. Sin is the reason we have messed up things in our world. Sin is the reason we have brokenness. We have broken relationships. We have broken families. We have broken finances. We have broken governments. We have broken children. We have broken identities. We have broken communities. We have broken churches. We have brokenness because of sin. None of us are immune from sin, and none of us are immune from brokenness. You know what happens with humans? We try to fix our brokenness, don’t we? We try to fix our sin. Proverbs 14:12 addresses this idea. Here’s what happens when we try to fix our lives. It says, “There is a way that seems right to a person, but its end is the way to death.” We try to fix our brokenness with relationships, with money, with acceptance, with power, with addiction, with education, with success, and with all sorts of other things. However, the way that seems right to us doesn’t fix us; it makes our brokenness even worse. Worse than all of this brokenness in our lives is the reality that our brokenness separates us from our Creator. Our brokenness and sin separate us from God. We were meant to have a relationship with God in heaven, but instead, our brokenness leads to an eternity separated from God, suffering from the punishment we deserve in a real place called hell. Sin leads to a broken world, a broken life, and a broken eternity. It turns out that we cannot fix our brokenness, but there is one who can. The only one who can fix God’s design from brokenness is God Himself. That leads to the third circle. III. Gospel Do you remember what the word gospel means? It means “good news.” The good news is that God can fix what we broke. John 3:16 is perhaps the most famous verse that speaks of this. It says, “For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” ...
Transcribe →“You Have a Story to Tell”
Jan 5, 202500:38:50Tap to summarizeWell, 2024 is over, and 2025 is here. Welcome to the new year! My hope, as you’ve already heard, is that 2025 will be “The Year of Evangelism” for our church. So, on that note, I wanted to be sure that everyone in our church is given the opportunity to learn how to share the gospel effectively. One of the greatest ways to share the gospel is to share your story. In the church world, we often call this story a testimony. A testimony is a retelling of something that happened to you. It’s a story. It’s your story. So, when we speak of your testimony, we’re speaking of your story. Here’s the thing, friends: If Jesus has changed your life, then you have a story to tell. Indeed, that’s the title of today’s sermon, “You Have a Story to Tell.” Before we go any further, let’s pray together and ask God to speak to us. (prayer) Well, some of us surely have some stories from 2024. I have some good stories, and I have some bad stories. Let me tell you about one of the good stories. For my birthday, I wanted to do something for my family, so I decided as a present to myself, I would take my family to LEGOLAND. We went to the park one evening, spent the night at the hotel, then went to the park again the next day. Well, LEGOLAND has this screen in the park that lists birthdays of park guests whose family members submit their information. Usually, kids are listed with their birthdays. Well, my son, Jeremiah, was very sneaky, and he got my name listed. Check it out. There I am, listed among all of those kids. Here’s a closer look. That act by my son was so special to me because someone took the time to think of me and put in some work to make me feel special. It actually brought me to tears. I was walking on Cloud 9 that day. That story is one of my favorites from 2024. Now, that’s my story. It happened to me. I can tell it to anyone because I’m very familiar with it. Again, that’s because it’s my story. So also, you have your own stories; some good and some bad. However, if you are a follower of Jesus, you also have the story of how Jesus changed your life. So, as we look at our gospel story, let’s focus now on three aspects of our story in the gospel. First of all, as I think about my gospel story, I think about . . . I. My old life. For those of us who are in Jesus, there was a time when we were not in Jesus, right? There was a time when we were walking in sin. Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We were all once sinners. We had fallen short of the glory of God. Our sin had caused a big problem in our lives, separating us from God, earning us an eternity in hell, and bringing all sorts of brokenness in our lives. Listen to how Paul describes our state without Jesus in Ephesians 2:1–3: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also.” We talked about this passage some during our Christmas series, but it’s important and helpful to come back to this passage again. Our “old life” is our life without Jesus. According to Ephesians 2, in our old lives, we were dead. In our old lives, we walked in the ways of the world. In our old lives, we walked according to evil. In our old lives, we carried out the desires of our flesh. Now, some of you, like I, were saved from your sins at a young age. You might think, “Well, how much sin could I have committed at eight years old?” However, we know that we were without Jesus. We know that we did not live for God’s glory. We know that we put our ways ahead of God’s ways. We know that we were cursed by sin. As you share your gospel story, these are elements for you to keep in mind. My old life was one of lostness. My old life was one of sin. My old life was one without Jesus. However, your old life was not the end, was it? You have been made new. So, the next part of my gospel story is . . . II. My new life. The old life is gone! Right, church? We’re no longer dead! Right, church? This part is essential to our gospel story. If you were never made new, then you are still lost in your sins; you are still dead in your trespasses and sins. However, in Jesus, we are made new! Listen to how Paul continues in Ephesians. Look at Ephesians 2:4–9: “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! He also raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavens in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. For you are saved by grace through faith, and this is not from yourselves; it is God’s gift—not from works, so that no one can boast.” This is the gospel message! Ephesians 2 reminds us that . . . God is rich in mercy. God loved us. God made us alive in Christ. God saved us by His grace. God raised us up and seated us with Jesus. God is displaying His riches to us. We did not save ourselves; God saved us. God saved us by grace through faith. God gave us His gift; we did not earn it. We have a new life, and it’s all due to the work of God in us through Jesus! Listen to how Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 6:9–11: “Don’t you know that the unrighteous will not inherit God’s kingdom? . . . And some of you used to be like this. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” Without Jesus, we will not inherit God’s kingdom. In our old lives, we were not part of God’s kingdom. But we’ve been changed. We were washed. We were sanctified (or made holy). We were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the power of the Holy Spirit. You have not always been a Christian. You were not born as a Christ follower. You have to be changed. You have to be justified. To be justified means to be declared right before God. When the judge says you are free to go, you are justified before that judge. When your boss inspects your work and gives you a thumbs up, you are justified before your boss. When your teachers gives you bonus points and writes an A+ on your paper, you are justified before your teacher. When you think you are in trouble with your parents, but they tell you not to worry about it and that everything is ok, you are justified before your parents. We are justified before God because Jesus has made us new. Jesus has paid for our sins. Jesus has made things right. When you are sharing your story with others, here are some things you might say in this regard: You might say, “Jesus set me free from my slavery to the power of evil.” You might say, “Jesus changed me from loving myself and my sin to loving God.” You might say, “Jesus gave me a new heart.” “Jesus gave me a new life.” “Jesus gave me a new purpose i...
Transcribe →“The Blessing of Christmas”
Dec 22, 202400:27:27Tap to summarizeWhen a plan is put together to address a need, it often will end in a blessing. Over the last two weeks, we’ve learned about that happening with Christmas. We’ve learned about “The Need for Christmas” and “The Planning of Christmas.” Today, we get to learn about “The Blessing of Christmas.” There are a lot of blessings that come from Christmas. I love getting together with my family and eating ham. I love being the official trash bag person when wrapping paper is being thrown about the room. I love sipping coffee while my kids exude excitement. I love having a few days off work. There are so many blessings that come with Christmas. However, there is no greater blessing than the reality that God loved us through Jesus. So, let’s learn about that blessing this week. Before we do, let’s go to the Lord in prayer. (prayer) So, while we’re still being grateful for all of the blessings that come at Christmas time. Let’s focus now on the greatest blessings that come at Christmas: Those gifts that are from our Lord God. First, we must recognize . . . I. The blessing of God’s intervention. Have you ever needed to intervene with something? Sometimes as a pastor, I need to intervene in situations at church. Sometimes, as a dad and husband, I need to intervene in situations at home. Sometime, you may need to intervene with someone because they are in a situation where they could really use some help. We learned over the last two weeks that we have a need for Christmas and God planned Christmas in order to address that need. We must recognize this reality: We needed intervention, and God intervened. It is such a blessing that God intervened on our behalves because we really needed help. Listen to how the Apostle Paul describes this situation in Ephesians 2:1–5: “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you previously walked according to the ways of this world, according to the ruler of the power of the air, the spirit now working in the disobedient. We too all previously lived among them in our fleshly desires, carrying out the inclinations of our flesh and thoughts, and we were by nature children under wrath as the others were also. But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace!” Isn’t that beautiful? We were in need. We were children under wrath. We needed intervention. We were in a desperate state, but God intervened. Christmas is about God meeting our need. You know what’s neat? There’s something about Christmas time that stirs up emotions within us which remind us that it is good and right to help those in need. There’s something in us that senses that Christmas is about intervening to help others. People ring bells to collect money for those in need at Christmastime, and it is good and right to do so. People will reach out to single parents or families in need to help them at Christmastime, and it is good and right to do so. People will visit widows or shut-ins at Christmastime, and it is good and right to do so. The whole idea of Christmas is built upon the blessing of God’s intervention into our world; it’s built upon God meeting our need. God did this; God intervened. Listen to this reminder from God to Joseph, the man engaged to be married to Mary, the mother of Jesus. We read this in Matthew 1:20: . . . an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take Mary as your wife, because what has been conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” This was not a coincidence. This was not just a miracle. This was the Holy Spirit of God at work. This was God’s invention. God looked at our need, He had a plan, and He blessed us by intervening in our lives. This was the blessing of God’s intervention. Second, we see . . . II. The blessing of God’s salvation. God intervened because we needed to be saved from our sins, right? We needed salvation. We use that word, salvation, a lot in church, but I wonder if we really know what it means. When we speak of salvation, it means that we need to be saved from something. Like someone who is trapped in a raging sea needs to be saved from a drowning. Like someone who is caught speeding needs to be saved from a ticket. Like a child who is caught disobeying needs to be saved from punishment. Like someone who jumps from a plane with no parachute needs to be saved from certain death. Listen, folks: Our sin brings devastating consequences from which we need to be saved. As Paul said in Ephesians 2, . . . . . . we were dead in trespasses and sins . . . we were children under wrath We need salvation! Listen to what one of the famous Christmas Bible verses says. Listen to Matthew 1:21: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to name him Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.” Did you catch that? Before Jesus was born, it was said of him, “He will save his people from their sins.” In fact, the name Jesus means “God saves” or “the Lord is salvation.” That’s the kind of intervention that we really need! We need the blessing of God’s salvation! We need someone to live righteously for us. We need someone to pay the death penalty for us. We need someone to rise to new life for us. We need someone to prepare a home in heaven for us. As we learned in our study in the Book of Acts, in Acts 4:12, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” We need the blessing of God’s salvation. Finally, at Christmas, we experience . . . III. The blessing of God’s kingdom. I think sometimes we miss out on the wonder of what it means to be a part of the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God refers to a time and place where God is acknowledged and worshipped as king. To be a part of God’s kingdom means two things: First, it means that we have the privilege of being called His children now, worshipping Him now, and acknowledging how wonderful He is now. This is such an honor! As 1 John 3:1 says, “See what great love the Father has given us that we should be called God’s children . . . ” We are living in the kingdom of God now. We are His children now. We can worship God now. We can acknowledge who He is now. We can follow Him now. Second, the kingdom of God refers to a time when God will make all things right, wipe away sin and evil, and establish Himself as King over all things in a way that none will be able to deny. The reality is, there are people now who do not praise God, do not worship Him, and do not acknowledge Him as King. However, that will not always be the case. One day, everyone will acknowledge God as the one true King! As Philippians 2:10–11 says, “ . . . at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” What a celebration that moment will be. There’s another picture of this celebration in the Bible. ...
Transcribe →“The Planning of Christmas”
Dec 15, 202400:29:36Tap to summarizeHow many of you are planners? How many of you are not planners? Well, we’re going to learn today that God is a planner. Now, it’s ok if you’re not a planner. Don’t worry; you’re not God. However, we should want God to be a planner because we needed Him to come up with a plan for our lives, and we needed Him to come up with a plan for the redemption of our souls. Today, we’re continuing our Christmas series, and today’s sermon is “The Planning of Christmas.” Let’s go to the Lord in prayer and ask Him to speak to us as we begin. (prayer) Ok, so you may recall from last week that we spoke about “The Need for Christmas.” This week is “The Planning of Christmas.” Next week, we’ll conclude with “The Blessing of Christmas.” We learned last week that we need Christmas because we need a faithful child, we need a supernatural birth, and we need unworldly love. Let’s see how God planned to meet those needs. First, see . . . I. The planning of the virgin birth Do you remember what prophecies are? In the Bible, prophecies are messages that are spoken, which are from the Lord, and which are happening or are going to happen. What we see regarding Christmas are several prophecies that point to something that is going to happen in the birth, life, and ministry of Jesus. We see prophecies that indicate that God was and is planning something special. You may recall that we learned last week about our need for a supernatural birth. Well, God planned that supernatural birth by the birth of Jesus Christ through a young lady, named Mary. Listen to how that moment was planned and prophesied in Isaiah 7:14. It says, “Therefore, the Lord himself will give you a sign: See, the virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel.” Remember, Immanuel means God with us. God the Father planned that His Son, Jesus, would be born supernaturally through the virgin birth. We see this plan come to fulfillment in Luke 1:26–27. It says, “In the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man named Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin’s name was Mary.” We would go on to see further in Luke 2:7: “Then she gave birth to her firstborn son, and she wrapped him tightly in cloth and laid him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” So, the virgin birth was planned by God to bring about the supernatural child. This moment was planned, it was prophesied, and it was fulfilled. God planned to bring about redemption to you and me through the miracle of Christmas, and He did so, in part, through the planning of the virgin birth. Next, we learn of . . . II. The planning of the location of the birth Is God involved in the details of our world? You better believe that He is! God planned the moment when you would accept Him as Lord. God planned the moment when you were born. God is planning the moment when you will pass from the earth and go to Him. God even knows what you’ll have for lunch today. God is in the details. When God was planning the miracle of Christmas, He was even planning the location of the birth of Jesus the Messiah. Listen to this prophecy from Micah 5:2. It says, “Bethlehem Ephrathah, you are small among the clans of Judah; one will come from you to be ruler over Israel for me. His origin is from antiquity, from ancient times.” What a beautiful prophecy. Micah is providing a message from God, to God’s people, giving them hope about a ruler who will come out of Israel, who’s origin is from ancient times. That’s miraculous! That’s incredible! That’s impossible, apart from the power of God! In Matthew 2:4–6, we read about this being fulfilled. King Herod is trying to find out where the Messiah would be born. We read: So he assembled all the chief priests and scribes of the people and asked them where the Messiah would be born. “In Bethlehem of Judea,” they told him, “because this is what was written by the prophet: And you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah: Because out of you will come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.” This is incredible! God was in the planning of Christmas all along. He cared about you and me enough that He planned the very town where His Son, Jesus, would be born. It doesn’t end there. Did you know that Joseph and Mary had to flee the land to escape the fierce anger of King Herod? This event was also planned by God. We hear about this prophecy in Hosea 11:1. It says: “When Israel was a child, I loved him, and out of Egypt I called my son.” Of course, this prophecy applies in part to God remembering how He delivered His people, Israel, from Egypt. However, look at how the Book of Matthew connects the dots for us to help us see that God was planning more than the deliverance of His people from Egypt. Matthew 2:13–15 says: . . . an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Get up! Take the child and his mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I tell you. For Herod is about to search for the child to kill him.” So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night, and escaped to Egypt. He stayed there until Herod’s death, so that what was spoken by the Lord through the prophet might be fulfilled: Out of Egypt I called my Son. You see, God not only delivered His people from Egypt. He also delivered His Son from Herod, to Egypt, and then later He called Him about of Egypt to return back to Israel. What’s more, God delivered us from our sins through the miracle of Christmas, and He did so, in part, by planning the locations of the events in the Christmas story. Finally, we see . . . III. The planning of the blessing of the birth Well, the Christmas story is not just about a virgin birth; it is not just about the location of a birth; it is about a tremendous blessing. The blessing of the birth of Jesus was also planned out by God Almighty! Listen to what we read in Isaiah 9:6–7: “For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. The dominion will be vast, and its prosperity will never end. He will reign on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish and sustain it with justice and righteousness from now on and forever. The zeal of the Lord of Armies will accomplish this.” This Christmas miracle would bring about a child who would be an extraordinary child. This Child, whom we know to be Jesus, would be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace! This Child would have vast dominion with never-ending prosperity. This Child would reign on the throne of King David of Israel. This Child would establish and sustain justice and righteousness then, now, and forever. This Child would come about by the power of the zeal of the Lord! This prophecy from Isaiah would point to God’s divine hand in planning the blessing of the birth. Of course, we see this prophecy fulfilled. We see this plan worked out. Matthew 2:1–2 says: After Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of King Herod, wise men from the east arrived in Jerusalem, saying, “Where is he who has been born king of the Jews? For we saw his star at its rising and have come to worship him.” Jesus came about as the Child who was prophesied and planned. He came about as the King who was proph...
Transcribe →“The Need for Christmas”
Dec 8, 202400:26:35Tap to summarizeHave you ever seen a need, made a plan to fix it, and then benefited from the blessing of carrying out that plan? When our family lived in Kentucky, we lived in a house that was built in 1900. It had a lot of the original 1900 components, including the old clay pipes that ran from the gutters to the city drainage. As a result, we got a lot of water seeping into our basement. So, I put a sump pump in the basement and replaced the old clay pipes with PVC. Then, we had much less water in our basement. You see, I saw a need, I came up with a plan, then I experienced a blessing. God did that for us in the gift of Christmas, didn’t He? He saw that we were in need, He came up with a plan, and He brought a blessing to us. Over the next three Sundays, we’re going to hear three messages, entitled “The Need for Christmas,” “The Planning of Christmas,” and “The Blessing of Christmas.” Today, let’s discover how there was a need for Christmas. Before we do, would you join me in prayer? (prayer) With my old house, I knew I had a need because there was water in the basement. Well, why do we need Christmas? Let’s look now at three reasons. First, . . . I. The need for a faithful child. You see, God created humanity to dwell with Him and be in a loving relationship with Him. God created us as His children. Our initial relationship with God as our Father was good! Yet, we were unfaithful. Many of you know this story, right? Adam and Eve broke the one rule that God gave them not to break. We can read about it in Genesis 3:1–6: “Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the wild animals that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You can’t eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat the fruit from the trees in the garden. But about the fruit of the tree in the middle of the garden, God said, ‘You must not eat it or touch it, or you will die.’ ” “No! You will certainly not die,” the serpent said to the woman. “In fact, God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” The woman saw that the tree was good for food and delightful to look at, and that it was desirable for obtaining wisdom. So she took some of its fruit and ate it; she also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it.” Up until this point, Adam and Eve were faithful children of God. However, it was at this moment, when they rejected God’s ways, that they became unfaithful children. That’s terrible news because unfaithful children have a damaged relationship with their father. Here’s what’s terrible news for us: Not only were Adam and Eve unfaithful children, but all of us were also unfaithful children. Romans 5:12 says, “Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death spread to all people, because all sinned.” Our sin not only breaks our relationship with our Heavenly Father, but our sin also brings death into our lives. This is a major problem. This is a major need. We need a faithful child. Through the miracle of Christmas, God gave us the Faithful Child. Jesus came as the Son of God and lived faithfully in obedience to God and His ways. He was perfect in every way. He was righteous when we were unrighteous. Listen to what 1 Peter 3:18 says: “For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring you to God.” Isn’t that incredible? Adam and Eve were unrighteous. They were unfaithful children. You and I were unrighteous. We were unfaithful children. Jesus was righteous. Jesus was faithful. Then, He died, the righteous for the unrighteous, so that our unfaithfulness could be paid for and we could be made righteous. You might wonder if that’s really possible. Could Jesus really change my unrighteousness and my unfaithfulness? The story of Christmas gives us the answer as a resounding, “YES!” Listen to what we learn in Romans 5:15: “But the gift is not like the trespass. For if by the one man’s trespass (that would be Adam) the many died, how much more have the grace of God and the gift which comes through the grace of the one man Jesus Christ overflowed to the many.” The curse of sin is devastating. The curse that comes to unfaithful children is devastating. But how much more does the grace of God and the gift of Jesus overflow to those who trust in the Faithful Child, Jesus?!?! We have a need for a faithful child, and Christmas brought Jesus, the faithful child. Second, we see . . . II. The need for a supernatural birth. When Jennifer and I had our first child, Jeremiah, we called him the miracle baby. You see, her doctor told her that it was unlikely that she would get pregnant, yet she did. We truly believe God intervened. However, Jeremiah’s birth was not what we would characterize as a supernatural birth. Some natural things happened in order for Jeremiah to be born. However, the birth of Jesus Christ was a supernatural birth. The Faithful Child came about through a supernatural birth. Matthew 1:23 points us back to an old prophecy in the Old Testament that was fulfilled in Jesus. It says, “See, the virgin will become pregnant and give birth to a son, and they will name him Immanuel, which is translated “God is with us.” Did you catch that? The virgin will become pregnant. This birth was not natural. The Holy Spirit of God intervened so that a supernatural birth would take place. We needed intervention. The natural would not be good enough. We needed something supernatural. This supernatural birth was planned from the very beginning, when unfaithfulness came into the world. When Adam and Eve, the first unfaithful children, sinned against God, they did so because of the temptation of the serpent, the devil. Listen to how God responded to the serpent after that moment. God said in Genesis 3:15 “I will put hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” You see, “the seed of the woman” referred to a child who would be born from the line of Eve, the very first woman. That child would come from another woman, Mary. That Faithful Child, from a supernatural birth, would strike the head of the serpent. We see this supernatural miracle fulfilled when Jesus, the Son of God, born of supernatural life, would rise supernaturally to new life. Jesus was crucified for our sin, buried in the ground, then He supernaturally rose to new life, and in doing so struck the head of the devil. What the devil meant for harm, God would use for good. Every human since Adam and Eve were natural humans. But there was one, Jesus Christ, who was and is, supernatural. As 1 Corinthians 15:47 says, “The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven.” That second man, Jesus Christ, was the supernatural man whom we needed. He was the supernatural child whom we needed. He came through the supernatural birth that we needed. We need Christmas because we need the supernatural birth. Finally, . . . III. The need for unworldly love. We need love, don’t we? “What the world needs now is love, sweet love. It’s the only thing that there’s just too little of.” We need love that is not of this world. We need love that is from outside this world. We need unworldly love. John 3:16 says,...
Transcribe →How Do You Know?
Dec 3, 202400:37:28Tap to summarize3 Truths from Romans 10:9-10, 13 If you are a believer and follower of Jesus, our enemy the devil, along with the angels who were deceived and followed him that we now know as demons – are constantly throwing things in our way in attempt to eat away at our assurance of salvation. To start out this morning, I would like to be so bold as to discuss 5 common things that give us False Assurance that can kill your soul. Q: How do you know you’re a Christian? For some of us, we don’t even think we can know. Statistically speaking, most people who say they are a Christian will admit in surveys, or even in conversation, that they don’t even believe you can know. “So are you a Christian?” The usual answer is, “I think so.” “But do you know you’re going to go to Heaven when you die?” – Q: What do you think the answer usually is? “No – I don’t know that I’m going to Heaven – nobody knows that; God will decide whether I go to Heaven or hell when I die.” If you believe like that, you’ve gotta’ be miserable living every day of your life without the assurance or the confidence that your sins are forgiven and that Jesus lives in you! Q: How do you think God is going to arbitrarily decide who goes? “I just hope that my good deeds tip the scale, and that I’ve got a few more Good Deeds than Bad Deeds.” That’s a horrible way to live! God doesn’t want you to live like that! You could never be good enough to get into Heaven. Jesus was good for you. Jesus was perfect when you were imperfect. Jesus did not sin. When we sin, we deserve to die and to pay the penalty for our sin, but God loved us so much that He sent His only son into the world so that Jesus could die and shed His blood so that we don’t have to! And if you put your faith in that, you can know! I’m going to show you a verse that some of you know very well, but this is a verse that blows peoples’ minds today because some people don’t even know that this verse is in the Bible! This verse was recorded by Jesus’ closest disciple among the 12, one of Jesus’ best friends, and the last disciple to die according to church tradition, John. God had him write these things down for us, you and me… 1 John 5:13 – “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.” God wants you to have confidence in your salvation! It’s really confidence in Him, and He wants you to know that you’re going to go to be with Him when you die! And just as important as that, God wants you to know Jesus now! He is your Lord now! He is your best friend now! He is your savior now! He will never leave you nor forsake you now! He will not abandon you now! I get a relationship with Jesus now! And I get an eternal relationship with Jesus forever! You can know that! You cannot, however, based on your good works, not based on what you’ve done, not based on these five common misconceptions I’m about to share with you. Here’s what most people think makes them a Christian. When asked, “Are you a Christian?”, people will typically respond in one of these five ways. Maybe one of these is you. Many don’t have a confidence in their salvation. You hope so; you think so; you guess so; you wish so. But today in the next few minutes you’re going to know so by the grace of God! Here’s what a lot of people say when asked, “Are you a Christian?” #1 – “I’m a good person” Don’t hate the messenger – I love y’all – and no, you’re not. We all have “flurries” of goodness. We have moments of goodness, when the weather’s just right, and the humidity is low, and you got eight hours of sleep, and you’ve had coffee, and your clothes fit right, and your hair cooperated (for some of us). You might have a really good day, and you might have a moment or two of goodness, but you’re not good. Youth and children, just think back to the last time your parents or grand-parents told you to do something you were already supposed to have done! Parents and grandparents, just think back to the last time you told your kids or grand-kids to do something they were already supposed to have done! There it is. By the way, if being a good person made you a Christian, how good would you have to be? We’ve talked about that together in here before! You’d have to be perfect! You’re not perfect. Neither am I – far from it! #2 – “I was raised in a Christian family” It’s good to be raised in a Christian family; that means you’ve got a Christian Heritage. But that does not mean you are a Christian. People in India who are Hindu believe that if you’re born in a Hindu family, you are a Hindu. People from Muslim countries who worship Allah and are Muslims believe that if you’re born into a Muslim family with Muslim parents, you are born a Muslim. I want to make sure that we are clear about this: The Christian faith does not teach that about Christianity! We are not born a Christian because you’re born in a Christian family. We are born to flawed sinners; we must be re-born into the Christian faith. That’s what Jesus meant when He told Nicodemus, “Unless a man is born again, he can’t even see the kingdom of God.” You are not born okay the first time! It’s just not true. You are not born okay. I’m not born okay. We are born dead in our sin. And until Jesus’ message of Good News, the Gospel, convicts you of your sin, and you repent of your sin and are born again, you are not a Christian. Being raised in a Christian family is great, but that is not what makes you a Christian. #3 – “I love everyone” Do you really?! First of all, I can’t say I love everyone because I don’t even know everyone! There are 8 ½ billion people on planet Earth! I’ve met a couple hundred thousand, or maybe even a million of us over the years, but I don’t know everybody, much less love everybody. Second of all, I can’t love everybody unless the love of Jesus lives in me. And if loving everybody made you a Christian, what happens when you meet somebody you don’t, won’t, or can’t immediately love? What happens when somebody who you used to love hurts you, and now you don’t love them anymore, or you’re mad at them, or you kind of still love them, but you also kind of don’t? Bottom Line: You can’t love others more until you love Jesus first and most! But, loving everybody is not what makes us a Christian. It’s a fruit of the spirit – a by-product; it’s evidence that you’re a Christian, but it’s downstream from becoming a Christian. #4 – “I was baptized” This is the one I hear the most. Baptism is good. It’s important. It is an act of obedience. But baptism is a symbol. It is not salvation. Catholics do it one way; Methodists do it another way; Baptists do it yet another way; Pentecostals and charismatics do it a certain way; other religions even have purification rights that are similar to baptism. But the waters of baptism don’t wash away your sins – the shed blood of Jesus does that! Getting baptized is also downstream from getting saved, another by-product. And I’m glad if you were baptized. But unless it happened after you became a Christian, it really doesn’t mean or symbolize much of anything. #5 –“I go to church” Okay, well, I gotta’ confess – I’ve been going to church since I was born, and some of the meanest people I’ve ever met in my life go to church, including myself sometimes. And if going to church is what makes you a Christian, then what’s the attendance policy? Does God keep attendance, does He take role? How much do you gotta’ go to church: Once a week? Twice a year? Every time the doors are open? How many are you allowed to miss? Going to church is important, but it’s not what makes you a Christian. Q: So how can you know then? I just want to show you what the Bible says, which really is Good News, that we can do! The scriptures give us three simple truths to knowing that you’re a Christian. They are so simple, and they come straight from the book of Romans chapter 10. Paul originally addressed this book to a small group of believers in Rome who were meeting in homes under the shadow of the Roman Empire, where the Caesars (Julius, Augustus, Nero, Vespasian, Dometian) would command people to declare, “Caesar is Lord”. The Caesars believed that they were “King of Kings, Lord of lords, Caesar of Caesars”! They would demand people worship them as if they were a God. Paul writes to the church in Rome saying that there is only one Lord, and it isn’t Caesar! And in Romans chapter 10, verses 9, 10, and 13 we see the three ways that you can know you’re a born-again, heaven-destined follower of Jesus! God gives us these verses to remove confusion, manipulation, and emotionalism. For me personally, I’ve committed what time I have left in this life to helping people know for sure that they are a believer who loves Jesus, who belongs ...
Transcribe →“The Authentic Power of God” (Acts 19:11-20)
Nov 24, 202400:36:36Tap to summarizeDo you ever watch any of the shows that feature pawn shops? You can see folks come in and try to sell or pawn things to these shops for some extra cash. Oftentimes, the pawn shop employees will bring in an expert to verify if something is authentic. It may be a piece of jewelry, an autograph, a baseball card, or some antique from long ago. If the item is authentic, it may have some real value. However, if the item is fake, it’s worthless. Today, in the Book of Acts, we get to a glimpse of a similar scenario. We get to see something that is real, and something that is fake. Today’s sermon is entitled “The Authentic Power of God.” Let’s go to the Lord in prayer, then we’ll look at our passage together. (prayer) Ok, let’s look at our passage. Look at Acts 19:11-20: 1 God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands, 12 so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. 13 Now some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. 17 When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem. 18 And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, 19 while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 In this way the word of the Lord flourished and prevailed. Ok, let’s notice three displays of power in this passage today. First, notice . . . I. Healing power. We’ve seen healing all throughout the Book of Acts, haven’t we? Here, we see Paul still in Ephesus, and God is working through Paul to bring healing to people. Notice in verse 11, Luke (the author of Acts) says, “God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul’s hands . . . ” Who was performing miracles? It was God who was doing powerful miraculous acts, and He was doing them through Paul. Notice also the different types of miracles that were taking place. Verse 12 points out that diseases were leaving people and evil spirits were leaving people. They were witnessing physical healing and spiritual deliverance. Also, notice this fascinating part about how even facecloths and aprons that touched Paul’s skin were being used by God to bring healing. You might think this sounds strange, and it does, but it’s not unheard of in the early stage of Christianity. In fact, in the Gospels, we hear about the hem of Jesus’ garment healing a woman. In Acts 5, we hear about people trying to simply reach an area where Peter’s shadow might touch them so they could be healed. Here’s what we must remember about these situations, church: God is the one who is healing, so He can use any means He desires to bring healing. God can use Peter. God can use Paul. God can use the hem of Jesus’ garment. God can use Peter’s shadow. God can use Paul’s sweat towel. God could choose to use a potato, a toy car, a rake, a pair of suspenders, or a laptop to bring healing. The healing power is God’s, and God’s alone. He is the healer! In God, there is healing power! He can heal us of physical ailments, spiritual oppression, emotional chaos, mental confusion, sexual perversion, financial messes, cultural lostness, family brokenness, and so much more. There is healing power in God. Second, in this passage, we see . . . II. Pretend power. We learn in verses 13-17 that there are Jewish itinerant exorcists. Now, you might wonder, “What in the world is a Jewish itinerant exorcist?” A Jewish itinerant exorcist is someone who is a Jewish person, probably a priest or healer or sorts, who travels around from place to place seeking to cast out evil spirits from people. In fact, in the ancient world, there were lots of magicians, sorcerers, and so-called spiritual healers. Many times, these professional spiritual healers would do whatever they could to add tools to their toolbox, including more spiritual influences, more names of gods, and more credibility from other respected spiritual people. That’s what we see happening here. We see these seven sons of a man named Sceva (that’s a sketchy-sounding name, isn’t it?), who are trying to add to their healing arsenal by invoking the names of Jesus and Paul. They likely realized that the name of Jesus carried great power. They also likely realized that Paul was doing great works by the power of God. So, they likely wanted to get in on that action. They wanted to heal in the name of Jesus. They wanted to experience the power of God in their exorcism business. So, these exorcists, who by all indications were not genuinely followers of Jesus, sought to harness the power of Jesus. Let’s see how it turned out for them. Look again at verses 15-16: 15 The evil spirit answered them, “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. This is what happens when you try to fake the power of God in the face of real evil. The power of evil is real. Make no mistake: The power of God is more powerful than the power of evil, but you better not try to face the power of evil with pretend power. If you do, you may end up running away wounded and naked. In today’s world, there are many who display pretend power. We have fake healers, we have fake prophets, we have fake pastors, we have fake Christians, and more. Be sure of this: God will deal with them in His timing. You should also be sure of this: Evil is real. Demons are real. Spiritual oppression is real. By the way, I have a sermon on demons in the series, “Spiritual Things,” which you can find on our website. These evil forces know about the name of Jesus, and they know about the power of God. James 2:19 says, “ . . . the demons believe—and they shudder.” This is a serious matter, church. So, we ought not to face the evil of this world with pretend power. We need the power of God. We need the power that is found in the name of Jesus. We need the power that was found in the ministry of Paul. We need the power that we receive when the Holy Spirit of God comes upon us and we are witnesses for Jesus. We shouldn’t want pretend power; we should desire authentic power. That takes us to our final point: III. Authentic power. The people of Ephesus saw the difference between pretend power and authentic power. Look at what happened when they experienced authentic power. Look again at verses 17-19: 17 When this became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks, they became afraid, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem. 18 And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, 19 while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. The word translated as “afraid” here comes from the Greek word phobos, which means fear. You see, there’s a good kind of fear that can happen when you realize God is truly present. A fear of God is an awareness of the awe,...
Transcribe →“Aim to Proclaim” (Acts 19:1-10)
Nov 17, 202400:38:19Tap to summarizeI recall seeing this expression in places of business when I was younger, though I don’t recall seeing it as much lately. The expression was, “We aim to please.” Do you remember that? To aim at something means to make it your focus or your intention. You intend to hit that target. In the aforementioned case, if you aim to please, you intend to please or focus on pleasing your customer. When you’re shooting a bow, slingshot, gun, or anything that shoots a projectile, you should aim at something. Have you heard the expression, “If you aim at nothing, you’ll hit it every time?” Well, that’s not actually right. Sometimes, if you aim at nothing, you don’t hit nothing. Sometimes, you hit something that you shouldn’t, such as the neighbor’s cat (though some of you may have been aiming at the neighbor’s cat). Today’s sermon is entitled “Aim to Proclaim.” We’re going to learn that it was Paul’s aim to proclaim the gospel, and it should be our aim as well. Let’s pray together then dive into this passage together. (prayer) Ok, let’s look at our passage and see three ways that Paul proclaimed the gospel in Acts 19. First , . . . I. We must proclaim to believers. Let’s look at the first part of this passage together. Look at verses 1-7: 1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” “No,” they told him, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 “Into what then were you baptized?” he asked them. “Into John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. 7 Now there were about twelve men in all. Ok, let’s get some context for what’s going on here. What we just read was happening while Apollos was in Corinth. Luke is giving parallel accounts of what was happening with Paul and Apollos. You may recall from Acts 18:21 that Paul told the Ephesians that he would be back if the Lord willed. Well, apparently, the Lord did will that to be so, because Paul was previously in Galatia and Thyatira. Then, he went back to Ephesus. So, Paul is back in Ephesus, and Luke says in verse 1 that Paul found some disciples. There is some discussion among experts about whether these were disciples of Jesus or disciples of John the Baptizer. I must say that the way the word is used so naturally, I believe it likely refers to disciples of Jesus. We also see in verse 2 that Paul references a time when they believed, which surely refers to belief in Jesus. Yet, as with Apollos in chapter 18, it is clear that these disciples have an incomplete and insufficient understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. These disciples had not been baptized into the name of Jesus, only into John’s baptism. Here’s a little review of what we learned last week: The baptism of John was a symbol of repentance and submission to God. However, the baptism of Jesus is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is a sign of our submission to Jesus as our Lord. So, when the disciples heard about the baptism of Jesus and the receiving of the Holy Spirit they wanted that. So, they were baptized into Jesus and they received the Holy Spirit when Paul laid hands on them. Now, I want to bring some clarity here. We need to be careful not to build entire doctrines of the faith on verses like these. You see, some people will point to this and say, “See, the receiving of the Holy Spirit is separate from the receiving of salvation in Jesus.” However, what is more likely here is that we encounter a group of followers of God who believed in the coming of the Messiah but had an incomplete and insufficient understanding of what salvation in Jesus really meant. When Paul explained the gospel more fully to them, they became more complete in their faith, believed in Jesus fully, were baptized into the name of Jesus, and received the Holy Spirit. We don’t understand everything about what is happening here, but we do understand this: The New Testament does not allow room for someone to be a child of God devoted to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, who is without the Holy Spirit. There is no such thing. Don’t be deceived. Don’t be discouraged. If you are in Jesus, the Holy Spirit of God is in you. These disciples in Ephesus learned this because Paul took the time to proclaim the gospel more clearly to them. So also, as we learned in chapter 18, Apollos learned more about this same topic because Priscilla and Aquila took the time to proclaim the gospel more clearly to him. Listen, church: We must continue to proclaim the gospel to one another. We must continue to sharpen each other, encourage each other, rebuke each other, challenge each other, motivate each other, and develop each other by proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to each other. We exist, among other reasons, to love the church. One of the ways we do so is by proclaiming the message of Jesus to one another. We must proclaim to believers. Second, we see that . . . II. We must proclaim to unbelievers. Look at what we see in verses 8 and 9: 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. We see Paul’s missionary pattern play out again in Ephesus: He goes to the synagogue first to proclaim the gospel to the Jews and any others who will gather there. However, we see in verse 9 that some “became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd” Remember, “the Way” was one of the early descriptions of those who followed Jesus. So, some of those gathered at the synagogue became hardened against the gospel message, wouldn’t believe it, and made fun of those who did believe it. Let this be a reminder to us, church: Not everyone who hears the gospel will believe. There is a reason they are called “unbelievers.” Let me ask you a question: Do you think Paul ever thought, “Well, I know a lot of these people won’t believe. It’s really not worth it to proclaim to them”? I mean in every area where he ministered, Paul witnessed a pattern of rejection, and sometimes downright hostility. However, let us not miss this, church: In every area there was also a pattern of people being saved. Church, we must not be discouraged and we must not be distracted: The gospel must be proclaimed to unbelievers. As we learned in the earlier part of Acts, from the Apostle Peter in Acts 4:12, “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to people by which we must be saved.” Brothers and sisters, we must be equipped, we must be motivated, and we must be ready to proclaim the gospel to unbelievers. Finally, . . . III. We must proclaim boldly and widely. Let’s read the rest of our passage for today. We’ll read verse 9 again to get the full context: 9 But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he ...
Transcribe →“Back and There Again: An Apostle’s Tale” (Acts 18:18-28)
Nov 10, 202400:39:48Tap to summarizeOftentimes, when Pastor Dirck preaches, he references a comic book hero or a character from The Lord of the Rings. Well, I’m also a fan of The Lord of the Rings. There’s a character in The Lord of the Rings named Bilbo Baggins. Bilbo is actually the main character of the prequel to The Lord of the Rings series, which is called The Hobbit. Bilbo goes on quite a journey to serve as a burglar to help a group of dwarves. However, it’s along that journey that he has many experiences and discovers a ring that has a little bit to do with the entire story of The Lord of the Rings. As we get into The Lord of the Rings, you see that Bilbo has written a book about his journey called “There and Back Again: A Hobbit’s Tale.” Well, we’ve learned that the Apostle Paul has had quite a journey himself as he’s telling people about the gospel of Jesus Christ. You may recall that Paul was sent out from the city of Antioch. We’ll see in today’s passage that Paul comes back to Antioch again, but then he goes out there again to spread the gospel some more. Today’s sermon is entitled “Back and There Again: An Apostle’s Tale.” Would you join me in prayer and ask God to speak powerfully and miraculously to us through His Word? (prayer) As we journey through Acts 18:18-28 today, let’s notice three stops in the passage. First, notice . . . I. Paul’s pitstop in Ephesus. Let’s look at verses 18-21: 18 After staying for some time, Paul said farewell to the brothers and sisters and sailed away to Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila. He shaved his head at Cenchreae because of a vow he had taken. 19 When they reached Ephesus he left them there, but he himself entered the synagogue and debated with the Jews. 20 When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he declined, 21 but he said farewell and added, “I’ll come back to you again, if God wills.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. Ok, here we go to our map. Remember, when we concluded last week, Paul was in Corinth. Now, after staying some time in Corinth (at least a year and a half), he set sail for Syria, which is the region where Antioch is, from where Paul’s missionary journey was launched. So, Paul sets out for Antioch, but on the way, he stops in Ephesus. We hear about a few things happening on his way to Syria and on his pitstop in Ephesus. First of all, we hear these details about Paul shaving his head because of a vow, though we really don’t know the entire story. Luke sort of mentioned this, then just moved on. We learn that Paul was sailing with Pricilla and Aquila, the couple he met in Corinth. While Paul was in Ephesus, he debated with the Jews, who seemed interested in debating with him. In fact, verses 20-21 say that they wanted Paul to stay longer, but he had to keep moving on. Paul couldn’t stay in Ephesus because he had to continue his journey; he was going back and there again. Paul said, “if God wills,” he would be back. So, Paul jumped back on a ship and set sail from Ephesus. The next stop we notice in this passage is . . . II. Paul’s return stop in Antioch. Ok, remember, we see in verse 21 that Paul set sail from Ephesus. Let’s see where he went. 22 On landing at Caesarea, he went up to Jerusalem and greeted the church, then went down to Antioch. 23 After spending some time there, he set out, traveling through one place after another in the region of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. Ok, Paul is on the move here. He’s back and there again. So, Paul left Ephesus, then stopped in Caesarea (that would be Caesarea by the Sea), which was the port that travelers from Israel would use. Then, Paul stopped in Jerusalem. By the way, it says “he went up” to Jerusalem because it’s on a hill. You go up to Jerusalem, then down to everywhere else. So, Paul went up to Jerusalem. Then, Paul went down from Jerusalem to Antioch. Notice, though, that Paul didn’t stay in Antioch. Luke said he spent some time there, then he set out again. He was back and there again. After setting out from Antioch again, he went to the regions of Galatia and Phrygia. What did Paul do while he was there? He was strengthening all the disciples. Paul existed to develop disciples. He was committed to the task. That’s why we exist, right? We exist to develop disciples. Notice that our vision as a church is not creative. We didn’t form a think tank to come up with it. It’s not creative, but it’s biblical. We exist to develop disciples, as Paul existed to develop disciples. Paul went from one place to another, reaching new disciples of Jesus and strengthening existing disciples of Jesus. Oh, that we would be committed to such a task. Whether we are back here in Bartow or out there somewhere else, whether we’re in one place or another, may we be about the mission of developing disciples who love God, love the church, and love others. We see one more stop in our passage today. Notice . . . III. Luke’s narrative stop for Apollos. Now, what is a narrative stop? Well, remember that Luke was the author of the Book of Acts. He was telling this story of the travels of Paul, then he took a break to focus on another character named Apollos. This is a stop in the narrative, or a stop in the story. Let’s see what Luke had to say. Look at verses 24 and following: 24 Now a Jew named Apollos, a native Alexandrian, an eloquent man who was competent in the use of the Scriptures, arrived in Ephesus. 25 He had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately about Jesus, although he knew only John’s baptism. 26 He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. After Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the way of God to him more accurately. 27 When he wanted to cross over to Achaia, the brothers and sisters wrote to the disciples to welcome him. After he arrived, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed. 28 For he vigorously refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating through the Scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah. Ok, so we’re introduced to Apollos, and we learn a few things about him: Apollos was Jewish. Apollos was from Alexandria in Egypt. Like Paul, Apollos was eloquent and bold in the way that he spoke. Like Paul, Apollos was competent in his use of the Scriptures. In other words, Apollos knew the Old Testament Scriptures well. Like Paul, Apollos spoke in the synagogue in Ephesus. We also learn that Apollos arrived in Ephesus, where Priscilla and Aquila had stayed after Paul left. Notice, something interesting that we learn about Apollos. In verse 25, Luke says that Apollos knew only John’s baptism. Of course, this verse is speaking about John the Baptizer. John was the one who paved the way for the ministry of Jesus. John pointed to the coming Messiah. The baptism of John was a symbol of repentance and submission to God. However, the baptism of Jesus is a symbol of the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, and it is a sign of our submission to Jesus as our Lord. John’s baptism was incredible, but it was a sign of something greater that was to come. John said as much. John said in John 1:26–27 “I baptize with water” . . . “Someone stands among you, but you don’t know him. He is the one coming after me, whose sandal strap I’m not worthy to untie.” So, we see in verse 26 that Priscilla and Aquila took Apollos aside and taught him more accurately about the Scriptures. What a beautiful act we witness here. Apollos was apparently open to correction and better understanding of the Bible. Priscilla and Aquila were apparently kind enough and bold enough to approach Apollos about this, and they were all ...
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