Apollos

A man was working in his backyard one day, when his neighbor began talking to him over the fence. He said, "Yeah, my wife and I went to one of those seminars yesterday, you know, where they teach you ways to improve your memory and such."

His neighbor commented, "Really. What was the name of the speaker?"

The man answered, "Ah, ah, what's the name of that flower that smells so good and has thorns?"

"You mean a rose?"                                              

"Yeah, that's it." He called over his shoulder, "Rose, what was the name of that speaker we heard yesterday?"

Do you ever feel like this.

I know there are times I have so much on my mind that I cant even remember

You get through the Holidays sometimes you feel like this guy.

Today we are going to meet a guy that is the opposite

He is intelligent – very educated and he is on his game but he is lacking in something. 

Today we will turn to our text and we will see the beginning of Paul’s Third Missionary Journey.

We have preached through his first two journeys.

The first beginning with Paul and Barnabas

The Second journey with Paul and Silas and including Timothy at times.

Today we reach another turning point in Acts when we see Paul beginning a third journey with Paul passing through what is now modern day Turkey. 

To give you a little background information so this reading will make sense we need to connect some dots.

 

Remember last week we were in Corinth- the Gospel makes headway. 

The church is planted in Corinth and grows.

 

A man named Aquila and his wife Pricilla become co-workers of Paul as tentmakers and in the work of the Gospel.

Paul travels from Corinth to Ephesus and does some teaching there. 

Corinth being in modern day Greece and Ephesus is located in modern day Turkey or ancient Asia Minor

 

Paul leaves Ephesus to sail to Caesarea and go back to Syria and Antioch. 

Paul is going back to the original Church that sent him out on his first missionary journey.

Paul leaves Aquila and Pricilla behind in Ephesus as he travels on. 

So Paul is traveling to his original destination through Galatia to get to Syria and Aquila and Pricilla will meet a man named Apollos in Ephesus.

Acts 18: 23-28

23 And having spent some time there, he left and passed successively through the Galatian region and Phrygia, strengthening all the disciples. 24Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus ; and he was mighty in the Scriptures. 25This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord ; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John ; 26 and he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. 27 And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, 28 for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.

We see God open a door in Corinth for the Gospel – it is a very important city in the ancient world.

Many people will travel through Corinth and now they will come in contact with the Gospel of Christ.

Now it looks like God is opening doors in Ephesus.

It makes sense because Ephesus is a very important city in the ancient world.  It was one of the leading cities in Asia Minor and was the center for pagan worship.

It is obvious that God wants to open a door in Ephesus for the following reasons:

First of all Paul had visited the city at the end of his second missionary journey.

Then Aquila and Priscilla decided to stay there, set themselves up in business, and cultivate the ground until Paul returned.

Now comes Apollos of Alexandria, gifted, eloquent, scholarly, and convinced that Jesus was Saviour and Lord.

I. An Eloquent Man – Acts 18:24

Apollos was born at Alexandria, which was located on the Nile delta in Egypt

It was the second largest city in the Roman Empire and was famous for its Lighthouse on the narrow island of Pharos, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

Alexandria was also famous for its museum and library that had over 700,000 volumes.

In New Testament times, Jews made up about one third of the population of Alexandria and it was here that the Hebrew Scriptures were translated into the Greek Septuagint version.

The Septuagint was one of the biggest events of Intertestamental times. 

To give you perspective on this – the Septuagint was just as important or more important than the King James Bible.

The King James Bible is  a translation of the original Greek and Hebrew into English.

The Septuagint was translated in around 250 BC and was a translation of the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek.

Greek was pretty much the universal language of the Roman Empire during the time of Christ.

Apollos comes from the city where this translation was made.

Also Alexandria Egypt was the center for great Jewish scholarship.  Philo of Alexandria was a very famous first century Jewish teacher who had a school of Hebrew philosophy in Alexandria.

Apollos comes from this background- he would have known his Old Testament and he would have been well aquainted with the philosophers and learned people of his day.

Apollos was an eloquent man. The word eloquent is logios and can mean either eloquent or learned.

He was mighty in the scriptures and the word mighty (dunatos) is the same word used to describe Moses

Acts 7:22 And Moses was learned in all wisdom of the Egyptians, and was mighty in words and deeds.

Somewhere along the way Apollos had learned something about Christ. 

We know that the disciples of John the Baptist were around in the 2^nd century after Christ. 

It is not unheard of that some of John the Baptist’s disciples got to Egypt and somewhere Apollos had learned of Jesus the Messiah from John’s disciples. 

His travels brought him to Ephesus, where he found the gospel seed had already been planted by Paul.

At once, he began to water the ground 1 Corinthians 3:6 I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase.

II. A Fervent Man – Acts 18:25

A preacher relates as a child who entered his house, not knowing the PREACHER was VISITING.

Seeing his Mom, the boy came running in holding a RAT by the TAIL.

With obvious EXCITEMENT he choked out:

 “Look, Mom! Look at this RAT I caught out behind the barn! I SMASHED its head in with a BASEBALL BAT!

 I threw ROCKS at it! I STOMPED on it! I SPIT on it, and I . . . I . . . I . . .”

He then looked up and saw the MINISTER. Swallowing hard he said, “And . . . and . . . and then the dear Lord called it HOME!”

I know as a kid I had the same excitement about killing mice and other rodents.

When I was young a mouse ran through our living room and my mom went ballistic.

I proceeded to smash the mouse with the Sears catalogue until it was completely flat.

That did not go over well with my parents when they realized the smashed mess I made.

I had a fervent zeal.

I was excited to kill the mouse.

Apollos was well informed about the Scriptures and he was determined to tell his fellow Jews.

The word Luke uses to describe his fervour is zeo which literally means to boil – have you seen what happens to water when it boils?

 It’s hot and it bubble like crazy…….

The only other place this word zeo occurs is in Romans 12:11

Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord.

We are told that he spake and taught diligently – the word diligently means accurately.

Apollos was one of those people who was able to combine fact and fervour into a force for God.

Apollos knew the Old Testament Scriptures well and was fervent in his spirit and diligent in his presentation of the message.

Verse 26 tells us that he was bold enough to enter the synagogue and preach to the Jews.

The only problem was that this enthusiastic man was declaring an incomplete gospel.

He knew only the baptism of John.

His message got as far as John the Baptist and then stopped.

He knew nothing of Calvary, the resurrection of Christ, or the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

He had zeal, but he lacked spiritual knowledge.

Romans 10:1-4 Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. [2] For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. [3] For they being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. [4] For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

The ministry of John the Baptist was an important part of God’s redemptive plan.

 God sent John to prepare the nation of Israel for their Messiah (John 1:15-34)

 John’s baptism was one of repentance; those who were baptised looked forward to the coming Messiah

Acts 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.

 

John also announced a future baptism of the Holy Spirit

 Matthew 3:11 I indeed baptize you with water unto repentance: but he that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear: he shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Apollos knew about the promises, but he did not know about their fulfilment.

So where did he get this message from?

Since Alexandria was a famous centre for learning, it is possible that some of John disciples had gone there while Christ was still ministering on earth, and shared with the Jews as much as they knew.

The word instructed (verse 25) is catechized and suggests that Apollos had personal formal training in the Scriptures.

However, that training was limited to the facts about the ministry of John the Baptist.

The message Apollos preached was not inaccurate or insincere; it was just incomplete.

III. A Teachable Man – Acts 18:26

Apollos had a teachable spirit.

Aquila and Priscilla were deeply impressed with him, but they detected at once the flaw in his preaching.

With rare tact, however, they made no attempt to correct him in public, neither did they want to grab him after the service and argue with him.

They had a better way –

You can just picture the scene. “Why don’t you come to our house for some fellowship?”

Then after a nice meal, everyone sitting down relaxed and comfortable, the conversation swings around to the things of the Lord and the message that was preached that morning.

Maybe they told Apollos how much of a blessing he had been and they asked him about his testimony, how had he become a believer?

Then they introduced the question of baptism, gently and lovingly they filled in the gaps in his knowledge of the truth, they told him about Christ and the coming of the Holy Spirit.

This verse also reveals the humble attitude that characterized Apollos.

Although cultured and well educated, he humbly sat at the feet of these tentmakers to learn about Jesus.

 He was smart enough to know he did not know it all and to know that learning is a life-long process.

The Bible is complete but our understanding of the Bible is far from complete and we need open minds that we may continue to learn.

D.L. Moody said that every time he heard Henry Drummond preach he had to go home and burn some of his old sermons.

Can you recall someone, a preacher or Sunday School teacher or friend who challenged you to go further than you would have on your own?

Charles Swindoll asks the following; “Who taught Martin Luther his theology and inspired his translation of the New Testament? Who visited Dwight L. Moody at a shoe store and spoke to him about Christ? Who was the elderly woman who prayed faithfully for Billy Graham for over twenty years? Who financed William Carey’s ministry to India? Who helped Charles Wesley get underway as a composer of hymns? Who personally taught G. Campbell Morgan, “the peerless expositor,” his techniques in the pulpit? You probably don’t know do you?”

 Swindoll goes on to write, “Had it not been for these unknown people – those nobodies – a large chunk of church history would be missing. And a lot of lives would have been untouched. But they were people just like you and me and God used them to encourage others and as a result church history was changed. God use you to encourage others.”

Pray and ask the Lord to Lead you to someone who needs some encouragement.

 They are all around you. You may not even need this step because you already know someone.

 Just as Aquila and Priscilla did in the life of Apollos.

God has someone you could encourage.

Look for unrealized potential in people around you. Aquila and Priscilla did not reject Apollos.

They didn’t go after Apollos and talk down to him.

They didn’t leave the assembly of the Synagogue and talk bad about him behind his back.

They didn’t get in a newsletter and tell everybody why he is a heretic.

The went directly to him and taught him. 

I believe the method is what is important here – look at how they did it.  That is the way the church should operate.

Take the time to make an investment in the life of someone who needs encouraging.

Decide right now how you are going to encourage someone! Make a plan for carrying it out.

Under such tender and sensible guidance this gracious and gifted man soon understood the significance of Christian baptism as an advance on John’s baptism of repentance.

 He now had a deeper knowledge of Christ, and he was ready to return to the Synagogue to give the Jews the rest of the story.

IV. A Guided Man – Acts 18:27

Apollos’ ministry became so effective that the believers in Ephesus highly recommended him to the churches in Achaia.

He had a great testimony and was ready to move on and preach the whole Word of God -

Rom 10:13 -15 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. [14] How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? [15] And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!

We need to train people to preach.

Training and doctrine is so important to this task.

We as the Church should be guiding young men to preach.  Young men to be elders, young men to be deacons.

Are we championing people that go into ministry.

Apollos was gifted and smart.  How many times do we run into young men that are bright and talented.

What do we tell them?

Hey you need to go to be a doctor, lawyer, engineer.  I say that is the opposite of what we should tell our best and brightest.

We should tell them to become ministers.   What better thing could we encourage our young men to be, ministers, elders, deacons?

We should be training our young people now.

And what about our girls? 

Do you see that Aquila and Pricilla are a team.  Pricilla is there with her husband working beside her.

We should be training our young ladies for this type of ministry that they can stand beside their husbands and help in ministry. 

How many times have you heard parents say, you need to marry a man that makes good money?

What about marrying a man of God, a man that you can stand beside in the work of the Lord.

That is what we should be about.

Equiping and training young people to be like Apollos, to be like Aqiuill and Pricilla.

He helped them much – he had been helped sp much by Aqulia and Priscilla and now God was using him to help people see the truth.

 

V. A Zealous Man – Acts 18:28

The word Luke uses here for powerfully is found only here and in

Luke 23:10 And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.

 Here the word used is Vehemently and it is one of Luke’s medical terms.

It means vigorously, intensely, with sheer strength, zealously.

After Aquilla and Pricilla instruct Apollos he doesn’t just sit still.

Apollos travels from Ephesus to Greece to Corinth.

Apollos made a great impact on the Jewish community in Corinth.

The Holy Spirit is never without His instruments.

The Jews had driven Paul out, so the Holy Spirit found in Apollos another messenger to bring the same truths in a different way and with a different personality.

He powerfully refutes the opposition in Corinth.

There was nothing secretive or private about the witness of Apollos.

 His preaching was done openly and publicly.

 The word the Holy Spirit employs for convinced is an intensive form of the word to convict or refute, usually with the suggestion of putting the convicted person to shame.

Vine says that the intensive form of the word here means that Apollos met the opposing arguments in turn and brought them down to the ground.

Such was Apollos, a man Paul came to appreciate greatly and of whom he always spoke of with terms of respect and affection.

Conclusion

In order for us to grow so that God can use us we need to follow Apollos’ example. We need to be….

1. A person in the Word (24) – Mighty in scriptures (Read your Bible)

2. A person of the Word (25a) – instructed in the way of the Lord (Live it)

3. A person by the Word (25b) – fervent in spirit (boiling / bubbling – on fire for God)

God had to take Apollos through a growth process before He could use him…

He did that by placing Aquila and Priscilla in his path… Now Apollos could be used..

God had a future plan for him in Achaia Verse 27) ..

 However, he could not go there until moved up to the next level.

There are places God wants you to go, but He can’t use you until you step up a gear and go to the next level.

God had a future ministry for Apollos (Verse 27)– helped them much.

 There are things we cannot do until God takes us to the next level.

God had a challenge for Apollos (Verse 28) mightily convinced the Jews.

 There are future battles that we cannot win until God takes us to the next level.

Acts 17 Paul at Mars Hill

Maybe you’ve heard about the gorilla in a zoo holding a Bible in one hand & a book about evolution in the other.

He was looking confused, so someone asked, “What are you doing?”

 The gorilla answered, “Well, I’m trying to decide if I’m my brother’s keeper or my keeper’s brother.”

There are people in this world that are very confused.

They literally think that the material universe is all that there is. 

They believe that there is only the box of this world and this cosmos.

They believe that the universe got here by chance – the earth was created by a random explosion.

And then after billions of years – through random chemical processes life on earth began as a single cell organism and then evolved into the high complex life forms that we see today.

Discoveries in astronomy and physics have shown beyond a reasonable doubt that our universe did in fact have a beginning.

Prior to that moment there was nothing; during and after that moment there was something: our universe.

Was there really just a big bang that started what we call the starry universe and planet earth? Or was there something else behind it all?

 Was it/is it actually the creation of a divine being?

I’m sure there are many people in our world today and even here in America who still question how we got here and how the universe came into existence.

ILL.- The story is told that Sir Isaac Newton had a replica of our solar system made in miniature. In the center was the sun with its planets revolving around it.

A scientist entered Newton’s study one day, and exclaimed, “My! what an exquisite thing this is! Who made it?”

 “Nobody!” replied Newton to the questioner who was an unbeliever. The man said, “You must think I am a fool. Of course somebody made it, and he is a genius.”

 Laying his book aside, Newton arose and laid a hand on his friend’s shoulder and said:

 “This thing is but a puny imitation of a much grander system whose laws you and I know, and I am not able to convince you that this mere toy is without a designer and maker;

yet you profess to believe that the great original from which the design is taken has come into being without either designer or maker.

Now tell me, by what sort of reasoning do you reach such a conclusion?”

Newton was right.

 If a person can believe that someone built such a simple thing as a doghouse, when they why can’t they believe that there is a creator for the starry universe in all of its limitless wonder!

Friday night I got home very late, but it was a beautiful clear night. 

I stopped in my driveway for just a minute and looked at the sky and saw the vast starry host.

I wish we could get a glimpse into the night sky without light pollution and see what the ancients saw.

We might just have more respect for this wonderful universe that God created.

We might just sit back and think about the Creator behind this majestic creation.

It is just a mere glimpse into the Glory of God. 

We know deep in our bones that there is more to life than just the material world of stuff.

We know that there is a God who is There and Has Spoken.

A God that directed all of this – is Sovereign and is in control.  A God who has directed all the beginning of life on earth and has a purpose for us.

Our Text this morning is in Acts 17- We find Paul sharing the Gospel with people that think like many of the confused people of this world.

Lets pick up this morning with our passage in Acts 17

Acts 17: 16-21

16Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols. 17So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. 18 And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, "What would this idle babbler wish to say ?" Others , "He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,"-because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, "May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming ? 20 "For you are bringing some strange things to our ears ; so we want to know what these things mean ." 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.) 22So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, "Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. 23 "For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.' Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.

Paul is going to share the Gospel with some of the educated elite of the ancient world.

In our text, the apostle Paul was in Athens, a city of a great many philosophers and great thinkers of the day.

The Areopagus or hill was a place of assembly. There the supreme court of Athens met.

Areopagus translated literally into English is the phrase Mars Hill

This is where we get the title the sermon at Mars Hill.

This was the meeting place of Athens elite and most educated.

Paul is going into what would be considered the very cradle of Western Civilization.

This is the birthplace of Greek Philosophy and the concept of Greek style democracy. 

 And it was from this place that Paul gave his speech about the God who made the world and what He did.

The God who made the world: just who is He? And what has He done?

PROP.- What about the God who made the world?

1- The God who made the world wants to be known

2- The God who made the world no longer overlooks ignorance

3- The God who made the world proves Himself convincingly

I. THE GOD WHO MADE THE WORLD WANTS TO BE KNOWN

Paul is going to launch into his sermon and make his case for the God that wants to be known.

The God that is revealed in Scripture is not an impersonal force.

The God of Scripture is a God that loves and communicates- God wants a relationship with us and that is the case Paul will make:

Acts 17: 26-27

26 and He made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation, 27 that they would seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us;

A few ideas we can take from this – God is in ultimate control.

He has set the very boundaries of the nations.  He has set the times and boundaries of our nations of the world.

Think about that –even our own country – God has set a plan for us.

If you ever wonder if there is a purpose in this life, just remember this passage – God has a purpose and God is working out His will in this world.

God wants us to seek Him.  To grope for him.

We live in a time when people are searching for something.  They are looking for spirituality in all the wrong places.

They are trying to get in touch with the transcendent.  But they neglect the very source of information.

The Bible – we have access to God’s word like never before.

In the 1400’s up until the year 1500 there were only 90 bibles in all of Europe.

Now imagine that in the Western world only 90 Bibles.

By the end of the 1600’s there were over 50,000 bibles in Europe because of the printing press.

Never has God worked to show us His will in history like He has now.

In our day science has made great strides to show that Evolution is a bankrupt theory. 

Scientists are now in agreement that he Universe had to have a beginning.

For a long time people believed in two theories ins science – the eternal material world or the rebounding universe.

Now we have science telling us for sure time and matter had a beginning.

Scientists are now calling the Universe an Elegant Universe.

It is one that shows signs of design.

Today God’s creation is crying out – I am the Creator God – I am Majestic and all powerful.

And the Bible is telling us that this God has spoken to us through His word. Through verbal communication. 

God wants to be known – he wants you to find Him – he loves you and wants a relationship with you.

The same God that made the Milky Way wants you to be His child.

That is mind blowing.

Sherlock Holmes and Watson go on a camping trip.

Several hours later Holmes awakes and looks up at the sky and says tell me what you say?

Watson – I see millions and millions of stars.

Holmes replies – no Watson  What do you see?

Watson – well astrologically I see that Saturn is part of the constellation Leo, meteorologically we are going to have a good day of weather tomorrow, and theologically God is all powerful.

Holmes  is quiet for a minute and them remarks – Watson you idiot, Someone has stolen our tent!!

Today Satan has stolen some people’s good sense – Good ole fashioned sense sees that the world has been specially created by God.

Let me tell you some things that modern science tells us about how finely tuned our earth is:

1)    Our galaxy – the milky way is just the right size

Scientists tell us that if the milky way were any larger life on earth would not exist .

If it were any smaller life would not exist.

The milky way is just the right size for life on earth to exist.

2)   Our tilt is just right

If you tilt were any different of this earth we would have drastic tidal changes.

Our seasons are set just right with the tilt of the earth.

Not tilt of the earth no life on planet earth.

3)    The moon’s size and the moon’s distance away are just right.

The moon is perfect in size and perfect in distance so that our tidal patterns are just right.

Any different and life on earth would cease to exist.

4)    Our rate of rotation

If it were any faster atmostpheric winds would be too fast

5)    Our magnetic field of the earth is just right

Strong enough to hold in the ozone layer but not too strong to cause too big of electromagnetic storms.

6)    The thickness of the earth’s crust – if it were any thicker too much oxygen would be absorbed into the crust and we would die

If too thin there would be too much volcanic and earthquake activity.

You see God made this earth special.

God set it up for us to have a habital planet because He cares and wants to have a  relationship with you.

II. THE GOD WHO MADE THE WORLD NO LONGER OVERLOOKS IGNORANCE

Acts 17: 30-31

30"Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent, 31because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead."

Walter Heller was a leading American economist of the 1960s, and an influential advisor to President John F. Kennedy He said one time:

While I was speaking to the Denver Independent Banker’s Association, one of the bankers suddenly hollered out, “You’re stupid!”

Well, that may be true, but you don’t like it publicly acknowledged.

 Five minutes later, I tried to keep my composure when he said the same thing.

I noticed a slight slur in his voice.

So I was ready for him the third time.

When he said, “You’re stupid!”

 I retorted, “Yes, and you’re drunk.”

 He replied, “Yes, but tomorrow I will be sober and you will still be stupid.”

Brothers and sisters, I tend to believe that many Americans are not too bright.

 I mean, how can a person live in the US and not believe in Jesus where there are so many churches and so much preaching of Christ on TV?

There is a point, however, when God will no longer overlook ignorance. It is beyond me how anyone living in America and in most parts of the world where anyone can say, “Who is Jesus?”

But our ignorance goes even further.

This ignorance overlooks how God has communicated in Christ to us.

Shown us His love in the cross and hope in the resurrection. 

What’s the difference between ignorance and apathy??

I don’t know and I don’t care.

Many people don’t know about Jesus and don’t care to know about Jesus.

BUT THERE IS TIME WHEN GOD WILL NO LONGER OVERLOOK IGNORANCE AND INDIFFERENCE.

 And I think we’re living in that time!

I think it’s high time for people to believe in Jesus and become a follower of His.

 I think it’s time for people to surrender the Lordship of Jesus!

Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who says to me, ’Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.”

Are we ever guilty of not doing as Jesus tells us to do as recorded in scripture?

 Well, yes! We’re all guilty.

 It’s relatively easy to say, “I believe in Jesus Christ,” but it could be a different matter when it comes to “doing” what we know He wants us to do.

It’s time for people to quit playing ignorant.

 I am quite confident that many people in America believe in Jesus but they just don’t want to commit to Him in any form and that’s probably because they are having too much fun right now.

They may well fear that when they make a public confession of faith in Jesus that the fun times may stop but that’s when the real fun begins!

ILL.- In “The Worry Clinic,” columnist Dr. George Crane tells of the disclosure made by a clerk in the law office of Clarence Darrow, the famed criminal lawyer and self-acclaimed atheist.

Said the clerk, “As Darrow lay dying, he hastily summoned three clergymen—a Presbyterian minister, a Catholic priest, and a Jewish rabbi.

 “He said to them, ‘Gentlemen, I have written and spoken many things against God and the churches during my lifetime. Now I wished I hadn’t! Now I realize it is entirely possible that I may have been wrong. So I should like to ask a final favor that each one of you intercede for me with the Almighty.”

Judgment’s coming! The God who made the world no longer overlooks ignorance!

III. THE GOD WHO MADE THE WORLD PROVES HIMSELF CONVINCINGLY

Verse 31 of Acts 17 tells us that God gives us evidence of his presence.

He give us evidence that He loves us and created this world.

God has given solid proof that some day He will judge the world.

ILL.- The renowned artist Paul Gustave Dore (1821-1883) lost his passport while traveling in Europe.

When he came to a border crossing, he explained his predicament to one of the guards.

Giving his name to the official, Dore hoped he would be recognized and allowed to pass.

 The guard, however, said that many people attempted to cross the border by claiming to be persons they were not.

Dore insisted that he was the man he claimed to be.

"All right," said the official, "we’ll give you a test, and if you pass it we’ll allow you to go through."

Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby.

Dore did it so quickly and skillfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed who he claimed to be. His work confirmed his word!

God’s work confirms His Word as well.

What word? In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.

 God confirms His Word with another proof. What’s that? Why are we here today? It’s the resurrection of Jesus Christ that proves the God who made the world!

ILL.- One writer put it this way:

1. Jesus predicted His own resurrection.

2. The Old Testament prophesied it.

3. The tomb was empty and the grave clothes were vacant.

4. Many people saw the resurrected Christ. They looked on His face, touched Him, heard His voice, and saw Him eat.

5. The lives of the disciples were revolutionized.

6. The resurrection was the central message of the early church.

The church grew with an unwavering conviction that Christ had risen and was the Lord of the church.

7. Men and women today testify that the power of the risen Christ has transformed their lives.

In Acts 25-26 we have the account of the apostle Paul standing before King Agrippa defending himself and his faith in Christ.

Acts 26:6 “And now it is because of my hope in what God has promised our fathers that I am on trial today.”

Then Paul said these startling words: Acts 26:8 “Why should any of you consider it incredible that God raises the dead?”

I mean think about it, what I have shared with you this morning – knowing all of this is It impossible to believe that God does not raise the dead?

If the God who made the world can fling the stars into the sky and He can make planet earth and keep everything together and He can make you and me, why should we think it so incredible that He could raise Jesus from the dead?

The God who made the world does raise the dead!

The God who made the world raised Jesus and will raise us from the dead and give us eternal life through our faith in the resurrected Christ!

Today I want you to rest assured that there is a God.

That God is present and active in our world.

And that God has spoken conclusively. 

Let me close with this thought.

There are two groups of people here today:

1)    The Saved – in Christ.

A recent survey by George Gallup Jr. revealed a startling trend in our culture.

 According to Gallup the evidence seems to indicate that there are no clear behavioral patterns that distinguish Christians from non-Christians in our society.

 We all seem to be marching to the same drummer, looking to the shifting standards of contemporary culture for the basis of what is acceptable behavior.

That is a sad state of affairs – if you are in Christ today you should be different.

God has called you out of this world to be different a peculiar people.

If we believe any of what I have said today it should make a difference in our lives.

God has spoken through His bible and we should be people that align our lives with the book.

2)    IF you are lost today – Jesus died for you.  God wants to know you personally and have a loving relationship with you.

 

God wants to forgive you of your sin and set you free.