Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] All right, Acts 13. We want to look this morning, starting in verse number 16, we'll read a little bit of a long portion.
[00:00:08] There are several.
[00:00:11] There are several longer, and we've looked at a couple, I think one, especially in Acts two and three longer sermons. And you're like, oh, no, I got to listen to a sermon of a sermon. Well, that's kind of the way it is. Ah. Several longer sermons in the Book of Acts. Several, almost whole chapters, are dedicated to exactly what the various apostles and witnesses gave in the Book of Acts, which is good for us. And hopefully I can point out if the Lord will help us some good, practical things as far as when we share the Gospel with people. But we want to start reading in verse number 16 of chapter 13 of Acts. The Bible says, then Paul stood up.
[00:00:56] Well, let's start in verse 14. Just make sure we understand where we are.
[00:01:01] But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the Prophets, Now Remember that after the reading of the law and the ProphetS, you're going to see that again in A minute. The rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, ye men of men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on.
[00:01:27] Then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hand, said, men of Israel, and ye that fear God, give audience the God of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt. NoW notice how many Things Paul says God does for Israel. If you follow this, just follow the God. Verb, God. Verb, God. Verb. All the things God did.
[00:01:56] Verse number again. VeRsE 17. The God of our father, of this people of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and within high arm brought he them out of it. And about the time of 40 years suffered he their manners in the wilderness. And when he had destroyed seven nations in the land of Canaan, he divided their land to them by lot. And after that, he gave unto them judges about the space of 450 years, until Samuel the Prophet.
[00:02:25] And afterward they desired a king. And he gave unto them Saul, the son of Kiss, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, by the space of 40 years. And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king, to whom also he gave testimony and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. Which shall fulfill all my will of this man's seed. God hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a savior, Jesus.
[00:02:57] When John had first preached before his coming the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel. And as John fulfilled his course, he said, whom think ye that I am? I am not he. But behold, there cometh one after me whose shoes of his feet I am not worthy to loose men. And brethren, children of the stock of Abraham. And whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. And they that dwelt at Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him not. Nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him.
[00:03:36] And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And when they had fulfilled all things, all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree and laid him in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead, and he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declared unto you glad tidings how that the promise which was made unto the fathers God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again, as it is written in the second Psalm, thou art my son. This day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead. Now no more to return to corruption, he said, on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, thou shalt not suffer thine holy one to see corruption.
[00:04:35] For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep and was laid unto his fathers and saw corruption. But he whom God raised again saw no corruption.
[00:04:47] Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins. And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.
[00:05:06] Beware therefore, lest that come upon you which is spoken of in the prophets. Behold ye despisers and wonder and perish. For I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you. Let's pray together.
[00:05:25] Father, thank you for this passage of scripture that you have preserved for us in Paul's sermon at the synagogue in Antioch of Pasidia.
[00:05:35] I just pray and yield the service to you, and ask you to work in the hearts of each and every person here, including my own. Lord, I certainly need your help to be able to explain and give the message that you've given, the message that you desire your people to hear. So, Lord, I pray that you would give grace in the explanation, but also, Lord, in the hearing. Lord, would you please just move among your people and speak to their hearts and use your word in the ways that are best suited for their lives according to your will?
[00:06:12] Lord, help us to learn and help us to grow.
[00:06:15] And, Lord, if there be some among us that do not yet know the Lord Jesus Christ, who are perhaps religious, who are perhaps people that attend, but do not truly know thee, I pray that you would open their eyes and make them to see where they stand with you, how they stand before you.
[00:06:38] I ask these things in Jesus name. Amen.
[00:06:42] Now, if you want to divide up this sermon, there's basically three parts to it. And these three parts give us kind of a blueprint when we go to share the gospel with people.
[00:06:55] The first set is verse 16 through verse number 25. And you can mark these. If you look in verse number 16, you'll see the marker of these three diVisions. In verse 16, the Bible says, then Paul stood up and beckoning with his hand, said, men of Israel, and ye that fear God. Then you go down to verse number 26. He says, men and brethren. Then you go down to verse number 38. He again says, verse number. Where'd it go? There it is, verse 38. Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren. So that's kind of the marker. But he divides his message into basically three parts. The first part is where he talks about. Paul talks about the history of Israel. So if they were in the synagogue, which was basically the Jewish Church, remember, at this time, of course, the Jews are in Israel, in Judea, in Jerusalem, at this time.
[00:07:53] Jerusalem has not yet been destroyed. That will happen several decades later, in 80, 70. So the Jews still have their homeland, but nevertheless, they are scattered about throughout the Roman Empire. They're in Rome. They're in a lot of different places here. They're in the country of what's now Turkey.
[00:08:09] And so in each place, each community, they would have a synagogue. Not much different than our church. In other words, that was kind of the. If you follow it, it's almost kind of like a blueprint, because they were strangers among their society.
[00:08:25] They were an ethnic group, a minority ethnic group within their society, just like Christians are strangers.
[00:08:32] Even though I'm a native Greenvillian, people sometimes ask me if I'm from Greenville, and I have to admit, I'm a little bit proud to say that I was born and raised among these mills. Right? But you know what? I'm a stranger. The truth is, even for those that are born and raised among the mills around Greenville, we are strangers, because all around us are people that do not know the Lord. They don't know God. They often have a form of religion, but it only takes a few minutes.
[00:09:07] A little bit of interaction with some of those people, and it becomes obvious that we're talking about two different things.
[00:09:17] And when I was in the Marine Corps, I remember I was in boot camp, and I was sad. I was despondent. I met this guy, and we would go to the chapel service, which wasn't much to speak of at that time.
[00:09:31] And I struck up a conversation with him. I was talking to him and talking to him about the Lord a little bit, and he indicated that he was also a believer. But after about five or ten minutes, when I was talking to him, I realized that what I was saying and what I was trying to convey and what he was saying and trying to convey were not the same. We were talking past each other, and I just got the impression that for whatever reason, we weren't talking about the same Lord, the same salvation.
[00:10:02] Yeah, that'll make you feel kind of isolated.
[00:10:05] So in this way, the Synagogue was a little bit like a church.
[00:10:11] And these Jews going to the Synagogue Every Sabbath, every Saturday. The Sunday is not Sabbath. Every Saturday. They would hear the word of God, perhaps expounded upon the Law, would be read, much like we did just a minute ago. They would have been Familiar not only from the Law on the Sabbath, but they would have been Familiar with their own History. Of course, he starts talking about. He starts with the People of Israel in Egypt. Then he goes to When they were delivered out of Egypt and the Wanderings in the wilderness. Then he goes from There to JOshua, where God divided the Land. Then he goes into the Time of the Judges. So he's actually following the Books of the Bible. He starts in Exodus, and he goes to numbers, and then he goes to JOshua, and then Judges. And then First Samuel. He talks about Saul being the king. And then finally, he gets to Second Samuel, where David is the king.
[00:11:07] So here's the thing. When he started witnessing to these people, he started at a point where they understood where there was a connection to be made there. He didn't just come off a Wall with something and just Go into it about having comes fresh from the Holy Land. He didn't say, well, you know Jesus, right? No, he started with that history. He made a connection with them. And when we go and we try to share the Gospel with someboDy, we need to try to practice to understand where their understanding is and start at that point in many places around the world and not even around. You don't have to leave our country. You go to some places, and you can't start where. You can start in Greenville, South Carolina. In many cases, you go to other states where there's not as much of a biblical understanding and familiarity with those truths. You got to go back a little bit further. In Cambodia, we would start a creation. I think I was talking to Sister Judy Johnson about that we would start a creation because that is not something that was understood. So the point is, when you talk to someone, you need to start where they are in their understanding.
[00:12:20] And using that, you can make connections to get you to the next point. That's what he does.
[00:12:26] Paul is trying to get them from where they are, their own history, which in this case is biblical history, to David.
[00:12:37] Because David at the point of David is where the line takes a sharp turn in the direction of Christ, because it says in verse number 23 of this man's seed hath God, according to his promise, raised unto Israel a savior, Jesus.
[00:12:54] So he started with familiar territory to the Jewish ear.
[00:12:59] And then once he got there, in verse number 26 through 37, he just went into the gospel. He talked about John the Baptist. He talked about how that Jesus came, how that he was rejected.
[00:13:15] He talked about how that they put him to death. He talked about how that they laid him in the sepulchre and then how he was raised again from the dead. And then he was also witnessed after his resurrection. And that actually follows exactly the prescription of the gospel in one Corinthians 15, how that Christ died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day according to the scriptures, and that he was seen. That's all that Paul, he covers that almost methodically.
[00:13:50] When we give the gospel, we should make sure that we take time to explain that Christ died.
[00:13:59] We take time to explain that he was without sin, like verse 28. And though they found no cause of death in him, we should take time to explain how Jesus rose again from the dead and take time to explain that he is alive today. You say, well, they already know that. You might be surprised how the facts of religion, they act like water on a duck's back. They just kind of roll off people's minds. When we witness to people, we ought to stop and park at these truths. Remember, Paul is giving the Gospel as an historical fact, all of these things. He's giving the Gospel the historical facts of who Jesus was and why he came. And that's important.
[00:14:45] You cannot get to the application of the Gospel until you understand the Gospel is historical fact. And I've said this before, but if the things I just mentioned about the Lord Jesus Christ are not true, our faith is useless.
[00:15:01] Our faith is useless. We're not following, as Peter said, cunningly devised fables. We're following facts of history in which God, just like what Ari sang about, in which God intervened into human history.
[00:15:19] These are real things. They are facts. They are historical facts. The Gospel itself is rooted in historical fact. So when we give the Gospel, do not assume people know.
[00:15:32] Here's what I found when I'm talking to people. That when you say you've heard about Jesus, Jesus died on the cross. Oh, yeah, Jesus died for our sins. But they say it, and they say the words like it's something they've memorized in Sunday school, but they have no meaning.
[00:15:47] They have no understanding of what meaning that has to them at all. Even brother stuart, when he's given his testimony a number of times and he know, I've heard Jesus died for my sins. I'd heard that, but I didn't understand. That's what he said. I didn't understand that was me for me personally, because the truths of the Gospel just kind of went on by.
[00:16:09] So that means we should stop, take time, explain the truths to the people the Bible says, does it not? Romans, chapter one. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. And then the last thing, starting verse 38, what does he Do?
[00:16:30] He applies it.
[00:16:32] He applies the Gospel to the individuals to whom he is speaking.
[00:16:37] He explained why they needed the message. Verse number 38, forgiveness of sins.
[00:16:45] He addressed their own faith system. He says in verse number 40, or verse number 39, rather, and by him, all that believe are justified from all things from which Ye could not be justified. By the law of Moses. He addresses it. What you are Trusting in, what you think is Making you righteous, is Not.
[00:17:05] It is only by Christ that you can be justified. We'll talk about that again in a minute. And then he issued a warning.
[00:17:12] You say, well, I don't want to be mean to people.
[00:17:15] Telling people the truth plainly is not mean.
[00:17:20] It's issuing a Warning of something true.
[00:17:25] Is it mean to tell someone that their house is on fire or that their car is leaking coolant or oil? Is it mean, because it's negative? No.
[00:17:38] Paul issues a Warning. He says, there is forgiveness being offered to you and salvation.
[00:17:44] But beware.
[00:17:46] Do not reject this offer.
[00:17:49] And that's the Warning he gave. So you see these Three? Start where people are and lead them along based upon their understanding. Give them the Plain truths of the Gospel, and then you must. It's not just facts. You have to bring it to their lap and set it in front of them. This is what Jesus has done. This is what you need. You need beyond that point, we have no power whatsoever outside of praying for God to work in people's hearts. We are Just bearers of the message. And this is a good example to us as to how we can give the Gospel. And as I said, there are a number of these sermons that Paul brings up. But look back at verse number 16.
[00:18:34] Notice what he says. Verse number 16. And in verse number 26, I'm just going to point out a few things. Then Paul stood up and beckoned with his hand. Beckoning with his hand. Said, notice, men of Israel, and ye that fear God.
[00:18:50] Give audience verse 26. Look what it says. Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and Whosoever among you feareth God. So here PaUl is. He's in the SynagOGue, and apparently in the Synagogue are people who are not Jews.
[00:19:09] All right, look down at verse number 42. Now, this whole Sermon, all of these verses, 16 to 41 that we read happened in the Synagogue, all right, in a building. Verse 42 says, and when the Jews were gone out of the Synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. Whoa, whoa, whoa. How did they hear it? You know what? They were in the Synagogue. They were in the Synagogue.
[00:19:37] So there were Jews there, and there were Gentiles there. But notice how the Gentiles are described, says ye, verse 16. Ye that fear God.
[00:19:52] Ye that fear God.
[00:19:56] It is important, the fear of God.
[00:20:03] We studied this in our study of proverbs at their first major theme in Sunday school. But the fear of God is an important factor in salvation.
[00:20:12] Cornelius. We studied Cornelius in Acts, chapter ten. Two times. No, three times. Three times. CorneliuS is described as a man. He was not a Jew. He was not part of Israel, but he was a man. The Bible says that feared God. So CornEliuS is a Non Jew and a non believer, an unbeliever, not a Christian, but a person who feared God. You know what? His fear of God affected his openness to the Gospel.
[00:20:46] His fear of God affected his openness to the Gospel. And so that's why Paul is addressing those people. He's addressing those Gentiles who might not know the Lord. Now listen. Now listen to this definition of fear.
[00:21:01] And fear is one of those words that kind know. Gets on my nerves a little bit because people water it down. And those in study school know what I'm talking about because we studied this. Fear is a mingled feeling of dread and reverence toward God.
[00:21:19] Sometimes when people talk about the fear of the Lord, the fear of God, they say, well, that just means respect.
[00:21:25] But that's not all it means.
[00:21:28] It is both respect and reverence as well as dread. Like how you would describe something that you did not want to come to pass. You fear that thing. It's both.
[00:21:44] So when the Bible says that these people fear God, it's they hold the Lord in respect. But there's also a sense of concern that God is almighty, and I need to make sure I'm right with him. There's this idea. What you do not see is so common in our society, which is people that are just bubble gum chewers. And they're unbothered by the reality of who God is at all. They're just unconcerned.
[00:22:17] They do not care about their relationship to God. They do not care about their condition before God. They have no fear of God before their eyes. The Bible says there is no fear of God before their eyes. We know that in Romans chapter one, there's no fear of God before their eyes. That doesn't necessarily mean they're giving themselves to sin, although that might be a byproduct of it. But they're just living life with no concern as to where they are with God.
[00:22:48] Look at if you would, we'll come back here in just a minute. Look at Psalm number 33.
[00:22:55] Psalm 33. Look at a few psalms. Here's Psalm 33, verse number eight.
[00:23:13] Says this, let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him. Now, is the Lord speaking only to the Jewish people, to the Hebrews? No. Why? How do we know that? Because it says, all the earth.
[00:23:30] That's a creation term. Now look at the context.
[00:23:35] He says, by the word, verse six. By the word of the Lord were the heavens made and all the host of them. By the breath of his mouth. He gathereth the waters of the seed together, as in heap, and layeth up the depth and storehouses. Then he says, let all the earth fear the Lord. Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him, for he spake, and it was done. He commanded it stood fast. Notice. What is it saying? It's saying, listen, I'm not talking to my Jewish people, although this was written, no doubt, by a Jew. I'm talking to everyone. This is God himself speaking to the world. All people. He's saying, fear me.
[00:24:13] I made you look at my power, stand in awe, tremble.
[00:24:23] We're not even to the point where someone might hear the Gospel, kind of like Cornelius, hear the Gospel and be saved. We're not even to that point yet. The first step is, remember who I am. I am your creator. Look at my power.
[00:24:40] I spoke and it stood.
[00:24:43] You need to care what I think.
[00:24:47] Look at Psalm 96. You'll see the same factor here. Psalm 96, verse number nine.
[00:25:00] The Bible says, this again, God's speaking. But look to the people to whom he's speaking. O worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness. Fear before him all the earth.
[00:25:16] Fear before him all the earth.
[00:25:22] You see, the Lord.
[00:25:25] Look back, for instance, in verse number five. For all the gods of the nations are idols. But what does it say? But the Lord made the heavens. So God says to the whole world, he says to us, he says to me, he says to you even as believers. He says to the Jewish people, because this is obviously to them as well. He says to every person upon whom his sun shines, he says, fear me.
[00:25:53] Fear me.
[00:25:55] And he says that in the context of his creation, you see, all of us, no matter our condition, no matter our Ethnic Group, not saying Jew, Gentile, all of us have a RelationsHip to God as his Creation.
[00:26:09] Every person.
[00:26:11] And that Relationship Demands fear.
[00:26:16] You see, the fact that God made us should cause us to fear him. His Power, his Wisdom, his righteousness. And these are things. Again, we're not even to the Gospel yet. Now, the Jews, they have another Relationship to God by Virtue of the covenants that God made with them. The Abrahamic Covenant, right? That he Made with AbrahaM and his descendants. Then there was a Covenant on Mount SINaI that God made through Moses. That's another Covenant, right? And they Interact and Relate to God based upon those that knew Revelation that God gave to them. But the Gentiles didn't have a part in that.
[00:26:54] So the Jews have more Information, and then we go to the New Testament. Here we are. We're believers now. We have a world of a New Relationship to God, right?
[00:27:05] But the Lord says First to fear God, even in Revelation. Listen to this. This is Speaking of the Tribulation now, which is Future. In Revelation 14, the Bible Says this, and I saw another angel Fly in the MidSt of heaven. Having the everlasting Gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth. Listen to what they said and to every nation and kindred in tongue and people saying with a loud voice, fear God and give glory to him.
[00:27:33] For the hour of his judgment has come and worship him. That made notice again the mention of fear with his creation, and worship him that made heaven and earth and sea and the fountains of waters. Now, let me stop here. If a person recognizes God and they fear the Lord and they worship the Lord, think, Cornelius. Does that mean they're saved? No, but I want to tell you something.
[00:27:58] But it is true that until a person fears God, they will never come to Christ.
[00:28:07] That is a first step. You see these people, and maybe there's somebody in here that's like this. You live your life without any care in the world of what God thinks.
[00:28:18] You go day to day. You don't consider what he thinks of your life, of your works, of your words, of your thoughts. It just never enters your mind. And it certainly doesn't strike fear when you know it's not right.
[00:28:32] This is the way most people live, just the run of the mill lifestyle.
[00:28:39] But a person who fears God is a person who, their conscience pricks them when they think that God might be displeased with their life. You say, well, God loves that. Listen, the fact that God loves everybody doesn't change his holiness and justice.
[00:28:58] God wants people to fear him because that is really the first step that opens the door to their willingness to hear the Gospel.
[00:29:06] You won't find anybody that comes to Christ until there is a certain level of fear. They acknowledge and have a certain fear of God. That is what brings them and makes them hungry and thirsty. Does not the Bible say that the Spirit of God came to reprove the world of sin, of righteousness and of judgment? It might just be the fact that I've not acknowledged God. I've not acknowledged that God has created me.
[00:29:32] But the fear of God is the first step. And without it, there is no way to approach God at all.
[00:29:37] And really, the fear of GoD as it relates to his being our Creator comes even before the Gospel.
[00:29:45] Even before the Gospel. But again, you see so many people around us. I've lived without fear of God.
[00:29:55] But God commands the inhabitants of the World to fear him.
[00:30:01] Because a person that fears God is well prepared to hear the Gospel.
[00:30:08] But a person who does not fear God will have a heart that's like ground that's unprepared for, sowing for seed.
[00:30:17] Now look at verse. Back in ActS 13. Look at verse number 27.
[00:30:24] So Paul is speaking to these gentiles who are in the synagogue. They're inquiring about the Lord. They have recognized that the God of Israel is the True God. Now, they haven't been proselytes yet. Now, they haven't gone that far. Without going into Detail. There was a lot involved in that, if you know what I'm saying. And that's not something they were willing to do, at least up to that point. But they at least feared God. They were there. And listen, this bears fruit in this situation. Look at verse number 27.
[00:30:56] And this is where it Gets a Little bit pointed. All right.
[00:31:02] Paul says of the Jews. Now, for they that dwell at Jerusalem and their rulers, because they knew him not. They knew not Jesus, nor yet the Voices of the prophets which are read Every Sabbath Day, they have Fulfilled them in Condemning him.
[00:31:25] So what is he talking about?
[00:31:29] He says these Jews Are going to the Synagogue Every week, and they're hearing the Word, the Same word that told them about Jesus, that he would come and all that would happen. They read it every Sabbath. Every Sabbath. They come every Sabbath.
[00:31:45] But even though they attended the Synagogue every week, they did not know God.
[00:31:50] And even though they attended the Synagogue and heard the word of God read every week, they did not know the Scriptures Were talking about them.
[00:32:05] They nodded along every week, affirmatively.
[00:32:09] They heard the word. They sat nice.
[00:32:12] But they did not know that what was being read was talking about themselves, how that they would reject Christ. This is what PauL is saying of the Jews In Jerusalem.
[00:32:26] But the thing is, it's true of these Jews that are listening him as well.
[00:32:31] And they went to the synagogue every week.
[00:32:34] Listen to this. Ezekiel 33, verse 31. Listen to this. And they come unto thee as. As the people cometh. And they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words.
[00:32:49] But they will not do them.
[00:32:51] For their mouth they show with. For with their mouth they show much love, but with. But their heart goeth after their covetousness. Look real quick at Romans, chapter two.
[00:33:07] Romans Chapter two, verse number 17.
[00:33:20] The Bible says, behold, thou art called a Jew. Now remember, connect what I'm reading here with what Paul is speaking in the Synagogue. He's talking about the Jewish people. Go to the Synagogue every Sabbath. Hear the word of God every Sabbath.
[00:33:36] Did not know God. Did not understand that the word of God that they were hearing was actually talking about them. All right. Verse 17. Behold, thou art called a Jew, and restest in the law. And makest thy boast of God. And knowest his will and approvest the things that are more excellent, being more instructed out of the law, and art confident that thou thyself art a guide of the blind, a light to them which are in darkness. An instructor of the foolish, a teacher of babes, which hast the form of knowledge and of the truth in the law.
[00:34:07] Thou, therefore, which teachest another, teachest not that. Teachest thou not thyself?
[00:34:14] Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal? Thou that sayest a man should not commit adultery. Dost thou commit adultery? Thou that abhorst idols, dost thou commit sacrilege?
[00:34:28] Thou that makest thy boast of the law through breaking the law, dishonourst thou God, for the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.
[00:34:45] Here's what I see. These Jews are sitting there, and Paul's preaching.
[00:34:51] They've been coming every week. It's their pattern of life. Every Saturday they go. They hear the word. They go.
[00:35:00] They think they know God, but they don't.
[00:35:04] They hear the word of God, but none of it ever sinks in. They never understand that God's talking to and about them.
[00:35:12] You know what I thought about?
[00:35:14] I thought about how similar that is to churches, how that people come to church every Sunday, and they sit and they listen Sunday in, Sunday out, and they don't know God.
[00:35:31] You say, is that a thing? Yeah.
[00:35:34] Two Timothy three five, says, having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof. That means it looks like the real thing, but it's not.
[00:35:46] It has all the characteristics, but there's nothing inside.
[00:35:52] Titus, chapter one, verse 16, says, they profess that they know God, but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work, reprobate. I thought, how many Christian churches are like these synagogues where they go in and out every single Sunday and they hear the word and they look like God's people, but they don't know God, just like the Jews didn't. Oh, they know the words, and they know. Oh, Jesus. Yes, Jesus. That they know all of that, but they don't know God.
[00:36:20] And I'm not talking about a certain denomination or what. I'm. I'm talking about all churches everywhere that people go in, they don't know God, and they don't know that. They don't know God, because they will not search out to find out whether they truly know God. They're content with the look, they're content with the form, just like the Jews.
[00:36:49] And when God's word by chance, I'm grieved to think pastors are those, right? Pastors are some of those people. And I couldn't imagine without God. I couldn't imagine standing up here and trying to explain, trying to read and preach a sermon without God. Forget it.
[00:37:10] But there are people that do it all the time. They themselves don't know God how, but they do it and listen. There's churches where people sit and they hear the word of God read. And they read it. For instance, they read the part that this verse, they're going maybe through Titus, chapter one. And they get to the verse that says, they profess that they know God, but in works they deny him being abominable and disobedient unto every good work reprobaTe. And the person listening listens to that and nods approvingly. Yes, I'm glad I'm not like one of those people. But God's talking about them. He is referring to them and they have no idea.
[00:37:55] That's a sad state of affairs.
[00:37:59] They are hearing the word just like the Jews and have no clue that God is actually pointing the finger at them with that very word.
[00:38:11] I think there's a call in this case for us, as Sister Judy mentioned. What was it last week?
[00:38:22] There's a call for us to all to examine ourselves and make sure we're in the faith that's in the Bible, right?
[00:38:28] To make sure that we know God. And we're not just playing.
[00:38:33] Make sure that the word that we're hearing is not just sweet sounding words that we're listening to, but that we understand what it's saying. And we have examined ourself in that light.
[00:38:47] And whether that conclusion is we're in Christ or not in Christ, we've been willing to confront that question down here in the South. It is so easy to play church, is it not?
[00:39:03] It is so easy to play church.
[00:39:06] It's so easy to come and play the part. We wear our little tie, our little suit, our little dress, and we look the part.
[00:39:15] People see us, but that's not where it's at. Listen. That's not the real thing.
[00:39:23] God works in our heart. He works in the heart. He examines us, right?
[00:39:28] The Bible says, the Lord knoweth them that are his.
[00:39:35] That's what he says.
[00:39:38] So listen.
[00:39:40] It's not our church. Their church has nothing to do with that. It's just a call for us to remember, to just be aware. We don't need to be like these Jews who constantly heard the word of God, but it never entered into our heart and never caused us to consider. Be like these Jews who went to Synagogue every Sabbath and didn't know God.
[00:40:00] God forbid that that should be the case with any of us in here.
[00:40:05] Listen, if there's a question about whether you are truly born again, that you know God truly, and that these fantastic truths of the Gospel have actually touched our lives, if there's any question in that, that's something for you to say. Hey, I need to talk to the pastor about it. I need to talk to Brother Stuart about it, Brother Ben or Brother Ari or somebody. And I need to search this thing out and figure out where I stand with God.
[00:40:40] You see? And that's the intersection of where those that fear God care.
[00:40:48] The Jews were. Those that did, even though they should have feared God. They didn't even fear God because they were oblivious.
[00:40:55] And ironically, if you look at the end of our, we're done. But you look at the end of chapter 13 of Acts, who was it that sought after the Gent? Sought after Paul and Barnabas? It was the Gentiles in verse 43.
[00:41:12] Will you tell us more?
[00:41:17] But I'm afraid there's so many church members that the Lord pricks their heart, but they say, nah, they don't fear God enough to search out the matter, to get to the bottom of it, to make sure that they're right with the Lord.
[00:41:37] Let's.
