Review:
The Gospel Divides: What side are YOU On?
- You either Receive or you Reject the Word. (Acts 13:42-45)
- You either choose Hell or are chosen for Heaven. (Acts 13:46-48)
- You either work With God or work Against God. (Acts 13:49-52)
Review: John 8:31 | Heb 3:14
Review: Joshua 24:15
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
-
00:00-00:02
Open up your Bibles, will you please, to Acts chapter 13.
00:03-00:09
And if you're visiting with us today, our theme this year is the unstoppable church.
00:10-00:18
And we're going to see as we go through the book of Acts, all of these roadblocks come up that could stop this young church movement.
00:19-00:26
Things like persecution and demonic attacks and riots and all these things that the church just keeps on going.
00:26-00:28
And 2000 years later, here we are.
00:29-00:38
Two thousand years later, as history is filled with people who have tried to stop the church, here we are.
00:39-00:52
And the last week we saw as Paul and Barnabas and Mark left Antioch and they went to Cyprus, and we saw how the Holy Spirit was at work empowering ministry and fighting spiritual battles and saving souls.
00:53-00:58
Last week we looked at the longest recorded sermon we have from the Apostle Paul.
00:59-01:00
in Antioch of Pisidia.
01:02-01:04
And he preached to the Jews in the synagogue.
01:04-01:09
And last week, the sermon was basically just this.
01:09-01:14
History is all about Jesus Christ.
01:16-01:19
Salvation is all about Jesus Christ.
01:19-01:23
And you have a choice to make with Jesus Christ.
01:23-01:34
And this passage we're going to look at today, we're going to see the result of this sermon Like any Gospel sermon, is that there's a very clear line that's drawn.
01:36-01:40
And the sermon put people in one of two camps.
01:41-01:43
And that's still true of the Gospel today.
01:43-01:49
Everybody sitting here, we can rightly categorize every single one of you into one of two camps.
01:51-01:55
And there are certain areas of life Do that, right?
01:57-02:01
You're like, "Well, Jeff, that seems very simplistic." I don't think that it is.
02:01-02:11
There's a lot of areas of life where we get divided into two camps where each side is passionate about their choice and they think the other side is crazy.
02:11-02:12
You want some examples?
02:13-02:19
How many people here today, by show of hands, are Apple computer, Apple products people?
02:19-02:21
Where's the Apple people at?
02:22-02:24
Did you see how arrogantly they raised their hands?
02:25-02:29
Did you see the disdain with which they looked at people who did not raise their hands?
02:30-02:31
I'm an Apple person.
02:33-02:34
You PC losers.
02:37-02:40
You know I'm joking, right? I love you all the same, even if you use a lesser product.
02:41-02:42
Who are my PC people?
02:44-02:46
Oh, some of you are raising two hands.
02:47-02:52
Alright, joking aside, I switched from PC to Apple like a year or two ago, and I miss my PC.
02:53-02:58
There are just functions on that machine that I don't have on the MacBook that I, quite frankly, I miss them.
03:00-03:03
But you know, there's a divide there.
03:03-03:05
Apple versus PC.
03:06-03:09
And before we start a riot, we're going to move on to the next one.
03:10-03:11
Coke and Pepsi, right?
03:11-03:14
How many people are like Coca-Cola all the way?
03:15-03:17
Okay, much more than I thought.
03:17-03:19
How many people are Pepsi people?
03:19-03:20
Who are my Pepsi people?
03:20-03:22
Okay, we're kind of half and half on that.
03:23-03:24
But that seems to be something.
03:24-03:28
I actually like them both, but I never really understood the fight.
03:28-03:34
But being in circles and talking to people, there's a real heated argument about that.
03:34-03:39
I can't believe you drink Pepsi, it tastes like cat sweat, and like, what?
03:40-03:41
Is it really that different?
03:42-03:43
Yeah, is there a difference?
03:43-03:44
Whoa.
03:46-03:47
Sorry, Mr. Coca-Cola.
03:48-03:51
Um, the other one is Ford and Chevy.
03:52-03:53
Who are the Ford people here?
03:55-03:55
Okay?
03:57-03:59
You seem a little embarrassed about that, but that's okay.
04:00-04:00
Who are the Chevy people?
04:02-04:07
I used to work in the automotive section at Walmart, and I dealt with this thing on a daily basis.
04:07-04:19
I mean, there were people that would come in, and they were like, "Ford! Ford! Ford!" And then there are people like, you know, people that say that usually end up pushing that board.
04:21-04:21
Right?
04:22-04:25
So, Ford and Chevy, what else?
04:27-04:28
Here, here's one.
04:29-04:35
There's not even like another alternative to, well, there kind of is, but I just wrote it down this way.
04:35-04:37
I just wrote down the New York Yankees.
04:38-04:39
Like, what about the Red Sox?
04:39-04:41
I'm not even talking about like, what's the alternative?
04:42-05:05
like with the Yankees you either have people that love the Yankees or you have people that hate the Yankees. How many people here are New York Yankees fans? Okay there are like five of us and for fear of public persecution I saw how those hands were raised. I'm a Yankees fan. How many people I hate the Yankees.
05:07-05:07
OK.
05:09-05:09
Yeah.
05:10-05:11
Much less ashamed.
05:13-05:15
And see, I always liked the Yankees because I sort of bought into their gimmick.
05:16-05:19
That they were the corporate boys.
05:20-05:21
Money is no object.
05:21-05:22
We'll spend whatever we need to.
05:22-05:25
They were like the bad guys of baseball.
05:25-05:26
And I kind of bought into that gimmick.
05:26-05:27
So I like the Yankees.
05:29-05:30
I'm not even going to ask.
05:30-05:36
But you know, to a slight lesser degree, the Pittsburgh Steelers are like that, right?
05:37-05:41
Like people love the Steelers, but you know, there's a lot of people that hate the Steelers.
05:43-05:44
Generally, people outside this market.
05:44-05:46
There's people here that hate the Steelers.
05:46-05:47
I see some fingers pointing.
05:48-05:49
Who here hates the Steelers?
05:51-05:52
We lay hands and pray right now?
05:54-05:55
You are loved.
05:55-05:56
You are loved.
05:57-05:58
You are loved.
05:58-06:05
I felt from that section of the room, I felt this sort of spiritual stronghold.
06:07-06:10
But on more serious notes, people get divided into two camps, don't they?
06:10-06:11
Like capital punishment.
06:12-06:14
I'm not going to ask you to raise your hands now.
06:15-06:16
You understand, there's two camps.
06:16-06:23
There are people that are like, "I'm all for capital punishment." And there are people that are dead set against capital punishment.
06:24-06:27
I have very strong beliefs about that and biblically why.
06:27-06:34
about that another day. Another issue is guns. The pro-gun people, the no-gun people.
06:35-07:06
Puts people in two very distinct camps. We could talk about abortion. There are people that are pro-choice and pro-life and each side is very passionate about their side and have very passionate feelings about the other side. In most recent history in our culture, I think the police, just the police forces that put people into two camps, the people that support the police and the people that view all police as people who abuse their power.
07:07-07:11
But we're seeing that to become more and more an issue where camp is divided.
07:12-07:16
And honestly, let's address the big one, right?
07:16-07:20
What's the biggest one that has people divided into two camps right now?
07:21-07:24
Trump and Clinton, right?
07:25-07:36
I'm certainly not going to ask anybody to raise your hands on that, but can you see the violence, the hatred over these two camps?
07:37-07:49
Well, there's nothing more so divisive as far as putting people into two camps than the gospel of Jesus Christ and the people who are enemies of the gospel.
07:51-07:53
people who have not received the Gospel.
07:54-07:57
And I don't want you to imagine there's some kind of a third option.
07:58-08:08
And I think in our culture, because we've had such religious freedom and tolerance over the years, I think in our minds we've sort of embraced this third option.
08:08-08:15
Like there's these radical Christians, you know, they're handing out Gospel tracts and they're preaching, and they're always wanting to pray.
08:15-08:17
And there's like the radical Christians.
08:17-08:26
And then there's like the people They hate the church, and those are the more liberal people I guess, I suppose, but they hate the church and they hate religion.
08:27-08:34
But I think that we've constructed this third category, it's like, we'll call them diet Christians.
08:35-08:36
Christian light.
08:36-08:39
You know, less calories, they're gluten-free Christians.
08:39-08:50
They come to church, and they're not like super fired up about the gospel, but they're not like against the gospel, but they're like, they do the church thing unless there's something that interferes with the church thing, and then that's more important.
08:50-08:51
Let's not get too radical.
08:52-08:57
We've created this third category, but understand, biblically, there is no third category.
08:57-08:58
You know that.
08:58-08:59
Biblically, there is no third.
09:02-09:03
Jesus taught this.
09:03-09:04
The Gospels teach this.
09:04-09:06
The Epistles teach this.
09:06-09:07
There's no third category.
09:08-09:13
Biblically, you're either dead in your sins, or you're alive in Jesus Christ.
09:14-09:16
There's no half-dead, half-alive thing out there.
09:17-09:17
one or the other.
09:18-09:22
Biblically, you're walking in light, or you're walking in darkness.
09:24-09:27
There's no dusk, biblically.
09:27-09:33
Jesus said on the last days, He'll divide His people into sheep and goats.
09:34-09:36
Again, Jesus didn't have a third option.
09:36-09:41
Like I've got sheep and I've got goats, and some people are just like chickens, and we're not sure where to categorize them.
09:42-09:45
Jesus said there's two categories of division.
09:47-09:49
You have one of two fathers.
09:50-09:59
Either God the Father - the Lord God is your Father, or like the Jews that Jesus condemned, He says you are of your father, the devil.
10:00-10:01
Who's your daddy?
10:01-10:02
Somebody's your daddy.
10:03-10:04
There's no third option.
10:06-10:08
So in our outline today, I want you to jot a few notes down.
10:09-10:13
divides. The Gospel divides.
10:13-10:14
What side are you on?
10:15-10:29
Again, this passage comes in the tale of Paul preaching this sermon, and the sermon was all about Jesus. Jesus the fulfillment and key figure of history. Jesus the key figure of salvation. And you need to do something about Jesus Christ.
10:30-11:06
And look at verse 42. It says, "As they went out," as the apostles, the missionaries, they went out, the people begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath. And after the meeting of the synagogue broke up, many Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God. The next Sabbath, almost the whole The whole city gathered to hear the Word of the Lord.
11:06-11:08
So number one, jot this down in your outline.
11:08-11:09
Two camps, right?
11:11-11:13
You either receive the Word or reject the Word.
11:14-11:16
You either receive the Word or reject the Word.
11:17-11:20
We saw in verses 42-44, these are the receivers.
11:20-11:21
We'll talk about them in a second.
11:22-11:27
But it says they begged, they followed, they brought their friends to hear.
11:28-11:28
Get back to that.
11:29-11:53
So there are people that receive, but I want you to see also in verse 45, For those who rejected, verse 45 says, "But when the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy and began to contradict what was spoken by Paul, reviling him." These were people that rejected the message.
11:53-11:57
And they were motivated by jealousy.
11:58-12:00
You can't prove the Word wrong.
12:02-12:04
You've got two options.
12:06-12:08
One is just flat-out denying the Word.
12:09-12:14
You notice it says that they began to contradict what was spoken.
12:15-12:19
They were contradicting everything that the Apostle Paul was speaking.
12:20-12:22
How annoying do you think that was?
12:22-12:23
Could you imagine?
12:23-12:29
I get up to preach, and I'm like, "Open up your Bible, it's the Word of God!" You have a group of people here...
12:29-12:30
No, it's not!
12:32-12:33
Jesus Christ died for your sins.
12:33-12:34
No, He didn't!
12:36-12:41
You know, there's heaven to gain, there's hell to gain, depending on your choice.
12:42-12:43
No, that's not true!
12:44-12:45
There's no hell!
12:45-12:47
Could you imagine there's a group sitting here doing that?
12:47-12:50
And that's what Paul was dealing with here.
12:51-12:53
These people were just contradicting what he was saying.
12:54-12:55
Jesus is the Messiah.
12:55-12:56
No, he's not.
12:58-12:59
Jesus died for your sins.
12:59-13:00
No, He didn't.
13:02-13:08
So when you can't prove the word wrong in the discussion, they just flat out denied the word.
13:08-13:11
Secondly, they hated the messenger.
13:11-13:13
It says they reviled Paul.
13:14-13:16
We already saw that in Acts, right?
13:16-13:20
You can't do anything about the message, so you hate the messenger.
13:20-13:22
That happened to Peter, right?
13:22-13:22
Remember that?
13:24-13:28
to Stephen, he lost his life over it, it's already happened to Paul, and it's going to continue to.
13:31-13:38
Sometimes it's hard to tell who received the word and who rejected the word, because sometimes the people that are rejecting the word still go to church every Sunday.
13:40-13:44
Just out of duty, or religious checkmark, or whatever.
13:45-13:46
So how can you tell which is which?
13:46-13:48
Well, look at verse 43 again.
13:49-13:53
So these people were, It says they were following Paul and Barnabas.
13:54-13:55
Like, tell us more. We want to hear more.
13:55-13:56
Tell us more about Jesus.
13:58-14:06
And I don't know who was who, where all these people were with the Lord, but I want you to see how they were taught.
14:07-14:28
Verse 43 says, "As they spoke with them, Paul and Barnabas, as they spoke with them, urged them to continue in the grace of God." Because the proof of salvation That's not the proof of salvation.
14:30-14:35
The proof of salvation is not being raised in a Christian home.
14:37-14:42
Your parents could be the two best Christians walking the planet, and that guarantees nothing about your salvation.
14:43-14:45
That's not the proof of salvation.
14:45-14:50
The proof of salvation is not once upon a time you made some profession of your own.
14:50-15:08
of faith. Like, "Yeah, back in 1985, I went through these confirmation classes, and the preacher said I was saved, so I came saved." Those aren't evidence of salvation. Biblically, the evidence of salvation, the proof of salvation, is perseverance. It's perseverance.
15:09-15:12
Like what do you mean by that? I mean John 8, verse 31.
15:13-15:22
Listen, "Jesus said to the Jews who had believed Him, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples.
15:25-15:26
Jesus was saying, "We'll see.
15:26-15:28
Are you truly my disciples?
15:28-15:35
We're going to see." You will see, Jesus knew, but they would see if they abide in his word.
15:36-15:37
It's endurance, it's perseverance.
15:38-15:49
It's like Hebrews 3.14 says, "For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed," listen to this, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.
15:52-15:55
It's about endurance. Are you holding that original confidence?
15:57-16:07
We have a tendency to say, "I want to look at some event of my past," and that's really not the evidence. The evidence is looking at your walk right now. Right now.
16:09-16:11
Today's the evidence. Are you walking with Christ today?
16:12-16:16
I don't care what you did, you know, 1985 or whatever.
16:16-16:17
What are you doing today?
16:18-16:18
That's the evidence.
16:19-16:19
Are you persevering?
16:19-16:20
Are you abiding?
16:22-16:24
Well, I had a really great day yesterday.
16:24-16:25
That doesn't mean you're saved.
16:26-16:27
I had a horrible day yesterday.
16:27-16:28
That doesn't mean you're not saved.
16:29-16:31
That's about are you abiding?
16:31-16:32
Are you persevering?
16:35-16:37
So looking at your life right now, are you a word receiver?
16:37-16:38
Or are you a word rejecter?
16:40-16:41
What does that look like?
16:41-16:44
Again, my question, do you love the Word?
16:44-16:50
Verse 42 tells us that they begged that these things might be told them the next Sabbath.
16:52-16:54
They begged. Do you love the Word like that?
16:55-17:02
I'll tell you what, there is nothing that would make me happier or more blessed.
17:02-17:19
If you were leaving church today and on your way out you grabbed my sleeve, like I'm begging you, Pastor Jeff, preach next week too. We preach just like you did this week because that was awesome. That would really bless my heart. Now don't do it because now I know if you do it it's just because I told you to do it.
17:23-17:42
But you see the point. The point is that's what they did. They're like, "Please, please come back and tell us more. Would you please tell us more about this Jesus?" They begged them to come back. "Well that's interesting. We'll see if there's no game "Next week we might go hear Him again." No, they're like, "We need to hear more about this." And some of them, they weren't even content to wait.
17:42-17:49
They're like, "We're gonna follow you." I'd be like, "You just jump in your car "and you follow me home." My wife's making lunch and you're like sitting on her couch.
17:49-17:51
Like, "Yeah, we wanna hear more about this Jesus.
17:52-17:52
"So do you love it?
17:53-17:55
"Secondly, do you crave it?" And they followed.
17:55-17:57
We need to know more.
17:58-18:00
I can't wait until next week to hear more.
18:02-18:04
Is that your attitude towards the Word of God?
18:07-18:10
You know your attitude towards the Word of God when you share it.
18:11-18:14
When you share it, verse 44 says the whole city came out.
18:14-18:15
How did that happen?
18:16-18:21
Because these people who heard the Word went and told other people, "Hey, you need to come and hear this, you need to come and hear this." That's how it happened.
18:22-18:27
They didn't start a Facebook page or start a website or whatever, or GoFundMe for this preaching thing.
18:28-18:32
People went out and said, "Hey, you've got to hear these people talk about Jesus.
18:33-18:37
It's awesome." And the whole city came out.
18:38-18:41
So what impact does the Word of God have on your life?
18:43-18:44
Do you love it? Do you crave it? Do you share it?
18:45-18:47
What impact does the Word have on your life?
18:47-18:49
Are you hungry for the Word and you can't wait to get into it?
18:50-19:00
Or, if you walked out of here today and you forgot your Bible, would your week look any different than if you took it?
19:02-19:06
Maybe you're either a word receiver, or you're a word rejecter.
19:08-19:10
So the Gospel divides what side are you on.
19:10-19:19
Secondly today, not only do you either receive the Word or you reject the Word, secondly, these words are chosen very carefully, and we're about to go to Bible school here for a minute, alright?
19:20-19:21
So, let's tune in.
19:23-19:27
You either choose hell, or are chosen for heaven.
19:28-19:30
Look at these verses with me.
19:31-19:39
Isaiah 46 says, "And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly..." This is in the face of people reviling them, okay?
19:39-19:45
"...spoke out boldly, saying, 'It was necessary that the Word of God be spoken to you first.
19:47-19:53
Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles.
19:56-20:00
For so the Lord has commanded us, saying..." This is from Isaiah 49.6.
20:01-20:12
"I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth." And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord.
20:12-20:14
Look at this next phrase.
20:14-20:21
"And as many as were appointed to eternal life..." Believed.
20:22-20:23
Stop there.
20:24-20:29
"You either choose hell or you are chosen for heaven." That's the dividing line.
20:31-20:31
Let's break this down.
20:32-20:38
Verse 46, first of all, Paul says, "It was necessary the Word of God be spoken first to you." What does he mean?
20:38-20:40
Well, the Gospel is for the Jews first.
20:40-20:41
Right?
20:41-20:48
Romans 1:16, "I'm not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God." Salvation for the Jews first and also for the Gentiles.
20:48-20:50
So it's for the Jews first.
20:50-20:57
Jesus told the early missionaries that He said, "I'll go to the house of Israel first." It was Jews were to receive first.
20:57-20:59
That's what Paul's talking about here.
20:59-21:02
Salvation, the Gospels for the Jews first.
21:05-21:06
And they got jealous.
21:06-21:11
We saw in verse 45, there was a jealousy over Gentiles receiving the Gospel.
21:11-21:13
We spent some time talking about that.
21:13-21:14
There were a lot of Jews.
21:14-21:15
It was kind of a racial thing.
21:15-21:16
They hated Gentiles.
21:17-21:18
Gentiles were dogs.
21:18-21:19
Gentiles were worthless.
21:19-21:24
We can't believe God would have anything to do with these filthy creatures called Gentiles.
21:26-21:28
I'll even quote from Isaiah.
21:29-21:30
This Old Testament promise.
21:30-21:34
Isaiah says that the Gospel was going to go to the Gentiles.
21:34-21:37
God's plan of salvation was for the ends of the earth.
21:38-21:39
God promised this would happen.
21:39-21:40
Look at this phrase.
21:42-21:45
Very interesting the way he puts it.
21:45-21:59
He says, "Since you thrust it aside and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life..." Paul says, "I brought you the Gospel and you just threw it aside like garbage.
21:59-22:00
Why did you do that?
22:00-22:00
Look at this phrase.
22:01-22:08
He says, "You judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life." Notice it doesn't say that God judged you unworthy.
22:08-22:09
It doesn't say that.
22:09-22:16
It doesn't say God was looking at you and said, "He's not worth saving." He says, "You judged yourself unworthy.
22:18-22:19
You did that.
22:20-22:21
You took the gospel.
22:22-22:26
You decided you weren't worthy of the gospel and you thrust it aside.
22:27-22:30
The point is you are responsible for how you react to grace.
22:32-22:38
People who challenge me in the gospel say, "You're telling me that God would send somebody to hell?" No, I'm not saying that at all.
22:39-22:41
The Bible says that people send themselves to hell.
22:41-22:41
Okay?
22:42-22:43
I don't believe God sends anyone to hell.
22:44-22:47
People send themselves there, biblically.
22:49-22:51
I want you to see the contrast here.
22:52-22:54
You've judged yourself unworthy of eternal life.
22:54-22:58
I want to try to give you an earthly example of sort of what this means.
23:00-23:06
But you know with my 10 year old, his favorite thing in the world is his iPad.
23:07-23:10
And I've told him that's a privilege for you to use that.
23:10-23:15
and you have to earn the privilege of using your iPad.
23:17-23:20
Or to put it in the way that I explain my tenure, I'm like, that's for big boys.
23:21-23:25
So if you can behave yourself, do what you're supposed to do and be a big boy, the iPad's for big boys.
23:25-23:32
And I tell them that in the outset, whether it's about being good at school or especially being good at church.
23:33-23:34
Big boys get privileges.
23:37-23:38
on the days that he completely blows it.
23:42-23:44
He knew on the front end what the choice was.
23:44-23:48
He made a choice to act immaturely.
23:48-23:50
He made a choice to disobey.
23:52-23:55
My answer is just simply, look, you've proven that you're not a big boy.
23:56-23:57
You made the choice.
23:57-24:02
You don't get the privilege because by your choices, you've proved to me that you're not a big boy.
24:03-24:09
And it's sort of in that sense that someone judges themselves unworthy of eternal life.
24:11-24:12
God wants you to have it.
24:13-24:22
God set up the condition for receiving it, but you by your choices, by your action, you've proven that you don't deserve it.
24:22-24:23
You're not worthy of it.
24:25-24:29
Not by God's word, not by the preacher's word, but by your word.
24:31-24:39
So we have on one hand the people that - notice the wording again - they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life.
24:39-24:41
And look at the other side, verse 48.
24:42-24:45
Does it say that the people that were saved judged themselves worthy of eternal life?
24:45-24:47
No. Look what it says.
24:47-25:00
"As many as were appointed to eternal life believed." So some people chose hell, and other people were appointed by God to receive eternal life.
25:01-25:14
When we talk about election, understand that God's sovereignty in election is spoken of specifically in regards to those who receive salvation.
25:15-25:18
I'm going to say that again, because I want to be crystal clear.
25:19-25:25
God's sovereignty in election is spoken of specifically in regards to those who receive salvation.
25:26-25:33
In other words, The Bible never says that God chooses people to go to hell.
25:33-25:34
Understand that.
25:36-25:42
The Bible says that God elects, He chooses, He ordains, He appoints people to heaven.
25:42-25:48
But the Bible doesn't say, the Bible nowhere says that God chooses to send someone to hell.
25:50-25:53
I think the wording here in God's Word is very specific to that end.
25:54-26:07
Comparing verse 46 and 48, "You judge yourselves unworthy, as many as were appointed?" Those who go to hell, choose to go to hell.
26:08-26:13
Those who go to heaven, are those who have been chosen by God to go.
26:15-26:17
You're like, "Pastor Jeff, can you explain that?
26:18-26:21
What's the answer?" Nope.
26:22-26:23
I sure can't.
26:24-26:26
But I'll tell you what, I haven't lost a minute's sleep over it.
26:27-26:31
Because He is God and I am not.
26:31-26:33
When we talk about election, I get two common responses.
26:34-26:38
One response is, "I don't understand it." And you can't. You can't.
26:39-26:49
You have as much chance of understanding the things of God God, as a fruit fly does, of understanding how an iPhone works.
26:51-26:52
It's not going to happen.
26:54-26:57
God lives outside of time and space.
26:58-27:00
This all makes total sense to God.
27:02-27:12
So I'm this fallen finite creature that lives in time and space, and there's some things about the Almighty, perfectly sovereign God that I don't understand.
27:12-27:13
That is what makes sense to me.
27:14-27:15
to understand some things about God.
27:17-27:24
So when God says people who go to hell choose to go, people who go to heaven are because I chose them to go, okay, that's what you say, but that's what the Bible says.
27:26-27:30
But the other argument, the other response is I don't think that's fair.
27:31-27:32
I don't think that's fair.
27:33-27:37
My response to that is you really don't want fair.
27:39-27:40
You don't want fair.
27:41-27:46
Because fair would mean the first time God cast you into hell forever. That's fair.
27:49-27:51
See, none of us truly got what we deserve.
27:53-27:54
You don't want God to be fair. God is gracious.
27:58-28:00
So another clear dividing line. I could say so much more about this.
28:02-28:06
But I just want you to see today for our purposes, here's a clear dividing line on your destination.
28:08-28:11
You're either chosen by God for heaven, or you chose hell.
28:13-28:15
There's no third destination.
28:15-28:18
There aren't people that die that go someplace else.
28:18-28:21
There's a very clear division in the gospel.
28:22-28:22
What side are you on?
28:24-28:29
And finally for today, you either work with God or you work against God.
28:30-28:32
Last few verses, 49 through 52.
28:34-28:43
"And the word of the Lord was spreading throughout the whole region, but the Jews incited the the devout women of high standing and the leading men of the city.
28:45-28:49
Stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas and drove them out of their district.
28:52-28:55
But they shook the dust from their feet against them and went to Iconium.
28:56-29:00
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
29:02-29:03
So the word was spreading.
29:03-29:06
That's the natural result of receiving salvation.
29:07-29:09
The Jews decided that they're going to bring in the big guns.
29:10-29:12
They brought out the important people.
29:12-29:16
We're going to let the movers and shakers of our culture know what's happening.
29:16-29:22
They go after the important women and the important men, and they end up driving Paul and Barnabas out of town.
29:23-29:26
And your Bible says that they shook the dust off their feet.
29:26-29:28
Did you know that was sort of a common practice back in that day?
29:29-29:30
Mainly it was done by Jews.
29:30-29:41
If a Jew would travel through Gentile territory, and they were going back into Jewish territory, They didn't want to take Gentile dirt with them to mix with the Jewish dirt.
29:42-29:43
So that was a practice.
29:43-29:48
While they were at the border of Gentile territory, they would shake the Gentile dirt from their feet.
29:49-29:53
It was a picture of, "I'm not taking any of that with me." Done.
29:54-29:56
Jesus actually used this practice with the first people that He sent out.
29:56-30:01
When He sent out the 72, remember He said if they reject your message, shake the dust from your feet and move on.
30:02-30:04
And here, same thing.
30:06-30:12
driven out by these people persecuting them, and it just says they shook the dust from their feet.
30:14-30:20
At some point, when you face willful rejection and opposition, you've got to move on.
30:21-30:23
At some point, you've just got to move on.
30:23-30:34
You're like, "I've been sharing the gospel with this person at work, you know, for the last six months, and they just get nastier and nastier and nastier." At some point, you've got to shake the dust from your feet.
30:34-30:43
At some point you have to say, "I'm casting my pearl before swine here." Maybe there are people around me that are receptive to hearing the gospel.
30:43-30:53
Maybe I should be putting my time and energy in those people versus this person that continually is getting more and more nasty and angrier with me for sharing the gospel.
30:55-30:57
Sometimes you've got to move on.
30:58-31:00
I want to remind you what Jesus said in Matthew 12, 30.
31:01-31:13
Jesus said, "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters." So according to Jesus, there are two sides.
31:15-31:16
According to Jesus, there are two teams.
31:16-31:19
According to Jesus, there are two tasks being done.
31:19-31:33
There are people that are working with Him, and gathering, and working, and advancing the kingdom, and there are the people that are scattering, working against what he's doing, but there's no third option.
31:36-31:38
There's a clear line we see in this passage.
31:38-31:42
There are people who are working with God, and there are people who are working against God.
31:43-31:47
In 2016, I'd like to remind you that the line has always been there.
31:49-31:52
The thing is, the line used to be harder to discern.
31:54-31:55
The line has always been there.
31:55-31:57
It used to be harder to discern.
31:58-32:05
But one good thing that is coming out of a culture that is more and more rejecting God, like what good could come out of that?
32:05-32:06
There is something good that comes out of that.
32:06-32:12
When the culture rejects God, is the line becomes more and more clear.
32:14-32:15
You're going to see this.
32:18-32:24
I can't even imagine in her lifetime what Juliet's gonna see.
32:26-32:28
I can't imagine what Brooklyn is going to see.
32:30-32:38
Think of these little girls in their lifetime, living in a culture that more and more and more is rejecting.
32:38-32:40
More and more is persecuting.
32:40-32:53
More and more, the laws are removing the protection of Christians, and the laws are actually going against the types of things that we stand for.
32:55-32:57
It's becoming more and more clear every day.
32:59-33:01
And it's only going to get more obvious.
33:03-33:04
It's only going to get more obvious.
33:05-33:11
I want to close with a very familiar passage that I thought it was so appropriate to share in light of this message.
33:11-33:13
And it comes from the book of Joshua, back in the Old Testament.
33:14-33:16
Joshua 24.15.
33:17-33:18
The end of the book of Joshua.
33:18-33:23
They had crossed over into this promised land that God had promised Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
33:24-33:28
They defeated the enemies, most of them, not all of them.
33:28-33:36
They defeated the enemies that were occupying the land, and they divided the land among the tribes of Israel.
33:37-33:58
Joshua says, "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the Lord, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your father served in a region beyond the river, or the gods of the Amorites you dwell, Joshua was like, look, let's just be very clear about who our team is, okay?
33:59-34:03
Don't be like, well, I kind of worship, you know, I'm kind of a worshiper, I'm kind of a free spirit.
34:03-34:07
No, pick a team. Pick a team. Pick a team!
34:08-34:09
Put a name on what you worship.
34:12-34:15
Because if you're not following Jesus Christ, you've already chosen.
34:17-34:20
I want to echo the sentiment that Joshua was making.
34:20-34:22
Let's make it official, okay? No pretenses.
34:24-34:26
Look at this last phrase Joshua says.
34:27-34:27
You know what he says.
34:29-34:41
He says, "But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." "As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord." I'm with Jesus.
34:43-34:44
No matter the cost.
34:45-34:46
No matter how hard it's going to get.
34:47-34:55
No matter what it costs me, no matter how long I have on this earth, I'm with Jesus.
34:56-34:58
Are you? Let's pray.
35:00-35:10
Father in heaven, it is so easy for us to lament the condition of our culture, but Father, I think one good thing that's coming out of it, it's shaking the pretenders.
35:12-35:16
And it's bringing them to the point that they have to really understand what they believe and make that decision.
35:18-35:23
Father, we saw very clearly in this passage when Paul preached, people just fell into camps.
35:23-35:24
There were people that rejected Your Word.
35:24-35:26
There were people that received Your Word.
35:26-35:29
There are people sitting in this auditorium right now who are just like that.
35:29-35:32
There are people right now who are fighting against Your Word.
35:32-35:33
The preacher's stupid.
35:33-35:35
I can't believe I wasted my time here this morning.
35:35-35:41
And there are people that love Your Word because it displays the beauty and glory of who You are.
35:43-35:49
Father, there are people here today whom You have chosen, You have elected for heaven.
35:50-35:51
There are people who have judged themselves unworthy.
35:53-35:55
They simply don't want to receive the gift.
35:57-36:00
Father, there are people here today who want to work with You.
36:02-36:04
There are people here who would work against You.
36:06-36:08
And according to Jesus, there's no third option.
36:08-36:09
There's no bench warmer.
36:09-36:14
There's no person standing on the sideline making a difference either way.
36:16-36:39
Father, as the lines are being drawn up in great humility, with great love, and only, only, only, only by the power of your Holy Spirit, we want to say, as for me and my house, and we would say, as for me and my church, we will serve the Lord.
36:40-36:40
Amen.
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read Acts 13:42-52
What does it mean to "continue in the grace of God" (Acts 13:43)?
Why do people attack the Word and believers (Acts 13:45, 50)? Why don’t they just "live and let live"?
Those who reject Christ "judged themselves unworthy of eternal life" (Acts 13:46), and those who believed were "appointed to eternal life" (Acts 13:48). How does this help you understand election (God chooses) and free will (man chooses)?
How do you know when to "shake the dust off your feet" (Acts 13:51) and move on when someone continually rejects your witnessing?
Breakout Questions:
Pray for our church to be clearly on the side of Christ, as the division line is becoming more and more clear in our culture.
