April 5, 2026 - How to Live Better and Prepare for Eternity

[00:00:00] All right, so let's pray. Lord, we know that in our world, Lord, there's so much trouble and we see it all around us and there's a lot of heartache. But we know that you are a good God and we know that you are a loving God. And so we can come to you with all that is on our hearts today. And this is a day of celebration because we are celebrating the greatest victory in human history. This is the hinge day. This is when everybody before the resurrection are looking forward to the resurrection so they can experience eternal life. And then everyone beyond the resurrection looks back to this moment 2000 years ago and says, because of your death and resurrection, we too have eternal life. And we thank you for this pivotal moment in human history. We're celebrating it today. We acknowledge your great sacrifice and acknowledge your great love. [00:00:54] And Father, help us not to doubt you love us. Help us to realize you do truly love us. And Lord, even though there's things that are difficult to understand and are challenging, and we may never know all of the ins and outs of why things go the way they do, but I do pray today that you will encourage us and that above everything else, that you'll give us a receptive open heart to hear the word of God, your voice speaking into our soul. And we thank you for that. In Jesus name and God's people said, amen. Amen. You may be seated. [00:01:29] So I'm going to have us turn in the Bible to the Book of Acts, chapter 17. We're going to look at the first 15 verses and I'm going to do something. I once in a while do what I call an atypical sermon. In other words, I don't do what I normally do. What do I normally do? On Easter Sundays, I preach on the resurrection of Jesus. [00:01:47] Well, today I'm going to go off script because I feel directed by God to do that. And in one sense, we will be talking about the resurrection because the gospel includes the resurrection. How's that? [00:02:01] But I want to speak on how to live better. How many would like to learn how to live better and prepare for eternity? Isn't that a good idea? [00:02:10] Okay, so I was reading number of years ago, a book by Lee Strobel called the Case for Christ. So Lee Strobel, if you don't know who he is, he was a Chicago Tribune investigative journalist. And as he says in his book, for much of my life I was a skeptic. [00:02:29] In fact, he said, I considered myself an atheist. To me, in his thinking, there was far too Much evidence that God was merely a product of wishful thinking, ancient mythology, or primitive superstition. [00:02:44] I'm not advancing here, guys, for some reason. [00:02:48] So how could there be a loving God if he consigned people to hell just for not believing in him? And how could miracles overcome the basic laws of nature? [00:03:00] Didn't evolution satisfactorily explain how life originated? [00:03:05] Doesn't scientific reason dispel belief in the supernatural? [00:03:10] As for Jesus, didn't you know he never claimed to be God? I have to stop right here, because that's not true. And I'm going to put my little plug in here. Jesus did claim he was God many times. As a matter of fact, I am surprised, as I'm writing on the Gospel of John right now, how many times Jesus told them he was God in so many different ways. And that's why the religious leaders in that hour killed him, because they thought he was committing blasphemy by saying he was God. [00:03:42] So, Lee, I'm sorry to tell you, you just don't have your facts straight here at that point. [00:03:47] So, Strobel continues. He was a revolutionary. He's talking about Jesus, a sage, which means a wise person, someone who attacked traditional ideas, but certainly not God. Again, I beg to differ. No, that thought never occurred to him. I could point you to plenty of university professors who said so. And. And certainly they could be trusted, couldn't they? I'm going to tell you something, folks. I've been a part of the educational system for a long time, and a lot of people don't know what they're talking about. [00:04:14] And I'm going to say it this very nicely. There's a lot of people with PhDs that are budding in areas of fields of study they know nothing about, and they act like they're the experts. So don't buy everything somebody's saying just because they have a degree. I've got a lot of degrees. You can actually roast in Hell with a lot of degrees. Just let you know that. [00:04:34] Let's face it, even a brief examination of the evidence demonstrates convincingly that Jesus had only been a human being, just like you and me. Well, it's true. He's right. Jesus was human, although he had unusual gifts of kindness and wisdom. But that's not all. I had never really given the evidence, but only a brief look. I had read just enough philosophy and history to support my skepticism. [00:05:01] A fact here, a scientific theory there, a pithy quote, a clever argument. [00:05:06] Sure, I could see some gaps and inconsistencies, but I had a strong motivation to ignore them. A self serving and immoral lifestyle that I would be compelled to abandon if I were ever to change my views and become a follower of Christ. In other words, he said, the reason why I didn't really want to delve into this thing is because if it was true, I'd have to change and I didn't want to do that. Now he's being honest. [00:05:30] He says, as far as I was concerned, the case was closed. There was enough proofs for me to rest easy with the conclusion that the divinity or deity of Jesus was nothing more than the fanciful invention of superstitious people. Or so I thought. [00:05:45] Fortunately for Lee Strobel, his arrogant, ignorant, indifferent and immoral lifestyle was confronted by his little girl. [00:05:53] Now, how many know that God loves to use the weak things of this world to confound the strong and the foolish things to confound the wise? And many times God will take the faith of a child and help us come to a deeper understanding of what God's really like. Jesus said we have to have a childlike faith in order to enter God's kingdom. What he means is we have to be trusting. We have to trust that what God says is true. [00:06:19] So this caused him to reevaluate things. And so using his investigative journalistic mind, and he made a decision to disprove Christianity. Bring it on, Lee. So he went out there and if you've ever seen the movie, there's a movie. The Case for Christ. You know, what happened is he found out that the evidence was so compelling he had to become a Christian. And that's exactly what he did. And so Lee Strobel today is a pastor and has written many, many insightful books regarding the truth and the reality of Jesus and the Christian message, the message that he wants denied. Now, there are a lot of things in life that don't really matter how we respond. I mean, you know, some people like to watch those massive trucks driving over top of their massive trucks. What do they call that? [00:07:10] Monster trucks. What's that? [00:07:12] Open pit mining. Open pit. [00:07:15] Open pit mining. [00:07:17] That's funny. [00:07:19] Oh, I'll tell you. But you know what? That's just an interest, right? I mean, other people, they like going to musical concerts. Other people rather go to a sporting event. And each of us, over time, we develop different tastes and interests and people will disagree as to the various values of different things. And often it's only an expression of our personal preference. But how many know, as they say, variety is the spice of life. But there Are some things that are more important than other things. Anybody agree with that? As a matter of fact, move away from entertainment, fashion, and style to things like health and spiritual issues, and now we are now forced to pay attention. When we don't, it's often at the expense of our lives and our souls. That's exactly what happened to a guy by the name of David Bloom. He was a journalist who died in Iraq in 2003. And ironically, Bloom did not die from injuries sustained in conflict. Rather, he had a pulmonary embolism. [00:08:21] Now, a pulmonary embolism occurs among those who sit for long periods of time. And Bloom spent too much of his time cramped up in a little army vehicle. And when he began to experience this pain, he consulted several doctors and described his symptoms over the phone to them, and they actually suspected this is what was happening, and they advised him to seek proper medical attention. [00:08:45] He ignored their advice, swallowed more aspirin, kept on working, and eventually died. As a result, though Bloom took several precautions to avoid being a casualty of war, he ignored the warnings of the doctors, who insisted his life was in danger from a treatable condition. [00:09:02] The tragedy was that he left behind a wife and three young daughters. [00:09:06] So sometimes our decisions are life and death. Probably one of the most significant elements of life is relationships. And I think the older you get, the more you understand that, you know, relationships are built on a foundation called communication. [00:09:21] We either communicate or we grow apart. There's a distance that begins to happen. [00:09:26] And communication isn't just about talking. [00:09:30] It's about listening, hearing, and above everything else, responding. You know, it could be a touch, a hug, a prayer, a concern look, a thoughtful and understanding comment. In other words, we're working at trying to hear what this other person is communicating to us so that we can convey a concern that we have for them. [00:09:51] But when God talks, do we actually listen? Do we actually hear what he's trying to say? [00:09:58] Are we responding to him? You say, well, how in the world can I know what God is saying to me? Well, I'm going to give you an answer today. It's found in the Bible. This is God speaking to us. And it's so critical that I think every day we should cultivate this relationship with God by getting to know him better. And how many know that if you want to have a meaningful relationship, you got to make an effort. You got to spend time with that person. And I would argue that the really smart person in here will do something very important. They will put first things first. This one thing I do, you know, I was reading today about Martha and Mary, the beautiful story. You know, Martha's scurrying about the house, getting dinner fixed and all the rest of it. Mary's sitting at the feet of Jesus listening to him. And Martha's getting chagrined. She's upset. She's going, you know, she finally so upset with her sister because she's not helping her out. She says, she tells Jesus, hey, listen, Jesus, why don't you tell my lazy sister to get up here and help fix the food around here? You know, I just added that in. That's not quite in the text. [00:11:05] But you get the impression that she was not happy. And she did tell Jesus, you know, can't you tell Mary to help me out? And Jesus says to Martha, you know, Martha, your problem. [00:11:15] Well, this is interesting. He's now going to chide Martha. He said, your problem is simply this. [00:11:20] You're anxious and concerned about and worried about too many things. And I'm going to pause here for a minute and I'll say this to all of us. We're probably more like Martha than we are like Mary. We probably have too many things on our mind. We're too worried, we're too scattered, we're running in every which direction. And Jesus says, she's chosen the one important thing, the better thing. And what's that? She's sitting at my feet and listening to me. So I'm going to say this to us. Let's make God the number one relationship in our life. Let's make it a priority. Let's spend time with Him. Let's get into the scriptures. Let's spend time with him in prayer. Let's ask him to open our hearts and mind. Let's listen to what he wants to say in the scriptures. And then you know how many. It's kind of annoying if you're telling somebody and they're not doing anything about it. Let's begin to act on what he's telling us because God always knows what's in our best interest. We should be doing that. So in 2003, there was an article by Christian Parenting Today. And basically they were trying to find out what's going on in kids lives that grew up in the church. And they asked a very good question. They said to them, what was a positive church experience for you as a child? And so they found out that 9 out of 10, over 9 out of 10, 95% said the church exposed them to Bible stories that was positive. [00:12:45] This is not negative stuff. But then they said, and they were also exposed to the great people of the Bible. About 92% mentioned that. But the church as a fun experience. 89% said the church was fun. So a lot of youth groups did fun things. You know, it was all fun, but then it was interesting. But only half, a little over half, 53% said the church experience helped them understand the Bible enough to help them make a decision based on biblical principles in order. There was a distinct disconnect between what we learned from the Bible by learning the stories and how those stories apply to our daily lives. There was a disconnect there for most of them, or 47% of them, anyways. That's a big concern. And we've been talking about that as a pastoral staff. How can we help people move in that direction? But I think it's not just a problem kids have. I think it's not just a problem teenagers have. It's a problems we have as adults. How do we move from just strictly hearing things and learning stuff, but really putting them into practice? Because, you know, I keep giving you this spiritual equation. Information isn't going to change you. It's information plus application equals transformation. That's a spiritual equation. I like that one. I wrote it. I think it's true. [00:14:03] But the Bible teaches that if you know the truth, the truth will set you free. But it's not knowing, it's experiencing the truth. Jesus says the word there in the Greek is, it means to experience truth, you got to put it into practice. [00:14:16] So do we spend time listening to what God wants to say to us personally? And. And if we're doing that, are we acting on what God is sharing? And that's why I keep encouraging you spend time every day. And when's the best time of day to do it? [00:14:34] I'm going to help you out here because I know some of you are struggling with this. [00:14:37] The first thing you do, put first things first. [00:14:42] First thing you do is you get up, go right to your Bible and spend time there. And I will guarantee you you'll have time for everything else you're worried about getting done. [00:14:51] See, we think if you're trying to squeeze God into your busy schedule, it's not going to work. And a lot of you are going, man, I miss days. I should be reading, but I know it and I don't. I'm just saying start first. And it's amazing how your day plays out because you know, God's in control of your time and control of your day and control of all that's happening. And when you put him first. And you're downloading into your soul the things that God wants to say to you that day. What's going to happen is you're going to be able to use what he's telling you that day to help you make decisions. And how many know that life is primarily a culmination of all the decisions we're making? And we are at where we're at today because of the decisions we've made. So I cannot encourage you enough to do this. Now, why am I telling you this? You've heard me say this a lot. Because I want to move on to this amazing verse of Scripture. Here's a promise from God. This is a promise. [00:15:43] He says, keep this book of the law always on your lips. I thought about this. In other words, what we should be saying should be coming from God. We should be speaking what God wants us to say. You know, Jesus said, I only say what the Father wants me to say. I only do what the Father wants me to do. That's the surrendered life. Well, how can you even do that unless you know what the Father wants you to say? I think we say a lot of things we shouldn't be saying. Anybody agree with that? [00:16:09] I do, and it gets me into trouble. How many know every time I say things I shouldn't say, I get in trouble? [00:16:15] Maybe you guys don't get as much trouble as I do, but I do get in trouble. So keep the book of the law always on your lips. Meditate on it day and night. [00:16:25] That sounds like we should be giving ourselves to this. This is important stuff. Then God makes a promise. No, God's second part. So that you may be careful to do everything written in it. There's the application part. You see, I'm not making this stuff up. It's coming from the Bible. [00:16:43] Read it, do it. And then God says, you'll prosper and be successful. Anybody here want to succeed in life? I got my hand up. Anybody want to prosper in life? I'm not talking just about finances. I'm talking about prospering in relationships. I'm talking about prospering in so many areas and arenas of life. [00:17:02] You want to have God's favor? How many want God's favorite favor in your life? You want God's blessing? God's hand on you? This is the secret, and he's telling it to us. And you know what? It's reiterated and said again all the way in the book of Psalms. Psalm 1 starts out the same way. Then you go, oh, is it in the new Testament. Oh, yeah. Jesus brings it up on the parable of the building your house on sand and rock. It's the same idea. He's reiterating the same principle. [00:17:30] See how the Bible keeps repeating key ideas? Okay, so response to God's word is critical to our spiritual health. How many say, I agree with that? [00:17:43] My response to God's Word is critical to my spiritual health. So let's take a look. And I'm going to argue it's a matter of life and death. It's a matter of living a better life and preparing for eternity. [00:17:56] Life and death stuff. So let's take a look at. There's only two responses that we can have to God's Word. We either do it or we don't. We either obey it or we don't. We disobey it. We either embrace it or we neglect it. [00:18:09] First response is one of resistance. And there are people resisting all the time. And a lot of times resistance is simply negligence. [00:18:19] How do you like that? You can be resisting God by just neglecting. [00:18:23] How many know if you neglect your health, you're going to get sick? [00:18:27] Does anybody know that's true? If you're neglecting things, you're going to have breakdowns. You neglect your vehicle, it's going to break down. You neglect your body, it's going to break down. You neglect your soul, it's going to break down. [00:18:38] Neglect is a problem that most people don't understand. It's a serious thing. It's a reality that when something does not suit our lifestyle, often we just reject it. In Acts 17, we find a city named Thessalonica who respond initially favorably. But for the most part, many of them begin to resist what Paul is sharing and it eventually becomes opposed and persecution ensues. Paul, it says in Acts 17:1, when Paul and his companions had passed through Amphibious and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue. [00:19:17] So Paul went to where he anticipated the possibility of a positive response. [00:19:22] But that's not the whole story. [00:19:24] He also found hostility. [00:19:27] You know, sometimes when we're sharing the good news of Jesus, not everybody gets excited. And this is going to shock some of you. You can even find opposition in the church. [00:19:37] If you get excited about Christ, sometimes people are going to pour water on that. [00:19:41] Just ignore that. [00:19:43] Just keep being excited. [00:19:44] I'm just being honest. Just keep loving God. That's the most important thing, you know? [00:19:49] And then this is something that we're going to experience when we're sharing the good news with people. We're going to have two responses from people all the time. You're going to have indifference, resistance. Some people are outwardly hostile, and then there's other people that are grateful and thankful and positive and respond positively. Now, Paul started where he expected to find the greatest response. He went to the Jewish people, he went to the synagogue. He went to the people that were in a covenant relationship with God. And God always sends his message to his people first. But one of the dangers is that when we either neglect it what's being said or we allow sin to harden our hearts, then we stop hearing what's being said and there's people that they just shut off from God. And it happens in the church while we're sitting here. [00:20:38] And then this is how it happens. We start playing games in our own minds. We say, well, that's not what the Bible means. [00:20:44] We reinterpret it for ourselves the way we'd like it to say. Or then we go, well, you know, go. God's so loving. He's never going to judge me for this behavior because he knows I'm a good guy or a good girl. And then we go on in sin as if God's just going to look the other way and wink and that's it. We're his favorites. No, no, it doesn't work that way. God's going to correct us. The Bible says to whom God loves, he disciplines, he's going to correct us. And that's a good sign. Always be happy. When God's correcting you, you go, what? I go? Yeah, because that means you're his kid. He's going to correct his children. He's a good parent. He's always going to straighten them out so that they don't continue in a bad course. [00:21:21] By going to the synagogue, Paul is not only reaching the Jewish people, but he's reaching a. A class of people called God fearers. And who were these people? These were non Jewish people who hadn't been circumcised, who were not fully into the Jewish way, but they were attracted to the morality of the Jewish lifestyle. And they could see that this was a healthier way of living and they were attracted to monotheism. There was only one God. Now, Paul begins by focusing on the word of God. This is so critical. This is one thing we have to understand. If we're going to impact the lives of other people, we need to share scripture. [00:21:58] Now, I think there's a movement today in our culture to make the church more entertaining. [00:22:04] Now that's because we're entertainment focused as a culture, how many say that's true? Now, I'm not against having fun. I think having fun is great. When I was a youth pastor, one of our five purposes was to have fun, build meaningful relationships. But our number one purpose was to get to know God and to get to know God's word. So we had five purposes, okay? And I just want you to know I'm not against having fun. But we're not here to entertain you. That's not the goal. We're here to encounter God. We're here to hear from God. We're here to respond to God. As a matter of fact, a worship service ultimately isn't about us. It's about worshiping God for who he is. And at the end of the service we could say, oh, that was a great service. So we could say, oh, that was a lousy service. [00:22:47] But really the only one that it really matters to is what did God think? How did he feel about the service? And am I engaged in it? Am I worshiping God? Am I responding to him? Am I inviting him? In my heart I'm saying, God, I'm opening my heart to you. I want to know you, I want to experience you, I want to encounter you. I want to tell you how amazing you are. This is what worship is all about. And then when I hear the word preached, I'm evaluating it. Is this really what God is telling me to do? As we're about to see, we're going to check the scriptures, make sure this is it, and then we're going to respond in obedience to it. I think the greatest need in our self centered culture is to put our focus on God. [00:23:28] We need to reprioritize our thinking. It's not about what I want, it's about what God wants. And if you were here Friday night I talked about how to live the better life, which was the crucified life. It's a paradox that I'm giving my life away for God's will and, and I discover it's the most exciting, adventurous, positive, powerful life transforming life. And in the end, as I mature and develop in it and I look back over time, I go, wow, look how great my life has been. It's been amazing. You know, Patty and I, we sit down and chat about it. We go, we just feel so fortunate, so blessed, so encouraged by God's goodness in our lives. You say, well, do you guys never go through anything? [00:24:07] That's not true. [00:24:09] You have no idea the stuff we've walked through. But here's the deal. You know what? When you're full of God and you're enjoying God, it just doesn't seem as heavy. It just seems more triumphant. You just know there's a purpose in it. You find that God deepens you as an individual. [00:24:26] How many know that? Probably one name that most of us are familiar with in the Christian world is a man by the name of Billy Graham. How many have ever heard of Billy Graham? Raise your hands. [00:24:35] How many have heard of Billy Graham? How many have never heard of Billy Graham before? Anybody, raise your hand. Okay. That's very few. One person. It's amazing. Okay. [00:24:45] Billy Graham spoke to more people than any other human being ever in our world. He spoke. He lived to be 99 years old. He just passed away about a decade ago. But in his prime, people all over the world heard him preach, and he preached to crowds of sometimes up to 2,200,000 people or more. It's amazing. [00:25:08] But in the late 1940s, when he was just beginning, he had a friend, an associate, Charles Templeton. By the way, Templeton was more well known than Billy Graham. Most of you go, I don't even know who that is. There's a reason he was a close friend, and he effectively preached the Gospel to large crowds in major arenas in the United States. However, he had intellectual doubts, and it began to nag at him because at that moment in time, in the 30s and 40s, there was a tremendous attack against the Bible's credibility and authority. And he fell for that line. [00:25:40] You know, all of these biblical scholars, but a lot of those biblical scholars were liberal in their thinking, and they didn't know God personally. [00:25:48] And so all of a sudden, he questioned the truth of the scriptures and other Christian beliefs. And as a result of that, he abandoned his faith. And he made an unsuccessful attempt to. To persuade Billy Graham to do the same. And he said, I felt sorry for Billy and commented, he's committing intellectual suicide by closing his mind. Well, Billy Graham wasn't closing his mind. But here's what the scriptures teach. [00:26:11] When God's word is in conflict with human opinion, we need to close our mind to human opinion and embrace what God has to say. That's what the Scripture says. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Don't lead to your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge him and do not be wise in your own eyes. [00:26:28] So we need to learn how to trust God, because ultimately, God. [00:26:33] Listen, they're discovering more stuff all the time that support more of what the Scriptures are teaching all the time through archeology through science and everything else, we're not unwise to keep trusting in God. So here's the thing. There's a battle going on in his mind. [00:26:49] Now, while the battle for the mind and soul of Billy Graham was being waged, he was listening to the preaching of Edwin Orr. You probably don't know this guy either. I happen to know him because I wrote a dissertation on revival. Ewitt Orr was a great revivalist preacher and did a lot of writing and research on revival. And he preached with deep conviction. The scriptures were the word of God and are the word of God. And Billy Graham went up into the mountains for a retreat and wrestled with God. And when he finally came away from that experience, he had settled it in his heart once and for all. [00:27:24] God's word is God's word. The Bible is God's word. And so from that experience, he went to Los Angeles in 1949. This is an amazing thing. And what followed was the beginning of an explosion of his ministry. Because when he went to Los Angeles, you know, it started out just as a normal small crusade in the big city of Los Angeles. But one of the God has a way of moving you forward. [00:27:51] One of Hearst newspaper man said, pump up Graham, in other words, you know, focus on what he's doing. And it hit the main pages of the newspaper. And literally thousands of people went to the crusade in 1949. And it changed many, many people's lives, many famous people's lives. And it was a transforming moment in the nation and in Billy Graham's life. And it launched him in into a worldwide ministry because he embraced the word of God. Whenever we deviate from the word of God, listen to me carefully, we lose our authority to speak to our generation. [00:28:32] If you listen to Billy Graham preach, you know what you're going to hear from him. And the Bible says, you probably have heard sermons and the Bible says that's how he preaches. And the Bible says, because that's where there is authority. [00:28:49] And when you and I come up with all kinds of fun ideas and crazy ideas and all the rest of it, that's not going to persuade anybody. But I'll tell you, the word of God is so powerful, it's sharper and it can cut right through the heart and minds of people and it transforms our lives. [00:29:03] What I mean by communicating God's word is that we allow it to speak for itself and not what we want it to say. We are studying it and allow the truths to come out of it rather than reading into it. And What I mean by that is, you know, one of the things that you do as a preacher is you're doing the Bible. It talks about studying, and it's called exegeting. Exegeting means you're trying to understand what the text is saying. That's your job. And then your job is to communicate what the text is saying, not your own ideas. You're going to communicate this, what God is saying. And when you do that, it's very, very powerful. And that's what we need to understand. [00:29:42] We're moving away from this. And it's a scary thing. There's no question that the apostles, the early church fathers, communicated the word of God in power. And that word impacted and brought transformation in the lives of the hearers. So let's pick up our text now. As is custom, Paul went into the synagogue and on three Sabbath days, he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. That word translated, he reasoned with, literally means Paul discussed the Scriptures. There was a dialogue, an exchange of questions and answers. They had the opportunity to understand by asking their questions and getting answers. [00:30:17] And today, following our service, I've asked some people to come forward. So if you have a question about what's being said here, you have a question about Jesus, you have a question about Christianity. These people are going to be at the front. You can come front and you can come and ask your questions. Okay? [00:30:32] I'll try to remind you at the end of the service of that very thing. He goes on to explain the word of God to them so that they have to come to a decision. [00:30:41] Listen what it says in verse 3. Explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. Why did he have to do that? Because the Jewish people had a concept that the Messiah would come and liberate them from the Romans. So now Paul is preaching through the whole Mediterranean region. That's not what the Messiah came to do. The Messiah came to die for humanity's sins so he could defeat our final enemy, which is death itself. And he's preaching on the resurrection. And that's what we're celebrating today at Easter, that Jesus rose from the dead. That's what brings about the change he was proclaiming. That means he was preaching to them. He was explaining it to them. It was actually the same word that Luke uses on the road to Emmaus when Paul was. [00:31:25] When Jesus was opening up the Scriptures to them and their hearts, it says, burned within them. All of a sudden there was an awakening inside of them, and they began to understand the Scriptures in a different way. They began to understand it through a lens called Christology. They began to understand how the Messiah had to suffer. And they took all those passages and brought them to bear the that Jesus had to come and suffer. And he fulfilled all of these scriptures from various texts. [00:31:51] Now, John MacArthur says most people who reject the gospel have little knowledge of the Scriptures. And that is true. [00:31:59] Some of the Bible's harshest critics over the centuries have displayed a shocking ignorance of his teaching. So here's what I'm going to tell you to do. The next time you're talking to somebody, I'm going to help you. Right now. You should write these little questions down. This will really blow people away. Watch what you say the next time somebody criticizes. Ask them, how much of the Bible have you read? [00:32:20] What do you think? Most of them have read very little, if any, and they're criticizing it. How many know that's intellectual dishonesty. You cannot criticize something you haven't explored for yourself. Okay. Do they really understand it? [00:32:37] Most of them don't. Have they ever studied it? The answer is no. Most of them don't. How many people have said that the Bible contradicts itself? I've heard that a lot of times. Ask them where. Show me. I'll explain that text to you. You don't have to do that. But I feel comfortable doing that. Show me the text that you say is a contradiction and I'll give you an understanding of that text. You know, most people are not intellectually honest. How many say that's true? That's the problem. It's a moral issue, not an intellectual issue. And then the NIV translates Paul's discourse as proving or given evidence. The apostle Paul was looking for a decision, a verdict from his hearers. Luke tells us that some of the Jews believed and also a large number of God fearers and a few prominent women. It says here in Acts 17, verse 4, many of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas. So listen, we've got to get away from this anti Semitic concept. The early church was primarily Jewish and by the way, Jesus was a Jew if you didn't know that. [00:33:47] So I think we need to be grateful for that community that brought God's word to our society. [00:33:54] This was an incredible problem for Paul, but you know, his preaching created a problem and part of the reason was he got people opposed to him. Now we have to anticipate not everyone's going to agree. [00:34:09] We have to just live with that. There's going to be hostility, opposition, and at times persecution and Jesus said, blessed are you when people persecute you because of me or because of what's righteousness. [00:34:21] Okay. [00:34:22] Howard Marshall says his total stay in town, however, may have been longer than the three weeks that we read about those three Sabbaths, because he had received once a gift from Philippi and he had to work to keep himself. In other words, Paul was a bivocational communicator. He was a tent maker, and he went into these communities and found people and he made tents, but he also preached the gospel. Okay, so here we encounter the resistance and why it came about in verse five through seven. But other Jews were jealous, so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace and formed a mob. You know, those guys that are troublemakers. And they started a riot in the city, and they rushed to Jason's house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. [00:35:05] But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting, these men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, and this is their charge. And Jason has welcomed them into his house. And they're all defying Caesar's decrees, saying, there's another king, even even one called Jesus. Now, how many know that if you're in a Roman empire and there's one Caesar, and all of a sudden somebody else is saying, hey, somebody else is proclaiming that he's a king. You can see that they're trying to suggest that this is a treasonous behavior that Paul and Silas are a part of, and trying to get them stopped is what they're trying to do. [00:35:41] So it is true that whenever the gospel is preached, there will be impact, and it affects the lives of people, and they can trouble hearts and consciences of people. I've seen that this is the nature of true biblical preaching. It doesn't leave people indifferent. It polarizes people at times, and we need to understand that. And when they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were turned, thrown into turmoil. And then they made Jason and the other post bond, and then they let them go. [00:36:11] Okay, so that's the negative response. But here's the good news is also a positive response. I like positive responses. There's receptivity. While there was at first resistance, now there's people going to receive it. How eager are we to receive God's word? That's a question I ask myself. That's a question I'm asking you. How eager are you to receive it? I can tell you if you're eager. You Know when you're really hungry for something, you go, I got to get something of this stuff. You know, Anybody ever have, you know, a craving for food? I'm not a big food craver, but I know some people that are. [00:36:45] And when they crave this, this is what they want. Some of you are nodding. Yeah. I don't know what you're talking about. [00:36:51] Yeah, right. I'm just saying we need to have a little craving for the word of God. I just got to get my fix today. I got to get enough of this good stuff inside of me. Right. I have a little craving for the Bible. [00:37:03] So we see a contrast here and a different approach from those unbelieving Jews in Thessalonica. Paul and Silas, now, they traveled to a small community, by the way, I had the privilege of traveling to Berea, and it was really neat. We parked our big bus. There was a restaurant, and they saw this bus of tourists, and they came running out of the restaurant, and they brought us refreshments for free from the restaurant. Isn't that beautiful? They were very hospitable. [00:37:32] So the Bereans are still hospitable today. I just want you to know that. [00:37:38] But Paul, now, according to his strategy, he goes back to the synagogue, and there the Jews respond in a far better way. Instead of allowing their prejudice to overtake their reason, they listen. They search out the Scriptures to see what if Paul and Silas are teaching are in fact supported by the Scriptures. I love that. Can I just say this? You have a responsibility. Every time you hear somebody speak, not just preaching, even preaching, but not just preaching. You should be evaluating everything that is said through a lens. [00:38:10] I have a high filter. You go, what's your filter, Pastor? The Bible. [00:38:14] And believe me, I have a. You know, my mind thinks biblically because I've been feeding it for so long. It just thinks Bible. And all of a sudden, when I hear things that don't jive with it, my system goes, that, that's nonsense. I just filter it right out. I'm just filtering things out because I'm going, that's nuts. That is so far away from what reality is. It's unbelievable. And I'm going to give you an understanding. Listen to me very carefully. I was praying the other morning, and this is what I'm talking about. You're reading, and I'm reading a scripture. I've read it so many times. I preach from these things. [00:38:47] And Jesus is coming down the mount of Transfiguration. I've read that story lots of times. He's coming to a situation where a father's got a son who's terrorized by demons. He's demonized, and the disciples can't cast it out of him. And he says, this is my only son. He's being tormented. He's been like this. It just seemed like it was a crisis moment. And you know what Jesus says? He says, you unbelieving and perverse generation. [00:39:13] That was his opening line. [00:39:16] And I went, okay. I started thinking about that. [00:39:20] So Jesus is equating unbelief with perversion. And I said, it just makes total sense. When we have an unbelieving society, we can anticipate perversion. And how many recognize today we're living with more perversion than ever because we have so many people with an unbelieving mind? [00:39:37] It's true. That's what happens. That's the result of it. So I felt the spirit of God inside of me just quicken that verse to me. And all of a sudden I'm thinking about it. So. So you have to think about what you're reading. And I'm thinking about. I'm going, boy, this is just the way it is. We're embracing perversion because of unbelief. If people would come to faith in Christ, they would move away from perversion. The answer to our problems, folks, is helping people come to faith in Christ. That's the answer. Okay? So now, as soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Sardis, the older Antivisa brothers. But the new says believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Christian synagogue. Now, the Bereans were of more noble character. How many want to be considered noble? [00:40:24] I want to be considered a noble person, okay? More noble than the Thessalonians. For they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. [00:40:38] These guys are not fooling around. I mean, they're listening, they're eager, they want to learn, but they're making sure that it jives. [00:40:46] Is this true? Is this the Bible? Is this really what it's saying? They're evaluating these things. [00:40:52] As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men. [00:40:59] So the question I raise is what can we learn from. From the Bereans? [00:41:05] Well, first of all, God's not impressed with our station in life, where we live, but rather the condition of our hearts and the openness that we have towards truth. You know, God's not, you know, he's not blown away. You know, I know human beings are going, oh, that person's a billionaire. Oh, that person's a sports figure. Oh, that person's a movie star. [00:41:24] Who cares? [00:41:26] You say, what do you mean? I'm serious about this. Think about what I'm going to tell you. The they're going to stand before God, just like you and me. They're going to be accountable for everything they've ever said and done, just like you and me. We're all accountable to God. We were all created by God. We're all going to stand before God. [00:41:41] Okay? I'm more concerned about what God thinks. [00:41:45] I'm more impressed by what he's saying, His Word and all of that stuff. [00:41:50] Okay, so they diligently studied the Scripture. [00:41:57] And because of that, Luke describes him as being noble. If you're a Bible student, if you study Scripture, you are noble. [00:42:06] If you are taking those scriptures and putting them into practice in your life, you are a noble person. [00:42:13] How do you like that? [00:42:14] Matthew Henry. He is a 17th century devotional writer. He said this. This was true nobility. [00:42:20] The Jews gloried much in their being Abraham's seed or descendants thought themselves well born and that they could not be better born. In other words, were the chosen people right? And they were. But they are here told who among them were the most noble and the best bred people? Men. Those who were most disposed to receive the Gospel and had the high and conceited thoughts in them, subdued and brought into obedience to Christ. Can I say this? God will always resist the proud and he'll only give grace to the humble. [00:42:52] How many here want God's grace every morning? God, help me to walk in humility. I want to receive your grace. I want your favor in my life. [00:43:02] I don't want to get high and proud and arrogant. I know what will happen then. You'll resist me. I don't want you to resist me. I don't want God resisting me. I want God's grace in my life. Amen. Sure we do. [00:43:16] Da Carson says the Bereans are of more noble character than the Thessalonians. Not because they all agree with Paul inside us, but because those who did not agree did not act out of jealousy, but rather examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true. And as before, the word planted bore fruit. Yet even in Berea, Paul and his team ran into difficulties. So I'm going to close with I could read these texts, but I'm going to skip over these three texts and close because our time has come to an end. So what can we learn from these texts? That our response to God's word matters? It's an issue of life and death. We can resist it, we can ignore it to our own peril. Or we can search it out and discover the author of the book. [00:44:01] This is what happened to a French philosopher by the name of Emile Colette. Colette was born in a small French village near the end of the 19th century. [00:44:12] His education was committed to to naturalism, leaving no room for God or the supernatural in affairs of humanity. [00:44:23] But his naturalistic studies and philosophy proved of little help during his frontline experience as a 20 year old lad in World War I. [00:44:32] Confronted with the horrors of war, he asked what help was all my philosophy when my buddy who was speaking to me about his mother is killed right in front of me? [00:44:45] Was there a meaning to it all? He said a person can endure anything only if it appears meaningful. [00:44:51] And I felt, not with my reason, but with my whole being, that I was naked in war and no war, destined to perish miserably. When the hour came. [00:45:01] One night a bullet found Calais. An American field ambulance crew saved his life. This is probably after they got to the First World War. 1917, close to the end and after a nine month convalescent, he was discharged and resumed his graduate studies. But he had to admit that the books no longer seem like the books, his same books. Nor was his motivation the same. Reading at length in philosophy and literature, he found himself probing in depth for meaning. I'm going to say something. Meaning is very important to life. [00:45:31] During the long night watches in the foxholes, I had an estranged babe and looking for a book that would understand me. [00:45:38] But I knew of no such book. [00:45:41] Now I would in secret prepare one for my own private use. And so I went on reading for my courses. I would file passages that would speak to my condition and then carefully copy them in a leather bound pocketbook I always carried around with me. The quotations, which I numbered in red ink for easier reference, would lead me, as it were, from fear and anguish, through a variety of intervening, intervening stages, to supreme utterance, release and jubilation. [00:46:07] At last the day came when he put the finishing touches on his book. The little book that he said would understand me. [00:46:14] He said it was a beautiful sunny day and I sat down under a tree and I opened up my precious anthology. [00:46:20] And as he read, however, he was overcome by a growing disappointment. Instead of speaking to his condition as he had expected, the passages only reminded him of the context of their circumstance, of his labor over the selection. And then, Calais says he knew that the whole undertaking would not work simply because it was his own creation. It carried no strength of persuasion. And in a dejected mood, he put the little book back into his pocket. [00:46:47] On that same day, Calais's wife had come into the possession of a Bible. [00:46:52] By an extraordinary circumstance. Circumstances. [00:46:55] Emile had always been adamant that religion would be taboo in their home, and at the age of 23, had never seen a Bible. [00:47:02] But at the end of that disappointing day, when she now apologetically tried to explain how she had, providentially, as he would later realize, picked up a copy of the Bible, he was eager to see it. He described what happened next. I literally grabbed the book and rushed into my study with it. I opened it and chanced upon the Beatitudes. I think he started in the New Testament. Beatitudes start. Matthew, chapter five. I read and read and read out loud, with an indescribable warmth surging within. I could not find words to express my awe and wonder. And suddenly the realization dawned upon me. This was the book that would understand me. I needed it so much. Yet, unaware I had attempted to write my own in vain, I continued to read deeply into the night, mostly from the Gospels. And lo and behold, as I looked through them, the one whom they spoke, the one who spoke and acted in them, became alive in me. What is he telling us? He says, as I was reading about Jesus, Jesus became real to me. [00:48:14] And I believed in him. [00:48:15] And he changed me. [00:48:18] Easter Sunday is the day we celebrate. Each year is the day of declaration that the God who made us and loves us, he became a man, died for us. But on Easter Sunday, he rose again. [00:48:31] He conquered our final enemy, death. This living Savior comes to each of us, calls to us, invites us to himself, to give us a better life and prepare us for eternity. [00:48:44] But how will we respond? [00:48:47] It was Emile who wrote, who spoke and acted in them and became alive in us. [00:48:52] Will we today receive Christ, in us the hope of glory? Let's stand. [00:48:59] So as I pray for us today and as we leave, remember what I said earlier. [00:49:05] Question. I have a question. [00:49:07] People will come forward. They will be here to answer your question. [00:49:12] And if they don't feel like they can, we'll find the answer. Okay? Or somebody else will come and help you get the question answered. [00:49:21] So, Father, as we come before your presence on this amazing day, we're celebrating the day you triumphed over death itself, the greatest hope we can have is to know you, to find meaning, to find purpose, to find a better life. And to be prepared for eternity. [00:49:38] Lord, I pray today that you have been speaking into our souls, you've been speaking into our lives. That we would see the tremendous need to develop a deeper, more meaningful relationship with you by communing with you through your Word so that you could speak individually and specifically to each of us every single day and help us to be noble. Help us to eagerly search the scriptures to see if these things be so. [00:50:10] In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave.