Preach The Gospel (part 3)
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Introduction
Introduction
Imagine with me that we are farmers. Some may not have to imagine very hard. :)
We are farmers and we have been put in charge of acres and acres of prime farmland. The land belongs to someone else but we are managing it.
This land has the best soil, the best irrigation, and the best weather for growing crops.
We stand on our porch, looking out at the fields and we notice a problem. There is no harvest.
Day after day we look out at the field, but the harvest doesn’t come. In fact, nothing seems to be growing at all.
We start complaining to one another. “Look at those fields, they aren’t producing anything!”
Over time we determine that there must be something wrong with the field.
One day the owner shows up and we start complaining to him about how ridiculous it is that the fields haven’t produced anything. “How is it that all this prime farmland isn’t yielding any crops?” We say.
Then the owner asks us a question. He asks us THE question. “Why haven’t you planted any seed?”
We would all be quick to point out that it is ridiculous to expect a harvest when we haven’t planted anything.
This is obviously ridiculous. No one would expect to get a harvest if they had never planted any seed.
Yet spiritually speaking, it seems we sometimes forget this point.
Look with me at (S).
6 I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase. 7 So then neither he who plants is anything, nor he who waters, but God who gives the increase.
We have been called by God to plant and water. To sow seed for harvest.
Did we sow any seed this week?
Did we plant? Did we water?
The reality is that If we are not planting and watering, if we are not sowing seed, there will be no harvest.
Look at what Jesus says in (S).
37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”
The problem is not with the harvest. The problem is not with the field.
The problem is that the laborers are few.
What is the solution? Jesus gives it to us here.
Pray for laborers, and participate in the harvest.
We are looking at Paul’s defense before Agrippa, Bernice, and Festus.
As he offers this defense, Paul is sharing the gospel.
From his gospel presentation we are learning three lessons.
As we apply these lessons we will be effective in sharing the gospel.
Briefly, let’s review the first two.
Lesson #1…
1. The Gospel Is Personal vv. 1-11
1. The Gospel Is Personal vv. 1-11
a. Personal connection vv. 1-3
a. Personal connection vv. 1-3
b. Personal condition vv. 4-8
b. Personal condition vv. 4-8
c. Personal confession vv. 9-11
c. Personal confession vv. 9-11
Lesson #2…
2. The Gospel Is Purposeful vv. 12-18
2. The Gospel Is Purposeful vv. 12-18
a. Purposeful confrontation vv. 12-15
a. Purposeful confrontation vv. 12-15
Each of us comes to Christ after being confronted with the reality of sin and our need of a Savior.
When we share the gospel we are bringing that same confrontation to others.
b. Purposeful commission vv. 16-18
b. Purposeful commission vv. 16-18
Once we are saved we are commissioned by God to bring the gospel to a lost and dying world.
This is not an optional activity for the child of God. This is a mandate!
Lesson #3…
3. The Gospel Is Powerful vv. 19-23
3. The Gospel Is Powerful vv. 19-23
Do we believe this?
Do we truly believe that the gospel is powerful?
Paul believed it. This is what he wrote in (S).
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
The gospel is the power of God to salvation.
The good news of Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection is life changing.
Apart from the gospel, we have no hope and no ability to have a relationship with God.
When we proclaim the gospel, we proclaim it with power because it is powerful.
In these final verses of Paul’s defense we find him presenting the gospel with power in two unique ways.
#1. Paul offers a…
a. Powerful proposition vv. 19-21
a. Powerful proposition vv. 19-21
READ v. 19
After what has been declared to Paul, he is not disobedient.
This presents us with a somewhat difficult reality. We can be disobedient.
Paul has received a vision from heaven. His words here imply that once he received it, he has a choice. Will he obey or not?
When truth is revealed to us, we have this same choice.
The Holy Spirit living within us does not guarantee that we will walk in obedience to God and His Word.
This reality is evident when we consider the multitude of commands in the NT for us to obey and walk worthy of the Lord.
These commands only make sense if we have the option not to obey.
However, this does not mean that there are no consequences for disobedience.
I want to take us to three passages to demonstrate what happens when we disobey.
(S).
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
This command comes after Paul has dealt with putting away lying, not being angry, not stealing, and not speaking corruptly.
When we lie, are angry, steal, and speak corruptly, we grieve the Holy Spirit.
If we continue to grieve the Holy Spirit we end up with another problem.
(S).
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
Quench = to suppress or stifle.
The more we grieve the Holy Spirit, the more we suppress his voice in our lives.
If this behavior continues, we will face the discipline of God.
Turn to (p. 1383).
(p. 1383)
5 And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; 6 For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.” 7 If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? 8 But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. 9 Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. 11 Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
This is where disobedience leads. To chastening for the purpose of correction.
Yet Scripture has many examples of people facing this correction due to disobedience.
Here is the point.
We have a choice. Like Joshua put to the Children of Israel. Choose this day who you will serve (Josh. 24:15)!
Are we being disobedient to the calling we have received from God?
Are we being disobedient to the calling we have received from God?
Paul has chosen to obey. As a result, everywhere he goes Paul presents a proposition.
Everywhere he goes Paul presents a proposition.
READ v. 20
v. 20
Everywhere he had access to, Paul has been preaching the gospel.
The pattern we are given in the beginning of Acts is local, national, then global. This is the pattern Paul mentions here.
Local - Damascus. National - Jerusalem and Judea. Global - the Gentiles.
What does Paul preach?
Here is his proposition.
Repent, turn to God, do works.
Notice the order of events.
We must get this right.
The first thing Paul preaches is to repent.
Repent – μετανοέω (metanoeō) to reconsider, to change ones mind. To have a change of self (heart and mind) that abandons former dispositions and results in a new self, new behavior, and regret over former behavior and dispositions. Verb, present, active, infinitive of indirect speech.
Repent – μετανοέω (metanoeō)
Paul preaches that we must have a change of mind.
This has been the message preached all through acts.
The second thing Paul preaches is to turn.
This word “turn” comes with an implication. We are heading the wrong way.
This word “turn” comes with an implication. We are heading the wrong way.
All of us are born into this world as sinners. Because we are sinners, we sin. Sin separates us from God.
We hare headed the wrong direction. In order to head the right direction the first thing that must occur is a change of mind.
That is repentance.
The change of mind is followed by a change in direction.
Paul states that they must turn to God. This means that before we repent and turn, we are headed away from God.
This is the reality of our natural, sinful state.
The change of mind and direction lead to a change in activity.
The change of mind and direction lead to a change in activity.
The change of mind and direction lead to a change in activity.
The third thing Paul preaches is to do works befitting repentance.
Befitting – ἄξιος (axios) worthy; deserving. befitting, appropriate to. Attributive adjective, accusative, plural, neuter.
Befitting – ἄξιος (axios)
This is the proper order.
This is the proper order.
This is the proper order.
Because we have experienced a change of mind and direction, we do the works that reflect that change.
The works do not prove our repentance. The works are a product of our repentance.
the works do not prove our repentance. The works are a product of our repentance.
The command gives the implication that we can have works that are not fitting of repentance.
The bottom line is that The lifestyle of the believer is to reflect inward transformation.
The NT writers make this very clear over and over again. Let’s turn to just one passage.
Turn to (p. 1306).
(p. 1306)
12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly, as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to fulfill its lusts.
We are to walk properly, walk as children of light, we are to put on Christ.
Is our transformation evident in our lives?
This is what Paul has been preaching. Repent, turn to God, do the works of repentance.
Repent, turn to God, do the works of repentance.
This message is what has led to Paul’s imprisonment.
READ v. 21
In v. 17 Jesus told Paul that he would need to be rescued from the very people He was sending him to.
The fact that the Jews are opposing the gospel does not mean they do not need it! Nor does it mean that they do not deserve it. None of us deserve the gift of salvation! That’s why we are saved by grace through faith.
The Jews seized Paul and tried to kill him because of the message he preached.
God called Paul to minister to people from whom God would then rescue him.
Yet this opposition and persecution has not stopped Paul.
The Jews seized Paul and tried to kill him because of the message he preached!
Why not?
In Paul says (S).
19 For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more;
Paul’s desire was to see people saved! In Paul sates that the love of Christ compels him. In Paul says he could wish himself accursed from Christ if his fellow Jews would be saved! This is the love, compassion, and passion of Paul!
He wants to see people saved. How they treat him doesn’t matter.
To share the gospel effectively, obey it.
That is what Paul does here. He obeys. He obeys the command to give the gospel out and that is obedience to the gospel message itself.
If we have good news, we dare not keep it to ourselves!
How we are treated shouldn’t matter!
So what if they are mean to you. So what if they don’t respect you. Paul was arrested, beaten, and almost killed! Yet he says he still wants to see these people saved.
This is the attitude we need to have.
Having described and given this powerful proposition. Secondly, Paul gives a…
b. Powerful proclamation vv. 22-23
b. Powerful proclamation vv. 22-23
READ v. 22
Just as promised (v. 17) God has helped Paul.
Paul received the help promised in v. 17
This statement could almost be overlooked in reading the verse.
However, I don’t want us to miss it because it is so very powerful.
Paul’s ability to stand in the trials and difficulties he has faced, comes from God!
In order to stand, Paul first needed help from God.
This is a reality presented numerous places in Scripture.
(S).
13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
In order to stand, we need the armor of God.
(S).
12 By Silvanus, our faithful brother as I consider him, I have written to you briefly, exhorting and testifying that this is the true grace of God in which you stand.
(S).
In order to stand, we need the grace of God. (; also faith )
(S).
(S).
In order to stand, we need the gospel of God.
1 Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand,
In order to stand, we need the gospel of God.
We cannot stand on our own!
We need armor, we need grace, and we need the gospel.
All of these things come from God.
At the same time, God will not make us stand.
The word “stand” here is active which means Paul is the one who has to do it.
We receive help from God, but we must make the decision to stand.
In , after having done all to stand in v. 13, v. 14 tells us to stand.
God will give us everything necessary to stand, but we are the ones who must stand.
This requires two actions.
Action 1 - Receive the help God offers. Action 2 - Stand.
Action 2 - Stand.
Are we taking these actions?
One of the ways God helps us is through our brothers and sisters in Christ. When they offer to help us, that is a God thing.
If we genuinely could use help, and we refuse it, that is pride.
If we have a need, but we refuse to share it, that is pride.
The help God has given to Paul has taken many forms! The people who lowered him over the Damascus wall. The Jailer in Philippi. His nephew in Jerusalem.
In each one of these situations, Paul accepted the help offered.
Are we humble enough to accept help when we need it?
Are we discerning enough to recognize our need?
Paul has been helped by God, and he is standing. But he isn’t standing idle.
Look at the verse again (v. 22).
Witnessing to both small and great.
There is no discrimination in Paul’s gospel presentation.
The words “small” and “great” here represent status.
What is Paul saying? He presents the gospel to those who are low in status and to those who are great in status. He doesn’t care about their importance! He cares about their eternal destination.
James specifically addresses our tendency to show favoritism. (p. 1387).
(p. 1387)
1 My brethren, do not hold the faith of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory, with partiality. 2 For if there should come into your assembly a man with gold rings, in fine apparel, and there should also come in a poor man in filthy clothes, 3 and you pay attention to the one wearing the fine clothes and say to him, “You sit here in a good place,” and say to the poor man, “You stand there,” or, “Sit here at my footstool,” 4 have you not shown partiality among yourselves, and become judges with evil thoughts? 5 Listen, my beloved brethren: Has God not chosen the poor of this world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom which He promised to those who love Him? 6 But you have dishonored the poor man. Do not the rich oppress you and drag you into the courts? 7 Do they not blaspheme that noble name by which you are called?
We need to be very careful how we treat people.
Paul cared more about their heart than he did their status or outward appearance.
What do we care about?
Sometimes there are people we don’t share Christ with because they seem beneath us. Sometimes there are people we don’t share Christ with because they seem above us.
Paul preached Christ to everyone.
Now look with me at how he finishes the verse (v. 22).
This is so powerful.
The gospel message Paul preached is the same preached by Moses.
Paul is saying that we can see the things he mentions in v. 23 in the first 5 books of the bible!
Christ would suffer, rise from the dead, and proclaim light.
Where do we see these things in the OT?
The promise in of a child who would crush sin. We have the symbolism of the Ark having one door by which people could be saved (). The promise to Abraham in that through him all nations would be blessed. The symbol of Abraham offering Isaac and a substitute sacrifice being provided (). The symbol of the blood applied to the doorposts causing deliverance from death (). The list could go on.
From the other prophets we know even more about the Messiah. We have the promise to David in of an eternal throne. The promise to Jeremiah of forgiven sin, a new nature, and the indwelling Holy Spirit (). Prophecy told He would be born of a virgin , the He would be God in the flesh , that He would be born in Bethlehem , and that He would suffer and die .
The promise to David in of an eternal throne. The promise to Jeremiah of forgiven sin, a new nature, and the indwelling Holy Spirit (). The prophecy of Isaiah in ch. 53.
The point is that Paul preached what had always been preached!
The only thing Paul preached that wasn’t in the OT was the identity of the Messiah!
This is something vital for us to recognize. We have a historic faith.
What to teach and what we believe is what was revealed by the prophets of the OT.
What did they reveal?
READ v. 23
First, that Christ would suffer.
We mentioned this, but one of the clearest examples is . Turn there please. (p. 847).
(p. 847)
1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, And as a sheep before its shearers is silent, So He opened not His mouth. 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked— But with the rich at His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
Christ suffered. He suffered and died. He was the offering for sin. He bore the iniquities of sinful man! God the Father was satisfied with Jesus’ sacrifice.
1st, Christ would suffer.
Second, Christ would be the first to rise from the dead.
At the end of it states that Christ would have a portion with the great and divide the spoil with the strong. That is not something a dead person can do.
The Messiah would die, but he would also rise from the dead!
is quoted by Peter in his message on the day of Pentecost in . He saw this as a Messianic reference(S).
10 For You will not leave my soul in Sheol, Nor will You allow Your Holy One to see corruption.
The prophets foretold the resurrection of Jesus.
1st Christ would suffer, 2nd Christ would rise from the dead.
Third, Christ would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.
In talking about the Servant that God would raise up, Isaiah records God speaking these words in (S).
6 Indeed He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob, And to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.’ ”
Through the gospel, Jesus raises up Israel and brings light to the Gentiles.
Jew and Gentile alike can be saved. That has been God’s plan from the beginning!
This is what Paul has been preaching to everyone.
Christ would suffer, He would rise, He would bring light.
What is God’s plan, His program, for bringing light to Jews and Gentiles?
How is God going to reach all people with the gospel?
Us.
We are the light of the world, that’s what says.
In Paul puts it this way (S).
20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God.
This is a reality that Paul takes very seriously.
This is like the gospel presentation in 1 cor. 15
He is preaching a message that is for everyone no matter their social status or position.
Jew and Gentile alike can be saved.
He is preaching the same message that has been revealed throughout history.
He is preaching with clarity on what the gospel is.
The Gospel is the good news that Christ died for our sins, that He was buried, and that He rose again!
Faith in that truth is what saves us.
To share the gospel effectively, know it.
If we want to be effective in reaching people with the gospel of Jesus Christ, we must know what it is! We must have tasted the goodness of God through the gospel for ourselves!
Paul is not preaching merely from theory. He is preaching from experience coupled with the God’s revelation of Himself in His Word.
If we are going to fulfill the calling we have from God. The calling to reach people with the gospel, we must know it, be unashamed of it, and preach it with boldness and clarity.
Conclusion
Conclusion
To reach a lost and dying world with the gospel of Jesus Christ we must learn these three lessons from Paul.
Lesson #1…
The Gospel Is Personal
It is personal to us who have been saved by it, and it is personal to those we share it with.
We need to make that personal connection and show people what the gospel has done for us as we share what it can do for them.
Lesson #2…
The Gospel Is Purposeful
The gospel confronts our sin and, once believed, gives us a commission.
We are save to live for Christ and to proclaim Him at every opportunity.
Lesson #3…
The Gospel Is Powerful
It presents us with a proposition we must either accept or reject.
It must be communicated with power and boldness.
I want to close by asking us three questions.
Are we willing to share the gospel?
This is a command. The only choice is to obey or to disobey.
Are we ready to share the gospel?
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of tools available to aid us, to prepare us. All we need to do is take advantage of them.
Will we share the gospel?
We must make plans to share and pray specifically for people to share with.
May we preach Christ with clarity, passion, and boldness.
I’m going to introduce a new song.
“The Gospel Changes Everything”
19 “Therefore, King Agrippa, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision,
20 but declared first to those in Damascus and in Jerusalem, and throughout all the region of Judea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent, turn to God, and do works befitting repentance.
21 For these reasons the Jews seized me in the temple and tried to kill me.
22 Therefore, having obtained help from God, to this day I stand, witnessing both to small and great, saying no other things than those which the prophets and Moses said would come—
23 that the Christ would suffer, that He would be the first to rise from the dead, and would proclaim light to the Jewish people and to the Gentiles.”
Acts