Rev. David Holwick  ZE
First Baptist Church
Ledgewood, New Jersey
September 12, 1993
                                                           Acts 14:8-20
                      
                        TURN TO THE LIVING GOD


  I. The joy of miscommunication.
      A. Feeling like a foreigner in New York City.
             Go to McDonalds and Celeste orders Chicken McNuggets.
                The cashier appears to be from Central America.
             Everything goes fine until Celeste asks for "honey."
                The cashier smiles and hands her catchup.
             "No, I want honey."
                More smiling, but no response.
             Before Celeste started making buzzing sounds I called
                a manager and got the honey.

      B. In a world of hundreds of religions and thousands of languages,
            how do we communicate Jesus?

 II. The Great Expansion of the Church.
      A. Paul's first missionary journey was a bold move.
          1) On Cyprus, Barnabas' home island, they preach to Sergius
                Paulus, the Roman governor.
              a) They first have to neutralize a sorcerer.
              b) Descendants of Paulus may have been Christian.
          2) In Turkey, they gained many converts but also much opposition.
              a) Strategy was Jews first, then Gentiles.
              b) Highly accurate reference to political boundaries.
                   Lystra was Lycaonian only from AD 37 to 72.      14:6

      B. In Lystra they enter purely pagan territory.
          1) Ministry there begins with a dramatic healing.         14:10
          2) Lystrians deduce they are being visited by gods.       14:11
              a) Zeus and Hermes are equivalent to Jupiter and Mercury.
              b) Ancient local legend:

                 These two gods had once visited disguised as mortals.
                    Only one old couple gave them hospitality.
                 Later a flood drowned everyone in the region except
                    the old couple.
                 They became guardians of a temple to Zeus and Hermes
                    and changed into lofty trees when they died.
                 The Lystrians were determined not to offend the gods
                    again.

              c) The association of god to man is telling.
                  1> Barnabas is Zeus (impressive leader) while
                        Paul is Hermes (the mouth, also on old dimes).
                  2> Old tradition from this area that doesn't sound
                        like an idealization:
                     "Paul is a man small of stature, with a bald head
                         and crooked legs, in a good state of body,
                      with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked,
                         full of friendliness;
                      for now he appeared like a man,
                         and now he had the face of an angel."
                                                        Expositors, p. 433
              d) Due to unknown language, Paul and Barnabas are not aware
                    they are being worshiped until priest sacrifices.

III. How to preach to pagans.
      A. A pagan is someone who is ignorant of God.
          1) Some live in grass huts.
          2) Others drive Mercedes Benzes.
          3) Ignorance is more critical than sinful lifestyle.

      B. Paul meets them on common ground.
          1) He does not quote Bible, since they are unaware of it.
              a) Our society is also ignorant of Bible.
              b) Even basic stories are not familiar to many.
              c) Religion is an immediate turn-off.
          2) Main theme of sermon is God's grace to us through creation.
              a) Adequate food and happiness are goals of all humanity.
              b) These things are not by chance, but from the hand of a
                    good and trustworthy God.
          3) Why are there also hard things in life?
              a) Paul alludes to this problem by saying God often
                   lets us go our way.                           14:16
              b) Our sin and that of others cause us pain.
              c) For Paul this happened directly- the same crowd stoned
                    him.

 IV. What if Barnabas and Paul came to New Jersey today?
      A. People remain attracted to a faith that "works."        14:9-10
          1) Miracles still appeal to us.
                 Ludicrous level:  women in Texas with face of Jesus
                     on tortillas.  (National Geographic)
          2) Strong appeal in seeing God change lives.
              a) Testimony of uncle of couple in marriage.
                 Hard, bitter man with deep marriage troubles.
                    Friend came over to offer help from Bible.
                 Gene put a beer bottle on the table instead.
                    He had no use for the Bible.
                 In a few weeks he was a believing Christian.
                    His own family saw a dramatic change.
                 The extent to which you change may influence others.
              b) But our faith focuses on God, not on us.        14:15
                  1> Like Paul and Barnabas, we are merely human.

      B. People want a living faith.                             14:15
          1) Christianity often viewed as a list of rules.
          2) It is not church membership, but a relationship with God.
          3) If faith seems boring to you, you have not found the real
                God.

      C. Creation can still direct people to God.
          1) Can a person be saved on a golf course?
              a) Church building is certainly not only place.
              b) Impression is golfing leads to lying more than repenting.
          2) We often feel close to God in nature.
              a) Nature bears witness to God's intricate creativity.
              b) Creation of a human from random evolution is like a dust
                    devil going through a junkyard and assembling a 747.

          Everyone is familiar with Sherlock Holmes and his faithful
             companion Dr. Watson.
          Sherlock Holmes's keen power of observation solved countless
             crimes.
          Yet few of us know that Holmes thought deduction and observation
             were even more necessary to religion.
          Tucked away in "The Adventure of the Naval Treaty," Holmes is
             found studying a rose.

          Watson narrates:  "He walked past the couch to an open window
             and held up the drooping stalk of a ... rose, looking down
                at the dainty blend of crimson and green.
          It was a new phase of his character to me, for I had never
             before seen him show any interest in natural objects.
          "There is nothing in which deduction is so necessary as in
             religion,' said Holmes, leaning with his back against the
                shutters...'
          Our highest assurance of the goodness of [God] seems to me to
             rest in the flowers.
          All other things, our powers, our desires, our food, are really
             necessary for our existence in the first instance.

          But this rose is an extra.
          Its smell and its color are an embellishment of life, not a
             condition of it.
          It is only goodness which gives extras, and so I say again
             that we have much to hope from the flowers.'"
                                                                    #2044
          3) Nature can open our eyes, but it cannot save us.
              a) Golfing leads to lying more than repenting.
              b) Only knowledge of Jesus can save us.

  V. Do you serve the living God?


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