Acts 20:28-32      Wolves Are Out There

Rev. David Holwick   U

First Baptist Church                                 [well received]

Ledgewood, New Jersey

June 17, 2018

                                                      Acts 20:28-32

                   WOLVES ARE OUT THERE

  I. Keeping vigil.

      A. Cape May's concrete watchtower.

            A tall concrete structure stands on the shore of Cape May,

               at the very bottom of New Jersey.

            Fire Control Tower No. 23 was built in 1942 as part of

               the defense of Delaware Bay.

            It is now a popular tourist attraction.

            In World War II it had a more serious purpose - directing

               artillery on German submarines.

            It was a lopsided fight.

            While Americans sank 20 Nazi subs, the Germans sank 311 of

               our cargo ships.

            Our watching was not vigilant enough.

            It wasn't helped by the fact that New Jersey towns resisted

               instituting blackout measures because it would interfere

                  with the tourist season, so the cargo ships were

                     highlighted by city and boardwalk lights.

      B. We all resist keeping watch.

          1) It is not exciting to watch for something that might not

                ever happen.

          2) We would rather focus on the positive rather than the

                potentially negative.

          3) Yet if danger is coming, you need to be prepared.

      C. Danger is coming to Ledgewood.

          1) I know this because the Bible says so.

          2) Some of these dangers have been around forever, but they

                have definitely been intensifying in recent years.

          3) We have to watch what we believe, what we are being taught,

                and what we are being asked to work for.

          4) Every one of you needs to be on your guard.

              a) Do you think you would recognize danger if it appeared?

              b) Do you think you could be the cause of that danger?

II. Vigilance is needed in several directions.

      A. Watch yourself.

          1) People change continually.

              a) This is usually a good thing - you become more mature,

                    you learn more, you get a better grasp of reality.

              b) Not every change is good.

              Back in 2010, sociologist Darren Sherkat said Americans

                 flip-flop on religion more than any other population

                    on Earth.

              He wrote that more than 40 percent of Americans change

                 their religious identification one or more times in

                    their lives.

              Writing four years later in Christianity Today magazine,

                 Ryan Burge analyzed a study that tracks the ebb and flow

                    of Americans between belief and unbelief, and

                       between different religious traditions.

              He found that 19% reported a different religious

                 affiliation in 2014 than they did in 2010.

              He says this defection rate means that nearly 1 in 5

                 Americans changed their faith identity not over a

                    lifetime, but over just a four-year period.

                                                                   #66070

              Some of these people were changing in a good direction - I

                 imagine some of them were atheists becoming Christians.

              But I'll bet many of the changes were not in this

                 direction, because the trend is toward unbelief and

                    secularism.

              For those graduating high school right now, there are

                 almost as many atheists as there are Roman Catholics.

          2) You have to know what you believe and why you believe it.

              a) Have an informed faith, not a knee-jerk one.

              b) Note that in verse 30 Paul says much of the danger to

                    the church will come from WITHIN the church.

              c) So you not only have to watch yourself, you have to

                    watch your pew-mates.

      B. Watch the flock.

          1) Paul is speaking to church leaders here.

              a) In latter centuries the term "overseers" meant bishops.

              b) In the first century when Paul was around, it simply

                    meant the leader of a local church - a pastor.

              c) They have to watch out for the health of their

                    congregation.

          2) You probably care about your own spiritual health.

              a) What about everyone else's?

              b) If someone in this church is struggling with doubt or

                    sin, do you care at all?

              c) We are conditioned not to, because we shouldn't be nosy.

          3) God wants you to care about others.

              a) To care about the condition of their soul.

              b) To care about their situation in life - help them carry

                    their burdens.

          4) Leaders are to be shepherds, not policeman.

              a) Your attitude should not be to catch people, but to

                    help them.

      C. The church was bought with a high price.

          1) Literally, it says God paid for the church with his own

                blood.

          2) This would be the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for

                us, and it shows the high view of Jesus in the N.T.

              a) Dr. Russell Moore says American Christianity is far

                    less bloody than it used to be.

                 Songs like "Power in the Blood" or "There Is a Fountain

                    Filled with Blood" or "Are You Washed in the Blood?"

                       are still sung in some churches, including ours.

                 But fewer and fewer churches do this, and there aren't

                    many newer songs or praise choruses focused on blood.

                 The Cross, yes; redemption, yes; but blood, rarely.

                 We're eager to speak of life but hesitant to speak of

                    blood.                                         #64134

              b) It is not a pretty picture, but a necessary one.

                  1> The gulf between you and God is so great, only

                        the ultimate sacrifice can bring us together.

                  2> Hebrews 9:22 says without the shedding of blood

                        there is no forgiveness.

III. Savage wolves are coming.

      A. Wolves are cunning enemies.

          1) We tend to think of them as cuddly pets.

              a) Wolves remind us of dogs but with more authenticity.

              b) There is even a wolf refuge in Columbia, New Jersey.

                  1> For $15 you can take a tour and shoot photos of them.

                  2> I don't think they let you pet them.

          2) Holwicks have our own attitude about wolves.

              a) When my ancestor built his log cabin near Allentown

                    in 1742, wolves roamed through the woods.

              b) According to a family legend, one day the wolves

                    entered the house and trapped the family in the loft.

              c) It was not a social visit - the wolves wanted to eat

                    them.  I am glad they did not.

      B. The flock is in danger.

          1) It was true in Paul's day, and more so today.

          2) Instead of accepting the truth in God's word, many leaders

                want to dilute it into something that is easier to take.

              a) Stress only the positive, ignore or distort the

                    negatives into something more acceptable.

              b) I don't doubt that our pulpit committee will come

                    across several candidates who come across like this.

IV. What is our foundation?

      A. Jesus Christ.

          1) We believe you must have a personal relationship to God

                through him.

              a) We ask him to be our savior, and our Lord.

          2) Don't water down his hard teachings.

              a) Jesus is more radical than we like to admit.

              b) Every Christian will struggle with what he means.

      B. The Bible.

          1) Believe in it like Jesus did.

              a) He regularly read it and memorized it.

          2) Apply it like Jesus did.

              a) To Jesus, the Bible always trumps human traditions.

                  1> In Mark 7, his opponents mention that Jesus doesn't

                        practice some typical Jewish traditions like

                           ceremonial handwashing.

                  2> In Mark 7:8, he says they are the ones with the

                        problem - their human traditions are pushing

                           out the commands of God.

              b) The Bible is always the ultimate authority to Jesus,

                    and it should be for us as well.

          3) He says we should apply it to everyday life.

              a) We also shouldn't forget its ultimate goal - to lead us

                    to a saving faith in Jesus.

              b) In John 5:39 Jesus says, "You diligently study the

                    Scriptures because you think that by them you

                       possess eternal life.  These are the Scriptures

                          that testify about me."

      C. Church.

          1) Keep fellowship warm and friendly.

              a) Do more to reach out.

              b) Also keep watch on one another!

          2) Be Christian more than Baptist.

              a) I am proud to be Baptist, and American Baptist.

              b) But my denomination won't get me into heaven.

          3) Denominations change over time, and I see many negative

                changes happening.

              a) There has been wavering over important doctrines.

              b) Leaders have become more liberal rather than more

                    conservative.

              c) There is often an emphasis on maintaining the

                    organization rather than seeking God's will.

  V. Be on guard!

      A. Paul warned them, emotionally, for three years.

          1) I have warned you, probably less emotionally, for 29 years.

          2) (I'm just not an emotional kind of guy.)

      B. Only God's grace can keep you in the right place.

          1) Paul commits the Ephesians to that, I commit it to you.

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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:

#64134  “Is There Still Power In the Blood?” by Dr. Russell Moore,

           June 29, 2013; <SermonCentral.com>.

#66070  “The Rapidly Shifting Spirituality of Americans,” by Jeff

           Brumley, May 3, 2018; <link>.

These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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