Opening:

Bethel just began and so did our fall planning. These are great opportunities to study the Bible. So, let me ask you, do you study the Bible? I am not talking about simply reading the Bible, but studying the Bible? Do you study the Bible? Do you read the Bible? I hope many of you do and I hope the Holy Spirit is impressing on you the need to study the Bible as well. Okay, everyone pick up a Bible, hold it. This book tells you how to attain eternal life. This book gives you wisdom for life.

So, you are going on a trip, you choose the destination, wherever you want.

Where would you go? Shout out some places, just shout them out… Wait for some comments.

Okay, how are you going to get there?

What will you do once you do get there?

Do you think you may check out AAA or something? What if they don’t have food there, or indoor plumbing or gas stations, or Steelers on television? You do want to find out about a place before you go there, correct?

Why don’t we do that with our eternal life? We are going there, we are going to spend eternity there, don’t you want to invest as much in eternity, or hopefully more, than you would on a vacation? Don’t we want to study about Heaven? The Bible has lots to say about Heaven. Don’t we want to get to know God better and Jesus, He gave us eternal life.

The music director at my last church shared with me how every morning she would see her father studying the Bible. He would have his commentary out, his Bible dictionary out and his study Bible. He would study the Bible prior to his job at the factory. Get this, he got up at something like 4:30 am to study the Bible.

He must have been like the Bereans.

In Acts 17:10-15 Paul comes to Berea and presents the Gospel. These people searched the Scriptures to see if what Paul shared was true. Many were saved. Let’s study that passage and I challenge you to be like a Berean.

The great idea today is that the Bereans were studiers, learners, they were not ignorant, I pray that we will be as well.

Read Act 17:10-15

As soon as it was night, the believers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. On arriving there, they went to the Jewish synagogue. 11  Now the Berean Jews were of more noble character than those in Thessalonica, for they received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true. 12  As a result, many of them believed, as did also a number of prominent Greek women and many Greek men.

13  But when the Jews in Thessalonica learned that Paul was preaching the word of God at Berea, some of them went there too, agitating the crowds and stirring them up. 14  The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea. 15  Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.

1. Let me start with the context.
   1. Paul is chased from Thessalonica to Berea and in verse 10 he arrives in Berea. This is Paul’s second escape by night. In Acts 9:25 Paul had to escape by night as well.
   2. I wonder what that was like for Paul? I wonder what it was like for the early Christians? What was it like to flee from one place under threat of death? Are you out much after dark? I like to run after dark because of the peacefulness of the night. I like to look at the stars and see God’s beauty. But sometimes I’ll go down a street and something will scare me. I’ll see an animal or hear something. For Paul there was not time for noticing the beauty of creation. He traveled at night because of threat. There was much danger traveling during that time period and especially after dark. I once read a book called Night in Times Past. The book was about the great fear and dangers at night prior to electric lighting. Paul did a lot of traveling and faced a lot of dangers. This case is no different. Paul and Silas traveled 50 miles southwest from their last location. Can you imagine that, 50 miles? By the way, Berea is on the side of a mountain, this was not easy traveling.
   3. Paul arrives in Berea and goes to the synagogue to start preaching. That has been his modus operandi. Verse 11 says that the Bereans were more noble than the people of Thessalonica. The Bereans examined the Scriptures to see if what Paul was teaching was true.
   4. Verse 11 is a contrast with the people in Thessalonica. The people of Thessalonica chased Paul out.
   5. → a lot of times we hold up the Bereans as a standard and probably right to do so. But the reality is that they were more noble than where Paul had just come from.
   6. → A contemporary example: The people of Pittsburgh were more pleasant that Cleveland. That may not mean the people in Pittsburgh were pleasant, but more than Cleveland.
   7. However, I think we can make a rightful example that the Bereans were noble. That means they were of better birth or they were open minded. That means they were ready to learn.
   8. The Bible says that they find out that what Paul said was true.
   9. You know what, they were going to the Old Testament to confirm this. Do you realize that the Old Testament has enough information to confirm who Jesus is?
   10. Many were saved. Jewish people were saved. Greek men and women were saved.
   11. Then the people from Thessalonica come to Berea and stir up a riot chasing Paul out. Now, Paul goes to Athens.
2. Let me encourage you to be like the Bereans.
   1. The Bereans did study the Scriptures.
   2. Turn to Psalms 119:9-11:

How can a young person stay on the path of purity?
        By living according to your word.

10 

I seek you with all my heart;
        do not let me stray from your commands.

11 

I have hidden your word in my heart
        that I might not sin against you.

3. You see the Scriptures are our guard for purity, for doctrine and in every way.
4. There is so much wisdom in the Bible.
5. Watch this video clip of the Bible and its’ importance. : http://www.churchleaders.com/pastors/videos-for-pastors/175859-francis-chan-why-we-need-the-bible.html
6. Where do you get your wisdom? Where are we receiving our wisdom? You see everywhere we go we have messages being fed to us. Where is the wisdom though?
7. The wisdom is in the Bible. More than that, as the Bereans discovered, eternal life is in the Bible. You see Paul came declaring this Truth that they had not been taught and they did not know what to think of it. So what did they do? Did they turn on Home Shopping Channel to see what to think? Did they turn on ESPN to see what to think? Did they go to CNN or FOX News or the Newspaper to see what to think? No, they went to the Bible.
8. Okay, so two applications: The Bible is eternal life and the Bible is wisdom to shape our worldview.
   1. You see first you must know Jesus for eternal life. Without Jesus you are disconnected from God and all eternity. You need eternity. Search the Scriptures, they are all about ways to freely receive eternal life.
   2. Once you know Jesus, you get fed True, Heavenly, Spirit-filled wisdom from the Bible.
   3. This shapes our worldview. Read Isaiah 55:9-11:

gFor my thoughts are not your thoughts,
        neither are your ways my ways,h
declares the Lord.

9 

gAs the heavens are higher than the earth,
        so are my ways higher than your ways
        and my thoughts than your thoughts.

10 

As the rain and the snow
        come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
        without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
        so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,

11 

so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
        It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
        and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

4. As you see from that passage in Isaiah 55: God’s Word feeds us.
5. You see Christians, we get our wisdom from God and from His Word. Everyone views the world a certain way. We call this a worldview.
6. Our worldview is a lot of times under the surface, we do not think about it, but it is there. We view the world a certain way. Once we come to know Jesus as Savior, as we are discipled, God reshapes that worldview to fit with His Kingdom, as opposed to the fallen world. As Christians we think worldviewishly based off of the Bible, not based off of what culture tells us. So, when we think about abortion, human rights, euthanasia, war, even recycling, murder, peace and any news event going on, we must think: “What does the Bible have to say about this?” That is what I see the Bereans doing in this passage. They go to the Scriptures.

A woman was driving home one night. The weather was really nasty. Rain was coming down in buckets and visibility was very poor. Seeing taillights ahead of her, she followed the car in front. Not being able to see, the car in front seemed to be going in the right direction. So she stuck with it. All of a sudden the car in front of her came to a stop. She began to wonder what had happened; perhaps the car in front had hit a deer or some thing like that. She began to feel uncomfortable; thinking being stopped in the middle of the road can often lead to accidents. Much to her alarm the car in front of her turned off their lights. Her concern was now growing as well as her anger, and she was then startled by a knocking on her window. She looked up and there was a man standing in the pouring rain wanting to speak to her. She cracked the window open and asked the man what the problem was. The man replied by stating that that was the question he was going to ask her. She retorted that she wasn稚 the one who had stopped in the middle of the road and then turned off the car lights. The man痴 reply was that they were not in the middle of the road, but in his driveway Obviously, this woman had chosen the wrong leader to follow. She had chosen a leader who would not take her to where she wanted and needed to go. She had chosen the wrong leader and the wrong road.

We follow information, we follow Truth, what is your source?

7. Something else I notice with the Bereans is that they were learners. They studied. I talk to a lot of Christians and people and we are simply, willfully ignorant. We say that we are bad readers so we do not work on it. Or we don’t want to read, or like reading, so we just don’t. What a gift it is to be able to read. What a gift it is to be able to read the Bible and hold in our hands the wisdom of the ages. So many people are not blessed with this ability. My encouragement is that we all work on this, work on being learners as the Bereans were. Work on being studiers as the Bereans were.

Close:

Last year, I heard about a book, which I read part of, The Smartest Kids in the World and How they Got that Way. Part of the studies showed that children that rank highest in the world on test scores see their parents reading at home.

So, the Music director at my last church remembered her father studying the Bible every morning, early in the morning. You know what I see in that? I see a Berean Christian. But I see that he was not only studying, making an impact for himself and his relationship with Jesus. He was also modeling being a learner to his children. He modeled the Spiritual disciplines to his children.

WHAT ARE YOU FEEDING ON?

I really enjoy visiting Yellowstone. In fact, one of these days, when Jesus comes back, I’ve got dubs on Yellowstone! Come and visit me for a while!

Once when I was visiting the greatest national park in America, I heard a story about bears that was amazing. In the 1950’s and 60’s, tourists could drive right up to a bear, roll down their window and feed their McDonald’s hamburger to the hungry animal. He would gladly take the burger along with the hand of the tourist! The bears were changing their feeding habits and endangering visitors.

As a result, the National Park Service removed the bears and took them to higher country where God had already provided for them a natural diet of luscious berries. However, because the bears had changed their feeding patterns, many of them refused to eat the berries and some actually died.

This story is an incredible picture of the lives of many believers in Christ. Sadly, many of us have been delivered out of spiritual Egypt and bondage to sin, but we have not been brought into the Promised Land of victory. It is interesting that God told the Israelites to eat the roasted lamb they had sacrificed (Exodus 12). The Passover lamb is a picture of the death of Christ. But feeding on the lamb is a picture of how we grow in Christ once we have been saved. 

What are you feeding on in your personal life? Are you spending time alone with Christ in the Word of God? Are you allowing the junk food of this world’s values to destroy your spiritual appetite for the Word of God? Feed on the Lamb of God and don’t allow the Enemy to feed you a lie.

The challenge: Be Like the Noble Bereans, search the Scriptures, study the Scriptures. First do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

Introduction:

Mercedes does not like it when I tell her “no.” Many times I tell her “no” and she will say, “But I want it, I still want it.” Of course, Mercedes is learning what “no” means. She knows full well what “yes” means. You know what else that Mercedes has learned, and we really did not have to teach her this at all, she has learned how to help herself. She does not need to wait for a “no,” or a “yes.” She just does, then we have to say “NO.” For example, do you know how many times she just helps herself to the refrigerator? Do you know how many times we have caught her trying to get cookies? Do you know that she is only three years old? It seems like just yesterday she was a baby and could not do anything on her own. Then, when I do give her a cookie she will say, “After this one I can have a second…” Okay, I never imagined being told by a three year old how things would be. I was running behind a few weeks ago and pulled into Dunkin’ Donuts and as soon as I pulled in she said, “I’m hungry, I’m so hungry.” I gave her one donut and she said, “I get two donuts.” Then sometimes she’ll add, “Four, six, seven, ten!” But she doesn’t ask and when she is told “no” she does not handle that too well.

Now, why do I share that? We all have to handle a “yes” and a “no” sometimes. We all have to tell people “yes” and “no.” We just do, that is part of life. The thing is that we must be in communication and relationship to hear these and give these commands. Sometimes we must ask permission.

Today, we look at a passage where the Apostle Paul is told “no” twice by the Holy Spirit and then the Holy Spirit tells him exactly what to do. The theme today is The Holy Spirit’s Yes and the Holy Spirit’s No; Paul, Silas and Timothy Follow the Spirit’s

Lead. Let’s look at the short passage and I want to challenge all of us to also follow the Holy Spirit’s lead.

Let’s read Acts 16:6-10:

Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷ When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to. ⁸ So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. ⁹ During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” ¹⁰ After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

1. In verses 6-8 the Spirit tells Paul and his companions not to go north or south.
   1. They pass through the Phrygia and Galatia area. Remember that Paul had written a letter to Galatia later on.
   2. Interesting that we can do studies and we can know that Paul likely took a common Roman Road called the Via Sebaste which was a Roman Military Road.
   3. But the next part is most interesting. They were forbidden or kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the Word in Asia. Now, this is not the same as modern Asia. This would be more like modern Turkey.
   4. What do you do when you are kept or forbidden from doing something? The Apostle Paul was a driven personality. He got things done. Nothing stood in his way, but right here, we see that God is His Master and He obeys.
   5. In Today’s day we have action movies where the main characters are celebrated for disobeying commands. I think of Jack Bauer in the hit show 24. In just about every season he is on the run, yet he is saving the country. Our culture celebrates rebellion. Not in this case.
   6. The Apostle Paul is submissive to the Holy Spirit.
   7. In verse 7 they were trying to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them. I love Star Trek that is no secret, but what I love best, is in Star Trek III when Admiral Kirk stole the Enterprise in order to get Spock back. Rebellion always makes a movie more exciting because you may not see that coming. The celebrated Browns Coach, Paul Brown, was a football genius. He was also in charge, no one crossed him. One day he was sending the player out with the play and the quarter back, Otto Graham, shook his head “No.” There was a look of terror on the player’s face. That young player did not want to go back and tell Paul Brown “no.” In reality, Otto Graham was just playing a trick, Otto Graham was not a rebel.
   8. Neither was the Apostle Paul, he recognized that Jesus was the Lord. Do we? Do we understand that He is in charge. You see we have gotten away from a society where we realize what it means to serve a sovereign King. We think that our voice always matters. Certainly God’s Word says that He wants and even desires to hear from us, but He is the Lord. He has no room for rebels in His Kingdom. He is the Lord.
   9. Some have asked me “Why should I serve Jesus?” Why should you follow Jesus’ “Yes” and Jesus’ “No”? You are bought with a price. Jesus has redeemed you and set you free. He died in your place and saved you. Jesus loves you and loves us all. (John 3:16; Romans 3:21-31) Jesus has called you to take part in what He is doing. To some extent He gives you a choice, but He is the Lord. Listen, your sovereign Lord has called you on a mission. How do you know? You are here. If you are a Christian, you are called to be a follower of Christ and you are called to be a part of His army, a part of His mission. He is your Lord. He is Your King. Notice that the Apostle Paul did not waver, he did not rebel.
   10. Do you realize that Paul’s obedience in traveling through these cities in verse 6 meant something like a 400 mile difference in journey? All by foot!
2. So in verses 9-10 Paul is told by the Spirit to go west. Paul continues to obey.
   1. A vision appears to Paul in the night.
   2. Paul is told to come to Macedonia.
   3. Why? They are to go down there to help them.
   4. So, verse 10, they immediately decide to go down and preach the Gospel to them.
   5. Notice that Paul received two “no’s” and then a “yes.” Notice that Paul was obedient.
3. Are we seeking the Holy Spirit? Are we in a place to hear from God?
   1. God speaks through his Word, the Bible. Are you in the Bible? The Holy Spirit will speak to you through the Bible.
   2. God speaks through the church, especially smaller groups and prayer partners. Are you connected?
   3. God speaks through our reason, are you learning?
   4. All the other avenues must be confirmed by God’s Word.

Close:

I had a middle of the night vision before. I woke up and Mercedes said, “It is scary in my room, there is thunder and lightning, and she proceeded to climb in our bed.” There is no questioning. If we say “No” there is a middle of the night temper tantrum. Plus, it is hard to say, “no” in the middle of the night.

But you know what, she is three years old. We are trying to teach our strong-willed child. We will. She will learn. She will learn that her parents have a will. Her parents have a desire and cares and her parents have a “yes” and a “no.” Sometimes she will have to ask and be in a relationship to know our “yes” and “no.”

The question is do we know God’s “yes” and “no”? Are we in relationship with Him? Are we seeking Him?

Do you know Him?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Prayer

Someday
by Charles R. Swindoll

Philippians 4:11-13

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, things are going to be a lot different. The garage won’t be full of bikes, electric train tracks on plywood, sawhorses surrounded by chunks of two-by-fours, nails, a hammer and saw, unfinished “experimental projects,” and the rabbit cage. I’ll be able to park both cars neatly in just the right places, and never again stumble over skateboards, a pile of papers (saved for the school fund drive), or the bag of rabbit food—now split and spilled. Ugh!

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, the kitchen will be incredibly neat. The sink will be free of sticky dishes, the garbage disposal won’t get choked on rubber bands or paper cups, the refrigerator won’t be clogged with nine bottles of milk, and we won’t lose the tops to jelly jars, catsup bottles, the peanut butter, the margarine, or the mustard. The water jar won’t be put back empty, the ice trays won’t be left out overnight, the blender won’t stand for six hours coated with the remains of a midnight malt, and the honey will stay inside the container.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, my lovely wife will actually have time to get dressed leisurely. A long, hot bath (without three panic interruptions), time to do her nails (even toenails if she pleases!) without answering a dozen questions and reviewing spelling words, having had her hair done that afternoon without trying to squeeze it in between racing a sick dog to the vet and a trip to the orthodontist with a kid in a bad mood because she lost her headgear.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, the instrument called a “telephone” will actually be available. It won’t look like it’s growing from a teenager’s ear. It will simply hang there . . . silently and amazingly available! It will be free of lipstick, human saliva, mayonnaise, corn chip crumbs, and toothpicks stuck in those little holes.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, I’ll be able to see through the car windows. Fingerprints, tongue licks, sneaker footprints, and dog tracks (nobody knows how) will be conspicuous by their absence. The back seat won’t be a disaster area, we won’t sit on jacks or crayons anymore, the tank will not always be somewhere between empty and fumes, and (glory to God!) I won’t have to clean up dog messes another time.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, we will return to normal conversations. You know, just plain American talk. “Gross” won’t punctuate every sentence seven times. “Yuk!” will not be heard. “Hurry up, I gotta go!” will not accompany the banging of fists on the bathroom door. “It’s my turn” won’t call for a referee. And a magazine article will be read in full without interruption, then discussed at length without mom and dad having to hide in the attic to finish the conversation.

SOMEDAY WHEN THE KIDS ARE GROWN, we won’t run out of toilet tissue. My wife won’t lose her keys. We won’t forget to shut the refrigerator door. I won’t have to dream up new ways of diverting attention from the gumball machine . . . or have to answer “Daddy, is it a sin that you’re driving forty-seven in a thirty-mile-per-hour zone?” . . . or promise to kiss the rabbit goodnight . . . or wait up forever until they get home from dates . . . or have to take a number to get a word in at the supper table . . . or endure the pious pounding of one Keith Green just below the level of acute pain.

Yes, someday when the kids are grown, things are going to be a lot different. One by one they’ll leave our nest, and the place will begin to resemble order and maybe even a touch of elegance. The clink of china and silver will be heard on occasion. The crackling of the fireplace will echo through the hallway. The phone will be strangely silent. The house will be quiet . . . and calm . . . and always clean . . . and empty . . . and filled with memories . . . and lonely . . . and we won’t like that at all. And we’ll spend our time not looking forward to Someday but looking back to Yesterday. And thinking, “Maybe we can babysit the grandkids and get some life back in this place for a change!”

Could it be that the apostle Paul had some of this in mind when he wrote:

I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. (Philippians 4:11)

Maybe so. But then again, chances are good Paul never had to clean up many dog messes.

Opening:

Clip from the movie the Patriot when he is recruiting for the Militia

I want to begin this sermon with a clip from a movie. In this movie, Mel Gibson’s character is trying to recruit men for the militia during the Revolutionary War. Now, if you are recruiting for the Militia, where would you go? Would you go to a place that was loyal to Great Britain? Would you go to a place that was for the Colonies? One must think about their audience, correct? Watch this.

We can see that Mel Gibson’s character knew that walking into that Pub he would find people he could recruit. He knew that stating, “God save the King.” would test his audience. He knew what he was doing.

In the ministry, we must also test our audience. You may be thinking, “I am not in the ministry.” Let me back up. If you are a Christian, you are. Every follower of Jesus Christ is a minister, which means “servant” for Jesus Christ.

Please, do not take my word for it. Look at what Jesus says.

Ephesians 4:

He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, 12 to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

God gives all His followers Spiritual gifts so that we can be witnesses and servants for Him.

God calls you to be a witness of what He has done in your life.

So, the challenge today is to target your audience. The challenge is to get rid of barriers. Just like Mel Gibson recognized that if he wanted to recruit militia to fight against the British he should go to the Pub, so we must recognize where and how we are to minister.

The Great Idea today is that as we look at Acts 16:1-5 we notice that Paul chooses Timothy and gets rid of barriers to the gospel.

Let’s turn to Acts 16:1-5 and read it:

Paul came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was Jewish and a believer but whose father was a Greek. 2 The believers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. 3 Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek. 4 As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. 5 So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

1. Let’s talk about Timothy first.

   1. Paul chooses Timothy. We see this in verse 3. Something stood out to Paul to make him want to take Timothy along. Now, we know that Paul was on his second missionary journey and he is traveling backwards through the cities.

   2. Timothy is likely 18 years old. It is possible and likely that Paul met Timothy on his first missionary journey and he would have been saved at that point.

   3. Do you know what I think stood out to Paul about Timothy? Do you know what ought to stand out to us? This will stand out to our community as well?

   4. Verse 2 says that the believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him. Do you realize that corresponds with 1 Timothy 3:7 which is a requirement for a church elder. A requirement for a church elder is that they have a good reputation in the community.

   5. I was reading an article that talked about signed of churches that are struggling and one sign is that you do not have enough transformation(s). You see, at some point Timothy had a transformation. But one sign of an unhealthy church is you do not have enough testimonies of people passing from death to life. When we see these testimonies, when people see these testimonies people want something of that.

      1. I was talking with another pastor, a pastor who planted a church, and I asked him how the church grew. He said that at one point they led a man to Christ they would deal drugs to many people in the area and when everyone in the community saw the transformation in him they one by one became Christians as well. It really was not the amazing faith of him, it was just the amazing transformation.

      2. By the way, 2 Timothy 3:14 says that from childhood Timothy had known the sacred writings. Timothy was raised according to the Jewish ways. But not Christian ways.

      3. Timothy had a transformation and MORE THAN THAT— now, verse 2 says that the believers in Lystra and Iconium speak well of him. Praise God!

      4. Listen, this is critical for church leadership. Paul saw this in Timothy, others saw this in Timothy. This is written about here and this is written about in 1 Timothy 3:7 that an elder must have a good reputation in the community. I was at the “Turn Around Pastor” program and Dr. Penfold, one of the two leaders, talked about a time when he was on the nominating committee of a church. They were to nominate someone for a spot. A name came up. Dr. Penfold thought that this man would not be good because his reputation in the community was not good. The committee agreed. Later on, at a church business meeting a church bully spoke up and said, publicly, before the whole church, the nominating committee is not doing their duty because they have not nominated this man. After that, Dr. Penfold talked to the man who they refused to nominate and told him, “I do not think we should nominate you because of your reputation in the community.” Later, the nominating committee met and it turns out every one of them had told that same man, individually, that they had a problem nominating him because of his reputation in the community. Point is, God calls church leaders, church elders to be men of good character, recognized in the community.

      5. That was true in Timothy. Paul noticed that. When we notice that, it is good.

   6. Now what about Paul and Timothy: Paul considered him a “son” (cf. 1 Cor 4:17; 1 Tim 1:2). Not only did he address two letters to him, but he also listed him as cosender in six others (2 Cor 1:1; Phil 1:1; Col 1:1; 1 Thess 1:1; 2 Thess 1:1; Phlm 1). He considered him his “fellow worker” (Rom 16:21; cf. 1 Cor 16:10) and, indeed, as much more—“as a son with his father” in the work of the gospel (Phil 2:22).

2. Now, let’s get back to audience analysis. Let’s get back to the movie clip. Remember that clip from the movie the Patriot. If you are going to go fight the British, where are you going to recruit your Militia? Likewise, is it important to analyze your audience in evangelism?

   1. Yes.

   2. So, remember my great idea. Paul chooses Timothy for the Ministry and gets rid of barriers to the Gospel.

   3. What Barriers did Paul get rid of?

   4. In verse 3 it says that he circumcised Timothy, why? We just got done talking about a chapter and this big church council stating that it was not necessary. This was necessary for the non Christians, not for the Christians. Also, Timothy’s mother was Jewish and his grandmother. This made him, in certain customary ways, Jewish. So, to the Jews, he was Jewish. So, for Paul, he wanted to get rid of barriers, he wanted to be able to take Timothy into the synagogue and have him preach there with non Christian Jews. This was necessary.

   5. After this we have Paul going from city to city spreading the news about the Jerusalem Council. Paul was obedient to the Council: As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey. Then in verse 5 we see one of Luke’s common summary statements: So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.

Close:

I wonder, could our churches be strengthened when we think about our audience more. What about you? Who do you want to communicate the Gospel with this week? Tell me that there is someone that you would like to share Jesus with?

Okay, maybe 1 week is too soon:

This year: who would you like to share Jesus with this year? This is someone you know. Pick more than one person. Write there names down in your bulletin. Do this right now. Go home and pray about this. Do you know that in business planning people overestimate what they can do in a year and underestimate what they can do in 10 years? I wonder if it is they same in how many people we can share Jesus with. As I was writing this, I thought I need to do this to, and I will. We must hold each other accountable.

Okay, what barriers have to be removed so that you can share Jesus? What is in the way? Think. Timothy had to be circumcised, I do not think that is the case.

Let me help you, let’s talk if I can.

First do you know Jesus.

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

Think about the divisions within the church. Actually, let’s be interactive. I remember sitting with my uncle at a family picnic when he said,“He had been hurt more by Christians that by non-Christians.” Now, why would he say that? Could it be true? Do Christians hurt each other? Why does the devil attack from within?

Raise your hand if…

If you have ever been hurt by something someone who claimed to be a Christian said raise your hand.

Okay, I do not want to have you raise your hand for anymore of these because we hopefully have visitors:

Just think: Do not raise your hand:

Have you ever hurt someone with your words being a Christian yourself?

Have you ever left church in tears because of gossip or rumors?

Have you ever been angered at church because of something wrongfully said about you?

Have you wrongfully said something about someone else at church?

Have you spread the gossip or the rumor?

Have you been unloving?

Have others been unloving to you? I know this is broad.

The church is a place for sinners. The church is a place for people who do wrong things and I am one of them. But the church is also a place where once we commit to Christ we commit to grow and change and not get worse but get better.

A few weeks ago, I was with my three year old, Mercedes, she wanted to build a sand castle with gravel on the driveway. She did not know that little bit of gravel on the driveway would not build a sand castle. She did not know and does not know how much better the sand on the beach will be. Likewise, we come to know Jesus and we are sinners, we are sinners our whole life, but as we grow in Christ we grow out of certain sins. This means that we realize that life is different. Before we were playing trying to build sandcastles with gravel on a driveway, but Jesus wants us to grow into Christ followers who are not wrestling daily with the same old stuff.

Jesus wants us to have a renewed perspective. Let me make that example make some sense… Okay, so, is gravel very malleable?

I have a bucket of gravel right here, let me pour some out, do you think it is malleable? No, Mercedes cannot build a sandcastle with this, and God can do anything but sometime we are not even like gravel we are like rocks and God needs to make us like sand, so that He can work within us.

Now, I have sand, let me pour some out into another bucket, is this malleable? Is it? Can you work with it? Can God work with it? Can a child like Mercedes work with it?

We need our relationships to be like sand, not like gravel or rock.

Then we will still offend people and still sin, but hopefully not the same old stuff and not as much. Hopefully then we make things right. So, let’s talk about that.

I hope we can talk about that now. Let’s look at a passage where the Apostle Paul had a difference with Barnabas. They part ways, but I want to make the case that though they part ways, they do so agreeably. I want to talk about Biblical restoration. I want to challenge you to Biblical restoration.

Read Acts 15:36-41 with me:

Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

1. Notice that Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement.

1. This disagreement is in verse 37. Barnabas was an encourager, he wants to give John Mark a second chance. Now, what happened with John Mark? In Acts 13:13 Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey and Barnabas went home to Jerusalem. There may have been several reasons for this: NIV text note of Acts 13:13: “homesicknesss to get back to Jerusalem, an illness of Paul necessitating a change in plans and a trip to Galatia, and a change in leadership from Barnabas to Paul have all been suggested as reasons for John Mark’s return.” (to Jerusalem). Either way, now Barnabas is saying, “Let’s give him a second chance.” Paul says, “No way.”

2. Verse 39 says that they had a “Sharp” disagreement.”

3. Have you ever had a “Sharp” disagreement. What do you do? How do you handle it?

4. I was once listening to a counseling program and a couple had little snicker bars all over the house and someone asked, “Why are there snicker bars all over the house?” The couple said that was to give them a timeout. You see when they are in the heat of an argument and they are in a sharp disagreement and they need a timeout, but you know we don’t want to take a timeout, do we? So, what they do is grab a little snickers bar, the little ones. Then they think and that forces a time out.

5. I have listened to and read lots of counseling and books and documents and it is recommended that people need timeouts, but they are hard to take.

6. I think Paul, the Apostle needed a timeout.

7. Paul is a “Driven” personality. “Fight or flight” Paul fights.

8. They had a sharp disagreement. Paul and Barnabas were partners and sometimes we like to take this passage and say even the best of Christians have massive arguments. I read one source that said that sometimes we take this passage too far. We take it and make it look like they had a “knock down, drag out, fight.” We don’t know that. We know they disagreed, we know they disagreed strongly, sharply, we know they needed a “timeout” or a snickers bar and there were none around. But you know what else we know, it appears there were no hurt feelings. Look at these verses: 2 Tim. 4:11: Only Luke is with me. Get [John] Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. Also: Col. 4:10: My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Philemon 24: And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. 1 Cor. 9:6: Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?

9. So, it does appear that Paul and John Mark were okay, later on and even with each other later on. It appears that Paul and Barnabas were okay later on.

10. What house happens in this passage? Sometimes we are stuck making sandcastles in a driveway with a little bit of gravel. Step back.

11. In verses 39-41 two missionary journeys happened instead of one. Barnabas took John Mark and Paul took Silas. God spread the Great Commission more this way. Isn’t that awesome!

12. Secondly, Paul chose Silas and Silas was a Roman citizen and we will hear more about that in chapter 16:37.

2. Point of application: who do you have to reconcile with?

1. Matthew 5:23-26:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

B. This passage is telling us that restoration is more important than an offering.

C. Relationships are important.

D. Let’s look at one other passage of Scripture: Matthew 18:15-17:

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

E. Conflict resolution begins with a small circle.

F. You go and talk to the person who has offended you. Then, if there is no resolution you bring another person in. Then two people in and then the church leadership.

G. It is not Biblical, and it is just harmful, just let things go.

Remember: What did Jesus say? You leave your offering and go and bring restoration and then come back to worship. Restoration is more important than giving! Those commands come from God’s Word.

Conclusion:

So, have you been offended? Have you offended someone else? Maybe it is time to make things right. Maybe it is time to apologize. Ask for forgiveness. Yes, we are all sinners. We are all sinners, we are all making sand castles on a driveway not on a beach, but as we grow in Christ God wants us to be more like Him and less like the world and that means that God wants us to be more loving. God wants us to be reconciled. God wants us to step back and see the beach some day. God needs us to be sand, not rock. God needs us to be malleable. God wants us to realize that you cannot make a sand castle on a driveway, but you can on a beach. Likewise, we really cannot have a holistic body until we are reconciled and we deal with those things that entangle us. Please, I urge you, in love, approach each other this week. Just one on one. Pray first. We see that the Apostle Paul, Barnabas and John Mark’s disagreement did not separate them.

There is a pastor named, Andy Stanley, who is son to Charles Stanley. Charles Stanley is on radio and Television and both have written books. Andy Stanley has some 33,000 people attend the campuses of his church. 33,000 people. Some 20 years ago a rift began between father and son. A major rift began. Andy was then pastoring under Charles Stanley and had different views of how to do worship. But things were growing, things were going well. To make matters worse, there were some family issues as well. I can get the article. What I want to tell is that Charles Stanley was persistent that he and Andy meet for lunch every week in order to resolve their conflicts. During this process, Andy planted a church, so they did part ways since in the beginning Andy was actually on staff at Charles’ church. But also during this time, God expanded the Kingdom. The ministry of Charles Stanley is still thriving. The ministry of Andy Stanley is thriving Andy writes on leadership and has podcast and much more. Andy Stanley’s church is something like the 3rd largest in the country. But another lesson is that Charles Stanley as the Father was persistent and they reconciled their relationship. In the end they invited Charles to serve communion at Andy’s church and Andy for the eightieth birthday celebration of Charles Stanley.

Who do you need to talk with this week? First talk with Jesus. Make sure that you are malleable like sand, not like rock.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

Think about the divisions within the church. Actually, let’s be interactive. I remember sitting with my uncle at a family picnic when he said,“He had been hurt more by Christians that by non-Christians.” Now, why would he say that? Could it be true? Do Christians hurt each other? Why does the devil attack from within?

Raise your hand if…

If you have ever been hurt by something someone who claimed to be a Christian said raise your hand.

Okay, I do not want to have you raise your hand for anymore of these because we hopefully have visitors:

Just think: Do not raise your hand:

Have you ever hurt someone with your words being a Christian yourself?

Have you ever left church in tears because of gossip or rumors?

Have you ever been angered at church because of something wrongfully said about you?

Have you wrongfully said something about someone else at church?

Have you spread the gossip or the rumor?

Have you been unloving?

Have others been unloving to you? I know this is broad.

The church is a place for sinners. The church is a place for people who do wrong things and I am one of them. But the church is also a place where once we commit to Christ we commit to grow and change and not get worse but get better.

A few weeks ago, I was with my three year old, Mercedes, she wanted to build a sand castle with gravel on the driveway. She did not know that little bit of gravel on the driveway would not build a sand castle. She did not know and does not know how much better the sand on the beach will be. Likewise, we come to know Jesus and we are sinners, we are sinners our whole life, but as we grow in Christ we grow out of certain sins. This means that we realize that life is different. Before we were playing trying to build sandcastles with gravel on a driveway, but Jesus wants us to grow into Christ followers who are not wrestling daily with the same old stuff.

Jesus wants us to have a renewed perspective. Let me make that example make some sense… Okay, so, is gravel very malleable?

I have a bucket of gravel right here, let me pour some out, do you think it is malleable? No, Mercedes cannot build a sandcastle with this, and God can do anything but sometime we are not even like gravel we are like rocks and God needs to make us like sand, so that He can work within us.

Now, I have sand, let me pour some out into another bucket, is this malleable? Is it? Can you work with it? Can God work with it? Can a child like Mercedes work with it?

We need our relationships to be like sand, not like gravel or rock.

Then we will still offend people and still sin, but hopefully not the same old stuff and not as much. Hopefully then we make things right. So, let’s talk about that.

I hope we can talk about that now. Let’s look at a passage where the Apostle Paul had a difference with Barnabas. They part ways, but I want to make the case that though they part ways, they do so agreeably. I want to talk about Biblical restoration. I want to challenge you to Biblical restoration.

Read Acts 15:36-41 with me:

Some time later Paul said to Barnabas, “Let us go back and visit the believers in all the towns where we preached the word of the Lord and see how they are doing.” 37 Barnabas wanted to take John, also called Mark, with them, 38 but Paul did not think it wise to take him, because he had deserted them in Pamphylia and had not continued with them in the work. 39 They had such a sharp disagreement that they parted company. Barnabas took Mark and sailed for Cyprus, 40 but Paul chose Silas and left, commended by the believers to the grace of the Lord. 41 He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening the churches.

1. Notice that Paul and Barnabas have a disagreement.

1. This disagreement is in verse 37. Barnabas was an encourager, he wants to give John Mark a second chance. Now, what happened with John Mark? In Acts 13:13 Paul and Barnabas were on their first missionary journey and Barnabas went home to Jerusalem. There may have been several reasons for this: NIV text note of Acts 13:13: “homesicknesss to get back to Jerusalem, an illness of Paul necessitating a change in plans and a trip to Galatia, and a change in leadership from Barnabas to Paul have all been suggested as reasons for John Mark’s return.” (to Jerusalem). Either way, now Barnabas is saying, “Let’s give him a second chance.” Paul says, “No way.”

2. Verse 39 says that they had a “Sharp” disagreement.”

3. Have you ever had a “Sharp” disagreement. What do you do? How do you handle it?

4. I was once listening to a counseling program and a couple had little snicker bars all over the house and someone asked, “Why are there snicker bars all over the house?” The couple said that was to give them a timeout. You see when they are in the heat of an argument and they are in a sharp disagreement and they need a timeout, but you know we don’t want to take a timeout, do we? So, what they do is grab a little snickers bar, the little ones. Then they think and that forces a time out.

5. I have listened to and read lots of counseling and books and documents and it is recommended that people need timeouts, but they are hard to take.

6. I think Paul, the Apostle needed a timeout.

7. Paul is a “Driven” personality. “Fight or flight” Paul fights.

8. They had a sharp disagreement. Paul and Barnabas were partners and sometimes we like to take this passage and say even the best of Christians have massive arguments. I read one source that said that sometimes we take this passage too far. We take it and make it look like they had a “knock down, drag out, fight.” We don’t know that. We know they disagreed, we know they disagreed strongly, sharply, we know they needed a “timeout” or a snickers bar and there were none around. But you know what else we know, it appears there were no hurt feelings. Look at these verses: 2 Tim. 4:11: Only Luke is with me. Get [John] Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. Also: Col. 4:10: My fellow prisoner Aristarchus sends you his greetings, as does Mark, the cousin of Barnabas. (You have received instructions about him; if he comes to you, welcome him.) Philemon 24: And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. 1 Cor. 9:6: Or is it only I and Barnabas who lack the right to not work for a living?

9. So, it does appear that Paul and John Mark were okay, later on and even with each other later on. It appears that Paul and Barnabas were okay later on.

10. What house happens in this passage? Sometimes we are stuck making sandcastles in a driveway with a little bit of gravel. Step back.

11. In verses 39-41 two missionary journeys happened instead of one. Barnabas took John Mark and Paul took Silas. God spread the Great Commission more this way. Isn’t that awesome!

12. Secondly, Paul chose Silas and Silas was a Roman citizen and we will hear more about that in chapter 16:37.

2. Point of application: who do you have to reconcile with?

1. Matthew 5:23-26:

“Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, 24 leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to them; then come and offer your gift.

25 “Settle matters quickly with your adversary who is taking you to court. Do it while you are still together on the way, or your adversary may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison. 26 Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

B. This passage is telling us that restoration is more important than an offering.

C. Relationships are important.

D. Let’s look at one other passage of Scripture: Matthew 18:15-17:

If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over. 16 But if they will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’17 If they still refuse to listen, tell it to the church; and if they refuse to listen even to the church, treat them as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

E. Conflict resolution begins with a small circle.

F. You go and talk to the person who has offended you. Then, if there is no resolution you bring another person in. Then two people in and then the church leadership.

G. It is not Biblical, and it is just harmful, just let things go.

Remember: What did Jesus say? You leave your offering and go and bring restoration and then come back to worship. Restoration is more important than giving! Those commands come from God’s Word.

Conclusion:

So, have you been offended? Have you offended someone else? Maybe it is time to make things right. Maybe it is time to apologize. Ask for forgiveness. Yes, we are all sinners. We are all sinners, we are all making sand castles on a driveway not on a beach, but as we grow in Christ God wants us to be more like Him and less like the world and that means that God wants us to be more loving. God wants us to be reconciled. God wants us to step back and see the beach some day. God needs us to be sand, not rock. God needs us to be malleable. God wants us to realize that you cannot make a sand castle on a driveway, but you can on a beach. Likewise, we really cannot have a holistic body until we are reconciled and we deal with those things that entangle us. Please, I urge you, in love, approach each other this week. Just one on one. Pray first. We see that the Apostle Paul, Barnabas and John Mark’s disagreement did not separate them.

There is a pastor named, Andy Stanley, who is son to Charles Stanley. Charles Stanley is on radio and Television and both have written books. Andy Stanley has some 33,000 people attend the campuses of his church. 33,000 people. Some 20 years ago a rift began between father and son. A major rift began. Andy was then pastoring under Charles Stanley and had different views of how to do worship. But things were growing, things were going well. To make matters worse, there were some family issues as well. I can get the article. What I want to tell is that Charles Stanley was persistent that he and Andy meet for lunch every week in order to resolve their conflicts. During this process, Andy planted a church, so they did part ways since in the beginning Andy was actually on staff at Charles’ church. But also during this time, God expanded the Kingdom. The ministry of Charles Stanley is still thriving. The ministry of Andy Stanley is thriving Andy writes on leadership and has podcast and much more. Andy Stanley’s church is something like the 3rd largest in the country. But another lesson is that Charles Stanley as the Father was persistent and they reconciled their relationship. In the end they invited Charles to serve communion at Andy’s church and Andy for the eightieth birthday celebration of Charles Stanley.

Who do you need to talk with this week? First talk with Jesus. Make sure that you are malleable like sand, not like rock.

Do you know Jesus?

God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)

Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)

Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)

Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)

Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)

Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)

Pray

Intro:
Using the two side of the sanctuary, divide into two groups.
East Side: Represent Jewish Christians. You know that God chose your people, and gave you special promises as well as a Law to live by. God has sent you prophets, and His own Son came as a Jew to die for sins. You are convinced that your ways are right, and that they are also godly, in contrast to the ways of non-Jews. It is clear to you that if a person really wishes to please God he must live as you do, subject to the Law as a good Jewish Christian should be. And you are ready to contend for this truth.

West Side: Represent Gentile Christians. You have been saved through faith in Christ and are part of a vital Gentile congregation. You don’t have anything against the Jews, but you certainly aren’t one. You don’t even feel comfortable with their strange customs, most of which have nothing to do with morality. You have been upset by these Jewish Christians who insist that you must give up your own culture and live as they do to be saved. You’re concerned, and a little bit angry too.

You guys are really at odds with one another. You have issues. Do you get it? Have I made my point?

Now, this side of the church like to have contemporary worship, as modern as you can get it, you always have, always.
The other side of the church is so traditional you would make John Wesley contemporary.

Think about that…. Just think. See how things divide us.

That example is not really as deep as the Jews and Gentiles one. We’ll look at that in a minute. In that manner, we have no excuse, no excuse for petty things to divide us.

In Ireland they have actual violence between Catholics and Protestants. Our violence is in our thoughts and I think that hurts God because we are the bride of Christ.

Let us look at this passage, but let me give you my theme, my great idea, your take away:

The Jerusalem Council meets and frees the church for evangelism. In doing so, they affirm that the Gospel is for everyone (verse 14) which means that they decide not to make it difficult for non Jews to become Christians (verse 19). A simple application, do you make it difficult for a non believer to become a Christian? Does our church? Do we care?

Let’s read Acts 15:1-29:

Certain people came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the believers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” 2 This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question. 3 The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the believers very glad. 4 When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5 Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to keep the law of Moses.”
6 The apostles and elders met to consider this question. 7 After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe. 8 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. 9 He did not discriminate between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. 10 Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear? 11 No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
12 The whole assembly became silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul telling about the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them. 13 When they finished, James spoke up. “Brothers,” he said, “listen to me. 14 Simon has described to us how God first intervened to choose a people for his name from the Gentiles. 15 The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16 
“‘After this I will return
    and rebuild David’s fallen tent.
Its ruins I will rebuild,
    and I will restore it,
17 
that the rest of mankind may seek the Lord,
    even all the Gentiles who bear my name,
says the Lord, who does these things’—
18 
    things known from long ago.
19 “It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. 20 Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. 21 For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath.”
22 Then the apostles and elders, with the whole church, decided to choose some of their own men and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They chose Judas (called Barsabbas) and Silas, men who were leaders among the believers. 23 With them they sent the following letter:
The apostles and elders, your brothers,
To the Gentile believers in Antioch, Syria and Cilicia:
Greetings.
24 We have heard that some went out from us without our authorization and disturbed you, troubling your minds by what they said. 25 So we all agreed to choose some men and send them to you with our dear friends Barnabas and Paul— 26 men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 27 Therefore we are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing. 28 It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: 29 You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things.
Farewell.

Okay, now let’s talk about this. Let’s break it down.

First, what is a Jerusalem Council? Why is that important? I am getting ahead of myself but this was an official meeting of the church. They had to decide on a doctrinal position. We will get into that. We are going to skim over this passage.

You know how when you fly in an airplane you see things but it is not in great detail? That is what we are going to do with this passage. I am going to pick out some mountains, but for the most part we are going to give you the theme and some applications. What is the theme?

The Jerusalem Council reaffirmed that the Gospel is for everyone. (verse 14) That is the simple theme. They decided not to have barriers or great barriers in front of non-Jewish people to become believers.

The problem erupts in Verses 1-5:
Okay, so we see a low level fly by showing us that some people are trying once again to mess with what the Lord is doing.
NIV makes note that since they were from Judea they were given a hearing. Not that they correctly represented the apostles, they may not have.
They were probably Pharisees from verse 5.
Paul and Barnabas had great debate with them about this.
So, Paul and Barnabas are to go to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this.
They passed through Samaria and Phoenicia sharing in detail the conversion of the Gentiles and this brought great joy.
Interesting that this is mentioned here except to better make the case for the conversions
They arrived in Jerusalem to a happy group of people. 
Here is a John MacArthur study note: Throughout church history Church leaders have met to settle doctrinal issues. Historians point to 7 different ecumenical councils in the churches early history. Especially the council of Nicea (AD 325) and the Council of Chalcedon (AD 451). Yet the most important was the Jerusalem Council because it established the answer to the most vital doctrinal question of all: “What must a person do to be saved?” The apostles and elders defined efforts to impose legalism and ritualism as necessary prerequisites for salvation. They forever affirmed that salvation is totally by grace through faith in Christ alone.
II. In verses 6-11 Peter gives his testimony
This was no small issue. There was much discussion. Here is another John MacArthur study note: “Peter gave the first of 3 speeches at the Council that amount to one of the strongest defenses of salvation by grace through faith alone contained in Scripture. Peter began his defense by reviewing how God saved gentiles in the early days of the church without a requirement of circumcision, law keeping or ritual— referring to the salvation of Cornelius and his household. (10:44-48; 11:17,18) If God didn’t require an additional qualifications for salvation than neither should the legalist.)
Peter refers to this Acts 10, Cornelius, experience as the early days.
Peter says that they are putting God to the test by giving the Gentile disciples a burden that the Jewish Pharisees and their father’s couldn’t bear. They couldn’t keep the law.
The law was given to show them that they were sinners (Romans 3:20)
Matthew 23:4 is a really good explanation about the Pharisees putting burdens on themselves that they are not willing to bear.
They believe that they are saved through faith as the Gentiles are.
Rev 2:23: God searches the hearts and minds
Gal 5:1: it is for freedom that Christ has set us free
Romans 3:23-24 deals with salvation and justification
Ephesians 2:5-8
III. In verses 12- 21 we hear Paul and Barnabas’ testimony and James makes a ruling
I what to fly a little higher at this point to emphasize the theme.
Paul and Barnabas talk about signs and wonders. The signs and wonders would confirm to the Jews that God really is behind what is going on.
Then we see that James makes a ruling. This James is the same James that later writes the New Testament epistles of James. He is Jesus’ baby brother. It seems obvious that He is the man in charge. He is the spokesperson for the group. We would think Peter would be in charge, but he is not. It is James. We would think Paul, but it is James. James was not an early disciple, but he is pastoring the Jerusalem church and he is in charge.
In verse 14, he says that God wanted to choose from the Gentiles a people for His name. That is extremely phenomenal. The Jews were God’s people, but now this wraps the Gentiles in as well. This is a special verse for today. He is saying that The Gospel is for everyone.
Then James quotes an Old Testament passage regarding Gentiles.
Then he says we do not need to get in their way. So,
Make sure they stay away from food sacrificed to idols.
Stay away from fornication.
Stay from what is strangled by blood.
Now, then James has a letter written which Paul and a few companions will send, this starts in verse 22. The letter will explain this and give them more contact with the churches.
The end of this chapter begins Paul’s next missionary journey.
Close:
Think back to the exercise we did in the beginning of the message today. Some of you were the Jewish side of the church, some the Gentile side of the church. Some of you were the contemporary side of the church, some the traditional side. You know that we all do have our preferences. Think about this:
Are your preferences guided by a full, Holy Spirit filled understanding of Scripture? How do you know? How can you be sure it is what God desires? Understand your preferences, give them to Jesus in prayer and let us be united as a church.
This passage calls us to unity for the great commission. Verse 19: we do not need to add obstacles in front of the Gentiles when we are sharing the love of Jesus with them… Neither do we. Let’s also share Jesus without added obstacles, barriers, or whatever else.
Review:
The Jerusalem Council meets and frees the church for evangelism. In doing so, they affirm that the Gospel is for everyone (verse 14) which means that they decide not to make it difficult for non Jews to become Christians (verse 19)

A simple application, do you make it difficult for a non believer to become a Christian? Does our church?

First, is your heart right with Jesus?
God created us to be with him. (Genesis 1-2)
Our sin separated us from God. (Genesis 3)
Sins cannot be removed by good deeds (Gen 4-Mal 4)
Paying the price for sin, Jesus died and rose again. (Matthew – Luke)
Everyone who trusts in him alone has eternal life. (John – Jude)
Life that’s eternal means we will be with Jesus forever. (Revelation 22:5)
Pray

Intro:
We are journeying our way through Acts and we come to an amazing passage. Think about the complexities and the contradictions in this passage:
This is a passage where the Apostles can heal someone yet be stoned in the same passage, really?
This is a passage where Paul will be stoned and left for dead and preach so that people can receive real life immediately after that, really? Preaching the Gospel you were just stoned to death for? They are killing you, but others are receiving real life!
This is a passage where we realize Paul’s ability to identify with an audience in preaching. We see an abbreviation of a sermon which he will preach in Acts 17:16ff.
Who’s your god? Do we make people gods as well? Paul and Barnabas wouldn’t allow themselves to be worshipped
Back when I was a kid in school I remember studying the ancient Greek culture and all the gods and the goddesses that they worshipped. The idea was that they had many gods while we only worship the one God. We were studying in public school so the majority of class either believed that in today’s time we don’t believe in many gods and many people do not believe in or worship a God at all. The idea is that we have advanced we know that these things about Zeus and Hermes, etc just aren’t true. Looking at the church across America I wonder, have we really advanced? The Ten commandments say, “Do not Commit Idolatry.” Do we?
I remember when I have gotten a new car. Can you remember a time when you have gotten something new. For me it is hard to get something new and not let that “thing” consume me. When I have gotten a new car that is all that I think about. I might even commit idolatry with that man made thing. It has been said that worship is our response to what we value most. It has been said, “If you will follow the trail of your time, energy, passion, money you will find out what you worship.. could be $, yourself, friends, things, your past, etc..” Point is that were created to worship.
We are about to turn to a passage in the New Testament where people who have worshipped Hermes and Zeus now try to worship Paul and Barnabas. Let’s look at that passage:
Read Acts 14:8-18
 In Lystra there sat a man who was lame. He had been that way from birth and had never walked. 9 He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed 10 and called out, “Stand up on your feet!” At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.
11 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” 12 Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. 13 The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.
14 But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: 15 “Friends, why are you doing this? We too are only human, like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and everything in them. 16 In the past, he let all nations go their own way. 17 Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.” 18 Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

Notice that Paul and Barnabas were God focused.
Paul and Barnabas were God focused; therefore they would not accept worship. Nor would they worship anyone else or anything. Notice how that impacts what they do. Let me explain this passage verse by verse. But first let’s look at the context.
Context is everything. Look at the previous 7 verses. Paul is on what we call his second missionary journey. Paul had left for this journey back in 13:4. They had already gone to Pisidian Antioch and preached there. While still in Antioch, in 13:46 the Jews got jealous and so Paul and Barnabas moved on to preach the Gospel to the Gentiles. This seemed to start a precedent for Paul that he would always go to the synagogue first and then to the gentiles. In 13:50 the text tells us that the “Jews incited the devout women of prominence and the leading men, and instigated a persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and drove them out of their district.” That leads us to the beginning of chapter 14. They have now moved on to Iconium. They followed the same procedure in Iconium as they had in Pisidian Antioch. Paul and Barnabas had gone first to the synagogue and spoke to the Jews. Many Jews and Greeks believed. In 14:2 the text tells us that the Jews who disbelieved “stirred up the minds of the Gentiles and embittered them against the brethren.” However, Paul and Barnabas stayed around and spoke boldly, the text even emphasizes with “reliance upon the Holy Spirit.” Still, verses 5 and 6 tell us that there was an attempt to stone them and Paul and Barnabas found out about it and left. They then went to Lycaonia, Lystra and Derbe, and the surrounding region. Verse 6 told us where they went and then verse 7 particularizes that by stating that they continued to preach the Gospel in those locations. Now, that brings us to verse 8. It seems that verse 8 is particularizing an event that happened while at Lystra.
Do you notice it? Do you notice how Paul and Barnabas are so persistent that they keep preaching the Gospel.
They tried to stone them! In verse 5 it says this. Did that shock you? It didn’t shock me. The first century person would have been shocked by this. Stoning was a terrible punishment. The accused would usually be taken outside the city and stripped Then the witnesses would cast the first stones followed by everyone else. I have heard that they would throw stones until the person is buried.
Despite this happening in the previous city because of Paul and Barnabas preaching the Gospel, they still move on in order to preach the Gospel.
Paul and Barnabas were focused then but what is about to happen would have definitely tested me.
Verses 8-10: now they are in a city called Lystra. This is a city in what would be modern day Turkey.
Verse 8 simply tells us that a man was sitting who had no strength in his feet. How long was he lame? The Bible tells us from birth. Then the same verse gives an extra emphasis by saying that he had never walked. Now, if the text has already said, “Lame from his mother’s womb.” Why does the text need to say that he had never walked? The writer is making the emphasis that this man had never ever walked. The writer is preparing the reader for what is about to happen. Why? What is about to happen is a miracle.
Hearing versus listening. This man was interested in the Gospel.
Paul looks at him and can tell that this man had faith to be healed. What does that mean?
Dave Wray was the man who was my youth pastor when I was in high school. About 10 years before I met Dave he was at a country church called Pleasantview Missionary Church. While there their daughter was diagnosed with leukemia. They prayed for healing and did extensive treatments. However, after a few years there daughter passed away and went to be with the Lord. During this illness there were people who really thought that she was not healed because of a lack of faith.
I totally reject that. Jesus didn’t heal everyone and Paul himself had a thorn in his side that wasn’t taken away. (2 Cor. 12)
We can’t be sure what this passage means by saying, “Faith to be made well.” What I think is that the Holy Spirit supernaturally showed Paul that he believed in Christ and did have faith. It is over reaching to take this passage and say that everyone who is not healed doesn’t have faith.
In verse 10, Paul said to this man to stand upright. This man leaped to his feet.
I notice no hesitancy in Paul’s voice, I notice no physical therapy for this man. He leaped to his feet.
Many of you are parents and grandparents. Remember with the children that you had started to walk. Did they just leap and started walking? Of course not! There was a slow process of learning to walk. Not in this case!!
The application is that when God is involved things can happen quickly. God needs no time period.
This is the 3rd time in Acts that a lame man is healed (Acts 3 and 9:34)
God doesn’t heal everyone; however, we do need to understand that the Holy Spirit is still alive and active today. The Spirit hasn’t hidden in a cave or gone into retirement. I pray every day for Meagan to be healed of her M.S. I pray every day for the doctors to give is a medical cure so that all can be healed of M.S. However, if that request is not granted that doesn’t mean that I started saying there is a secret sin or a lack of faith. This means the Lord doesn’t will this at this time.
He may in ten years or two or when it is her time to go and be with the Lord. Then there is complete healing.
One last thing about this, when someone is made well do to our medical advanced, yes give the doctors credit but mostly give the Lord the credit. God works.
In verses 11-13 we see the reaction to what God had done.
It appears that a whole crowd had seen what God had done through Paul.
The crowd started speaking in the Lycaonian language. The people were probably speaking in Latin to begin with. It appears that at this location they knew Latin and Greek. There is also evidence that this native language was used up until the 6th century A.D. “There is evidence that two Christian monasteries in Constantinople (Byzantium) founded in the sixth century used the Lycaonian language in their liturgy.”
Why would they think that the “gods” had come down? One reason would be the miracle. Just imagine, you are sitting at the hospital with someone who can’t walk and all of a sudden they jump to their feet!!! This would be amazing!
Another reason is this: IVP: Local Phrygian legend told of an ancient visitation by Zeus and Hermes to Phrygia. In the story only one couple, Baucis and Philemon, received them graciously; the rest of the population was destroyed in a flood. Knowing some form of the story in their own language, the Lycaonians are not about to make the same mistake ancient Phrygia had made; they want to honor Paul and Barnabas, whom they mistake for gods. People sometimes considered miracle workers as gods.
Do we do this today? Do we worship people? What about actors? Athletes? Do we worship video games and things? Cars? Houses? Careers?
A visiting minister was substituting for the famed pastor Henry Ward Beecher. A large audience had assembled to hear the popular pastor. At the appointed hour, the visiting minister entered the pulpit. Learning that Beecher was not to preach, several began to move toward the doors. The visiting minister stood and called out, “All who have come here today to worship Henry Ward Beecher may now withdraw from the church! All who have come to worship God, keep your seats!” No one then left.

Verses 14-18 show that Barnabas and Paul will not be worshipped
They tear their clothes which is a sign that they have seen idolatry. They say:
We are men like you
We preach the Gospel that you should turn to the living God who:
Made everything
God has given you a witness of Himself that He gave you rain, food, and fruits.
They said these things and with difficulty restrained these crowds.
Do you notice it? They were being worshipped! They could have accepted it, but instead they turned the attention to God. They were God focused!
Close:
7587 Queen Stands At “Messiah”
When Queen Victoria had just ascended her throne she went, as is the custom of Royalty, to hear “The Messiah” rendered. She had been instructed as to her conduct by those who knew, and was told that she must not rise when the others stood at the singing of the Hallelujah Chorus. When that magnificent chorus was being sung and the singers were shouting “Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! for the Lord God omnipotent reigneth,” she sat with great difficulty.
It seemed as if she would rise in spite of the custom of kings and queens, but finally when they came to that part of the chorus where with a shout they proclaim Him King of Kings suddenly the young queen rose and stood with bowed head, as if she would take her own crown from off her head and cast it at His feet.
—J. Wilbur Chapman

No matter who we are we must turn the attention to God.

I just read a very good article by Dr. Brown the chancellor of Cedarville University. He wrote about the death of Robin Williams. You can read it at this link:

http://www.williamebrown.org/robin-williams-and-the-christian-response/

Christians need to be more loving regarding mental illness. 

We have been preaching our way through the book of Acts. As we have been walking through Acts we see God’s might works of the Holy Spirit. Today we will continue to see God’s work. Acts has been called the Acts of the Holy Sprit. Acts is the first church history book. 

Acts is about the spread of the Gospel and the Gospel is eternal life. Listen to what I once read:

THE TREE TRUNK THAT TRUMPETED LIFE AND TRUMPED DEATH By Pastor Rick Sams

  The most popular tourist attraction in Herfordshire County, England is a graveyard. People come from all over the world to see a grave of a woman buried over 200 years ago.

  Lady Anne Grimston was a proud, wealthy, and obstinate woman who lived for this life alone.

  Toward the end friends tried to encourage her to think about what comes after we breathe our last. She would not. She believed there was nothing beyond: “It is as unlikely that I shall continue to live as that a tree will grow out of my body.”     

  She went so far as to make a challenge to Heaven, saying: “If, indeed, there is life hereafter, trees will render asunder my tomb.” [Allegedly there is the same kind of story about a local man and snakes on his grave. Can anyone confirm?]

  Lady Anne Grimston died, was buried, and forgotten. But not quite. After many years the thick marble slab over her grave was found ajar. The builders put it back and forgot her again. 

  But once more the marble slab tilted to one side, and in the middle was a crack, with a tiny bunch of leaves bursting through. The crack was sealed with cement and the slab returned to its original spot. A few years later the marble was again lifted up, the crack opened wider than before, and the trunk of a tree emerged from the opening.

  Workmen repaired the increasingly crumbling tomb and installed iron rails and rods to hold everything together. But the young tree would not be tied down. It kept making its way, breaking the masonry, destroying the walls of the tomb, and tearing the heavy iron railings out of the ground. 
  Today, growing right from the heart of Lady Anne Grimston’s grave in St. Peter’s churchyard is one of the largest trees in England. Because of that tree the site is a mass of twisted metal and crushed marble.
  For over 200 years an old tree trunk has trumpeted: “life trumps death.”

  “Whoever believes in me will have eternal life…For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it…But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name…And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life” (John 3:16; 5:21; 20:31; I John 5:11-13).

(SOURCE:http://www.traditioninaction.org/religious/h010rp.LadyGrimston_Galitzin.html

Jesus is eternal life so it is critical that we are persistently giving people Jesus. 

As I teach you this passage notice Paul’s persistence to preach the Gospel. Actually, fast forward to chapter 14 and verse 7. Right there, this section ends with Paul continuing to preach the Gospel. Each section and each location they are preaching the Gospel. 

Let’s read the passage. Read with me Acts 13:42- 14:7:

42 As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. 43 When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

44 On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. 45 When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

46 Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. 47 For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

48 When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

49 The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. 50 But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. 51 So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. 52 And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

14 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the Jews who refused to believe stirred up the other Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers. 3 So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who confirmed the message of his grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders. 4 The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. 5 There was a plot afoot among both Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. 6 But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7 where they continued to preach the gospel.

Persistence is important:

Swindoll reminds us:

I’m sure Anne Mansfield Sullivan had a host of folks telling her that the blind, 7-year-old brat wasn’t worth it. But Anne persisted—in spite of temper tantrums, physical abuse, mealtime madness, and even thankless parents. In her heart she knew it was worth all the pain. Was it ever! Within two years her pupil, Helen Keller, was able to read and write in braille. She ultimately graduated cum laude from Radcliffe College (where Miss Sullivan had “spelled” each lecture into her hand), and Helen Keller devoted the rest of her life to aiding the deaf and the blind.

1. Missions is about the Gospel. 
   1. I have a concern. I have a concern that missions is not about the Gospel. But look at this. Each part of this passage and each section of this passage is about the Gospel.  
   2. In verse 42 the people were begging that these things would be spoken of more. 
   3. So, verse 42 the whole city is gathered and they are going to share the Gospel. 
   4. Verse 48: the Gentiles, non Jews are excited, they are rejoicing because Paul had just quoted an Old Testament verse stating that they are to be a light to them and that salvation is for them as well. Verse 48 says that as many were appointed for eternal life believed. 
   5. Verse 49 says that as many as were appointed for eternal life believed. 
   6. Then we come to 14:1, now they are in a new city and what do they do? They go to a synagogue in order that they can share the Gospel. 
   7. They would go to the synagogue so that they could proclaim they Gospel to the Jews first, but also because there would be Greek and Romans there as well who would believe in God. 
   8. Then we come to verse 7 and the passage ends with Paul and Barnabas heading to another location in order to proclaim the Gospel. 
   9. So, I just gave a rough overview of this passage and you can see that this is all about the Gospel. It is all about evangelism. 
   10. Why do I bring these things up? I bring them up because we have drifted from the Gospel in missions. We have done this in all churches and denominations. The Gospel changes lives:
   11. I could start by talking about the testimonies that were shares just a few weeks ago on our front lawn, all the testimonies that people shared. 
   12. What about your testimony? Has Jesus changed your life? 
   13. Josh Smith the Youth pastor rom Science Hill, shared his testimony. 
   14. Dave Penturf shared his testimony. 
   15. What about the people’s lives who are affected by Men’s challenge? You will hear about them later on.
   16. I could share something I read that happened in the Billy Graham Crusades:

Billy Graham writing about the impact of Madison Square Gardens Crusade in 1957:

One night a plainly dressed woman stood in the inquiry room with tears running down her cheeks as she asked Christ to come into her life. When her counselor asked if there was anything else she wanted to share, she replied that she was very afraid of her son. “He drinks a lot,” she said, “and I’m afraid he may beat me when he finds out I’ve become a Christian.” Before the counselor could speak, a voice nearby called out, “It’s okay, Mom. I’m here too.” (“Just As I Am, the Autobiography of Billy Graham.” published by HarperCollins Worldwide, available from HarperOne and Zondervan in the United Stated, HarperCollines Canada, HaperCollins U.K., and HaperCollins Australia. Copyright 1997 by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. page 321)

Page 296: Billy Graham writing about their new evangelistic magazine called “Decision.”

Speaking of crumpled paper, I must tell also of the well-dressed man who one day entered BGEA’s London office. He told Maurice Rowlandson, the manager, that he had been manager of a bank until his life was ruined by alcohol. He lost his family and job, eventually ending up as a vagrant on the streets London. One day he was rummaging through a trash barrel looking for something to eat when he came across a discarded copy of “Decision.” Intrigued by the cover story, he read the magazine straight through, and as a result turned his life over to Christ. Now, a year later, he had been reconciled to his family and was once again working in a bank. (“Just As I Am, the Autobiography of Billy Graham.” published by HarperCollins Worldwide, available from HarperOne and Zondervan in the United Stated, HarperCollines Canada, HaperCollins U.K., and HaperCollins Australia. Copyright 1997 by Billy Graham Evangelistic Association.)

Listen to something that Chuck Swindoll wrote: 

Various methods are employed to communicate the good news of Christ to the lost. Some of the approaches appear to be successful and effective on the surface, but underneath they leave much to be desired.

Take the Redskin Approach, for example. The philosophy behind this method is: The more scalps, the better. The major emphasis is numerical—telling the absolute maximum number of people every day about salvation, regardless. This approach isdecision centered, and little (if any) effort is directed toward follow-up or discipleship. Redskins aren’t difficult to identify. They can usually be overheard counting (out loud) the scalps in their belts or seen shooting their flaming arrows into every wagon train they spot during the day or night.

The Harvard Approach is quite different. The thinking behind this method is: Let’s all discuss the world’s religions. Because it’s reason centered, it attracts both genuine and pseudo intellectuals. The modus operandi is invariably a vague discussion that shifts from Bahai to Buddhism . . . from the pros and cons of no prayer in public schools to the rapid growth of the Rajneeshies in the 80s. This approach is educational and occasionally quite stimulating, but it suffers from one mild drawback—no one ever gets saved! Specifics regarding salvation by grace through faith are frowned upon. The direct discussion of forgiveness of sins through Christ’s blood at the cross and His miraculous resurrection is about as welcome in a sophisticated rap session on religion as a life-sized bust of Martin Luther would be in the Vatican.

Perhaps the most popular is the Mute Approach, which promotes: I’m a silent witness for God. The best you can say about this method is that no one ever gets offended. That’s for sure! The saint who settles for this self-centered approach could be tagged a Clairol Christian. No one knows for sure but God. Somewhere down the line this person has begun to swallow one of Satan’s tastiest tidbits: “All God expects of you is a good, silent life. Others will ask you about Christ if they are interested in hearing.” You know, I can count on one hand (and have fingers left over) the number of people in my entire life who have suddenly come up and asked me about Jesus Christ. While no one can discount the value of a godly life, that alone never brought anyone into the family of God. “Faith,” please remember, “comes from hearing” (Romans 10:17).

As we have looked at this passage we notice Paul’s persistence in sharing the Gospel. I challenge you to share the Gospel. as well.