Acts 17. Acts 17, verse 1, we read, Now
when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they
came to Thessalonica, where was the synagogue of the Jews. And
Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath
days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. opening and alleging
that Christ's must needs have suffered and risen again from
the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ. And some of them believed and
consorted with Paul and Silas, and of the devout Greeks a great
multitude, and of the chief women not a few." I want to ask you something.
Do you rejoice in the Word of God? Do you believe God and rejoice
in His Word? There's a sure way to know. There's
a sure way to know. I can't find the assurance in
myself. You can't find it in yourself.
And if you start looking to you, you're looking in the wrong place.
But here's the assurance. Has God separated you from this
world? Has God Almighty separated you
so that you want to be where the truth of God is preached?
You want to be where the truth of God is spoken? Because no
matter what's going on in your life, no matter how Your sin
is before you. And those seasons when it's just
magnified before you, no matter the case, whether you're in a low spot or in a high spot,
wherever you are, you have one desire. That is, I want to be
in the house where God has established His Word and where the truth
is preached. And I don't want to be where
I'm not going to hear His Word. That's evidence, brethren, that
Christ has made you one in Him. Now, first of all, I want to
show you here tonight that Paul preached that Christ must needs
have suffered and risen again. Now we looked at this last time
but what I want to look at tonight is the effectual working of God's
Word. The effectual working of God's
Word. And the word that was preached
here is that Christ must needs have suffered and risen again
and that this Jesus is Christ. Now It was a must needs that
Christ suffer and rise again because God foreordained it and
Christ agreed in covenant mercy to do it. Look over at 1 Peter
1. 1 Peter 1. We read here For as much as you know, 1 Peter
1, verse 18, for as much as you know that you were not redeemed
with corruptible things as silver and gold from your vain conversation
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,
who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you. Now, turn over
to Ephesians chapter 1, and I know this is familiar, but I want
to show you a few things here that I think you'll rejoice in.
Ephesians chapter 1. Now, we could give many reasons
why God foreordained Christ to suffer, but chiefly, And wherein
all other reasons rest is this, is that he foreordained Christ
to suffer. Because this is what pleased
God and how it pleased God to gather all things together Christ
that's what pleased God to gather all things together in one in
Christ that those gathered together in Christ might praise the glory
of God now look here with me in Ephesians 1 8 Ephesians 1
8 wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence
having made known unto us the mystery of his will according
to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself." What's
his will? What's his good pleasure which
he purposed in himself? Look at verse 10. "...that in
the dispensation of the fullness of times he might gather together
in one all things in Christ." both which are in heaven and
which are on earth, even in him, in whom also we have obtained
an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him
who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,
that we should be to the praise of his glory who first trusted
in Christ." Look there at verse 6. It says, Everything that was
set up to that point was done to the praise of the glory of
His grace. Look at verse 12 again. That
we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in
Christ. Now go back up to verse 3 there.
Now let's work our way back down here and I want you to see something. Verse 3 says, be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in heavenly places in Christ." Now brethren, listen to this.
When God entrusted all our salvation into the hands of Christ, by
doing so, God blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places. By trusting this work to His
Son, He blessed us with all spiritual blessings. By that very trusting
of His Son to perform it. Then look here, verse 4. That's
what it says. According as He hath chosen us
in Him before the foundation of the world. Isn't that what
it says? That we should be holy and without blame before Him
in love. Being holy and without blame
before God in love is both what God did when He put us in Christ. That's what He did when He put
us in Christ. When He blessed us with all spiritual blessings
in Christ, God sanctified us. He made us holy and without blame
because He put us in Christ and He trusted His Son to the Word.
And it's what Christ accomplished in His person and by His death
as substitute of His people. He made us holy and without blame.
And God the Father trusted Christ to make His children holy and
without blame before Him. This truly is, brethren, this
is the love of God in Christ Jesus which we can never be separated
from. This is it right here. This is
where it began. In verse 5 it says, "...having
predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to
Himself." when God trusted the work of redemption to Jesus Christ. By Jesus Christ becoming the
surety of God's elect, it was the predetermining of our destiny
to be adopted unto God. This all happened before anything
was made that is made, when He put us in Christ. That was the
predestining of His people to be adopted unto Himself by Jesus
Christ. And then it says at the end there,
verse 5, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the
praise of the glory of His grace, wherein, in blessing us with
all spiritual blessings in Christ, in choosing us in Christ before
the world began, in predestinating us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ, wherein, in those things, God hath made us
accepted in the Beloved, in Christ. And then look at verse 7, "...in
whom we have redemption through His blood." It actually came
to pass. There never was a possibility
it wouldn't. That's why it was so when God determined it by
His will in Christ. In Him, in time, we have redemption
through His blood. The forgiveness of sins according
to the riches of His grace wherein He hath abounded toward us in
all wisdom and prudence. The Gospel of Christ is where
God has abounded toward us. in this wisdom and prudence.
It's in Christ that He abounded toward us in this. Christ Himself
abounded toward us in wisdom and prudence in what He did.
But through the Spirit of God, He's abounded toward us in wisdom
and prudence in bringing the Gospel to us. Paul was sent by
Christ. After Christ had accomplished
this work that God sent him to do, Christ rose from the dead
and He sat down at the right hand of the Father and He sends
Paul now with this Word to preach this Gospel. Now listen to this.
Paul comes and he goes through the Old Testament Scriptures.
They didn't have what I just read to you in Ephesians. They
had the Old Testament Scriptures. But what I just read to you in
Ephesians 1 is what Paul declared as he went through the Old Testament
Scriptures. Listen, Paul declared to them. I don't know where Paul preached.
Nobody knows from where Paul preached here. But I know this. I know he said that Christ is
the seed of woman. Wherever he preached from, this
is what he declared. Because this is what's declared
every time we preach the Gospel. Christ is the seed of woman.
He's the one who came from the woman, the seed, the promised
seed that God promised back in the garden. Eve thought she had
that one when she had her first son, but she didn't. And God's
people have been looking for Him to come ever since the garden. It was determined before he ever
even made the garden. He's the seed of woman. But he
declared it in the garden. He's the seed of woman. Christ
is Abel's lamb. This is the lamb that Abel came
with where Abel just came and said, I don't have anything.
I'm just coming with this lamb and trusting you'll accept me
because of the blood of this lamb. That's what a believer
does. Christ is Noah's ark. Lord, I believe you and I'm going
to trust you that you've sealed me up in this ark and the wrath
that you pour out on this evil world will fall on Him and not
on me because you've sealed me up in the ark. I spoke to Moses
in the burning bush. That was Christ who said the
reason Moses was commanded to take off his shoes because the
place where he stood was holy ground was not because of the
ground where he stood, it was because of the one who was talking
to him. Christ is the Passover Lamb. He's the one who because
God saw His blood, and because everyone in the house of Israel
died in that Lamb, He passed over them. And He took out His
vengeance upon them that didn't have a Lamb, who didn't die in
that Lamb. He's the Passover Lamb. He's
the manna in the wilderness. He's the bread that came down
from heaven. that if a man eat of it, he'll
never hunger again. He will always be filled with
righteousness, with the righteousness of Christ. He told them, Moses
didn't give you that bread from heaven. Moses didn't even give
you that bread when it was just manna coming down out of heaven.
He didn't give that to you. My father did. But my father
didn't give it to you so that you'd praise Moses. My father
gave it to you so it bear witness that I'm the bread from heaven.
He that eateth of my flesh and drinketh of my blood shall never
perish. He has everlasting life. He's
the smitten rock. God Almighty made a rock to follow
the Israelites the whole time they wandered through the wilderness.
A rock, just a plain rock to follow them the whole time they
followed through the wilderness. Because that's the rock that
was smitten. And from that smiting of that
rock, water came out. And they never thirsted. That's
Christ. Christ is the serpent lifted
up in the wilderness. They sinned and Moses was gone
just a little while. And they said, we don't know
what's become of him. Aaron, make us up something that
we can worship. And Aaron said, okay. Aaron,
a man just like him, chosen by God to be the high priest, but
a man of like passions like him. And he said, okay. All right. I'll make you a golden calf,
and he made a golden calf, and they began to worship that golden
calf and say, this calf that they saw Aaron make, that they
beheld being made before their eyes as the goldsmith fashioned
it and made it out, they said, now this right here, we can see
it, we can look at it, we can walk up and touch this thing,
this is who brought us out of Egypt. That's what we are. And God sent
serpents in their midst, and they began to cry out to God
only when God made them to behold their sin. They began to cry
out to God. And God said, Moses, make a serpent.
Make that thing that's biting them, make it of brass and put
it up on a pole and tell them, you look to Him and you'll live. And Christ said, as the serpent
in the wilderness was lifted up, even so I must be lifted
up. The Son of Man must be lifted
up. That whosoever looketh upon Him shall have eternal life.
Christ is the high priest who represents us to God. Nobody
could go into the throne room to the holy of holies to that
one place where God would meet With his people in all the world
in all of the continents of the world There was one place God
met and it was in that tabernacle in the wilderness in that one
room That's the only place God would meet with him and it was
only in a high priest the people couldn't go in there That's Christ. There's one place He'll meet
with His people, and it's in Christ, our High Priest, where
He's seated, where He is right now. And that one place He is,
is at God's right hand. You want to come to God, you've
got to come to Him through the High Priest. Christ is the laver
in whom those that have been made priests wash and are holy
so as they can walk in and appear before God. Before they could
go in, they had to wash their hands in that laver of water.
Because that water represented, it pictured, it typified the
holiness that Christ has made us by washing us in His own blood
so that we can go in and present ourselves to God. Christ is the
altar upon whom all the sacrifices were laid before they were carried
into God. He's that altar. Christ is the
ark wherein the law of God is not broken. When Moses came down
from that mountain and he saw what the children of Israel did,
he threw the tablets down and broke them. God said, come back
up here. And he sent him back up there
and Moses got the tablets written out again and he went down and
he said, this time I'm taking it out of your hands and I'm
putting it in the ark. where it's safe and it won't
be broken again. That ark's Christ. That's the
only place God's law has ever been fulfilled, is in the ark
of Christ. Christ, the mercy seat, which
was on top of that ark. And that's the one place God
said, I'll meet with you. I'll meet with you in mercy,
but I won't meet with you in wages that you've earned. I won't
meet with you in anything you've done, any deeds you've done.
I'll meet with you in mercy, right there on the mercy seat.
Christ is the pure shekel of the sanctuary, which typified
redemption. The Lord said, now you folks
that I brought out of Israel, you take a shekel, a pure shekel
of the sanctuary. It can't be one that you've been
walking around with that's rubbed against all the other shekels
you've got and it's diminished and is not the pure shekel of
the sanctuary. You've got to get one that is the exact weight.
It's the mint. It's the carbon copy. It's the
mint. Shekel of the sanctuary, pure
in the exact requirement that I require. You take that shekel
and you melt it in the fire. You melt it in the fire to represent
that which Christ endured on the cross of Calvary and you
take that silver that you've all taken and brought and you
melt it out and you make 75 sockets that weigh 100 pounds a piece
and you put them together And they're going to make up the
foundation, the floor of that tabernacle. So that every time
you pick it up and move it, you're reminded of how much it cost
for your redemption. And every time you go in to do
a work as a priest of God, you're reminded that no matter what
you do or what you don't do, it don't diminish from the foundation. And the foundation is the redemption
accomplished by Christ Jesus, the pure shekel of the sanctuary. Christ is our Judge, He's our
King, and He's our Kinsman Redeemer. Christ is the Good News of the
Daily Chronicle. Read the Chronicles. You know
what the Chronicles are? It's the news. It's the news. It's
the newspaper of the Scriptures. Read it. Find out. Hear it. Hear
it. What was the old saying? Hear ye, hear ye. This is the
Good News. This is the Daily Chronicle.
Christ is the Good News. Christ is our Ezra and our Nehemiah
by whose person and spirit the temple of God is built. Christ
is the one glorified in the book of Esther who's been secretly
working all things since the world was made by Him and for
Him. That's what the book of Esther
is all about. The secret, intricate workings of God in His providence
and His sovereignty. And Christ is the one that's
been working them since He made this world and since He made
it for Him. Christ is the Job who suffered
and who gives patience to those who suffer so that they can bear.
He's the one who gave Job the patience to suffer as he did.
Read it. Read the book of Job and see
how often you read it. Somebody read it this Sunday
back in the men's room and we read it and it just was so clear
that what was read was Christ. It's what Christ endured. And
Christ's work has been since, I'm fixing to show you this,
it's been since God trusted the work to Him. And so He gave Job
the patience to suffer because He knows our suffering. He knows it better than we know
it. And then Christ is the sweet psalmist of Israel. When you
read Psalm 1, listen, turn there with me just one second. Psalm
1. This sets the tenor for all of
the psalms. Psalm 1. Blessed is the man that
walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in
the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful,
but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and his law doth
he meditate day and night. He shall be like a tree planted
by the rivers of water that bringeth forth his fruit in his season.
His leaf also shall not wither, and whatsoever he doeth shall
prosper. Now that sets the tone for the
whole of Psalm. That's Christ. That's who that
is. That's who that is. When you
read the Psalms, read of Christ. Look for Christ. Hear Christ
speaking. Hear Christ singing. Is He not
David, the man after God's own heart? Well, hear Christ in the
Psalms. He's the sweet psalmist of Israel.
Christ is the wisdom of Proverbs who was set up before ever the
earth was made. What's He called? He's called
wisdom. Where are you going to have any
wisdom outside of Christ? When you read the Proverbs, Look
at every angle at them. Look at every direction, every
angle and say, now how is this beginning Christ, get its glory
from Christ, and end in Christ? And when you've got that, you've
got the wisdom of the Proverbs. Christ is the glory of God shining
before that black backdrop of humanity in Ecclesiastes. Have you ever read Ecclesiastes?
Man, you read things in there and you think, Why did Solomon
say that? That don't seem true. And then
you read something else he said and you say, now that's true.
It sounds like two different people talking. Well, He's giving
you our viewpoint on things and He's giving you the Christ's
viewpoint on things. And the black backdrop is us. And the shining glory of God
is everything He says about Christ in there. And it shows up, it
stands out by the contrast of that darkness of humanity compared
to the God-man Christ Jesus. Christ is the song of the wise
man. He's the song of Solomon. Scripture
says and those things which God before had showed by the mouth
of all his prophets all his prophets God showed before by the mouth
of all his prophets and Christ should suffer and he's fulfilled
them now there in Ephesians 1 verse 8 and Wherein he hath abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence. I'd say he's abounded toward
us, hadn't he? He's abounded toward us. And he's made known
unto us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure
which he purposeth in himself, that in the dispensation of the
fullness of times he might gather together in one all things in
Christ. Now, I want you to see something
here. Now last time we touched on this,
but look over to Ephesians 3. I said last time that by Christ
entering into this covenant agreement, that He was slain then. That's
what Scriptures tell us. He's the Lamb slain before the
foundation of the world. And what we looked at was that
the world literally was founded on His covenant Word, even as
the Word of His power upholds all things now. It's the Word
of His covenant. You want to learn about the everlasting
covenant? It's Christ. Everything's yes
and amen in Christ, the promises of God. He is the David in whom
we have the sure mercies. He's David. He's the sure mercies
whereby we have the sure mercies of David. He's our David. But
even more truly than that, brethren, when God trusted His work to
His Son, Christ Himself began this work by creating all things Himself. for him to enter and
accomplish what God entrusted him to accomplish. You say, well,
God created the world. He's God, ain't He? He's God
and God created all things by Jesus Christ our Lord. Look at
Ephesians 3a. Paul says, Under me, who am less
than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should
preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ,
and to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery. which from the beginning of the
world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ. Now look down at verse 11. According
to the eternal purpose which He purposed in Christ Jesus our
Lord. He created all things by Jesus
Christ. Look at Colossians 1.16. We looked
at this last time, but maybe this will bear out even more. Colossians 1.16. We read here, brethren, verse
3 says, we give thanks to God and the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ, praying for you always. And it comes down and it says
here, verse 12, we give thanks unto the Father which has made
us meet, fit to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints
and light. Now look down here at verse 16. It says, Verse 13, I'm sorry. He says,
He translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son. Now we have
redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sin. He's
the image of the invisible God. He's the firstborn of every creature.
But now go back. This thing is happening to the
praise of the glory of God who first trusted in Christ. God
first trusted in Christ, and when He trusted this work to
God, to Christ Jesus, His anointed. Christ began to work when the
world was created. It was created by Him and it
was created for Him to come in and finish this work. Now look
with me at Colossians 1.16. For by Him were all things created
that are in heaven and that are in earth. All things were created
by Him and for Him. Look at verse 17. And He's before
all things. And by Him all things consist. And He's the head of the body,
the church, who is the beginning. He is the beginning. He's the
firstborn from the dead, that in all things He might have the
preeminence. And here's why. We saw there in Ephesians that
God did this, that He might gather together in one, in Christ, all
things, in heaven and in earth. And He trusted Christ for this
work because it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness
dwell. That gives some meaning to why
when the Word was actually made flesh and dwelt among us, When
He came to where we are, this Word who was this everlasting
covenant from eternity, who entered into this agreement with God,
to whom by His surety covenant agreement, God trusted this work
to Him, and by Him, God created the world. And for Him to complete
this work, God created the world. And when He, in the fullness
of time, came to gather in Himself, in that One, all things, He said,
Wish ye not that I be about my Father's business? I've been
about it since the foundation of the world. That's why I made
the world. It was made for me to be about
this business. And I've been about it since
the world began. It's when he came to his soul
suffering. Or when he came to John, and
John said, I can't be baptized but you, you've got to be baptized
for me. He said, suffer it to be so now,
for thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteousness. That's why
he came. And then when he was in that
soul agony, he says, now is my soul troubled, what shall I say?
Father, save me from this hour, but for this cause I came unto
this hour. Father, Glorify Thy Name. And then he said in John 17,
he lifted up his eyes to heaven and he said, Father, the hour
has come. Glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee,
as Thou hast given Him power over all flesh, that He should
give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given Him. This
is life eternal that they might know thee the only true God in
Jesus Christ whom thou has sent I have glorified thee on the
earth I finished the work which thou gavest me to do and now
oh father Glorify thou me with thine own self with the glory
which I had with thee before the world was Let me ask you
something. When did God give him power over
all flesh? I know he did. I know that before
the Lord ascended, he said, God's given me power over all flesh.
He's given me power over heaven and earth. But he hasn't gone
to the cross here. And he said, Lord, you've given me power over
all flesh. What about back there when Abraham believed? Who's
going to get the glory for that? What about that seed that was
mentioned in the garden? What about that one in the burning
bush? What about that one who was on Mount Sinai? What about
that one who caused Moses to hold forth the rod and the waters
were dried up so that the people went across dry shock? What about
Joshua who was led and led the people into Canaan? Where did
he get his power? Where did he get his wisdom?
Where did he get his strength? from the One to whom God trusted
and gave Him power over all flesh. He said, Father, now I'm going
to come into death, and I'm going to go to this cross, and I'm
going to suffer this ignominious, shameful death, but Father, glorify
Me that I might have that glory which I had with You when You
trusted Me to do all this work. Do you see that? This thing has
never, ever been out of the hands of Christ Jesus and therefore
it has never, ever been a remote possibility that it wouldn't
be accomplished. And God has trusted Him. Who's
going to get the preeminence in faith? Me or you? Neither one of us. God is. He
trusted Christ. And when His Son came, the God-Man,
He trusted the Father. You and I, our faith is given
to us to trust Him in whom the Father, the Son, and the Holy
Spirit who faithfully, righteously work this thing out. And that's
when we behold this, is when we behold, I can't do this. My faith won't save me. Oh, but
Scripture says, the Lord said, thy faith has saved you. You
know what the Lord is saying? I've given you faith. I've given
you wisdom and power to trust Me alone, and thy faith has saved
you." When he went to that cross and
he cried out, he's finished. Scripture says, knowing all things
were now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled,
he saith, I thirst. And they were set a vessel full
of vinegar, and they filled a sponge with vinegar, and they put it
upon Hyssop. He put it into his mouth and when he received the
vinegar, he said, it's finished. And he bowed his head and he
gave up the ghost. Now that's what Paul came preaching.
That's what Paul came preaching. Let me show you something. Secondly,
through his gospel, God effectually unites sinners with himself and
with one another in Christ the Lord. Look there at Acts 17,
4. And some of them believed and consorted with Paul and Silas,
and of the devout Greeks a great multitude, and of the chief women
not a few. That's what Paul said in Thessalonians.
He said, 1 Thessalonians 2.13, For this cause also thank we
God without ceasing, because when you received the word of
God which you heard of us, you received not as the word of men,
the word it and as are added there. Did you know that? You want to look over that? 1
Thessalonians 2.13. This cause also thank we God
without ceasing, because when you receive the word of God which
ye heard of us, ye receive not the word of men." That's the word there. It and
as are added by the translators. You receive not the word of men,
but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectually worketh
also in you that believe. He's not just saying, when you
heard it, you gave assent to it, and you received it, and
you decided you'd believe it. He's saying, what was given to
you wasn't the Word of men, it was the Word of God. And because
it's the Word of God, it worked effectually in you, and because
it worked effectually in you, you believed Him. You trusted
Him. Look there at verse... Now hold
your place in 1 Thessalonians. I'm going to come back there.
But look here back in Acts 17, verse 4. This is what the effectual
working of God through this Word does. Some of them believed. Some of them believed. You know
what that means? It means they were persuaded.
They were given confidence in Christ. And they cast all their
care into His hands. That's why Paul said, when you
received this, you didn't receive it, you didn't receive the Word
of men, you received the Word of God. And this is what the
Word of God effectually does. It persuades, it gives confidence
in Christ, and it makes the sinner willing to cast all their care
into the hands of Christ. This is this unity. God said,
he said he trusted it to Christ that all things might be made
one in him. This is the oneness he's making.
He's making a sinner who hates God, who hates everybody, who
hates himself, who hates everything around him, who's hateful and
hatred to God. He makes him one in Christ because
Christ put away his sin. God justified him. God made him
holy. He got sanctified. He comes in
and he sprinkles him with the, he washes him in the blood of
Christ and gives him a new heart and a new nature. And it makes
him willing to trust Christ. And then it says verse four,
and they consorted with Paul and Silas. That word consorted
is good. It means they broke ranks with
the others. They were separated. They were
separated. They broke ranks with the others
and they associated themselves with their new brethren Paul
and Silas and everybody else who joined with them. Whosoever
believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and everyone that
loveth him that begat loveth him also that's forgotten of
him. They left those others. They couldn't go walk with them
anymore. They weren't in agreement with them anymore. They said
I'm in agreement with Paul and Silas. I'm going with them and
they went with them. Now, look here with me. I want
to go through this real quick and I want to show you how that
these other sinners in refusing the gospel, they were left untouched
by this power and this wisdom. They were not chosen by God in
Christ. They were not put in Christ before
the world began. They were not made one in Christ
at Calvary. And so when they heard this gospel,
God didn't work effectually in them, but what God does here
by leaving them alone. Even the wrath of man praises
God. If He allows it, it's to praise
God. And what we're going to see here
is what you were saved from, and what I was saved from, and
what this uniting of all things in Christ accomplishes. Look
with me real quick. First of all, sin makes sinners
ignore the Word of God. Look at Acts 17.5. It says, but
the Jews, These are Jews that believe not now, but this word
Jews means these were religious men and women. They weren't practicing
sin randomly out in the streets. They were practicing sin religiously
in the synagogue. And if you read on there in verse
11, it says, according to the, or let me get back to it, Acts
17 verse 11, it says, when they got to Berea, it says, these
were more noble than those in Thessalonica in that they received
the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scripture
daily whether these things were so. These fellows in Thessalonica
were so religious and so sure of what they knew, they didn't
even bother to look into God's word as Paul went through God's
word. They didn't bother to pick up
the Word of God and look into it to see what God said. And
that's the worst kind of sinner because they know too much to
listen to the Gospel of God. But brethren, that's exactly
what these others were. That's exactly what you were
and that's exactly what I was. Sin makes us religious by nature.
Sin makes us little know-it-alls. That's what it does. to where
we don't have to be taught. We think we know everything.
Tell me something. Do your kids think they know
more than you know already? Mine do. Mine do. Proud, arrogant, know it all. That's what we are by nature.
We read something in God's word, we got it. We don't need to be
taught anymore. I got that. I don't need to look up God's
word. And you know and I'm guilty of this because as I go through
Ephesians one like that You know what cursed me the thought that
accursed me y'all read that a thousand times You know what that said Well these Jews that sat right
there had read a thousand times what God's Word said through
from the law of Moses all the way through the prophets But
this day that Paul preached they heard it for the first time They
heard it for the first time Unbelief separates from God.
It says, the Jews which believe not. Sin causes us to not believe
God. This was the mother of transgressions
in the garden, and it's what Christ put away by His fidelity
to God. And when we were in our sins,
we wouldn't admit we didn't believe God, would we? That's why we
were know-it-alls. We wouldn't admit we didn't know
what we were talking about. Everybody that knew God knew we didn't
know what we were talking about. But we would never confess we
didn't know what we was talking about. But now we bow to Christ
like the father of that child who said, Lord, I believe. Help
thou mine unbelief. Are you afraid to confess to
God you don't believe Him? Believers confess to God, Lord,
help my unbelief. I don't believe you. I don't
believe you like I want to believe you. Lord, I want to believe
you. Help thou mine unbelief. I believe
you by your grace, but help me. Save me from my unbelief. And
then sin separates because of hatred for God. Verse 5 says
they moved with envy. The word is they boiled over
with hatred and envy. Everybody God saves, this is
a description of them before God saves them. They're back
biters, they're haters of God, they're despiteful, they're proud,
they're boasters, inventors of evil things. You know why we
got to come up, we got to invent so many laws? Because we invent
so many evil things. And those who were sinners, one
with the world, the Lord said, the world can't hate you, but
me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof
are evil. This is that what he did. He made both one, both Jew
and Gentile one. It wasn't that the Jew hated
God and less than the Gentile hated God. We both hated him.
But He made us one with each other in Christ because He came
and fulfilled the commandments, the precepts that were against
us and made us holy and without blame before Him in love. So
now we come to God in one. Look here with me. Sin unites
sinners against God. Verse 5 says, They took unto
them certain lewd fellows of the facer sort, and gathered
a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the
house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people."
What the Lord did here with Paul and Silas and with the house
of Jason, glorifies what Christ did through the world of sinners
that was against Him. Paul was showing the greatest
act of love when he came preaching the gospel. He came in peace.
He came preaching the gospel of Christ. Blessed are the peacemakers. But right after that, the Lord
said, blessed are they that shall be persecuted for righteousness
sake. How is it that somebody that's
a peacemaker is going to be persecuted for righteousness? Because the
peace of the believer is Trouble for a sinner. He hates it. He
hates it and he'll persecute Every persecute Christ persecute
Christ's messengers and persecute those who receive Christ's messages.
He'll persecute everybody because it is not What he considers peace When He made us to look on Him
whom He had slain, and made us poor in spirit, and made us mourn
our sin, and made us to hunger and thirst after Christ our righteousness,
He made us peacemakers. Because we stop talking about
ourselves and we start talking about Christ. Then sin unites
sinners against Christ's brethren. When they found them not, verse
6, They couldn't find Paul and Silas. So they drew Jason and
certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that
have turned the world upside down are come hither also, whom
Jason hath received. The only charge they had against
Jason and his household was they believed on Christ and received
these men that preached Christ. The only charge they could lay
against them. That's the only charge. That's the only charge
those who persecute you can lay against you. You believe Christ
and you receive Christ's brethren. The only charge. But grace makes
us love Christ and love His brethren. Sin makes sinners ignorant in
deplorable backwardness. Now look at this, verse 7. They
said, These all do contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying
that there is another king, Jesus. The Jews hated the king of Rome. They hated Caesar. They were
looking in their mind, their messiah was going to come and
deliver them from the carnal rule of the king of Rome, of
Caesar. They hated him. But when they
heard Paul come and say that the King of the Jews, the King
of Israel, the King of kings and Lord of lords would not come
as a king, but as a suffering Savior, they stumbled. Because that meant they were
sinners. And they needed somebody to die in their room instead.
And when they heard that, they said, Well, we'd rather have
the King Caesar and just stay under his reign than to be under
that one's reign. Now that's backwardness. But
that's what we were. That's why Christ had to come
and that's why God foreordained that we'd be made one in Him.
He's showing us what we were in sin and by this backdrop of
blackness that we are, He makes us to behold Christ and He makes
us to praise the glory of God for what He did. And then sin
makes sinners blind to true righteousness. Verse 8 says they troubled the
people and the rulers of the city when they heard these things.
These Jews are an example of false religion. They attempted
to come to God in their obedience to God. They were careful to
observe the letter of the law. But here they proved that their
religion was really just the same as the people and the rulers
of the city who had never even heard the word of God. Religious
men and irreligious men are troubled alike when the gospel declares
that Christ is king and all men are sinners At his mercy and
that's the only thing the gospel of this world does is it troubles? Man, that's all it does it uncovers
their sin. It continually uncovers their
sin It punishes them for their sin. It rewards them for their
self-righteousness, which is sin it it continually just covers
them and covers, adds sin unto sin unto sin unto sin and it
continually troubles the people. That's all it does. But that's
what we were and that's what we were united in Christ and
saved out of that and separated unto God in Christ and made one
with Christ and God and our brethren because Christ separated us from
that by His death at Calvary. And so then this is what Paul
said back there. Now did you hold your place in 1 Thessalonians
2? Did you hold your place there? It makes us willing to suffer
though. Look back there. 1 Thessalonians 2.14 He said,
For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which
in Judea are in Christ Jesus. For ye also have suffered like
things of your own countrymen, even as they of the Jews. who
both killed the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and have
persecuted us, and they please not God, and are contrary to
all men. They try to forbid us to speak
to the Gentiles, that they might be saved, to fill up their sins
always, for the wrath has come upon them to the uttermost. But
look now back at Acts 17 and now this is it. But here's what,
here's why we rejoice. And here's what being made one
in Christ accomplished, and here's why the world hates it. Here's
why the world hates it. Verse 9. It says, When they had
taken security of Jason and of the other, they let them go.
Now I'm going to give you the interpretation from God on this.
The King of heaven and earth turned their heart, and they
let them go. They got security. They heard
from these Jason and the brethren that we're just preaching Christ.
We're not saying there's anything against King Caesar. We're just
saying that Christ is the King of kings and Lord of lords. And
they might have taken some money from them. That security might
mean bond. They took a bond from them too.
But either way, their flesh was satisfied. They said, we'll let
them go. But behind it all, just like
we saw with Paul at Philippi, Christ turned their heart and
let them go. Why? Mission was accomplished. Mission was accomplished. We let them go just like before.
And the kingdom of man was weakened as Christ delivered the captives
from their blasphemous rule. And the people knew Christ did
it. And the people hated Christ the
more for doing it. But they could do absolutely
nothing about it. And no sooner had they opened
their mouths in protest, but Christ shut their mouths. And
the Deliverer delivered Jason and the others from them, just
as He did those saints in whom He gave life through the Gospel. So you see, when God purposed
by His will to make, to gather together all things in one, in
Christ Jesus the Lord, and trusted the work into the hands of Christ
the King. He gave him power over heaven and earth. And since the
beginning of time, Christ the Lord has been doing this very
thing right here in every generation. And men hate it. Sinners hate
it. Because until God makes us to
love Him, all we see is we're helpless. We get our little followers
like these fellows did. We get our little groups to follow
us and to say they agree with us and they'll run our way. And
the crazy thing is that we can smite them, we can whip them,
we can do everything we want to them and they'll still follow
us. They'll still do whatever we want to. But then one day
the gospel comes in. And the gospel grabs this one
and this one. and that one, and frees them
out of their midst, and brings them out, and brings them into
a safe place, and makes them one in Christ. And those others
that are left out there in that venomous wrath and rage against
God, all they can do is speak evil against the King of glory,
against His ambassadors, and against His people, and say,
these have turned the world upside down. All they've done is come
in preaching blasphemy. They're saying there's another
king. They're saying there's another king other than the one
we serve. And until God goes in and plucks
one of them out, they'll never know the difference. But when
He does, because God put it in Christ and trusted Him and He's
made them one in Him, they rejoice and say, I want to associate
myself with you. and walk with you, just as Ruth
said to Naomi, your God's my God, your people's my people,
and I'm not going back to Moab. I'm not going back there. I'm
with you wherever you go. Come rain, sleet, snow, or hail,
I'm yours, lock, stock, and barrel. That's what God does when He
makes. Now, if He's done that, if He's done that to where you
don't want to go back to that old thing, you don't want to
go back to the lie, you want to hear Christ exalted. Brethren,
the only thing that made that happen is the King of Glory. The only thing. The only thing. Rejoice in Him. Rejoice in Him. Be thankful to Him that He separated
you and keeps you separated, keeps you in Him, keeps you walking
after Him, trusting Him, looking to Him, running the race that
He set before you, and won't allow you to look anywhere else. Thank Him. Thank Him. We got
a lot to be thankful for. That's how He's dealt out to
flee with us. Ever these other little things that happens, when
He allows us for a minute to turn this way or that way, it's
to magnify the darkness that we turn to and to magnify the
light that he is. That's how he's dealt bountifully
with us and he'll keep doing that.