Open your Bibles with me to Acts
chapter 17. Acts chapter 17. And while you
turn, let me just say what a privilege it is to be with you all this
morning and how much we appreciate your pastor. I tell you, they're
right. Paul's a dear brother and a dear
friend. We're just thankful for him,
as I know each of you are. Acts chapter 17. We'll be looking this morning,
beginning with verse 22, down through verse 34 of Acts 17. And the title of this message
I'm horrible with titles, but the title of this message is,
Some Things Never Change. Some Things Never Change. Now,
Paul had been brought to Athens, and we read in verse 16, it said
that his spirit was stirred within him when he saw that the town
he was in there, this town that he was in, was wholly given to
idolatry. It was completely given over
to the worship of false gods. Couldn't that be said in our
day? Isn't that statement just as true today as it was back
in Paul's time? Our towns and our cities are
fully given over to idolatry, to false gods, to false religions,
all in the name of true worship. but they're giving over to idolatry. Yesterday morning, Abby and I
had ran to town. We'd ran to the bank there, and
I just happened to look up, it was a stop sign, and on one block,
one block, there was literally some kind of church on every
corner. I kind of noticed that on the
short drive on the way over here this morning. There's church
buildings all over the place. In verse 18 of Acts 17, look
here in verse 18, we read of some of these philosophers, some
of these false teachers, and they were Epicureans I didn't know this, but I looked
this up. It said the Epicureans, this is what they believed. The
Epicureans said this, there's no first cause of anything. No
first cause of anything. Everything happens by chance. They said there's no God. They
said that the world and everything in it, again, the world came
about by chance and everything that happens in it happens by
chance. Is that any different than what's
proclaimed in our day? Isn't that the same thing that
men stand in pulpits and broadcast all over the TV? Don't they say
the same things? Well, then there were the Stoics. And
the Stoics, they held to this belief. There's God and there's
a natural goodness in every man. Every man has a natural goodness
in him. And that he has power over his
own passions. Man's got free will. That's what's
said. That's what's falsely said in
pulpits all across this country. It's no different in Paul's time
than it is today. Some things never change, do
they? Some things never change. Look with me beginning in verse
22. We read here in verse 22 that,
Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and he said, you men of
Athens, I perceive that in all things you are too superstitious. That word means religious. You're
too religious. You're too religious. Verse 22,
for as I passed by and beheld your devotions, He says, I passed
by and beheld the gods that you worship. I found an altar with
this inscription, to the unknown God, to the unknown God. He says, whom therefore you ignorantly
worship, Him I declare unto you. Wouldn't you love to have been
sitting there when Paul took off with that? Now in our day,
in our day, for fear of leaving somebody out or for fear of offending
someone, men have done the same thing. They've got a God for
everything. They've got a church for everybody. If you don't like this one, well,
just go over here. Maybe you'll like what they've
got going on. Or if you don't like what, people just bounce
around. These folks in Athens, they didn't
want to offend anybody. They certainly didn't want to
offend another God, so they hung up this altar. They erected this
altar so that no God would be left out to the unknown God. Paul says, this God you ignorantly
worship, I declare unto you, in this whole city of false religion,
God had wanted his choice servants to stand and proclaim the truth. Boy, aren't we thankful that
some things never change? Aren't you thankful that, I mean,
you think about that. The Lord raised up Brother Henry
in Ashland, and then it just wasn't too long after that, his
son would end up right here in Rocky Mountain. the gospel, to
declare the true God. And I know this probably wasn't
easy, but at some point, he took Brother Gabe and he sent him
down to Kingsport to bless those people. The God you ignorantly worship,
Paul says, I declare unto you. His servants are going to declare
the truth, the truth to these people. Well, let's look at this
message. Let's look at Paul's message
here this morning. Let's look at what Paul had to
say to these idolaters. The God you ignorantly worship. First, he says Him. Him I declare
unto you. We don't worship a what. We worship
a Him. He's Almighty God. We worship Him. And he says this first. He said,
God that made the world and all things therein, Solomon said, remember now thy
Creator. He said, remember now thy Creator
in the days of thy youth. God that made the world and all
things therein. He, He's the first cause of everything. He's the God of all creation.
In the beginning, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the
earth. John 1, we read this. Turn over
there, turn to John. Turn back at John chapter 1. I know you're familiar with this
scripture, but let's look at it again. John 1, beginning with
verse 1. In the beginning was the Word.
And the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was
in the beginning with God. All things, all things were made
by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made.
In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the
light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended
it. Back there in Genesis, he said,
let there be light. And there was light, there was
light. And you go back this afternoon,
back in Genesis chapter one, and you'll see everything God
made, he said, it's good, it's good. And then if you read there
to the end of Genesis one, he said this, he said he beheld
everything that he made, And behold, it was very good. God, God that made the world
and all things therein. By the word of the Lord, our
brother read this, by the word of the Lord were the heavens
made and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth. God,
God made the world. Second, Paul said this, he said,
He made the world. My friends, He's Lord of heaven
and earth. He is Lord. He created it, and
He sovereignly rules and reigns over every detail of it, every
bit of it. And it's His to do, it's His
to do with it as He will. Okay? He's Lord. David said in
Psalm 24, the earth is the Lord, and the fullness thereof, the
world, every bit of it, and they that dwell therein." He's Lord. God's Word declares him as King
of Kings. He declares the Lord Jesus Christ
as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Turn back to Daniel. Turn back to the book of Daniel.
Daniel 4. Another familiar passage here, Daniel 4. Remember what
Nebuchadnezzar said? Nebuchadnezzar, look at Daniel
chapter 4, beginning with verse 34. And at the end of the days, I,
Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven." I want you
to think about, think about something here. If you go back, remember
what Nebuchadnezzar had said. Nebuchadnezzar said, he said,
is not this great Babylon which I have built, which by the might
of my power and the honor of my majesty. That's the natural
man right there. But God met him, and look what
he says here, at the end of the days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted
up my eyes into heaven, and my understanding returned to me,
and I blessed the Most High. I praised and honored him that
liveth forever and ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom is from generation to generation in all the inhabitants
of the earth, from the least to the greatest. All the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in the armies of heaven and among the inhabitants of
the earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, what
doest thou? He's Lord of heaven and earth. Third, neither is he worshiped
with men's hands. Now that word worship, it can
also mean served. He's not served with men's hands. Now this is counter to the religion
of our day. They create a picture of a weak,
helpless, impotent God A weak, helpless, impotent Savior who
can do nothing, who is totally helpless apart from man's will. That's the God of this world.
That's the God that men have created. That's the idol of our
day. They say this, they say, He has,
oh He has no hands, but your hands. He has no feet, but your
feet. He'll do this, or He'll do that,
if you'll just take the first step. If you'll just make a decision
for Him. What kind of God is that? That's
a false God. Okay? Turn over to Psalm 50. Psalm 50. I was going to read
a verse here, but I'm going to read about half a chapter, okay?
Look beginning with verse 1. Psalm 50, verse 1. The mighty God. That's the God
of the Bible, the mighty God. Even the Lord has spoken and
called the earth from the rising of the sun unto the going down
thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection of
beauty, God has shined. Our God shall come. He shall
not keep silence. A fire shall devour before Him
and it shall be very tempestuous round about Him. He shall call
to the heavens above and to the earth that he may judge his people.
Gather my saints together unto me, those that have made a covenant
with me by sacrifice, and the heavens shall declare his righteousness
for God. God is judging himself. Hear,
O my people, I will speak, O Israel, and I will testify against thee.
I'm God, even thy God. I'll not reprove thee for thy
sacrifices or thy burnt offerings to have been continually before
me. I'll take no bullock out of thy house or goat out of thy
fold." God doesn't need those things. He doesn't need those
things. Because listen, every beast of the forest is mine.
The cattle upon a thousand hills, they're mine. I know all the fowls of the mountains,
and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I
wouldn't tell you, for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof. While I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats, offer unto God thanksgiving,
and pay thy vows unto the Most High, and call upon me in the
day of trouble. He says, I will deliver thee,
and thou shalt glorify me. We'll give him the glory. He said, I don't need anything. These things aren't yours to
begin with. They're mine. They're mine. Not my works of
righteousness, which we have done. according to His mercy. It has nothing to do with it.
He says it's according to My mercy. My mercy. He saved us
by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost,
which He shed upon us abundantly, abundantly through faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ, our Savior. Almighty God is not served with
men's hands. Well, 40. Paul says this, he
says that he's made, back in our text, he's made of one blood,
all nations. He's made of one blood. Not one man is better than another. It'd be like reaching into a
handful of maggots and trying to pick out the best one. They're all maggots, right? Well,
every one of us, every one of us are descendants of Adam. Abby's aunt, she lived down in
Texas, and she'd come home every now and then, and she'd look
into the family tree. They'd go out, they'd visit different
cemeteries. This one was born to this one,
and this one was, and I can remember Dale, I can remember sitting
in the living room, and Dale would tell her, he said, Ruth,
you keep digging. and you're going to find a limb
or a branch that you're not too proud of. Well, that's probably
true of all of us. Well, listen, if we want to trace
our family tree back far enough, we can all trace it back to Adam. We have all got that same sinful
blood running through our veins in Adam. God's verse, and Adam,
all die. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. So much for that one group's
argument about everybody having some natural goodness in them,
right? All have sinned. All have sinned and come short
of the glory of God. Fifth. Paul says this, he said,
he hath determined the times appointed. Now, nothing, nothing
has been left to chance. Where a man's gonna dwell, how
long he's gonna dwell there, it's all ordered of God. He's
determined, he's determined everything. How long they'll continue. When
a man's gonna come into this world, when a man or woman is
born, and when God takes them home. Those dates and times have
been determined. They've been appointed. Moses
said this to the children of Israel. He said, that thou mayest
love the Lord thy God, that thou mayest obey his voice, that thou
mayest cleave unto him, for he He, He, He is thy life, and He
is the length of thy days, that thou mayest dwell in the land
which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob, to give unto them. He has, He's determined, He's
determined the time when He would send His Son into this world
to suffer and die in the place of His people, when He would
suffer and die on the cross. Over in Galatians 4, we read
this, when the fullness of the time was come. It was determined,
isn't it? When the fullness of the time
was come, God sent forth His Son, made of a woman, made under
the law, to redeem them that were under the law. He's determined
the times. He's determined the time and
place which He'll call His people to Himself. He's determined the time when
His sheep are going to hear His gospel, going to hear His Word. Think about a few of these scriptures. I'll not have you turn there,
but think about this scripture. He must needs go through Samaria. Huh? He must needs. He must needs. And then think
about old Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus had climbed up in that
tree to get a good view of our Lord as he walked by. And I tell
you, it says this, God's Word says this, it says, when he came
to the place, that particular place, when he came to the place,
when Jesus Christ came to the place, He looked up and he saw
him. He looked up and he saw him and
he said, listen, he called him by name. He knows his sheep,
doesn't he? He said, Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus. Told him the same thing he told
Naaman. Come down. Come down for today. This very day. The times are
appointed, aren't they? He said, this day. I must abide
in thy house." Well, we talked about this this morning. He determined
that that little maiden girl, that that little maiden girl
would be taken, taken from her family and end up in all places,
all the places she could have ended up. There's only one place
she could have ended up, and that's in Naaman's house. All
that, all that so Naaman could hear about Almighty God and His
servant. So Naaman could be healed. He
hath, our God hath determined the times appointed and the bounds
of their habitation. Now listen, three things here,
starting in verse 27. God says this, He says this,
He says that they should seek the Lord. That they should seek
the Lord. If happily, they might feel after
Him and find Him, though He be not far from any one of us. Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. Throughout God's Word, you know,
it says that those that seek, they'll find Him. Seek the Lord. Paul says, He hath commanded
all men, everywhere, to repent, to repent, to turn, to turn from
your thoughts about sin and yourself and take side with God. I'm in
agreement, I'm in agreement with God. Repent, repent. Thus saith the Lord God. Repent
and turn from your idols. That's what Paul's saying, turn
from your idols. And listen, what's an idol? An idol isn't, it doesn't take
much to make it an idol. An idol isn't anything that's
going to take our eyes off Christ. Anything that would turn our
eyes from Him. Repent and turn from your idols. Well, and Paul closes with this
truth. Look at verse 31. God hath appointed a day in which
he'll judge the world. And listen, he's going to judge
it in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, and that he hath raised
him from the dead. You know, when something's judged, you have a standard and you see
how things, you know, how they match up to it. Teachers, you
know, they look at kids' work and they say, well, that's an
A or a B or a C or a D or even an F, right? And it all depends
on the student's work. Sometimes, maybe they mess up
and maybe somebody gets a little more credit than they should
have or maybe they don't get as much credit as they should.
Maybe the student or the dog eats their assignment right or
the teacher loses their assignment. Any number of things can happen
there, right? Well, turn to Ecclesiastes. Turn to Ecclesiastes. Ecclesiastes 12. Look at verse 14 of Ecclesiastes
12. For God, God shall bring every
work into judgment. With every secret thing, God
sees all things. With every secret thing, whether
it be good or whether it be evil. This judgment, you know, a teacher's
judgment or anybody's judgment is subjective. If I like somebody, I probably
give them a little more or a little less. If I don't like them, maybe
give them a little less credit. God's judgment is a righteous
judgment, okay? It's a righteous judgment, and
it'll be according to His strict rules of justice and equity. There's no sliding by here. The standard will be God's righteousness,
which is the very righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. not how many good works you did. That's pretty easy to keep track
of, isn't it? None, none, because our best works are filthy rags
in the sight of God. But according to God's righteousness,
again, the very righteousness of Christ. And many will say,
we read this in God's Word, many will say, Lord, Lord, have we
not prophesied in your name? And in thy name cast out devils,
and in thy name done many wonderful works. And then I'll profess unto them,
I never knew you. Depart from me. Depart from me,
you workers of iniquity. Not righteous. Not righteous. But those that are in Christ.
Those that are in Christ, His elect, those chosen in Christ
from before the foundation of the world, those for whom Christ
was made sin, those for whom Christ has made them His very
righteousness. The very righteousness, listen,
the very righteousness, we can't even understand that, can we?
The very righteousness of God. That's our assurance, isn't it?
Isn't that our hope? Isn't it? Listen to this. As He is, so are we. He's exalted. He's at the right
hand of the Father. As He is, so are we in this world
right now. Righteous. Righteous in the sight
of God. Only. Only in Christ. Only in Christ. And listen to
the response here of these men. Those that were present that
day. Some mocked. Some heard the word
and they mocked. They had all kinds of bad things
to say about Paul. Earlier on there, they said he
was a babbler, an idle, good-for-nothing fella, just a babbler. Some said
this. Some said, we'll have to, we'll
hear you again on this matter. Well, I kind of thought about
Agrippa when he told Paul, almost, almost you convinced me. Almost
you persuaded me. But listen, certain men, certain
men claimed to Him. Certain men believed. God's Word says this. He says,
My sheep, they hear My voice, and I know them. I know them. If you look there, it even mentions
a few of them there in verse 34. A couple of our brothers and
sisters are mentioned there, aren't they? Called them by name.
Isn't that good news? In a, say, a city of idolatry,
in a world of idolatry, God's still pleased to send forth his
messengers to preach the truth about God. Preach the truth about
man, sinful, dead in trespasses and sin. Preach the truth about
the Lord Jesus Christ, and he's still pleased to save sinners. Some believe, some believe. All
right, I thank you. Pray God will bless his word.