The Living God

Good evening. If you'd open your Bibles with me to Acts chapter 14, a little bit's changed since the last time I was here. I wish I could tell you how honored and humbled that I am that you would call me to be your pastor. It's a, It's an honor and a privilege I take very, very, very seriously. And I'll have much more to say about that on my first Sunday here, which we are willing and intend to be first Sunday in July.

But I can tell you that Janet and I, both, our hearts are here. We're chomping at the bit to get our bodies to follow and be here too. Janet is home right now, packing the house. And we will be here as fast as humanly possible. 50 years and two months ago, nearly to the day, my family moved from Danville, Kentucky to Withersburg, Ohio, where we attended 13th Street Baptist Church where Brother Henry Mahan was the pastor. 50 years and two months later, I'm coming back and I'm very thankful that the Lord's made his will known and we are anxious to follow it. All right. I've titled the message tonight, The Living God. I'd like to begin reading in Acts 14 verse eight.

And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being crippled from his mother's womb who never had walked. The same heard Paul speak, who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said with a loud voice, stand upright on thy feet.

And he leaped and walked. Now this was a great physical miracle. A man born without a foot leaped and walked. And this is, there's a picture here of a much greater miracle. A picture of salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This man heard Paul preach Christ and the Lord gave him the faith to be saved through that preaching. And that's a much greater miracle even than a lame man leaping and walking.

And so many people saw this miracle and the flesh will always, always handle this wrong. There are three great errors of false religion we see in these next verses. The first one is this, false religion simply cannot believe that there's one God overall. Verse 11, and when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices saying in the speech of the Lycanonia, the gods are come down to us and the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas Jupiter and Paul Mercurius because he was the chief speaker.

You know, they had many different gods. They just cannot believe that there's one God overall. And you might think, well, that's, you know, all those Roman and Greek gods, all those different gods and idols and stuff that they had, you know, and we don't have that today.

This is still in the heart of every son of Adam to not believe that there is one God overall. And the proof of it is this, how many people in false religion say salvation is up to you and Jesus. There's not one God overall. False religion just cannot believe that. Second, false religion cannot trust in the sacrifice of Christ alone.

Verse 13, then the priest of Jupiter, which was before their city, brought oxen and garlands unto the gates and would have done sacrifice with the people. Now this priest, he was going to offer a sacrifice, but you'll notice he didn't just bring oxen.

He had wreaths and those wreaths, what they are is it's a flowery wreath that they made with their hands. They would knit them together, whatever you call that, make a wreath with sticks and flowers to make that sacrifice more pretty. So that hopefully that their God would be more prone to accept it because they made the sacrifice prettier.

Again, isn't that in the heart of every son of Adam? I want to contribute some of my works, some of the works of my hands to make the sacrifice of Christ more effectual to me. And nothing can be further from the truth. Salvation. Aren't you thankful to know that? I mean, I feel sorry for folks. I really do. I feel sorry for folks that cannot believe that. Aren't you blessed to believe all it takes to put away your sin as a sacrifice of Christ, his precious blood?

Our works don't contribute to it, but false religion doesn't know that. And third thing, people in false religion, they cannot get past this. They want to worship and exalt the preacher instead of the God who's preached, and a false prophet is all in on it. But God's preacher won't allow that.

Look at verse 14. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of, they rent their clothes and ran in among the people, crying out and saying, sirs, why do you these things? We also are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that you should turn from these vanities. These idols, they're vanities. The word is empty. They're empty of life. They're empty of blessing. They're empty of anything spiritual. Turn from these vanities unto the living God. which made heaven and earth and the sea and all things that are therein. God's preachers, Paul says, are men of like passions, just like everybody else. Every one of God's preachers will tell you, I'm a natural born sinner. I got the same afflictions of sin and weak faith and doubts and fears as everybody else.

And it has to be that way. It has to be that way. The only way a man can really minister and preach Christ to sinners with the heart that cares for them is if he's a sinner too. I tell you, I know who I want to preach to me. This is who I want to hear preach, a man who needs Christ as much as I do.

That's why Paul points out, we're men of like passions just like you. But Paul says, we have preached unto you the gospel. We have declared unto you the living God so that you'll turn to him, so that you'll believe him, so that you'll trust your soul to him. And Paul identifies the God, the living God here as the creator.

Now it's easy to see on a beautiful day like this. I was thinking about this driving here today. I mean, is there a prettier place on earth than Kentucky? I mean, Wow. I mean, wow. And this creation has been marred with sin. And isn't it beautiful? Now somebody made all that. I mean, there is no way that anybody in their right mind can believe that this all came about from amoeba changing somehow. Somebody created all this. And whoever that is, that's God.

He's got the unequaled power, the unequaled wisdom. You can even see something of the beauty of God in his creation. And from reading the scripture and having the gospel preached to us, you know what we're blessed to know? I know why God created this earth. so that he could glorify his son in saving fallen sinners out of it. That's why God created this earth, so that he could glorify his son by saving sinners out of Adam's fallen race.

The next God, Paul says, the living God is the one who's in control. Verse 16, who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Now there's no such thing as free will. I know we, make decisions to do this or do that. We think, well, that's my decision, you know, and I promise you, God overrode that, but we, we make these decisions, but our, our decisions, our will is tied to our nature. You and I are born with the, with the sin nature so that all we can do is sin. And God allows men to go their own way.

God allows them to do these things, but their way will never lead to salvation. It'll never lead to faith in Christ. It'll never lead them to the feet of Christ, begging Him for mercy. It'll never lead them to trusting Christ. It'll lead them to death.

There's a way that seemeth right unto a man, isn't it? But then there are other ways of death. And if that happens, that's what God ordained for them. God didn't damn them. He just let them go their own way. He let them have what they want. And that's the end of it. One of my constant prayers is God does not give me what I want. Don't just, Lord, leave me. God, don't give me what I want, because it won't be good. But also, there's this.

God's will, now he's the one that's in control of everything. He'll let men go their own way, weren't to they were appointed. But then there's God's elect, and he won't let them go their own way. God has a purpose of grace for them and he is pleased to reveal his son to them and in them.

And really he's done it with going back to creation in such a way that Paul said in the book of Romans, all men are without excuse because they know God is just from looking at him in creation. Paul says in verse 17, nevertheless, he left not himself without witness and that he did good. He gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our heart with food and gladness. You can tell that God is just by looking at nature, but seeing God in nature will never lead us to faith in Christ. There are many people that believe God is, but they don't trust him. They don't come to him. They don't bow to him.

So God has another witness, men like Paul and Barnabas, that he sends out to preach Christ. to tell men and women, hell-bound, eternity-bound men and women who the Savior is and to trust Him, to turn to Him, the living God. Paul said, and we preach unto you so that you turn to the living God. Now, the living God is the eternal subject. Brother Henry told me one time about a passage of scripture, the first time I ever taught his Sunday school class, John 1. And Henry said, this is a deep subject. He said, you can't exhaust it. He said, just jump in there, swim around for about 40 minutes and get out. That's the way it has to be when you talk about the eternal God, right?

I want to look tonight at five ways that the living God describes himself. I don't want to look at what men, boy, you can read a lot of books, see what men have to say about who the living God is. I want to know what God has to say about himself. And it is my prayer that we will be enabled by the Spirit of God to see how God describes himself.

And it'll leave us in such awe that every one of us will leave here tonight believing in him and trusting in him. Number one, if you look back at Exodus chapter 34, the living God, this is the way he describes himself now, is both merciful and just. Exodus 34, verse five. And the Lord descended in the cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the Lord. This is not just his name, that means his character. And the Lord passed by before him and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord God.

He's merciful and gracious, long-suffering and abundant in goodness and truth. keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgressions and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and upon the children's children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

Now, what a God that we have to preach. He is merciful and gracious to sinners. He longs suffering with those who have done nothing but sin against Him. He is so longsuffering that He does not destroy us immediately. The living God, and this is what He says about Himself, He forgives sin, and not just a little bit, not just barely. He says He's abundant in goodness. He has mercy reserved for thousands. No matter how great our sin is, God's goodness is more abundant. He has mercy reserved for thousands. And you know what that means? There's mercy still reserved with God for sinners like you and me. Come to Him in begging for it.

But now if you want to know who the true and living God is, there's a key word here at the end of verse six, and it's truth. It's truth. When God forgives sin, He does it in truth. Now, it says here in verse seven, he will by no means clear the guilty. Now, God must punish sin. He must, because he's holy. Well, if God must punish sin, he must punish it with death, can you please tell me how he can forgive my sin? I'm glad you asked. You know how the living God forgives the sin of his people? through the sacrifice of his son, the Lord Jesus Christ. At the cross, Christ was made sin for his people. He was made, even though he never committed a sin, he was made to be guilty of all of the sin of all of his people.

And even though this is the father's beloved son, He spoke, the father spoke about no one else from heaven except his son saying, this is my beloved son whom I'm well pleased. He only said that about his son. But when he was made sin, the father did not spare him.

He gave him the full punishment that that sin deserved until the savior gave up the ghost and died. And he didn't die because he was defeated. He died because sin was gone. All of the sin of God's elect was gone. So now, When God forgives the sin of his people, he does it in truth. If Christ died for you, there is nothing that the father can condemn you for. That's how he forgives your sin because he punished it in the sacrifice of his son. The sacrifice of Christ made it right for God to forgive the sin of his people. Because the son of God himself paid the penalty.

Now I tell you, come and worship him. Bow before him and worship him. That's what Moses did. When Moses heard this, Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth and worshiped. I hope the Lord gives us years to do that. All right, now let's take a look at Deuteronomy chapter seven. The living God is faithful to his covenant. Deuteronomy seven, verse seven. The Lord did not set his love upon you nor choose you because you are more than in number than any other people.

For you are the fewest of all people, but because the Lord loved you and because he would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers, hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand and redeemed you out of the house of bondman from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Now this, the Lord delivering his people from Egypt is a picture of God's covenant of grace. God's covenant of grace is a promise. Just like here that the Lord said, I, you know, I promised Abraham that I'd bring his children out of the land of Egypt. And I did it because that's what I promised Abraham I'd do. Well, that's a picture of God's covenant of grace. God's covenant of grace is the promise of almighty God. And this is a promise of God who cannot lie. So this promise must be kept.

This is a promise to save a sinful people, a specific people chosen by name out of Adam's fallen race. The father elected those people out of Adam's fallen race. Not because they were better than anybody else, because they weren't. They're just as sinful, just as rotten as everybody else. But because God's gracious, he chose a people to save. And he gave those people to his son to save.

And he promised the son. You put away the sin of these people and I'll accept them. They'll be in my presence." And the son said, Father, I promise you I'll save these people from their sin. In the fullness of time, the son, the glory of heaven, became an embryo in the womb of a virgin, was born as a man, lived under the law as a man.

How he humiliated himself to be confined to human flesh just boggles the mind. But you know why he did it? Because he's keeping his promise. He's keeping his promise to obey the law, to give his people a righteousness, and he had to come into flesh so that that flesh could be sacrificed to put away the sin of his people. And knowing the horrors that awaited him on Calvary's tree, our Savior went there willingly. because he promised his father he would and because he loves his people.

And it's the only way they can be redeemed. And in the fullness of time, the Holy Spirit comes and he does what he promised to do. He gives life and faith to God's elect through the preaching of the gospel. They hear it and believe it because the Holy Spirit of God causes them to be born again, born again with the nature And when you're born again and Christ has been revealed to you, you can't not believe him. You just believe him because the Holy Spirit promised. That's what he'd do for everyone that the father chose and everyone for whom the son died. Now that's God's covenant of grace. Isn't that, that's wonderful. I mean, that's so wonderful.

And then came the day that God created Adam. put him in the garden, gave him a wife, Eve, out of his rib. In a very short time, people kind of wonder how long that was. Most people think it was a very, very short time. Adam disobeyed the one and only law God gave him. Don't eat of that tree. And he did it. And when Adam did that, you and I sinned too. When Adam took that fruit, he died, and you and I died in him. Because he's our representative, we did what he did.

And ever since then, for over 6,000 years, all men have ever done is sin against God. Just a few generations from Adam, it got so bad, God said, I repent that I ain't made man, I'm going to destroy the earth with a flood. What vile, vile rebellion. Well now, did this catch God by surprise? Is God still really going to save all of those people he promised to save?

Let's see what God says. First Thessalonians chapter five. Verse 23. and the very God of peace, sanctify you wholly. And I pray God, your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless under the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is he that calleth you who will also do it. There is no hint of doubt that God's gonna keep his promise because of who made the promise. He promised he's gonna save a people by his grace and he's going to do it. He's going to do it. All right. Now look at Psalm 103. Here's the third thing. The living God is compassionate. Psalm 103 verse 10.

He has not dealt with us after our sins nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us, like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him. For he knoweth our frame, he remembereth that we're dust. As for man, his days are as grass, as the flower of the field, so he flourisheth. For the wind passeth over it and it's gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more. But the mercy of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting upon them that fear him and his righteousness unto children's children.

And David says here that the Lord pitieth his children. That word pity, it means to have compassion on and to love deeply, not just a little bit, but to love them deeply. Do you think how different the God of heaven and earth is from you and me? How different is the living God from dying men and women? And the God, the living God, has compassion on His sinful people.

He pities them. In Psalm 145, verse 8, David said, the Lord is gracious and He's full of compassion. full of compassion. It's just like he's got, you know, some compassion and then he's going to run out. He's full of compassion for his people. And the writer to the Hebrews speaking specifically about the Lord Jesus Christ, our great high priest said in Hebrews five, verse two, who can have compassion on the ignorant? That's me. Who can have compassion on the ignorant? and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity."

Now, our Savior lived in a body, a human body. Difference between you and me is us and him is he never sinned, but he lived in a human body and he can have compassion on the things that we go through because whatever it is we're going through, he went through it first.

He suffered pain. He suffered loss. He suffered his closest friends turning their back on him. He came into his own, that nation of Israel that he had blessed and led and protected and given them what he gave no other nation. He came into his own and his own received him not.

What is it you're going through? He's been there first. And he knows. And he has compassion. Can you think of a better reason to cry out to him in prayer than he knows? He knows what you've been through. And that's so different from us. Isn't that different from us? We typically do not have too much compassion on folks who are in a bad situation, and it's their own fault.

You know, a man, doesn't have any money to buy food for his family because he gambled it all away, or he drank it all away, or whatever. He won't go to work. He keeps getting fired from every job because he won't go to work. He doesn't have any money.

Dude, it's your own fault. I mean, we just don't really have a lot of compassion for that, do we? Somebody's in... I saw this man's in prison and he's guilty of sin. He murdered two or three people. And he's complaining about having to live in prison. Dude, it's your own fault. Before you get too carried away with that, let's just remember this. Our sin is our fault. My sin is my fault. It's not Adam's fault. It's not my mom and daddy's fault for not teaching me better. My sin is my fault.

And the holy God still has compassion on sinners like us. because with a great love, he did what it took to redeem sinners from their sin. I can see Christ dying for you. Me? Even me? Again, let's see what the Lord says. First Peter chapter one or five, excuse me. First Peter chapter five. Even me, really?

Casting all your care upon him for he careth for you. Isn't that amazing? that the living God ruling all of this creation, every molecule of movement in this creation cares for me. Dave, I believe I'll go to sleep well tonight thinking about that, that God cares for me. It's amazing. All right, now look at Psalm 23.

The living God is the shepherd of his people. The Lord is my shepherd, so I shall not want. We have such a great shepherd, God's sheep will never want for anything. I won't want for rest, because he maketh me to lie down in green pastures, the green pastures of his word. I won't lack for the water of life, he leadeth me beside the still waters. I won't lack for righteousness, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. I won't want for comfort because the Lord is with me. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now David was a shepherd. David wrote this Psalm and now did David, did he, is he really saying this about our savior? Is Christ our shepherd? Is he really going to get this job done? John chapter 10. Again, now let's look and see what God says about himself. John chapter 10. Verse 10. The thief cometh not, but for to steal and to kill and to destroy. I am come that they might have life and that they might have it more abundantly.

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep, but he that isn't a hireling and not the shepherd who's owned the sheep or not, he seeth the wolf coming and leaveth the sheep and fleeth and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he isn't hireling and careth not for the sheep. I'm the good shepherd and know my sheep and have known of mine. As a father knoweth me, even so I know the father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold.

Now he's talking about us, isn't he? Other sheep which are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. I have it on the best of authority that the good shepherd is going to have all of his sheep. and gather them together and present them faultless before His Father with exceeding joy.

Now trust Him. Trust Him. Trust Him to shepherd your soul. Well, all right. I can see the unregenerate man asking this question. Preacher, that all sounds real good. I mean, is that pie in the sky kind of thinking? If this is God's will, and God says this is His will, how do I know that something is not going to happen that will stop God's purpose from coming to pass? How do I know that? Well, look at Isaiah chapter 45. Here's the fifth thing about the living God. He controls every event and every action that ever takes place in His creation. Isaiah 45, verse one.

Thus saith the Lord, his anointed to Cyrus, whose right hand I have holden to subdue nations before him. And I will loose the loins of Kings to open before him the two leave gates and the gate shall not be shut. I will go before thee and make the crooked places straight. I'll break in pieces, the gates of brass and cut in Sunder, the bars of iron.

And I will give thee the treasures of darkness and hidden riches of secret places that thou mayest know that I, the Lord, which called thee by thy name and the God of Israel. For Jacob, my servant's sake, and for Israel, mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name. I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me.

I am the Lord and there is none else. There is no God beside me. I girded thee, though thou hast not known me, that they may know from the rising of the sun and from the West, there's none beside me. I am the Lord and there is none else. I formed the light and create darkness. Well, that puts an end to the devil did it didn't it? I formed the light and create darkness. I make peace and create evil.

I the Lord do all these things. Drop down ye heavens from above and let the skies pour down righteousness. Let the earth open and let them bring forth salvation and let righteousness spring up together. I the Lord, have created it. Now, God created the heavens and the earth.

And after those six days, He has controlled every action that has ever taken place in His creation. You go home and watch the 11 o'clock news tonight, and they're going to tell you what happened today. Want me to tell you what happened today? What happened today is exactly what God predetermined to happen today before he ever created one thing.

It's just the news, the newspaper, all it is is the unfolding of God's purpose. That's all it is. And that means nothing can stop the purpose of God because he's the one doing everything. Here is our confidence in preaching the gospel to our community, to gathering together and preaching the gospel, preaching Christ, pointing men and women, boys and girls to Christ, God's going to see to it. If you all are dependent on some preacher to make this thing effectual, we may as well close the doors and go home. But we're going to preach Christ. As God gives us the grace to do it, we're going to preach Christ, and God's going to see to it. His elect are going to hear the gospel, and they're going to believe it. They're going to believe it because he's going to give them faith to believe it, and he's the one that's going to keep them to the end.

And nothing in heaven, earth, or hell is going to even slightly delay God's purpose. Satan tried one day, didn't he? Gathered together all his demons and met together on Calvary's hill and did everything he could to put an end to Jesus of Nazareth. And Satan knew who that is. All those demons knew who that is. They said, we know who you are. You're the son of God. We know who you are. And they did everything they could to put him to death and be done with him and take his kingdom. And what happened to him? They bruised our Savior's heel and he crushed their head. He crushed their head.

God's will shall be done, shall be done. And this passage is just such a clear picture of that. This was written to Cyrus, King Cyrus, who would conquer so much of the known world and then let the Jews go and go back to Jerusalem and rebuild the city and so forth. This was written to Cyrus 200 years before Cyrus was born. 200 years before this man was born, the Lord knew everything that Cyrus would do because the Lord ordained for him to do it.

And sure enough, he did exactly what God said he'd do. And the same thing is going on today. Why doesn't God just get tired of this creation and wipe it out? Because there's a people that he has determined to save. He's going to bring them to Christ. and nothing would stop his purpose. I am the Lord. He said, not, he said, I change not. Therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed because I will not change in my purpose.

And God's purpose for his people is salvation through his grace, through his mercy, through his love. He'll cause those people to grow in grace and knowledge of him that he'll cause them to bear the fruits of the spirit, to, to be a help to one another. That's his purpose. That's what the Lord has done for 6,000 years. And the Lord's still doing it right now. Right now.

A dear pastor friend of mine told me years ago he had a conversation with Brother Henry. And he told Henry, he said, boy, I would have loved to have lived. when you were a young preacher starting out and seeing those conferences and seeing how the Lord worked and spread the gospel over this country, it was such an exciting time. And Henry stopped him. He said, stop right there.

He said, God hadn't changed. God's still doing the same thing today as He did then. God's still in the business of saving sinners. Are you a sinner? Come to Him. Trust your soul to him based on his description of himself. I don't know why he wouldn't. All right. I hope the Lord bless that to you.

The Living God

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