I'm going to have you turn to
several passages tonight. You might want to turn to Acts
chapter 17. It's where I've taken my text
in these first three verses. And before we get there, I'm
going to make some comments out of the first and second letters
of Paul to the Thessalonians. The Apostle Paul wrote two letters
to the church at Thessalonica. And they're very short letters,
but well worth reading. And he says in his first letter
to this little church in Thessalonica, he told them, he said, I know
your election of God. He didn't speculate about this,
Ron. There was no question in his
mind. He didn't say, well, I saw some
things, and in my opinion, in my opinion, this is a good Christian
church. He said, I, and he said it under
the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. He said, I know your election
of God. He said, because, here's how
he knew it, because our gospel, the one true gospel,
the gospel he said in the book of Romans, the gospel of God,
The gospel of God's sovereign grace, the gospel of Christ,
our gospel, came not in word only. Now, I know something about what
this is saying. I spent most of my life hearing
word only. I spent a good deal of my life
reading. Word only. And I spent countless
hours arranging words only. But here the apostle said, our
gospel came not unto you in word only, but in power. Life changing. Direction changing. Attitude changing. Authority carrying. I used to look up and consider
Brother Mahan standing in that pulpit, and he's a little shorter
than I am. But I'm telling you, his preaching
carried authority. Why? Because God was in it. That's what happens when the
Gospel comes in power. It carries authority. Conquering power. Power that
cast the proud rebel into the dust. Paul climbed up on that
steed. I always pictured that horse
being a white horse. Pharisee'd have to ride a white
horse. It just had to be. And had that thing prancing like
a Tennessee walker down the middle of that road. God took him off
that horse and put him in the dust. Power. Power to open the eyes of the
blind. Power to unstop deaf ears. Power to create new life within,
establish new principles in the heart New revelations in the
mind. Power to break that stubborn
will. Power. Power to cause even a heathen
idolater like Abraham to hope against hope against all natural
reason. He said our gospel came in power
and it came in the Holy Ghost. What on earth does that mean? Did they all start jumping around
and speaking in tongues? Is that what he's talking about? I remember my brother going to
Pentecostal church. This was years and years ago
before I knew anything about the Gospel. And we just began
to see a few things in the Scriptures. A man had witnessed to me. begin
to see things, and God began to point some things out to me.
We were out there visiting, and he wanted me to go to church
with him. I said, OK, I'll go with you. And we went down there,
and about halfway through, I'd never been to a Pentecostal church,
about halfway through that thing, they all got up, and the band
started playing, and the drums started beating, and they started
marching around the thing. And I told my brother, I said,
what are they doing? He said, this is the Jericho march. He said,
don't you feel like marching? I said, yeah, out the back door.
I got up. I was gone. Is that what he's
talking about? The Holy Ghost. They all stand up free from all
their infirmities and illnesses and sicknesses. They all run around excited,
claiming this. I claim this. Is that what they
did? Did they all start living on
a higher plane? No, sir. Oh, what in the world
is he talking about? His gospel came in the Holy Ghost. The next line will give you a
clue. And in much assurance. Much assurance. Turn with me
to Hebrews chapter 10. Only the Holy Ghost, now listen
to me, can confirm in you the covenant blessings of Christ.
You can't learn this like a math lesson. It just ain't going to
happen. Ain't going to happen. Paul said to the Ephesians that
when faith was established in the heart, they were sealed with
that Holy Spirit of promise. There are no marks in their foreheads
of God's elect. Paul didn't look at them and
see this little mark in the forehead and say, I know your election
of God. That's not how he knew it. And they weren't circumcised
in the flesh by the Judaizers. God's people are circumcised
in the heart. Only God can cause the heart
of a sinner to lay claim on what is rightfully His. Now watch this, Hebrews 10. This
speaks of Him who accomplished according to everything written
in this book, the will of God. Think about it. And through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ, he hath sanctified the
believer once for all. For by one offering, verse 14,
he hath perfected forever. He make them pretty good. They're
perfected, Ron, forever. Well, what about? They're perfected forever. Now
listen, whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us. For after that he had said before,
this is the covenant that I'll make with them after those days,
saith the Lord. I'll put my laws into their hearts,
and in their minds will I write them, and their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. whose sins? Those he witnessed to by the
Holy Ghost. And then in his second letter
to the Thessalonians, to this assembly, he tells them in chapter
2 and verse 13, he said, I give thanks to God always for you,
beloved of the Lord. I sat in my house while ago for
an hour, and I don't have the words to tell you what that means. There never was a time from the
beginning of God that he didn't love you. Think about God, who has the power and the
wisdom and the character to have anything He pleases, desired
you. It said it pleased God to make
you His people. Pleased Him. And He gives them
this reason to believe that they are beloved of God. Look here
in verse 13. Because, he said, God has from
the beginning chosen you to salvation. Now somebody told me at work
the other day, we're chosen to the opportunity of salvation.
That's not what that says. Another fellow told me one time,
we're chosen to the era of salvation. And then I read in a book one
time that we're chosen to the dispensation of salvation. That's
not what that says. It says they were chosen unto
salvation. That's what it says. I believe
that's what it means. And they were chosen through
sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth. We're
unto, he called you by our gospel. to the obtaining of the glory
of our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a sanctification of
the Spirit that takes place in the calling of God that enables
the sinner to do what he cannot do, to say what he knows not
to say, to will what he cannot will, to know what he cannot
perceive. Paul says it this way over in
Ephesians 1, I read it to the men back in the study a while
ago, that the Father of glory may give unto you the spirit
of wisdom. I want that. And revelation in
the knowledge of him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened
that you may know what is the hope of his calling, and what
the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints. And
what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe
according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought
in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and set Him at
His own right hand in heavenly places. And I thought about those statements
that Paul made to that church, and I said, I'm going back Book
of Acts, and I want to see what he preached, and I want to see
how he preached. I want to see what he preached,
and how he preached, and who he preached. Now, my friend, when the Gospel
is preached in the power of God's Spirit, it's not a cold, dead
system of theology. It's just not. I've heard preaching
that's like going to a seminar. I remember one time up in Charleston,
this fella got up and he ranted and raved, and everything he
said was so. He ranted and raved for about
an hour and 15 minutes. And Brother Scott Richardson,
I was sitting with him on the front pew, and he was sitting
here like this with his hands in his head, and he went, ahh.
And that whole place just got quiet as a mouse. And the fella,
he wound it up, sat down, And Scott turned around and looked
at me, and he said, well, he said, I'm convinced. I don't
even remember what the man preached. It's like going to seminar. It's
like going to math class. The preaching of the gospel ought
to be of the voice of a lover calling to his blood. Preaching is a wooing of the
heart. It's a wooing of the soul in
the will. Preaching is a conquering of
the strong man and a spoiling of his goods. Preaching is the
revelation of the mystery that's hidden from the wise and prudent
and revealed unto babes. Preaching is the reading of the
will and testament of God. Preaching is the power of God
unto salvation. And over there in verse 1 of
Acts chapter 17, It said Paul's journey took him
through Amphipolis. He didn't stop. And he went through Apollonia.
Nothing happened. And he came to Thessalonica. I remember back in the 70s, in
the late 70s, I got in my car and I left Ashland, Kentucky. And I went through Gracie. And I went through Mohegan. I went through Mount Sterling
and Olive Hill. I went through Lexington and bypassed Dickensville
and came to Danville. Do you remember? God has a people. They're not an abstract number.
Lindsey, he knows, he said, I know my sheep. I know my sheep. And he set his love on them.
And he orders his providence. He orders creation. He'll take
a nation out to save one man. It's the power of God. He came to Thessalonica. And
what he found there was a synagogue of the Jews. The Jews were people, by Paul's
own testimony, who needed to be saved. He said, that's my
heart's desire. God save them. They were unsaved.
This was an unsaved church. Sounds like a contradiction of
terms, doesn't it? They didn't know God. Paul prayed for their
salvation. They had a zeal of God. but not
according to knowledge. They were going about trying
to establish a righteousness acceptable to God, would not
submit themselves to the righteousness of God. They preached a gospel
that lured men to the law of ceremonies and dos and don'ts
with an imagination of somehow pleasing God and establishing
a righteousness. They preached a gospel that glorified
the law more than the law-giver. They preached the gospel that
rejected the Christ of God because he didn't fit into the scheme
of their religion. And Paul found these people in
the darkness and deceit of Jewish legalism under a people who would severely
punish them for any remarks, anything they did that even remotely
connected them with the gospel of Christ. They were ignorant. Ignorant. They preached the gospel that
limited the power and purpose of God by the decisions and will
of men. And it says, as his manner was,
and that's what I want to know, how did he preach? What was his
temperament? What did he preach? How did Paul
preach? Well, he went in unto them. Three
Sabbath days, and it says he reasoned with them out of the
Scriptures. Brethren, you can't reason with
an unreasonable man, can you? You can't. God's in it. Listen to the prophet. He said,
come, let us reason together, saith the Lord. And I don't know
how to put it into words or communicate this to you, and I know it goes
completely against the grain of some, but there is a reasoning
together that takes place in the preaching of the gospel.
It's not my reasoning, it's his. And there's a place and a point
in that message where the voice of that man preaching
becomes silent to the hearer. And he begins to hear the voice
of God. And God takes over. There's a point where the Holy
Ghost enters in and sovereign power and abounds toward that
center in wisdom and knowledge and reasons with him. And I don't
know how to get there, and I don't know how to bring you there.
I just know it's so. I just know it's so. It begins with a reasoning in
the heart about who God is and who we are. And the more we see
of the living God, the more we see of our sinful self, until
finally we cry out. Finally, we take sides with God
against ourselves. Paul didn't call in the professional
singers and the entertainers and he didn't come to the city
a little early, Don, and try to organize the efforts of all
the churches in the inner city and have a rally. He didn't get
up and tell a sad story about a dog and then say, well, God's
done all he can do. It's all up to you. That's not
what he did. He reasoned with them out of the Scriptures. You
know why he did that? Because God makes His people
reasonable. Now watch this, Acts chapter
17, verse 3. He reasoned with them out of
the Scriptures, opening and alleging that Christ must needs have suffered
and risen from the dead, and that this Jesus whom I preach
unto you is Christ. Now, here's the first thing that
caught my eye is this opening. There is, in the preaching of
the gospel, an opening of the scriptures. My nephew said to me one day,
I was talking to him down in Ocean Springs, Mississippi. He said, what makes you so sure
what you're saying is true? What makes you so dogmatic in
your interpretations of this book? God opened to me the Scripture. Let me show you two places where
this phrase is used. It's used a lot. But one place
is here in Revelations chapter 5. This is very familiar to you. John saw him who sat on the throne,
and in his hand was a book. What was in the book? I don't
really know, and you don't either. But John began to weep. It was
a sealed book. What was he weeping about? I'll
tell you what he was weeping about. It was God's book. And
I tell you, when you weep over this book, when you realize this
is God's book, this is God's book. And it's a sealed book. It's sealed. None could open the book. And John said, I wept much. But
then came the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David,
and says, he hath prevailed to open the book and loose the seals.
And lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in
the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as it had been It took the lamb slain to open
the book. Look with me at Luke chapter
24. In due time, our Lord came to this earth a man. A man. You talk about something that
will make you sit and think a long time. God become a man. God and man in one person. In
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Amen. And he came to this earth, and he obeyed the law perfectly,
birth to death. And he established a ministry,
and he called out apostles, and he called out his disciples. And He taught them and He gave
them the words of the Father. And then He went to the cross
and died. And they said it was all for
nothing. He's gone. He's gone. We sold out. We were convinced
surely this man was the Christ. It's over. And they were walking along that
road. Well, the women told him he ain't in the tent. And they
ran down there to see what was going on. They couldn't figure
out what was going on. And confused and puzzled, our
Lord appeared to them on that road. But he didn't make himself
known to them. He just walked along. And he said, what's the problem?
And they said, where you been? And they begin to tell him their
sad story. And seeing their puzzled faces,
he said to them in Luke 24, 25, he said, old fools, and slow
of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken, ought
not Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His
glory? That's reasoning. And beginning at Moses and all
the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. And they drew nigh unto the village,
whither they went. And he made as though he would
have gone farther, but they constrained him. And they said, Abide with
us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent. And
he went in. There's a message all by itself.
He went in to tarry with them. That's what happens when reasoning
takes place. He comes in. And it came to pass,
as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, blessed it, break,
and gave to them. And their eyes were opened, and
they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. And they
said one to another, did not our hearts burn within us while
he talked with us by the way? and while He opened to us the
Scriptures. Let me tell you something I know
by experience. I know that everything you need
is in this book. It's right here. Between these
two covers, everything you need. And I know that the promise is
as broad as broad can get. Whosoever shall call upon the
name of the Lord shall be saved. I know that's so. But I know
this. You can't call on Him in whom
you have not believed. And you can't believe in Him
of whom you have not heard. And you can't hear without a
preacher. And He can't preach except He be sent. The Scriptures must be open unto
you. All right, here's the second
thing caught my eye. When he opened the scriptures, he alleged
that Christ must needs have suffered and be raised from the dead.
The gospel that Paul preached to the Thessalonians was a gospel
that set forth the necessity of the death of Christ. I don't
hear that preached today. His death to most people was
an option. It's not even something they
care to preach about. About one time a year at Easter
or something, they'll talk about it a little bit. Paul preached the gospel that
set forth the necessity of the death of Christ. And every time
the scriptures are said to be opened, you go home and look
at it. Every time, Merle, every reference I looked at, in Revelation
chapter 5, the Lamb slain opened the book. In Luke chapter 24,
the very first words out of our Lord's mouth to His disciples,
ought not Christ to have suffered these things and entered into
His glory? And over there in Acts chapter
17, we find the same rule. If I'd preach in the power of
God's Spirit, let me make much of the necessity of His sufferings
and His entering into His glory. Why did He have to suffer? Well,
everybody in this place knows by now that the perfections of
God, God's own character, demands it, demands that he suffer. He
was purposed to suffer. Justice must be satisfied. Wrath
must be quenched. The law must be honored and exalted.
Righteousness must be made manifest. Oh, but there's another necessity.
that I never knew, and I've only recently come to know something
about it. The love of God is what moved
him to the cross. And brethren, this is the necessity that causes
the heart to burn within you. It's the love of God. This is where God commends His
love to us. You read through 1 John, nearly
every chapter, talks about God's love, talks about His dying,
talks about His suffering. Kathy and I got married probably two years into our marriage. I moved up to northern Ohio and about all we had was each other. We moved the first time we moved
in a 1964 Plymouth wagon and took everything we owned. And I was ignorant. I didn't
have a trade. I got a job. I worked for a Pentecostal preacher,
meaner than a rattlesnake. Paid me barely enough to buy
milk and food to put on the table. Worked me in every kind of weather
there was. Put me in harm's way. I remember
one time falling nearly 30 feet to my death. I just fell, hit
the ground and rolled and a huge beam hit right where I fell.
fell, right where the imprint of my fall was, this beam went
into the ground. And I so despondent. Talk to
you like a dog. Take us out there in an old cornfield
up in northern Ohio in the wintertime, 10 below zero, put you out and
say, well, I'll be back in a few hours. You can go and sit in
a restaurant while I put on shingles. And I just about ready to quit
my job. And I got up one morning, resolved
to do it. And I went back to, I forgot
my hat. I went back to the room, get
my hat. I looked in there and there was my wife laying there
in the bed. Sound asleep. And over a few feet, my baby
daughter. I swallowed real big, Bobbin
took a deep breath, and went out one more day. Paul said, looking unto Jesus,
the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was
set before What was that? As you may. For the joy that
was set before him endured the cross, despised the shame, and
sat down on the right hand of God. For their sakes I'll bear the
humility. For their sakes I'll face the
danger and suffer whatever comes my way. Paul said, Husbands,
love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for
it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the Word. Give yourself. He gave Himself without reservation
or limit. He gave His face to the smiters
and His cheek to the scorners and His precious head to those
who would crushed down with a crown of thorns. He gave up the security
of heaven for the suffering of fallen rebels. He gave up his
beauty for a visage no man could recognize. He gave himself to suffer the
temptations of Satan and the anger of religion and the indifference
of men. And He gave Himself to be made
sin, to literally take to Himself the leprosy of our sins, and
then gave Himself, gave Himself before the holy perfections of
God in our state. He must need, Paul said, to have
suffered these things, because He gave Himself for us. Herein is love, not that we love
God. but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Can you imagine the resolve of
Him who gave Himself so completely that nothing was about to be
laid on Him? He prayed. He knew what was going
to be laid on Him, until his sweat becomes great drops of
blood. But he prayed, not my will, but
Thine be done." Can you imagine a union so strong that even the
wrath of God could not break it? I tell you, when the gospel was
preached to the Thessalonians, there was an opening of the scriptures,
and their hearts began to burn within them. and the affection
of God begin to be established in their minds and hearts. And then it says this, he must
need to have risen from the dead. There are no incidental parts
of salvation. Nothing you can leave out wouldn't
matter. Everything's necessary that God
does in salvation, but especially the resurrection of Christ. Everything
our Lord accomplished, his becoming a representative man, his righteous
obedience, his suffering and death on the cross, his promises
of life and immortality, his promise of the comforter, his
promise of a place in his Father's house, all empty, meaningless,
apart from the resurrection. He must needs have risen again
from the dead." And then listen. He said, this Jesus I preach
unto you, the Nazarene, he's Christ. He's the Christ. And it said, and some of them
believed. I believe this book examples
this in every account where the gospel is preached. I looked
at several of them. You can just take it point by
point. And I know it's so in this place
tonight. Some of you believe. Oh, may the grace of God establish
in you a heart of faith.