Acts 16:35-17
"Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead........"
Last week, with the death of Voddie Baucham, the church lost a bold and faithful man who dedicated his life to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. Voddie's death was one of many that the church has experienced during the last few years. Faithful men like Tim Keller, John Macarthur, and James Dobson have all gone to be with the Lord during the last 2-3 years.
On one hand, this is great news as the day a believer passes is the greatest day they will experience. To be in the presence of the Lord, what could be greater! However, for the people of God, their departure is a heavy blow to our mission. We live in a time where bold, unapologetic preachers of God's word are hard to find. More churches today are filled with people pleasing, scared story tellers than they are faithful warriors that teach the name of Jesus and go to war over sin. Churches are filled with preachers who bend the scriptures in their attempt to keep the masses happy. This type of man is the opposite of who Paul was.
Paul was a man who fully understood what he was up against. He understood the enemy so well because he was the enemy for the better part of his life. He understood hate, persecution, and the mind of those who raged war against the church. He knew that his message of saving grace would result in salvation in some, but a life of stones being thrown at him and prison time. Even knowing exactly what his faith would cost him, he gladly accepted the pain it would cause. Paul believed Jesus was worth any pain the world could throw at him. He also believed that one sinner who repents and follows Jesus was worth the mob of people who would try and hunt him down.
In chapter 17 this week, that is exactly what we see. Paul was more than willing to take on a mob, for the chance of one sinner to hear and repent when believing the gospel. As we lose more and more bold men of God, we need to pray that God raises more for the greater good of the global church. As a global church and our local church, we should pray for faithful and truthful mainstream voices to speak loudly about the saving grace of Jesus and not be scared to attack sin. Our world depends on it! Today, many of our religious freedoms and beliefs can be traced back to the battles men and women like Paul fought for. For the gospel to spread across the world, many had to face hard times, even unto death.
As our world grows darker and we lose more and more men of faith, lets pray for more voices and choose not to whisper ourselves.
Stay faithful church.
On one hand, this is great news as the day a believer passes is the greatest day they will experience. To be in the presence of the Lord, what could be greater! However, for the people of God, their departure is a heavy blow to our mission. We live in a time where bold, unapologetic preachers of God's word are hard to find. More churches today are filled with people pleasing, scared story tellers than they are faithful warriors that teach the name of Jesus and go to war over sin. Churches are filled with preachers who bend the scriptures in their attempt to keep the masses happy. This type of man is the opposite of who Paul was.
Paul was a man who fully understood what he was up against. He understood the enemy so well because he was the enemy for the better part of his life. He understood hate, persecution, and the mind of those who raged war against the church. He knew that his message of saving grace would result in salvation in some, but a life of stones being thrown at him and prison time. Even knowing exactly what his faith would cost him, he gladly accepted the pain it would cause. Paul believed Jesus was worth any pain the world could throw at him. He also believed that one sinner who repents and follows Jesus was worth the mob of people who would try and hunt him down.
In chapter 17 this week, that is exactly what we see. Paul was more than willing to take on a mob, for the chance of one sinner to hear and repent when believing the gospel. As we lose more and more bold men of God, we need to pray that God raises more for the greater good of the global church. As a global church and our local church, we should pray for faithful and truthful mainstream voices to speak loudly about the saving grace of Jesus and not be scared to attack sin. Our world depends on it! Today, many of our religious freedoms and beliefs can be traced back to the battles men and women like Paul fought for. For the gospel to spread across the world, many had to face hard times, even unto death.
As our world grows darker and we lose more and more men of faith, lets pray for more voices and choose not to whisper ourselves.
Stay faithful church.
SCRIPTURE TO GO WITH THE MESSAGE
Read Matthew 23 (whole chapter) as we see the boldness of Jesus, much like we see in Paul in Acts 17.
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