JUN 2 2013PM Preaching to a Heathen and Superstitious People
Acts 14:8-20
There was a preacher who was an avid golfer. Every chance he got, he could be found on the golf course. It was his obsession. One Sunday was a picture-perfect day for golf. The sun was out, no clouds in the sky, and the temperature was just right. The preacher was in a quandary as to what to do. The urge to play golf overcame him. He called his assistant minister and told him that he was sick and couldn’t attend church. Then he packed up the car, and drove 3 hours to a golf course where no one would recognize him. Happily, he began to play the course.
An angel up above was watching the preacher and was quite perturbed. He went to God and said, "Look at the preacher. He should be punished for what he’s doing." God nodded in agreement. The preacher teed up on the first hole. He swung, and the ball sailed effortlessly through the air and landed right in the cup three hundred and fifty yards away—a perfect hole-in-one. The preacher was amazed and excited. The angel was a little shocked. He turned to God and said, "I thought you were going to punish him." God smiled. "Think about it, who can he tell about that shot?"
Is it possible that a preacher would miss church for a game of golf? Or for something else: fishing, hunting, a ball game, etc. Possibly. Depending on the preacher. And why would he do such a thing as that? BECAUSE PREACHERS ARE ONLY HUMAN, JUST LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE!
Have you ever heard someone say, “Well, I’m just human?” Is that an excuse or an admission? I think many people use that expression as an excuse for any wrongdoing or error in their life. And it’s true that preachers are just human like everybody else. But honestly, don’t we generally expect a little more from the preacher? Don’t we expect him to be more faithful, more committed, more serving, more dedicated than anybody else? We probably expect more from the preacher but that doesn’t mean it will happen.
Also, one of the problems of being in front of people is the temptation to receive praise. Some televangelists seem to "eat up" this praise to the point where some almost act like they can do nothing wrong.
In our text we have Paul and Barnabas doing something good by the power of God and the people wanting to give them the credit for it. Paul was quick to say, "We are only human like you." He was honestly trying to get the people to realize that it was God who deserved the glory and not him. From this text, let’s think about what we "humans" can do in life and the proper attitude we should have.
READ vv. 8-10. God used Paul to bring healing to the lame man. Paul was God’s instrument of kindness or of doing good.
Gal. 6:9-10 "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers."
Don’t give up doing good. Others will be blessed by our good deeds and we will too! It’s sometimes easy to give up on certain people but we must never give up doing good. Some people will respond even if others won’t. I’ve been disappointed by many people but also surprised by some others. You just never know when there’s a diamond hiding in that rough exterior of a person.
"As we have opportunity..." We all have opportunity every day to do something good for someone. We need to stay awake to these opportunities. Our goodness may lead to godliness. That is, doing good to others may lead some to Christ, which should be our ultimate goal in life!
Eph. 2:10 "For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We do good to others and are kind to others simply because that’s what we are supposed to do! We all need to be open to opportunities to doing good for others, even if it’s just something simple like opening a door for someone or saying a kind word or offering a friendly smile. And don’t forget that laughter is not only good medicine, it’s also a great witness for Christ! If your grumpy and have a scowl on your face, what kind of witness is that?
READ vv. 11-15
ILL.- In 1963, A spry sixty-eight-year-old man set out to build a church by himself. He spent his own money to build a cement-block-and-stone church complete with parking lot and auditorium on a five-acre plot near Greenlawn, New York.
William H. Henderson, who formerly owned a construction business, estimated that the church would cost him $90,000 when finished. He planned to leave it for people to use. He called himself a minister, but one who preferred to do all the work “with my own two hands.” He boasted of not having “a lick of help” since beginning the project. He said, “I don’t want anyone coming to help me. Too many people get things disorganized. I do better working by myself.” He probably thought he did good work too.
No matter how good we are or no matter how good we think we are we must never get the "big head" over anything we do in life. We are only able to live and serve and do by the grace of God.
No matter how much good Paul did in life he still felt as though he was a sinner, the worst of sinners. We talked about that last Wednesday when we discussed Romans 7. Most people, however, don’t like to admit they’ve ever done anything wrong. We prefer to think of ourselves as being pretty good people.
In our text, after the healing of the lame man took place Paul was humble and quick to give God the credit, "We too are only men, human like you." And then he pointed to the God of heaven as being the author of that good healing.
ILL.- Hudson Taylor was scheduled to speak at a Large Presbyterian church in Melbourne, Australia. The moderator of the service introduced the missionary in eloquent and glowing terms. He told the large congregation all that Taylor had accomplished in China, and then presented him as "our illustrious guest." Taylor stood quietly for a moment, and then opened his message by saying, "Dear friends, I am only the little servant of an illustrious Master."
There it is. That’s the right spirit. The right attitude. The right way to think. Be humble. Give God His rightful glory. Here’s the part I don’t like. If you do good in this world and live for Christ, some will oppose you.
READ vv. 19-20.
STONED HIM, THINKING HE WAS DEAD. Wow! Paul wrote about this in his letter to Timothy.
II Tim. 3:10-15 "You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil men and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus."
Opposition will come to you no matter what you do or how kind you are. No matter how much of a friend you try to be to someone, don’t be surprised if they turn on you one day. If you live for Christ, opposition will come. If you are kind and present a witness for Christ out in the world some people will frown at you, some will merely pass you by but others may accuse you of being stupid or even worse. Some accused Jesus of being in league with the devil.
I believe that if we speak for Christ, there will be some who will oppose us or try to do us harm. How do we silence our opponents?
ILL.- One day a man met preacher Charles Spurgeon on the street, took off his hat and bowed, and said, "The Rev. Mr. Spurgeon--a great humbug!" Spurgeon took off his hat and replied, "Thank you for the compliment. I am glad to hear that I am a great anything!"
How do we silence our opponents? Respond in as positive a manner as possible. Instead of fighting fire with fire, just laugh and be positive. It will confuse them for sure.
How do we silence our opponents and critics? Just keep on doing our work and doing what’s right. People will see the truth and come to believe in time.
I’m only human. I’m just a man. Yes, we are just human but we are God’s people and that makes a difference in our lives. Because we belong to the Lord, we are different people, better people, kind people, thoughtful of others. We go around doing good and we don’t even understand it. We can’t do otherwise.
Eph. 3:7-8 "I became a servant of this gospel by the gift of God’s grace given me through the working of his power. Although I am less than the least of all God’s people, this grace was given me: to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ."
Did you hear it? Although I am less than the least, God still gave me His grace to preach. The same is true of you. No matter who you are or what you think of yourself, God gives you His grace to do good, to serve, to give, to love, etc. and in order that ultimately He might be glorified. We may be only human but we serve a divine and all-powerful God!
