The Oldest Sermon

The Oldest Sermon
The book of acts tells us about an incident that happened to the apostle Paul in Athens and the sermon he presented. I put it here in it’s entirety for you to think about.
The book of acts states,
“So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.  
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.  Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?  
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”  
(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) 
Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.  
For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you. 
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.  
And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.  
From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.  
God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.  
‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ 
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by man’s design and skill.  
In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.  
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.” 
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”  
At that, Paul left the Council.  
A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others”Acts 17:17-34.
The book of acts notes there were several reactions to Paul’s sermon.
Some sneered.
Some wanted to hear more about Christ.
A few became followers of Christ.
Thus the question becomes, in what group are you?
Please think about it.

John Newton, The Apostle Paul and You

John Newton, The apostle Paul, Jesus and You
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.

I believe it’s at St. Mary Woolnoth  an Anglican church in London England, that there is a plaque with the words,
 “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
To quote R. J. Morgan from the book 365 scriptures that changed the world (copy right Thomas Nelson Publishers 1998.)
  “As a young man, Newton had been a seaman and slave trader whose mouth was a cesspool of profanity, and who liberally helped himself to the female slaves he transported. 
   But he also became a deserter, flogged by the British Navy, who was reduced to being the slave of a sadistic woman, herself a slave, in Africa.
Out of all this he was saved. And he became one of England’s greatest preachers, the author of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace.”
Over his study desk he had this verse from Deuteronomy
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” Deuteronomy 15:15.
He reportedly told a friend later in life “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a Great Saviour.”
John Newton’s conversion was dramatic. He went from being a man without principles. A man without a conscience to a man of great principles.
He spoke out against the slave trade and would go on to write hundreds of hymns 280 of which he combined with 68 hymns of William Cowper to form the Olney Hymnal.
We today can look on Newton and see how bad he was and say thank God I am nowhere near as bad as him. He needed a conversion experience. I am far better than him.
Many non-Christians I believe today also look at people who go to church. People who claim to be Christians and say, “I know them. I know what they do outside of Church and it isn’t very Christian. Why should I become a Christian because I am better all around than they are.”
That may be so but not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. Not everyone who say’s they are Christian are.
Many people as well as Preachers and evangelist will one day stand before God and find they are not accepted into heaven. Jesus saying,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” Matthew 7:21-23.
When it comes to knowing Jesus as one’s Lord and Saviour it is up to the individual to decide.
We should not look on those who are going to church or who claim to be Christians. Simply because many who claim to be Christians are not.
Each individual needs to look within themselves and ask themselves am “I truly good enough to go to heaven?”
I believe if we are honest with ourselves the answer will be no.
No one is good enough to stand before a holy God.
C.S. Lewis said,
“The Christian does not think God will love us because we are good, but that God will make us good because He loves us.” C.S. Lewis
That is why Jesus came.
Another self admitted sinner the apostle Paul wrote these words,
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.  
But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.” 1 Timothy 1:15,16
I firmly believe that we as individuals must search our heart of hearts and in all humility admit that there is sin in our life.
Then we must turn to Jesus, recognize that he is the One and only Son of God, who died for our sins and ask him to forgive our sins and come into our hearts and lives.
For it is only through Christ that we can truly have our sins forgiven and have our lives changed.
It happened to John Newton. It happened to the Apostle Paul and it can happen to you.

Truth Stranger than Fiction

Truth, Stranger than Fiction
The Apostle Paul wrote,
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  
For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 
Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  
For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.  
Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 1Corinthians 18-24.
It’s been said sometimes truth is stranger than fiction. This I believe is the case when it comes to Jesus.
The wisdom of man would say why would Almighty God enter into the world He created in the form of a man? Why wouldn’t God simply reveal Himself in all His glory and thus show mankind He is real and wants man to worship Him?
The answer to that I believe comes from the Writer of Hebrews who wrote,

“And without faith it is impossible to please God, 

because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists 

and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.” 

                                                                     Hebrews 11:6

Faith defined as

“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for 

and certain of what we do not see.” 

                                                      Hebrews 11:1.

People who have faith in something are the strongest of believers. A true believer in any cause or leader will go to the grave for them. That is the kind of believer God wants.
God wants people who have unwavering faith in Him no matter what the circumstances.
Yes God could have come into the world in all His glory with legions of angels and made it clear that He exists. That however would not have necessarily produced true believers. Many would have believed in Him simply because they feared His might and what he could do to them.
God does not want that. God wants people to believe in Him because they truly love Him.
That I believe is why He entered the world in the way He did.
Please think about it.

On Love

On Love
The Apostle Paul writes,

“Love is patient, love is kind. 

It does not envy, it does not boast, 

it is not proud.  

It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, 

it is not easily angered, 

it keeps no record of wrongs. 

Love does not delight in evil 

but rejoices with the truth.  

It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, 

always perseveres. 

Love never fails....

And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. 

But the greatest of these is love.”  

                                                        1 Corinthians 13:4-8a,13.

The apostle Paul here is writing to Christians but what he is saying about true love is universal in nature. One does not need to be a Christian to understand and accept the truth Paul defines here.
Martin Luther King jr. the great civil rights leader in the United States said,
“Love is the only force capable of transforming an enemy into friend.”
                                                                                           Martin Luther King, Jr.
Anne Frank a young Jewish girl in hiding from the Nazis in the Netherlands during world war two wrote,
“Give of yourself, give as much as you can?  And you can always, always give something, even if it is only kindness!  If everyone were to do this and not be as mean with a kindly word, then there would be much more justice and love in the world.  Give and you shall receive, much more than you would have ever thought possible.  Give, give again and again, don’t lose courage, keep it up and go on giving!  No one has ever become poor from giving!”                                                                                                                         Anne Frank.
What Anne Frank said is true. We need to give of ourselves. For in doing so we are showing love and true love can indeed change the world.
Please think about it.

A great sinner, A Great Saviour

A great sinner, A Great Saviour

“My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a Great Savior.”
           John Newton 
Over his desk at St. Mary Woolnoth  an Anglican church in the City of London, John Newton placed a plaque reading,
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.”
 Deuteronomy 15:15.
John Newton remembered today as the author of the hymn Amazing grace had an amazing conversion.
In his youth Newton was a seaman and a slave trader whose mouth was reportedly a cesspool of profanity. A man who to quote one source “liberally helped himself to the female slaves he transported.”
He became a deserter from the British Navy was flogged and made a slave of a slave, a sadistic woman who mistreated him.
Incredibly God reached down to this man and John Newton became one of England’s greatest preachers
 Newton went from being a man without principles. A man without a conscience to a man of great principles.
He spoke out against the slave trade and would go on to write hundreds of hymns 280 of which he combined with 68 hymns of William Cowper to form the Olney Hymnal.
Another self admitted sinner the apostle Paul wrote these words,
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.  
But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
         1 Timothy 1:15,16.
The apostle Paul who before his conversion stood at the murder of the Stephen the Churches first martyr and was on a mission to imprison Christian believers was also reached by God. As a result he went from opposing the Gospel of Christ to being one of the leading proponents Christianity.
The conversion of these two men shows the amazing grace of Christ. The power of God to turn individuals around.
These men proved their conversion was real by spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ from the day of their conversion until their deaths.
The lives of these two men showed that anyone who is willing to accept the saving grace of God can change their lives.
John Newton and the apostle Paul could not have changed their life themselves such a conversion must come from coming into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
The apostle Paul wrote,
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—  not by works, so that no one can boast.” 
                                                                   Ephesians 2:8,9.
The writer of Hebrews makes it clear,
“And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
                                                                                                   Hebrews 11:6.
The apostle John wrote,
“Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God—  children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.” 
                John 1:12,13.
Jesus speaking to Martha said,
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies;  and whoever lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
“Yes Lord” she told Him, “I believe you are the Christ the Son of God, who was to come into the world, 
John 11:25,26.
This is a question we must all answer. John Newton, the Apostle Paul answered it as must you. You must believe Jesus is “the Christ the Son of God” the saviour of mankind or not. The Choice is yours.
If you truly believe in Jesus is the saviour of mankind then He will come into your life and change it.
Your conversion may not be as dramatic as the apostle Paul and John Newton. But it will be a change for the better.
Please think about your relationship to Christ today.

A Libertine

A Libertine
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” 
Deuteronomy 15:15.

In St. Mary Woolnoth  an Anglican church in the City of London, there is a plaque with the words,
 “John Newton, clerk, once an infidel and libertine, a servant of slaves in Africa, was, by the rich mercy of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, preserved, restored, pardoned, and appointed to preach the faith he had long labored to destroy.”
To quote R. J. Morgan from the book 365 scriptures that changed the world (copy right Thomas Nelson Publishers 1998.)
  “As a young man, Newton had been a seaman and slave trader whose mouth was a cesspool of profanity, and who liberally helped himself to the female slaves he transported. 
   But he also became a deserter, flogged by the British Navy, who was reduced to being the slave of a sadistic woman, herself a slave, in Africa.
Out of all this he was saved. And he became one of England’s greatest preachers, the author of the beloved hymn Amazing Grace.”
Over his study desk he had this verse from Deuteronomy 
“Thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondsman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee.” 
        Deuteronomy 15:15.
He reportedly told a friend later in life “My memory is nearly gone; but I remember two things, that I am a great sinner and that Christ is a Great Savior.”
                                                                                          R. J. Morgan
John Newton’s conversion was dramatic. He went from being a man without principles. A man without a conscience. To a man of great principles.
He spoke out against the slave trade and would go on to write hundreds of hymns 280 of which he combined with 68 hymns of William Cowper to form the Olney Hymnal.
We today can look on Newton and see how bad he was and say thank God I am nowhere near as bad as him. He needed a conversion experience. I am far better than him.
Many non-Christians I believe today also look at people who go to church. People who claim to be Christians and say, “I know them. I know what they do outside of Church and it isn’t very Christian. Why should I become a Christian because I am better all around than they are.”
That may be so but not everyone who goes to church is a Christian. Not everyone who say’s they are Christian are.
Many people as well as pastors and evangelist will one day stand before God and find they are not accepted into heaven. Jesus saying,
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  
Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’  
Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” 
                                                                                                          Matthew 7:21-23.
When it comes to knowing Jesus as one’s Lord and Saviour it is up to the individual to decide.
We should not look on those who are going to church or who claim to be Christians. Simply because many who claim to be Christians are not.
Each individual needs to look within themselves and ask themselves, “Am I truly good enough to go to heaven?”
I believe if we are honest with ourselves the answer will be no.
No one is good enough to stand before a holy God.
Isaiah the prophet said,
“All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.” 
                                                                                                    Isaiah 64:6.
That is why Jesus came.
Another self admitted sinner the apostle Paul wrote these words,
“Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst.  
‘But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life.”
          1 Timothy 1:15,16
I firmly believe that we as individuals must search our heart of hearts and in all humility admit that there is sin in our life.
Then we must turn to Jesus, recognize that he is the One and only Son of God, who died for our sins and ask him to forgive our sins and come into our hearts and lives.
For it is only through Christ that we can truly have our sins forgiven and have our lives changed.
It happened to John Newton. It happened to the Apostle Paul and it can happen to you.
Please think about it.