INTRO.- Name that song? Remember that TV show? They would play a tune and the contestant would try to name that song. Ok, here’s another version of that contest: NAME THAT IDOL! What? Please play along with me.
What’s the biggest idol that you’ve seen here in America? Let me help you with your selection. I John 2:16 says that the world is full of the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the pride of life. Now, what’s the biggest idol you’ve seen in America? And, can you name the idols that you have seen in our town?
ILL.- Most of you know that I have a certain fondness for cars. Recently, while attending the Ozark Christian College Preaching and Teaching Convention, my friend Truman Brady and I went to eat lunch at a restaurant in my hometown of Webb City, MO, which is just a few miles from Joplin. After we ate lunch we drove by this used car dealership and Truman told me that he’d bought several cars from that dealership. That is, he told me he’d bought two different Chevrolet Corvettes from that dealership and for a decent price. I looked over as we drove by and noticed a silver Corvette setting on the lot and said, "Hey, let’s stop and take a look!" The place was called X-treme Powersports. Ah ha! Power cars! Sports cars! Right up my alley!
That Corvette was a 1978 model, silver color, red leather and looked to be in very good shape. I asked about the price and it was somewhere around $9000 but the more we talked to the guy, the more the price went down, "But you could buy it for $8000..." And then a lower price. I got the impression he wanted to sell it badly.
And then I noticed he had another car that was interesting. It was a blue, 1969 Pontiac Firebird and I once owned a 1968 Blue Pontiac Firebird. And it could be bought for only $9000.
What did John say was in the world? Lust of the flesh, lust of the eye and the pride of life. And the lust of the eye was coming my way. Temptation was coming at me at about 75%. Because I was interested but not totally. But as the price went down my temptation level went up! But then something happened to me. My spiritual side kicked in. You know how it goes: the devil on one shoulder and an angel on the other, both talking to you. Sort of. Kind of. Not exactly, but you get the idea.
My common sense side kicked in and I got to thinking, "Now even I could afford to buy either this Corvette or this Firebird, what am I going to do with them? When will I drive them? And will I ever be able to get my money out of them if I decide to sell them?" You see, I would probably only want to drive them on a good, warm sunny days and then where? Who would care that I had an old Corvette or an old Firebird? AH HA, THE PRIDE OF LIFE KICKING IN!
And then still another side of me made me think and I thought, "What a waste of God’s money this would be!" Wow! I’m actually surprised that I thought that way but I was very glad. Because when I started thinking that way my temptation level went way down. How far down? Like 10% or below and we drove away and I felt good about not spending the Lord’s money for something that I might regret later on.
Brothers and sisters, do you see what I’m talking about when it comes to idols in our world? THEY ARE EVERYWHERE. And they come in all shapes and sizes. And everybody is tempted to worship an idol in some form or another.
This sermon may not be so much about "name that idol" as it is "name your idol!" Whoa! Now that’s another story altogether or is it? DARE WE GO ON?
This is what Paul had to deal with in the city of Athens. And our modern cities are no different and in some ways, they are worse. We have more things today to distract us from church, Christ and God than ever before and often, these things become idols to us:Sports, hobbies, TV, movies, shopping, entertainment of all sorts, etc. Let’s be honest about this and think about our own idols that need to be put away!
What did Paul do when confronted with these idol worshipers? He wanted to teach them the truth about God the creator so they could be saved! And so must we today!
PROP.- What must we do when confronted with so many idols and idol worshipers?
1- We must allow God to convict us
2- We must reason with those who will listen
3- We must preach the good news about Jesus
I. WE MUST ALLOW GOD TO CONVICT US
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
ILL.- Porter Wagoner. Robert Goulet, Singer. Dick Wilson - Mr. Whipple. Evel Knievel. Ike Turner. Suzanne Pleshette. Heath Ledger. Roy Scheider, actor.
Who are these people? Famous people who died in 2007 and 2008. And the list goes on. Deceased. Does it bother you that they are deceased? Perhaps. But here’s the kicker: DOES IT BOTHER YOU THAT ANY, IF NOT ALL, DIED WITHOUT JESUS? Doesn’t that thought grab your heart and distress your soul? It does God’s heart!
II Pet. 3:9 "The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance."
In our text, Paul was distressed over idolatrous people. Are you? Most of us are not distressed. We may think, "Live and let live." They can do their thing and I will do my thing. Let them worship their idol and I’ll worship mine. What?!
Paul possessed the heart of God for people. HE WAS DISTRESSED OVER LOST PEOPLE. What about you and me?
ILL.- CINCINNATI -- A northern Kentucky woman believes she is the smallest woman who ever gave birth to such a large baby. Stacey Herald, 33, gave birth five weeks ago to an 18-inch daughter who is not much smaller than her mother. “I’m 28 1/2 inches, head to heel,” said Herald, who was born with osteogenesis imperfecta.
She said, “My whole life I’ve been told that I wasn’t able to have children, (and) I would not live through the pregnancy – that with the size of my torso, the baby would grow up underneath my lungs and smother out my lungs and my heart, and we would both die. Something inside me just didn’t believe that."
When Herald became pregnant with Katira, they warned that she and the baby would be endangered and they advised her to schedule an abortion.
“We said, ’No, we’re not doing that,’ and my doctor – I love her to death, she’s so sweet – she said, ’Okay,’ she said, ‘We’ll do it. We’ll provide the best medical care we provide. You provide the faith and we’ll see what happens,’” Herald said.
Brothers and sisters, that little woman wanted a baby so badly that she was willing to risk her own life to bring her into this world. How badly do you want to see people ’birthed’ into the kingdom of God? What risks are you willing to take? How far are you willing to go? How distressed are you over lost souls? How convicted are you?
Matt. 9:36 "When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd."
Matt. 14:14 "When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick."
Matt. 15:32 "Jesus called his disciples to him and said, "I have compassion for these people..."
Matt. 20:34 "Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him."
Mark 1:41 "Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. "I am willing," he said. "Be clean!"
Do you see a recurring thing in Jesus’ life? COMPASSION! Do you have it for people? For lost, idolatrous people? If you don’t have it, you need ask God to give it to you!
II. WE MUST REASON WITH THOSE WHO WILL LISTEN
16While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. 17So 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.
ILL.- Kelly and Murphy were next door neighbors. One evening they were discussing the candidates in the upcoming election. Kelly said, "I feel that I shouldn’t vote for any of the candidates because I don’t know anything about any of them." Murphy said, "I don’t know who to vote for either and I DO know something about all of them."
I think we all know that it’s pretty easy to get into an argument with some people, particularly when it comes to politics or religion. Our goal, however, is not to argue with people but to convince people about their need of Jesus! And some people can be reasoned with and others can’t.
Some people will listen but how do you find those people? You test them. You feel them out. You feel them out by witnessing, by speaking about Christ, by asking questions, by being alert to what they do and what they say.
In Paul’s case, he went into the synagogues where he knew he would find some god-fearing Jews. Church is always a good place to talk about God! However, does this mean we should invade other churches in order to get converts? No, not at all, it just means we should be on the lookout for people who do have some faith. HAVE YOU BEEN LOOKING FOR PEOPLE AND DISCERNING THEM TO SEE IF THEY ARE OPEN TO THE GOSPEL?
ILL.- Chuck Sackett is the Sr. Minister of the Madison Park Christian Church in Quincy, IL, and a friend of mine. We ran one marathon together back in 1993. He taught my son-in-law in a preaching class at Lincoln Christian College. I heard Chuck preach and teach recently at the Ozark Christian College Preaching and Teaching Convention on Feb. 25-27. Chuck is a great preacher and teacher but otherwise, he is something of an introvert.
What’s an introvert? You know. Someone who doesn’t conversationalize very much. He’s not the best mixer in the world and said that he hates to stand in church and make announcements. I don’t like it either but obviously, it goes with the job of being a preacher.
Chuck told about getting on a plane one time and waiting for it take off. Chuck was sitting next to an empty seat, which he liked very much, because he said he just preferred to either read a book on a plane or else sleep. But suddenly, an announcement came over the intercom, saying that they were going to have a full flight. Chuck kept watching as people neared the empty seat next to him.
And he kept wondering, "He, she, Oh no!, etc." Finally, a tank parked next to him. The guy was 6’ 8" and weighed over 300 lbs. And then the conversation started. Chuck thought he’d be nice and asked him what football team he played for and he had! And now he was doing some traveling, looking for a coaching job.
Chuck said that he learned a whole lot more about football than he ever wanted to during that conversation. Then suddenly, the guy asks Chuck, "And what do you do?" He said, "My friend in that other seat and I have been to conference." "What kind?" "We teach homiletics." And "What is homiletics?" "We teach young men how to preach." And from there the conversation took off.
Chuck said that normally whenever you say that word "preach" the conversation stops there and then he doesn’t have to worry about talking to others on a plane, but not this time. This time, this particular guy took off with the subject of preaching and Christianity and Chuck had no options but to witness for Christ.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Did you ever find yourself in the midst of a religious discussion at work or somewhere else and there was no way that you could avoid it? What did you do? Did you back off, clam up or talk? TALK IS WHAT WE’RE SUPPOSED TO DO FOR CHRIST! Listen first and then talk, witness, point to Christ, etc. Reason with people about Christ. And guess what? Believing in Christ is the most reasonable thing any thinking person can do!
Paul also invaded the market place. How interesting! How would we apply this to our day? How about Wal-mart, the grocery store, the mall, etc.? Yes, this means that we can witness in these places. Have you done this? Do you look for opportunities to reason with people about Christ?
III. WE MUST PREACH THE GOOD NEWS ABOUT JESUS
22Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: "Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23For 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.
Paul literally preached about Christ and His resurrection from the dead. He simply pointed them to Christ. He said, "I see that you are religious. Let me talk to you about God and how you can come to know Him."
We will probably never do this kind of thing, at least, not from the pulpit or in the public arena, HOWEVER, WE MUST STILL PREACH CHRIST!
ILL.- A guy named Lee said: Twenty years ago, my wife and I were vacationing in Estes Park, Colorado, and had breakfast in a coffee shop. It was empty except for four men at another table. One was mocking Christianity; in particular, the resurrection of Christ. He went on and on about what a stupid teaching that was.
I could feel the Lord asking me: "Are you going to let this go unchallenged?" However, I was thinking, But I don’t even know these guys. He’s bigger than me. He’s got cowboy boots on and looks tough. I was agitated and frightened about doing anything. But I knew I had to stand for Jesus.
Finally, I told Susan to pray. I took my last drink of water and went over and challenged him. With probably a squeaky voice, I said, "I’ve been listening to you, and you don’t know what you’re talking about!"
I did my best to give him a flying rundown of the proofs for the resurrection. He was speechless, and I was half dead. I must have shaken for an hour after that. But I had to take a stand.
I Peter 3:15 "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
ILL.- Samuel Chadwick said, "We cannot all be evangelists, but we all can be soul winners." We may not preach but we can talk!
ILL.- A preacher visited the editor of a newspaper one day and said, "I have come to talk to you about your soul and about Christ." The editor didn’t say a word. He walked to a nearby window and then turned toward the minister with tears in his eyes. The preacher thought, "Oh, I have offended him." Then the editor said, "With the exception of my mother, when I was a little boy, no one has ever talked to me about Christ. I THOUGHT NO ONE CARED!" What about you?
CONCLUSION----------------------------
ILL.- I understand that ADRIAN ROGERS (of Bellevue Baptist in Memphis) once said: "And idol is anything you love more, fear more, value more or serve more than you do Almighty God. Fill in the blank." We’re guilty and people around us are guilty. But we who believe in the Lord Jesus need to idolize Him more than anything else and point people to Him!
