INTRO.- ILL.- Little Ricky was spending the weekend with his grandmother after a particularly trying week in kindergarten.
His grandmother decided to take him to the park on Saturday. It had been snowing all night and everything was beautiful. His grandmother remarked, "Doesn't it look like an artist painted this scenery? Did you know God painted this just for you?"
Ricky said, "Yes, God did it, and he did it left handed."
This confused his grandmother a bit, and she asked him, "What makes you say God did this with his left hand?"
"Well," said Ricky," we learned at Sunday School last week that Jesus sits on God's right hand!
Kids get a little confused at times. Of course, we who teach children need to make ourselves very clear! We always need to make ourselves clear when talking about God and Christ! And to all people.
God has indeed painted some very pretty scenes in America and around the world and during all seasons. Even though I haven't done much traveling and haven't seen much scenery I still appreciate God's handiwork right here in Arkansas and in other places where I've lived.
God is a worker! He spoke and said, "Let there be light and there was light." He spoke again and instantly dry land appeared on planet earth, then plant and animal life. He spoke again and the starry universe came into existence! He spoke and man and woman came to life! (not necessarily in that order, but God knew the correct order in which to make them!) But how did God do that? That's the multi-million dollar question that will never be answered by man!
John 5:17 "Jesus said to them, "My Father is always at his work to this very day, and I, too, am working."
God is a worker and He's still at work. Is that right? Is God still at work? If so, what is He doing?
Proverbs 15:3 "The eyes of the LORD are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good."
God isn't just watching over people, He is at work in the lives of His people! He does things at times that we can't begin to even imagine. He does good for His people and at the same time, throws a wrench in the works when it comes to some evil people. BUT BE ASSURED GOD IS STILL AT WORK IN THIS WORLD!
PROP.- In this text about Paul's past, we see how God is at work in the world and in people's lives.
1- God is at work in preaching
2- God is at work in refuting error
3- God is at work in judgment
I. GOD IS AT WORK IN PREACHING
1Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain.
I went and set before them the gospel. God was the one who sent Paul to preach. God was at work in Paul's preaching.
ILL.- Alexander Maclaren (Baptist in England) was one of the greatest preachers of the nineteenth century. Robertson Nicoll said of him: “A man who reads one of Alexander Maclaren’s sermons must either take his outline—or take another text.”
What did that man mean by those words? I'm not exactly sure but I did get the impression that Maclaren worked hard to prepare his sermons.
It was said that through hard work, disciplined study, and concentration Maclaren did one important thing - he preached the Word. He turned down most speaking and social invitations. He stayed home, did his work, and built a great church.
“I began my ministry,” he told a group of young preachers, “with the determination of concentrating all my available strength on the work, the proper work of the Christian ministry, the pulpit.... I have tried to make my ministry a ministry of exposition of Scripture.”
To Alexander Maclaren, preparing messages was hard work. He often said he could never prepare sermons while wearing his house slippers; he always wore his outdoor boots. He was known to devote sixty hours to the preparation of a single sermon. Wow!
I don't think I spend 60 hours on every sermon but I do spend a lot of time: thinking, reading, researching, praying, writing, and re-writing.
Right now I have probably 16 to 18 sermons on my desk. I wrote to my college professor/preacher, Bob Stacy, who is 75 years old and is the Sr. Minister of the Spring Hill Church of Christ in Middletown, OH. And I told Bob that I had about 18 sermons already prepared. He wrote back and said, "I never heard of any preacher doing that!" Meaning, he didn't think any preacher would do it or perhaps would have the time to do it.
Of course, I reminded Bob that I serve a small church and have much more study time than he does. His church runs around 300 and he does most of the hospital calling, etc. And of course, it doesn't hurt that I get to the office every day between 5 and 5:30 in the mornings.
What am I saying? I am saying that I believe God is at work in the preaching of His Word and especially, when a preacher spends time studying His Word and preparing to preach!
ILL.- The preacher came to church unprepared one Sunday morning. He said, "As you all know, we lost an hour last night because of the time change. And I don't know what hour you lost, but I lost the hour that I usually write my sermon."
Well, if a preacher only spends an hour in study or in preparing his sermon he'd better pack up and quit the ministry, because that won't get the job done.
ILL.- Before each performance, the famous magician Howard Thurston used to stand for a minute in the wings and say, “I love this audience. I’m going to give my best to them and they are going to respond splendidly.”
Interesting thought. I do believe this could be applied to the preaching of God's Word. We who preach need to give our people the best we have to offer, not the least.
God is still at work in those who study hard and prepare well for the preaching of His Word. We preachers may not always "hit a home run" with every sermon, but when God is at work in our study there is something in every sermon to edify, build, or bless the soul!
II. GOD IS AT WORK IN REFUTING ERROR
3Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.
ILL.- Chang-three said, “We have a drum at home so big, when you beat it, it can be heard a hundred miles away.”
Li-four said, “We have a cow in our home so big, when she takes a drink at the south bank of the river her head reaches out and touches the north bank.”
Chang three shook his head and exclaimed, “How could there be a cow of that size!”
Li-four said, “If there weren’t cows of this size, where would you get the hide to make that drum?”
I think several somebodies are a bunch of liars! They are not stretching the truth. THEY ARE JUST NOT TELLING THE TRUTH! And this happens in all areas of society: in Hollywood, in education, in politics, and IN RELIGION! There are many liars when it comes to preaching religion of any kind.
"Some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you."
Some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks. Do you think this happens today? Do you think possibly that some false brothers or false teachers have infiltrated the church to contradict the message of Christ? ABSOLUTELY!
There may be at least two ways to look at these false brothers. They may only be false brothers in a sense of twisting the truth of scripture somewhat unknowingly. They mean well but they are ignorant. And someone needs to take them aside and teach them the way of God more accurately. Such a man was Apollos.
Acts 18:24-26 "Meanwhile a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was a learned man, with a thorough knowledge of the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord, and he spoke with great fervor and taught about Jesus accurately, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately."
The other side of the coin may be who are false teachers and try to teach a false doctrine or false gospel.
What should be done in that case? Someone ought to stand up and refute that false doctrine! Paul was quick to refute false doctrine and someone should do it today! God was at work in Paul to refute error!
Refuting error is not the most popular way to preach but someone has to do it. And we don't have many preachers today who will preach those kinds of sermons and do that kind of work. Elders should guard the flock against false doctrine and false brothers.
Jude 3-4 "Dear friends, although I was very eager to write to you about the salvation we share, I felt I had to write and urge you to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints. For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord."
ILL.- Bill O'Reilly on his TV show claims "he's just watching out for the folks." He says he is trying to give the American public the truth of things. Essentially, this is what we all need to do when it comes to God's truth in His Word. We all need to contend for the faith of the gospel! That means to stand up for the truth of the gospel of Christ!
III. GOD IS AT WORK IN JUDGMENT
6As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. 7On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews.
ILL.- A guide was conducting a group of tourists around the Empire State Building. On the elevator ride to the 102nd floor, a nervous woman asked, "What if these elevator cables were to break? Would we go up or down?" The tour guide said, "That depends entirely on the kind of life you've been leading."
Well, that's partly true. It really depends on whether a person is in Christ or not. HE IS THE DECIDING FACTOR OF OUR SALVATION. We are saved by His grace, not our goodness.
God is the judge of all mankind. But we need to realize that God doesn't wait until we die to start the judgment process! Some people have the mistaken idea that they can get away with anything in this life as long as they repent before they die. I DON'T BELIEVE THIS.
I believe that God is the sole judge of every human soul and some of His judging begins even before we die. For example, God judges sin and sometimes puts a stop to it or chastises for it in this life.
Some evil wicked people, like Hitler, die an early death. Don't you think God somehow has a hand in this? I do. I believe that God is at work in our world. He is for those who live for Him and He is against those who do evil.
I Peter 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and his ears are attentive to their prayer, but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
ILL.- In June, 2009, David Letterman was joking on his late night show and said, "Sarah Palin's daughter was 'knocked up' during the seventh-inning stretch by Yankees star Alex Rodriguez." Well, as you know, that caused all kinds of people to be upset with Letterman, including Sarah Palin and her family. Letterman apologized more than once but that wasn't enough.
Here is something else I read: Firedavidletterman.com, which has organized a protest to take place outside the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York, where the show is taped, says it has received over 30,000 pledges to boycott products from companies that advertise on Letterman's show.
In a sense, God was judging Letterman for his rudeness and crudeness through these people.
God loves all people but there is point where He will only stand for so much foolishness and sin! And the same thing holds true for preaching a false gospel.
ILL.- Justice Gray of the Supreme Court once said to a man who appeared before him in a lower court and escaped penalty by some legal technicality: “I know that you are guilty, and I wish you to remember that one day you will stand before a better and wiser Judge. There you will be dealt according to justice and not according to law.”
People may get away with certain things in this life but there will come a time when God will judge and do the right thing. GOD IS AT WORK WHEN IT COMES TO JUDGMENT.
CONCLUSION---------------
ILL.- Richard Baxter was an English preacher in the 1600's. When he lay dying, his friends, pitying his pain, comforted him by speaking of the good that he had achieved by means of his writings. Baxter shook his head. “No,” he said, “I was but a pen in God’s hand, and what praise is due to a pen?”
Baxter had the right attitude. If any good comes from our lives then the Lord be praised for it. God is at work in this world. He is at work in us. At least, we need to let Him work in us and through us to reach people for Christ. And may He receive all the glory, the honor, and the praise. BOTH NOW AND FOREVERMORE!
