"Who Went About Doing Good”

We do not have to guess, the Bible says HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD.

Sometimes we hear people talking about someone who has live a godly life, say, “I do not believe he/she has a enemy on this earth”. It is nice to have something like this said about us, but there is not one ounce of truth to it. Why?

Because:

1. If you live in sin you are going to offend someone and make some enemies

2. The Bible says that if we live a godly life we are going to make some enemies

• In 2 Tim. 3:12, we read, “Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.” Listen you do not suffer persecutions unless you have some enemies who are persecuting you.

• The Lord Himself said in John 15:20-21, “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, THEY WILL ALSO PERSECUTE YOU; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name's sake, because they know not him that sent me.””

Listen, the apostles, disciples, and Christ Himself Who was perfect, could not live on this sinful world without having enemies.

You see, the only way you can keep from having enemies is to compromise your convictions.

Illus: This is why some of the movie stars are so popular. Their philosophy in life, and their lifestyle says to the general public; “DO WHATEVER YOU WANT TO DO, that is the way I live my life.”

They refuse to draw any lines in the sand and say everything on this side is sin, and everything on the other side is not sin. But when you start drawing lines in the sand, there are going to be some folks who oppose you, and despise you for the stand you take.

Illus: Christians who take a stand are like some of the godly parents we know. They have no problem with little “Mr. Know It All”, as long as they let him have it his way. But once they start to say to him, “No, that is not pleasing to the Lord, and you can not do that”, guess who all of a sudden starts treating his parents like they are his worst enemies?

You see the Bible does not teach that Christ did not have any enemies. He had so many that they eventually crucified Him! However, the Bible does say HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD.

And Luke said, in verse 39 of our text, “And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem…”

In other words, the disciples saw Him day after day GOING ABOUT DOING GOOD. They saw the evil crowd-

• That lied about Him

• That plotted against Him

• That hated and despised Him

But the Bible said HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD.

You see, when we give:

• Evil for Evil

• Insult for Insult

• Lie for Lie

• Gossip for Gossip

We are no better off than others who are doing such things. But when we can rise above the acts of evil people, we are showing that we are better than they are.

The Bible teaches that Christ, who was hated and despised while He walked on this earth, WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD. AND LISTEN, HE DID NOT HAVE TO PUT UP WITH THIS STUFF!

A lot of folks had better be thankful that I am not God! If I was ALMIGHTY GOD, with His unlimited power, they would be in trouble for sure.

Illus: If I had the power the Lord Jesus had, and someone told a lie about me, I might cause their lips to grow together one night while they slept. And when they woke up, I would be in their face saying, “How do you like that?”

But they did all these thing to Christ. They lied about Him, they gossiped about Him, and the Bible says, “HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD!”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

Let me show you two things about the life of Christ. We preach so much about His miracles, prayers, teachings and etc., but let us look at WHAT IT MEANS when it says HE WENT ABOUT DOING GOOD.

I. HOW DID HE GO ABOUT DOING GOOD?

A. HE USED HIS RESOURCES

If I were to ask you the question, “Who is the richest person who has ever lived?”, what would your answer be?

• Some would name an entertainer like Elvis Pressley

• Some would name a financier like John D. Rockefeller

• Some would name a politician like the John F. Kennedy

• Some would name an athlete like Michael Jordan