But their message is what turned the world upside down. And that message, as Pastor Jonathan actually spoke of in his sermon, we have to build bridges in evangelism to bridge that gap because guess what? They're not going to accept you. They're not going to accept your message. Look, they're going to accept the free food. They're going to accept They're going to accept the hoodies. They're going to accept everything that is fleshly. They'll accept that, but they will not accept your word because it is God's word.
[00:25:27]
You know, any Christian worth his salt knows that that God has fixed a day that that he will judge the world. But what does it look like if if we don't believe that? If God has not fixed the day in which he's going to judge the world, what are we doing? Look, you could be the best the most awesome sports fan you wanted to be. You can go to all the football games. You got to all the basketball games. You can do all the things. You could be the best father. You can take them on the best camping trips. Amen.
[00:26:35]
These are good things. These are not bad things which we have to like restrain ourselves from. These are good things. But you could just be the ultimate and pour all your funds into that. That would be how you lived your life. This full of flesh, full of desire. I want what we I want now and I can have it. I mean that's what we call hedenism. We just have all all the fleshly things. And guess what? It's only when we meet the rub of that entering into sin that the church separates from its culture.
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But look, we believe that God has a reason that he is fixed a day. It's because God cares for his glory. He cares for his glory. A matter of fact, that is the whole reason in which God made creation. Remember Romans 1:20 where his invisible attributes namely his eternal power, divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made. So guess what? That last little bit. So they are without excuse when when are they out without excuse? at the judgment. They're held without excuse at the judgment.
[00:29:25]
This is what we would call general revelation that God in his creation that you can view creation and you can tell that they're a God, but God's going to hold them accountable to that. Listen to this. says Jesus is speaking in Acts 17 and 8. I feel like I jumped a large portion. I think I did. I think I jumped my Yes, I did. Okay. Sorry. Sorry. It's good. Let us I don't want to mess up Gabby. Yeah. So, Acts She's already went. Okay. Very good. I I'll jump down. Um, but here is Jesus speaking in Acts 1:7 and 8.
[00:30:28]
He said, he said to them, "It is not for you to know the times or the season that the father has fixed by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria, and guess what? In Stanley County, to the ends of the earth, you will be my witnesses there." And look, it is the Holy Spirit's job to give you a power in witnessing. That's what he does. He empowers you to be the witness.
[00:31:02]
You don't have to really work these things up as much as that the spirit of God is working in and through you. Listen to this. Jesus also speaking in John 14:26. But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all that I said to you. You know, small group, we were actually kind of breaking this apart a little bit last night. How does that how does that work its way out? How does that work its way out?
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How did it work its way out with them first of all and then how does it work its way out with us? Well, it worked its way out with them is that you had these apostles which followed Jesus for his entire ministry. They went through they seen what Jesus did. They they seen how he healed the sick. They heard his message and then he went and died on the cross and was gone. And he he he said to them, you know, the Holy Spirit, let's see, back in John 14:26, he said he will send the helper who will bring to your remembrance all things.
[00:32:26]
So these guys went out into the culture. They went out into the culture of their time and he would bring back the remembrance of things which Jesus had taught them. Y'all know what happened when those bringing back to remembrance happened? You know what was created? The scripture. Scriptures were created. That's how they were wrote. That was how the Holy Spirit had his hand in men, writing these things down so that you can have your Bible right now, right here. 2,000 years ago, you're able to pick up scripture and read it.
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But guess what? It works the same way with you. If you do not pick up the scriptures, you ain't got squat to bring back to remembrance. Do you understand that? You have not a nothing to bring back to remembrance. If you're not in the scriptures, if you're not walking with Jesus in the same light in which the apostles did in and through their time on earth, you have nothing to bring back to remembrance. So, how do you expect the Lord to work in evangelism in you if there's nothing there?
[00:33:31]
I want us to look here at my second point that God that God commands repentance. Look at Acts 17:30. The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. Well, if if God is making it a command, he's not saying pretty pretty please come and accept this. He's saying believe or die. It is a command. Believe or die. The command. If God is saying that we need to do this, well, what is repentance? What is that?
[00:34:23]
Maybe it's, oh man, I felt bad that one time, but guess what? I don't feel that bad about it no more. Maybe that's you. Maybe you were sitting in a pew and man, you heard a message from a pastor. You felt guilty for a short time and you fell down. You fell down on tears and you cried and you gave you're you gave yourself over to the Lord never to step back in church again. You have no motivations or love for the Lord at all. Matter of fact, you got to be drugged here by somebody more spiritual than you.
[00:35:02]
Throwing all these sticks on your heart and then at the right time what we would call the doctrine of regeneration, God shows up and he lights your heart a flame a new gives you new desires that you never known. You're different. You're not you don't it's not a it's not a have to. It's a desire, man. You get home, man. I mean, I I hadn't even read the Bible since probably I was probably 10 years old. You're talking about somebody who was like 20 or 21 at this time.
[00:36:23]
And as I read, it was just I had this burning on the inside of me just just to know him and to to read his word. And man, not even being read the scriptures. Then I would come across a verse some verses like this. If you would look with me in Luke 24:13-32. Now, this is after the resurrection. Uh there's two guys. They they they've left the city and they're like, "Man, this is just wild. All this is happening." You know, they're leaving. They're going on a journey seven miles away.
[00:37:08]
And as they're on this journey, they're just walking along and and this man comes up beside them. They didn't know him, but they start telling him everything that happened to Jesus and how we thought he was going to be the appointed one. We thought he was going to be the king of Israel. We thought he was going to be annoyingly that was Jesus and they didn't even recognize him. And it says beginning with the law of Moses. scripture beginning with the law of Moses through the prophets and the psalms.
[00:37:55]
He he led them through showing him showing them who Jesus was, showing them himself in the scripture, not separate. Listen to these guys account after they come back and they get to thinking about it like after he's gone. Listen what they say. And they said to each other, "Did our hearts not burn within us while he talked to us along the road while he opened up to us the scriptures? Did our hearts not burn?" Question. Has your heart ever burned for the Lord?
[00:38:34]
What does that look like for you? You know, repentance is a pursuit for holiness. It is a a life pursuit of holiness. Not just the day of salvation, but that the Holy Spirit over a period of time of your life will take these scriptures and begin to peel the shackles off your eyes. Just like Paul when he's seeing Jesus for the first time, he's peeling these sins like you didn't even realize you were so sinful. He didn't even show you all of yourself at the beginning of salvation.
[00:39:26]
But over time, he begins to show you yourself. And he allows you to have repentance along this walk of faith. Do any of you have that story? Have you been walking through this journey with the Lord and he's shown you yourself over and over again and he's allowed you to to come to him said, "Lord, I hate that in my heart. I cannot stand that about me. Lord, would you rid me of this?" Your prayers change. Your prayers will reach out to the Lord, asking him to take these things away.
[00:39:51]
Why? Because God commands repentance and enables repentance, stirring the heart of his people. That goes on to our third point. God's judgment of the world will be done in righteousness. Look in Acts 17:31 and and we read on which he will judge the world in righteousness. If you would turn with me to Romans 3 2-4, you know, I've heard this verse, man, so twisted so many times. It's not the wrath of God, man, leads us to repentance. It's love. It's this oohy gushy love type talk.
[00:40:44]
The time of ignorance. God have overlooked those times. Why? Because all of humanity should have perished in Adam and Eve. He should not have let you exist at all. They sinned. They should have went the punishment. But his grace, they should have went to judgment. You were born into this world. Judgment should have happened. So what is his kindness? He's held back his wrath from you and allowed repentance. He's held back his wrath. That is his kindness.
[00:42:39]
How did he do it? And when they had those who bore the ark of the Lord had gone six steps, what happened? Obedience. Obedience happened in six steps. He sacrificed an ox and a fatted animal. And David danced before the Lord with all his might. And David was wearing a linted ephog. So David and all the household of Israel brought up the ark of the Lord and shouting and sounds and harps and I mean he went right back to what they were doing when this thing was on the was on the cart.
[00:47:34]
We got to go back. We got to repent, take steps back of obedience, and fall in line with what the Lord is doing. David struggled with that type of righteous judgment as well. Guess what? How will God bring about such said judgment? Look at verse 31. in Acts. By a man he has appointed and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. Brother sisters, what are we going to do with that this? What are we going to do with it?
[00:49:13]
How we live our lives as Christians should affect that. We live out these realities. We live out these views. We view our culture in this same way. I mean, you you're either, as I've heard, an evangelist or an impostor. We're left here as the body to go out and engage the culture. That's what we're doing. That's the reason we get Matthew 28:16-20, which I think we've read a few times during this this series.
[00:54:51]
You come to church, you hear the pastor, the deacons are serving, everybody's just doing their part, and then we go home and we eat chicken at mama's house like anybody else. Am I the only one? I enjoy those things. Those are good things, but we must keep the main thing the main thing. I simply want to ask, what are your words going to look like knowing that God is fixed today? What are your areas of influence going to look like when we go back out into the world after you leave here?
[00:56:50]
