MPC, 9th September 2001.Acts 14 - "Politically Incorrect"
Phil Campbell MPC, 9th September 2001.
I have to warn you at this point that what I’m going to be saying this morning is VERY RUDE. This is like one of those ratings messages you get before a movie. There’s not going to be any sex; and there’s not a whole lot of violence. But there is going to be a lot of stuff that you’d have to call POLITICALLY INCORRECT.
And if you think you might find it OFFENSIVE, just leave quietly when you don’t agree.
Let me warn you that for starters, I’m going to suggest the unmentionable idea that if CHRISTIANITY IS RIGHT, then OTHER RELIGIONS ARE WRONG.
And that if CHRISTIANITY IS RIGHT, the only sensible thing for BUDDHISTS and HINDUS and ABORIGINAL ANCESTOR WORSHIPPERS and ZEUS WORSHIPPERS to do is to GIVE UP WHAT THEY’RE DOING. And become followers of Jesus instead.
Now that is politically incorrect these days, isn’t it? Because we live in a time that says when it comes to matters of religion, ANYTHING GOES. And EVERYONE IS RIGHT.
Like last Easter in America; the church that was told they couldn’t advertise their Easter services on the front of the newspaper, because people from OTHER RELIGIONS would be OFFENDED.
Same at Christmas. Again in the USA, it’s now illegal to put A NATIVITY SCENE in a public place, like a park. Because little cardboard cutouts of Mary and Joseph and a few donkeys and the little baby Jesus are considered to be OFFENSIVE TO OTHER FAITHS.
You can’t say CHRISTIANITY IS RIGHT – because if you do, what about all the NON CHRISTIANS. I mean, they’ll be offended. Because you’re telling them they’re wrong.
Prince Charles is the same. Did you know that one of the titles of the English Monarch is DEFENDER OF THE FAITH. And when you become the King or Queen of England you automatically become the Head of the Church of England.
Except Prince Charles says, that instead of having the title Defender of THE faith, he wants to change it. To DEFENDER OF FAITHS. So that no matter WHAT faith you’re part of, he’ll defend it. Buddhist, Hindu, New Age, anything.
Now it’s a nice idea, isn’t it? And it’s VERY FAIR MINDED. And it’s very REASONABLE.
In fact, in the end there’s only one problem with it. And that is, IT IGNORES REALITY. It ignores WHAT’S REALLY REAL. And because of that, it FLIES IN THE FACE OF GOD.
Of course, in a time like ours, one idea that’s very much out of date is the idea of MISSIONARIES. I mean, you’ve heard all the stories, you’ve heard people complain about what they call CULTURAL IMPERIALISM – how all missionaries wanted to do was prove that WHITE PEOPLE were superior; and they’ve gone through the world and DESTROYED CULTURES. Which to some extent might be true.
But the REAL GRIPE people have is the idea that MISSIONARIES have the GALL to go to another culture and tell people they should become Christians. And so there are a lot of Australians right now who are probably saying Peter Bunch and Diana Thomas in Afghanistan are getting what they deserve. On trial for their lives. For preaching Christianity.
Well, I want to take a look with you this morning at the VERY FIRST MISSIONARIES. First ever. And they’re on their first ever MISSION TRIP. This is where it all started. The idea that the message of Jesus should go EVERYWHERE. To EVERYONE.
We saw the start of it last week. Paul and Barnabas and a few of their friends, they sail for Cyprus; they cross it from one end to the other. And then they sail North to the area that these days is TURKEY.
Here in chapter 14 they’re in the city of Iconium; they’re preaching there; and if you look at verse 4, the result is, they cause immediate division. Also very politically incorrect. What’s happened is that they’ve been preaching about Jesus, and they’ve done it so effectively that a huge number of both Jews and non-Jews are convinced. And believe.
Except the Jews who don’t believe… stir up trouble.
So in verse 5 you can see there’s a plot hatching to grab Paul and Barnabas and to stone them; Verse 6; “But they found out about it, and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe..” Now like I said before, you can follow them on the map. From Iconium in the north, back down first of all to Lystra. And then later to across to Derbe.
Where we’re told in verse 7, they CONTINUED TO PREACH THE GOOD NEWS.
Now it’s in Lystra where the stuff happens that I really want to focus on this morning. And if you’re following in a bible, it’s verses 8 to 20.
Because it’s here that for the very first time, you see Christianity face to face with other religions. And in this case a very TIME HONOURED RELIGION as well.
If you’ve ever watched HERCULES or XENA the Warrior Princess on telly, then you’ve heard names like ZEUS and HERMES before. Gods of the ancient GREEKS. The gods of Mount Olympus. These are the gods of the Pantheon. Part of the bunch we name the days of our week after, like WODENsday and THORsday.
And if you follow the story of what happens, there’s some interesting food for thought.
Follow from verse 9. There’s a crippled guy in Lystra, he’s been lame from birth. Never walked. And he’s listening as Paul is speaking. Hanging on every word. Paul looks at him; sees that he’s taking it in; sees that he has faith; and he calls out to him. “STAND UP ON YOUR FEET.” And at that, the guy jumps up and starts walking.
Which as you can imagine, causes QUITE A STIR. I mean, it’s done in front of a crowd, they’ve known the guy as one of the town beggars since he was a kid; now he’s WALKING.
Now here’s the point. If you run your eye back a few verses to verse 3, you’ll know Paul and Barnabas are speaking in the name of JESUS. And in verse 3 it says that it’s actually THE POWER OF THE LORD JESUS at work whenever these apostles do miraculous signs and wonders. This isn’t PAUL’S POWER. There’s nothing special about PAUL. When the crippled guy gets up and starts walking, it’s by the power of JESUS.
But you try telling that to the people of LYSTRA. See, these are people who have grown up hearing the stories of XENA THE WARRIOR PRINCESS. Of the gods who come down from Mount Olympus. Of THOR the THUNDER GOD who hits the clouds with his giant hammer. Of Zeus, the father of the gods with his big long white beard; of HERMES the messenger with the WINGS ON THE BACK OF HIS FEET who these days delivers INTERFLORA FLOWERS.
So when they see a MIRACLE, they reckon it’s their GODS COME TO VISIT. Follow in verse 11. “When the crowds saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, “The gods have come down to us in human form!” And Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes; because he was the chief speaker.
And it gets worse. The priest of the temple of Zeus, he brings some bulls and some wreaths of leaves to the city gate, and the crowd’s about to offer sacrifices to them and start WORSHIPPING THEM as their GODS.
In a way it’s a bit of an IRONY, isn’t it. Here are these two guys, and all they want to do is tell them that THE GOD OF ALL CREATION came into the world in human form in the person of JESUS. And they end up being worshipped as GODS IN HUMAN FORM THEMSELVES.
The problem isn’t so much that a god couldn’t come in human form. Because that’s EXACTLY WHAT HAPPENED. The problem is they’ve got the WRONG GOD. And they've got the wrong HUMANS as well.
So what are Paul and Barnabas going to do? Well, let me put it to you they could quite comfortably just go along for the ride. I mean, I reckon it would be pretty nice to get treated like a GOD. In fact, for most of us, it’s probably our secret ambition. Have everyone treat you like you’re a SUPERIOR BEING. A bit like when you get off the cruise ship at Hawaii and they put the wreaths around your neck and sing songs to you; that’s what’s happening here.
So sit back. Relax. Enjoy it. And more to the point, even if they don’t want to do that, at least they should probably say, LOOK, WE’VE MADE A MISTAKE. We didn’t realise you had OTHER GODS that you worshipped. We’ll go somewhere else. Because WE RECOGNISE that YOUR GODS ARE RIGHT FOR YOU, and OUR GOD IS RIGHT FOR US.
That’s the POLITICALLY CORRECT way to handle it, isn’t it. When there’s someone with a DIFFERENT RELIGION.
But have a look at Paul and Barnabas. Number 1. They’re not interested in being worshipped. In fact, the whole idea gives them the horrors. They tear their clothes; which is the Jewish way of showing that you’re more than a bit upset. And they rush into the crowd, and they say STOP IT. They say DON’T SACRIFICE TO US. We’re just flesh and blood like you are. You can see their words in verse 15. They say “Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you.”
But get the next bit. Because here’s where they break all the rules. And read it for yourself in the next sentence. Still in verse 15. “We are bringing you GOOD NEWS – telling you to TURN FROM THESE WORTHLESS THINGS to the LIVING GOD, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
Now do you get the drift? He’s saying, you’ve been worshipping Zeus and Apollo and Hermes and Buddha and sacred cows and the spirits of your ancestors. And we’re here with GOOD NEWS. Which is, THAT STUFF’S ALL WORTHLESS>And you need to give it up. And turn to the LIVING GOD instead.
Pretty funny idea of good news, isn’t it. That all your precious ideas about RELIGION are absolutely wrong. That every other religion in the world is ABSOLUTELY WORTHLESS. Strange idea of GOOD NEWS. Unless, of course, it happens to be TRUE.
Let me put it to you for a moment, that the REAL reason the world wants to say all religions are EQUALLY TRUE is that what they’re really saying is that NONE OF THEM are REALLY TRUE. So you can pick whatever delusion you prefer.
But Paul and Barnabas have seen the REALITY of JESUS. And especially his RESURRECTION. That he died. And he ROSE. Not as some sort of LEGEND or TRADITION. But just a few years before.
And in the light of that, EVERY OTHER GOD is an imposter.
Paul says we’re bringing you GOOD NEWS. Telling you to TURN FROM THESE WORTHLESS THINGS, to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them.
The CREATOR. See, at the heart of the Christian faith lies the fact that the GOD WE TRUST IN is the GOD WHO CREATED US. Who created EVERYTHING.. And it makes sense, doesn’t it, that the GOD WHO CREATED EVERYTHING has got the right to RULE IT. These petty little gods of thunder; these Buddhas – any sort of god you can think of, they’re SMALL TIME. Compared to the GOD WHO MADE THE WHOLE LOT.
Follow from verse 16. Paul says, “In the past he let all nations go their own way. Yet he has not left himself without testimony; he has shown kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy.”
Look at the seasons. And you see DESIGN. The PLANET EARTH tilts on its axis about 23 degrees. So when it’s rotating, it’s sort of tipped a bit sideways. And it’s BECAUSE OF THAT that we get SEASONS.
Ever think about what sort of world it would be if there was no spring and summer and autumn and winter? No crops. No food.
Paul says, THINK ABOUT THAT. He says we’re here to talk about THE GOD WHO MADE IT THAT WAY. And you need to GIVE UP THE WORTHLESS THINGS YOU’VE BEEN WORSHIPPING, and TURN TO HIM.
Now maybe you think science these days has made a message like that a bit DATED. The LIVING GOD, who made HEAVEN AND EARTH. And you say, huh, SCIENCE DISPROVED THAT A LONG TIME AGO.
Funny thing; YOU MIGHT SAY THAT. But SCIENTISTS DON’T. A couple of years ago I read a book by STEPHEN HAWKING called A BRIEF HISTORY OF TIME. He’s the guy in the wheel chair who thought up the idea of BLACK HOLES. Considered the WORLD’S GREATEST SCIENTIST.
Let me tell you, he’s certainly not a CHRISTIAN. But when you boil it all down, he says that as a scientist he can’t avoid the fact that the UNIVERSE IS FULL OF EVIDENCE OF DESIGN. Not just in the BIG STUFF. But in the tiny little stuff as well.
He says it all started with a BIG BANG. Genesis says, LET THERE BE LIGHT. And there WAS LIGHT. Just like that.
He says since the BIG BANG the whole universe is EXPANDING. – but at exactly the right rate. If the big bang was any bigger, everything would have just stayed sort of like vapour. And if the big bang was even just a TINY BIT smaller, you’d just have a BIG CLUMP. No universe at all.
He says you look at an ELECTRON; in a tiny little atom. Same thing. A slightly bigger electrical charge; whoomp, every atom in the universe would blow itself apart. Slightly smaller, every atom in the universe would just fall in a heap.
And Stephen Hawking has done the maths to prove it.
But you know the funny thing? The smartest man in the world is also one of the dumbest. Because by the time he proves all that, you know what he says? He says, BOY, this is a GREAT MYSTERY! When what he should have done is what PAUL SAYS TO DO HERE.
We’re not on about a MYSTERY GOD AT ALL. We’re on about a LIVING GOD. Who came in the FLESH. Just on 2000 years ago. And left a mark on the world that WON’T WASH OFF.
And because Jesus came from THE CREATOR GOD, his claims stand out above every other claim. Because they’re TRUE. Christianity isn’t just some PHILOSOPHY; It’s not just a bunch of ideas. Christianity STAKES A CLAIM. That stands against every other claim. Which I guess is what’s always made being a Christian such a dangerous sport.
Verse 19; Paul and Barnabas are being followed around by a bunch of Jews from Antioch, where they’d spoken before. And they win the crowd over, and they stone Paul; and drag him out of the city and leave him for dead.
Make no mistake. See, I said this stuff was OFFENSIVE. But can I challenge you this morning to WEIGH THIS MESSAGE UP. It’s very nice to just stand on the sidelines and say, well, you know, maybe it’s right, maybe it’s wrong, maybe everybody’s right. But when you’re doing that you’re casting a vote already aren’t you.
So let me put it to you today, as bluntly as I can; I’ve got some very good news for you. And that is, YOU NEED TO TURN AWAY FROM THE WORTHLESS THINGS you’ve been devoting your life to – and you need to TURN TO THE LIVING GOD instead.
When you do that, you’ll find LIFE. If you don’t do it, all you’ve got to look forward to is CERTAIN DEATH. The choice is that simple..
I guess you’re not someone who worships ZEUS; but maybe you want a bit each way. Forget it. Because I suspect that deep inside all of us, we know we’ve been made; and that we didn’t just happen. And we know that the God who made us wants to CLAIM US BACK. So we argue our way out of it. We push him aside. We say, well, ALL RELIGIONS ARE EQUALLY RIGHT. So we can hide behind the fact that maybe they’re all EQUALLY WRONG.
It might be rude. But it may be that you’re here this morning and YOU NEED TO BE CHALLENGED. So let me say to you this morning, I want to call you to Turn from whatever WORTHLESS THING things you pour your life into worshipping. And TURN TO THE LIVING GOD.
You can do that by joining with me in a simple prayer:
Father,
We know that you’re the maker of all things, and we thank you for your goodness in making a world that’s so perfectly balanced; a world with precision built atoms and clockwork galaxies. We know that it didn’t just HAPPEN. We know YOU MADE IT. And Father, we know you made us. We recognise that you made each of us to live YOUR WAY. And yet we’ve preferred our OWN WAY. And we recognise the WRONG of that.
Father FORGIVE US. And as we TURN TO YOU IN OUR HEARTS, we pray that you would help us to TURN FROM THE WORTHLESS THINGS that we’ve put in YOUR PLACE.
In Jesus name,
Amen