Ezekiel 16:1-6 Again the word of the Lord came to me, saying, 2 “Son of man, cause Jerusalem to know her abominations, 3 and say, ‘Thus says the Lord God to Jerusalem: “Your birth and your nativity are from the land of Canaan; your father was an Amorite and your mother a Hittite. 4 As for your nativity, on the day you were born your navel cord was not cut, nor were you washed in water to cleanse you; you were not rubbed with salt nor wrapped in swaddling cloths. 5 No eye pitied you, to do any of these things for you, to have compassion on you; but you were thrown out into the open field, when you yourself were loathed on the day you were born. 6 “And when I passed by you and saw you struggling in your own blood, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’ Yes, I said to you in your blood, ‘Live!’
I. INTRODUCTION
One thing we shouldn’t take for granted is what people had to endure. There are some people that have survived some trying times. Some things are too numerous to count.
It is a miracle that some people showed up. You have no idea you might be sitting next to a miracle today. This means they overcame!
1 Corinthians 15:10 NKJV says 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all, yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me.
You have to thank those that show up for you. Know that there will be those that will abandon you.
In our Human relationships, people have walked away from us and left us for dead. They are looking at us waiting for our demise to take place.
May we declare that this word today will reassure you. When people leave you, God will love you!
This word comes from the prophet Ezekiel who is a major prophet. Major prophets are named by the size of their books, not by their works.
Ezekial prophesied to God’s people under Babylonian captivity. They were in a place of moral deficit too. They had brought this captivity on themselves, because they had turned to pagan gods.
Ezekial uses allegory. An allegory is a story, poem, or picture that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning, typically a moral or political one.
This photographic prophet told stories like that of the Valley of Dry Bones found in Ezekiel 37:1-14 where the bones were dead, but they ended up being a mighty army and the story of The Healing Waters found in Ezekiel 47: 3-5, where the water seeped under the door represented anointing and eventually the anointed ended up consuming the people from head to toe.
In this particular scripture, Ezekial uses Israel (representative of us) as being born as an infant in an open valley. The infant hasn’t been covered and hasn’t been washed. The cord hasn’t been cut either, so the child is still connected to what gave birth to it.
It’s parents was connected to pagan gods, meaning its parents were not connected to what God wants us to be feed. People are passing by, but no one was doing anything.
God saw us in our blood and in our situation and He spoke life over us, then He brought us back to life. It ain’t over until God says so!
II. THE PAIN OF A SINFUL PAST
The reality is, they are in this situation because of their sin. Ezekial 16 tells of the children of Israel’s unfaithfulness to God. It might not look like it now, but all of us have some bad chapters in our past.
Romans 3:23 NKJV says 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
A lot of us try to live through selective sin, so that we can soften our sin and judge others. This is divisive in the Kingdom of God.
There are only two types of people in the kingdom: Those who are caught and those who haven’t been caught yet.
There is no hierarchy of sin. To God, a sin is a sin.
A. Life Is About Choices And Consequences
The enemy wants to control your decisions.
5 ways the enemy tries to control your decisions.
Description and Doubt – Remember that’s what the devil did with Eve in the Garden. He tried to make her doubt what the Lord meant by what He said.
Temptations and Desires – This is why the enemy tried to tempt Jesus with bread.
Fear and Anxiety – This makes us make bad choices.
Pride and Self-Reliance – The enemy will use our pride to make us mess up our blessing. The enemy wants you to compromise your destiny.
B. The Enemy Wants Your Environment To Produce A Negative Outcome
You have to make decisions that cause you not to be a product of your negative environment.
We never would have had a Tyler Perry if he had given in to his past life and environment.
Lots of people pulled themselves out of the lives they came from to become something better.
You ought to give God glory that you didn’t become a product of your environment!
III. THE PEOPLE SAW YOU AND HAD NO PITY
There are people watching you that you are not aware of. They watch you from afar. They may follow your social media pages and never click on anything but know that they are watching.
A. They Let Me Stay Connected To Stuff Too Long
The people went by and saw the condition the infant was in, but no one cut the cord from the navel.
You need people around you that can hold you accountable.
Infection will set in if you don’t cut the cord. This is the season when it’s time to cut the cord.
You can’t be attached to anything that doesn’t feed where you’re going.
B. You Had To Navigate Seasons Of Neglect
This is an infant that can’t cut the cord for himself. Some of us are in situations and we can’t do for ourselves what we need to do. This is why we need the right people around us.
In this season of neglect, you will realize it will be tough. This is the season that the enemy will try to get into your mind.
Whatever the enemy is trying to do in your mind, know that it is temporary. Be not weary in well doing. You will reap if you faint not. These are transforming moments.
What does it mean to be in an open field?
IV. YOU WERE IN A PUBLIC SPACE OF PREJUDICE
People make judgement calls on people based on what people have on. You don’t know their story. You don’t know what they had to go through to get here.
God doesn’t see us like people see us. God sees us in our future.
A. Don’t Let How People See You Determine How You See Yourself
It shouldn’t matter how people see you. When you realize who you are in God, then you walk with a sense of confidence. It puts you in a certain place.
To the women of this congregation, don’t let what people say about you, validate who you are. God sees you and has defined who you are. You are who God says you are.
Think about Hagar, she could have succumbed to her situation. God spoke to her in her purpose. This is when she named God El Roi meaning God sees me.
Don’t let people’s perspective make you see yourself by what people call you.
Even when people try to limit you, you are still amazing!
People think it is over for you but know:
B. This Is The Last Day You Will See Me Like This
God is sending this word, because this is the last time you will see me like this! We are going to walk in what God planed for us to do!
V. HE PASSED BY AND SPOKE TO MY POSSIBILITY
The Bible says, in your blood I saw you. God saw the Children of Isreal in a perish situation and he spoke to them with love.
A. He Didn’t Just See Me, It’s What He Said To Me
There is power in words. The power of life and death is in your tongue.
Everything that was created was created by God’s word. When God speaks a thing, then that’s what it will be. When and where He speaks it, is where it will happen.
When God sends a word, He sends it at the right time and place for you. Then you got to believe that it is already done.
What your Pastor preaches on Sunday, is a download from the Holy Spirit. God downloaded his word to your Pastor and used she or he as a vessel.
When that word goes forth, know that it will happen over your life.
It doesn’t matter how they labeled you. That one word we declare over you is “live”!
B. The Worst Is Over And The Best Is Yet To Come
People have no idea of what you experienced. God says if no one else sees you, He sees you!
God says he saw you when you were faithful, but being looked over.
When yo were trying to be faithful and they looked over you, God saw you then too.
God is about to snatch you out of every dead place in your life! Some people thank God for the houses and the cars, but there are others that can thank God just because He kept them!
Luke 7:11-17 11 Now it happened, the day after, that He went into a city called Nain; and many of His disciples went with Him, and a large crowd. 12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, “Do not weep.” 14 Then He came and touched the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, “Young man, I say to you, arise.” 15 So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. 16 Then fear came upon all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has risen up among us”; and, “God has visited His people.” 17 And this report about Him went throughout all Judea and all the surrounding region.
I. INTRODUCTION
One of the things we should be aware of is God never intends to leave us in a place of despair.Psalm 30:11 says 11 You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy,
God is a god that refuses to allow us to wallow in our current situation and remain in despair. He is determined not to let our current situation be our final situation.
Grief is real and at some point, in your life, you will experience grief. If you’ve ever experienced loss, you know what grief feels like.
Grief is the result of the loss of loved one, loss of a friendship, loss of a job, or a loss of the way things used to be.
Just because we love the Lord, doesn’t mean we get exempt from experiencing grief.
Dr Elisabeth Kubler Ross wrote a book on “death and dying” and in it, she talks about the 5 stages of grief.
5 Stages of Grief
Denial – A state of shock or disbelief, where individuals have difficulty accepting the reality of the loss.
Anger – A period of frustration, resentment, and sometimes blame, which can be directed at oneself, others, or even the person who has died.
Bargaining – This stage often includes thoughts of “if only…” and involves attempts to negotiate or change the reality of the situation, sometimes through promises or compromises.
Depression – Feelings of profound sadness, loneliness, and hopelessness, as the reality of the loss becomes undeniable.
Acceptance – A stage of coming to terms with the loss, where individuals may begin to find peace and adjust to life without the person or situation they have lost.
When you read this word today, you will discover that these stages are not linear, meaning that they may not necessarily appear in order. You may experience them all at once or one by one in no particular order.
This word comes at a specific time in Jesus’ Ministry. Jesus had just performed a miracle in Capernaum 25miles away from Nain. Afterwards he traveled down the roadway, teaching along the way, until he finally reached Nain.
When Jesus got to Nain, he noticed there was a funeral procession. There is woman in the procession weeping and dressed in black. Her son was in a coffin with no lid on top. This processional was headed to the graveyard, so that they could bury her son.
She was a widow woman. This was a difficult situation to be in. This meant her covering (her husband) had already passed away.
In biblical history, men took care of the wives. When a woman was a widow, she was in a state of financial insecurity, so this was a really big issue.
Remember Ruth and Naomi and how difficult it was for them after their husbands had died?
The Widow Woman doesn’t have a husband, but she has a son. The son would one day step in the gap and take care of his mother as his father once did, but then her son
Jesus sees her and has compassion for her. He tells her to stop crying. He touches the coffin, and the boy was raised from dead. They were in misery, but they ended up with a miracle! It doesn’t matter what you lost, today is your day for a turnaround!
II. PAINFUL AND ATNOMALOUS DEATH
Anomalous means something that deviates from the normal of what was expected. The son’s death was
Not only does the widow not have her husband to protect her anymore. Now the woman doesn’t even have her son to protect her.
When you find yourself in a place where something happens that you didn’t expect, then sometimes you just explain why things happen.
A. Sometimes You Just Can’t Explain Why Things Happen
We always try to make things make sense. Some things just don’t have an explanation.
The mysteries of God is a place for you to place your faith. There are things of God that we will never understand.
Faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We walk by faith and not by sight.
If we knew everything about God, then He wouldn’t be God.
Trust the intelligence of God. Though you don’t understand, know that God has a plan for your life.
Isaiah 55:8-9 says For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Romans 11:33 says Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways!,
Job 36:26 says Behold, God is great, and we know him not; the number of his years is unsearchable.,
1 Corinthians 2:9-10 says But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”—these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.,
Psalms 147:5 says Great is our Lord, and abundant in power; his understanding is beyond measure.
B. Rest In His Sovereignty
God is sovereign and He can do what He wants to do, how He wants to do it, and He doesn’t owe us an explanation of why.
5 ways to understand God
God’s ultimate authority – His decisions is final and just. God has spoken.
God has divine wisdom – He knows your past present and your future. It’s just like us watching a movie that we have already seen with our friends. We already know how it ends.
God has providential control – He guides us according to His purposes.
God has purposeful design – Whatever He does is part of a bigger plan. Think about it. If this one thing hadn’t happened, then that door would not have opened, and if that door hadn’t opened, then you wouldn’t have received this blessing.
Faithfulness and goodness – God is faithful and God is good. Look into the mirror and you can see the goodness of God. God is so good; he gives us what we do not deserve. That’s why I have a job that I don’t qualify for and that’s why I drive a car I can’t afford.
When you experience anonymous rest in the sovereignty of God, you are:
III. PARTICIPATING IN THE ACCEPTANCE OF A DIRGE
Jesus shows up at the processional that is on the way to the graveyard.
What is a dirge? A dirge is a somber song or lament expressing mourning or grief, often performed at funerals or memorial services. It can also refer to a mournful poem or piece of music intended to commemorate the dead.
A dirge has historically been used to convey sorrow. A dirge creates an atmosphere. It means you have excepted the outcome.
A. You Need A Community When You Lament
When you experience loss, you don’t need to do it by yourself.
Nobody needs to deal with loss in isolation. When you do, the enemy will cause you Faith frustration, demonic interrogation, and mental degradation. You need to be around people that have a testimony.
B. This Funeral Will Not Be Final
The funeral is literal and metaphorical at the same time. In other words, God is trying to tell us that this thing we are dealing with, will not be final. Trust what God is about to do!
This isn’t the end for you. It’s not over until God says so! This is not the end of your journey!
IV. PROVIDENTIAL AFFECTION AND DISRUPTION
Jesus sees the funeral. He sees the woman crying and His heart has compassion for her. He intercepts the inevitable by stopping the procession.
He has empathy.
A. Jesus Had Empathy
Isaiah 53:4 ESV says Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted., Hebrews 4:15 ESV says For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
No matter what happens in your life, know that Jesus feels you and He understands you. Jesus understands our contemplations and He understands us.
He knows your fears and frustrations.
B. Jesus Spoke A Word Of Encouragement
Jesus told the women to stop crying. It sounds strange for Jesus to tell her not to cry, but you need to understand when and why he told her to stop crying, to get the revelation.
Jesus saw them heading to the graveyard to bury her son. Jesus stopped them before going to the graveyard to demonstrate that He will show up just before your stuff goes under. You are not going under! Jesus will show up right on time! This is the
Why? Greif is a natural process. Don’t let anyone tell you not to cry when you suffer loss. Crying is ok. However, Jesus wants us to give our tears term limits!
What should bring our tears to term limits? Remember when Jesus showed up after Lazarus died? He asked Mary and Martha where they laid him. They said he was already dead, but Jesus still wanted to see him. Jesus told them he was resurrection. Because Jesus was there, their situation was about to change.
Why should they stop crying? They were having a dirge. They are singing songs saying that “it’s over”. When you stop crying, you shift the atmosphere. You change lamentation to expectation! When you change your posture, you are expecting God to do something.
Cry your last tear, because God’s about to turn your situation around.
After you change atmospheres:
V. PRAISE GOD FOR AN ALTERED DESTINY
The women stopped crying. When the atmosphere shifted, then Jesus moved. If you want God to move, then shift your atmosphere. The move of God only comes when you shift the atmosphere! We are assigned to this place and if no one else is willing to shift the atmosphere, we will!
When she shifted her posture, Jesus touched the casket. This was against Leviticus law, because touching the dead caused you to be unclean. Jesus broke protocol and did it anyway.
A. One Touch Changed Everything
Matthew 8:3 ESV says And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.
Mark 8:23 ESV says And he took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village, and when he had spit on his eyes and laid his hands on him, he asked him, “Do you see anything?”
Mark 5:41 ESV says Taking her by the hand he said to her, “Talitha cumi,” which means, “Little girl, I say to you, arise.”
Mark 5:34 ESV says And he said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace, and be healed of your disease.”
Luke 22:51 ESV says But Jesus said, “No more of this!” And he touched his ear and healed him.
One touch from Jesus can put your situation back together again! The hymn writer says “he touched me and made me whole!”
B. God Is Going To Return What He Resurrects To You
One touch from Jesus and God will return what he resurrects, back to you.
You would think that we could shout over the boy being raised from the grave. Jesus touched the casket, and the boy raised up and spoke. Now get this, he raised up and spoke up.
When Jesus resurrects him, it is essential that visibly he rises up. This isn’t enough by itself, because this could still be seen as a hoax orchestrated by the disciples, but when he speaks up, the miracle becomes undeniable.
When God made Adam, he was made in flesh. He wasn’t living until God blew his breath into Adam.
In Ezekiel 37, when the bones were brought together, they didn’t live until the wind came. The breath of God confirms that you have life. You can be raised up and still be in a dead situation, because you won’t say anything. When you open your mouth if confirms God’s blessing over you.
How does the boy get out of the casket? Scripture doesn’t say how. The scripture just says that he raised up and started talking.
Perhaps Jesus brought him out. Perhaps the pallbearers got him out. We don’t know how he got out, but we do know, he got out! The same is true for our own situation. I don’t know how I got out, but what I know is, I got out!
When he got out, the Bible says, Jesus presented her son to his mom. This will be your season for restoration. Whatever you thought you lost, God is about to give it back.
When he got back to his mom, the crowd said, “Surely, he is a prophet among us”. They then turned from morning to praise. What was a funeral has now turned into a praise service!
Turn to someone and tell them “I’m back”! God brought me from grief to glory!!
Genesis 22:1-14 Now it came to pass after these things that God tested Abraham, and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.” 2 Then He said, “Take now your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.” 3 So Abraham rose early in the morning and saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and Isaac his son; and he split the wood for the burnt offering, and arose and went to the place of which God had told him. 4 Then on the third day Abraham lifted his eyes and saw the place afar off. 5 And Abraham said to his young men, “Stay here with the donkey; the lad and I will go yonder and worship, and we will come back to you.” 6 So Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it on Isaac his son; and he took the fire in his hand, and a knife, and the two of them went together. 7 But Isaac spoke to Abraham his father and said, “My father!” And he said, “Here I am, my son.” Then he said, “Look, the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering?” 8 And Abraham said, “My son, God will provide for Himself the lamb for a burnt offering.” So the two of them went together. 9 Then they came to the place of which God had told him. And Abraham built an altar there and placed the wood in order; and he bound Isaac his son and laid him on the altar, upon the wood. 10 And Abraham stretched out his hand and took the knife to slay his son. 11 But the Angel of the Lord called to him from heaven and said, “Abraham, Abraham!” So he said, “Here I am.” 12 And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” 13 Then Abraham lifted his eyes and looked, and there behind him was a ram caught in a thicket by its horns. So Abraham went and took the ram, and offered it up for a burnt offering instead of his son. 14 And Abraham called the name of the place, The-Lord-Will-Provide; as it is said to this day, “In the Mount of the Lord it shall be provided.”
I. INTRODUCTION
Whenever God elevates us, it usually follows a season of testing. Many see our glory and not our story.
Lots of people see successful people and want to be them, but they don’t know the story behind the success. They don’t know all they had to go through to get where they are.
If you are experiencing a test, it is time to appreciate where God is about to take you.
We need to learn to manage our mountains. We are about to experience the Elevation Exam.
God called Abraham from the land where he was living. He told him to go to a place He would show him. God made a lot of promises to Abraham. One of those was that he would make his name great.
3 faiths came out of Abraham’s bloodline. They were Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
God promised to give Abraham a son in his old age. His wife Sarah laughed because of their old age.
Abraham would have a promise on his life. When God gives us a promise, we have to trust that God is going to do what He says he is going to do.
The errors and flaws of our past do not disqualify the promise God has placed on our future.
Sarah got impatient on waiting for a son, so she told Abraham to go and have a child with her handmaiden. You would think that Abraham would have been hesitant about this, but he wasn’t. He went on in and laid with the handmaiden, Hagar.
Hagar was the Egyptian handmaiden. Ishmael was the son that was the result of her and Abraham getting together.
Sarah eventually put Hagar out.
Issac was eventually born when Abraham was 99yrs old. This was the son that God promised Abraham. 10 chapters later, God told Abraham to offer his only son Issac up as a sacrifice on the mountain.
Abraham willingly offers up his son on Mt Moriah. How do you manage a mountain, when it is so challenging?
II. READY TO PROVE YOUR FAITH
You faith must be active in all seasons. In this season, you must realize that God did this, not the devil.
We must be willing to trust God on all levels.
Our testing is not for our right now. Instead it is for our not yet.
A. When God Tests Us, It Is Always About Where He’s Taking Us
The Sovereignty of God is always in motion in our lives. This is why we can’t lean to our own understanding.
Know that it won’t make since right now, but it will later.
B. Your Faith Is Revealed In The Test
In school there are different kinds of test you can take. They are:
Diagnostic Test – Used to reveal where your strengths and weaknesses are.
Performance Based– Evaluate how a student can apply what they’ve learned. God may give you a performance test, where he wants you to apply and test your faith. Example: When the disciples couldn’t cast the demon out of the demon possessed boy, they asked Jesus why. The question is, can your faith be portable?
Oral Test – This is how you express what you know. Sometimes God will test us to see what we will say.
Standardized Test – These are test that help us get to the next level. That’s what this test is about. Sometimes the most difficult test is to set you up for where God is taking you.
Some of us have “faith until” kind of faith. It is important to give God glory throughout the entire process.
Abraham had already passed some small test in the past. An example of this was when God told him to leave his county and Abraham left even before God revealed where he wanted Abraham to go.
Now the next test is the mountain. At the foot of the mountain, Abraham asks the rest of his people to stay behind while he and his son goes to worship.
III. RELEASE CERTAIN PEOPLE AT THE FOOT OF THE MOUNTAIN
This is about how you manage your mountain. The people that were with Abraham, had always been by Abrahams side and he asked them to stay this time.
A. Everybody Can’t Handle Certain Heights
To reach new levels, you have to have a greater level of faith. Abraham asked them to stay. Some people don’t have the capacity to go where God is taking you.
Everyone doesn’t have the ability to handle the levels you are going to.
B. Let Your Faith Prophesy Your Future
Abraham said let me and my son go to worship, and we will back to you. Abraham knew by faith that he and his son was coming back.
You have to speak those things though they be not as though they were. i.e “I don’t know how I’m going to pay for it, but I know it will be paid”. Let your faith speak to your situation!
IV. RESPOND WITH PROPER FOLLOW-THROUGH
Abraham has made a promise and now he has to follow* through with it.
Issac carried the wood for the sacrifice. On the way up, his son realized that there was no sacrifice.
A. Trust Him When You Can’t Trace Him
Have you ever been to a place where God changed the rules on you? You have to get to a point where you trust God’s record. Are you willing to trust God when you don’t have all the answers?
B. Be Willing To Give God What You Love The Most
This is where it gets quiet. God wants your Issac. Are you willing to give up what you love the most?
5 reasons we don’t give God what we love the most?
We choose Convenience over Commitment.
We choose Fear of Loss over Hope of Abundance.
We choose Selfishness over Generosity.
We choose Distraction over Focus.
We choose Temporary Satisfaction over Eternal Fulfillment.
Can you give God the thing that you love the most? Abraham puts his son on the altar. He is about to kill his only son.
V. REJOICE IN THE PROVISION OF THE FATHER
Abraham was preparing to go through with sacrificing his son. At the last minute, God stopped him.
Since Abraham was willing to go through with sacrificing his son, God knew that Abraham feared him, so God had an angel put a lamb in the bush.
While you a trusting God and doing what you can, God will do what you can’t. While Abraham was on one side of the mountain doing what God asked him to do, not knowing how its going to work out, there is an angel on the other side of the mountain, bringing the lamb for the sacrifice.
A. God’s Got Angels That Prevent Things From Happening
Have you ever got to a point where everything you have is out there?
B. He’s A God Who Will Show Up Just On Time
Has God ever showed up just in time for you? Has He ever showed up Between the diagnoses and death or between the layoff and the bill being due? God will show up!
2 things to remember:
It will bless you for the rest of your life. He will not give it at this level, because you wouldn’t appreciate it. God will hold your blessing until you get to the place you are supposed to be, at the time you are supposed to be there.
After you’ve climbed for a while, you can truly appreciate the next level blessing.
God held the blessing until Abraham got there. It doesn’t matter how long it takes; God will hold your blessing until you get there!
Finally, check out the similarities
Abraham’s son carried the wood up the mountain, knowing that he was about to be sacrificed. Jesus caried a wooden cross up Calvary Hill, knowing he was about to be sacrificed.
Abraham was willing to sacrifice his only son. God was also willing to sacrifice his only son.
Remember, this is an Elevation Exam and all the test you are going through and about to go through, Is to prepare you for your elevation!!
Acts 17:16-28 16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
I. INTRODUCTION
All of the gatherings that we do is to grow spiritually. The outcome that we expect is that we might grow.
As you grow spiritually, your discernment gets keener. You begin to pick up on what others can’t. This makes your relationships change.
When you get closer with your relationship with God, you become nauseous and frustrated, when you are around fake stuff.
There comes a moment that you want everything around you to be real. You want real conversations and real people. For example, if you don’t like me, I’d rather you just tell me. We want to be around real worshippers.
The world we live in is so filled with fake narratives we often desire authenticity. It is real for us.
There are people in the text that have a lot of things, but they find themselves empty. There are people that drive fancy cars and have big homes, but they are still empty inside. We see people that seem good on Facebook, but they are really empty.
The people in the text are surrounded by statues but have hallowed beliefs. We have to find what falls among all the fake stuff in our lives. Everything attached to us must be real, because God is real.
Today, you will leave here declaring everything around you must be real!
The backdrop takes place in Athens Greece. This was a hub of philosophical scholars.
There were two different types of Scholars that Paul was faced with. They were:
Epicurean: They believed in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain as the primary purpose of life, seeing God as distant and uninvolved in humanaffairs. – In other words, they are drawn to that which feels good.
Stoic: Emphasized virtue, self-control, and living in harmony with nature, believing in a pantheistic view of God. – In other words, they were always serious. No grey areas. They were stoic, having a stiff upper lip.
The scholars were suffering from Religious Purism. There was an array of idol gods. They were polytheistic meaning they believed in many gods. They even came to a place in where they have an idol named the unknown god, found Acts 17:23. They even studied and worshipped the Greek Gods like Zeus or Hades.
Athens were famous for their agriculture. Athens was a prominent place. There was a place called Areopagus Hill which was also called Mars Hill.
It is the same spot where Paul preached the word that you are going to hear today. Mars Hill became a famous place for religious debate.
How did Paul get to Athens? He was on his second missionary journey. He had Timothy and Silas with him. Remember in Chapter 16, Paul and Silas were in jail and sang hymns at midnight.
Some of the Thessalonians hated him and ran Paul out of town. He went to Beroea and they liked him there. The Thessalonians found Paul among the Bereans. The enemy has a way of finding where you are.
The Bereans told Paul to let Timothy and Silas finish the work he had started there and they sent Paul to Athens. It was a big city, so he was better able to hide there. Paul is waiting for Timothy and Silas. While walking around, Paul notices all the idols they had.
Paul is troubled in his spirit. Paul begins to preach Jesus Christ. Paul began to preach to the Jews and Gentiles alike. While in the streets preaching, the scholars sent for Paul. They had heard of his preaching of Jesus Christ.
They bring Paul upon the mountain. This is Apostle Paul, full of compassion and has been summoned by the elite.
They asked Paul what the babbler (referring to him) have to say to them? Paul said that they were making him sick. They were living out many gods.
Paul went on to say that today they would find out what is real among all the fake stuff they had going on.
II. PERSISTENTLY IRRITATED BY A WORLD OF IDOLATRY
Paul looks around and sees a world filled with idolatry. When you put your time, energy, and resources into something more than you do God, then this is idolatry.
Paul was looking at people created by God, but they were bowing down to idols that they had created. Anyone created in God’s image, is created to worship Him.
We might not have idols created of stone anymore, but there are people that have set up idols in their lives all the time. For example:
Relationships have become some of our idols. When you were praying for the relationship, your energy and time was in God. But now that you’ve hooked up with Johnny or Sue, your energy is in them.
We do the same with our careers. You prayed for that job, but now that job has all of your time and attention. You don’t have time for God anymore.
If we eep this up, we might discover that the Lord gives, but the the Lord will also take away.
A. You Can’t Conceal True Conviction
When you’re around stuff that doesn’t make sense, then your beliefs will come out. You don’t have to walk around with a bible in your hand all the time being weird, but you have a way of sharing your convictions. When you close to God, you will always know when things don’t feel right.
Your discernment will tell you when something isn’t right.
Some say they can’t share their convictions, but let someone cut you off. You will share your convictions then.
You need people around you that can understand your convictions.
Paul ended up in jail because of his convictions. When he stood before King Agrippa, the king said Paul almost convinced him to be saved.
Acts 26: 27-28 says 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
B. When You’ve Experienced What’s Real, You Can’t Tolerate Fake
Have you ever looked back and wondered why you did things the way you did in the past? You’ve grown and now everything in your life is about authenticity.
2 things about authenticity:
Alignment – Everything in your life must align with God’s word.
Accountability – We have to be accountable for the authenticity in our lives.
III. PREPARED TO INTERROGATE WOEFUL IRRELEVANCE
The keyword here is preparation.
Paul was brought to Mars Hill, because they couldn’t make sense of his Jesus message. All of the scholars assumed Paul was unlearned, but they messed with the wrong one. When the enemy pulls on you he will find out he messed with the wrong one.
Who is Paul? He was educated about Hebrew Scripture and Jewish Law under the Rabbi Gamaliel. Paul was deeply versed in Jewish Law and he understood the culture. He knew about all the Poets and Philosophers.
Paul could stand with the Athen Scholars, because he was prepared. God is not going to let you go where you aren’t prepared.
Paul let them know their idols were no match for his God.
Some people think charismatic people can’t be intellectual.
The silk-stocking church was established by those that were educated. They thought that once you got an education, you had to act dignified. They believed that all that loud acting praise belonged to the small uneducated churches.
Their grandchildren went to college, and they remember standing in the financial aid line, praying that the Lord will come through with their tuition. They saw God make a way out of no way! Now you have a generation that won’t let their intellect stop them from praising God!
The more sense I have, the more I need to be excited about God!
A. What You Know Will Always Show
When Bishop was called to be the Pastor of Mt Zion, the church grew though bible studies. When he first started, he had to spend time unteaching, before he could teach. There were a lot of traditions and superstitions that had to be unlearned.
In the text, when they asked what the babbler would have to say to them, Paul said they were too religious and superstitious.
B. There Is A Difference Between Spiritual And Superstitious
Superstitious is when things are influenced by luck and charms. This falls under the same belief of something happening when you walk under a ladder, or break a mirror, or when a black cat crosses your path.
Superstition has caused the birth of religions that are not God ordained. Paul told the scholars that they were too religious, meaning they were not spiritual. He basically was saying that they were doing too much.
IV. PARADOX OF INTELLIGENCE WITH IGNORANCE
There are some real intelligent people that are ignorant.
2 types of ignorance
Ignorant – which means they have no revelation yet.
Ignant – which means you can’t rationalize with them.
The Owl has always been a symbol of wisdom. In Greek mythology, the owl is associated with the God of wisdom.
Really owls are ignorant compared to other birds. The reason being, they have a limited understanding of their surroundings and awareness compared to other birds.
People can’t be intelligent in one area and ignorant in another.
A. You Can Know A Lot And Still Not Know
Paul said the scholars were ignorantly intelligent. You can have book sense and not have spiritual sense.
Don’t think because people have degrees behind their names, they cannot be ignorant.
B. You Can Have Religious Routine And No Relationship
You attend church, but ignorantly don’t know how to be in relationship with God.
Some people have too much denominational allegiance. Never let your denomination to get bigger than God. You can end up being more Baptist than Bible or more Apostolic than anointed.
When you go to the bank and ask for change for a $100, they will ask you what denominations you want the bills in. Denominations separate the money into bills. Just like money denominations, church Denominations separate.
God’s grace and power is greater than your denominational allegiance. When we get to heaven, we will all be giving God glory together, regardless of our denominational affiliation.
V. PROVIDE INSTRUCTION ON WORSHIPS IMPORTANCE
Paul breaks it down. He is standing before the stoic.
He looks at all the stuff attributed to their idols.
A. The Tangibles Don’t Impress God
Paul says something that knocks them off their feet. Paul says God doesn’t need to be worshiped in temples made with man’s hands. God also doesn’t need man’s hand to be praised.
God is bigger than the temple you’ve set up.
Some think God is only in church. When you get away from the church building, you think you can say what you want.
God is not limited to a building.
We want a God that is real. He is not into the stuff. He is into you.
B. You Will Never Make A Sound Until You Acknowledge Your Source
Paul says it is in Him we live, move, and have our being.
Paul underscores the revelation of worship. He asked if he could share it with them.
Worship is the only thing that can cause you to surrender.
Paul is in Athens Greece. He has been invited to Areopagus Hill, also called Mars Hill.
He is being integrated by 2 rules of thought.
The Stoics believe in no nonsense.
The Epicurean believe God, I will respond to you as long as it feels good.
Every move of God is not designed to make you feel good. When God does something that doesn’t feel good, you are mad at Him.
When the math ain’t mathing, some of us have an issue.
Real worship is when you can respond to God, even when it doesn’t feel good. You can give God glory when life doesn’t make sense.
God is looking for people that if He doesn’t do another thing, He’s already done enough!
What religion did was spoil us. If we woke up and were not in the obituary, we should be ready to give worship to God! Even if we lost everything, we would still give God glory!
When you worship, you are willing to surrender. Our problem is, we want don’t relationship, we want to be in control.
If we say lift your hands, we say we are tired of being asked to lift our hands, but when a cop asks us to do it, we will do it willingly.
God is raising up a kingdom mind set! We want something real and if it isn’t real, we don’t want it!
Part 3: If It’s Not Real, I Don’t Want It
Synopsis of Sermon 10/20/24
Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III
Acts 17:16-28 16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 Then certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him. And some said, “What does this babbler want to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,” because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Therefore, the One whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you: 24 God, who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
I. INTRODUCTION
All of the gatherings that we do is to grow spiritually. The outcome that we expect is that we might grow.
As you grow spiritually, your discernment gets keener. You begin to pick up on what others can’t. This makes your relationships change.
When you get closer with your relationship with God, you become nauseous and frustrated, when you are around fake stuff.
There comes a moment that you want everything around you to be real. You want real conversations and real people. For example, if you don’t like me, I’d rather you just tell me. We want to be around real worshippers.
The world we live in is so filled with fake narratives we often desire authenticity. It is real for us.
There are people in the text that have a lot of things, but they find themselves There are people that drive fancy cars and have big homes, but they are still empty inside. We see people that seem good on Facebook, but they are really empty.
The people in the text are surrounded by statues but have hallowed beliefs. We have to find what falls among all the fake stuff in our lives. Everything attached to us must be real, because God is real.
Today, you will leave here declaring everything around you must be real!
The backdrop takes place in Athens Greece. This was a hub of philosophical scholars.
There were two different types of Scholars that Paul was faced with. They were:
Epicurean: They believed in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain as the primary purpose of life, seeing God as distant and uninvolved in human – In other words, they are drawn to that which feels good.
Stoic: Emphasized virtue, self-control, and living in harmony with nature, believing in a pantheistic view of God. – In other words, they were always serious. No grey areas. They were stoic, having a stiff upper lip.
The scholars were suffering from Religious Purism. There was an array of idol gods. They were polytheistic meaning they believed in many gods. They even came to a place in where they have an idol named the unknown god, found Acts 17:23. They even studied and worshipped the Greek Gods like Zeus or Hades.
Athens were famous for their agriculture. Athens was a prominent place. There was a place called Areopagus Hill which was also called Mars Hill.
It is the same spot where Paul preached the word that you are going to hear today. Mars Hill became a famous place for religious debate.
How did Paul get to Athens? He was on his second missionary journey. He had Timothy and Silas with him. Remember in Chapter 16, Paul and Silas were in jail and sang hymns at midnight.
Some of the Thessalonians hated him and ran Paul out of town. He went to Beroea and they liked him there. The Thessalonians found Paul among the Bereans. The enemy has a way of finding where you are.
The Bereans told Paul to let Timothy and Silas finish the work he had started there and they sent Paul to Athens. It was a big city, so he was better able to hide there. Paul is waiting for Timothy and Silas. While walking around, Paul notices all the idols they had.
Paul is troubled in his spirit. Paul begins to preach Jesus Christ. Paul began to preach to the Jews and Gentiles alike. While in the streets preaching, the scholars sent for Paul. They had heard of his preaching of Jesus Christ.
They bring Paul upon the mountain. This is Apostle Paul, full of compassion and has been summoned by the elite.
They asked Paul what the babbler (referring to him) have to say to them? Paul said that they were making him sick. They were living out many gods.
Paul went on to say that today they would find out what is real among all the fake stuff they had going on.
II. PERSISTENTLY IRRITATED BY A WORLD OF IDOLATRY
Paul looks around and sees a world filled with idolatry. When you put your time, energy, and resources into something more than you do God, then this is
Paul was looking at people created by God, but they were bowing down to idols that they had created. Anyone created in God’s image, is created to worship Him.
We might not have idols created of stone anymore, but there are people that have set up idols in their lives all the time. For example:
Relationships have become some of our idols. When you were praying for the relationship, your energy and time was in God. But now that you’ve hooked up with Johnny or Sue, your energy is in them.
We do the same with our careers. You prayed for that job, but now that job has all of your time and attention. You don’t have time for God anymore.
If we eep this up, we might discover that the Lord gives, but the the Lord will also take away.
A. You Can’t Conceal True Conviction
When you’re around stuff that doesn’t make sense, then your beliefs will come out. You don’t have to walk around with a bible in your hand all the time being weird, but you have a way of sharing your convictions. When you close to God, you will always know when things don’t feel right.
Your discernment will tell you when something isn’t right.
Some say they can’t share their convictions, but let someone cut you off. You will share your convictions then.
You need people around you that can understand your convictions.
Paul ended up in jail because of his convictions. When he stood before King Agrippa, the king said Paul almost convinced him to be saved.
Acts 26: 27-28 says 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
B. When You’ve Experienced What’s Real, You Can’t Tolerate Fake
Have you ever looked back and wondered why you did things the way you did in the past? You’ve grown and now everything in your life is about authenticity.
2 things about authenticity:
Alignment – Everything in your life must align with God’s word.
Accountability – We have to be accountable for the authenticity in our lives.
III. PREPARED TO INTERROGATE WOEFUL IRRELEVANCE
The keyword here is preparation.
Paul was brought to Mars Hill, because they couldn’t make sense of his Jesus message. All of the scholars assumed Paul was unlearned, but they messed with the wrong one. When the enemy pulls on you he will find out he messed with the wrong one.
Who is Paul? He was educated about Hebrew Scripture and Jewish Law under the Rabbi Gamaliel. Paul was deeply versed in Jewish Law and he understood the culture. He knew about all the Poets and Philosophers.
Paul could stand with the Athen Scholars, because he was prepared. God is not going to let you go where you aren’t prepared.
Paul let them know their idols were no match for his God.
Some people think charismatic people can’t be intellectual.
The silk-stocking church was established by those that were educated. They thought that once you got an education, you had to act dignified. They believed that all that loud acting praise belonged to the small uneducated churches.
Their grandchildren went to college, and they remember standing in the financial aid line, praying that the Lord will come through with their tuition. They saw God make a way out of no way! Now you have a generation that won’t let their intellect stop them from praising God!
The more sense I have, the more I need to be excited about God!
A. What You Know Will Always Show
When Bishop was called to be the Pastor of Mt Zion, the church grew though bible studies. When he first started, he had to spend time unteaching, before he could teach. There were a lot of traditions and superstitions that had to be
In the text, when they asked what the babbler would have to say to them, Paul said they were too religious and superstitious.
B. There Is A Difference Between Spiritual And Superstitious
Superstitious is when things are influenced by luck and charms. This falls under the same belief of something happening when you walk under a ladder, or break a mirror, or when a black cat crosses your path.
Superstition has caused the birth of religions that are not God ordained. Paul told the scholars that they were too religious, meaning they were not spiritual. He basically was saying that they were doing too much.
IV. PARADOX OF INTELLIGENCE WITH IGNORANCE
There are some real intelligent people that are ignorant.
2 types of ignorance
Ignorant – which means they have no revelation yet.
Ignant – which means you can’t rationalize with them.
The Owl has always been a symbol of wisdom. In Greek mythology, the owl is associated with the God of wisdom.
Really owls are ignorant compared to other birds. The reason being, they have a limited understanding of their surroundings and awareness compared to other birds.
People can’t be intelligent in one area and ignorant in another.
A. You Can Know A Lot And Still Not Know
Paul said the scholars were ignorantly intelligent. You can have book sense and not have spiritual sense.
Don’t think because people have degrees behind their names, they cannot be ignorant.
B. You Can Have Religious Routine And No Relationship
You attend church, but ignorantly don’t know how to be in relationship with God.
Some people have too much denominational allegiance. Never let your denomination to get bigger than God. You can end up being more Baptist than Bible or more Apostolic than anointed.
When you go to the bank and ask for change for a $100, they will ask you what denominations you want the bills in. Denominations separate the money into bills. Just like money denominations, church Denominations separate.
God’s grace and power is greater than your denominational allegiance. When we get to heaven, we will all be giving God glory together, regardless of our denominational affiliation.
V. PROVIDE INSTRUCTION ON WORSHIPS IMPORTANCE
Paul breaks it down. He is standing before the stoic.
He looks at all the stuff attributed to their idols.
A. The Tangibles Don’t Impress God
Paul says something that knocks them off their feet. Paul says God doesn’t need to be worshiped in temples made with man’s hands. God also doesn’t need man’s hand to be praised.
God is bigger than the temple you’ve set up.
Some think God is only in church. When you get away from the church building, you think you can say what you want.
God is not limited to a building.
We want a God that is real. He is not into the stuff. He is into you.
B. You Will Never Make A Sound Until You Acknowledge Your Source
Paul says it is in Him we live, move, and have our being.
Paul underscores the revelation of worship. He asked if he could share it with them.
Worship is the only thing that can cause you to surrender.
Paul is in Athens Greece. He has been invited to Areopagus Hill, also called Mars Hill.
He is being integrated by 2 rules of thought.
The Stoics believe in no nonsense.
The Epicurean believe God, I will respond to you as long as it feels good.
Every move of God is not designed to make you feel good. When God does something that doesn’t feel good, you are mad at Him.
When the math ain’t mathing, some of us have an issue.
Real worship is when you can respond to God, even when it doesn’t feel good. You can give God glory when life doesn’t make sense.
God is looking for people that if He doesn’t do another thing, He’s already done enough!
What religion did was spoil us. If we woke up and were not in the obituary, we should be ready to give worship to God! Even if we lost everything, we would still give God glory!
When you worship, you are willing to surrender. Our problem is, we want don’t relationship, we want to be in control.
If we say lift your hands, we say we are tired of being asked to lift our hands, but when a cop asks us to do it, we will do it willingly.
God is raising up a kingdom mind set! We want something real and if it isn’t real, we don’t want it!
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