ACTS 16: 25-34
I. A LESSER GOD:
It is easy to see that Paul and Silas served a God of
miracles. Time and time again in their
ministry we see God not only showing up but “showing out”.
In 1986 there was a movie that came out entitled, Children
of a lesser God. Although the female
star of the movie won an Oscar for her performance , I personally didn’t think
it was that great.
It was sort of a love story, built around two characters,
one a male teacher at a deaf school. The
other a female janitor or custodian at that same school.
Although I didn’t care for the movie I loved the idea of
the title. It alluded to the premise
that if you were deaf your God was less than the God that hearing people
served, thus the title “Children of a
lesser God”.
That is really a foolish notion isn’t it?
But do you and I think the same thing? To look at my life and listen to me talk
sometimes you would think that the God I
serve is a lesser God than the God served by Paul and Silas.
Paul’s God would respond to his prayers. Paul’s God could
shake the foundations of a Roman jail, break open the barred doors,
supernaturally loose the iron shackles that held their hands and feet and cause
the stocks to spring open like an old time “jack-in-the-box”.
His God would work miracles that others saw. They recognized that God was at work.
Their knees shook like a teen-age girl at a horror movie.
The miracles that Paul’s God worked were not only miracles
of nature but they were “spiritual miracles” that made grown men fall at Paul’s
feet and cry out “What must I do to be saved”?
Miracles that changed lives and families.
QUESTION: How long since that happened to you and
I? Oh, I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have asked
that. Because you and I serve a “lesser
God”. We can’t expect miracles can we?
If we were honest and truthful we should ask Gene to put
this message on the sign out front:
Our goals are short-sided
Our faith is too
flimsy
Our God is too
small
Don’t come to our church expecting miracles. Don’t come to our church expecting your
children or your loved ones to be saved.
Don’t come to our church expecting God to deliver your family from
habits, addictions, or the chains of sin. We serve a lesser God.
·
Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t
believe that YOUR God can forgive your sins do you?
·
Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t
believe that YOUR God can give you His Holy Spirit and deliver you from the chains
of sin so you don’t serve sin, do you?
·
Honestly, realistically, practically, you don’t
believe that YOUR God can change the lives of your loved ones do you?
Do you really believe that God can make such a change in
you that you can live a life with the “differential advantage” that
Bro. Lyle spoke about on Sunday? Can
YOUR God so touch your life that you will live differently and act differently
and talk differently and THINK differently than you do now?!
Or, or, ……are you a child of a “lesser God”?
Oh, that we as a church, as a people, as individuals would
fall at the feet of Jesus and asked the God of Miracles to do that in our
lives.
He is the “Omni’ God:
Omniscient, Omnipotent, Omnipresent
II. A FLIMSY FAITH:
But we talk a good game don’t we?
When I was playing ball all of this “trash talking” was
not allowed. We were expected to show
“sportsmanship”. It wasn’t “in your
face”, finger pointing, end-zone dancing ball.
You proved yourself on the field.
You let your playing do your talking.
Not so today. If a
sack is made, it looks like a tribe of Indians are dancing around the
quarterback. All the pointing and
yelling and strutting. Personally, I
don’t like it. It’s not the way I was
taught to play ball.
We do our share of trash talking at church too. We
talk about our God who can do anything.
We talk about how He can heal the sick, and provide money for those in
need. We talk about how He can touch the
lives of our children and loved ones and save them. Oh, we talk a good game……but where is our
faith?
Our faith is so flimsy we don’t expect God to answer our prayers at all. Do you remember the story we studied just a few weeks ago of the church that was praying for Peter to be released from prison and when God ACTUALLY freed him and he walked up and knocked on the door…..they wouldn’t even believe it was him.
Praying for rain is good, but praying for rain and then
bringing your umbrella is faith.
It’s wonderful that we pray and ask God for the things we
need…..but where is your umbrella?
Our faith is too flimsy. Paul had eyes of faith that could see the Big
Picture and see the big goals.
III. SHORT-SIGHTED GOALS: I wasn’t there that night in the jail at
Philippi. I know you think I am that
old, but I’m not. I don’t know exactly
what Paul and Silas prayed about, but I just bet my tractor against your long
handled hoe that they didn’t pray: “God, bless us today. God, help us to do better. God, help us be better Christians”
I doubt that they even prayed for God to release them
from the chains. I think Paul and
Silas were praying that God’s Kingdom would be lifted up by the things that
were happening to them.
Their goals were not short-sited goals. They prayed for eternal goals. God’s goals.
They didn’t look at what made them feel good or their comfort. They looked at KINGDOM GOALS…..and then
PRAISED GOD and sang songs to let folk know where their hearts were. (THE PEOPLE HEARD THEM)
And when they prayed, and sang and praised God…….THEN
CHAINS FELL OFF!
“God my back hurts”, “God I need some money to pay my
bills”, “God my car won’t run right”
Oh, I’m not saying that you shouldn’t pray for things
like that. God can and will answer
“little prayers” but are we so “short-sighted” that we can only see our little
needs?
Where are the BIG PRAYERS?
“GOD FILL ME WITH YOUR SPIRIT SO THAT MY LIFE WILL
GLORIFY YOU”
“GOD SAVE MY CHILDREN”
“GOD SAVE MY SPOUSE”
“GOD DELIVER MY LOVED ONE FROM THE ADDICTIONS AND HABITS”
CONCLUSION:
Our God is not a “lesser God”. We serve the same God that Paul and Silas
served. The God, according to His own
Word that is “the same, yesterday,
today and forever”.
·
The God
who sucked up the Red sea so His people could walk across on dry ground
·
The God
who delivered color and light to blind eyes
·
The God
who made cripple feet walk, NO LEAP AND RUN
·
The God
who fed 5000 from a little boy’s lunch box
·
The God
who made dead hearts beat and dead lungs breath again
·
The God
who shook jail houses and opened chains and stocks
IS THE SAME GOD YOU AND I SERVE TODAY!
Don’t ask God to “bless you” when He wants to bless the
world through you.
Don’t be satisfied for a little “buzz” when God wants to
give you an earthquake.
