Worship the Living God

We're going to begin our worship by singing to God's praise in Psalm 77, in the Sing Psalms version.

Psalm 77, so on page 100 of the psalm books, we'll sing from verse 6 down to verse 14.

Psalm 77 at verse 6,

Throughout the watches of the night, my songs I called to mind.

I ponder deeply while my heart an answer tried to find.

Forever will the Lord reject and never show his grace.

Has he withdrawn his steadfast love and turned from me his face?

And then we see in verse 10 a response.

Then to my heart there came this thought.

On this I will rely.

The years of the right hand of power of him who is most high.

How God remembers us in all our needs.

So we'll sing from verse 6 to verse 14 and the tune is Glencairn.

I invoke the singing of Jadion, Schmidt divers out of England.

interval six feet away from the r computational group.

I wonder deeply while my heart

an answer I to find.

Forever will the Lord be dead

and never show his face.

As he withdrawn his strength as love

and turned only his face.

For all time has his promise

in his God no longer kind.

As he is, he traverses

compassion from his mind.

Then to my heart

there came this thought

of which I will rely.

The years of the bright hand of hand

of him who is most high.

I will recall the Lord's great peace

pure works of long and long.

I'll meditate on all your act

pure mighty deeds that show.

O God, most holy higher ways

what God compares with you.

You are the Lord of the hills

who is part of the nation's view.

Let's come to God in prayer.

Let us pray.

O Lord, our gracious God,

as we continue in our worship of you this day,

we do thank you for your word

as we have heard it today,

as we come to hear it once more,

that we would never tire of it,

that we would never tire of uniting our hearts

in praise and worship to you,

that our hearts would not go cold

or hard towards you.

We often feel, Lord,

that that would not be possible

and yet your word reminds us

that so often down through

the generations of your people,

your people have lost that focus,

lost that attention to who they are to worship.

And yet constantly you remind us

that only you are worthy of all our prayers

and all our worship,

that glory is to you alone.

Even in these words that we have sung,

we are reminded of it,

that there is no God who compares to you,

for you are the God of miracles,

whose power the nations view.

And yet as we think of these words

in our own times just now

and with all the nations around us,

we know that we still see your power

and your miracles at work in our midst,

and yet we have no thought of them.

We have no thought towards you.

And so we pray, Lord,

that you will remember us,

that you will awaken us,

that you would give us the prayer of this psalm,

that we would be a people

who would constantly remember,

that we can rely upon you,

the years of the right hand of power,

of him who is most high,

the wonders of the Lord's great deeds,

his works of long ago,

that we can still look to these things,

that we can still remind ourselves

that you are still the God of miracles,

that you are still the one,

even today,

who is able to do so much more

than all that we ask or imagine.

And so give us faith, O Lord.

Give us to look to you

and to trust and rely upon you for all things.

For in you we live,

move and have our being,

as your word says.

And Lord,

there are times when we so often think

we can rely on ourselves,

but again and again,

you remind us,

Lord,

that we are weak enough ourselves,

that we are unable to do so much in our lives.

And especially,

Lord,

the greatest thing we cannot achieve

is our own salvation.

We cannot do anything

to receive glory from you,

that you would say to us,

well done,

on being able to do

what can bring forgiveness of sins

to yourself.

We have to look beyond ourselves.

We have to acknowledge our sin

and look to the one

who was without sin

and the one who came to bear

the sins of this world.

And we thank you that in Jesus Christ,

we have that one to look to,

that we can lift our eyes to him,

that we can behold him,

the one who was pierced

for our transgressions,

the one by whose wounds

we can be healed.

And we thank you that it is your word

that directs us

in all of these things

to see the wonder

and the beauty of Jesus.

And we thank you for the promise

of the Holy Spirit,

the one who leads us

towards the wonder of Christ

and the wonder of the glory of his name.

And we pray tonight

that your spirit will be with us

as we gather here

and as others tune in online.

We pray for your spirit

to lead us in our worship,

to guide us in your word,

to teach us,

to build us up,

to challenge and rebuke

where that is required,

to do all things,

O Lord, for us,

that we might leave here

with a clearer knowledge

and a clearer understanding

of who you are.

And our trust would increase,

that our faith would go on strengthened,

even for this week ahead,

in all the uncertainties of it

and the challenges that may lie ahead for us.

That, as your word reminds us,

if we were to have faith,

even the size of a mustard seed,

we could say to the mountains

to be cast into the sea.

So, Lord, give us that faith

to look to you at all times

and to lean upon you

for understanding and wisdom

and help in all life's experience.

We do pray for our people here.

We thank you for every home

and family represented.

We thank you for our community,

our church community,

our church family.

And we pray, Lord,

that you will bind us together

day by day,

that as the message of your word

is delivered here this morning

by the Reverend Colin McLeod,

that we are to be a living church for you,

that you would make us so,

that you would enable us, Lord,

to go on in your strength,

to do all things well

and to do all for your glory.

And we thank you for every service

that we have to give to you.

We thank you for the gift of prayer.

We thank you that whether we are together

or apart,

we are to exercise that,

that we are to look to you, O Lord,

and wait patiently upon you.

We are to offer up our prayers to you

for all things.

And especially as we seek, O Lord,

wisdom from you

in all the days ahead,

as we seek your blessing

on all the works we are involved in,

as we seek your help in all things.

Lord, we thank you

that we have a name to come to you with,

that we pray,

not in of ourselves,

but in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we thank you, Lord,

that together we pray that name this evening.

And may you teach us to pray, Lord.

May you encourage us in prayer.

May you give answer to your,

to our prayers according to your will,

as we ask it all,

looking for your glory.

And may you teach us, O Lord,

as we go on to know that

you are the one who builds your church.

As we think of every endeavor,

as we preach the word,

as we share it,

as we meet for prayers during the week,

as we look to your help

for the holiday club

and for the Fridays of the Free,

for all that we do

to reach out to our communities

with the gospel.

We pray for patience.

We pray for words to speak.

We pray for your spirit to move among us,

that we would see your power at work,

that we would see the revelation

of your acts once more in our midst,

that we would give glory and praise to you.

We thank you too, Lord,

that as a people,

we can mourn with those who mourn as well.

And we thank you for that power

that there is in your people

to gather round one another in such times.

And as we have been touched by the sad news,

even in these last days,

we do thank you, Lord,

that as you call your people home,

that we have that great comfort

and great assurance

that to die is gain for your people.

And so we pray, Lord,

your comfort in the midst of sorrow.

And we think especially of

the family of Charlie Finlayson at this time

and ourselves as a congregation.

We thank you for his humble service to you

over so many years.

And we pray, Lord,

for Catherine and for Ruthie at this time

and the grandsons too

and all the family as a whole.

Lord, may your peace and blessing be over them.

May you draw near to them

and comfort them throughout these days

and give help, O Lord,

in all that is to be done over these days.

We thank you that your grace

is always sufficient.

And we pray for that to be poured out upon them

and that they would know it in a special way.

Lord, we do pray for those

who are unwell at this time.

We know there's been so much illness

over these last few weeks,

not just with ourselves,

but throughout our island communities.

There are so many who are unwell

and suffering in different ways.

We just pray for healing and help

in the midst of it.

We thank you, Lord,

for all the health service

and for all that they do for us

in hospitals and in the community

and serving in so many different ways.

We pray for them, Lord,

that you will strengthen them

and bless them.

We do pray for our land at this time as well.

In the midst of this last week

and the general election that's taken place,

a general election that has seen so much change

throughout our land,

not least in the leadership of our parliament.

We do pray for our new prime minister.

We ask, O Lord,

that you would lead them

and guide them and his government

and all who will serve in parliament

in these coming years,

either re-elected or elected anew.

We do pray for them, Lord,

that you will guide them by your spirit

and help them to know

that your power is there for them,

that they would call upon you

and ask for your wisdom

and your guidance.

We do pray for our nation.

We pray for the gospel

as it goes out throughout our land.

We pray for you to build your church in our midst,

that you would have mercy upon us,

that you would pour out your spirit upon us.

We pray that for the lands of the world, O Lord,

in which we live,

the nations, the peoples,

all that we see around us.

We pray, Lord,

that you would pour out your blessing upon us,

guide us towards you,

that your word will be blessed

to all ends of the earth.

We thank you for our time here,

this evening,

and we pray that you will continue with us,

watch over our people,

watch over those who are visiting with us

over these coming weeks

and people who are traveling away as well.

We pray your protection,

your safety,

your blessing,

your refreshing upon us all.

And we ask, O Lord,

that above all,

together we would praise you,

together we would fix our eyes on Jesus

and look to him,

we might know his power and presence

in our midst,

and even going into this week ahead,

that we would know your strength

and your mercy with us.

We thank you for your grace

and pray to know it more and more.

So hear our prayers

and pardon our sin

as we ask all of these things

in that precious name

that we look to even anew this evening,

in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ

and his glory in our midst.

Amen.

We'll again sing to God's praise

this time in Psalm 30

in the Singed Psalms version.

Psalm 30 on page 34.

We'll sing from the beginning of the psalm

down to verse 8.

And then our next singing

will be from the same psalm as well.

Psalm 30 on page 34 at verse 1.

O Lord, I will exalt your name

for you have rescued me.

You did not let my foes rejoice

and gloat triumphantly.

Lord God, in need I cried to you

and you restored my health.

O Lord, you brought me from the grave

and saved my soul from death.

We'll sing from verse 1 to 8

to God's praise in the tune of St. Andrew.

Amen.

O Lord, I will exalt your name

for you have rescued me.

You did not let my foes rejoice

and hope triumphantly.

Lord God, in need I cry to you

and you restored my health.

O Lord, you brought me from the grave

and saved my soul from death.

You holy ones sing to the Lord.

Sing out with joyful voice

When you recall his holy name

Let praise him and rejoice

His anger, what an open glass

Life on his river stays

Though tears may last

Throughout the night

Throughout the night

Joy comes with morning's rays

Joy comes with morning's rays

I never shall be moved

I said

In my hostility

You made my mountain

In grenade

Changezil

ritual

Yet

It's my house

My heart was terrified

To you, O Lord, I call the Lord

For mercy, Lord, I cry

We'll turn to read together now God's Word in the book of Acts.

We're reading in chapter 14.

We're taking up our reading at verse 8.

Acts chapter 14, and we'll take up our reading at verse 8.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

In here we find Paul and Barnabas.

They've been traveling around different places.

As you see at the beginning of the chapter, they've been in Iconium,

and now they find themselves in Lystra

as they are taking the Word of God to different places

and facing up to many different challenges in the midst of it.

We're going to read then from verse 8,

reading down to verse 28.

Now at Lystra there was a man sitting who could not use his feet,

he was crippled from birth and had never walked.

He listened to Paul speaking.

And Paul, looking intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,

said in a loud voice,

Stand upright on your feet.

And he sprang up and began walking.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done,

they lifted up their voices, saying in Lyconium,

the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.

Barnabas they called Zeus and Paul Hermes,

because he was the chief speaker.

And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,

brought oxen and garlands to the gates

and wanted to offer sacrifices with the crowds.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it,

they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd,

crying out,

Men, why are you doing these things?

We also are men of like nature with you,

and we bring you good news,

that you should turn from these vain things

to a living God,

who made the heavens and the earth and the sea

and all that is in them.

In past generations he allowed all the nations

to walk in their own ways.

Yet he did not leave them without witness,

for he did good by giving you rains from heaven

and fruitful seasons,

satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

Even with these words,

they scarcely restrained the people

from offering sacrifice to them.

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium,

and having persuaded the crowds,

they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city,

supposing that he was dead.

But when the disciples gathered about him,

he rose up and entered the city,

and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derby.

When they had preached the gospel to that city

and had made many disciples,

they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls of the disciples,

encouraging them to continue in their faith,

and saying that through many tribulations

we must enter the kingdom of God.

And when they had appointed elders for them

in every church with prayer and fasting,

they committed them to the Lord

in whom they had believed.

Then they passed through Pisidia

and came to Pamphylia.

And when they had spoken the word in Perga,

they went down to Atalia.

And from there they sailed to Antioch,

where they had been commended to the grace of God

for the work they had fulfilled.

And when they arrived and gathered the church together,

they declared all that God had done with them,

and how he had opened a door of faith

to the Gentiles.

And they remained no little time with the disciples.

Amen.

And may God bless that reading from his word.

Before we come to look at some of that passage,

we'll again sing in Psalm 30.

We'll continue singing in this psalm,

the last verses of the psalm,

verse 9 down to verse 12.

What gain will my destruction bring

if I descend to death?

Will thus proclaim your faithfulness

or praise you with its breast?

Hear as I cry, O Lord my God,

and listen to my plea.

Come to my aid and my distress.

Have mercy, Lord, on me.

We'll sing these four verses

to God's praise in the tune of Spore.

Amen.

What gain will my destruction bring?

And why descend to death?

Well, does your pain

pure faithfulness

or praise you with its breast?

Be thus, I cry, O Lord my God,

and listen to my plea.

Come to my aid and my distress.

You turned my breathing into dust.

For no longer was I sad.

My sad, O God,

You gave me most

What joy that I was died.

Therefore, my heart will sing to you

And never cease to praise

To your great name.

O Lord my God,

I will give thanks always.

Let's turn back to our reading

in the book of Acts, chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

We can read again at verse 15.

Men, why are you doing these things?

We also are men of like nature with you,

and we bring you good news

that you should turn from these vain things

to a living God

who made the heaven and the earth and the sea

and all that is in them.

Turn from these vain things

to a living God.

As we read through this passage,

we are reminded so much of the grace of God,

how he deals with his people.

We were thinking last Lord's Day

about God's mercy and wrath.

Remember mercy we were looking at in Habakkuk.

And mercy is a powerful word,

and we see another word

that's powerful here this evening.

Grace.

It is a wonderful thing.

Question is,

have you known it?

Have you known the grace of God

in your own life?

Do you know it even just now?

Do you have it in your heart,

that grace of God in all its power?

Or what is the grace of God?

Perhaps maybe you're not sure just what is.

The grace of God.

Well, grace is a reminder to us

of something that we cannot do ourselves.

It is by grace you have been saved,

Paul says as he writes to the church

at Ephesus through faith.

It is a gift of God.

A gift for what?

For the forgiveness of our sin.

And how is that accomplished?

How are our sins forgiven?

Well, it's a faith that is based

on what Christ himself has done for us.

Martin Luther spoke of grace

in the light of the impossibility of our sin

being forgiven by our own actions.

He spoke of it in this way.

He said,

Since this was impossible for us,

God ordained for us in our place

one who took upon himself

all the punishment we deserve.

He fulfilled the law for us.

He averted the judgment of God from us

and appeased God's wrath.

Grace therefore costs us nothing,

but it costs another much to get it for us.

Grace was purchased with an incalculable,

infinite treasure,

the Son of God himself.

That is the wonder of grace.

What we could never do for ourselves,

God by his grace has done for us

through his Son, Jesus Christ.

And as we look at this passage here in Acts,

that is the grace that we see

when Paul and Barnabas meet with this crowd at Lystra.

They think these two are the gods

who have come down in the form of men,

but they say to them,

No, no, not us.

It's not about us.

We are men just like you.

But they say we bring you good news.

Good news that you should turn

from these vain things to a living God.

And it's this grace that runs through the Bible

from beginning to end,

the wonder of God's grace.

Every time we hear the word of God proclaim,

every Christ-centered sermon,

we hear the grace of God is running through it.

For we are always pointed to the wonder of Christ Jesus

as our Savior.

But there are times.

There are times when we are more aware of it.

There are times when we feel it more

and clearly in our own hearts,

in our own minds,

how clear it is,

especially in terms of how undeserving

we are of this grace.

We don't deserve it.

And that's what grace is all about.

Just like mercy, undeserved,

so grace, undeserved.

And yet God pours it out upon his people

that we might know it through faith in him.

You see grace running through the Old Testament.

You see it through the experience

of God's people with him.

You think of the book of Exodus

and how God dealt graciously with his people there

when he gave the Ten Commandments to Moses.

While Moses was away,

the people started to think

he's not coming back.

He's left us.

So what did they do?

They did what is natural in the heart of man.

They made an idol.

They gathered the gold they could find

and they made a golden calf

that they might worship that calf.

And when Moses came back down,

when he returned,

this is what he found.

This is what God saw.

And yet God graciously

gave the commandments once more.

You see it in chapter 34 of Exodus in verse 6.

As God speaks to Moses

and meets with Moses again

to make new tablets of stone

and to give the commandments,

he says in verse 6,

the Lord passed before him

and proclaimed,

the Lord, the Lord,

a God merciful and gracious,

slow to anger,

and abounding in steadfast love

and faithfulness.

And so he goes on

to remind them of the grace of God there.

Did they deserve it?

No.

And that is grace shown.

The Lord is merciful and gracious

and praise his name that he is.

And so that's what we continue to see

as you go on through the scriptures.

This grace being shown

in the midst of a people

who continually turn away from God.

The reaction as we see

who God is

and his power

and in all his glory,

it should be for us

to just bow before him,

to fall before him,

pleading for mercy.

But is that what we do?

Well, as you see

as you go through the scriptures,

you think even of the children of Israel

in the book of Exodus,

what happened with them?

They blew hot

and they blew cold.

One minute they were trusting God,

the next minute

they were seeing something

more appealing,

another God,

another idol

they could worship

that would help them more

than the living God

as we read of here.

And so as we come

into the book of Acts,

what we're seeing

is this ongoing dilemma

of the people of this world.

How we turn away

from the living God,

turn to our idols,

and worship them

and the grace of God,

the mercy of God

is that he calls us back.

And that's what Paul

and Barnabas

are doing here.

We see a similar people

with a similar problem,

but with that same grace

still surrounding them

and still to this day.

In the beginning of this chapter

and when they were in Iconium,

in verse 3 there,

you read of the grace

being preached there.

So they remained

for a long time

speaking boldly of the Lord

who bore witness

to the word of his grace.

They ministered the word of God

and in the midst

of the challenges

that they faced,

even stoning us,

we see,

they continued

to proclaim

the good news.

This morning,

Colin, I think,

was preaching on

the theme of

the living church.

And we need grace

to be

the living church.

And this evening,

we're thinking

of the grace

that we receive

from the living God.

There is a living God

that is the heart

of our church.

Turn from these vain things,

in verse 15,

to a living God

who made the heaven

and the earth

and the sea

and all

that is in them.

We need grace preached.

We need grace received.

We need grace lived

in our midst

to be a living church,

worshipping

the living God.

And so do we see

this God

in our midst?

Do we have

this God

in our midst?

Are we looking

and trusting

to him

in all things?

I want us to see

three things

from these verses

before us

just to remind us

to always have our eyes

on the living God

and the good news

that he gives.

And the first thing

we see

is the same old problems.

Then secondly,

we'll see

that there's no more excuses.

And then thirdly,

we'll see

that the gospel

is key.

The gospel

is at the heart.

So the first thing

we see

is the same

old problems.

When you go back

to the book

of Ecclesiastes

in the Old Testament

in the first chapter

there,

it's a powerful book

that reminds us

of what our life

is like.

And in verse 9

it says this,

what has been

is what will be

and what has been done

is what will be done

and there is nothing new

under the sun.

The cycle

of life

just going on,

going around

all the time.

What has been

will be

and what has been done

is what will be done.

Nothing new

under the sun.

It's the same

old problems

over and over

again.

And so that even

as you think of

the Exodus time,

here we are

more than

maybe a thousand

years later

when we come

to the book of Acts

and you would think

the people,

well they're bound

to have learned.

They're bound

to have made progress.

They're bound

to have learned

from all the different

experiences

of seeing

God's punishment

on their sin

in the Old Testament

times when they were

taken into captivity

and yet his mercy

and his grace

in restoring them.

They've come

to see the cross,

the fulfillment

and the wonder

of God's love.

They've seen

Christ crucified.

They're hearing

this gospel message.

They're bound

to have learned.

They're bound

to have made progress.

They're bound

to be living,

worshipping God

with all their hearts

now.

In many ways

progress has been made

in terms of buildings

and cities

and economies

that have expanded

and flourished

throughout all different

kinds of places.

That's what the book

of Acts

so highlights for us

the different places

the gospel was going to.

The gospel was spreading.

So yes,

things have progressed.

Things have developed.

And yet more knowledge

isn't always the answer.

Because the same problems

still exist.

And this great problem

still exists.

The problem

that the people had

in the days of Moses

is still the same problem

here in the book of Acts.

It's still the same problem

today.

And what is

that great problem?

Well, the problem is

a people

turning from

the living God

and turning

to worship

idols.

Idols that take

all kinds

of forms.

Idols that take

all kinds of shapes.

Idols that we don't

even see.

And yet

we worship them.

Just as they do here

in the book

of Acts.

And what you see

here is just

how quickly

the hearts

can turn

towards

idols.

You see it here

in verse 11.

When they had healed

this man

who was crippled

from birth,

what happened?

People were amazed.

In verse 11,

when the crowd

saw what Paul

had done,

they lifted up

their voices

saying in Lyconian,

the gods

have come down

to us

in the likeness

of men.

And what did

they do?

They made

Paul and Barnabas

their gods.

Barnabas

they called

Zeus

and Paul

Hermes.

These

were the gods

they felt

they were looking

for.

They were looking

to men.

Just a wee

aside here

as we think

of our own

situation

as a congregation

going forward.

What are we

looking for

when we think

of ministry

going forward?

We don't

look

for men.

We don't

look

for someone

who is going

to lead

this church.

We don't

look for a man

in that sense

but to the

living God.

That is

where we are

to look.

any preacher

is here

to point

to the

living God

and not

to ourselves.

And that's

what Paul

and Barnabas

do here.

That's what

they say

in verse 15.

We are men

of like

nature

with you.

That is

all we

are.

As the saying

goes,

the best

of men

are men

at best.

So let's

not fall

into the

trap

of looking

to man

but looking

to the

living God.

But when

they say

this,

when they

saw

the fact

that this

healing

had taken

place,

they say

in verse

11,

the gods

have come

down to

us in

the likeness

of men.

Look how

close they

are to

the truth.

Look how

close they

are to the

truth.

the gods

have come

down to

us in

the likeness

of men.

It's like

it's in

their heart

to look

for God.

They're

looking for

God to

come down.

They're

just looking

at the

wrong God.

God

came down

in the

person of

Jesus Christ.

There's no

one else

we need

to look

to.

He is

God of

gods.

He is

King of

kings.

He is

Lord of

lords.

They

have this

confession

that's so

close to

the truth

and yet

so far

away.

And so

for ourselves

too,

we must

think to

ourselves,

what God

are we

looking to?

Do we

fall into

the same

old problems

of making

idols or

looking to

the false

gods?

You see

here they

even had

names for

their gods,

Zeus and

Hermes.

These were

the gods

that the

people were

looking to

for prosperity

and they

wanted to

please these

gods.

They were

willing to

offer

sacrifices

to these

gods straight

away in

the person

of Paul

and Barnabas.

But they

say,

no,

it's not

us.

How foolish

it may be

looks to you

and I

today that

they would

do this

before any

men,

before anyone,

that they

would make

these kinds

of offerings.

And yet,

in our own

hearts,

we put other

things before

God.

God,

and that

is what

idolatry

is.

The foolishness

of idolatry.

Somebody once

put it like

this,

you are not

a fool

just because

you have

done something

foolish,

only if the

folly of it

escapes you.

Doing something

foolish is not

what foolishness

is about.

It's not

recognizing the

foolishness in

it.

And that's

the people

here.

And that's

so often

what our

own hearts

can be

like as

well.

We don't

think it's

foolish because

we don't

see the

foolishness

in it

until it's

pointed out

to us.

And that's

what Paul

and Barnabas

do here

in verse

15.

They point

out this

foolishness.

Men,

why are you

doing these

things?

Why are you

doing these

things?

Stop what

you are doing.

we are not

the gods

that you

are looking

for.

But let

us tell

you of

another.

We want

to point

you to

the living

God.

The one

who is

God.

And there

is no

other.

The same

old problems

still exist

because we

don't put

God first.

We look

to men.

So we are

to look

to the

living God.

The second

thing we see

here is

there is no

more excuses.

We are

so apt

at making

excuses for

all our

faults.

We become

experts from

a young age

trying to

hide our

faults,

making excuses

for what we

do wrong.

It is

somebody else's

fault or

something else's

fault.

You can

think of

making excuses

for not

doing your

homework,

for being

late for

something.

All of

these kinds

of things

are from a

very early

age.

We start

making

excuses.

But do we

have an

excuse?

Do you have

an excuse

for not

believing in

the living

God?

Do you have

an excuse

that will

satisfy God

when he

comes as

to the

reason why

you would

not believe,

you would

not trust

fully in

this living

God?

Paul and

Barnabas here

show the

people that

have no

excuse for

not believing

in God.

There are

no words

that we

can offer

up that

will appease

God.

And you

see it in

the end of

verse 15

into verse

16.

They're

pointing them

towards the

living God

who made

the heavens

and the

earth and

the sea

and all

that is

in them.

In past

generations he

allowed all

the nations

to walk

in their

own ways,

yet he

did not

leave himself

without witness.

He did

not leave

himself

without witness.

There is

evidence for

God all

around us

that we

are not

without

excuse.

The living

God is

the one

that we

are to

look to.

God

allowed,

it says

here,

his people

to go

their own

ways.

They were

free,

just as we

are today,

to do

what we

want,

but they're

not without

excuse.

God

and this

is the

reality of

this verse

for ourselves

today as

well.

God

leaving us

to our

own

devices,

you see

it in

the book

of Romans

as well,

we'll quote

that in

just a

moment,

but he

leaves people

to their

own

desires.

He

gives them

over to

their own

desires.

He

allowed all

the nations

to walk

in their

own ways.

And again,

we could

just apply

that to

ourselves

today as

nations of

the world.

We are

walking so

much in

our own

ways.

We are

turning from

the living

God and

going our

own ways,

doing our

own things.

But even

then,

we are not

left without

God's

testimony to

us in

what is

known as

common

grace.

And we

see that

in verse

17.

Yet he

did not

leave himself

without witness,

for he

did good

by giving

you rains

from heaven

and fruitful

seasons,

satisfying your

hearts with

food and

gladness.

They are

pointing them

here to

the fact

that this

living God,

this is the

God of

prosperity.

This is the

God who is

able to

bless.

This is the

God who is

able, the

only God

who is

able to

provide.

He is

the one

who has

made the

heaven and

the earth

and the

sea and

all that

is in

him.

So as

we look

around,

we are

without

excuse.

That is

common

grace,

what we

all see.

But it's

only God's

special grace

that can

help us

to fully

see and

to understand.

But we're

without

excuse.

As I

said,

the book

of Romans,

it shows

it to us

there as

well.

In chapter

1,

verse 18,

it says,

the wrath

of God

is revealed

from heaven

against all

ungodliness

and unrighteousness

of men,

who by their

unrighteousness

suppress the

truth.

For that

can be

known,

for what

can be

known about

God is

plain to

them,

because God

has shown

it to

them.

For his

invisible

attributes,

namely,

his eternal

power and

divine nature,

have been

clearly perceived

ever since the

creation of

the world,

in the

things that

have been

made,

so they

are without

excuse.

There is

no excuse,

because we

see by

common grace

the living

God is

all around

us.

So it's

not a case

of making

an excuse.

Nobody

told me.

If only I

had known,

I would have

done something

about it.

I would have

believed.

That's not

an excuse,

because the

evidence of

God is

all around

us.

But we

want to

suppress it.

We want to

put it down

by our

nature and

look to

ourselves or

to something

else.

But there's

no excuse.

Imagine,

even this

evening,

if a

knock came

to the

door of

this church

and it's

the Lord.

You hear

it.

You hear

him at the

door and

someone says,

it is the

Lord.

The word

says he

is coming

and we

don't know

when he

will come

like a

thief in

the night.

Are you

ready?

Are you

ready when

you hear

that knock?

Would you

need to

try and

make an

excuse

tonight if

the Lord

returned,

to come

stumbling

before him,

trying to

get words

out, but

there's no

words,

because there

is no

excuse.

Nobody

told me.

Not an

excuse.

the whole

of this

creation, it

speaks to

you of

God.

It's no

excuse.

I couldn't

believe because

the evidence

wasn't there.

It is.

He has

given us

the sign.

He has

given us,

He has

shown us

through the

wonder of

the gospel,

through His

giving His

Son,

through His

crucifixion,

through His

resurrection.

It is all

there.

We are

without

excuse.

There is

no excuse.

So are

you ready?

If that

knock comes,

are you

going to

go and

give an

excuse,

or are

you going

to go

and say

like Mary

who saw

the risen

Lord and

said,

Rabboni,

when she

heard her

name being

called?

Are you

ready to

grasp your

Savior?

The grace

that He

has shown

you,

have you

received it?

Are you

overwhelmed by

it?

Are you

overpowered

by it?

That it

fills you

with joy,

fills you

with emotion

that the

Lord would

remember

you.

There is

no excuse.

The

Lord,

He is

the living

God,

and He

is the

one that

we are

to look

to.

So there's

no excuse.

And what

is it that's

the key to

this grace?

Well,

thirdly and

finally,

we see

here the

gospel is

key to

everything.

The grace

of God

that is

seen through

the gospel.

There's

something

different in

these verses.

There's

something that

has changed

in these

verses.

It says,

in past

generations,

He allowed

all the

nations to

walk in

their own

ways.

Now,

what is

new?

What is

different?

Well,

there is

a testimony.

There is

a testimony.

There's

no excuse

because we

have the

gospel.

And we

see this

in verse

15,

going back

to that

verse.

Men,

why are

you doing

these things?

Why are

you following

your hearts

that are

just full

of idolatry?

Why are

you doing

these things?

we also

are men

of like

nature

with you.

But they

say,

we bring

you good

news.

We bring

you good

news that

you should

turn from

these vain

things to

the living

God.

That is

what the

gospel is

about.

Why are

you doing

these things?

Why are

we going

on in

this way?

We need

to turn

to the

living God.

Not because

we are afraid

of the

consequences

of not

doing so,

but realizing

what the

good news

means,

what the

good news

tells us.

It tells

us of the

wonder of

salvation

in Christ.

The wonder

of forgiveness

for our

sin through

him.

That we

turn from

these worthless

things,

these things

that cannot

save us,

these gods

as they have

made them,

that are

dead.

They can't

hear,

they can't

do anything.

But we

look to

the living

God,

to the

risen Lord,

to the

Son of

God who

is at

the right

hand of

God on

high,

the Lord

who is

making

intercession

for us.

We look

to the

living God.

That is

the good

news.

That if

the Lord