Sermon Tone Analysis

Take your Bibles and turn with me to .

What is an idol?

An idol is anything that you love and serve more than Jesus Christ.

It does not have to be a little statue or shrine, it does not have to be in a Pagan temple.

An idol anything you love and serve more than you love and serve Jesus Christ.

All of us deal idolatry, I know we may not think that we do, but we do.

all of us struggle at times with loving certain things at times more than we love the Lord.

It can be money, people, ministry, it can be business, posessions, jobs, various relationships.

Everyone in this room whether you know it or not struggles with idolatry.

When I started reading this week, I thought this is us, this is me, this is America.

Paul had been in Thessolonica he had been run outta town He went to Barea got run outta town, He goes to Athens this was a place even in Biblical times that people would go to vacation.

Even today the place is magnificent, the buildings that remain, of the former vity are amazing.

The Parthenon, the beautiful buildings you can only imagine what is was like in Pauls day when it was in its prime.

Everybody else came to admire the buildings and the architecture and the temples but when Paul went he saw it for what it was, he saw it was a place where demonic things were being worshipped.

Interesting that the first two of the 10 commandments deal with idolatry.

Why is it we love to put things in Gods place, we love to love and serve things instead of God.

So Paul decides you know what I aint here as a trourist, I am here as a preacher, I am not on vacation from ministry.

If you really love the Lord your always doing ministry.

So he said I’m just gonna tell em about Jesus and guess what people got saved, it was not because he out talked them our out taught them, but it was because he outloved everybody else.

Now adays, the main thing you have to do to share the gospel today especially with people who are smart and intellectual is you have to love them.

You have to pray for them and love them, and when they see that love, when they see that you are genuinely caring about them many times they open up to you, and to the gospel of the Lord Jesus.

Let’s talk tonight about loving the lost.

I hear these people saying I need a burden for the lost, well while your praying for that burden pray for that burden, pray for a love for lost people.

Just pray that you’ll love em.

How many of you have friends who they are not living for the Lord?

Do you love them?

Do you love them enough to do what Paul does here?

Acts 17:16-

Let’s talk a little bit about loving the lost.

When you love the lost you

See Lostness

You just see it.

Acts 17:16

He observed the city full of idols, he saw lostness.

He had been run out of barea because of the persecution of the Jews, He was forced to leave quickly leaving behind Silas and their helper timothy, and they had sent him away to Athens.

He said listen you tell Timothy and silas to come on were going to Athens now.

While Paul was wating on them he decided he would tour athens, he just said I’ll take a tour.

I guess he got on a tour bus and just rode around.

Naw he was walking around and as he was walking around everyone would say ooo look at that theres Zeus ooo theres Athena and Paul says “oh man” He is totally reacting differently, He sees the idolatry all around him and it overwhelms him.

He does not see beautiful buildings he sees pagan temples.

He sees temples that are not just harmless centers of culture, he sees temples that are the center of deminc worship.

He even writes about that to the next city he will go to which was Corinth.

He says

1 Corinthians 10:20-21

When the world looked at Athens they saw culture, when Paul looked at Athens he saw corruption, when the world looked at Athens hthey saw philosophy, when Paul looked at Athens he saw Paganism at its worst.

They were drowning in a sea of idolatry and Paul could see that these people were not as smart as they thought they were they were blind to the things of God and they were lost he saw their lostness.

Where did Paul get those kind of eyes?

Where do you get spiritual eyes?

You get spiritual eyes from Jesus, Jesus saw things that even His disciples did not see.

We read about one day when Jesus and the disciples were in the temple area and they saw the same thing Jesus saw but they did not see it the way Jesus saw it.

Luke 21:1-

Do you see that Jesus saw everything differently?

Oh Lord look at all those wealthy people putting in all of that money oh in the offering thats so wonderful!

Jesus said did you see the little lady who gave the two pennies she gave more than everybody.. do what?

Yeah its not how much you give its how much you have left over after you give.

It’s not whats on the paycheck, it’s whats in the account after you give.

She gave more than anybody, she gave all she had to live on, He saw things differently did he not?

He didn’t commend the big givers he commended the most sacrificial giver.

Then they are looking at these beautiful buildings and they say oh Jesus lookat these beautiful buildings whoa Lord this is awesome!

He said well, its not gonna be too awesome, you see all these stones they are going to be laying in a heap, whats he talking about?

In 40 years the Romans armies would come in a level Jerusalem.

Because God was sick and tired of people worshipping on the outside and living like the devil on the inside.

Jesus knew it was coming, He said all these things were going to be destroyed, God is not after buildings He is after redeemed humanity.

I wanna ask you, do you see lostness?

It’s all around us its amazing.

Do we love cottonwood enough to share the gospel with them?

do we see the things that people around here love and worship more than they do the Lord Jesus Christ?

Do we really see lostness?

has God given you spiritual eyes?

Do we see people in poverty here or do we just drive by?

Do you see that young man and young woman because they dont have enough moeny to buy a car?

Do you see that highschool dropout and you say well your just lazy or do you see a kid who didn’t have a parent to teach him how to read and he got behind in school and people made fun of him and he quit school and now he is out there in drugs and things he shouldn’t be doing.

But do you see him for what he was back when he was a little child?

Do you see people who buy up houses shacks and rent them out at unbelievable amounts to poor people and they dont take care of them, and they are trapped in a system that doesnt work.

Whether we see it or not God sees it.

Do you see lostness, lonley older people who took care of their kids and now their kids wont take care of them?

They are in a nursing home.

Do you see hurting people, do you see lostness idolatry?

Ask God to give you eyes for lost people, ask God to give you eyes so that you dont just see your little comfort zone, you dont see the beauty of Athens and your little perfect world, but you see the ugly of Cottonwood and the lostness and it breaks your heart.

You wanna love lost people?

It starts with your eyes?

What are you looking at?

Quit looking at your bank accounts and start looking at the lostness of Houston county.

GIVE ME YOUR EYES FOR JUST ONE SECOND

GIVE ME YOUR EYES SO I CAN SEE

EVERYTHING THAT IVE BEEN MISSING

GIVE ME YOUR LOVE FOR HUMANITY

GIVE ME A HEART FOR THE BROKEN HEARTED THE ONES WHO ARE FAR BEYOND MY REACH

GIVE ME YOUR EYES SO I CAN SEE

Sense Lostness

You feel that lostness

Acts 17:16

He was being troubled or provoked, it means irritated, becoming troubled.

He sensed their lostness, He sensed the pain of their separation from God He sensed even though they were wealthy he sensed their hopelessness, He sensed day in a day out even though they were so brilliant they were ignorant aabout God and if you dont know God you dont have true knowledge.

It burnded him, He saw their lostness and it burdened him.

How many of you know

There was once a preacher named EV HILL

“I had this guy in my church he was cheating on his wife and he wouldn’t stop so we sent some of the deacons over there to beat him up.”

“Thats my kind of guy”

“He saw this other friend of his and he said what is it with you you are a fantatic about soul winning?”