The Testimony Of God

[0:00] Thank you for tuning into this message by David Entry. Every true revival is a product of the strong preaching of God's word. May you receive a word from this message that will spark a revival in you.

[0:12] Acts chapter 14, I'm reading from verse 1 through 3. And it came to pass in Iconium that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke that a great multitude both of the Jews and also of the Greeks believed.

[0:38] But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles amid their minds evil affected against the brethren.

[0:50] Long time therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord which gave testimony unto the word of his grace and granted signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

[1:06] Here ends the reading of God's word. Let's pray. Father, thank you for the privilege to get into your word. We pray that as your word is taught, there's one thing we ask that grant us illumination and understanding.

[1:23] And take us into yourself through your word in a way that man cannot do. Holy Spirit, as we hear your word, testify of Jesus.

[1:34] And let the testimony of Jesus come alive amongst us. Come alive in the lives of all those of us who hear this word. We thank you in Jesus' name.

[1:47] Amen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I believe somebody is looking forward to hearing the word of God. So you saw in our previous teachings how Paul the apostle and his companion, they were persecuted in the chapter 13.

[2:09] And the end says that, verse 50, the Jews stirred up the devout and honorable men and the chief men of the city and raised persecution against Paul and Barnabas and expelled them out of their coasts.

[2:24] They practically sacked them. They expelled them. They said, we won't extend your visa. We are counseling and revoking your visa. So they expelled them from their midst and they shook off the dust of their feet.

[2:39] They said, bye. And they left and came into, verse 51, but they shook off the dust of their feet against them and came into Iconium.

[2:51] So Jesus told his disciples that when you go to one city, if you are not received, leave and go to another city. So when they were expelled, they didn't go back home.

[3:02] They went to Iconium. And now verse 14 tells us what began to happen in Iconium, chapter 14. So chapter 14 says that, and it came to pass in Iconium that they went both together into the synagogue of the Jews.

[3:19] I explained why the synagogue in a previous teaching, why they go to the synagogue. They went to the synagogue of the Jews and so spoke. In other words, they spoke in such a way that a great multitude, both of Jews and of the Greeks, believed.

[3:39] So there were Greeks in the synagogue who were Gentiles who would also every now and then come to experience the Jewish tradition.

[3:50] And, you know, the Jewish God is a sweet God. It's easy to like him or like the things he does. So the Jews in the synagogue and the Greeks believed.

[4:05] The nature of the preaching made great multitude believe. I pray God will be giving us that kind of preaching that makes not only one person, but great.

[4:16] The Bible says, they so spoke. Now that connotes they knew the subject matter. Not only the anointing, but now he's speaking about the way they spoke.

[4:31] They so spoke. Their preaching was very convincing. The New King James says that. They so spoke that a great multitude, both Jews and Gentiles and Greeks, believed.

[4:45] The preaching of God's word primarily is supposed to engender or build faith in the hearers.

[4:59] Because without faith, it's impossible to please God. The only way we can relate with God is through faith. So the word of God, when it is taught well, it gives rise to faith.

[5:10] Not just information, not just idea, not just intellectual knowledge, but faith. So the word of God is supposed to produce faith, not information, just information.

[5:25] I mean, the information in it is so reliable and so good. You can learn so much when you hear God's word. But its main objective is to produce faith in the listeners.

[5:37] So the Bible says that they believed. And then the verse 2 says that. But there are some who didn't believe. Every time the gospel is preached, every time God is moving, there will be some who will not receive it.

[5:54] So that tells us that those of us who believe, it's not so much because we are smart. But it's because we've been graced. God, anytime you find yourself doing what is right in the sight of God, remember, God has helped you.

[6:10] God has really helped you because you could have been like the other one. I just praise and appreciate God so much. One of my closest friends some time ago was talking to me.

[6:22] So how did you, because we were all in the same environment, how come the things that you know and practice that are helping you, how come you knew them and you're practicing it, that has helped you so much?

[6:35] I said, my brother, I don't even know. It's God that just helped me. Because we were all doing what can make us suffer. We were all a group of people.

[6:47] How come? How were you inclined into doing this? Now, how did you know this? It isn't because you are smarter, but it's because God has helped you.

[6:59] How come you had a friend, both of you started church together. Why is he? You all joined the choir together. You all got married and you joined your wives.

[7:11] How come that you are busy serving? I said, I don't know what it's not. How come we were all in the same camp meeting? We had the same thing. We were in the same workers' meeting.

[7:22] We were saying, how come you are doing so well and the other one? Listen, God helped you. God helped you. Then somebody said, but why didn't God help the other person?

[7:34] Why are you going to heaven and asking? Anything that works for anyone in your work with God, you are not the mastermind behind it. God is the mastermind.

[7:47] He is the author and the finisher. This, that's it. He is the designer. He is the architect. The author and the finisher of our faith. Hebrews chapter 12.

[7:58] He is the author and the finisher. For it is God. Philippians chapter 2. Who works in you. Who is at work in you. Both to will and to do of his good pleasure.

[8:11] You don't have what it takes to will. To will, you don't have it. And to do, you don't have it. It's God who is at work in us. And the Bible says that some Jews didn't believe.

[8:23] But the problem in not believing is you can develop an appetite against the work of God. It's very interesting.

[8:34] We have it naturally within us. That when we come into confrontation or contact with the word of God, we either receive it or fight it. Why do we fight it?

[8:46] Because people fight it so they can feel comfortable. So when someone says that I am an atheist, it's not because they don't know God exists.

[8:57] But they have to fight it because they don't want to accept that fact. They don't want to accept that. So they are fighting it. But deep in their head, they know it's true. Because if only intellect, if you were going to use reasoning, it's so reasonable and scientific to know that there's God.

[9:14] It's unreasonable and unscientific to see everything and say it happened by accident. That's not common sense. How can we just show up and look at how beautiful the design is.

[9:26] He said one day some children were playing and they just threw something. They threw it and then it turned orderly arranged. This is very unreasonable. But, you know, so they rose up and the Bible says that the unbelieving Jews, they stirred up people who were neutral.

[9:46] They were really neutral. Some people don't really mind. But it's the people who don't believe. They stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds evil, affected against the brethren.

[9:59] Let's change the translation. Let's go at NIV. NIV says that, but the Jews who refused to believe, did you see that? They refused to believe it.

[10:10] It's an immoral issue, not intellectual issue. They refused to believe it. Stared up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against their brethren. And then verse 3 says that, it says that, long time therefore, I like the therefore.

[10:26] Because of what was happening, because of the poison activities going on, the guys decided to even stay there longer. Long time therefore about day.

[10:40] Let's look for NIV. Therefore, they stayed there a long time. Because of this poisonous, people who were poisoning the minds of the Gentiles and making them turn against their brethren, the apostles chose to stay long time.

[11:00] Stay there longer. To do what? Well, because their mission there was to strengthen them and preach the word. So, they stayed there long time, speaking boldly in the Lord.

[11:13] They even spoke boldly. With confidence. Oh, I like that. Some of the things that sometimes proud hearts don't like, is they don't like preachers who preach with so much confidence.

[11:27] So, the prideful people don't like that. They're like, you know, as I stand before you, I just want you to know that God loves you.

[11:40] And the Lord, this morning, won't... Some people like that. They say, that's better. Believe Jesus! Jesus will change your story.

[11:52] Why is he making that noise? Why? What is he doing? But it is necessary to preach the word of God with boldness. Good preaching is bold preaching.

[12:04] When they were threatened, they prayed that, grant us that with boldness. Acts chapter 4, verse 29. Grant us that with boldness we will preach the word.

[12:15] Yeah, grant us your servants that with boldness we may speak your word. Ephesians talks about, pray for me that all trance will be granted me. Ephesians chapter 6, verse 19, verse 20, particularly. Pray for us that all trance will be granted me.

[12:29] That we may open our mouths boldly. The Bible said, last week we saw it in Acts chapter 13. Paul, and I think verse 46 or so, he says that they walked bold.

[12:40] They became bold and had to say some things yesterday. So, the Bible said they spoke boldly in the Lord. Hallelujah. Now, this is going to take a bit of our time, but I'll see how I can quickly navigate through it.

[12:55] Which gave, let's all read it from the New King James Version. All right, let's all read it. Let's go. Let's always speak your word. A long time. Speaking boldly in the Lord, who was bearing witness to the word of his grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

[13:12] That's beautiful. Their job was to speak, and God's job was to watch this. I know you have not noticed it. It didn't say, they did this size and wonders, and then they preached.

[13:26] It said, they spoke boldly in the Lord. The Lord, who was bearing witness. Watch this, watch this. God became, entered the witness box to give witness.

[13:41] What was he bearing witness? Not to the power of their preaching. Not to their genueness. God was not bearing witness to their genueness, their sincerity.

[13:52] These are sincere guys. Listen guys, don't trouble them. No. He was bearing witness to something. The word of his grace. There's a difference between teaching or preaching and witnessing.

[14:08] A witness is a testifier. Let's change the translation and see what New American study, that English standard version, NIV. It says that, therefore, they spent a long time there speaking boldly with reliance upon the Lord, who was testifying.

[14:26] Bear witness. God said, I have a testimony. God was, so bear witness is the same as to testify to the word of his grace. English standard version, then we move away from that.

[14:38] It says that, who bore witness. He was testifying, bore witness. It says, you remember, in Acts chapter 2, verse 40, it says that, and with many other words, Peter testified.

[14:52] Peter testified with many. Did you see that?

[15:05] There's a difference between just preaching or teaching and being a witness. A witness is somebody who has experienced something and is sharing the experience. So to be a witness, you must have an experience of something.

[15:19] So not just something you know you are saying, something you have experienced, something you have seen, something you have tested. And they gave witness. It was very common in what they were doing in the church. Chapter 8, verse 25.

[15:31] In Acts chapter 8, verse 25, it says that, so when they had testified and preached. Did you see that? Did you see that? So there was testifying and preaching.

[15:43] When they had testified and preached. That's what they were doing. They were major testifiers. They were giving witness to something. That's why Jesus said, when the Holy Ghost comes, you shall be witnesses of me in Jerusalem, in Judea.

[15:57] In Acts chapter 10, verse 42, the Bible says that, and he commanded us to preach to the people and to testify. Testifying. Did you see that? Have you noticed preach and testify?

[16:09] But I thought that in their preaching, there was testifying in their preaching. So whatever they were saying, they were also bearing witness to something because God himself is a testifier.

[16:23] Ah, ah, ah, ah. Didn't you see chapter 14, verse 3, where we just saw? God himself was testifying of the word. They were testifying.

[16:33] So you see, constantly in scripture, especially in Acts, as they went to preach in Acts chapter 18, verse 5, it's there. In Acts chapter 20, verse 21, it's there.

[16:44] Acts chapter 20, verse 24, you see, people, they were testifying. In Acts chapter 26, verse 22, it's there. In Acts chapter 22, verse 23, it's there. In Acts chapter 28, verse 23, it is there.

[16:57] They were testifying, testifying, testifying. It says, in Acts chapter 28, verse 23, it says, So when they had appointed him a day, many came to him as his lodging, to whom he explained and solemnly testified of the kingdom of God.

[17:12] So have you noticed that? It is easy to miss that testifying was a regular part of the preaching of the word of grace. Something they know and something they have experienced.

[17:26] Something they cannot deny. They know it's true. The Holy Ghost himself is also a testifier. He bears witness. Jesus said in John chapter 15, verse 26, it says that, But when the helper is come, whom I shall send from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me.

[17:53] When John the Revelator was put in the Isle of Patmos in the book of Revelation, he says that, I am a fellow brethren with the testimony of our Lord.

[18:06] We don't just have preaching. We didn't have preaching. We are testifiers. We are witnesses. I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation of the kingdom and the patience of Jesus Christ, who is on the island, who is on the island, which is called Patmos, For the word of God and for the...

[18:31] Did you see that? The word of God. Paul told Timothy, 2 Timothy chapter 1, said, Don't be ashamed of, be not ashamed of the testimony of the Lord.

[18:44] Verse 8. Said, Therefore, be not ashamed of the testimony. I'm just trying to draw your attention to something that probably might have not stood out. Testimony.

[18:55] We are testifiers. Testifiers. And that is even what can provoke people more. Because the message, within the message, those of us sharing the message are actually testifiers.

[19:08] We testify that we have encountered it. We testify that this is true. Our hearts have been changed. We've encountered it. We've tested it. I've tested and seen. Of the sweetest of God. The sweetest of God.

[19:19] I've tasted and seen. Yeah, that's something like that. Psalm 34. It said, Oh, test and see that the Lord is good.

[19:31] Test and see that the Lord is good. Somebody say, The Lord is good. The Lord is good. So it says, When the Holy Ghost comes up. Jesus told us that when the Holy Ghost comes up to you, in John chapter, we just read it.

[19:43] John chapter 15, verse 26. He will testify of me. Look at verse 27. He will testify of me, and you also will bear witness.

[19:56] You will also be testifiers. And in 1 John chapter 5, verse 6, it talks about the Spirit who testifies. The Spirit himself. And the last sentence there says that, And it is the Spirit who bears.

[20:11] Am I teaching at all? The Spirit bears witness. Now, what I'm doing is actually testifying of things that are in Scripture. No, no. I'm drawing your attention to something further.

[20:23] Now, I'm pointing to you in Scripture that you probably, it's easy to miss this, that it's littered all through Scripture, especially in the Acts of the Apostles, where we are entering the transition, when they were in the transition into grace.

[20:37] You can see, there was a testimony, or the act of testifying, or witnessing, going on regularly. It was part of their preaching. Because their preaching was an expression of testimony.

[20:49] And as they preached Christ, they testified what God has done. They testified. And so, what I'm doing, I'm pointing to you from Scripture, pages of Scripture, from one page to the other, from one text to the other.

[21:03] I'm testifying that, listen, witnessing is a regular thing that God does. Witnessing, I'm witnessing, in fact, I'm testifying that that's what the Scripture is saying.

[21:15] Now, watch this. When they preached, God now came to testify. What did he testify? That's the text, what I want to draw your attention to. God also came to give testimony, or they spoke boldly, the Lord who was testifying to...

[21:36] Can I go a little deeper? In the synagogues, they heard the word of the law. That's what they do in the synagogue.

[21:49] They talk about the law of Moses and the prophets. And then God comes to testify of the word of his grace, which they were preaching now.

[22:01] These testifiers were preaching in the synagogue. God was testifying. What does that mean? He was trying to say, listen, in Genesis, God told Adam and Eve that the day you eat this, judgment is coming, you are going to die.

[22:16] They ate it, and God came, and he says that, out of you, I told... Can you imagine what God told Eve? He says that, your seed, oh, you are not dying.

[22:28] You are going to produce a seed that will crush the head of the serpent. So that gave Adam some level of boldness to call his wife Eve. Do you know the meaning of Eve?

[22:39] Genesis chapter 3, look at it from verse 21. Adam called his wife... It says 21. And Adam called... Verse 20, sorry. Adam called his wife's name...

[22:49] Let's go, let's go, please. And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all Eve. She was what? The mother of all Eve. It should be the mother of dead people, dead.

[23:01] Because the day you eat, you will die. Adam had just heard the testimony of God. So now he's calling his wife Eve, because you are going to be producing life. You'll be the mother of all living.

[23:15] Where is that? Grace was waking. When they should have died, God rather came and gave them promises. God was testifying.

[23:26] Listen, grace has always been there. Abraham was an idol worshiper. I went and called him. Grace was spoken. Just that when you saw the law, you thought everything was just the law. But I'm testifying that this word is not the word of the law.

[23:38] It's the word of my grace. So as I showed you last week, Isaiah. Isaiah was preaching, and in his preaching, he said, God will also call the Gentiles David, a sinner like David, and God says, a man after my heart.

[24:00] David, Moses, who had anger problems and didn't have counseling. He couldn't attend. Moses had anger problems.

[24:11] That's how he kills somebody. No, no. Anger can make you kill somebody and kill your future. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Moses, because of his anger, God said, you will seek it now.

[24:24] You will never enter it. Moses, what is this? Anger is, look at what it's doing to you. However, Moses' name still rings a bell in the New Testament.

[24:36] Such a person who crossed God, grace still spoke. So God was testifying that in human terms, you will miss it, but in grace terms, grace will still give you another opportunity.

[24:49] Oh, yes. That is why you have to stick to grace. Stick to God. With God, there is grace. One day, David misbehaved, and God said, I want to punish you.

[24:59] You can't go free. What should I do? You want me to punish you myself or I will give you into the hands of the enemy? David said, please don't give it to my, punish me yourself because with you there is mercy. With you, at least there is mercy.

[25:14] Grace. So God was testifying to the word of his grace. The word of his grace. God testified.

[25:24] He was bearing witness that, listen, Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, he said, a virgin shall be with child and give birth. All those things he was professing, they were elements, they were manifestations of grace, but they were reading, they were so caught up in the synagogues with the law that they missed that this thing, in fact, it was, the law was an expression of even God's grace.

[25:50] So God gave witness to the word of his grace. then, and then he was doing signs, wonders, and miracles. And guess what?

[26:01] Quickly, verse four. Is someone like telling you something? And then the verse four says that, but the multitudes of the city was divided.

[26:12] Can you imagine? Because of preaching. The whole thing took a political turn. There was no politics in what they were teaching by the hearts of people who don't like it. The whole, but the multitude of the city was divided and part held with the Jews and part with the apostles.

[26:33] The Jews here, you know, they were supposed to be the religious people. They were the problem of the apostles. So now you are either on the Jews' side or the apostles' side.

[26:45] The whole city. Do you know what that means? You are either on the side of law or the side of grace. Law was fighting against grace.

[26:58] So, the whole city was divided. Anytime the preaching comes, they preach powerfully, there's division. Some will be, preaching comes to divide. Jesus said, I don't think I brought peace.

[27:10] I brought a sword. Jesus said, I brought a sword to separate a son from his father, a mother from her daughter. Wow. He said, I brought a sword.

[27:21] Jesus says, in Matthew chapter 10, verse 34, think not that I have come to send peace on earth. I came not to send peace but a sword. For I have come, that's why he told me, I've come to set a man against his father, a daughter against a mother, a daughter-in-law against a mother-in-law.

[27:38] Why? Because the nature, okay, and a man's enemies will be those of his own household. The people who you will always know and be with, they are comfortable with you until you truly believe in Jesus.

[27:51] You truly believe and they say, no, I don't, what kind of message is this? What's happening to you? And people who were your allies become your enemies because the gospel sometimes ends up dividing.

[28:04] Why? Not because it's divisive but the message in itself is hostile in the hearts of those who haven't received it and those who have received it, they become a testimony to the gospel.

[28:15] So when they receive it, those who don't like it begin to have animosity towards those who have received it and sometimes it can even be close friends and family. That's the nature of the gospel.

[28:28] So if you want everybody to like you, you might never preach the gospel. That's why many Christian organizations have gone very silent on the gospel itself and have become busy with activities.

[28:44] Everybody likes those nice activities but the gospel itself is the problem. So we have to do the activities but not be silent and use the gospel. The whole city was divided.

[28:55] Verse 5 says that and when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles and of the Jews with their rulers, you see, politicians have gotten involved.

[29:07] Yeah. The whole thing has taken a political dimension to use them despitefully. In other words, they really wanted to waste them and to stone them.

[29:18] They were aware of it. Verse 6, they were aware of it and fled into Lystra and Debbie, cities of Lyconia and onto the regions that lie roundabout and there they preached the gospel.

[29:29] Do you see that? Everywhere they go, that's their mission. Their mission was to preach. Their mission was to preach not to make friends. Their mission was to preach not to be liked. Their mission was to preach.

[29:40] Their mission was to preach because we have to rescue perishing souls. Their mission was to preach. Their mission was... Is someone listening to me? Is someone getting something?

[29:50] The mission of the church is to preach and testify. All right. So usually you hear preaching and teaching. Within it, it's all encapsulated in the testimony of Jesus.

[30:03] The testimony of Jesus. The word of grace. The gospel. The word of the Lord. The same phrase that means one thing. Their mission was to preach. Hallelujah. And it says that...

[30:15] So they left and went to Lystra and Debbie in the regions of Lyconia. And verse 8 says that... And there sat a man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being crippled from his mother's womb who had never walked.

[30:29] And the same heard Paul speak, who steadfastly beholding him and perceiving that he had faith to be healed, said unto him with a loud voice, Stand up on your feet. And he leaped and walked.

[30:40] And when the people saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in the speech of the Lyconia, the gods have come round to us in the likeness of men. And they called Barnabas Jupiter, which is Zeus, and then Paul, which is Hermes, because he was the chief speaker.

[30:58] Now what was interesting is the priest of Jupiter, which was before the city, brought oxen and gallants onto the gates and would have done sacrifices with the people, which when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, had heard of it, they rent their clothes and ran in amongst the people crying and saying, says, Why do you do these things?

[31:21] We also are men of like passions with you and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and the earth and the sea and all that are therein, who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways.

[31:41] Nevertheless, he left not himself without a witness in that he did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful season, filling our hearts with food and gladness and with these sayings, scarcely restrained the people that they had not done sacrifices unto them.

[31:58] Now, the healing took place. They didn't go and heal. They were just preaching, but during the preaching, God gave witness. Gave witness. That's the things that, but you know, Bible didn't tell us about the verse three, the miracles that God, didn't tell us the details because it wasn't necessary.

[32:15] The most important thing was he was giving witness or testifying to the word of his grace. That's what you should know. Leave the miracles and focus on God's agenda behind what he said. Now, here, it was focused on because of what it led to.

[32:30] Bible spoke about a miracle happened there and the miracle got the attention of everybody to the extent that the people who were Gentiles said, hey, the gods have come. The gods have come in human flesh.

[32:43] These guys are not ordinary. What they have done, these are the gods and I believe, watch this, this is very important. They call Paul Hermes. Okay, I think New Kijans will tell you.

[32:54] They call Hermes, not Gucci. They call, so you know, you see where Hermes is coming from. They call Paul Hermes, but Barnabas, they call him Zeus because Zeus, Barnabas was good looking and Zeus was a god that was very nice, good looking and so they said, okay, he's the good, Paul was very short and he had, so they call Paul.

[33:21] Why did they call him Hermes? Because Hermes was the spokesperson of the gods. So if the gods have something to say, they are internal. Their social media was Hermes.

[33:33] So Hermes was the spokesperson of the gods. Now, those of you are, most of you might not be, but if you are familiar with theology, there's something called hermeneutics.

[33:47] Hermeneutics is the act of interpreting, interpreting what is written. So hermeneutics, it comes from that word, Hermes. All right, so they call Paul Hermes because, not because he wasn't unique, but it's because he was this main person, who was doing the speaking.

[34:02] All right, because he was speaking and he told the guy, get up and walk. But they were together. So they gave him both credit. And then because they thought they were gods, ah, for the first time, the gods have come here.

[34:12] So the priest of Jupiter, or the priest of Zeus in the city, now brought a cow and to come and offer sacrifices to the gods. Because that's how you re-worship the gods.

[34:24] You sacrifice them for the first time, they have come in the person, let's worship them. So, but Barnabas and Paul, they didn't know what was going on because the gods were speaking in their native language.

[34:35] So they didn't know what was going on. So later on, they found out, what? What? Sacrifice to what? What? Sacrifice to what? Bible said, they rift their clothes. Anytime in a Jewish community, society, when someone rips their clothes, it's because blasphemy.

[34:50] One, when there's blasphemy, this is an abomination, this is unheard of. They rift their clothes of extreme sorrow. Number two, they rift their clothes because they wanted people to see bare skin.

[35:02] Now listen, we are human, normal human, we touch us, we are bare. Stop this. It's God who is giving testimony. We are not the gods. We are ordinary human beings and unlike what he said, with passions like you.

[35:15] He said that, listen, when the apostles knew of this, they told them, they said, why are you doing these things? We are also men of like passions with you. We have feelings like you.

[35:25] We have concerns like you. We eat rice like you. We eat bread like you. We open it. We use the restroom like you. We are normal. Stop treating men of God like they are the God of men.

[35:39] Amen. Gospel celebrities. But they stop it. They stop them.

[35:50] The Bible says that. Rather, give them lectures. He said, we are just telling you to turn away from these damn idols to the living God. We are also like men, but we just came to tell you, witness to you, that there's a God who you should look for.

[36:03] So don't do, now what we are trying to tell you to turn away from, you are not coming to execute it on us. He said, please no. This is far from why we came here. He said, don't do that.

[36:14] So they scarcely restrained. Now they had to, it was difficult to even stop them. They restrained them that they didn't do the sacrifice. Then Paul preached to them. He says that, the God of heaven, he made, when Paul was preaching to Jews, he spoke about Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

[36:29] When he preached to Gentiles who didn't have any idea, he spoke about nature. The point, because nature explains God. In Romans chapter 1, verse 18, 19, 20, he says, the invisible attributes of God are clearly seen, being understood.

[36:45] He said, for the wrath of God, verse 9, verse 20, he said, for since the creation of this world, God's, his is God, God's invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that you are without excuse.

[37:04] And so, nature points to the fact that God is actually there. It's not preaching that that lets you know God is there. Nature tells you God is there. That's why I'm saying that it is rather unreasonable and unscientific to say that God doesn't exist.

[37:19] It's really unreasonable. Number two, Romans chapter 2, I think the verse 10, it tells us about how God uses the conscience of man to give witness.

[37:31] Romans chapter 2, verse 13 to 15, the conscience says that, for not the hearers of the law are just in the sight of God, but the doers of the law will be justified. For when the Gentiles, those who did not have the Jewish God, when the Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do the things in the law, these, although have not having the law, are a law to themselves.

[37:55] Watch this, the next one. Who show the works of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing their witness. So, nature bears witness and conscience bears witness.

[38:08] These are two ways God testifies of himself outside of the law and any godly system. Nature testifies. So, people who didn't even know God when in Mars Hill, as chapter 17, Paul was reasoning with them, he made reference to nature.

[38:25] He said, nature tells us, so he can use what they are familiar with to bring them to a God they are not familiar with. To let them know, look at the verse 18 in this text. Is it verse 17? Verse 18 says that, for he did not leave himself without witness.

[38:39] So, when it rains, it doesn't only rain on the land of the believers. It's called the general benevolence of God. The act of grace. God is generally good to everybody, to all.

[38:50] So, he used God's general benevolence to say that he was showing you that he is God who is good to all. That's the message they preach. And so, the message of grace is that it's not only extracted from the legal systems or the Jewish system.

[39:07] The message of grace can be seen and can be expressed from any angle as long as somebody can reason. So, through that, he also preached the message of grace to them.

[39:18] They saw the miracle, they were distracted to use their own natural systems and said, no, no, the natural systems are pointing us to a God who we do not see, who wants us to know him.

[39:31] And that's how they preached the word. So, in conclusion, they went everywhere preaching the word of his grace. The word of his grace. And God only gives witness to the word of his grace.

[39:46] And I know today, the word of grace will work for you in Jesus' name. Did you receive something? Let's give Jesus praise for the word of his grace. Hallelujah! Praise the Lord.

[39:58] Thank you for listening to this message by David Entry. We pray you have been revived towards God. You can connect with David Entry on all relevant social media platforms including Instagram and LinkedIn.

[40:11] You can also hear more messages from David Entry on all relevant streaming platforms and the Karis Church app. Don't forget to like and share the message. Be blessed.

[40:22] Thank you.