How to Reach Our Culture with The Gospel | Finding the Right Approach

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Learn more and sign up@harvest.org. The Lord is not willing that any should. With all the repentant pastor Grigori points out, the challenge of that mission will talk about it.

A you I believe a little bit about some of the so made up of this is what I believe now like you maybe see religion babies see anything, we reach a culture like how do we tell them about Jesus and times, it would seem many people just don't want to hear your truth is, everyone hope Jesus Christ, to the beginning.

Grigori reminds God is with God may try to feed that hunger. Sooner or later come to realize the Bible 17 of my messages how to reach our culture with the gospel so there was a bit that was really help in a minister was as the common share just a few words which sometimes is challenging for preachers because we can be long-winded right so the preacher got up to speak and he quickly went was allotted time, which is five minutes and he was continuing to speak, and now it's eight minutes. Now it's my minute, so there was a moderator there. He cleared his throat opening the preacher would hear and stop still.

The minister droned on, then the moderator lightly tap the gobble to get the preacher's attention. Still, this preacher Preaching now it's 20 minutes and it ruining the entire event because the of other things that are going up and another moderator pounds down the gobble loudly and still. The preacher is speaking moderator couldn't take it anymore. He took the gobble and threw it at the preacher that barely missed the preacher inhibited elderly man would fall asleep in the front row. The old dude woke up, saw the preacher was still speaking and then he said to the moderator hit me again. I can still hear. We've all heard that preacher and sometimes we been that preacher on the banana pulpit for the kind of person that when we come along. People want to go in the other direction, because here comes you or me with our message and it's the way we deliver it that drives people crazy so let's take a master class from a master communicator. The apostle Paul.

Let's take a page out of his playbook on how to reach our culture with the gospel and so acceptor 17 is the story of Paul bringing the gospel to the city of Athens. At this time Athens was sort of waning from its former glory.

But it was effectively the cultural and intellectual center of the world. It was the base of the great Greek philosophers like Socrates, Lado, Aristotle, and many others, their thoughts and teachings still impact on many today as a matter of fact, so Paul just sorting around in Athens and he does what you would do when you're in a city like that he went sightseeing. I've been to Athens. We went there is a part of a tour to Israel and walking in the footsteps of Paul and I've actually spoken on Mars Hill were Paul addressed these people and so he's just checking things out. There's a great Parthenon temple built in one of their false gods affect there were false gods everywhere in Athens. It was said it was easier to find a God in Athens than a man that's estimated there were at least 30,000 altars erected to various Greek deities like Zeus was the king of all gods in their Safina, the goddess of heroic behavior.

A proper died, the goddess of love and lust, Morpheus, the God of dreams Poseidon the God of sinking ships and I really that was some movie about the Poseidon forgot that was actually the goddess of storms and earthquakes and then finally there was Nike, the goddess of shoes. We know that for sure.

Okay.

So all these various deities were there. So Paul just kind of taken it in his walking around the city is absorbing the culture and now he begins his message. In acts 17 starting in verse 16 we read and I'm reading from the new living translation. When Paul was waiting for them at Athens. He was deeply troubled by all the idols he sought everywhere in the city. He went to the synagogue.

The debate with the Jews in the Godfrey Gentiles spoke daily in the public square, to all who happen to be there and he had a debate with some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers, but underlying that I'm in a come back to it. Epicurean and Stoic philosophers.

Then he told them about Jesus and his resurrection, and they said this babbler has picked up some strange ideas. Others said he's pushing some foreign religion. Then they took him to the Council of philosophers also known as the Areopagus, and said, tell us more about this new religion you're seen some rather startling things that we want to know what it's all about.

It should be explained that the Athenians as well as the foreigners in Athens seem to spend all of their time discussing the latest ideas I'd underlined.

That's interesting, underlined, so Paul standing before the Council address them as follows. Men of Athens. I notice you're very religious. If you were to give this statement today you would say, the people of America.

I see that your induced spirituality that's effectively what he was saying and I was walking among your many altars and one of them had this inscription on it to an on known God you been worshiping him without knowing who is now I wish to tell you about. That's a powerful text will stop there. You know we live in a unique time in American history. I would say the days of cultural Christianity are over what is cultural Christianity, will there was a time in the late 50s early 60s, when many Americans would identify themselves as a Christian, even if they were not church attendance was much higher biblical values were reflected even in television programs like father knows best and leave it to beaver and things like that.

That was sort of a respect for certain bedrock values that is not the case today. Our culture today is more biblically illiterate than it is ever been. It's shocking how little people know today about the Bible.

There was a time in our public schools where the Bible would even be taught as literature, not as the book given to us from God, released telling people you need to have a general understanding of Scripture.

No, those days are gone as well.

So our culture, our nation is a lot more like Mars Hill than any other time Mars Hill was the place with the philosophers would speak and trained in the latest ideas of the time they were a completely secular culture were becoming more of a secular culture.

There were two primary streams of thought that this time the teachings of the Epicureans and the Stoics, Epicureans and Stoics, and people still believe in these philosophies today. Let's start with the Epicureans, they believed in the pursuit of pleasure. Some familiar other believers. There was no order really to the universe. There is no God, no absolutes, no future judgment so you might as well live for the moment, they were effectively the party animals of the first century, their philosophy would be okay were all going to die.

So let's just eat drink and be merry and enjoy the moment. I think our modern equivalent would be the Playboy philosophy. The pursuit of hedonism casting aside all absolutes or codes and just do whatever you want to do and we all know people.

Some of us used to be. These people who live for pleasure.

You live for that because you live for the rush to live for the experience you live for the excitement and reminds me of going to an amusement park. We spent a lot of time waiting in line, and then you get on the ride the rides over so quickly and then you going get in another line right and some people spend their entire life waiting to get on the ride waiting to have the pleasure and there's a deadness to all of it. The Bible says she the lives or pleasure is dead even while she is living it is said to cure for hedonism is an attempt to practice. That is why so many people who become rich and famous, especially quickly burn out or they find themselves addicted to drugs or alcohol, or you hear that there into their second, third, fourth marriages or their taking their own lives because they have chased after their dreams and they realize their dreams. And sadly, in many cases their dreams have turned in to nightmares.

Living a life for pleasure is in reality a pleasure rely for those of the Epicurean. Then there's a Stoics, they were more disciplined. They believe that God was in all things God was in nature.

God was in the trees in the ocean and the Scotty and then the animals everything sort of a New Age belief before was called that billionaire Elon musk.

I was asked a while ago. If he believed in God and musk said in response and I quote as Einstein would say I believe in the God of Spinoza.

I didn't even know who Spinoza was hard to look that one up and apparently Spinoza believes that some that God does not concern himself with what goes on in this planet that there is a God, but that he's not involved in our lives or the distant disconnected deity effectively was the belief of the Stoics, and does so that is what they chased after so this is the audience if you will, the Paul is addressing in his day is verse 21 says they spent all their time discussing the latest idea, sort of like an ABC religion ABC anything but Christ should read more will have the second half of this message just a moment. Many listeners write or call us sharing their stories of how these daily studies in God's word make an impact on lives through your a lot of groups medical appointment to the radio on your end of character hear the word for the very first and have you give your life who found in the word that were giving your very much God bless. What an encouragement to know that pastor Grace messages or touching lives in some unexpected ways. Do you have a comment to share with pastor Craig. If so, call 1-866-871-1144 – 866-871-1144 will today were discussing the challenge of reaching our world for Christ pastor Grace messages titled how to reach our culture with the gospel know people will talk about anything.

All I believe in this I believe little bit of that and I believe some of this other thing I just made up a bunch of stuff and this is what I believe now and so here is Paul now with this challenge. That's not unlike the challenge you and I face every day.

How do we reach a culture like this.

How do we connect to people like this. How do we tell them about Jesus Christ because really is. The Bible says there's nothing new under the sun. Ecclesiastes says history merely repeats itself.

It's all been done before.

Nothing under the sun is truly new is how true is that it's just a repeat of it in a new way. Malcolm Muggeridge once said, quote all new news is old news happening to new people right so things are not as different today as you think they are. I think these first century principles apply to was in the 21st century. So how can we be better communicators in the time in which we live.

Point number one. Effective communication begins with the burden of effective communication begins with the burden look at verse 16. While Paul was waiting for them in Athens. He was greatly distressed that the city was full of idols. He was greatly distressed. The city was full of idols word used here for distressed means seizure, spasm or outburst.

So this is a visible reaction from Paul you up by something someone might say he wrote of a seizure man. Paul was kind of having a spiritual seizure.

He was just greedy to see the absence of the living God and in his place every conceivable substitute and I wonder if you ever feel that way. I know I do you know when when I look at the new site I so frustrating to me to see the evil in the world the horrible things that people do to people of the the wrong ideas that people fall for the tragedy of so many human lives and then we look at all these idols.

All these false gods.

I would say for us today for us celebrities are false gods. You know what of the up to what's elitist sing one of the just post all well look at how they look here and there using all these filters, they don't even look like the people they are and I think people sort of put these people on pedestals and these ideologies, etc. but I want you to remember something when you look at people doing godless things they are not the enemy the devil is the enemy. I think we forget the sometimes and sometimes even in the inner world of politics. You know we got really worked there so evil there so bad okay hold on, here's what the Bible teaches. They are a sinner under the captive of Satan. Now granted they're doing evil things. What they're doing is wrong, but were not supposed to heat sinner were supposed to love, sinner, faith is sin. Sure but love the sinner's don't forget Jesus was called the friend of sinners. Second Timothy 226 says pray that they'll come to their senses and escape from the devil's trap for the been held captive by him to do whatever he wants. Don't forget you used to be one of them. How are you reached by someone yelling at you by someone hating you know I'm sure was the love of God that got through to you right someone show God's love. Satan is the enemy. Sinners are not the enemy. There there under his control, and were praying that they'll be set free and it's interesting that phrase that Paul uses. Therefore, people being held captive. It means her, life, law, the only other time that phrase is used in the New Testament is when Jesus says follow me and I'll make you a fisher of men were a better translation would be, follow me, and you will catch men alive. So here's a choice I can either be caught alive by the devil. If you will recall, alive by Christ through our evangelistic efforts and I think we often sort of want to withdraw from culture to culture is evil. I don't watch TV. I don't go online I don't go to movies I I only go to Christian restaurants and night Christian food and I have a Christian pillow and Christian slipper and I listen to Christian radio and only watch Christian television okay no it's fine to have these assets out there, but we need to reach the culture that were in. Paul went into their world.

The Areopagus Mars Hill was sort of the town square feet is when right there in the epicenter of everything that hey I was walking around your city is checking things out and I saw the you of all these gods you worship, but there was one altar erected to the unknown God. I think I did was take in case we missed one gobbler just direct us to the God we missed right I want to talk to you about the God you don't know about me to my second point always culturally relevant. It was culturally relevant. It's called reading the room." One of their secular philosophers to build a bridge to his audience. He says I want to talk to you about the unknown got. I noticed that you're very religious, or as I said, we might say today here in this spirituality so you know this is a great way to start and I do this all the time. You know I do this when I preach. I do this one on one I try to find a little bridge to walk over with the person I'm speaking to Ivanhoe called Lenin, Dylan, Alice and Jesus. I know that's a weird name for a book okay so you know I've done some other biographies on Johnny Cash, Steve McQueen, Billy Graham, so this one is about these rock stars better known by many people and what happened in their lives spiritually and this co-author. I work with and I were able to dig up some really interesting things about people that are in the public eye who actually encountered Christ. I'm not saying all of these people are Christians, some of them are some of them aren't, but basically my premise of this book is to show that no one is beyond the reach of God so your ears on John Lennon as an example course part of the Beatles and everyone thinks John Lennon was the most antichrist guy that ever lived is, after all, he wrote the song.

Imagine imagine there's no heaven.

A no hell below you about the only sky etc. he said were more popular than Jesus is speaking of the Beatles will some things happen. Toward the end of limits.

Like many people know about and that was a moment in this life we actually professed faith in Jesus Christ. Now granted, it did not last. But I explore that what actually happened to this guy and there's a lot of other things in there that you learn about people that have come to Christ and I also deal with present-day pop stars as well, many of whom have made professions of faith. I start the book with these words, W3 surprises only get to heaven. Number one. Some of the people we thought would be there won't be there.

Number two. Some of the people we never thought would be there will be there. Number three will be there so for some nights we will misunderstand. I think when I do things like that.

What are you talking about person and why why are you doing this film here and what what is this all about. I'm trying to build bridges. I don't want to just talk to Kristen someone to talk to nonbelievers tell them about Christ because someone did that for me. They came to my high school campus and they share the gospel and entered my weird little world.

Then I heard it and I understood it, but I believe that I want to do that for other people as well. Pastor Greg Laurie today on a new beginning and he comes back to close our study time in prayer. Just a moment that Pastor Greg mentioned his book, Lennon Dylan, Alice and Jesus. You can find out more about that new book by going to harvest.org.

It's a fascinating read and then we want to mention Pastor Greg's enlightening book called Revelation, a book of promises you are great. Some people have a rather cloudy understanding of prophecy and other not sure of the terms, some prophecy is just so rich in symbolism that they wonder where they can get the key that unlocks all the meaning I is your book short of a passkey that helps us access that insight today. Yeah yeah I think that's good description.

You know, my objective as a pastor as a Bible teacher as an evangelist is make things understandable to people I don't see any value in speaking over someone's head and using theological terminology that people don't understand the Bible says of Jesus, the common people heard him gladly. Which simply means regular rank-and-file people understood what Jesus was talking about. So the book of Revelation. This is a book.

Many people are fascinated by, but it's also a book.

Many people are mystified by and there is a password. A password or an encryption key that will help you understand the book of Revelation, and it's found right in the first chapter, I think you're going to be surprised by how understandable this great book of the Bible is, I write in a way. Well, it's is over just sitting down over a cup of coffee and were just reading the verses together and were talking about them together and I'm trying to explain to you with simple analogies, and other scriptures commentating on Scripture and showing you how these great truths apply to you. So it's in a book called Revelation subtitled a book of promises and will send it to you for your gift of any size, though some can only give a little will send one to you. Some can give more. Of course, will send one to you, but whatever your gift is large or small, we will use it to continue to teach the word of God and proclaim the gospel so get your copy of Revelation, a book of promises I will rush it to you is right and would like to send a copy of this book to your right away. Hey Dave, let me jump in really quick and not only are we offering this book Revelation, the book of promises but we have this really cool graphic bookmark that we have put together that gives you a timeline of end times event so you probably wondered okay I know I've heard about the rapture and the tribulation. In the antichrist and the second coming. What happens when will this very beautiful little visual bookmark sort of lease it out for you that's included in the book you're talking about right now. Yeah that's right so we hope to get in touch today and ask for Revelation, a book of promises will send it to say thank you for your donation.

Just address a letter to a new beginning. Box 4000, Riverside, CA 92514 or call us anytime 24 hours a day at 1-800-821-3300. That's 1-800-821-3300 or go online to harvest.org when next I Pastor Greg offers more how-to guidelines for sharing the gospel most effectively. But before we go.

Pastor Greg closes our study in order prayer. Let's pray now father. Use us to be your life in this dark world. There are so many people that don't know you, they don't know anything about you and that seems like a bad thing, but in some ways it can be a good thing because there is no preconceived notion there kind of like a blank slate. We have the answer. The powerful word of the life-changing message of Jesus Christ Lord we want to give that message to as many people as possible, we commit ourselves to Jesus and a new beginning as a podcast, made possible by harvest partners, helping people everywhere know God if this show has impacted your life.

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