Fighting God

Introduction

Have you ever thought you were doing God’s will, only to find out that you were really running away from God? Or perhaps you have seen yourself as being good, only to overhear someone talk about you, saying that you are self-centered or self-righteous?

Paul testified before King Agrippa that he once fought the will of God by persecuting Christ, but since his conversion, he is committed to preach the Gospel to everyone.

Thesis: Apart from the grace of God, people are enemies of God and are fighting against God.

How do people fight against God? This passage reveals three examples of fighting God.

People Fight God by Opposing the Will of God, vv. 14-18

A. Exegesis

1. Definition: “kick against the goads”
   • Like an ox kicking against his master’s goads, he would only find the blows more severe with each successive kick.
   • Paul was fighting the will of God who had set him apart from birth.
2. Definition: “the will of God”
   • design of creation–>to glorify God
   • purpose or function of creation–> to reveal God
   • plan for man, made in the image of God–>to please God
3. Will of God for Saul/Paul
   • Appointed
     • servant
     • witness
   • Sent
     • “to open their eyes”
     • “from the power of Satan to God, so they may receive”
       • “forgiveness of sins
       • “a place among those who are sanctified”

B. Illustration

Concluding his book, Born Again, Charles Colson writes:

It was that night in the quiet of my room that I made the total surrender: “Lord, if this is what it is all about, then I thank You. I praise You for leaving me in prison, for letting them take away my license to practice law, yes, even for my own son being arrested. I praise You for giving me Your love through these men, for being God, for just letting me walk with Jesus.”

With those words came the greatest joy of all–the final release, turning it all over to God.

Colson knew that although salvation was a free gift, there was a cost to following Jesus, and that one cannot win against the Will of God.

C. Application

1. God is immutable; God does not change.
2. Fighting the will of God is a lost cause.
3. Instead of fighting for a cause, we should live for Christ.
4. Our only appropriate response to the will of God is surrender.

People Fight God by Opposing the Wisdom of God, vv. 24-25

A. Exegesis

1. Definition: “wisdom of God”
   • In Job and Proverbs, wisdom is personified as being active in creation. The New Testament declares that Jesus was the active force of Creation. Wisdom personified is Jesus Christ.
   • Wisdom is the “practical use of God’s knowledge, to choose wise ways to attain God’s purpose” (Boyce).
   • The Wisdom of God is the use of Christ sacrificed on the cross, to redeem mankind from the “power of Satan,” and to raise them from death to life.
2. The world of Festus says: “You’re crazy! People don’t rise from the dead! Blood doesn’t forgive sins!” Philippians 3:19-20
3. The cross of Christ, 1 Corinthians 1:24; 2:6 to 3:3, proclaims: “Repent!”

B. Illustration

Dale Carnegie knew the techniques for “positive thinking” and “self-confidence.” He could even teach people to overcome worry with his techniques, but in the end, peace eluded him and he committed suicide. In a world filled with causes for worry and anxiety, we need something tougher than “positive thinking” or even “possibility thinking.” We need the peace of God standing guard over our hearts and minds. This peace comes from the forgiveness of our sins through Christ’s shed blood. This is the Wisdom of God.

C. Application

1. People are enemies of God even when they think they have a better way to salvation.
2. The Wisdom of God is the redemption of mankind through the shed blood of Christ on the cross, and to prove that God has power to do this–He raised Jesus from the dead.
3. To the unregenerate, this seems foolish; but to God it is wise.

People Fight God by Opposing the Word of God, vv. 27-31

A. Exegesis

1. The Prophetic Word–God’s revelation of Himself, Promise.
2. The Proclaimed Word–Fulfillment of Promise in Jesus Christ.
3. God’s Personal Word–a Person, the Great High Priest and Lord Jesus Christ.

B. Illustration

A man who lived on Long Island, New York, bought a high quality barometer. When it was delivered to his home, the arrow appeared to be stuck, pointing to the section marked “Hurricane.”

The man shook the barometer, but the indicator stayed the same. So the man sat down and wrote a scorching letter to the store where he had bought it.

The following morning on the way to his office in New York City, he mailed the letter. Later that day a hurricane struck the East Coast. That evening, the man returned to Long Island to find that his barometer was missing–and so was his house.

There is a clear indicator of the future that is more certain and dependable than any barometer, and all too often we do not take it seriously! It is God’s eternal Word, the Bible. And it’s never wrong!

C. Application

1. To believe the Promise of Scripture is to accept the fulfillment of the Promise in Jesus Christ.
2. To believe the Word of God is to believe in a Person, Jesus Christ.
3. Lip-service or mental assent is not belief; belief is acting on the promise of faith.

Conclusion

People are enemies of God by opposing the will of God, by opposing the Wisdom of God, and by opposing the Word of God.

Agrippa was an enemy of God and fought the clear teaching of God’s word that revealed Jesus to be God’s fulfilled promise of salvation. Agrippa fought God and lost.

Festus was an enemy of God and fought the wisdom of God, Jesus’s redemptive act on the cross. Festus fought God and lost.

Paul was an enemy of God until he stopped fighting God’s will and surrendered to Jesus Christ. Paul fought God and won eternal life, not because he was good–he was a murderer. Paul became a Child of God when he surrendered to God’s grace; God saved him and commissioned him to do God’s will.

Are you an enemy of God? Are you fighting God’s will for you to be saved? Surrender.

Are you opposed to the wisdom of God? Are you trusting the world’s wisdom? Then you will remain eternally lost. Repent, and be saved.

Are you opposed to the Word of God? You may say that you believe God’s Word, but do you practice it? Belief is practice. Repent, and be saved.

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