UNKNOWN NO MORE Acts 17:16-34

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1 UNKNOWN NO MORE Acts 17:16-34 September 18, 2011 Providence INTRODUCTION: We are in a unique time are we not? And we are living in one of the leading cities in the world. The US Census showed in 2010 that Raleigh had a 46.3% population growth over the past decade. Forbes magazine jusy this past June announced its 13 th annual list of the Best Places for Business and Careers and Raleigh was at the top of the list. The population of the Raleigh area is increasing by 3.9 percent per year (more than triple the pace for the typical market). Raleigh is one of the most educated cities in the country ranking in the top five in some polls. For such a time as this you and I live in this city. But WHY? Acts 17:26 and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation, God appoints the times and the boundaries of where we live. But are we here only for what we can get out of it ourselves? a good career and comfortable living? enjoy the close proximity to the beach and the mountains? college and professional sports? moderate climate? No, we exist for more than this! The Bible is clear that God desires for us to Know Him and Make Him Known. This changes everything for those who know Christ! As we continue to study the book of Acts, we see that God is on mission to redeem people through His Son s death, burial and resurrection. He wants to do that here as well. When we can get that perspective, we will start to see everything differently. We will start to live on mission with God. Our jobs then become a means to an end. They are no longer your identity, Christ is. Your schooling, your athletics, your hobbies, your vocation--everything that God allows you to participate in you do it in such a way that points others to the Son of God. So we ask how do we effectively engage the city with the gospel? THESIS: Our greatest satisfaction in life is knowing God and then making Him known among those who have never known Him and the eternal life of His Son, Jesus Christ. Paul enters the city of Athens, a leading city, much like Raleigh with a mission to make disciples and introduce new life in Christ I. WHEN THE HEART IS PIERCED BY A LOVE FOR LOST PEOPLE Acts 17:16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was beholding the city full of idols. --We have become so accustomed to the godlessness of our world that it surrounds us daily and our spirits are not provoked within us, not greatly distressed by the condition of people who stand condemned apart from Christ. --The word Luke uses here appeared earlier to describe the sharp disagreement between Paul and Barnabas (15:39) the root idea behind the word is sharp prodding or being stirred up by that stabbing sensation that cannot be ignored. A. A HEART SATURATED WITH LOVE FOR CHRIST BREAKS WHEN HE IS IGNORED AND DISHONORED. --Paul s first level of offense was that the Lord of all creation, the God of Glory, was not even acknowledged among the people of Athens. --How is it possible that the God who gave them life receives absolutely no recognition among them? ILLUS. When someone you love does not get the credit they deserve, it hurts to see them treated that way. People love to take the credit for things others have done it happens all the time, but when you see it happen to someone you know and love, it riles you up and provokes something in you to right the wrong,

2 2 to speak up in protest. God the Maker of heaven and earth, had been left out of the religious thinking and passions of those in Athens and a myriad of idols and ideologies had taken His place. That generated a stabbing sensation, a sharp provocation in the heart of Paul as he took in the sights of this sophisticated city. B. A HEART BROKEN BY COMPASSION FOR LOST PEOPLE WEEPS WHEN THEY ARE BLIND AND UNCONCERNED. --The burden was not just prompted by Paul s love for the glory of God s name, but for the eternal destiny of the vast population in this city who were lost in the darkness and deadness of their sin lost and without any hope! --He genuinely grieved for them and that stabbing sensation in his heart was so intense that he could not ignore it he was moved to take action! When will our hearts be broken again for people whose eternal destiny depends on their response to Jesus Christ, and the probability that if we don t tell them, they will never hear? II. WHEN THE MIND IS STIMULATED BY A LONGING TO REACH PEOPLE --For the gospel to connect with people from every possible background, it is essential that we learn how to communicate in the most effective manner possible. --We have to use our minds to think about how to connect the message that never changes to people who are significantly different from one another. Paul s normal pattern: Jewish people first church folks who know about God and His Word but have not been born again to new life God-fearing Gentiles next folks with some church background and familiarity with Bible, but not born again Secular and pagan Gentiles next clueless in their ignorance of God and of His Word, not born again Acts 17:17 So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present. --From this point on, we get to learn from how Paul engaged his mind in developing a creative way to communicate the gospel to those who had no biblical framework whatsoever upon which he could build. A. TAKING THE GOSPEL INTO THEIR ARENA --For Paul to move out from the tried and true places where he normally took the gospel, he had to be bold, aggressive and pierced to the heart with a sense of urgency that could not be relieved until he took action. ILLUS. Too many Christians in our day avoid encounters with those who do not agree with us about spiritual, moral and ethical issues. Rather than engage them in significant conversations, we are more likely to demonize them and paint them as the enemy instead of seeing them as helpless and hopeless people who need to know what it means to be loved, to have purpose and to know what their future holds. --For that to happen, he had to make a definitive move to go from where he was to where they are physically and philosophically. 1. Physically, going to where they are not waiting for them to come to us --Even though Paul followed his normal pattern in going first to the synagogue and speaking to Godfearing people, being riled up by the lostness all around him, he waded right into the market-place to engage them with the gospel.

3 3 --Part of the problem for modern Christians is that we fall prey to the idea that the only place to discuss spiritual and eternal things is within the religious context in a church or a meeting for that purpose. --Paul dared to enter their turf, to go to the place unbelievers were to be found, and to wade right in as if he belonged there because he knew that the gospel belongs everywhere! ILLUS. At the soccer fields, in the gym, around the cul-de-sac, in the market-place (at work, at the mall, chat rooms, in the media, etc.), in the public square (it is unthinkable that the 9/11 memorial was stripped of any mention of spiritual things), the classroom, and so on. We must never be afraid to go into the places people can be found and find creative ways to speak of the love of God in Christ Jesus! 2. Philosophically, paying attention to what they think not assuming they already think like us --If we are bold enough to go the physical locations lost people can be found, we need to take the time and effort to familiarize ourselves with what they are likely to believe before we get there so we can prepare a way to speak that is both convincing and winsome, both compassionate and true. --Two leading philosophies, or lines of thought, represented the culture in Athens at the time of Paul s visit: EPICUREANS materialists who believed in easy living and refined pleasures, cared little for the existence of any gods (even if they did exist, they were too remote and distant to care about life among mortals!) STOICS rationalists who saw reason as the principle behind the whole structure of the universe and the primary foundation to determine how human beings ought to live the world itself is divine. --So Paul waded into the Athenian way of thinking to discover entry points that would give him a bridge for the gospel. NOTE: Those same philosophies dominate our culture even today! People who live for themselves, pleasure-seekers who care nothing for the presence or absence of any gods or God just like the Epicureans in Athens. Other people who worship at the altar of human reason and elevate our understanding of the physical universe to the highest place in their value systems and order their priorities and principles with regard for nothing but human reason and what the mind can process logically, rationally. B. BUILDING THE MESSAGE WITH THEIR LANGUAGE --In the synagogue, or among God-fearing people, Paul could use the familiar language of those who believed in One God and accepted one source of authority the Bible. --But when the Bible has no particular place of honor and its words are not viewed as uniquely Godbreathed, our approach shifts to make use of their vocabulary to articulate the eternal truths of the gospel of Jesus Christ. ILLUS. If we use our language exclusively, there is a very good chance people will not understand what we are saying at all. Churchy words have great meaning and value when people understand them, but we need to help folks without church background hear biblical truth in words with which they are familiar. We know what we mean when we ask if a person is saved but if we are talking to someone unfamiliar with what that means, they may attach a different definition and understanding and be unclear what we are asking. These days, we cannot even be sure people are clear when we talk to them about God because they may have defined the word with little or no resemblance to the one true and living God. So Paul finds common ground for introducing the gospel by speaking of what he knows is familiar to his audience he talks of the beginning of life, the purpose of life, and the final destiny or end of life. By

4 4 taking these points of common interest, he then leads the discussion to tell them about Jesus in a way they can understand. 1. Listen to what they say, how they say it and where it is articulated Public debate what kinds of ideas and perspectives are being debated, discussed we learn what people think as they engage in conversations in the public arena op ed and opinion pieces on editorial pages, talk show radio, water-color or lunchroom conversations, Poetic expression the poets of our day usually find their voice in song and so a quick survey of the themes and worldviews represented in popular music will tell you quite a bit about the beliefs of the culture Practical influence Politics Morals Business Family Legal What values and beliefs are reflected in the way decisions are made, priorities established, opinions formed ILLUS. Last week, President Obama asked for congressional leaders to lay aside politics and make the decisions needed to right the ship of the economy. Then an interview with Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks, called for the president and others in Washington to do what is right and get the economy back on the right track, leaving aside their differences. Then an op ed piece by Jim Jenkins in the News and Observer attacked the vote of the legislature in favor of a Defense of Marriage Amendment by accusing them of partisan ideology. Fascinating for what reason? Each man suggests that there is a philosophical barrier raised by those who disagree with their perspective implying that they have no such ideology steering their own thinking and shaping their own answers and solutions! In order to speak to such ideologies masquerading as neutral thinking, we need to understand and learn to speak to the real issues to acknowledge and be bold in embracing a very specific worldview without apology and challenge others to admit their own wordviews without pretending to have none! Paul took on the Epicureans and the Stoics philosophies on their own turf and pointed out the flaws inherent in what they believed, all the while appealing to his normal routines reasoned with them, explained things to them, providec convincing proofs for them. 2. Take advantage of common ground in the questions they are asking, the emptiness they experience, the dreams they long for. --What questions are they asking and what do they really long to know? Where did we come from? What meaning is there in life? What happens when I die? --Granted, those questions come in a wide variety of forms and have many twists and turns in how they are expressed and how important they are. ILLUS. You may remember riots in England a few weeks back as flash mobs of young adults rioted and destroyed property in several British cities. Senseless, violent, heartless, inexplicable behavior the press and leaders said in response. But those rioting were largely unemployed with little prospects of ever finding a way to provide for themselves. Those who had been educated had been taught that human origins consisted of a random collision of elements over an infinite period of time, making it clear that they had no discernible reason to explain their lives. The influence of any spiritual perspective was conspicuous in its absence in a nation with single digit percentages of people who have any affiliation or familiarity with biblical truth and the Christian faith. Rather than wondering why the rioters rioted, it might be more reasonable to wonder why more

5 5 do not? After all, if they do not really matter, life has meaning and there is no day of accounting to anyone why not eat, drink and be as merry as you can be for as long as you can before you die? --I can envision Paul coming out of the corner swinging with the gospel in that context!...or any context in which it is clear that wrong gods and no gods have left a people having no hope and without God in this world. Eph. 2:12 remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. --So, what did Paul actually say when he was given the opportunity Acts 17:19-21 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; we want to know therefore what these things mean. 21 (Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.) C. INSISTING ON THE INTEGRITY OF THE GOSPEL --Paul may go into their arena and find a way to articulate his message using their language, but he never backs off on the integrity of the gospel message. --No compromise on the whole truth of the gospel leads Paul to find a creative way to speak to a biblically illiterate culture without watering down the message. --There is much to learn from his approach 1. Creation/Origins --Paul identifies an entry point common to all cultures where and how and by what power did the world begin. --First noting that they recognized the existence of An Unknown God, Paul begins his presentation by commending them for admitting ignorance about the identity of this deity and then telling them who He is Acts 17:23-24 For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. What therefore you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and all things in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands; a. This God made the world and all things in it --Nothing exists that He did not create including everyone of you and all that you have ever seen and known. b. This God is entirely self-sufficient Acts 17:25 neither is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all life and breath and all things; --You cannot do anything for Him and give anything to Him that will improve His lot or bring to Him anything He does not already own and control. c. This God is the source of human existence Acts 17:26 and He made from one, every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined their appointed times, and the boundaries of their habitation,

6 6 --Like many people, the Athenians believed themselves to be the pinnacle of human existence, the top rung on the human ladder of racial and ethnic identity. --Paul did not back down one moment and confronted that foolishness by making it clear that they like all the rest of the human race were descendants of Adam ( He made from one ). 2. Purpose/Meaning --After stirring up controversy with his assertion that the God of whom they were ignorant was their Creator, Paul then goes on to point out that He not only created all people but that all were created with a purpose, given life that has meaning and value. a. Intended to seek for Him and find Him Acts 17:27-28 that they should seek God, if perhaps they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, For we also are His offspring. --Until our eyes are opened to the truth of Christ, something in us gropes, feels around trying to find the truth about God never realizing that He is never far away from any of us. --As we seek Him, He has come to reveal Himself to us in a personal way in the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. --One aspect of the purpose for which He created each of us is that we should know Him that we should seek with all our hearts to come to know Him. b. Created to be like Him Acts 17:29 Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man. --But another key part of that discovery of God is that we might then grow to become like Him, to be restored and transformed into His image. --There is nothing in the little gods we create, or in the idols before whom we bow, that is worthy of imitation we were created for more than that! --What sin destroyed, God by His grace wants to make new through the forgiveness and cleansing of our hearts through Jesus Christ. 3. Judgment/Accountability --Therefore, since God Himself created you and you owe your very life to Him and since He created you for a purpose and intended for your life to have meaning you will one day give an account to Him and be judged by Him according to His eternal standard of what is righteous. --Paul laid out the truth for them in simple but direct words that challenged their life-assumptions and then called for a response to the gospel of grace, that they would believe in Jesus Christ and come to know Him and new life in His name. a. Repent if your life does not conform to His created purpose Acts 17:30 Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all everywhere should repent, b. Get ready to give an account and be judged by a standard of perfect righteousness Acts 17:31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.

7 7 c. Believe in the One He has appointed and affirmed in raising Jesus from the dead --As Paul presented Jesus in the synagogue, so he spoke of Him to the God-fearing people then at last to the unbelieving, idol-worshiping folks of Athens, the philosophical sophisticates of the market-place, even to the mockers and cynics looking for an entertaining diversion in this crazed foreigner who spoke of a dying/rising Deity Paul directed them to consider Jesus Christ and turn to Him and find what their hearts and minds have always been groping around to find! III. WHEN THE TRUTH IS PROCLAIMED TO PERSUADE WILLING PEOPLE --When the gospel is presented with clarity and conviction, expecting a response is natural and normal. --The response generally falls into the same categories that Paul ran into here in Athens: Some will mock (17:32) Some will defer (17:32) Some will believe (17:34) --But Paul was not responsible for what people did with the gospel he was charged with speaking it in the power of the Holy Spirit and doing so with love and clarity. CONCLUSION: When you see the city of Raleigh and look around the Triangle, does the spiritual condition of the people provoke you to do something? Have we become so accustomed to lostness that it does not pierce our hearts anymore? The progression of this passage is quite interesting it begins with tears of compassion and ends with truth about judgment. Until we have tears for the things that break God s heart, we will remain indifferent to the truth that God wants us to speak. As one who loves Christ, what will you be willing to do to learn to be more effective in communicating with people who have never heard of the One, True, Living God? Will you cultivate a connection and learn to listen so you can build bridges to cross with the gospel? Will you ask the Lord to open your eyes to see what He sees and allow your heart to be pierced and provoked to action? We certainly want each of you to engage the church and find a place to love and be loved here, a place to serve and grow in Christ. But what kind of disciples would we be if we had no interest to engage the city with the good news of Jesus Christ? Let s make sure that the name and nature of God are no longer unknown in this community, but that with tears of compassion and the truth of coming judgment, we step out and proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ! September 18, 2011 Providence Baptist Church David Horner 2011 Sermon outlines are copyrighted in the event of future publication. They may be used for preaching and teaching purposes but may not be published or sold.