1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:24,000 Seated on His throne, come let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come let us adore Him. 2 00:00:30,000 --> 00:00:36,000 God has felt the nails upon His hands, bearing all the guilt of a sinful man. God eternal, humble to the grave. Jesus, Savior, risen now to the grave. 3 00:00:36,000 --> 00:00:56,000 God has felt the nails upon His hands, bearing all the guilt of sinful man. God eternal, humble to the grave. Jesus, Savior, risen now to the grave. 4 00:00:56,000 --> 00:01:16,000 Jesus, Savior, risen now to the grave. Behold our God, seated on His throne. Come, let us adore Him. Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come, let us adore Him. 5 00:01:16,000 --> 00:01:31,000 Behold our King. Nothing can compare. Come, let us adore Him. 6 00:01:46,000 --> 00:01:48,000 Amen. 7 00:02:16,000 --> 00:02:45,980 My hope is built on nothingness than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. 8 00:02:46,000 --> 00:03:15,980 My hope is built on nothingness than Jesus' blood and righteousness. I dare not trust the sweetest frame, but wholly trust in Jesus' name. 9 00:03:16,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Christ alone, cornerstone, weak made strong in the Savior's love through the storm. He is Lord, Lord of all. 10 00:03:46,000 --> 00:04:13,000 When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. In every high and stormy gale, my anchor holds within faith. 11 00:04:13,000 --> 00:04:40,000 My anchor holds within the veil. Christ and Lord, call us Lord. Weak, may, strong, in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He is Lord. 12 00:04:40,000 --> 00:05:07,000 He is Lord, Lord our Lord. Christ our Lord, call us Lord. Weak, may, strong, in the Savior's love. Through the storm, He is Lord. 13 00:05:07,000 --> 00:05:34,000 Lord our Lord. He shall come with trumpet sound. Oh, may I then in Him be found. Dressed in His righteousness alone. 14 00:05:34,000 --> 00:06:01,000 Faultless stand before the throne. Christ alone. Call us Lord. We rest all in the same as the love through the storm. 15 00:06:01,000 --> 00:06:28,000 He is Lord. Lord our Lord. Christ alone. Call us Lord. Weak and strong. You're the Savior's love. Hold us Lord. 16 00:06:28,000 --> 00:06:38,000 He is Lord. Lord our Lord. 17 00:06:58,000 --> 00:07:21,000 How deep the Father's love for us. How vast beyond all measure. That He should give His only Son. To make a wretch His treasure. 18 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:44,000 How great the pain of searing loss. The Father turns His face away. As wounds which mar the chosen one. Bring many sons to glory. 19 00:07:44,000 --> 00:08:07,000 Behold the man upon a cross. My sin upon His shoulders. 20 00:08:07,000 --> 00:08:30,000 Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice call out among the scoffers. It was my sin that held Him there until it was accomplished. 21 00:08:30,000 --> 00:08:53,000 His dying breath has brought me life. I know that it is finished. 22 00:08:53,000 --> 00:09:16,000 I will not boast in anything, no gifts, no power, no wisdom. But I will boast in Jesus Christ, His death and resurrection. 23 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:44,000 Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer. But this I know in all my heart. His wounds have paid my ransom. Why should I gain from His reward? 24 00:09:46,000 --> 00:10:04,000 Thanks, Russell. As we move into our time of communion, we're going to be singing together Waymaker. 25 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:44,000 You are here, moving in my midst. I worship you. I worship you. You are here, shaking in this place. I worship you. I worship you. 26 00:10:44,000 --> 00:11:12,000 I worship you. You are here, moving in our midst. I worship you. I worship you. You are here, working in this place. I worship you. I worship you. 27 00:11:12,000 --> 00:11:19,000 I worship you. 28 00:11:19,000 --> 00:11:33,000 Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who you are. 29 00:11:33,000 --> 00:11:40,000 Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who you are. 30 00:11:40,000 --> 00:12:01,000 You are here, touching every heart. I worship you. I worship you. You are here, healing every heart. I worship you. 31 00:12:01,000 --> 00:12:28,000 You are here, healing every heart. I worship you. I worship you. You are here, spreading my eyes around. I worship you. I worship you. 32 00:12:28,000 --> 00:12:55,000 You are here, bending every heart. I worship you. I worship you. Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who you are. 33 00:12:55,000 --> 00:13:22,000 Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who you are. Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. 34 00:13:22,000 --> 00:13:41,000 My God, that is who you are. Waymaker, miracle worker, promise keeper, light in the darkness. My God, that is who you are. 35 00:13:52,000 --> 00:14:08,000 At the end of Exodus 13 and the beginning of Exodus 14, we find the account of God's people leaving slavery in Egypt. 36 00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:18,000 They are originally heading out into the wilderness, but then in Exodus 14, what you find is that Pharaoh changes his mind. 37 00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:33,000 And so he gathers together his army, and God leads them into the wilderness, and from what we know of the likely topography of this location is that as Israel comes to the Red Sea, 38 00:14:33,000 --> 00:14:42,000 there is a body of water in front of them, and they're kind of in a narrow valley, and it's not a valley where you have a nice rolling hill, 39 00:14:42,000 --> 00:14:50,000 but rather steep rocky cliffs surrounding them. And so the picture is the sea in front of them, the mountains on either side of them, 40 00:14:50,000 --> 00:14:59,000 and then behind them is the army of Pharaoh. And understandably, the children of Israel are a little distressed by this, 41 00:14:59,000 --> 00:15:05,000 because they don't have anywhere to go. There's water in front of them, mountains next to them, and behind them is an oncoming army, 42 00:15:05,000 --> 00:15:13,000 and then God says through Moses something remarkable in Exodus the 14th chapter. He says this, 43 00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:20,000 "Fear not. Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will work for you today. 44 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:28,000 For the Egyptians you see today, you shall never see again. The Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be silent." 45 00:15:28,000 --> 00:15:33,000 It seems to me God couldn't have asked them to do anything more difficult, right? 46 00:15:33,000 --> 00:15:40,000 Because when we're in trouble, what we want to do is we want to act. We want to move. We want to avoid. We want to confront. 47 00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:50,000 And God, instead of telling them to climb the mountains or try to get across the sea, he simply says, "Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. 48 00:15:50,000 --> 00:15:56,000 Don't go forward. Don't go backward. Don't try to climb the mountains, but stand and see what God will do for you." 49 00:15:56,000 --> 00:16:01,000 Here is your enemy rushing down on you, and you know what God does in that moment? 50 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:11,000 He puts himself between the people and this oncoming army, and then he opens a way for them through the sea. 51 00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:18,000 And I love this picture of salvation. Here are a helpless, broken, fearful people. 52 00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:29,000 And God saves them, not of their own effort, but through his grace, by standing between them and their foe, and opening for them a way through the sea. 53 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:41,000 And as you and I come to the Lord's table this morning, we remember the salvation of our God, who stood between us and our sins and has opened a way for us. 54 00:16:41,000 --> 00:16:48,000 Not just through a sea, but through his blood, which he has given on our behalf. 55 00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:57,000 So as we break this bread and drink this cup, I want us, as God calls his people to do, to stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord. Let's pray. 56 00:16:57,000 --> 00:17:06,000 Father in heaven, we thank you for your word. We thank you for your salvation, how you have stood between us and our sin, taking it upon yourself. 57 00:17:06,000 --> 00:17:15,000 That you have paid the price that we deserve to pay, that you have opened to us a way of salvation through the sacrifice of Jesus. 58 00:17:15,000 --> 00:17:25,000 And so as we break this bread and drink this cup, may you encourage us, strengthen us, help us to see your goodness. It is in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 59 00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:40,000 Jesus, as he institutes the Lord's Supper, reminds us of what this salvation costs when he says, "This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." 60 00:17:40,000 --> 00:17:54,000 And he reminds us of how the way for us was opened when he says, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this as often as you drink it in remembrance of me." 61 00:17:54,000 --> 00:18:01,000 For as often as we eat this bread and as we drink this cup, we proclaim the Lord's death until he comes. 62 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:23,000 This morning's reading is from Acts 17. 63 00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:52,000 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, "Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with the inscription, "To the unknown God." 64 00:18:52,000 --> 00:19:21,000 You worship as unknown. This I proclaim to you, that the God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life 65 00:19:21,000 --> 00:19:50,000 and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and boundaries of their dwellings in place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each 66 00:19:50,000 --> 00:20:19,000 one of us, for in him we live and move and have our being, as even some of your own poets have said, "For we are indeed his offspring." Being then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination 67 00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:48,000 of man. The times of ignorance, in times of ignorance, God overlooked. But now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed the day of which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. And of this, he has given assurance to all by 68 00:20:48,000 --> 00:21:17,000 raising him from the dead. Now when they heard this, of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, but others said, "We will hear you again about this." So Paul went out from their midst. But some men joined him and believed. Among them were Dionysus, the Areopagate, and a woman named 69 00:21:17,000 --> 00:21:24,000 Demarius, and others with them. This is the word of the Lord. 70 00:21:24,000 --> 00:21:46,000 So the Apostle Paul has left his companions behind. He sent messengers to get them, but he has escaped to Athens kind of 71 00:21:46,000 --> 00:21:57,000 by the skin of his teeth, and he has been sort of walking through Athens and sort of seeing what has happened, and then God moves him to begin sharing the gospel. 72 00:21:57,000 --> 00:22:00,000 We're going to pick up a little bit of how that happens this morning. Let's pray. 73 00:22:00,000 --> 00:22:14,000 Father in heaven, be with us as we see Paul this morning as he presents the teaching of Christianity to this group of people in Athens and as he presents it to us. 74 00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:22,000 May we see your goodness. May we be humbled by our position in this world. May we be encouraged by your love for us. 75 00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:34,000 And may we be given energy to share the gospel, seeing how you so amazingly work together events in your providential way to bring people to salvation. 76 00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:37,000 It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 77 00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:44,000 Now there are all things we've probably misunderstood or maybe not understood completely. 78 00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:49,000 And one of the ones that happened for me involves Winnie the Pooh, right? 79 00:22:49,000 --> 00:22:55,000 So you've got the bear who loves honey and his buddy Piglet, and you've got Tigger who's always bouncing around. 80 00:22:55,000 --> 00:23:00,000 And you've got Owl and Rabbit who's kind of a jerk. You have Kanga and Roo. 81 00:23:00,000 --> 00:23:09,000 And it wasn't until I was like 35 that I realized that this animal and their little kid, Kanga and Roo, 82 00:23:09,000 --> 00:23:14,000 they're kangaroos, but their name is also Kangaroo. 83 00:23:14,000 --> 00:23:19,000 And I remember when that clicked with me, it was like a light bulb went off, like angels. 84 00:23:19,000 --> 00:23:24,000 I was like, "Whoa, it's Kangaroo." Now, everybody else in the world knew this. 85 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:29,000 And when I shared this with people, they're like, "Yeah, we've known that since we were like eight." 86 00:23:29,000 --> 00:23:33,000 But for whatever reason for me, it just sort of clicked all at once. I hadn't understood it. 87 00:23:33,000 --> 00:23:38,000 And most of us have had that kind of experience with something. Maybe it's a song lyric. 88 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:43,000 We all of a sudden realize that we've been singing wrong for 20 years, 89 00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:48,000 where we haven't quite understood it the way it was supposed to be understood. 90 00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:56,000 And I think Paul's message here, his defense of Christianity in the Areopagus is one of those passages for the church 91 00:23:56,000 --> 00:24:03,000 that we have probably not understood as completely or as clearly as we should have. 92 00:24:03,000 --> 00:24:06,000 And the first thing I want to do is set this scene for you. 93 00:24:06,000 --> 00:24:09,000 Paul lives in a place called the Areopagus. 94 00:24:09,000 --> 00:24:13,000 Now, in Athens, that could refer to two different things. 95 00:24:13,000 --> 00:24:22,000 One is there was a hill named after Aries, or we would call it, maybe if you were Roman, Mars Hill after the God of war. 96 00:24:22,000 --> 00:24:24,000 So you have the Areopagus as this hill. 97 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:28,000 That's what it means in Greek, the hill of Aries or Mars Hill. 98 00:24:28,000 --> 00:24:32,000 But the Areopagus wasn't just a hill. 99 00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:38,000 It was also a council, sort of the highest government authority in Athens. 100 00:24:38,000 --> 00:24:46,000 It has all the philosophers, all the government officials will gather together in this council to make decisions for the town. 101 00:24:46,000 --> 00:24:55,000 And so when Paul is speaking on the Areopagus, he's not just randomly sort of walking to the top of the hill and begins to teach about Jesus and what is happening. 102 00:24:55,000 --> 00:25:06,000 This is a sort of a formal political setting where in the verse prior to our text, they said, "Hey, we want to hear this," and they bring him to the Areopagus and they stick him in the middle of the council. 103 00:25:06,000 --> 00:25:10,000 In fact, the text says that he stands in the midst of the Areopagus. 104 00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:24,000 So he is standing in the midst of some of the most learned people, the greatest philosophers, the government officials, and he's standing right there in the middle of these people giving a defense of Christianity. 105 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:36,000 And so as he does this, this isn't really, we often refer to this sort of as Paul's sermon on Mars Hill, but it's not so much a sermon as it is an explanation of what Christianity is. 106 00:25:36,000 --> 00:25:44,000 Now, Paul being Paul, he's obviously going to explain to them what happens and how to be saved. He calls them to repentance. 107 00:25:44,000 --> 00:25:52,000 But what Paul is doing here is sort of explaining to the Athenian people what Christianity is. 108 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:59,000 The other thing that's happened is, I think with this text, maybe we have applied it sort of wrong to the church today. 109 00:25:59,000 --> 00:26:06,000 And not necessarily completely wrong, but so many times when we come to this text, what we see is this is just an example of how to share Jesus. 110 00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:12,000 So we look at it sort of as a textbook rather than something that deeply encourages our souls. 111 00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:18,000 Some people will say this is a great example. Paul comes in and he speaks in a language they understand. 112 00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:22,000 He doesn't use Bible references they wouldn't understand, but he quotes from their own poets. 113 00:26:22,000 --> 00:26:27,000 And he's really nice, and he compliments them for how religious they are. 114 00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:34,000 And he does a good job sort of establishing a rapport with an audience, and this is a great example for us as we share the Gospel. 115 00:26:34,000 --> 00:26:37,000 And that's not wrong. Those are all good things. 116 00:26:37,000 --> 00:26:46,000 To speak to people where they are and in a way that is winsome and brings a good relationship with people. 117 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:51,000 And then others will say of this text, they'll say, "This is one of Paul's greatest failings." 118 00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:57,000 They'll say, "We get to the end of this church, and he goes to Corinth, and we don't even see a church here in Athens, 119 00:26:57,000 --> 00:27:01,000 and this is probably one of Paul's greatest failures as a sermon." 120 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:10,000 What we'll see is that's simply not true. Paul sees wonderful results here in this town, and God has prepared this town for his work. 121 00:27:10,000 --> 00:27:14,000 And so while we can learn from the example that's found in this text, 122 00:27:14,000 --> 00:27:19,000 I don't think that that's the primary purpose of Luke recording this. 123 00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:24,000 I don't think Luke's primary purpose in sharing this with us is so that we would know how to talk to people. 124 00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:28,000 Now, that's a good thing to take away from this, but that's not the primary thing. 125 00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:34,000 The primary thing, and the reason that Luke shares this, is we see who God is, we see who we are, 126 00:27:34,000 --> 00:27:39,000 and we see that there's something in which we have to respond. 127 00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:46,000 And so Paul's message just very simply is this: "Here is God, here are you, and here's what you need to do about it." 128 00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:54,000 He'll support this message with truth and logic, but his message here is incredibly God-focused. 129 00:27:54,000 --> 00:28:00,000 And the first thing we find is that Paul's message for us, I think, is incredibly humbling. 130 00:28:00,000 --> 00:28:09,000 So, in our kitchen, we have one cabinet, a door and a cabinet, where all of our plastic wear goes. 131 00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:14,000 And so, right, probably most of us have different kinds of plastic wear. You got round ones, you got square ones. 132 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:18,000 And then the problem with all this plastic wear, right, is you have lids that goes with all of these, right? 133 00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:22,000 So you got round lids, square lids, oval lids, big lids, small lids. 134 00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:26,000 We have some lids that just go on and then some that kind of snap on and lock on. 135 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:33,000 And so, at least my tendency when I empty the dishwasher is just, "Hey, there's the cabinet where all the plastic wear goes." 136 00:28:33,000 --> 00:28:39,000 Just kind of push it all in there, right? And so, you open it up and you're like, "Hey, I need to put away some leftovers." 137 00:28:39,000 --> 00:28:47,000 And I've got a round dish and a square lid, no, an oblong lid, a rectangle lid, the wrong kind of lid. 138 00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:52,000 And so, every now and then, what Rachel will do is she'll have Penelope come and organize it, right? 139 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:58,000 She'll get everything sorted out, all the lids put where they're supposed to go, and it's a wonderful thing. 140 00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:03,000 And the reality is I think most of our lives are a little bit of a jumble, right? 141 00:29:03,000 --> 00:29:12,000 It's kind of everything is everywhere. And in many ways, we've gotten everything in our life backwards. 142 00:29:12,000 --> 00:29:17,000 Our world is upside down and backwards. Paul says this in Romans 1: 143 00:29:17,000 --> 00:29:26,000 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 144 00:29:26,000 --> 00:29:31,000 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 145 00:29:31,000 --> 00:29:36,000 For His invisible attributes, namely His eternal power and divine nature, 146 00:29:36,000 --> 00:29:43,000 have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world in the things that have been made, so they are without excuse. 147 00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:49,000 For although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but became futile in their thinking, 148 00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:56,000 and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God 149 00:29:56,000 --> 00:30:02,000 for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things." 150 00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:07,000 And what Paul says in Romans is we've jumbled everything up. We've put everything in the wrong place. 151 00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:14,000 We've put ourselves and all the things we worship up high, and we've set God off to the side. 152 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:22,000 We've taken all the little things in life and made them ultimate, and most of all, we have taken ourselves and made us and our desires ultimate 153 00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:29,000 and set God to the side. And so, look at how Paul addresses the jumble of our lives here in Acts chapter 17. 154 00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:34,000 What he's doing is he's going to get into that cabinet of our life, and he's going to straighten things down. 155 00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:40,000 He's going to do it by sort of putting us in our place. "The God who made the world and everything in it, 156 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:46,000 being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands 157 00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:52,000 as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life, breath, and everything." 158 00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:57,000 So the first thing Paul does, he says, "Look at the greatness of God." He's the creator of all things. 159 00:30:57,000 --> 00:31:03,000 He's the ruler of all things. He's the giver of all things. Everything begins and ends with God. 160 00:31:03,000 --> 00:31:08,000 He creates it, he owns it, and he gives you the very breath that is in your lungs. 161 00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:14,000 And he, first of all, gives to us this picture of the supremacy of God. 162 00:31:14,000 --> 00:31:20,000 And then he directs his attention to our smallness. He doesn't live in your temples. 163 00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:27,000 He isn't served by your hands. In fact, he doesn't need you because your very breath depends on him. 164 00:31:27,000 --> 00:31:34,000 And what Paul is saying is that God doesn't need you. You desperately need him. 165 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:40,000 And in case we've somehow missed his point, he's going to emphasize it in verse 29. 166 00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:46,000 And then God's offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like a gold or silver or stone 167 00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:52,000 or an image formed by the art or imagination of man, that God doesn't look like us. 168 00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:58,000 You can't make him up. You can't show everybody by carving him out of gold or silver, 169 00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:05,000 that rather God is the creator and ruler of heavens, and you are small and dependent on him for your very breath. 170 00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:12,000 Paul is saying to us, "God doesn't come from you. You come from him." 171 00:32:12,000 --> 00:32:19,000 He doesn't look like you, and you can't make or design him. And what he is doing is he's putting things right. 172 00:32:19,000 --> 00:32:22,000 And there's two groups, two major groups that are hearing this. The Epic. 173 00:32:22,000 --> 00:32:31,000 And both of them would agree with some of these points, but Paul is correcting them just as he's correcting us 174 00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:38,000 by taking this truth of who God is and who we are and putting it in a startlingly clear perspective. 175 00:32:38,000 --> 00:32:45,000 Paul's message, and it might sound harsh, is that God doesn't need you, right? That's harsh. 176 00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:51,000 I don't like to hear that because I like to put myself at the center. You like to put yourself at the center. 177 00:32:51,000 --> 00:33:01,000 We want people to need us. We want to be important. And Paul looks at them and says, "It's not. This is incredibly humbling." 178 00:33:01,000 --> 00:33:10,000 It's also incredibly comforting. Probably comforting in the same way that the painfulness of sometimes an operation to put something right. 179 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:20,000 It's painful, but it results in our greater good. That's what Paul is doing. You might say, "How can the message that God doesn't need us, that He's big and 180 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:30,000 we're small? How can that be comforting? You've just turned my whole world upside down." Look at what he says, "The message of God's 181 00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:39,000 bigness in our smallness is wonderful in this, that God doesn't need us, but He wants us." You see, there's a big difference in our 182 00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:49,000 lives between an obligation, "I have to," and a desire that I get to, or I want to. Right? Think about how we approach an obligation. 183 00:33:49,000 --> 00:33:55,000 I have to do this. I have to go there. I have to be a part of it. And we're reluctant, and we're slow to do it, but if 184 00:33:55,000 --> 00:34:02,000 there's something that we want to do, what happens? We expend all of our energy. Now, Paul's point is that God is big, you are 185 00:34:02,000 --> 00:34:10,000 small, but God still wants you, and He loves you. And He's not doing it out of obligation because He has to. He's not 186 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:18,000 grumbling about His relationship with you, that He loves you deeply. There is excitement and joy. God is not burdened by you. 187 00:34:18,000 --> 00:34:26,000 He loves you, saves you, and helps you because He wants to. And He'll go on to say this, starting in verse 188 00:34:26,000 --> 00:34:32,000 26, "And He made from one man of every nation of mankind to live in the faith of the earth, having determined their 189 00:34:32,000 --> 00:34:37,000 allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God and perhaps feel their way 190 00:34:37,000 --> 00:34:44,000 toward Him and find Him. Yet He is not far from each one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being, even as 191 00:34:44,000 --> 00:34:50,000 some of your own poets have said, "For we are indeed His offspring." And so Paul will say, "God is big. 192 00:34:50,000 --> 00:34:57,000 You're small." But He's not far away. He's not removed. He's not distant from you, but He loves you, and He wants 193 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:02,000 to be close with you. He's strong enough to meet your needs, and because He's the ruler, all of this 194 00:35:02,000 --> 00:35:08,000 falls under His jurisdiction. He doesn't look at the struggles in your life and say, "Sorry, that's not my problem." 195 00:35:08,000 --> 00:35:18,000 God wants you, loves you, saves you, and helps you. And what He's saying to the Athenians and to us is that you have 196 00:35:18,000 --> 00:35:25,000 to have this idea untangled in your mind. Run to the one who truly wants you, the truly righteous one who has conquered 197 00:35:25,000 --> 00:35:34,000 death and has given you life. And at the center of Paul's message is this picture of the sovereignty of God, that 198 00:35:34,000 --> 00:35:41,000 He's the creator, the ruler, the giver of life. He has made mankind and put us in the time and place of His choosing. 199 00:35:41,000 --> 00:35:48,000 And this sovereignty is not purposeless. He says they should seek God and perhaps feel their way toward Him, yet He is 200 00:35:48,000 --> 00:35:54,000 actually not far from each of us. Now, Paul doesn't just say that God is sovereign and in control and 201 00:35:54,000 --> 00:36:02,000 that God seeks a relationship and is close to you. But Paul's sermon here, in his very words, demonstrates the 202 00:36:02,000 --> 00:36:10,000 the wonder of the sovereignty of God. In verse 28, he's going to say, "In Him we live and move and have our 203 00:36:10,000 --> 00:36:17,000 being, even, as some of your own poets said, for we are indeed His offspring." Now that first quote, "In Him we live 204 00:36:17,000 --> 00:36:23,000 and move and have our being," is from Epimenides of Crete. Paul will then go on to quote the same guy 205 00:36:23,000 --> 00:36:29,000 as he writes to Titus. That famous passage about all Cretans are liars, that comes from Epimenides as 206 00:36:29,000 --> 00:36:37,000 well. The second quote is from a poem by a Greek poet by the name of Aranus. He said, "Well, how do these 207 00:36:37,000 --> 00:36:44,000 quotations demonstrate the sovereignty of God?" These are the perfect quotes for this audience and message. 208 00:36:44,000 --> 00:36:50,000 And what's remarkable is Paul grows up in a place that has a massive library, a place that sometimes 209 00:36:50,000 --> 00:36:58,000 was used to educate those who trained the emperors of Rome. And Paul would have grown up as a young man 210 00:36:58,000 --> 00:37:03,000 with his classical education, and he would have read Epimenides. He would have read Erratus. 211 00:37:03,000 --> 00:37:10,000 And what you find is in his elementary education, God is preparing him for this moment later in life 212 00:37:10,000 --> 00:37:16,000 in Athens to preach to these people in a way they understand. God's at work in a mundane elementary 213 00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:23,000 education of the apostle Paul. But there's more to it, and it gets even more remarkable as we look at what 214 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:32,000 Paul is saying. Epimenides of Crete, even though he's not from Athens, is highly, highly influential in 215 00:37:32,000 --> 00:37:38,000 Athens. He's highly revered in Athens. And the reason for this is somewhere between 500 216 00:37:38,000 --> 00:37:47,000 or 600 years before Paul sets foot on the Areopagus, Athens experiences a massive plague. And they try to 217 00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:52,000 alleviate the plague, and it doesn't work. And so they hear about Epimenides in Crete. And so they send 218 00:37:52,000 --> 00:37:59,000 for Epimenides. And he comes to Athens. He says, "You've angered the gods." And they say, "Which one?" 219 00:37:59,000 --> 00:38:06,000 He says, "I don't know. It might be all of them." Right? And so he gets a whole bunch of sheep, and he takes 220 00:38:06,000 --> 00:38:12,000 them to the top of the Areopagus, and just lets them loose. And he says, "Wherever the sheep lay down, 221 00:38:12,000 --> 00:38:18,000 that's a holy place. So there, kill the sheep and make an altar." He said, "Well, which God do we know?" And he 222 00:38:18,000 --> 00:38:21,000 says, "Well, some of them are known." But he said, "Also, when you're doing that, you're going to make 223 00:38:21,000 --> 00:38:30,000 some altars to the unknown gods." And evidently, the plague relents, and those altars were still 224 00:38:30,000 --> 00:38:36,000 repaired and rebuilt and worshipped at five or six hundred years later, and Epimenides was renowned 225 00:38:36,000 --> 00:38:42,000 as the guy who saved Athens for a plague. He's not just credited for saving the town, but doing 226 00:38:42,000 --> 00:38:49,000 it through offerings to an unknown God. Do you remember how Paul starts his message to the Athenian 227 00:38:49,000 --> 00:38:56,000 council? Standing in the midst of the Areopagus, where Epimenides once stood, he says, "Men of Athens, I 228 00:38:56,000 --> 00:39:01,000 perceive that in every way you are religious, for I passed along, I observed objects of your worship, and 229 00:39:01,000 --> 00:39:07,000 found also an altar with the inscription to the unknown God, and what therefore you worship is unknown I 230 00:39:07,000 --> 00:39:14,000 proclaim to you." Six hundred years before Paul stands in this spot and tells everybody about Jesus, God 231 00:39:14,000 --> 00:39:21,000 working through this pagan philosopher, pagan priest Epimenides, has prepared this town 232 00:39:21,000 --> 00:39:27,000 for the work of God. And it doesn't just relate to Paul. Look at what he says. He's made from one man of 233 00:39:27,000 --> 00:39:32,000 every nation of mankind to live on the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods 234 00:39:32,000 --> 00:39:37,000 and boundaries of their dwelling place. He says about everybody on earth, God has put you in the place 235 00:39:37,000 --> 00:39:43,000 that you are, at the time you are, for his purpose. And Paul doesn't just say that. You see it happening 236 00:39:43,000 --> 00:39:50,000 with the history of Athens, with Paul's quotations and his education all coming together. And Paul says, 237 00:39:50,000 --> 00:39:57,000 that's about you and about me. That God has put you in this place, at this time, for his purposes. 238 00:39:57,000 --> 00:40:03,000 And what this should do for us as Christians is it should energize us. That God has not just 239 00:40:03,000 --> 00:40:09,000 given us a task, but he has given us, put us in the place to accomplish it. And through his spirit 240 00:40:09,000 --> 00:40:17,000 he encourages us and strengthens us for that. 600 years before Paul stands there, God has 241 00:40:17,000 --> 00:40:24,000 prepared the ground for this gospel presentation. Now, when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, 242 00:40:24,000 --> 00:40:29,000 some mocked, but others will hear you again. So Paul went out from their midst, and some people joined him 243 00:40:29,000 --> 00:40:35,000 and believed, among whom were Dionysius the Areopagate, and a woman named Damaris, and others 244 00:40:35,000 --> 00:40:39,000 with them. And so Paul has sort of three responses. One is some people make fun of him. They're like, 245 00:40:39,000 --> 00:40:45,000 "That's crazy." The second is that they invite him back, right? There's people who want to hear more. 246 00:40:45,000 --> 00:40:50,000 They've heard a little bit about Jesus, and they want to hear more deeply. They're curious. 247 00:40:50,000 --> 00:40:54,000 They're spiritually seeking. And then third, there's people who become Christians, right? 248 00:40:54,000 --> 00:41:00,000 There's a group of people, including these two people, a man and a woman. And the reason that you have their 249 00:41:00,000 --> 00:41:04,000 name specifically is because these two people would have been known to whoever Luke is writing to. 250 00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:09,000 Theophilus. He's writing to them, and they would have known these people by name. 251 00:41:09,000 --> 00:41:15,000 That's why Luke includes their name. In fact, we learn that Dionysus, the Areopagate, 252 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:20,000 he's a member of this very council, that at least one member of this council becomes a Christian, 253 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:25,000 but he goes on to be the leader of the church in Athens. And we read about the historical accounts 254 00:41:25,000 --> 00:41:31,000 of the church in Athens, written after this time he is as the leader of the church. 255 00:41:31,000 --> 00:41:38,000 That Paul, in his preaching, some reject, just like they sometimes will reject our preaching. 256 00:41:38,000 --> 00:41:43,000 Some want to hear more, they're interested, and some become Christians, and they have a lasting impact 257 00:41:43,000 --> 00:41:48,000 on the work of the church. What I want you to see this morning is that God is at work. 258 00:41:48,000 --> 00:41:52,000 Up until this point in this missionary journey, it seems like everything's been a struggle. 259 00:41:52,000 --> 00:41:56,000 It's been a struggle of relationships with Paul as he has to switch campaigns. 260 00:41:56,000 --> 00:42:00,000 It's been a struggle of the journey, where to go. It's been a struggle with persecution. 261 00:42:00,000 --> 00:42:05,000 And now he's here in Athens, and he's alone, and it's been a struggle. 262 00:42:05,000 --> 00:42:09,000 And we talked about last week how Paul is discouraged in this moment, 263 00:42:09,000 --> 00:42:16,000 but here God, in the midst of his discouragement, providentially works for the salvation of some people in Athens. 264 00:42:16,000 --> 00:42:21,000 That God is at work even in the midst of our struggles, in the midst of our difficulty, 265 00:42:21,000 --> 00:42:24,000 in the midst of our fears and our sorrows and the opposition we face. 266 00:42:24,000 --> 00:42:29,000 God is working. It's encouraging. 267 00:42:29,000 --> 00:42:37,000 And to those who are not Christians, Paul's message is this, is that as you're seeking God, understand that he is there. 268 00:42:37,000 --> 00:42:41,000 That he is near you. He is not far off. That he loves you. 269 00:42:41,000 --> 00:42:47,000 His conquered death has overcome your sin to save you, and in him there is hope. 270 00:42:47,000 --> 00:42:52,000 Father, thank you for your providential work. 271 00:42:52,000 --> 00:42:58,000 Not just in Athens, but in our lives we see it, and how you work things together in ways that startle and surprise us. 272 00:42:58,000 --> 00:43:03,000 We are thankful that you do care for us and you love us. 273 00:43:03,000 --> 00:43:11,000 Help us as we hear these words from Paul, that we would be humbled, that you would see we are not the center, but you are. 274 00:43:11,000 --> 00:43:15,000 But that you would also comfort us deeply in saying that we are deeply loved. 275 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:19,000 Not out of obligation, but because you joyfully love your people. 276 00:43:19,000 --> 00:43:25,000 Energize us for the work of the gospel. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 277 00:43:25,000 --> 00:43:28,000 We are going to stand and sing about Jesus. 278 00:43:55,000 --> 00:44:11,000 Who knew no sin, that we might become His righteousness. He humbled Himself and carried the cross. 279 00:44:11,000 --> 00:44:38,000 Love so amazing. Love so amazing. Jesus, Messiah. Name above all names. Blessed Redeemer. 280 00:44:38,000 --> 00:45:05,000 Emmanuel. The rescue for sinners. The ransom from heaven. Jesus, Messiah. Lord of all. 281 00:45:05,000 --> 00:45:32,000 All our hope is in You. All our hope is in You. All the glory to You, God. The light of the world. 282 00:45:32,000 --> 00:45:59,000 Jesus Messiah. Name above all names. Blessed Redeemer. Emmanuel. The rescue for sinners. 283 00:45:59,000 --> 00:46:27,000 The ransom from heaven. Jesus Messiah. Lord of all. Jesus Messiah. Lord of all. 284 00:46:27,000 --> 00:46:31,000 Lord of all. 285 00:46:31,000 --> 00:46:44,000 We are thankful that you are here this morning. We're thankful for those of you who are joining us online. 286 00:46:44,000 --> 00:46:55,000 We'll be back here Wednesday night. We've been talking through Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. Paul, where we are in Acts, he's just left Thessalonica, gone to Berea, now in Athens, 287 00:46:55,000 --> 00:47:04,000 and we are walking through that. So, Wednesday night, 7 p.m., we're here at the church walking through Paul's letter to the Thessalonians. 288 00:47:04,000 --> 00:47:15,000 Also, if you didn't hear earlier, there is a really adorable puppy downstairs. His name is Theophilus, who's also who the Book of Acts is written to, I think Theo for short. 289 00:47:15,000 --> 00:47:23,000 So, if you want to meet the puppy, he's downstairs. The other thing that I wanted to announce, and we'll put that in the email this week, I asked Tom a 290 00:47:23,000 --> 00:47:34,000 couple weeks ago if we could do this, but I know we got some folks here who like the outdoors and like to hike. Tom has written a book about old rag and his memories and experiences around that. 291 00:47:34,000 --> 00:47:45,000 And that's a pretty amazing thing, to write a book. A lot of us have ideas for books, but he actually did it. And so he has copies of that for sale. We have a copy you can look through. 292 00:47:45,000 --> 00:47:51,000 I was going to bring it this morning. We just got it back from loaning it to a friend. But if you're interested in that, talk to Tom about it. He has some great stories 293 00:47:51,000 --> 00:48:01,000 and a pretty amazing accomplishment. So good job, Tom. All right, let's have a word of prayer. Oh, Rachel? 294 00:48:01,000 --> 00:48:10,000 Okay, so if it's not snowing or sleeting, there's ladies' class this week. So just a reminder about that. I was going to ask you about that 295 00:48:10,000 --> 00:48:19,000 because last week everything was upside down, it felt like. Father in heaven, thank you for our church family. Thank you for the joy 296 00:48:19,000 --> 00:48:25,000 we can have with being near each other and sharing each other's lives and our joys and our sorrows. 297 00:48:25,000 --> 00:48:30,000 Thank you for letting us be here together. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. 298 00:48:30,000 --> 00:48:34,000 So Paul writes this to the Thessalonians where we ended last Wednesday night. 299 00:48:34,000 --> 00:48:40,000 May the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do for you, 300 00:48:40,000 --> 00:48:47,000 so that he may establish your hearts blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our Lord Jesus 301 00:48:47,000 --> 00:48:51,000 with all his saints. Let's sing the Doctology. 302 00:48:51,000 --> 00:49:15,000 Praise God from whom all blessings flow. Praise him all creatures here below. Praise him above ye and the host. 303 00:49:15,000 --> 00:49:21,000 Praise Father, Son, and Holy Ghost.