WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.280 We can turn back to our reading in Acts chapter 17. We're looking at this section from verse 16 down to the end of the chapter where we find Paul in Athens. 00:00:13.280 --> 00:00:14.960 And we can read again at verse 22. 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.039 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said, 00:00:19.140 --> 00:00:23.219 Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 00:00:23.219 --> 00:00:32.979 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription to the unknown God. 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:39.239 What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 00:00:41.379 --> 00:00:47.000 I believe in God is a statement that many people can make. 00:00:47.700 --> 00:00:52.420 And if you're a Christian, it's the obvious statement that comes to you. 00:00:52.420 --> 00:00:58.539 I believe in God. It's a no-brainer because that's the God that we read of in the scripture. 00:00:59.560 --> 00:01:05.000 But perhaps if you're talking to other people, you might say to someone around you, 00:01:05.260 --> 00:01:06.640 Well, I believe in God. 00:01:06.960 --> 00:01:12.340 And you maybe assume that they know the God that you are talking about as well. 00:01:12.939 --> 00:01:13.939 But do they? 00:01:13.939 --> 00:01:24.239 Well, if you go back to this book of Acts, chapter 17, and you find Paul here as he has come into the city of Athens. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:32.379 And this is part of one of his missionary journeys as he's going around with Timothy and Silas as well. 00:01:32.420 --> 00:01:34.180 He's here waiting for them to join him. 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:42.980 And as he's in Athens, you maybe would think that I believe in God was a common phrase that he would hear there as well. 00:01:43.040 --> 00:01:43.760 And it was. 00:01:44.080 --> 00:01:45.500 I believe in God. 00:01:45.960 --> 00:01:51.180 And in the discussions that he would have with many people he met, that would be something that they would talk about. 00:01:51.260 --> 00:01:52.320 I believe in God. 00:01:52.319 --> 00:01:56.939 But it would be followed maybe by another question or another statement. 00:01:57.899 --> 00:01:58.619 Which one? 00:01:59.399 --> 00:02:01.119 Or which ones? 00:02:02.139 --> 00:02:05.819 Paul here has come to the city of Athens. 00:02:06.039 --> 00:02:11.659 And as he's there, as he's waiting to be joined by others, he's looking around this city. 00:02:11.759 --> 00:02:14.259 And he's fascinated by this city. 00:02:14.639 --> 00:02:21.280 And he's taking time to see what's going on in this place and among the people of this place. 00:02:21.280 --> 00:02:26.680 And it leaves him in many ways troubled and concerned about what he's seeing. 00:02:27.420 --> 00:02:36.719 If you ever go traveling to different places, if you go to maybe cities or towns, how do you go about finding out about that place? 00:02:37.580 --> 00:02:39.639 Do you maybe do research before you go? 00:02:39.780 --> 00:02:41.639 You can look in your guidebooks. 00:02:41.719 --> 00:02:46.300 You can look online and try and find out what kind of place you are going to. 00:02:46.420 --> 00:02:47.979 You could maybe ask others. 00:02:48.099 --> 00:02:50.759 Maybe you know people who have been there before you. 00:02:50.759 --> 00:02:52.399 So you ask them maybe questions. 00:02:52.859 --> 00:02:54.639 What kind of place is it? 00:02:55.079 --> 00:02:59.979 And you get very varied answers depending on these people's experience. 00:03:01.099 --> 00:03:08.239 But one of the best ways to find out about a place is if you go there to ask the people who live there. 00:03:08.739 --> 00:03:09.799 To speak to them. 00:03:09.899 --> 00:03:14.199 To see what kind of place they would say it is. 00:03:14.199 --> 00:03:18.899 And that's what you see what Paul was doing here as he arrived in Athens. 00:03:19.019 --> 00:03:21.599 You see it in verse 16 to 18. 00:03:21.599 --> 00:03:30.139 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:31.199 And then it goes on. 00:03:31.299 --> 00:03:39.500 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 00:03:39.959 --> 00:03:41.979 So he was in among the people. 00:03:42.400 --> 00:03:45.780 He was meeting them in all of these different places. 00:03:45.859 --> 00:03:49.159 The important places in this city. 00:03:49.159 --> 00:03:57.519 And as Paul did this, he saw for himself, he heard for himself that Athens was a place of worship. 00:03:58.519 --> 00:04:00.979 But what kind of worship? 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:07.419 As he spoke to the people, he realized that they were a people who were a people of worship. 00:04:08.199 --> 00:04:12.079 But it wasn't just I believe in God that they would say. 00:04:12.659 --> 00:04:16.180 But what kind of God did they believe in? 00:04:16.180 --> 00:04:18.019 He met them in the synagogues. 00:04:18.100 --> 00:04:20.100 He met them in the marketplace. 00:04:20.360 --> 00:04:23.959 Now the marketplace was not just a place to go and buy things. 00:04:24.180 --> 00:04:27.879 It was a place where people gathered to share ideas. 00:04:28.519 --> 00:04:30.900 And that's what he was doing with them. 00:04:31.300 --> 00:04:35.340 And so what kind of place, what kind of people did Paul find? 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:40.340 Well he found in Athens it wasn't a place of atheism. 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:44.300 A place that didn't believe in God at all. 00:04:44.300 --> 00:04:46.439 It was quite the opposite. 00:04:47.160 --> 00:04:52.340 There was probably more gods in Athens at this time than there was people. 00:04:53.300 --> 00:04:55.400 They had a God for everything. 00:04:56.180 --> 00:05:01.259 And everywhere that Paul looked, he found on every street corner, on every place that he looked, 00:05:01.780 --> 00:05:04.080 a God of some form or other. 00:05:04.660 --> 00:05:10.060 An idol or an altar or something that the people worshipped. 00:05:10.060 --> 00:05:14.500 And you see that he even saw, as it says in verse 23, 00:05:15.019 --> 00:05:16.620 an altar with the inscription, 00:05:17.019 --> 00:05:18.879 To the unknown God. 00:05:19.560 --> 00:05:21.959 So it's like everything was being covered. 00:05:22.139 --> 00:05:24.280 Nothing was going to be left to chance. 00:05:24.340 --> 00:05:28.519 They would have a God to believe in for every circumstance. 00:05:28.840 --> 00:05:30.519 And even for the unknown, 00:05:31.060 --> 00:05:35.899 they had a God who they would believe in just in case. 00:05:35.899 --> 00:05:39.719 That's what Paul found in Athens. 00:05:39.879 --> 00:05:42.659 It was a place of many gods. 00:05:44.239 --> 00:05:47.959 You wonder today if Paul was to visit Stornoway. 00:05:48.679 --> 00:05:50.279 What would he find here? 00:05:51.039 --> 00:05:53.719 How would he look around this town? 00:05:54.439 --> 00:05:55.519 What would he see? 00:05:55.659 --> 00:05:59.239 What would he perceive from the people here? 00:05:59.299 --> 00:06:01.579 What kind of place is it? 00:06:01.579 --> 00:06:05.839 Well, in some ways he would probably say the very same thing. 00:06:05.919 --> 00:06:09.000 I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 00:06:09.740 --> 00:06:14.579 Because there are so many indications that this is a place of religion. 00:06:15.079 --> 00:06:18.219 A place of belief in some form. 00:06:19.240 --> 00:06:21.939 But what kind of people does he find? 00:06:22.019 --> 00:06:24.599 What kind of worship does he find? 00:06:25.280 --> 00:06:31.740 Well, we are thankful today that he would find places where people come to worship the living God. 00:06:32.040 --> 00:06:33.740 The God of the scriptures. 00:06:34.100 --> 00:06:39.240 The God that Paul himself believed in and brought to the people of Athens. 00:06:39.340 --> 00:06:40.240 He would find that. 00:06:40.320 --> 00:06:42.840 But he would find a whole variety as well. 00:06:43.879 --> 00:06:48.200 If you look around today, you will find people in this town, in our islands, 00:06:48.300 --> 00:06:50.000 who will say that they are atheists. 00:06:50.280 --> 00:06:54.060 They would say they believe in many different things and believe in nothing. 00:06:54.600 --> 00:06:58.680 Not everybody here believes in the God of the Bible. 00:06:58.879 --> 00:07:05.560 And so you would find too that just like Athens, the town of Stornoway, the islands that we live in, 00:07:06.140 --> 00:07:14.740 are a place of variety, a place of mixture, of various kinds of understandings and beliefs. 00:07:15.000 --> 00:07:21.580 We maybe know more so people who are on the same page as us in terms of believing in God. 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:27.639 And we think that when we speak to people and we say, I believe in God, that we are speaking about the same thing. 00:07:28.639 --> 00:07:35.319 But what Paul found that there was those who had their idols, their altars, their various gods. 00:07:36.240 --> 00:07:38.939 Do you find that when you speak to people around you? 00:07:38.939 --> 00:07:43.879 When you tell them, I go to church, I believe in God. 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:47.180 What kind of response do you get back? 00:07:47.259 --> 00:07:50.680 There probably was a time when we would say, I go to church too. 00:07:50.759 --> 00:07:52.120 I believe in God too. 00:07:52.220 --> 00:07:59.339 But there's a whole variety now around us of people and understandings and beliefs. 00:07:59.339 --> 00:08:09.699 But what Paul does here is that as he comes alongside them, he draws them to see where the true worship is found. 00:08:10.199 --> 00:08:16.539 That is found in God who made heaven and earth and who gave his son, Jesus Christ, 00:08:16.759 --> 00:08:20.979 who came to die for our sins but who rose again. 00:08:20.980 --> 00:08:32.379 And you see that in verse 18, what he was preaching at the end of verse 18, he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 00:08:33.480 --> 00:08:37.080 And this provoked a mixed response. 00:08:38.100 --> 00:08:43.300 G.K. Chesterton once said, and this is what we find in our own day and age as well. 00:08:43.299 --> 00:08:49.039 When men choose not to believe in God, they do not thereafter believe in nothing. 00:08:49.639 --> 00:08:53.199 They then become capable of believing in anything. 00:08:54.419 --> 00:08:58.679 So it's not just a case of, I don't believe in God, therefore I believe nothing. 00:08:59.099 --> 00:09:02.719 But people become open to believe anything. 00:09:04.139 --> 00:09:07.379 And that's the kind of city Athens was when Paul came in. 00:09:07.620 --> 00:09:11.679 A place where people had pushed God away and would believe in anything. 00:09:11.679 --> 00:09:17.699 And we're interested to hear something new all the time, as it says at the end of verse 21. 00:09:18.659 --> 00:09:21.559 That's the kind of world we live in today as well. 00:09:21.639 --> 00:09:25.659 People like to hear new things, like to hear new teachings. 00:09:26.339 --> 00:09:35.419 And that means that it's a day of opportunity as well, just as it was for Paul to present the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. 00:09:35.419 --> 00:09:40.659 And for ourselves today, it's the chance to ask, well, who do I worship? 00:09:41.679 --> 00:09:44.120 Who do I worship today? 00:09:44.459 --> 00:09:49.559 If I say I believe in God, what kind of God do I believe in? 00:09:49.899 --> 00:09:50.599 Who is he? 00:09:51.019 --> 00:09:53.179 And what has he done for us? 00:09:53.879 --> 00:09:57.899 Well, Paul was confident in the God who had saved him. 00:09:58.219 --> 00:10:01.339 Who he had come to believe in. 00:10:01.819 --> 00:10:04.159 And that's the God that he presents to them. 00:10:04.159 --> 00:10:09.620 And the first thing we see here is Paul speaks to them of the unknown and the known. 00:10:10.759 --> 00:10:18.179 You see that in how he presents to them that he found that they were a people who were very religious. 00:10:18.339 --> 00:10:19.199 And in verse 23, 00:10:19.200 --> 00:10:37.080 The unknown he is showing can be known. 00:10:37.720 --> 00:10:40.320 Unknown in the person of Jesus. 00:10:40.320 --> 00:10:46.160 Athens was a growing town in Paul's day. 00:10:46.300 --> 00:10:51.140 It's probably about 20,000 people or thereabouts in the days of Paul. 00:10:52.200 --> 00:10:56.100 And it was a place that was very cultural. 00:10:56.100 --> 00:11:00.140 It was a place that had a lot of culture, a place of thinking. 00:11:00.680 --> 00:11:03.720 You see that just in the few verses that we've read here. 00:11:03.720 --> 00:11:08.500 The marketplace, the synagogue, the thinking, the teaching that was going on. 00:11:08.940 --> 00:11:10.500 There was a lot of it. 00:11:11.860 --> 00:11:15.620 And as with many of us who would go and visit a new place, 00:11:15.660 --> 00:11:18.399 we want to find a place to go and worship. 00:11:18.720 --> 00:11:21.320 If we're there on a Lord's day, we want to go and worship. 00:11:21.840 --> 00:11:23.300 So it was with Paul. 00:11:23.379 --> 00:11:28.960 He wanted to go and see what kind of worship, what kind of place Athens was. 00:11:28.960 --> 00:11:30.600 And he found there a synagogue. 00:11:30.600 --> 00:11:33.840 And he found, too, the marketplace. 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:35.980 In verse 17, 00:11:36.100 --> 00:11:39.980 He reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons 00:11:39.980 --> 00:11:45.000 and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. 00:11:45.080 --> 00:11:46.659 There was Jews he was meeting with. 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:49.560 There was philosophers he was meeting with. 00:11:49.580 --> 00:11:52.440 He was meeting with all kinds of people. 00:11:52.899 --> 00:11:56.000 And whoever he was meeting with, he was talking to them, 00:11:56.580 --> 00:11:57.740 reasoning with them, 00:11:57.740 --> 00:12:02.200 teaching them about the God that he believed in. 00:12:02.980 --> 00:12:04.500 And look at how he does it. 00:12:04.879 --> 00:12:08.200 He doesn't start by telling them where they are wrong. 00:12:08.899 --> 00:12:12.879 He starts by presenting it in a very positive way. 00:12:14.120 --> 00:12:16.120 In verse 22, 00:12:16.120 --> 00:12:19.519 Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 00:12:19.720 --> 00:12:23.000 He starts in a very positive way. 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.500 So as he's preaching to them, 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:30.360 he's revealing to them almost the kind of things that they have in common. 00:12:31.139 --> 00:12:36.059 The same way as he does, as he's writing in the book of Romans chapter 1, 00:12:36.539 --> 00:12:39.899 he presents things in a positive way, 00:12:40.000 --> 00:12:43.340 that we are surrounded by evidence for God. 00:12:43.899 --> 00:12:47.200 That we are surrounded by a people who are worshipping, 00:12:47.659 --> 00:12:49.220 a people who are religious. 00:12:49.220 --> 00:12:52.840 It's just what kind of religion we have. 00:12:53.840 --> 00:12:59.259 And you notice he doesn't try and prove to them the existence of God. 00:12:59.740 --> 00:13:06.759 Because he can tell already that there are people who know God in some form or other, 00:13:06.840 --> 00:13:09.080 because there are people of worship. 00:13:09.080 --> 00:13:14.420 But what he does is he talks to them about God that he knows. 00:13:15.379 --> 00:13:17.860 For this God that you worship as unknown, 00:13:18.340 --> 00:13:21.020 I proclaim to you. 00:13:22.340 --> 00:13:26.060 And this is the God that they are to look to. 00:13:26.160 --> 00:13:29.960 This is the God that we are to look to as well. 00:13:30.020 --> 00:13:32.540 And what Paul is getting at here is that 00:13:32.539 --> 00:13:39.699 in the heart of every one of us is this desire to worship something. 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:42.299 To worship something. 00:13:43.279 --> 00:13:46.839 That's why there are so many idols and altars in Athens. 00:13:46.959 --> 00:13:51.819 As it were, in all the places that Paul would travel to on these missionary journeys, 00:13:52.339 --> 00:13:56.439 there is a desire in every one of us to worship something. 00:13:56.440 --> 00:14:02.160 It's just the question is, who or what are we worshipping? 00:14:03.520 --> 00:14:09.260 You know, in Edinburgh, there's a group that meets on the first Sunday of every month. 00:14:10.040 --> 00:14:12.760 They meet at 11.30am. 00:14:13.320 --> 00:14:14.840 They meet for about an hour. 00:14:15.600 --> 00:14:17.180 They sing songs together. 00:14:17.880 --> 00:14:19.860 They hear inspiring talks. 00:14:20.440 --> 00:14:21.960 They reflect on life. 00:14:22.600 --> 00:14:25.100 They share with others who have come along. 00:14:25.100 --> 00:14:26.940 They eat together. 00:14:27.139 --> 00:14:29.080 They say, it's free for all to come. 00:14:29.200 --> 00:14:31.720 We are family friendly and we welcome all. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:34.200 What does that sound to you like? 00:14:35.420 --> 00:14:38.180 It sounds like a church service, doesn't it? 00:14:39.120 --> 00:14:42.000 An hour of singing, hearing a talk, 00:14:42.420 --> 00:14:44.279 reflecting on life, meeting others. 00:14:45.000 --> 00:14:46.279 It sounds like church. 00:14:47.879 --> 00:14:50.580 And it is church to the people who go to it. 00:14:50.639 --> 00:14:53.000 It's just a very different church to what we are. 00:14:53.000 --> 00:14:57.480 You see, it's a part of what they call Sunday Assembly. 00:14:58.559 --> 00:15:05.659 And this is a group that formed back in London in 2013 as an atheist church. 00:15:05.659 --> 00:15:14.139 And the thinking behind it was that they were looking at churches as they met and seeing there's so many good things about church. 00:15:14.519 --> 00:15:16.719 But we want to leave God out. 00:15:17.419 --> 00:15:19.740 We want to leave Jesus out of it. 00:15:20.500 --> 00:15:29.480 And it's fascinating to think about how there's this desire to meet, to hear, to sing, to be together, to contemplate life. 00:15:29.480 --> 00:15:34.340 A desire to worship, but without God. 00:15:34.340 --> 00:15:41.160 Now there's eight different countries that have these kinds of meetings. 00:15:41.399 --> 00:15:42.639 They're established. 00:15:43.960 --> 00:15:44.820 But think about it. 00:15:44.820 --> 00:15:46.680 Would you be happy with that today? 00:15:47.399 --> 00:15:50.639 Coming here to just sing any kind of song. 00:15:51.300 --> 00:15:53.180 To hear any kind of message. 00:15:54.019 --> 00:15:55.240 And to meet together. 00:15:55.960 --> 00:15:57.399 And to have an interest in one another. 00:15:57.399 --> 00:15:58.639 But without God. 00:15:59.279 --> 00:16:00.399 Without the scripture. 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:03.819 Without any word of Jesus Christ. 00:16:05.559 --> 00:16:09.500 It would make us go away without anything changing. 00:16:10.699 --> 00:16:11.819 No difference. 00:16:11.980 --> 00:16:13.939 It might be good just to meet together. 00:16:15.220 --> 00:16:17.939 But we're missing the very point of life and worship. 00:16:17.940 --> 00:16:21.880 And that's what Paul is getting at here as he says to them. 00:16:22.520 --> 00:16:25.760 You have this inscription, this altar, to an unknown God. 00:16:26.220 --> 00:16:32.400 What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you because this is what you need. 00:16:33.960 --> 00:16:35.320 And this is what we need. 00:16:36.500 --> 00:16:38.820 Do you come here today just to meet with others? 00:16:39.680 --> 00:16:42.100 Do you come here today because you love singing? 00:16:42.100 --> 00:16:47.160 Do you come here today because there's an interest to see who's here or what's going on? 00:16:48.620 --> 00:16:56.600 Or do you come here to hear about the living God and Jesus Christ and what he has done? 00:16:57.720 --> 00:17:00.000 Who are you worshiping today? 00:17:01.240 --> 00:17:03.400 That's what Paul was getting at here. 00:17:03.540 --> 00:17:05.720 Who is it that you are worshiping? 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:09.539 An unknown God or one who can be known? 00:17:10.580 --> 00:17:11.860 And that's the second thing we see. 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:14.519 He goes on to show, well, what's the difference? 00:17:14.519 --> 00:17:21.920 What a difference there is between the unknown and the known God that Paul has to tell them of. 00:17:22.480 --> 00:17:27.480 The Sunday assemblies were probably a bit like the church in Athens in Paul's day. 00:17:28.019 --> 00:17:31.019 It was all about their own ideas and thinkings and inspiration. 00:17:32.299 --> 00:17:37.559 And yet missing the one who was able to give life to the full, Jesus Christ. 00:17:37.559 --> 00:17:46.460 They were looking for life, looking for meaning, but missing where it was found in Paul's day, as are many in our day as well. 00:17:47.319 --> 00:17:53.299 You know, you think if only the Sunday assemblies in Edinburgh or wherever would read the Gospel of John. 00:17:54.419 --> 00:17:57.159 And there find the meaning of life. 00:17:57.279 --> 00:18:00.119 That Jesus says in John 5 verse 39, 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:05.139 You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life. 00:18:05.759 --> 00:18:12.279 And it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me, that you may have life. 00:18:13.419 --> 00:18:15.539 You are looking for meaning. 00:18:16.159 --> 00:18:17.579 You are looking for life. 00:18:18.599 --> 00:18:24.599 And maybe at times they read, quite possibly like the book of Ecclesiastes, 00:18:24.599 --> 00:18:27.959 that speaks about vanity, vanity, all is vanity. 00:18:27.960 --> 00:18:29.900 You hear it at funerals so often. 00:18:30.779 --> 00:18:32.180 Maybe they do read that. 00:18:34.539 --> 00:18:40.180 But they do miss the very point, the Scriptures that bear witness about me, as Jesus says. 00:18:41.019 --> 00:18:44.480 And you refuse to come to me, that you may have life. 00:18:45.680 --> 00:18:49.140 There is the difference between the known and the unknown. 00:18:49.640 --> 00:18:53.700 The unknown gives no life, no hope. 00:18:54.819 --> 00:18:56.779 But Jesus gives that hope. 00:18:56.779 --> 00:18:59.059 Jesus gives that life. 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:04.680 And that is the Jesus that Paul is making known to the people here. 00:19:04.940 --> 00:19:06.700 Let's go back to verse 18. 00:19:07.220 --> 00:19:10.099 Because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 00:19:11.500 --> 00:19:12.759 This was the difference. 00:19:12.859 --> 00:19:15.519 He was preaching the one who gives life. 00:19:15.980 --> 00:19:18.480 Again, you go to John 10 verse 10. 00:19:18.480 --> 00:19:21.420 And the thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. 00:19:21.420 --> 00:19:25.779 I came that you may have life and you may have it abundantly. 00:19:26.960 --> 00:19:33.080 They don't have it because they're not listening to the Scriptures that bear witness about him. 00:19:33.860 --> 00:19:35.019 Is that you today? 00:19:36.100 --> 00:19:38.340 You are searching the Scriptures. 00:19:38.539 --> 00:19:39.019 You are looking. 00:19:39.200 --> 00:19:41.000 You are hearing the Scriptures. 00:19:41.420 --> 00:19:43.640 They bear witness about Jesus. 00:19:43.640 --> 00:19:48.220 But you refuse to come to him that you may have life. 00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:53.740 There is a difference between worshipping the known and the unknown. 00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:55.580 Verse 25 here. 00:19:55.579 --> 00:20:07.339 It talks about the idol served by humans' hands as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 00:20:08.439 --> 00:20:10.579 This is what the Lord gives to us. 00:20:10.699 --> 00:20:14.079 Life and breath and everything. 00:20:14.079 --> 00:20:26.259 What a difference there is between gods that are made by the hands of man and the God who made man and gives breath to man and to all creation. 00:20:27.199 --> 00:20:30.519 There are many things that can make us look for a God. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:35.759 Many things that appeal to people in this world that speak to us. 00:20:36.399 --> 00:20:36.819 Nature. 00:20:36.819 --> 00:20:40.079 A beautiful sunrise or sunset. 00:20:40.259 --> 00:20:41.819 The starry sky at night. 00:20:41.819 --> 00:20:43.559 Oceans and lands. 00:20:43.740 --> 00:20:46.179 And just survey the creation around you. 00:20:46.299 --> 00:20:48.779 And for many people it makes them think, 00:20:49.159 --> 00:20:49.799 Ah God. 00:20:51.200 --> 00:20:53.799 That's what Paul is sharing to them here. 00:20:53.899 --> 00:20:55.700 The God in verse 24. 00:20:55.839 --> 00:21:00.319 The God who made the world and everything in it being Lord of heaven and earth. 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.299 He is sharing this with them. 00:21:04.099 --> 00:21:07.839 And you think of time, days and weeks and months and years. 00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:10.000 They make us think of Ah God. 00:21:11.819 --> 00:21:17.000 And again, that's the God that Paul makes clear to them here. 00:21:17.000 --> 00:21:29.180 That he, in verse 26, he made man, he made man from one, he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth. 00:21:29.420 --> 00:21:33.039 Having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling. 00:21:33.160 --> 00:21:38.440 So their land, their place, their times was all appointed by God. 00:21:38.440 --> 00:21:42.640 And even ourselves can make us think, well, there's got to be a God. 00:21:43.640 --> 00:21:49.400 Our bodies, our minds, our experiences, all of these things make us look for our God. 00:21:49.779 --> 00:21:52.640 It's the same in Paul's day in Athens as it is in ours. 00:21:52.640 --> 00:22:01.320 What Paul talks about to the church in Athens here is these things that they are experiencing day by day. 00:22:01.840 --> 00:22:06.520 But he points them to what fulfills all of these things. 00:22:07.080 --> 00:22:08.640 The missing link. 00:22:09.820 --> 00:22:13.500 And that is Jesus and the resurrection. 00:22:13.500 --> 00:22:17.900 Because that is what makes all the difference. 00:22:18.019 --> 00:22:20.720 You see it in verse 30 and 31. 00:22:21.500 --> 00:22:27.319 The difference is an attitude, a day, an appointed man, and a time all connected. 00:22:28.140 --> 00:22:34.000 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands that all people everywhere repent. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:41.759 Because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed. 00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:47.140 And this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead. 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:50.240 He is telling them of Jesus and the resurrection. 00:22:50.980 --> 00:22:53.059 Just like in verse 18. 00:22:53.819 --> 00:22:58.819 Jesus and the resurrection from the dead is what makes all the difference. 00:23:00.640 --> 00:23:03.660 Is this who you are worshipping today? 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.799 Is this your Christ? 00:23:06.960 --> 00:23:08.779 Is this your Savior? 00:23:10.460 --> 00:23:12.019 The one who is judge? 00:23:12.740 --> 00:23:14.539 Who will judge in righteousness? 00:23:14.779 --> 00:23:20.099 The one who we are called by people everywhere to repent and believe in. 00:23:20.440 --> 00:23:22.700 Before that judgment comes. 00:23:23.740 --> 00:23:26.819 Because he has raised him from the dead. 00:23:27.819 --> 00:23:29.539 Is this who you worship? 00:23:30.480 --> 00:23:32.660 The known or the unknown? 00:23:32.660 --> 00:23:34.400 Is it your own ideas? 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:36.060 Is it your own way of thinking? 00:23:36.279 --> 00:23:38.040 The ideas of others around you? 00:23:38.540 --> 00:23:45.800 Or is it the word of God that you are putting your trust in that tells us of this wonderful Savior? 00:23:46.680 --> 00:23:51.140 There's a great difference between the unknown and the known. 00:23:51.860 --> 00:23:55.060 It is only through Jesus that we can be saved. 00:23:55.059 --> 00:24:01.759 And the final thing we hear then is that this calls for a response. 00:24:02.759 --> 00:24:05.379 This calls for a response. 00:24:05.480 --> 00:24:09.039 We see this in verse 32 to verse 34. 00:24:09.039 --> 00:24:11.180 If I was to ask you today. 00:24:11.859 --> 00:24:14.079 Why do you believe in God? 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:16.399 What's your answer? 00:24:17.159 --> 00:24:19.740 Why do I believe in God? 00:24:20.379 --> 00:24:24.420 Or if someone who you meet in the street or at work says to you. 00:24:24.500 --> 00:24:26.359 Why do you believe in God? 00:24:26.359 --> 00:24:29.279 What is your answer? 00:24:30.779 --> 00:24:36.699 Well you could say because there's evidence that demands a response. 00:24:37.839 --> 00:24:39.299 The word of God. 00:24:40.039 --> 00:24:40.599 History. 00:24:41.339 --> 00:24:41.939 Creation. 00:24:42.500 --> 00:24:43.119 Providence. 00:24:43.679 --> 00:24:47.159 All of these things speak to us of a God. 00:24:48.179 --> 00:24:49.879 Why do you believe in God? 00:24:49.880 --> 00:24:54.000 You could talk about creative. 00:24:54.340 --> 00:24:54.980 The creation. 00:24:55.160 --> 00:24:56.140 You could talk about time. 00:24:56.280 --> 00:24:57.300 You could talk about yourself. 00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:58.640 All of these things. 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:01.840 And these are things that certainly spoke to me. 00:25:02.020 --> 00:25:04.340 Creation often spoke to me. 00:25:05.200 --> 00:25:08.020 Time spoke to me of an urgency. 00:25:08.160 --> 00:25:09.800 I need because time was passing. 00:25:10.020 --> 00:25:11.600 People were passing. 00:25:12.040 --> 00:25:13.860 From time to eternity. 00:25:14.780 --> 00:25:17.040 My own body speaks to me. 00:25:17.160 --> 00:25:18.120 That there is something. 00:25:18.660 --> 00:25:19.480 We are created. 00:25:19.480 --> 00:25:20.720 There must be a reason. 00:25:20.900 --> 00:25:22.079 Why can I think? 00:25:22.500 --> 00:25:23.360 Why am I living? 00:25:23.759 --> 00:25:24.700 What is the purpose? 00:25:24.860 --> 00:25:27.839 There's all of these things that speak to us. 00:25:28.000 --> 00:25:29.640 Why do I believe in God? 00:25:29.700 --> 00:25:31.460 Because of all of these things. 00:25:31.539 --> 00:25:32.279 But there's more. 00:25:34.140 --> 00:25:35.460 Because of a Savior. 00:25:36.940 --> 00:25:39.299 A God who has remembered us. 00:25:39.980 --> 00:25:41.799 Through his steadfast love. 00:25:42.559 --> 00:25:45.039 And given his son Jesus Christ. 00:25:45.860 --> 00:25:47.759 Who died for our sin. 00:25:47.759 --> 00:25:50.859 And because of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:50.859 --> 00:25:53.119 Who draws us to himself. 00:25:53.680 --> 00:25:55.460 Because apart from him. 00:25:55.579 --> 00:25:56.859 I could do nothing. 00:25:56.980 --> 00:25:57.879 I was lost. 00:25:58.680 --> 00:26:00.180 But by his grace. 00:26:00.180 --> 00:26:02.640 He draws me to himself. 00:26:04.099 --> 00:26:06.279 Why do I believe in God? 00:26:07.140 --> 00:26:08.900 Because apart from him. 00:26:09.140 --> 00:26:10.440 I am lost. 00:26:10.440 --> 00:26:14.660 But you see the response of others. 00:26:15.200 --> 00:26:16.680 And there's three responses. 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:19.059 Some mocked. 00:26:19.120 --> 00:26:21.180 It says in verse 32. 00:26:22.580 --> 00:26:24.940 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead. 00:26:25.080 --> 00:26:26.799 Some mocked. 00:26:27.799 --> 00:26:28.660 They ridiculed. 00:26:28.720 --> 00:26:30.640 Because they thought they had all the answers. 00:26:30.820 --> 00:26:33.240 They thought they knew it all. 00:26:33.460 --> 00:26:34.500 They were the philosophers. 00:26:34.779 --> 00:26:36.160 They were the educated ones. 00:26:36.160 --> 00:26:37.900 They had all the answers. 00:26:38.100 --> 00:26:39.600 The resurrection was rubbish. 00:26:41.180 --> 00:26:42.480 So they mocked. 00:26:43.700 --> 00:26:45.080 And we see it all the time. 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:47.759 All you need to do is open your eyes and your ears around you. 00:26:47.860 --> 00:26:48.500 Even here. 00:26:48.980 --> 00:26:50.440 There are those who will mock. 00:26:50.860 --> 00:26:53.259 Everything that the word of God says. 00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:57.460 Do not be found among those who mock. 00:26:57.460 --> 00:27:01.220 There were those who said. 00:27:01.720 --> 00:27:03.460 They would hear again. 00:27:04.559 --> 00:27:06.700 We will hear about this again. 00:27:06.819 --> 00:27:08.180 You see that in verse 32. 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:10.980 We will hear you again about this. 00:27:12.000 --> 00:27:13.180 They put them off. 00:27:13.900 --> 00:27:14.660 Put them away. 00:27:15.380 --> 00:27:16.360 They had questions. 00:27:16.480 --> 00:27:17.559 They had things to ponder. 00:27:18.000 --> 00:27:20.019 But the response was not today. 00:27:20.120 --> 00:27:21.279 Maybe another time. 00:27:22.120 --> 00:27:25.400 And again that is not the response to have. 00:27:25.400 --> 00:27:27.680 But maybe it is your heart today to say. 00:27:28.320 --> 00:27:29.900 I will leave it for now. 00:27:31.000 --> 00:27:33.200 We say it again and again. 00:27:34.040 --> 00:27:35.180 Do not leave it. 00:27:36.259 --> 00:27:37.560 Do not leave it. 00:27:38.040 --> 00:27:40.259 Because the gospel is urgent. 00:27:41.240 --> 00:27:43.060 The gospel needs to be heard. 00:27:43.560 --> 00:27:45.080 And believed today. 00:27:46.220 --> 00:27:49.259 Because we do not know what tomorrow will bring. 00:27:50.180 --> 00:27:53.259 But that is the wonder of the third response. 00:27:53.259 --> 00:27:56.259 So Paul went from their midst. 00:27:56.460 --> 00:27:57.460 But in verse 34. 00:27:57.579 --> 00:28:00.640 But some men joined him and believed. 00:28:01.859 --> 00:28:05.940 There were those who heard and received this word. 00:28:07.299 --> 00:28:11.920 Because they knew that their gods were nothing. 00:28:12.500 --> 00:28:15.859 Compared to the God and the Savior Jesus. 00:28:15.859 --> 00:28:18.539 Who Paul presented to them. 00:28:18.539 --> 00:28:22.159 The God who Paul proclaimed to them. 00:28:22.700 --> 00:28:24.659 Is the God who gives life. 00:28:25.299 --> 00:28:26.839 And life eternal. 00:28:27.359 --> 00:28:28.859 Through Jesus Christ. 00:28:29.819 --> 00:28:31.920 And that is the God you hear of today. 00:28:32.399 --> 00:28:34.119 But is it the God you worship? 00:28:35.319 --> 00:28:36.839 Micah in the Old Testament. 00:28:37.000 --> 00:28:38.539 Micah 7 verse 18. 00:28:39.059 --> 00:28:39.799 Says this. 00:28:39.879 --> 00:28:41.700 Who is a God like you? 00:28:42.420 --> 00:28:45.319 Pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression. 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:47.700 For the remnant of his inheritance. 00:28:48.319 --> 00:28:50.720 He does not retain his anger forever. 00:28:50.720 --> 00:28:53.839 Because he delights in steadfast love. 00:28:54.879 --> 00:28:58.039 Who is a God like unto you? 00:28:58.200 --> 00:29:01.399 There is none who compares to this God. 00:29:01.740 --> 00:29:03.759 Who doesn't retain his anger forever. 00:29:03.879 --> 00:29:07.000 Because he delights in steadfast love. 00:29:08.079 --> 00:29:09.859 Is this the God you worship? 00:29:10.579 --> 00:29:12.539 Is this the God you believe in? 00:29:12.539 --> 00:29:15.960 There are many things you probably believe in life. 00:29:16.980 --> 00:29:19.559 Do you believe in a place called New York. 00:29:19.639 --> 00:29:21.680 In a country called America. 00:29:22.539 --> 00:29:23.839 I'm sure you do. 00:29:24.619 --> 00:29:29.319 Do you believe that the Titanic sank over a hundred years ago. 00:29:29.420 --> 00:29:30.539 I'm sure you do. 00:29:31.079 --> 00:29:32.960 Do you believe in the battle of Culloden. 00:29:33.299 --> 00:29:34.420 That took place. 00:29:35.480 --> 00:29:36.879 Again I'm sure you do. 00:29:37.000 --> 00:29:38.879 Do you believe in the Vikings. 00:29:39.119 --> 00:29:40.240 And the Roman Empire. 00:29:40.680 --> 00:29:41.980 I'm sure you do. 00:29:41.980 --> 00:29:42.420 Why? 00:29:42.620 --> 00:29:45.039 Because you were taught about these things. 00:29:45.460 --> 00:29:49.000 You've maybe experienced a place called New York. 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:51.339 Or a country called America. 00:29:51.339 --> 00:29:53.819 You believe in it because there is evidence. 00:29:54.200 --> 00:29:56.079 And you've been taught by authority. 00:29:57.200 --> 00:29:58.500 Do you believe in God? 00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:01.819 Do you believe in this God. 00:30:02.019 --> 00:30:04.440 That the Bible presents to you today. 00:30:04.940 --> 00:30:06.980 And the Son of God who is Jesus Christ. 00:30:06.980 --> 00:30:09.660 Because there is no greater authority. 00:30:09.660 --> 00:30:12.580 than the word of God before you today. 00:30:13.700 --> 00:30:16.600 Do you believe in this God. 00:30:17.759 --> 00:30:20.120 This God who Paul presents. 00:30:20.820 --> 00:30:22.580 I proclaim to you today. 00:30:23.240 --> 00:30:23.720 Jesus. 00:30:24.580 --> 00:30:26.880 And the resurrection is what he was preaching. 00:30:27.620 --> 00:30:29.540 This is what we hear today. 00:30:29.539 --> 00:30:31.559 But do you believe. 00:30:31.559 --> 00:30:31.579 Do you believe. 00:30:32.779 --> 00:30:34.000 Can you say. 00:30:34.460 --> 00:30:36.019 With a children's hymn. 00:30:36.740 --> 00:30:37.920 Jesus loves me. 00:30:38.059 --> 00:30:38.839 This I know. 00:30:39.539 --> 00:30:40.599 For the Bible. 00:30:41.279 --> 00:30:42.319 Tells me so. 00:30:43.200 --> 00:30:44.539 It's the word of God. 00:30:44.639 --> 00:30:45.259 Not enough. 00:30:46.379 --> 00:30:47.000 Creation. 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:48.200 Speaks. 00:30:48.980 --> 00:30:49.480 Time. 00:30:50.159 --> 00:30:50.619 Speaks. 00:30:50.720 --> 00:30:51.279 Our body. 00:30:51.639 --> 00:30:52.039 Speaks. 00:30:52.039 --> 00:30:53.259 All of these things. 00:30:53.379 --> 00:30:54.379 Were things that Paul. 00:30:54.700 --> 00:30:56.839 Spoke to the people of Athens about. 00:30:56.980 --> 00:30:57.680 That they saw. 00:30:57.819 --> 00:30:58.579 They understood. 00:30:59.019 --> 00:31:01.159 That they had their own ideas about. 00:31:02.359 --> 00:31:04.019 But the word of God. 00:31:04.379 --> 00:31:05.259 Proclaims more. 00:31:06.119 --> 00:31:06.879 A savior. 00:31:07.559 --> 00:31:08.559 Who is Christ. 00:31:08.759 --> 00:31:09.359 The Lord. 00:31:10.480 --> 00:31:11.359 Do you worship. 00:31:11.920 --> 00:31:12.720 The unknown. 00:31:13.319 --> 00:31:14.359 Of your own making. 00:31:14.440 --> 00:31:15.639 Or the making of others. 00:31:16.259 --> 00:31:17.339 Or the known. 00:31:18.299 --> 00:31:19.659 The God of the scriptures. 00:31:19.660 --> 00:31:21.460 And his son. 00:31:21.580 --> 00:31:22.540 Who he has given. 00:31:23.320 --> 00:31:24.560 That you might have life. 00:31:25.160 --> 00:31:25.720 In him. 00:31:26.400 --> 00:31:27.160 Let us pray. 00:31:29.160 --> 00:31:30.880 Lord our gracious God. 00:31:30.960 --> 00:31:31.600 We thank you. 00:31:31.700 --> 00:31:32.440 For your word. 00:31:32.540 --> 00:31:33.140 And we pray. 00:31:33.340 --> 00:31:34.480 That it's authority. 00:31:34.680 --> 00:31:35.340 It's truth. 00:31:35.340 --> 00:31:35.860 Would be. 00:31:36.320 --> 00:31:37.240 What we believe. 00:31:37.500 --> 00:31:38.080 Even today. 00:31:38.620 --> 00:31:39.759 Not just the words. 00:31:39.759 --> 00:31:40.420 Of man. 00:31:40.519 --> 00:31:41.140 Or the wisdom. 00:31:41.140 --> 00:31:41.759 Of man. 00:31:42.360 --> 00:31:43.380 But your authority. 00:31:43.580 --> 00:31:44.259 Your wisdom. 00:31:44.440 --> 00:31:45.060 Your word. 00:31:45.140 --> 00:31:46.000 And your power. 00:31:46.420 --> 00:31:47.259 To make it real. 00:31:47.460 --> 00:31:47.920 To us. 00:31:48.259 --> 00:31:49.060 Hear us Lord. 00:31:49.059 --> 00:31:50.279 And guide us by it. 00:31:50.700 --> 00:31:52.079 And forgive us our sins. 00:31:52.220 --> 00:31:53.179 In Jesus name. 00:31:53.579 --> 00:31:53.960 Amen. 00:31:58.779 --> 00:32:00.200 We're going to conclude. 00:32:00.319 --> 00:32:01.839 By singing to God's praise. 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:03.379 In Psalm 36. 00:32:04.339 --> 00:32:05.539 Sing from verse 7. 00:32:05.639 --> 00:32:06.619 To verse 10. 00:32:07.299 --> 00:32:08.460 Page 44. 00:32:08.460 --> 00:32:09.480 Of the psalm books. 00:32:09.659 --> 00:32:10.399 And the tune is. 00:32:10.480 --> 00:32:11.460 Glencairn. 00:32:12.299 --> 00:32:13.960 Psalm 36. 00:32:14.139 --> 00:32:15.039 At verse 7. 00:32:15.599 --> 00:32:16.679 How precious is. 00:32:16.799 --> 00:32:17.899 Your steadfast love. 00:32:17.900 --> 00:32:19.560 What confidence it brings. 00:32:20.040 --> 00:32:21.000 Both high and low. 00:32:21.120 --> 00:32:22.680 Find shelter in the shadow. 00:32:23.160 --> 00:32:24.060 Of your wings. 00:32:24.160 --> 00:32:25.940 We'll sing from verse 7 to 10. 00:32:26.320 --> 00:32:27.380 To God's praise. 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:36.440 How precious is. 00:32:36.440 --> 00:32:40.500 Your steadfast love. 00:32:40.500 --> 00:32:47.220 Of confidence it brings. 00:32:47.220 --> 00:32:47.920 Of high and low. 00:32:47.920 --> 00:32:51.980 Of high and low. 00:32:51.980 --> 00:32:51.980 00:32:51.980 --> 00:33:02.980 The shadow of your wings. 00:33:02.980 --> 00:33:17.980 The feast within your house and drink from streams of pure delight. 00:33:17.980 --> 00:33:33.559 For with you is the source of light, and your life please delight. 00:33:33.559 --> 00:33:50.559 To those who know you are the Lord, you stand fast, love and heart. 00:33:50.559 --> 00:34:07.200 Make it in your righteousness to those of pure and a bright heart. 00:34:08.699 --> 00:34:12.420 After the benediction, I'll go to the door to my right. We'll close with the benediction. 00:34:12.420 --> 00:34:23.019 Now may grace, mercy and peace from God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit rest upon and abide with you all now and forevermore. Amen. 00:34:42.420 --> 00:34:43.420 Amen.