WEBVTT

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 Shall we pray?

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 Father, we ask that by your Spirit you'd help us be attentive,

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 help us to be trusting in you,

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 trusting that you speak to us through your written word,

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 by your Holy Spirit working in us and among us,

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 and we ask for mercy and grace to see the need around us

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 as we think about mission,

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 and we thank you for your word and this message Paul gave in the Areopagus,

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 and we ask that it would be a living word for us today as well.

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 In Jesus' name, amen.

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 Modern Athens, if you've been there,

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 you'll have maybe seen all the tourists or joined in with all the tourists

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 who flocked up to the Acropolis with their cameras and guidebooks.

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 Some will then make their way, as I did some years back,

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 over to the Areopagus where Paul gave the sermon we just heard read.

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 And nearly 20 centuries divide us from that moment,

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 but the challenge he gave, I think,

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 is very, very much the same for us today as it was then.

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 Last Sunday we thought about mission,

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 where we find ourselves,

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 using text in 1 Peter 2,

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 and we thought about how we as a royal priesthood

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 and holy nation set apart by God

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 are called to proclaim the excellencies

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 of our God, of our living God.

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 And we do this recognizing that he's called us out of darkness

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 and into his marvelous light, 1 Peter 2, 9.

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 A guiding question,

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 an overarching question for us this morning,

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 is this.

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 How do we connect mission where we are

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 to the task of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth

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 until the end of the age?

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 How do we think them into each other, if you like?

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 That's an overarching question that we'll run through

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 and also we'll come back to at the end.

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 And I think the question has to be asked

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 because we have tended toward one extreme

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 or another in thinking about mission.

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 Let's call one extreme localism.

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 If we're localists,

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 we tend only to focus on the task

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 as it faces us where we are.

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 We're guided by the motto,

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 bloom where you're planted,

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 or as we sang in Sunday school,

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 brighten the corner where you are.

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 But we don't tend to worry too much

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 about how what we're doing here

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 relates to the witness and needs and concerns

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 of Christians in other places and times.

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 We lack a global perspective, in other words.

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 But then there's another extreme,

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 and that's the globalist one itself.

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 If we're globalists,

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 and I know that's a loaded word these days,

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 but if we're globalists in this sense,

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 when it comes to mission,

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 we tend to think that all the real work

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 is someplace else,

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 not here in our own town or city.

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 Some promoters of mission,

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 and I've known many,

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 and they're well-meaning to be sure,

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 have sometimes given the impression

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 that you'll surely waste your life

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 if you don't get on the next plane or ship

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 to a faraway place,

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 checking your casket along with your two pieces of luggage.

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 And what we need, of course,

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 is to get local and global in right relationship.

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 Typically, we've thought of missions

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 as going in one direction,

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 from the West, Western culture,

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 to the rest of the nations.

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 But now we realize that the practice

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 of sending workers to identified special fields,

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 as a term I used last time,

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 is the practice of churches all around the globe.

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 In other words, our global here

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 is another church's local,

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 and vice versa.

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 For instance, post-Christian Ottawa

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 can be just as much a special field

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 for the Christian student from Peru or Uganda,

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 as a predominantly Hindu deli was for me and Stella

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 when we lived there for three years.

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 I say these can be special fields

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 because it's quite possible to go there

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 or come here physically

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 and still not arrive as a special field worker.

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 Just as it was tempting for John Stott

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 to say nothing to that man on the train in Wales,

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 if you remember from last Sunday,

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 it's equally tempting for me and Stella

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 to sail through one of her two- to four-year postings abroad

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 as virtual tourists,

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 as just one more expatriate couple passing through.

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 And with that, I think we can turn back to our text in Acts,

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 which records one moment

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 in the history of the gospel going to the nations.

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 And we want to look at two things.

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 What did Paul say to the Athenians there?

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 And how is the message a word for us today?

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 So let's look at the context.

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 What occasioned his message in verses 16 to 21?

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 Well, here he is in Mathens.

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 He's on his second missionary journey.

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 His first had taken him basically just to Turkey,

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 modern-day Turkey.

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 And in this second trip,

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 which begins in Jerusalem,

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 he's gone as far as Macedonia.

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 So he's gone much further west

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 to Philippi, to Thessaloniki,

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 to Berea,

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 which you read about in the first part of Acts 17,

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 and then down to Athens

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 before heading eastwards to Ephesus,

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 back into Turkey, modern-day Turkey,

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 and then back to Jerusalem.

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 While he's in Athens,

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 he can't help but notice something.

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 The city is full of idols, as we read.

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 So he sits down and he writes in his travel journal,

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 Athens, a city full of idols.

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 Fascinating.

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 What grandeur in the temples.

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 What a remarkable,

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 what remarkable form and beauty in the statues.

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 Right?

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 No.

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 I made that up, right?

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 Because that's not what happened at all.

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 The images and statues of the many gods

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 literally, literally,

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 tore him up inside.

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 That's what the text says.

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 His spirit was provoked within him.

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 Maybe he doesn't quite state it.

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 Other translations say greatly distressed.

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 Casiodoro de Reina,

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 the fellow who I've been studying,

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 a Spanish Protestant reformer,

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 in his translation of this,

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 says,

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 Su Espíritu,

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 and I know we have a few who speak Spanish here,

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 Su Espíritu se deshacia en él.

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 His spirit was disintegrating inside him.

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 The many shrines spoke of a city

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 that was given over to idolatry.

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 So, what did Paul decide to do about this?

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 Well, he decided to raise the issue.

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 In fact, he raised it daily, the text says.

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 First, he discussed the matter with who?

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 Well, the Jewish people.

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 That's who you went to first.

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 And he discussed the matter with the Jewish leaders,

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 along with those God-fearers that we know of,

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 who were drawn into the orbit of the synagogue,

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 and who were listening to the things and ways of God,

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 but not Jewish.

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 They were God-fearing Gentiles.

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 So, he discussed it with them, too.

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 And then, he would go into the marketplace

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 and discuss it with whoever he happened to meet there.

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 And at some point,

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 enter, here we are on a stage,

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 enter some very learned philosophers

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 into these conversations.

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 Their passion is for novelty.

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 And they were curious.

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 Along with all the other expats there in Athens,

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 who were from Rome and who knows where else,

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 these thinkers didn't want to miss out

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 on any of the latest ideas

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 that might be coming around their way.

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 And there were two groups among these philosophers.

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 We read the Epicureans,

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 and well done, Matt, pronouncing these.

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 The Epicureans believed that gods

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 were not involved in the world,

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 and believed in the pursuit of pleasure.

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 The Stoics said, no.

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 The good life has to be disciplined,

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 has to be virtuous.

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 And as for their understanding of God,

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 well, the Stoics didn't have God

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 way up far off and remote.

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 The Stoics had God enmeshed in creation,

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 God and creation basically confused.

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 Someone among them decided to dismiss Paul as a babbler,

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 as if to say, well, this guy's really unsophisticated.

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 But someone else said, wait,

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 let's hear him out,

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 because he seems to be talking about some new gods

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 that we might really want to know about.

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 They go by the names Resurrection and Jesus.

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 So they brought him to the Areopagus

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 so he could explain things formally to the group.

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 Once there,

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 and we know,

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 and we're now moving into the message itself,

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 starting there in verse 22,

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 Paul does something quite remarkable.

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 Ultimately,

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 he uses the opportunity to address the people

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 on the matter that troubles him the most,

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 which we've seen,

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 their idolatry.

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 But he doesn't actually start there.

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 Had he been addressing a Jewish audience,

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 he would have started with the Old Testament,

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 with the Hebrew scriptures.

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 But he uses natural religion,

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 if you like,

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 or natural revelation as a kind of bridge.

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 The bridge isn't just the fact

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 that they have an altar

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 that's dedicated to the unknown God.

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 That's part of it.

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 The bridge is that general seeking after God

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 that is common to all humanity.

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 It's a general religiosity, if you like,

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 which is manifested in a desire

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 to make sense of things,

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 such as divine providence,

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 the fact that God rules the earth,

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 that God governs the world

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 that he made and loves.

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 We know Paul has this in mind

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 when we read verse 26.

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 Where he says that God

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 has determined allotted periods

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 and the boundaries of our dwelling place.

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 And they have a sense of this.

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 They have a sense of this truth.

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 And that's why they have,

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 their philosophers, that is,

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 their poets,

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 have come up with phrases like,

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 in God we live and move and have our being.

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 And we are his offspring.

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 In other words,

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 their best wisdom

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 had led them to conclude

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 that God was close at hand

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 and that humans,

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 in some way,

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 were like God.

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 And of course,

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 Paul can affirm this.

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 These true things

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 that God has revealed

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 through natural means.

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 But then,

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 at that point,

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 he starts to challenge them,

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 doesn't he?

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 He tells them that God

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 is maker of all things.

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 He's not part of creation.

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 He's not one item within it.

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 He tells them that God

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 is sovereign Lord

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 of heaven and earth.

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 In other words,

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 he's not in any way

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 limited by it.

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 He tells them that God

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 is not in need of anything.

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 Rather,

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 we need him.

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 We depend on him.

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 And he says that God

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 is not to be thought of

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 as contained in anything.

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 or pictured as

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 any created thing.

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 Now,

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 the Epicureans

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 would have

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 been tracking

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 a little bit

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 with some of that.

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 They probably

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 enjoyed hearing

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 that God

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 does not need anything.

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 To that extent,

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 they were going along.

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 But not so

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 with the Stoics

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 who had God

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 confused with the world.

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 And this spoke directly

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 to their confusion.

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 But Paul continues,

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 and this time

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 he challenges

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 the Epicureans as well

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 because he tells them

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 that God

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 from one man

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 made the nations

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 and guides them

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 providentially.

00:13:04.300 --> 00:13:05.440
 And this went directly

00:13:05.440 --> 00:13:06.540
 against their belief

00:13:06.540 --> 00:13:07.019
 that God

00:13:07.019 --> 00:13:08.200
 was not involved

00:13:08.200 --> 00:13:09.120
 in his creation,

00:13:09.620 --> 00:13:10.220
 that things were

00:13:10.220 --> 00:13:11.220
 governed by chance.

00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:13.440
 And it also

00:13:13.440 --> 00:13:14.100
 contradicted

00:13:14.100 --> 00:13:15.139
 the Athenian belief

00:13:15.139 --> 00:13:15.980
 that the Athenians

00:13:15.980 --> 00:13:16.620
 themselves

00:13:16.620 --> 00:13:18.060
 had sprung up

00:13:18.060 --> 00:13:18.540
 from where?

00:13:19.180 --> 00:13:19.399
 Well,

00:13:19.480 --> 00:13:20.480
 from their own soil

00:13:20.480 --> 00:13:21.139
 directly.

00:13:22.500 --> 00:13:22.899
 Attica.

00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:24.639
 So what do

00:13:24.639 --> 00:13:25.399
 all these things

00:13:25.399 --> 00:13:26.019
 imply about

00:13:26.019 --> 00:13:26.600
 their religion

00:13:26.600 --> 00:13:27.740
 and what God

00:13:27.740 --> 00:13:28.480
 now requires

00:13:28.480 --> 00:13:28.899
 of them?

00:13:30.100 --> 00:13:30.460
 Well,

00:13:30.500 --> 00:13:30.899
 as far as

00:13:30.899 --> 00:13:31.320
 their religion

00:13:31.320 --> 00:13:31.700
 goes,

00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:32.560
 Paul says

00:13:32.560 --> 00:13:33.200
 that it belongs

00:13:33.200 --> 00:13:34.379
 to that period

00:13:34.379 --> 00:13:34.940
 of ignorance,

00:13:35.220 --> 00:13:36.100
 that period

00:13:36.100 --> 00:13:37.000
 of sins,

00:13:37.180 --> 00:13:38.899
 which in Romans 3

00:13:38.899 --> 00:13:39.680
 he says

00:13:39.680 --> 00:13:40.259
 is a time

00:13:40.259 --> 00:13:40.660
 that God

00:13:40.660 --> 00:13:41.600
 passed over

00:13:41.600 --> 00:13:42.899
 in order

00:13:42.899 --> 00:13:43.720
 to display

00:13:43.720 --> 00:13:44.139
 what?

00:13:44.879 --> 00:13:45.560
 To display

00:13:45.560 --> 00:13:46.360
 his righteousness

00:13:46.360 --> 00:13:47.100
 in Jesus.

00:13:48.660 --> 00:13:49.320
 When it comes

00:13:49.320 --> 00:13:49.940
 to what God

00:13:49.940 --> 00:13:50.639
 requires,

00:13:50.639 --> 00:13:51.539
 Paul says

00:13:51.539 --> 00:13:51.879
 that the

00:13:51.879 --> 00:13:52.600
 grand event

00:13:52.600 --> 00:13:53.080
 of Jesus'

00:13:53.319 --> 00:13:53.860
 resurrection

00:13:53.860 --> 00:13:54.720
 from the dead,

00:13:55.319 --> 00:13:56.740
 which anticipates

00:13:56.740 --> 00:13:57.799
 the judgment

00:13:57.799 --> 00:13:58.399
 of the world

00:13:58.399 --> 00:13:59.439
 by Jesus,

00:14:00.179 --> 00:14:00.699
 means that

00:14:00.699 --> 00:14:01.240
 all people

00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:01.779
 everywhere

00:14:01.779 --> 00:14:02.620
 must now

00:14:02.620 --> 00:14:03.139
 turn from

00:14:03.139 --> 00:14:03.799
 their sins.

00:14:05.299 --> 00:14:06.159
 And on that

00:14:06.159 --> 00:14:06.639
 occasion,

00:14:07.399 --> 00:14:07.639
 well,

00:14:07.740 --> 00:14:08.559
 most hearts

00:14:08.559 --> 00:14:09.419
 remained hard.

00:14:10.600 --> 00:14:11.299
 We can say

00:14:11.299 --> 00:14:12.600
 that their

00:14:12.600 --> 00:14:13.179
 tradition,

00:14:13.319 --> 00:14:13.759
 the weight

00:14:13.759 --> 00:14:14.100
 of their

00:14:14.100 --> 00:14:14.639
 tradition

00:14:14.639 --> 00:14:15.460
 was weighed

00:14:15.460 --> 00:14:15.860
 heavy.

00:14:16.600 --> 00:14:17.240
 Their greatest

00:14:17.240 --> 00:14:17.919
 minds had

00:14:17.919 --> 00:14:18.360
 taught them

00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:18.800
 to think,

00:14:19.259 --> 00:14:19.460
 well,

00:14:19.580 --> 00:14:20.200
 a body

00:14:20.200 --> 00:14:20.899
 is evil.

00:14:21.759 --> 00:14:22.460
 And so

00:14:22.460 --> 00:14:23.159
 that resurrection

00:14:23.159 --> 00:14:23.800
 was really

00:14:23.800 --> 00:14:24.300
 quite out

00:14:24.300 --> 00:14:24.919
 of the question.

00:14:25.700 --> 00:14:26.379
 It sounded

00:14:26.379 --> 00:14:27.580
 like just

00:14:27.580 --> 00:14:28.279
 sheer nonsense.

00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:29.419
 And only

00:14:29.419 --> 00:14:29.960
 a few

00:14:29.960 --> 00:14:30.360
 on that

00:14:30.360 --> 00:14:30.779
 occasion

00:14:30.779 --> 00:14:32.659
 believed

00:14:32.659 --> 00:14:33.240
 in Paul's

00:14:33.240 --> 00:14:33.560
 message

00:14:33.560 --> 00:14:34.139
 as we read.

00:14:35.680 --> 00:14:36.159
 So,

00:14:36.379 --> 00:14:37.259
 let's move

00:14:37.259 --> 00:14:37.680
 from that

00:14:37.680 --> 00:14:38.039
 to our

00:14:38.039 --> 00:14:38.639
 second question.

00:14:38.779 --> 00:14:39.379
 How is this

00:14:39.379 --> 00:14:39.740
 a word

00:14:39.740 --> 00:14:40.320
 for today?

00:14:42.600 --> 00:14:43.320
 I think

00:14:43.320 --> 00:14:44.259
 it's a word

00:14:44.259 --> 00:14:44.620
 for us

00:14:44.620 --> 00:14:44.980
 in three

00:14:44.980 --> 00:14:45.940
 possible ways.

00:14:45.940 --> 00:14:47.840
 it's a word

00:14:47.840 --> 00:14:48.220
 for us

00:14:48.220 --> 00:14:48.760
 this morning

00:14:48.760 --> 00:14:49.680
 if we've

00:14:49.680 --> 00:14:50.040
 wandered

00:14:50.040 --> 00:14:50.700
 into Athens

00:14:50.700 --> 00:14:51.620
 and we've

00:14:51.620 --> 00:14:52.220
 gotten lost

00:14:52.220 --> 00:14:52.840
 in the city.

00:14:54.520 --> 00:14:55.240
 It's a word

00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:55.620
 for us

00:14:55.620 --> 00:14:56.000
 this morning

00:14:56.000 --> 00:14:56.540
 if we've

00:14:56.540 --> 00:14:56.880
 gone to

00:14:56.880 --> 00:14:57.260
 Athens

00:14:57.260 --> 00:14:58.320
 as mere

00:14:58.320 --> 00:14:58.820
 tourists.

00:15:00.580 --> 00:15:01.560
 And Paul's

00:15:01.560 --> 00:15:02.200
 message is a

00:15:02.200 --> 00:15:02.680
 word for us

00:15:02.680 --> 00:15:03.100
 today if we're

00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:03.680
 asking what

00:15:03.680 --> 00:15:03.960
 is our

00:15:03.960 --> 00:15:05.280
 place in

00:15:05.280 --> 00:15:05.800
 the task

00:15:05.800 --> 00:15:06.280
 of taking

00:15:06.280 --> 00:15:06.900
 the gospel

00:15:06.900 --> 00:15:07.360
 to the

00:15:07.360 --> 00:15:07.700
 nations.

00:15:08.840 --> 00:15:09.440
 So let's

00:15:09.440 --> 00:15:10.080
 start with

00:15:10.080 --> 00:15:10.440
 the first.

00:15:11.260 --> 00:15:11.580
 Getting

00:15:11.580 --> 00:15:12.160
 lost in

00:15:12.160 --> 00:15:12.540
 Athens.

00:15:12.539 --> 00:15:16.240
 As many

00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:16.480
 of you

00:15:16.480 --> 00:15:16.980
 I expect

00:15:16.980 --> 00:15:17.199
 know,

00:15:17.279 --> 00:15:17.740
 the story

00:15:17.740 --> 00:15:18.439
 of Christianity

00:15:18.439 --> 00:15:19.259
 has been

00:15:19.259 --> 00:15:20.039
 described as

00:15:20.039 --> 00:15:20.599
 the story

00:15:20.599 --> 00:15:20.980
 of two

00:15:20.980 --> 00:15:21.419
 cities.

00:15:23.399 --> 00:15:24.039
 Athens,

00:15:24.459 --> 00:15:24.879
 Jerusalem,

00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:25.799
 and Athens.

00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:26.879
 Others

00:15:26.879 --> 00:15:27.539
 have taken

00:15:27.539 --> 00:15:27.959
 that up

00:15:27.959 --> 00:15:28.839
 and identified

00:15:28.839 --> 00:15:29.740
 other major

00:15:29.740 --> 00:15:30.179
 cities

00:15:30.179 --> 00:15:31.599
 further on

00:15:31.599 --> 00:15:31.919
 down the

00:15:31.919 --> 00:15:32.079
 road,

00:15:32.179 --> 00:15:33.039
 but fundamentally

00:15:33.039 --> 00:15:33.939
 Jerusalem

00:15:33.939 --> 00:15:34.879
 and Athens.

00:15:35.620 --> 00:15:35.899
 Jerusalem

00:15:35.899 --> 00:15:36.639
 stands for

00:15:36.639 --> 00:15:37.360
 our foundation

00:15:37.360 --> 00:15:38.279
 in the

00:15:38.279 --> 00:15:38.639
 prophets

00:15:38.639 --> 00:15:39.319
 and apostles

00:15:39.319 --> 00:15:39.919
 and in

00:15:39.919 --> 00:15:40.299
 the mighty

00:15:40.299 --> 00:15:40.799
 deeds of

00:15:40.799 --> 00:15:41.099
 God

00:15:41.099 --> 00:15:41.740
 in history.

00:15:42.539 --> 00:15:43.139
 Whereas

00:15:43.139 --> 00:15:43.659
 Athens

00:15:43.659 --> 00:15:44.299
 stands for

00:15:44.299 --> 00:15:44.620
 what?

00:15:45.240 --> 00:15:45.399
 Well,

00:15:45.439 --> 00:15:45.620
 Athens

00:15:45.620 --> 00:15:46.339
 stands for

00:15:46.339 --> 00:15:47.059
 human

00:15:47.059 --> 00:15:47.519
 wisdom,

00:15:48.179 --> 00:15:48.599
 traditions

00:15:48.599 --> 00:15:49.319
 of men,

00:15:50.039 --> 00:15:50.819
 all understood

00:15:50.819 --> 00:15:51.860
 as a kind

00:15:51.860 --> 00:15:52.679
 of evolving

00:15:52.679 --> 00:15:53.319
 work in

00:15:53.319 --> 00:15:53.959
 progress.

00:15:54.539 --> 00:15:55.019
 So Paul

00:15:55.019 --> 00:15:55.439
 can say

00:15:55.439 --> 00:15:56.019
 to Timothy,

00:15:56.339 --> 00:15:56.719
 he already

00:15:56.719 --> 00:15:57.279
 notes that,

00:15:57.839 --> 00:15:58.399
 he can say

00:15:58.399 --> 00:16:00.199
 always learning

00:16:00.199 --> 00:16:00.679
 and never

00:16:00.679 --> 00:16:01.240
 able to

00:16:01.240 --> 00:16:01.819
 arrive at

00:16:01.819 --> 00:16:02.299
 the knowledge

00:16:02.299 --> 00:16:02.659
 of the

00:16:02.659 --> 00:16:03.079
 truth.

00:16:03.599 --> 00:16:04.019
 Always

00:16:04.019 --> 00:16:04.519
 learning,

00:16:04.919 --> 00:16:05.379
 but never

00:16:05.379 --> 00:16:06.159
 able to

00:16:06.159 --> 00:16:06.759
 sink your

00:16:06.759 --> 00:16:07.319
 teeth into

00:16:07.319 --> 00:16:08.599
 truth and

00:16:08.599 --> 00:16:09.740
 grasp it.

00:16:10.699 --> 00:16:11.219
 What makes

00:16:11.219 --> 00:16:12.000
 Christianity a

00:16:12.000 --> 00:16:12.419
 story of

00:16:12.419 --> 00:16:12.759
 the two

00:16:12.759 --> 00:16:13.759
 cities is

00:16:13.759 --> 00:16:14.139
 that our

00:16:14.139 --> 00:16:14.480
 marching

00:16:14.480 --> 00:16:15.080
 orders from

00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:15.539
 the beginning

00:16:15.539 --> 00:16:16.399
 involve learning

00:16:16.399 --> 00:16:17.360
 how to

00:16:17.360 --> 00:16:18.000
 announce,

00:16:18.159 --> 00:16:18.460
 how to

00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:19.220
 proclaim a

00:16:19.220 --> 00:16:20.320
 message that

00:16:20.320 --> 00:16:21.879
 originates in

00:16:21.879 --> 00:16:22.340
 Jerusalem,

00:16:23.259 --> 00:16:24.980
 but in

00:16:24.980 --> 00:16:25.539
 such a way

00:16:25.539 --> 00:16:26.600
 that Athenians

00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:27.620
 might be able

00:16:27.620 --> 00:16:28.440
 to understand

00:16:28.440 --> 00:16:30.080
 it and turn

00:16:30.080 --> 00:16:30.600
 to the living

00:16:30.600 --> 00:16:31.700
 God along

00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:32.279
 with us.

00:16:33.440 --> 00:16:34.480
 But sadly,

00:16:34.679 --> 00:16:35.379
 we sometimes

00:16:35.379 --> 00:16:36.519
 forget those

00:16:36.519 --> 00:16:37.279
 marching orders

00:16:37.279 --> 00:16:38.379
 and we get

00:16:38.379 --> 00:16:39.480
 lost in

00:16:39.480 --> 00:16:39.879
 Athens.

00:16:40.139 --> 00:16:40.639
 And here are

00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:41.620
 six steps we

00:16:41.620 --> 00:16:42.539
 might take to

00:16:42.539 --> 00:16:43.039
 do that.

00:16:43.899 --> 00:16:44.839
 Now, please

00:16:44.839 --> 00:16:45.759
 note, this is

00:16:45.759 --> 00:16:46.559
 going to sound

00:16:46.559 --> 00:16:47.480
 like I'm trying

00:16:47.480 --> 00:16:47.980
 to promote

00:16:47.980 --> 00:16:48.659
 these ideas.

00:16:49.379 --> 00:16:50.139
 I once got in

00:16:50.139 --> 00:16:50.879
 trouble because I

00:16:50.879 --> 00:16:52.240
 took the approach

00:16:52.240 --> 00:16:53.319
 of Uncle Screwtape

00:16:53.319 --> 00:16:54.740
 in an article I

00:16:54.740 --> 00:16:56.419
 wrote and I

00:16:56.419 --> 00:16:57.279
 had it posted

00:16:57.279 --> 00:16:58.480
 online and

00:16:58.480 --> 00:16:59.220
 all the, you

00:16:59.220 --> 00:16:59.620
 know how you

00:16:59.620 --> 00:17:00.100
 can read the

00:17:00.100 --> 00:17:00.799
 comments down

00:17:00.799 --> 00:17:01.220
 below and

00:17:01.220 --> 00:17:01.419
 they said,

00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:02.079
 this man's a

00:17:02.079 --> 00:17:02.740
 heretic, let's

00:17:02.740 --> 00:17:03.319
 get him out of

00:17:03.320 --> 00:17:03.520
 here.

00:17:04.120 --> 00:17:04.519
 And I

00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:05.259
 wasn't actually

00:17:05.259 --> 00:17:06.620
 advocating these

00:17:06.620 --> 00:17:07.480
 views, I was

00:17:07.480 --> 00:17:08.400
 expressing them

00:17:08.400 --> 00:17:09.259
 as how we

00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:10.779
 might get

00:17:10.779 --> 00:17:11.360
 lost in

00:17:11.360 --> 00:17:12.200
 Athens, right,

00:17:12.420 --> 00:17:13.799
 if we weren't

00:17:13.799 --> 00:17:14.240
 careful.

00:17:14.680 --> 00:17:15.340
 Step one,

00:17:16.820 --> 00:17:17.799
 concerning Jesus,

00:17:18.100 --> 00:17:18.920
 consider the

00:17:18.920 --> 00:17:19.640
 thought that what

00:17:19.640 --> 00:17:20.600
 matters most

00:17:20.600 --> 00:17:21.320
 about him is

00:17:21.320 --> 00:17:23.259
 an idea, the

00:17:23.259 --> 00:17:24.100
 idea of

00:17:24.100 --> 00:17:25.200
 mediation between

00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:25.759
 God and

00:17:25.759 --> 00:17:26.180
 humanity.

00:17:26.340 --> 00:17:26.680
 Call it

00:17:26.680 --> 00:17:27.660
 logos, call it

00:17:27.660 --> 00:17:28.380
 reason, which

00:17:28.380 --> 00:17:29.100
 means reason,

00:17:29.400 --> 00:17:30.380
 but don't ground

00:17:30.380 --> 00:17:30.920
 it in any

00:17:30.920 --> 00:17:32.000
 particular moment

00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:32.700
 in history.

00:17:33.319 --> 00:17:33.919
 When it comes

00:17:33.919 --> 00:17:34.519
 to the teaching

00:17:34.519 --> 00:17:34.980
 about his

00:17:34.980 --> 00:17:35.399
 death and

00:17:35.399 --> 00:17:35.740
 resurrection,

00:17:36.279 --> 00:17:37.419
 well, don't

00:17:37.419 --> 00:17:37.980
 get bogged

00:17:37.980 --> 00:17:38.379
 down in

00:17:38.379 --> 00:17:39.419
 discussions about

00:17:39.419 --> 00:17:41.240
 the tomb and

00:17:41.240 --> 00:17:41.859
 whether it got

00:17:41.859 --> 00:17:42.720
 emptied or not.

00:17:43.339 --> 00:17:43.980
 Consider that

00:17:43.980 --> 00:17:44.480
 what really

00:17:44.480 --> 00:17:45.879
 matters is that

00:17:45.879 --> 00:17:46.720
 he now lives

00:17:46.720 --> 00:17:47.460
 in our hearts.

00:17:49.339 --> 00:17:49.919
 Step two,

00:17:50.539 --> 00:17:51.279
 concerning God

00:17:51.279 --> 00:17:51.899
 and creation.

00:17:52.819 --> 00:17:53.419
 Consider the

00:17:53.419 --> 00:17:54.220
 possibility that

00:17:54.220 --> 00:17:55.159
 we can't really

00:17:55.159 --> 00:17:56.720
 know God as

00:17:56.720 --> 00:17:57.299
 he is in

00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:58.099
 himself because

00:17:58.099 --> 00:17:59.200
 really all we

00:17:59.200 --> 00:18:00.980
 have are these

00:18:00.980 --> 00:18:01.799
 images, these

00:18:01.799 --> 00:18:02.819
 metaphors that we

00:18:02.819 --> 00:18:03.619
 all invented.

00:18:04.519 --> 00:18:04.799
 And from

00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:05.599
 there, consider

00:18:05.599 --> 00:18:06.559
 how beneficial

00:18:06.559 --> 00:18:08.079
 this metaphor

00:18:08.079 --> 00:18:09.240
 might be in

00:18:09.240 --> 00:18:10.099
 our ecological

00:18:10.099 --> 00:18:11.639
 age, creation

00:18:11.639 --> 00:18:12.599
 as God's

00:18:12.599 --> 00:18:13.000
 body.

00:18:14.299 --> 00:18:15.039
 Just as I

00:18:15.039 --> 00:18:15.819
 am my body,

00:18:15.939 --> 00:18:16.659
 but more, so

00:18:16.659 --> 00:18:17.579
 the universe is

00:18:17.579 --> 00:18:18.439
 God's body, but

00:18:18.439 --> 00:18:18.740
 more.

00:18:19.899 --> 00:18:20.599
 That will help

00:18:20.599 --> 00:18:21.299
 us get away from

00:18:21.299 --> 00:18:22.019
 the idea of that

00:18:22.019 --> 00:18:22.899
 distant God.

00:18:22.980 --> 00:18:24.259
 After all, didn't

00:18:24.259 --> 00:18:25.559
 Paul affirm that

00:18:25.559 --> 00:18:26.700
 in him we live

00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:27.339
 and move and

00:18:27.339 --> 00:18:28.019
 have our being?

00:18:28.019 --> 00:18:30.900
 step three,

00:18:31.019 --> 00:18:31.619
 concerning the

00:18:31.619 --> 00:18:32.240
 Holy Spirit.

00:18:33.299 --> 00:18:34.039
 Try on the

00:18:34.039 --> 00:18:34.779
 idea that the

00:18:34.779 --> 00:18:35.879
 word, well,

00:18:35.940 --> 00:18:36.619
 that belongs to

00:18:36.619 --> 00:18:37.160
 the past.

00:18:38.339 --> 00:18:39.059
 Well, it's the

00:18:39.059 --> 00:18:39.900
 spirit who now

00:18:39.900 --> 00:18:40.700
 guides us in the

00:18:40.700 --> 00:18:41.000
 present.

00:18:42.279 --> 00:18:43.200
 This will help us

00:18:43.200 --> 00:18:43.839
 get away from

00:18:43.839 --> 00:18:45.019
 the idea that

00:18:45.019 --> 00:18:46.039
 Christianity is all

00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:46.759
 about things you

00:18:46.759 --> 00:18:47.599
 have to believe.

00:18:48.019 --> 00:18:48.700
 When we know

00:18:48.700 --> 00:18:49.299
 that beliefs,

00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:50.379
 well, they

00:18:50.379 --> 00:18:51.119
 basically just

00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:51.900
 divide people.

00:18:52.359 --> 00:18:53.279
 Well, the lived

00:18:53.279 --> 00:18:54.160
 experience of

00:18:54.160 --> 00:18:55.420
 walking in the

00:18:55.420 --> 00:18:56.720
 spirit unites us.

00:18:56.720 --> 00:18:59.200
 speaking of

00:18:59.200 --> 00:19:00.019
 walking, consider

00:19:00.019 --> 00:19:00.819
 the possibility

00:19:00.819 --> 00:19:01.799
 that the past

00:19:01.799 --> 00:19:02.440
 and the future

00:19:02.440 --> 00:19:03.640
 are an illusion.

00:19:03.960 --> 00:19:04.779
 As the Spanish

00:19:04.779 --> 00:19:05.539
 poet said,

00:19:06.079 --> 00:19:06.960
 Caminante no

00:19:06.960 --> 00:19:07.480
 hay camino,

00:19:07.720 --> 00:19:08.519
 which as a

00:19:08.519 --> 00:19:09.140
 poem as a

00:19:09.140 --> 00:19:09.740
 whole teaches

00:19:09.740 --> 00:19:10.240
 us this,

00:19:10.339 --> 00:19:11.680
 Pilgrim, there

00:19:11.680 --> 00:19:13.819
 is no road as

00:19:13.819 --> 00:19:15.539
 such, since

00:19:15.539 --> 00:19:16.799
 roads are things

00:19:16.799 --> 00:19:17.880
 we ourselves make

00:19:17.880 --> 00:19:18.539
 as we walk

00:19:18.539 --> 00:19:18.799
 them.

00:19:19.839 --> 00:19:20.579
 What this means

00:19:20.579 --> 00:19:21.059
 is that we

00:19:21.059 --> 00:19:21.620
 should not go

00:19:21.620 --> 00:19:22.120
 looking for

00:19:22.120 --> 00:19:23.160
 truth in the

00:19:23.160 --> 00:19:24.160
 past, in past

00:19:24.160 --> 00:19:24.559
 events.

00:19:24.700 --> 00:19:25.180
 We shouldn't

00:19:25.180 --> 00:19:26.220
 look for truth

00:19:26.220 --> 00:19:27.339
 in promises

00:19:27.339 --> 00:19:28.779
 that point us

00:19:28.779 --> 00:19:29.539
 to the future,

00:19:30.019 --> 00:19:30.539
 since it's

00:19:30.539 --> 00:19:31.319
 really only in

00:19:31.319 --> 00:19:31.799
 the present

00:19:31.799 --> 00:19:32.360
 that we can

00:19:32.360 --> 00:19:33.440
 know things

00:19:33.440 --> 00:19:34.100
 at all.

00:19:35.440 --> 00:19:36.039
 Step four,

00:19:36.160 --> 00:19:37.019
 concerning prayer.

00:19:38.819 --> 00:19:39.720
 With the idea

00:19:39.720 --> 00:19:40.559
 of being attentive

00:19:40.559 --> 00:19:41.339
 to the spirit,

00:19:41.900 --> 00:19:42.680
 consider that our

00:19:42.680 --> 00:19:43.799
 regular habit in

00:19:43.799 --> 00:19:44.339
 prayer should be

00:19:44.339 --> 00:19:45.160
 to let go of

00:19:45.160 --> 00:19:45.860
 thoughts, words,

00:19:45.940 --> 00:19:46.480
 and emotions,

00:19:46.940 --> 00:19:48.259
 as one little

00:19:48.259 --> 00:19:49.319
 booklet teaches

00:19:49.319 --> 00:19:50.380
 as we approach

00:19:50.380 --> 00:19:50.759
 God.

00:19:50.839 --> 00:19:51.400
 In this way,

00:19:51.860 --> 00:19:52.940
 the spirit can

00:19:52.940 --> 00:19:53.740
 speak to our

00:19:53.740 --> 00:19:54.680
 hearts directly,

00:19:55.240 --> 00:19:56.539
 bypassing things

00:19:56.539 --> 00:19:57.180
 that have been

00:19:57.180 --> 00:19:58.680
 written down.

00:20:00.599 --> 00:20:01.559
 Step five,

00:20:01.700 --> 00:20:02.779
 concerning justice,

00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:03.640
 as we learn to

00:20:03.640 --> 00:20:04.140
 live in the

00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:04.839
 present and

00:20:04.839 --> 00:20:05.599
 discover our

00:20:05.599 --> 00:20:06.279
 deep unity

00:20:06.279 --> 00:20:07.000
 with the spirit,

00:20:07.500 --> 00:20:08.059
 consider the

00:20:08.059 --> 00:20:09.079
 possibility that

00:20:09.079 --> 00:20:09.960
 evil is something

00:20:09.960 --> 00:20:10.859
 that's not really

00:20:10.859 --> 00:20:12.059
 mainly inside us,

00:20:12.120 --> 00:20:12.920
 but out there in

00:20:12.920 --> 00:20:13.440
 the world,

00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:15.160
 manifested in the

00:20:15.160 --> 00:20:16.660
 various isms that

00:20:16.660 --> 00:20:17.180
 we want to

00:20:17.180 --> 00:20:18.160
 eradicate, like

00:20:18.160 --> 00:20:19.079
 racism and

00:20:19.079 --> 00:20:19.920
 sexism and

00:20:19.920 --> 00:20:21.359
 heterosexism and

00:20:21.359 --> 00:20:22.199
 casteism and

00:20:22.199 --> 00:20:23.039
 elitism and

00:20:23.039 --> 00:20:24.459
 all such things.

00:20:26.379 --> 00:20:27.219
 Step six,

00:20:27.319 --> 00:20:28.179
 concerning hope.

00:20:29.079 --> 00:20:29.939
 When it comes to

00:20:29.939 --> 00:20:30.639
 the question of

00:20:30.639 --> 00:20:31.439
 hope beyond this

00:20:31.439 --> 00:20:32.559
 life, consider

00:20:32.559 --> 00:20:33.359
 that our deepest

00:20:33.359 --> 00:20:38.399
 intuitions tell us

00:20:38.399 --> 00:20:39.759
 this, death is

00:20:39.759 --> 00:20:40.639
 not the enemy,

00:20:41.059 --> 00:20:41.740
 but just a

00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:42.719
 transition from

00:20:42.719 --> 00:20:43.599
 one room marked

00:20:43.599 --> 00:20:44.939
 time and space

00:20:44.939 --> 00:20:46.619
 to a room marked

00:20:46.619 --> 00:20:47.219
 eternity.

00:20:48.179 --> 00:20:48.879
 After all,

00:20:49.439 --> 00:20:50.199
 death means the

00:20:50.199 --> 00:20:50.859
 release of the

00:20:50.859 --> 00:20:51.659
 I into the

00:20:51.659 --> 00:20:53.000
 we so that we

00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:54.240
 all finally reunite

00:20:54.240 --> 00:20:54.899
 with the reality

00:20:54.899 --> 00:20:55.879
 that we came from

00:20:55.879 --> 00:20:57.000
 and take our

00:20:57.000 --> 00:20:57.659
 place in the

00:20:57.659 --> 00:20:58.559
 fullness of God's

00:20:58.559 --> 00:20:58.879
 body.

00:21:00.959 --> 00:21:02.259
 That would be a

00:21:02.259 --> 00:21:03.939
 lost in Athens

00:21:03.939 --> 00:21:06.039
 catechism for us

00:21:06.039 --> 00:21:06.919
 if that's what we

00:21:06.919 --> 00:21:08.899
 chose to let

00:21:08.899 --> 00:21:09.279
 happen.

00:21:10.019 --> 00:21:10.899
 Take these things

00:21:10.899 --> 00:21:11.679
 to heart and I

00:21:11.679 --> 00:21:12.459
 can assure you that

00:21:12.459 --> 00:21:13.299
 you will be lost

00:21:13.299 --> 00:21:13.799
 in Athens.

00:21:14.399 --> 00:21:15.339
 I have encountered

00:21:15.339 --> 00:21:16.479
 it in so many

00:21:16.479 --> 00:21:17.299
 different ways,

00:21:17.819 --> 00:21:19.359
 trying to think

00:21:19.359 --> 00:21:20.299
 Christianly about

00:21:20.299 --> 00:21:21.099
 different things

00:21:21.099 --> 00:21:22.559
 and that kind

00:21:22.559 --> 00:21:23.579
 of encapsulates

00:21:23.579 --> 00:21:24.539
 it as best I

00:21:24.539 --> 00:21:25.899
 can tell.

00:21:27.440 --> 00:21:28.220
 In fact,

00:21:28.460 --> 00:21:29.079
 if you take

00:21:29.079 --> 00:21:29.740
 these things to

00:21:29.740 --> 00:21:30.440
 heart, when you

00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:32.319
 are lost in

00:21:32.319 --> 00:21:33.079
 Athens and you

00:21:33.079 --> 00:21:34.200
 recall Jerusalem,

00:21:34.659 --> 00:21:35.480
 you'll think of

00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:36.579
 that city

00:21:36.579 --> 00:21:38.740
 basically as a

00:21:38.740 --> 00:21:39.480
 crutch that you

00:21:39.480 --> 00:21:41.059
 needed in your

00:21:41.059 --> 00:21:42.099
 spiritual infancy.

00:21:42.099 --> 00:21:44.359
 God's word is

00:21:44.359 --> 00:21:45.439
 so let's suppose

00:21:45.439 --> 00:21:47.199
 that we say a

00:21:47.199 --> 00:21:48.179
 big no to all

00:21:48.179 --> 00:21:48.579
 of that.

00:21:49.059 --> 00:21:49.659
 Let's suppose

00:21:49.659 --> 00:21:50.319
 that we believe

00:21:50.319 --> 00:21:51.219
 that Jesus rose

00:21:51.219 --> 00:21:52.019
 bodily from the

00:21:52.019 --> 00:21:53.119
 grave, that God

00:21:53.119 --> 00:21:54.119
 is not in any

00:21:54.119 --> 00:21:55.139
 way confused with

00:21:55.139 --> 00:21:56.259
 creation, and

00:21:56.259 --> 00:21:57.240
 that by the spirit

00:21:57.240 --> 00:21:58.679
 God's word is real

00:21:58.679 --> 00:21:59.579
 and active in the

00:21:59.579 --> 00:21:59.919
 present.

00:22:00.480 --> 00:22:01.000
 Let's say we

00:22:01.000 --> 00:22:01.579
 believe that.

00:22:01.939 --> 00:22:02.859
 Let's also suppose

00:22:02.859 --> 00:22:03.480
 that we believe

00:22:03.480 --> 00:22:05.000
 that prayer begins

00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:06.159
 with listening to

00:22:06.159 --> 00:22:06.899
 God as he's

00:22:06.899 --> 00:22:08.679
 revealed himself in

00:22:08.679 --> 00:22:09.219
 his word.

00:22:09.220 --> 00:22:09.279
 word.

00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:11.380
 Let's suppose

00:22:11.380 --> 00:22:11.960
 that we believe

00:22:11.960 --> 00:22:12.640
 that communities

00:22:12.640 --> 00:22:13.620
 will only change

00:22:13.620 --> 00:22:14.539
 as people repent

00:22:14.539 --> 00:22:15.160
 and turn to

00:22:15.160 --> 00:22:15.519
 Jesus.

00:22:16.480 --> 00:22:17.240
 Let's suppose

00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:18.519
 finally that death

00:22:18.519 --> 00:22:20.259
 is a real enemy,

00:22:20.640 --> 00:22:21.279
 but one that

00:22:21.279 --> 00:22:22.339
 Jesus has defeated

00:22:22.339 --> 00:22:23.660
 on the cross,

00:22:24.000 --> 00:22:24.920
 so that if we

00:22:24.920 --> 00:22:26.480
 are united to him

00:22:26.480 --> 00:22:27.240
 in his death and

00:22:27.240 --> 00:22:28.240
 resurrection, we

00:22:28.240 --> 00:22:29.200
 don't have to fear

00:22:29.200 --> 00:22:30.559
 death, but we

00:22:30.559 --> 00:22:31.440
 have a living hope.

00:22:33.140 --> 00:22:34.360
 And let's suppose

00:22:34.360 --> 00:22:36.059
 that we keep our

00:22:36.059 --> 00:22:37.980
 Jerusalem passports,

00:22:38.259 --> 00:22:39.039
 but decide we

00:22:39.039 --> 00:22:40.119
 might spend a few

00:22:40.119 --> 00:22:40.899
 weeks in Athens

00:22:40.899 --> 00:22:42.180
 as tourists.

00:22:43.799 --> 00:22:44.659
 Here's what I

00:22:44.659 --> 00:22:45.259
 think Paul's

00:22:45.259 --> 00:22:46.079
 message says to

00:22:46.079 --> 00:22:46.960
 us in that case.

00:22:47.119 --> 00:22:48.519
 Consider the

00:22:48.519 --> 00:22:50.059
 lostness of the

00:22:50.059 --> 00:22:52.619
 Athenians, which

00:22:52.619 --> 00:22:54.000
 is the same thing

00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.779
 as saying,

00:22:55.240 --> 00:22:57.379
 consider the

00:22:57.379 --> 00:22:58.279
 lostness of your

00:22:58.279 --> 00:22:59.480
 condition before

00:22:59.480 --> 00:23:00.500
 God's grace in

00:23:00.500 --> 00:23:01.240
 Christ came to

00:23:01.240 --> 00:23:01.480
 you.

00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:03.440
 God's grace in

00:23:03.440 --> 00:23:03.860
 the past.

00:23:03.860 --> 00:23:04.559
 The fact that God

00:23:04.559 --> 00:23:05.240
 overlooked the

00:23:05.240 --> 00:23:06.180
 idolatry of the

00:23:06.180 --> 00:23:07.380
 past is no reason

00:23:07.380 --> 00:23:08.539
 to trivialize the

00:23:08.539 --> 00:23:09.240
 idolatry.

00:23:09.819 --> 00:23:10.740
 Paul was deeply

00:23:10.740 --> 00:23:11.640
 troubled about it.

00:23:11.720 --> 00:23:13.480
 He could see past

00:23:13.480 --> 00:23:14.240
 that excellent

00:23:14.240 --> 00:23:15.860
 craftsmanship and

00:23:15.860 --> 00:23:16.660
 declare that the

00:23:16.660 --> 00:23:17.900
 idol worship of the

00:23:17.900 --> 00:23:18.900
 people of Athens

00:23:18.900 --> 00:23:19.599
 was demonic.

00:23:20.559 --> 00:23:21.559
 If you think that's

00:23:21.559 --> 00:23:22.559
 too strong a word,

00:23:23.319 --> 00:23:24.519
 have a look over at

00:23:24.519 --> 00:23:25.539
 what he says in

00:23:25.539 --> 00:23:27.299
 1 Corinthians 10-15.

00:23:27.299 --> 00:23:30.039
 what pagan

00:23:30.039 --> 00:23:31.059
 sacrifice they

00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:31.879
 offered to demons

00:23:31.879 --> 00:23:32.919
 and not to God.

00:23:33.419 --> 00:23:34.599
 I don't want you,

00:23:35.079 --> 00:23:36.319
 Corinthians, to

00:23:36.319 --> 00:23:37.379
 participate with

00:23:37.379 --> 00:23:37.759
 demons.

00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:41.539
 John Stott records

00:23:41.539 --> 00:23:42.299
 in that little book

00:23:42.299 --> 00:23:43.559
 I mentioned last

00:23:43.559 --> 00:23:44.960
 time how Henry

00:23:44.960 --> 00:23:46.659
 Martin, a 19th

00:23:46.659 --> 00:23:47.539
 century missionary

00:23:47.539 --> 00:23:49.799
 to India, reacted

00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:50.559
 to the worship

00:23:50.559 --> 00:23:51.480
 which he observed

00:23:51.480 --> 00:23:52.500
 there among

00:23:52.500 --> 00:23:53.059
 Hindus.

00:23:54.279 --> 00:23:55.000
 As it happened,

00:23:55.099 --> 00:23:55.819
 he had taken up

00:23:55.819 --> 00:23:56.639
 residence in an

00:23:56.639 --> 00:23:57.119
 abandoned

00:23:57.119 --> 00:23:57.939
 Hindu temple.

00:23:59.359 --> 00:24:00.459
 And he wrote

00:24:00.459 --> 00:24:01.479
 this, he wrote

00:24:01.479 --> 00:24:01.939
 that as he

00:24:01.939 --> 00:24:03.179
 watched people

00:24:03.179 --> 00:24:04.519
 prostrating themselves

00:24:04.519 --> 00:24:05.159
 before their

00:24:05.159 --> 00:24:07.379
 images, he said

00:24:07.379 --> 00:24:08.659
 this excited more

00:24:08.659 --> 00:24:09.919
 horror in me than

00:24:09.919 --> 00:24:10.479
 I can well

00:24:10.479 --> 00:24:11.039
 express.

00:24:12.479 --> 00:24:13.039
 Well, why the

00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:13.359
 horror?

00:24:14.579 --> 00:24:15.500
 Stott says that

00:24:15.500 --> 00:24:16.539
 like Paul in

00:24:16.539 --> 00:24:17.979
 Athens, Henry

00:24:17.979 --> 00:24:18.759
 Martin was

00:24:18.759 --> 00:24:19.859
 motivated by a

00:24:19.859 --> 00:24:21.539
 passionate love for

00:24:21.539 --> 00:24:22.419
 the name of

00:24:22.419 --> 00:24:22.879
 Christ.

00:24:23.559 --> 00:24:24.139
 And I'll quote

00:24:24.139 --> 00:24:24.759
 from that book

00:24:24.759 --> 00:24:25.079
 again.

00:24:25.079 --> 00:24:27.359
 And here's

00:24:27.359 --> 00:24:27.879
 where Stott

00:24:27.879 --> 00:24:29.740
 brings us to

00:24:29.740 --> 00:24:30.399
 Acts chapter

00:24:30.399 --> 00:24:30.899
 17.

00:24:30.899 --> 00:24:32.019
 In the synagogue

00:24:32.019 --> 00:24:32.980
 with the

00:24:32.980 --> 00:24:33.919
 religious, in the

00:24:33.919 --> 00:24:34.699
 marketplace with

00:24:34.699 --> 00:24:35.259
 the casual

00:24:35.259 --> 00:24:36.699
 passers-by, and

00:24:36.699 --> 00:24:37.980
 on the Areopagus

00:24:37.980 --> 00:24:38.419
 with the

00:24:38.419 --> 00:24:39.179
 philosophers, the

00:24:39.179 --> 00:24:43.019
 apostle preached

00:24:43.019 --> 00:24:43.679
 the gospel

00:24:43.679 --> 00:24:45.579
 persuasively and

00:24:45.579 --> 00:24:46.019
 diligently.

00:24:46.759 --> 00:24:47.220
 It was

00:24:47.220 --> 00:24:48.259
 jealousy for the

00:24:48.259 --> 00:24:49.179
 name of God and

00:24:49.179 --> 00:24:50.599
 of Christ, profaned

00:24:50.599 --> 00:24:51.179
 by heathen

00:24:51.179 --> 00:24:52.519
 idolatry, which

00:24:52.519 --> 00:24:53.259
 gave him his

00:24:53.259 --> 00:24:54.200
 zeal for

00:24:54.200 --> 00:24:55.000
 evangelism.

00:24:55.619 --> 00:24:57.099
 Indeed, jealousy

00:24:57.099 --> 00:24:58.519
 and zeal are

00:24:58.519 --> 00:24:59.379
 the same word.

00:25:00.359 --> 00:25:01.379
 He burned with

00:25:01.379 --> 00:25:02.980
 longing that the

00:25:02.980 --> 00:25:03.879
 Athenians should

00:25:03.879 --> 00:25:04.980
 know and honor the

00:25:04.980 --> 00:25:05.759
 God they either

00:25:05.759 --> 00:25:07.019
 ignorantly worshipped

00:25:07.019 --> 00:25:08.819
 or actually, by

00:25:08.819 --> 00:25:09.859
 their idolatry,

00:25:10.460 --> 00:25:10.879
 denied.

00:25:12.220 --> 00:25:13.319
 So what's this

00:25:13.319 --> 00:25:15.099
 business of in

00:25:15.099 --> 00:25:15.640
 the name?

00:25:15.799 --> 00:25:16.559
 What's in the

00:25:16.559 --> 00:25:16.940
 name?

00:25:17.579 --> 00:25:18.420
 Stott says that

00:25:18.420 --> 00:25:19.720
 love for Jesus'

00:25:20.019 --> 00:25:21.700
 name is not a

00:25:21.700 --> 00:25:22.900
 sentimental attachment

00:25:22.900 --> 00:25:23.720
 either to his

00:25:23.720 --> 00:25:24.539
 personal name,

00:25:24.660 --> 00:25:25.940
 Jesus, or even

00:25:25.940 --> 00:25:26.960
 to his official

00:25:26.960 --> 00:25:28.779
 title, Christ, or

00:25:28.779 --> 00:25:29.600
 to any other

00:25:29.600 --> 00:25:30.900
 designations in

00:25:30.900 --> 00:25:32.080
 scripture, a

00:25:32.080 --> 00:25:33.200
 sentimental attachment

00:25:33.200 --> 00:25:33.920
 of feelings.

00:25:34.299 --> 00:25:35.039
 Instead, it's a

00:25:35.039 --> 00:25:36.380
 concern for the

00:25:36.380 --> 00:25:37.500
 honor, for his

00:25:37.500 --> 00:25:38.279
 honor in the

00:25:38.279 --> 00:25:38.660
 world.

00:25:40.519 --> 00:25:41.120
 And so what

00:25:41.120 --> 00:25:42.360
 Stott's implying in

00:25:42.360 --> 00:25:43.240
 all this is that

00:25:43.240 --> 00:25:44.200
 we may have to put

00:25:44.200 --> 00:25:45.200
 our image of God

00:25:45.200 --> 00:25:46.019
 to the test.

00:25:46.819 --> 00:25:47.940
 It's true that

00:25:47.940 --> 00:25:48.980
 God is love and

00:25:48.980 --> 00:25:50.019
 all love, not just

00:25:50.019 --> 00:25:50.599
 in part.

00:25:50.799 --> 00:25:51.879
 His nature is

00:25:51.879 --> 00:25:52.319
 love.

00:25:52.879 --> 00:25:53.859
 But it's precisely

00:25:53.859 --> 00:25:55.400
 because of his

00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:56.519
 love that he's

00:25:56.519 --> 00:25:56.799
 jealous.

00:25:57.920 --> 00:25:58.680
 Think of this.

00:26:01.279 --> 00:26:03.319
 Think of it if

00:26:03.319 --> 00:26:04.279
 someone is trying

00:26:04.279 --> 00:26:04.900
 to insert

00:26:04.900 --> 00:26:05.759
 themselves as a

00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:06.720
 third party into

00:26:06.720 --> 00:26:07.279
 a marriage

00:26:07.279 --> 00:26:07.980
 relationship.

00:26:08.639 --> 00:26:09.460
 It's actually

00:26:09.460 --> 00:26:11.119
 unloving to

00:26:11.119 --> 00:26:11.900
 tolerate that

00:26:11.900 --> 00:26:13.119
 person who

00:26:13.119 --> 00:26:14.160
 would attempt to

00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:14.639
 do that.

00:26:16.059 --> 00:26:16.599
 And it's

00:26:16.599 --> 00:26:18.720
 profoundly out of

00:26:18.720 --> 00:26:19.640
 love that God

00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:20.220
 is a jealous

00:26:20.220 --> 00:26:21.740
 God, that he's

00:26:21.740 --> 00:26:23.799
 intolerant of

00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:24.799
 worship of other

00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:25.240
 gods.

00:26:25.660 --> 00:26:26.700
 I am the Lord,

00:26:27.100 --> 00:26:27.700
 he says through

00:26:27.700 --> 00:26:28.100
 Isaiah.

00:26:28.600 --> 00:26:29.680
 That is my name.

00:26:30.220 --> 00:26:31.720
 My glory I give

00:26:31.720 --> 00:26:32.460
 to no other.

00:26:36.259 --> 00:26:37.339
 So let's turn to

00:26:37.339 --> 00:26:38.100
 the third way that

00:26:38.100 --> 00:26:39.000
 Paul's message can

00:26:39.000 --> 00:26:39.940
 speak to us today.

00:26:41.120 --> 00:26:42.319
 As God's spirit

00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:44.339
 reminds us of his

00:26:44.339 --> 00:26:46.259
 holiness, of his

00:26:46.259 --> 00:26:47.880
 desire that all

00:26:47.880 --> 00:26:48.620
 people everywhere

00:26:48.620 --> 00:26:49.440
 should turn to

00:26:49.440 --> 00:26:50.260
 him as the living

00:26:50.260 --> 00:26:51.540
 God and that

00:26:51.540 --> 00:26:52.700
 Christ is our one

00:26:52.700 --> 00:26:53.760
 hope in life and

00:26:53.760 --> 00:26:54.380
 death as we

00:26:54.380 --> 00:26:55.760
 sometimes sing.

00:26:56.160 --> 00:26:57.300
 I think we can be

00:26:57.300 --> 00:26:58.240
 encouraged and

00:26:58.240 --> 00:26:59.180
 challenged to go to

00:26:59.180 --> 00:27:00.080
 the nations with a

00:27:00.080 --> 00:27:01.380
 love for Jesus'

00:27:01.640 --> 00:27:01.960
 name.

00:27:03.740 --> 00:27:04.800
 The Epicurean

00:27:04.800 --> 00:27:06.600
 Society, if we can

00:27:06.600 --> 00:27:07.520
 call it that today,

00:27:07.600 --> 00:27:08.520
 is alive and well.

00:27:08.960 --> 00:27:09.540
 For modern

00:27:09.540 --> 00:27:10.740
 Epicureans, God is

00:27:10.740 --> 00:27:11.960
 not a God really for

00:27:11.960 --> 00:27:13.460
 us because he's

00:27:13.460 --> 00:27:14.720
 seen fit to just

00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:15.720
 let nature run its

00:27:15.720 --> 00:27:16.200
 course.

00:27:16.200 --> 00:27:17.980
 we're on our own

00:27:17.980 --> 00:27:19.160
 and we're left to be

00:27:19.160 --> 00:27:20.779
 confident in our own

00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:21.279
 powers.

00:27:22.080 --> 00:27:23.360
 The Stoic Society is

00:27:23.360 --> 00:27:24.580
 alive and well too.

00:27:25.039 --> 00:27:26.000
 For modern Stoics,

00:27:26.080 --> 00:27:27.000
 there's no misguided

00:27:27.000 --> 00:27:27.980
 worship in the end

00:27:27.980 --> 00:27:29.380
 because all things are

00:27:29.380 --> 00:27:29.779
 divine.

00:27:31.440 --> 00:27:32.640
 So Epicurean and

00:27:32.640 --> 00:27:34.420
 Stoic bring us to the

00:27:34.420 --> 00:27:36.480
 same place as does any

00:27:36.480 --> 00:27:37.340
 man-made religion.

00:27:37.480 --> 00:27:39.420
 We're left with an

00:27:39.420 --> 00:27:40.740
 inflated sense of our

00:27:40.740 --> 00:27:42.080
 own capacity to know

00:27:42.080 --> 00:27:43.799
 what is true and good

00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:44.819
 and lovely and we let

00:27:44.819 --> 00:27:45.919
 ourselves off the hook

00:27:45.919 --> 00:27:46.740
 all the time.

00:27:48.619 --> 00:27:49.659
 So what are we called,

00:27:50.480 --> 00:27:51.480
 to what then are we

00:27:51.480 --> 00:27:53.099
 called as we go out to

00:27:53.099 --> 00:27:54.819
 make contact with such

00:27:54.819 --> 00:27:55.200
 people?

00:27:55.819 --> 00:27:56.720
 Well, we're called to

00:27:56.720 --> 00:27:58.180
 burn with a zeal for

00:27:58.180 --> 00:28:00.240
 God's glory, first and

00:28:00.240 --> 00:28:00.579
 foremost.

00:28:00.859 --> 00:28:02.680
 Yes, we respond to

00:28:02.680 --> 00:28:04.000
 Jesus' command and we

00:28:04.000 --> 00:28:04.419
 obey.

00:28:04.980 --> 00:28:05.859
 But what really,

00:28:06.019 --> 00:28:07.919
 really, really motivates

00:28:07.920 --> 00:28:10.759
 us is the zeal for

00:28:10.759 --> 00:28:12.340
 God's glory, that God's

00:28:12.340 --> 00:28:14.960
 glory will be manifested

00:28:14.960 --> 00:28:15.840
 more and more.

00:28:16.259 --> 00:28:17.539
 It involves recognizing

00:28:17.539 --> 00:28:18.980
 that apart from faith,

00:28:19.100 --> 00:28:20.259
 trust in Jesus, we're,

00:28:20.600 --> 00:28:22.140
 as Paul says in Ephesians

00:28:22.140 --> 00:28:24.660
 2, we're without hope and

00:28:24.660 --> 00:28:26.120
 without God in the world.

00:28:27.019 --> 00:28:28.240
 And it involves praying,

00:28:28.680 --> 00:28:30.779
 praying for openings to

00:28:30.779 --> 00:28:31.860
 raise the issue with

00:28:31.860 --> 00:28:32.840
 modern Athenians.

00:28:33.820 --> 00:28:35.160
 And it involves doing some

00:28:35.160 --> 00:28:37.259
 homework because we need

00:28:37.259 --> 00:28:38.460
 to get to know their

00:28:38.460 --> 00:28:39.900
 world of ideas, their

00:28:39.900 --> 00:28:40.840
 habits, and their

00:28:40.840 --> 00:28:42.060
 worship, since all of

00:28:42.060 --> 00:28:42.820
 these are bound up

00:28:42.820 --> 00:28:43.220
 together.

00:28:44.320 --> 00:28:45.720
 It involves accepting

00:28:45.720 --> 00:28:47.040
 their offers to speak

00:28:47.040 --> 00:28:48.500
 when they come.

00:28:49.200 --> 00:28:50.660
 And it involves declaring

00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:52.320
 what they most certainly

00:28:52.320 --> 00:28:54.759
 won't want to hear, but

00:28:54.759 --> 00:28:55.980
 trusting that the Spirit

00:28:55.980 --> 00:28:57.660
 might use that very

00:28:57.660 --> 00:28:59.440
 testimony to change

00:28:59.440 --> 00:29:00.480
 their hearts and their

00:29:00.480 --> 00:29:00.860
 minds.

00:29:00.859 --> 00:29:05.659
 So, let me raise our

00:29:05.659 --> 00:29:06.740
 guiding question once

00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:07.059
 again.

00:29:08.379 --> 00:29:09.919
 What does the local task

00:29:09.919 --> 00:29:10.679
 have to do with the

00:29:10.679 --> 00:29:11.240
 global one?

00:29:12.139 --> 00:29:13.759
 You're probably wondering.

00:29:13.959 --> 00:29:14.839
 I've left you wondering,

00:29:14.959 --> 00:29:15.279
 I hope.

00:29:16.219 --> 00:29:17.679
 Paul's visit to Athens

00:29:17.679 --> 00:29:19.559
 represents one moment in

00:29:19.559 --> 00:29:21.539
 the story of the early

00:29:21.539 --> 00:29:24.019
 global movement, the

00:29:24.019 --> 00:29:26.139
 Jerusalem to Athens

00:29:26.139 --> 00:29:26.579
 movement.

00:29:27.159 --> 00:29:29.000
 Is that moment, is that

00:29:29.000 --> 00:29:31.299
 movement still a global

00:29:31.299 --> 00:29:31.880
 one today?

00:29:33.380 --> 00:29:34.500
 Well, Jesus says in

00:29:34.500 --> 00:29:35.740
 Matthew 24 that the

00:29:35.740 --> 00:29:37.880
 end will come when the

00:29:37.880 --> 00:29:39.220
 gospel has been preached

00:29:39.220 --> 00:29:40.759
 to all nations, to all

00:29:40.759 --> 00:29:41.559
 people groups.

00:29:42.420 --> 00:29:43.420
 And the last time I

00:29:43.420 --> 00:29:45.180
 checked, the end

00:29:45.180 --> 00:29:46.400
 hasn't come.

00:29:48.079 --> 00:29:49.000
 Therefore, we can

00:29:49.000 --> 00:29:49.779
 conclude that the

00:29:49.779 --> 00:29:51.299
 gospel is still going to

00:29:51.299 --> 00:29:51.779
 the nations.

00:29:51.880 --> 00:29:53.019
 That would be the

00:29:53.019 --> 00:29:53.740
 short version.

00:29:54.380 --> 00:29:56.180
 So, is that going to

00:29:56.180 --> 00:29:58.259
 the nations a local or

00:29:58.259 --> 00:29:59.180
 global task?

00:30:00.220 --> 00:30:00.960
 What's the answer?

00:30:01.879 --> 00:30:02.299
 Yes.

00:30:03.460 --> 00:30:03.839
 Right?

00:30:04.799 --> 00:30:06.379
 And local and global

00:30:06.379 --> 00:30:07.940
 really only make sense

00:30:07.940 --> 00:30:08.779
 when we hold them

00:30:08.779 --> 00:30:09.200
 together.

00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:11.640
 When we think them into

00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:12.099
 each other.

00:30:12.519 --> 00:30:13.720
 So, how do we decide

00:30:13.720 --> 00:30:14.599
 where we fit in?

00:30:15.140 --> 00:30:16.339
 Whether we should go to

00:30:16.339 --> 00:30:18.319
 specially identified

00:30:18.319 --> 00:30:20.799
 fields, far from home

00:30:20.799 --> 00:30:22.559
 if necessary, or stay

00:30:22.559 --> 00:30:23.799
 home and reach out and

00:30:23.799 --> 00:30:24.819
 evangelize modern

00:30:24.819 --> 00:30:26.019
 Athenians here where we

00:30:26.019 --> 00:30:26.259
 are.

00:30:28.200 --> 00:30:29.639
 And I think this, in

00:30:29.639 --> 00:30:30.819
 this business, there's

00:30:30.819 --> 00:30:32.639
 going to be two basic

00:30:32.639 --> 00:30:35.279
 vocations among us or

00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:36.839
 callings of God on our

00:30:36.839 --> 00:30:37.220
 lives.

00:30:37.619 --> 00:30:39.500
 Some of us are going to

00:30:39.500 --> 00:30:40.940
 be special field people

00:30:40.940 --> 00:30:43.039
 with a desire to be sent

00:30:43.039 --> 00:30:43.900
 out from our home

00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:45.660
 culture and our home

00:30:45.660 --> 00:30:46.819
 congregation.

00:30:48.099 --> 00:30:49.359
 And we're going to be

00:30:49.359 --> 00:30:50.480
 restless until we

00:30:50.480 --> 00:30:51.519
 actually get on board

00:30:51.519 --> 00:30:52.039
 with that.

00:30:52.680 --> 00:30:53.799
 I think that's key.

00:30:53.799 --> 00:30:54.480
 We're going to be

00:30:54.480 --> 00:30:56.119
 restless until we get

00:30:56.119 --> 00:30:56.879
 on board with that.

00:30:56.940 --> 00:30:58.720
 I figure my parents were

00:30:58.720 --> 00:31:00.419
 this sort of send me out

00:31:00.419 --> 00:31:00.859
 people.

00:31:01.359 --> 00:31:02.899
 Thinking, the sooner the

00:31:02.899 --> 00:31:03.180
 better.

00:31:04.039 --> 00:31:05.379
 Mom felt she was called

00:31:05.379 --> 00:31:06.500
 to foreign missions even

00:31:06.500 --> 00:31:07.319
 as a young girl.

00:31:07.919 --> 00:31:09.819
 And dad, well, he was

00:31:09.819 --> 00:31:11.440
 converted on his way home

00:31:11.440 --> 00:31:12.819
 from military service in

00:31:12.819 --> 00:31:13.159
 Germany.

00:31:13.940 --> 00:31:16.399
 And then, I mean, there

00:31:16.399 --> 00:31:17.839
 in that moment, even on

00:31:17.839 --> 00:31:19.059
 his return, he had

00:31:19.059 --> 00:31:21.240
 dedicated his life to God

00:31:21.240 --> 00:31:22.480
 and said, whichever way

00:31:22.480 --> 00:31:23.880
 you see fit, please use

00:31:23.880 --> 00:31:24.079
 me.

00:31:24.559 --> 00:31:26.319
 And he wasted no time in

00:31:26.319 --> 00:31:27.339
 committing himself to

00:31:27.339 --> 00:31:28.799
 lifelong service in

00:31:28.799 --> 00:31:29.160
 Mexico.

00:31:30.039 --> 00:31:31.200
 For him, I think it was

00:31:31.200 --> 00:31:31.900
 really simple.

00:31:32.000 --> 00:31:33.319
 He's a straightforward guy.

00:31:33.799 --> 00:31:35.460
 He said, the need is

00:31:35.460 --> 00:31:37.200
 great, the workers are

00:31:37.200 --> 00:31:39.140
 few, the churches here

00:31:39.140 --> 00:31:41.819
 at home are many, and I'm

00:31:41.819 --> 00:31:42.720
 available and ready.

00:31:43.240 --> 00:31:44.819
 That was his thinking

00:31:44.819 --> 00:31:46.880
 and that's probably what he

00:31:46.880 --> 00:31:48.000
 would say to me if I asked

00:31:48.000 --> 00:31:48.500
 him right now.

00:31:48.500 --> 00:31:51.559
 On the good advice of my

00:31:51.559 --> 00:31:52.920
 uncle, he didn't go

00:31:52.920 --> 00:31:53.339
 immediately.

00:31:53.960 --> 00:31:54.799
 He got some Bible

00:31:54.799 --> 00:31:55.180
 training.

00:31:57.099 --> 00:31:58.599
 And the truth is that the

00:31:58.599 --> 00:32:00.640
 need in so many parts of

00:32:00.640 --> 00:32:01.759
 the world is great.

00:32:02.680 --> 00:32:03.940
 I don't have the numbers

00:32:03.940 --> 00:32:05.480
 right here with me.

00:32:05.859 --> 00:32:07.319
 But there are people

00:32:07.319 --> 00:32:09.000
 groups, ethnic groups, in

00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:11.539
 parts of Africa, right over

00:32:11.539 --> 00:32:13.359
 to Asia and through the

00:32:13.359 --> 00:32:15.160
 Middle East, that are

00:32:15.160 --> 00:32:17.140
 defined as what the

00:32:17.140 --> 00:32:18.680
 missiologists called

00:32:18.680 --> 00:32:19.880
 unreached peoples.

00:32:20.580 --> 00:32:21.840
 They lack, this is what

00:32:21.840 --> 00:32:24.100
 it means, they lack a

00:32:24.100 --> 00:32:25.360
 community of Christians

00:32:25.360 --> 00:32:27.520
 that's able to evangelize

00:32:27.520 --> 00:32:29.180
 the rest of their people

00:32:29.180 --> 00:32:30.880
 group without outside

00:32:30.880 --> 00:32:31.280
 help.

00:32:33.500 --> 00:32:35.440
 Now, if you think you

00:32:35.440 --> 00:32:36.960
 might be in that

00:32:36.960 --> 00:32:38.960
 category vocationally,

00:32:39.200 --> 00:32:40.180
 then I would just

00:32:40.180 --> 00:32:41.980
 encourage you to speak to

00:32:41.980 --> 00:32:44.300
 someone whose life,

00:32:44.460 --> 00:32:46.040
 whose calling is to a

00:32:46.039 --> 00:32:50.460
 special field of work.

00:32:50.839 --> 00:32:51.920
 There are many ways to

00:32:51.920 --> 00:32:52.799
 serve, whether you're

00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:54.420
 young or retired or in

00:32:54.420 --> 00:32:54.799
 between.

00:32:55.559 --> 00:32:56.480
 And for the younger

00:32:56.480 --> 00:32:59.019
 crowd, there's the

00:32:59.019 --> 00:33:01.240
 Logos Hope, which I know

00:33:01.240 --> 00:33:03.039
 about quite well because of

00:33:03.039 --> 00:33:04.259
 the ministry my parents

00:33:04.259 --> 00:33:04.659
 were with.

00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:06.759
 And it's a good way to

00:33:06.759 --> 00:33:08.399
 explore spending a year or

00:33:08.399 --> 00:33:09.879
 two, if you're a younger

00:33:09.879 --> 00:33:11.960
 person, getting to know

00:33:11.960 --> 00:33:14.379
 global mission from a ship,

00:33:14.380 --> 00:33:16.160
 which docks all around

00:33:16.160 --> 00:33:18.480
 and sends teams out and

00:33:18.480 --> 00:33:20.000
 has all kinds of jobs for

00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:21.920
 people on board as well.

00:33:23.380 --> 00:33:25.260
 Now, apart from special

00:33:25.260 --> 00:33:26.900
 field people, there are

00:33:26.900 --> 00:33:28.460
 come over and help

00:33:28.460 --> 00:33:28.920
 people.

00:33:30.360 --> 00:33:33.360
 Check out Acts 16, just

00:33:33.360 --> 00:33:34.700
 before our passage, and the

00:33:34.700 --> 00:33:36.460
 call that Paul received to

00:33:36.460 --> 00:33:37.640
 go and help the people in

00:33:37.640 --> 00:33:38.180
 Macedonia.

00:33:38.300 --> 00:33:39.000
 That's how he got over

00:33:39.000 --> 00:33:39.720
 there, right?

00:33:39.720 --> 00:33:42.819
 These are Christians who

00:33:42.819 --> 00:33:44.039
 see the great need where

00:33:44.039 --> 00:33:45.720
 they are and who

00:33:45.720 --> 00:33:47.019
 acknowledge that God is in

00:33:47.019 --> 00:33:48.019
 the business of sending

00:33:48.019 --> 00:33:49.240
 people to help them in

00:33:49.240 --> 00:33:50.980
 their work, just as much

00:33:50.980 --> 00:33:52.100
 as he's in the business of

00:33:52.100 --> 00:33:53.240
 sending people out from

00:33:53.240 --> 00:33:53.860
 among them.

00:33:54.279 --> 00:33:55.940
 And you say, well, it

00:33:55.940 --> 00:33:56.559
 doesn't sound too

00:33:56.559 --> 00:33:57.500
 efficient, does it?

00:33:57.680 --> 00:33:58.860
 One sent here, one

00:33:58.860 --> 00:33:59.799
 received over here.

00:34:00.180 --> 00:34:01.279
 Why all the coming and

00:34:01.279 --> 00:34:03.740
 going, especially when we're

00:34:03.740 --> 00:34:04.900
 trying to cut down on our

00:34:04.900 --> 00:34:05.940
 carbon footprint?

00:34:05.940 --> 00:34:08.720
 Well, think of it this

00:34:08.720 --> 00:34:08.920
 way.

00:34:09.420 --> 00:34:11.840
 The sending and receiving

00:34:11.840 --> 00:34:14.039
 reminds us that we're

00:34:14.039 --> 00:34:15.900
 interdependent as God's

00:34:15.900 --> 00:34:16.240
 people.

00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:17.820
 God sees fit.

00:34:18.300 --> 00:34:19.880
 He has seen fit to bless

00:34:19.880 --> 00:34:21.780
 us as we receive the

00:34:21.780 --> 00:34:23.800
 stranger and sojourner in

00:34:23.800 --> 00:34:25.639
 our midst, receive what

00:34:25.639 --> 00:34:26.340
 they have to say.

00:34:27.099 --> 00:34:29.720
 And he also blesses us as

00:34:29.720 --> 00:34:31.880
 we go and identify with

00:34:31.880 --> 00:34:34.039
 other cultures for the

00:34:34.039 --> 00:34:34.840
 sake of the gospel.

00:34:35.940 --> 00:34:39.119
 So if we belong to the

00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:40.579
 come over and help us

00:34:40.579 --> 00:34:42.740
 group here in Ottawa, I

00:34:42.740 --> 00:34:43.840
 think we can do like

00:34:43.840 --> 00:34:45.059
 George always says, let's

00:34:45.059 --> 00:34:45.619
 pray big.

00:34:47.139 --> 00:34:49.380
 Let's pray for a flood of

00:34:49.380 --> 00:34:50.860
 godly immigrants whose

00:34:50.860 --> 00:34:52.079
 testimony is firm.

00:34:53.460 --> 00:34:55.460
 Along that, let's pray for

00:34:55.460 --> 00:34:56.920
 the grace to work together

00:34:56.920 --> 00:34:58.980
 in reaching out to the

00:34:58.980 --> 00:35:00.800
 Athenians right here in our

00:35:00.800 --> 00:35:01.099
 city.

00:35:02.519 --> 00:35:03.579
 And in all of this, and

00:35:03.579 --> 00:35:05.039
 here I close, may our hope

00:35:05.039 --> 00:35:07.119
 be fixed on God's

00:35:07.119 --> 00:35:09.139
 promise to draw the

00:35:09.139 --> 00:35:11.619
 nations to himself so

00:35:11.619 --> 00:35:13.099
 that his glory will

00:35:13.099 --> 00:35:14.519
 finally be over all the

00:35:14.519 --> 00:35:17.059
 earth in Psalm 57 5.

00:35:17.059 --> 00:35:18.239
 Amen.

00:35:35.039 --> 00:35:36.279
 Young, thank you.

00:35:36.279 --> 00:35:36.800
 Thank you.

00:35:36.800 --> 00:35:37.400
 You're welcome.

00:35:37.460 --> 00:35:38.059
 You're welcome.

00:35:38.199 --> 00:35:39.860
 We'll see you next time.

00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:40.440
 We'll see you next time.

00:35:41.519 --> 00:35:42.300
 Halfway to allow for

00:35:42.300 --> 00:35:42.480
алаx.

00:35:42.559 --> 00:35:43.119
 Yahweh.

00:35:43.139 --> 00:35:43.440
 Halfway to about

00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:45.519
 our

00:35:45.579 --> 00:35:46.099
 women's

00:35:46.099 --> 00:35:46.719
 lives hep quieren

00:35:46.739 --> 00:35:48.259
 learn about

00:35:48.259 --> 00:35:48.980
 hobbit of

00:35:51.119 --> 00:35:51.519
?

00:35:51.779 --> 00:35:52.639
 What happens?

00:35:52.639 --> 00:35:53.059
 Appeals

00:35:53.059 --> 00:35:54.119
 deux

00:35:54.119 --> 00:35:54.699
 ago?

00:35:54.699 --> 00:35:55.820
 Three

00:35:55.820 --> 00:35:57.279
 books

00:35:57.279 --> 00:35:58.159
 hundred

00:35:58.159 --> 00:35:59.779
ін

00:35:59.840 --> 00:36:00.960
ВО