And Calls Me To Live For Him

The Lord Of Heaven & Earth Calls You

5.14.23 [Acts 17:16-34] River of Life (6th Sunday of Easter)

Ps. 121 All our help comes from the Lord, the maker of heaven & earth. Amen.

Happy Mothers’ Day. Mothers’ Day isn’t a church holiday, but the people of God should be the first to recognize that a faithful mother is a blessing from God. A good and godly mother is a treasure to her family. But a good mother is also a treasure trove of mom-isms—those pearls of advice and guidance, encouragement and correction that often are passed down from mother to child.

A good mother walks a thin line. One moment she must light up her child’s day. The next, she may light her child up for going the wrong way. Because the job is demanding and the clientele acts deaf, a good mother must pull out all the stops when it comes to communication. She must speak up to rear up her kids correctly.

At times, questions are really statements. Did you wash? Do I look like your maid? your personal chef? Suggestions are threats. Don’t use that tone with me. Say you’re sorry and mean it. Quiet down.

In some situations, a good mother will even speak of a future she hopes never happens for her children. Wear clean underwear just in case you get in an accident. Somebody better be bleeding. I hope, one day, you have a kid just like you.

In the throes of motherhood, things are said that are both memorable and regrettable. But mostly, things are repeated. Being a mom means saying the same stuff again & again. Maybe that’s why we say repetition is the mother of learning. Moms don’t want to repeat themselves, but they do want their children to learn. They want them to learn to be thoughtful and hardworking, honest and self-sufficient. They want their kids to flourish when they leave the nest. So they teach their kids a great number of lessons. One lesson many moms teach their kids is If you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all. Moms recognize that how you say something is often as important as what you say.

Moms are right. When you speak, your goal isn’t just to say your piece, but to impart something important. Even if you have to repeat yourself.

Paul is doing both those things in Acts 17. He’s in Athens, the cultural center of Greece, where that whole repetition is the mother of learning. Athens, in her heyday, accomplished incredible things. They wrote epic plays and stories. Athens developed philosophers like Socrates & Plato. Her artists perfected the kind of sculptures that inspired Michelangelo.

Athens had a lot to be proud of. Athens defended itself against world superpowers and pioneered democracy. The Romans were so impressed with the Greeks that Rome helped herself to the Greek ideas, including the pantheon of deities. Zeus became Jupiter. Ares, the god of war, became Mars. Athena, the patron goddess of wisdom, warfare, and weaving, became Minerva.

In Athens, Paul spent his Sabbaths in the local synagogue, showing people who knew and believed the Old Testament that Jesus was the Messiah that God had long promised. But he also looked for lost people to reach in the marketplace. People who didn’t know the first thing about Moses and couldn’t care less about a Jewish Messiah.

When they listened to Paul, some thought he was a bumbling babbler. Others were intrigued. They appreciated new ways of looking at things. Two groups in particular engaged with Paul: the Epicureans & Stoics.

Both agreed that Greek mythology wasn’t really real. They both lived as if this life was all there was. But they had different approaches to life.

The Epicureans avoided pain and discomfort at all costs. Life is too short to deal with difficulties, they thought. How can you be happy if you’re hurting? How can you find satisfaction if you’re suffering?

The Stoics didn’t think that that kind of living was possible or beneficial. They believed people were developed through how they deal with pain and challenges. They didn’t seek out suffering, but they believed there were things you can only learn and do and become through hardships.

We all have loved ones like this: those who avoid pain or sadness. They struggle to be serious. They’re always up for a good time but have no idea how to deal with pain or sadness. They’re unresilient & unprepared.

We also know those who can be frustratingly strong-willed. They never accept help. They always say they’ll figure something out. They’re never too up or too down, but their detached nature & sense of duty is a real buzzkill. If the Epicureans are too soft, the Stoics are too hardheaded.

How do you address both groups at once? Look at Paul’s approach.

Paul didn’t jump down either's throat. He didn’t say you Epicureans are so self-centered. He didn’t say you Stoics are so cold and self-righteous. He said You’re both deep people. You’ve thought a lot about life—the world that you see and the one you can’t. (Acts 17:23) You’re very religious. And deep, thoughtful, and spiritual people recognize they can’t be sure they know everything. So you built an altar (Acts 17:23) to an unknown god, just to make sure you weren’t missing anybody. You were right. You are missing someone. Let me tell you about this God you don’t know.

He doesn’t need anything from you. In fact, everything you have in this life—your breath, your abilities, your prestige as a people, the comfort of being able to sit around and discuss the latest ideas—is a blessing from this God. This God is the God of all nations and he has a plan for them all. He wants people to come to know him as their heavenly Father. For a long time, many people have been totally ignorant of this God—even though he gave them so many blessings. But now, he wants you to know him and his Son, to repent of your ignorance and run to this God as your Savior.

The Apostle Paul provides us with a gracious approach for proclaiming Jesus to people who don’t know or seem to care about the Bible.

Step 1) Have mercy for the ignorant—even when they think they’re smarter than you.

Step 2) Help them see the emptiness of their idols

Step 3) Show them the power & love of the Resurrected Jesus.

Paul didn’t invent this approach. God did. This is how God dealt with Adam and Eve. They thought they were smarter than God and could be God. Then they thought they could hide from God. But God showed them the emptiness of sin and promised to send a Savior through them.

God did the same for Elijah. Elijah was deeply discouraged, even depressed, as he saw his people fall into idolatry, again. So Elijah told God that he was the only faithful one left and that his life wasn’t worth living. Elijah thought he needed strength in numbers. But God showed him that the real power was in God’s Word, even when it was but a whisper. God would continue his work through another after Elijah.

God did this for Naaman, too. Naaman was a powerful and influential warrior with a deadly skin disease. He went to Elisha he expecting to see something impressive or be commanded to do something difficult. He was too proud to wash in the Jordan River. His servants helped him see how foolish he was being and then, having followed God’s commands, he experienced God’s power and love for him.

That’s what we need, too. Even though we know of the power and love of the Resurrected Jesus, we often overlook our own ignorance. Why do we go so distressed when we face troubles? Or when our material goods seem insufficient? Or when our lives are threatened?

It’s because, for a moment, we have lost sight of the power and love of the Resurrected Jesus. We have forgotten that the God who made the world and everything in it, also put breath in our bodies.

If God allows troubles to befall us he has not fallen asleep at the wheel. He promises us many things. If we are confronting temptation, he says: (1 Cor. 10:13) God is faithful. He will provide a way for you to escape sin and bear up under temptation. He also assures us that (Rom. 8:38) no trouble can separate us from his love. When we sin, (1 Jn. 1:9) he is faithful and will forgive us. When we are weak, he is our strength. He ensures that all things serve our eternal (Rom. 8:28) good.

If God has marked this year as our last in this sin-polluted world, it is only because he has mercifully decided to bring us to his heavenly home. God has mercy on us when we are foolishly ignorant. He helps us see that when we trust in powerful people, or impressive goods, or even our own intellect, we are building our faith on sinking sand. We need God’s power and love and he is eager to enlighten & redeem us.

But that approach doesn’t just save us; it supplies us with all we need to proclaim the unknown power and love of God to a wide assortment of the people we know and love. We need this and so does our world!

Because, when we see people who are just living for the moment, like the Epicureans, it’s easy to point out all they’re doing wrong and all the right things they’re not doing. We think we need to tell them what they should and should not be doing. But the Law cannot save. Don’t forget the Pharisees were just as lost as the Epicureans. Instead, help them see their worthless, hidden idols.

Perhaps they love to behold the beautiful places of this world. Ask them what other beautiful things came to be without a thoughtful mind. Is it really likely that all this intricate beauty is all an accident?

Perhaps their children are most important to them. They would do anything for them. Why is that? Where does that devotion & love come from? Don’t you want someone who is that devoted and concerned about you? Then tell them about their Beautiful Savior, the God who is love and demonstrated that love by dying for us when we were powerless. Show them the Savior who rejoices in forgiving ignorant & selfish fools. Show them his tender love. Show them how he sympathizes with our pain. Show them his commitment to bringing us eternal joys in heaven.

You may know & love some stoic folks, too. They think they’re an island. They want to believe they don’t need anyone. Doing things the right way is very important to them. Ask them how they know what is right.

Can it really be that every person can decide for themselves what is right and good? If that’s the case, won’t every good thing you do be undermined by someone else’s definition of good? Then what’s the use?

Life can’t work like that. Thankfully, God has ensured that it doesn’t. There is a right and wrong. There is virtue and vice. There is a path of honor and glory and there is a way that leads to shame and disgrace.

Then show them Jesus, who did everything right no matter the cost, no matter the backlash. Show them how his life’s work was not undone by the evil of those around him or even his own death. In fact, his death set us free from evil and set us right in God’s sight. His goodness makes us good. His glory is in setting us free from the gloom of failure & the pressure of always having to be perfect. Show them the powerful & loving Jesus they don’t know.

Some will sneer at our Risen Lord, as they did at Paul. They will refuse to recognize that one day he will return to judge the living and the dead. But some will want to hear more. And like a loving mother, we will repeat ourselves. After all, that’s how people learn. We will show patience and love for those who don’t know—and even those who think they know.

We will unveil their idols as empty things and powerless ideas. Then we will show them something beautiful. Something wise. Someone who knows them and loves them. The powerful Lord of heaven and earth, who calls us all to know him, to know our sin, and to know the Resurrected Jesus as our Savior. Amen.