Sermon Tone Analysis

Pantheon In The Areopagus

The Book of Act was once entitled “The Acts of the Apostles”.

However after reading the EGWhite’s book of the same name I have become convinced that the book could be more appropriately named “The Acts of God’s Holy Spirit, Through the Apostles”.

This validates the point that Jesus said in .

And we too understand that God’s Holy Spirit WILL work through each and every one of us when we have learned to humble and surrender ourselves to allow Him to do so.

While this historical book chronicles the birth and development of the branches of the church through what is undoubtedly WITNESSING.

This is evangelism and the truth is we at Coop City SDA sometimes feel as if we are starting over.

We are in a rebuilding mode.

The book records Jesus’ last words on earth which supplements the Great Commission “You shall be witnesses to ME in Jerusalem, and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (1:8).

The Book of Acts, written by Luke, is the story of the men and women who took that commission seriously and began to spread the news of a risen Savior to the most remote corners if the known world.

The Greatest sprinter in the history of athletics puts it like this to the world.

We are therefore asked to share Jesus in our homes, at work, in Coop City, then the Bronx, New York State etc. etc.

Let us look at the context of the message which today will come directly from the written word with little obstruction from me.

Paul toured the Roman Empire which was then the known world three times having evangelistic meeting in many towns and planting churches in some of them.

Our passage takes place in his second missionary journey from AD 49 to AD 52, four years.

Are we in BC or AD?

This journey Starts at Chapter 15 verse 36.

Paul and Silas separate from Barnabas and John after a dispute at Antioch and went through Syria and Cilicia confirming churches vs 41.

Chapter 16 opens with Timothy joining them so Paul circumcised him for the work.

This is a sign that we must all circumcise our hearts in preparation to work of the Lord.

They then went though some of the towns in Galatia where Paul got a vision of a man who asked him to come and help them peach the gospel in Macedonia.

The baptism of Lydia’s household

The rest of chapter 16 witness of them praying for a young lady who had a spirit of divination who when she was delivered, TESTIFIED in vs 17, These men are servants of the most High God which show us the way of salvation.

AMEN!

Her masters had them jailed and beaten in Philippi .

When the prayed and praise God at midnight, God shook the foundation of the prison with an earthquake saved the jailer and his family and Paul baptized them after the jailer cleaned their cuts and bruises that he inflicted.

The then came to Thessalonica where he preached the death and resurrection and some Greek and many women were convicted but he had to run as some bounty hunting Jews started a riot to hold him.

However, he slipped out of the city by night and went to Berea.

In Berea, mainly through bible studies, many many men and women believed in Jesus.

But some of the same men from the last town Thessalonica come to Berea to make trouble with him so the left Berea and Arrived in Athens

So, Paul the apostle had arrived in the great city of Athens.

The capital of Greece.

The former world power which was now Rome.

It was in the decline but most of the building were in usable condition.

And upon his arrival he witness a depth of idolatry that he found to be despicable.

And in verse 17 the bible speaking of his response to this unacceptable idolatry.

The breaking of the first and second commandments Thou shall have no other Gods before ME and Thou shall not make any carved image.

Idolatry everywhere.

In the stores, in the work places in the homes, the agora and in the Areopagus.

But what is idolatry.

Idolatry is

1.

Forbidden.

, ; .

(1)Thou shall have no other God’s before ME: (2) Thou shall not make anycarved image or bow down to them: (3) You shall not take the name of the LORD in vain.

Breaking any of the God’s commandments is IDOLATRY, especially the first four.

2. Consists in

a. Bowing down to images.

; .

b. Worshipping images.

; , , .

c. Sacrificing to images.

; .

d. Worshipping other gods.

; .

e. Swearing by other gods.

; .

f. Walking after other gods. .

g. Speaking in the name of other gods. .

h.

Looking to other gods. .

i. Serving other gods.

; .

j. Fearing other gods. .

k. Sacrificing to other gods. .

l. Worshipping the true God by an image, &c. ; , .

m. Worshipping angels. .

n. Worshipping the host of heaven.

; .

o. Worshipping demons.

; .

p. Worshipping dead men. .

q. Setting up idols in the heart.

, .

r. Covetousness.

; .

s. Sensuality. .

3. Is changing the glory of God into an image.

; .

4. Is changing the truth of God into a lie.

; .

5. Is a work of the flesh.

, .

And not the Spirit

6. Incompatible with the service of God. , ; ; ; ; , .

7. Described as

a.

An abomination to God. .

b. Hateful to God. ; .

c. Vain and foolish.

; ; .

f. Unprofitable.

Jdj 10:14; .

This he taught from the bible in the synagogue and the agora, the Greek market daily and some powerful men were vex.

The EPICUREAN AND THE STOIC.

When you preach truth many will be offended, many will hate you.

Sometime you lose your friends, your family and your jobs.

It is not an easy road.

And so the Epicurean and the Stoics made a citizen arrest and took him to the supreme court – the Areopagus.

These are some unsual words and if we are going to understand the passage we must know mean.

We cannot continue until we have defined these unsual terms such as Epicurean, Stoics, Aeropagus, babbler and areopagite.

LET US BEGIN

Mount Olympus was the dwelling of the Olympian Gods and it was created after the Titanomachy, the battle during which the Olympians C ffdefeated their predecessors, the Titans.

The peak Mytikas was then called Pantheon and was the venue where all the fiery discussions among the deities took place.

There was also a place where the Throne of Zeus was located.

The twelve Olympians that resided at Mount Olympus were Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Hestia, Demeter, Hermes, Aphrodite, Ares and Hephaestus.

Pantheon can also refer to a temple or sacred building explicitly dedicated to "all deities", avoiding the difficulty of giving an exhaustive list.

The most well known of such structures is the Pantheon of Rome, first built between the years 27 BCE and 14 CE.

The building standing today was constructed on the same site around 126 CE.

It was dedicated to "all gods" as a gesture embracing the religious syncretism (note this word as we will be coming back to it later) in the increasingly multicultural Roman Empire, with subjects worshipping gods from many cultures and traditions.

The building was later renovated for use as a Christian church in 609 under Pope Boniface IV.

In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Twelve Olympians are the major deities of the Greek pantheon, commonly considered to be Zeus, Hera, Poseidon, Demeter, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Aphrodite, Hephaestus, Hermes, and either Hestia or Dionysus.[2]Hades

and Persephone

A pantheon (from Greek pantheon, literally "(a temple) of all gods", "of or common to all gods" from pan- "all" and theos"god") is the particular set of all gods of any polytheistic religion, or tradition:

It is from this we get the religion of POLYTHEISM and the doctrine of PANTHEISM.

Simply states that everything is god and god is everthing so many gods.