Sermon Tone Analysis

Dear Congregation of Jesus Followers,

First impressions of a city - stie from 400 in 19- plywood -devestation.

I can recall the first time I dorve down Essa Rd, Second grand impression, 2014 driving down Essa from west right where new apartment buildings but looking other way to North.

- hills - but from a town of 5000, to city of 150,00.

I honetstly felt like Elija on mountain top - overlooking city - sun hitting beatuiful trees repaired … more with you.

Reminded me of JOnah under his fig treee, he was waiting for destruction, but God was working salvation for city of Ninvevh.

Third image I have of Barrie, homeless with bikes and bike trailers… collecting bottles - despair!

The first two from tornado of devastation to beauty; But third picture is of a different kind of devastation: ever seen a man in middle of life, no work, maybe no home - belonging in cart or bike trailer.

Heart cries out made for so much more - Maybe had a wife, maybe has kids … Like God surveying Nineveh - You have compassion on a little plant -should not I have compassion - Work Restoration.

Well don’t have to be homeless - to have burden of sin, of idolatry - don’t have to be on the street to need restoration.

These stories I tell to introduce how - not to play on your emotions - but to teach you how you should observe and then be provoked.

A. Develop an Eye for Provocative Idolatry

THis is the first way we notice Paul seeking occassion to share the gospel with those who don’t know Scripture.

What is provacative in your life - normally think of enticing pictures, images, sex sells, person dresssed provactively come hither, or a car just drool over.

Playing on your heart strings - I want I need!

What provoked Paul’s spriit?

Need to know this is OT language that mirrors God’s heart.

When Israel took idols, when they twisted God name, character mirepresented him - God was provoked… how did it happen that Paul’s heart was provoked like God’s.

It started with trained eyes.

Paul sent by sea remember, by himself out of th city - gets to Athens, liek a great univierstiy town, but way more history.

NOt just normal words for SAW the city was full idols, Men of Athen’s I perceive that in every way you are very religious.

FOr as I passed along I observed the objects of your worship.

DO you obeserve the objects of worship in the lives of people aroudn you who don’t know Jesus?

Paul is doing what you or I would do if went to thens today.

Seeing the sights.

Look at the city, the history, all the philosophers, democracy… temples.

Sees actaul physical idols.

And believe me he is seeing the golry of Athns, the golory of man and his accomplishment, so great that motto was “Man is the measure of all things” And his heart is so grieved, angry at what Satan has done to these peole, may not be homeless per se, may not be colecting epties - better idolatry in some ways - but he sees taht - images and objects of worship - not for living true God - As a Jew abhorence of the physical images, but perceives even deeper hearts - truned to glorifies man, making God in our image, instad of being living reflection, images of God, being re-made in God’s image!

Do you know anyoe who has glory of a type, but distorted isted, and direction of shingin it all wrong - provked, like deep down cvicereal repsonse, but more bowels of mercy stirred - there’s another way.

And from reasoning in the synoagoue, now deliberatly he goes not - doing some drama or art , or debating phiolosphy - he goes into the market place and does two simple things.

Acts 17:

When Karl Barth - reintoroduced BIBLE as God’s WOrd - peole said it was like he dropped bomb shell on the playground of theolgoy of 20th century.

Well that’s liek what Paul does - Yes all these idols, philophies, yes believf in the miortaltiy of soul - but Paul tells them about Jesus and about the resurrection!

And this is the first point, we have a responsiblity in the market places of our lives , to see with the eyes that Paul had, to feel with that heart that God has for his creatin - How would you feel if you saw your neighbour buy a nice new convertible 1965 1/2 mustandcar, but you wake up in the morning - and you see him putting coke-a-cola into fuel tank.

As C.S> lewis put the human machine not designed to run on money, self, friends, or work - designed to run on GOd!

But not only that - he hooks it up to a tractor, with top down fills it up with all his shrubbry and garden clippings, cleans out the compost and uses it as trailer to take it tothe dump! noT WHAT IT FOR! Shake your head and say: “Aint’ that a SHAME!”

Tha’ts what Paul sees, ssurveying that city - his new neighbours - all this glory of yorus is a shame!

In the same way you and I ought to train our eyes to see the beuaty and success, and genius of neighbours without God and grieve at the distoration of life!

THis is what motivates Paul to share the gospel with those who don’t know Scirpture or the Living God!

And until our heart is provoked like that for tohers - evenaglism an awkaard duty!

But then what does Paul do?

And here is a big surprise!

COnservative Bible believing Christian with hearts provoked for God’s glory are good at criticizing, ridiculing, sounding th alarma - look at how bad our world is.

You can imagine Paul running through the city - wagging his finger - You stupid idol worshippers, how wicked can you ge.

Sometimes listen to podcast - so hlepul in assessing the surrender of our cultlure on the altar of idnvidaulsim secualrism… helpful .

But someone esle here said can only listen to it in small doses.

Overall tenor - need to sound the alarm, but our hearts can lose touch with God’s heart.

Shoud we be surprised that someone who hasn’t got Jesus - is selfish, , enough touble with our own heart when have Jesus.

SHould we expect non-Christians to have Chrstian ethics, only let them into the church when the start behaving like us?

Now we must move from how we notice, and what we see in our friends and eighbours who don’t know CHrist, to the strategy in reaching them.

B. Strategy

now Paul is summoned higher up the city, presitigioues Areopagus, used to be before Rome pltical centre, like the ROman Senate until 146 BC when Romans took over, still independent city, but now like a court - with speicial memebers, decide religious cases, intellectual cases.

And Paul is summoned up this Mar’s Hill and formally charged becuase he’s like some travelling saleman or pedeller of 2nd hand learning; Give us an account for this new teaching of Jesus and Resurrection!

How does he do it?

Before we conculde with the content of a good witness to unbleiveres who don’t know any Scripture, we must learn Paul’s two step strategy.

Step 1: Establish a Point of Contact - very religious

Here is something positive and something in common that Paul shares with Athenians - create a lot of conversation on what was most iportant in thier lives.

Travel s to Athens in Pauls’ day made comments like it is eaier to find a god in Athens , then a fellow friend.

Every few years, new religion, new teaching welcomed in city - chalk full of new ways, and peope always chatting learning,

Very clever move, realize that though always different forms of idolatry, where it comes from is that created by God, we aree inescapably religious - longing for higher significace, we all have what Calvin summaized in his Institutes: Sensus Divinitatis - seed of relgion - ultimate object of our attention, aaffection, and worship it.

Do you notice what that is in the unbelievers lives around you - could you talk about it with them - why give they give so much time yoga, health living forever, why worhsip entertainement - what release what … searching.

Maybe don’t have same idols, physical ones, - but materialism..

But second step just as critical

Step 2: Hone-in on a Point of Contradiction - altar to unknown God

You take on their point of view and their search for meaning and fulfillment in life - understand their idolatry and you find a place that that system of living doesn’t make sense, doesn’t deliver.

And look what Paul brings forward as exhibit A

Here are two bold moves.

First he has the guts to say - look you’ve got all this religion, more thought than any other people have put into figuring it out, and yet in the verymiddle of it allyou really don’t know God.

You really don’t have any assurnace that you are right with Him, and so to cover your basis - got to make this idol to the One God who is the true one that seemed so unreachable with all these other little gods - you religious ssytem can’t give you certainty in knowing God, or assurance - You remain ignorant.

And Jesus and His Resurrection - can give you what you are looking for.

IN fact I have been sent to proclaim the new teaching that gets all of us beyond that.

I have been sent to get rid of that inconsistency you have, to dispell that ignroance.

God desires the receivinghtis new revelation, repening and turnign to the living GOd - not only find HIm but find true relgion and new life!

That’s the second bold move in uncovering the inconsitency in their life idolaty.

He dars to say God is breakiing into their world and desiring that they would: seek and feel and find HIm v.27 And because of the new relveation the new Jesus the new miracle of resurrection that Jesus btings

Paul asks them to try on his point o view with Jesus , his relating to God through him, he calls them to experience a change of mind, and heart , to repent!

But maybe you say, OK I get that, but what do I actually need to tell them, how do I say it.

C. The Content of a Witness to The Unknown God of the Unbeliever

well don’t make the mistake of some who say Pual in Athns was just speaking without Scripture, his own educated ideas to convince phioophical type people.

DOn’t make the mistake of thingking that Paul isn’t using Scripture at all here.

Or that what he teaches about Christ and him crucified isn’t at all taught.

What Paul does here is teafch the very same Scirutreal truths, even with OT language and ideas, without ever using any Scripture directly.

Same message that Luke summarized back in Lystra with no synagogue - God let you wlak in your own ways overlooked , but not without wtiness know treu God - now new reevaltion of HIm in Jesus!

Weneed to be able to speak basics of the gospel to peope who wouldn’t know what Christ means, maybe not even sin, who have no background - witout actually using Scrpture .

Two methods I would liek to show you … in mailslot.

One worked well, works well with - the other more like what Paul does here - spells out big picture - here is the content:

i.

The lLIving GOd is the Creator of All and We’;re Dependt on Him, He’s not Depene t ON uS

This is what Paul teaches in ROmans 1-3 - pre-evangelism - establishes compeltely holy god in terms they would be familiar with.

Uses two quotes about their supposed Supreem God Zeus.

Not because he thought LORD was the Stoic Philopshers Zeus as god among pantheon of Greek gods.

But in him we live and move iandohave our being - give biblical sense to those words .

Paul is saying, look aroudn you - these tempooes you think the gods are depednet on us - petty little gods that need us - look around you, as Euripdes put it these temples are a house of cards, God doesn’t need us, we need one tue God.

Even Plato realized this God’s not depenten on his peope for thier gifts, NOT SERVED BY HUAN HANDS - not intermediatry religion - all this dedicated to twisted idol gods is not getitn gyou to the true God.

Cattle of a thousand hills… need to receive from God, first… not pretend you can reach him!

And this God has been reaching out to you and every one - DOn’t live in world that God happens to inhabit, You live in a world that God’s created, holy Creator -separate from it - yet every part of it is a theatre of His glory - who know this - sense it - and even His greatest creation man - your person hoood calls out - made in the image of God - made to relfect him.

Everywher where you turn like surround sound - God calling out - constatnly revealing HImself - can’t mnaufcature the tue god.

But more than that God is Your Sustainer:

What Paul said in Lystra, what

And now comes the climax, this GOd who overlook past ingnorance, drawing near, sent this Jesus, sent new revelation of REsurrection -so you can be right with him.