Bringing Light To The Darkness

Introduction

The Outreach and Evangelism Board has been emphasizing a little tract project around Halloween for most of the past month. We’ve asked you to include a gospel tract in a small clear snack bag with a few pieces of candy and hand them out at your door on Halloween, which is today, with the words”Here’s something special for you”. Some of you are participating and some are not, and that’s ok! It’s a matter of choice and conscience. We are all made differently, and we shouldn’t go against our conscience. Some Christians go to bars and witness, and some do not. These things can be controversial. So, what about celebrating Halloween? Well, for me it has a lot to do with “What do you mean by celebrate! If you mean getting involved with pagan and satanic rituals, promoting demons and witchcraft which is evil, I would say no way! But if by celebrate you mean simply giving candy to neighborhood children, then I would say, it’s a good way to meet your neighbors, especially if you give them a gospel tract with it, then I would say it’s God’s work!

How did I most recently come to that conclusion? By reading Paul’s missionary journey to Athens in Acts 17:15-34 (Read Paul’s account)…

Background

Coming off of Paul and Silas being thrown in jail in Philippi for preaching the Gospel, the miraculous earthquake that opened the jail doors and the conversion of the jailor and his household, Paul moved on to Thessalonica where he preached to the Jews in the Synagogue for 3 Sabbaths. When the Jews stirred up trouble against him there, the Believers sent Paul and Silas off to Berea by night. Once there, they went right to the Synagogue again which always seemed to be Paul’s first stop! As we know, the Berean’s were very receptive to Paul’s message and even “examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (16:11). When the Jews from Thessalonica heard of Paul’s success in Berea, they came and stirred up more trouble which precipitated Paul moving on then to Athens Greece.

I find it interesting that God moved Paul around to various Jewish pockets in Europe, people who had the O.T scriptures, where enough trouble was stirred up, then throws Him to the wolves in Athens! I also think God has a sense of humor. It’s one thing to go and preach to people who have some kind of similar context as you and quite another thing to confront a different culture! Paul did some nice cross-cultural work here. God brought him to those in Athens who in their day, were the epitome of human reasoning and human wisdom and said, “tell them about Me too!”. Every walk of life: Politicians… Addicts… Hockey players… (HMI…). The Gospel is for all people. After all, Paul said in Romans 1:16 that he wasn’t ashamed of the Gospel, it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek! What follows should help us as we become increasingly distant from our own culture. But remember, we are in the world, we are just not to be of it!

So, what does this have to do with Halloween! Well, I agree, pagans celebrate it, it’s a reaction against All Saints Day on November 1st. I agree it can be a night of evil and mischief. But, is the Rainbow evil just because LBGTQ… people seem to have taken it over? Christmas / Secularized… Answer these questions: (Pastor Tim White sermon)

How many days did Satan create? (none)

How many days does Satan claim? (All of them if we let him).

Didn’t Jesus call him a liar? (Yes)

So, How many days does Satan own? (none)

Hopefully you see it is misguided respect to give any day over to Satan, because none of the days are his! It’s like saying “I only honor God on Sunday s, because all the other days are given over to the godless secular work I do”! It’s wrong.

By our little Tract project we are not honoring Halloween, like Paul in Athens, we are moving the day further toward God! Let’s see what we can learn from Paul.

There are 4 things I want to point out that I believe this passage can help us with as we seek to shine the light of Jesus where He is unknown:

I. Look for an Opportunity (16-17)

As Paul was “waiting” for Silas and Timothy to catch up to him in Athens (15), he took a stroll around town looking to see what was going on, getting the spiritual temperature of the city (23…). As he walked through, Paul noticed all the gods and idols, and his spirit was “provoked” within him. The word literally means he was “troubled” by this city full of idols (greatly distressed)! Obviously, what troubled Paul was the Athenians spiritual condition. The apex of the city’s greatness was 400 years earlier. It was THE center for human wisdom, reasoning and accomplishment. But not anymore! It had lost most of it’s former glory by the time Paul got there. For all their “human wisdom”, it didn’t get them any closer to the true God. Paul would write Romans 1:22-23 (NASB77) 22   Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23  and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures... With all this human wisdom, they did not know and for the most part, did not care to know the true God. Paul would also write in 1 Corinthians 1:20-21 (NASB77) 20   Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God… This moved Paul with compassion. He saw their lost condition and knew he had to do something about it.

When we slow down and take the time to intentionally look all around we will see the needs of the people around us. And not only that, but I believe God will trouble our spirit to do something about it if we are watching and listening. ILL. LeAnn and I are often times talking about things we could have and should have done for the Lord but didn’t. We usually realize all to late that God was nudging us a certain direction and we either missed an opportunity or flat out resisted it! We are doing better now! But, whether it was a homeless person with a sign or someone God lays on our heart for prayer, financial help or a visit! We all to often hadn’t been looking or responding positively to what God has put right in front of us.

This was not Paul! He followed through with speaking and “reasoning” with Jews in the synagogue, the God fearing Gentiles and the people in the marketplace. You get the impression that Paul was open to all kinds of people. Is that you? Is that me? Do we segment our time into whats convenient or where we go or who we like? There was no special time or place. Paul made it a lifestyle to talk about Jesus anytime. Be ready to share something in season and out of season (2 Tim 4:2). We should really stop looking for reasons to be offended and look for opportunities! Paul saw the lost souls and lit a candle in the darkness.

II. Look for the Curious (18-21)

There are always people who will listen or who have questions about the Gospel, if not for just curiosity’s sake! Paul was in a city where verse 21, says it was known for people gathering together just to talk about nothing other than “telling or hearing something new!” Athenians and visiting strangers alike! In Paul’s case, he took the opportunity to speak not only in the Synagogue and in the marketplace, but also with the Epicurean’s, the Stoics and the Areopagus.

The Epicureans chief goal in life was to maximize pleasure and minimize pain. They were pure materialists. They basically said, “if it feels good, do it, if not, avoid it”. They would be people today who would say “this life is all there is, go for the gusto! Pleasure is the highest goal. We all know people like this.

The Stoics believed life is filled with both good and bad. You can’t avoid the bad in life so what you have to do is simply “grin and bear it!” You are in charge of your life. You just need to do the very best you can! “You can pull yourself up by your own bootstraps!” Paul was saddened by them as well, because they had no sense of Divine presence or of Divine guidance.

The Areopagus was a hill in Athens that was later named Mars Hill by the Romans who took over the city. But it was also the name of a Council of Philosophers that met as part of the ruling class, on that very hill overseeing the areas of religion and education. Ray VanderLaan (Vol. 16… Confronting the Culture) likened their importance to that of being invited to share your views with the Supreme Court!

But, the pursuit of pleasure, pride in oneself and human reasoning and self importance, have always been at odds with God, but that didn’t stop Paul from sharing what he knew was the truth about God in Jesus. At any rate, they were curious! They wanted to know what he had to say, for he was speaking of strange deities (18)! The Areopagus asked “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming?” We want to know what these things mean!

We certainly need to look for opportunities, but we also need to be ready to gather and share where the curious are. Ray Comfort gathers curious people by his street preaching and life question interviews. Mark Cahill draws out curious people by being curious himself ie… What’s your favorite tatoo? What does that necklace mean to you? Conversations on eternity like suggested in our Evangelism Newsletter ie. What then… Eternity is an awfully long time… I like the example of a booth at a fair that says “Two ways to get to heaven… See if your going? Be perfect or Jesus! How do you find that out?… (10 Com… Heaven or Hell… Bother you?...” I think it was D.L. Moody who said “If I can get someone to think about eternity for just 5 minutes, I can lead them to Christ”. My UBER experience taught me that far from young people being indifferent to Christianity, they are curious, confused and have a lot of questions we can answer for them. People will have different reactions to the Gospel but there are definitely enough curious people out there to keep us busy. Paul responded to the CURIOUS!

III.Look for the Connection (22 - 29)

So, how did Paul connect with the materialistic, worldly and humanistic philosophers of his day? Most would say it’s a brilliant way to talk to the godless in our day as well. He doesn’t offend them, he doesn’t argue with them, he finds common ground. Paul did his homework! Verse 22 says “I observe that you are “very religious” in all respects”. Paul entered into their world and took the time to notice what was important to them, hundreds and thousands of gods in idol form. Then he found his jumping off point: “I also found an altar with this inscription, “To an unknown God” (23). They were so afraid of offending any of the gods, that they got caught up in worshipping all of them and missed the one true God! Doesn’t that happen today too? There is so much that people worship out there; money, work, pleasure, sports, things etc. What we spend the most time with is an idol. All of them get in man’s way of recognizing the true God, to our peril. So Paul goes on, “What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you”. This would have really caught their attention, for they believed themselves to be wise and self -reliant not ignorant. So they wanted to know what he was talking about. Connections today: Newspaper articles or news events…

From here Paul’s message is all about declaring Who God is and what He has done. While mixing in scriptural thoughts from Gen. Duet. Isaiah, Job, and Psalms, Paul leads in with God being Creator Verse 24… Then moves to God as Sustainer of all things Verse 25… then God as Ordainer of all things Verse 26… We even have more of an advantage because today we have the New Testament as well to show them God cares. Why did Paul mention these things? He was creating a hunger for God. The Greek gods were so impersonal, unapproachable and out of reach that this was something they never heard. He connects them with a God Who cares! What a striking contrast! Here Paul was in enemy territory and he boldly said “Here’s my God, you can find Him!” He does all these things for you so you will seek Him. He is not far away! (verse 27). That’s a great connection for today as well. So many believe God is unapproachable and not interested, therefore they don’t feel accountable to Him. It’s up to us to tell them how loving and caring the true God really is!

Paul goes on, even your own poets realize that God is active in the lives of men Acts 17:28 (NASB77) 28  for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we also are His offspring.' Talk about connection and reasoning, Paul hits home in verse 29… Acts 17:29 (NASB77) 29  "Being then the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and thought of man”. Did you get that! Idols of gold or silver or stone do not have babies! Humans are more like the God Paul just described than cold rock or stone formed by man! Finding the right connection is not something you can script. You have to do your homework! Each person you meet is different, and you are always in a different situation from the last person. But it should flow naturally as you asses their needs and lifestyle. Don’t be afraid to connect somehow and use scripture in any situation to show people your God! It’s what Paul did.

IV. Lead to the Cross (30-34)

Review points… After making a reasonable proclamation about God, Paul doesn’t leave them hanging. He leads them to Jesus and the cross. He explains that after all you’ve done and believed in the past, in your ignorance (not knowing), God has “overlooked that!” (kind and generous God), but NOW He declares all people everywhere should repent (30). If God is a personal God, and if He is involved in human affairs in Creating, Sustaining and Ordaining what goes on in our lives, He will also tell us how to establish that relationship; honoring Him by repenting of your sin, selfishness, and ignorance! It’s turning from… I didn’t know this about God, but now that I do, I must repent. This is where we are to take people. Many people today don’t know Who Jesus is or what He’s done for them. Our job is simply to proclaim Who He is by the Word and deed and let God do His work! You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make him drink! That’s God’s job.

Why should wise people do this? Acts 17:31 (NASB77) 31  because He (God) has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead." The Man has been selected. All judgment has been given to the one Who has been raised from the dead; Jesus Christ (John 5:22), the one Paul has been preaching about since he got to Athens! There is an accountability to this unknown God that was foreign to the Greek gods! Those gods required nothing different from their daily lives because they were distant cold stone idols. Also, to the Greek mind, the idea of resurrection was offensive. For them, the material world was all there is, there was no afterlife! (You better be right about your views because Eternity is a long time! - Cahill). Although Paul knew it would offend their philosophies, he did not hold back the truth. If Jesus is alive and rose from the dead, He has the authority to be both Redeemer and Judge. If Jesus had remained in the grave, He would have been as effective now as their stone idols. There would be no reason to believe the Gospel or fear His wrath. But if this unknown God were real, their is something to consider! I can know Him and have a relationship with Him. That is amazing! That’s how you lead them to the cross!

It is the cross, the blood of Jesus, that forgives sin. It is the resurrection of Jesus that gives people of darkness the light and hope they need! The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus is what makes Christianity so unique. God became a man like us, took on our sin, and died for us, defeating sin and death by the resurrection.

Acts 17:32-34 (NASB77) 32  Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some began to sneer, but others said, "We shall hear you again concerning this." 33  So Paul went out of their midst. 34  But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

When we share the Gospel message some will say “No” (sneer). Some will say “maybe” (we will hear from you again) and some will “believe” like one of the Philosophers (Dionysius) and a few others in verse 34. We don’t know how many converts Paul had in Athens, but it wasn’t many from what we read here. It’s a tough crowd when you have to try and get people to focus on something other than themselves, but some will believe. Don’t give up on people!

Conclusion

So, back to Halloween!! Don’t give up on Halloween either! Paul was unafraid to step into a culture and beliefs that were not his own. Kind of like us going to Bars... or Halloween for some of us. But he left us with a way to deal with it. Rather than retreating or ignoring or hiding and giving up on people or days, he gave us a pattern for engaging it.

Our Halloween Tract project is one way to engage the culture. By Paul’s pattern, it’s an (1) opportunity to bring the light of the gospel to people with the unique aspect of they are coming to us! That doesn’t happen too often. (2) Since these kids and their parents are coming to us, they are part of the curious who are wondering “What is it I am going to receive at this house?” Wouldn’t it be great if they started down the path to Jesus because of something you did? Wouldn’t it do your heart good to capture the kids attention with that pumpkin face tract, to the point that they read that God loves them, and share it with their parents and school mates! (3) How about making this wayward day a connection point for God to do His work! Redeem the time for the days are evil (Eph.5:16). Take back the day by shining the light, not retreating! (4) Then, lead them to the cross. The back of the Pumpkin card reads John 3:16 (NASB77) 16 "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life”. Granted this is only a start and only one way to lead people to Jesus and eternity. Any way you choose to bring Jesus to the forefront in any situation, is acceptable. Ray VanderLaan says (Vol. 16 Confronting the Culture) “God wants people who will put Him on display!” To boast and brag about what He has done. It’s the reason He chose Israel and it’s the reason He chooses you and I today. Shine your light in the darkness and take back the night! Remember, God created everyday, He sustains everyday, He ordains everyday, and He said everyday was GOOD.