The Irrepressible Longing

We want our city to know Jesus. The heart of the gospel is that what happened to you could happen to them. We have found the way, so we want to share it. This is so counter to our human nature which says if we get what we want, we're pretty happy, and we don't need to give any of it away.

You can have confidence in sharing Christ with people because we believe people are searching. This is the starting point of telling your story of grace. In Ecclesiastes 3, it says that God has placed eternity in the human heart. If you're a person, you're searching for something bigger than life on Earth. People may not know what to call it, but there is a longing in them for something more.

Our role is to define the invisible. People don't know what they are searching for, they just know there's something else out there. We were made for a connection with the Divine, they just don't know what to name it. That's what Paul is helping them do in Acts 17. Paul is in the process of planting churches and ends up in Thessalonica and then Berea. He was met with opposition there, so Silas and Timothy sent him ahead to Athens where they would catch up with him. At this point Paul has a story that's not going according to plan, is in a city not of his choosing, his itinerary is messed up, and he has to wait on his friends to show up. Even though Paul wasn't planning on being in Athens, he was available to be used by God there because he was a winsome person.

Paul wasn't so focused on his life that he missed where he was. He wasn't so self-absorbed that his heart didn't break for the lost. He walked into the city and took note, he became distressed about how many idols were there. So, he defined the invisible for them. People came against him, so he was brought to the Areopagus to further discuss his preaching with the elite. These were people who loved to talk about things but never settled anything. Paul uses this moment to be winsome. Paul wasn't an eloquent speaker, but he had confidence in his message. He showed them that he understood their world because he took the time to look closely at their city.

He found an idol titled "To an unknown god." He told them he was going to tell them the name of the God who they think is unknown. He teaches them that the god their looking for is the God who created the world and everything in it, but doesn't live in a temple made by hands. God is the one who gives mankind life, breath, and everything else. He has determined the days and times of man so that we might reach out to Him. The true God is not far from us. In this God, we live, move, and have our being. Paul then uses one of their poets to prove his point...We are His offspring. God has set a day of judgment for those who don't put their faith in Jesus who died and rose again, therefore it's time to repent. Paul didn't skimp on the non-negotiables of the gospel. His message was that God is huge and He's given life and breath to everyone, but God is personal and has determined the time and place you're going to live. He's put eternity in our hearts so we could seek and find Him.

We're not called to defend God, just to define God. Paul didn't have to tell them why the rest of their 29,999 temples were wrong, he just had to tell them why one was right. He had an irrefutable argument. God doesn't need defending. He's sitting on an immovable Throne with the world moving towards His plan that he has had in place from the beginning. He just needs you to be changed and tell your story.

We can leave the results to God. After Paul's preaching, some sneered, but some wanted to learn more. A group of them came to know Jesus. Dionysius and Demaris now have their names in the Bible because Paul made the most of his time when life wasn't going according to plan. He didn't get bogged down by his circumstances, who he was talking to, or feeling like he had to defend God. He trusted God with the results and people came to know Jesus.