Let's open our Bibles again to
Acts chapter 17. We'll be looking at a few verses beginning
with verse 22 down through verse 34 of Acts 17. In verse 15, we see that Paul,
if we go back a few pages, we see Paul had been brought to
Athens. We read on in verse 16, it says
that his spirit, his spirit was stirred in him. He was, I looked
that up, he was exasperated. That's a better description.
When he saw that the town that he was in was fully given to
idolatry, the whole town completely given to idolatry, completely
given over to the worship of false gods. How could that happen? And you think, that could just
as easily have been written this morning as it was back in Paul's
time. I was reading here not too long
ago, it said the U.S. military now officially recognizes
221 different religions. And that's double from the year
previous. Over in Ephesians 4, we read
this. One body, one spirit, Even as you're called in the hope
of your calling, one Lord, one faith, one hope, one baptism,
one God and father of us all who's in us all. One, one. And yet this whole town, whole
town is given to idolatry. A few weeks ago, Abby and I were
at the bank, catching a check, and I don't know why I looked
up, but I looked up, and literally on a section of town there, there
was a church on every street corner. Every corner. It would appear that things have
not changed a bit since Paul's death. Well, let's read on here. In
verse 18, it said there were certain philosophers.
Certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics. And they encountered
him and some of them said, what will this babbler say? And others
said that he seemed to be a set forth of strange gods because
he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. And they took
him and they brought him up. These Epicureans and these Stoics,
listen to this description of it, just to give you an idea
of what they believed or what they didn't believe. The Epicureans
said this, there's no first cause of anything. No first cause. There's no God. The world and
everything in it came by chance. One day, two atoms were floating
around out there smashed into each other and there was the
world. That was their belief. Isn't
that the same thing that we're told today? No first cause. Everything's by chance. Everything's
by luck. And then the Stoics, they held
to this belief. In every man, There's a natural
goodness. This was in Paul's time. Nothing
has changed. This is still man's message. This is man's idolatrous message. That every man has power over
his own passion to do what he wants. Works religion. Works religion. I believe these
beliefs, they pretty much summarize the false beliefs of our day. Our world is still filled with
Epicureans and Stoics, isn't it? Well, look with me beginning
at verse 22. Don't want to give much time
to that. Verse 22, Paul stood in the midst
of Mars Hill, knee deep in all this false religion, And he said,
You men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you're too
superstitious, you're too religious. Verse 23 says, For as I passed
by and I beheld your devotions, I beheld all these gods that
you worship, I found an altar with this inscription to the
unknown God. Now this unknown God that you
ignorantly worship, Him. Him I declare unto you. Now in our day, men for fear
of leaving somebody out, or some god out, or offending someone,
have done the same thing. They've come up with a message
that they think will just appeal to everybody. Won't upset nobody. Everybody will be okay with it.
All they're doing is condemning men. These folks in Athens, again,
they didn't want to offend anybody, and they certainly didn't want
to offend a god. So to make sure nobody was left
out, to make sure no god was left out, they put up this inscription
to the unknown god. Well, I fear that that the true
God, the God of the Bible, is unknown among many in our
generation, just as He was in Paul's time. And Paul says, this
God that you ignorantly worship, Him, Him I declare unto you. In this whole city of false religion,
God's gonna bring Paul in there to preach the gospel. Aren't
we glad? Aren't we glad that he still
does that today in our time? In a time filled with idolatry
and false religion, God still raises up men to declare the
gospel, to preach his word. Well, let's look at Paul's message
just real quickly this morning to these idolaters, all right? He said, the God you ignorantly
worship, Him, Him I declare. This isn't what I declare. Our pastor points this out often.
It's a who. It's Him. He said, Him I declare
unto you. First in verse four, it's God
that made the world. God that made the world in all
things there is. You young ones, We looked at
this in Bible school. Solomon said this, he said, Remember
now thy creator, when? In the days of your youth, when
the evil days come not. Remember now thy creator in the
days of thy youth. He's our, he's our creator. Now
the Epicureans probably struggled with this. God's the first cause
of everything. He's the first cause. He's the
God of creation in the beginning. God created the heavens and the
earth. John 1 says this, in the beginning,
in the beginning was Word. Word was with God. The Word was
God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by Him.
All things. All things were made by Him.
And without Him was not anything made that was made. He said,
let there be light. There was light. He spoke it
into creation. And it says here, it says back
in Genesis, everything He did, He looked at it and He said,
it's good. Everything that He made, everything
that He created, He said, it's good. And then, I'll tell you
what, turn back to Genesis 1. Look at verse 31. Here we read that when he looked
back at everything he made, he said, look at verse 31, God
saw everything that he made and behold, it was very good. It was very good. God that made
the heavens. God that made the world and all
things therein. By the word of the Lord were
the heavens made and done. All the hostels. everything.
God created it. Second, we read that he's Lord
of heaven and earth. God created the heavens, made
the world, and then he, he's Lord of heaven and earth. He created it and he sovereignly
rules and reigns over it. It's his to do with what he will. Listen, David said in Psalm 24,
the earth is the Lord. The earth is the Lord and the
fullness thereof, the world, they that dwell therein. We can do with it as He pleases.
Each one of us. He can save us or He can condemn
us. There's an article in the bulletin
this morning about the potter. You know, that pot of dirt there,
that mud doesn't look at the That mud doesn't look at the
potter and say, I want you to make me into this. No, it's the
potter's to do with as he will. If he wants to make a vessel
into honor, he'll do it. And if he wants to make one into
dishonor, he'll do it. He's Lord. He's sovereign in
all that he does. God's Word declares him as the
King of kings and the Lord of lords. And we know this. Every knee
is going to bow. Every tongue is going to confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. Nebuchadnezzar learned that,
didn't he? Turn back to Daniel. Turn back to Daniel chapter 4. Look beginning with verse 34.
At the end of the days, I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted up mine eyes unto heaven.
Mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most High,
and I praised and honored Him that liveth forever and ever.
You know, if you look up in those earlier verses, old Nebuchadnezzar
was using that word, I, He was really talking about I, wasn't
he? He said, is not this Babylon
that I have built for the house of my kingdom, by the might of
my power, for the honor of my majesty? He says, I bless the Most High. I praised and honored him that
liveth forever and ever, whose dominion is an everlasting dominion,
and his kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants
of the earth are reputed as nothing, and he doeth according to his
will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the
earth, and none can stay his hand or say unto him, What doest
thou? What have you done? He's Lord. heaven and earth. He's the sovereign
of heaven and earth. Let's read on here. Look at,
back to our text, look in verse 25. Neither is he worshiped with
men's hands, as though he needed anything. See, and he gives to
all life and breath and all things. Neither is he worshiped with
men's hands. That word worship means served.
He's not served with men's hands. Now this is counter to the religion
of this world. They create a picture of a weak,
helpless, impotent God. A weak, helpless, impotent Savior
who can do nothing. apart from man. Who can do nothing
apart from man. They say this, he has no hands
but your hands. He has no feet but your feet. He'll do this or that if you'll
just take the first step. If you'll let him. How do men
say that? He says he needs nothing from
man. He needs nothing from man. Turn to Psalm 50. Let's begin with verse 1 Psalm 50, we'll read a few verses
here. Here we read the mighty God.
Even the Lord has spoken and called the earth from the rising
of the sun and the going down thereof. Out of Zion, the perfection
of beauty God has shined. Our God shall come and shall
not keep silence. Fire shall devour before him
and it shall be very tempestuous round about him. He shall call
to the heavens from above and to the earth, that he may judge
his people. Gather my saints together unto me, those that
have made a covenant with me by sacrifice. And the heavens
shall declare his righteousness, for God is judge himself. Hear,
O my people, and I'll speak, O Israel. I'll testify against
thee. I'm God, even thy God. I'll not reprove thee for thy
sacrifice or for thy burnt offerings to continually come before me.
I'll take no bullock out of thy house. Listen, I'll take no bullock
out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. I don't need
anything from you. You see that? He says, every
beast of the forest, it's mine. The cattle upon a thousand hills.
Driving through Virginia yesterday, it seems like everywhere you
look, there's a hillside and just more cattle than you can
count. He says, The cattle on a thousand
hills are mine. I don't need anything from you.
I know all the fowls of the mountains. The wild beasts of the field
are mine. If I were hungry, I'd not tell thee, for the world
is mine and the fullness thereof. Will I eat the flesh of bulls
or drink the blood of goats? No. You want to offer something
unto God, offer unto Him thanksgiving. Pay the vows of the Most High
and call upon me in the day of trouble. I'll deliver thee, and
thou shalt glorify me. He doesn't need the works of
man's hand. That means nothing. It means
nothing. He's not served with man's hands.
He's not dependent on man's hand. He's not dependent on me. I'm dependent upon him. Follow his feet. Then we read here that He's made
of one blood, all nations. Made of one blood, all nations. Every one of us, every last one
of us are descendants of Adam. We've all got the same blood
running through our veins. I remember one time Abby's Aunt
Ruth was talking about that. She had done this research and
she was looking through the family tree and she found this person
and this person and this person. And I remember, I remember Dale,
Dale telling Ruth, you better, you better stop. You better stop
because you're going to keep digging and you're going to,
you're going to find something in that tree that you don't,
you don't like. And that's true for all of us. If we follow that tree back,
if we follow, it all goes back to Adam. It all goes back to
Adam. That's whose blood is running
through our veins. That same sinful blood in Adam. In Adam we all die. Man's depravity. We've all sinned
and come short of the glory of God. Our sin, our depravity,
my sin. We probably shouldn't talk about
our sin. We should talk about my sin. David said, against thee
and thee only have I sinned. Have I sinned and done this evil
in thy sight? And then fifth, he's determined
the times appointed. See that? He's determined the
times appointed. Nothing has been left to chance.
Nothing. where we're going to dwell, how
long we're going to be in a certain place, when we move, when we
go to the next place. He set the times. He's appointed
all those things. When we're going to come into
this world and when we're going to leave. Those are all in the
hands of God. He has appointed the times. Moses said this. He said that
you may love the Lord thy God. that you might obey his voice,
thou mayest cleave unto him, for he is thy life, and he is the length
of thy days, that thou may dwell in the land which the Lord sweareth
unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, together. He hath determined the times
appointed." He's determined the time when he would send his son.
to this earth to suffer in the room instead of his people, to
die on the cross. In Galatians 4, we read, when
the fullness of the time was come, God sent forth his son,
made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were
under the law. He determined the time and the
place which he'll call all of his people unto himself. Is she? You're going to hear
His voice, aren't you? You're going to hear His gospel.
Think about a few of these. Think about this scripture. He
must needs go through Samaria. Huh? There wasn't no chance involved
there. There was no action. He must
needs go through Samaria. How about Zacchaeus? I love that. I love that in there. You think
about Zacchaeus, he went out there. He was just being nosy
probably like everybody else to see what's going on. See this
man? This man named Jesus coming through town. Climbed up in that
tree. And it says when he came to the
place. Think about that. Think about
the vastness of this whole creation. It says when he came to the place,
that very place, he looked up to Zacchaeus and he said, come
down, come down. For this day, I must abide in
thy house. Well, that little maiden girl,
remember that little maiden girl back there with Naaman and his
leprosy, how she had been There was this raid and this little
girl taken from her home. What good could come from that? I'm sure her parents were upset.
If they even lived, if they even survived that, what good could
come from that? And yet, that little girl was
going to be placed in the place she had to be, wasn't she? So Naaman could be humbled and
Naaman could be healed of that. She's going to hear about, he's
going to hear about the Savior through her. She's going to hear
about God's prophet through her. He hath determined the times
appointed, the bounds of their habitation. And listen, starting
with verse 27, that they should seek the Lord.
that men should seek the Lord. If happily, they might feel after
Him and find Him, though He be not far from any of us. Seek the Lord. Seek the Lord. Those that seek, they find. I can find no example, I can
find no person that ever truly sought the Lord that they didn't
find. Seek the Lord. Verse 30, he's commanded all
men everywhere to repent. To repent. To turn from our thoughts
about sin and self and take sides with God against ourselves. To repent. Thus saith the Lord
God, repent and turn from your idols. Turn from everything. everything that would take our
eyes off of Christ. And then Paul, he finishes with
this truth. He says, God's appointed a day
in which he'll judge the world in righteousness by that man
whom he hath ordained, whereat he given assurance unto all men,
and that he raised him from the dead. Speaking of the Lord Jesus
Christ. You know, when something is judged,
there's usually some kind of standard, right? I mean, when
the kids go to school, your teachers, they give you a test, and if
you get this many right, it's an A. If you get this many right,
it's a B, and on down. But you know, sometimes that
don't always work out that way, doesn't it? I mean, I can remember
probably getting a grade that I didn't deserve or getting a
grade that I truly did deserve. But listen, there's no, it may
just depend on what kind of, I mean, as a teacher, I've graded
papers and sometimes it depends on what kind of mood I'm in.
It's impacted whether something was counted right or right wrong. God's judgment, it's not like
that. He requires absolute, absolute
perfection. And that can only be found in
one place. It can only be found in Christ. He judged his son. Satisfied. He raised him. He raised him
from the dead. He's going to bring us into judgment,
whether it be good or whether it be evil. But it'll be a righteous
judgment. Not how many good works you did.
That's easy to keep track of because you don't have any, right? Our best works are filthy rags
in the sight of God. No, it's the very righteousness
of Christ. We read in the Word, many will
say, many will say, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in your
name? We cast out devils in your name, did many wonderful works
in your name. He said, I'll turn and I'll profess
unto them, never, never depart from me, you workers of iniquity. Not righteous, not righteous. Outside of Christ, we're dead
in trespasses. Outside of Christ, completely
unrighteous, but those in Christ, is elect, those chosen in Christ
from before the foundation of the world, those who are made
with the very righteousness of God in Him. Look at, turn over
to, we've got time, turn over to 1 Corinthians. Look at the beginning of chapter
15 of 1 Corinthians. Look at verse 1. "'Moreover,
brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto
you, which also you received and wherein you stand, which
also you saved, Keep in memory what I preached unto you unless
you believe in vain. For I delivered unto you first
of all that which I also received. How? That Christ died for our
sins according to the Scriptures and that He was buried and that
He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures. That's our hope. That's our confidence. That's our assurance. That's
our salvation. Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures. It's not what I've done plus
Christ. It's not what I've not done plus
Christ. It's Christ. Christ alone. Almighty God's given assurance
unto all men that he raised him from the dead and he's seated
Seated at the right hand of God. We read this, that as He is,
so are we in this world. That's our hope. That's our confidence. Well, Paul says this unknown God, Him,
Him declare I unto you. God that made the world. and
all things therein. He's Lord of heaven and earth.
He said He doesn't need man's hands. He doesn't need our help,
does He? He's made one blood of all nations,
all dead in trespasses and sin. And then listen, He's determined
the time. He's set the bounds of man. He's
determined the time. And He tells us this, Seek to
repent. It says people judge the world
in righteousness. Judge the world in righteousness.
Well, I want you to see one more thing in verse 32. These people
that were there, when they heard this, listen to the response. Some of them mocked. Those ones
back in verse 18 that said, let's hear what this babbler has had
to say. Well, they mocked him, but it didn't change their opinion
of him, did it? He's still a babbler. And then
some said, we'll hear the again of this matter. We'll give you another shot.
You know, I can't help but think of King Agrippa when he said,
almost, almost, almost equal once more. But look
at verse 34. Albeit, certain men, certain
men, I love that, certain men, particular men, they claimed
to it. They couldn't get enough of it.
They believed. They rejoiced in his word. That
shouldn't be no surprise because he said, he said, my sheep, they
hear my voice. Can't not hear. My sheep hear
my voice and I know them and they follow me. I pray God will
bless you.