Do We Worship an Unknown God?

Here's our topic for this morning,
a question. Do we worship an unknown God? And our text is found in Acts
chapter 17. I'm going to read verse 22 and
23. And I'm speaking to you on this subject, do we worship an
unknown God? I want you to follow in your
Bible. Keep your Bible open in your hand. We're going to begin
at verse 22, and the Lord willing, read on through verse 30 as I
proceed with the message. In Acts 17, verse 22, Then Paul
stood in the midst of Mars Hill and said, Ye men of Athens, I
perceive that in all things you are more religious than most. The word superstitious is used
there, but a better translation is I perceive that you're more
religious than most nations. For I passed by and beheld your
objects of worship, your shrines or altars, and I found an altar
with this inscription, to the unknown God, to the unknown God,
whom therefore you ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you. Now, my friends, there can be
nothing as dismal and depressing as the thought of going through
life holding to a religious faith or to a religious profession
only to find at the judgment that I never really knew the
living God, that I've been worshipping a false idea of God, my own idea
of God, and I have never known the living God. There's no thought
that can be as depressing or dismal as that thought, and finally
at the judgment to hear God say, depart from me, I never knew
you. Our Lord Jesus Christ in his
great priestly prayer of John 17 says, this is eternal life,
to know the living God, to know the true God and Jesus Christ
whom he hath sent. And then in Philippians chapter
3 verse 10, Paul prayed, O that I, may know him and the power
of his resurrected life. And then in 1 John 5 20, the
Apostle John wrote, the Son of God is come and has given us
an understanding that we may know God, the God that is true
and that we're in him. This is the true God and this
is eternal life. Do we worship an unknown God?
or do we really know the living God, the true God, the God of
whom David spake when he said, as the deer panteth for the water
brooks, so panteth my soul for thee, the living God. Now, it's remarkable how this
scripture applies to our day. As I read it and as I bring out
the point that I believe God has laid on my heart, you're
going to be amazed at how this scripture applies and how it
fits present day. It is as if it was spoken from
the pulpit just this morning. Now Paul had been preaching the
gospel in Thessalonica and some religious leaders there opposed
his gospel and they stirred up the people against Paul. And
Paul had to leave the city of Thessalonica and go down into
Berea and there the people heard him. He preached the gospel of
Christ, the gospel of redemption, the gospel of God's grace, the
gospel of God's glory, the resurrection of the dead, hope in Christ Jesus. And these same fellows, these
religious leaders from Thessalonica, came down to Berea, and they
stirred up the people in Berea, and Paul had believed there.
And he went down into Athens, and they told him to go to Athens
and wait there for Silas and Timothy to join him. Now, while
Paul waited in Athens for Silas and Timothy to join him, His
spirit was stirred because he saw that the city was full of
idols. He walked through the city and
he saw that it was full of idols and false religion. So Paul began
to speak in the synagogue. There was a synagogue there in
Athens. He began to speak in the synagogue and he went down
to the marketplace and preached. Wherever men would hear him,
the apostle Paul preached the gospel of Jesus Christ. And in
this great city of Athens, city of idols, city of religion, city
of shrines, city of altars. Paul's soul was vexed and stirred
because of what he had seen, and he was greatly troubled about
it. Now Athens was not only full of idols and full of religious
shrines, but Athens, the city of Athens, was full of philosophers
and so-called wise men who had many opinions about God and sin,
about about the law and about life and death and about resurrection
and about eternal life, and they all prided themselves on their
knowledge and their religious philosophies, and they often
gathered at a certain place called Areopagus. That was the court
of Areopagus, or commonly called Mars Hill, I suppose. But there
these wise men and philosophers and religious teachers would
would gather and they would exchange ideas. They were forever exchanging
ideas about God and about creation and about resurrection and about
eternal life and about all of these things. They all had different
ideas and there they would meet to exchange their ideas. It sort
of reminds you a little bit of the present-day Sunday school
classes or Bible classes where people meet and they exchange
their religious ideas about what they think and what they believe,
seldom They talk about what God says, but these men met in this
certain place and they would exchange ideas. And when they
heard Paul preach, they called him a babbler. And they heard
him preach about Christ and eternal life in Christ. And they said,
what is this new doctrine? What is this new doctrine that
you speak? You bring strange things to our ears. What do they
mean? And so they took Paul to this
Mars Hill place, to this court of Areopagus. in order to hear
him. Now, it doesn't say that they
forced him to go, or that they imprisoned him, or that they
put him under arrest. They just took him to this court,
and there all of these wise men were sitting about, and Paul
stood in their midst. And this is where he preached
his great message, called the Sermon on Mars Hill, and this
is the way he began. This is where my text started
a moment ago, that I read to you a few moments ago. Now here
you're standing in the midst of these people. Now, somebody
said that the city of Athens had something like, in the days
of Nero, 30,000 statues. That's not counting those that
were in the private homes. They had shrines and altars and
statues just everywhere. Another person said it was easier
to find a god in Athens than to find a man. And here Paul
stood in the midst of these men who prided themselves on their
religion and on their doctrines and on their philosophies and
on their wisdom and intellect, and they had their own ideas
about everything. And he stood in their midst,
and this is what he said, you men of Athens, you men of Athens,
I perceive that you are more religious than most people. You
are more religious. I have walked your streets, the
streets of your city, and I have seen your statues. And I've seen
your idols, and I've seen your shrines, and I've seen your religious
buildings, and I've seen your altars, and I've seen your idols,
and I perceive that you are certainly more religious than most people. Isn't that true of America? If
you walk the streets of America, there's a church on about every
corner, hundreds of churches. We have more cults and more sects
and more religious denominations than any nation. We have more
festivals and more feasts and more holidays and more religious
meetings than any other nation. We have more churches and more
chapels and more cathedrals and more temples than any other nation. We have more religious programs
and promotions and projects than any other nation. This is true.
I perceive that you are more religious than most nations.
That's what Paul said to these men. You are religious. I can
see that. And this is what I say to America.
America, ye men and women of America, I perceive that you
are religious. There's no denying that. And
I perceive that you're more religious than most nations. Now here's
what he said secondly. Yes, the living God is unknown
among you. The living God, the true and
living God. You're religious. You have religious
crimes and organizations and and altars and devotions and
holidays and festivals and feast days. But the living God is unknown. I passed by your shrines and
altars and I found an inscription to the unknown God. To the unknown
God. Now, why did they do this? Well,
these people had created God. They had created God from their
own minds. and their own imaginations, all
sorts of gods. They originated in the minds
of these people. They knew the limitations of
their gods, they knew the ability of their gods, the strength of
their gods, what their god could do, or would do, or wouldn't
do. They originated in the minds of the people, in the imagination
of the people. You've heard people talk about, my god wouldn't do
this, or my god wouldn't do that, or my god says this, and my bible
says that. They had created their own gods. I suppose they gave them all
names. And we've given our gods names, too. We've originated
some gods in our imagination. In America, we call him the man
upstairs. Or we call him Jesus Christ Superstar. Or we call him somebody up there. Now, that is a good name for
God. It is somebody up there who likes me. Or we call him,
I hear people call him the good Lord. the good Lord, the good
Lord did this, and the good Lord did that, and may the good Lord
bless you. Then there's the Baptist God, and the Catholic God, and
the Jewish God, and the Protestant God, and this God, and that God,
and everybody has a God that has a certain limitation, a God
that they have created, originated in their own minds and thoughts.
And that's what Paul said to these men. Now, don't get offended.
Let's listen. He said, ye men of Athens, I
walked through your city, I saw all your shrines and idols, and
I saw your statues, and I saw your religious buildings, and
I perceived you're more religious than most people, and I saw all
of your devotions, and I saw an altar, and I read the inscription. It says, to the unknown God.
Now that's the God I'm going to preach to you, the God whom
you ignorantly worship. Him, I declare unto you. The
reason they put that altar there was just in case they had missed
a God somewhere along the line, so they created an altar to an
unknown God. And Paul said, this is the true
God. This is the living God, the one you do not know. He's
the living God. The rest of these gods are idols.
In all your religious zeal, in all your religious enthusiasm,
you have missed the living God. He's unknown to you. Is that
possible? Is that possible? Well, that's
what the Apostle Paul said, under divine inspiration of the Holy
Spirit. Now, all Scripture is given by
inspiration of God, and it's profitable. And man shall not
live by word, by bread alone, but by every word that is conceded
from the mouth of God. And this is God's Word I'm reading
here in Acts 17, 22, and 23. Ye men of Athens, I know you're
religious. I know you're religious. And
I passed by and saw your devotions and your shrines. But the God
whom you do not know, the God whom you ignorantly worship,
the unknown God, He's the living God. And all these gods that
you've created in your thoughts and your imagination, they're
idols. They're not God. You do not know
the living God. And then Paul begins to describe
the living God. Now, I want you to look at your
Bible there in verse 24. He then declares the living God.
Who is the living God? And as we read this, You can
determine if you know the living God. God is not who I think he
is. God is who he is. God is not
who I say God is. God is who God says he is. We
do not say, well, I think God ought to do this. No, God does
what he does, and it's right because he does it. We don't
determine. This is what these people had
done. These wise men and philosophers and religious leaders, they had
made them a God. And they had bent him in according
to their own proportions and directions and so forth. And
Paul says, I'm going to preach to you the living God. Now listen
to it. Verse 24. First of all, the living God
of whom I speak, the living God made the world and all things
therein. That's the first statement he
made. The living God made the world and all things therein. In the beginning, God Created
the heavens and the earth and John 1 1 says this in the beginning
was the word and the word was with God and the word was God
and all Things were made by him and without him was not anything
made that was made Now your God may be the God of evolution but
the living God is the God of creation and they're not both
God and Paul said this unknown God unknown to you But he's the
living God, and he made the world and all things therein. He made
the universe and all things therein. He created it by the word of
his power, according to his own purpose. Now watch the second
statement, verse 24. God made the world. Secondly,
he's the Lord of heaven and earth. He's not a figurehead. He's the
Lord. He's not a rubber stamp. He's the King. He's the Lord
of heaven and earth. Daniel wrote in chapter 4, verse
32, the most high God ruleth in the kingdom of men and giveth
it to whomsoever he will. That's the living God. In Daniel
4, 35, he says, God doeth according to his will in the armies of
heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth, and none can stay
his hand or say unto him, what doest thou? David wrote in Psalm
135, 6, whatsoever the Lord please, that did he in heaven, in earth,
in the seas, and in all deep places. That's the God of the
Bible. That's the living God. And my God wouldn't do that.
That's not a description of my God. This is what I'm saying.
Do we worship an unknown God? Paul was speaking to these people.
This is what he accused them of doing, worshiping an unknown
God. And he says, the living God created the heavens and the
earth and all things therein, and he's the Lord of the heaven
and the earth. He has all authority in heaven
and earth and all power over all flesh to do what he will,
when he will, with whom he will, and none can say his hand or
say unto him, what doest thou? He declares the end from the
beginning and from ancient times the things that are not yet done,
saying, my counsel shall stand. What's the third statement? Verse
24 again, God dwelleth not in temples made with hands. God
dwelleth not in temples made with hands. Now, you can build
a temple and house your God, but you can't house the living
God. And you can build your church or cathedral, no matter how elaborate,
and call it the house of God, and your God may dwell in that
cathedral, but the living God does not dwell in temples made
with hands. That's what Paul says. You know,
the living God had the Wise men, the prophet write this in 2 Chronicles
2.5, who is able to build him a house? Seeing the heaven and
the heavens of heavens cannot contain him. Solomon, David,
how can you build me a house? The heaven and the heaven of
heavens cannot contain me. And David said, whether shall
I go from thy spirit? If I ascend into heaven, art
thou there? If I make my bed in the place of the dead, art
thou there? If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the
uttermost parts of the sea, even there shalt thou hand hold me,
the night shall be light about me." God doesn't dwell in houses
made with hands or temples made with hands. What's the next statement,
verse 25? Neither is the living God worshipped
with men's hands, as though he needed anything from you. God's
not worshipped with the materials of men's hands and the sacrifices
of men's hands and the prostrations of men's bodies. I hear preachers
always saying, give God your talents and give God your tithes
and give God your time and give God this, that, and the other.
We don't give God anything. God doesn't need anything. Listen
to this again. Neither is the living God worshipped
with men's hands as though he needed anything from you. He
gives it. to all life and breath and all
things. God stands in need of nothing.
We stand in need of all things. God is not worshipped with relics
and statues and possessions and offerings. I hear people say,
worship the Lord with your tithes and offerings. You don't worship
God with gold and silver and fruits of your hands. God's worshipped
in the heart by faith. You may give some of your income
to preach the gospel through missionaries and so forth, but
you don't worship God with these relics, with silver and gold
and material substance. My son, he says, give me your
heart. And even the heart to worship
God is the gift of God. We don't add anything to God.
We don't contribute anything. Better listen to this. It'd be
a shame to go through life worshiping an unknown God, not knowing the
living God. And Paul's introducing him here.
He said He made the heavens and all things. He said He dwells
not in temples made with hands. He's Lord of heaven and earth.
He's not worshipped with the things of men's hands as though
He needed anything. He needs nothing. He gives. We
receive from God. He receives nothing from us.
He gives unto all life and breath and all things. Now watch this,
verse 26. And God hath made of one blood
all nations of men to dwell on the earth. We've seen this thing
Television recently a story very good. It was to root. We all
have common root the same root. We all came from Adam We're all
of the same blood. That's right. We have no cause
to strive against one another We have no cause to be proud
or seek preeminence over one another. We have no cause to
be lifted up We all came from Adam. We all fell in Adam. We
all sinned in Adam and God is made of one blood, all nations. And read on in verse 26, God
has determined the time and the habitation and the boundaries
of all men. God has determined the time of
this earth. God has determined the time of every nation. God
has determined the time and habitation and boundaries of all men. And
somebody said, no man comes or leaves sooner or later than God
decrees. God puts you where you are according
to his purpose. Scripture says in Job 14 5 seeing
man's days are determined the number of his months are with
thee Thou hast appointed his bounds. He cannot pay God Almighty
gives life to every man. He says I create light and darkness
good and evil Life and death the Lord killeth and the Lord
maketh alive. I hear someone saying that's
not my God That's what I'm saying. And that's what Paul said to
these people. I Declare unto you a God you don't know he said
But I'm declaring unto you the living God, the God of heaven,
the God of creation, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
Look at verse 27. Men should seek the living God.
They should. They won't, but they should.
They should seek the living God and hope that they might find
him and know him. He's not far from any of us.
For in him we live and move and have our being. I draw that breath
by the power of God. I raise this hand by the power
of God. I can see by the grace of God. I can hear a voice by the grace
of God. I have the strength to hold this book by the grace of
God. In Him I live and move and have my being. He shouldn't be
hard to find because in Him we live. And then watch that next
verse 29. For as much as we're the offspring
of God, created in the image of God, we ought not to think
that God is silver, gold, idols, the work of men's hands. We're
the offspring of God. God created me in his image. Oh, I know I've spoiled it and
ruined it, Adam dead and on down the line, but we still retain
something of the image of God. And you read the Bible, you'll
hear the Bible talk about the eye of God is in every place.
God's ear is not heavy that he cannot hear. His arm is not short
that he cannot save. Talking about the heart of God,
and the mind of God, and the will of God. Yes, sir, we have
a mind, and a heart, and a will, and so does God. And why should
you bow before a statue? You're the offspring of God,
and you're not a statue. Why should your God be a statue?
You see what I'm saying? That's what, for we are his offspring.
Now, in verse 30 and 31, he says, the time of this ignorant, God
winked at. Not that God approved of it,
but God despised it, but he left people alone in their ignorance.
He left them in their darkness. But God Almighty has appointed
a day, read it there in verse 30 and 31, in which he shall
judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained
Jesus Christ. And he hath given assurance and
proof in that he raised him from the dead. You say, can the living
God be known? Yes, sir. How can he be known?
In Christ. One of the disciples said to
him one day, show us the Father, show us the living God, show
us God. And Jesus Christ our Lord said,
Philip, have I been so long time with you and you don't know me?
He that has seen me has seen the Father. Christ came down
here not only to provide for us a perfect righteousness and
a perfect redemption, but to reveal God, that men might know
God. He that has seen me has seen
my Father. God has appointed the day in
which he's going to judge all men by that man whom he has ordained,
Jesus Christ. And he's given proof of it and
assurance of it in that he did not leave him in the grave. He
raised him from the tomb and he ascended to the right hand
of the Father. Listen to John chapter 20, 31.
These are written, all of this is written, that you might believe
on the name of the Son of God and believing you might have
life. And then in 1 John 5, 20, I close, And we know that the
Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that
we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true,
even in his Son, Jesus Christ. And this is the true God, and
this is eternal life, to know God, whom to know is life eternal. May the Spirit of the Living
God be pleased to reveal to you and to me, to our heart, not
just to our head, the Living God, that we might fall down
at his feet and cry, Thomas, my Lord and my God.

Do We Worship an Unknown God?

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Do We Worship an Unknown God?

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