Sermon Tone Analysis

Alone and Outnumbered -- What Should I Do?

The Book of Acts - Part 58

Acts 17:15-21

Sermon by Rick Crandall

Grayson Baptist Church - September 14, 2014

BACKGROUND:

*Here in God's Word, Paul was alone in Athens, and he has some things to teach us about being alone.

But before we read Acts 17:15-21, let's remember why Paul was alone in Athens.

[1] First it was for his safety.

*The trouble in Acts 17 started in Thessalonica.

Verses 4-6 tell us that:

4. . .

some of them (i.e.

some of the Jews) were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.

5.

But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

6.

But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, "These who have turned the world upside down have come here too."

*Next in vs. 10-14, the trouble followed the mission team to Berea:

10.

Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea.

When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

11.

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.

12. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.

13.

But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.

14.

Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.

*Paul spent time alone in Athens for his safety.

But Paul was also willing to be alone, because of his love and concern for the new Christians in Thessalonica.

That's why "both Silas and Timothy remained there."

Paul wrote about his loving concern later in his first letter to the Thessalonians.

*Please listen to what he said in 1 Thessalonians 2:17-3:2:

17.

But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire.

18. Therefore we wanted to come to you even I, Paul, time and again but Satan hindered us.

19.

For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?

Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?

20.

For you are our glory and joy.

*Then as Paul continued, in 1 Thessalonians 3, he began to speak of himself in the third person, and Paul said:

1.

Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone,

2. and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith.

*Paul was alone for some very good reasons.

And in tonight's Scripture, he helps us see what to do when we are alone.

Let's begin by reading vs. 15-21.

(1)

INTRODUCTION:

*Most of us have had the experience of being cut off from someone we love.

Many times, it's by death, sometimes it's by military service, sometimes it's by divorce, but all kinds of experiences can cause us to feel isolated and alone.

*The Empty Nest syndrome is another good example.

King Duncan read about a luncheon group of older moms in New York.

This group goes by the name: "It Wouldn't Hurt You to Call Me Once in a While Club." (2)

*Duncan also told about a program at the University of Florida vet school.

Some of the students worked a hotline to help grieving pet owners cope with the death of their animal friends.

Faculty member Thomas Lane said, "There is a tremendous need for such a service."

And the reason why is so many people are close to their pets.

(3)

*Many different situations can make us feel alone.

And as believers we can feel outnumbered against the forces trying to pull us down.

That is the situation Paul faced in Athens.

And in these verses, he shows us what to do, both for God's Kingdom and for ourselves.

1. First: Please Know that we will face the same feelings.

*Think about how Paul must have felt in vs. 15-16.

There again, God's Word says:

15.

So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.

16.

Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols.

*It's easy for me to see some loneliness in Paul's heart, as he wanted Silas and Timothy to get there as soon as possible.

And there is no doubt that in vs. 16 that Paul was provoked.

*In Philippians 4:4, Paul tells us: "Rejoice in the Lord always.

Again I will say, rejoice!"

And we can always rejoice in the Lord, but that doesn't mean we will be happy, happy, happy all the time.

*In 2 Corinthians 1:8-9, Paul said:

8. . .

we do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, of our trouble which came to us in Asia: that we were burdened beyond measure, above strength, so that we despaired even of life.

9. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead,

*And in Philippians 2:25-28, Paul gave this report:

25.

Yet I considered it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one who ministered to my need;

26.

since he was longing for you all, and was distressed because you had heard that he was sick.

27.

For indeed he was sick almost unto death; but God had mercy on him, and not only on him but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.

28.

Therefore I sent him the more eagerly, that when you see him again you may rejoice, and I may be less sorrowful.

*The same Paul who tells us to "rejoice in the Lord always," also says in the same letter, "I almost had sorrow on top of sorrow."

Isaiah 53:3 tells us that Jesus was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," so it's no shock that the Lord's followers will face these feelings too.

2. Know that we will face the same feelings.

-- And be properly provoked about lost people.

*Paul was provoked by all he saw in Athens, properly provoked.

Verse 16 tells us that "while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him..." The KJV says that Paul's "spirit was stirred in him," but "provoked" is a good word for us today.

The word picture is of sharpening a blade, coming up against something that sharpens you.

But in this case, instead of stirring us up in a good way, it's something that puts you on edge, irritates you, exasperates or provokes you.

*Paul was provoked in Athens and vs. 16 tells us why: "Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols."

*When we go through times of grief and loneliness, it's easy for us to turn inward, and get numb to the enormous needs around us.

But God doesn't want us to do that.

And it is proper for us to be provoked about our godless, Christ-rejecting, misguided society.

*We may not get a sense of it living in here in Caldwell Parish, but Bible-believing Christians are way outnumbered in the world today.

Christians have always been in the minority, but my how things have changed in our lifetimes.

Many Christian commentators go so far as to say that we are living in a post-Christian society, and there is a lot of evidence to support that view.

*There are some uncanny parallels between the Athens of Paul's day and America today.

Verse 18 helps us understand the mindset in Athens, because there, "certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered him.

And some said, 'What does this babbler want to say?' Others said, 'He seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods,' because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection."

*Do you think you could find anybody in New York City who thinks you are a babbler, because you believe in Jesus?

I think you could find plenty of them around here.

*And listen to what William Barclay had to say about the Epicureans and the Stoics: "The Epicureans believed that everything happened by chance.

They believed that death was the end of all.

They believed that the gods were remote from the world and did not care.

And they believed that pleasure was the chief goal of man.

But that didn't necessarily mean fleshly or material pleasure, for the highest pleasure was the kind that brought no pain in its aftermath.

*The Stoics, on the other hand, believed that everything was god.

The god was fiery spirit that grew dull in matter, but it was in everything.

The Stoics believed that a little spark of that fiery god spirit lived in men, and gave life to men.

They also believed that when people died that little spark of spirit returned to god.

And they believed that every so often the world disintegrated in a great fire and started all over again on the same cycle of events."