The Mission: Proclaim the Unknown God, Part 1 (Acts 17)

Jonathan Douglass

Acts: The Mission of the Church • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

Communion Sunday

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I am fascinated how God chooses to use the foolish things of this world to accomplish great things for His Kingdom. God can accomplish anything any way He wishes, but He often uses earthly things to accomplish His will. You might remember from Acts 16 that God used Paul and Silas’ earthly, Roman citizenship to restore their reputation in Philippi. Before we dig into our text, I want to highlight another earthly thing God used to speed the missionary team along on their journey. God used major Roman roads, and other lesser Roman roads to move the Gospel swiftly through the Roman Empire.

(SLIDE: Egnatian Way Map) The Egnatian Way, which you see in this slide, was the major road that stretched across the whole Balkan Peninsula and into Asia and ended near Byzantium. That road, and other Roman roads like it made travel much safer, much faster, and made cities more accessible.

(SLIDE: Egnatian Way Images)The Egnatian Way connected the cities mentioned in Acts 17:1. Paul, Silas, and Timothy traveled From Philippi through Amphipolis and Apollonia before arriving in Thessalonica. Roman Roads allowed missionaries to cover the 100 miles between Philippi and Thessalonica rather quickly.

This is fascinating because, God establishes governments and moves kings hearts in such a way as to always accomplish his purpose, even decades after they have ceased to exist. Wicked Roman rulers 150 years earlier literally paved the way for the Gospel to spread throughout Rome!

This morning, I want cover another aspect of our mission. The God we know: our beloved God who gives life purpose and meaning is unknown to the masses around us. It is our responsibility to proclaim Him so He can become known. He doesn’t need us, but he chooses to make us, broken as we are, useful for His eternal glory.

There is an old story which tells about an Indian missionary who owned a microscope. Through the microscope, the missionary showed an Indian the dirty water of the Ganges (GAHN-jees). That lens provided undeniable proof; that filthy river used by people for bathing, laundry, and as a dumping ground, that filthy river used by animals for every possible purpose, was not fit to drink under any circumstances.

The Indian had seen the source of sickness in their village. After lifting his eye, the Indian pointed to the microscope and asked a curious question: "Are there more of these around the area?" When the pioneer missionary explained that microscope might be the only one he would ever see, the Indian snatched it up, smashed it on a rock, and continued drinking from the Ganges (GAHN-jees).

God wants to be known! (Mt 7:21-23, Mt 5:14-16, Acts 17:2-3, 23)

The microscope of God’s Word reveals deep truth about God, humanity, sin and holiness. People often respond to God’s microscope just like the Indian: for them, ignorance of God’s truth is bliss. Regardless of their response, it is still our responsibility to carry that microscope from person to person. Our hope and joy should be that the God they never knew would become known to them. The worst words a person could ever hear are recorded in Mat 7:21-23...

Matthew 7:21–23 (ESV)

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven...23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Those verses makes it very clear… God desires to be known! People convicted by His truth should faithfully make God known. Jesus told his disciples in...

Matthew 5:14–16 (ESV)

14 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

Our actions make God known. The light of the Gospel which is in us should continuously shine before others so the unknown God can become known to them.

That is what Acts 17 is all about. God was unknown to the Greeks and Paul, Silas, and Timothy were passionate about making God known to them. If you have your Bible, I want to show you three verses which reveal their passion for making God known. Verses 2 and 3 say,

Acts 17:2–3 (ESV) “And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.”

We also find the same passion recorded in verse 23...

Acts 17:23 (ESV) “For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.”

Paul’s was convinced that...

God uses His people to become known.

Even though Paul and Silas were covered with bruises and lacerations from the beating in Philippi, they faithfully proclaimed Christ in three more cities. They were passionate about making the unknown God known to the Greeks!

(SLIDE: Acts 17 Cities)

Paul and Silas carried God’s microscope to Thessalonica. (17:1-9)

Paul and Silas made God known In Thessalonica.

We read in Acts 17:1-4

Acts 17:1–4 (ESV) “...they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.

Paul reasoned with whomever was in the synagogue for three weeks. This is important.

Proclaiming God takes time and effort. Paul “reasoned” and “explained,” “proved” and “persuaded.” It was time consuming and mentally draining, but so important! Proclaiming God takes time and effort.

Proclaiming God involves having a clear ministry plan. It was likely that people who normally worshipped in the synagogue told their neighbors and it was the freshest news in the marketplace. Probably by week three many Gentiles were also present. Over this three week time, many devout Greeks and not a few leading women believed what God’s lens revealed through Paul and Silas. They clearly saw through preaching and the work of the Holy Spirit that sin was the cause of earthly problems. For this reason...

Others chose to smash God’s Microscope in Thessalonica. We read in verses 5-6 that...

Acts 17:5–6 (ESV)

5 the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd. 6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,

so...

Paul and Silas carried God’s microscope to Berea. (17:10-15)

Acts 17:10 (ESV)

10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.

In Berea, Paul and Silas did what they had been previously doing. God was blessing their ministry model.

Acts 17:10–12 (ESV) ...and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. 11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. 12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.

Verses 10-15 reveal Paul and Silas’ faithfulness in the city of Berea. Some people received God’s truth with eagerness, in fact, Luke records that “these Jews were more noble.” They were eager… the Spirit had prepared them. They were also noble because they didn’t take the missionaries’ words, they didn’t just look through Paul’s microscope, they looked at their own copies of the microscope, they faithfully conducted their own research in Scriptures to prove or disprove Paul and Silas. There is some debate about why Luke called these Jews more noble, but it seems to me that their love for Scriptures was Luke’s focus.

Some came to know God and others chose to smash God’s microscope in Berea, verses 13 and 14.

Acts 17:13–14 (ESV)

13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.

Paul carried God’s microscope to Athens. (17:16-34)

In Athens people responded the same way, a few people came to know God, but the majority of people rejected God. Paul’s ministry in Athens, Berea, and Thessalonica really helps us understand how God uses people to make himself known. In all three cities, women were critical to making God known. Luke wrote that “Leading women” and “women of high standing” believed. I find verse 12 rather amusing. It was as if Luke focused on the women… (paraphrase) “many women believed, oh, and some did too.” Women were and still are essential in the mission of making God known.

I am going to save Paul’s ministry in Athens for next week, but verse 16 was very meaningful to me this week and provided the whole foundation for this message and next week’s message. Will you please follow along in verse 16 with me?

Acts 17:16 (ESV)

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

and then look at the very first word in the next verse. What is it? (“So”)

Paul encountered a problem. Athenians “knew” all sorts of made-up gods, but they knew nothing the one true God. “So” something had to be done. Paul seems to have asked himself the question you and I need to answer...

How can I make God known?

If I really do love the Lord my God with all my heart, and soul and mind, how do I make God known?

We must KNOW God.

Really, deeply, intimately, scripture-deep-diving kind of knowing God.

Christians fail to make God known because they don’t REALLY KNOW HIM! They really don’t dig into Scriptures to learn who He is like the noble Bereans did. Christianity is worthless if we are not driven to know God better and better with each passing day. Consider Paul’s example, In chapter 17, Paul knew two things to be true about God...

God is persistent. (Heb 12:1-3)

In Jn 6:37 we read...

John 6:37 (ESV)

37 All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast out.

and in Luk 19:10, this...

Luke 19:10 (ESV)

10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Jesus, God, is persistently saving all whom God the father gave Him to be saved. Salvation isn’t the end of the good work, it is only the beginning. Paul, in the power of the Spirit, penned these words in...

Philippians 1:6 (ESV)

6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

God is persistently completing a good work in His people, then in Hebrews, the author, probably Paul, wrote this...

Hebrews 12:1–3 (ESV)

“and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.

In Acts 17, Paul faced hostility in Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. Some accepted truth, and others rejected it, but because God is persistent, Paul persistently proclaimed God’s truth.

Paul deeply knew God and that knowledge effected how he lived. Paul also knew that...

God is jealous. (v16, Deut 5:7-9)

With his background as a Jew and Pharisee of all Pharisees, Paul would have been intimately familiar with Deut 5:7-9 which states...

7 “ ‘You shall have no other gods before me. 8 “ ‘You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 9 You shall not bow down to them or serve them; for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me,

So when we read Acts 17:16, we find something remarkable....

Acts 17:16 (ESV)

16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols.

Paul knew God so deeply that sin greatly effected his own emotions. Paul had the same mindset as God. God is jealous: therefore, Paul was jealous for God. Athenians sin grieved God, so Paul was grieved. Paul, like God desired every nations, tribes, and tongues to cry “Holy, Holy, Holy” and to declare...

“...with a loud voice, “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” (Revelation 5:12 (ESV)

Christians fail to represent God, we fail to represent God because we don’t really know him. Brothers and Sisters, we must deep dive into scriptures to see if these things are so and be committed to prayer every moment of every day.

Those proclaim the unknown God must know God, but we must also deeply desire to imitate him.

We must imitate God. (Eph 5:1; 3 Jn 11; Eph 4:1-2)

How did Jesus live life? Jesus walked throughout Judea and Samaria pointing people to the one true God. Paul did the same in this chapter to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. I am not saying that everyone needs to live out of a suitcase. We have plenty of examples in Scripture of people who wholeheartedly imitated God right where they lived. Whatever our occupation and giftedness, Eph 5:1 commands us...

Ephesians 5:1 (ESV)

1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children.

We imitate God by being wholly committed to good.

3 John 11 (ESV)

11 Beloved, do not imitate evil but imitate good. Whoever does good is from God; whoever does evil has not seen God.

Paul was certainly qualified to pen the majority of the New Testament, and it was with a clear conscience that he wrote Eph 4:1-2 which says...

Ephesians 4:1–2 (ESV)

1 I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,”

Our character should match God’s character. Our feet should go where Jesus’ feet would go and our lips should proclaim God’s words with the same boldness Jesus himself had.

Will you please bow your heads with me?

PRAYER

“Dear Heavenly Father,

I believe many of us worshipping today wholeheartedly agree that you are unknown to many people in our lives. I also believe that making you known is a priority for many, if not most of us.

Lord, your friend, David recognized that a clean heart is essential to teaching transgressors your ways. A clean heart causes worship to spill out of your people like water from a broken dam. Our prayer this morning is identical to David’s in Psalm 51...

“10 Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. 11 Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will return to you. 14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, O God of my salvation, and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness. 15 O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your praise.”

Please cause us to be a people bold for your name this week.

In Jesus’ precious name, Amen.”

Transition into Communion Service

Proclaiming God to those who do not know Him begins with a clean heart. We have an opportunity to worship God through Communion. This should be a reminder that we, God’s children should live in such a way to make our Heavenly Father so very proud of us.

“As the deacons make their way forward, please open the wrapper on your bread. Andy, will you please lead us in a song?”

ANDY: Leads us in Song

Then… (Song playing quietly in background)

Me: Before we partake in communion, 1 Corinthians 11:27–28 warns us to examine our hearts. Those verses say,

27 Whoever, therefore, eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty concerning the body and blood of the Lord. 28 Let a person examine himself, then, and so eat of the bread and drink of the cup.

While the song quietly plays, please use that time to pray and confess sin to God and humble our hearts before Him. After a couple of minutes, Andrew will lower the volume on the song and Jay will pray.

SONG playing in background

Jay Prays

Read the bread

1 Corinthians 11:23–24 (ESV)

23 For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, 24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

Eat the bread

Paul Prays - CUE SONG

ME: “While this song plays, I encourage you to take time to reflect on the work Christ began on the cross and how that has impacted your life. Take this time to praise God for the cross. Please wait to open your wrapper until the song ends so the crinkling sound doesn’t distract from worship.”

PLAY SONG

ME:“If you have not done so already, please open your wrappers.” (Read the cup)...

1 Corinthians 11:25–26 (ESV)

25 In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” 26 For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

“Lets drink the cup together....” (Drink the cup)

Ken Prays - CUE SONG

ME: “Mark 14:26 tells us that “when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.” Andy, would you lead us in another song?”