Starting Where People Are

Today on Senate length with Jamie Greer and Paul. We see a picture of what we need to be people who were deeply aware of our culture able to dialogue with it but untainted by which means we got to get to know our culture. We got to pay attention to it. Only way Paul was upset by the idolatry of the culture is spent time getting to know the cross message to get lost in translation. After all, we all come to the table with preconceived notions and customs and beliefs shaped us up to this point. Turns out this is something the early church had to grapple with two whole new world foreign to the gospel message was at their doorstep today on Senate life pastor JD Greer explains that in order for others to fully understand our message.

We need to first understand where they are coming from. We're in a series titled sense and if you missed any of the previous messages you can listen to them online when he visited JD Greer.com Pastor Janie titled today's message starting where people are have a Bible I love you take it out and opened it to the book of acts 17 when I was in college I was a part of a single book on a student legislature housed module, North Carolina college and uncle Tom's year you send that each college in North Carolina. Was it of the delegation would come down here to the capital North Carolina. We would like to present bills and arguably were Congressman pass laws.

We did have absolutely no bearing at all on any wall ever, it was fun he was, like dress-up, ecologists, and so in one of these obsessions. What I was in my fast asleep in my hotel room 230 Mike and one of my roommates who who I might lead to Christ. About three weeks prior to this morning comes busted in my room yelling at the top of his lungs. He's out of breath. JD grabbed her Bible quake and calm on and see you try to wake up. I'm groggy, he's just yelling at me beside my bed, grab your Bible quake, I honestly thought somebody was dying and needed to get saved like they were choking on a piece of meat and they had a few seconds and I was there to share the gospel with them in America.so I jump out of bed. I got nothing but gym shorts on and on like I got a addressees like the right time for you to get dressed so I got you.

I literally am running out the door. I grab my Bible.

I grabbed the first thing I get my hands on which have to be a jacket is in the winter so I'm running down the hall no gym shorts on the put this jacket on. It takes a hard right bust into this college room to some this other hotel and there's like 35 college students seated all of his room to bed. He's out of breath.

I'm out of breath and he says there is a point to make Mike here. Who is he said he said they all had questions about the Bible and a little bit.

You are an expert in the Bible, you can answer their questions and so I'm sitting there gym shorts winter coat on her shirt and is about 20 minutes to share the gospel with them and them for about an hour before the morning. That is, ask questions and it was a great night Alston.

Think about that situation when I read this passage in acts chapter 17. Because Paul is going to find himself in a very similar situation. I think it was a little bit better dressed than I was, I don't know if you've ever been in a situation like that. Maybe it wasn't that dramatic again. I hope that you are better dressed, but did you know what to say in that moment, if you found yourself in a situation where there are people who have little to no knowledge at all of the Christian message and very different than you. How do you conduct yourself in the time like that. What you say. If you are a believer here this weekend. What I think you see in the next few minutes to see some insights and some patterns really what you should say and how you should talk to people were very outside of what you believe in, and think very differently than you.

If you're not a believer. What I hope happens today is that you see and what Paul says this group of people you see some of your own questions address, you see some questions that are to be posed back to you and I hope that you hear the Holy Spirit speaking through Paul and then threw me to address kind of where you are in your search for God to accept the 17th to begin around verse 16. I'm still work like this passage and I read a few verses and stop and make some points of memos were away all the way down to verse 34.

That way, verse 16. Now while Paul while Paul was waiting for them at Athens. This is not Athens, Georgia this is Athens Greece even after Rome's ascendancy in Athens remain the intellectual capital of the world.

I think Oxford Cambridge Harvard Yale googol, rolled into one that was Athens. It was one of the art and athletic cultural centers of the world you had the largest one largest stadiums, athletic stadiums, there, and of course recognize that it was the birthplace of the Olympics and so is a lot of stuff happening there while he was there. His spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. It was an ancient saying in Athens.

That is, it was easier to find the God in Athens was a human. And I've had a chance to pass through Athens a couple of times and it's true everywhere you look in the ancient city of Athens or to see temple ruins huge temples to Zeus and Athena and a poly on so Paul seen all this, and he is provoked by Amber. 17 so he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, which seems to be where he always started his evangelism in the marketplace every day with those who happen to be there. The marketplace is not just a place they shot a pause not hang out at the checkout aisle target, you know, asking awkward questions on this is like a cultural center for them, for they discuss new ideas, and so he is there engaging them.

He's been provoked by their idolatry, which leads me to number one grieve over idolatry and do something about it.

We see a Paul pattern for how were supposed to relate to our city. You see, when people encounter temples as large as the ones you would find in Athens. They tended to do one of two things either a be so enamored by these structures of these temples that they just wanted to be a part of them. I wanted to be accepted by them and they wanted a piece of the action or they were so offended by and repulsed by them that they would run away from the city. Paul did neither of those things. He is the idolatry that he saw in Athens broke his heart but he didn't run away from it in fear and hatred didn't draw close to it with a desire to be accepted by them.

He ran straight against them toward them wanting to engage their idolatry and show them the message of the true God. Here is my question for you when you see idolatrous structures in our society.

What is your reaction Tim Keller says you can look at whatever buildings in your city are the biggest and that will usually give you an indication of what the cities idols are so that's true in Raleigh-Durham. We got a couple notes a few big buildings that are dedicated.

I think the finance and we get some really big sports arenas is probably an indication of where the idolatry in our city lives.

When you see those things. What is the did of the dominant reaction that takes place in your heart. It's okay to be impressed with those things. What does it grieve you that more glory is given to those things. More energy is poured out on those things that is given to the Almighty, and the glorious God. When you watch things like the Oscars or the Grammys. What emotion fills your heart. Is it admiration is it all is it a sense of repulsion or is it compassion and heartbreak.

You see, if you're not provoked by the idolatry.

If you're not provoked by the sensuality that means you are. Here's an old word worldly Meijer is very home in the world and its idols, or whether you acknowledge it or not, a comedy idols of your heart what they want is what you want but if you're one of the ones receives all those things and just gets angry and says no to hell with the world but you don't really get the gospel summit church in Paul we see a picture of what we need to be people who are deeply aware of our culture able to dialogue with it but untainted by it, which means we gotta get to know our culture, we gotta pay attention to it. The only way Paul was upset by the idolatry of the culture is. He spent time getting to know many of us are all peeved and ticked off about where our culture is headed for not actually listening to what people are safe. Here's the irony. We simply bolted overseas to be missionaries want the first thing they do is they spent several months is learning the culture to be able to understand and understand what is questions are dialogue with it. Irony is that many of those people get to know that culture better than you and I will get to know our own. Now I'm not advocating that you sit around and watch filthy movies and call that cultural research but that you be engaged to stay engaged in the culture for the purpose of reaching people figures you're gonna see that Paul's presentation of the gospel is built on how much he is listen to them and understood the question that they're asking and you do that because that's what Jesus did with you. Jesus did not see your idolatry.

It was provoked by but he did not run away from it. He did not desire to be accepted by us. He ran straight to us. He confronted us and he showed us the futility of idolatry and that there was a gap between what we were doing what God wanted for us. That's number one. Verse 18 so the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also converse with him. Now you are.

Who were those guys epicureans were basically hedonists.

What he this is somebody just seeks pleasure on they believe the gods were not concerned at all about this world. So live it up. The Stoics were complete opposite of the epicureans they were pantheists who believe that God was in everything, so they were all about getting in touch with the divine within the way that they thought you did that was by avoiding the passions and cares of the world. Their ideal state.

They believed to be spiritual.

Their ideal state was import her mobility was that mean import her mobility, unable to be perturbed, which means they were not in a mood by paying they were not seduced by pleasure think Spock that he would've been a good Stoic okay because that's is ideal. You stay well that's really interesting, but that's irrelevant to me because I'm either an Epicurean nor a Stoic. Here is why a point that out Epicureanism and Stoicism had grown up in the wake of an argument that took place between Plato in his brilliant student, Aristotle, neither Epicureanism or Stoicism. Neither of them were really well thought out carefully articulated philosophies than what we call pragmatic, which means that they were dysfunctional. I just work for people. Some people prefer to live it up to be preferred more. The reflective life. What you find in history. Listen. Any time that there are some really smart people that are both regarded well by the culture they disagree with each other. What happens to everybody else.

As you develop this kind of philosophical despair you like what's impossible to figure things out as both these guys are really smart may disagree.

So it must be whatever works for you choices, choose what works for me and you choose one that works for you in our culture. That's what we deal with because you got guys like Stephen Hawking on one side who seems to be a really intelligent scientist saying you know God is not necessary at all.

Explain the universe. Yet other cultural icons like Billy Graham. You say God is absolutely necessary to explain things. It is necessary for your life and a lot of us look about you say will both these guys are well regarded and respected. It must be that we just can't figure it out. So whatever works. Those are the kinds of people that Paul is talking to their people who develop the functional philosophy of life. But it's not really well thought out metaphor. Paul's about to get engaged here. Verse 19 I guess her verse 18 still in some so what is this battle was to say no babbler is a very derogatory term. It literally means a bird who picks up seeds and spits them out without digested and think like that you want to check it-that's my best chicken illustration.

By the way people are receive a chicken on so what he's doing is he saying that Paul is like a guy who takes an idea from somebody else doesn't understand it, or digested, spits it out because he's part.

In other words, Paul is a second-class mind I will tell you guys that used to really bother me that everywhere I went. When people found out that I was a committed Christian. It was is automatically assumed that I was a second-class mind. I'm a committed Christian and therefore on the knuckle dragging Neanderthal he's never really read a book. Who wants to marry his sister and that used to really bother me until I realize it's it's it's always been that way and I need a special sum you college students you might be the smartest person on your campus. You might be more well read than anybody on your campus but you just need to understand that this is what it ought about Jesus. It will be said about Paul is a satanic lie and you just better get used to it and you better not resent it better.

Embrace it in a show like Paul's about to show an action not as dumb as you think I am just because they say that that mean you are that right so that's what you're missing other city seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities busy preaching Jesus and the resurrection verse 19 said it took him and brought into the Areopagus, which is translated Marcel St., may we know this new teaching that you're presenting. Because you see verse 21 Luke says all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new historian say that these philosophers were always on the lookout for another God that they can add to their Parthenon Parthenon was a big building with the Statues all the gods were in the Roman and Greek empire.

The Roman Empire agriculture so I'm always looking for new and so they're trying to interview policy. He's got the intellectual chops to include a statue of Jesus in the Parthenon so I can get the section back here to have statue yet Jesus will fit in there to. This is Paul's interview. Nothing.

Paul's interview well fill verse 22 so Paul standing up in the midst of Mars Hill Areopagus admin about things I perceive that you are in every way very religious as a compliment or an insult. That's the beauty of it, you don't know the word religious and Greek literally means spiritual were to be a compliment or give me superstitious, which would be an insult they think you mean spiritual survey taken as a compliment.

Paul's public and a twinkle in his eyes as he met the double entendre. Oh, you're very religious so they're like oh yes we are.

Thank you for noticing. Verse 23 for as I pass along observed the objects of your worship. I found also in altar with this inscription to the unknown God.

This was there just in case God just in case the real God represented in the thousands of other gods. We got ears you unknown God, you know, it may if you've ever been.

Throughout the pictures of it. One of the things around these temples is there all these images that depicted struggle and the tour guide that I was with said that these were the Greeks waived showing the difficulty of the questions that life is presenting their struggling to figure life out in struggling to come. The meaning Paul looks at the unknown God statue looks at all these images, a struggle and he says what. Therefore, you worship is unknown. I proclaim to you.

I can see your struggling. I can see you want to know God, but you know you don't quite know yet.

That's the one that I'm in a proclaim to you. In other words, he started with Bayer questions is significantly different than where he starts with the Jews.

Act 72 when he walks into a synagogue since he opened the Scriptures, and reason with him: open the Bible on Mars Hill.

Why little recognize the authority of the Bible, so he knows he's got to reason with them to get them to pay attention to what the Bible says he starts out with chapter and verse. He starts with their questions and the only way you'd start with her questions if he knew what they were number two Paul file and Paul found points of agreement. Or here's what he said. I can see your searching for God. Mankind is incurably religious.

You see, God created us to worship and to know him. It's a primary drive knife like hunger you can.

People say what I'm not really religious because I don't go to church.

You could know more ceased being religious but not going to church. Then you can see's you have a sex drive. By choosing to remain single. Now sin has corrupted that desire, but the remnants of it are still there.

The book of Ecclesiastes says that God has put eternity indelibly in the hearts of mankind, which means that all people ask questions about God. All people search for meaning. All people are looking for ultimate answers to life's questions. Some of the best conversations that I've ever had about God to place with people who would probably never step foot in this church on the Thompson fraternity sometimes in bars, sometimes in places that are just very far from what he would think of as a church culture got people who are not religious in the formal sense they got questions about God because God put that in your heart and that's search for God that takes place. Listen to me in every human being should be identified and it should be affirmed. Because that's the place that you can start. I told atheist. For example, I admire your passion for truth, I can see that you want to be a moral person who is intellectually honest and I think that's awesome. I've told nonreligious fathers in my neighborhood. I can see you really care about the future of your children.

I can see that your concern to leave a legacy in the least, something that them that's worth living for.

I've told activists who are, shall we say, on the liberal side cool positions on issues very different.

Admire I will will say that you know I'm very contrived. Am very touched by how compassionate you are and how much you want to see the brokenness of the world heal. Why, because those things are remnants of the image of God and the search for God in them. And I want to say that's great that's awesome. I can see it always. You're very spiritual. Now, will Paul's about to do in the next few verses is gonna start pointing out little logical problems with their approach to God lately. Verse 24 but God, the real God who made the world and everything in it be Lord of heaven and earth doesn't dwell in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he gave the mankind life and breath and everything they need to know is does it make sense that the God who created everything would actually need for you to build a house to live in, and then for you to put out food every morning for him to eat doesn't really make sense that God is dependent on your rice and meat that you leave out the door step for him actually comments back on and an excess he made from one man every nation of mankind to live in all the face of the earth. He's the one to determine their allotted periods in the boundaries of the dwelling place that they should seek him and perhaps fill their way toward him and find him. Now he's doing a couple of things here. The first thing he's doing is he's confronting this idea that that God is like a tribal God. You see, they had like thousands of gods in each one was over difference. We got to see you in the God of war.

Many of the God of the Ephesians. The real God is the creator of all love it if there is not God or one particular sphere. The second thing he's doing is he showing them that life's most important pursuit is to know that God Greek and Roman God. You see, were always a means to some other thing you worship and serve them because you want something making give you, for example, you will sampling non-artists. Artemis was the goddess of prosperity, the goddess of money. So if you want to prosperity and money you were devoted to her.

You want your template you made offerings. Athena Athena was the goddess of wisdom to her temple.

There was a statue of Zeus, with his head split open and she was coming out of it.

If you want to be smart you want to get wisdom than you would go to the temple of Athena and you would give offerings and she would give you wisdom and that was a goddess Nikkei or we might say Mike and I KE she was the goddess of victory.

She was worsened by athletes and warriors and Michael Jordan arrived because she made you run faster, jump higher and soar above the competition. She was in the shoes and there was the goddess of Aphrodite you will goddess that was aphrodisiacs regardless of sex, good sex, beauty, fertility thing for you to remember that all these gods were a means to something else. It whatever you are looking for prosperity, money, sex, through the bowel movements whatever whatever was importing you you worship God to get that thing the real God. Paul says is so glorious and transcendent that he is its own reward you not sought as a means to anything else and Paul hello to them and says you know that you know the real God. The reason you have an altar the unknown God is. You know that there's something out there is better than power, money that this is not working for you yet, even though he is so glorious and transcendent is actually not far from each one of us for quote in him we live and move and have our being. Question what Bible passage is he quoting their different Isaiah, Jeremiah, about Leviticus and Deuteronomy nobody knows was in Deuteronomy's was always able quote from right what is what what what what Percy quote he's not going to Bible verse is a quote surrounded because it's a quote from a poem written in 600 BC to suits that recorded videos on. He says this is even some of your own poets have said, we are indeed his offspring from a poem called find Naaman out written by a stoic poet, always quoting from things embedded in their popular culture being then God's offspring.

Just like your poets is that we ought not to think of the divine being is like gold or silver or stone an image formed by the art in the imagination of man in their context. God is the creator he can never be reduced to something that you can hold in your hands. That's a pretty important starting point when it comes to talking about the God of the universe went to say you're listening to Summit life Bible teaching ministry of pastor, author and theologian Jamie Greer weighted teaching series called and were here every day on the radio and sharing gospel truth transforms lives. If you missed any of the messages in this series, you can find them online, free of charge.

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