Introduction:
1. Setting up the account of Paul's arrival to Athens
-Chased out of Thessalonica
-Chased out of Berea
-Sent away for his safety and to try to calm things a bit
-Waiting for Timothy and Silas in Athens
I. A Soul Stirred (Acts 17:16)
Acts 17:16 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.
A. Why was Paul's Soul stirred up?
a. The provocation of his spirit brought on by the sight of their depravity not miraculously stirred by the Holy Spirit. "...as he saw that the city was full of idols..."
b. To be stirred to such an extent Paul must have been...
1. Dedicated completely to the Lord like Hannah dedicated Samuel (1 Samuel 1:24-28). The difference between Samuel (who was dedicated by his mother and then was raised as dedicated), and Paul is that Paul dedicated himself.
2. Paul was personally invested in his faith (2 Timothy 2:8-10).
Paul suffered for his faith (2 Corinthians 11:23-33). Paul sacrificed for his faith. The Scriptures do not record the death of the Apostle, but tradition holds that he died for his faith.
3. Paul took ownership of his faith, his purposeas defined by God and his Savior Jesus Christ (2 Timothy 2:8) "...as preached in MY gospel..."
B. Is Your Soul Stirred?
Is today really that much different from Paul's time? Sure we don't have enemies of the cross chasing us from city to city, but we are certainly preaching amidst idols!
-Cult of Personality (False Teachers, Theologians, etc.)
-Love of Stuff (Keep up with the Jones', Make more to spend more, Debt, etc.)
-Magazine Propaganda (Proclaim theory as fact, bias and skewed, perverting the self image of girls, etc.)
-Filth of Television (Inappropriate programming, scams, brainwashing, etc.)
-Companies promising happiness in a pill because no one is happy! so on and so on it goes.
We live in truly terrifying times! We should be alarmed. This is an age that is frankly full of different idols that are geared for the same affect. Satan knows his business well and his business is to distract you from your spirituality; to influence you to put Christ and God and Eternity at the back of your mind so that you will be so wrapped up in the here and now, in the "looks good," tastes good, smells good, FEELS good that you completely forget about what eternity brings.
Does this not stir up your spirit? Does this not cause you to feel a sense of urgency? Paul saw much the same thing happening in Athens and he was stirred up by this, are you?
a. Have you taken ownership?
1. Are these YOUR brethren? (Hebrews 10:23-27)
2. Is it your faith? (Romans 1:16-17) "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. (17) For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, 'The righteous shall live by faith.'" That's The Faith that becomes OUR faith.
Has The Faith become your faith? If it has then you know that it doesn't matter what Joel Osteen, or Billy Graham, T. D. Jakes, Swaggart, Kennedy or any of the other guys say because you are focused on the Bible and the Bible alone. The Truth is found there and not from the mind or mouth of men. As a result The Faith dictates and shapes your faith.
b. Have you dedicated yourself to God?
1. Romans 12:1-2; 4-8
2. Colossians 3:23-24"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, (24) knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ."
3.Have you dedicated yourself completely or only partially. God knows for His spirit testifies with our spirit whether we are God's according toRomans 8:16.
c. Are you invested in the souls around you?
1. We are expected to see through spiritual eyes. We are expected to not see the sinner around us as this disgusting, contagious heathen. We are not to see them as our enemies whom we hate. We are to see them as souls who are in desperate need of Jesus Christ to save their souls from their own flesh. 2 Corinthians 5:16 "From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh..." because we see them as souls in need of Christ.
2. One of the biggest gripes that I have heard from hard working Christians is that they will pour their heart and soul into working with someone. They will study with them, they will make an emotional and spiritual investment with that person and eventually that person comes for a visit and the members of the congregation drive this new person away because the members haven't invested a thing.
They've not invested the time getting to know the person so they've no clue what offends them and they don't bother to consider it.
-Denominationalism
-Misunderstandings
-Cultural Differences
They've not invested the effort to address the person's deep spiritual questions or concerns, thus they don't have the same sense of work that's been put into that person.
What I am trying to get at here is that it doesn't matter who walks through that door, what happens and why, if each and every member of a congregation doesn't feel invested in the worship, in the evangelism, in the Work of the church as a whole then friends and brethren, it will show.
3. Your level of investment will dictate your level of care
Warren Buffet made the phrase having "skin in the game" popular when he referred to a situation in which high-ranking insiders use their own money to buy stock in the company they are running. It's pretty common for an executive to receive stock as compensation or to exercise stock options to buy stock at a discount. What is rarely heard of is when an executive risks his/her own money in the company they work for.
When an executive puts skin in the game, it is seen as a sign of good faith or a show of confidence in the future of the company, and it is seen as a positive sign by outside investors.
This phrase can be used by spiritual people doing spiritual things. Do you have any skin in the game? If you are a Christian who has been cleansed of their iniquities then you already have skin in the game.
You just have to recognize the gravity of it.
Conclusion:
1. Paul was motivated to preach in Athens because he was:
-Dedicated to the Lord by his own volition
-Took ownership of his faith, his purpose and his Savior
-Completely invested in what he was doing for the Lord
2. Why does this matter to you and me?
-Not much different today. We are preaching amidst idols.
-Are we as motivated to preach amidst those idols?
-Is our heart stirred up by those idols in such a way that we are willing to do what it takes to spread the Word of God no matter the outcome to our physical well being?
Do we:
-Say it isn't worth the effort?
-Look at those idols and become too afraid to preach?
-Have the dedication it takes to effectively preach?
-Get sucked into those idols ourselves?
Or do we:
-Dedicate ourselves to the Lord and His purposes?
-Take ownership of our faith, our purpose in the Lord?
-Make the investment in every soul we meet?
3. What I am asking you to do this week is to evaluate yourself concerning these matters. Evaluate and identify where you can improve and find someone in your congregation to buddy up with who will help you in this endeavor.
Invitation:
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