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[Music] good morning to everyone and welcome to free grace Baptist Church it's a joy to be back in the house of the Lord hopefully it is for you just a reminder that pastor Butler and Rebecca are traveling this past week their pastor Butler is preaching this morning at Vista Church Vista the church in Vista the Reformed Baptist Church in Vista Jason Walt Walters church also james rena hands church so we can keep him in prayer and we will pray for him when we get to our time of Prayer we prayed for him this morning in our morning prayer time so he'll be returning not this upcoming week but the week following so you're you're stuck with me for two weeks and we can look forward to two jim Butler returning in a couple weeks in a week and a half just a couple announcements before we begin worship fellowship luncheon is today so after the morning service anyone who is able and willing to join us for lunch you can all come up and pray or after the after the time of prayer of following this morning service I'll come back up and we can pray for the food and for our fellowship so again that's everyone's welcome visitors regulars alike the luncheon after the morning service just a reminder to line up against the far wall there so we don't block the the entrance door secondly in lastly we have the hospital ministry today not at the Heritage shown but at the actual Chilliwack Hospital the main hospital just down the road there so that's 2:30 at the ECU for those who have never never gone and you're willing to come we have we sing a few hymns with the folks there give a brief message 10-15 minute minutes a brief gospel message close with another hymn and and then meet and speak with them as we're able to do so so that's the hospital ministry this afternoon after the fellowship luncheon for anyone who's able to come at 2:30 at the ECU in the main hospital well let's turn in our Bibles then as we begin our worship this morning you can turn with me to Psalm 113 Psalm 113 for our call to worship the psalmist here is rehearsing both the transcendence as well as the imminence of God His Majesty as one removed exalted above all creation but as one as well who is near to all near to his creation he is not is he not a God who is near and not far off our Lord is both transcendent in his glory and imminent in his blessed omnipresence as well as his covenant 'el immediacy Psalm 113 beginning in verse 1 this is the Word of God praise the Lord praise o servants of the Lord praise the name of the Lord blessed be the name of the Lord from this time forth and forevermore from the rising of the Sun to its going down the Lord's name is to be praised the Lord is high above all nations his glory above the heavens who is like the Lord our God who dwells on high who humbles himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth he raises the poor out of the dust and lifts the needy out of the ash heap that he may seat him with Prince's with the princes of his people he grants the barren woman a home like a joyful mother of children praise the Lord Amen well let's stand and sing together if you'll stand with me we're going to sing first in our large Trinity hymnals hymn number 19 to a familiar tune that's him number 19 [Music] you [Music] please be seated let's go to God in prayer let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you now as we come to you in prayer as a gathered assembly we come to you and ask yet again that your name in this place would be hallowed by the lips by the hearts of your gathered people we pray that you would be praised that you would be honored Lord God for truly it is your do we know that you are the one who created all things in the heavens and on the earth that you created all things you created the universe and everything therein by the word of your power in the space of six days and all very good we rejoice in you as that same one who upholds all things who sustains all things and who has condescended to redeem man from the guilt and from the condemnation of sin by virtue the perfect saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ that all those who believe in him a veil of everlasting life and we rejoice in the gospel of Jesus Christ as the people of Christ that that is the the stuff of our praise the the stuff of our joy we come earnestly and in great joy to bring you praises and honor we reflect upon the fact that we were once dead in our trespasses and in our sins a wholly without strength and without hope yet you Lord God and your appointed and accepted time made us alive in Christ Jesus by grace we have been saved and we know that that salvation is is wrapped up perfectly in the perfection of the work of Jesus Christ our Lord we thank you that he lived that life of obedience to your law at every point in the stead of all those who believed in his name that upon Calvary's cross he took upon himself the curse of the law having become a curse for us for everyone who believes in his name that he bore in his own body our sins upon the tree we rejoice in that blessed truth of sacrifice of substitution those things that Christ perfected upon Calvary's cross and we rejoice in that and we thank you that he rose again we rejoice in you and rejoice in the fact that he did rise again the third day that he ever lives now having ascended to your right and to intercede for his Saints we thank you that he rules and he reigns over his enemies that he subdues the hearts of his elect and brings them to a knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ a knowledge of himself by the power of the Spirit and we rejoice in you then Father Son and Holy Spirit for the graces for the mercies for the eternal loving-kindnesses that you pour down upon us we pray that you would cause us in our spirits to be aroused to proper praisings and proper honoring zuv you our triune God do help us as we are here in worship we know that the things of the world the past week and the upcoming week can steal away the proper focus very often we do pray then that you'd help us by your spirit and for your Glory's sake to be attentive in worship that you might receive all honor we would pray for many things in our midst as we did pray in our prayer meeting this morning in greater detail we would ask Lord that you'd be with those who are struggling physically and we know that there are many who do struggle with illness and disease and injury and and all these things Lord God we would just ask that you would be with each and every one strengthen them in body we do pray that you'd help them in the midst of affliction and in hurts and pains and all those things of the physical man we pray that in the midst of that you would just stir them up in spirit to be joyful to even in the midst of these things to reflect with great joy upon the mercies of God to reject it to reflect upon all of those things that you pour out on us on a daily basis but most importantly the reality of being found in Christ not having a righteousness of our own which is from the law but that which is from you through faith in Christ and we do pray that you would just strengthen your your weary saints that you would uplift them that you would help them and Lord God that you would cause them to reflect with great joy upon the promises of the word we do ask that you be with all who are traveling is this time of year comes around there's a many going away on vacation many traveling to see family and friends and and others around the world and nearby we do just pray that you'd watch over all those who are travel we just pray that you protect them and guard them and we pray that you would return them home safely and we pray in a special way for Jim and Rebecca as they travel as they have already visited Mike Kirkpatrick for his graduation ceremonies we pray that you'd watch over them as they continue to travel and visit the family and friends we ask that you'd be with Pastor Butler as he preaches this morning at the church down there in Vista California be with him be near to him and strengthen him in that pulpit and we do pray that you bless that congregation through worship and the preaching of the word that they would be encouraged and lifted up and guided in the things of your word and by your spirit and we do pray that sinners would be saved we would ask God that you would be with those who are persecuted around the world for the Gospels sake as we prayed again this morning there are many around the world who continue to be persecuted under the heavy hands of oppressors whether that be government or their own countrymen even their own family and friends we do pray Lord that you would cause them to be strengthened upheld in the things of Christ Jesus the Lord we do pray that in the midst of of much anger and much physical violence that they would be strengthened and comforted by the triune God and that you would just be near to them as we read in this Psalm yes you are a God who was far exalted above his creation but you are also a one a God who is who is eminent who is near and we pray that you would be with those that you would be near that you would be immediate to those who are persecuted for the Gospels sake and that you would be their God of immediate comfort we would ask Lord yet again that you would deal with those who persecute your people we pray Lord God that you would save many who are presently those who do bring violence as the Apostle Paul so long ago sought to bring violence against the Church of Christ dragging men and women out of their homes and and off to prison and and off to judgment we pray that you would do such a work like you did with that man so long ago bringing him from the darkness of persecution to light in life in Christ Jesus the Lord we pray that you would do this with those who now presently persecute you would grant them that salvation from on high to lay hold of the hope of Christ without wavering and to be found among those whom they formerly persecuted we do pray God that you would deal with those who will remain in opposition and hardness of heart we pray that you would deal with those who who are hardened against your people even unto their last breath that you would judge them that you would bring temporal judgment upon them and that they may no longer bring violence against your people we pray for those who govern over us we would ask that you be with those who rule over the nations of the earth we cast our eyes and assess the the political situation it's very often quite grieving and we do pray that you would bring an end to this that you would vindicate your name in the earth that you would cast down Prince's who seek to uphold violence and madness and wickedness and evil and you would put those in positions of power who would seek to uphold righteousness and virtue we do pray Lord God that you would do this through the proclamation of your gospel that you would do this through the the sovereignty that is yours alone that you would affect much change in this lower world that many would come to a knowledge of Christ and that righteousness would reign throughout the lands we do pray Lord God for the self Surrey Bible study we thank you that this is ongoing that this is being blessed by you we thank you for the the public venue that we're able to secure in June and on going after that we do pray that you'd be over this work we do pray that this Bible study would turn into a as we seek to turn it into this but only by you our aid we pray that it would turn into a Lord's Day worship in the new year that we'd be able to have meetings not only for Bible study on those Tuesdays but as well on the Lord's Day that in due time we will be able to gather together as a church plant there and Lord God that you would bless all those who attend that both the Bible study and that a future church plant we just pray that your gospel would be proclaimed that you would strengthen your people that sinners would be saved and Lord God this would be yet another effort in the growth of the church throughout the ages that would redound to your glory into your praise into your honor we would ask Lord then that you would now be with us as we worship as we continue to sing as we continue to pray as we continue to read from your scriptures and engage in the preaching of the word we know that we require divine help and so we do pray for that and we pray for the preacher Lord God that you would give him aid as he proclaims the word just give me Lord God all that I need in order to open up your word and preach well the things of your revelation to the sons of men and we do pray that we would all be blessed here in worship this morning that by the proclamation of your word sinners would be saved the Saints would be edified and all this Lord God by the divine power of the Spirit we do pray yet again that morning and evening all that we do Lord God would be done unto the praise of your glorious grace we pray in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen let's stand and sing again as a church this time the same larger hymnal you can turn to hymn 2 and we'll sing that together that's him number 2 [Music] please be seated can turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Mark with me as we read through the New Testament consecutively each and every Lord's day we arrive now at the Gospel of Mark specifically in chapter 6 so we'll begin reading in verse 1 of chapter 6 and finish at verse 29 this is Mark 6 beginning in verse 1 once again the Word of God then he went out from there and came to his own country and his disciples followed him and when the sabbath had come he began to teach in the synagogue and many hearing him were astonished saying where did this man get these things and what wisdom is this which is given to him that such mighty works are performed by his hands is this not the carpenter the son of Mary and brother of James Joseph Judas and Simon and are not his sister's here with us so they were offended at him but jesus said to them a prophet is not without honor except in his own country among his own relatives and in his own house now he could do no mighty work there except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them and he marveled because of their unbelief then he went about the villages in a circuit teaching and he called the twelve to himself and began to send them out two by two and gave them power over unclean spirits he commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff no bag no bread no copper in their money belts but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics also he said to them in whatever place you enter a house stay there till you depart from that place and whoever will not receive you nor hear you when you depart from there shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them assuredly I say to you it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the Day of Judgment than for that City so they went out and preached that people should repent and they cast out many demons and appointed scuse me and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them now King Herod heard of him for his name had become well known and he said John the Baptist is risen from the dead and therefore these powers are at work in him others said it is Elijah and others said it is the prophet or like one of the prophets but when Herod heard he said this is John who might be headed he has been raised from the dead for Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias his brother Philips wife for he had married her because John had said to Herod it is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife there for Herodias held it against him and wanted to kill him but she could not for Herod feared John knowing that he was a just and holy man and he protected him and when he heard him he did many things and heard him gladly then an opportune day came when Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his Nobles the high office high officers and the chief men of Galilee and when Herodias his daughter herself came in and danced and pleased Herod and those who sat with him the king said to the girl ask me whatever you want and I will give it to you he also swore to her whatever you ask me I will give you up to half my kingdom so he went out and said to her mother what shall I ask and she said the head of John the Baptist immediately she came in with haste to the king and asked saying I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter and the king was exceedingly sorry yet because of the owes and because of those who sat with him he did not want to refuse her immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought and he went and beheaded him in prison brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl and the girl gave it to her mother when his disciples heard of it they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb Amen well no doubt that is something of a gory scene there's no elaboration upon Gor but hopefully we don't with vanity imagine what it might look like but nevertheless the simple words of the text bring forth the what is this reality when unbelief and when unbelief and the protection or the hiding of one's own sins is mingled with superstition and irreligion we have this result as well join with an abuse of power you see John the Baptist preached righteousness and Herod and Herodias more specifically in this text Herodias did not like her sin uncovered by the righteousness with which John the Baptist preached and so she takes this occasion this opportunity as the text says to pray upon the the wicked and irreligious oath-taking and and reputation keeping character and disposition of Herod to bring John Baptist's life to an end it's a picture of sin it's a picture of irreligion and unbelief it's a picture of the opposition to the righteousness and to the gospel of Jesus Christ we see here no doubt John as a hero we see here no doubt as we'll see in following narrative the reality of the Lord Jesus Christ as one greater than John the Baptist of course but one like him who didn't shrink back from preaching righteousness who didn't shrink back from preaching the glory of God who didn't shrink back from calling men out for their sins and for their wickedness and as one and as the only one who gave down who gave up his life for guilty sinners if you're here today and you consider the words of Scripture and the account that it gives with regards to the Lord Jesus Christ rejoice in him find in him your Savior find in him the one who is the Redeemer from iniquity transgression and sin and the bondage and the darkness of iniquity find in Christ your all in all let us pray Heavenly Father we rejoice in the word of God we rejoice in what we find as we read through the narrative of Mark's Gospel we thank you for empowering those servants of you Orr's to proclaim richly the things of Christ the kingdom of God and true and proper righteousness we thank you for our savior the Lord Jesus Christ that ultimate and that quintessential preacher of righteousness who himself is very God and very man yet one Christ who gave himself for guilty sinners we do pray that as we continue in worship we would rejoice in him that we would rejoice in father son and spirit and Lord God once again you would be the recipient of much praise and we pray in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen well let's stand again as a church for our last him before the preaching of the word we're going to sing hymn number 60 from that this same Trinity hymnal that's him number six zero let's stand and sing [Music] you turn in your Bibles to the book of Acts and chapter 17 Acts chapter 17 the next two Lord's days we're going to have a look at Paul's proclamation of the living and true God before those Athenian pagans at the areopagus before he gets to the Areopagus he is in Athens the area the Areopagus of course is in Athens but he first comes to Athens generally speaking preaches in the synagogue's and and in the marketplace and then he is brought to the Areopagus in order to elaborate upon in order to expand upon this Jesus and the resurrection that he has proclaimed in the synagogue's and before Gentile worshipers in the synagogue's and as well to pagans in the streets of Athens in the marketplace at acts 17 or in acts 17 specifically verse 16 to verse 34 we have the largest recorded sermon by the Apostle Paul in the book of Acts it is his largest sermon there are larger sermons than the Apostle Paul's here at Peter's on the the day of Pentecost is a larger sermon the the godly Stephen in acts 7 delivers a larger sermon that doesn't mean that Paul's is somehow inferior or anything like that but just to note this is Paul's largest sermon in the book of Acts and the sermon contains much of a remedy against the godless and and mad religion of the pagans of Athens he preaches strongly the triune God of heaven and earth over and against the pagan and idolatrous conceptions of deities that were rampant in the day and this morning we want to take up verse 16 to verse 21 and then next Lord's Day Paul's sermon proper in verse 22 to verse 34 so I'm going to read the entirety of the section acts 17 beginning in verse 16 to the end of the chapter once again this is the word of god 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 therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshippers and in the marketplace daily with those who happen to be there then 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 and they took him and brought him to the Areopagus saying may we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak for you are bringing some strange things to our ears therefore we want to know what these things mean for all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing then Paul stood in the midst of the areopagus and said men of Athens I perceive that in all things you are very religious for as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship I even found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God therefore the one whom you worship without knowing him I proclaim to you God who made the world and everything in it since he is Lord of Heaven and Earth does not dwell in temples made with hands nor is he worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything since he gives to all life breath and all things and he is made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on the face of the earth and has determined their pre appointed pre appointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings so that they should seek the Lord in the hope that they might grope for him and find him though he is not far from each one of us for in him we live and move and have our being as also some of your own poets have said for we are also his offspring therefore since we are the offspring of God we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone something shaped by art and man's devising truly these times of ignorance God overlooked but now commands all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by the man whom he has ordained he has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead and when they heard of the resurrection of the Dead some mocked while others said we will hear you again on this matter so Paul departed from among them however some men joined him and believed among them Dionysius the Areopagite a woman named Damaris and others with them Amen well let us ask God's blessing upon our remaining time let us pray Heavenly Father we rejoice now that we can engage in this act of worship the preaching of the word we would pray father that you would help us now that you would help preacher that you would help here we pray for that measure that presence of your Holy Spirit in illuminating our minds and causing us to know with a greater earnest and with greater joy and with a greater apprehension the things of our blessed Savior the things of our triune God and that knowledge of the truth and we just pray Lord that this all of this that all of this that we engage in with respect to the preaching of the word we do pray that it would be unto your Glory's sake we pray that you would help us and not simply to leave this place having been having had our minds filled with a knowledge of the word but rather with that knowledge of the word we would contemplate it we would roll it around we would rejoice in it and that we would just not leave it there but that we would seek to live in light of it that you would strengthen us by your spirit to take the true this truth out into the world that we might tell of others of the riches the excellencies of so great a savior and Lord God that we might conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ so do be with us now and might you be praised in the name of our Savior the Lord Jesus Christ amen once again the Apostle Paul comes to Athens and we didn't read the portion leading up to it but you're familiar know dealt with the ministry in Berea in Thessalonica Paul leaves Timothy and Silas there and at the outset of the the verse that we read their verse 16 we note that Paul is waiting there for them he's waiting for Timothy and Silas to come in to join him there and while he is waiting he's not vacationing while he's waiting he doesn't just go to the locker of the local watering hole to a to lubricate his his pipes and wait for Timothy and Silas but rather what he does is he engages in a proclamation of the living and true God and a defence of the gospel of Jesus Christ before these Athenian idolaters and hopefully as a as a Christian as you read this passage and hopefully perhaps with the help or not with the help of the preacher as we engage in preaching and we consider this passage you're you're confronted in a wholesome way with the glory of God empowering a minister of the gospel this Jew from Tarsus to proclaim the riches and the glories and the majesty of this God in the face of a people who had 30,000 of God 30,000 small G God's those who were just surrounded by more gods than people to paraphrase one old philosopher he comes and with great power and with great beauty the Apostle Paul defends the one and only living and true God in the face of the madness and the darkness and the folly of idolatry now just very briefly before we get to two main things from verses 16 and verses 16 to 21 just some introductory stuff with regards to the context you know acts 17 doesn't come to us in a vacuum acts 17 is part of the Bible and what is the larger context then with regards to acts 17 what is in the background well first off if we're to back up in redemptive history because remember this is connected in the Old Testament we have the promise of the coming Christ as that protoevangelium the first proto proto gospel is delivered to to add them into even the garden that the the the skull-crushing head of the serpent would or the excuse me the salt the skull-crushing seed of the woman would crush the head of the serpent God's revelation builds upon that glorious promise of the coming Christ and so there is an anticipation of this Christ that would come joined with the promise of the coming Christ which remember the Old Testament is not solely concerned with but primarily concerned with it is the scope of the whole with that promise of the coming Christ joined to it is the promise of Gentile inclusion in the Covenant blessings of God remember that the gospel or the promise of Christ is not just a promise that Israel would be blessed though Israel would be blessed it's not just a promise that you know the the region of Judea and and those sort of surrounding areas would be blessed but it is a promise that this Christ would come to give deliverance to Israel and deliverance to Gentile as well he Gentiles as well he is the savior of the Jews and the savior of the Gentiles so the promise of Christ the promise of Covenant blessings including Gentiles and then we get to the New Testament and we see exactly that happening Christ comes in accordance with the promises the promises were not vain the promises were not empty but that Christ promised in the Old Testament comes and in the New Testament we have a record of the perfect fulfillment of those promises and not only that but the inclusion of Gentiles as promised in the Old Testament is realized in the pages of the New Testament we have Christ coming and he's coming as yes the savior of the Jews but also as a light shining in those dark places of Gentile madness he calls Gentiles and by his apostles as well he calls Gentiles to faith in him he perfects or he promises rather to build his church remember this in the back of your minds whenever you read through the book of Acts whenever a preacher is preaching from the book of Acts that the promise of Christ in Matthew sixteen is foundational to the book of Acts the Lord Jesus Christ promises I will build my church and the gates of Hell will not prevail against it the book of Acts comes and it is the unfolding the opening up of the fulfillment of that promise that Christ would build his church he promises or after the his saving work the perfection of his saving work which is the crux of the matter of biblical revelation his death upon Calvary's cross and his subsequent revelation we then have then the immediate context in the book of Acts the the pouring out of the Spirit these things are all connected brethren remember that our Bibles come our Bibles come with them or there's a particular character that our Bibles come delivered to us with and one of those beautiful characters that attest to its divine inspiration and authority is the consent of all the parts and not only the consent of every writer ultimately the one divine author yet those he super intends to bring these books to us and to the sons of men but all that they proclaim all that they promised and all that unfolds is connected and so in the book of Acts we have the pouring out of the Spirit Christ pours out having having ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high he pours out his promised spirit and he empowers ministers of his to go about and spread the gospel for the growth of the church remember that growth that he promised and so the book of Acts follows after a particular outcome then to Judea and Samaria then to the uttermost parts of the earth there's Athens so he sends them out and he also says I will give you my spirit and to paraphrase to empower to arm to equip you to help you as you proclaim my gospel of saving grace and then we have of course even more immediately in the context the salvation of the Apostle Paul and his commissioning by Christ as an apostle his I want you just to turn with me before we then finally get back to our text you can turn with me to acts 26 because this is the launching pad if you will for our consideration of the Apostle Paul bringing the gospel of saving grace the gospel of Jesus Christ to those Athenian idolaters in acts 17 notice in acts 26 we have the the Apostle Paul recounting his conversion and his call to the apostolate notice acts 26 beginning in verse 12 while thus occupied as I journey this is Paul speaking as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests at midday o king along the road I saw a light from heaven brighter than the sun shining around me and those who journeyed with me and when we all had fallen to the ground I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language saul saul why are you persecuting me it is hard for you to kick against the goads so i said who are you lord and he said I am Jesus whom you are persecuting but rise and stand on your feet for I have appeared to you for this purpose to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you I will deliver you from the Jewish people as well as from the Gentiles to whom I now send you to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in me these words of the Lord Jesus Christ everywhere that Paul went these words were the fuel that burned the fire of gospel Proclamation as Paul went about to city after city in the Gentile world as he would go into synagogues first preached to the Jews when they by and large rejected him he would then go to the Gentile places of of discourse and disguise and all of those things and he would do exactly what the Lord Jesus Christ here tells him to do he says I now send you to the Gentiles verse 18 to open their eyes in order to turn them from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God that they may receive forgiveness of sins a blessed Commission of the Apostle Paul and so now coming back to acts 17 we want to consider verses 16 to 21 with that in our background the Apostle Paul is now by the Commission of Christ making known the light of Christ to Gentiles in darkness that they may turn from Satan to God and receive the forgiveness of sins so the first thing that we want to do or we're going to do two three two things with our remaining time we're going to look at the preacher and the people there are two things the preacher and the people so first note the preacher and specifically the first sub point here is his observation the preacher is obviously the Apostle Paul so what is his observation well we have that in verse 16 notice the preacher the Apostle Paul and his observation at Athens 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 is a number of things we want to observe here because this is very important not only for our consideration of the Apostle Paul in his time and on this occasion but also for us in our own day as we no doubt traverse the earth as we go about our various doings and traveling's and we're confronted with something perhaps not identical to this time and in this Athens but we have if you will our own Athens where the world is marked by idolatry the world is marked by those that will not have Christ the world is marked by those who mock and scoff or say maybe we'll hear something with respect to this Jesus in the resurrection notice what we have here with regards to his observation we have first the provocation of his spirit language here is quite clear now well Paul waited for them at Athens his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols what is this language mean the spirit his spirit was provoked within him well first off it doesn't mean that he just had a curmudgeonly repudiation of things deemed undesirable you know he can sometimes be marked in our humanity we get sort of puffed off at puffed up or or or ignorant and in our own religiosity and we can have this sort of curmudgeonly repulsion at anything that just that we just don't like you know we ought to have a wholesome repulsion there ought to be a wholesome severity by which we react to idolatry and sinfulness but very often we can have this grumpy curmudgeonly response to anything that we just don't like and that's that's not what the apostle paul is that's not what he is gaining by this observation when we read that the spirit his spirit is provoked within him that's not what it is it is a wholesome and exemplary response to religious and ethical perversion a wholesome and exemplary response to religious and ethical perversion because that's what the text says here his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols his his anger is aroused the language can also be used to speak to exasperation something so provokes the spirit to anger that one becomes exasperated there is such a gross in this context abusive idolatry that Paul's spirit is provoked he is brought to a place of wholesome anger and indignation against the ear religion that he observes you can turn with me to judges 2 for a moment if you can find your way back to the book of Judges we have something there in judges 2 that is similar and in this occasion on the part of God himself see this language of provocation in acts 17 verse 16 is the same language that the Old Testament translation the Septuagint the Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament the same word is used with respect to God and in the same context the context of idolatry notice in judges 2 beginning in verse 11 then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord and served the bales and they forsook that they forsook the Lord God of their fathers who had brought them out of the land of Egypt and they followed other gods from among the gods of the people who were all around them and they bowed down to them and they provoked the Lord to anger so you see this instance of the Apostle Paul in acts 17 16 he is following after that apostolic admonition be holy for the Lord your God is holy he is brought to this position of provocation he is brought to a wholesome indignation because of idolatry you know instead of and that the occasion is different or the instance is different not that the Athenians have an excuse because they absolutely do not the Jews in the time of the judges knew better because they had been the recipients of the Oracles of God they were his covenant people and they departed from Yahweh who had revealed himself to them their covenant Lord and they went a whoring after the bails and the gods of the nations that surrounded them now the Athenians aren't off the hook here why because the heavens declare the glory of God the firmament shows his handiwork the light of nature discloses that there is one and only living true God living and true God who is to be worshipped praised trusted in adored and they like the Jews though in a little bit of a different way keep to themselves all manner of gods all manner of small G gods who are no gods at all to the exclusion to the repudiation to the rejection of the living and true God their Son and Holy Spirit so rightfully the Apostle Paul is provoked in his spirit it is a wholesome and exemplary response to religious and ethical perversion and what was the reason for it we all we know in the context and we're going to get there in a moment to the observance of the the madness of idolatry but what is the perhaps we could observe a three-fold part to his provocation and the first is the glory of the one true God you see because what does idolatry do it steals the glory of the one true God and ascribes it to all manner of as the book of Romans says as the Apostle Paul himself writes in the book of Romans for footed things creatures that birds of the air the fish of the sea men anthropomorphic deities fluttering about in the in the stars those sorts of things are upon Mount Olympus the glory of God is stolen away from the only one that is due glory and praise in honor and it is transferred to created things the glory of the one true God is in the background as Paul is receiving this provocation of spirit he is provoked because he knows and has been made known by grace the glory of the one true God you see the glory of God is not to be cast away it is not to be traded in for these small G gods who are no gods at all the glory of the one and only living and true God in three persons Blessed Trinity is cast off for these idols who are nothing secondly the what's the reason for this provocation will the law of that one God the law of that one God to whom and to whom only is glory do if the Apostle Paul is a student of the law of God that law being a very reflection of God's own nature and character and so when God commands I am the Lord your God who brought you out of bondage in Egypt when that one Lord God proclaims me only or you shall only serve me and no other gods er two people are to take that seriously and that was something of the source of this provocation this one and only God who alone is to be glorified his law is in view as well the law of that one God not only not only that first word of the Decalogue but the second word as well you know Paul Paul walks into Athens and maybe maybe none of you have ever never been to Athens I haven't so I can't speak from experience but when Paul walked into Athens maybe we should just try and try and entertain what he might have cast his eyes upon while he's waiting for Timothy and Silas he's looking at all of these these edifices and statues and buildings and everything else and while the modern mind is drawn to the you know the beauty of architecture and the the aesthetic perfection of you know greco-roman construction and all of those things Paul was horrified Paul was horrified because all of these edifices are bedecked with all of these creatures and gods and things of the darkness of idolatry so he doesn't he doesn't take out his camera and start snapping photos of course he doesn't have one but you get what I mean Paul doesn't start you know sketching these beautiful edifices on on papyri no he's horrified because what is it but it speaks to the madness into the darkness of those who have traded the glory of the incorruptible God for four footed four four footed things and things of our creation the glory of the one true God and the law of that one God only that God are we to serve because he is the only living and true God but secondly we're not to make graven images and remember graven images does not just apply to oh we can't make graven images of the other gods the you know the the pagan gods we can't do that but we're free to make images of the one living and true God no we're not remember remember the golden calf in the wilderness was not a a pagan deity so-called but they would say this is Yahweh who redeemed us from out of Egypt and they're judged for that they're condemned for that we are to make no graven image whether of a deity of the nations whether a deity of the pagans that surround us or the one and only living and true God that's why there are no images in this church because we're commanded not to make them the second commandment precludes commands against the creation of any any images of the living and true God and you know some of the reasons for that among many which we may rehearse last time is the language that Paul himself brings out here when he says him I proclaim to you and then when he later says since he is Lord of Heaven and Earth and that he does not dwell in temples made with hands nor is he worshipped with men's hands as though he needed anything we cannot contain our God our God is spirit infinite eternal and unchangeable and all of his glorious perfections we are to worship Him not with the workings of men hands not bowing down before golden calves and thirdly what is the reason for this provocation of spirit a knowledge of the deliverance that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings two souls in bondage you see the Apostle Paul cast his eyes upon the landscape of a Athenian madness and he saw those who were in bondage to sin in the darkness of sin it's the heart of a preacher it's the heart of a Christian pastor it's the heart of an apostle to have this provocation of spirit because he knows the glory of the deliverance the knowledge of that deliverance that the gospel of Jesus Christ brings you may be here this morning and you're you know you're not bringing sacrifices to any sort of greco-roman altar you're not you know paying your your dues and your observances before some sort of pagan deity but there is something if you're outside of Christ that you're latching on to some measure of Idol or some measure of idols and you're just like these Athenians before whom Paul's spirit was provoked unto exasperating yet wholesome anger the heart of the Christian preachers that you would know this Christ because only in this Christ is there deliverance from the madness of idolatry in the darkness of unbelief so the glory of God the law of that one God and a knowledge of the deliverance that the gospel of that God the gospel of Jesus Christ brings two souls in bondage this is behind the provocation with regards to Paul as he cast his eyes upon Athenian idolatry and secondly then what is the reason for the provocation of spirit with respect to the context it is clearly love the language and we don't have to rehearse it much longer because we just spent time on it but notice his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols now I just alluded to it briefly as we opened up the sermon this morning but how bad was it how bad was the idolatry you know because in our own day you know we don't really see you know all that much in the way of in our face idolatry as far as structures and statues not that we don't but as far as structures and statues and architecture and all those things it was bad in the city of Athens in fact Athens was probably the worst of the known world john gill writes this the athenians far exceeded others in the worship of the gods and care about religion they had an altar for mercy another for shame another for fame and another for desire and expressed more religion to the gods than others did they had an altar dedicated to twelve gods and because they would be sure of all they erected one to an unknown God in short they had so many of them that one jestingly said to them our country is so full of deities that one may more easily find a god than a man so that with all their learning and wisdom they knew not God you many have reported that there were possibly around 30,000 deities that were worshipped and acknowledged by these Athenian idolaters horrible everything was a God really everything and so Paul comes into Athens as he waits for Paul and Timothy and he sees the city given over to idols in his was provoked within him and then what's his response then remember we're looking at the preacher first his observation with many sub points there now secondly his response what what is his response notice verse seventeen therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshippers and in the market pay marketplace daily with those who happen to be there you see this provocation of spirit did not just end with the provocation of spirit but it it poured forth into a zealous response to defend the living and true God and to steal these idolaters away from the madness of that idolatry unto a knowledge of that one and only living in true God and Jesus Christ whom he did sin he is not discouraged he is not so taken aback by the addala tree that he cannot function you know he doesn't he isn't just overtaken by some provocation he's not just overtaken in exasperation as he looks upon all of these idols but rather this wholesome provocation unto indignation against the darkness of idolatry again pours out in this response and what is the response it's the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ as often as we gather as often as we come together you're going to hear that language you're going to hear that observation and hopefully it isn't received unto the rolling of eyes but unto the warming of the heart that the answer to man's plight the answer to man's deadness and sin the answer to man's idolatry is the gospel of Jesus Christ everywhere you go everywhere you go whatever sin it may be whatever madness it may be whatever darkness it may be there are not multitudinous answers there is one answer it's Jesus Christ him crucified him risen again for the salvation of sinners and Paul as a response to the provocation of spirit preaches the gospel of Jesus Christ and notice there are two there are two reasoning venues the two venues that he goes to hear the language in verse 17 is is this therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshippers and in the marketplace daily with those who happen to be there now the mind reading that might say well isn't that three venues isn't he talking to Jews in the synagogues and then to Gentile worshipers wherever they worship and then in the marketplace daily with those who happen to be there know probably what it is is that he's speaking to Jews and Gentiles in the synagogues in the first place remember Romans 1:16 I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek well probably what we have here in verse 17 is we have Jews and Gentiles they're called god-fearers or they're called they're called worshipers of God Gentiles who worship God they're Jews who gather together in synagogues for their worship and instruction out of the Old Testament they didn't call it that but that's what they're gathering together for in the synagogue so Jews and Gentiles in the synagogue and then Greeks that are gathered together wherever Paul went in the marketplace those are the two reasoning venues and now the narrative that follows doesn't touch upon what's going on with Paul in the synagogue's but I believe from the rest of Acts we know what's going on in those synagogues there is and you can write down this word there's a sort of a two-fold kerygma in the book of Acts kerygma kids just simply means and kerygma adults just simply means a a pattern of proclamation and so there is apostolic kerygma apostolic patterns of proclamation in the book of Acts and it's twofold depending on the audience not different content not different God different Christ but two methods of deliverance in two ways of treating the proclamation for the Jews what it is is a calling them to reflect upon the Old Testament causing them to reflect upon the Old Covenant promises that Moses that that all of the it's that the the law of the prophets and the Psalms all testified concerning Christ and that this Christ that came that you put to death upon Calvary's cross that is the promised Christ that is the Messiah and he has come to give repentance and forgiveness of sins according to all that the prophets have spoken so with respect to the Jews and the Gentiles and the synagogues who would have been familiar with the Old Covenant the Old Testament he's going to be proclaiming that tailored message which touches upon their own prophetic literature the Oracles of God now when he comes to Gentile worshipers as well excuse me when he comes to the Greeks the Athenian idolaters in the marketplaces it's a different charisma it's a different pattern of proclamation he deals with their own specific Grecian errors he deals with their own Athene Athenian errors and we'll notice that more next time but there's two particular actually probably three people in view types of persons there's the Epicureans and the Stoics and generally the men of Athens that aren't Epicureans that aren't Stoics that are caught up in worshiping any and all of those thirty thousand deities and so again there are two reasoning venues here the synagogue and then secondly the marketplace the marketplace that's in view here when we read and in the marketplace daily with those who happen to be there it's a different sort of marketplace than what we have in the Gospel accounts not that the to conflict but different geographically and culturally in the Gospel accounts we have sellers of wares and kids you know playing their games in the streets when we read the Gospel accounts it's what we we find there we have hiring going on in the streets of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas for example so it's a sort of a different market place in the the greco-roman world and here specifically in Athens the marketplace was more where people gathered together to do what verse 21 says for all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time and nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new things there's a lot of philosophizing going on there's a lot of discussion going on like that in the greco-roman marketplace is over and against those of Judea that sort of thing now what we have in view here what it perhaps if you were to think okay what what passage let's say in the Pauline epistles might come to your minds when we read here in acts 17 therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshippers and in the marketplace daily with those who happen to be there what passage might come to mind or maybe it's not so obvious but let's turn there together first Corinthians 1 you know what we just said that there are two sort of patterns of proclamation but the same message there are two patterns of apostolic preaching but one message and that one message is found here in 1st Corinthians 1 beginning in verse 21 in fact we'll back up to verse 20 verse 20 of 1st Corinthians 1 where is the wise where is the scribe where is the disputer of this age has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world for since in the wisdom of God the world through wisdom did not know God it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believed notice verse 22 for Jews request a sign and Greeks seek after wisdom but we preach Christ crucified to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness but to those who are called both Jews and Greeks Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God you see there may be two particular kerygma but one message there may be two types of people jews and greeks but there is only one answer and that is christ and him crucified yes it's foolishness to the Greeks yes it's a stumbling block a rock of offense to the Jews but nevertheless when Paul goes to Jew and Gentile worshipers in the synagogues when Paul goes to those Greeks in the marketplaces doing and are casting around ideas and rolling around empty vanities and philosophies in their minds the mess Jia's Jesus in the resurrection the message is the gospel of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ we want to move on to the people then the preacher we've noted his observation the provocation unto an anger a wholesome indignation and his response having been provoked due to the idols due to the madness of idolatry he goes and he proclaims the Lord Jesus Christ now the narrative includes something of the people that are hearing his Proclamation these who are caught up in that ear religion that provoked him unto anger these who are caught up in the madness of idolatry notice in verse 18 what we want to notice first is who are they who are these people who is his audience verse 18 then certain epicurean and stoic philosophers encountered him now later on in the later on in the in the preaching we'll notice in verse 22 and this includes epochs Epicureans and Stoics but in verse 22 we read then Paul stood in the midst of the areopagus and said men of Athens and so while we would have primarily the message being targeted to Epicureans and Stoics it goes out to all the men of Athens who are within earshot that they might hear of the glory of the one true God and of Jesus Christ whom he has sent but notice in verse 18 then certain epicurean and stoic philosophers encountered him now who were these cats who who were these characters these Epicureans and and these Stoics just very briefly because it's good to know who they are and and this isn't just going to be a rehearsal of interesting facts because when we get to verse verses 22 through 34 Paul's messages is Paul's message is targeted at these two groups of people his response in proclaiming the one true God serves well as a remedy to epicurean errors and stoic excesses and so let's have a look then who are these Epicureans while the Epicureans are named after a man named Epicurus he founded a school in 300 BC in Athens and the epicurean philosophy was one of pleasure that pleasure for the individual pleasure for body and soul was the primary goal of human existence now not not a a sinful perverse heat now it is sinful but not the sinful sex drugs and rock and roll perversion of perhaps an ungodly hedonism we're all there seeking after is this immoral pursuit of pleasures know they had a strict ethic that was at I was no doubt an ungodly ethic because it was not rooted in God's revelation not rooted in his law but they had an ethical system where they would repudiate the excesses of of you know the excessive pleasures that men were seeking after and sex and drugs and and all those sorts of excesses but nevertheless they sought after a particular type of pleasure to body and soul one of their own philosophers actually Epicurus himself wrote this by pleasure we mean the absence of pain in the body and of trouble in the soul so they were not about titillations of sense but the absence of pain the avoidance of trouble and freedom from annoyances and so they saw it so let's just give you an example the difference between for example they would repudiate adultery they would see adultery as something that is not ethically sound now their reason for rejecting that or their reason for for rejecting adultery as a sound practice was not from the Christian vantage point the Christian vantage point is the reality and the character and the nature of God himself and the law that he is written upon the hearts of men codified at Sinai and perpetuated in the New Covenant through Jesus Christ our Blessed Lord so god the glory of God and God's law are in the background of the sin of adultery and how Christians navigate rejecting that as wholesome in any way shape or form the Epicureans would reject adultery but they would do it because it brings pain to body and soul not because God has established a law not out of any divine virtue but solely and alone because it does not bring pleasure it does not bring good things but only pain to body and soul Epicureanism was a godless religion now it was not atheistic but it was godless in the sense that though they would have had some measure of polytheism and bear with me the type of polytheism was a deistic polytheism if you've ever if you've never heard what D ISM is it was a big problem that's been a problem for a while but it was a big problem when our confession of faith was being written in the 17th century there was a movement called deism and the idea was sort of like this God has created God has set in motion the universe and the earth upon which we dwell but then has backed off it doesn't intercede in any measure of Providence and special revelation is repudiated and replaced with simply the light of nature and so if you ever read our confession in chapter 20 there's a chapter that's added over and against the Presbyterians not over and against but the Presbyterians and the Congregationalists don't have chapter 20 in their confession the Baptist's are specifically targeting deism they're the idea that God just set the earth in motion left leaves it to men and now what the real pursuit is is the the pursuit of human knowledge the pursuit of of our own human reason rather than the reason and the clarity of God's revelation well the Epicureans were sort of like that they believed in a polytheistic deism a multitude of gods and that these God's really weren't involved in human affairs they just did their thing in their own little God world and never interfered or helped or mingled with men and as well they believed that there was no afterlife one of our own philosophers after Epicurus wrote when we are death is not come and when death is come we are not so they rejected the afterlife they rejected the resurrection of the body they rejected the doctrine of the resurrection that's why some mock and probably what we have in view there are the Epicureans the rejection of the afterlife and the resurrection but we're going to spend more time next week on how Paul answers their idolatry and their perceptions of reality and secondly we have these Stoics these Stoics were or the religion of stoicism the philosophy of stoicism was founded by Zeno in fact right around the same time as Epicurus founded Epicureanism so these these two wicked cousins grew up together in the same area Zeno was shipwrecked off the coast near off the coast of Athens not I don't know I'm trying to remember geographically anyway off the coast of Greece somewhere I'll look it up for next time but he was shipwrecked a Phoenician Zeno shipwrecked and he comes to Athens and he propagates and proclaims this this philosophy that he had which if you've ever heard of pantheism was very close to that with their understanding of of deity they had this idea that God is everything or that everything is God and so divine imminence to the exclusion of any notion of a living and true God who is marked by transcendence well notice next time that you see these again aren't just interesting facts Paul's targeted Proclamation is exactly at both of these bodies of people that's why Luke includes them then certain epicurean and stoic philosophers and the Stoics like the Epicureans rejected a bodily resurrection so notice then finally what they say what do these Epicureans and stoic philosophers that encountered the Apostle Paul say well first they insult him first they insult him notice the language of the text then certain epicurean and stoic philosophers encountered him this is verse 18 and some said what does this babbler want to say so they insult the Apostle Paul it's it's interesting they they were all about apparently spending their time and nothing else but either to tell her to hear some new things so you know this is sort of right up their alley but you see it comes and it cuts to the heart of sinful man because you'll hear everything saved for the one in living true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent so he says what does this babbler they say what does this babbler want to say now the idea here is when when we read this babbler and you've probably heard this before the the development of this terminology and it is an idiom it is a an Athenian phrase started out to describe you know birds that were picking seeds a seed picker it was applied to you know birds that would you know fly down from buildings pick up seeds fly away that sort of thing it developed into a derogatory term to describe people who made their living traveling the marketplaces and perhaps picking up scraps of merchandise that fell from the carts of merchants and so they would their seed Pickers they're they're they're these idle Pickler's of pickers of various things it developed into the the arena of ideas and one who would just pick and grab different ideas and slap them together into some sort of philosophy became an idol babbler a seed picker one of these people who ultimately are bringing worthless or confused philosophies or religion to the years of men now we know that that's not what Paul is Paul comes as a preacher of Christ Paul comes as a preacher of true and proper reason Paul comes as a proclaimer of the gospel of the living and true God but they insult him they use as one man has called a derogatory Athenian slang in order to insult the Apostle Paul we read that others said this is they they either now so they insult him and then this second the second response by the people is either they misunderstand him and his Proclamation or they'll an informal charge of claiming foreign deities notice others said verse 18 he seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection so if we take this first to mean that they misunderstand him and his Proclamation the the thrust of the text means this when we read because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection they thought that he was preaching to deities to gods Jesus and this the resurrection and that's why we read he seems to be a proclaimer of foreign gods plural foreign gods and so this Paul they misunderstood perhaps is a proclaimer of foreign deities this Jesus and this the resurrection the other approach to the text is that they're laying an informal charge of proclaiming foreign deities that perhaps some of you know or perhaps some of you don't know that actually that probably describes all of you here some of you know this and some of you don't know this but four centuries ago Socrates was brought before this same counsel at the Areopagus and he was charged with proclaiming foreign gods among other things and so some have sort of connected this to Socrates four centuries ago there was a man Socrates who stood here was put to death by being forced to drink hemlock because he was a proclaimer of foreign gods there was a priestess named ninis I believe who as well was put to death for as a foreigner coming to the Areopagus and proclaiming foreign deities others were did not meet with death but perhaps imprisonment and in other sorts of things but the idea may be here that they are charging him informally as a proclaimer of foreign gara foreign gods as they had done more formally in the past you see at this time Athens was not as prominent as it was the three four or five centuries before but nevertheless they did have a measure of philosophical primacy and academia and so they're bringing an informal charge of proclaim and proclaiming foreign deities I believe it's probably the first option here they misunderstood Paul it's not that they're connecting him to Socrates or it's not in that sort of area of understanding but rather they misunderstood his Proclamation and they thought that he was preaching Jesus as one God and the resurrection as another and I think the context that follows supports this because they asked him may we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak and then verse and then verse 24 you are bringing some strange things to our ears therefore we want to know what these things mean it wasn't because Paul wasn't precise it wasn't because Paul wasn't accurate in his Proclamation but simply because they could not and did not understand and so they bring him to the Areopagus and they ask for elaboration on Jesus and the resurrection and that's what we're going to get to next time because you see Paul brings the answer to the plight of Athenian idolatry he brings the only answer to any plate sin madness the darkness of transgression iniquity idolatry all manner of sins that encompass the earth everything breathe forth by the madness of man in thought by the minds of wicked sons of men is answered by Jesus and the resurrection and so next time Paul opens up as they bring him to the Areopagus they hear Paul they asked him to bring forth this Jesus and the resurrection and he does so with the beauty of a God inspired apologist so just for a minute in 37 seconds before we go and eat some good grub I want you to consider two things first is we should seek to imbibe the disposition in mind and spirit that Paul had regarding idolatry we should seek to imbibe to drink back metaphorically the disposition of mind and spirit that Paul had regarding the madness of this idolatry we are to be like Paul he is our exemplar when we're faced with sin with madness with idolatry with people seeking everything else except for the living and true God who daily gives them life breath and all things when people seek after for footie four footed things and creeping things and in all manner of of satisfactions say for the only true and eternal and lasting satisfaction the triune God and the gospel of Christ we are to be we are to have that provocation we are to be exasperated wholesomely with a righteous indignation against anything that rubs against the glory of God his law and the redeeming and liberating gospel of Jesus Christ and we should respond in kind to that disposition we should respond you know it isn't just good enough for us to be to to be provoked in spirit now all of us are not going to be the Apostle Paul all of us are not going to be preachers of the gospel in the very least what you can do in responding in kinds of the provocation and spirit is to pray is to pray for those is to bring before those before God in prayer those who are proclaiming the charisma the glorious pattern of apostolic preaching of this Christ this God this glorious gospel pray pray for ministers of the gospel pray for missionaries missionaries go out and bring the gospel to places of darkness and madness and idolatry pray for those who bring Jesus Christ to those in need but perhaps you can in that prayer as well pray for your own witness as you go out into the workplace into your own families among friends wherever you might find yourselves pray that you would have this disposition of Paul we're in right righteous indignation he delivered the truth of God the glory of Christ the power of the Resurrection so that those who here might believe and have the forgiveness of sins and everlasting life this week seek to be like Paul 1 provoked and yet one who responds in the least in prayer and perhaps even to shine forth the glory of the gospel of Jesus Christ to those in need and if you're here this morning and you don't know that Christ believed you may not be an athenian idolatry that uses derogatory slang to insult but you are following after some sort of idol you're following after some sort of darkness and sin and transgression and wickedness and iniquity if you're outside of Christ find the answer in this Jesus in the resurrection not to gods but one glorious God Father Son and spirit the son comes into the world to live a life of perfect obedience to the law of God in the stead of all who believe in his name he's crucified upon Calvary's cross as a substitutionary sacrifice for guilty sinners he's raised again the resurrection the third day is ascended to the right hand of the Majesty on high he sends Proclaimers of his gospel into the world to preach the glorious gospel of the Blessed God and all who believe will have their sins forgiven and will have everlasting life with that Christ let us pray Heavenly Father we thank you for your word we rejoice in your truth we thank you for what we read in this account of the faithful Apostle Paul going forth and proclaiming the riches of Jesus Christ and we do pray that you'd help us to a glory in your revelation to men and to see this as a great victory of the truth of God in the face of idolatry and we pray as we continue to consider it that we would be lifted up to high thoughts of you our God and that we would reflect with great joy upon the gospel of Jesus Christ and it's in your name that we pray amen well let's stand and sing the doxology if you'll stand with me as we sing close this Lord's Day morning with praise to our God Roman numeral sixteen if you need it in our hen books let's stand and sing [Music] the Lord bless you and keep you the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace amen we'll have a brief time of Prayer and then I'll come back up here and pray for the food you