Synopsis of Sermon 10/20/24
Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III
Acts 17:16-28
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 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. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 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. 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 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: 24 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. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 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; 28 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.’
I. INTRODUCTION
- All of the gatherings that we do is to grow spiritually. The outcome that we expect is that we might grow.
- As you grow spiritually, your discernment gets keener. You begin to pick up on what others can’t. This makes your relationships change.
- When you get closer with your relationship with God, you become nauseous and frustrated, when you are around fake stuff.
- There comes a moment that you want everything around you to be real. You want real conversations and real people. For example, if you don’t like me, I’d rather you just tell me. We want to be around real worshippers.
- The world we live in is so filled with fake narratives we often desire authenticity. It is real for us.
- There are people in the text that have a lot of things, but they find themselves empty. There are people that drive fancy cars and have big homes, but they are still empty inside. We see people that seem good on Facebook, but they are really empty.
- The people in the text are surrounded by statues but have hallowed beliefs. We have to find what falls among all the fake stuff in our lives. Everything attached to us must be real, because God is real.
- Today, you will leave here declaring everything around you must be real!
- The backdrop takes place in Athens Greece. This was a hub of philosophical scholars.
- There were two different types of Scholars that Paul was faced with. They were:
- Epicurean: They believed in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain as the primary purpose of life, seeing God as distant and uninvolved in humanaffairs. – In other words, they are drawn to that which feels good.
- Stoic: Emphasized virtue, self-control, and living in harmony with nature, believing in a pantheistic view of God. – In other words, they were always serious. No grey areas. They were stoic, having a stiff upper lip.
- The scholars were suffering from Religious Purism. There was an array of idol gods. They were polytheistic meaning they believed in many gods. They even came to a place in where they have an idol named the unknown god, found Acts 17:23. They even studied and worshipped the Greek Gods like Zeus or Hades.
- Athens were famous for their agriculture. Athens was a prominent place. There was a place called Areopagus Hill which was also called Mars Hill.
- It is the same spot where Paul preached the word that you are going to hear today. Mars Hill became a famous place for religious debate.
- How did Paul get to Athens? He was on his second missionary journey. He had Timothy and Silas with him. Remember in Chapter 16, Paul and Silas were in jail and sang hymns at midnight.
- Some of the Thessalonians hated him and ran Paul out of town. He went to Beroea and they liked him there. The Thessalonians found Paul among the Bereans. The enemy has a way of finding where you are.
- The Bereans told Paul to let Timothy and Silas finish the work he had started there and they sent Paul to Athens. It was a big city, so he was better able to hide there. Paul is waiting for Timothy and Silas. While walking around, Paul notices all the idols they had.
- Paul is troubled in his spirit. Paul begins to preach Jesus Christ. Paul began to preach to the Jews and Gentiles alike. While in the streets preaching, the scholars sent for Paul. They had heard of his preaching of Jesus Christ.
- They bring Paul upon the mountain. This is Apostle Paul, full of compassion and has been summoned by the elite.
- They asked Paul what the babbler (referring to him) have to say to them? Paul said that they were making him sick. They were living out many gods.
- Paul went on to say that today they would find out what is real among all the fake stuff they had going on.
II. PERSISTENTLY IRRITATED BY A WORLD OF IDOLATRY
- Paul looks around and sees a world filled with idolatry. When you put your time, energy, and resources into something more than you do God, then this is idolatry.
- Paul was looking at people created by God, but they were bowing down to idols that they had created. Anyone created in God’s image, is created to worship Him.
- We might not have idols created of stone anymore, but there are people that have set up idols in their lives all the time. For example:
- Relationships have become some of our idols. When you were praying for the relationship, your energy and time was in God. But now that you’ve hooked up with Johnny or Sue, your energy is in them.
- We do the same with our careers. You prayed for that job, but now that job has all of your time and attention. You don’t have time for God anymore.
- If we eep this up, we might discover that the Lord gives, but the the Lord will also take away.
A. You Can’t Conceal True Conviction
- When you’re around stuff that doesn’t make sense, then your beliefs will come out. You don’t have to walk around with a bible in your hand all the time being weird, but you have a way of sharing your convictions. When you close to God, you will always know when things don’t feel right.
- Your discernment will tell you when something isn’t right.
- Some say they can’t share their convictions, but let someone cut you off. You will share your convictions then.
- You need people around you that can understand your convictions.
- Paul ended up in jail because of his convictions. When he stood before King Agrippa, the king said Paul almost convinced him to be saved.
- Acts 26: 27-28 says 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
B. When You’ve Experienced What’s Real, You Can’t Tolerate Fake
- Have you ever looked back and wondered why you did things the way you did in the past? You’ve grown and now everything in your life is about authenticity.
- 2 things about authenticity:
- Alignment – Everything in your life must align with God’s word.
- Accountability – We have to be accountable for the authenticity in our lives.
III. PREPARED TO INTERROGATE WOEFUL IRRELEVANCE
- The keyword here is preparation.
- Paul was brought to Mars Hill, because they couldn’t make sense of his Jesus message. All of the scholars assumed Paul was unlearned, but they messed with the wrong one. When the enemy pulls on you he will find out he messed with the wrong one.
- Who is Paul? He was educated about Hebrew Scripture and Jewish Law under the Rabbi Gamaliel. Paul was deeply versed in Jewish Law and he understood the culture. He knew about all the Poets and Philosophers.
- Paul could stand with the Athen Scholars, because he was prepared. God is not going to let you go where you aren’t prepared.
- Paul let them know their idols were no match for his God.
- Some people think charismatic people can’t be intellectual.
- The silk-stocking church was established by those that were educated. They thought that once you got an education, you had to act dignified. They believed that all that loud acting praise belonged to the small uneducated churches.
- Their grandchildren went to college, and they remember standing in the financial aid line, praying that the Lord will come through with their tuition. They saw God make a way out of no way! Now you have a generation that won’t let their intellect stop them from praising God!
- The more sense I have, the more I need to be excited about God!
A. What You Know Will Always Show
- When Bishop was called to be the Pastor of Mt Zion, the church grew though bible studies. When he first started, he had to spend time unteaching, before he could teach. There were a lot of traditions and superstitions that had to be unlearned.
- In the text, when they asked what the babbler would have to say to them, Paul said they were too religious and superstitious.
B. There Is A Difference Between Spiritual And Superstitious
- Superstitious is when things are influenced by luck and charms. This falls under the same belief of something happening when you walk under a ladder, or break a mirror, or when a black cat crosses your path.
- Superstition has caused the birth of religions that are not God ordained. Paul told the scholars that they were too religious, meaning they were not spiritual. He basically was saying that they were doing too much.
IV. PARADOX OF INTELLIGENCE WITH IGNORANCE
- There are some real intelligent people that are ignorant.
- 2 types of ignorance
- Ignorant – which means they have no revelation yet.
- Ignant – which means you can’t rationalize with them.
- The Owl has always been a symbol of wisdom. In Greek mythology, the owl is associated with the God of wisdom.
- Really owls are ignorant compared to other birds. The reason being, they have a limited understanding of their surroundings and awareness compared to other birds.
- People can’t be intelligent in one area and ignorant in another.
A. You Can Know A Lot And Still Not Know
- Paul said the scholars were ignorantly intelligent. You can have book sense and not have spiritual sense.
- Don’t think because people have degrees behind their names, they cannot be ignorant.
B. You Can Have Religious Routine And No Relationship
- You attend church, but ignorantly don’t know how to be in relationship with God.
- Some people have too much denominational allegiance. Never let your denomination to get bigger than God. You can end up being more Baptist than Bible or more Apostolic than anointed.
- When you go to the bank and ask for change for a $100, they will ask you what denominations you want the bills in. Denominations separate the money into bills. Just like money denominations, church Denominations separate.
- God’s grace and power is greater than your denominational allegiance. When we get to heaven, we will all be giving God glory together, regardless of our denominational affiliation.
V. PROVIDE INSTRUCTION ON WORSHIPS IMPORTANCE
- Paul breaks it down. He is standing before the stoic.
- He looks at all the stuff attributed to their idols.
A. The Tangibles Don’t Impress God
- Paul says something that knocks them off their feet. Paul says God doesn’t need to be worshiped in temples made with man’s hands. God also doesn’t need man’s hand to be praised.
- God is bigger than the temple you’ve set up.
- Some think God is only in church. When you get away from the church building, you think you can say what you want.
- God is not limited to a building.
- We want a God that is real. He is not into the stuff. He is into you.
B. You Will Never Make A Sound Until You Acknowledge Your Source
- Paul says it is in Him we live, move, and have our being.
- Paul underscores the revelation of worship. He asked if he could share it with them.
- Worship is the only thing that can cause you to surrender.
- Paul is in Athens Greece. He has been invited to Areopagus Hill, also called Mars Hill.
- He is being integrated by 2 rules of thought.
- The Stoics believe in no nonsense.
- The Epicurean believe God, I will respond to you as long as it feels good.
- Every move of God is not designed to make you feel good. When God does something that doesn’t feel good, you are mad at Him.
- When the math ain’t mathing, some of us have an issue.
- Real worship is when you can respond to God, even when it doesn’t feel good. You can give God glory when life doesn’t make sense.
- God is looking for people that if He doesn’t do another thing, He’s already done enough!
- What religion did was spoil us. If we woke up and were not in the obituary, we should be ready to give worship to God! Even if we lost everything, we would still give God glory!
- When you worship, you are willing to surrender. Our problem is, we want don’t relationship, we want to be in control.
- If we say lift your hands, we say we are tired of being asked to lift our hands, but when a cop asks us to do it, we will do it willingly.
- God is raising up a kingdom mind set! We want something real and if it isn’t real, we don’t want it!
Part 3: If It’s Not Real, I Don’t Want It
Synopsis of Sermon 10/20/24
Delivered by Bishop Joseph W. Walker, III
Acts 17:16-28
16 Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw that the city was given over to idols. 17 Therefore he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and with the Gentile worshipers, and in the marketplace daily with those who happened to be there. 18 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. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new doctrine is of which you speak? 20 For you are bringing some strange things to our ears. Therefore we want to know what these things mean.” 21 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. 22 Then Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive that in all things you are very religious; 23 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: 24 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. 25 Nor is He worshiped with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, 27 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; 28 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.’
I. INTRODUCTION
- All of the gatherings that we do is to grow spiritually. The outcome that we expect is that we might grow.
- As you grow spiritually, your discernment gets keener. You begin to pick up on what others can’t. This makes your relationships change.
- When you get closer with your relationship with God, you become nauseous and frustrated, when you are around fake stuff.
- There comes a moment that you want everything around you to be real. You want real conversations and real people. For example, if you don’t like me, I’d rather you just tell me. We want to be around real worshippers.
- The world we live in is so filled with fake narratives we often desire authenticity. It is real for us.
- There are people in the text that have a lot of things, but they find themselves There are people that drive fancy cars and have big homes, but they are still empty inside. We see people that seem good on Facebook, but they are really empty.
- The people in the text are surrounded by statues but have hallowed beliefs. We have to find what falls among all the fake stuff in our lives. Everything attached to us must be real, because God is real.
- Today, you will leave here declaring everything around you must be real!
- The backdrop takes place in Athens Greece. This was a hub of philosophical scholars.
- There were two different types of Scholars that Paul was faced with. They were:
- Epicurean: They believed in seeking pleasure and avoiding pain as the primary purpose of life, seeing God as distant and uninvolved in human – In other words, they are drawn to that which feels good.
- Stoic: Emphasized virtue, self-control, and living in harmony with nature, believing in a pantheistic view of God. – In other words, they were always serious. No grey areas. They were stoic, having a stiff upper lip.
- The scholars were suffering from Religious Purism. There was an array of idol gods. They were polytheistic meaning they believed in many gods. They even came to a place in where they have an idol named the unknown god, found Acts 17:23. They even studied and worshipped the Greek Gods like Zeus or Hades.
- Athens were famous for their agriculture. Athens was a prominent place. There was a place called Areopagus Hill which was also called Mars Hill.
- It is the same spot where Paul preached the word that you are going to hear today. Mars Hill became a famous place for religious debate.
- How did Paul get to Athens? He was on his second missionary journey. He had Timothy and Silas with him. Remember in Chapter 16, Paul and Silas were in jail and sang hymns at midnight.
- Some of the Thessalonians hated him and ran Paul out of town. He went to Beroea and they liked him there. The Thessalonians found Paul among the Bereans. The enemy has a way of finding where you are.
- The Bereans told Paul to let Timothy and Silas finish the work he had started there and they sent Paul to Athens. It was a big city, so he was better able to hide there. Paul is waiting for Timothy and Silas. While walking around, Paul notices all the idols they had.
- Paul is troubled in his spirit. Paul begins to preach Jesus Christ. Paul began to preach to the Jews and Gentiles alike. While in the streets preaching, the scholars sent for Paul. They had heard of his preaching of Jesus Christ.
- They bring Paul upon the mountain. This is Apostle Paul, full of compassion and has been summoned by the elite.
- They asked Paul what the babbler (referring to him) have to say to them? Paul said that they were making him sick. They were living out many gods.
- Paul went on to say that today they would find out what is real among all the fake stuff they had going on.
II. PERSISTENTLY IRRITATED BY A WORLD OF IDOLATRY
- Paul looks around and sees a world filled with idolatry. When you put your time, energy, and resources into something more than you do God, then this is
- Paul was looking at people created by God, but they were bowing down to idols that they had created. Anyone created in God’s image, is created to worship Him.
- We might not have idols created of stone anymore, but there are people that have set up idols in their lives all the time. For example:
- Relationships have become some of our idols. When you were praying for the relationship, your energy and time was in God. But now that you’ve hooked up with Johnny or Sue, your energy is in them.
- We do the same with our careers. You prayed for that job, but now that job has all of your time and attention. You don’t have time for God anymore.
- If we eep this up, we might discover that the Lord gives, but the the Lord will also take away.
A. You Can’t Conceal True Conviction
- When you’re around stuff that doesn’t make sense, then your beliefs will come out. You don’t have to walk around with a bible in your hand all the time being weird, but you have a way of sharing your convictions. When you close to God, you will always know when things don’t feel right.
- Your discernment will tell you when something isn’t right.
- Some say they can’t share their convictions, but let someone cut you off. You will share your convictions then.
- You need people around you that can understand your convictions.
- Paul ended up in jail because of his convictions. When he stood before King Agrippa, the king said Paul almost convinced him to be saved.
- Acts 26: 27-28 says 27 King Agrippa, do you believe the prophets? I know that you do believe.”28 Then Agrippa said to Paul, “You almost persuade me to become a Christian.”
B. When You’ve Experienced What’s Real, You Can’t Tolerate Fake
- Have you ever looked back and wondered why you did things the way you did in the past? You’ve grown and now everything in your life is about authenticity.
- 2 things about authenticity:
- Alignment – Everything in your life must align with God’s word.
- Accountability – We have to be accountable for the authenticity in our lives.
III. PREPARED TO INTERROGATE WOEFUL IRRELEVANCE
- The keyword here is preparation.
- Paul was brought to Mars Hill, because they couldn’t make sense of his Jesus message. All of the scholars assumed Paul was unlearned, but they messed with the wrong one. When the enemy pulls on you he will find out he messed with the wrong one.
- Who is Paul? He was educated about Hebrew Scripture and Jewish Law under the Rabbi Gamaliel. Paul was deeply versed in Jewish Law and he understood the culture. He knew about all the Poets and Philosophers.
- Paul could stand with the Athen Scholars, because he was prepared. God is not going to let you go where you aren’t prepared.
- Paul let them know their idols were no match for his God.
- Some people think charismatic people can’t be intellectual.
- The silk-stocking church was established by those that were educated. They thought that once you got an education, you had to act dignified. They believed that all that loud acting praise belonged to the small uneducated churches.
- Their grandchildren went to college, and they remember standing in the financial aid line, praying that the Lord will come through with their tuition. They saw God make a way out of no way! Now you have a generation that won’t let their intellect stop them from praising God!
- The more sense I have, the more I need to be excited about God!
A. What You Know Will Always Show
- When Bishop was called to be the Pastor of Mt Zion, the church grew though bible studies. When he first started, he had to spend time unteaching, before he could teach. There were a lot of traditions and superstitions that had to be
- In the text, when they asked what the babbler would have to say to them, Paul said they were too religious and superstitious.
B. There Is A Difference Between Spiritual And Superstitious
- Superstitious is when things are influenced by luck and charms. This falls under the same belief of something happening when you walk under a ladder, or break a mirror, or when a black cat crosses your path.
- Superstition has caused the birth of religions that are not God ordained. Paul told the scholars that they were too religious, meaning they were not spiritual. He basically was saying that they were doing too much.
IV. PARADOX OF INTELLIGENCE WITH IGNORANCE
- There are some real intelligent people that are ignorant.
- 2 types of ignorance
- Ignorant – which means they have no revelation yet.
- Ignant – which means you can’t rationalize with them.
- The Owl has always been a symbol of wisdom. In Greek mythology, the owl is associated with the God of wisdom.
- Really owls are ignorant compared to other birds. The reason being, they have a limited understanding of their surroundings and awareness compared to other birds.
- People can’t be intelligent in one area and ignorant in another.
A. You Can Know A Lot And Still Not Know
- Paul said the scholars were ignorantly intelligent. You can have book sense and not have spiritual sense.
- Don’t think because people have degrees behind their names, they cannot be ignorant.
B. You Can Have Religious Routine And No Relationship
- You attend church, but ignorantly don’t know how to be in relationship with God.
- Some people have too much denominational allegiance. Never let your denomination to get bigger than God. You can end up being more Baptist than Bible or more Apostolic than anointed.
- When you go to the bank and ask for change for a $100, they will ask you what denominations you want the bills in. Denominations separate the money into bills. Just like money denominations, church Denominations separate.
- God’s grace and power is greater than your denominational allegiance. When we get to heaven, we will all be giving God glory together, regardless of our denominational affiliation.
V. PROVIDE INSTRUCTION ON WORSHIPS IMPORTANCE
- Paul breaks it down. He is standing before the stoic.
- He looks at all the stuff attributed to their idols.
A. The Tangibles Don’t Impress God
- Paul says something that knocks them off their feet. Paul says God doesn’t need to be worshiped in temples made with man’s hands. God also doesn’t need man’s hand to be praised.
- God is bigger than the temple you’ve set up.
- Some think God is only in church. When you get away from the church building, you think you can say what you want.
- God is not limited to a building.
- We want a God that is real. He is not into the stuff. He is into you.
B. You Will Never Make A Sound Until You Acknowledge Your Source
- Paul says it is in Him we live, move, and have our being.
- Paul underscores the revelation of worship. He asked if he could share it with them.
- Worship is the only thing that can cause you to surrender.
- Paul is in Athens Greece. He has been invited to Areopagus Hill, also called Mars Hill.
- He is being integrated by 2 rules of thought.
- The Stoics believe in no nonsense.
- The Epicurean believe God, I will respond to you as long as it feels good.
- Every move of God is not designed to make you feel good. When God does something that doesn’t feel good, you are mad at Him.
- When the math ain’t mathing, some of us have an issue.
- Real worship is when you can respond to God, even when it doesn’t feel good. You can give God glory when life doesn’t make sense.
- God is looking for people that if He doesn’t do another thing, He’s already done enough!
- What religion did was spoil us. If we woke up and were not in the obituary, we should be ready to give worship to God! Even if we lost everything, we would still give God glory!
- When you worship, you are willing to surrender. Our problem is, we want don’t relationship, we want to be in control.
- If we say lift your hands, we say we are tired of being asked to lift our hands, but when a cop asks us to do it, we will do it willingly.
- God is raising up a kingdom mind set! We want something real and if it isn’t real, we don’t want it!
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