Alone and Outnumbered -- What Should I Do?
Acts 17:15-21
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - Aug. 22, 2007
BACKGROUND:
*Tonight Paul is alone in Athens, and he has some things to teach us about being alone. But before we read Acts 17:15-21, let’s remember why Paul was alone in Athens. First it was for his safety. The trouble in Acts 17 started in Thessalonica. We see that in vs. 4-6:
4. And some of [the Jews] were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas.
5. But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.
6. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.”
*Next the trouble followed them to Berea, as we see in vs. 10-14:
10. Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
11. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
12. Therefore many of them believed, and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men.
13. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also and stirred up the crowds.
14. Then immediately the brethren sent Paul away, to go to the sea; but both Silas and Timothy remained there.
*Paul spent time alone in Athens for his safety -- But also because of his love and concern for the church they started in Thessalonica. Luke did not tell us this, but Paul later did when he wrote his first letter to the church at Thessalonica. Listen to what he said in 1 Thess 2:17-3:2...
1 Thess 2:17-20
But we, brethren, having been taken away from you for a short time in presence, not in heart, endeavored more eagerly to see your face with great desire. Therefore we wanted to come to you even I, Paul, time and again but Satan hindered us. For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? For you are our glory and joy.
1 Thess 3:1-2
Therefore, when we could no longer endure it, we thought it good to be left in Athens alone, and sent Timothy, our brother and minister of God, and our fellow laborer in the gospel of Christ, to establish you and encourage you concerning your faith.
*This could have been a second time Paul was alone in Athens, and Silas may have been with him, but whether it was for his temporary safety or out of his love for the church -- Paul was basically alone. Let’s see what he did in vs. 15-21...
15. So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens; and receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him with all speed, they departed.
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.
INTRODUCTION:
*Most of us have had the experience of being cut off from someone we love. Many times it’s by death, sometimes it’s by divorce -- But all kinds of experiences can cause us to feel isolated and alone.
*The Empty Nest is another good example. There is a luncheon group of older moms in New York that goes by the name, “It Wouldn’t Hurt You to Call Me Once in a While Club.” (1)
*There is also a program at the University of Florida in which vet school students work a hotline to help grieving pet owners cope with the death of their animal friends. The students receive specialized training to learn how to counsel and assist callers experiencing painful emotions. Faculty member Thomas Lane says, “There is a tremendous need for such a service.” And the reason why is because growing numbers of single and elderly people rely on pets for companionship. They feel the death of a pet as strongly as that of a family member or friend. (2)
*Many situations can make us feel alone. And as believers we can feel outnumbered against the forces trying to pull us down. This is the situation that Paul faced in Athens, and in these verses he shows us what to do -- for the Kingdom and for ourselves.
1. First, be properly provoked about our misguided world.
*Paul was certainly provoked in Athens. The NKJV tells us this in vs. 16. The KJV says that Paul’s spirit was stirred in him, but provoked is a good word for us today. The word picture is of sharpening a blade -- Coming up against something that sharpens you, puts you on edge, irritates, exasperates, provokes you. Paul was provoked in Athens and vs. 16 tells us why, “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.”
*It’s proper for us to be provoked about our godless, Christ-rejecting, misguided society. You may not feel like it living in the Bible Belt, but we believers are outnumbered in the world today. Christians have always been in the minority, but my how things have changed in our lifetime. Many Christian commentators go so far as to say that we are living in a post-Christian society. And there is a lot of evidence to support that view. There are some uncanny parallels between Athens of Paul’s day & America in 2007.
*Vs. 18 helps us understand the mindset in Athens, because there “certain Epicurean and Stoic philosophers encountered [Paul]. 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.”
*Do you think you could find anybody in New York City who thinks you are a babbler, because you believe in Jesus? I think you could find a good many of them around here. And listen to what William Barclay has to say about the Epicureans and the Stoics:
-The Epicureans believed that everything happened by chance. They believed that death was the end of all. They believed that the gods were remote from the world and did not care. They believed that pleasure was the chief end of man, (but not necessarily) fleshly and material pleasure; for the highest pleasure was that which brought no pain in its (aftermath).
*The Stoics believed that everything was God. God was fiery spirit that grew dull in matter, but it was in everything. What gave men life was that a little spark of that spirit dwelt in them and when they died it returned to God. They believed that every so often the world disintegrated in a great fire and started all over again on the same cycle of events. (3)
*I promise you that there are Epicureans and Stoics all over America today. Even if they don’t know it, they have many of the same basic beliefs.
*Raymond McHenry asks, “What happens if you don’t believe in God but want to experience church camp? Go to Camp Quest West. According to their Web page, ‘Camp Quest was specifically designed for children of agnostics, atheists, brights, freethinkers, humanists, Unitarians, or whatever terms might be applied to those who maintain a naturalistic, not supernaturalistic, world view.’
*Located about 70 miles north of Sacramento, CA, Camp Quest West offers many of the usual components - roasting marshmallows, wilderness games, outdoor events, etc. But at the end of the week, campers design their own religion, which ‘everyone can believe in and that will be good for all for all time.’” (4)
*Paul was stirred up about those pitiful, misguided people in Athens, and we should be stirred up about the many people given over to idolatry today -- People unaware of their desperate need for Jesus, people investing their whole lives in absolute vanity. God wants us to care! Jesus Christ has called us to be the salt and light in our world. It is very easy to draw back into our shell, but God calls us to care.
2. You may feel alone and outnumbered, but don’t stop caring. Be properly provoked about our misguided world. And tell the truth about Jesus to everyone you can.
*This is what Paul did in Athens. As vs. 17 says, “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.” The KJV says he “disputed” with the people, but “reasoned with them” gives us a better understanding. And reasoned” is the translation that the KJV used for this same word back up in Acts 17:2. The original Greek word is where we get our word “dialogue,” and that’s the kind of conversation meant here. Paul wasn’t railing at these people, though they may have been railing against him. He was trying to reason with them about Jesus Christ.
*Next week we will take a good look at what Paul said to them in vs. 22-33, but the main point tonight is that He was talking to them about Jesus -- And that’s what we need to do. People want to talk.
Several months ago, Ryan Fitzgerald of Southbridge, MA was unemployed. He had some extra time on his hands, so, he posted a video with his cell phone number on YouTube, urging anybody, anywhere who wanted to talk for any reason to give him a call. Ryan posted the video on Friday; by the following Sunday, the 20-year-old had received more than 5,000 calls and text messages. (5)
*There are people all around us who would love to talk to you. We just have to make the effort to talk to them -- And then look for ways to turn the conversation to Jesus Christ. One good way is to ask about prayer needs. You could tell them about your church and invite them to come. Talk about the things that Jesus has done in your life. God will show you what to say.
*Peter Cartwright was the well-known preacher who opposed Abraham Lincoln for election to Congress. -Once Cartwright stayed overnight with an unbelieving doctor who claimed that the only reality was what the senses detected.
*The doctor said to him, "Did you ever see religion?"
-Cartwright answered, "No."
-“Did you ever hear religion?" -- "No."
-"Did you ever smell religion?" -- "No."
-"Did you ever taste religion?" -- "No."
-"Did you ever feel religion?" -- "Yes."
*"Now then," said the doctor with apparent triumph, "I have proved, beyond a doubt, by four respectable witnesses, that religion is not seen, heard, smelled or tasted. And but one lone, solitary witness, namely feeling, has testified that it is an experimental fact. The weight of the evidence is overpowering, sir, and you must give it up."
*Cartwright then told the doctor that he was a fraud for pretending to relieve pain in his patients. The doctor was indignant and protested to the preacher, but Cartwright responded:
-"Well, sir, did you ever see pain?" -- "No sir."
-“Did you ever hear a pain?" -- "No, sir."
-"Did you ever smell a pain?" -- "No sir."
-"Did you ever taste a pain?" -- "No sir."
-"Did you ever feel a pain?" -- "Certainly I did, sir."
*"Then," said Cartwright, "four respectable witnesses have testified that there is no such thing as pain in the human system."
-Those words went straight to the doctor’s heart.
-And after a short time of spiritual agony, he was joyfully saved. (6)
*The Holy Spirit showed that preacher exactly what he needed to say. He will do the same kind of thing for you.
3. You may feel alone and outnumbered, but tell the truth about Jesus to everyone you can. And remember that we are never really alone.
*We are never really alone as believers, because we are part of the Family of God. Down in vs. 34, most of the Athenians had rejected the Good News about Jesus, “But some men joined [Paul] and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris, and others with them.”
*There are believers all over the world who will love you simply because you belong to Jesus. How many times have you felt an almost instant bond with total strangers, because they were believers? It happens all the time. And even if God’s people are nowhere to be found -- We still have God Himself.
*I love what Paul wrote in His last letter to Timothy. Paul was on trial for his life, and fully expected to die. Listen to what he said in 2 Timothy 4:16-18:
16. At my first defense no one stood with me, but all forsook me. May it not be charged against them.
17. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that the message might be preached fully through me, and that all the Gentiles might hear. And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.
18. And the Lord will deliver me from every evil work and preserve me for His heavenly kingdom. To Him be glory forever and ever. Amen!
*The Lord stood with Paul, and He will stand with you. He is here with us right now. You may feel alone and outnumbered, but you are not alone. So don’t stop caring about what’s going on in our world, and tell the truth about Jesus to everyone you can.
1. christianglobe.com sermon “Connected” by King Duncan - John 15:1-17
2. American Veterinary Medical Association, 1931 North Meacham Road, Suite 100, Schaumburg, Illinois 60173-4360. CITED IN THE FUTURIST. (Found in christianglobe.com sermon “Connected” by King Duncan - John 15:1-17)
3. Barclay’s Daily Bible Study Series (NT) by William Barclay, Revised Edition (C) Copyright 1975 William Barclay. The Westminster Press, Philadelphia, PA - ALONE IN ATHENS - Ac.17:16-21
4. Outreach, November/December 2006, p.28 (Found in “In Other Words” - July2007_1) (IN OTHER WORDS... began in 1991 and is produced by Dr. Raymond McHenry, Senior Pastor of the Westgate Memorial Baptist Church in Beaumont, Texas. 6130 Barrington ~ Beaumont, Texas 77706 (800) 553-4697 www.iows.net)
5. Christian Post 3/9/07 - Found in “The Church Leaders Intelligence Report” Aug. 22, 2007 (Compiled and edited by Gary D. Foster.)
6. Found in Cross and Crown Sermon “Three Timeless Truths” by James McCullen - Psalm 23:1
