Good morning church!
What a privilege to come together as a body of Christ to study His word. Let us begin our time with the word of prayer.
Prayer:
We will continue our series from the book of Acts and our text for this morning is Acts 17:16-34. In the beginning of this chapter, Paul was in Thessalonica. He visited the synagogues to dialogue with the Jews there. But the Jews persecuted him, so the believers sent him to Berea overnight. When he came to Berea, he did exactly the same thing, went to synagogues to dialogue with the Jews. The same group of Jews from Thessalonica heard about it and came to persecute him there. So, the believers in Berea sent Paul to Athens. Now, he is in Athens waiting for his disciples, Timothy and Silas who were still in Berea. As he went around Athens, he saw the city “wholly given to the idols” and it troubled his heart. He had a sense of holy discontent after seeing that city wholly given to the idols. So our topic for this morning is HOLY DISCONTENT.
We’ve heard sermons on being content. ”Be content with what you have.” ”Be content with who you are.” ”Be content with where you are.” and so on. But too often, we as Christians are too content. When someone is discontented over a matter that also brings discontent to God, that person is experiencing a “holy” discontent. Bill Hybels says, “Holy discontent is a motivation to action that is initiated by the Holy Spirit.” It is a discontentment with sin, pain and sorrow that we see around us. It is not all about us; it is all about the glory of God. Holy discontent flows out of our intimate relationship with God and it is deeply sensitive to God’s heart for people. There will be a great impact when we willingly convert the frustration of our holy discontent into fuel for changing the world for God. This morning, I would like to share with you how can we discover our holy discontent and do something about it by depending on God for the result. First of all,
“God Puts Us in Places for Purpose” (vs. 16-21).
Now, Paul is in Athens. It was the center of philosophy and culture, which gave birth to philosophers like Socrates and Aristotle. In those days the Greeks worshipped as many as 30 thousand gods and goddesses. They would erect statues and monuments and altars to them. The streets were full of idols. It has been said, “It was easier to find a god than a man in Athens.” “Idols everywhere.” They were afraid that they had perhaps missed some gods, so they even built an altar with the inscription, “To the Unknown god.” Paul discovered his holy discontent right away when he entered Athens and saw idols all over the city. So he started doing something from there…
Synagogue – (among his own people, Jews)
Paul began in the synagogues with his own people. We can see in verse 17 that Paul shared the message on a daily basis. He did the same in Thessalonica and Berea as well. This is a model we need to follow. Begin with our family, relatives and friends. Begin from where we are in terms of geography and influence.
Marketplace – (among Business people, Philosophers)
Then he moved to the marketplace where he met some people busy doing business and others busy sharing ideas. He reasoned with Epicureans who believe in enjoying life and Stoics who believe in enduring life. In the middle of these two extreme ideas, he proclaimed about the eternal life, in Jesus Christ. The question for us today is,
Do we bring Jesus to our marketplace?
That's where people are. That's where ideas are being shaped, people get education, make money. Many times, we leave Jesus in the church for Sundays and forget about Him for the rest of the week. We should bring Jesus in our workplace, school, company, etc. And after marketplace, God put Paul at the Areopagus or Mars Hill.
Mars Hill – (among government people, authorities)
In vs. 22 we find Paul at the Areopagus, where Athens held high court for religious, philosophical, and moral matters. It is called Mars Hill in Roman. Mars was the Greek God of war and it was a small rocky hill northwest of Athens. It was here that Paul delivered perhaps his most famous sermon, his only speech in Acts, to an entirely pagan audience. This is where he met government officials and religious leaders, policy makers and authorities. Paul discovered his holy discontent from where he was and started working on it.
Nehemiah provides a complete example of having a sense of holy discontent. He received a report of how Jerusalem was in trouble and disgrace. The walls of the holy city were broken down and the gates were burned. Listen to his response in Nehemiah 1:4, "When I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted, and prayed before the God of heaven." Nehemiah immediately discovered his holy discontent (rebuilding the wall) from where he was, and he started working on it.
Application
Paul being in Athens is not an accident. God had a purpose in bringing Paul in Athens. Likewise, He has a purpose in putting us where we are today. Not only in terms of geography but also in terms of our influence. Wherever you are in life right now, you are not there by an accident but by God’s perfect plan. Makati is like a modern day Athens with lots of ‘idols’ (idols of the heart).
Do we sense holy discontent in our hearts when we see those idols around us?
Your synagogue (family) - God has put you there for a purpose to love your family. Your marketplace (workplace) - God has put you there for purpose to influence your workmates, employers, and employees. Your Mars Hill (personal testimony) - God has worked in your life for a purpose to testify God’s good news thru your testimony. Let us discover our Holy Discontent in order to fulfill God’s purpose from the places/positions He has put us today.
2. “God Empowers Us to Proclaim His word” (vs. 22-31).
The Council of the Aeropagus was responsible to watch over both religion and education in the city of Athens. So, they asked Paul to present his doctrine before the council. Paul couldn’t have done this by himself. It was God’s empowering upon him to be able to boldly proclaim His word in front of the council.
Look at how Paul faces the high council using the powerful word of God. Instead of condemning them, Paul commends them for their religiosity. He says, “You guys are very religious!” It was a fact clearly evidenced by the large number of statues and shrines around the city. He finds characteristics of the local culture that he can affirm. He uses appreciative words and words from their own poets to connect with them. He contextualizes his message, without compromising. Paul is not using scripture here because the people that he was talking to were Greeks, and they probably did not know the Old Testament. Paul is giving us a great example of taking people from wherever they are to where they should be - Christ. Notice, how Paul uses what they know to teach them what they need to know. He focuses this message on God's creative power and the resurrection.
Creator (vs. 24-27)
God created Heaven and Earth and everything in it. He is not a creation, we can’t create God. God created us. He lives in the living temple, which is human heart, not in the temples made by humans. As we see in verse 24, God made the world and all things in it. This message goes back to the first verse of the Bible – Genesis 1:1, “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.” This teaches that God is the creator of everything. Man is not the creator of god but God is the creator of man and everything in the universe.
Sustainer (vs. 28-29)
God doesn't need anything from us, but He gives everything for us. He is the sustainer of life. Paul tells us in verse 25 that God gives life, breath, and all things to all. Jesus taught in Matthew 6:26 that God even feeds the birds in the air, we are worth more than birds. To give all things to all, God has to be powerful enough to give them. To give all things to all, God has to care enough to give them. That God gives all things to all shows that He is good. If God gives us life, breath, and all things, then surely He is the God who sustains us.
Redeemer (vs. 30-31)
Not only God is the creator and sustainer, He is also the redeemer. He has been raised from the dead to redeem us from the slavery of sin. So He calls all human beings to repent and be redeemed by the power of His resurrection. Only Jesus can redeem us from the power of death to the power of life. He came to earth to save us for eternity. Paul proclaims God’s word in front of the high council by God’s empowering. God empowers us to act upon our holy discontent.
Illustration: David’s Holy Discontent (1 Samuel 17)
David had a sense of holy discontent when he heard Goliath profaning the God of Israel for forty days. He was challenging Israelites to face him. David demonstrated his holy discontent as he stood before Goliath and the Philistines to proclaim God’s power. In 1 Samuel 17:45, David said to the Philistine, “You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.”
David couldn’t stand the fact that Goliath was profaning God and His people. God empowered him to overpower the giant. That power did not come from him or from his sling and stone. It came from God who is the all powerful creator, sustainer and redeemer. God empowers us to do something about our holy discontent.
What are the giants in your life that you are facing today?
What are you doing about it?
Application:
We must face the giants with the word of God. Our sling and stone today are the word of God that we should use to face the giants. They may look big and strong but God is bigger and stronger. God has empowered us His word to face those giants. We don’t have to use sling and stone anymore, instead we use sword, which is the word of God. After discovering our holy discontent, we must do something about it and depend on God for the results. God enables us to accept the responses of our holy discontent.
“God Enables Us to Accept the Responses”. (vs. 32-34).
When we live out God’s purpose in our lives from the places where God has put us, we will certainly face giants along the way and as a result, we receive various responses. God will enable us to accept any kind response that we get as a result. In vs. 32-34, we see how paul depended on God for the result. After doing his part of proclaiming the word of God, he lets the Holy Spirit work in their hearts. He shows an understanding and acceptance that it is the Spirit's work to convert, not his. He understands and accepts the fact that some will embrace what he has shared and others will reject it. He was ready to accept any response as a result of the act upon his holy discontent. After his speech in the council of Mars hill, people responded in three different ways:
Ridicule (v. 32a)
He was ridiculed; they called him a babbler when they heard him in the marketplaces. Babbler or seed picker…the idea of birds, hopping around picking up seeds. They were saying he was one of these who just grabs thoughts from here and there and everywhere and repeats them as his own, with no real thought or understanding of his own…just babbling! They were looking down their noses at him as if he knew nothing. And again they mocked him at this point after hearing him at the council of Areopagus. Paul was able to accept those ridicule because he knew that it was not for him but for God since he was proclaiming God’s word.
Reluctance (v. 32b)
The second response was reluctance. Some of them were reluctant, they said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” They were undecided or didn’t have the courage to take a stand. They didn’t mock him nor they accepted his teaching. They just felt good at listening to the message and wanted more of it. They did not make a decision. They are like the Luke-warm believers in the churches today, neither hot nor cold.
Repentance (v. 34)
The third response was repentance. Many people responded to Paul’s message with repentance. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others. Paul’s act upon his holy discontent was worth. When we work on our holy discontent, God works on our behalf. Many people will come to His saving grace as a result of it. We just have to depend on God for the result.
Illustration – Jesus’s Holy Discontent (John 2:13-25)
Jesus clearing the temple court where people were selling and buying. He was troubled in his heart seeing them turning the holy place into a marketplace. It was something that he couldn’t stand; people misusing the temple for their own benefits. He literally drove them away with all their stuff. People immediately responded to the act of His holy discontent. Jesus accepted the responses by the enabling of God and as a result, many people believed in His name.
Application
God enables us to accept the response of our holy discontent. God gives us the contentment when we work on our holy discontentment. Our act of holy discontent is not for our benefit, but for God’s glory. So the Holy Spirit enables us today to accept any kind of responses as we act upon our holy discontent.
Summary
Paul’s holy discontent was seeing the city of Athens full of idols.
Nehemiah’s holy discontent was hearing the Jerusalem wall broken down and God’s people were disgraced.
David’s holy discontent was hearing Goliath profaning the name of the Lord and His people for forty days.
Jesus’ holy discontent was seeing the temple being misused by people for their own benefit.
What is your Holy Discontent?
What is that one thing you just can’t stand?
“Holy Discontent Requires a Holy Response”
Are we ready to respond to our holy discontent?
God puts us in places for purpose.
God empowers us to proclaim His word.
God enables us to accept the responses.
Let us discover our holy discontent and do something about it by depending on God for the result.
Let us pray!
