{"id":32318,"date":"2024-08-26T22:00:19","date_gmt":"2024-08-27T05:00:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts-17_1-15-copy\/"},"modified":"2024-07-30T21:16:46","modified_gmt":"2024-07-31T04:16:46","slug":"acts-17_16-34","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/acts-17_16-34\/","title":{"rendered":"The Reason God Allows Everything That Happens In Your Life"},"content":{"rendered":"

Acts 17:16-34 \u00a0 (CLICK HERE FOR\u00a0BIBLE VERSES)<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 17:16-34.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 17:16-17 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n16\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
\n17\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 16-17:\u00a0 Because Paul was distressed to see so many idols being worshiped in Athens, Paul decided to do something about it.\u00a0 He begins to preach about Jesus in the synagogue and marketplace of Athens.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from Paul\u2019s example?\u00a0\u00a0When you are distressed by something that you see, don\u2019t just complain about it or be frustrated by it.\u00a0 With your time and your talents, do something productive in light of it.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Acts 17:18 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n18\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verse 18:\u00a0 As eloquent, intelligent and excellent Paul was as a communicator, there were still those who had trouble grasping the message he was preaching.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0It takes time for people who do not come from a Christian background to grasp what the Christian message is all about.<\/strong>\u00a0 In part it\u2019s because the Christian message is so counterintuitive and so different from what people usually think about when it comes to God, people, heaven and hell.\u00a0 That\u2019s why you need to give the unchurched people you\u2019re trying to reach time to grasp the message about Jesus.\u00a0 They might need to hear it over and over in different ways and from different people before it will sink in.<\/p>\n

Acts 17:19-21 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n19\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting?
\n20\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
\n21\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0(All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 19-21:\u00a0 What is this \u201cmeeting of the Areopagus\u201d (v19)?\u00a0 The Areopagus was a hill where Athenians would set up a court to judge various legal matters. \u00a0\u201cAreopagus\u201d literally means the hill of Ares, the Greek god of war (or, in Latin, the hill of Mars, thus the term \u201cMars\u2019 hill\u201d).\u00a0 In this case, Paul isn\u2019t on trial for any charges.\u00a0 Rather it seems that the Areopagus was also a council (v33) that would hold public hearings and invite individuals to present new ideas, similar perhaps to TED talks today.\u00a0 Curious about what Paul has been preaching about in the synagogue and marketplace of Athens, some higher ups in Athens invite Paul to speak at a meeting of the Areopagus.<\/p>\n

Acts 17:22-23 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n22\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.
\n23\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: TO AN UNKNOWN GOD. Now what you worship as something unknown I am going to proclaim to you.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 22-23:\u00a0 Notice that Paul begins by speaking to the Athenians about things that they could relate to, such as the altar they walked past every day.\u00a0 What was Paul doing?\u00a0 Like Stephen was doing in Acts 7, Paul is building common ground with his audience.\u00a0\u00a0If you want people to listen to your message, you need to establish common ground with them early on.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Notice also that Paul uses something that his audience knew about as a launchpad to talking about something that his audience did not know about.\u00a0 Paul says to them, \u201cYou have this altar dedicated \u2018to an unknown God\u2019.\u00a0 Let me tell you who this unknown God is.\u201d\u00a0 Paul is tickling his audience\u2019s curiosity, giving them a reason to keep on listening to him.<\/p>\n

Acts 17:24-27 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n24\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and earth and does not live in temples built by hands.
\n25\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything, because he himself gives all men life and breath and everything else.
\n26\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.
\n27\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0God did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from each one of us.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-27:\u00a0 According to verses 26 and 27,\u00a0every circumstance God allows in your life – good, bad, joyful, painful – is ultimately for one reason: that you would recognize your need for God and reach out for Him.<\/strong>\u00a0 As Paul says, God is not far away from any one of us (v27).\u00a0 That\u2019s because through Jesus Christ, God came near.\u00a0 Now He waits for us to respond to Him.\u00a0 That’s why we call God \u201cImmanuel\u201d, which means “God is with us”.\u00a0 Let\u2019s thank God for not being far away, but for coming near.<\/p>\n

Acts 17:28-31 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n28\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
\n29\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone–an image made by man’s design and skill.
\n30\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.
\n31\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to all men by raising him from the dead.”<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 24-31:\u00a0 Knowing that his audience is not well versed in the Hebrew scriptures, Paul doesn\u2019t quote Scripture verses when trying to communicate with his non-Jewish audience.\u00a0 Rather, he speaks in a language that the Athenians can understand, using the language of philosophy and poetry to communicate his message.\u00a0 What is Paul doing?\u00a0 Everywhere Paul goes Paul is preaching the same message about Jesus, but Paul packages and presents that message differently based on where his audience is at.<\/p>\n

Likewise,\u00a0if you want to effectively share Jesus with others, first understand where your audience is at and meet them there, speaking in ways that they can understand.\u00a0<\/strong>\u00a0That\u2019s what Jesus did for us: instead of insisting that we go up to where He is, Jesus came down to our level.<\/p>\n

Acts 17:32-34 (NIV)<\/strong>
\n32\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.”
\n33\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0At that, Paul left the Council.
\n34\u00a0<\/sup>\u00a0A few men became followers of Paul and believed. Among them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and a number of others.<\/em><\/p>\n

On verses 32-34:\u00a0 In response to Pau\u2019s message, a few people place their faith in Jesus.\u00a0 Some might conclude that Paul\u2019s mission in Athens was not as successful as his mission in other places where Paul saw a much greater numerical response.\u00a0 I think of it differently.\u00a0 Paul did the best with what we had in Athens, choosing to respond in a positive way to the distress he felt when he saw so many idols in the city.\u00a0 He ends up gaining an audience in Athens\u2019 most prestigious forum.\u00a0 There he plows the ground of people\u2019s hearts with a message that is so different and unique compared to anything else the Athenians had ever heard.\u00a0 Amazingly, upon their first hearing of the gospel message, a few prominent leaders respond and place their faith in Jesus.\u00a0 That to me is incredible.\u00a0 What can we learn from this?\u00a0\u00a0When you respond to your distress in positive, constructive ways, you give God room to work in your life in ways that you could not have anticipated yourself.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thank You Father for being the God who didn\u2019t stay far away, but who came near to be with us.\u00a0 Thank You that everything that happens in my life is ultimately for one reason: that I would see my need for You and reach for You.\u00a0 I pray for those around me who don\u2019t know You yet.\u00a0 I pray that like Paul I would be wise and effective in how I share You with those around me, speaking in ways that the people around me can relate to so that the message can be as clear to them as possible.\u00a0 In Jesus\u2019 name, AMEN!<\/em><\/p>\n

Copyright \u00a9 2022 Justin Lim. All rights reserved.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/section><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hi GAMErs,<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s passage is Acts 17:16-34.\u00a0 As usual,\u00a0I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit\u2019s help, then read the GAME sharing below.\u00a0 Let’s go!<\/p>\n

Acts 17:16-17 (NIV)
\n16\u00a0\u00a0While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols.
\n17\u00a0\u00a0So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there.<\/p>\n

On verses 16-17:\u00a0 Because Paul was distressed to see so many idols being worshiped in Athens, Paul decided to do something about it.\u00a0 He begins to preach about Jesus in the synagogue and marketplace of Athens.<\/p>\n

What can we learn from Paul\u2019s example?\u00a0\u00a0When you are distressed by something that you see, don\u2019t just complain about it or be frustrated by it.\u00a0 With your time and your talents, do something productive in light of it.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":32320,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-32318","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-gametime-sharing"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32318","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=32318"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32318\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":32321,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/32318\/revisions\/32321"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/32320"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=32318"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=32318"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ocbf.ca\/2019\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=32318"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}