"Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars' hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, To The Unknown God. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you."  Acts 17:22-23 (KJV)

Paul stood in the middle of Mars Hill ready to preach.  He stood where so many of the  world’s greatest philosophers had stood.   Philosophers,  such as Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.  They had explained the great thoughts of their philosophies; now Paul was about to proclaim the great Truths of God. 

Let us get the full picture here.  The official court sat before him and a large crowd of interested philosophers and poets and citizens surrounded him.  There they were:  some stood, all heathens, completely unaware of any knowledge of the living and true God.  The most momentous moment of their lives was about to take place.  They were about to hear the most glorious news ever proclaimed to a human being.  Paul is telling them that God had revealed Himself and made Himself known to man.  He had sent His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to earth to save man from sin, death and judgment to come.  God was very concerned with the welfare of man.

You must realize that this was a little different approach than normal for Paul.  The Apostle Paul had an interesting style of ministry. Paul would travel to a city, get to know a few people, plant a church, then stay around as long as it took (usually a couple years) until the church was self-sufficient. Then he would pack up and move to a new city and start the process all over again.  

But here he goes out of his comfort zone!

On one of Paul’s journey’s he arrived in the city of Athens. Athens was a great center of philosophy, architecture, art, and religion. We learn in Acts 17:16 that Paul became concerned at how many idols they had lying around the city. So Paul begins to reason with the people in that city about the One True God. In his opening statement to the group assembled at the Areopagus, Paul says, Men of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious.¨ (Acts 17:22)

In Paul’s day, there was no shortage of religion. Not much different from our society today. We live in a culture where the supply of religion certainly meets the demand. But the truth that Paul knew in his day is the same truth we must know today: We do not need more religion, what we need is a relationship with Jesus Christ!

The message of the entire Bible could be summed up in saying that God is trying to establish a relationship with us. Jesus Himself said, These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.¨ (Matthew 15:8) God is not interested in lip service. God is interested in your heart. God wants a relationship with you, His Child.

Paul goes on to say you are very superstitious or very religious.  When we humans are very religious and superstitious that reveals that we are searching for God.  Men worship because they are seeking for God.  Their hearts are restless, searching for peace and life with God.  They are hungry, seeking to have God’s care and provision.  They are fearful, seeking to have God’s protection.  The good news is that God is not hidden and He is not unknown.  As Paul walked through the great city of Athens, he had read many of the
inscriptions written on the monuments and idols.  And as the verse states one in particular caught his attention:  the altar “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD”.   So the people were acknowledging that there was an unknown god, and they worshipped him.  But they did not know Him.  The restlessness, the hunger and the fear were still in their hearts and minds, especially in lonely moments.  All they did was worship an unknown god, they knew nothing about him, yet they worshipped him. 

Then what did Paul do? 

He declared that he knew the unknown God.  He personally knew Him, and it was He whom Paul was giving them the lesson about so they would know and get their questions answered.

Are we focusing more on our religion or on our relationship with Christ?  That will let you know how far you are on your Christian journey.  It is not about me BUT it is about HIM.  As another year comes to an end let's take a moment to reflect on our relationship with JESUS!  We pray that HE is not "UNKNOWN" to you nor you to HIM!   If you haven't done so already, take this time to get your relationship with CHRIST right...then go out and share the good news of JESUS CHRIST to all whom GOD puts in your path.   Be like Paul and tell others about the "UNKNOWN GOD"!

                  Ephesians 3:17-19 New King James Version (NKJV)
17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— 19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.


The book of Ephesians is named after the City of Ephesus.  At it's height, Ephesus was the most important city along the coast of Asia Minor.  Remember 230 cities dotted the coastline of Asia Minor.  Ephesus was the queen among those coastal communities. But then the harbor began filling up with sludge and sediment and they no longer could boast of their beautiful harbor.  However, they had one claim to fame and that was the magnificent temple of Diana.  People came from all over to visit this splendid shrine that also served as a bank in which cities and kings deposited and withdrew funds.

The Church of Ephesus had a small beginning.  When Paul visited there were only twelve believers in that city and they had been won to the Lord by Apollos.   But Apollos was not aware of the presence of the Holy Spirit.  So, Paul began teaching about the Holy Spirit.  For three months Paul taught on the Holy Spirit but the Jews hardened their hearts and refused to believe the gospel.  You will read of spectacular miracles happening in Ephesus because that was needed in order to get through to the people to get their attention.  This Book speaks of: the eternal plan of God for the Christian believer, the life of the Christian believer, the walk of the Christian believer, the warfare of the Christian believer and the verses at the top of the page refer to the eternal purpose of God for the Christian believer. 

Paul is saying in this letter, to the Ephesians and to us, that we are not just human beings -  we carry in us Christ himself.   It is time to see ourselves as vessels of honor that God, through His Son, chose to live in.  Christ is to rule and reign in our hearts by faith.  That word dwell means a permanent place not a temporary place.  Christ is to take up permanent residence, to enter, to settle down and be at home in our hearts.  Our bodies are the temple of God and we are to respect God in us by allowing Him to live in us and through us. We are so blessed that God is in us and not in animals or wood or in the air. His love for us could not live anywhere else but in His children and that is a privilege and must be appreciated as such.

God loves us so much that He gave His only Son to save us. God loved us even before we loved Him. We must understand the breadth and length and depth and height of the love of God.  The love of God is so broad and wide that He wants everyone to be saved. He will never drive away anyone who comes to Him. His love is so wide that He removes our sins as far as the east is from the west. The Lord has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He wants everyone to repent of their sins and come to Him. There is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than ninety-nine righteous persons who think they do not need to repent.

The Bible teaches that when we are saved through faith in Jesus as our Lord and Savior we become children of God. The Bible says that we are part of the family of God because God has adopted us.   The love of God is so long that it lasts forever. It is an eternal love. The Lord Jesus loved His disciples till the very end. The love of man may change and turn into hatred but the love of God stays the same and lasts for all eternity.
 
Some things for you to think about today:

• Do you speak about how God the Father loves you? 
• Do you share the Love of Jesus with others? 
• Do you allow the Holy Spirit to use the gifts and talents that God has given you? 
• Are you teaching others what it is to be a follower of Christ? 
• What kind of picture does your life paint for the people you should be trying to lead to Jesus?
• Do your friends and family look at your life and ask, what’s so great about following Jesus? 
• Are you proclaiming by the way you live, the way you speak, the way you act that Jesus Christ is your Lord and Savior? 
• When was the last time you told somebody about Jesus? 
• When was the last time you told someone they needed to know Jesus as their Savior?
• When was the last time you invited someone to a church service? 
• When was the last time you realized, that you have a God given responsibility to tell others about who is supposed to be the most important person in your life?

 
Remember, this life is short, things can change in the blink of an eye so don’t waste it even one minute. One day when you stand before God, He’s not going to be impressed or pleased if He asks what you did to tell others about Him and you say Lord, sometimes I went to church on a Sunday morning, I thought that was enough.  Do everything you can for the Lord, take advantage of every opportunity that comes to proclaim the truth of the Gospel.  May each of us be enabled by the Holy Spirit to share the truth of the Gospel with others.
 
We should not defile our bodies because God dwells in us.  And not only that, we are one with the Lord in our spirit. Did you catch that? Our Spirit and the Lord's Spirit are one. It's not possible to separate our Spirit from the Lord's once we become a child of God by accepting the gift of salvation.   The Lord paid a high price for us, when He laid down His life for us. This is why the WORD of God says that we have been bought at a price.  We are to honor God with our bodies and flee from anything that will make us fall into sin.
 
When Jesus Christ promised to send the Holy Spirit to believers, He promised that the trinity: the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, would all three come and indwell believers.
 
Can I get an AMEN?

Acts 26:19 
For that reason, King Agrippa, I did not prove disobedient to the heavenly vision
 
These are the words that the Apostle Paul addressed to King Agrippa.  Paul's words shed an immense ray of light on the character and activity of the great apostle.  In this portion of scripture, Paul gives his testimony to King Agrippa and Governor Festus.  In this, Paul gives a very accurate picture of what he was like before he met Jesus on the road to Damascus.  By his own admission, he was truly a prosecutor. 

Can you imagine the splendor, the ceremony, the showy display as Governor Festus, King Agrippa, Bernice and their ranking officials all entered the palace room?  You can almost hear trumpets blaring.   You can see them in their finery.  Here they come parading in: proud, wealthy, and powerful.  Each one wearing their fine, colorful garments as they take their seats.  Of course their seats are raised, as they looked down on the poor folks who would come into their court to be heard and helped.  Then here comes Paul, a small man, weighted down with chains.  He shuffles into the room, stood for a moment, and when the investigation was formally handed over to King Agrippa by Festus, Paul begins his defense.
 
Paul speaks of his own vanity and pride.  He wanted to make a name for himself by cleaning up the earth of “those” saints.  Paul tells them of all the people he had killed.  How he had accused Christians.  How even when the Christians were dying he insulted them.  He became more and more intoxicated with power because he had letters of authority.  But then he gets to the critical turning point!    It was mid-day and everyone was taking a rest, but Paul was not taking a rest, he was on a mission, rushing to kill people.  However, he was stopped by a bright light from heaven.  They had all fallen on the ground and Paul heard the words: I am Jesus of Nazareth whom you are persecuting.  Rise up.  He then continues to tell his audience that since that day he has not been disobedient to that heavenly vision - the heavenly call that he had received from the LORD.  Paul informs his hearers that he witnessed to all men-everywhere.  He preached repentance and the need to turn to God and to do the works of repentance.  He preached only the Scripture.  He preached Christ’s death and resurrection.  He told Agrippa and Festus that he was obedient to the heavenly vision, to the call of Jesus.
 
He lets them know that his call was from Jesus and he lets them know that he was the most unlikely person in the world to receive a call from God, but it came any way.  The Lord Jesus appeared to him and called him and the call was a command, a demand, a charge, a mandate, a decree, an ultimatum, a stipulation, a claim and a dictate.  Are you getting the message?   The Lord’s call was not up for discussion or debate.  There was no need to confer with family or friends, no need to seek out other people’s opinions concerning the call.  The Lord called Paul and the Lord expected Paul to fulfill his call.  Paul states emphatically that he had not disobeyed the heavenly call.  The charges brought against Paul, who was now before King Agrippa, were unjust.  He wanted them to know that he was not disobedient to God.  He had been faithful to the Lord, doing exactly what the Lord wanted done.  Yes, he was a sinner: but the Lord in His mercy saved and called him, and he was now obeying the Lord. 
 
He tells them that the Lord commissioned him to preach to the Gentiles and the Lord promised to deliver him from them.  Wow what courage!!   Here is Paul speaking before two powerful Gentiles - a King and  Governor, neither of whom can touch him because he has appealed to speak to Caesar, the Emperor, and yet he is able to preach the gospel to both of them.  The Lord means business when HE calls a person.  The call is from heaven; therefore it supersedes all other calls and interests.  It is not up for discussion nor is it to be subjected to any other desire.  God knows the need of the world for the gospel, and he knows whom HE wants to fill that need.  So, the best thing to do when we hear the call from the Lord is to surrender to it...immediately!
 
Paul gave his resume in a few words.  We get the impression that Paul said these words emphatically, and not as a weak, old man.  He said them because he was filled with sorrow and full of affliction for his past but that the Lord saved a wretched like him and like us.  Oh, that each of us Christians could say the same thing that we have not been disobedient to the call that  we have received from the Lord.
 
I want to point something out, in this scenario.   Who had the real power?  Was it those who were dressed in their finery, or was it the crowd that was listening, or was it the one man who was in chains?  The answer is the man in chains.  Yes, Paul had the power.  He spoke of a suffering Christ, of His resurrection from the dead - this is reality.  This is the truth of the gospel.  The swords and spears of the guards, the chain mail worn by the officers standing beside the governor and king, these are as delicate as fabric and just like fine cobwebs and temporary as butterfly wings.  You see in this one instance that the power of this world is a fraud.  The man in chains was the one who was really free.  And those who proclaimed their freedom by their splendor and pageantry were really bound.  That means that they were bound for all eternity in hell.
 
Paul was not only obedient in the good times when he was surrounded by victories and successes, but always even when others would feel their hearts freeze up and their throats get dry. Paul was obedient in spite of the ingratitude of those he loved most and by whom he was loved the least in every condition of his agitated existence: in poverty as also in abundance.  Paul never wavered not even a single time.  For Paul even death was considered gain.  It would bring him to an encounter with Jesus, the object of his vision and the hope of his heart.  He never allowed his heavenly vision to vanish. We all get tired, we all get hurt, we forget that heavenly vision that was given to us by our Lord.  We have to be reminded that we need to draw from the fountain of life: Jesus Christ.  We need to live in community with Christ.
 
In the history of King Xerses you can read that in order to maintain and keep his hatred against the Greeks alive, he gave orders to a slave to whisper in his ear every day at dinner time the words that said: “Remember the Greeks,” “Remember the Greeks.”    As Christians we must always keep the infinite love of our Lord in our minds,  “Remember the love of Jesus.”   “Remember the love of Jesus.”

What is it that GOD has called you to in this New Year?  Let's follow this lesson from the Apostle Paul and live out our calling!   Do not be disobedient to your heavenly vision.