And everybody, please turn your Bibles to Acts chapter 17. Acts chapter 17, and then, again, in the Church Bible, it's page 1-1 of 5-2, page 1-1 of 5-2. And did you see that first night at the French, Friday night, that the power went out on some of the venues and things? And I guess I feel bad if it was a good act. Jacks are not good at hacks, so I don't know that I'm that disappointed that the power went out. But sometimes when the power goes out, you have difficulty getting around and you can't find a torch, right? You're looking for it, but you're looking in the dark and so that doesn't help you very much to find what you need. That happened to my grandma recently and so my mom said, to Grandma's during a storm this past week because the previous storm, the power went out for Grandma's and she was stumbling around and she couldn't find the torch and it kind of scared her. She's 94 and living on her own and so Mom went over there to be with her and to help her out. You know, I was there when the power went out at my grand's and I knew where the torch was. In fact, I had it in my hand. And I refuse to give a 94-year-old woman that lives on her own a torch. I hope you'd look at me and go, man, what kind of a guy are you? You don't care at all. You don't value your grand. Why wouldn't you go and help her with that? You'd rightly expect me to do that. You know, the Bible says that God has made his people to be the light of the world. He's given us that which men need. He's given us the light of the gospel. And so we've got people that are stumbling around in darkness. They don't have that which they need. And yet in our hands, we possess the exact thing that we can take to them and tell them everything that they need so that they can see clearly. Matthew 5.14 says, Hear the light of the world, a city that is set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither do men light a candle and put it under a bush or put it on a candlestick, and it giveth light unto all that are in the house. Truth be told today, whether men realize it or not, they're stumbling around in darkness, they're banging into things, they're going through life going, why is life so difficult? Why does it hurt so much? And it's abusing me, it's abusing my family, but they don't understand, they don't know about Jesus Christ and what Christ did on the cross for them. You know, how should we look at ourselves this morning if we've got that light and we're refusing to share that light with them? It's a great disgrace to what Jesus Christ did. If we do that, and we've got it in our hands, we have to seek to quickly bring that light out and say, I've got exactly what you need, and I know this is what you need, and I want to share this with you. We have a missionary that we were just with, Brother Larry Pieri, that was a missionary to Italy. In fact, his wife, his first wife, was working here in Edinburgh, over in Joppa, as a single got cancer, she passed away. And his second wife, Maria, and he also went to Italy and served God there. So Brother Pieri has been for years involved He's almost blind now, and his lost sight in his left eye almost completely, his right eye just has a little bit of sight. You can see light and things like that. But he got to speak at our meeting that we're just at in Germany and share something with the men in the morning session. And he said to me before that, we're at breakfast, he said, you know, would you help me? Here's my notes. I can't see them. My wife wrote them out for me. And so if I forget something, would you please prompt me? And so I sat down in the front, and there he's speaking, and I think five times I prompted him. But he preached on something that was dear to his heart, and that is soul winning, or what we call personal evangelism. It's that desire that we have as Christians, when Jesus said to his disciples, he said, follow me and I will make you fishers of men. That's what evangelism is. It's us passing on our faith, the truth about God, the truth about Jesus Christ to others, so that they can get saved. The Bible says in Proverbs 11 verse 30, it says, the fruit of the righteous is a tree of life, and he that lends souls is wise. So if you thought soul lending was just some modern concept that we came up with, no, it's an Old Testament concept, we're going back some almost 3,000 years there in the Bible, speaking about lending that we could ever be involved in to be somebody that is gonna declare the gospel to others, shine that light so that they can get saved. And so I enjoy hearing from Brother Larry about that, being encouraged about that, even though that's what I do, that's what God's called me to do as a missionary, as a minister of the gospel. But one of the greatest soul winners ever is the person that we're looking at this morning. The Apostle Paul was a missionary church planter. He helped carry the gospel around the world. And this morning, what we're looking at in Acts 17 is his example. And we kind of get to see his heart. We get to see what motivated him. We get to see his burden to share Christ. The sovereign priest is warning, you need to be involved in sharing the gospel, the good news of Jesus Christ. You need to be involved in sharing the gospel of the good news. And so, you know, the first question would be, am I involved in sharing the gospel? You know, is that something that is on my radar? Do I look at myself as a Christian, as somebody that's responsible for God and for sharing the gospel? And then do I have a burden for that? Do I have a desire for that? And to think, when is the last time that I got involved in soul winning? was the last time that I actually did something to help carry the gospel to somebody who needed to help them to find Christ as their savior. And so I hope this morning that the spirit of God would just speak to our hearts as a church and say about the need that we have to be soul winners, to be involved in personal evangelism. And so let's pray and ask God to help us. We come to the word of God this morning. Father, I'm grateful to you for the grace that you give. I'm very thankful for our church. It was a joy, even just in the handshake time, just to go around and greet everybody. The Lord's a blessing to be here to encourage one another. And Father, I ask that you'd have to win the service. Is your service not mine? Is your church not mine? is the head of the church is the lord Jesus Christ and saviors who taught us to pray that will be done on earth as it is in heaven. I pray it will be done at Southside Pre-baptist Church as it is in heaven. I ask lord god that you bless the children in their class so the spirit of god will speak to their hearts and help their teacher. I'm just as sure as you guys had time but father in morning service as adults and as teens as we're gathered here uh this morning we ask lord god please speak to us Father, may there not be one thing that would hinder us this morning from hearing from you. And Father, I pray that when the Spirit of God speaks to us through the Word of God, that we'd be ready to respond and to say, here am I in the Word, send me, and that we'd obey the Word of God. I can't speak without your name, Lord, I've been coveting the Lord. Amen. Amen. Okay. So, you need to be involved or I need to be involved in sharing the gospel. The good news about Jesus Christ and so we're going to start with this morning for you to share the gospel. You must get a burden for the laws. Uh you must get a burden for the laws. And so, verse fifteen, it says, and they that conducted Paul brought him unto Athens and receiving a commandment unto Silas and Timotheus for to Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. need for Jesus Christ because what you when you see a need uh it is motivating. Think about George Mueller, the great man of god that would be used of god to in Bristol, England to build those big orphanages and and take all those young people out of the workhouses and out of the off of the streets and uh these kids that parents have passed away with the disease and things that were going around uh at that time and provide a place where not only they receive love and they receive food but they receive the gospel of the lord Jesus that passion for that burden. George Mueller came to that because he he looked at those young people and he saw that they had a great need. You know, one of the blessings of neighborhood of Bible time was having the two evangelists, James and Joel with us and also some of you met Kate. Kate came in on Sunday and she's from Japan and she just wanted to serve God and she contacted us and said, I'm gonna be traveling and I'm gonna be, you know, maybe coming to your area and I'd like to help and I took James and Joe, and actually Kate brought Amy with her from the hospital. Amy's from China. Amy's just getting involved in church and learning about God herself. But I took them down into Edinburgh, and we did street evangelism. There I preached on the street, on Princess Street, down by the National Gallery, and they participated in passing out gospel leaflets. You stand down there and you're looking at thousands of people on Princes Street, you're looking at thousands of people coming down from the Royal Mile and down that side hill there by the National Gallery, and there's just something about getting out into evangelism like that and the ancestors. to those that need it down there, but also that God would work in the heart of James and Joe and Kate, in this case, Amy, and also that they would be beginning to get that burden even more greatly for the lost, even as we do here in Scotland, we burden for our people in this country. You know, the Bible says about these thousands of people that need to get saved, it says in Matthew 7 verse 13, it says, enter ye in at the street which leadeth unto life, and be there be that mind in it. And if you go to a big venue, and you're looking at the crowd, and you see everybody out there recognize this, that the vast majority of people that we see today, if they were to die, they would die in their sin without Jesus Christ. They'd spend eternity in a lake of fire away from God. There ought to be something about that that begins to work in our heart and say, dear God, so many people are on their way to hell, that we'd stop and consider, what can I do about that? but the first thing is to get that burden, let that begin to sink into our soul a little bit, let our eyes look at that and see that, but then you need to be burdened to meet the need that you see. Notice what it says, it says, his spirit was stirred within him. Paul didn't just look at the idolatry and think to himself, it can't do anything. You made it yourself with your own hands. That is so dumb. He didn't look at that critically and say, you know, you're such an ignorant people. He looked at that and he thought, you are somebody that has a soul. You're somebody that has a need. I want to do everything I can to get the gospel to you. He was burdened about that. You know, we didn't just work the whole time that we were with the group, you know, this past week. We did give them some fun time and do some fun things. One of those things was on Monday, I took them into Edinburgh to show them the church history that's there with the covenanters and that, if you're familiar with that, those that were put to death in the 1600s. Some 18,000 there at Grass Market and to see the national covenant that they signed and things like that. And there, have you been to the animal room there at the National Museum? You got all the animals there. It's kind of great. You're walking through the Great Hall, and it's beautiful. And then you see Dolly the Sheep. You know, he passed through there, first cloned mammal. And then I take them up to the rooftop exhibit. Have you been there? The old side of the museum? You look out at the castle, and it's great to get that view. But on our way up there, you're walking up the stairs. That's the way we like to go, cut around the outside. But on the way, you go past the steam engine section. Why? Because of James Watt, the great inventor that was here that invented steam power. And so you see an engine, and that steam would build, and it would build, and it would build, and then it would start to work. It had to have a release of that pressure. And that's what I believe we see in the life of the Apostle Paul. Paul had that, his eye is gonna begin to stir his heart, and there's that pressure that's there, building and building. And he's sitting there with a little wealth, he's not saying anything, but he got to the point where he's like, I can't help but say something because my spirit is stirred. Now, I wonder this morning, is there anything in your heart that says, you know, that's me, I'm starting to get burdened about it. Pastor, I haven't been involved in evangelism. You know, I haven't told anybody about Jesus Christ. I have not joined with the church and the evangelism that the church does, whether putting out flyers or the different venues that we have, whether holiday Bible club, maybe evangelistic services or things like that. But God's beginning to burden my heart about it. And I want to get involved in getting the gospel out. I would just say to you this morning, you might say, well, Pastor, I really don't care about it. And to be honest, I'm not really burdened at all. I would just say to you, the best way to get a burden for it is to let your eyes start to see it. One of the best ways to do that is to get involved. and to maybe go knock on doors. And I'll tell you this, my wife and I do this. A lady can take a lady and I could take a man and we could show you what it's like to knock on doors and to speak to people. You know, I'm gonna be scared. I'm gonna be talking to people right away. We would be the ones that would speak, but you'd be with us to see how we share the gospel in a personal way with people at their doors or in street evangelism. Anybody that is burdened about Getting out in street evangelism. We could we could talk about that and say let's go down into edinburgh Let's have an opportunity as a church and if there were people that would say I want to do that Look, we would plan a time as a church and say let's go do that But one of the best ways to get burdened about it is to begin to get involved in it And let that begin to stir you up in your heart And so for you to share the gospel, there's gotta be a burden. Nobody's gonna start to speak about Jesus Christ to others if there's nothing in their heart that is motivating them to do that. And so I ask God, God open my eyes, begin to stir me up about angelism. And then for you to share the gospel, you must seek to persuade men. It says in verse 17, therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons in the market daily, with them that met with him. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him, and some said, what will this babbler say? Others sung, he seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. Notice that it says, people but lost. You need to seek to persuade those that are religious but lost. It says again in verse seventeen, therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews and with the devout persons. Alright, so Paul, Paul went in there and there were Jews and they were devout and they were religious but they were lost. They didn't believe in Jesus Christ. He goes into the synagogue and and he begins to speak to them about Jesus Christ. And what Jesus Christ is, he was crucified as he died, as he rose from the dead, that he is the savior, that Messiah that was rejected was the Messiah that God. those of you that are immigrants and if we haven't heard that I've taken the life of the UK test our family did when we immigrated to the United Kingdom to Scotland we had to take at our fifth year I think it was we had to take a life in the UK test that become permanent residents but you know I'll just tell you most Scots would not pass that test all right you have to study for that test there's a lot of information that you learn and some of it is indoctrination For instance, the five values that are British values. And I thought, well, that's kind of interesting. How can you decide that for a society? The five values that are British values, number one or number two, I think, was tolerance. And by tolerance, they meant not just that you accept the fact that others can believe what they want to believe, but by tolerance, they mean that you are supposed to say to them, your views are equal with my views. We are both right like that. And yet as a person, as a born-again believer, understanding the truth and the exclusivity of Christ, that Jesus is the only way of salvation, that's not in Islam, that's not in Catholicism, that's not in religion, but that is by faith in Jesus Christ and Christ alone. We're gonna have to go contra-culture because if that's true about our society, then our society says you gotta be tolerant. In other words, you gotta agree, not just to disagree, but agree that that person is right in those views. We gotta look at that and say, but I can't stand there. And I've gotta be like Paul. Paul didn't go in there and go, well, your views are equal with mine. I guess I've got nothing to say. He went in there and he spoke boldly about Christ. And he was persecuted for it, silent and in that case to say well I'm just not going to talk about it, that person has refused, they're happy as a Muslim, they're happy as a Catholic away from God, I'm just not going to say anything. To not say anything is only going to secure their damnation, right? The only chance that they've got to get saved is that somebody in love is going to save them. The Bible says there's not salvation in any other name but the name of the Lord seek to persuade men who are irreligious. He disputed not only with the people in the synagogue and the devout people, but notice it says, and in the market daily with them that met with him. And so Paul is, Paul is not just going into the religious areas and speaking to religious people that have an interest in spiritual things, but he's going into the market and there in the market, as people are coming to him, How many of you have ever gone canoeing or kayaking or something like that? It's kind of fun, right? Get out on that boat and you're going along. And we did some canoeing when I was a young person. In fact, we'd go down a river and we'd camp overnight. And that river was called the Kinnickinick. I live in Indian country there in the United States, in Wisconsin. And so a lot of names like that are Indian names. The Kinnickinick River. And we'd get in that river. How many of you understand today that when we went camping and when we went canoeing on that river, that we didn't go upstream? It was a fast moving stream with rapids and things. We'd have to be careful. And in fact, one year we tipped the canoe because you're going through rapids and you have to do a draw stroke right. And my brother didn't know his right from his left. And we went up against a tree and that current spilled us over. I mean, there'd be almost no way to go upstream. It's really tough to go upstream. But I'll tell you this as a believer living in 2024 in Scotland, we are going upstream. And we're gonna be talking to people And it's like everybody else is going the other way. They're all going the other way. But in the market, we need to be somebody that takes a stand out of love for them and compassion for them, that is willing to go upstream, disputing with them, speaking to them about Jesus Christ. And so Paul did that. He spoke to those religious people. He spoke to those people in the market, contending with them about the gospel. Jude 1.3 says, beloved, when I gave all diligence It was needful for me to write unto you and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints." And so, you've got guys like Jude, you've got guys like Paul and Peter, and they've seen people get saved, and there's churches, and they're saying to the churches, church, I'm just writing to you, and I'm telling you, get in there, earnestly contend for the faith. And if Peter and Paul and John and Jude and Silas and others like that came to our church today, they would look at us in the face and they'd say, believer, earnestly contend for the faith. You're going to have to dispute for it. Again, for us to get the gospel out, we're going to have to be somebody that said, I'm going to seek to persuade you. Whether that person is religious or religious, you need to persuade men that are irreligious, and then you need to seek to persuade men who are skeptics. Look at what it says in verse 18. Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encountered him. And some said, what will this babbler say? Others, some, he seemed to be a set-aforth of strange gods, because he preached unto them Jesus and the resurrection. Now, I'm going to give you a definition of Stoics, because you might read Stoics, Epicureans, The Stoics cared about virtuous behavior and living according to nature while the Epicureans were all about avoiding pain and seeking natural or necessary pleasure. Okay, so basically these are people that their whole worldview is that I am doing what is in the best interest of myself and of others and I want necessary pleasures in life and I want others to join with me in this quest Now, when you hear a definition like that, does it remind you of our society? Yeah. You know, I read that definition, I thought, that's a humanist. That's exactly what a humanist is, and I looked it up online and listened to what the definition is from humanism.scot. This is what it says. Humanism is a non-religious approach to living an ethical life that is based on reason, compassion, and tolerance. Humanists use science and rational inquiry supernatural explanations. Humanism is a democratic belief system that values all humans equally. It places happiness and flourishing of all humans at its center and encourages cooperation towards the shared and common goal. Do you know who we're ministering to in our day? Epicureans and Stoics. Humanists. It's all about them and it's all about They weren't very kind in speaking about Paul. Notice what they called him in that verse. Here's a definition for Paul that is one that is rude and unkind. They called him a what? A babbler. What would this babbler say? You know, a babbler is like a crow, a seed picker. Figuratively, it's a sponger. And so as they spoke about Paul, they weren't like, oh, here, you know, revere Paul, the great man of God is here to speak to us. You know, the human author of the majority of the New Testament, the great, great apostle Paul. No, not at all. They looked at Paul and said, what will this babbler say? You know, the thing is today, you don't want to be called a babbler. I don't think I want to be called a babbler, but I want to just ask you this morning, are you willing to be called a babbler for Jesus Christ? Are you willing to speak out and let people say what they want to about you? Paul was okay with that. In fact, he said this in 1 Corinthians 4 verse 10. He said, we are fools for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ. We are weak, but ye are strong. Ye are honorable, but we are despised. And I'll just tell you this, he's writing back to the church at Corinth that was criticizing That's fine. I don't mind being a fool for Christ. I don't mind being weak for Christ. I don't mind being reproached for Christ. And so I asked us this morning, what about you? Is that, is that why you don't talk about Jesus? Is that why you don't get involved in evangelism? Is it because of a fear of what somebody is going to say about you? You know, Paula just got in there and it's like, I'm going to dispute with you. Why? Because that person that stands in that position, what's going to happen to somebody to be cast into a lake of fire for all eternity. Paul looks at the religious, the irreligious, the Epicureans, and the Stoics, and he goes, I care about all of you. And so I'm gonna do my best to give the gospel to you. I'll just say as well, if we're gonna be ashamed of the gospel, listen to what the word of God says. It says in Luke 9, 26, for whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory. If you want an example of that, think of the Apostle Peter. As Peter denied Christ, and the Bible says, as he recognized that he had rejected Christ and denied Christ before men, the Bible says that he went out and he wept bitterly, and there are gonna be people when Christ comes back, that because they were ashamed of the gospel, that Jesus is gonna be ashamed of them when he comes. Now, Paul wasn't that way, and I pray, God, God, he doesn't have to be like that. I know it's gonna take courage. we got to get burdened about it, stirred up about it, and then we got it disputed, persuaded in. And then third, for you to share the gospel, you must walk through open doors. It says in verse 18, then certain philosophers of the Epicureans and of the Stoics encounters him. And some said, what will this babbler say? Others said, he seemed to be a setter forth of strange gods because he preached unto them Jesus. You might say to me, well, Pastor Ben, what was the focus of Paul's ministry as he got into those gospel encounters with those people? What was his emphasis? His emphasis was Jesus Christ crucified and Jesus Christ risen again. Our motto as a church, you might have seen it on our sign up here this morning, but the sign says Southside Free Baptist Church, and it says what? Proclaiming Christ. Why? Because that's what it's about. It's not about winning an argument about creation. It's not about other things other than that. It's about the fact that Jesus Christ is the focus of the gospel. And so Paul made that his focus. Jesus resurrected. And so he walked through open doors to do that. And so I encourage us this morning, you need to be ready to take a stand for Jesus. Verse 19, it says that they took him and they brought him this new doctrine where thou speakest is. And as I read that in my Bible, I've got that question in my mind, who is Arapagus? Well, it's actually, what is Arapagus? It's not a person. It's a place that's there in Athens. It's a place that was a place for public speaking. And so it was a prominent rock outcropping located northwest of the Acropolis in Athens. And so they brought Paul to that place and they put him up there and said, okay, speak to us. You know, I've read enough of church history to know that Hyde Park in London is like this. It's a place where if speakers were, people would get up there and they would proclaim the truth. Those of you that are from Edinburgh, you likely know that the mound down there by the National Gallery, that that's the place in the past that men would stand and they would preaching, bible preaching, or whether that was maybe even an atheist that would get up and would declare, but there are places and cities in the past that have been places of public declaration of truth, or feelings, or thoughts, or ideas. And so this was a place like that. And Paul's invited to speak there because he's obviously a believer in Jesus Christ and they want to hear about this from somebody that actually believes it. And so 1 Peter 3 15 says this, but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asks of you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. Okay, say it with me. Set apart Christ in your heart so that when somebody comes up to you and says, why do you believe in Jesus, that we would say, you know what, it's because of this. Now I just wanna ask you, when's the last time that somebody came up to you and said, you know what, I see something different in your life, so I just ask you. Now I think there's a bit of a rebuke in that to our hearts to think, you know, why aren't people asking me? Why aren't they coming up? And I'll just say, it's very likely because they don't see that Christ is in our lives. Maybe that's because we're silent about it. Maybe it's because we don't live it. Paul lived it, and Paul wasn't silent about it, so they looked at him and said, hey, there's a guy that actually believes about Jesus. Let's get him down here so he can tell us about this new thing that we're hearing about. They put him there on that speaker's corner. So again, just for encouragement, we need to be ready to take that position, take that stand. If God gives us opportunity, then you need to be ready to explain the teachings of Jesus. Verse 20, it says, for thou bringest certain strange things to our ears. We would know, therefore, what these things mean. Okay, they're hearing things like Messiah, Christ, Jesus of Nazareth. They're hearing about death, crucifixion, and resurrection, and they're saying, put it together for us. Help us understand what you are speaking about. I wanna hear more specifically about it. Something happened and it's like, you really want to know. You know, this past week, Brother James was really good with the kids. And he was really good at getting their curiosity peaked. And so that he would say to them, in one case, he's telling them a fictional story to try to encourage them to invite some kids out. And he's telling them about Mr. And he wouldn't say the name. And he'd say, do you wanna know the name? And they wanted to know the name. And he would never tell them the name. Gotta keep that out there. So then they're there, they're interested. Then he'd say, all right, he gets to a certain part in the story and it's about to be the end of himself and this lizard that he had with him. And then he would just kinda go, come back tomorrow to find out. And so he's getting them interested. But praise God, some of the kids were not just interested in the fun stories like that. That's great, that's what it's about, right? It's about somebody that's getting interested in spiritual things so that they're actually saying to us, I wanna know more about that. Can you tell me more about Jesus Christ? Praise God for that, but we need to be ready when that opportunity comes to be able to articulate it and say we're all sinners. The punishment for our sin is hell. Jesus Christ died on the cross for our sin. He made a way for us to be forgiven. receive God's gift of everlasting life, just be able to articulate that. And I'll just tell you, that takes some study. On your part, just asking God, okay, God, I need to look at the gospel, maybe a gospel tract like we've got in the back, and we've got several gospel tracts, and to take it and be able to just open that with them, and to say, well, let's read this together, let's look at this together, but to articulate to them, and they wanna know more about it, to explain to them about salvation. And then you need to anticipate that some have not heard about Jesus. Verse 21, it says, for all the Athenians and strangers which were there spent their time in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Okay, Athens, it's an idolatrous city, and they don't know about Jesus, and they don't know the story about his crucifixion. They don't know about his resurrection. They don't even know about the living God. And so it was new to them, and they wanted to hear about it. You know, I remind us this morning that this generation in Scotland is like that. We can think, well, it's a Christian nation, Pastor Ben, don't you know? I mean, our heritage is Christ, but the fact is we are generations removed, probably three generations removed from the generations that knew God and walked with God. so that we're looking at people that haven't ever heard, so that they might have heard Jesus as a curse word, or Lord, or Christ, or things like that, but they don't know what salvation means, they don't know what Jesus means, and so we need to begin just to speak to them the simple truths of the word God. And so for you to share the gospel, we've got to go through those open doors as God gives an opportunity, and it could be today, and you see them, you gotta be willing to take that opportunity to speak to them about Christ as God gives you that opportunity. To share the gospel, you gotta go through open doors, seek to persuade men, get a burden for the lost. And then for you to share the gospel, you must declare the gospel message. Verse point two, then Paul stood in the midst of Mars Hill and he said, you men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious. All right, Paul doesn't mince words, he doesn't dance around the fact, well, you got these idols and things. I mean, he just gets right in there and he says, well, you guys are very superstitious. You've got idol this, idol that, idol this, idol that. I mean, they had thousands of idols that were there that they bowed down to. You guys are so mystical and ethereal and all these things are kind of out there. Paul didn't avoid the glare. God's ideas. But he's he's gonna come in now and focus on the need that they have. He's gonna share the gospel with wisdom. Verse point three. For as I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown God, whom therefore you ignorantly worship and declare unto you. Okay, Paul goes, you got all these gods? Okay, I see this idol, the unknown God. And when Paul saw that, it broke his heart cuz he goes, because they don't know about Jesus. They don't know about the God that created them, designed them. And so Paul used that as a stepping stone to the gospel. He says that unknown God thing, I want to help you to understand that, you know, praise God, where we can do that in evangelism, where we can take something nearby and speak to the need that a person has. Consider the Lord and the woman at the well, right? And she comes out to draw water and Jesus is there. And he says, you know, I've got some water as well. It's the water of life. And I'm just emphasizing the fact that we need wisdom as we share the gospel to take what's nearby and begin a gospel conversation. Gospel conversations don't just happen. It's a little bit awkward to just kind of jump into the gospel without any transition to the gospel, but ask God, God give me wisdom about that. God, how can I take the conversation that I'm having with somebody and share Christ? And so Paul does that, he takes the unknown God, he's gonna bring the gospel in with that. And so sharing God with wisdom. You might say, Pastor Ben, I don't know what to say a lot of times. If I spoke with somebody, I wouldn't know what to say. Well, can I encourage us this morning by what God said to Moses? He said in Exodus 4 verse 12, now therefore go and I will be with thy mouth and teach thee what thou shalt say. You know, one of the greatest experiences that you'll have in evangelism is that you say something and you're like, where did that come from? I was in Florida and I wanted to witness to a man that was standing there and I said to him, can I hand you something to speak to you about God? And he said, if you could convince me that there's a God in one minute, I'll believe on you. And I looked down at my feet, there was an ant. And I said to him, can that ant tell you everything there is to know about me? And he said, no. And I said, then how can I tell you everything there is to know about God? Right, because that ant is far inferior to me, I'm far inferior to God. And I'll just say this, I wasn't planning on saying that, that wasn't in my notes, I didn't have that in my back pocket or in my coat sleeve or anything, it's the Spirit of God brought something to my mind that I could say, you know, that's one of the greatest experiences you'll ever have. If you step out in obedience to God and say, I'm scared, I don't know what to say, but to let God give you some things to say, you know, where did that come from? That was God. That's wisdom, that's what we need. You need to share the gospel with depth. It says here that he starts with the creation, doesn't he? Verse 24. You know, a humanist does not have a correct view of God. They have this idea of a God that they can make, a God that they can sing what that God God of their imagination. God is the God that created. God is the God that set the laws. God is the God that's the judge, and we need to lovingly say to them, let me tell you about this God. It's the God of the Bible. It's not a fairytale God that you can make up God, whoever he is, and when you think he is, he becomes. No, he's a God that is the God that made us, that designed us. He doesn't dwell in these little temples that these people were making. And God is not pleased by what we give to him. Verse 25. neither is he worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, saying, He giveth to all life and breath and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men, for to dwell on the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds. they thought I'm gonna please my deity what am I gonna do I'm gonna bring food and fruit and vegetables I'm gonna bring offerings and I'm gonna please my deity and Paul looks at them and says God doesn't need anything from you isn't that true today that there's nothing that we can give to God today that God you really need this and so here I'm here as your person to give this to you does God need something for me or do I need something from God God doesn't need you, but you need God. He set the bounds of your habitation, He's over all that. And then God is close by, He's ready to be found by those who seek Him. Verse 27 and 28, it says that they should seek the Lord, if happily they might feel after Him and find Him, though He be not far from every one of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being, as certain also your own poets have said, God's right here. How many of you have ever lost your glasses and they were on your head? All right, it happens, right? You're like, where are my glasses? Your wife or husband or somebody's like, hey, you know, they're right, they're right there. So that's the thing with God, right? There's a lot of people that say God is distant or God is far off, but the truth is what? God is right here. God is ready for anybody to come to faith in him. So they're looking into the distance, and Paul goes, wait a second, God's right here, but what? You have to seek God. The Bible says if you seek me, you shall find me if you search with all your heart, right? And so he's close by, he's ready to be found. God was not created by us, but we were created by God. Verse 29, for as much then as likened to gold or silver or stone given by art and man's device okay so they're making dumb idols wood stone idols and they're bowing down to I think how foolish idolatry is that you make something and then you bow down to it and say I have made God all right no God's not like that God's a person God's fooling and God's powerful and all those things that like this, Paul says, and he says to them, look, God is offended, but you can get right with God, verse 30. It says, in the times of this ignorance, God weeped death, but now he commanded all men everywhere to repent. You know, there could be so many people that we meet today, and they think, oh, you know, if there is a God, atheists say this, if there is a God, I'm gonna stand before God someday, and God's gonna accept me, because God understands that I'm really a good person. And they think that because they think, you know what, I'm immoral, I blaspheme, I mock God, I curse God, I live a life that is profligate and away from God, and lightning doesn't strike, so what? God is okay with my sin. And Paul says, you know, God meant that, but God commandeth every man now to repent. And Paul is bringing them to the point of conviction, like you are in the hands, like Jonathan Edwards preached, you're in the hands of an angry God, you need to get right with God. Ecclesiastes 8.11 says, because sentence against an evil word is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set on them to do evil. We live in a wicked generation because they think lightning strikes, But we understand this, that there's coming a day where they're gonna stand before God, and whosoever's not found right in the book of life is gonna be cast into a lake of fire. And so we get that message to them, look, there is an angry God, and you're in His hands. And then God's Son Jesus is gonna judge you if you don't repent and believe on Him. Verse 31, and we hasten to the end here. It says, because you haven't appointed a date, You know, they could have been a brash and a brazen person. There was a guy that, you know, it's called the Red Baron here in Edinburgh. He stole bikes, he stole all this stuff, and he boasted about it online. But there came a day of reckoning. And you see a person like that, and on trial, they're not laughing, they're not boasting, they're not bragging. Their face is downcast. Sometimes they're in tears because they're facing the judge, and the sentence has been passed. And Paul says, look, are you ready to face the judge? Bible says it's pointed at a man who wants to die but after that judgment somebody can mock and be all big and brave and strong but when they recognize that they're going to stand before God and Paul brought him to that point recognizing Jesus Christ that was crucified that rose again he's also the child. You know we got to get that message out and again we've got to articulate but I want to bring us to the last point here this I think one of the most difficult things for people is that, you know, Pastor, I tried to share the gospel, but this person laughed, and this person didn't care, and this person walked away, so I quit. I don't want to share the gospel anymore, because the gospel, you know, all I've gotten is grief because of it. I just want to encourage us, yes, some are going to mock, and some are going to laugh. Some are not going to believe, and they're just going to go, well, you believe that, that's fine. morning that some people are going to trust Jesus Christ as their Savior. There's going to be some people that can say it because we see all those responses in the story here. It says in verse 32, And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. Others said, We will hear thee again of this matter. So Paul departed from among them. How the uncertain men claimed unto him believed, among which was Dionysius, their Does it matter to you what response you receive? Well, I think Paul would say, I don't really like it when people mock. I don't like it that people don't believe. But he would say, I love it when people get saved. But whether or not they respond the way I want them to respond, what's Paul gonna do? Paul's just gonna be faithful. He's gonna get out there. He's gonna get the gospel out. We live in a very tough day. I'll admit that. The gospel, it's difficult for us to see the results that we desire to see. But I want to encourage this church that God is faithful and that God's word will not return boredom. We are going to see people get saved. And so what we have to do, we got to leave the results with God. Not carry that burden like, okay, you know, if I evangelize, then I expect to catch, you know, everybody that I ever speak to, you know, I love fishing. But if you're gonna be a fisherman, you gotta go through the bad times and the good times with the same idea. It's just, I'm gonna stick in there, I'm just gonna keep doing that. Just, again, it encourages, as somebody that wants to share the gospel, be somebody that just leaves those results with God and says, okay, I'm gonna pass on tracks, I'm gonna put on a shirt, whether I hear anything or not, or I hear badness, I'm just gonna be faithful with the gospel. We had fun this past week with Holly Bible Club. We had some games, I was in charge of game time. I had Hephzibah in my group, you know, playing games. in the pool there and when they got hit they became a shark and they came out and they got to throw the ball at the other fish. I want to ask you this morning you're either the object of the gospel needing to be saved and that the gospel is still reaching out trying to save you trying to get you to be born again or you ought to be somebody that's on the outside getting involved and trying to impact those that are still in their sin. And so which is it for you this morning? Are you somebody that still needs the gospels, needs to get saved, needs to trust Christ? If that's you this morning, you can get saved this morning by just coming up to myself and my wife and saying, you know what? I've never been saved. I want to receive Jesus Christ as my savior. I want to obey the gospel and believe on Jesus, have my sin taken away, receive God's gift of everlasting life. If that's you, I encourage you to do that when we get done with church today. But as believers, are we somebody that is involved in sharing the gospel? seeking to share the gospel, do you have a burden? Has that started in your heart? You ever stand in that room and look at the crowd and go, man, I wish I could do something? I'll tell you this, it's hard to stop preaching on the street when you're looking at thousands of people that are coming at you that need to hear the gospel. There ought to be something in our heart that says, I'm burdened about that, and so are you seeking to persuade them, beginning to speak up and say you're religious but you're not, you're lost? mess, you're lost. And so I'm going to seek to persuade you. When God opens a gospel door, if you step through it, you know, God gives you an opportunity, are you going to take it? And then declare the gospel message. God will help us to do that. You know, Pastor Larry Peering that I mentioned, he's nearly blind, but he tries every day to share the Christ. He mentioned, you know, the last couple of weeks, there's one day I witnessed this summer. That's our rebuke to us. We always say, God, by your grace, we're gonna leave this place as soon as I leave. I'm in the world. I need to be looking for people that need Christ. Let's bow our heads and pray, please, and ask God to bless his word to our hearts this morning. Father, we thank you for the word of God. Thank you for each one listening intently this morning. And Father, if there's somebody here this morning that needs to accept Jesus Christ as your savior and wants to do that, please do give them the courage my wife can share from the Bible how they can receive God's gift of everlasting life. If they're a man, Father, I'd love to take the Word of God and show them how they can get saved. And then, Father, as believers, I pray that the Spirit of God would let us walk away and go, well, that was a good challenge, I guess, and I see that in the Word of God, but I'm not gonna do anything about it. Father, help us to look at it and say, how can I share the gospel? And ask you to give us that burden. Father be prepared to begin to speak to you.