Today we hear a sermon from about 1,975 years ago;
50-51 A.D.
It was spoken while Paul was waiting.
It made such an impression its imbedded in metal where
first spoken, in Athens Greece. It’s been printed over 5 billion times, in
Bibles.
So powerful, yet it doesn’t quote a single Bible
verse.
It can be summed up in 3 words and simple enough to be
understood by a child.
Paul knew how to wait well.
Do you?
If we leave asking the question: Lord, am I waiting
well? Then, this message will have accomplished its mission.
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.
Paul was sent in haste from Berea to Athens because
those who had him beaten with rods in Thessalonica followed him to Berea.
So, here he sits safely in Athens, waiting for Silas
and Timothy to join him when the coast is clear.
All he has to do is lay low, just idle for a while, let his wounds heal,
catch up on some sleep and wait for his ministry partners to show.
But God is never idle.
If His Spirit resides in you, then, you are never
idle, either.
What do you do when you’re waiting?
It matters.
On God’s team, how well we do on the bench reflects how
well we’ll do on the field.
In the end, what we do when we’re waiting, are the
times that determine how well we stand before God.
Lord, am I waiting well?
Isaiah
40:31
But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength; They shall
mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall
walk and not faint.
Luke 16:10
He who is faithful
in what is least is faithful also in much; and he who is unjust
in what is least is unjust also in much.
Matthew 12:36-37
But I say to you that for every idle word
men may speak, they will give account of it in the day of judgment. 37 For
by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will
be condemned.”
God may have you waiting for a
time, but will never have you wasting time.
Ephesians
5:15-16
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but
as wise, 16 redeeming the time, because the days are evil. 17
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
How do we know what to do while we're
waiting?
Paul’s spirit was provoked, he was stirred up, agitated
and irritated, when he saw the city was given over to idols.
What provokes you?
What agitates and irritates you? What makes you say, “This ain’t right!
Something’s got to be done about this!”
That might be God’s righteous passion stirring
within you. It may be a sign of His Divine Eternal Purpose, for you.
Once you feel that blazing passion, pay attention.
Once you catch it, you’ll taste the Life, real Life, abundant Life Jesus said
He came to give you. Zoe life. John 10:10.
After that, you’ll never get bored, and you’ll never
run out of things to do.
However, there’s a prerequisite to proper provoking. So
you’re provoked by the Spirit of God, not by your own selfish desire.
Psalm
37:4
Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give
you the desires of your heart.
Proverbs
3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding;
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
And He shall direct your paths.
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.
Waiting well is work.
Paul got provoked, then he got to work. He didn’t just
get angry; he got busy speaking Jesus to everyone everywhere.
Thank You Lord for Your passion that puts
us in action.
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.
22 Then Paul
stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I perceive
that in all things you are very religious; 23 for
as I was passing through and considering the objects of your worship, I
even found an altar with this inscription:
TO THE UNKNOWN GOD.
Therefore, the One
whom you worship without knowing, Him I proclaim to you:
When waiting well, we see God’s
fingerprint everywhere.
He didn’t quote a single Scripture, mention the
prophets or Abraham or Israel, he simply spoke of something they were familiar
with.
Their own altar, to: The Unknown God.
24 God,
who made the world and everything in it, since He is Lord of heaven and earth, does not
dwell in temples made with hands. 25 Nor is He worshiped
with men’s hands, as though He needed anything, since He gives to all
life, breath, and all things. 26 And He has made
from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the
earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of
their dwellings,
God is Creator.
27 so that
they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find
Him, though He is not far from each one of us; 28 for in
Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own
poets have said, ‘For we are also His offspring.’
29 Therefore,
since we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine
Nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man’s
devising.
God is Caring.
30 Truly, these
times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere
to repent, 31 because He has appointed a day on
which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom
He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising
Him from the dead.”
God is Commander.
His whole sermon can be summed up in three words, Creator.
Caring. Commander.
32 And when
they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked, while others
said, “We will hear you again on this matter.”
33 So Paul
departed from among them. 34 However, some men joined
him and believed, among them Dionysius the Areopagite, a woman named Damaris,
and others with them.
God gives the increase.
Some hear some don’t. Some receive, others reject.
No matter what, Paul’s job, our job, is to simply keep
planting Seed, to everyone in every place.
During this season children, young and old, all over
the world are waiting for Christmas. Actively waiting, joyfully invested,
exhaustingly occupied with preparing for the coming of Christmas.
During this season, all God’s children, all over the
world, must be actively waiting, joyfully invested, exhaustingly occupied with
preparing for the coming of Christ.
Let’s pray.
Lord Jesus, we pray we leave this message
asking, and live our lives asking, Lord, am I waiting well? Knowing full well,
that if we do, we’ll accomplish our mission, be well pleasing to You, and hear You
say, “Well done.”
Thank You.
We love You, forever.
Amen.
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Am I Waiting Well? Acts 17:16-34
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Well? Acts 17:16-34
This was feed for you to read. Now it’s
Seed for you to sow.
Thank you for sharing.
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