Spend Some Time in the Trenches

                Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there. Acts 17:16-17

The verses above show us that Paul’s spirit was provoked. Now we must understand this is Paul’s lowercase “s” spirit and not the Holy Spirit provoking him. This tells me a lot about Paul and his heart. He actually cared about those around him and their eternity. What should have been a holiday for Paul in Athens, instead, turned into a heart troubling experience for him as he recognized the idol worship of the people there. Paul, I guess, could have let this go and enjoyed his time off, but his heart and love for the gospel and those around him wouldn’t allow him to ignore what he was seeing.

The idol worship found here in Athens is not much different than the idol worship found in America. This should trouble all of us because we are all guilty of idol worship. Tim Keller does a great job explaining this type of worship in his book Counterfeit gods.

“What is an idol? It is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.”

Do you see that? What absorbs your heart and the hearts of those around you? We spend so much of our time looking to manmade idols that cannot save us. Please realize that idols are in need of man. Idols absolutely do not exist without man. Idols will ultimately fail man and bring an eternity apart from God. Jeremiah 10:5 lays this out clearly.

Their idols are like scarecrows in a cucumber field, and they cannot speak; they have to be carried for they cannot walk. Do not be afraid of them, for they cannot do evil, neither is it in them to do good.

These truths point us to the ultimate truth of God. God needs nothing. God existed before man and will exist long after man. God brings salvation and an eternity with Him. This is why we focus our praises and all our glory vertically to our Father. This is what Psalms 121 is pointing out.

I lift my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made the heaven and earth.

We must take Paul’s lead and quit sitting on our hands. We must get up and tell everyone about the gospel and the God that is greater than all idols. How do we this? Look at verse 17. Paul noticed his surroundings and saw a need and he was intentional about providing that need. Scripture doesn’t tell us that Paul wished that something would change. No, Scripture tells us that Paul did something about it. Paul started preaching in the synagogues and in the marketplace every day. Did you hear that clearly? He preached the gospel to an idol worshipping lost population every single day. He did this without fear. He did this without hesitation. He did this with the Kingdom on his mind.

Is your spirit ever provoked? Do you ever hurt for those around you? We must spend time thinking about these things. We must recognize that God deserves our worship above all idols. There should never be a time where we truly take a holiday. I am not calling for us to not go to the beach or not take time off from our jobs. I am calling on us to not take time off from the gospel. We should bathe in this gospel by always having the Kingdom on our mind.

Paul understood the desperate need of the people around him. He understood that their idol worshiping would ultimately be their destruction. Paul wouldn’t allow himself to be on the outside looking in while people were dying and going to hell. Paul made it a point to be on the inside. His mission his call was to be in the trenches amongst the lost. He didn’t do this to be a hero. He didn’t do this so that we would be talking about him today. Paul willingly went to the trenches because lost people were found there and he longed to see them saved. Paul went to the trenches because he had an answer for the lost in the saving God he served.

The trench is a home for the loss and can be a scary place. The trench can be unwelcoming. The trench can be harmful. The trench used to be our home—Christian. This is why we must take a cue from Paul and intentionally and willingly go to where the lost are found—in the trenches—taking them the amazing saving news of the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord.

Humbled by His Humility

                Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

Philippians 2:3-4

Is this easy? Does this come natural? We know that we are to count others before ourselves and we know that we are to seek out the interests of others before our own, but every fiber of our being is screaming, ME. My thoughts, my bones, my heart is seeking out what is best for me. Is that girl or guy good for me? Is that job good for me? Is that purchase good for me? How will this community service project work for me? Is this church good for me? Left to ourselves and our sinful nature this is our life. We are always looking out for number one—ME.

Understanding that man, in his natural state, would only seek himself Jesus did the unthinkable. He showed the ultimate sign of humility. He did what we couldn’t. Paul lays this out for us in Philippians 2:6-8,

…who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus took the form of a servant. Jesus—God—became man. He “emptied Himself” and became a Jewish baby destined to die on a cross. Jesus did this for an underserving population. Jesus willingly took the cross so that we—sinners—would not have to. He had his eye set on you—Christian—as He made His way to Calvary. He had His eye set on you—Christian—as they drove nails into His wrists. He had His eye set on you—Christian—as He screamed in agony, “IT IS FINISHED!” Jesus truly counted others more significant. Think about that. Our savior, our God thought of us even though we deserved that cross not His love.

This act of humility saved us. This act of humility paved the way for our eternity. Do you understand that? Do you appreciate that? Even as we were sinners He took the cross (Romans 5:8). We must not overlook this wonderful truth. In the middle of our failures our God our Savior set His sights on us. What a wonderful truth. What a wonderful example. What a wonderful Savior.

We live for self. “I will help my neighbor but he will owe me.” “I will serve at church but I better be mentioned in the bulletin and receive the credit.” This is man’s focus and motivation—what is in it for me? When Christ enters and grabs ahold of us all this will change.

Our motivation will no longer be our own motives or our self-interests. Instead we will be motivated by a humble heart and love for others. We will help that neighbor because we want to share the love of Christ with those around us. We will serve at church with the Kingdom on our mind instead of our credit on our mind. We will do things in secret (Matthew 6:3-4) so that we don’t receive the glory but instead Christ receives all the glory. This is the life we are called to lead.

What is your motivation? Does the world revolve around you? Read these verses again and appreciate the truth given to us. Our world must revolve around the One who will never fail—Jesus. As long as your world revolves around man it will most certainly crumble. We must not set our foundation on a fallen world or in this case a fallen man—me. We must, instead, set our foundation on the One who gave it all. We humble ourselves and serve others because He—Jesus—humbled Himself and served us.  

He is Mindful of us

But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more?

(Galatians 4:9 ESV)

This verse is full of truth but I want to focus on seven words, “or rather to be known by God.” Does that humble you? It should. These seven words blow my mind. Paul immediately takes the focus off of man and centers it on God. How can we turn back to our sinful ways and to the world when the God of the universe knows us? This is what Paul so desperately wanted the Galatians to see. This is what we so desperately need to see.

God knows us! We could not be saved apart from God doing a work in our lives. Think about your life and your priorities. Are you living a life that shows a love for the One who knows you? Do your affections point you to God or to self? Paul is arguing for a life lovingly devoted to the One that saves. To the One that creates. To the One that loves. To the One that calls.

Do you understand that? God knew you—believer—before the universe was created. We see this clearly in Ephesians 1:4,

“…even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him…”

God set His sights on believers before the first star was in the sky, before the sun was told to shine, before the mountains were formed, before the water covered the earth, before the galaxies were designed. Should this create arrogance in us? Should this bring about man-centered boasting? No, this most humbling truth should bring us to our knees. The Sovereign Creator of the universe chose us. David explained this best in Psalms 8:3-4,

“When I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him?”

Does this sound like an arrogant man? Does this sound like a man focused on flesh? This is a man that understood we are undeserving of salvation, forgiveness, and an eternity in heaven. This humbled David and should humble us, that even in the midst of all our sins, God is mindful of man.

I pray this truth penetrates our hearts and we turn from the elementary principles of this world and turn to the sovereign saving God.