Do our Hearts Break as God's Heart?

October 26– Do Our Hearts Break Over the Things That Break God’s Heart? – Acts 17:16-34                                                                                                                                 

 Instead of trying to figure out how the church can make a difference in the community, this is a time to pause and ask, “What is God already doing in our community that we can join God in doing?” In other words, “What breaks God’s heart?” When we begin to get a sense of the things that break God’s heart, we begin to have a heart for the people around us.

Read Acts 17:16-34:                                                                                                               ¹⁶ While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. ¹⁷ So he reasoned in the synagogue with both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with those who happened to be there. ¹⁸ A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate 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. ¹⁹ Then 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? ²⁰ You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” ²¹ (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)

²² Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. ²³ For as I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.²⁴ “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 human hands. ²⁵ And he is not served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives everyone life and breath and everything else. ²⁶ From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. ²⁷ God did this so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though he is not far from any one of us. ²⁸ ‘For in him we live and move and have our being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’ ²⁹ “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 human design and skill. ³⁰ In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent. ³¹ For 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 everyone by raising him from the dead.”

³² When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” ³³ At that, Paul left the Council. ³⁴ Some of the people 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.

In Acts 17:16–34, we realize that Paul’s heart is breaking over the things that break the heart of God. As Paul walks around Athens, he becomes angry over all the idols he sees. In other words, his heart breaks over all the ways people are trying to find and experience meaning and purpose in life that do not include the God who gives real and lasting life. Do we understand Paul’s anger over all the idols that he sees in Athens?

In our culture, family, politics, money, possessions, time, and even religion can became our idols. If we put our ultimate worth in something, then that particular thing or person has taken the place of God in our lives. Paul spent time with people in the culture; he did not spend all his time at the synagogue! It’s because he spent time with people that he was invited to the Areopagus to speak about God. We must earn the right to be heard! When we share our faith, people will fall into three main groups: some will be turned off, others will want to know more, and some will want Jesus when they hear of his real and lasting life.

When we will go into such areas as coffee shops, offices, stores, gyms, pubs, parks, and schools how can we engage people? Wat if we dared to ask them questions? How would they answer the following questions?

What do you believe is the greatest need in this community?

 How do you see God at work in this community?

 How could our church help this community?

How can we pray for you?

What keeps us from talking about our faith? Pray for our community. Pray that God will lead us to the people with whom we need to talk.