Did you ever wonder how we know who God is and what He is like? He is so great, and we are so small. He is so wise and knows everything, and we are so foolish and know so little. He is invisible, and we do not have eyes that can see Him or hands that touch Him. How could people like us EVER know someone like Him? Well, we could never know Him, if it was just up to us; but, it is not. God is not just great, wise, all-knowing and invisible. He is also the God who reveals Himself to us. He wants us to know and love Him, so He reveals Himself to us so that we can. God reveals Himself to us in different ways. Over the next few months, we are gong to be learning what those ways are as we study “The God Who Reveals Himself.” Today, we will be looking at the first way in which God reveals Himself to people in their very own hearts.
Our story today takes place about 2600 years ago on the other side of the world in Athens, Greece. Athens was one of the cities in the world at that time. It was a city of many, many beautiful white stone temples and buildings. People came from all over to study at its great schools. People in Athens loved to think about things and they loved to worship gods. People loved to think about things and worship their gods so much, that many of them would spend a good part of each day just discussing the great ideas that came into their heads, or making sacrifices and having wild parties to honor their gods. But even though they spent so much time thinking about important things and worshipping their gods, could there really be another god…the TRUE God? Yes, there was. It was the Lord. He had made them for Himself to know Him. Deep in their hearts they knew that He was really there.
But shh….listen…do you hear that? There is a problem in Athens today…Listen! It’s terrible! People are crying….people are dying! They are saying, “May the gods help us! May the gods help us! Who can stop this plague? Who can stop this plague?”
A terrible plague, a deathly sickness, has been spreading through Athens, killing hundreds, even thousands of people! The leaders of Athens have gathered together to figure out what to do. A man named Nicias has been called in for advice: “Tell us, Nicias, what should we do?” “I believe that our city lies under a terrible curse,” Nicias told them.
“I believe a certain god has placed this curse upon us because of what King Megacles, our king, did to the soldiers of Cylon who surrendered to him. He promised to save any of their soldiers who surrendered in the war, and then he killed them anyway!” “Yes, yes, what you say must be true!” the others responded. “But who is the god who is angry? We have hundreds of gods as you know, and we have sacrificed to them all; yet, the plague hasn’t stopped.”
Could there be another god, the TRUE God? Yes, there was! He made every person to know this deep inside their hearts.
“I believe there is another god,” Nicias said. “One that we do not know, who is angry. I do not know His name, but I know that He exists. We must make a sacrifice to Him.”
“But how can we sacrifice to a god we don’t know?” the others asked.
“We need the man called Epimenides, from the island of Crete,” NIcias told them. “He will know what to do.”
“Then go…go, quickly, Nicias! Our people are dying,” they urged him.” Every moment counts!”
Nicias hurried away down the road to the harbor and took the fastest ship for Crete. Before long, Nicias arrived back with Epimenides. As the two men entered Athens, they both noticed signs of the plague everywhere: the stench of sickness and dead bodies; the wails of people mourning over their dead, loved ones; all of the graves.
But this was not all that Epimenides noticed: “Look at all these gods!” he exclaimed, blinking in amazement. There were rows and rows and rows of idols along both sides of the road leading into Athens. Still other gods in the hundreds stood all along the hillside.
“Yes, Athens is filled with gods. Several hundred at least,” Nicias replied. “Yet they are not enough. There is one god that still is angry about King Megacles’ terrible deed. Even though I do not know his name, I know that He exists. You are our only chance to help us make an offering to him and to stop the plague.”
Could there be another god, the TRUE God? Yes, there was! He made every person to know this deep inside their hearts.
Nicias brought Epimenides to the leaders of Athens. “What must we do, Epimenides? How can we stop the plague? How can we find this Unknown God?”
“Meet me tomorrow, at the break of dawn,” Epimenides said. “Bring a flock of sheep of all different colors, stonemasons with their tools, and a large supple of stones and mortar to the grassy slope where you have put all the rest of your gods, Mars Hill. Make sure that all the sheep are very healthy and that they are very, very hungry.”
The leaders all agreed to Epimenide’s strange request: “We will do what you ask.” The next morning, the leaders of Athens met Epimenides on Mars Hill with everything he had asked for. Many of the people of Athens also came to watch and hope.
“Very good, very good,” Epimenides said, as he looked at the sheep. The sheep were indeed hungry as Epimenides had asked. “Don’t let any of them eat until I say so.” This was not an easy job. The men had to hold back the flock, which kept trying to lower their heads and nibble the grass.
Epimenides prayed to the Unknown God: “Great Unknown God! I do not know Your name, but I know You exist. We want to make a sacrifice to You. These sheep are our offering to You to stop the plague. If You will forgive us and help us, even though we do not know You, please accept these sheep. Show Your willingness to forgive us by causing any sheep that pleases You to lie down upon the grass instead of grazing. Those You choose we will sacrifice to You—confessing that we don’t even know Your name.”
Then Epimenides assigned a man to each sheep. He told them to watch their sheep carefully to see if they ate or lay down.
“Release the sheep!” he ordered. As soon as the shepherds released the sheep, they eagerly spread out across the hillside and began to graze.
“This is madness!” one man said. “These sheep are straining to get that grass! It would truly be an act of god for sheep as hungry as these to not eat!”
He had hardly finished speaking when someone shouted: “Hey, look! My sheep isn’t eating. He’s lying down!” Soon others were saying the same thing. All over the hillside, sheep were lying down.
“It’s a sign from the Unknown God! These are the sheep to sacrifice!”
Epimenides had the stonemasons come and make a stone altar on the place where each sheep laid down. On each stone they carved the words: “To an Unknown God.” Then he had the sheep sacrificed upon them.
Could there really be another god, the true God? Yes, there was: the Lord. He made all people to know this deep inside their hearts.
Within a week the plague had stopped completely! The people of Athens were overjoyed and grateful to this Unknown God. Day after day, they brought flowers and made sacrifices to him on the stone altars.
Then they prayed to Him, “Unknown God, even though we do not know Your name, we know You exist. Thank You for showing Your greatness and mercy by accepting ourmsacrifices and stopping the plague.”
So Laertes wrote the story of the plague; so the stones stood in remembrance of the Unknown God. Six hundred years passed. After a while, people didn't think much about the plague nor the Unknown God who had stopped it. The people went back to worshipping their idols. Some people even began to remove the stone altars to the Unknown God. But even though the people forgot Him, the Unknown God did not forget them. He was the only true God: the Lord. He had made the people of Athens--like all other people--to know and love Him. In their hearts, they knew He existed; but they chose to reject Him and worship other gods. But the Lord is very merciful. He sent the apostle Paul to Athens to tell the people who He was and how they could turn to Him and be saved.
As Paul walked through the maze of hundreds of gods and goddesses in Athens, he was sickened. “These people have so many gods they worship, yet not one is the true God, who made them to know Him. I must tell them about Him!” he thought. Continuing on, he came upon the small, abandoned stone altar with the words, “To an Unknown God,” carved on it. “This is how I will tell them about Jesus. He is the Unknown God they know deep down in their hearts exists, but have never found.”
Paul began to speak to everyone he met about Jesus: how He lived a perfect life, died on the cross for the sins of all who believe in Him, and was raised from the dead. A crowd soon gathered around him and listened to Paul. They had never heard anything like this before. “What are you talking about?! We have never heard about a god like this! Tell us more.”
Paul continued, “I can tell by all of your hundreds and hundreds of gods that you are seeking to find God. But the true God you are looking for is the one you call, “The Unknown God.” I want to tell you about Him. The Athenians listened with breathless eagerness. They strained their ears so that not a single word might escape them.
Paul continued: “The God you worship as the Unknown God is the creator of heaven and earth. He made the stars, the clouds, the plants, the trees; yes, He made everything that you see and enjoy. He made all people, too. He made them for Himself: to know Him and to enjoy Him. He placed in their hearts a desire to seek after Him and know Him. He did this so that men would seek him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us (Acts 17:27).”
I hope you will turn and seek after this True God, because one day He will come upon the clouds of heaven. The Lord Jesus, who rose from the dead, shall come to judge all the world.”
Many of the people of Athens laughed at the idea of a god who died and rose from the dead. These people left and kept worshipping their gods of stone. They wanted a god to worship, but not one like this. They liked the wild parties they had in honor of their gods. They like a god that would do what they wanted him to do. They knew in their hearts that Paul was speaking about the true God, but they didn’t want to believe.
But some listened to Paul and stayed. They were truly seeking after God. Like thirsty bodies wanting a drink of water more than anything else, so these people desired to know this true God. Paul told these people more about Jesus and they believed. They turned from their idols began to follow the Lord, the true God.
Our Big Idea is God Made Our Hearts to Know and Love Him. That means you and me, too! Who will we be like today? Will we be like the Athenians who laughed when they heard that they could be saved by turning from their sins, trust Jesus as their Savior? Or will we be like the Athenians who wanted to know more, with hearts thirsty for God. Let’s pray that God would send His Holy Spirit to work in our hearts that we might all be like those Athenians, and come to know and love God has He made us to. This is the most wonderful thing we can ever do!
