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Oct 22, 2024 06:00am

I Know This!

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In the classic movie The Goonies, a group of kids were running from the Fratelli family, who were well-known criminals. In their epic journey to find a lost pirate treasure, they find themselves in the middle of several traps set years before to protect the treasure. One of them was an organ made of bones. This crazy musical contraption required the player to hit the right notes to move forward. But if you got them wrong, it was certain death.

When they realized what needed to be done, the kids remembered that Andy, their cheerleader friend, had taken piano lessons. Though not extensive in her training, she knew the basic keys. Although she was under tremendous pressure, she was able to use her knowledge and hit the right notes, getting them to safety. She had an “I know this!” moment that saved them.

Now, I’m sure you’re wondering – how will Yalanda tie The Goonies to scripture? Of course, it has to be one of the most monumental moments in missions history!

Here we go.

Acts 17:14-23
“The believers immediately sent Paul to the coast, but Silas and Timothy stayed at Berea.
15 Those who escorted Paul brought him to Athens and then left with instructions for Silas and Timothy to join him as soon as possible.
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.”

Paul is in Athens, waiting for Timothy and Silas, and he is grieved to see the city full of idol worship. A shrine or image of a false god was found along every street and building. Paul saw the altar dedicated to the unknown god.

This wasn’t just happenstance.

Paul didn’t just see the altar and think, “Hmmm, this is a great thing to use to share Jesus with them.” Although that was a piece of it, there was more.

Paul knew why they had built this altar and its significance.

How do we know?

Paul quotes a famous Greek poet and philosopher when he shares with them about the “unknown god” they worship.

“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.”

Look at verse 28. Paul quotes the famous Greek philosopher and poet Epimenides. But here’s an interesting thing about this man. The Greeks believed that he had once led in their salvation from a great pestilence. He had encouraged them then to sacrifice to the unknown god to rid them of whatever plague they were dealing with.

In the very spot where Paul was standing on Mars Hill, the Arepogus, delivering this message, is the same place where Epimenides had stood and told the people to bring their sacrifices.

Paul saw that altar to the unknown god and, in essence, had an “I know this!” moment that allowed him to share the truth about the unknown god, and it led to many of them being saved!

You may not always understand why you had to learn something, go through a tough trial, or why things have happened, but God knows. Just as He used this piece of knowledge with Paul to bring about salvation among these Greeks, He will use ours too! Only God knows the days, situations, and moments ahead when someone is waiting to hear about the Lord through your experiences.

How can, or how has, God used your past to share about His glory and the offer of salvation? Pay attention. Be mindful. There might just be an “I know this!” moment coming soon for you too.