Christ's command to his followers before his ascension to heaven was for them to be his witnesses in Jerusalem, all Judea, in Samaria, and to the uttermost part of the earth.

Our Lord did not intend for the good news of his death and resurrection to stay local, but

instead it was to be taken globally.

In this third section of Acts, the adventure continues as the gospel is taken to the ends

of the earth. Let's join Scott Pauli now for today's study.

The Apostle Paul did not travel as a tourist. He was not simply there to see all of the sites.

In Acts chapter 17, he finds himself waiting for a period of time on some of his helpers to arrive.

And so he's just observing the city.

And yet, here, this Christian man in a pagan city was not impressed.

Athens was quite an impressive place, a place of art and architecture, of ideas, a huge population, lots of history.

This was about 400 years after Socrates, and so lots of discussion and debate going on,

lots of opportunities, but Paul was not impressed. No, instead he made an impression.

How did they do that by simply preaching the gospel?

They tell me that Athens was a city full of monuments,

but this city full of monuments was a spiritual graveyard.

Only Christ could bring the life.

And so when Paul showed up there, he didn't show up as a tourist.

He showed up as a witness.

And recently, as I was meditating on this passage again,

I noticed a very fascinating phrase.

It's the first phrase in Acts 17, verse 16.

It simply says this, now, while Paul waited for them at Athens,

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