From Unknown to Known- Minister Sean Cheatham

Sep 27, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: When Strangers Become Family at the Reunion

Paul used the Athenian altar to an unknown god like a cousin introducing estranged relatives at a family gathering. Just as recognizing shared blood changes how we see strangers, understanding God’s nearness transforms how we approach the divine. Creation itself becomes a family photo album revealing our connection to the Creator. The more we lean into relationship with God, the fewer mysteries remain about His heart. [04:13]

“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” (Acts 17:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: What daily routines or responsibilities might shift if you truly saw your work, home, and community as extensions of God’s household? How could viewing creation as God’s family portrait change your interactions today?

Day 2: Breathing In the Gift, Breathing Out Gratitude

Every inhale proves God’s ongoing investment in His creation. The sermon compared breath to Christmas gifts—not earned, but freely given reminders of the Giver’s care. Just as lungs automatically process air, our spiritual lives thrive when we stop trying to manufacture grace and simply receive. Sustained life itself becomes the receipt for God’s faithfulness. [19:38]

“In his hand is the life of every living thing and the breath of all mankind.” (Job 12:10, ESV)

Reflection: Try pausing at three random moments today to notice your breathing. What might these involuntary inhales teach you about God’s persistent presence in your most automatic functions?

Day 3: Grope Toward Grace Like a Child Clinging

The Athenian’s “groping” mirrors toddlers clutching a parent’s leg—awkward but earnest. God meets fumbling spiritual reaches like a mother lifting her clinging child. Our imperfect prayers and half-understood Bible studies become holy when offered with dependent hearts. Growth happens not in releasing our grip, but in learning whom we’re holding. [01:55]

“I was ready to be sought by those who did not ask for me; I said, ‘Here I am, here I am,’ to a nation that was not called by my name.” (Isaiah 65:1, ESV)

Reflection: What shame or hesitation keeps you from “clinging clumsily” to God today? How might embracing spiritual awkwardness actually deepen your trust?

Day 4: Your Testimony Is Someone Else’s Map

Paul used Athenian poetry as a trail marker toward Christ. Our stories function similarly—not polished theological treatises, but breadcrumbs of grace. The cashier who needs hope isn’t helped by systematic theology, but by hearing how God provided your rent. Every survival becomes a signpost saying “Someone passed this way before.” [40:19]

“Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he has redeemed from trouble.” (Psalm 107:2, ESV)

Reflection: Which chapter of your life story feels too messy to share? How might its raw honesty become exactly the map someone needs for their current wilderness?

Day 5: The Clockmaker Who Owns Time

When the pastor confessed time anxiety, God reminded him “I’m the time maker.” Seasons, heartbeats, and sunrises all answer to their Creator. Our schedules become holy when we stop trying to control chronos time and embrace kairos moments—God’s eternal now. Even overwhelm becomes worship when we whisper “This hour belongs to You.” [10:45]

“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” (Ecclesiastes 3:1, ESV)

Reflection: What task or relationship feels time-starved today? How might surrendering it to the “Time Maker” transform scarcity into abundance?

Sermon Summary

Paul’s words in Acts 17 move from an unknown God to the God who can be known. The Athenians had religion, idols, and an altar, but they did not know the One they worshiped. Paul takes their question and opens the door: “Let me introduce you to the King of kings.” God is not looking for empty routine. God is concerned with the heart, with passion, with people drawing close enough to know Him personally.

The family reunion picture makes it plain. A person who is unknown becomes known because somebody already connected introduces them. The closer the relationship, the more is discovered. God calls His people beyond knowing church, songs, traditions, and Bible stories. God calls them to spend time in His presence, even if it starts with five minutes, until His presence becomes the place they do not want to leave. A life that knows God becomes a testimony that introduces somebody else to Him.

God made the world and everything in it. Before there was a sun, moon, mountain, ocean, or human being, there was God. God is not part of creation. God is Creator and Lord over creation. Every gift, talent, resource, family concern, and moment of time belongs to Him. The question changes from “What do I want?” to “Lord, what do You want?” God is. That settles it. His authority puts life in the right perspective.

God gives life, breath, and all things. Every breath, heartbeat, morning, opportunity to love, serve, and get it right is grace. God’s provision does not mean that difficulty never comes. Difficulty can make a person stronger, while God remains the ultimate source. Human hands may work, plant, prepare, and build, but God gives ability, increase, food, strength, and life.

God is near. Feelings may say that God is far away in the valley, in loneliness, in grief, or in confusion, but feelings are not always facts. God’s Word is fact. God may not explain every delay, closed door, disappointment, or storm, but the one who holds the answer has His people covered. God calls for repentance, for seeking His face, studying His Word, asking honest questions, and staying connected rather than isolating.

Paul declares that “in Him we live and move and have our being.” God connects identity, purpose, future, and strength to Himself. People may remember a past, but God remembers a future. Jesus makes the Father known through mercy, grace, the cross, resurrection, and salvation. A truthful testimony can take somebody from unknown to known: “I fell, but God picked me up.” God calls His people to make Him known through forgiveness, compassion, faithfulness, encouragement, and the honest story of His grace.

Key Takeaways

1. Knowing God goes beyond religious routine Religion can know the songs, the traditions, and the church schedule while the heart remains far from God. God desires a relationship where His people seek Him personally and linger in His presence. The closer a person draws to God, the more that person discovers both who God is and who God created them to be. [05:33]
2. God is Creator and rightful Lord God made everything, and therefore everything belongs to Him, including time, gifts, families, resources, and plans. The confession “God is” corrects the heart that acts like life revolves around personal wants. God’s lordship turns anxious striving into surrender: “Thy will be done.” [07:17]
3. Feelings are not always facts Hard seasons can make God feel distant, forgotten, or silent. God’s nearness does not rise and fall with circumstances, because His Word remains true in valleys and on mountaintops. God may not reveal every reason, but God remains present and able to carry what His people cannot carry alone. [27:19]
4. Seeking God requires real relationship A relationship cannot grow without time, attention, prayer, Scripture, worship, and honest questions. God does not tell seekers merely to search; God promises that those who seek Him with all their heart will find Him. God uses His Word like a mirror, revealing both the need for grace and the life He is forming. [30:58]
5. An honest testimony makes God known A testimony does not need to sound perfect because grace is most visible where weakness has been met by God’s faithfulness. Forgiveness, compassion, endurance, and truthful words about God’s rescue can introduce hurting people to the God they have not yet known. God can use one honest life to turn another person from unknown to known.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[01:02] - Paul and the Unknown God
[03:58] - From Unknown to Known
[05:33] - Knowing God Personally
[07:17] - God Made Everything
[12:48] - God Is Greater Than Understanding
[17:51] - God Gives Life and Breath
[25:42] - God Is Near
[28:31] - Repentance and Seeking God
[34:54] - In Him We Live and Move
[37:27] - Make God Known Through Testimony
[42:05] - Jesus Makes God Known
[47:05] - Do You Know Him?
[49:20] - Share God With the Hurting

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Acts 17:22-24
“So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: 'Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: "To the unknown god." What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man,” [01:37]

Acts 17:27-28
“that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for 'In him we live and move and have our being'; as even some of your own poets have said, 'For we are indeed his offspring.” [01:00]

Acts 17:30
“The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent,” [29:08]

Observation questions

What does Paul notice about the Athenians’ worship, and how does he use their altar to begin speaking about God? [03:01]
According to Acts 17:22–24, what does Paul say about God’s relationship to the world, heaven, earth, and human-made temples? [07:40]
In Acts 17:27–28, what words describe both humanity’s search for God and God’s closeness to people? [01:48]
What examples are given of gifts that come from God, including everyday parts of life that can easily be overlooked? [19:25]

Interpretation questions

Why is there such a serious difference between knowing church traditions or Bible stories and personally knowing God? What might show that a person has religion but is still keeping God at a distance? [05:40]
Paul calls God the Creator and Lord of heaven and earth. How does this truth change the way a believer should think about personal time, talents, family, plans, and resources? [09:46]
Acts 17 says God is near even while people are seeking Him. How can someone’s feelings of loneliness, disappointment, or confusion make God seem far away even when He is not? [27:25]
Acts 17:30 calls all people to repent. Why is repentance more than feeling sorry, and how does it help a person turn from an “unknown God” toward a real relationship with Jesus? [29:43]

Application questions

Is there an area where it is easy to know about God—through church, songs, family history, or routine—without slowing down to know Him personally? What would a simple, honest step toward God look like this week? [47:52]
What is one part of life that has been treated mainly as “mine”—such as time, money, a talent, a relationship, or a future plan? How might the question change from “What do I want?” to “Lord, what do You want?” [12:12]
When life is painful or unclear, what feelings most often try to convince a person that God is far away? What truth from Acts 17:27–28 can be remembered in that moment? [27:39]
What could make regular time with God more realistic this week: five minutes of prayer, reading Scripture before work, worship during a drive, or bringing honest questions to God? Which one would help most right now? [31:10]
Is there a burden, disappointment, or question that has led to pulling away from others? What would it look like to stay connected to God and allow trusted believers to walk alongside that struggle? [36:46]
What part of God’s grace has been seen personally—being forgiven, strengthened, restored, provided for, or carried through a hard season? How could that story be shared honestly with someone who needs hope? [40:35]

Sermon Clips

49s

#TrustGod

“You may not know why, but you can know who. That's what I love about god. Oh, he's good. You may not know the answer, but you know that the one who holds the answer has got you covered. He's got you covered, not just today, Sunday, but every day. He's got you covered. You supply all your needs. He'll give you a peace that transcends all understanding, A joy, unspeakable joy that comes out of nowhere. He'll say, why am I laughing? Because he's that good. You may not understand the situations that you go through, but you can know the one who controls the situation.”

57s

#FeelingsAreNotFacts

“but feelings are not always facts. I say that again. Oh, this that's a word for you. Please write that down. Praise the Lord. But feelings are not always facts. Many of us are feeling things right now. See, the the enemy wants to get in your mind and to feel something. He wants to get in your mind and to feel like, oh, oh, man. Like, this is it. But it's not a fact. The word of god is fact. The word of god is truth. He wants us to stay close to him. Your circumstances may make you feel alone. Your situation may make you feel forgotten. But Paul reminds us he is not far from us. He's not far from each one of us.”

59s

#ShareYourTestimony

“our testimony can take somebody from unknown to known. Say that again. Your testimony, Grace, can take someone from unknown to known. Think about your testimony. There are things you have experienced that nobody else can tell the way you can. You know that of what god had brought you through. You know that the the doors that he has opened. You know the doors that he closed. You know the prayers he had answered. You know the nights you cried. You know the moments that you wanted to give up. You know the times God gave you strength. You know the times God made a way out of no way. And your testimony can help somebody else discover God.”

58s

#LiveForJesus

“There are people who may never read the bible until they see your life. There are people who may never hear a sermon until they hear your testimony. There are people who will never experience Christian love until they experience it through you. Your life grace, I can say, let me introduce you to Jesus. Let me introduce you to Jesus when you're given that opportunity to speak to others. Because when you do, when you forgive someone, you make his grace known. When you forgive someone, you make his grace known. When you show compassion, you make his love known. When you encourage someone, you make his hope known.”

49s

#SeekGod

“There is a responsibility put placed upon us to seek the Lord, to seek God. You cannot build a relationship with someone you never spend time with. I say that again. You cannot build a relationship with someone you never spend time with. If you want to know god, you gotta seek him. Seek him. If you're in the bathroom, seek him. If you're in your car, seek him. Yes. Seek him in prayer. Seek him in his word. Oh, seek him in his word. That is like a mirror. The word of god, when we get in and we read his word, we're seeking him. He speaks to us.”

42s

#GodProvides

“We may work for our paycheck, but God gives us the ability to work. We may go to the doctor, but god gives life and sustains us. We may plant the seed, but god provides the increase. We may prepare the meal, but god provides the food. We may build the house. We may build the house, but god gives us the strength and resources to build. He gives us that. Thank you, God. Everything ultimately comes from him.”

64s

#GodIsNear

“So he is not far from us. What Paul says, that's good news. God is not far away. When you are in the valley, god is near. When you're on the mountaintop, god is near. When you are celebrating, god is near. You are crying, god is near. When you are surrounded by people, god is near. I say that again. When you are surrounded by people, god is near. Sometimes people get comfort with just being around people. They struggling just like you. So god is near to empower you and empower the people that you're with. God is near. When you're sitting by yourself, god is near. When you know what to do, god is near. When you don't know what to do, god is near.”

58s

#KnowGodPersonally

“The closer the relationship, the more you discover. The same principle applies spiritually. There are people who know about god, but they don't really know god. They know church. They know songs. They know traditions. No bible stories. But God wants us to move beyond. He wants us to move beyond that. God wants us to know him personally. He develops a closer relation to to us as we draw closer to him and our time. It might start with five minutes. It may go to six minutes. It may go to seven minutes, And eventually, you don't wanna move. You're just there in his presence, loving him and holding close to him.”

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