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A man was shoveling snow in his driveway when 2 boys came along w/
shovels and said, “Hey Mister, can we shovel your driveway…only $2!?” He
said, “can’t you see I’m doing that?” “Yes sir, that’s why we asked…we get
most of our business from people who are halfway thru and feel like
quitting!”
Unfortunately, today there are a lot of people quitting on God. But the
Apostle Paul never quit and never gave up! After deliverance thru an
earthquake from the prison at
Philippi, most would have decided to go back home, but Paul and Silas
continued preaching the gospel.
In ch. 17, these 2 move on to Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. And each city responded
differently.
In Thessalonica they resisted the Word, in Berea they received the Word, and in Athens
they ridiculed the Word.
And that’s what we can expect today when we witness for Jesus.
Let’s talk about Thessalonica first. This city was located on the main
highway of the ancient world. It was called “the Ignatian Way.”
[slide] It connected the eastern and western portions of the Roman Empire,
and it was a strategic city for the work of the Lord. It was the capital
city of Macedonia, and the center of commerce in that area. Paul knew that
if he could reach this city he could reach anywhere!
And that’s what our church is striving to
be: not just a local church, but a “regional”
church. The gospel should disseminate outside of these walls locally
first, but also to “regions beyond”. We should be affecting towns outside
our city limits, and bordering counties, and other parts of the state, the
country, the world! [Missions Conference begins 5 wks. from today!]
We can praise God for the influence we’re having around the
world thru our missions program, with paid staff members called missionaries
representing us in about 20 other countries, and, thru the website sermon
ministry, we have many “unpaid” staff members spreading our message in
hundreds more places in our state, nation, and around the world. These
pastors and missionaries are using our materials, and all indications are
that God is using them to get this good message out…now that’s exciting!
We can know that Paul was only in Thessalonica for 3 weeks, and yet he
founded a great NT church during that time. And years down the road he
wrote his first letter to them…
I Thess. 1:8
For from you sounded out the word of the Lord not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place
your faith to God-ward is spread abroad; so that we need not to speak any
thing.
This church started out of a riot. Paul was winning people to Lord, and
suddenly a riot erupted…because when you preach the gospel, not everybody is
gonna like it. The devil is constantly battling a Bible-preaching
church—from without or from within, or both! Satan doesn’t yield an inch
without putting up a fight. In this case it was the unbelieving Jews that
he used.
v. 4-5 The devil used people to do his dirty work. Let’s be aware
that he will use any of us, even unwittingly, to do some of his tasks. The
Bible said for us not to be ignorant of the fact that he works that way. He
can use me, and seeks to regularly…pray for me! And don’t let the
devil use you to become a part of trouble in a church that’s seeing
souls saved and lives changed! Leaders are influential and are at the top
of his “hit list”, so beware!
The average church in America
today is 60 people. We have about twice that number who attend here
regularly, and a bunch more who are here once in a while. You can’t have
that size group and all agree on everything all the time. Not everyone will
see eye to eye on all matters, but we should all be humble enough to say, as
Jesus did, “not my will, but Thine be done!”
This passage says the troublemakers gathered together “lewd fellows of
the baser sort” [v. 5]. They knew who to go to in order to get help and
agreement, and it’s always that way, because troublemakers gravitate toward
their own kind, and they always attract others who have an axe to grind…to
their sympathetic ear! They’ll jump on board when the garbage truck goes
by…of gossip, grumbling, criticism.
It takes determination for Christians to say,
I don’t want to even accidentally be
used of the devil to be a hindrance to
God’s work…but I want to be used of
God to be a help to God’s
work! I don’t want to be a discourager,
but an encourager! I don’t
want to be a stumbling block, but a stepping stone!
Notice what was said about Paul and his party…
v. 6 So which way is up? Were they correct in what they were
saying? This is an upside-down world…nothing is the way it’s supposed to
be…did God really intend on His earth being this way? …the world is in
chaos and confusion, and America, which God originally prospered as a Christian nation, is very much an upside down
place…the whole world has been that way ever since the fall of man and sin
entered the scene…but that wasn’t these apostle’s doing…the devil had
already turned the world upside down a long time before. What
Paul was trying to do was fix it, and
turn things right side up!
*Homes—Satan
tries all he can to turn them upside down w/ families who don’t see each
other, don’t talk, or when they do, it’s negative and argumentative. He
slips in financial hurdles and tests of faithfulness. His plan includes
leaders in the home, but they are televisions, computers and video games…not
in proper balance.
*Young lives—we
have so many young families, young people, and small children here. Satan
will do all he can to turn them upside down by introducing drugs, alcohol,
porn, and the occult to them.
*Churches—there’s
a big bull’s-eye atop the few churches like this one that are left in
America today. This is a place full of the serious minded Christians…and we
pose a serious threat to Satan’s dominion in this city and around the
world. His greatest desire is to close the doors of this place…and he’s
come close in the past. He tries to turn my heart upside down, or get me to
quit. His goal extends to others in leadership, whether deacons, teachers,
or otherwise. Don’t be surprised when this happens!
God can help turn this truck around and help turn our “worlds” right
side up. We should all focus on turning wrongs into rights. God wants each
of us to turn OUR world right side up. Our worlds include workplaces,
schools, family reunions, and our homes.
It takes 3 things to turn the world right side up:
[just look at 1 today and the other 2 on Wed.]
1. We must exemplify the Savior
[2. explain the Scriptures, 3. extend the
Salvation]
Paul exemplified the
Savior in 2 ways:
·In his
worship—and we should, too.
v. 2 “as his manner was”
– it was his habit to go into
the synagogue, the church! This
reminds me of somebody else [Jesus] in Luke 4…
Luke 4:16
And he came to Nazareth, where
he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the
synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
So, in Acts 17, Paul is exemplifying the Savior in his worship. He knew
that on God’s day he was to be in God’s house w/ God’s people, studying
God’s Word.
Think about this: Jesus went to church Sabbath day after Sabbath day
His whole life, and the Bible says that in those days the Jewish religion
had become a dead faith…they had substituted ritual for relationship/they
had religion w/out reality/sacraments w/out spirituality/…on one occasion
Jesus said, this is supposed to be a house of prayer, but you’ve made it a
den of thieves!
Think about it…this means that for all of His life, the Lord
Jesus attended a “dead church”! …and yet He was faithful! How much more
faithful should we be in attending the church of the living God?! We have
the truth, we have youth, we have excitement and vitality, souls are being
saved, lives changed, babies born and diapers changed…man, what a place! We
should be habitually faithful whenever the doors are open. Christ loved the church and gave Himself for
it…how do you feel about it?
Hebrews 10:25
Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner
of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see
the day approaching.
Paul went “as his manner was”. He was exemplifying the Savior
in his worship. He knew the fact that the
devil doesn’t take daysoff, and neither should we from
serving God…it’s work to be faithful,
but it pays!
This is not a little thing/minor concern…it’s a matter of faithfulness.
Shame on the Christian who treats the
holy day as a holiday.
It’s one thing to have to work, but another to be at the lake during
church/at baseball field/in park…or being bad testimony to relatives! [just
tell ‘em they’re welcome to come w/ you, but don’t choose them over God!]
It’s shocking, but true, that some will pray for lost family members, but
then do the unimaginable when they come to visit and leave it up to their
guests whether the whole group goes to church or not!
It’s
not only a matter of faithfulness, but a
matter of our testimony and our
influence…you see, we’ll never turn our world right side up if
we’re not exemplary in our worship, which is square one, the most basic
building block of serving God.
Paul exemplified the Savior in his worship…
·In his
walk
v. 4 He was winning people to the Lord.
Everywhere Paul went he left behind a
trail of new converts. In Acts 16 we saw 3 marvelous
conversions, and they were the first of thousands in the new world of Europe!
Now be honest: What kind of trail do you leave behind you? Ps. 23 says
surely goodness and mercy shall “follow me”…so, what follows you? Is there
turmoil and conflict in your wake, or blessing? Some have a negative spirit
and everywhere they go they leave foul footprints…brightening rooms just by
leaving them!
What do you leave behind in your s.s. class or Bible Study?
What do you leave behind as you leave the dinner table? What do you leave
behind at the beauty shop?
Ill.—Mrs. Kari will vouch for the fact that
there’s just something about a beautician’s chair that brings out the stupid
in people…they dump their life stories and she’s a captive audience left
with their burdens. Do the chemicals seep thru the scalp or something?
What do you leave behind?
We’ll never turn our world right side up w/ a mean, critical, angry
spirit. Being a grouch is a defense mechanism for some, but it only turns
others off.
If you wanna turn your world right side up…here’s the key:
Let them see Jesus in you! Exemplify the Savior in your worship/ walk.
Ill.—little girl at s.s./teacher asked her to
recite the books of the NT/she said, it begins w/ Matthew and it ends with
“revolution”!
She wasn’t far off, because Jesus will revolutionize your
life…he’ll turn your family right side up/ …finances/children/job/
coworkers/ relatives/neighbors…and it all begins when you get saved. Have
you been saved? If you are saved…are you exemplifying the Savior?
In worship? In work?
[Wed. nite: 2. explain the Scriptures,
3. extend the Salvation]
They Turned it Right
Side Up!
Acts 17:1-6
Our church is striving to be a “r______________”
church
I Thess. 1:8, v. 4-5
I don’t want to be a hindrance but a
h______
I don’t want to be a d___courager,
but an e__courager
I don’t want to be a stumbling block,
but a s______________ stone
v. 6
Paul was trying to turn things right side
up
*H________
*Young l________
*C______________
Paul exemplified the Savior in 2 ways:
·In his w____________v. 2
“as his manner was” it was his
h________ to go to church
Luke 4:16, Acts 17,
Hebrews 10:25
The devil doesn’t take d______o____, and neither should we…it’s w______
to be faithful, but it p______
It’s a matter of i________________
·In his w______v. 4
Everywhere Paul went he left behind a
t________ of new convertsActs 16, Ps. 23
Part 2
They Turned it Right Side
Up, pt. 2
Acts 17:1-6
It takes 3 things to turn
the world right side up:
1. We must exemplify
the Savior
Paul exemplified the Savior
in 2 ways:
·In his worship—and
we should, too.
·In his walk
2. We must explain
the Scriptures
v. 2-3 Everywhere Paul went he had the
Savior in his heart and the Bible in his hand. It wasn’t his persuasive
salesmanship or his personality plus that won them. He wasn’t using pop
psychology, either, just trying to help people socially.
Joke—guy said he spent 4 years at the Harvard
Psychology Dept. Somebody asked him, “oh, you studied psychology?” “No, they
were studying me!”
There’s power in the Word, and that’s what he
used. Paul did 3 things:
A. He “Reasoned”
v. 2 Gk. Dialegomai = dialogue,
conversing, answering questions. He didn’t just preach…it was a 2 way street,
hearing where they are coming from.
18:4 Corinth
18:19 Ephesus
He answered their questions. And one of the
best tools any of us can have in our bag is to be able to discuss and answer
people’s questions from the Word…they have questions, and we should have the
answers, and unlike back in school, we should share our answers!
1 Peter 3:15
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts:
and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of
the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:
Wouldn’t you love to be there and hear
Paul do this?! He’s convincing these Jews that this Jesus IS their
long-awaited Messiah.
“Hey, if He was our Messiah, then why did He
die on a cross?”
What would you say? What scripture
[OT] would you use?
Isaiah 53:5-7
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed. [6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the
iniquity of us all. [7] He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened
not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before
her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
Psalm 22:7-8
All they that see me laugh me to scorn:
they shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying, [8] He trusted on the Lord
that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.
Psalm 22:14
I am poured out like water, and all my
bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my
bowels.
Psalm 22:16
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of
the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Psalm 22:18
They part my garments among them, and cast
lots upon my vesture.
“So, what’s all this about a resurrection?”
What would you say?Psalm 16:10
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell;
neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.
Then Paul concludes dramatically with v.
3…[read]
v. 4 “and some of them believed!”
Let’s not be intimidated w/ questions.
Don’t be afraid to ask them…they’re not dumb unless not asked. Go to S.S.,
Bible Studies, go back over your Grace Notes, study on your own, listen online
and get tapes.
2 Tim. 2:15
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a
workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.
Have daily devotions and be empowered by the
Word!
We won’t be approached by many Jews today, by
the way, no, it’ll be about the big storm in the south, or the tsunami, or the
war…questions about suffering, or about the mark of the beast, or the end
times, the rapture, the antichrist, the tribulation…they just need someone
they can trust for them to ask! They want to know how God feels about social
drinking, homosexuality, aids, abortion, heaven and hell…you know how you feel
about these things, but what are the verses? This is not the preacher’s job,
but the Christians job!
“I don’t have time!”
You have time to do everything else you
wanna do! If you turned off the tv and turned to your Bible and became a
student of the Word you could be an expert on all we just mentioned before the
leaves fall!
Our kids have questions, our classmates, our
relatives, our co-workers, our friends, etc.
B. He “Opened”
= explaining what it meant, preaching, teaching, illustrating…it’s the idea of
“opening people’s eyes” to truth…the light goes on and they understand.
C. He “Alleged”
= to lay along side of. He was taking he OT and laying it beside Jesus, His
life, and His ministry.
For instance, he could show them…Micah 5:2
But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou
be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth
unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of
old, from everlasting.
Then he could lay aside that where
Jesus was born…no one chooses where they are born!
The OT said Jesus would come from the tribe of
Judah/Isaiah predicts it would be by a virgin, and 300 more
prophecies…building a case!
This is how we turn people’s world right side
up…reasoning, opening, alleging!
Ill.—Charles Darwin, father of evolution, once
visited a remote Pacific island in search of evidence. He found a people so
uncivilized that he predicted they were still evolving and it would take
thousands of years for them to come to live, wash, eat, behave, and think like
normal humans. He revisited several years later, and to his astonishment,
they had been made over, unrecognizable they were. He asked what happened,
and he was told, “the missionaries came!”
God’s Word does revolutionize!
Paul exemplified the Savior, explained the
Scriptures…
3. We must extend
the Salvation
He gave an invitation, so they could respond.
People need changed, not just stirred…that’s what our altar is for! Some
today ask why we “put people on the spot.” We don’t want to offend, but we
all need to be “on that spot.” The Holy Spirit then knocks on the door, on
the spot, and then the ball is in their court! Then and only then it’s up to
them!
They Turned it Right
Side Up, pt. 2
Acts 17:1-6
It takes 3 things to turn the world right side
up:
1. We must exemplify the Savior
Paul exemplified the Savior in 2 ways:
·In his worship
·In his walk
2. We must e____________ the
Scriptures v. 2-3
Paul did 3 things:
A. He “R______________”
v. 2, 18:4, 18:19, 1 Peter
3:15, Is.53:5-7, Ps.22:7-8,14,16,18, v. 3, v. 4, 2
Tim. 2:15
B. He “O__________”
C. He “A____________”
Micah 5:2
3. We must e__________ the
Salvation
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