Negative To Positive Series

Turning A Negative Into A Positive

Acts 21:27-22:29

All of us deal with negative situations from time to time; it's a part of being human, right? We face them at work, at school, at home, in our neighborhoods and even sometimes at church. Sometimes there are those people who it seems just don't like us - or don't like anybody for that matter. Well today, I'm going to be sharing with you principles on how to turn a negative into a positive. And it just so happens that on Tuesday of this week, someone came by the church office and gave me this Bible - it's the Robert Schuler Positivity Thinking Bible. He takes his power of positive thinking philosophy and interprets the Bible through that philosophy. So I gained a lot of insight from Robert Schuler in my sermon prep this week. ANNGGKK - FALSE!

I DID get this Bible, but I'm definitely NOT going to espouse Schuler's "power of positive thinking" today; or the power of a positive self-image; or the power of a positive outlook on life. I'm talking about the power of a positive profession of Jesus in the midst of a negative environment that is hostile to the gospel. We'll see that in Paul's example in our text today.

You see we're in this series called "The Church on Mission" as we've been studying through the book of Acts. This is sermon #41 in that series. We've looked at how the early church was used powerfully by God to impact many with the life-transforming truth of the gospel. By God's grace we will be that kind of church. Additionally, in all our small groups we're in a 5-week study called "Life On Mission." This is a study that is teaching us how as individuals, we can simply yet effectively share the gospel; how to give a positive profession.

Our heart, our vision is for Lookout Valley Baptist Church to be a mission-minded, gospel-centered church. And in order for us to be a mission-minded, gospel-centered church we must be made up of covenant church members who are individually mission minded and gospel-centered. In order for us to reach that goal we must keep that vision in front of us.

Illustration: I read something very interesting this week. Do you know at what mile of the 26 mile course most marathon runners give up? It's not mile 1, that's when there's all kinds of energy and excitement; and you're pushing yourself right out of the gate to go! Some might think it's mile 25, after your energy is spent, your legs are cramping, your feet are throbbing.

But here's what I learned this week - mile 25 is actually the second least likely mile for a marathon runner to drop out of the race. Why is that? Because the finish line is in view. The goal of completing the race is right in front of them. And no matter the pain and hardship and suffering involved, they push through it to accomplish that vision.

The most likely mile for people to drop out is actually mile 20. After there has been significant time trudging through the grueling race and the goal still seems a long way off, that's when people are likely to quit. What this tells me is this - we've got to constantly keep the goal, the vision, the purpose in view.

And here's what we must recognize - we live in a culture; we live in a world that is hostile to the gospel. 1 John 5:19 says the whole world lies under the power of the evil one. And as the church of Jesus Christ begins to make inroads into that world, rescuing the perishing, you better believe that the enemy is going to fight against our rescue mission with all the vim and vigor he can muster.

One who experienced this satanically-inspired hostility and opposition was the apostle Paul. In every city, in every town, as his preaching makes inroads to these communities and people's lives are transformed by truth, Satan hates it. And he fights back to keep people in his clutches.

This morning as we arrive at the end of chapter 21. The passage before us today marks a major transition in the life and ministry of the apostle Paul. Since his conversion on the road to Damascus some 25 years earlier, he has freely ministered and preached wherever his journey's took him, except for a brief imprisonment in Philippi. But from this point on in Acts, Paul will be a prisoner. This did not however bring an end to Paul's Gospel ministry. He became, as he described in Eph 6:20, "an ambassador in chains."

So really, we could call the next 7 chapters of Acts, "Turning a Negative into a Positive" because that's exactly what happens. Paul begins a prison ministry from the inside of prisons. In fact, many of Paul's letters that are inspired Scripture in our Bibles were written from these prisons.