Reading: Acts chapter 17 verses 1-1:
Ill:
• Several years ago, American Larry Walters, a 33-year-old man;
• Decided he wanted to see his locality from a new perspective.
• So he went down to the local army surplus store;
• And bought forty-five used weather balloons.
• That afternoon he strapped himself into a garden chair,
• And several of his friends tied the now helium-filled balloons.
• He took along a six-pack of beer, a sandwich, & a Bull-bearing gun,
• Figuring he could shoot the balloons one at a time when he was ready to land.
• Walters, who assumed the balloons would lift him about 100 feet in the air,
• But he was caught off guard;
• When the chair soared more than 11,000 feet into the sky.
• This took him smack into the middle of;
• The air traffic pattern at Los Angeles International Airport.
• Too frightened to shoot any of the balloons,
• He stayed airborne for more than two hours,
• This forced the airport to shut down its runways for much of the afternoon,
• Causing long delays in flights from all over the country.
• Soon after he was safely grounded and cited by the police,
• Reporters asked him three questions:
• First question: “Where you scared?”
• He replied “Yes.”
• Second question: “Would you do it again?”
• He answered “No.”
• Third question: “Why did you do it?”
• “Because,” he said, “you can’t just sit there.”
That’s what the book of Acts is saying, shouting to us in these verses:
• In a world with no idea who the real Jesus is
• Or the real message of Christianity, what the good news is:
• The book of Acts is a constant reminder;
• That you and I “Can’t just sit there.”
• Reaching people for Jesus requires action!
Ill:
• Mercedes Benz were the company who first produced;
• A car body design that absorbed the force of a collision on impact.
• One Mercedes Benz TV commercial;
• Shows their car colliding with a cement wall during a safety test.
• Since then of course many other car companies have followed it’s design.
• Someone then asks the company spokesman;
• Why they do not enforce their patent on the Mercedes Benz energy-absorbing car body.
• He replies mater-of-factly,
• "Because some things in life are too important not to share."
• How true!
• In that category also falls the good news of Jesus Christ,
• News that saves people from far more than auto collisions.
Ministry in Thessalonica (vs 1):
• The apostle Paul, was the first person to travel widely telling people about Jesus.
• He is considered the first missionary - a word meaning someone who is sent out.
He made three missionary journeys:
• You can read about his first missionary journey in Acts chapters 13 and 14.
• This first expedition lasted at least two years,
• His second missionary journey is found in Acts chapter 16, 17 and 18.
• This trip is likely to have lasted at least three years.
• You can read about his third missionary journey in Acts chapter 19, 20 and 21.
• This trip lasted about five years.
Note: In Acts chapter 17 we are breaking in to Paul’s second missionary journey:
• Where we are told in verse 1:
• “When they had passed through Am-pi-polis and Apoll-on-ia, they came to Thessalonica.”
• This was a long stretch of the journey - over 100 miles of walking;
• Yet Dr Luke dismisses it in a sentence of a few words.
• Notice: That they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia without preaching;
• Question: Didn’t these folks need to hear the message as well?
• Answer: Twofold:
• First: It was Paul’s strategy to minister in the larger cities;
• He then expected the new converts in that city;
• To then reach out with the gospel to the other towns & villages around them.
• And if you read his letter to the Thessalonians – that is what happened.
• ill: 1 Thessalonians chapter 1 verse 8:
“The Lord’s message rang out from you not only in Macedonia and Achaia - your faith in God has become known everywhere”.
• Second: Whenever Paul went on this journey;
• His strategy was to start preaching in the synagogue;
• Verse 1b: “Where there was a Jewish synagogue”
• It is believed that there was no synagogue in those other two places he passed by.
(1). City and Government
(a). It was a key city.
• Thessalonica is today called Salonika;
• And it has become the second largest city in Greece.
• In Paul’s day it was the capital of Macedonia,
• And was also a centre for business, rivalled only by Corinth.
Ill:
• The main street of Thessalonica was part of the Egnatian Way;
• This road connected the eastern and western portions of the Roman Empire,
• So living in Thessalonica was like living next to a motorway:
• It was also a busy seaport;
• Making it one of the major trade routes in the region,
• So it was an ideal place for evangelism.
• ill: Tourist spot / Stratford on Avon.
• You will meet people from everywhere- all race, colours, beliefs etc.
• And the gospel could easily and quickly travel down those roads.
• Or out of that harbour and then literally all over the world.
(b). It was an unusual city.
• Even though it was controlled by Rome.
• In everyway the city was predominantly Greek,
• Thessalonica also had special privileges no other city in the region had.
• Thessalonica was a "free city," which meant that it had an elected citizens’ assembly,
• It could mint its own coins,
• And it had no Roman garrison within its walls.
• It was in this free-spirited, influential backdrop;
• That the apostle Paul’s latest adventure would take place.
(2). Method and Message (vs 2-3)
“As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. "This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ," he said. 4Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and not a few prominent women.”
Ill:
• British sculptor Sir Jacob Epstein had a visitor to his studio;
• It was the eminent author George Bernard Shaw.
• George Bernard Shaw noticed a huge block of stone standing in one corner;
• And asked Epstein what it was for.
• Epstein replied: “I don’t know yet. I’m still making plans.”
• Shaw was astounded.
• “You mean you plan your work. Why, I change my mind several times a day!”
• “That’s all very well with a four-ounce manuscript,” replied the sculptor,
• “But not with a four-ton block.”
If we want to be effective in our ministries and achieve something lasting:
• It is good to plan for important projects, it is good to have a strategy.
• Quote: the old saying “If you fail to plan, then you plan to fail”.
• The apostle Paul had a plan, a strategy:
• When he arrived in a city he always went to the synagogue.
• Because he knew he would have a hearing there – he was on common ground!
• He found godly Jews and God-fearing gentiles;
• These people already had an interest in religious things.
• They were also familiar with the Word of God (O.T. scriptures).
Application:
• Good principle here.
• Before we go and try to reach strangers, let’s start with the people we know.
• With those who are likely to give us a hearing.
• ill: Film: ‘The Gospel Blimp’. A blimp is a non-rigid airship (ill: ‘Dunlop’).
Notice:
• Four key words are used in verses 2-3;
• These four words describe Paul’s strategy in sharing his message in the synagogue.
FIRST: HE ‘REASONED’ WITH THEM.
• “He reasoned with them from the Scriptures,”
• That means he dialogued with them through questions and answers.
• He opened up his Bible (OT anyway);
• And had some logical and rational debate.
ILL:
A Father and his small son were out walking one day:
• When the lad asked how electricity could go through the wires;
• That were stretched between the telephone poles.
• "I don’t know, " said his father.
• "I never knew much about electricity. "
• A few streets further on, the boy asked what caused lightning and thunder.
• "I don’t know, that too has puzzled me, " came the reply.
• The youngster continued to ask lots of questions about many things,
• None of which the father could explain.
• . Finally, as they were nearing home, the boy said, .
• "Dad, I hope you didn’t mind all those questions. "
• "Not at all, " replied his father.
• "How else are you going to learn!"
• Unlike that man we have some answers to share!
• If we don’t share them - ‘How else are they going to learn’.
• “Faith comes by hearing and hearing the Word of God.”
• Share the word in a natural and relevant way.
SECOND: HE ‘EXPLAINED’ OR OPENED THESE PASSAGES,
Ill:
• When my son was five years old, I showed him around my grandfather’s farm,
• Pointing out the hard work and skills it once took to farm the land.
• As we entered the cow barn,
• I gazed up at the long, handmade ladder to the loft and explained;
• That that was where my grandfather had kept the hay to feed the cows.
• A few minutes later the boy replied;
• “I bet it was hard for those cows to climb that ladder.”
Obviously the message of Jesus Christ needs to be explained:
• The Greek word translated as "explaining";
• Means "to lay down alongside, to prove by presenting the evidence."
• The apostle set before them one Old Testament proof after another;
• Showing them again and again, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah God.
• He wasn’t giving his opinion or insight;
• But showing again and again from the Bible proofs as to who Jesus was and is!
Quote: G. Campbell Morgan.
• Who was a preacher, an author and a leading Bible scholar.
• One time pastor of Westminster Chapel in London (1904 to 1919),
• Used to say, “The Christians argument is not It is written.”
• “But it is written and again it is written and again it is written”
• The apostle Paul set before them one Old Testament scripture after another;
• Showing them again and again, that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah God.
THIRD: HE GAVE EVIDENCE.
• The nuance of this word communicates the idea;
• That he placed his own illustrations alongside Scripture to strengthen his argument.
Quote:
‘Windows that let in the light.’
Quote: Mark chapter 4 verse 34:
• NIV: “He did not say anything to them without using a parable”.
• GWT: “He did not speak to them without using an illustration”
FOURTH: HE ‘ANOUNCED’ OR PROCLAIMED.
“…that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead.”
• Paul was careful to announce ("preach") the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ,
• Which is the heart of the message of the gospel.
• The kernel inside the wheat.
His message was twofold:
• First: Christ died:
• ill: March 2010
• A five-year-old British boy has been kidnapped by armed robbers in Pakistan
• Sahil Saeed, from Oldham, Greater Manchester,
• Was abducted where his family were on holiday.
• The kidnappers demanded a ransom of about £100,000.
• Second: Christ rose again:
• ill: Dead people cannot help anyone.
Ill:
• David Seamands tells of a Muslim in Africa who became a Christian.
• When his friends asked him why he made that decision, he told them,
• “Suppose you were going down a road, and suddenly the road forked in two directions,
• And you didn’t know which way to go.
• Then you saw two men at the fork, one dead and one alive.
• Which one would you follow? I decided to follow the man who is alive.”
Quote: Dr. John R. W. Stott:
"Christianity is in its very essence a resurrection religion,"
"The concept of resurrection lies at its heart. If you remove it, Christianity is destroyed."
(3). Response and escape:
THE RESPONSE:
• As the result of three weeks’ ministry,
• Paul saw a mixed response to his message.
• ill: Like a magnet,
• Some people are drawn closer to Paul’s teaching and others are repelled by it.
• According to verse 4,
• Three groups are attracted to the gospel:
• "A large number" of Gentiles (non-Jews)
• "A number of the prominent women" responded,
• "Some" of the Jews are persuaded to follow Christ.
Ill:
• A Sunday school teacher asked one of her class to recite the books. of the N.T.
• She said, “it begins with Matthew and it ends with revolution”!
• Actually she wasn’t far off,
• Because Jesus Christ has the power to revolutionise your life.
• The message of Jesus can revolutionise a community, a city, a country.
• Look what Paul & Silas’s critics said in verse 6:
• NIV: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here”
• KJB: These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also;
• We don’t know if they said these words mockingly;
• After all there was no city wide revival in Thessalonica.
• Maybe they said them prophetically;
• Because 2,000 years after they were spoken;
• Christianity is now the world’s biggest religion, with about 2.1 billion followers worldwide
THE OPPOSITION (VS 5):
“But the Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd.”
• This was a tough situation for Paul, Silas and the Christians in Thessalonica.;
• Because preaching the gospel often provokes an angry reaction.
• Quote: “Preaching treason in the devils kingdom!”
Ill:
• John Wesley the founder of the Methodist movement;
• Used to ask his young men whom he had sent out to preach on probation two questions:
• “Has anyone been converted?” and “Did anyone get mad?”
• If the answer was “No,”
• He told them he did not think the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel,
• And sent them about their business.
• He believed that when we preach and the Holy Spirit was at work (convicting of sin);
• People are either converted or they don’t like what they hear and they get mad.
Ill:
A page from John Wesley’s Diary reads as follows:
• Sunday morning, May 5, preached in St. Ann’s,
• Was asked not to come back anymore.
• Sunday p.m., May 5, preached at St. John’s, deacons said, "Get out and stay out."
• Sunday a.m., May 12, preached at St. Jude’s, can’t go back there either.
• Sunday p.m., May 12, preached at St. George’s, kicked out again.
• Sunday a.m., May 19, preached at St. somebody else’s,
• Deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t return.
• Sunday p.m., May 19, preached on the street,
• Kicked off the street.
• Sunday a.m., May 26, preached in meadow,
• Chased out of meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services.
• Sunday a.m., June 2, preached out at the edge of town,
• Kicked off the highway.
• Sunday p.m., June 2, afternoon service, preached in a pasture,
• 10,000 people came to hear me.
The message of Jesus Christ often divides:
• There are those who believe;
• And there are those who oppose.
• That was the case in Thessalonica;
• Verse 5b tells us that those who opposed the message caused a riot.
Quote: Tony Campolo:
• “After the apostles preached they caused a riot,
• After I preach people are given a cup of tea!”
Listen:
• I am not asking you to riot this morning if you don’t like the message;
• But please don’t be lethargic and languid with what you hear.
Verses 6-8:
“But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting: "These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus." 8When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil”
• Easily manipulated by public opinion,
• The city authorities accept the false accusations.
• Employing the same tactic the Pharisees used against Jesus (see Luke 23:1-2),
• The Jewish leaders accused the missionaries of high treason.
• They even said these believers in Jesus had "upset the world";
• An exaggeration that actually rings with an element of truth.
• Christianity was upsetting the world,
• Not by turning people upside down, but by turning them right side up.
Verses 8-9:
• With no day in court, the missionaries are pronounced guilty.
• Apparently, Jason’s only way to protect their lives;
• As well as the future of the Thessalonian church;
• Is to sign an agreement guaranteeing that the missionaries would leave and never return.
• This satisfies the crowd,
• So that when they had received a pledge from Jason and the others, they released them.
Verse 10:
“As soon as it was night, the brothers sent Paul and Silas away to Berea”
In conclusion:
• I started my sermon with the words of American Larry Walters,
• Who said in a different context the words: “You can’t just sit there.”
• Followed by the words of a Mercedes Benz spokesman:
• "Because some things in life are too important not to share."
• Paul, Silas & the believers in Thessalonica put their lives at risk to share this message;
• Christian – are you prepared to put your reputation at risk?
• "Because some things in life are too important not to share."
Ill:
• Penn & Teller are American TV stars;
• Whose act is an amalgam of illusion and comedy.
• Penn has a blog, a web page which is his video diary;
• I want to show you an entry from his diary
• (email me if you would like a copy of this dvd clip – gcurley@gcurley.info)
• Now it is not brilliant quality;
• But it is very challenging!
