Be a world changer
Acts 17:1-9
Introduction
LAST WEEK: We are called to have a common purpose in what we do
-- The purpose is to worship, to love, and to celebrate Christ and share Him always
-- That is our challenge, mission, and it is STILL where we find ourselves today
This week we actually have a two part message which will conclude next week
Most will agree that Paul was a unique man; one who stood apart from others
-- Paul in my opinion is a behemoth of a man; a man on a destined mission
-- He was not swayed by public opinion nor worried about what others thought
APP: Paul understood that Grace was the key to life; for it had been shown to him
What do we know about this man many challenged and listened to?
-- He was Jewish by birth and a roman citizen
-- He lived in the city of Tarsus and parents were well off (re: Paul’s education)
-- His life was dedicated to studying the Law of Abraham
-- Most likely a member of the Sanhedrin and was a chief persecutor
Then, his entire life changed when he met Jesus Christ (Acts Ch 9)
-- God called him out of his life and into that of a missionary
-- This calling forever changed his direction and truly transformed his life
Paul was, without a doubt, a man who changed the world!!
Read Acts 17:1-9
TRANS: What does it take to be a world changer? 3 things needed today …
Point 1 – Integrity
Luke tells us (v.4) that Paul’s preaching was successful in Thessalonica.
-- “Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women.”
These were Gentiles drawn to morality & monotheism (one God) of the faith
-- They could never actually become Jews, but they were Jews from a distance
-- APP: The people of that day were looking for something “real” … just as your family, co-workers, neighbors are!
This world in which Christianity was conceived was a world of total immorality
-- Slavery was a universally accepted system
-- Homosexuality was rampant
-- Sexual permissiveness was the rule of the day
-- Prostitution & all forms of sexual immorality were a major part of religion
-- Human life was cheap & pleasure was primary
-- THEN, into world of immorality Christianity introduced: integrity
No wonder these Christians were causing trouble in their world.
-- They were doing something that had been forgotten in that pagan culture.
-- They were living lives of integrity and people didn’t know how to react to it.
-- 1 Thess. 1:9 tells us that these Christians had “turned to God from idols to serve the living & true God.”
D.L. Moody said that you can tell a person’s character by what they do in the dark
- “The measure of a man’s real character is what he would do if he knew he would never be found out.”
In recent years we’ve seen a lot of examples of suffering from a lack of integrity
-- Coaches have been fired, preachers failed to stand, respected politicians exposed
-- We’ve become a nation that doesn’t know what the word “integrity” means
IMP: When we refuse to live by the truth, then we are not living the kind of life that will be approved by God.
-- We must live lives of integrity so non-Christians will see Who we serve!
Transition: The 2nd key ingredient of the church at Thessalonica was:
Point 2 – Intensity
The accusation hurled at the Thessalonian Christians, & Paul & Silas implies this
Why else would they be accused of causing “trouble all over the world” if they were not intense in their commitment to Christ?
We know that the intensity of the Thessalonian church didn’t die down
-- 1 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 anything.”
-- These Christians had a faith that was so intense that their reputation was known
We see the same spirit in Peter & John before the Sanhedrin
-- Acts 4:19-20, “But Peter and John replied, “Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges! As for us, we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
-- They preached Christ crucified, & Christ risen, & Christ available to all
We must recover this spirit of intensity in our churches today
-- We have too many members at ease, comfortable; not changed or afflicted
-- Too many preachers w/o a message to proclaim; lukewarm evangelism
-- Too many church leaders mired in mediocrity; let’s go along to get along
-- We have too many people who have lost their intensity; no more fire in belly
So? To the world, the message heard so often from churches today is:
-- “Let’s not do anything to bring attention to ourselves”
-- “Let’s not get involved in anything controversial”
-- “Let’s not take a stand politically”
-- “Let’s not do anything to trouble the waters”
-- APP: By proclaiming this message of non-involvement, what we’re really saying is, “Shhhhhh … we don’t want to be world-changers.”
Jesus said in Matthew 11:12, “From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subjected to violence and violent people have been raiding it.”
-- BIG APP: To be a world-changer for Jesus Christ I have to get out into the world & let them know what I believe if I ever expect them to join me in my cause.
TRANS: The last key to the church at Thessalonica was its involvement
Point 3 – Involvement
Paul & his companions were willing to be involved in the lives of these folks
Jason (v6) was willing to get involved by welcoming these Christian leaders into his home (even though he knew it could mean trouble for him)
There are a lot of things that we would like to see happen in our church and in our world that are not going to happen unless we all get personally involved.
-- There are too many armchair quarterbacks & backseat drivers in the church
-- Everybody knows what everybody else ought to be doing
-- This is the danger of complacency and we must be alerted to it and combat it
C. We, like the Thessalonians, need people to be involved in our church.
- We need you to help us in our attempt to build the kingdom of God.
Illustration: There was once a man who always seemed to bring home a boatload of fish. It was uncanny, & people wondered how he could be so successful. Another man heard of this man’s great success & asked to go w/him. The two men started early one morning & went across the lake to a secluded area, way out from shore. The warden noticed that the man didn’t have a fishing pole, just a net & a rusty old tackle box. When they got to the appointed place, the fisherman opened up the box and pulled out a stick of dynamite -- lit it -- and tossed it into the water. It blew up and the fish rose to the surface. The fisherman began dipping his net into the water and putting the fish in the boat. The man then reached back & revealed from his hip pocket the credentials of a game warden! Calmly, the fisherman opened the tackle box again, got out another stick of dynamite, lit the fuse & handed it to the game warden. Then, as the fuse burned down, the fisherman asked, “Well, are you going to fish or are you just going to sit there?”
Big Idea
1. Is that not the question we must be asking of ourselves?
-- We have the most powerful force ever known in our world
-- The message of a resurrected Savior -- are we going to fish or just sit there?
-- To carry out the work of Christ & to communicate the work of Christ, we must be personally involved in the church.
-- To continue the witness of Christ & to conform to the will of Christ, we as a church must be involved in the world.
At the end of his life, Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 4:7, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.”
Pray
