TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
Acts 17:1-10
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Good bye, Dad!
1. Did you hear about the young man who was walking around a supermarket and everywhere he went an old man seemed to be shadowing him? Finally he went to the checkout line, but the old man got in line in front of him.
2. The old man said: “Excuse me if my staring at you has made you feel uncomfortable. It's just that you look just like my son who died recently."
3. The young man replied: "I'm very sorry, is there anything I can do for you?" "Yes, as I'm leaving the store, can you say, 'Good bye, Dad!'? It would make me feel so much better." The young man answered: "Sure!"
4. Moments later, as the old man was leaving, the young man waved and said, "Goodbye, Dad!" Then as he stepped up to pay for his groceries, he saw that his total was $298.
5. "How can that be?" he asked, "I only purchased a few things!" The clerk answered: "Your dad said that you were paying for his too!"
B. TEXT
17 “…they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 2 Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus whom I preach to you is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded; and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women, joined Paul and Silas. 5 But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too. 7 Jason has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, saying there is another king—Jesus.” 10 Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
C. THESIS: COMPARISON, THEN & TODAY
1. The Bible describes a Christianity that was so strong that it conquered every idea and every culture that it contacted. Cities and nations were turned upside down. People were willing to die the most gruesome deaths for it, or to lose their property and possessions.
2. A supernatural power was loose among them that healed the sick, drove out demons, twice blinded its opponents and made hypocrites fall dead on the spot. Within one generation, only by word of mouth, everyone within the known limits of civilization was reached with the Gospel! Incredible!
3. What a contrast with the Christianity of today, which can’t break the American culture, struggles with worldliness, and knows little of the miraculous.
4. In the United States, Christianity is projected to decline 10% by 2050. Something’s obviously wrong with American Christianity.
5. Part of the answer is internal while part of it is external. The title of this message is “Turning the World Upside Down.”
I. OVERTURNING WORLDS IS NORMAL
A. IT’S GOD’S SERVANT’S JOB DESCRIPTION
1. As the Thessalonians unbelievers saw Paul & Silas coming to town, they said, “Oh no! Here come those guys who’ve turned the world upside down!”
2. Everywhere the apostles went the natural order of things was upset. Why? Were they doing something wrong? Uncivil? No! It was because they boldly spoke the truth!
3. Elijah the prophet was another one labelled (by King Ahab) as a ‘Disturber of the Peace.’ 1 Kg. 18:7.
4. Disturbing the Peace is usually a bad thing. Laws are passed against almost anything people don’t want you doing. Getting loud, getting in the way, bothering them, etc.
5. But sometimes it’s very good to D.T.P., esp. if the people in peace are in danger. The world is in a false peace; they don’t know they’re displeasing God and are under His wrath. It’s our duty to warn them, to sound the alarm!
6. Jesus Himself said He didn’t come to ‘bring peace, but a sword.’ He often confronted people: a). the Woman at the Well; b). Zaccheaus; c). Nicodemus; d). the Man Born blind; and others.
B. BECAUSE OUR WORLD IS UPSIDE DOWN: GOD IS TRYING TO GET THE WORLD’S ATTENTION
1. I remember the story about a farmer driving along on his wagon with his dog beside him on the front seat. The horse slipped and the wagon rolled down the steep bank.
2. After a few minutes, the sheriff rode up. He saw that the dog had been crushed; he pulled his gun and shot. He went to the horse; both legs were broken, so he shot it too.
3. The sheriff came to the injured farmer, still holding his smoking gun. "How do you feel" he asked? The farmer looked at the gun and said, "I've never felt better in my life!"
II. OVERTURNING WORLDS IS NECESSARY
A. OTHERWISE THINGS STAY THE SAME
1. In Science, Newton’s Second Law of Motion states, “Everything remains in a state of rest unless it is compelled to change by forces impressed upon it.” This is true of people. It means they won’t change unless some outside force presses that change upon them.
2. God spoke to me the other day and told me that what’s needed is for God’s people to “Stick their necks out.” The actual definition for “sticking your neck out” is to “risk incurring criticism or anger by acting or speaking boldly.”
3. The success of the Early Church was that they upset the natural order of things; they disturbed the false peace; they spoke up boldly. They got people’s attention to God.
B. WE MUST STICK OUR NECKS OUT
1. If you want to see your family members saved, you have to stick your neck out! If you want your community to be impacted for the Gospel, you have to stick your neck out!
2. You cannot keep quiet; you can’t ignore the problem. You can’t go on being polite and politically correct. You have to break some taboos.
3. You may have to offend some people. You may have to make them mad. You have to tell them what they don’t want to hear. You may have to take a leap of faith! Try something you’ve never tried.
C. ILLUSTRATION OF A REVOLUTIONARY
1. Rodolfo Loyola was born in Camagüey, Cuba in 1928. He came to Christ when he was 24 years old when a woman evangelist shared the gospel with him.
2. In 1968, Rodolfo was the professor of literature at a Cuban university and also a local pastor. The Cuban government instructed him to either abandon his faith or quit teaching school.
3. They gave him 15 days to decide. Loyola replied, "I don't need 15 days. I don't need 15 minutes. I won't be back to teach tomorrow." Several days later, in the middle of the night, he was abducted and imprisoned in a Cuban concentration camp for over two years.
4. In the camp Loyola was sent to, he won the inmates around him to Christ. He caused such a stir in the concentration camp, they transferred him 13 times in 2 years!
5. In 1970, Castro's government told him that he had 30 days to find two thousand dollars to take his family out of Cuba. He and his wife prayed for guidance, writing to family and friends in other countries.
6. Thirty days later, there was two thousand and ten dollars. So with ten dollars in his pocket, Loyola and his family were sent to Spain where he joyfully exclaimed that he was a missionary to Spain sent by Castro!
III. HOW YOU CAN OVERTURN OTHER’S WORLDS
A. HAVE YOUR OWN WORLD OVERTURNED
1. Each of the early believers had had their own personal revolution with Jesus Christ. Jesus had taken over!
2. Why necessary?
a. “For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lewdness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness. All these evil things come from within and defile a man” Mk. 7:21-23.
b. “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked; who can know it?” Jer. 17:9.
3. Only the Blood of Jesus can cleanse it. Only a recreation by the Holy Spirit make you new. Jesus said “You must be Born Again!” The New Nature of Christ must be implanted into you and that new nature will grow into the image of Christ.
4. “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new” 2 Cor. 5:17. It is Christ in you, the hope of glory.
5. Jesus begins to change:
a. What’s Important to you;
b. How you see things (worldview);
c. The Laws you live by;
d. How you treat others;
e. What you do with your money, time, talents.
B. KEEP YOUR EXPERIENCE CURRENT
1. ILLUSTRATION
a. One older man had had a wonderful experience 25 years ago. He wrote it all down & titled it “My Blessed Experience.” When people visited he would get it and read a portion of it.
b. One time, when visitors came over, he asked his wife to retrieve “His Blessed Experience” book from an upstairs dresser.
c. His wife returned and said, “I’m sorry, dear, but mice got in that drawer and ate up your ‘Blessed Experience.’ Maybe it’s time you got a fresh, new experience!”
2. ILLUSTRATION
a. In one of D.L. Moody’s evangelistic meetings, a man stood and bragged, “I have been for five years on a Mount of Transfiguration experience….”
b. Moody interrupted him, “How many people have you led to Christ in the last year?” “Well, I don’t know.” Moody, said, “Have you led any?” The man answered, “No.”
c. Moody concluded, “Then we don’t want that type of mountaintop experience. When a man gets so high that he can’t reach down & save poor sinners, there is something wrong.” [Methodist Recorder]
C. DISTURBING TO SAVE A LIFE
1. On Thursday a man in Florida was burning books and started a wildfire that eventually burned up 10 homes and 700 acres.
2. There are many stories of people who had to be awakened in the middle of the night to save them from being burned alive.
3. If you lived in Florida, and at 2 o’clock in the morning, if you heard a noise, got up, looked out your window, and saw the woods around you on fire and could tell the fire was going to sweep over your neighbor’s house, what would you do?
4. Would you stand there and debate, “I’m sure they wouldn’t want me to:
a. wake them out of a sound asleep;
b. they’d have to run out in their pajamas;
c. they might be embarrassed by all the fire trucks, news trucks, and cameras everywhere. I DON’T THINK I SHOULD DISTURB THEM!”
5. Would that be the right and loving thing to do? No! The loving thing would be to run over, break their door down, yell “Fire!”, run upstairs, turn on the lights, and wake them so they can get out.
6. In an emergency, the rules of etiquette are different than all other situations.
7. Confronting a lost person with their need for salvation is the most loving, caring, compassionate thing we can do, and our responsibility should over-ride our timidity.
8. Some day we will be glad we broke a few taboos when we meet people in heaven we helped bring to Jesus!
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION
1. Some Africans were getting on a river boat carrying in their hands sacks and baskets of vegetables. They were going to market.
2. One of them slipped and fell into the water, which was icy. She grabbed for the side of the boat and held on until her fingers became numb. Finally she could hold on no longer and sank beneath the turgid waters.
3. Not one native made a move to rescue her. They were stonily indifferent to her cries for help.
4. When the boat captain learned what had happened, he swore and cursed at the heartless natives. “Why didn’t you reach down and lift her from the water?” he asked. They replied in unison, “If we had, what would have become of our fruits and vegetables?”
5. Before we pass judgment on these cruel benighted heathen, let us do a bit of soul-searching about ourselves! 6. All around us are those who are going into eternity without God. What are we doing about it? Are we so caught up in our jobs and lives that we don’t have time to tell them how to be saved? It’s no different!
B. THE CALL
1. There was a day when Jesus turned my world upside down. Can you point to such an event in your life? If you can’t, then you need to let Jesus do a saving and recreating work in your life. How many want that? Raise your hands.
2. Christians, when was the last time you led a person to Christ? Is your experience current? Are you walking with the Lord? Do you need to start over again with Jesus? You can do that in a moment as we pray.
3. To all others, do you know someone who needs Jesus and that you can speak to about Christ? Which day this week can you speak to them? Let’s pray for them right now and ask God to give you boldness and help their heart be prepared for your witness.
4. Prayer for salvation (repent, wash in Blood), a new walk with Jesus in relationship, and prayer for that person we will witness to this week.
