ACTS
Pursuing The Call – Part 3
Dr. Tom Bartlett
JUNE 23, 2019
Acts 17:1-15
OUTLINE
TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
A call to influence your world will include. . .
MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. . .”
PASSIONATE PERSUADING
“. . . explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
BIG CHALLENGES
And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
STEADY VIGILANCE
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
GODLY WISDOM
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
MANUSCRIPT
Good morning and welcome to Steele Creek Church, Eastfield Campus. My name is Tom Bartlett, I’m one of the pastors here.
Now I have a confession to make. I’m easily influenced by television ads. No matter what it is, if the commercial is good enough, I WANT IT. I’ve been known to see some gooey desert on a cheesy commercial and run out and get it after seeing the commercial.
Now, I gave this sneaking suspicion that I’m not alone here. If I were, none of you would be wearing designer clothes, and none of the teens would have sir Jordan’s and Yezzies, and gauche.
We are all susceptible to ads and the influence they bring concerning their products. The ad paints a story about how you can’t live without this product, how no one will even talk to you, love you, notice you, marry you, unless you have this new milk-shake at sonic!
We are easily influenced!
TURNING THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN
In our journey through the book of Acts, we come to a remarkable part f the story of Paul’s missionary journeys. He was an influencer for the kingdom of God and everywhere he went the place was never the same.
Actually, people accused him of upsetting the entire world.
Now imagine you’ve known one thing for your whole life about religion, and that one thing is that you’re supposed to worship an idol and pray to it and treat it and act like it’s alive somehow. Then, someone comes along and says, no that’s not the way, in fact there is a God and He’s not some dead cold carved image. He’s a loving He wants nothing more than a relationship with His creation – YOU.
You’re hearing these words, at the same time this inner voice is telling you, this is true. You’re motivated to learn more and you’re intrigued by it all. Soon, you’re no longer worshiping at the local pagan worship centers, their losing your business, and you’re experiencing a peace that you’re never known before.
At tis point, it’s easy to say that your world has been turned upside down. I’d say from my perspective that it’s now as it should be and right side up!
TO A WORLD THAT IS UPSIDE DOWN, ANYTHING RIGHT SIDE UP APPEARS TO BE UPSIDE DOWN.
Paul continues His journey, not without peril and without opposition, none-the-less he continues and the world is changed because of him.
Let’s pick it up in chapter 17, verse 1.
A call to influence your world will include. . .
MEANINGFUL RELATIONSHIPS
“Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. . .”
Notice it says, three sabbath days, that means Paul was probably around for up to a month working with and explaining to these folks who would listen.
You will never change your family, your office, our business, your world, without spending time with others. The investment of time is the greatest message of care you can give.
Kids spell love T.I.M.E.
Taking time to know someone is a gift. It opens them up to have faith in you because you care for them.
Paul, as he would do headed straight for a synagogue and met people who truly wanted to know God. He would explain over time, I’m sure addressing their concerns and fears and confusions.
The Bible doesn’t say that Paul brought his own opinion but “reasoned with them from the scriptures.”
At the end of the day, the best advice you can give someone is not your words, but God’s.
Your influence will cost you your time. It will also include. . .
PASSIONATE PERSUADING
The text says, “he reasoned with them from the Scriptures.”
“. . . explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
The death of Jesus Christ was not some cosmic mishap, some fluke that God seemed to overlook. Satan didn’t take God off-guard, on the contrary, THE DEATH OF JESUS HAD BEEN THE PLAN OF GOD FROM ALL TIME.
When you know the truth, and its reality affects those around you, you will help them see it, but unless you’re passionate about it, you won’t be convincing.
What was Paul passionate about? He was passionate about this discovery of truth, that Jesus is written about all over the Old Testament and that Jesus is the one the Jews had looked for, for so long.
The scriptures says that some of these people, influential people Paul talked with were persuaded to believe by Paul’s message to them.
Now, if someone can talk you into something, someone else can talk you out of it. That’s not what’s happening here. YOU SEE A LIFE CHANGING ENCOUTNER WITH GOD NEVER LEAVES YOU THE SAME.
No talked Paul into this, this wasn’t shifty used car salesman tactic. Paul literally saw the light and these people were seeing it now too.
How about you? Ever really come to understand he importance of Jesus, and His life and death? Have you been persuaded by the scriptures and that still small voice within you?
Now, influencing the world will also lead to big challenges. We can see from these verses that people weren’t having that warm and friendly feeling about Paul and his message.
BIG CHALLENGES
No one likes their way of life upset. They look for Paul and Silas but couldn’t find them, but they did find some guy named Jason.
Their accusation? The influence of these men have up-ended our way of life! THEY HAVE TURNED THE WORLD UPSIDE DOWN.
And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
So what’s the accusation?
1. That they were inciting a riot – actually the mob did that
2. They were claiming that there was another King – Jesus. They did do that.
This claim of another earthly king would be the very reason Paul would be executed eventually. The Romans took seriously any threat to the throne.
So, is the truth worth it? Is it worth your life? There will be big challenges in influencing this community. Most will think your crazy, or just trying to upset their way of life, or community, etc.
INFLUENCERS KNOW THE COST.
As we continue in the passage, we see another key. Influencers have a steady vigilance.
STEADY VIGILANCE
No one should walk in here week after week and take what I say without some inspection. I don’t do it, neither should you. When I listen to my preacher, my mind is always on guard to line up what’s being said to what The Bible says. I don’t care who’s preaching.
So Paul and his team were sent to Berea.
The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue. Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
The Bereans were eager to hear Paul and they were excited about the message, but they didn’t let their excitement run wild without inspection of what they were being taught. It says that daily they examined the scriptures to see if what Paul was saying was true.
Suppose I tell you that the story of the Wizard of Oz a classic movie was really about political tensions between the Southern agricultural community and the Northern industrial effort and that each of the main characters represented differing aspects of that phenomenon.
Dorothy: Thought to represent the American people or values
Tin Woodman: Thought to represent the industrial workers who were often dehumanized
Scarecrow: Thought to represent the Western farmers
Cowardly Lion: Thought to represent William Jennings Bryan, a politician from the later 1800s who supported the free silver movement.
Munchkins: Thought to represent little people, or the common folk.
Cyclone: The tornado was thought to represent political upheaval, or the free silver movement.
Silver Slippers: Silver relates to the monetary political issues
Yellow Brick Road: Represented the gold standard, such as a brick of gold
Oz : “Oz” is an a weight measure, often associated with gold
Now, I may have just made that up, or you can go investigate it.
If Paul says, the story of Jonah was a picture of Jesus, the Bereans would take the stories and lay them next to each other. They would read Jonah and see if it is true. Of course, they found out that it is.
A little girl was talking to her teacher about whales.
The teacher said it was physically impossible for a whale to swallow a human because even though it was a very large mammal its throat was very small.
The little girl stated that Jonah was swallowed by a whale.
Irritated, the teacher reiterated that a whale could not swallow a human; it was physically impossible.
The little girl said, "When I get to heaven I will ask Jonah."
The teacher asked, "What if Jonah went to hell?"
The little girl replied, "Then you ask him."
Which leads me to my final point. . . Changing the world around you locally and for us to change the world globally will take godly wisdom.
GODLY WISDOM
To think it through is a God-given gift. Paul had completed his work in that area and before the mob could cut short his ministry, they left.
But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
BANGALORE – potential arrest and us leaving the area.
We are in a war, not a single battle. Be strategic, be gracious, but be wise. Seek God and His direction.
TIME OF COMMITMENT
