GOOD TROUBLE
Text: Acts 17:1–9 (Key verses 6–7)
Theme Refrain: God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed!
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INTRODUCTION: THE CALL TO NECESSARY TROUBLE
Church, I want to begin with the words of a modern prophet of justice—Congressman John Lewis. He carried courage in one hand and conviction in the other. He said:
“Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble.”
When he said that, he was not calling us to become reckless or hateful. He called us to become faithful. There is trouble that destroys and trouble that delivers. There is bad trouble and Good Trouble.
And here is what the church must remember: we often define peace as the absence of conflict. But in the Kingdom of God, peace is not the absence of conflict—it is the presence of justice. Sometimes peace requires disruption. Sometimes healing requires confrontation. Sometimes deliverance requires the church to disturb what is destroying the people.
Today, I challenge you: don’t settle for comfort. Be the faithful ones who let the Gospel disturb darkness, expose lies, and turn communities right-side up. Step out and let your commitment spark change.
And there is a truth the church needs to receive today—especially in a time when many feel outnumbered, overwhelmed, and intimidated: it doesn’t take a lot of people to share the Gospel and transform a city. God has never depended on a crowd to change history. God has always used a faithful few.
So let me say it again, because somebody needs this in their spirit: God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed! Through history, God has used a faithful few to change nations. Today, let’s discover what it means to be among that committed few.
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THE SETUP: THESSALONICA GETS SHAKEN—BY A FEW
Acts 17 opens with Paul and Silas walking into Thessalonica. Not an army. Not a choir tour. Not a conference. Just two men on assignment.
They go straight to the synagogue. Paul reasons with them from the Scriptures—opening the Word, explaining the Word, proving from the Word that the Messiah had to suffer and rise, and that Jesus is that Messiah.
Some believe. The Gospel starts taking root. And whenever the Gospel starts taking root, something always starts shaking.
Because the Gospel doesn’t just save individuals; it threatens systems. It doesn’t just change hearts; it confronts idols.
It doesn’t just inspire private spirituality; it introduces public truth.
And when Jesus becomes the center, the enemy never stays calm—he starts gathering a crowd.
THE CONTRAST: TWO CROWDS, TWO SPIRITS
Now, in order for me to preach this text effectively, I need to point out to you that Luke shows us:
two crowds operating in the same city,
two spirits competing for influence,
Two movements are colliding in the street.
1. THE MOB OF THE MARKETPLACE (Acts 17:5)
Acts 17:5 says they were moved by jealousy. And jealousy is not a small sin—it’s a controlling sin. Jealousy is the fear of losing position. Jealousy is insecurity that cannot tolerate change. Jealousy doesn’t ask honest questions; it forms angry conclusions. Jealousy doesn’t seek truth; it seeks power.
So they pulled “wicked men from the marketplace,” formed a mob, and set the city in an uproar. That is not revival—that’s a riot. That is not conviction—that’s a tantrum. That is not righteousness—that’s fear with religious language.
And church, that marketplace mob spirit is not locked in the first century. It still shows up whenever people feel threatened by truth, threatened by justice, threatened by the liberation the Gospel brings.
It shows up today in the way some try to weaponize Christianity—using the name of Jesus not to carry a cross, but to protect control. One of the modern expressions of that same spirit is what many call White Christian Nationalism—a distortion of Christianity that confuses the Kingdom of God with national power, and tries to make faith a tool of domination instead of deliverance.
And I need to be clear: the Gospel of Jesus Christ cannot be reduced to an ethnic hierarchy, a political mascot, or a national idol. Anything that uses the Cross to justify hatred, exclusion, or supremacy is not Christianity—it is counterfeit religion wearing Christian vocabulary.
This describes the mob of the marketplace—motivated by jealousy and fear, standing in stark contrast to the Messiah's movement.
But Acts 17 shows us something else.
2. THE MOVEMENT OF THE MESSIAH (Acts 17:6–9)
Paul and Silas are not a mob. They’re a movement—the Movement of the Messiah. They are not fueled by jealousy; they are fueled by calling. They are not driven by fear; they are driven by faith. They are not trying to dominate people; they are trying to deliver people.
And notice this: there weren’t many, but they were effective.
Two men walked in, and the testimony was:
“These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also.” (Acts 17:6)
That means the city didn’t need a crowd to be impacted. It took a few committed witnesses.
And right here is where I need to drop the refrain into your spirit again: God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed!
Now this Movement of the Messiah shows up in three Kingdom forces—three movements inside the movement:
Provocation. Proclamation. Preservation.
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GIDEON BRIDGE (JUDGES 7)
And church, this isn’t new. God has been doing this all through the Bible. Before Paul and Silas ever stepped into Thessalonica, God stepped into Gideon’s camp in Judges 7. Gideon thought he needed a crowd, but God told him, “You’ve got too many.” God started cutting the numbers—32,000 down to 10,000, and then 10,000 down to 300.
Why would God shrink an army? Because God wanted the victory to be undeniable. God wanted everybody to know this wasn’t human strength—this was divine power. And I’m telling you today, God still works the same way. God still specializes in using the few. God still proves it’s not about how many you have—it’s about Who you have with you.
If you’ve been feeling outnumbered, here’s your good news: when God is with the few, the few are enough. That’s why I say confidently—God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed!
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I. GOOD TROUBLE PROVOKES
It disrupts the status quo (The Provocation)
Text: Acts 17:6 — “These men who have turned the world upside down…”
Paul and Silas didn’t blend in—they broke in. The accusation wasn’t that they were confused. The accusation wasn’t that they were weak. The accusation was that they were effective.
The mob is basically saying, “They are disturbing our normal.” But sometimes what we call normal is simply what we’ve learned to tolerate. Sometimes the “peace” of a city is only peace for those in power, while others live under pressure.
Good Trouble is what happens when the church refuses to “keep the peace” if that peace is built on oppression.
Bad trouble is when you disrupt for ego, anger, or gain.
Good trouble is when you disrupt because the current order is sinful, broken, or unjust.
And the church has to hear this question without flinching: if our Christianity never challenges anything—never confronts injustice, never disturbs oppression, never calls sin what it is—then are we carrying a cross, or are we just carrying a reputation?
Modern Provocation Example: Worship that refuses silence
There have been moments when Black churches have used worship as witness—moments when pastors and choirs chose to visually lament, to name the pain, to preach with pastoral honesty about violence, profiling, and the suffering of our communities. Not because the church loves spectacle, but because the church loves people.
Because the Gospel will provoke a conscience. It will force a question: Who is our God—the God of domination, or the God who hears the cry of the oppressed?
And here is what encourages me: it didn’t take a million churches to start telling the truth. It took a few courageous pulpits. A few committed voices. A few faithful witnesses.
That is why I keep repeating the refrain: God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed!
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But Good Trouble doesn’t only disrupt what is wrong. It must declare what is right. It cannot stop at provocation—it must move into proclamation. Because the church is not only called to expose darkness, we are called to announce the King.
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II. GOOD TROUBLE PROCLAIMS
It declares a higher authority (The Proclamation)
Text: Acts 17:7 — “…saying there is another king, Jesus.”
Now we reach the nerve of the text.
The mob was not truly upset because Paul was spiritual. They were upset because Paul was dangerous. Because Paul didn’t preach a message that could be safely contained inside private devotion. He preached a message that challenged public power.
They said, “They’re acting against the decrees of Caesar,” because they were preaching something Rome could not tolerate:
There is another King—Jesus.
This is not just a religious statement. This is a lordship statement. This is a throne statement. This is a kingdom announcement. When you say Jesus is King, you automatically confront every false king—every idol, every empire, every ideology that tries to sit where only Christ belongs.
And this is why counterfeit Christianity is so deadly: it tries to crown Caesar with Christian language. It tries to blend Jesus into the machinery of domination. But the Gospel will not be used like that. Jesus is not a mascot. The Cross is not a political prop. The Kingdom of God is not identical to any nation-state.
So when White Christian Nationalism tries to present itself as “faith,” the church must proclaim the truth: Jesus does not endorse supremacy. Jesus does not baptize hatred. Jesus does not command domination. Jesus reigns through sacrifice, truth, and love.
Modern Proclamation Example: Calling idolatry what it is
Good Trouble proclamation is when churches publicly name the distortion for what it is—a form of idolatry—and insist that the Christian identity is anchored in Christ, not in race, not in nationalism, not in the worship of power.
And do not miss “the few” theme in this text: it didn’t take a national campaign to shake Thessalonica. It took two witnesses to say one sentence: “There is another King—Jesus.”
That’s why the church must stop underestimating what God can do through a few committed disciples who refuse to bow to Caesar.
Once again: God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed!
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Now here is the reality: provocation gets you noticed. A proclamation gets you targeted. But the third movement—the one that proves whether we are serious—is preservation. Because Good Trouble doesn’t just speak; it stands. Good Trouble doesn’t just declare; it defends.
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III. GOOD TROUBLE PRESERVES
It pays the price for others (The Preservation)
Text: Acts 17:9 — “And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest…”
Jason didn’t preach the sermon. Jason simply opened his home. And for that, he paid. He got dragged into the trouble because he offered hospitality to the Gospel. That’s the part many people skip: Good Trouble is communal. It spreads to whoever stands near the truth. It costs whoever opens the door.
And there is something powerful here: Paul and Silas were few, and Jason was one. But God used that small number to shake a city. That is how God moves—through one house, one yes, and a few faithful people.
Modern Preservation Examples: protecting dignity at a cost
This is where the Black Church has historically stood with clarity: the church preserves the vulnerable. It defends dignity. It refuses erasure.
This is the spirit behind voter engagement and “Souls to the Polls”—not worshiping politics, but insisting that people made in the image of God are not to be silenced or pushed aside.
This is the spirit behind sanctuary and support—standing with families under pressure, advocating for those targeted, and providing tangible care when systems fail.
This is the spirit behind feeding ministries, mutual aid, crisis relief, and advocacy—because preservation means the church becomes a shield, not just a stage.
And yes, it costs. Preservation costs reputation. Preservation costs comfort. Preservation costs convenience. Preservation costs money. But if it costs nothing, it may not be conviction.
Still, even when it costs, the church must remember what Acts 17 proves: it doesn’t take a crowd to preserve a community. It takes committed people who refuse to abandon the vulnerable.
So I say it again with pastoral certainty: God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed!
CONCLUSION: JESUS + THE FEW
And now I’m landing this message right here: Jesus is the ultimate Good Troublemaker.
He overturned tables. He healed on the Sabbath. He ate with sinners. He exposed hypocrisy. He confronted religious performance that ignored human suffering. Everywhere Jesus went, He disturbed what was destroying people. He provoked. He proclaimed. He preserved.
And the world tried to silence Him.
They crucified Him, thinking they were ending the movement. But early Sunday morning, He got up. And the resurrection is God’s announcement that death doesn’t get the last word, oppression doesn’t get the last word, and hatred doesn’t get the last word.
And here is the final word for the church today: you may feel outnumbered, but you are not outpowered. You may feel like you’re only a few, but when God is with the few, the few become enough.
So don’t wait until you have more people to do God’s work. Don’t wait until you have more money to do God’s will. Don’t wait until you have more approval to speak God’s truth. Acts 17 proves it doesn’t take a lot to share the Gospel and transform a city.
It takes a few who will provoke the conscience, proclaim the King, and preserve the vulnerable.
Because, once again, God doesn’t need a crowd—He needs the committed!
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So when the world tells you to sit down, you stand up anyway. When the culture tells you to stay quiet, you speak with holy boldness. When the system tries to convince you that you’re too small to matter, you remember that God has never needed a crowd to change a city—He only needs the committed. The same God who used Gideon’s 300 is the same God who used Paul and Silas to shake Thessalonica, and He can use you right now. And even if the mob gets loud, even if the city gets stirred, even if they call it trouble—let them talk, because we know what it is: the Kingdom breaking in. And when they ask what makes you so unmovable, so different, so dangerous—tell them the truth Luke recorded: There is another King—Jesus.
And I came to tell Thessalonica… and I came to tell America…
You can crown Caesar… but you can’t cancel Christ!
You can politicize the pulpit… but you can’t dethrone the Deliverer!
You can rally a mob… but you can’t stop the Movement!
Because there is another King…
Yes… There is another King…
He’s the Conquering King…
He’s the Coming King…
He’s the Covenant King…
He’s the Compassionate King…
He’s the Cross-Carrying King…
He’s the Chain-Breaking King…
He’s the Crowd-Defying King…
And His name is—
JESUS!
He’s the Burden-Bearing Jesus…
the Battle-Winning Jesus…
the Bread-Providing Jesus…
the Body-Healing Jesus…
the Bondage-Breaking Jesus…
I’m talking about the One who can take a few…
and shake a whole city…
take two witnesses…
and turn the world upside down…
Take Gideon’s 300…
and send the enemy running!
Because there is another King…
AND HIS NAME IS JESUS!
