Sermon Tone Analysis

Disciples Turn the World Upside Down

Are You One

If you have not already found the scripture to be read this morning, please turn the pages to or type in - Acts is the great History book of the 1st Century Church - the 1st church.

Acts is really the great book of His Story - King Jesus using his disciples to build His church and to turn the world upside down.

PLEASE WITH MORE HONOR AND REVERENCE THAN YOU WOULD STAND FOR THE FLAG, THE ANTHEM OR THE PRESIDENT STAND FOR GOD AND HIS WORD THIS MORNING AS WE READ THESE 3 PROFOUND VERSES

Acts 17:5-7

PRAYER AND BE SEATED THANK YOU

Acts 17:

A Christian Nation?

A Christian Nation?

Being a very patriotic individual, almost with red, white and blue running through my veins, I agree with Dr. Jeffress in that many of our countries founders were Christians or at least members of local churches at the time.

However, I have to disagree with him.

America is not really a Christian nation in the sense in which many understand it.

America is a nation where one is free to be a Christian and to express Christian beliefs and speak to others about the gospel by which Christianity is governed.

That is a blessing not afforded in many other nations, and one freedom that many fought and died to give and protect.

But in some of those countries that has not stopped Jesus from building His church.

In the 21st Century there are other countries that could be considered as much or more of a Christian nation than America.

At the start of the twentieth century, only 10 percent of the world’s Christians lived in the Southern continents and the East, while 90 percent lived in North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand.

Today at least 70 percent of the world’s Christians live in the non-Western world.

More Christians worship in Anglican churches in Nigeria each week than in all the Episcopal and Anglican churches of Britain, Europe, and North America combined.

There are more Baptists in Congo than in Britain, more people in church every Sunday in communist China than in all of Western Europe, and ten times more Assemblies of God members in Latin America than in the United States.

—Christopher J. H. Wright, “An Upside-Down World,” Christianity Today (January 2007)

What makes a nation Christian?

What makes a nation Christian?

Is it the laws of the land, the displays of the 10 commandments in public places, the majority of the people on the roles of churches, and that majority voting for certain politics and policies?

In the Great Commission, Jesus told his followers to go and make all nations into Christian nations.

Shockingly half of the people in church this morning do not know if that is true or not.

Released in March of this year were the results of a Barna Research survey regarding the Great Commission, and what they revealed is quite depressing to a pastor.

51% of churchgoers say they do not know the term Great Commission.

6% not sure if they have ever heard the term or not.

17% have heard it but have no clue what it means.

25% know they have heard it but do not completely recall what it says.

Jesus did not tell his followers to go and make all nations into Christian nations.

He didn’t even tell his followers to go and make Christians in the nations.

Jesus told his disciples to go and make disciples of (meaning from)every nation who would obey His teachings and make more disciples.

That is what the disciples of the 1st Century church did, and that is why these people were described in the text as ones who had turned the world up-side down.

If you are not a person who professes to be a Christian today, then this sermon is not for you, so sit back and feel free to listen well, but today is for the people who profess Christ as savior and lord.

21st Century America Needs a 1st Century Church like the one we find here

A Powerful King and a Praying Church

An Awful King and an Awkward Church

A Dead King and a Dynamic Church

21st Century America Needs a 1st Century Church like the one we find here.

A Church of Disciples with Ears Eager to Listen to the Prophetic Preachers

The man God has ordained to preach should stand with one foot in the public square and one foot in the pulpit.

Calling the sinners to salvation and the saved to sanctification.

Pointing out the social immorality in the community and the spiritual immaturity in the church.

Doing that often times gets the preach duck rocks from both sides, but it is the calling of God.

We see that in Peter and the other Apostles

- Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stood boldly before the crowd on the day of Pentecost.

Remember Peter was preaching to his own religious group.

At that time, the disciples were operating within Judaism to a large degree.

- Peter and John preaching in the Portico of the Temple and healing a lame man are arrested and told never to preach again the name of Jesus.

- Peter, as pastor and leader of the church at the time, prophetically holds Ananias and Sapphira accountable for lying to the Holy Spirit.

Shortly after arrested again for caring for the oppressed and sick and preaching.

The leaders reminded them of their restrictions They told the leaders that disobeying God was not something they could do.

- Stephen stands before the High Priest and Religious rulers preaching reminding them of their rebellions against God, then he is killed.

- Saul persecutes the church, but they keep on preaching - sending Philip to Samaria.

Peter and John call out one pretending to be a Christian.

- Saul is converted and begins to preach Christ to the Jews who try to kill him.

- Peter goes to the despised Gentiles and preaches the gospel then defends what he did to the Jewish believers who tried to be legalistic in their Christianity

In - James the brother of John is killed for his service to Jesus and Peter is about to be

Later in - it says Paul and Barnabas grew bold and told the Jewish leaders that God offered salvation to them but they rejected.

In - when Jewish believers again tried to be legalistic and say Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved the Apostles confronted their hypocrisy.

If you pay close attention while reading the book of Acts - you will see how often Luke sets up the contrasts.

Acts is the contrast of the church and the world and its powers against the Holy Spirit power working to build the church.

One of the major contrast is seen in the life of King Herod Agrippa I in .

Turn and let’s look at this chapter for the rest of our time together.

Herod was the populace pleasing political leader of his day

As the current King of the Jewish nation, He was a very egotistical, narcissistic and disingenuous leader

When he was with the mainline religious group he played the part saying he was very religious, but when he was in the presence of the political leaders of Rome, he was very Roman, being the quintessential politician

When he was in the presence of the political leaders of Rome, he was very Roman, being the quintessential politician

His duty from Rome was to keep the Pax Romana - “The Peace of Rome” so he advanced the causes of the political majority and worked to suppress the minorities

Herod’s passion was to be liked and loved by the populace, and doing all he could to win the favor of the religious majority and its important leaders

He moved the government seat from where the world said it is, Caesarea, to where the religious majority said it should be, Jerusalem

He began rebuilding the nation border wall in the north

Many of the nation believed his days of leadership to be a better era than many of the leaders before him

Even turning on citizens of the nation that the leaders didn’t like - James purebred Jew.

Grandstanding at rallies to the crowds in and - wrongly taking the praise reserved only for God

Many of the nation believed his days of leadership to be a better era than many of the leaders before him

I was there when Pence delivered a speech to SBC

What does the church in America, us as disciples have to learn from this:

As I studied this chapter I began to see how this sounds eerily familiar - it is a warning to the Evangelical majority that there is a fine line which is extremely easy for us to cross from being the disciples in this chapter to being the Jewish Pharisees and religious majority

What does the church in America, us as disciples have to learn from this: if some of this sounds eerily familiar - it is a warning to the Evangelical majority that it is a fine line and extremely easy for us to cross from being the disciples in this chapter to being the Jewish Pharisees and religious majority who lavished praise in King Herod.

who feel like the political left, Hollywood and the media is Rome

As I studied this chapter I began to see how this sounds eerily familiar - it is a warning to the Evangelical majority that it is a fine line and extremely easy for us to cross from being the disciples in this chapter to being the Jewish Pharisees and religious majority who lavished praise in King Herod.

who feel like America is the new Jerusalem, when it can just as easily be the Great Harlot

who can overlook a lifetime of immorality and lavish praises on an immoral leader because he or she does what they felt God should have done long ago

who lavished praise on King Herod.

Which leads to the next point

21st Century America Needs a 1st Century Church like the one we find here.

A Church of Prayerful Disciples Who Trust in the Power of God

Acts is a history book about the church not a bunch of buildings.

It is the history of committed disciples who have a close and dependent relationship with their Savior and Lord.

Acts is a history book about the church not a bunch of buildings.

It is the history of committed disciples who have a close and dependent relationship with their Savior and Lord.

Look at

That relationship has prayer as its lifeline; a lifeline of hope when the situation is hopeless - the word “constant” carries the idea of one “stretched out in intense and diligent prayer”

That relationship knows that God is in control and has the power to overcome the circumstance or a purpose to allow the circumstance to continue.

No one but God knows why James had to die

No one but God knows why Peter was rescued