Turning the World Right Side Up! Part 2
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One of the accusations levelled against Paul and his team was that they had “turned the world upside down”. (17:6)
although his enemies meant this as an indictment it was in fact a great compliment!
so many sinners were coming to Christ that the local culture in Thessalonica was being changed from evil to good!
The world is upside down because of sin. (-22; ; ; )
Paul tells us in that when sin entered the world through Adam and Eve the whole creation was subjected to futility
the result: the creation is in bondage to corruption ()
witnessed in what insurance companies call “acts of God”
has been subjected to frustration (:
the destructive forces of storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, fires and the like
add to that the fact that the people of the world are in an evil system that is under the power of Satan (; ; )
witnessed in the evil acts committed by individuals, groups and nations
Satan is working through all those who are not of God ()
contrast this with the kingdom of God which consists of those who have be saved by grace through faith and serve Jesus Christ as their Master and Lord
those who are of God submit to Jesus as their Saviour and Lord
those who are of God submit to Jesus as their Saviour and Lord
Paul’s summarizes this in : the whole creation is groaning together
contrast this with the kingdom of God which consists of those who have been saved by grace through faith and serve Jesus Christ as their Master and Lord
because the world is upside down, God will eventually destroy the heavens and the earth and recreate them (; )
in the mean time however, God in his mercy and grace has not left the world to go to hell in the proverbial hand-basket
Throughout history God has been calling sinners to repentance and he will continue to do so until all the elect have been gathered into his kingdom. ()
he calls sinners by sending his disciples as messengers of light into the darkness of this sin cursed world to proclaim his Word
prophets and priests in the OT and Apostles and disciples in the NT
God’s messengers inevitably upset the world system, disturb the comfort of sinners and as a result, often incur their angry opposition.
OT examples:
Elijah vs Ahab & Jezebel (1 Kings 17-21)
Daniel vs. high officials who opposed him ()
Jeremiah vs. the false prophets who prophesied peace while he prophesied disaster
John the Baptist vs. Herod (Mt 14:1-12)
the sad example of Samson who though he confronted the Philistines also compromised at the cost of his life
(note the sad example of Samson who had been raised up by God to confront the Philistines - it was his compromises which brought him into conflict with the Philistines and they eventually cost him his life)
NT examples:
Jesus vs. the Jewish leaders and the Jewish people under their control
Peter & John before the Sanhedrin (Acts 4-5)
John the Baptist vs. Herod
all of these messengers confronted the sinners of their day and were opposed and attacked
Paul and his team vs unbelieving Jews and Gentiles (Acts 13-28)
All of God’s messengers courageously conveyed his Word and confronted the sinners of their day.
Paul and his team were like them
confronted the sinners of their day and were opposed, attacked and killed
and for this they were opposed, attacked and even killed
God’s plan has not changed
he is still sending messengers to courageously confront the world with his Word
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,
20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;
19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
2 Cor 5:18-
though all believers are called to be Christ’s witnesses and make disciples Paul was specifically chosen and set apart by the Lord Jesus for this glorious task
it is hard to imagine anyone else who paid such a high personal price to accomplish this
what made Paul and his team so bold and effective in the face of such intense opposition?
Courage
Paul had been wrestled to his knees by none other than Christ himself (Acts 9:1-19)
Christ then commanded him to preach wherever he went (; )
Paul took Jesus’ command very seriously!
16 For if I preach the gospel, that gives me no ground for boasting. For necessity is laid upon me. Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!
1 Cor 9:16
14 I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.
One reason Paul and his team had the courage to endure great pain and suffering in order to spread the gospel was that they took Jesus’ command seriously.
second, Paul had a burning passion to see his own people saved
much of the opposition he faced came from or through the Jewish people
the biblical source of courage: trust in God, personal purity, confidence in promised victory
Content: must have the right message to turn the world upside down
There is a problem in many churches today: a lack of confidence in the sufficiency of scripture.
examples:
the quest for direct revelation from God
dumbing down preaching and an emphasis on entertainment to get more people into the church
running our churches like a business rather than according to scripture
over dependence on psychology and a deemphasis on sin
the social justice movement with its unbiblical focus on the redistribution of wealth
Paul believed the scriptures were sufficient for life and godliness
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
how Paul communicated the Gospel depended on whom he was speaking to
the question Paul would answer for the Jews: “who is Jesus”
persuaded the Thessalonians through Q&A
pointed the Bereans to their scriptures
for the Athenians: “who is God?”
when the people of Lystra wanted to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas as gods he pointed them to God as the creator of all things and the giver of all good things
today we will consider 2 other things that made Paul and his team such effective witnesses and disciplers: Converts and Conflict
William Carey: Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.
he was a shoemaker!
Paul was a tentmaker
Converts
Converts
the third thing we must have if we are going to fulfill the Great Commission is converts
Converts
Converts
Paul was very intentional in his evangelism and church planting mission
and it wasn’t counting decisions
Paul’s purpose in his witnessing was not just to win people to Christ but to disciple them so that messengers of the gospel would be multiplied. (Acts 17:4)
4 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.
“joined”
more than just signing up like a gym membership where you go a few times and then stop
to join with the idea of casting one’s lot in life or one’s fortune in with a group
they became members of Paul’s team
they became members of the church
they became his disciples = one who does whatever his teacher tells him
note the kind of disciples they were from 1 Thessalonians 1
in Paul speaks of their work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope in the Lord Jesus Christ
their work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope ()
in he says they became imitators of his team and of the Lord with joy in spite of much affliction
became an example to all the believers Macedonia and Achaia in the way the endured much affliction with joy (1 Ths 1:6-7)
in they became a model church to all the believers in the area
they shared in his trouble
they sounded forth the word ()
they supported him financially
their faith in God went forth everywhere ()
converts were also made in Berea,
12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
I believe it is important to recognize the difference between the Thessalonians and the Bereans
while the Thessalonians had to be persuaded before joining Paul the Bereans, being of more noble character, read their copies of the scriptures and believed
why is this important?
almost nothing is said of the Bereans after this while Paul wrote 2 letters to the Thessalonians with high praise for their Christian conduct
although the Bereans initially were of more noble character in their reception of Paul’s teaching, it was the Thessalonians who went on and distinguished themselves as faithful disciples
their work of faith and labour of love and steadfastness of hope ()
became an example to all the believers Macedonia and Achaia in the way the endured much affliction with joy (1 Ths 1:6-7)
they sounded forth the word ()
their faith in God went forth everywhere (1 Th 1:8)
Principle:
If we would impact the world with the Gospel we must acknowledge we can’t do it alone!
we must not only witness but become disciple making disciples
we must reproduce ourselves
what is more effective, one person trying to win the 40,000 who live in St Thomas or winning and training many people to do so?
With the Thessalonians Paul’s ability to reason and answer questions turned many who were hard hearted into passionate Christ followers.
two of their members joined Paul’s church planting team ()
Paul later commended the Thessalonian church for it’s evangelistic zeal
8 For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything.
1 Th
The Thessalonian church became a model of a spiritually reproducing church. (1 Thess 1:8)
located on a well known and well travelled highway they used it to full effect!
it is interesting that of the Bereans nothing more is said other than that one of them named Sopater, later joined Paul ()
they seem to fade into insignificance in comparison to the Thessalonians
though the spiritual ground in Thessalonica was initially harder it proved to be more fertile!
Sopater the Berean joined Paul ()
it’s not how you start but how you finish!
Conflict
Conflict
“the measure of our triumph in work for God is always the measure of our travail. No propagative work is done save at cost; and every genuine triumph of the Cross brings after it the travail of some new affliction, and some new sorrow. So we share the travail that makes the Kingdom come.” (The Acts of the Apostles [New York: Revell, 1924], 405–6)
If we expect to accomplish anything great for the Lord it is highly likely that we will face much trouble and have to endure trial and affliction.
it is hard to imagine anyone of God’s messengers in the bible who did not experience opposition and trouble
in light of this we would be wise to ask “if there is no conflict am I really doing the work of Christ?”!
12 Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
5 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.
6 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,
7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.”
8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things.
9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
13 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.
14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there.
15 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.
[Read , ]
conflict is often the result of the first 3, Courage, Content and Converts!
Courage, Content and Converts!
Those who have the courage to confront the lies sinners believe and give them the right message produce converts and the result is conflict from the surrounding culture.
message from at our last Communion service on the Hatred of the World:
2 kingdoms in conflict
the kingdom of God and the kingdom of Satan (John 8:39-47)
Satan, the prince of the power of the air and the father of lies, has blinded the eyes of unbelievers () so that they cannot see the light of the gospel.
the result:
John 3:19-
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God.”
contrast this with Paul’s testimony about Christ’s purpose for him,
18 to open their eyes, so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.’
Acts 26:
when inroads are made into Satan’s kingdom he stirs up his servants to attack
the unbelieving Jews of Thessalonica were jealous over the number of converts Paul and his team had made
they enlisted the help of wicked men, formed a mob and attacked the newly formed church
the first charge they were actually guilty of
“turned the world upside down” (Acts 17:6)
what a wonderful affirmation of their ministry!
these unbelievers were so affected by Paul, his team and their preaching that they thought their world was being radically changed!
this is what every Christian should be striving for
if this was the case the church would be making a real difference!
the second charge was only partially true
“acting against the decrees of Caesar”
Paul and his team were obedient to Roman law where it did not contradict the law of Christ
one of the those Roman laws which contradicted Christ’s was the requirement to worship the Roman Emperor as a god!
to promote Jesus as king was a direct challenge to the Roman Emporer, a crime punishable with death
remember that Pilate condemned Jesus under the charge he claimed to be another king
Pilate’s inscription on the cross: “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews”
the decision of the Thessalonian authorities to rid themselves of the troublemakers
to rid themselves of the troublemakers
they demanded some kind of payment which would be forfeited if there was any further trouble
Paul and his team were forced to leave
Paul’s anguished response
17 But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face,
18 because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us.
“Satan hindered us”
note that though it was the jealous Jews who rejected Paul and his message and persecuted him Satan who was behind it all
as unbelievers the Jews who attacked Paul were under the power and control of the devil and unwittingly did his bidding even as they thought they were serving God!
all who have the courage to be witnesses and disciple makers do so because they have the right message and will face opposition
Christians who would turn their world upside down must be courageous, they must proclaim the truth of God’s Word and they must recognize they can’t complete their work alone
they must make disciples to do like them
requires teaching and training
“the measure of our triumph in work for God is always the measure of our travail. No propagative work is done save at cost; and every genuine triumph of the Cross brings after it the travail of some new affliction, and some new sorrow. So we share the travail that makes the Kingdom come.” (The Acts of the Apostles [New York: Revell, 1924], 405–6)
Conclusion
Conclusion
If we would obey our Lord Jesus we must bring the Gospel to all people and this requires us to be witnesses and disciple makers.
they must make disciples to do like them
requires teaching and training
example of William Carey: Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.
he was a shoemaker!
learned Greek and taught himself Hebrew, Italian, Dutch and French while working on shoes!
what a wonderful affirmation of their ministry!
translated the bible into 6 Indian languages
started schools for impoverished children
opened the first theological university
Paul was a tentmaker
these unbelievers were so affected by Paul, his team and their preaching that they thought their world was being radically changed!
requires us to be witnesses and disciple makers
this is what every Christian should be striving for
if this was the case the church would be making a difference!
if we would obey our Lord Jesus we must bring the Gospel to all people
because the Gospel is naturally offensive and the world hates the truth we must be courageous
second, we must have the right content and the right means of communication
we have learned two ways of doing that today
from the Thessalonians, dialogue and persuasion
from the Bereans, pointing people to the scriptures
third, if we want as many people as possible to hear the gospel we must win converts and teach and train them to do likewise
fourth, we must be prepared for conflict
if we are going to be faithful servants of our Lord we must grow in our understanding of the scriptures so that we can defend the Gospel and so that those who hear will search the scriptures for themselves
If we are going to make an impact on our world for Christ we must know the Word of God.
how to know the Word:
deal with your sin
ESV1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander. 2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
1 So put away all malice and all deceit and hypocrisy and envy and all slander.
2 Like newborn infants, long for the pure spiritual milk, that by it you may grow up into salvation—
study - there are no shortcuts!
ESV15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
apply the word in your own life
ESV2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
share the word
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
ESV20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
OT example of Ezra:
10 For Ezra had set his heart to study the Law of the Lord, and to do it and to teach his statutes and rules in Israel.