Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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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
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!
1 Cor 9:16
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
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
the third thing we must have if we are going to fulfill the Great Commission is 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)
“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,
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
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