Men Who Turned the World Upside Down, Part 2
Acts 17:4-9, 12-15
We entitle it, The Men Who Turned The World Upside Down, and it covers the first 17 verses of Acts, chapter 17 in our continuing study. Now the world went haywire at the fall, there's no question about that, it slipped off its spiritual axis when Adam sinned. And it was a twofold problem, Adam not only fell and became cursed but the globe went with him. So, that earth itself is cursed, there's a cursed earth and in that cursed earth lives a cursed man. And consequently, it's very interesting that man is rather comfortable in his sinning, isn't he? And the reason for that is simply this, you put a cursed man in a cursed system and he's gonna get along with his system, pretty well. It's when you apply righteousness to that cursed system that you make waves. And that's why the truth of God, throughout all history, has tended to flip man's world.
The duality of this problem, I think, is indicated in John, Chapter 3, where it says that, "Men love darkness." In other words, they love their system, they get along with their system, because they're deeds are what? Are evil. Now, when you've got an evil man and an evil world, you've got a good partnership. And so there's a sense in which man is accommodated to his system through the curse.
The thing, which really upsets his system, is the application of righteousness, or as the introduction of truth in a system of error. It would be like taking a mathematical system and premising it all on the fact that one and one, equals three, and on that basis, developing an entire mathematical system. And everything is great until some guy comes along and says, no, one and one, is two, which would absolutely destroy the entire system. Well, in a sense, man has developed a system of sin, and in that sin, as long as he can continues to be a sinful cursed creature, he can accommodate his system. It is when a Christian comes along and says, one is one two, spiritually, that his system is flipped.
Now, all throughout God's redemptive history, God has had individuals who were sent by him to do that, to man's system. Who were sent to smash, head on, into man's system and show that it was wrong. Now, from man's viewpoint, his system is upside right, but from God's viewpoint, it upside down. From man's viewpoint, he would say that the Christian turns the system upside down. From God's viewpoint, the Christian turns the system upside right.
Now, God has always used drastic means to smash into man's system - he has used miracles, in particular ages, but always he has used men and women, people, individuals, small groups, larger groups - people are the vehicle that throw the system into chaos. Righteous people running in, to an unrighteous system, create waves.
Now in this chapter we meet a few of these kinds of people - the people who really have an affect on the system. At the end of verse 6, the people in Thessalonica characterized Paul and Silas and Timothy, with these words, "These that have turned the world upside down" - from God's viewpoint, upside right - "are come here also." Now, the __ ___, these people are flipping our systems - they are creating chaos. Oh, what a commendation. Boy, wouldn't you like to known, as the person who turned upside right? What a tremendous thing. And so, they really commend them in saying that.
Now, as well look at this passage, 1 to 17, wanna pull out of this passage for you, what I feel are the basic necessary characteristics of somebody who does that to the system. I suppose you're like I am. I mean if you really think about it, you wanna have an effect, right? You wanna make waves. You don't just float along on somebody else's waves. And you wanna be part of the trouble or you wanna be part of the issue, you know. I've heard of people who prayed, "God, make my life an issue in the world," that's right. "Make me count, in the world."
Anything - there's nothing worse than just, being here, you know, just being here. There's got to be a reason, there's got to be something affected your life. Now, these people turned the upside down because of five simple things that are illustrated in the text - this is not absolute answer, the is no the absolute list, this is just the five that popped in my attention, here. One is courage - you're never affect the world, you're never gonna really belt the system between, unless there's courage there. Second is content, third is converts, so when you start changing people lives within the system, then you really create chaos. Fourth is conflict, which will happen when the first three happen, and fifth is, concern - and that's the motive that makes it all happen.
All right, to be with, we'll review the first two. The first thing that makes an individual, one who can really alter the system - one who really affects the world, who turns it upside right, is courage. Let me give you a definition of courage - you ready for this? Simple, biblical definition of courage; courage equals confidence in God, that's courage. That's simply the definition of courage, biblically. Now listen, if you knew that you were gonna be victorious in a certain enterprise; if you knew that you were gonna be blessed; if you knew there was gonna be joy; if you knew there was gonna be fruit; if you God would be pleased, would you do it? Yes. Well, wanna hear something wonderful? If God ever encourages you to do anything, you can know that all of that's gonna happen. The only remaining question is, if you actually have confidence enough in God, to believe that?
You know, I've often thought, as I watch, you know, the replay of a football game, or instant replay; it would be kinda neat if you could see that before, the game, see? Because then you would know what was going to happen. And in the Christian's life that is precisely what has happened, God has given us a guaranteed victory, a guaranteed joy, a guarantee of fruit - absolutely. And we can enter into anything that God designs for us to do, and encourages us to do, and the spirit moves us to do, knowing that t cannot turnout, except good, and so courage is only a matter of confidence in God, you either believe Him or you don't. And if you're hesitant to witness, or you're hesitant to do anything that encourages you do because you're or because there's fear that translates into a poor theology - you just do not have a proper perspective of God.
Or, if you feel that you gotta run your own life, and you can't free up, to let God run it, that again is the problem that you think you can handle you, better than He can. It's a lack of confidence in God. So, you see, everything goes back to the nature of God - that is the key, that is the cardinal understanding that a Christian must have - you must know who God is. So, courage is confidence in God. Now, I wanna show you how confident Paul was. He had been on this missionary journey - the second journey and he was pursing the plan as God as directed him, which was to the Jew, first. "And he came to this particular place called Thessalonica," in verse 1, "and there was Synagogue of the Jews there," verse 2, and "Paul, as his manner was, went into them." The first thing he does when he gets to Thessalonica is go to the Synagogue.
Now herein lies his courage. You say, "Why?" Because before, in chapter 13 and 14, when he went to the Jewish Synagogue, what always happened? Trouble, disaster, persecution, they tried to kill him. But you said, "If he knew all of that, how could he possibly go into the Synagogue again, and jump right into fire?" Because he had confidence in the God, who was directing him to do it - that if God puts him, God's not gonna forsake him in the middle of it. And so he goes right, right into the Synagogue, knowing, in the past, what has happened to him and expecting it to happen again, but believing in God. That's courage, that's confidence in God.
In spite of what had happened. Remembering all of the pain and the grief, he went in anyway. And he knew that he had to go the Jewish Synagogue because he had to buck the existing religious system - he had to bring those Jews to a, knowledge, of Christ. I think of John Bunyon. John Bunyon bucked the religious establishment. John Bunyon was in England and the religious establishment was the Church of England and he wasn't real happy with the Church of England. So, he decided, "I'll operate outside the Church of England, and I'll just preach Jesus Christ, and teach Christ." And so, he started preaching all over everywhere, and they said, "You better shut up, or we'll put you in jail. You can't preach outside an organized church.
And John Bunyan said, in effect, "Just watch me." And he continued to preach; so you know what they did? They packed him up and threw him in a cell and they left him there for 12 years. You say, "Oh John, now see what you did by being impetuous?" You know what he did for 12 years, in there, a good part of that time? He wrote, Pilgrim's Progress. Next to the bible, that book has affected more lives than any book ever written. Now, if John Bunyon hadn't have had the courage to do what was right, and take the effect of it, he may never have had the time, to write that thing. Certainly not while he was running around preaching everywhere.
God knew he needed to be in jail, for 12 years, because he needed to put some things down paper that affect generations, for history. And he had the confidence to believe God, and he bucked the established situation, he bucked the Church and he did what we felt God wanted him to do, and he paid the price and God honored him. Now, Paul is gonna buck the system too, knowing that if God wants to put in him jail, that's fine. The last time he got in jail, the whole jailer's family got saved - that's no problem.
So, he is willing to confront the system, in Israel, and now he did the same thing the same thing in verse 10. We're gonna jump back and forth between Thessalonica and Berea, in this study, because they're parallels. Verse 10, "He goes to the second little town on this tour from Philippi and he comes there by night, and he goes into the Synagogue," at the end of verse 10, immediately again, here he goes again, there's no way to stop the guy. And you say, "It's amazing, the persistence" - yes, because he just got out of a riot in Thessalonica.
"He went to the Jewish Synagogue in Thessalonica," in verse 1 and 2, and by the time you get to verse 5, there's a riot going on, and they beat and they chased out of town and he bails out, in verse, and he goes right back into the next Jewish Synagogue. That's courage, which translates to the confidence in God. Now, that's the kind of courage that is basic stuff to somebody who's gonna affect world. If you're afraid of your shadow and you don't really trust God, you're not gonna have the affect on anybody.
You say, "John, how could I have that kind of courage?" I gave you the principles two weeks ago. Let me just review. One, trust God - that's the basic, trust God. Two, confess sin, and three, thank Him in advance. Acts 28:15, it says, "Paul thank God and took courage." Trust God, confess your sin, because if there's sin your life, you're liable to really get it, 'cause that'll come as chastisement, so trust God, confess, and thank Him advance.
Now, the second that we see here, that's really be a part of a man who affect the world is, content. Now, it wasn't just Paul's courage, it was what he said, wasn't it? You know, so many Christians say, well I'm a living witness at work. I haven't said anything yet but I am living it. Nobody ever got to heaven by watching somebody. You got to say it, sooner or later. It's nice to live it, and when you live it, maybe you earn to say it, right? But sooner or later you have to say something. There's no way you can give 'em a spiritual wink - it doesn't, it doesn't work that way, you see? You have open your mouth, and something has to come out that relates to truth.
Now Paul - you know, people say, well Paul was what he was because of his dynamic. No, he was what he was because of his message, embodied in his personality. Well, there are a lot of people in this room who have fantastic personalities - they just have the wrong message. Now, Paul was the combination of the perfect package and the perfect content. And his message though, was the issue, believe the message is the issue; it's what we say that matters. You know, and Nehemiah, when Israel was being taken back to the land, and they were getting to rebuild the city, you know, and they were gonna try to put it all together, spiritually; the thing that Nehemiah did in chapter 8, verse 1, he stood up and he said, "Bring me the book", and the brought he book of the law, the Old Testament, and the people all stood up, and Ezra stood up and read the thing to 'em, and a revival broke out. There wasn't any emotional in that. It was just content. He just read them the truth. And believe me, that's the key to affecting the world is speaking the truth.
Boy, I really believe in this, and I believe that it's so important for Christians to know the word of God, so they can give an answer to people. Now, notice that Paul, in verse 2, does this, "And Paul as his manner was, went into them and three Sabbath Days, reasoned with them out of the scriptures." We saw in our last message that, the reasoning with them, means that he actually talked to them in a dialogue; he fielded questions, answered them, "And he took Old Testament," which the scriptures in verse 2, "and opened and alleged out of them." In other words, he took Old Testament text and he opened and alleged from the Old Testament text, "that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead."
So, "He took an Old Testament and he proved to them, from the Old Testament that Messiah would have to die." - that would be easy to prove - Isaiah covers that, in 53, and so does Psalms 22. Then he proved that, as the Psalmist says - David, particularly - "The Messiah had to rise again." So, he said, "Now, you're looking for your Messiah, he must the one who died and rose." Then at the end of verse 3, he offers that, "Jesus, whom I preach, is that Messiah. So, he did an Old Testament study and then said, "Christ fulfills it," and he did this on three occasions on the Sabbath day, and perhaps in between he was busy, as well.
Now notice the term, reason. That implies the mind and not the emotions doesn't it? You know, you always hear about emotionalism - emotional response. You know, that you can get an emotional response. I'm gonna speak at a funeral - they say, "Oh, please John. People's heart are so tender, and they're so emotionally torn up, that maybe they'll come to Christ." And you know what I need to remind myself, that it doesn't do a bit of good to go in there and get them to make an emotional decision. That's the one time - maybe above all - that I wanna be sure that the Gospel is absolutely factually clear to them. See?
I mean preaching the gospel isn't just getting people all emotional, telling 13-deathbed stories and singing 84 verses of a hymn. That is not reasoning with people. That is not opening and alleging truth, out of the scripture, and applying it to Christ and into their lives personally. You see, facts are at the heart of this thing, and I don't mean to say that your emotions aren't involved. I mean I get emotional too. Emotion is fine - Jesus wept. I'm not against emotion, I'm against emotionalism - it doesn't do any good to get somebody who's emotionally - "Oh, you can..." You know if you're smart enough, and if you're good enough at it, you can get all kinds of emotional reaction.
You know, you could have all these people coming forward and then you say, "Why did you come?" And they say, "(Laughs)." See? They don't know what they're even there for. Just crying a lot. "Somebody told me to come, so here I am." We're not talking about that kind of emotion. There's no high pressure here, there's no hysteria, there's no super charged emotionalism. He gave the facts, and he reasoned with them, out of the scriptures. He didn't rely on anything but anything but allowing the Holy Spirit to apply revelation, you see?
Now, look over here in Berea, he did the same there, in verse 11. Now, he got to Berea - they were some wonderful people. In fact, there's a lot of Christians who call themselves,
Bereans, because they like to identify with these noble folks, and which is fine. But anyway, the Brethren, at the Berea were pretty sharp. They were noble. More noble than those in Thessalonica. Why? "Because they received the word with all readiness of mind and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so." You see, the difference between them and Thessalonica was, they themselves, searched it out. In other words, they were more plugged in, to the Old Testament. They were more spiritual - if I can use that term - they were more spiritual Jews than the ones in Thessalonica, and Gentile Proselytes.
I mean they were really studying the Old Testament. They could take that thing and look it up for themselves. Whereas, the ones in Thessalonica were concordance cripples, you know, they probably couldn't find anything in there, and so Paul had to just go along and go along, and point everything to 'em. This group was pretty sharp. But I want you to notice that was happened was, "They received the word, with all readiness of mind," you see - "and they searched the scriptures." You see, basis of their exposure was content oriented, you see? Well, we've made that point so many times, but it's so very, very important.
"And the content was exposed to them by Paul on his feet." You know, that's a tremendous ability, to just be able to stand there and as Peter said, "To give every man an answer for the reason and the hope is within you." To be able to just reason with men - shoot it out, see? Tremendous. Paul knew the word, and there's no shortcut. You always meet people - everybody wants a shortcut to bible knowledge. They want a gimmick. They want a formula. They want, three easy lessons to master the bible. If I wrote a book like that, it wouldn't matter what it said, it'd sell like crazy. Mastering the bible in 2 hours. Woo, you know, see - or even two weeks.
You know how long it takes to master the bible? You couldn't do it, if you lived a thousand years. Now, you can get the principles, but the study never ends, because as soon as you got the principles, you forgot the first ones you learned; you gotta start all over again. And so, Paul knew he could stand on feet and he could use the scripture. Boy, that's a tremendous tool. You know, you say, well I'm not teaching a class, so I don't study very much. You know, the day might come when you're not even teaching a class at all but you're gonna walkup to somebody who's gonna need answers. And if you haven't been studying, then you don't have 'em for the crisis.
You know, it's one thing to know how to save a drowning person in the lifesaving class at the YMCA; it's something else to know how to save a drowning person when the ship goes down, and you're in the ocean. And you ought to be ready for that, that's the crisis time, so if you're not teaching a class, that's no excuse not to study. You better for crisis when the life comes across your life, that needs answers, and you're the only resource. So, they knew that he knew the word, and that was it, content, is what really affects the world - it's the message that does it.
Now you say, how can I really know that message? How can I know the word? Let me just review what I told you last time. One, confess sin. "Because if there's sin your life, you have a hindrance to knowing the word," 1 Peter 2:1. You can't apprehend the word through a sinful mind, clearly. Second thing, study the word, there's no shortcut. There is no shortcut. Study the word. 2 Timothy 2:15 "To show yourself approved unto God." Third, personalize the word, make it living in your life - make it applicable. No, not just in your head, but in your life. And fourth, share it. You know the best way to learn something? Tell somebody else.
I find that what I preach, I remember. What I don't preach, I forget. I remember my sermons; I forget the books I read. And I think that's true in anybody's life - what you give away is what you really keep. And so, if you're gonna be effective in content, you need to one, confess your sins, so that you have clear mind and pure mind. Two, study the word. Three, personalize the word, and fourth, share the word, even if it's just teaching your wife or your husband or somebody else. Well, that's review courage and content.
Now, let's go to the third one; there's a third thing - it makes somebody, one who really affects the world, and that's converts. You know when you start seeing other people come to Christ then you are really making an affect? Why? Because you're multiplying the waves, see? You say, "Oh," you say, "You mean that in order to really affect the world there's got to be converts as a result of my life?" Yes. You know and I believe that every Christian - now watch this one; this may seem like heresy, at first. I believe that every Christian should see converts. You say, "John." (Laughter) "What happened to your sovereignty of God?" Well, it may be that you plant, it may you water, it will be that God, does what? Gives the increase. You may not see it now, but it's gonna happen, if you're faithful? Why? Jesus promised it. You say, "Jesus promised that every Christian was going to be productive?" Absolutely. "If any branch bear not fruit, it isn't even a true branch." Listen to John 15:16. "You have not chosen me but I have chosen you and ordained you that you should go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." Now, that's a guarantee by the Lord Jesus himself, that a Christian is gonna bear fruit.
You say, "Well, I've tried evangelizing, I'm not too good. I don't think I'm called to that." See? - And all that. There's no such thing as, not being called to that. You're gonna have fruit. Now, you may not see it all in this life; you may see it in the life to come. And I think it's gonna be fun sometimes when we get to heaven and find out who's there because of the faithfulness of our addition to the process that went in brining to Christ. I get letters sometimes from the tape ministry, from obscure place in the world, and somebody says, "Oh, I just received Christ from hearing your tape over here, in Africa," or somewhere. You know, and I just - it's unbelievable that God is doing it. And it's a part of the process of many lives touching one life. But I believe there'll be fruits.
So, converts are part of it. Now, watch, you take a cursed system, a vile unholy system, and you multiply the number of holy people, and you really have an affect on that system. To change the world, you can't do it alone. You've got to be reproductive, you see that's what I'm saying. Converts. You know why Paul was so effective? Not because he went into town and nobody believed him, but because he went into town and a whole bunch of people believed him. And that's what messed up the system.
It's like Amalio said, you know, he said, "Well, don't worry about Paul. If he's of God, things will happen. If he's not, it'll go away." It didn't go away. You see, if you're reproductive, then you're effecting; you're not gonna do it alone, you're not gonna effect the world alone. You're gonna effect the world when you effect other people. And I believe that God intends for us to bear fruit. Well, Paul went into town, look at verse 4, and did all of this, and preached Christ - he hit issue right on the head. Verse 4, "And some of them believed." Terrific. There's a group of Jews who believed.
Now, notice the Greek word, believe, is not the word for the faith, is not the word for believing - it is a passive verb. It is the verb, patho, and it means, to be persuaded. They weren't noble enough to dig it up, themselves; they had to be talked into it. The were persuaded, it's a passive. But Paul could present such an irrefutable airtight presentation of Christ, that the Holy Spirit - and this implies, of course, at He's at work - that the Holy Spirit could bring them to salvation. Paul could answer their questions. Isn't that beautiful? They weren't necessarily looking, and Paul presented such a tremendous argument, that they were persuaded, as it were, against their will to believe.
Now, in Berea, they were waiting to believe - didn't have to persuade 'em, they were just waiting. All they needed to do grab their Old Testament and see if it was true, and they were there. This bunch weren't even waiting for it - they had to be talked into it. Isn't it interesting how an Evangelist, and you run into those two kinds of things? Sometimes you'll meet the guy who isn't even - seem like opened, and you'll present Jesus Christ, and show him the argument, give him the whole plan, and he'll see how beautiful it is and how perfect it is, and the Spirit of God will bring him to Christ. Other times you get some guy just sitting waiting for somebody to deliver the truth. See?
Well, Berea was that. You go down to verse 11, "And they searched the scriptures" and so forth, verse 12, "therefore many of them believed." And it's not the word patho - we're persuaded, it's the word, pastuo, which means, to believe, it's an active verb. They believed - the others had to be persuaded. Now, how exciting it is that the believer can actually be ready for both situations. If he knows the word well enough, he can persuade those who aren't even open yet, and he can give the information to those who are diligent students, so they can verify it on their own.
Well, the results were converts. It says, "Some believe"...verse 4, again - and we know one of them was Jason, and some people in house and then chapter 20, tells about Aristarchus and Secundus, which gives us at least three names of those. "And then they consorted with Paul and Silas and the devout Greeks, a great multitude." Just a few Jews believed. A whole of bunch of Gentiles believed, "And of the Chief women, not a few." Apparently there were some women who had some pretty important positions in the town and they believed as well. And so there was a tremendous beginning to the church. A big number of Gentiles, a lot of Chief women, and some Jews - they always were the most difficult.
Well, you know, it was a beautiful beginning for the church at Thessalonica, and that was it - that beautiful little church. Paul reflected on the beginning of that church. Just listen to this: 1 Thessalonians 1-5, he wrote back to them and he was remembering how they began. He says, "For our gospel, came not unto you in word only." Oh, I like that Paul, because we've been talking about that haven't we? We've been saying it's content, isn't it? You've got to give the content. But he says, "It didn't come in content only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit." You see? That's the thing. Don't run out here and say, McArthur says, "All you need content." No, he doesn't. You need content, absolutely, but you need it bathed in the power and the energy of the Holy Spirit. He alone makes the miracle possible.
And he said, "You became followers of us, unto the Lord, and you receive the word and much affliction with joy of the Holy Spirit and you are an example to all that dwell in Macedonia and Achaia." Well, that's quick. He's just been saying it a little while and the whole place knows about him. Look at verse 8. "For, from you," sound it out, the Greek work echo, "the word of the Lord, not only in Macedonia and Achaia but in every place, your fait