Shaking Buildings and Overturning Worlds

Acts 17




After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken.(Acts 4:31 NIV)




These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; (Acts 17:6 KJV)




I am afraid that my prayers lately have not caused any architecture to shake on its foundations. And, I suspect, neither have yours. And neither have the collected prayers of the church in the world today caused many buildings to quiver.




On turning the world upside down, I doubt my preaching, my teaching, my living have caused one room to vibrate. And I suspect, neither have yours. And finally , I fear the church in the world today is failing to cause revolutions.




The early church was different. That handful of Christians, persecuted, whipped, and jailed, simply could not be stopped. Wherever they went, crowds gathered, lives were changed and the status quo shook on its foundations. This ragtag bunch of Jews, Greeks, and Romans took on the Roman Empire, the assembled might of centuries! And they won! They won!




What happened? What happened to change such a dynamic, earth-shaking church into such a timid and at times fearful church?




I can think of only four possible reasons:




1 – God is no longer able. Perhaps those folks last century who said “God is dead” were right. Yet Scripture tells us that Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever! No, God has not lost His power. He is still able to part the waters and call crowds to come to His messengers.




2 – Perhaps God no longer wants to do it. After all, doesn't the world seem to get worse and worse, and people are getting meaner? Yet again Scripture says “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and gainsaying people." Elsewhere He says repeatedly “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” No, God still wants His people to be as dynamic as they ever were.

Well, if God both can and wants to storm the gates of Hell, the fault must not lie with Him, but with us.




3 – Perhaps we are not able to do what those men and women did. Perhaps Jesus appointed miracle workers beyond our intelligence and skill at communications. After all, wasn't Paul a genius? This too is nonsense. You and I have a much broader and more in depth education than anyone alive in the first century. And with over a billion Christians in the world, we must also have geniuses among us. No, this argument won't fly either, leaving one and only one possibility...




4 – We don't want to. We have lost the fire and drive of that first group. We get more excited over ball games than we do about Jesus. We have Hours a day to watch TV and social media, but none for Bible study and prayer. We extol the virtues of our newest car that will become a pile of junk in a few years, but never sing the praises of the One who died and rose again.




So why has this happened, and what can be done about it? I can think of three or four suggestions here.




Focus #1 – be sure the Church is made up of people who are truly converted. My denomination, the Southern Baptists, brags about having 17 million members or more. Yet half of them are non-resident. Many have unknown addresses. Of those who are resident members we often are painfully aware of where they are, and they're not where God is calling them to be. Can it be that Christ is such a poor Savior that only 10 or 20% of those He saves become active in the causes of their church? Surely some of those who profess to be Christians have never encountered the Living God.




Focus #2 – Commitment: Among New Orleans Saints fans, it has been widely known that the all-star Drew Brees leads his team in excitement building exercises before every game. It's unbelievable to watch these grown men, college graduates and wealthy, jumping around and yelling like teen-agers. But they need to get their excitement up and commit to a high level of play. Sunday worship likewise includes both training and commitment renewal for the week ahead. The Church finds ways to remind us of our calling and task.




Focuse #3 – Christians need fresh experiences with God. Many of us who committed our lives to Him as children or teenagers are still trying to live off that experience 20, 30, or even 50 years later. It won't work. I'm not talking about the initial conversion experience. Rather as we grow, we need to update our experiences of and with God. Paul says, “I am sure that He who began a good work in you will go on completing it until the day of Christ. God isn't finished with us yet.




Focus #4 – Discovering, cultivating, and employing spiritual gifts. Finding that God can use you in His service is one of the most satisfying things of all. Repeatedly in the New Tesstament we find that God gives EVERY believer a gift to be used in His service. Employing those gifts makes YOU a gift to the Church.




Bnus focus #5 – Prayer. Hebrews 4:16 reads, “Let us come BOLDLY to the throne of grace! How boldly do you pray? How often do we sneak in that phrase, “Thy will be done,” not because we truly seek His will, but want a back door to blame on God when He doesn't answer our prayers. Yes, certainly, we should pray in accordance with His will. But He's not going to violate that, and we may be missing tremendous advances in our lives and the lives of others because we pray too little and too small.




End of sermon. One application:

Come over to Macedonia and help us.”

Two or three weeks ago I pointed out that Acts is about overcoming one barrier after another to reach people all over the world. Up until now, the gospel has been spread in Palestine and Syria, spilling over to other areas nearby. Paul's missionary journey from Antioch took him on the first trip through the land we now call Turkey. That region includes the land we now call Istanbul, which under the name of Constantinople became on of the first major centers of Christianity, along with Jerusalem, Rome, and Alexandria, Egypt.




But now the Spirit reveals they are to cross into what later was called Europe, Macedonia. Just north of Greece and part of Greek culture. Now pause and glance over all the names of towns in those area. There were and are many people who live there. Sometimes I have flown and looked down at a city from 30,000 feet. I remember one night the pilot called back to comment that the spot of light on our right was Cincinnati! Hundreds of thousands of people in one glob of light. And I look at those night time satellite pictures that show Earth with concentrations of lights in the more civilized areas.Seven billion people on this globe, and God knows every one. But Paul, Silas, and Timothy couldn't be everywhere, so the Spirit guided them to where He chose for them to work at the moment.




Now don't forget, this missionary work was new to the world. Only since around 30-33 AD had Christian missionaries proclaimed the gospel. They were discovering how to do it. Usually they went first to a synagogue where Paul's standing as a rabbi gave him immediate standing. There they told the Old Testament story and announced that the Messiah had come in Jesus Christ. Some believed, some thought about it, some opposed it. Where possible, Paul stayed long enough to build up solid leadership before he left a new congregation of believers.




Often a second stage emerged when Paul was kicked out of the synagogues and so rented a hall or found a place to continue teaching. More and more Gentiles came into the newly shaping Church as it grew. The impact was great enough to begin to shake the local culture.




For example, in Philippi they met a slave girl who told fortunes for a price. She seemed to know who the travelers were and followed them around like a herald shouting for people to listen to God's servants while they taught how to be saved. Paul eventually got irritated, but also had compassion for the girl and called on the evil spirit to leave her. The spirit did, but the girl lost her powers, and her owners lost their income. (Follow the money!) So the wealthy slave masters had the missionaries flogged and thrown in prison.




Remember those jails of that day were more like root cellars with no amenities and little or no food. How would you react if you ended up in jail – even for a few hours over a document mix-up? Paul's crew was different. At midnight the two (at least...where was Tim?) held a gospel prayer meeting including songs of praise. Their joy in Christ had nothing to do with outward circumstances. If you give praise only when all is well, you are not praising God, but circumstances!




Now these disciples had been accused of turning the world upside down. Now the Lord showed them what turning Earth upside down really meant. But first, let's back up a minute. A new approach emerges. In Philippi, Gentile country where there might not be synagogues on every corner, Paul and Silas knew or found out about a practice of meeting by the river to pray. (Cue Allison Kraus & When I Went down to the river to pray...).




At the place of prayer they found a group of God-fearing women who were open to their teaching. Luke singles out Lydia, who was a business woman and a leader. She sold cloth or clothes made of “purple,” almost certainly meaning a fabric or even clothing dyed purple and probably sold primarily to the wealthy and the connected. Purple is the coloor of many royal robes. Note when she believed, her who household was baptized. This is unusual for that day. Several times the Bible speaks of a man's whole household following him in baptism. Unless I've forgotten another instance, this is the only one reported in Scripture, but it shows the impact a woman can make on her household. That household included servants as well. (But probably not the animals...)




Back to the prison and overturning worlds. The earth did seem to be undergoing a flip when an earthquake hit hard enough to spring the prisoners loose. Paul used his first act of freedom to save an “enemy's” life. He stopped the jailer from killing himself to avoid a more horrible end at the hands of his superiors. If a Roman soldier failed his duty, he was in for it. (Compare to the report by the soldiers guarding Christ's tomb that the disciples carried Him away. If Pilate had believed that, their heads woulld have rolled – literally!)




For that act of kindness (possibly another if the dynamic duo were responsible for keeping the other prisoners there) , the jailer recognized these guys were different. They had something he wanted,, and he asked for it.: What must I DO to be saved?” You don't have to DO anything, “Believe (trust, commit, follow) the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved.!” Trust Him and that's it. Begin with trust. Later He may ask much more from you, but for now, just say YES with all your heart! And the jailer did, and the Lord did, and the Kingdom grew!




The next day, the order came to free the two, but Paul said NO. It wasn't so much that he liked it there, but he and Silas were Roman citizens, and they had not been given their rights. When the council heard that, they panicked They couldn't do too much in escorting the two out of the prison, but they did urge them to leave town. Instead, they went back to Lydia's place and encouraged the disciples there!




Note the case here, seldom mentioned in the Bible, that Paul stood up for his rights. He knew them, valued them, and on occasion demanded them.