Acts 17:1-9
World Changers
Introduction:
- Greetings
- Declaration of Blessing: We at the FCC believe that we are a people blessing. Meaning God is using us to bless other people. Wherever we are we must bring blessings to others. That’s why every Friday we normally declare blessings before we begin our study. Can we do that now? Let us now declare blessing to the person seated next to us to our right and to the person on our left and say this word “Be Ready For Your Promotion”.
- Ice Breaker:
- World Changers – Acts 17:1-9
- What is our role as born again Christian in this world? If God is only interested spending eternity with us, He could put us to death at the time we were born again. But the fact that we are still alive, He still has a purpose for us. And that is for us to be a world Changers.
- We are not world decorations, that is like a picture frame being hanged in our walls good only to be a decorations.
- We are not world Compromisers either as some Christians do. Compromising to the standards of the world.
- We are not even world Conformers that conforms to the ways of the world.
- Personally I can not accept the idea that born again Christians and non- born again Christian is just same-same. There is no difference they said. But I firmly believe in the word of God in 2 Cor. 5:17
2CO 5:17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.
- We are not here to conform into the world but to transform the world through our message as Romans 12:2 said:
RO 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
- But can that be done being a minority of this world? Let us first look precedence in history if this is possible.
The Ninevites during the time of Jonah.
This was Nineveh before Jonah preached there about the coming judgment of God.
JNH 1:2 “Arise, go to Nineveh the great city and cry against it, for their wickedness has come up before Me.”
But after Jonah’s preaching look what history tells us:
JNH 3:7 …. “In Nineveh by the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let man, beast, herd, or flock taste a thing. Do not let them eat or drink water.
JNH 3:8 “But both man and beast must be covered with sackcloth; and let men call on God earnestly that each may turn from his wicked way and from the violence which is in his hands.
The whole nation repented of their sin.
In the New Testament. During the early years of Christianity, they were just 120 believers in the upper room and the word of God spread through out Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the whole Palestinian world, and people see them as people who is turning the world upside down. Meaning they have a different standard of living which is not in accordance with this world. This is how must the world see us today.
Yes it can be done, as it was before. How it can be done? Let us now look at Paul’s experience in Thessalonica. In our passage we can see 2 things that I would like to share with you how can we as Born-Again Christians can be world changers.
I. By Preaching The Scripture
II. By Proclaiming The Savior
I. Preaching the Scripture (vv. 2, 3)
- Let us look at our passage, preaching the scripture became Paul’s way of life. Everywhere he went he made sure that people was given a chance to listen to the preaching of scripture. Even in prison: Phil 1:12-13
Phil 1:12 Now I want you to know, brethren, that my circumstances have turned out for the greater progress of the gospel,
Phil 1:13 so that my imprisonment in the cause of Christ has become well known throughout the whole praetorian guard and to everyone else,
- Today some churches have taken the focus off preaching the scripture and begun focusing on other things. Like politics, opinions, own ideas and other subject matter.
- Today people tend to believe more on the myths rather than the truth of the Word of God. This is what Paul was telling to Timothy. In 2 Tim 4:2-4
2TI 4:2 preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction.
2TI 4:3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires,
2TI 4:4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.
Illustrations:
Da Vinci Code. Do you remember this book? Dan Brown the author of the book explicitly and categorically said in one of his interview that what he has written is a myth, not true just a novel for entertainment, but Some people, believe more on this myth rather than believing on the truth of the word of God.
- Let us be reminded not only the truth of the Word of God but the accuracy of the scripture. I firmly believe the infallibility and accuracy of the scripture. That it never commit mistakes.
- In the course of history people tried to destroy the credibility of the Word of God but they failed.
Illustration:
A noted French Atheist philosopher Voltaire, who died in 1778, said that in one hundred years from his time Christianity would be swept from existence and the Bible will be gone. Only fifty years after Voltaire’s death, the Geneva Bible Society used his press and his house to produce stacks of Bibles.
The Word of God said:
LK 21:33 “ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.
More on the accuracy and infallibility of the word of God.
Martin Luther
“The Scriptures have never erred. The Scriptures cannot err. It is certain that the Scripture cannot disagree with itself. It is impossible for that Scripture should contradict itself, only that it so appears to the senseless and obstinate hypocrites.”
Paul D. Feinberg
“Inerrancy is the view that when all the facts become known, they will demonstrate that the Bible in its original autographs and correctly interpreted is entirely true and never false in all it affirms, whether that relates to doctrine or ethics or to the social, physical or life sciences.”
Sir William Ramsey
He was, in his time, the world’s eminent authority on the geography and history of ancient Asia Minor (Turkey).
In his zeal to study every available early document concerning ancient Asia Minor, he undertook an intensive research of the New Testament book of Acts and also the Gospel of Luke. He didn’t believe the Bible, so this study was approached with much skepticism. In fact, he considered the book of Acts as “highly imaginative and carefully colored account of primitive Christianity.”
But after many years of intensive study, the absolute historical accuracy of Luke’s writings, even in the most minute details, captured first his brain and then his heart.
This scholar, who begun an unbeliever, became a staunch defender of the Bible.
Scientific accuracy of the Bible
The fact that the earth is spherical
Did you know that some 700 years before Christ, the Hebrew prophet Isaiah wrote in Isa. 40:22 this words:
“He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, and its people are like grasshoppers.”
This was 2,700 years ago when the common man held that the earth was flat.
For it was not until the introduction of the compass and the 15th century voyages of Columbus and Magellan was it proven that earth was spherical.
The fact that the earth is suspended in space
The book of Job is thought to be one of the oldest in the Bible, written perhaps earlier than 1500 years B.C.
At this time one of the most advanced theories concerning the earth was that our planet was flat and rested securely upon the back of a gigantic turtle who was slowly plodding through a cosmic sea of some sort.
•But note the refreshing and accurate words of Job (26:7),
“He spreads out the northern skies over empty space; he suspends the earth over nothing.”
Now this was not known by the scientists of the world until the writings of Sir Isaac Newton in 1687 A.D.
The facts involving circumcision
In his book “None of These Diseases,
Dr. S. McMillen discusses in the 3rd chapter the astonishing scarcity of cervical cancer among Jewish women.
“There is one final but remarkably unique fact about the matter of circumcision. In November, 1946, an article in The Journal of the American Medical Association listed the reasons why circumcision of the newborn is advisable.
Three months later a letter from another specialist appeared in the same journal. He agreed heartily with the writer of the article on the advantages of circumcision, but he criticized him for failing to mention the safest time to perform the operation. This is a point well taken.
L. Emmeth Holt and Rustin McIntosh report that a newborn infant has a peculiar susceptibility to bleeding between the 2nd and 5th days of life … It is felt that the tendency to hemorrhage is due to the fact that the important blood-clotting element, Vitamin K, is not formed until the 5th to the 7th day … A second element which is also necessary for the normal clotting of blood is prothrombin … It appears (based on the data from the science of Pediatrics) that an 8th-day old baby has more available prothrombin than any other day in its entire life.
Thus one observes that from a consideration of Vitamin K and prothrombin determinations the perfect day to perform a circumcision is the 8th day.”
3, 500 years ago before the discovery of this fact the word of God said:
“Then God said to Abraham, “As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You are to undergo circumcision, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and you. For the generations to come every male among you who is eight days old must be circumcised …” (Gen. 17:9-12)
The Scripture is God’s Word to men, it contains the truth of God it is in-errerant and accurate
And We are commanded to preach the scripture,
Romans 10:15
RO 10:14 How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?
RO 10:15 How will they preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written, “HOW BEAUTIFUL ARE THE FEET OF THOSE WHO BRING GOOD NEWS OF GOOD THINGS!”
We’re living in a time when The Bible is under attack on all sides. There are some that say the Bible is nothing more than an old historical book, that no longer applies to our life or it is something obsolete now adays. Some say it’s just something that man made up in order to enslave others.
But we believe that the truth of Bible is eternal and it is profitable for anyone who will put their faith on it.
2TI 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;
Church we have in our hand the word of God, God’s revelation to man in writings and it’s teachings is enough to change the world.
How can we change the world? Not only by preaching the scripture, Secondly
II. By Proclaiming the Savior
In vs. 3 we can read:
AC 17:3 explaining and giving evidence that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, “ This Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you is the Christ.”
As we all know the Jewish concept of the Messiah is that He is going to save the Israelites from bondage, But they did not realized that the deliverance will be not in the human or physical bondage but from spiritual bondage. They are expecting a political Messiah who will deliver them from Roman Empire. They did not accept that Jesus is the promise Messiah in the Old Testament. And I tell you church that until now the Jews are still waiting for the coming of the Messiah.
Paul was explaining to them that Jesus is the only Savior given by God. He explained to them Christ Nature and what He has done.
Today some Churches tend to preach and parade their own knowledge of the scripture, how skilled and knowledgeable they are in terms of explaining the Bible but forget one thing. preaching Christ and His saving power. Paul have decided that his preaching will be as simple as it can be so that his audience faith will not rely on man’s knowledge but on the power of God.
1CO 2:1 And when I came to you, brethren, I did not come with superiority of speech or of wisdom, proclaiming to you the testimony of God.
1CO 2:2 For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.
People today do not realize that they need Jesus Christ in their life. They tend to put their trust on material things of this world for them to make them happy and to fulfill their life, but all of them failed. They want to leave Jesus out of their life and they failed.
Illustration:
JOHN LENNON:
Some years before during his interview with an American Magazine, he said: "Christianity will end, it will disappear. I do not have to argue about that. I am certain. Jesus was ok, but his subjects were too simple, Today we are more famous than Him" (1966)".After saying that the Beatles were more famous than Jesus Christ, Beatles Break up. And Lennon was shot six times(1980).
MARILYN MONROE:
She was visited by Billy Graham during a presentation of a show. He is a preacher and Evangelist and the Spirit of God had sent him to preach to her. After hearing what the Preacher had to say, she said: "I don't need your Jesus" A week later, she was found dead in her apartment.
The word Christian came from the word Christ. Without Christ that will leave us IAN which means I am nothing.
We need Christ in our life above all the material things we can have.
Illustration: Benoit
May be you remember this man. He is a former world wrestling federation champion. And this what happened to him a month ago.
The World today as before need a Savior, and there is only one Savior of the world and that is Jesus Christ we need Him in our life. What He can give to us is more than what the world has to offer.
MT 1:21 “She will bear a Son; and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.”
JN 1:29 The next day he *saw Jesus coming to him and *said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
With ourselves alone we are helpless we can not save ourselves and we can not change our life, we need the saving power of our Lord Jesus Christ. If He is with us, He will make us a new creation and experience abundant life with Him.
Church, Let us Proclaim the only Savior of the World. Jesus Christ. (Show Jesus Slide)
Challenge:
We can not change the whole world at once or over night, but we can start in our small world: Our family, our work place, our community. Let us Preach the Scripture and Proclaim the Savior.
Let us Pray:
Father in heaven, we thank you for Son Jesus Christ our Savior, we thank you for your Word that shows us the truth. It is our prayer that you will use us in our World to bring your saving power to the un-saved for this is your desire. Help us not to be world conformers nor world compromisers but world changers because of your Word and because of Jesus our Savior. This we pray in the name of Jesus, Amen.