"The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch"

Introduction: Did you think that becoming a Christian and living the gospel would make life easy, simple, make everything nice and tidy for you?

Tidy Gospel: Light exposes good as dark recedes quietly.

That is not my impression of Paul’s Missionary trips.

Paul, The Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch

1. Paul’s missionary journeys cover seven chapters in the book of Acts. Throughout these chapters, we see some overlapping themes: social disruption, signs and wonders, persecution, and rejection or acceptance of the gospel message.

Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch Video Clip.

Blowing up Idols (Def.): Something Good Created by God that is worshipped in God’s place.

Some believed, but many rioted

Acts 16:16–24 NIV

Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and the rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved.” She kept this up for many days. Finally Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the spirit left her. When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities. They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar by advocating customs unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.” The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. After they had been severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to guard them carefully. When he received these orders, he put them in the inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.

1. The gospel is countercultural. When believed and taken to heart, it should change society. The message of the gospel caused great social disruption. Throughout Paul’s journeys, there were instances when society was turned upside down. In Acts 16:16–24, Paul casts out an evil spirit from a slave girl. Her owners used her bondage to make money by divination, so they stirred up the city against them for attacking their business. A similar instance happened in Ephesus, led by Demetrius, a silversmith. Paul’s teaching against idols was a threat to the business selling idols in the temple of Artemis, and so Demetrius gathered the workmen from other similar trades to create a mob against Paul (Acts 19:23–41).

Acts 19:21–40 NIV

After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.” He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer. About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way. A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there. He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said: “You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business. And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all. There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited; and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.” When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia, and all of them rushed into the theater together. Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him. Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater. The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front, and they shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people. But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess. If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges. If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly. As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of what happened today. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it.” After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.

Revealing the Truth in Chulture - Examples from Acts and his letters.

Acts 17:28 (LEB)

Acts 17:28 LEB

for in him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said: ‘For we also are his offspring.’

Colossians 2:10 NIV

and in Christ you have been brought to fullness. He is the head over every power and authority.

Colossians 2:15 NIV

And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.

Ephesians 6:5–9 NIV

Slaves, obey your earthly masters with respect and fear, and with sincerity of heart, just as you would obey Christ. Obey them not only to win their favor when their eye is on you, but as slaves of Christ, doing the will of God from your heart. Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him.

Philemon

The Gospel blows up idols while restoring the image of God.

1. During his trials, Paul was often arrested. He wrote letters of encouragement, such as Philippians, even while imprisoned. In addition to being arrested, Paul was often beaten and even left for dead. But every time, he would get up and keep preaching the gospel. He understood that the gospel message is hated by the forces of darkness, and there will be opposition. One extreme example came during his first missionary journey. Paul was stoned so severely that afterward the Jews thought he was dead and dragged his body away (Acts 14:19).

1. Finally, throughout his journeys, the power of God can be seen through Paul. The impetus for the social disruption in Acts 16 is Paul’s casting out a demon from a slave girl (16:18). In Lystra, Paul healed a man who could not walk (14:10). In Ephesus, Scripture states that God was doing such extraordinary things through them that if a handkerchief touched them, people would carry it away to heal the sick (Acts 19:12).

Salt and Light in a World of Idols.

What is the Story of our culture? The idols and the good.

The Story of the West

Lawrence Krauss - NPR’s Science Friday program that took place at ASU, featuring Lawrence Krauss who runs the Origins Project.

Audience Member: What is the likelihood that we will be able to transcend our predisposition to superstition?

Answer:…ultimately I think we’ll be able to transcend it not just when we have a better story, which we do, because science is a better story than myth or superstition and all those things. But it’s also when we can use that to address the things that myth and superstition provide, like consolation, community. And I think that we have to think more carefully about how we can use rationality and an empirical world view and in fact recognize that sience is a very spiritual endeavor…in spite of the fact that some people think it kills spirituality. We have to do a better job of usurping those things that have already been usurped by people who wear dresses in the vatican...

Western Faith: Rationalistic (Modern) Humanism

Autonomous man is capable of defining the world (Creator) and solving problems of world and bring about a new world of freedom and material prosperity (Redeemer) with his own rational resources.

Western Confession of Faith:

I believe in Science Almighty. I believe in the power of human reason by the scientific method to understand, control, and change our world.

I believe in Technology and a Rational Society, its only begotten Sons which have the power to renew our world.

I believe in the spirit of progress. I believe that a science based technology and a rationally organized society will enable me to realize my ultimate human goals - freedom, happiness, and the comforts of material abundance.

I believe in economism. I believe that the abundance of consumer goods and experiences and the leisure and freedom to consume them will make me happy. To this I commit myself with all my money, time, energy, and resources. Amen.

Walking between the Two Ditches - Leslie Newbigin.

Pharisaism & Essenes - Protectionism/Walls

Saducees & Herodians - Syncretism

Jesus - Salt and Light “In the World, but not of it.”

Examples of Salting and Lighting

Societal - Slavery argued as economic.

1. William Wilberforce is an illustration of someone who, when applying the principles of the gospel (Galatians 3:28), knew that the institution of slavery in the British empire had to be abolished. He worked tirelessly as a British politician to end the slave trade. Given that the empire covered a quarter of the world’s surface, this act of making slavery illegal was a tremendous disruption to society.

Belgic Confession - Gospel Bearing light on Aparthied.

Education - Why get an education? Ben

Two stories from NDC Health - Encouraging Executives not to use HIPAA as an opportunity to maximize profits, but to fulfill companies vision of reducing healthcare costs. and talking to fellow employee on the purpose of being a Financial Analyst.

Todd - choosing not to market product to Satanic Heavy Metal Bands and be associated with their name.

Conclusion: What are the Idols you are facing? How can you enter the mess? How can you see things in light of the Gospel, both those things that can be restored to the image of God, and those things that will be blown up?