Building the Church (19)
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The Tale of 3 Cities
The Tale of 3 Cities
Good morning. Welcome back.
How did you see God move this week?
Blind village - describe an elephant
There are always going to be different responses from different groups.
Especially in the Church
One hundred religious persons knit into a unity by careful organizations do not constitute a church any more than eleven dead men make a football team. The first requisite is life, always. - AW Tozer
The Tale of 3 Cities
The Tale of 3 Cities
I believe in the church there are 3 types that we could fit in.
That is what I want to look at today and how we approach each of them.
Let’s Pray.
The Tale of 3 Cities
The Tale of 3 Cities
When last left Paul and Silas they had been in Philippi, they were imprisoned, and freed.
It was time to move on.
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
The Tale of 3 Cities
The Tale of 3 Cities
The strategy had been - go to the synagogue and then out.
For the time in Philippi - there was none.
This must of felt like a relief to Paul. - his heart was strong for his people
2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” 4 And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
The Tale of 3 Cities
The Tale of 3 Cities
This must have been encouraging for Paul, but this leads us to our first type of people.
Stuck in the Past
5 But the Jews were jealous, and taking some wicked men of the rabble, they formed a mob, set the city in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring them out to the crowd.
6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
Comfort and tradition is often a hindrance to the spread of the Gospel.
Stuck in the Past
I am not saying traditions are not good, but when they become the center of our belief and ministry we leave little room for growth.
16 And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. So there will be one flock, one shepherd.
Stuck in the Past
Church cannot be personality focused, preference focused, or style focused
Church must me be Gospel focused - and the mission God has given us.
6 And when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also, 7 and Jason has received them, and they are all acting against the decrees of Caesar, saying that there is another king, Jesus.” 8 And the people and the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things. 9 And when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let them go.
So they left. that leads us to the next group.
10 The brothers immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived they went into the Jewish synagogue.
Hungry to grow
11 Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.
Hungry to grow
Growth and direction is based on God’s word
Hungry to grow
These people did not take things at face value, or because someone said it.
They studied for themselves.
The outcome was obvious
12 Many of them therefore believed, with not a few Greek women of high standing as well as men.
Hungry to grow
Be ready, our enemy is most afraid of a church that prays and studies,
13 But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of God was proclaimed by Paul at Berea also, they came there too, agitating and stirring up the crowds. 14 Then the brothers immediately sent Paul off on his way to the sea, but Silas and Timothy remained there. 15 Those who conducted Paul brought him as far as Athens, and after receiving a command for Silas and Timothy to come to him as soon as possible, they departed.
Hungry to grow
Difficulties can never and must never stop our mission.
So many time, hard times causes a church to circle in, but this is the time we must go out.
The world is as dark and in need as ever
16 Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him as he saw that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons, and in the marketplace every day with those who happened to be there.
That leads us to the 3rd group:
Those who have no clue
The Gospel will cause questions
18 Some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers also conversed with him. And some said, “What does this babbler wish to say?” Others said, “He seems to be a preacher of foreign divinities”—because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. 19 And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20 For you bring some strange things to our ears. We wish to know therefore what these things mean.” 21 Now all the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there would spend their time in nothing except telling or hearing something new.
Those who have no clue
For these we must:
We must people where they are at with truth, reason, and love.
22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious.
23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you.
Those who have no clue
Our faith is not just a heart thing, but it is a reason thing also.
We must be able to speak and teach intelligently.
The church must be able to go wide without losing any depth.
24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us,
We can relevant and true
28 for “ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’ 29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man.
The Tale of 3 Cities
The Tale of 3 Cities
We need to meet each group in our church
We are not responsible for their response, but we are with telling the truth
32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.
The Tale of 3 Cities
The Tale of 3 Cities
Dinner table story
Just as you must eat, drink, and breathe to live, you must read the Bible, pray, and be involved in a church to stay spiritually alive and vital. You never will outgrow these things.
-Greg Laurie
It is all of our mission to continue the mission
Let us not be locked in the past, may we be hungry to grow, and continue to reach those who have no clue.
Let’s pray.
