In Thessalonica

HOOK

DO NOT FORGET TO UNMUTE

It’s the 14th day of December— Monday! Happy birthday Kuya Gene

Last Thursday right here at “The Message” we concluded with chapter 16 with the record of events that took place when Paul and Silas was thrown in prison for the very first time in their journey, and it happened in Philippi— after the Holy Spirit did not let them preach the gospel in the province of Asia, they were led to spread the gospel in the province of Macedonia instead— and while in Philippi, they were put behind bars after they rebuked the spirit in a female fortune teller who predicts the future— while in prison at about midnight, they prayed and sung praise unto the Lord while other prisoners listened— suddenly, there was such as a strong earthquake that shook the foundations of the prison and at once the prison doors flew open— everyone’s chains came loose— the jailer woke up and thinking that the prisoners escaped, he drew his sword to kill himself, but Paul shouted, “do not harm yourself”, we are all here— amazed by what he saw, the jailer came trembling before Paul and Silas and asked, “sirs, what must I do to be saved?”— they replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved— you and your family”— from this we learned:

I WILL BE SAVED IF I BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS— ME AND MY FAMILY

TRUE JOY COMES AFTER SALVATION

Today we will begin with chapter 17— and this time, Paul and his companions were in Thessalonica— open your Bible to ACTS 17:1-9

When studying the Bible, look for words that defines the CHARACTER of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit— keep an eye on COMMANDS to obey— good EXAMPLES to follow, and bad examples to avoid— PROMISES that you could claim— sins to CONFESS— CHALLENGES you encountered— and ENCOURAGEMENT to keep you going

READ ACTS 7:1-9

BOOK

Acts 17:1–9 NIV

1 When Paul and his companions had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. 2 As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, 3 explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah,” he said. 4 Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of God-fearing Greeks and quite a few prominent women. 5 But other Jews were jealous; so they rounded up some bad characters from the marketplace, formed a mob and started a riot in the city. They rushed to Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. 6 But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting: “These men who have caused trouble all over the world have now come here, 7 and Jason has welcomed them into his house. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus.” 8 When they heard this, the crowd and the city officials were thrown into turmoil. 9 Then they made Jason and the others post bond and let them go.

WHAT: Paul, Silas and Timothy in Thessalonica

WHERE: They passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica [capital town of Macedonia]— about 95 miles west of Philippi— it served as a port with close ties with Rome [SHOW MAP]

WHEN: Early church— second missionary journey of Paul

WHO: Paul, Silas, Timothy and their companions— Jason [a Jewish Christian who hosted Apostle Paul and his companions while in Thessalonica]

WHY: To preach in Thessalonica about the death and resurrection of King Jesus— the Messiah

Their stay in Thessalonica was cut short by persecution— Paul preached on 3 consecutive Sabbath, so most likely their stay in Thessalonica would have been just a month or so…

LOOK

BUT OTHER JEWS WERE JEALOUS; SO THEY ROUNDED UP SOME BAD CHARACTERS

As happened earlier in Pisidian Antioch [ACTS 13:45], in Iconium [ACTS 14:2], and in Lystra [ACTS 14:9]— the jealousy of particular local Jews compels them to oppose Paul and the movement of the early church— Jealousy was the common reason of their resistance to the message— some time ago, one of the biblical principles we learned was— Jealousy leads to rejection, persecution and expulsion

Jealous Jews formed a mob and started a riot in the city— mob and riots was evident lately here in America— they rushed to Jason’s house searching for Paul and Silas— when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other believers before the city officials, shouting...

THESE MEN WHO HAVE CAUSED TROUBLE ALL OVER THE WORLD HAVE NOW COME HERE

To press their case against them, they accused the church of promoting sedition— inciting people to rebel against the authority of a state or monarch— preaching about King Jesus was a threat to Caesar— a threat to the establishment— King Herod felt threatened with the news that our Lord and KingJesus was born— he gave the orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity [MATTHEW 2:16]— Jesus was accused of the same when they brought Him to Pontius Pilate — LUKE 23:2-3

When they heard this…

THE CROWD AND THE CITY OFFICIALS WERE THROWN INTO TURMOIL

Turmoil— a state of great disturbance, confusion and uncertainty— then they made Jason and other Christians with him to post bond and let them go— when they were released on bail, i may be on condition that Paul and Silas leave town

What resonated to me out of our short devotional study today was that— jealousy was the common reason for resistance— bad character was also mentioned in the passage— in his letter to the church on Corinth, Paul also said something about “character” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:33]

To put these in sentences that we can all easily remember— I came up with these biblical principles that we can live by

TOOK

JEALOUSY IS THE COMMON REASON FOR RESISTANCE

BAD COMPANY CORRUPTS GOOD CHARACTER

SING

Joan from Word for World Church— Goodness of God