The Believer’s Passion

In our journey through Acts so far, there has been a common thread among the early believers, among the Apostles, and among many of the early converts. Passion. It is difficult to share the Word of God, to share Jesus Christ with people if we lack passion.

Am I saying that we “feel” that fire all the time? No. Anybody who has been on this walk for any length of time, if they are honest, will tell you that there are times that the fire seems to smolder.

In the spirit of transparency, I will tell you that there are times when I feel like there is something desperately wrong with me because I do not “feel” that fire, that passion welling up in me.

Something that I have learned in this walk, and that I praise the LORD for is this: God’s truth is not dependent on how we feel or the mistakes we make.

God’s Truth, God’s grace, and God’s mercy are what carry us through those feelings of inadequacy, failures, and limited human understanding. So the question arises: “Do we rely on our perception of ourselves, on others opinions of us, or do we rely on the Truth of God’s Living Word?”

There are so many things that vie for our attention every day. Sometimes our focus seems to be on a million different things at one time. When we discipline ourselves to come back to the scripture, take the time to come into communion with God, the things of this world seem to melt away and the fire in our hearts is once again stoked.

In Acts 17, we are going to see similar things happen with Paul and Silas. Recall that in Acts 16, in Philippi, they were persecuted, beaten, and eventually kicked out of town. I imagine there were plenty of times they felt like they were failing, or felt far away. Let’s look at how the early church leaders dealt with those same feelings.

The Scripture

Acts 17:1 NLT

1 Paul and Silas then traveled through the towns of Amphipolis and Apollonia and came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.

We are still looking at Paul’s second missionary journey. It was about one hundred mile from Philippi to Thessalonica. Again, they made the journey on foot.

They passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia (named after the sun god Apollo.) The mission was to get to Thessalonica. Paul wrote two letters to the church at Thessalonica; 1st and 2nd Thessalonians.

It was Paul’s custom to start in the synagogue of each town. This is where you would find those who did not believe and those who had not heard the good news of Jesus Christ.

Brothers and sisters, we are now in 2021. I want to remind you of something. It is 2021 A.D. A.D. is short for Anon Domini, Latin for “year of our LORD.” We must go out to the confused, the hopeless, the non-believer in this, the year of our LORD, and share the message of hope.

As we are going to see, Paul was one of the first Christian Apologists. That does not mean apologizing for our faith. Apologetics come from the Greek word “apologia” meaning to give a defense. We will see this as we unpack Acts 17.

Acts 17:2 NLT

2 As was Paul’s custom, he went to the synagogue service, and for three Sabbaths in a row he used the Scriptures to reason with the people.

Paul and Silas spent a couple of months in Thessalonica. Luke focuses on the three weeks that Paul spent with the Jews in the synagogue. After those three weeks, they turned to the Gentiles to share the message.

Paul and Silas had to work in order to support the ministry. We know of at least two times that the church at Philippi sent money to support the mission. The point is that they gave everything they had monetarily, physically, and emotionally to support the mission of sharing the Gospel message.

There are two important words used here; Scriptures and Reason.

Paul, when speaking to the Jews, always turned to the Old Testament, the books of the Kingdom and the Prophets to explain the fact that Jesus is the Messiah.

The word reason. Our faith is reasonable. Our faith is not some far-fetched fairy-tale. The Word of God came to be in such a way that logical thought, reasoning, and observable evidence back up the entirety of scripture.

Acts 17:3 NLT

3 He explained the prophecies and proved that the Messiah must suffer and rise from the dead. He said, “This Jesus I’m telling you about is the Messiah.”

This is a great lesson for the disciples today. Paul used prophecies that predated Jesus between 400-2000 years to PROVE that Jesus must be the Messiah.

Now, I get that some believers think that there is nothing to prove, that the word of God stands alone. I agree that His Word is infallible. I have to ask, why then did Paul set out to explain, to advocate for, to prove, and to give a defense for our faith?

I am not saying that everybody needs to be a Christian apologist, but we are called to be able to give a reason for our faith. The apostle Peter says it best:

1 Peter 3:15–16 NLT

15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ.

In agreement with Paul, Peter tells us exactly how to stay on track in our walk.

Keep Jesus Christ first.

Be ready to explain our hope in Christ.

Be gentle and respectful.

Live Kingdom minded.

The Plan-Paul’s Argument

The Birth of Christ

The Suffering of Christ

The resurrection of Christ

Jesus the Christ - The only hope

OT Scriptures

Paul may have pointed to Genesis 3:15, Isaiah 7:14, Micah 5:2, Hosea 11:1, Psalm 22, or Isaiah 53:5-12.

Paul supported that Jesus was who he said he was through the Word of God with the Jews. Jesus met all of the criteria plus some of the coming Messiah. If this man from Nazareth fulfilled the prophecies, He must be the Messiah. The only hope for mankind.

The amount of evidence that exists for Christ today is amazing. There are only 50 ancient manuscripts referencing Tiberius Caesar, who was the emperor at the time, yet over five thousand referencing Jesus Christ. Fifty of an Emperor, and over five thousand about a nobody carpenter from Nazareth? Okay.

Jesus is the Messiah. All Truth is God’s Truth, and it all points to Him.

Acts 17:4 NLT

4 Some of the Jews who listened were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, along with many God-fearing Greek men and quite a few prominent women.

There is a key word; persuaded. We are talking about hardcore Jewish people. Through patience, explanation, and facts, Paul persuaded Jews and Gentiles to at least consider Jesus Christ. For those efforts, several became believers.

This was not a one time meeting. Remember, Paul and Silas spent three weeks going to synagogue, and several months in Thessalonica, talking with these people, and coming up beside them.

When they were shot down, or let the infirmities of the flesh creep in, they went to prayer, they went to the Word of God. That is where we find the all consuming fire!

Unless we practice getting into the word of God and sharing Him with the world, nothing is going to change. We must be willing to put in the time and the effort. God will not make us, he wants us to love him enough that we decide to spend time with Him and to share Him with this world.

Acts 17:5 NLT

5 But some of the Jews were jealous, so they gathered some troublemakers from the marketplace to form a mob and start a riot. They attacked the home of Jason, searching for Paul and Silas so they could drag them out to the crowd.

I will often do a parallel Bible study. I will read different translations. I want to share what the KJV 1900 says to show the difference in how we talk now. I found it humorous. “But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort.”

Anyway, these “lewd fellows of a baser sort” or troublemakers formed a mob and started a riot. They attacked the home of Jason. Paul and Silas were staying with a man named Jason in Thessalonica.

They were going to drag Paul and Silas out to the mob! Jealousy is dangerous amongst humans. Paul and Silas had no intention of starting a riot! They only shared the Word of God and the Good news of the Messiah!

Acts 17:6 NLT

6 Not finding them there, they dragged out Jason and some of the other believers instead and took them before the city council. “Paul and Silas have caused trouble all over the world,” they shouted, “and now they are here disturbing our city, too.

We are watching similar things play out in our country. People jealous that they do not have what others have, do not get what they want, have to listen to an opposing opinion, and they became hateful, ugly, and violent. Look here at what they do to Jason, we have seen this play out time and again in this country over the past several years:

We have watched as people are dragged from cars, women attacked, children attacked, all in the name of jealousy, greed, and hate. People threatened and attacked in their homes. For having a difference of opinion or for having more material wealth.

If you are a Christian and you hear my voice tonight and you have convinced yourself that what I just said is the right way to behave, you need to work out your salvation with fear and trembling before the LORD. We are to be known as peacemakers, so sayeth the LORD Jesus Christ.

The One True King

Acts 17:7 NLT

7 And Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all guilty of treason against Caesar, for they profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.”

Because Jason welcomed Paul and Silas into his home, he and his family should be held responsible. I could take this deep into what we have witnessed over the last ten years in this country, but I do not think I need too.

Here it is, here is the straw that broke the camels back. They profess allegiance to another king, named Jesus.

Who do you want to be known for representing? What do you want to be known for standing for? Who do you want the world to see when they look at you?

Every person professing the name of Christ, every person standing for the Kingdom of God should be known for the same thing as the early believers. Jesus Christ, our LORD and Savior.

I pray that we each take tonight’s teaching to heart. That our hearts and minds are continually molded by the potter, that we are always clay in His hands. That our passion is in Him and that everything else takes second place.

Go in Power

Go in the Power of Christ, moving forward, not looking back. As disciples of Christ, you are a living testimony to His mercy, glory, and grace.

God bless you tonight. Please pray with me.