Acts 17:1-1 Mission: Thessalonica

Acts 17:1-1 Mission: Thessalonica During our family news I pointed out a card and some photos from the Griffith family in Portugal. And the reason they wrote was to thank us for our concern and support as they serve as missionaries in that country. In a recent email update they also wrote these words. Here Nathan and Kathy are referring to their Portuguese language studies at the university: We both have had many opportunities in our class setting to speak about Jesus. This has been a privilege and a massive challenge as we learn to communicate the gospel in Portuguese. Thankfully the Holy Spirit is able to use even the most broken Portuguese to bring people to Jesus. And if you look up the website of the mission organisation that has sent them - European Christian Mission, also known as ECM - hereʼs what they say: ECM is [a]... mission that seeks to plant and support local churches throughout Europe.... that continent continues to be the priority. ECM partners with missionaries, churches and individuals who are spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ throughout the nations of this continent. It is a huge task, but one that we believe is vital, exciting and unavoidable. 1 Sounds good doesnʼt it? Nathan and Kathy are beginning to have an impact. ECM is in 17 countries with 150 workers. And Grenfell Presbyterian Church is also part of that. So now my question is why? Why is that family and that organisation and our church playing a role in mission? Or, let me ask, why do we stuff shoeboxes with gifts and a tract about Jesus, and send them to poor children for Operation Christmas Child? Why will we get our hands dirty with Manure for Missions in a weeks time? Why do we have a mission budget and a Mission Support Group? And what are Paul and Silas and Timothy doing here in Thessalonica in todayʼs passage from Acts? See, today we begin a new series on 1 Thessalonians, which weʼll look at over the next few months. This morning weʼre starting with Acts 17 because the book of Acts is the history of the early church, and this chapter is where the Thessalonian church begins. And I want us to approach our passage by looking at it from the view of missionary work, because thatʼs exactly whatʼs happening here. Our first point picks up those questions we just asked and covers the why of mission. The why of mission. Why are these men travelling with the Gospel? Weʼll start by looking outside our passage. Listen again as I read from Matthew 28, our first Bible reading. This is the risen Lord Jesus talking to His disciples: Then Jesus came to them and said, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age. Paul and the other workers arrive in Thessalonica because theyʼre obeying Jesus. Theyʼre living out His Great Commission. They understand that Jesus never meant for His Gospel to be kept hidden, and that He wants followers from every part of the the globe. But thereʼs another part to the why as well, and this brings us to our second Bible reading. Paul and his friends had clear guidance and direction from God. Somehow, and the details arenʼt given to us, as they travelled the Holy Spirit kept them from going into Asia. And then Paul had a vision of a man from Macedonia begging them to come and help. Weʼre told in verse 10 of that reading: After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them. 1 Available: http://www.ecmi.org/default.aspx. Cited 17 February 2011. Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 20 February 2011 page 1 of 5

Now itʼs very important to grasp whatʼs happening here. This is the spread of the Gospel across continents. It was never meant to stay only with the early believers in the time and place of Jesus Himself. Macedonia was a province in what we today call Europe. Whatʼs happening here is that God pretty much says to Paul, Letʼs keep going. Youʼve spoken in t h e M i d d l e E a s t, a n d a r o u n d t h e Mediterranean, but donʼt stop yet. Take the news of my Son to another continent. And Thessalonica is the second major city in Europe, in Macedonia, thatʼs hit by the Gospel. See, God didnʼt just send Jesus with the hope that salvation through Him would affect only a few people. Heʼs not sitting back and wondering what might happen with this great news. God has His hand on the spreading of the message of Jesus Christ. And He still moves His Gospel and His people around the globe and to where people donʼt know Jesus, so that many lives are changed and won for Him. I only have to look at my own life to see how God opens and closes doors in this way. A decade ago I was working at a music store, and I thought I was on the path to studying exercise physiology of all things. And God stepped in, in a mind-blowing way, through the words of a friend, and said, Youʼre going to Bible college in Australia. Now I didnʼt know how all that would work out, but I had a complete and unavoidable conviction that this was what God wanted me to do. And I watched for months as many doors opened for me to come here. I even got a plane ticket from Canada to Australia for just a few hundred dollars, through a friend of a friend. Looking back now I highly doubt that was coincidental. And in January 2002 I arrived on another continent because God planned it, with literally a backpack, a carry-on bag, a guitar, and enough money in the bank for one semester of Bible college. Who wouldʼve ever thought that an atheist blasphemer from Newfoundland in Canada would end up the minister of the Presbyterian church in Grenfell? God has always known. It was His plan. Iʼm here to preach His Gospel. God is in the business of working things and lives so that opportunities happen and more people hear. His aim is for true Christianity to spread. Heʼs building a family of adopted children, who come to Him through embracing this news. And so why have we been supporting the Griffith family? Why a Bible Society dinner? Why did Paul and the others find themselves in Thessalonica, preaching at the synagogue? Because God has a heart for mission. Itʼs Godʼs plan that news about His Son should spread. Thatʼs our first point. The why of mission. Our second is the how. How then does Paul go about his missionary work? Well letʼs firstly think about his method. Read with me please verses 1-3 from our passage: When they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead. This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Christ,ʼ he said. Now if you follow the missionary journeys of Paul on a map, youʼll see that when he comes to Europe he first spends time in Phillipi, an important city. Then he passes through those places in verse 1, and then he specifically does ministry in Thessalonica. This is no accident. See, Thessalonica was a seaport city. That meant there was lots of money and prosperity. Lots of godlessness and worldliness came with that too. It was the capital city, so it was a seat of political power and influence. It was on an important trade route. And it was part of the Roman Empire, but mainly Greek, and with a Jewish community as well. And when you put all that together, Paul chose Thessalonica because it was strategic. If the Gospel can take root there, it has more chance of spreading all over the world to many different people groups. Paul wanted maximum impact for Christ. Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 20 February 2011 page 2 of 5

And so he made sure that he taught them clearly. See to understand the how of mission we really need to get our heads around what was taught. And we read in our passage that Paul began with the Jews and went to the synagogue and repeatedly explained the Scriptures showing that they point to Jesus. Paulʼs method was to begin with the word of God. He didnʼt just come in with his own ideas, or even religious sounding language. He took what God had said, Godʼs revealed word, which was also what these people were familiar with, and used that as His basis and highlighted Jesus from there. He said, ʻYou want the Messiah? Youʼre looking forward to Him? He came. Jesus is the Messiah. You want a Saviour, the one promised by the prophets? Jesus is that promised Saviour. Everything that God has said points to Him. Heʼs the goal of your Scriptures, the goal of your God.ʼ Do you see how this works? To share the Gospel you use Godʼs truth in His word which points to and shares Jesus. Those Jews in Thessalonica had a knowledge of the true God, but Jesus wasnʼt in the picture. And in todayʼs world itʼs not much different. If you look at current statistics, about 74% of Australians believe in some sort of a god or a higher power. Now you might be tempted to think based on those figures then that Australia has a live spirituality. But keep in mind that only 35% believe in a personal God. Only 42% believe that Jesus was God or a god. And many people would affiliate themselves with some sort of religion, but when it comes to practice even very few Christians read the Bible regularly. And only 19% of Australians attend church frequently, with frequently meaning only at least once a month in that statistic. 2 To summarise this, thereʼs lot of God-talk out there. People are happy to have some concept of Him. But thereʼs not a lot of truth from the Bible or Jesus. And without them, thereʼs no Gospel and therefore no salvation. Paulʼs method was to say, God is revealing Jesus. Godʼs word points to Jesus. Godʼs goal is Jesus. Itʼs not good enough to have a general acceptance of God. You need His Son. He sent Him to die and rise for you so you can be in a relationship with Him. Both the historical Thessalonians and our modern world need to hear that. Thatʼs the content of true missions. Or letʼs look at it this way. In verse 7 we see some of what the Jews said in trying to get the Christians into trouble with the authorities. They said, They are all defying Caesarʼs decrees, saying that there is another king, one called Jesus. They wanted the Christians to be labelled as rebels and a threat to the Empire so the Romans would get rid of them. Sounds familiar, doesnʼt it? See, it was very dangerous in the Roman Empire to be a known enemy of Caesar. He was supposed to be seen and accepted by all as both king and a god. This of course made things very hard for the first Christians and over the early history of the church many believers died because they were seen as troublemakers in the Roman Empire as they refused to put Caesar over Christ. But the teaching of the Christians that the Jews were trying to distort and use against them was truer than they realised. The spread of the Gospel is the message that Jesus is the true King. Thatʼs the life-changing truth that Paul brought to Thessalonica, affecting people forever. Itʼs the same core truth that we need to keep preaching and sharing today. See so many live their lives without every acknowledging Jesus. So many have placed another god or even themselves on the throne of their life. So many people live mainly for the other things of this life, even good things, but leave Jesus out of the picture. And so their god really is things like security, family, money, job, farm, health, sexuality, pleasures, comfort. Others of course are pursuing very dangerous things that leave no room for Him, like worldly success and power. But the truth is that Jesus is the King. And weʼre all His subjects, whether we embrace or deny that. Weʼre all in a relationship with Him 2 Most of these statistics came from NCLS: http://www.ncls.org.au/. Cited 17 February 2011. Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 20 February 2011 page 3 of 5

of some sort, either as worshippers or rebels. And Philippians 2:9-11 says it so clearly: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Will you bow now in acceptance and worship of the true King? And know and enjoy Him now and forever? Or will you reject Him and one day bow reluctantly because you have no choice, knowing that you lived a lie, and be His enemy for eternity? Well thatʼs the message that came to Thessalonica, as Paul shared the truth of Godʼs word, pointing to Jesus. Thatʼs the language and content of missions. So weʼve seen that missionary work happens because it matters to God and itʼs His plan and passion. And itʼs all about showing and proclaiming His Son as King. And so finally letʼs explore the response to missions. The response. Letʼs read verses 4 and 5 please: Some of the Jews were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a large number of Godfearing Greeks and not a few prominent women. But the 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 Jasonʼs house in search of Paul and Silas in order to bring them out to the crowd. On one hand, some people were faced with this news of Jesus as King and believed. Both Jews and Gentiles came to know Christ personally. They accepted His death and resurrection for them and Him as their Saviour. The Gospel spread and people were saved and received new and eternal life. Praise God that He called Paul to Macedonia. Praise God that good fruit came from obeying the Great Commission of Jesus. But sadly this wasnʼt the case for everyone. Weʼre told that the Jews were jealous. Now weʼre not told the exact nature of this jealousy, but maybe they didnʼt want anyone else to know their God apart from their laws, and in a different and Jesus-centered way. There was probably some jealousy in that people were turning from Judaism. And I would guess that there was some jealousy mixed up in power struggles among the Jewish leaders in that city as well. But notice how this opposition happened. It wasnʼt just a rejection of Jesus but hostility and violence. They formed a mob. They dragged a Christian Thessalonian named Jason from his house and brought him before the officials. And we heard in the latter part of our Bible reading that when the missionaries went on to another place called Berea, the Jewish Thessalonians actually followed them there and stirred up the crowd, causing trouble. See, people donʼt like to be told that Jesus is the King. Itʼs very confronting. It means that you have to give up control over your own life. It means being His subject and follower. It costs something. And some will fight against Him. Have you ever experienced that? We generally donʼt have anti-christian mobs in Australia, but what about when people tolerate general God talk, but then hate when you mention the name of Jesus? Have you ever seen that seething anger and hatred just below the surface when someone is threatened by Jesus? See, we can expect the same as Paul and Silas and Timothy. We will get two reactions as we go forward with the Gospel. Some will accept and be saved. Some will reject and hate Jesus to their dying breath. But either way thereʼs a great thing happening behind the scenes, whatever reaction happens. The Gospel is unstoppable. God is moving it forward. The Spirit is at work in lives and hearts and minds. Itʼs based on the unshakeable cross of His Son. Let me ask it this way. Why are we talking about, and rejoicing in, and even partnering in the Gospel today, on the 20th of February 2011 in this church in Grenfell NSW Australia? Because that angry mob in Thessalonica many years ago couldnʼt stop the Gospel. Paul didnʼt come to a dead end in Europe. People were saved Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 20 February 2011 page 4 of 5

and went on to spread the good news. None of the other obstacles or hardships or persecution that we read about in Acts could stop the Gospel. None of the Roman rulers who tortured and killed Christians could stop the Gospel. In fact for 2000 years it has steadily been advancing all over the globe. And even where it reaches people who hate Christ, He has people there who are His own, and who will embrace this truth and come to know Him and be saved. [For questions or to discuss this sermon: bernm@iinet.net.au or (02) 6343 2013] We are working with the unstoppable message of Jesus Christ, according to the plan and pleasure and power of God. And so the next time you have a chance to talk about Jesus and youʼre worried - and look, I know this can be very hard and very intimidating - please know that youʼre doing Godʼs work and even when opposition comes, Heʼs striving forward. Youʼre part of something awesome and gigantic. And when you think about how we should support missions, and which missionaries to pray for, and where to give our money, none of that is ever wasted, because itʼs tied up with the very heart and passion of our God. Paul and the others knew that, and it brought them to Thessalonica. Things werenʼt easy for them there. but people came to know Jesus personally, and they were able to start a new church. A few months later, Paul wrote to that church, and thatʼs where the letter 1 Thessalonians comes from. Heʼs writing out of concern for very new Christians who didnʼt have a lot of teaching, who were living out their faith in a hostile environment, who were struggling to build up this baby church for the glory of Christ. Keep this background in mind as we go through 1 Thessalonians. In fact, I ask you to read through that letter as we go through the sermon series. And let the impact of God-glorifying missionary work and the unstoppable Gospel and wash over you. Praise God that His Gospel is going forward relentlessly, bringing a message of hope to the world in preparation for that one day when all will bow before His Son, King Jesus. Letʼs pray. Bern Merchant Grenfell Presbyterian 20 February 2011 page 5 of 5