Acts 17:1-9
Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. 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. 5 But the Jews[a] 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, 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.
1. Point 1- The Heavenly Vision
a. Macedonia--->Philippi---->Thessalonica....WHY?
i. Not because it was the capital city of Macedonia...or 10x’s larger in population than other cities... but because God called Paul, Silas, and Timothy to go there. Period. Though I suspect there may not have been a Jewish synagogue in Amphipolis or Apollonia and God reveals Christ first to the Jews.
1. Acts 16:6-10
a. 6 And they went through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. 7 And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus did not allow them. 8 So, passing by Mysia, they went down to Troas. 9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him and saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” 10 And when Paul[c] had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go on into Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
ii. Proverbs 12:15
1. The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man listens to advice.
iii. Proverbs 16:9
1. The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.
iv. Rollan Fisher
1. “You have a green light until you have a red light”
2. This is when wondering if you should act on something general the Lord has told us to do in his Word.
b. The Jewish Synagogue
i. Paul kept in step with God’s method of revealing His plan first to his chosen people the Jews. God has a priority.
1. Romans 1:16
a. 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
2. Point 2- The Heavenly Source
a. Paul reasoned with them from the scriptures
i. 2 And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,
ii. Paul knew the scriptures were authoritative to the Jews and used them to ‘renew their minds’ like Jesus did with the two disciples on the road to Emmaus.
1. Amos 3:6-8
a. 'Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the Lord has done it? "For the Lord God does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets. The lion has roared; who will not fear? The Lord God has spoken; who can but prophesy?"'
2. Ephesians 3:4-6
a. 'When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery
is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.'
3. Point 3- The Heavenly Message
a. Paul knew there main objection would be the misunderstanding of the scriptures missing the fact that the messiah needed to suffer, die, and raise from the dead.
i. 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.”
ii. Isaiah 52:13-53:
1. Behold, my servant shall act wisely;[b]he shall be high and lifted up,and shall be exalted.14 As many were astonished at you—his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—15 so shall he sprinkle[c] many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. ' Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will
of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes
intercession for the transgressors.'
Isaiah 53:1-12 https://www.bible.com/bible/59/ISA.53.1-12
4. Point 4- The Heavenly Response
a. Be persuaded that Jesus is the Christ and join His body
i. 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.
b. Some joined, and some were jealous
i. 5 But the Jews[a] 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, 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.
Action Challenge
1. Learn what the churches vision/call is for reaching the nations by talking the staff and visiting https://secondcitychurch.com/missions/
2. Study the Bible and learn to preach the good news from the source. Go to https://peacewithgod.net for interactive tool
3. Practice your two minute testimony
a. Check out http://bethel-church.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/testimony.pdf for guidance
4. Join the team and either pray, give, or go
a. https://secondcitychurch.com/give/
Second City Church - The Macedonian Call - Cole Parleir 2018