How to Turn the World Upside Down.

KJ Washington

[0:00] Good morning everyone. My name is KJ and I serve on staff here at Village Church [0:05] and I’m looking forward to our opportunity to be able to open up God’s [0:08] Word together this morning. If you have your Bible you can turn to Acts chapter [0:12] 17. We’ll be in verses 1 through 9 this morning. Again that’s Acts chapter 17 [0:17] we’ll be in verses 1 through 9 this morning. I remember growing up there was [0:23] this time period in my life that I had this great ambition, this great dream. The

[0:27] dream or ambition that I had in my life was to own a McDonald’s. And so some of [0:32] you all, you laugh at me for that but as a child I had that delightful taste [0:37] of a chicken nugget for the first time and it changed my life forever. I [0:40] remember my father and I going to McDonald’s and splitting the 20 piece [0:44] nugget and just enjoying those nuggets and so in my mind I thought hey I wanted [0:48] to help other people delight in McDonald’s as well. So I wanted to see the

[0:52] children of the world enjoy all of God’s goodness through a chicken [0:57] nugget and so for me in that time period I thought one of the best ways for me to [1:01] make an impact on the world was through owning a McDonald’s. My point being is [1:06] this is that every generation, every person has had a desire to make an [1:10] impact on the world right. And so for me as a child my vision for that impact was [1:14] hey I think I can own a McDonald’s. I think I can do something in the world by owning a

[1:19] McDonald’s. But what we really need to do at times is to move away from having [1:23] world change, being a part of world change from a 5,000 foot view and move [1:28] to considering world change from a 10 foot view. I think that’s what we see as [1:32] a reality for us in Scripture as the Bible gives us a vision for world [1:37] change. It calls people, individuals like you and I to consider the impact that we [1:41] can have on the world by the way that we’re investing intentionally each other

[1:47] from a 10 foot perspective and not a 5,000 foot perspective. Our desire to [1:52] make an impact or to leave a legacy of world change is a good desire but [1:57] sometimes our desires can be misplaced. What we see throughout Scripture is that [2:01] I think God is calling us to be people of world change but that world change is [2:06] stemmed and rooted in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That’s what we see from Paul [2:11] in Acts chapter chapter 17 verses 1 through 9 as he’s seeking to go out to

[2:16] the world and advance the mission of Jesus but he’s very intentional with his [2:19] actions and while he’s embracing the spaces that he’s put in for God’s glory. [2:25] See that that’s the 10 foot view we need to have is that we can be a part of [2:28] changing the world through our intentional investment as individuals for [2:32] the sake of the gospel. And that’s what we see in Acts chapter 17 verses 1 through [2:37] 9. This leads us to our first point this morning. Embrace the spaces around you

[2:41] for God’s glory. Embrace the spaces around you for God’s glory. This is what [2:45] we see picking up in verse 1. Luke writes he says now when they had passed [2:50] through Amphipolis and Apollina they came to Thessalonica where there was a [2:54] synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in as was his custom and on the three Sabbath [2:59] days he reasoned with them from the scriptures explaining and proving that [3:03] it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead saying

[3:08] this Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ. Right here off in verse 1 we see [3:13] that Paul is traveling after having a successful missionary journey in [3:18] Philippi. He’s moving from Philippi and he’s going towards Thessalonica. What we [3:21] know about this time period is that there was a road that was being built [3:24] that was known as an innovative structure in this time period where [3:29] Paul traveled this road that was 21 feet wide from going from Philippi to

[3:35] Thessalonica. And so Paul was experiencing this roadway for the first [3:39] time probably and he was kind of enamored by it but he knew that God was [3:42] actually calling him to go to Thessalonica by the roadway that was being [3:45] constructed. So what we see here is that Paul’s making this trip after the gospel [3:50] was planted in Philippi, a successful trip to say man I want to go to another [3:55] region another location to be able to see the gospel events. What we see here

[4:00] in this text that Paul’s being attentional and obedient to God by him [4:03] realizing the truth that he needs to submit himself to the mission. What Paul [4:09] was actually doing he was actually trusting the wisdom of the Lord. What Paul [4:13] showing to us here is that for us to embrace the spaces it actually requires [4:17] us to have wisdom. That’s what we see here from Paul that Paul trusted God’s [4:22] good plans for his life and he realized that the mission of Jesus needed to

[4:26] guide his ambitions and purposes. He learned this reality through his time [4:31] emerged in God’s Word. If you know anything about Paul’s life you know when [4:34] he came to faith in Jesus he didn’t immediately go out there and start [4:37] reaching people. He actually took some time and he sat under God’s Word. He [4:42] soaked in God’s Word. He immersed himself in the Bible so that he could understand [4:46] God’s heartbeat for his mission. So his time spent was shaping his mind which

[4:52] then shaped his heart and that was lived out through his actions above of the [4:56] ways that he wanted to reach the world for the gospel. It took some wisdom. God [5:01] was his source of wisdom. That’s what we see here through this text that Paul was [5:06] that he understood that for him to actually embrace the spaces around him [5:10] he needs to consider what was maybe the most wise of space for him to enter. As [5:14] we see in this text that Paul enters straight into Thessalonica and he goes

[5:18] towards the synagogue. If you know anything about Paul the synagogue was a [5:22] was a great place for him to interact with people. Paul of his Jewish background [5:26] he had the know-how to be able to engage well with the Jewish people. So [5:30] in his mind he realized that the best way for him to reach people for the sake [5:35] of Jesus name was by him going to a place where people are already desiring [5:38] God. The Jewish people for their own selves had their own desire for

[5:42] God and Paul went there and monopolized on this opportunity. He said hey let me [5:47] share with you who Jesus is. So Paul took advantage of the space that God had [5:53] placed him in. The wisdom led him to this space. We knew once he was brought [5:57] there he needed to consider what was the best space for him to go to to reach the [6:02] most people. And for Paul that was the synagogue. See the wisdom of the Lord [6:07] compels us to reach as many people as possible and that was Paul’s heartbeat

[6:11] that was his desire. See God’s plans always involves reaching people however [6:17] our plans don’t naturally involve reaching people. So for us our hearts [6:22] need to be shaped in such a way by the wisdom of the Lord to be able to be able [6:26] to see people for how God sees them. See them in a way that we want them to know [6:32] who Jesus is. The second aspect of embracing spaces is that it requires for us to be [6:39] committed. We need to be committed to embracing spaces but for us to do that

[6:44] we actually have to consider the neighborhoods we live in. We have to consider our [6:47] workplace. We have to consider the areas that can be most effective for God’s [6:51] mission. You actually then have to commit to those areas. So once we acknowledge [6:55] that those areas are a reality we then need to lean in and actually commit. [6:59] That’s what Paul did. As Paul was going from Philippi to Thessalonica he found [7:04] another place that he could commit to for the sake of the gospel. That’s our

[7:09] calling for us as believers in our communities. We’re called to commit to [7:13] the mission of Jesus where God has placed us at. But Paul’s situation is a [7:16] little bit different because he came to this region and he committed without a [7:20] job or without a source of income. Could you imagine that? If somebody did that [7:24] today we would laugh at them and scoff at them. Like why would you ever do that? [7:27] But the mission of Jesus is what guided Paul to that moment. And he knew. He said okay I’m

[7:33] going here for the sake of the gospel and then I’m gonna work my butt off and [7:37] work as hard as I can to do everything that I can to see the mission of Jesus [7:41] advance. Paul’s words in 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 verse 9 says this, [7:46] for you remember brothers our labor and toil we worked night and day that we [7:52] might not be burdened to any of you while we proclaim to you the gospel of God. [7:59] Paul was grinding. He was working as hard as he could to not hinder the gospel

[8:03] mission in this area. He said I’m willing to do whatever it takes to be able to [8:08] serve the people here. I think his commitment here is apparent to us right? [8:12] Paul was committed. He was committed to serve and be a part of the mission of [8:17] Jesus. I think his work ethic showed this and we need to have that same [8:22] mentality. See we can learn from Paul that our jobs are not only a means to [8:27] provide in life, but our jobs are a means of mission. See for some of us we walk

[8:31] into the workplace and just see it as a way to make money. No when God is giving [8:37] you your vocation, he’s placed you in your community for a reason. It’s a means [8:41] for mission. Sometimes we get it twisted and we think we’re here to work, not [8:47] here to serve Jesus and to advance his mission. Paul’s actually teaching us [8:50] something contrary to that. God’s placing you into your job so that you can reach [8:53] your neighbors and be in the community that you’re placed in. Consider your

[8:56] community. Consider the neighbors that you have and how God wants to use you to [9:01] reach them for the sake of the gospel. That’s why Paul walked into the synagogue [9:05] said hey this is gonna be the space that I am going to embrace. This is the space [9:08] that I am going to commit to to be effective and seeing Jesus’s mission [9:16] advance. But for that to happen though, sometimes we have to consider our [9:20] commitments right? Some of us are so committed or over committed to too many

[9:24] different things, which then recalls causes us to need to decommit. I think [9:31] that’s a call for us. I think sometimes we we over congest our schedule so much [9:35] that we don’t have time for being a part of or serving in the mission of Jesus.

[9:40] But Paul here is giving us a good example saying hey the mission of Jesus comes [9:43] first in your life. Sometimes we need to consider our schedules. We need to [9:49] schedule, I mean consider our lives to understand this. One example for me is [9:52] currently right now we’re in the season of the World Cup. I love watching soccer. [9:56] I really enjoy soccer and so if I get the chance on a Saturday morning right [9:59] now I can go sit home and watch the World Cup. That’s a temptation for me. But

[10:03] sometimes what that does for me is that I want to sit home on my couch and watch [10:06] the World Cup instead of committing to the mission of Jesus. This is my point. [10:09] God has placed us in spaces all around us. God has placed us in our communities, [10:14] our neighborhoods for a reason. But if I’m allowing my my love for a sport to [10:19] then hinder me from actually investing in people around me, from from going and [10:23] maybe going outside into my neighborhood on that Saturday morning

[10:27] investing in relationships, that’s a roadblock. That should not be placed over [10:32] my desire to actually serve Jesus and reach people. That’s my point. Soccer [10:38] might not be your thing. You might be a different sport or a different activity [10:41] but there’s things that we want to place in front of the mission of Jesus that [10:44] sometimes we need to decommit from a little bit. That we shouldn’t hold as [10:48] precious. That it takes up our whole Saturday. It takes up every weeknight

[10:52] that we have so we can’t go outside and sit in our community and get to know our [10:55] neighbors. This is the type of decommitment I’m talking about for us to [11:01] commit to the mission of Jesus. But as you know for that to happen though it [11:05] That’s what it requires. You have to be able to say that Jesus is more precious. [11:10] His mission is more precious than what you’re committed to. And that’s tough for [11:14] us at times. But we see this in Paul’s sacrificial heart through the scriptures.

[11:18] I think Paul even considered himself as a worthy sacrifice for the sake of [11:23] Jesus’ mission. Romans chapter 9 verse 3 says this, it says,

[11:36] Think about Paul’s heart there. For the people that came from the same [11:41] heritage as him. He said, I’d rather be a curse for the sake of them knowing Jesus.

[11:47] Brothers and sisters do we have the same mentality when it comes to our community?

[11:52] Would you rather you be far off for the sake of the people around you knowing [11:56] Jesus? And that’s a big call right? That causes us to be introspective of our [12:04] own heart to consider, man do I desire for my neighbors, for the people in my [12:10] workplace, in my community to know Jesus in this type of way. That’s the type of [12:16] sacrifice that led Paul to go labor in Thessalonica for three to four weeks. [12:21] That’s the type of commitment that he was called to because he said, man I want to

[12:25] see people come to know Jesus. See if you would have this mindset about embracing [12:31] the spaces around you, it wouldn’t bother you to sacrifice. You won’t be [12:38] afraid of commitment. You would say, man serving Jesus is better than the rest of [12:45] it. There’s some times where I miss doing some things that are good, that are fun, [12:50] enjoyable for the sake of Jesus’ mission. We have plenty of opportunities to reach [12:56] people with the gospel to invest well in the spaces that God has placed us in. But

[13:01] is it worth the sacrifice to you? It was the Paul. I think we should be challenged [13:05] by that. It’s challenging to me. Because I know sometimes I’ve come home from a [13:09] long day of work and I’m like, all right let’s go sit on the couch and watch TV. [13:14] And there’s people all out in the neighborhood I can build relationships with. There’s [13:19] people or spaces I can go to that I know that I’m building relationships with people over [13:23] time. And this is challenging but this is a good endeavor for us to have. But for that

[13:30] to happen though, we have to hold our schedules with open arms. We have to say, Lord my schedule [13:37] is yours. You have to be committed to say, Jesus I’m willing for you to wreck my schedule. [13:42] Let me put that in a practical way for us. That might mean that three out of four weeks [13:46] out of the month, you’re not gone on the weekends. Why? Because you want to be intentional [13:50] in your community. Why? Because we want to be present, we want to invest. See this is [13:55] the type of commitment that Paul had. He came to the temple three weeks in a row. Why?

[13:59] Because he wanted to be intentional. He wants to invest well in these people. He was committed [14:06] for us to embrace the spaces around us. We have to be willing to sacrifice friends. [14:11] Why? Because we want to see more people brought into the mission of Jesus. At least the point [14:16] number two this morning, invite others into the mission of God. Invite others into the mission [14:21] of God. Stemming from verse two, we see this says, and Paul went in as was his custom and on the [14:27] Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures explaining and proving that it was

[14:34] necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead and saying this Jesus whom I [14:39] proclaim to you is the Christ. And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas as did [14:46] a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women. See there was a purpose [14:51] to Paul and Silas’s visit here to Thessalonica. Their purpose was for them to engage people [14:57] with the gospel. They came there for a reason. Friends you’ve been placing your community in the [15:02] spaces around you for a reason and that’s to reach more people with the gospel. See Paul knew that

[15:07] the synagogue would be a great place for him to share the gospel message. He knew it would be a [15:12] great space for people to hear about who Jesus was but he knew it was as well a great space for him [15:16] to build relationships. This was over a course of three or four weeks of him building relationships [15:23] with people and him investing intentionally and it was through God’s grace that people came to [15:29] faith in him. So a step that we need to consider is we need to invest intentionally in people. [15:35] We need to invest intentionally in people. Investing in people takes time. It requires us to

[15:40] meet up with them consistently and intentionally to see the gospel transform their lives. And this [15:46] is what Paul did. He monopolized on this opportunity. He says I know where you’re going to be at. [15:50] I’m going to come to you. I’m going to invest in the relationships and then pray and ask God to work [15:56] in this. What are the spaces that you can go to in your community? What are the places that you can [16:02] go to invite people into the mission of Jesus so they can come to know Jesus? We do need to use [16:08] wisdom there. I think Paul uses that wisdom here. He said hey I think this is the best place for us

[16:12] to go but once he figured that out he was very very intentional. So what does intentional investment [16:19] look like for us? That’s something that we need to consider. Consider your own life and consider [16:23] the areas that God has given you to invest in and then maybe consider are there better areas [16:29] that you need to invest in. See it should matter to us because people matter to God.

[16:37] We care about people and them knowing Jesus. That’s the heartbeat of the mission. We want [16:44] other people to experience who Jesus is so that they can follow him faithfully. [16:50] So who are some people that you need to be investing in? Maybe as a family there’s people [16:54] that y’all have been brought into a relationship with that you need to invest in for the sake of [16:59] the gospel. Who are some of the people that are in spaces that you probably need to go to [17:04] to reach them? Think about maybe just some of the spaces that you need to go to to reach people.

[17:10] One practical step you could do is you could have a piece of paper put on your refrigerator [17:14] and write some names of some people that your family wants to intentionally invest in for that [17:18] week or for a month or so. Now take it off when they come. Don’t leave it up there. That’s kind [17:23] of weird but my point is this is that that keeps it at the forefront of your mind. Like as Christians [17:29] this is who we are. We’re people that are about a mission and the mission is Jesus’s mission not our [17:35] own. That’s what he’s calling us to here and this is what Paul displays to us. He’s saying hey

[17:39] let’s be intentional here with our investment and we see that in Paul’s life here.

[17:47] Here’s a few encouragements for you though because I know it’s hard. I’ve been there. I’ve been there [17:52] in moments where I’ve invested in people for six to seven months at a time meeting up with them [17:56] week after week building that relationship with them and not seeing much fruit come out of it. [18:03] It’s hard. The challenge is we do still need to intentionally invest. My first encouragement [18:08] for you is to pray. Ask God to bring about the opportunities so that you can reach people [18:12] so that you can build those relationships to see his mission flourish. But as well the second

[18:19] way is be patient. Trust God. You have to be patient in this process. We have to trust that [18:26] God is going to do a work through the relationships that we’re establishing through the spaces that [18:31] we’re entering into. It doesn’t always happen as fast as you want to. For myself in this I frequent [18:38] the YMCA quite often. I like going there playing basketball, playing sports and I’ve coached there [18:42] from time to time and when I go there I’m going there intentionally to build relationships. [18:47] Sometimes it takes eight months to build a relationship that lends to a conversation

[18:51] that’s of significance. But you have to invest intentionally in people and build those relationships. [18:57] It doesn’t always happen as fast as we want it to. So we have to be patient. [19:01] Third, we got to check our heart. We have to consider our own hearts and think about man [19:06] do I have the right intentions with reaching these people? Am I reaching them for my sake [19:11] or am I reaching them for God’s glory? See Paul was mesmerized by God’s glory. We too need to be [19:19] mesmerized by God’s glory as well because that’s what’s going to drive us forward to

[19:24] consistently invest in the mission in this way. And the fourth way is we just need to trust God. [19:30] We need to just trust God to work in those relationships even when we don’t want to. [19:34] Even when we get frustrated because those times will come. Even when you get tired of going to [19:38] the same spaces, talk to the same people, still got to trust God that he’s going to work. [19:43] We’re people of faith and we have to be encouraged by the work of the gospel and trust God through [19:49] this process. I think Paul here displays this himself in 1st Thessalonians chapter 2 verses

[19:54] 1 through 8. This is what he says. He says, for you yourselves know brothers that our coming to [20:01] you was not in vain. But though we had already suffered and been shamefully treated at Philippi, [20:07] as you know we had boldness in our God to declare to you the gospel of God in the midst of much [20:13] conflict. For our appeal does not spring from error or impurity or any attempt to deceive, [20:20] but just as we have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel, so we speak. Not to [20:25] please man, but to please God who tests our hearts. For we never came with words of flattery, as you

[20:31] know, nor with a pretext for greed, God is witness. Nor do we seek glory from people, whether from you [20:37] or others, though we could have made demands as apostles of Christ. But we were gentle among you, [20:44] listen to this, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. So being affectionately [20:50] desirous of you, we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own selves, [20:57] because you had become very dear to us. Intentional investment is what Paul lived out. [21:03] And he shared this to the church of Thessalonica to say, hey, we labored here, we invested here,

[21:10] we cared about your well-being, we cared about you knowing Jesus. I think this is a great example [21:16] for us to strive after, to be able to make much of Jesus in this way and to invest intentionally. [21:22] But as well, I think we should be encouraged because I think Paul here did share with them [21:25] the gospel, but sometimes that trips us up sometimes. We get nervous about our ability [21:29] to share the gospel and we forget that we just need to give a simple gospel message. [21:34] I think here the commentators talk about Paul’s words here as he brought out the death and the

[21:39] resurrection of Christ. It didn’t get more complicated than that. He said that Christ came [21:44] to die on behalf of sinners and that he rose from the grave, defeating sin once and for all. [21:49] He did that for you and I. See, sometimes we like to complicate the gospel and make it hard, [21:57] but God’s given us this opportunity to invest well on people so we can share with them [22:01] who Jesus is. I don’t want us to be taken back by the opportunity for us to share the gospel [22:07] become afraid that we’re inadequate in our ability to share it. I think that’s why the

[22:12] commentators really pulled out in this text and say, Paul is very simple. He didn’t over complicate [22:17] it. He just used the idols of the culture to say, hey, let me point you to Jesus and who he really [22:22] is. And that’s encouraging to me because I don’t have to work myself up over every opportunity [22:29] that I have to share the gospel. I could just just to tell them who Jesus really is. But with [22:35] that, we get the opportunity to to invite others into his mission. That’s what we’re doing. We’re [22:40] inviting others into his mission. So as we’re investing intentionally in people and inviting

[22:44] them to experience the mission of Jesus, the gospel should always be at the forefront of that [22:49] conversation. This is my point. So with this is that as we’re building relationships with people, [22:55] we need to be consistently thinking about how can I get them to experience all that God is doing [23:01] through his church. A great way to do that is having some points of intersection. Think about [23:06] maybe your community as you’re reaching people in your community, you might invite somebody over [23:10] from the community group that you’re a part of to build a relationship with them as you’re having

[23:13] both families over for dinner. You’re building that relationship. A second way is by you just [23:18] inviting somebody to church. I think we’ve missed that in our culture today. How just a simple [23:23] invitation is all somebody’s asking. And they can come in, they can hear and experience all that [23:28] God is doing through his people. That God is working through his people, through his church, [23:33] and we just need to invite people in to experience that, to understand that. And they’ll understand [23:38] who Jesus is. They’ll get to learn about him and all he’s done for us. This is what’s happening in

[23:44] Texas as Paul’s there persuading and explaining the gospel to them. The people of the city were [23:49] persuaded. They were intrigued. They heard about this king, Christ, that he was talking about, [23:55] and these people want to know more about him. That’s encouraging to us. We just gotta share, [24:00] we just gotta be there and invest in those people. But when that happens though, what we realize and [24:06] find out is that the kingship of Christ actually begins to start meddling in their worlds. [24:12] The kingship of Christ starts to meddle in our own worlds because for us actually to reach people,

[24:17] we have to realize that Christ is king and we need to then submit ourselves to his kingship. [24:22] That leads us to our third point this morning. The kingship of Christ meddles with the world. [24:28] I’m picking up in verse five. He says, but the Jews were jealous and taking some wicked men of [24:34] the rabble. They formed a mob and set the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, [24:41] seeking to bring them out to the crowd. And when they could not find them, they dragged [24:45] Jason and some of the brothers before the city authorities shouting, these men who have turned

[24:50] the world upside down have come here also. Let’s just think about that for a second. Imagine if [24:56] they said that about us. The people that are in our community that are part of Village Church [25:02] are the people that are part of turning the world upside down. And Jason has received them [25:08] and they are all acting against the creeds of Caesar saying that there is another king, Jesus. [25:15] And the people in the city authorities were disturbed when they heard these things [25:19] and when they had taken money as security from Jason and the rest, they let him go.

[25:24] What we see happening here in this text is that the gospel was preached in Thessalonica. [25:29] They then started to meddle in the lives of the people. The gospel went forward and people [25:34] submitted themselves to Christ as kingship. And this is how this reality was taking shape for them. [25:39] Just imagine maybe your neighbors come to faith in Jesus and you see their lives starting to be [25:43] transformed and changed. Their worldview is being changed and shaped. That their practical life is [25:50] changing. That’s what was happening in Thessalonica. As the gospel was preached, men and women,

[25:56] their lives were tangibly changing. And this caused an uproar in the city. This [26:02] bothered people for them to see and understand that, man, what’s happening to my neighbors? [26:07] Why are some of the city authorities, why are their ambitions changing? Why are their purposes [26:13] changing? That’s what was happening. People are confused. They’re frustrated. They’re frustrated [26:20] that, man, you were serving Caesar one second and now you’re saying you’re serving Jesus. [26:24] Wait, wait, wait, wait. One second you told me that Caesar is the king that we need to submit

[26:29] ourselves to. Now you’re saying that Jesus is king? That happens in our world today, right? [26:35] So many times where people see our lives and they’re like, okay, [26:38] you’re saying that Jesus is king but aren’t supposed to serve him everything else.

[26:43] This tension is real. This happens in the midst of our communities as people seek to follow Jesus. [26:49] This is where the gospel begins to meddle because it changes your worldview. It changes your [26:53] perspective. See, this is how Paul is alluding to the world being turned upside down. It’s [26:58] through the ministry of the gospel, through individual people like you and I living for [27:02] Jesus on mission. That’s how the world is turned upside down. But it’s very ironic to me here that [27:10] when they talk about the world being turned upside down, the irony is this, is that the world is

[27:15] actually being turned the right side up. See, because of the fall, God’s creation was distorted [27:21] because of sin. And so the desire moved from worshiping God to worshiping creation. But what [27:26] was happening was that when people were submitting to the kingship of Christ, their allegiance was [27:31] changing back to worshiping God, serving him first and foremost, not the creation. See, that’s how [27:37] the gospel begins to meddle in our lives. The gospel does this work. Friends, we have to realize [27:43] that the kingship of Christ meddles in our world. We can’t just think about this as a way of, okay,

[27:48] the people out there, the people outside these doors, the people who don’t go to church, [27:52] they’re the ones that are in need of Jesus. They’re the ones that need to come to faith in him. [27:58] No, the gospel meddles in our own lives personally. And that’s what we see happening in the city. See, [28:03] the gospel that was proclaimed to the people of the city was causing them to submit to the kingship [28:08] of the Lord. See, for someone to submit to the lordship of Christ, they first have to understand [28:13] the gospel meddles. We all have to come to that reality. We cannot serve Jesus as king

[28:19] and not see the gospel meddle. There’s no way. The gospel has to be doing the work in our own [28:26] hearts. See, first, the gospel message meddles in our lives because it says that Christ is king. [28:31] That’s the first issue. That’s saying that you and I are not the kings. That you and I don’t [28:35] have dominion over our own lives. What it’s saying is that Christ is the one that leads us and he [28:40] is the one that’s propelling us forward on mission that we all need to submit to him. That’s the first [28:46] way. And the second way is that we just need to understand that, man, our idols are not sufficient

[28:54] anymore. What we’re going after in life, what you’re pursuing, what you want to be known by, [29:02] that’s not enough. That’s what was happening here in Thessalonica. As Paul’s calling these people [29:07] out, he’s calling out the idols of the culture. That’s how the gospel meddles. What you found is [29:13] sufficient before Jesus is not sufficient anymore. That’s how the gospel is meddling in this area. [29:20] A great way for us to think about this is by us thinking about car realignment. A few months ago, [29:25] I had to get my car realigned. It was frustrating because I was driving down the interstate and my

[29:28] car started shaking. It was extremely frustrating. So, you know, you’re driving, going 60 miles per [29:33] hour, my car starts shaking. Okay, this isn’t good. So I take it in to get it worked on, right? [29:36] I go to get it worked on and had to realign my car and get me back into the right groove, right? [29:43] Because I couldn’t drive smoothly. The same thing for our lives. Our lives are out of alignment [29:49] without Christ. We need Christ to come to transform our lives. For that to happen, [29:54] for that fixing to happen, there’s some meddling. The mechanic has to go in there. They have to

[29:59] tweak things. They have to work on things in the car to get the car back into realignment. That’s [30:03] how the gospel meddles in our lives. Like, we need that. We need that to happen so desperately [30:12] because our allegiance is off. We need to submit to Christ’s kingship and allow that work [30:19] to happen. That’s what happened in Thessalonica. Another example of this would be our relationships [30:24] with people. The way the gospel meddles is that you have this relationship with somebody, they [30:28] frustrate you. It happens all the time. Don’t act like nobody’s ever frustrated you. You know,

[30:32] that’s the truth, right? They frustrate you. You get frustrated with them. You don’t do the [30:35] Christian thing, right? You don’t love them well in the midst of that situation. But then you walk [30:40] away from the situation. You go home. You feel this pressing. You’re like, man, I probably should [30:47] have treated them differently. That’s the gospel meddling in your life in another way. That’s [30:53] because we’re submitting to Christ as our king. He has authority. He’s called us to live in a [30:58] particular way. That’s the gospel doing the work in us. That’s another way how the gospel meddles.

[31:04] But as we see the gospel meddling in our private life, we see that it starts to influence the [31:09] public life. So as people were watching the people that had encountered the gospel, [31:15] they were perplexed because it wasn’t just impacting the private lives that they had, [31:20] but it was impacting the public lives that they had. They were understanding that they had [31:25] different types of dealings and interactions with people. That the way that they were [31:29] conversing with others were changing. Everything was changing about them. See, that’s the work of

[31:34] the gospel. See, the work of the gospel in your private life radiates in your public life. You [31:39] can’t just hide it away. When Jesus is doing a work in your heart and you’re submitting to his [31:43] kingship, it always impacts your public life. If somebody can’t tell the difference between our [31:50] private lives and the public lives, sorry, if they’re not the same, if they can’t notice [31:54] that your public life is different, there’s an issue there. Like our neighbors, the people in [32:00] our community, the spaces that we’re entering into, they should know, man, there’s something

[32:03] different about so-and-so because they know Jesus, because he’s king, the way they’re submitting to [32:08] his lordship. That’s how the gospel meddles in the public sphere of life. Imagine our community if [32:15] they felt that impact. Do your neighbors even know that you follow Jesus? Can they tell by [32:22] your schedule? Can they tell by the way that you’re living, the way you’re interacting,

[32:28] the way that you’re loving your family? These are all good things for us to constantly be thinking [32:32] about because our private transformation through the gospel always impacts the public life. [32:39] We can’t separate the two. We can’t. Friends, this is what I want us to consider today.

[32:47] I want us to understand this reality that the mission that we’re called to [32:51] to be a part of world change happens through the gospel of Jesus Christ. [32:56] This isn’t something that’s just far off for you. It’s not something that is just for the people [33:02] ministry to be a part of. But each of us, as men and women who love and follow Jesus, [33:09] we’re all a part of this because we’ve been brought into his mission. We’ve been called [33:14] to go out to live faithfully, submitting our lives to him, and that’s going to have an impact on the

[33:20] world. The world change that we can be a part of is going to be accomplished through Jesus’s mission. [33:28] People change the world through their personal submission to the kingship of Christ [33:32] and their personal commitment to advancing the gospel and the spaces around them.

[33:38] As Christians, that’s how we change the world.

[33:43] We just got to submit to that wholeheartedly and trust God in the process.

[33:48] Friends, as we transition to a time of communion, my encouragement for you is this.

[33:56] My encouragement for you is to not be turned away from this call for us to be a part of world change [34:03] before us to embrace the calling that we have in our spheres of influence.

[34:09] All of us have communities that we live in. All of us have workspaces that we interact in, [34:15] and God has called us as his people to be a part of seeing the gospel transform those spheres. [34:23] So friends, my challenge for you is for you to first consider your own heart [34:28] to consider if you personally have submitted to the kingship of Christ.

[34:33] And if you haven’t, I want to encourage you to go have a conversation out in the foyer. [34:37] There’s somebody out there who would love to talk to you about what it looks like to follow Jesus.

[34:42] But for somebody who does follow Jesus and you’re saying that you do submit to the kingship of Christ, [34:46] my encouragement for you is for you to consider how are you embracing the spaces around you for [34:52] God’s glory. How are you allowing the gospel just to really just meddle in your life so that you [34:57] want to see more people come to know Jesus? That should be our heartbeat. That should be our desire. [35:04] So as you come to the table this morning to take communion, just know that Christ’s body, [35:08] which was broken for us, was on our behalf because he loved us and he’s called us to be a part of

[35:15] seeing more people reach for his gospel. Same thing with the the juice that represents his [35:20] blood that was poured out for us. That as well was for us to be brought into relationship with [35:25] him to see more people reach for the gospel. Come to the the table this morning remembering [35:32] that reality. He did that for you and I and he’s called us to be a part of reaching more people [35:38] for the sake of his gospel. Come to the table this morning.