A very good morning to you all. Please turn your Bibles with me to the book of Acts, chapter 17. This morning we'll read from verse 1 to verse 9, the book of Acts. Acts, chapter 17. verse 1 to verse 9, Acts 17, verse 1 to 9. Let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word and for your grace towards us. We are so thankful that you are still good to us. You call us and you cause us to see your manifold power and wisdom at work in our lives, but also in the lives of those you call us to minister to. Our desire is that your Holy Spirit will continue to propel our hearts, that we, your people, may walk in tune to the leadership of your Spirit, fan into flame the gift within us, the zeal for the lost, that we may take this gospel to the places that have not known you, the places where you are yet to be known. So we desire, even as we come to this passage, that you show us something of yourself. Jesus Christ, we yield ourselves to your leadership. Holy Spirit, we ask that you would work in our hearts that we will not just be mere hearers of your word, help us to be doers too. We pray and we ask this in the wonderful name of Jesus Christ who is our Lord and our Savior. May God's people say Amen. Amen. Acts 17 from verses 1 to verses 9, hear the word of the Lord. The Bible records here, Luke is recording the missionary journeys of Paul, as you see in the book of Acts. Paul has been saved in chapter 9. And you would recall as to what is recorded there, Ananias comes to Saul and tells Paul as to how his ministry is going to be like. And we're going to read part of that as we go through this passage, because it is very important for us to understand. You remember the words that God told Ananias to tell Saul. And this is what God tells, Ananias in chapter 9 verses 15 but God but the Lord said to him to Ananias go for this man is my chosen instrument to take my name to Gentiles to kings and to the Israelites. I will show him, this is a promise that God gives Saul right at the beginning of his ministry, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. So that is the word that Saul receives right at the beginning of his ministry. He is going to be used of God. He's got an instrument in the hands of God. But also God makes this promise to Saul to say, I will show him how much he must suffer for my name. And you will see in chapter 13 then that as Saul and Barnabas have been commissioned by God, it is as if every city that Paul would go to, He's going to suffer. It was like, okay, in the terms and in the conditions that God is giving Saul. He's not promising Saul a megachurch. That's not what God is promising Paul. He's not promising him that everybody will love you and they will actually kiss you and they would want you to be amongst them. That's not what God is promising Saul. He actually tells him, right, well in advance, in every place I'm going to send you. you will suffer for my name. Now come to Thessalonica as so then he's just actually you remember chapter 16 in chapter 16 you remember the famous story of Paul and Silas in prison. He was in one of the cities and you remember whilst they are in Macedonia and in Traos in particular as they are preaching the gospel there, Paul and Silas are arrested. And you recall very well, they spend the whole night singing songs of praises and worship to the Lord. And their chains are loosened from their feet. And the jailer is actually shocked. How come the doors of the jail are open? And he takes them to his house and he's asking them, what must we do? And then Saul tells him to say, you must be saved. But you can see that persecution and trials sufferings are following this man. So moving to Thessalonica listen to this man and what was that what we are going to examine in this particular passage as to what was their approach as to what was he that Paul as he went into every city what was he that was his mind, in his mind. What are some of the key components that we need to take from his life? And let's read together from verses one, and we're going to look at these key components as it would be the strategy of evangelism or missions that Paul used in this particular passage. And now we are going to look at those key components. But the Bible records to say then they traveled through Amphipolis. and Apollonia and they came to Thessalonica where there was a Jewish synagogue. As usual, Paul went to the synagogue and on three Sabbath days, reasoned with them from the scriptures, explaining and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah." Then some of them were persuaded and they joined Paul and Silas, including a great number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women. But The Jews became jealous, and they brought together some scoundrels from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Justin's house, they searched for them to bring them out to the public assembly. When they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brothers before the city officials shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here too. And Jason has received them as guests. They all acting contrary to Caesar's decrees saying that there is another King, Jesus. The Jews stirred up the crowd and the city officials who heard these things. So taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them. May God bless the reading and the preaching of his word, amen. I want us to look at these men who have turned the world upside down as to what was their approach to evangelism, as it would be, or we can call it the approach to missions. First and foremost, what I want you to see, there are actually three things. They understood the context, they were consistent, and they had the content. of their message, and those are the things I want us to look at. The context, the consistency, and the content of their message, but also the consequences of that. The context here, as the Bible tells us, these men are in Thessalonica, and that's what Paul is, everywhere where Paul would go, he would first and foremost find himself, put himself in a strategic place, and you understand his context. And what you see in verses 1 and verses 2 especially, what you see in verses 1 is this, that Paul finds himself in Thessalonica. Thessalonica was the capital city of Macedonia. It was a large and prosperous city. very strategic for the preaching of the gospel a busy city with working people and paul would tell us in one thessalonians chapter two verses chapter two verses nine that you saw how i modeled among us you i worked day and night it was as if when paul was amidst these people he also would work to display to these people but not only that He did that so that you'll not be a burden to anybody. That's what Paul would tell us in 2 Thessalonians 3, verse 8. So it is a busy city, a busy place, Thessalonia. And not only that, but there were also idol worshippers. He would tell us in chapters 1 of Thessalonians 9, commending them to say, you have turned to God from idols to serve the living and the true God. So it is a busy city, more or less like Johannesburg. capital city and Paul finds himself in that city but once he's in that city as it was his custom Paul goes to the synagogue a place of meeting where people would meet and gather for the purposes of worship and you see that in verses one so there was a Jewish synagogue and he would go there three Sabbath days and he reasoned with them. So he understood his context. And you and I, wherever the Lord has placed us, we also, if we are to be effective for the Lord Jesus Christ, we must understand our context. Who are we reaching out to? Amen? Because if we don't understand the context, the realities, we will try to do church in a way that we will find that sometimes maybe we are not being productive or effective, but sometimes it's the way that we are approaching the people. Look as to what Paul is doing in this particular place. He goes for the places where he knows. This is the place where I'll find the people talking about the scriptures. And what I want you to see is by this particular time a few people have come to know as to the fact or to the truth that Jesus Christ was the Messiah. But most of the Jews by this particular time will be following their old Jewish traditions. And you may also assume that some of the Jews here might also be still waiting for the Messiah. Or they have heard that there was this young man who was 30 years old and began his ministry. He was a son of a carpenter and he claimed or professed to be the Messiah. But we don't believe that he is. There would have been some skeptics in this audience. And Paul goes to that context. It may look different to all of us. Understanding our context will also sometimes imply that we go sometimes, not just wait for people to come to us, but go to the people, be among us the people, so that the people would hear the gospel. And that's what Saul is doing here. He's making sure with his friend Silas as they go about and they come to the Jewish synagogue and they come to this particular place, though it's a busy city, though it's a city that is full of even political hostility because it is known at this particular time that Claudius had just expelled some of the Jews and Christians from Rome in 1849. But Saul and Silas, though they know the political hostility of this environment, though they know the religious hostility both from the Jews, but also from those who worshipped idols, Saul and Silas knew that the antidote to all these hostilities is the gospel. Amen? So not only were they a man who understood their context, but also I wanted to see the consistency in which they did their ministry. Read with me verses two. The Bible says here, as usual, that's consistency. As usual, Paul went into the synagogue. How often on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the scriptures. He did not just do this just once. It was not just a crusade, a hit and run kind of a crusade. It was not just a one-on-one evangelistic encounter to say, no, I've reached out to that one. No, the Bible says, as usual, for three Sabbath days. And when you read the book of 1 Thessalonians, the implication actually, the more you read 1 Thessalonians, you may actually begin to think that Saul was in Thessalonica more than three weeks. Because in 1 Thessalonians 2, 9, and in 2 Thessalonians 3, 8, as he's admonishing them to work hard, and he's telling them to say, we show you how you are supposed to live. You can agree with me. You cannot model a godly life just in a day or in three weeks. It takes time. It requires time. And so did that. But he did it consistently. If we want to see fruit in our labors, and we're going to see that. If we want to see impact in the lives of people, there must be an element of consistency. Consistent in our teaching, consistent in our living, consistent in whatever we are doing. Because we see in verses two, it was as usual. It was not a one-time thing. You see the same word coming, this reminds me in Daniel, you remember Daniel chapter 6? Daniel, a young man who fears God, and Daniel as he comes to chapter 6, you would hear this, that the king decided to appoint three satraps and Daniel was one of them, and his friends conspired against him. And you see in Daniel chapter 6, the Bible records this. When Daniel heard that a decree has been issued against him, that no man must pray to anybody else but to King Darius, you'd hear these words. Daniel went in his room. He opened the windows towards Jerusalem. He prayed as it was his custom. It was not his first time for him to pray. It was his custom. He would do that usually. He would do that consistently, not because they issued that decree. Same here. These men are doing this. It is their custom. They're burning with a zeal. They're burning with a desire that these men and women must hear the gospel. Although there's this political hostility, just a few months ago that happened. They knew that. And they are aware of the spiritual hostility that there are many men and women in the city who are worshipping idols devoted to witchcraft. Yet, it was their custom. As usual, they went to the synagogue. And you see, Paul has been doing this in the previous chapters. Whenever he comes to a city, he'll go to the synagogue. It was his custom. And when he's given an opportunity and chance to say, do you have something to share with us? He will stand and preach the gospel. He will do this when he goes to Berea. He will do this when he goes to Athens. You'll see how Paul understood his context. There was a place, Europagus, where people would meet and have debates. and he would go there, he would do this consistently, whether it is Athens or Thessalonica, he would come to a place and he sees, he looks at the city and he understands the city. In Athens he tells them, men of Athens, I see that you are very religious in every way, for as I walk by the city I see you have altars, but there is this one altar with this inscription, to the unknown God. What does he do? Then he goes into the gospel. This God you worship is unknown. This is the one I'm proclaiming to you. And people were curious. This man is a babbler. He's bringing strange doctrines. But I want you to see the consistency of Paul. Though it was convenient or not convenient, he would do it. But not only are we looking at the consistency, but also I want you to see the content of his message. Secondly then, verses 3. Starting from verses 2 at the end there, you see that he went every, he went three Sabbath days. What was he doing? Reasoned with them from the scriptures. What is this content? Verse three, explaining and showing that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead. What also saying, Luke says, this Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah. That is the content of Paul's message. He reasoned with these men, not from philosophy, not from any new age teachings from the scriptures and brothers and sisters that's non-negotiable but we must remind one another and so did that as he comes to these people Paul you will tell us in first Thessalonians in chapter two remember first Corinthians in chapter two he says I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified I did not come to you with power of speech, wisdom, or eloquence of man. I did not come to you with that. Paul would tell us, no, I came to you with the gospel. And he would say this, even as you can see that there's a consistency, but there's a content to the message. And his message is based on the scriptures. And this particular time, then Saul would reason with these men. from the Old Testament. This reminds us of the words of Jesus in Luke, chapter 24, verses 44. We remember Jesus on the road to Emmaus. He meets these two men, and he admonishes them, you men slow of heart to believe. And he explained to them what was written about him from the prophets from the law of Moses, even to Psalms. Reasoning with them from the scriptures. How does God build his church? He builds his church with his words. How are we then to serve and to reach out to people? We are to reach out to them with the scriptures. Henceforth that monisters in 2nd Timothy chapter 4 verses 1 & 2 preach the words Be prepared in and out of season for time will come when men will gather for themselves teachers Who would want them to teach them what their itching ears would want to hear But for you I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus I charge you to do what? Preach the words What else are you supposed to do? Do the work of an evangelist. Fulfill your duty. That's what Paul requires of Timothy. In and out of season. Be consistent. Why? Because you have the message, the content of your message. But lastly, brothers and sisters, we also want to see the consequences. There are consequences to preaching the word of God. There are consequences in preaching the gospel, good and bad consequences. The good, bad, we see it from verses five. The Bible tells us, verses four, then some of them were persuaded and they joined Paul and Silas, including a great number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of leading people that's a positive consequence people are being saved as the gospel is being preached people are being redeemed from darkness to light as the gospel is being preached there is that they follow these men but there's also a negative consequence you see that from verses five amen In verses 5, the Bible reads, even as we finish, but as the Jews, but for the Jews, they became jealous and they brought together some of the squanderers from the marketplace. They formed a mob and they started a riot in the city. They attacked Jason's house. They searched for Paul and Silas to bring them out to the public assembly. but they did not find them. And they dragged Jesson and some of the brothers before the city officials shouting, these men who have turned the world upside down, they have come here too. And Jesson has received them as guests. And they are all acting contrary to Caesar's decrees, saying that there is another king, Jesus. Amen. That's the consequence. The consequence is that people are being saved, but the consequence is also we see there that some people are being antagonistic to the gospel. Some people are being so opposing to the gospel. And you and me are not different. Amen. This is a narrative. It's not a prescriptive book. But just as the Lord was working in the life of Paul as he took the gospel, Paul understood his context. He understood the content of his message. But not only that, we also see that he's doing all this with the heart of consistency as the Holy Spirit leads him. and there are consequences to that. We will bear fruit of that. We'll see fruits of that. Some will be good, some will be bad. Some will receive and accept the gospel, some will oppose the gospel. But trust in the Lord that as we take this gospel, those who've been appointed for salvation will surely be saved. and who continue to declare, there is no other king but Jesus. Amen? And as we do that, the Lord will honor our efforts. For he alone is the one who said, I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it. Let's bow our heads and we pray together. Our Heavenly Father, we bow before you this morning. We say thank you so much. We thank you that you have been so good to us. You empower us and you call us to yourself. We thank you for the power of the gospel. We share with the convictions of poor, even as you relentlessly and without even apology say, I am not ashamed of the gospel. For this is the power of God for salvation to everyone that believes. May we move in that conviction knowing that your word is sufficient enough. Your word is able enough to save the lost. Your word is able enough to turn the world upside down. Where men have been worshipping Satan and worshipping things of this age, you are able by the power of your word to turn such men to your kingdom. Help us then to be consistent. Help us then to declare the gospel message wherever you have blessed each one of us. And I pray for these, my dear brothers and sisters, wherever you have blessed us, Lord, may we be found to be faithful. For you require and you desire not that we be successful, but on that day you will say, well done. Thou good and faithful servant. May we be found faithful then, we pray, as your stewards. In Jesus' name, and may God's people say amen. God bless you.