Feb 10 2009 Lev 13-14, Acts 17

Scripture
And when they found them not, they drew Jason and certain brethren unto the rulers of the city, crying, These that have turned the world upside down are come hither also; Acts 17:6

Observation
We have seen through the book of Acts the great lengths Paul would go to share the gospel, even being humiliated and thrown into prison in order to minister to a bunch of other guys in jail.

By worldly standards, many people would believe that Paul’s trip to share the gospel in Philippi was a total failure. He didn’t start up some big revival but only led a few notable people to Christ.

Here we see Paul’s perseverance pays off. The mission field in Thessalonica was white unto harvest, and God used Paul to touch the lives of many, many people there. Even though God blessed in an amazing way, there are alwys some who will not listen. That would have been fine if they had just simply not believed, and went about their business. But, they became angry and bitter at Paul and Silas, they were jealous of all the people leaving the synagogue to follow Jesus.

These folks wanted to keep the status quo. You see, as people, we tend to fear and shun change, and that is what making a decision to follow Jesus is all about – change.

Application
From time to time I ask myself, “Am I really making a difference in the world.” Whether we realized it or not, that is our purpose. We are call to share a life-changing message with all people. Some will excitedly embrace it, others will bitterly oppose it, but regardless we are to be faithful in sharing it.

I believe as a church we can truly turn Tulsa upside down. How? One life at a time. We all have seen what can happen when someone hears and opens their heart to the message of Jesus.

What could happen in Tulsa if just a handful from our church with work with Paul’s passion and intensity? I have no doubt we could turn Tulsa upside down…and it wouldn’t take very long to do it.

Prayer
Lord, thank you for the inspiration we find in the Bible. To see what can happen when men and women will simply put your work first in their life is truly amazing. Lord, there all way too many people in Tulsa that still have no idea who we are. We haven’t even begun to turn this community upside down. Father, help us to become all you need us to be.