At the beginning of the year, always feel this desire to get everything cleaned up and organized so that I have a fresh start, so to speak. Great in theory, hard to actually practice.

“I hate housework. You make the beds, you wash the dishes and six months later you have to start all over again!”
Joan Rivers

For me, it’s also the time that I go through a digital cleanse, try to get organized. That downloads folder that’s been piling up for a few months, try to get to inbox zero.

Part of that for me is going back through sermon notes and filing them away, backing them up, as I think and pray about where the Lord might be leading us in this new year.

I organize all of our worship services and sermons in a tool called Airtable. Here are the series we’ve been through since I’ve been at TBC—16 so far.

One of my favorite series we’ve done was the book of Acts in 2019. I almost called that series “Turning the World Upside Down” because that’s the phrase that’s used in chapter 17 to describe the effect of the gospel.

As I was looking back, organizing sermon notes, can’t find the one from Acts 17, which bugs the daylights out of me. I need the data to be complete!

I do remember a bit, and I know that because we were basically going at a chapter a week, we skipped over part of it to get to Paul preaching at Mars Hill in the second half. This morning I want us to start there and pick up what we didn’t talk about in 2019.

Context from Acts 16

Paul & Silas on 2nd missionary journey, spend around three months in a town called Philippi.
They come across a girl possessed by a demon, starts following them and saying, “These men, who are proclaiming to you a way of salvation, are the servants of the Most High God.” And it says in 16:18 “She did this for many days.” That would get old real fast, wouldn’t it?
So Paul commands the demon to leave her, it does, and the owners of this slave girl realized that “their hope of profit was gone”, they grabbed Paul and Silas and dragged them to the city square, get the crowd all riled up. So the leaders of the city ordered them to be beaten with rods and threw them into jail.
Next morning, city leaders send message to the police, “Release those men.”
Paul says, “Um, no… They beat us without a fair trial, and we’re Roman citizens.” Which freaked the people out, that was a very big deal, could mean their jobs and depending on people’s mood, even their lives.
So they come down to the jail to appease them, escorted them from the prison, and urged them to leave town.
So they go back to Lydia’s house, where they’d been staying, gather up the church one last time to encourage them, and took off.

Have to imagine that each time they’re leaving town and coming into another, there’s an excitement and anticipation, don’t you think? Time for a new adventure—who will come to Christ, what miracles will happen?

I feel that same way about each new year. What is God going to do among us in 2022?

I pray that you feel the same thing. Christians who believe that the Spirit is working in us, that God is at work through our work in the world, should never be pessimistic about the future. We know how it ends.

At the same time, we need to be realistic about our own limitations and making wise use of our resources, including our own energy and time.

Let’s start reading in Acts 17, verse 1:

After they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue.
Acts 17:1

Here’s a map of the area so we can get our bearings. From Google Earth, so these are modern borders, but the geography hasn’t changed much—Greece has been around a long time.

Philippi: strategic city
Thessalonica: strategic city
75 miles between them as the crow flies, 90 mi by road.
Amphipolis + Apollonia: small towns, stopping off points.

Did the gospel need to go to those places? Yes, of course it did. If you were to compare it to here, Frankfort would be one of those towns.

Would it have been wrong for them to stay there? No.

But just because it needed to be done doesn’t mean they were the ones to do it.

Five things I want us to see from Paul, Silas, and Timothy’s example for our lives in 2022. We should be…

1. Unscattered in our planning

When I wrote that out this week, spell check was quick to inform me, “That’s not actually a word.” Maybe not, but you know what I mean. Bad English, good practice.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed at the amount of need around us? Spiritual need, physical need…

Just looked at 2020 census data, 30% poverty rate in Frankfort.
No wonder our grocery giveaway has grown so fast—there are lot of people in need.

However much we feel that, imagine the first Christians.

They’ve been told to make disciples of all nations—same task that we have—but they had none of the resources we have. There weren’t millions of Christians to pray for them, to support them. All people groups were unreached people groups.

But just because it would be a good thing doesn’t mean it would be the best thing.

Good is the enemy of great.
Jim Collins, Good to Great

The greatest missionary of all time, the Apostle Paul, knew that he had to be strategic in his ministry. He couldn’t do it all, so he was going to go where he would get the most bang for his buck.

Reality is that we can’t do everything. We can’t even do most things and do them well. What we can do is be strategic with what we have.

We should be…

Unscattered in our planning.

2. Undivided in our message

After they passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue. As usual, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and rise from the dead: “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.”
Acts 17:1–3

“As usual” This was Paul’s MO. And this was His main message. “This Jesus I am proclaiming to you is the Messiah.”

Paul made the singular focus of his message explicit when he wrote his first letter to the believers in Corinth:

I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2

Paul’s an extremely, extremely educated man. Studied under some of the greatest rabbis of his day. Would’ve had large portions of the OT memorized. Also quoted from other secular scholars and poets of the day.

But he wasn’t coming into town to impress people with his knowledge. He was coming to tell them the Good News—in Jesus Christ, the King and His everlasting kingdom had come.

And then again in chapter 15:

For I passed on to you as most important what I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures
1 Corinthians 15:3–5

Most Important

One of the greatest temptations of the enemy will be to divide our message.

Changing culture, culture wars
- Defining question: If I win this argument, will this person be closer to following Jesus or further away?
Hate to even mention it, 2022 is an election year.
- Are you neighbors more likely to know that you are a loving, good neighbor who worships Jesus, or more likely to know your political affiliation?
- Religion and politics are supposedly the two topics you’re not supposed to talk about, but I know a lot of Christians who have no issues talking about politics.

In the same way that we can’t afford to be scattered in our approach to the Christian life this year, we can’t afford to be divided in our message. You can only effectively tell people so many things. We have to keep our message undivided as God’s people. Jesus is the King who has come and is coming again.

Engage with everything else through that lens.

Some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, including a large number of God-fearing Greeks, as well as a number of the leading women.
Acts 17:4

Thessalonica was a free city in the Roman empire, able to govern themselves, with “politarchs”. These are either women in that role or the wives of them.

We should be…

Unscattered In Our Planning.
Undivided In Our Message.

3. Unsurprised at our opposition

But the Jews became jealous, and they brought together some wicked men from the marketplace, formed a mob, and started a riot in the city. Attacking Jason’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 welcomed them. They are all acting contrary to Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king — Jesus.” The crowd and city officials who heard these things were upset. After taking a security bond from Jason and the others, they released them.
Acts 17:5–9

They were absolutely right. The announcement of Jesus as King was a threat. Wrong in thinking they could fight against it.

If Rome got word of this, they could lose their coveted status as a free state. Taxes would go up, freedom would go down, economy destroyed. Jesus is a threat.

The people who are in power, in control, people who are comfortable and safe, they will always be for keeping the status quo, because they see any change as a threat.

“If the world hates you, understand that it hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own. However, because you are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of it, the world hates you.”
John 15:18–19

That doesn’t mean we should have a persecution complex… sometimes people think they’re being persecuted when in reality, they’re just a jerk. Don’t be that guy.

But if you’re being gracious, if you’re sharing the truth in love, meaning people know from experience that you love them, because you’ve shown them, and they still reject Him, and you by proxy… so be it. No surprise there.

We should be…

Unscattered In Our Planning.
Undivided In Our Message.
Unsurprised At Our Opposition.

4. Undeterred in our mission

As soon as it was night, the brothers and sisters sent Paul and Silas away to Berea. Upon arrival, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.
Acts 17:10

And what did they do? Keep on keeping on.

Everybody has a plan until they get hit in the mouth.
Mike Tyson

We’ve been punched in the face a lot in the last few years.

If anyone knew what being punched in the mouth felt like, it would be the Apostle Paul, don’t you think? Sometimes literally, all the time figuratively. Things never went easy for him. Shipwrecked.

Listing to podcast with man who stormed Omaha beach on D-Day. 2.5 hours, late at night, can’t stop listening.

You can’t stay still, pinned down. Then the enemy has the advantage—you’re a sitting duck. The only way to survive is to move forward, attack.
D-Day Veteran

We should be…

Unscattered In Our Planning.
Undivided In Our Message
Unsurprised At Our Opposition
Undeterred In Our Mission

5. Unwavering in our love.

Even though they’d been kicked out of town after three weeks, they developed a relationship with these new believers that would last a lifetime.

They head to the town Berea, then the major city of Athens, and from there on to Corinth, where he stayed for 18 months. But during that time, he’s wondering, worrying, praying for those friends, brothers and sisters in Thessalonica. So much so that Paul sends Timothy all the way back there—350+ miles—just to check on them.

He didn’t have to do that. He was only there three weeks. And he got treated poorly by the city, kicked out of town. Just move on and let them fend for themselves, right? Wrong.

Paul was unwavering in his love for these believers, and we should be the same. If we’re going to be all that God has called us to be in 2022, we’re going to have to do it together.

As I’ve been listening to those podcasts with WWII veterans, one of the overarching themes is the bonds that are made when men are in battle together. They will fight to the death to save their own.

Could it be that the reason churches don’t tend to have that kind of reputation is that we haven’t been in the trenches together? You don’t hear these veterans talking about the brothers they made doing exercises, maneuvers. It’s being in the heat of the battle, having each others back, that’s what made them closer than family. And the same is true in the kingdom of God.

We are at war. There is an enemy that is out to destroy us, our families, our very souls. You need someone watching your back.

I don’t the specifics of what this year will look like, but I know there will be battles to be fought and won. I know that people will be lost, and blood will be spilled. And I know that if we’re following our King Jesus’ commands, we won’t be known for our great opinions or our great facilities or our great programs… all of that is fine, but what defines us, what makes our message believable and enticing to an outside world, will be our love for one another.

Turns out they were doing fine, so when Timothy gets back, they write a letter to the church, and it’s one of the warmest, most loving, joyful letters in all of Scripture—we know it as the book of 1 Thessalonians, and it’s where we’re going to be a lot in the next few weeks.

Series #17 is the book of 1 Thessalonians.

Lord, let us be…

Unscattered In Our Planning.
Undivided In Our Message
Unsurprised At Our Opposition
Undeterred In Our Mission
Unwavering In Our Love.