How the World Was Turned Upside Down

How the World Was Turned Upside Down 

 

(“An Exciting Way to Get Involved”)

 

September 5, 2020

Larry R Evans

 

Introduction

Living in a World Off Kilter 

Christians never had it easy in the early church! “Fake news” may not have been the wording used then but it happened, nevertheless.  Early Roman Christians were seen as misfits in society.  Rumors began to spread, and three specific charges were made against them.

 

1.     They were atheists

2.    They practiced incest

3.    They were cannibals

 

Noted historian, Michael Green explains,

“One can understand how it arose. The Christians met in secret; they used realistic language about feeding on Christ in the Eucharist, and they spoke of loving fellow-Christians, whom they called brothers and sisters in Christ. Gossiping lips and dirty minds did all the rest.” (Evangelism in the Early Church, pp.38,39)

When Jesus gave to his disciples the commission to go into all the world, what provision did He make knowing that such accusations would surely come to them as they did to Him?  How did the early Christian church survive? What was it that not only sustained them personally but also opened the door for an amazing growth of the church during times of duress?  We would have thought He would have begun the “movement” with the brightest, the most talented, leaders of the time.   We learn from the very beginning that His way of thinking is not ours. (Isa. 55:8)

“It was a small group of eleven men whom Jesus commissioned to carry on his work and bring the gospel to the whole world.  They were not distinguished; they were not well educated; they had no influential backers. In their own nation they were nobodies, and, in any case, their own nation was a mere second-class province on the eastern extremity of the Roman map.” – Michael Green in Evangelism in the Early Church, p.13.

They were courageous, nevertheless.

But the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the marketplace, and gathering a mob, set all the city in an uproar and attacked the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people. But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, ‘These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.’ (Acts 17:6, NKJV)

Motivations Matter

 

We must always be careful lest we separate theology from methodology. Behind both is one central theme that we must recognize. Certainly, obedience to the divine commission “to go” along with a loving concern for others is vital but are these the foundation for the early church’s growth? No doubt they played a key role but there is more as John R Stott points out.

Compelling as the motives of obedience and compassion are, neither is in fact the strongest evangelistic incentive. . . Even love for the commands of Christ and love for the lost sheep of Christ are subordinate to and dependent on this for the name of Christ. (Our Guilty Silence, p.16)

Stott continues,

Love for His name is not a sentimental attachment either to His personal name ‘Jesus’ or to His official title ‘Christ’ or to any of His designations in Scripture. Instead, it is a concern for His honour in the world, an ardent desire for the fulfilment of our prayer: ‘Not to us, O Lord, not us, but to thy name give glory.’ Ps. 115:1 (Ibid. p.16)

As Stott explains,

This incentive of the glory of God is the link between our worship and our witness. . .. Worship expresses itself in witness; witness fulfils itself in worship. The unifying theme is the glory of God and of His Christ, and there is a great need for this to be the supreme incentive of our modern evangelism.  (Ibid. 22,27)

QUESTION: HOW WOULD SUCH A CONCEPT ENABLE CHRISTIANS OF THE EARLY CHURCH TO BE STRONG DURING FIERCE PERSECUTIONS?

 

A Christian leader of a different faith was invited to meet with a select group of church leaders. They were wanting him to help them reach the “secular mind.” They were wanting to redesign their evangelism programs to reach the secular world.  His observation, I believe, is important for our study today.

Our problem is not that they have a secular mind, whatever one might mean by that phrase; the problem is that we, American Christians, have a secular mind. Many of us no longer think like Christians. Our lives have been so imbedded in our society that we think pretty much like everyone else in that society.

  We concluded that our problem is not how to communicate, but what we have to offer. 

– Edward R. Dayton in Whatever Happened to Commitment, p.88.

Complementary Strengths

Two are better than one,

Because they have a good reward for their labor.

For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.

But woe to him who is alone when he falls,

For he has no one to help him up. –Ecc. 4:9

 

In earlier studies, we discovered that when God created the earth and concluded that it was “very good” (Gen. 1:31), He was describing the world filled with potential. We discovered what God, Himself, considered good and desirable. When God said, “Let us make mankind in our image” he was referring to the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit who had all participated in Creation together. Their bonded ministry was also linked in our salvation.

 

In Luke 15, we find Jesus being accused of associating with sinners because apparently some disrespected people had gathered to eat with Jesus (v.1). In that context of meeting with “sinners” Jesus shares three parables. 

1.     The parable of the lost sheep (Lk 15:3-7)

2.     The parable of the lost coin. (Lk 15:8-10)

3.     The parable of the lost son. (Lk 15:11-32)

 

A closer look, however, reminds us what we discovered earlier in the Creation experience.  We see the glory of God, His character and His purposes, at work to save each of us. This persistent effort by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit not only gave the church a witness, it gave it the foundation for worship. Consider again the three parables Jesus told when asked why He would dare welcome and eat with sinners. 

 

1.     The parable of the lost sheep (Lk 18:3-7) – Who is the Good Shepherd? (John 10) --Jesus

2.     The parable of the lost coin. (Lk 15:8-10) When looking for the lost coin what did the woman use to find the coin—a lamp that she lit which is symbolic of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 10:38; Ps 45:6,7; Ex. 27:20,21))

3.     The parable of the lost son. (Lk 15:11-32) – The One running to meet the prodigal.  The Father

 

The same Trio, a small group, that created the world is also eagerly involved in our salvation! This small group unity, this self-sacrificing endeavor for our salvation, becomes “the image” replicated by the church. Indeed, we are created in God’s image in ways yet to be fully revealed!

 

QUESTION: IF THE FATHER, SON, AND HOLY SPIRIT WORKED TO CREATE THE WORLD AND TO PUT IN PLACE A PLAN TO SAVE US, WHAT IMPLICATIONS DOES THIS HAVE FOR US BEING CREATED IN THEIR IMAGE?

 

Moses was counseled,

Moreover, you shall select from all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place such over them to be rulers of thousands, rulers of hundreds, rulers of fifties, and rulers of tens. (Ex. 18:21)

Every individual in the camp of Israel became part of a group of ten led by a carefully chosen leader. WHY DO YOU THINK THIS WAS SO? WAS IT ONLY FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PURPOSES?

 

Jesus called His twelve disciples to prepare them both spiritually and practically for their mission.  He fellowshipped with them, Him ministered to them, He taught them, and they in turn shared with Him their experiences.

 

Household Evangelism

 

One of the most important methods of spreading the gospel in the early church was by the use of homes.

It had positive advantages: the comparatively small numbers involved made real interchange of views and informed discussion among the participants possible; there was no artificial isolation of a preacher from his hearers; there was no temptation for either the speaker or the heckler to ‘play to the gallery’ as there was in a public place or open-air meeting. The sheer informality and relaxed atmosphere of the home, not to mention the hospitality which must often have gone with it, all helped to make this form of evangelism particularly successful. – Michael Green in Evangelism in the Early Church, pp.207-208.

 

The Wisdom Behind the Three C’s

 

1.     Cell (Small Group)

2.    Congregation (Group of Small Groups)

3.    Celebration (Worship) 

(See, From Cell to Celebration by Larry R Evans)

 

Small Groups and the Call to Service

The formation of small companies as a basis of Christian effort has been presented to me by One who cannot err. 

If there is a large number in the church, let the members be formed into small companies, to work not only for the church members, but for unbelievers. 

If in one place there are only two or three who know the truth, let them form themselves into a band of workers. Let them keep their bond of union unbroken, pressing together in love and unity, encouraging one another to advance, each gaining courage and strength from the assistance of the others. 

Let them reveal Christlike forbearance and patience, speaking no hasty words, using the talent of speech to build one another up in the most holy faith. Let them labor in Christlike love for those outside the fold, forgetting self in their endeavor to help others. As they work and pray in Christ's name, their numbers will increase; for the Saviour says: “If two of you shall agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of My Father which is in heaven.” Matthew 18:19.  Ellen G White, Testimonies to the Church, vol. 7, p.21

Early Church Strengthened by Small Groups

The order that was maintained in the early Christian church made it possible for them to move forward solidly as a well-disciplined army clad with the armor of God. The companies of believers, though scattered over a large territory, were all members of one body; all moved in concert and in harmony with one another. When dissension arose in a local church, as later it did arise in Antioch and elsewhere, and the believers were unable to come to an agreement among themselves, such matters were not permitted to create a division in the church, but were referred to a general council of the entire body of believers, made up of appointed delegates from the various local churches, with the apostles and elders in positions of leading responsibility. Thus the efforts of Satan to attack the church in isolated places were met by concerted action on the part of all, and the plans of the enemy to disrupt and destroy were thwarted. AA 95.3

The Assurance

Chuck Colson, of Watergate fame, visited a prison in Brazil.  As he walked past the cells of inmates, he found them smiling but none so much as the murder who held the keys and opened the gates to let him into the prison.  Many of the cells were decorated with Biblical sayings from Psalms and Proverbs.  When his guide arrived at the cell known for the notorious torture there was a pause. “Are you sure you want to go in?” he was asked.

 

“Of course,” Colson replied. “I’ve been in isolation cells all over the world.” Slowly the massive door swung open. The lone prisoner in that cell was a crucifix.  It was beautifully carved by the prison inmates.  The prisoner in this cell was depicted as Jesus.  The guide said softly, “He is doing time for the rest of us.” (Adapted from In the Grip of Grace by Max Lucado.)

 

Why have small group? Because we need them but also because through friendship with others, we can introduce them to Jesus who along with the Father and the Holy Spirit are doing everything they can to set them free, to bring new life to them.

 

Small groups make good organizational sense.  But there are better reasons why we need them.  We need them for our encouragement, for our own biblical enrichment, but also as a way of bringing encouragement to those who have never known what it feels like to be accepted because their own past is haunting them with unforgiven guilt.  In a small group we can be “in the image” for which we were created by bringing hope to a broken person, family, or stranger. It’s a good way to “turn the world upside down!”

These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God. – 1 John 5:13 (NKJV)