Skip to content The Power of Cultural Influence in Acts 17 Sep 15 · 15 min ...more
The Power of Cultural Influence in Acts 17
September 15, 2025 · 15 min
Explore how the church can reclaim its cultural impact and transform the world with the Gospel.
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Family Research Council is serving in the kingdom of God by championing faith, family, & freedom in public policy and the culture from a biblical worldview.
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Turning the World Upside Down 0:10 Good morning. Welcome to stand on the word. Thanks for joining me this morning as we look at acts chapter 17 verse 6. But when they did not find him, they dragged Jason and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying0:20 out, these who have turned the world upside down have come here too. So how does the church, we, as followers of Christ, return to a place of cultural influence where the impact of the church is0:32 such that it turns the world upside down or right side up? We're gonna look at that as we continue with Paul on his second missionary journey. Verse 1 chapter 17. Now when they had0:44 passed through Amphipolis and Apollina, they came to Thessalonica where there was a synagogue of the Jews. Now Paul went to Thessalonica on his0:56 second missionary journey with Silas and Timothy. This was the second place that the gospel was act actually preached in Europe, Philippi being the first. And we're gonna talk more about1:08 the city of Thessalonica when we read Paul's letter to them later this week. Verse 2, then Paul, as his custom was, went into them, and for the 3 Sabbaths, reasoned with them from1:20 the scriptures, explaining and demonstrating that the Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead, and saying, this Jesus, whom I preach to you, is the Christ. And some of them were1:31 persuaded, and a great multitude of the devout Greeks, and not a few of the leading women joined Paul and Silas. This is central to the question that we started with. Right? How does the church how do1:43 we return to a place of cultural influence where the impact of the church is such that it turns the world upside down? Well, here it is. It begins with the word. We1:55 must know the word. Paul knew the word. He had studied the word. We must go and engage people with the word. That's exactly what Paul did every city he went into. And we2:07 must ensure and this is where I think our responsibility is today. This is kind of the role that the Family Research Council takes on. We must ensure the right to share the word. You know, we live in a a unique time and2:18 a unique country that protects the first amendment, but we've been losing a lot of that. And I've been warning pastors about this since the the Lord called me into the political arena almost 3 decades ago. Because I hear2:30 a lot, you know, people saying, well, pastor saying, you know what? We're not gonna get involved in politics. We're just gonna preach the gospel. Well, alright. We need the church to preach the2:42 gospel, and it's not just pastors. We need people to be able to live out the gospel each and every day no matter if they're in school, in the workplace. But here's the here's the deal. The the applied2:54 gospel is what's going to transform hearts, and it's going to change communities and our country. And and look look what happens to Paul, though, as a result of3:06 this. There's going to be opposition, but we're not to shrink back. Verse 5, but the Jews who were not persuaded, becoming envious, took some of the evil men from the3:18 marketplace and gathered 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 Jason3:30 and some brethren to the rulers of the city, crying out, these who have turned the world upside down have come here too. Now keep in mind, dogs generally don't bark at parked cars.3:42 They were making a difference. Alright? The the unbelieving and the envious Jews organized the mob to attack those aligned with Paul, not just Paul, but those aligned with him because their ministry3:54 was having an impact. And guess what? The devil didn't like it. Note note this, that impact the impact of the gospel, the impact of the4:06 truth does not come without opposition. Those who have turned the world upside down have come here too. It's turned their world upside down. It's gone it's turning4:18 evil, what they call evil, which is good. It it's going back to to making good good and evil evil, and that turns their world upside down. Verse 7. Jason4:29 has harbored them, and these are all acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar saying there is another king, Jesus. And they troubled the crowd and the rulers of the city when they heard4:41 these things. Now this sounds pretty familiar. Alright? As the preacher said in Ecclesiastes, there's nothing new under the sun. Alright? So we need to we need to understand. And4:53 when we look at the scripture, we see the resistance and the opposition that the early church faced. We see the patterns of the enemy. Satan doesn't use any new tactics. Pretty much the same.5:06 There was this lawless mob aided by indifferent poll driven government officials, and Paul was forced to flee to Berea where he preached until the mobs of Thessalonica5:18 came and stirred the people up there as well. I mean, this is the model that Satan uses. And and and I was talking, pastor Jack and I did an event this last5:30 week and and as I was here in California, and we were talking about this, about how Christians are adverse to conflict. I'm adverse to conflict. And and and that we're afraid to5:42 be offensive. Well, it's not us that's offensive. It's the truth. It's the word of God. And we cannot fear offending people if it is the word of God they're offended at. I mean, Satan5:54 uses this model to stir people up. I mean, we've seen it with Black Lives Matter. We've seen it with Antifa and and many elements of the LGBTQ movement. Okay? And so people shrink back because6:06 government officials, just like we see here, get intimidated. Look. It it's bad here, but there are places in the world where this is on full display. Alright? We we see6:18 where the church is actually advancing, really growing in some parts of the world. India is 1. Nigeria is another. And as a result, they are they are tearing down6:30 Satan's strongholds. And guess what? He doesn't like it. We you know, in in these countries, we see, you know, people are being set free from the bondage of Satan and sin, and radical Muslims and6:42 and Hindus attack churches and Christians and pastors while government officials watch or, in some cases, charge the Christians with the crime of inciting6:54 because of the violence that these forces of darkness are engaged in. So none of this should surprise us what we see today because it's right here in the scripture as the church was advancing. Verse 9. So when they7:06 had taken security from Jason and the rest, they let them go. Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.7:18 They didn't shrink back. They weren't intimidated. They kept on in the mission. Now they went to another city. Jesus, as Jesus said, when they reject you in 1 of them, they oppose you, go to the next. But just keep7:29 going. Don't stop. They were more fair minded than those in Thessalonica and that they received the word with all readiness and searched the scriptures daily to find out whether these things were7:41 so. The the Bereans were looking in the word. They were comparing what Paul said to the word of god, and that's what we should be doing. We should be searching the scriptures. Therefore, many of them7:52 believe and also not a few of the Greeks, prominent women as well as men. But when the Jews from Thessalonica learned that the word of god was preached by Paul at Berea, they came there also to stir up the8:04 crowds. Alright. Here here's something we need to realize. Truth attracts. It it attracts those who are seeking, but it also attracts scorners and skeptics. So you gotta be8:16 prepared for that. Then immediately, the brethren sent Paul away to go to the sea, but both Silas and Timothy remained there. So those who conducted Paul brought him to Athens and received8:28 receiving a command from Silas and Timothy to come to him. With all speed, they departed. Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was provoked within him when he saw the8:40 city was given over to idols. There are certain things that we we cannot be comfortable with. Right? His his spirit was provoked. He saw the evil. He felt the evil. These idols, we've8:52 talked about this most prominently in the Old Testament when we look at it. These are not just I mean, we're we're talking about inanimate objects of stone and wood, but it's more than that. They9:04 represent the spiritual force forces of darkness. What Paul talks about in Ephesians, the the powers of darkness, the spiritual darkness of this age. And so9:16 Paul was provoked by this. He saw it. He felt it. He sensed it, and and he couldn't he couldn't be at peace with it. So what does he do? Well, he begins to9:28 engage them with the gospel. Now some mocked him, but some believed in the lord. And it's the same approach that he took, the word of god. Look at verse 17. Therefore, he reasoned in the9:39 synagogues with the Jews and with the gentile worshipers, And in the marketplace, didn't confine it to the 4 walls of the church. He he went into the marketplace daily with those9:51 who happened to be there. Then certain Epicurean certain Epicureans and stoic philosophers encountered him, and some said, what does this babbler want to say? Others said, he seems10:03 to be a proclaimer of foreign gods because he preached to them Jesus and the resurrection. Now an important note about these 2 groups, that are mentioned here, the Epicureans, they saw man's chief in10:16 in his existence, the human existence, to be the pursuit of pleasure. There were no boundaries to their pleasure. The stoics were on the other end of the cultural spectrum.10:28 Alright? They saw man's chief objective was to conform their human will to this recognized deity that they had that10:40 was, over a pantheon of gods. Now, you know, they they were certainly better than the Epicurean view, but both were hostile to the gospel and man's chief10:52 and the the chief end of man that we have according to the creation of God, and that is to glorify him, enjoy him forever. Both were opposed to that. In fact, in these 2 philosophies,11:04 the Epicurean and the Stoic, we have showcased man's 2 greatest weaknesses, pleasure and pride. Right? Verse 19. And they took him and brought him11:16 to the Areopagus saying, may we know what this new doctrine is in which you speak. Again, Paul's engaging them with the word. For you are bringing some strange11:28 things to our ears. Therefore, we want to know what these things mean. For all the Athenians and the foreigners who were there spent their time and nothing else but either to tell or hear something11:40 new. I think the nature of man never changes. Looking for a new thing when it's the ancient paths of truth that will lead us in the right direction. Verse 22. Then Paul stood11:52 up in the midst of the Areopagus and said, men of Athens, I perceive that in all things, you are very religious. For as I was passing through and considering the objects of your12:04 worship, I found an altar with this inscription to the unknown god. Therefore, the 1 whom you worship without knowing, him I proclaim to you. God, who made12:16 the world and everything in it, since he is lord of heaven and earth, does not dwell in temples made with hands. See, he engages them at their point of interest, all the the religion. Alright? But12:28 then he leads them to the gospel message. See, our conversations with people, as they open the door, need to point to our resurrected lord. Verse 29.12:39 Therefore, since we are the offspring of god, we ought not to think that the divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art or by man's devising.12:51 Truly, these times of ignorance, God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent because he has appointed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by13:03 the man whom he has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising him from the dead. And when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. Alright. Some are gonna mock. Some are gonna13:15 reject. While others said, we will hear you again on this matter. So Paul departed from among them. Father, we thank you for your word. And, again, lord, we thank you for13:28 just the example of of boldness and determination, of courage to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Lord, and as those early days were, as the church faced that opposition and13:39 that resistance, we see it today because it is the tearing down of strongholds, and the enemy is not going to walk away. The enemy is going to fight knowing that his time is short. But, lord, we know13:51 that victory victory is ours through the lord Jesus Christ, and that we have the power to tear down those strongholds and those philosophies of men that raise themselves up against the gospel of the truth if14:03 we will know it and we will share it. Lord, I pray that it would be said of this generation that we're turning the world upside down. So father, give us the boldness, give us the courage and the understanding through the14:15 holy spirit to do just that. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Alright. Thanks for joining me this morning, and until next time, keep standing on the word.14:27 Today's study comes from the Stand on the Word Bible Reading Plan available for free at f r c dot o r g slash bible. By following along in just a few minutes a day, you14:39 can read through the entire Bible in just 2 years. Learn more and request the free reading guide at f r c dot o r g slash bible.In this video 0:00 Turning the World Upside Down
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