When Life Gives You Lemons
Acts 17
2 Then Paul,
as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them
from the Scriptures,
3 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.”
Paul had a bad
summer. He was on his second missionary
journey and had come to the Greek city of Philippi. He had been preaching there when a young girl
possessed of a demon began following him.
He cast out the demon. Her master
was using her for occultist purposes and now he faced losing all the income
from her. He complained and the
magistrates had Paul and Silas beaten with rods and imprisoned in jail. They were miraculously delivered and the
magistrates demanded that they leave the city so Paul and Silas went to
Thessalonica. There he preached for only
three weeks and then some envious Jews stirred up a mob in the marketplace and
pretty soon the whole city was in an uproar.
They attacked the house Paul had been staying in and dragged his host
out of his home and bought him to the city magistrates. Some faithful friends of Paul’s helped him
escape and he went to Berea. But then
this same group from Thessalonica heard that Paul was in Berea and went there
and stirred up another mob and another faithful group of friends urged him to
leave and he had to flee. So then he
went to Athens and tried to explain Jesus and the Gospel to the philosophers
there but failed to persuade many of them.
So he left Athens and made his way to Corinth, where he arrived in fear
and weakness. Next time you think you’re
having a bad week, remember Paul’s second missionary journey!
But of all this,
there is a very interesting thing to note. In Corinth, Paul writes his first
letter to the church he had left behind in Thessalonica. He was concerned for them and wanted to be
sure they were believing the truth and not getting lost in errors. So he wrote what we call First
Thessalonians. When you read and study First
Thessalonians you see that Paul touches on many subjects ranging from basics
like salvation to advanced subjects like the Second Coming of Christ. Paul was truly the first Full Gospel
preacher! In three weeks he preached the
whole gospel to the believers at Thessalonica.
Paul had every
reason to pack up and head back home after Philippi. Paul and Silas, according to Acts 16:23, had many
stripes laid on them. A few years ago, a
young American was caught damaging a car in Singapore. The news media reported that he was to be
beaten with a rod and showed what happened to people beaten like this. Beating with rods leaves welts, bruises and
cuts on the person and it takes weeks to heal.
They did not get weeks to heal; they were put in jail with their feet in
stocks. This usually involved sitting on a hard floor with your feet stretched
out awkwardly and secured in stocks made of either rough wood or metal.
After their miraculous
rescue by earthquake, they took their welts, bruises and cuts and left to Thessalonica,
and then to Berea, and then to Athens and then to Corinth. Not only did they not retreat to Jerusalem
but as they went from dangerous situation to dangerous situation they still
left behind them believers beginning new churches. As the saying goes, “when life hands you lemons,
make lemonade.” Not allowed to preach in Philippi? OK, let’s walk to Thessalonica; it’s only
about 100 miles.
Paul was a
serious evangelist! He was called to
spread the Gospel and he was excited about telling people about Christ. No opposition was enough to make him
stop. He was determined to tell others
about Christ no matter what. After being
arrested and chained to a Roman guard he worked to convert the soldiers. In 2 Corinthians 11 he revealed some of what
he endured.
24 From the
Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. 25 Three
times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked;
a night and a day I have been in the deep; 26 in journeys often, in perils
of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils
of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the
wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false
brethren; 27 in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger
and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness—
He and Silas
were accused of “turning the world upside down.” Or was it that they were, rather, “turning the
world rightside up?”
Stephen Cram February 17, 2013 Colossians 2:8
Beware lest anyone cheat you through
philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to
the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ. Colossians
2:8
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