"A Church That Matters"

Nu Creation Christian Center
Pastor: Juan Cherry
Scripture: Acts 17:1-8

Amplified Bible (AMP)

17) 1 Now after [Paul and Silas] had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews.
Paul and Silas’ reputation preceded them…
If nobody ever hears about your witness, how will they ever know? 
EXAMPLE: Juan took Deneen’s cakes to work and the turn out was EPIC! Not only did they take the cakes but they also took the cards etc…after a while the other cake makers are going to be mad.  

The Jews who should have been praising were the ones who stirred up the mess. 
Its not the people outside the church who might cause the ruckus when you do God’s will…
Its not that we are against anything, it’s that we are for something. 
Sometimes a stand for one thing appears to be a stand against another.
EXAMPLE: Three guys standing in front of the church…you focus on who you are talking to… 

I stand for the marriage of a man and a woman…but I am not against…
We need to be forcefully for something, and then we won’t have time for anything else.
If my ‘for-ness’ offends you, I’m not thinking of you!
What do we stand for??????????????

2 And Paul entered, as he usually did, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned and argued with them from the Scriptures,
3 Explaining [them] and [quoting passages] setting forth and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, This Jesus, Whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ (the Messiah).
4 And some of them [accordingly] were induced to believe and associated themselves with Paul and Silas, as did a great number of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.
PROBLEM: The natives of Thessalonica were upset because several people were converting to Christ because of the witness. 
QUESTION: Are we many anybody upset with our witness?  
5 But the unbelieving Jews were aroused to jealousy, and, getting hold of some wicked men (ruffians and rascals) and loungers in the marketplace, they gathered together a mob, set the town in an uproar, and attacked the house of Jason, seeking to bring [Paul and Silas] out to the people.
6 But when they failed to find them, they dragged Jason and some of the brethren before the city authorities, crying, These men who have turned the world upside down have come here also,
Ku-de-tas – a sudden decisive exercise of force especially the violent overthrow of a government…

…A Revolution – a fundamental change in the way of thinking (that must start within us individually)
…A Paradigm…
Education VS Sports – Raising the standards…
Child Star Syndrome…
“They was TURNT-UP!” Two Chains…
Pastor’s Definition – (The state of being wild and crazy like someone at a party)
Why can we be so for things that don’t really matter!
The church in Acts were TURNT-UP…the Holy Ghost!

7 And Jason has received them to his house and privately protected them! And they are all ignoring and acting contrary to the decrees of Caesar, [actually] asserting that there is another king, one Jesus!
8 And both the crowd and the city authorities, on hearing this, were irritated (stirred up and troubled).
The Revolution Will Not Be Televised” – Stop observing, sitting back and doing nothing…do nothing!
The Revolution will not be Tweeted, Facebook, Etc.

Does the fact that we are Christians make us make a difference or does it just mean that we are different?
We have too many cheerleaders…

v Something has to happen in us before it can happen for us or by us.

o   Everybody “ain’t gonna like You when you make a difference…”

o   If any man be in Christ…Now I’m in now I turn up!

v Certain CHOICES yield certain consequences…