One of the things I find amazing about the early church is the fear, envy, and anger they stirred up in the government and Jewish authorities. Here, Paul and Silas had come to Thessalonica, a city of 200.000 people and a true metropolis of its time.
Like they always did they went to the synagogue and began preaching the gospel. It had a great impact and a lot of folks got saved. That didn’t set well with the unsaved Jews so they gathered a crowd to go find them. They knew they were staying with a man named Jason so they headed to his house. When they couldn’t find the disciples that dragged Jason and some other believers to the city authorities and said this, “These who have turned the world upside down have come here too.” They then told the typical lie that they were opposing Caesar. Jason and his friends were released on bail.
The important thing is the attitude of the Jews. They called the disciples, “These who have turned the world upside down.” This small group of believers, only a handful at the start, had such an impact that they were seen as turning the world on its head.
Why then, do we tend to cower in fear at the task before us? Is the Holy Spirit any less powerful than He was then? Has God’s word any less impact? If we would follow Christ as they did have we not the potential to turn the world upside down today?
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