They Turned The World Upside Down

This is the Truth Network. These people who have turned the world upside down have come here also. These people who have turned the world upside down have come here also. So this was a complaint because the followers of Jesus Christ, following His ascension into heaven, really moved to engage the culture, to impact the world as it then existed, as they knew it, with the revelation that they had experienced of the life and the presence of the Son of God, the Savior of the world. And they were creating a stir. They were upsetting the status quo, which it obviously takes to change something that is already set in stone, a tradition, whatever it may be. And so the report, the complaint that was issued here is, look, these people are turning the tables in the temple over, you know, like Jesus did. They are creating a stir. They are messing up our routine. These men who have turned the world upside down are now here.

They're in our town. You know, they were upset, to say the least. So you can read the passage for yourself. Again, Acts chapter 17, and I've titled the podcast, They Turned the World Upside Down, because that's the Bible template.

That's the example. When we pray, Kingdom of God come, will of God be done, that's one of the goals, to change things, to bring things into alignment with the way that God has planned. Remove it from the grip of God's ark enemy, Satan.

Turn it over to the lordship of Jesus Christ. So we've said, so important to remember, Jesus said, Occupy until I come. That means fill up, fully occupy, do what I've commanded you to do, and also look up because my return is near, more near than you might realize.

So we do two things at once. We occupy fully while we keep our gaze upward because our expectation and our confession is, even so, come Lord Jesus. Compared to the opposite of Acts 17, it's something that's reported here. Then the latest thing, the date here is April 20, 2023, from the Christian researcher, George Barna, Dr. George Barna, the Barna Report. If you don't follow that report, I highly recommend that you do, and we're going to include in our show notes today a link for the report that I'm citing so that you can read the full report for yourself. This particular report comes from one done at the Arizona Christian University in their Cultural Research Center. The study shows the ways that the faith of Americans has changed since the start of the pandemic, which would have been 2019, 2020. Compared to 2020, I believe, is what the sample reflects here, and the sample itself is of about four dozen beliefs and behaviors from a cross-section of 2,000 random people, so that's the sample setting for those of you who are marketing experts, marketing majors.

A few of the changes here are encouraging, but most of the changes from 2020 to 2023, and again, this is an American study, most of the changes are not good. For example, 10% fewer describe human life as sacred, and that stat is 39% in 2020 compared to 29% in 2023. So, in 2020, 39% of the people would tell you that they believe that human life is sacred. 10% fewer now, here in 2023, believe only 29% of this study of 2,000 people believe that human life is sacred. So, that communicates with what we are seeing now in our cultural shift, right? Not just in the United States, but also in other nations as well.

So, for those of you listening to this podcast outside of the United States, you can make the comparison here to the way things are in your nation, in your region. So, the report here goes on to point out that because we know that religious beliefs from one generation to another almost always shift, but rarely do we see the changes that are this significant over just a few years, over this short period of time. What once had been a steady decline in Christian beliefs is now beginning to pick up speed. So, that's the not good news.

That's the bad news. It's beginning to pick up speed. I believe that that increase, the increase in the shortness of time, and the gloomy report relates completely, compares exactly to what we can read throughout Scripture, especially in some New Testament passages about where we are in time. Paul said this would happen, 2 Timothy 4, 3 through 4.

This is Paul. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers, and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. They will be turned away from truth and turned aside to fables. So, Paul writing here is just one of many Scriptures that let us know that these things are not a surprise at all to the God who created the universe, Almighty God, our Father.

These things are not surprising. He actually lets us know, prepares us of things to come, and as Paul explains to us, the day will come, the time will come, the hour will come when men will not endure sound doctrine. They have their own desires. They only hear what they want to hear based on their own convenient model, their own worldview coming out of, again, their own desires, and just locating all of those who agree with them, even teachers who will expound and promote the things that they would really like to convey and to become the norm in the culture. And the more those voices rise, the more they grow in number, you're going to have the obvious result more and more will be drawn to believe that way. And as Paul says, they will be turned away from truth and turned into and toward something more like a fable.

You know, a fable gives you the idea of a fairy tale, something that has no basis in fact, other than that you are able to get many people to agree and repeat it often enough that it sort of sounds like, hey, we probably should go with this. But the foundation of the Word is our rock. It is our stabilizing place.

It is the place that we go to check and identify and compare what we are hearing with what God has already said and prescribed for those who choose truth and choose the way of life. So again, Acts 17 verses 5 through 7 are a great context here. And verse 6 out of the ESV, these men who have turned the world upside down have come here also. This is our example. This is really who you are.

You are one of these men or women, young person, old person, rich person, poor person, it doesn't matter. Those who know the truth, I love the Bible expression, who have heard the joyful sound, these are the ones who now continually say we are the redeemed of the Lord and we say so and with that conviction and the revelation of the life of Jesus Christ, then we go and we espouse the Lord's truth, therefore turning up on its head, turning upside down any fable, any fairy tale that does not align with the truth of God's Word, we turn it upside down. We turn the world upside down. And we come into every geographical location like that.

We come into every home like that, every neighborhood like that, the community, the region, and on and on. There's a great rendering of this passage in The Voice Bible. And in case you are not familiar with The Voice, it's basically an equivalent translation that reads like a story. It's really written on a middle school level, addressed to those who would have that level of comprehension, so a young person or someone who has the level of comprehension of a young person.

So it's a very valuable tool in our study of the Word, an equivalent translation. And I love how it's expressed here. This report is attributed to the mob. The mob.

Boy, we can relate, right? To the mob. And here's the shout and the complaint from the mob, and I'm quoting from The Voice translation. These people, they are political agitators turning the world upside down. And now they've come to our fine city.

And this man, Jason, has given them sanctuary and made his house a base for their operations. We want to expose their real intent. They are trying to overturn Caesar's sensible decrees. They're saying that Jesus is King, not Caesar.

End quote. And I mean, my voice has to elevate here just in reading because the mob is shouting their complaint, their opposition to these people, calling them political agitators. And I mean, you need to note, pay attention here to all the applicable comparisons to what we're seeing in our world now as the spirit of lawlessness is gaining momentum.

These political agitators, the believers were called political agitators. They're trying to turn everything upside down. Now they've come to our fine city. Our fine city, you know. You can interject the name of your town right there.

This is our town, our fine city. Well, whose is it? Is it theirs? Is it mine?

Whose is it? Technically, the creator of the whole world, our Father, Almighty God, has possession, right? And when we pray, Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done right here on earth just like it is in heaven, we are enforcing the love of God as the absolute rule in my city, in my town. Let me go on verse 7. And it turns out that this man, in this case his name is Jason, had opened his home to those who were of like faith and like belief, and therefore he made his home. I mean, think of the expression of the house church. Think of the expression of the home meeting where citizens and neighbors can meet and discuss their common desires for the welfare of their families and their children and the welfare of their neighborhood and the peace in that neighborhood.

So this Jason had opened his home as a meeting place for that very thing. But the mob is saying, finding fault with that and saying, no, they're real intent, these Christian agitators. They're trying to overturn Caesar and his sensible decrees. Now, if you are just the most average student of the Bible and of or of history, you understand the comparison there where it would place you. It would place you on the side of Caesar, a pagan ruler, compared to the authority, the rule, and the kingdom of God's Son, Jesus Christ. They're actually saying, we are siding with Caesar against Jesus. We are siding against Yeshua. We are siding against the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

And they are drawing the comparison to stir up the mob, stir up the crowd, to come against and stop this movement by those that are believers and followers of Jesus Christ. So make the application today to your life. Are we, Acts 17, verse 6, the way that God uses us and flows through us and the way we make ourselves available is turning the world upside down with the message of the love of God and His highest and His best in every nation, among every people, at all times?

Or, and by comparison, do we see what is taking place to overthrow that possibility with another philosophy, an anti-God philosophy, an anti-Almighty God philosophy? And we get to choose. This Barna research report dated January 20, 2023, reflects a downward turn in those who are following the template of Acts 17, verse 6. But you and I, because we are aware of Jesus' requirement to occupy until He comes while we look up and anticipate His return, we understand what our role must be. We have our orders and we realize how short time is and that we can do this.

We can totally fulfill the call of God on our lives to do everything possible to accomplish Acts 17, verse 6. And so that is our prayer today for you, for me, for every listener in every place around the world. God bless you today. See you next time. 65 Day Devotional, Running with Horses. Thanks again and we'll see you next time. Copyright © 2020 Mooji Media Ltd. All Rights Reserved. No part of this recording may be reproduced without Mooji Media Ltd.'s express consent.