A Stirred Spirit: Applications from Acts
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“Paul was a tentmaker by trade but being an evangelist was his identity.”
In the last few messages from Acts, our College and Young Adults Class has examined Paul’s early missionary days as he moved around the known world. In that journey, Paul met copious amounts of people. He also endured his fair share of hardships and his fair share of shame. In his most recent journey to Athens, in Acts 17, we find Paul walking through the city. The scripture says, “Now while Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him” (Acts 17:16-17). Paul looked around at the city he enjoyed, the city he probably revered and saw them “wholly given over to idolatry.” The scriptures tell us that his spirit was stirred within him. Paul’s spirit was stirred, and it sprung him into action. He did not sit on the sidelines and worry about the things of this world. Paul went out into the city and evangelized. The Bible says he even disputed with them.
If I’m being honest, I struggle to have a burden for people. Ministry? I can do that. Work? I can do that. Have a zeal for God’s word? That is easy. Have a burden to witness to anyone I can? That is another story. Without the burden for people, without the stirring, our zeal is in vain. A zeal without a burden is a fire that will be easily quenched by the winds of change. It will be seasonal in nature. In this season, the fire may burn bright for a moment, but it will not last the first burst of wind that blows on it.
Paul understood that a desire to see the lost come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ, to walk away from their sin and turn towards the living God, required an intentional investment by him and the perseverance to see it to the end. If we remember back in Acts 17:17 it says, “Therefore disputed he in the synagogue with the Jews, and with the devout persons, and in the market daily with them that met with him.” Paul understood that if the lost were to come to Christ, he first had to go to them. The people Paul went to were in the synagogues and in the market. They were the intellectuals, the cultured, the poor, the weak, and the blind. Paul would talk to any person who would listen to him, or in some cases, disputed with him. Paul’s love for Jesus Christ and his burden for the lost people of this world made evangelism a daily practice for him. Paul was a tentmaker by trade but being an evangelist was his identity.
“The only thing holding us back is ourselves.”
I recently went through a season where God was dealing with my heart. He continually showed me where my heart truly was when it came to evangelism. I have a desire to be a missionary one day. I even told God I would be willing to go wherever he sent me, do whatever he wanted me to do when I got there, and that he can send me whenever he wants to! But, in my flesh, I have no desire to witness to people I don’t know. Unless I’m filled with the Spirit of God and allow it to move within me, it is impossible for me to talk myself into witnessing to a lost person. I think if we are all honest, we’ve had moments like this that we can remember. In our flesh, we can easily find ourselves content with living a “set apart life” but never telling anyone why we live a life set apart. Too often Christians (including myself) tell themselves, “The lost will notice I don’t cuss and ask me about it. That will be my opportunity.” And that may be the case sometimes, but that’s normally the exception and not the rule. There are two main reasons why American Christians fail to evangelize to the lost world: we have poorly placed priorities and we are too afraid of rejection by our friends and even our family.
For me, it is easy to become too busy. I am currently an (almost) full-time student, I work full-time hours at my job, I’m currently enrolled in LFBI, and active in several ministries at MBT. My plate is full and not becoming lighter any time soon. This will only get fuller as life progresses. I’m not complaining, that’s just the reality of the situation. While going through Acts, I’ve come to realize that as a man who wants to be effective for the mission, I must set apart specific times to go evangelize to the lost. People aren’t coming up to me and asking me about Jesus; I must go to them. Like Paul’s stirring in his spirit, I, too, must be stirred into action for the gospel. I, too, should see Kansas City “wholly given over to idolatry” and respond with similar action. I, too, should weep over the scores of lost people I come into contact with daily, and it should drive me to preach the gospel wherever I am. We as a church must decide that KC has spent too long worshipping the creation instead of the creator and be sprung into an evangelistic wave. We must go to the coffee shops, the parks, the colleges, and our everyday workplaces to proclaim the message we have been entrusted with. Our Savior died for it, our God has commissioned it, and our pastors have prayed for it. The only thing holding us back is ourselves.
There is this story about my dad when he was in his early 20’s. He wanted this job as a mechanic at a body shop and the secretary of the shop didn’t want to give him an application. She kept telling him that they didn’t have any openings. My dad was sure there was an opening, and he wanted this job. He came back several times and each time he was turned away. One day my dad decided to go around the backside of the building and knock on the boss's window. The boss talked to him and a few hours later he had a job at the “place with no openings.” He knew what he wanted, and he was willing to do whatever he needed to get that very job. That job is where he met my mom and where he paid bills for the household. My dad was unafraid of rejection. He knew that the job was way more important than the rejection he faced. Unfortunately, Christians today are not willing to face rejection. Whether it be friends, family, or strangers in the lost world, we often place their opinions far above God’s word and the commission we have been given. The Bible gives us clear examples of people who have been rejected and how their perseverance paid off.
“It is our duty to preach the gospel, but it is also our privilege.”
I’m reminded of Paul being stoned and thrown out of the city of Lystra. Paul left the area of Lystra, preached the gospel in Derbe (a nearby town), and went right back to Lystra to preach the gospel again (Acts 14:19-21). I would venture that there are souls in heaven right now because of his second trip into Lystra. It is our duty to preach the gospel, but it is also our privilege. Let us not miss the opportunity we have because of carnal reasons and fears. If we are to take the gospel to Kansas City, Missouri, the United States, and the uttermost, we must be burdened for the souls of men and allow that burden to drive us to the crowds.
Brock Detherow is a member at Midtown Baptist Temple and is a leader in the Youth Ministry. He is also involved in the Grandview men’s Bible study.