The enemies of the Gospel accused the Apostle Paul and his companions of turning the world upside down (Acts 17:6). It was meant as an insult, but it could be a compliment because it showed that the preaching of God’s Word had a huge impact on the world. There are many accounts in the Book of Acts and throughout church history where we can see the changes and impact brought about by the preaching of God’s Word. The impact was on the personal, social and political levels. Lives were saved and changed because of the preaching of God’s Word.

However, we no longer see this kind of impact by churches today. In fact, it seems more like the world has turned today’s churches upside down as many churches today have been associated with corruption and greed. As such, the world today needs more than ever the kind of impact that the Apostle Paul made to turn the world upside down. How can we then achieve the same impact as that of the Apostle Paul and his companions in Acts 17:6?

1. The Preaching (Acts 17:1-3). The answer is through the preaching of God’s Word. The Apostle Paul would visit the synagogues in every city he was in to reason with the people from the scriptures and to show them through the scriptures that Jesus is the Messiah and that He was sent by God to come to this world to suffer and die for the sins of men. Like Paul, we too must be prepared to preach God’s Word to the world. We must also be prepared to defend the authority of God’s Word to ensure that God’s Word is not undermined by the false teachings so commonly taught today.

2. The Responses (Acts 17:4-5). There will always be two kinds of responses when we preach God’s Word to the world: those who will believe God’s Word, and those who will reject God’s Word. We must be prepared to face opposition and not let it discourage us. We must continue to preach, uphold and defend God’s Word because we love and believe in God.

3. The Effects (Acts 17:6-10). The effects of the believers’ turning the world upside down will cause the opposition to accuse the believers of disturbing their peace. They will try to stop God’s work from progressing. However, God’s work can never be hindered or stopped just as Paul and Silas moved on to another city and continued to preach God’s Word as if nothing had happened to them. Therefore, we must never stop amid opposition and persecution. We must persevere and continue preaching God’s Word and sharing the Gospel wherever we are and whenever there are opportunities.