Ministry in Ephesus
Notes
Transcript
Ministry in Ephesus
Ministry in Ephesus
Intro
This morning we are going to continue to look at Paul’s ministry in Ephesus.
Remember Ephesus is the cultural center of The Roman Empire.
Not only was it the cultural center it was also a cultic center.
Much Pagan worship took place in Ephesus and that is going to play a huge role in what we study today.
When we come to faith in Christ, he transforms our hearts, desires, and longings.
They may not change overnight, but as we draw closer to him they are transformed.
To often in the Christian life we try to change our behavior to act more like Christ.
But that often doesn’t take. When we try to change our behavior without having our heart change we are putting the cart before the horse.
Our behavior will only change when our desires and affections change.
And our desires and affections will only change when we submit to Christ.
And as we submit to Christ and let him be lord of our lives then we will be empowered by the spirit of Christ to change.
Why?
Because love is what changes, transforms, and renews us.
and the greatest love is Christ’s sacrificial love.
When we recognize the weight, glory, and majesty of what he gave we can’t help but give up our old selves and live in a new life.
The love of God and love for God is going to rock the very core of Ephesus.
God’s love for his sinful and rebellious creation is a mighty wonder.
God’s love for us demonstrates itself by God reaching us where we are and meeting us there to reveal our desperate need for him.
The Way that God shows his love for the people in Ephesus meets them where they are.
11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.
God of Wonders
Luke tells us that there are some Extraordinary miracles happening in Ephesus.
But who was doing these Miracles?
It wasn’t Paul. It was God.
God used Paul to accomplish his miracles but Paul was not a magician.
Paul was not a sorcerer, enchanter, or genie.
Paul was not in control of how or when those miracles would happen only God was.
God used Paul’s handkerchiefs and aprons to heal diseases and exorcise demons.
These handkerchiefs and aprons were items that Paul would use in his tentmaking endeavors.
Some believe that handkerchiefs in these times referred to a sweatband that Paul would tie around his head to keep the sweat out of his eyes.
Unfortunately, there have been those that have taken this verse out of context and tried to profit off of what Luke describes here.
There are still televangelist today that offer their people a “handkerchief” that can cure their ailments.
But what we have to remember is that God is the one that provided these healings.
Paul didn’t send people these items to heal them, rather, people gathered them and brought them to the sick and then God healed them.
There was no magic in the cloth.
There was no magic in Paul’s sweat.
There was no magic happening at all.
Rather, God was healing the sick and releasing the bound.
God does the miraculous yet he often uses the hands of his people to accomplish his purposes.
How is God demonstrating his Love to the people of Ephesus through the miraculous.
Something you have to know about Ephesus is that they were enamored and entranced by magic.
Or how we would describe it today “spiritual powers.”
Ephesus was known for its “Ephesian Writings” was used to describe any documents that contained magic formulas and spells.
Incantations, spells, and magic words of power were to them the most important and sought after spiritual power.
It was how they tried to overcome sickness.
It was how they tried to manipulate some deities.
It was how they tried to manipulate reality for their own individual purposes.
So God is going to condescend to them.
He is going to speak their language.
He is going to show them that there is power greater than mere words, spells, or incantations.
After Luke tells us about the miraculous things that God is doing through the ministry of Paul, he takes us to one of the coolest stories in the book of Acts.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”
14 Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this.
15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
16 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.
God Of Wonders
Luke tells us of these traveling Jewish exorcists.
What a Job.
They would travel from city to city and exorcise people who had demons or were ill.
This is how they would make their money.
They better they were at exorcism the more money they would make.
So they would try anything that even hinted at working.
These men and the culture of Ephesus at large were very syncretistic in their theology.
Basically they would take elements from each and every religion and put them together to fit their needs.
An example of syncretism today would be if someone took Buddha, Jesus, Karma, the universe, nationalism, and mashed them together.
And created their own little religion.
So basically, Cultural Christianity is a form of syncretism.
So these exorcists heard that mighty things are happening b/c of the name of Jesus.
They heard that there was power in his name.
They heard that Paul was healing the sick and casting out demons in his name.
So they thought they hit the mother-load of powerful words.
And if other words worked before, let’s give this one a try.
“I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”
They didn’t know anything about this Jesus.
They only knew that Paul would do miraculous works by his name.
So they figured they could do the same.
And so they try and use the name of Jesus for their own personal gain, for their own personal renown, for their own purposes.
These Seven Sons of Sceva tried this on a demon possessed man.
But God will not be mocked.
God is not a Genie that shows up when beckoned.
The name of the Lord is not a name to be toyed with.
So though they thought they were locked into the power of God through the name of Jesus they came up empty handed…and got a butt whippin’.
How does the the evil spirit respond “Jesus I know, Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
This demon possessed man takes out all seven of these men.
He beats them and demonstrates that they didn’t have the power of Jesus just because they had the name of Jesus.
He beat them so bad that they ran out of the house butt naked and wounded.
How can one man overcome six men?
If he is demon possessed.
Here’s the truth, demons are real.
Evil is real.
And when you live or interact in an environment that is enamored with magic, incantations, or spells. you are bound to experience the dark side of the spiritual reality.
Unfortunately, we tend to fall on one of two sides when it comes to demons and dark things of the spiritual life.
We either ignore it completely and are certain that it may have existed in ancient times but it doesn’t exist any more.
Or we become enamored with it.
When we become enamored with it we either look for a demon under every rock.
Where Rock music leads to devil worship.
Violent video games will lead you to worship the devil.
Reading Harry Potter will lead you down the path of Devil Worship.
Or we become flippant with it.
We toy with the dark arts.
Movies about the Paranormal.
Tarot Cards.
Horoscopes.
Spell Books.
Crystals.
Seances.
Let’s have a more balanced approach.
Satan and the Demons are real, they aren’t the reason you are late to work, get a flat tire, or have a cruddy day.
But if you mess with evil, it will mess with you.
The only way to overcome evil is by the Name that saves.
By placing your faith and Jesus and following close after him.
It’s not enough to know his name you have to know him.
So these men just lost a battle with this man b/c he was empowered by a demonic being.
I heard one preacher put it this way… “If you go into a fight with pants on, then at the end of the fight you don’t have pants on…you lost.”
These men Lost and Lost big time.
Nakedness in this culture was throughly shameful.
They were totally and utterly humiliated.
So these seven kids of Sceva were beaten, wounded, humiliated, and powerless in the face of sin and evil.
This is how each and every one of us stands before our own sin.
We are powerless to overcome it.
And many people try to face their sin and they use the name of Jesus, but they don’t know the person of Jesus.
It would be like if they are saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus my Grandma, momma, daddy, knows.”
But it doesn’t matter if they know the Jesus or not you are powerless if you don’t know him personally.
There is power in his name but that power only exists in his people.
The power of Jesus, the blood of Jesus, the victory of Jesus can’t be yours by proxy.
He has to wash you.
Cleanse you.
Sanctify you.
Through your faith.
Not someone else’s faith.
This event had an impact on the city.
All the residents of Ephesus heard about the event, Jews and Greeks.
And the name of Jesus was extolled.
People feared and revered the name of Jesus.
They realized that Jesus’ name was not to be played around with.
That it wasn’t a spell, incantation, or magic word to be tossed around lightly.
This shows us that there is a personal power behind the name of Jesus.
The fact that saying Jesus’ name doesn’t necessarily cause something to come about means that it isn’t simply a force or spell.
Jesus is personal. He delivers personally. He saves personally. He loves personally.
He makes decisions on how his name is going to be used.
So he withheld power from the Sons of Sceva, but he demonstrated power throughout the city through Paul
The name of Jesus has the power to save.
It has the power to deliver.
But we cannot separate the person from the power.
Heres the reality there are many in our world that want to preach, teach, lead, or guide in the name of Jesus, but they do it devoid of his power.
If someone isn’t following after Jesus in fellowship, commitment, and discipleship to Jesus then they are preaching in vain.
The power comes from the person, not the name.
So people that are preaching a false gospel.
The gospel of syncretism.
The gospel of prosperity.
The gospel of self-help.
The gospel of politics.
They may use the name of Jesus to propagate their “gospel” but they are devoid of the power of Jesus.
The gospel of Jesus is the only message that transforms.
The only message that brings the dead to life.
The only message that changes our desires and affections.
The only message that changes the things that we love and the things that we hate.
Now, these things don’t necessarily happen overnight, but as we follow Jesus and as we live in the truth of the gospel our focus will shift to love the things God loves and hate the things that God hates.
18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices.
19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver.
Hating What God Hates
God hates Idolatry.
God hates sorcery.
God hates things that draw our attention away from him and toward ourselves and our own selfish desires.
We see here that there are those that are now confronted with their sin.
But I want you to notice something that should bring you comfort.
How does Luke describe these people.
He calls them believers.
These are people that have trusted Jesus, but they are still holding on to the things of their past.
They are still holding on to the sins of their past.
They love Jesus, but it isn’t until now that they recognize the need to hate their sin and idolatry.
Who knows maybe they were holding on to their past life in case this Jesus thing doesn’t pan out.
Maybe they wanted Jesus plus something else.
Maybe they just didn’t know that Jesus and these things were incompatible.
But as they witnessed Jesus power on display they recognized that nothing can compare to his power, glory, and majesty.
Right here in this passage we see sanctification happening in the lives of the saints.
Sanctification is simply growing to listen, love, and trust Jesus more.
This is where we start to look more like our Savior because we grow to know what he loves and what he hates.
Sanctification is a process.
Growing to look more like Jesus is a process that takes a lifetime.
And even after 1, 5, 15, 20, 30, 50, or 80 years of following Jesus we are still on the journey.
The journey of sanctification will never end until we meet Jesus face to face.
So when you fall.
When you stumble.
When you want to beat yourself up b/c you messed up again.
Jesus extends to you grace.
Jesus extends to you mercy.
Jesus extends to you love.
The christian life is not about perfection its about progress.
Those of you who have been Christians for some time, I want to take a moment and talk to you.
When Jesus starts to transform the lives and hearts of people in this town b/c of God’s witness throughout this church body.
I want you to be patient.
I want you to be loving.
I want you to be accepting.
They aren’t going to be the perfect Christian the moment they come to Christ.
Their walk isn’t going to look like yours.
You wouldn’t expect a baby to be able to be able to do the same things a toddler, teenager, or adult can.
Don’t expect an immediate life overhaul.
This is where discipleship comes into play.
This is where we show them the Jesus of the Bible and teach them how to walk after him.
Teach them how to long after him.
Teach them how to be like him.
Teach them how to read and understand God’s Word.
These things don’t come naturally.
These things have to be taught.
Just think about it real quick.
These believers were listening to Paul teach about Jesus and yet they still had books, scrolls, and items from their past that they were holding on to.
But eventually, they were able to let go, but it wasn’t over night.
I listened to a podcast about this lady who’s name is Doreen Virtue.
Mrs. Virtue was part of the New Age movement.
Basically a form of this kind of thing we read about in Ephesus.
She was into Tarot Cards.
Astrology.
Mystic Healing.
Numerology.
You name it she was into it.
She had authored over 70 books about the New Age.
She was making money hand over fist.
Then she met Jesus.
She had heard about Jesus.
She had even taught about Jesus.
She even had written about Jesus, but she didn’t Know Jesus.
She was using his name a tool to market, sale, and propagate her messge.
But then she met Jesus.
He gave her a new heart.
He gave her new affections.
but this did take sometime.
It took here a couple of years to get rid of all of her past.
She still had books.
She still had some trinkets.
She still had some Tarot Cards.
But through discipleship and reading her Bible she recognized that these things needed to be given up.
So she gave up her past and is following Jesus.
In giving up her past she also gave up her lucrative career.
Her 50 acre Ranch in Hawaii.
Her many book deals.
But she was willing to give it all up because Jesus is Better.
Jesus Changed her affections.
Jesus changed her desires.
You can Read her book “Deceived No More: How Jesus Led me out of the New Age and Into his Word”
The change of affection is a mark of Following Jesus.
We see that here in Ephesus
They begin to hate the things God hates.
So they bring out their books and burned them.
Remember this is a time when books were not widely available.
Books were an expensive resources.
They didn’t have the printing press, they didn’t have kindles.
So each book was valuable.
Luke tells us that the value of the books burned was 50,000 pieces of silver.
That’s a lot, but its even more when you realize that about a days wage was one piece of silver.
They could have sold the books and given the money to the church.
They could have sold the books to recoup some of their loss.
But They didn’t want to profit off of what God said was evil.
They didn’t care about the Cost b/c Following Jesus and Obey God are better than the cost.
Their affections had changed and they were willing to count the cost.
What from your past is God asking you to give up?
What will it cost you?
Do you find Jesus more valuable than that thing that you are holding on to?
Are you hating the things that God hates.
Sin, Idolatry, Disobedience, Rebellion.
Because until you hate what God hates, you will find it extrememly difficult to Love the things God Loves.
So what are the Things God loves?
10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
Loving What God Loves
God loves people.
God loves saving people.
God loves it when we proclaim his word, so that people are called to repentance.
God loves when people are discipled, when their affections are changed, and as they start to look more like Jesus.
And we see that it isn’t bold teaching, loud preaching, or a list of rules that changes people.
It is God’s Word that Changes people.
God has spoken. God is speaking. God is increasing his kingdom.
And he does that when his people use his word.
People need to hear Gods Word.
We are simply messengers.
We are simply heralds.
God does all the work in salvation.
God does all the work in calling people to himself.
God does all the work, but he chooses to use us to proclaim him.
That should humble us and encourage us.
We don’t have to save people.
We don’t have to give them a list of rules on how they should dress or act.
We give the the Word of God and let it do the work on their lives
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
It’s not about your ability or in ability.
It’s about God’s Word that works in your heart and trains your spirit to love those far from him.
God’s word reveals all we need to know when it comes to salvation.
When the Word of God changes people’s lives.
When people come to the lord it can cause a shake up not just in our life, but in the lives of those around us.
And some people don’t like it when our change causes their life to be affected.
As followers of Jesus we want to see culture change, but culture change begins with individual transformation.
But be ready for push back when culture changes.
21 Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”
22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.
24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.
25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.
26 And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods.
27 And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
29 So the city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel.
30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him.
31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater.
32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
33 Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd.
34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky?
36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash.
37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess.
38 If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another.
39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.
40 For we really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion.”
41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Cultural Combat
Luke tells us about a disturbance in Ephesus.
The affections of the town were changing.
And it was impacting some people’s pocketbook.
Demetrius was the leader of these rabblerousers.
He was most likely the leader of the Silversmith Guilde and he noticed that people weren’t purchasing as many relics as before.
In addition, I am sure that he had heard or saw the Book Burning and this would have caused him to panic.
Temple of Artemis (Picture)
So to stir up panic within the hearts of others he starts telling them about the effect that Paul and his preaching is having on their town.
He appeals to their need for money and their wealth being affected by what is happening in Ephesus.
He also makes Paul a common enemy.
That Paul has been going around and telling people that the gods they worship aren’t real.
That gods made with human hands are vain attempts in worship.
But he wants to appear to appeal to something greater than their pocketbook.
So he appeals to the honor of Artemis.
Their Idol is being challenged.
All people in the world worship her.
And here Paul is talking about her being false.
Her being counted as nothing.
When peoples sin, idolatry, and money are being confronted as vain and useless acts they want to fight.
They want to hold on to what they think they can control.
People don’t want to submit to the truth of God b/c they don’t want to come under his lordship.
“I wanna live my life the way I wanna live my life. I don’t want any one or any thing telling me how to live my life.”
So there is a riot that breaks out in the town.
They are stirring the worldly affections of those in the town.
They run to the theater.
This theater is carved into the side of a mountain and is still there today.
(Picture)
They estimate that around 25,000 people could fit here.
This is where they would gather for town meetings.
Demonstrations.
This is where change was made in Ephesus.
However, many were there that didn’t even know why they were there “most of them didn’t know why they had come together” (32)
This is the mob mentality that can cause more damage than good.
The change they are demanding now is that Paul and his preaching would leave and never return.
Paul wants to go confront the crowd, but he has some people in his corner that protecting him from this disastrous decision.
His disciples and even some leaders (Asiarchs) tell him that it would be too dangerous.
The Jews at the assembly put forth Alexander probably to say that they aren’t a part of this, but the crowd doesn’t even give him a chance to speak before they start chanting for 2 hours “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
The town clerk shows up.
He is the middle man between Ephesus and the Roman Government.
He reassures them of the importance of Artemis.
That the goddess they worship is real and great.
He wants to help placate the crowd.
They are getting upset over nothing.
Artemis built this town and she will continue to sustain this town.
Often lies are more comforting than the truth.
He finds no fault in what Paul is doing.
In fact, he tells those assemble that they are in danger of being charged with Rioting.
The town clerk is able to pacify the assembly and sends them home.
People are more comfortable staying where they are than changing.
Here’s the truth God will change our affections if we love, submit, and devote our lives to him.
It may take time, but we will love what God loves and hate what God hates the close we get to him.
Believer, I want you to know that it’s okay that you aren’t perfect.
It’s okay that you have room to Grow.
Lean on God and the tools that he has provided for you to grow to know him more.
If you aren’t a follower of Jesus.
He wants you to know that he loves you.
That he gave his life up for you.
That the life you live now is but a shadow of the life you could have with him.
You don’t have to clean yourself up to come to him.
You don’t have to wait till all the things are in order.
He isn’t waiting for some future version of you.
He wants you know. He’s calling you know.
How will you respond?