Untitled Sermon

intro

[ 000 ] This morning, we dive back into the home stretch of our series in the book of Acts! I’m not going to take the time to recap everything we’ve covered to this point, other than to say, the whole purpose of us studying Acts verse by verse like we are, even though it’s taking a long time, is so we get a window into the life of the early church. Acts chapter 1 lets us know that the book of Acts is about what Jesus continues to do and what he continues to teach in and through the apostles as they laid the foundation for the global church.

Today, we pick up with the apostle Paul in a city called Ephesus [ 001 ]. Just like Green Bay is famous for the Packers, or Seattle is famous for coffee, St Louis is famous for the arch, and Riverside is famous for Star Trek, Ephesus was known far and wide for the [ 002 ] Temple of Artemis. It was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world – an incredible structure for it’s time, and one that brought a lot of traffic and industry to Ephesus. And that’s going to be a major factor in what we read today.

Paul is in Ephesus, but is already making plans to head to Jerusalem and then, verse 21, make his way to Rome. That’s pretty much what the rest of Acts will be about – Paul’s journey back to Jerusalem, and then onward to Rome where he will be when the book ends. {003 ]

PRAY

Those of you who are older than me may remember the Presidential election of the early 90’s as Bill Clinton was trying to unseat the first President Bush, George HW. Now, Bill Clinton became famous for some one liners he gave later on in his Presidency, but there was one slogan that his campaign manager made very popular that probably helped them win the election. That slogan was very simply: “It’s the economy, stupid.” And what President Clinton’s campaign manager realized is that you run on all kinds of issues that you think people care about, but the main thing ordinary people care about is whether or not they can afford basic goods and services. It’s the economy. And while that phrase was coined in 1992, it’s not such a new concept. In fact, an illustration of why that slogan works is happening right here in Acts 19. [ 004-1 ]

23 About that time there was a major disturbance about the Way. That’s the term often used in Acts to describe followers of Jesus. 24 For a person named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, provided a great deal of business for the craftsmen.

Demetrius makes the shrines, and sells them. And he has a lot of suppliers and craftsmen working for him, and one day he calls a meeting. Demetrius says, [ 004-2 ] verse 25, “Men, you know that our prosperity is derived from this business. [ 004-3 ] 26 You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this man Paul has persuaded and misled a considerable number of people by saying that gods made by hand are not gods. [ 004-4 ] 27 Not only do we run a risk that our business may be discredited, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be despised [ 004-5 ] and her magnificence come to the verge of ruin—the very one all of Asia and the world worship.”

The temple of Artemis was a main source of income for the city. Think the University of Iowa Hospital in Iowa City. If that place goes down, a lot of people and a city’s reputation go down with it. It would have a major effect on local incomes, wealth, other local businesses, etc. Business at the temple gift shop has been down lately, and who does Demetrius blame for it? PAUL CONVINCING ARTEMIS WORSHIPERS THAT THEY’VE GOT THE WRONG GOD! There’s more to say about this later, but for now, if you’re Demetrius, what’s at stake here? The economy, right? Our prosperity comes from the worship that happens at this temple. If people in Ephesus start to despise the temple, and stop admiring Artemis, then all of Asia and the rest of the world will stop coming here to buy stuff from us – This guy Paul could run us out of business!

I’m not sure what Demetrius hoped would happen when he brought this up, but the suppliers freaked out, [ 005 ] 28 …were filled with rage and began to cry out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” Just picture this scene in your head. We don’t know how many suppliers were there, but let’s say there were 20. They all get fired up, someone pounds the table, another jumps up and kicks over a chair, they all start yelling Great is Artemis, and head out into the city – apparently to find Paul, and do something about this. Well, Ephesus is a busy place. [ 006 ] They have a massive marketplace that is probably filled with people, who all of a sudden encounter 20 guys shouting Great is Artemis. Apparently they weren’t used to that sort of thing, because verse 29 …the city was filled with confusion… what in the world is this all about? Why are we shouting? But they must have joined in at some point, like, yeah, okay, Great is Artemis… they can’t find Paul, but they find two of his buddies, [ 007 ] and they rushed all together into the amphitheater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s traveling companions.

What started out as all about the economy and the silver craftsman making money has now turned into something religious and patriotic, and it got the whole city fired up. So they drag poor Gaius and Aristarchus into the [ 008 ] massive open-air amphitheater that held approximately 25,000 people (Gangel, 5:327).

Apparently Paul hears all the ruckus, and classic Paul, probably thinks this is a perfect opportunity to share the gospel with the whole city at once, so he tries to go to the amphitheater to preach, but is restrained by the disciples that are with him – and even some city officials that were friends of his sent word saying “don’t go in there!” A rioting mob is not the best place to try and be rational. [ 009 ] Case in point, 32 Some were shouting one thing and some another, because the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.

So it’s mayhem in Ephesus. But someone needs to do something, so verse 33 Some Jews in the crowd grab a guy named Alexander to be their spokesperson, tell him what to say, and push him to the front of the crowd. Back in chapter 19:9, Luke recorded that the Jews were hardened to Paul’s message and didn’t want anything to do with him, so they are pushing Alexander forward probably to let the Ephesians know Paul isn’t with them. This is their way of trying to get on the good side of the Ephesians. Motioning with his hand, Alexander wanted to make his defense to the people. [ 010 ] 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

You might think this is weird for people to shout the same thing over and over for 2 hours, but track with me on this as we just came through an election cycle – If you had 25,000 political conservatives all together here in the US, and if you stirred them up and made them angry enough, and then someone they hated tried to quiet them down and speak to them – it’s not that hard to imagine them shouting U.S.A. for 2 hours straight just to keep that person from speaking. Or at least, it starts out as a way to keep that person from speaking, but the longer it goes, the more it becomes a matter of patriotism and devotion. No one wants to be the first to stop.

Finally the city clerk, probably something equivalent to the mayor, someone EVERYONE respected, showed up and got everyone calmed down by saying “you are all shouting something everyone already knows!” You don’t have to say it for 2 hours – we know Ephesus is the home of the Great Artemis. He noticed that the city was in danger of breaking the peace that Rome was so proud of, that this was borderline an illegal mob, and could come under Roman discipline, which could mean the city loses it’s privilege to govern itself. And since, verse 40, there is no good justification for this riot, we better disperse right away to keep that from happening (Gangel, 5:328).

[ 011 blank ] Now, the city clerk is not defending Paul or Christianity. He probably hates them as much as anyone. But just like Demetrius was concerned about his job, the city clerk was concerned about his too! He didn’t want Rome coming in and removing all local government because of this massive riot. “After saying this, he dismissed the assembly.”

What sense can we make of this scene here in Acts 19? Paul has been busting his tail for the gospel everywhere he goes, and even the pagans in Ephesus are seeing it and recognizing his reputation – to the point where it causes a major disturbance in the economy of Ephesus. Here are a couple of observations from this whole scenario:

[ 012 ] The message of Jesus is not compatible with the values, practices and patterns of the world. It’s one or the other. Either worship of idols is going to affect faith in Jesus, or faith in Jesus is going to affect worship of idols. Faith in Jesus doesn’t fit neatly into our lives along with all the other things we give our allegiance to. I think sometimes we as Christians living in this individualistic culture we live in, try to water it down and play it safe when we think about telling others about Jesus. “All you have to do is believe.” “All you have to do is have faith.” I think Paul would disagree. Here’s what Paul wrote in Galatians 5:17 “For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.” Here’s the apostle John, in 1 John 2:15–16 “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride in one’s possessions—is not from the Father, but is from the world.” The world and it’s value system don’t merge neatly with our belief in Jesus. Isaiah 55:7 says “Let the wicked one abandon his way and the sinful one his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, so he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will freely forgive.” Coming to God involves leaving behind our own ways and thoughts, and no longer being devoted to the world’s treasures, philosophies, and priorities. Instead, as Jesus said in Matthew 6:33 we are to “seek first” God’s kingdom and HIS righteousness, and trust him to meet all of our other needs. When we enter God’s family through faith in Christ, we become citizens of another kingdom; our desires turn heavenward, and we realize that what is truly important is eternal, and we stop loving the world. Jesus said if we love anything more than Him, we are not worthy of Him (Houdmann). For these new believers here in Ephesus, conversion has brought about massive change in their lives, such a shift in values and practice and allegiance that it has affected the economy of the city in a recognizable way. [ 013 ]

Sharing the gospel requires us to speak. There was a person many years ago named St Francis of Assisi, and he is famous for saying, “Preach the gospel at all times, and if necessary, use words.” And many people wrote that on T-shirts and mugs thinking it sounded great. But the reality is, if you’re not using words, you’re not actually preaching or sharing the gospel. Paul isn’t here in Ephesus just handing thirsty people a glass of water in Jesus’ name, as good as that is. He’s not just taking meals to people who have had tragedy strike, as merciful and helpful and necessary as that is. He’s not even just doing healings and casting out demons, as incredible as those things are. You don’t see Paul out on the street with picket signs, or staging anti-Artemis rallies, as appropriate as those kinds of things might be in certain contexts. The way Paul pushed back against the demonic forces and idol worship here in Ephesus was by teaching the truth faithfully, day after day, persuading people about the kingdom of God. And as more and more people were persuaded to put their faith in Jesus instead of Artemis, fewer and fewer customers were available for Demetrius and his suppliers (Wiersbe, 1:482). Paul’s reputation is in what he says. And it’s what Paul has been focused on since the beginning.

In Acts 9, right after his conversion, Paul goes around proclaiming Jesus is the Son of God, and when people questioned him, he confounded them by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

In Acts 13, Paul performs a miracle, but the proconsul believes “because he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord.”

Acts 14 – Paul spoke in such a way that a great number of Jews and Greeks believed.

In Acts 17 – He and Silas persuaded men and women, and many followed them.

Acts 18 he met public scrutiny here too, where people said “This man is persuading people to worship God in ways contrary to the Roman law”

Acts 19, for three months he argued and persuaded people about the kingdom of God.

In order to actually proclaim the gospel, you need more than actions – you need words. I think it’s fair to say most of us in the room today came to faith in Jesus through someone’s words. Someone sat down with you and explained your need for Jesus. Or maybe it was sitting in church week after week, year after year, sermon after sermon until you were finally convinced. Or maybe you read the word of God in a hotel room or something. But no matter who it was, or how long it took, most of you in the room today who are true followers of Jesus are so because someone used words to explain the truth of Jesus to you.

I’m going to just be honest. This is one of those things where I feel like a hypocrite talking about this, because I haven’t done as well at this as I would like. Its much easier to take someone a casserole, fix a flat tire, help someone move than it is to say, can I talk to you about Jesus? I confess that I’ve let fear get in the way of actually looking to persuade others with the truth.

But let me take you to 1 Corinthians 2:1–5 Here’s what Paul says: “When I came to you, brothers and sisters, announcing the mystery of God to you, I did not come with brilliance of speech or wisdom. I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. And listen to this: My speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not be based on human wisdom but on God’s power.”

Acts records Paul as being persuasive in every city he visited, but Paul is the first to say, oh it’s not me. I was weak, fearful, and trembling most of the time. It wasn’t me that was persuasive. My speech and my preaching – anything I said, was a demonstration of the Holy Spirit’s power so that your faith didn’t depend on me, but on God’s power.

Don’t you think that’s where most of us fall off? We think the persuasion has to come from our own wisdom, and we don’t trust the Spirit to do his work – both in us as we open our mouths to speak, and in the listener to soften their hearts if that’s God’s will at the moment.

But Paul is proof that weak, often fearful and trembling Christians in Ephesus made a tangible impact in their city because they refused to participate in the idolatry of their culture, and because they were also willing to open their mouths to talk about this marvelous hope they had in Christ, trusting the Holy Spirit to display his own power in their weakness. Can the same thing happen here in Riverside and surrounding communities?

And lastly, [ 014 ] Point #3. Discipleship is not a solo project There is no way Paul could have convinced that many people all over modern day Turkey to follow Jesus by himself. He could never have done this alone. People who had been changed by the grace of Jesus were now also sharing the good news with others. Each person who was saved by faith in Christ was also now stepping out in faith, boldly proclaiming the truth.

I mean look at what comes next in Chapter 20 after this whole mob scene was over and Paul started heading home. Verse 4 He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia.

Following Jesus means intentional community. Yes, your salvation is individual – God saves people by grace. But following Jesus is not a solo project. It involves other people – some of them, people that you would never link up with under any other circumstances. But people who have been rescued by the same gospel of grace that you have, probably gifted by the Spirit in ways you have not been, so that together, each one using their gifts with as much faith as God provides, the whole church operates like a body – each muscle, ligament, tendon, blood vessel, working together in harmony to live, move, and have it’s being.

And let me tell you, discipleship and community is not always neat and tidy. Sometimes it’s pretty messy. [ 015-1 ] Check this out in verse 7 “On the first day of the week, we assembled to break bread. Now, the part I skipped over in verse 6 is that Paul has left Ephesus, making his way back to Jerusalem now, and has stopped off in a town called Troas. Paul spoke to them, and since he was about to depart the next day, he kept on talking until midnight. [ 015-2 ] There were many lamps in the room upstairs where we were assembled, and a young man named Eutychus was sitting on a window sill and sank into a deep sleep as Paul kept on talking. Maybe the fumes from all the lamps are running a little high for Eutychus, and he’s at the window trying to catch a breath of fresh air as he fights off sleep after a long day of work. And Paul just going on and on until midnight didn’t help.

But props to Eutychus – he’s sitting there by the open window trying everything he can to learn from the great Apostle Paul, trying to soak it all in. But [ 015-3 ] , v 9, When he was overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was picked up dead. Luke is the author of Acts, and he’s a doctor – so when he says the guy is dead, he knows what he’s talking about. But if anything will put a damper on your 5 point sermon, it’s someone shrieking as they watch this guy fall out of a 3rd story window and dies.

Now Luke records nothing about faith, nothing about procedure, nothing about prayer or petition or anything – simply, [ 015-4 ] that Paul went down, bent over him, just like those two old prophets Elijah and Elisha in 1 and 2 Kings did when they were in similar situations, embraced him, and and some point felt his heartbeat return, because he said, “Don’t be alarmed, because he’s alive.” And then the part that cracks me up, is where Paul or someone else must have said, well, anyone hungry? [ 015-5 ] After going upstairs, breaking the bread, and eating, Paul must have said something like, okay, where was I? and he talked a long time until dawn. No one fell asleep after that, I can guarantee you that. Just everyone with their eyes wide open the whole time. Then he left. They brought the boy home alive and were greatly comforted.”

[ 016 ] So the moral of that story is that if you fall asleep in church, you’ll die. Let’s close in prayer.

I’m joking. [ 017-1 ] Nothing about the story says we should criticize Paul for preaching too long, or criticize Eutychus for falling asleep, so we shouldn’t try to draw something out of those details. But what you do see is that for these people in Troas, love for Jesus has formed new patterns, values, and practices in them. They met in someone’s home on the first day of the week (which for former Jews meant switching from meeting on Saturdays with the Jews to meeting on Sundays with the Church); they were willing to sacrifice sleep to hear the apostle’s teaching; and [ 017-1 ] they shared in Communion together – probably part of a full-on meal – as part of intentional community and fellowship with other believers.

You also see that [ 017-3 ] proclaiming the Word gets center stage in the gathering. Some people still ask the question to this day – why does preaching take up most of the weekly gathering of the church? It always has. Everywhere Paul went, he spent most of his time teaching, preaching, persuading – especially in local gatherings at the synagogue. Here in Troas, a guy falls out a window and dies; then gets miraculously resurrected a few minutes later, and then they all go upstairs to share in the Lord’s Supper and hear some more preaching. Not much is even said about the miracle.

Miracles and healings like this one are God’s temporary mercy on his Church, and it is appropriate to pray for both with as much faith as God provides. Food is God’s delicious and also temporary mercy that brings people together and physically sustains and energizes weary bodies, and it’s appropriate to enjoy good food and drink together with thankful hearts. It’s not mentioned here, but the music and singing of the saints joins our hearts together in one song and stirs our spirits, and it’s appropriate to sing and shout and praise the King of kings – but the Word of God, the proclamation of Jesus, is the true meal that sustains believers both in Troas and here in Riverside for the long haul. And if you’re thinking, that sounds like something a preacher would say:

[ 018 ] Matthew 4:4 The words of Jesus … Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.””

And of course, the person speaking those words was fully God, fully man, Jesus, the Word made flesh who lived among us – the one who lived, died, and rose again – the same Word that is returning on a white horse at the end of days to usher in the New Creation. In him is life and light.

[ 019 ] And strangely enough, participating in the Lord’s Supper together is the perfect way to move on after bringing Eutychus back to life isn’t it? Because in the bread and the cup, that group of believers could remember again how every one of them was dead in their trespasses and sins – with no hope of bringing themselves back to life anymore than Eutychus could un-break his own neck. But God, Ephesians 2 says, But God, who is rich in mercy, because of his great love that he had for us, made us alive with Christ even though we were dead in our trespasses. You are saved by grace! In Christ, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he richly poured out on us. Not only has he made us alive together with Christ, he also raised us up with Christ and seated us with him on the third floor – in the heavens in Christ Jesus – so that in the coming ages he might display the immeasurable riches of his grace through his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. And Paul says it one more time for good measure: You are saved by grace through faith – it’s a gift, not by works, so that no one can boast. In him also – when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you also believed – you were sealed in him with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the downpayment of your inheritance until you take possession of it to the praise of his glory!

Church, this morning as we participate in the Lord’s Supper together, I want to encourage you – There may be times where we are somber and thoughtful, remembering what our sin cost, and that’s appropriate. But today I want you to look around at each other. Smile at each other. Rejoice that thru Christ, we are given a seat at the table in the house of God. Sealed by the Spirit. Brought from death to life – Saved by grace!

If you have never seen Jesus as wonderful. If your belief in Jesus has never driven you to new practices, new patterns, new values. If your belief in Jesus has never drawn you to hunger for God’s word, or long for the fellowship of believers, than your belief is still not saving faith and you need to be born again. Today I encourage you to ask God today to shine the light of the knowledge of God’s glory in the face of Jesus into your heart (2 Corinthians 4:6) so that you can see your sin, repent of it, and turn to Christ by faith and be saved by his marvelous grace. There’s no better way to start a new year. If you don’t want to do that this morning, please just pass the elements on by when they come to you.

SOURCES

John R. W. Stott, The Message of Acts: The Spirit, the Church & the World, The Bible Speaks Today, (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1994)

Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996)

Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, Holman New Testament Commentary, (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998)

S Michael Houdmann, https://www.gotquestions.org/do-not-love-the-world.html