Building the Church (21)
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Can’t Fake It
Can’t Fake It
Good morning, I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving.
How did you see God move this past week?
Ever know someone that faked it.
I mean like fish stories, or high school glory.
History is full of fakes
The Cottingley Fairies
1917 - cousins Elsie Wright and Frances Griffiths took pictures of fairies in the garden
1980’s confessed they were drawings secured to ground with hat pins
Milli Vanilli
Won Grammy for best new artist in 1990
Except it was discovered they lip synced all their songs and never sung
Can’t Fake It
Can’t Fake It
15 Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth.
Can’t Fake It
Can’t Fake It
Real faith translates into every part of our life.
It is the way we talk, work, live and relate
“If lips and life do not agree, the testimony will not amount to much.” ~Harry Ironside
Can’t Fake It
Can’t Fake It
The truth is you can try to fake faith, but in fact it will come out and will be too exhausting to keep up.
That is what I want to look at today as we continue with Paul as he comes to Ephesus in Acts 19.
Let’s pray.
Thinking you know
1 And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples.
2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Thinking you know
There are things we think we know, we have heard or were brought up a certain way.
We have made it cultural to be a Christian, or a church membership, or fill in the blank.
4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.”
Our faith is based on what Jesus has done, not what others say.
Thinking you know
There is a supernatural change in us that includes the dwelling of the Spirit
John’s Baptism was a look forward to the hope of Messiah, while Christian Baptism is a look back to the finished work of Christ.
Side note - God’s pattern was and is - hear the word, believe in Christ, immediately receive the Spirit, and then be baptized - Cornelius
5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
Thinking you know
Side note - Paul laying on hands - showed Apostolic authority, last place we hear of tongues in Acts. - known languages
The Evidence of authentic faith
8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
Lives were changed - on a God get’s the credit scale.
Think you can
Extraordinary thing were happening - miracles
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.
Think you can
Jesus and His miracles - show compassion and meet needs, teach spiritual truths, authenticate his power and authority (Messiah)
Apostles - followed this pattern
Miracles did not save - tied to the message of the Gospel
Ephesus was center of the occult
Where God is moving - Satan tries to send counterfeits. (Moses, Simon the magician,)
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.
There is a big difference from knowing about Jesus and knowing Jesus.
15 But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”
Think you can
There are a lot of people who know a lot about things, but in this it is not what you know it is who you know.
The Evidence of faking faith
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.
You will get beat up.
Think you can
When real faith is lived out it will it will be seen and it will transform.
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. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
When I know and obey
No matter the push back I can stand.
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.
Our faith will hit the world's pockets
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.”
And it will scream and have a fit -
God’s word and will always prevails over the world’s wallets and ways.
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.
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?
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.
When I know and obey
Paul didn’t picket, plan rallies or protest
HE spoke God's truth
We minister by the persuasion of the Gospel message not propaganda and power.
Can’t Fake It
Can’t Fake It
Ephesus and the worship of Diana is gone
The Gospel and the church remain.
Because it is true and authentic.
You cannot fake faith for long.
If you are Christians, be consistent. Be Christians out and out; Christians every hour, in every part. Beware of halfhearted discipleship, of compromise with evil, of conformity to the world, of trying to serve two masters – to walk in two ways, the narrow and the broad, at once. It will not do. Halfhearted Christianity will only dishonor God, while it makes you miserable. - Horatius Bonar
Next week - Acts 20
