Who do you Worship?
The Acts of Jesus Through the Holy Spirit • Sermon • Submitted • Presented • 31:43
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Acts 19
Acts 19
It’s been a while since we’ve studied in the Book of Acts, so we’ll ease back in today. You might remember that last time we read chapter eighteen where Paul was in Corinth. At the end of that chapter, Luke briefly summarizes the rest of Paul’s second missionary journey as he returns to Jerusalem. On his way to Jerusalem Paul only stops at Ephesus for a short time, but promises to return. Luke then briefly describes the beginning of Paul’s third missionary journey and introduces us to some people who had a thorough knowledge of Scriptures and of Jesus, but apparently not what Luke called and “adequate” knowledge.
Today we will pick up the story in chapter nineteen where Paul returns to Ephesus and encounters some of these people I just mentioned. Paul remained in Ephesus for about three years preaching the Gospel and working many miracles. At this point in history, Ephesus is a bit of a flickering star. It was once a center of trade, bringing the city wealth and vitality. However, due to excessive lumbering and overgrazing, the topsoil in the area had slowly slipped into streams turning them into marshes. This silt made its way to the sea, choking the river’s mouth.
You can see the remains of Ephesus today, here is an image from Google Earth. When looking at Ephesus today, it’s hard to believe it was ever a harbor city as the ancient harbor works sit back behind a swamp some seven miles from the sea. You can imagine how a silted harbor could have a major impact on a city that relies on trade. They made several attempts to improve the harbor, but the deepening economic decline had already cast a long shadow over the city.
Helping keep the city alive was a second important asset. The worship of Artemis, the Roman goddess Diana. She was the Roman goddess of fertility whose temple was one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world. This temple was almost four times the size of the Parthenon at Athens. Ephesus was also well known for it’s magical scrolls. These scrolls contained all sorts of strange words and spells. As you can imagine, Paul is probably going to find himself in trouble pretty quick here.
Before we jump into chapter nineteen, let’s ask God to guide us this morning.
Pray
Quite a bit happens in chapter nineteen, but there is one particular theme that stands out to me. The end of the last chapter and beginning of this one set the tone for Luke’s telling of Paul’s experience in Ephesus. To borrow a word from Paul’s writing in Romans, there is a whole lot of worship in Ephesus but not a lot of righteousness or right relationship with God. The Greek word for “righteousness” is/means: (dee - kay - oh - see - nee)
dikaiosynē - to be in a right relationship with God
As I was studying this chapter, it was amazing to me how easily Luke could have been describing a modern American city. Obviously today we don’t worship Artemis, the goddess of fertility, but we do worship plenty of other things that have the exact same amount of power. The empty power to consume your life, yet not bring salvation and righteousness.
In his Romans bible study, Nate Sala wrote:
The reality is: Human beings are never free from serving or worshipping something. Why? Because we were created to worship! And if it’s not God then it’s going to be some other type of idol — including ourselves, if we’re not careful. God knows that the only real solution to this issue is not to pretend that we’ll magically stop worshipping — but to redeem our worship and show us how to do it properly.
He is spot on with that quote because that is exactly what happens today and exactly what was happening in this chapter. Today, just like in this chapter, we have people who have a solid knowledge of Christ, but don’t actually have a relationship with him. Maybe they go to church all the time and can quote any scripture you want, but they don’t actually have a relationship with Jesus. They don’t know why they believe what they believe, it’s just what they’ve always been taught. That is a very dangerous place to be in, and the world is greatly taking advantage of those people today.
We also have people who worship false Gods, magic, and other mysterious things. We have people who promote these lies and deceptions because it brings them wealth and power. We even have people who will riot in order to extinguish the light of truth and promote the lies and darkness to deceive and corrupt.
This morning I want to quickly run through this chapter so you can see these encounters, but then circle back to talk about a recurring theme in this chapter. The theme of righteousness, right standing with God, as it exists within this chapter. The result of walking with God. By contrast, not walking with God leads to death. In Romans, Paul said we are either a slave to sin, which leads to death, or a slave to obedience, which leads to righteousness. This picture shows us a real example of that. We can see it by the fruit the people produce. Jesus said that we would recognize false teachers by their fruit.
When Paul arrives in Ephesus he finds some disciples, but he quickly learns that they were somewhat Christ followers. They were believers in Christ in as far as John the Baptist preached of “the one coming after him.” I don’t want to get too far into the weeds on this highly debatable topic, but to put it simply they had a head knowledge of Jesus, but not an intimate relationship with Him.
A few years ago I met a guy who is an interim pastor at a church in Roosevelt. He is a great guy. He makes everyone feel like they are long time best friends. He is very generous and I know I could call him at any time if I needed something and he would offer to help. His name was easy for me to remember, which is rare for me, because he has the same name as a character on a TV show. David Wallace.
How well do you know David Wallace? From now on you will at least have a head knowledge of David Wallace, but if you are never introduced to him or meet him in person you will never have a personal connection or intimate relationship with him. I know it’s a silly analogy, but that is similar to the relationship these people Paul meets have with Jesus.
So what does Paul do? He doesn’t re-commit them to the updated information. He doesn’t re-baptise them. He introduced them to Jesus and baptised them into Jesus’ family…
4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
The reason I wanted to pause here is because knowing scripture inside out yet not having a relationship with Jesus is one of the most dangerous places for a person to be in today’s world. I am not trying to judge who truly believes and is saved, but I know of far to many people who know the bible yet do not know the author. A couple of weeks ago I read an article that a parent had written about their child. They took their kid to all of the church things, they memorized tons of verses, they could recite any story from scripture.
When they went off to college they encountered secular professors who think the bible is just stories and myth. They were very good at arguing their perspective and consistently poisoned the minds of these young people. Lamenting, the parent said they always made sure their kid knew what the bible said and what they should believe, but they never made sure they understood why.
People just like this are constantly popping up on social media declaring the “deconstruction” of their faith. I call it “Tik-Tok Theology” because it takes a little bit of Bible knowledge and twists it into a believable counter argument against God that is easy to refute if you have ever met Jesus, not simply heard about Him.
Next, Paul encounters some more people who have heard about Jesus but have never met Him…
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
In scripture we often see God doing miraculous things through people and often there is a sort of residual affect that happens around those whom God is working through. I am not going to even pretend to begin to understand this, but here are just a couple of examples…
After Elijah was whisked away by God’s heavenly chariot taxi, his cloak fell to the ground. Elisha then picked it up and struck the water of the Jordan and it parted so that he could walk across.
13 Elisha then picked up Elijah’s cloak that had fallen from him and went back and stood on the bank of the Jordan. 14 He took the cloak that had fallen from Elijah and struck the water with it. “Where now is the Lord, the God of Elijah?” he asked. When he struck the water, it divided to the right and to the left, and he crossed over.
Listen to this crazy story…
21 Once while some Israelites were burying a man, suddenly they saw a band of raiders; so they threw the man’s body into Elisha’s tomb. When the body touched Elisha’s bones, the man came to life and stood up on his feet.
Can you imagine that? You throw this dead guy into the tomb and try to hide by the door from the raiders, then the dead guy taps you on the shoulder, “Are they gone?”
God also used Peter’s shadow to heal (Acts 5:15–16) and the hem of Jesus’ garment (Luke 8:43-44).
Remember that Ephesus is all about magic and mystical cosmic powers, so a lot of people probably saw these things as more than miracles. They were great opportunities! More spells and magical powers for their arsenal!
Look at what the Expositor’s Bible Commentary says about why this may have been a particularly important exploit for Jewish people in the area at the time…
The use of magical names in incantations to exorcise evil spirits was common in the ancient world, and it seems to have been especially prominent at Ephesus. In addition, Jewish practitioners of magic were highly esteemed in antiquity, for they were believed to have command of particularly effective spells. The great reluctance of Jews to pronounce the divine name was known among the ancients and often misinterpreted according to magical principles. Moreover, those connected with the Jewish priesthood would have enjoyed great prestige in magical circles, since they were the most likely ones to know the true pronunciation of the Ineffable Name and so most able to release its power (cf. Bruce M. Metzger, “St. Paul and the Magicians,” Princeton Seminary Bulletin 38 [1944]: 27–30).
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
Uh-oh. God had something to say about this kind of thing…
7 “You shall not misuse the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name.
Maybe part of the reason God gave us this warning is to protect us! Look what happens…
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
That didn’t end well for them. The evil spirit wasn’t just having a good laugh, he was mocking them as be beat and humiliated them.
The last twenty verses describe a riot in the city. Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen in town. We know Ephesus was starting to slump and worship of the goddess Artemis was key for their financial survival. Paul was ruining that! As these people became followers of Christ, the cities bread and butter was getting thin. Paul was teaching them crazy things…
26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.
Can you believe it? Instead, he is teaching them that the wood you carved that statue with is just WOOD! Like in Isaiah…
15 It is used as fuel for burning; some of it he takes and warms himself, he kindles a fire and bakes bread. But he also fashions a god and worships it; he makes an idol and bows down to it… 17 From the rest he makes a god, his idol; he bows down to it and worships. He prays to it and says, “Save me! You are my god!”… 19 No one stops to think, no one has the knowledge or understanding to say, “Half of it I used for fuel; I even baked bread over its coals, I roasted meat and I ate. Shall I make a detestable thing from what is left? Shall I bow down to a block of wood?” 20 Such a person feeds on ashes; a deluded heart misleads him; he cannot save himself, or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
Paul probably even told the people the same thing he wrote to the Romans…
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
In a very sad way, their reaction to Paul’s teaching is funny…
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: “Fellow Ephesians, doesn’t all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven? 36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.
It’s undeniable. It’s heartbreaking because every day people continue to make this exact same decision. They can look at God’s truth and construct a lie to be able to ignore it. Every day you can turn on the national news and watch people take a statement of fact and explain it with directly opposing information and call it truth. Friday night I watched two people debate several undisputable facts and the one person continued to change definitions and defend undeniable lies in completely insane ways. I’m not even joking, by the end of it I began to wonder if I was going insane! She could have held up a red piece of paper and argued that it was green for 3 hours.
Absolutely zero life comes from a lie. Lies are not life giving. I would argue that lies are actually life taking. A lie will give you confidence in yourself when instead you should have humility and fear of the Lord. I think this is exactly what the Ephesians who became Christians realized…
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
These spell scrolls were part of the enemies stronghold on the city, and these new believers were done with it! They were no longer going to be slaves to sin and lies. They didn’t just roll up the scrolls and put them on a top shelf in their closet, they got together as a group and destroyed them! I love this story because we have a side-by-side of the different types of fruit that people produce. The rotten fruit produced by being a slave to sin and darkness, and the good fruit that comes from obedience to God by surrendering your life to Jesus.
Fruit is more than just doing good, it’s connected to your walk with God. The Hebrew word is “halakhah” and, at it’s root, means “to walk.” In the Old Testament it refers to walking out God’s law in your life. “Mitzvot” is the Hebrew word for “deeds” or more specifically “commandments.” The Jews referred to a person’s mitzvot as the fruit on the tree of halakhah. In other words, a person’s deeds, or following God’s commandments, is the fruit on the tree of their walk with God.
Your walk with God produces good deeds. Walking with God results in following His commandments. Walking with God results in being in a right relationship with Him. Walking with God leads to righteousness. We know that someone has a relationship with Jesus based on the fruit their life produces.
Like Nate said, as humans we were created to worship and that is exactly what we do every day. What or who do you worship? Because you are worshipping something. One leads to life, the other leads to death. This is what Paul said in Romans 6…
16 Don’t you know that when you offer yourselves to someone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one you obey—whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?… 19 … Just as you used to offer yourselves as slaves to impurity and to ever-increasing wickedness, so now offer yourselves as slaves to righteousness leading to holiness.
Today it is bad to talk about slavery, but it is actually a very appropriate term in this instance. As slaves to sin our master was evil and destructive. Now, as slaves to righteousness, our master is loving and caring. He still expects us to serve and worship Him, but we do that by loving Him and loving other people. Loving God and loving people produces good fruit. That is the encouragement I see from Acts 19. Be a slave to your right relationship with God by trusting in Jesus and loving God and the people he puts around us.
Pray
