Acts 19 The Vicotry of Christ Over The Powers: Proclaiming the Vicotry of Christ in Power.
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Introduction:
The victory of Christ over the powers and our invitation to participate in dethroning the principalities and powers.
What if you could actually change the culture and atmosphere of Osage, Iowa, and the world?
Often times when we think of the Gospel we think of it in terms of
Individual salvation
Personal / Private
Saved go to heaven.
But what if the Good news is more than just personal salvation. What if the Gospel was about God in Christ dethroning spiritual powers, that influence and even create human culture?
Today, as we read the narrative of Acts 19, I want you see how the proclamation of the Good News sets people free from the powers and principalities.
How the Holy Spirit enables followers of Jesus to proclaim the Good news that Jesus is King in power.
And how we have been called through the great commission to let the world know, that Jesus is King and the powers have been dethroned.
This is not a Gospel you can take home and set on
This is the Gospel of the Kingdom of God that calls us all to participate with God in setting people free through proclamation in power.
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It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus, and found some disciples.
He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”
And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”
Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”
When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying.
There were in all about twelve men.
THE SPIRIT OF CHRIST!
Not those crazy Tongues again!
Speaking in the languages of the world
Many Hebrews believed the Hebrew language was sacred
The language of God
Even magic - Kabala
Tongues is a sign that God is welcoming all people of all nations.
It is a sign that Yahweh is not a tribal God, but the God over all creation.
These 12 men were disciples of John the Baptist and had heard and learned of Jesus but were not yet filled with the Spirit of Jesus.
Many today in the church live their lives like these 12. They know of Jesus, they know of His ways, but they have not yet been made apart of Christ through the Spirit.
The Baptism of the Spirit is different.
The Baptism of the Spirit is different.
“As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
The baptism of the Spirit by Jesus is one of power.
Power to live Holy towards God
Power to Proclaim the Gospel effectively in the face of opposition both spiritual and physical.
Without the Holy Spirit in you - you will never truly change.
Without the Holy Spirit empowering you, you will fail in changing hearts and minds towards Jesus.
As we are about the see, no gods of this world can not stand in the face of the Spirit of God and His Kingdom.
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WHEN THE SPIRIT of CHRIST OVERTHROWS THE gods OF THIS AGE.
WHEN THE SPIRIT of CHRIST OVERTHROWS THE gods OF THIS AGE.
God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul,
so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.
But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.”
Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?”
And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.
Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices.
And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.
It is very important for us to understand the NT narrative.
It is very important for us to understand the NT narrative.
Jesus defeated the principalities and powers at the cross.
He took the penalty of death for humanity on to himself.
He defeated death as our representative, guaranteeing a physical resurrection for God’s people.
When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
With the victory secured, Jesus has commissioned us to go out and proclaim a three part message in power.
With the victory secured, Jesus has commissioned us to go out and proclaim a three part message in power.
Jesus is Lord over all powers spiritual and physical and he proved this through the resurrection.
God, through Jesus is offering complete reconciliation to all who will place their faith and trust in Jesus.
In this new freedom from the powers and principalities Jesus through the HS has given us the ability to live towards God and one another as God intended.
For He rescued us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,
This is very important. We must understand that Jesus has already won the victory!
Ours is to proclaim this victory through the power of the HS to set people free from a slave master who has already been defeated.
For every soul saved the principality looses influence over culture and humanity.
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Like a wounded animal the powers and principalities will always fight back through human agencies.
Like a wounded animal the powers and principalities will always fight back through human agencies.
But we should not fear! For Christ has already won the war.
Paul, now plans to go to Jerusalem and then to Rome.
He sends Timmothy and Erastus ahead of him and he stays a little longer.
At this time, chaos and confusion break out.
About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way.
For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen;
these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business.
“You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.
“Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”
When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him.
God has won the victory and dethroned the spiritual powers people refer to as the gods.
God has won the victory and dethroned the spiritual powers people refer to as the gods.
Yet, these powers will fight back once we begin to set people free from their tyranny.
By the early 5th century the Temple of Artimis had been closed
The principality had been dethroned!
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In times like these we may feel as though God has abandoned us or even worse, we may feel as though God has called us to go to war with the very men and women he desires to set free.
Through the Holy Spirit, Christ Confronts and Conqures the gods of this Age through the Proclaiming of the Gospel.
We have been commissioned by Jesus to Go into all the world and make disciples of all nations.
We are to announce the powers have been defeated, Jesus is above all authorities, and God is offering in Jesus complete and total reconciliation.
This task is impossible without the Power of the Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of Christ.
Thankfully, Jesus pours out His Spirit on his commissioned people to complete this task in power.
but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”
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Jesus has defeated the false gods of this world.
He has been given the name (authority) above all authorities, spiritual and physical.
And like the early church we too in Christ have been given the task to take this good news to all in the power of the Holy Spirit.
To your family and friends
To our city
To our country
To the world.
If you have placed your faith in Jesus, you have been called!
Commissioned by God to GO and Proclaim Jesus is Lord in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Your faith is not an individual faith
It is a faith with a purpose and commission.
You have been enlisted, you have divine purpose, you have a reason.
And you can be empowered for this mission.
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Action steps -
repent of your fear
Commit to the great commission both locally and globally.
Ask for a refilling the Holy Spirit to accomplish the task at hand.