Acts 19:1-20 Something's Missing

Intro:

When a hurricane hit South Florida, Norena’s home was severely damaged. The elderly woman received an insurance settlement, and the repair work began. However, when the money ran out, so did the contractor, leaving an unfinished home with no electricity.

Norena had been living without power ever since Hurricane Andrew. For more than fifteen years, Norena had been living in a dark house with no heat, no air-conditioning, and not a single hot bath or shower. She got by with extension cords running into her house, plugged into a tiny refrigerator and a cook top, and a small lamp or two in the front of the house.

Acting on a tip, the mayor of Miami-Dade finally got involved. A few hours of work by electrical contractor Kent Crook restored power to the house. Norena planned to let the water get really hot and then take her first bubble bath in a decade and a half. “It’s hard to describe having [the electricity] come on, to switch on,” she said. “It’s overwhelming.”

That’s the way a lot of Christians live their faith, without the power of the Holy Spirit

Sadly, they do it for so long it becomes the norm

They keep striving to live better and be a better person but always fall short

Deep down they know that something is missing but they can’t put their finger on it

For most people, the missing ingredient is the power of the Holy Spirit

Acts 19 shows us 3 examples of something missing

Read Acts 19:1-7 Somethings Missing

Transition:

Last week we left off with Paul making his way through the churches of Galatia while Priscilla and Aquila discipled Apollos in the way of the Holy Spirit

Today We see Paul arrive back in Ephesus

Paul could always sense things about peoples lives

Today we see him ask a group of guys about the Spirit

They didn’t know about it because they had never heard

I. They Don’t Know vs. 1-7

Explain

Many Christians don’t have the Holy Spirit because they don’t know anything about HIm.

Chapter 19 starts out with Luke stating that Apollos was in Corinth

Paul and Apollos both spent time there ministering to the church

While Apollos is in Corinth Paul arrives in Ephesus

One of the first things he finds there are 12 disciples who were lacking the Holy Spirit

One can say with certainty that Paul perceived they lacked something of the Holy Spirit in their lives.

Some people say these guys weren’t believers yet but Luke addresses them as disciples so we have to believe that they are

Paul asks them if they received the Holy Spirit when they believed and they said “No, only water baptism.”

John the Baptist made reference to this

Mark 1:7-8 And he preached, saying, “After me comes he who is mightier than I, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. 8 I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

These men had been taught they needed to repent but hadn’t been told there was a helper

They didn’t even know they were missing something

So many disciples of Jesus are going around trying to live this Christian life under their own power when there is the Holy Spirit available to empower you

Rom 10:14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?

Illustration

Thelma and Victor Hayes won more than $7 million in 2005 in Canada. When asked what the couple, who were then age eighty-nine, would do with the money, they said that at this stage of life they were unlikely to become “giddy high spenders.” They planned to stay put in their retirement home.

Victor Hayes planned to buy a Lincoln Town Car, but his wife simply wanted a new pair of nylons. Her response was widely reported as comical, if not foolish. How could someone win a fortune and change nothing but her nylons?

In the same way, how can those who have won the spiritual grand prize of eternal life not live in a way that is consistent with being a new creation in Christ?

Application

It is fair for each Christian today to consider if someone were to look at their own life, would they notice a conspicuous absence of the Person and power of the Holy Spirit?

II. They Were Stubborn vs. 8-10

Explain

There are some people who are missing the Holy Spirit because they are stubborn

When Paul reentered Ephesus he did what he always did… he went to the synagogue

The difference this time was that instead of only being there for three weeks, he spoke there for THREE MONTHS!!!

Paul was willing to put in the time if people were open

After three months some became stubborn

In their stubbornness they spoke evil of the Way

The Way is what Christianity was called before the name Christianity took hold

Paul withdrew from the Synagogue and did something we haven’t seen yet… he took the church to the hall of Tyrannus

This is the first know church building recorded in scripture

Before that they would meet at someone’s house

The church in Ephesus was probably too big for one house so they rented out a school

Paul pastored this church for two years

The ministry was so fruitful that all of Asia heard the Word of the Lord

Illustration

A duck walks…waddles into a pub. Goes up to the bar and says, “Got any coffee?” The barman says, “No - we don’t sell coffee. Only beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks.” and the duck leaves.

The next day, the exact same thing. “Got any coffee?” says the duck.“No”, replies the barman, frowning as he remembered the same question from the previous day, “We only sell beers, wines, spirits and soft drinks. No coffee.” The duck leaves again.

The next day, lo and behold, the very same thing again. “Got any coffee?” says the duck? “Listen”, snarls the barman, “we don’t sell coffee. We sell beer. We sell wine. We sell spirits and we sell soft drinks. We do not sell coffee. If you come in here asking for coffee again, I’m going to nail your beak to the bar!” The duck leaves again.

One day later, in waddles the duck again. “Got any nails?” he asks. “NO!!!!” shouts the barman. “Got any coffee?” the duck asks.

Application

Isaiah 44:18 They know not, nor do they discern, for he has shut their eyes, so that they cannot see, and their hearts, so that they cannot understand.

There are some people who are just spiritually stubborn

This goes for both unbelievers and believers

In the Bible they are called “Stiff necks”

Stiff necks = Heard Hearts

They aren’t open to the things of God

They are stuck in their ways

Living a life of faith means opening our hearts to the things of God

Many Christians reject the Holy Spirit because there are things in the Bible that scare them

III. They Were Posers vs. 11-20

Explain

The final group was missing something because they were posers

A poser is someone who looks like the real deal but is missing something inside

The thing about a poser is they don’t want it, they just want to look the part

Paul wasn’t just teaching but ministering to the people

God did miracles through Paul, so much so that even handkerchiefs that had touched him were taken to the sick and they were healed

When something like this happens it always attracts posers

Itinerant Jewish exorcists… now that’s a job title, starting invoking the name of Jesus

Chief among them were seven sons of Jewish high priest named Sceva

They encountered a demon possessed man and tried to invoke the name of Jesus through Paul

The Evil spirit answered saying Jesus I know, Paul I recognize, but who are you?

He then overpowered them and they ran out of the house naked and wounded

It reminds me of a Christian group called Black Eye Sceva

This event had a powerful effect on the church and region

Many came to Christ, but it also convicted the believers to confess and discard

Illustration

The average person touches their mobile device 2700 times a day

Top end users do it 5400 times a day

The average person spends two hours a day on social media

Yet most Christians don’t read their Bible, serve in their church, or tell their loved ones about Jesus because they say they don’t have time

Application

The seven sons of Sceva wanted the power but not the commitment

Christians want the benefits of following Jesus but not the commitment

Closing