The Riot at Ephesus

We must remember that the Word of God applies as much today as it did when it was written. How are we to react to the world? How is the Christian supposed to behave in decisive times? Well, buckle up and get ready. There is nothing new under the sun or the Son brothers and sisters.

The Occult

Before we get started tonight, you all were supposed to read Acts 19:11-20. Let’s talk about what you read for a moment.

God forbids all forms of the occult arts and enchantments. There is no way to justify the use of such things without coming into direct contradiction with the Word of God or grieving the Holy Spirit (Leviticus 19:26, Deuteronomy 18:9-12, Isaiah 47:12-14).

There are believers who will defend and even utilize: tarot cards, fortune tellers, tea leaves, voodoo, and other such things. When asked, the response was “Jesus did not say DO NOT do these things, how do you know they are not from God?”

1. Any one of us could come up with a list of things that Jesus did not tell us explicitly “DO NOT DO THIS,” that fall out of line with the gifts of the Spirit. If we are having to find loopholes in scripture, chances are the thought and or action is not of God.

2. Jesus did not need to address this law or the prophets because it was not being twisted. No occult, no enchantments, no idols. Pretty simple. And yes, we were given an example in Simon the sorcerer in the book of Acts.

Why does God condemn the occult? Is it because God is a big mean God? No.

1. Anything that comes between you and God becomes an idol. Such things take our eyes and our hearts off of Him. We then glorify things and spirits that are not God, not of God, not of Christ, and certainly not the Holy Spirit.

2. We run a major risk of coming to harm ourselves. We are talking about dark forces, spiritual forces that are beyond the realm of human understanding. Our Father, who loves us, is not going to tell us it is okay to do something that will harm us.

Tonight, we return to Ephesus where we are going to see the power that the occult, greed, lies, false gods, and idols have over people. I was reading through these verses and I thought to myself “Man, look how far we have come! We don't have riots like that anymore!”

Acts 19:23 NLT

23 About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way.

Lets unpack this as we are witnessing the same thing today. When scripture says “serious trouble,” we are talking about a great disturbance with the implication of silencing Christianity. When we read about “the Way” in Luke’s writings, he is referring to Jesus Christ. The term allows for a distinction of those following the beliefs and practices of Christianity. We are here witnessing Christianity itself being accused as the cause of the problem.

Christians are being persecuted, imprisoned, and killed around the world as we meet tonight. In this country where freedom of religion and freedom of speech are to be encouraged, Christians are being silenced and forced to decide between standing by the Word of God or man’s law. Followers of the Way are often referred to as: bigots, intolerant, and hateful. I do not know about you, but I was all of those things before Christ pruned my heart. Laws have been written recently that keep people of faith from challenging court decisions based on our religious beliefs.

Do not be provoked to anger, do not become hateful, do not meet evil with evil. For the disciple, we are prepared because we know and have been warned that this is going to happen. Look at Ephesus, same thing in a different year. Do not become discouraged, current events should be reinforcing your faith in the Living Word of God.

Acts 19:24 NLT

24 It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy.

It started with one person who had massive wealth financing the hate group against Christians.

Artemis was the Greek goddess of fertility. The temple of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Remember that Ephesus was the commercial hub for Asia minor. If you look at a map today, Asia minor was the entirety of western Turkey.

Millions of people traveled through Ephesus and would visit the temple of Artemis, buying the idols and shrines that this business produced. On another note, these workers were unionized. With many people turning to The Way, you can imagine that business was dropping off for the pagan gods, priestesses, and those who made money off of them.

The World or Jesus?

Acts 19:25 NLT

25 He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business.

1. Fellowship - Do we gather as the Pagans, discussing the world? Do we gather as believers focusing on God and how to show Christ to the world?

After gathering a bunch of people together, the first thing out of his mouth is about money and the loss of revenue. This entire gathering was precipitated by greed and idols. Note where he says their wealth comes from: not God, not the goddess Artemis, but from “this business.”

Acts 19:26 NLT

26 But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province!

2. Peace - When something is not right in our lives, do we seek a Godly solution or do we deflect the blame/anger to someone else?

Demetrius points his finger at Paul and the other believers. Direct the growing anger and hostility at the truth of the One True God, YHVH. Purposely inciting people to anger against Paul and the other believers. They actually believed that these little trinkets made by human hands were gods. That they carried the gods in these little figurines. We have our Bibles, we have our crosses, our patches, and our t shirts. We do not worship any of these items made by human hands, we worship God. The pagan gods may have changed: drugs, alcohol, motorcycles, shoes, cars, even people become idols. People believe if they just have this or that, they will be blessed and happy. Everything in this world is temporary. God is eternal.

Acts 19:27 NLT

27 Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!”

3. Thoughts of God (Theology) - Is God first in all things or an afterthought?

We see this so often today. Demetrius, as an afterthought, a way to get as many on board as possible says “Oh yeah, I am concerned about Artemis as well, you know the influence and prestige thing.” Mentioning God or Jesus or the Holy Spirit does not mean our conversations are Spirit led. We may be name dropping and nothing more.

This, right here, is a perfect picture of some politicians, political activists, and some religious leaders today. Lets get as many people on our side as possible, whether we believe what we are saying or not!

As believers, as disciples, we can not allow ourselves to be sucked into traps like this. Paul wrote the following to the Ephesians at Ephesus, where we are right now, for this very reason:

Ephesians 6:13 NLT

13 Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm.

Those sandals Paul talked about are the peace that comes from the Gospel Message. We are to stand wholly, firmly, and in faith upon the Word of God. You are sharing the Good news with a shattered world. He is the foundation on which we stand, and guess what, He is strong enough to hold you up!

In Acts 19:28-31, anger is running rampant. The whole city is thrown into confusion, people are rushing the amphitheater. The people drag two of Paul’s traveling companions, who have done nothing wrong, into the amphitheater. Paul is overcome with human emotion and tries to get in, but some other believers stop him from going in. We need that sometimes. Other believers who may be seeing things a little more clearly in the moment to stop us from making a mistake. Look right here with me:

Acts 19:32 NLT

32 Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there.

Have we not seen such things in recent times? Confused people screaming, lashing out, and most have no idea why they are even there!

Here is a hard fact tonight. It falls to the church, to you and me, to share the message of hope in Christ with those very people. We are all subject to being misled if we are not in full communion with God. We must be smart about what we do and when, but we must figure out how to reach those who are confused and are hopeless.

The Believers Approach: Remain Beyond Reproach!

Acts 19:37 NLT

37 You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess.

Acts 19:40 NLT

40 I am afraid we are in danger of being charged with rioting by the Roman government, since there is no cause for all this commotion. And if Rome demands an explanation, we won’t know what to say.”

The believers of the Way, of Jesus Christ, did not riot. The believers were not provoked to anger. The believers did not lash out. The believers simply shared the message of the cross, salvation in Christ, and the eternal hope of Glory.

The believers remained beyond reproach! They shared the Gospel message exactly the way we are to share it today. So much in fact that the city leaders could not pin a single thing on Paul, his companions, or the believers amongst them.

We see no evidence of the believers trying to justify bad behavior, or of them acting outside the character of Christ.

Brothers and sisters, it can be so very difficult at times when this flesh gets in the way. It is possible to remain beyond reproach, as proven by our ancient brothers and sisters. We are after all called to be the Imago Christi, the image of Christ, not the image of the world. God bless you tonight. Let’s pray.