Affective Cultural Change (Part 2)
Notes
Transcript
Handout
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
21 When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.
23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together. 33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people. 34 But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus? 36 Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. 38 Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. 39 But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger of being called in question for today’s uproar, there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.
Review from last week...
1. Unusual spiritual things were happening in Ephesus.
1. Unusual spiritual things were happening in Ephesus.
(1) A. They were unusual even for miracles.
(1) A. They were unusual even for miracles.
11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,
(1) B. They were examples of God’s power.
(1) B. They were examples of God’s power.
12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
(1) C. They were so unusual frauds tried to replicate them.
(1) C. They were so unusual frauds tried to replicate them.
13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Then we took some time to understand spiritual warfare.
Now on to this week...
2. A great disturbance was caused.
2. A great disturbance was caused.
We will intentionally skip a section...
23 And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”
(2) A. This was a personal cause.
(2) A. This was a personal cause.
Demetrius made silver shrines of Diana.
He was a rich man from this.
He appears to be the leading silversmith.
He was noticing his sales dropping.
So he called together other men who were in a similar occupation.
The root cause of his concern is money.
He isn’t concerned about his fellow countrymen.
He isn’t concerned about the good of his city.
He is concerned that he isn’t making as much money as he was and that he will continue to lose money.
(2) B. This was portrayed as a different cause.
(2) B. This was portrayed as a different cause.
He calls some guys together for a meeting.
He starts with money but then says there is a bigger problem.
He portrays this as a though he is concerned about the good of the city.
26 Moreover you see and hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. 27 So not only is this trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship.”
Though concerned about himself, he knows he can stir up the masses.
Once again we see that when there is affective cultural change through the church.
When a church is actively advancing the kingdom of God.
There WILL be opposition.
The closer we get to our “ones”.
The more people we see come to Christ.
The more we will capture the attention of the enemy and opposition will come.
That’s why Paul writes...
12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, 19 and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.
Ephesus was a stronghold of Satan.
There was much evil happening and the church was advancing against it.
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
What are gates used for?
Gates are used for fortification - for defense.
We are not called to be inactive in culture.
We are simply learning a better way to affect cultural change.
(2) C. The cultural affect cannot be missed.
(2) C. The cultural affect cannot be missed.
There was a cultural affect on the church.
There was a cultural affect on the church.
Believers apparently had let culture impact them rather than impact culture.
After the sons of Sceva demonic incident they realized how dangerous magic and the demonic world is.
They came confessing and telling their deeds.
It was thought that the power of magic was in its secrecy.
16 Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.
They burned their books.
Their books full of incantations.
19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
They earned a piece of silver a day.
They burned 50,000 days of labor.
These believers were keeping one foot in their old life.
But they saw the power of evil.
they understood the impact of sin.
There was a fear of God.
There was a fear of the working of evil spirits.
“Fear fell on them”
Fear fell on the church.
There are things we should be afraid of.
There was a desire for holiness.
16 because it is written, “Be holy, for I am holy.”
Holy means to be set apart.
These believers were not previously set apart.
Through all this “Jesus was magnified.”
Satan tried to stop the advance of the gospel and discourage the church.
Instead God used it as gasoline on the flames!
We must remember that GOD is always in control.
Even evil things can be used for GOD’s good purpose.
God sinful situation to advance the Kingdom.
28 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.
The culture of the church changed and so...
There was a cultural affect on society.
There was a cultural affect on society.
We cannot change culture if we are living like the culture.
The impact began to cause a noticeable drop in sales for the those involved in selling idols and magic.
Paul was not on a “Close down the temple of Diana” campaign.
He was trying trying to get a bunch of signatures to take to the local government.
The power of the Ephesian church was not political but spiritual.
They were not picketing around the temple.
They were not boycotting certain stores.
This wasn’t a result of Ephesian Christians posting on social media to convince their lost friends that what they were doing was wrong.
35 And when the city clerk had quieted the crowd, he said: “Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus?
37 For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess.
Paul was not using ANTI - temple rhetoric.
He was simply for the gospel so passionately that it was changing the culture.
This was not some sort of political campaign.
We know Paul was not ok with the temple.
But he knew the root of the problem.
This was the result of the church separating from the world and the gospel creating new life!
The gospel was confronting their sinful lifestyle.
3. A great confusion came.
3. A great confusion came.
28 Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, “Great is Diana of the Ephesians!” 29 So the whole city was filled with confusion, and rushed into the theater with one accord, having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul’s travel companions. 30 And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. 31 Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 32 Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together.
(3) A. Demetrius’ plan seemed to work.
(3) A. Demetrius’ plan seemed to work.
First - remember who the real enemy is.
Satan tried to end things with the exorcists and now he tries to use Demetrius.
The whole city was filled with confusion.
Nobody knew why they were really there.
They rushed into the theater after seizing Paul’s companions.
They were confused and did not know why they came together!
The Jews hated Paul too so they saw this as an opportunity.
They put Alexander on the stage.
However, the Jews, who believed in mono-theism were seen as just as bad as the church and the crowd got even louder.
This went on for two hours.
(3) B. Demetrius’ plan ultimately fails.
(3) B. Demetrius’ plan ultimately fails.
The city clerk is able to calm the crowd.
Rational people see no problem with these men.
God used the city clerk or mayor to calm the crowd so His work in Ephesus could continue.