Acts 19:21-41

Themes: God transforms lives totally. Some people around transormed Christians will trust in Jesus too, some people around transformed Christians will become very angry and fight against the transfomed Christian.

Outline: Acts 19: 21-22 “Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.”

God is always at work.

Notice the words “Now after these events”

Question: What were these events…very simply all the stuff that came befoe Acts 19 vs 21. In particular, just to recap what events just took place in Acts in case you were asleep or missed last week Go to verse 17.

Acts 19:17-20 “And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.”

The this that became known to all of Ephesus was that the witchdoctors, the Jewish exorcists were beaten naked by an evil spirit and proven weak an ineffective. This was an embarrassing loss for the people trying to cash in on Jesus and His power. These 7 sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were thinking that they could do works like God was doing through Paul. look at verse 11 and 12:

Acts 19:11-12 “And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.”

a. Here is a question for you? Are you ok with just saying the name of Jesus in your life and not having the work of Jesus in your life. What a pitiful thing it is for so many that they claim Jesus but don’t know Jesus, have not received Him as Saviour. Many people will know about Jesus, sing songs about Jesus, mae prayers to Jesus, but don’t know or have Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.

My greatest fear is that many people will be almost Christians like the people that Paul met at the begining of the chapter.

Follow me to Jesus’ teaching in the gospel according to Matthew, Chapter 7. Jesus here is teaching His disciples this very thing. That not everyone who claims that they have Christ possess Christ as Saviour and Lord. He is warning them, warning Judas, to not be a false convert, he is warning them to not be a fake, phony, flake who really isn’t saved. Matthew 7:13-29

Matthew 7:13–29 ESV

“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few. “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit. A healthy tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a diseased tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus you will recognize them by their fruits. “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’ “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” And when Jesus finished these sayings, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, for he was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.

QUESTION: ARE you saved?

Christian, Are you a Christian?

Dig deep, see if you are in the faith? Is their good fruit in your life.

Listen…we are not making it out of here alive…like 2pac said, only God can judge me…please understand He will. He will judge you. By your fruits. Here is the deal if you are counting on your good works to save you. You will go to Hell. Please know that Hell is Hot and Hell is long.

You will be found guilty if you are going on your own works.

If however you will trust in Jesus you will be clean.

Clean.

Forgiven, saved.

Your filthy rags that you have been calling good works will be cleaned by the precious blood of the spotless lamb of God. 2 Corinthians 5:17-21 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

After we have been made new creatures then we do the work that God by His Spirit empowers us to do.

Then it is God working in us and through us to do His will. That is what Paul was able to do.

Let’s look again at our text…Acts 19:21 “Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.””

We have covered Now after these things…now let’s go to Paul resolved in the Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is the one who works to chnge and save and He is th one who is the great missionary. He told Paul where to go.

in verse 21 and then notice all the places mentioned: Macedonia, Jerusalem, Achaia, and Rome. God is not a God of just one people, or one region, this is the King of the Universes.

Why is God always at work?

God is in the saving business, and God never loses a sale.

God is the One who does the work

Matthew 16:13-20 “Now when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he asked his disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” And they said, “Some say John the Baptist, others say Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Then he strictly charged the disciples to tell no one that he was the Christ.”