Riot in Ephesus

Introduction:

Royal Rumble in Ephesus

In this corner: THE WAY

In that conner: The Secular Church

Church=Found more in the Book of Acts than any other book in the NT

23x

20x=Church

3x

Acts 19:32 “32 Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had come together.”

Acts 19:39 “39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly.”

Acts 19:41 “41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.”

Secular Worship Service:

The Call to Worship: Fear and Anger

The Gathering: Confusion, Indifference, and Passion

The Sermon: Assurance and Application

Call to Worship: Fear and Anger

Worship Service begins with a Call to Worship from Demetrius

v. 25: “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute...”

Fear of losing their livelihood:

“Silversmith’s Society”

Guilds existed similar to our versions of the rotary club, but with a religious twist. They had their own worship services when they met together, you had to pay into being a part of this exclusive club.

Demetrius was probably the Leader of the SSE: Silversmith’s Society of Ephesus

They started picketing in Ephesus to raise alarm to draw people together!

They were afraid they’d go bankrupt! The Gospel was influencing their pocketbooks. They can feel a dip in revenue.

Kingdomonics: The Kingdom impacts Passions and Pocketbooks one way or another.

Burn $6 million worth of books or lose annual income.

Fear of Losing their Religion

27 : “And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

Temple: Feared “that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing.”

Home of one fo the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

CLICK: Artist’s rendition

Artemis: Afraid “Artemis may be deposed from her magnificence.”

Coins, artifacts, etc. She was a complicated goddess.

CLICK: Androgens: Strange idol figures...

Female, goddess of animals, fertility,

Demetrius and the SSE are singing along with REM:

They are in the SPOTLIGHT, Afraid of LOSING THEIR RELIGION!

Gospel impact: Does truly change culture!

Preaching, faith, economics.

The Gathering: Confusion, Indifference, and Passion

Profession of Faith: “Great is Artemis of Ephesians!”

Confusion:

v.28: “The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater...

Click on road to Theater

33 foot marble roadway leading up towards the Theatre. Parade of anger and chaos...

Show Theater: 25,000 people...

v. 32: “Now some cried out one thing, some another, for the assembly (ekklesia) was in confusion...

Worship Service is marked with more than confusion:

Ignorance:

v.32: “...and most of them did not know why they had come together.”

I’m a bandwagon fan… No idea why I’m here.

Passion:

But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is the Artemis of the Ephesians!”

2 hours of chaos!

Paul wants to go out there, but some powerful friends restrain him: “Don’t go out there right now. Now’s not the time. You’ll be eaten alive.”

The Sermon: Aassurance and Application

Town Clerk serves as the pastor of this Secular Worship Service to bring a sense of assurance and challenge.

Reassurance:

We are Defenders of Diana: Lit. “Temple Keepers”

Remember who you are! You are defenders of the Great Artemis.

Application:

If you want to get rid of the Way, do it legally. Do it right. Do it strategically. Do it through the court!

There’s an appropriate process to deal with these guys:

v. 39 “Courts are ope and there are proconsuls.”

Proconsul: “Head of government in a Roman province.” ESVSB

You want to be changed with rioting! Then calm down and do this right!

If you’re going to persecute this group, do it systematically and organizationally.

Dismissal: v.41: “And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

Royal Rumble: Clash of Kingdoms

Church=Signpost of the Kingdom

Ephesus Assembly: Signpost of Artemis

If the secular church operates this way, how should this other group called ‘THE WAY’ navigate this??

Application:

Unique story, but eery similarities to our context today!

Similarities to our Context Today:

The Kingdom threatens People’s Livelihoods

The Gospel stand diametrically opposed to the values of today’s secular assemblies:

Idol creation is not a neutral thing. It’s one thing being a Silversmith. Silversmith’s can further the kingdom through their creations…

But Silversmith’s making money off of idols: That now using their giftedness in ways that are antithetical to the phrase: Jesus is King.

The same is true of all sorts of things!

Conversation with a friend in the IT world. He’s developed all sorts of software and technology for some of the world’s greatest developers.

We were talking about what drives advancements in technology, particularly in the area of virtual reality. And he said this, “We all think that Google and Apple are at the forefront of these technological advancements, but do you know what really drives new technology?” I said, “No.” He said, the Porn Industry. He explained how the biggest technological advancements he’s been a part of were first purchased by pretty shady institutions.

The Kingdom of Christ stands diametrically opposed to idolatry, adultery, lust, etc. The influence of the Kingdom should bankrupt the Dark Side!

But this is an extreme example… There are plenty of cultural institutions that stand diametrically opposed to the Kingdom. They ought not exist, but they will fight tooth and nail to remain in power.

Black Lives Matter:

Anger, Confusion, ignorance and Passion exist in Secular Professions of Faith

Secular church service: They weren’t going down without a fight!

“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.”

Yard signs with that confession?

Secular Creeds: Rebecca McLaughlin

Black Lives Matter: Separating the phrase that black lives matter, which is an obviously true statement, from the institutions…

Love is Love: McLaughlin challenges the reader to ask the question, “WHO is love?”

The Gay-Rights Movement Is the New Civil-Rights Movement.

Women’s Rights are Human Rights: Pro-choice vs. Pro-Life

Transgender Women are Women: People can think themselves into something they are not...

We don’t have time to deal with these secular creeds… My point is that these secular creeds lead to anger, confusion, ignorance and Passion.

People will fight tooth and nail and close their ears to any defense that challenges these creeds!

How do we interact??

The Way is in the Minority

Talking to a retired pastor. Became a Christian in 1973…

Culture used to view Christianity positively.

Somewhere in the 1980-2000s, Christianity was viewed neutrally.

Today, Christianity is viewed negatively, even dangerous.

Tweet picked up by a friend of mine who serves as a refugee judge in Canada. Smart and humble. He highlighted a Tweet produced by a professor at Western University in London, ON.

"Christianity is the plague that we need to rid the world of. Christianity is a disease.”

This received a lot of feedback, and Twitter removed it. He responded later: “While not be the kindest thing I've ever said - & perhaps should have just used "evil" or social disease (a phenomenon viewed as evil) - it's hardly a new idea. Offensive to some, sure, but so are the "fruits" of Christianity in society.”

What happens in Canada makes its way here...

The issue of Roe v. Wade is bigger than pro-choice and pro-life. The issue about Kingdom!

Christians will make waves in the public sphere, and the public sphere will passionately fight! Many unreflective people will just join in the riots…

Some will be victims of abuse:

Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul’s companions in travel

Some will defend:

Alexander wanted in to defend the faith… He was ultimately denied because the crowd wouldn’t stop worshiping Artemis.

Give a defense: “apologeisthai” Where we get the word apologetics from.

But what’s the response? Crowd covering their ears.

Some Will Fight: Paul

Put me in there! I’m gunna put them all in their place!

Like an overeager football player: “Put me in coach!”

Take some very powerful people called Asiarch to convince Paul to know his boundaries… “They’ll eat you alive out there.”

Kingdomonics:

Heart of the King: Gentle and Lowly!

Seared into my mind lately.

Gentle and Lowly

Conclusion:

What gives us hope is that Kingdomonics will always win! In the end, the Greatness of Jesus will overpower…