Gtcotr/ws112019
Allow
me to remind us all of a little history concerning the ancient city of Ephesus.
If you look for the city’s current location, you will find it to be a part of
the city of Selcuk which is situated on the central western coast of Turkey.
Ephesus was founded about a thousand years before Christ, close to the time of
King David. Today it stands as a marvelous example of well-preserved
archeological ruins which continue to be available to the general public and
serious students of history as well.
The
city of Ephesus was the most important trading city in the Mediterranean region
for a long period and many generations.
The
city of Ephesus became home to the renown Temple of Artemis about 700BC. This
temple was one of the largest and most beautiful and costly structures which
existed in the world for centuries. People came from everywhere to see its
magnificence.
Artemis
was the goddess of the hunt, chastity, childbirth, wild animals and the
wilderness. She was also one of the most revered Greek deities.
In
356 B.C., a crazed man named Herostratus, who wanted to make a name for
himself, burned down the Temple of Artemis. The city fathers refused to allow
his name to be spoken so that his hope of fame would never become realized.
In
334 B.C., Alexander the Great defeated the Persians and entered the city. He
decided to rebuild the Temple of Artemis himself but the Ephesians did not want
to be beholden to the young self-absorbed ego maniac general and so they
devised a plan to dis-sway him. It is said Alexander was thanked for his
willingness but was graciously asked to reconsider being flattered by the
humble thoughts that a god, such as himself, should not lower himself to build
a temple to another god.
With
this Alexander the Great agreed and left the city intact and well favored until
his death a decade later.
The
Ephesians eventually rebuilt the temple even bigger. It was estimated to be four times larger than the Parthenon and became
known as one of
the Seven Wonders of the World.
Anthony
and Cleopatra were among those who chose Ephesus as a part time residence and
the city grew to more than 250,000 people during the time Rome ruled. As well,
one of the largest Churches
Ephesus
changed hands a few times from the Egyptians to the Seleucid empire to King
Attalos of Pergamon. In 129 B.C., King Attalos of Pergamon left Ephesus to the
Roman Empire in his will and the city became the seat of the regional Roman governor. The reforms of Caesar Augustus brought Ephesus to its most prosperous time, which lasted until
the third century A.D.
The
modern-day ruins include city streets, a large upper and lower shopping market
along with aqueduct supplied running water for the public restrooms, a business
district, a large military training area and this magnificent 25,000 seat
theater which we read about in Acts 19.
By
the time the Apostle Paul arrived in Ephesus, pagan worship at the Temple of
Artemis had been in full swing for almost 750 years. Generations had handed
down their demonically possessed curious arts and the whole city was given to
idolatry. People came and went from Ephesus for nothing more than to learn how
to perform exorcisms and make potions and use charms to ward off sicknesses and
evil spirits.
There
are two things we are going to focus on in the 19th chapter of Acts
this evening. The first will deal with the special season of miracles God gave
the Ephesians no doubt as a calling card to show that the power of Jesus is
greater than any other power on earth.
The
second thing we are going to learn from this chapter is that we don’t have to
tear down one thing to build up another. In other words, our victory is not in
our enemies defeat, rather it is in Christ. With these two things in mind let’s
turn our attention to Acts 19.
Acts 19
1 ¶ And it happened, while
Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions,
came to Ephesus …
8 ¶
And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months,
reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.
9 But
when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before
the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning
daily in the school of Tyrannus.
10 And
this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of
the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
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.
There
are special seasons in which God does special miracles. Verse 21 says that
“when these things were ended, there arose in Paul’s spirit a desire to depart
unto Macedonia.” Things begin and things end … even special seasons of the
miracle power of God being manifest in such a dramatic and wholesale way for
the purposes of God.
I
believe that we are always in some special season of God. I believe and have
experienced seasons of revival in which people come to Christ in masses. We can
see throughout history that revivals come to cities and nations and people
groups at God’s will and by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Undeniable
moments of mass evangelism have swept nation after nation in God’s timing and
season.
As
well there have been great seasons of healing and miracles in certain places
throughout time. From Ephesus in the mid 50’s AD, to the African continent in
the early 1900’s. The outpouring of the Holy Spirit on country after country
sparked everything from the Welsh revivals to Azusa Street, from the Jesus
movement to the Catholic Charismatic renewal. God gives us special seasons.
Our
task is to know the times and seasons of the Spirit and always be ready to hear
a fresh word from God. Things go so much better when we work with what God is
doing instead of trying to get Him to bless what we want.
Continuing
in the book of Acts, chapter 19, we find that Paul is blamed for destroying a
large portion of the economy of Ephesus. The silversmith guild and their
president lodge a public complaint against Paul that his preaching and
converting so many of the citizens and visitors of Ephesus to become Believers
in Jesus has shut down a major industry in the city. It seems that no body
wants to buy silver charms and silver idols to aid in the worship of the pagan
gods in Ephesus, especially in the temple of the goddess Artemis, called Diana
in the Greek language.
The
accusations and the turmoil gathered such a crowd that they completely filled
that 25,000-seat theater with an angry mob ready to pull Paul apart for putting
them out of work. The Bible says that there was such a frenzy that the whole
city was affected and some of the mob didn’t even know why they were rioting …
they were just caught up in the lawless wave of infused anger.
Paul
had been teaching in Ephesus for two and a half years. Special miracles had
proved that there was power in the name of Jesus. The church had grown to
perhaps 15 to 50 thousand people. Within a few years Timothy would become the
pastor of this new powerful Church with up to 65,000 members including the
elder Apostle John and Mary the mother of Jesus. John would one day write the
Gospel of John from this place. God had big plans for the Church in Ephesus but
for tonight, the crowd was ready to physically tear the Apostle Paul apart.
Acts 19
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.
One
of the great testimonies of the Apostle Paul which should speak loudly to us
from this chapter is the fact that in the two and one half years Paul
ministered in the city of Ephesus, the most demonically inspired and controlled
city in all the Roman Empire, Paul, even with his great success and the special
seasons of miracles, Paul never once blasphemed the pagan gods or took anything
away from the other temples.
Paul
knew the truth. We do not have to tear down the false in order to lift up the
true. Victory is not found in the exposure or defeat of false religion, but victory comes when we lift up the name of Jesus.
1 Corinthians 2:2 For I
determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him
crucified.
The two truths I hope were revealed this
evening from Acts 19 are:
·
God is always doing something special somewhere in the world. We are a body and no matter where God is moving, it
always affects us and benefits the generations to come even when it seems
disconnected or unrelated or on the other side of the world.
·
Our victory is not in our enemy’s defeat, it is in Jesus. Lift Him up and His light will outshine the darkness
around you.
