Money Causes A Riot Part 1 Series

Money Causes a Riot 1

Text: Acts 19:23-27

Introduction

1. Illustration: It might be just as offensive to be around a man who never changed his mind as one who never changed his clothes.

2. Our society is obsessed with being offended. They will go out of their way to not offend someone. So much so, some churches tried to present the Gospel in a way that was not offensive.

3. However, the reality is that the Gospel is offensive, and to try to present in a way that is unoffensive is to make it a false gospel.

4. The reason it is offensive is it requires us to change, and people don’t want to give up their sin.

5. An old saying says, “The only one that likes change is a wet baby!”

6. Read Acts 19:23-27

Transition: The truth is that…

I. The Gospel Rocks the Boat (23-24).

A. Serious Trouble Developed

1. When God does good things, two groups are going to do what they can to put a wrench in the works.

a. The first one is the devil. He will always try and put up a roadblock against the work of the Holy Spirit.

b. The second group to cause trouble for the preaching of the Gospel are those who make a substantial living off the works of evil.

c. People love their sin and don’t want to see it come to an end, especially if they are making money from it.

2. That’s what happened in Ephesus. In vv. 23-24, Luke tells us, “About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. 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.”

a. Luke says that “serious trouble” came upon the “Way,” which was a reference to the Church and the spreading of the Good News.

b. This trouble had to do with Artemis, who was the goddess of fertility.

c. She was represented by a carved female figure with many breasts, and there was a large statue of her in the temple in Ephesus.

d. This temple was one of the wonders of the ancient world, just as the Temple of the Lord had been in Solomon’s day.

e. It was supported by 127 pillars each six stories tall, and it was four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens.

f. Each year they held a festival that was famous for its many orgies and carousing.

g. This temple was the center of religious and financial life of the city which all centered on the worship of this goddess.

h. The reason for the trouble with the young church there is that they were a threat to the temple and those that made their living from it.

i. The biggest threat the church brought was to the craftsman who made silver and clay idols of Artemis, and they made a considerable amount of money on these idols.

j. The one who raised the biggest stink about the church was a man named Demetrius, who was the head of the influential craftsman’s guild, that was similar to our unions today.

k. As people were coming to faith in Jesus, they stopped buying these idols, and this caused a tremendous financial hit to those who were making money from producing them.

l. As a result, the church came under attack, and Demetrius was the main instigator.

3. This is true of our own culture. When the Gospel is preached and people come to faith in Christ, their lives, attitudes, and behaviors change.

a. Consequently, they no longer follow worldly and ungodly things.

b. This has a tremendous impact financially on those who make money from these things, and they start opposing the church for interfering with their way of living.

c. We see this today with things like abortion clinics, pornography, and other sinful lifestyles that people move away from when they come to faith in Christ.

d. The church is seen as an opposition to their sin and their money.

B. Money is the Root of All Evil

1. Money magazine declared money was the number one obsession of Americans. Newsweek reports there is a new plane of consciousness called "transcendental acquisition." Its cover story of 8/27/01 tells of a woman saddled with debt who charged a diving trip to French East Indies. Instead of trying to break free, it's as if she's given up. She said, "I’ve spoiled myself and can’t change my habits."

2. Advertisers say if we buy more products, we’ll be happier, fulfilled, comfortable, popular, cooler. Yet they never warn of excess or hint that having things won’t make us happy. 34% of Americans in 2000 ranked shopping as their favorite activity! 70% visit malls at least once a week. That’s more than go to churches or synagogues! The average American shops 6 hours a week, but only plays with their children 40 minutes. By age 20, the average American has seen around one million commercials.