Text: Acts 19:21-41, Title: The Superiority of Christ, Date/Place: NRBC, 1/25/09, AM
A. Opening illustration: Read the story of John Stam, missionary to China in 1934 from The Baptist Vision magazine current issue, MacArthur summary of Hebrews… “the letter begins with the general superiority of Christ to everyone and everything, a kind of summary of the whole epistle in the first three verses. Next comes the superiority of Christ to angels, then the superiority of Christ to Moses, then the superiority of Christ to Joshua, the superiority of Christ to Aaron and his priesthood, the superiority of Christ to the Old Covenant, the superiority of Christ’s sacrifice to the old sacrifices, the superiority of Christ’s faithful people to all the faithless, the superiority of Christ’s testimony to that of any other. This brief outline gives us the flow of the book, which above all else, teaches the total, complete, and absolute superiority of Jesus Christ.”
B. Background to passage: 3rd missionary journey, going on three years of ministry in Ephesus. Paul, led by the Spirit, determines that God is leading him to visit several churches over in Acacia and Macedonia on his way back to Jerusalem, and take up a collection for the church there which is suffering; then on to Rome, and eventually to Spain. Paul had a plan to reach known world at that time (BIG VISION). So he sends two disciples ahead of him, while he completes the last bit of his stay in Ephesus. And that is when the riot that normally ensues with Paul is preaching happened.
C. Main thought: In this text we are reminded of three truths as we labor for the Master in our world.
A. His superiority to other gods (v. 26)
1. The riot started by Demetrius was initiated because of financial concerns. But those financial concerns were driven by the fact that Paul had persuaded many that idols made with hands are not gods. So many Ephesians were turning from idolatry to Diana. The clear teaching of scripture is that other gods are false, non-entities created in our minds. These gods were fashioned after man’s idea of what God should be. And because of Paul’s persuasion of the reality of Jesus Christ, many were being saved. Demetrius was worried about the magnificence of Diana being depleted, which would bring economic and social depletion to the city of Ephesus, b/c everything was tied up in the wonder of the world and her god.
2. 1 Kings 18:27, Isa 44:8-18, Isa 45:20, 46:7, 46:8; Jer 10:8, 10:14, Hab 2:18, John 17:3, Col 1:16-18,
3. Illustration: speaking of the way that American Christians import western democratic assumptions into theology picking and choosing what to believe and not to believe based on their preference, “Eternal punishment in hell is not consistent with "the American experience" or "the American way." The God of the Bible, in other words, does not act in ways consistent with what many people consider to be American ideals. Sending people to hell is just not fair…The Holy One of Israel, the ruler of all and the sovereign of universe, is now to be judged by his own sinful creatures by the standard of fairness. Doctrines ruled to be "unfair" are cast aside and overridden by our cherished cultural assumptions.” – Al Mohler,
4. Jesus Christ, as revealed in the bible, has the Name above all other names, is the One with “King of kings and Lord of lords” on his thigh, is the One that has no comparison or one to liken him to, is the One by which everything was made and for whom everything was made. His grace, love, mercy, and beauty surpass all gods and all heavens ever dreamed of. He is not a wishy washy manipulative must-be-placated with good deeds and sacrifices kind of deity. There is none like Him! He is completely different, higher, and better than any other conception of God every thought up. And if Jesus is as he claimed the “one true God,” all other religions are false. To validate other religions is the first step on the landslide to apostasy and an insult to the value and worth of Christ. And let me assure you that Christ is never in any danger of losing His magnificence! He always has and always will reign supreme and the most glorious, matchless, uncompromising treasure of infinite worth! So the word of warning to us is to make sure that the God whom we worship is the God of the Bible in all His fullness. Make sure that you have not created a god of your own design that looks surprisingly like you and offers heaven to everyone with no strings attached, no moral standards (or at least none that offend you), and no power. Christ wants to be known as He really is, but we constantly reshape our concept of this god to fit our lifestyles and preferences. Do not worship at the altar of the god of “the way you like him,” but fall down in awe and wonder of a truly superior Jesus Christ, who is the greatest treasure and the only true and living God.
B. His superiority to life itself (v. 30)
1. When things got out of hand, the rioters grabbed a couple of Paul’s traveling companions, and drug them down to the theater to a highly charged crowd bent on exacting revenge. The text tells us that Paul wanted to rush right into the theater behind the kidnappers. It doesn’t tell us if his desire was simply to save his friends, or maybe to preach the gospel to a large crowd. But knowing Paul there must have been a kingdom purpose in doing it. But everyone knew that if Paul went in, he might not come out alive, since he was the indirect cause of all this. They all new that the crowd was irrational and worked up. But the point is that Paul knew that too, and was willing to lay down his life for his friends and the gospel. If this were and isolated event, we might assume that Paul was just making a desperate attempt to save his friends, but this is the constant pattern of his life. Demetrius didn’t want to give up money or the glory of Diana, and the clerk didn’t want to give up freedom and local autonomy, but Paul…
2. Ps 63:3, Philip 1:20-21, 2:17, 3:7-8, Acts 20:24, 21:13, Luke 14:26, 17:33, Matt 16:24, Rev 12:11
3. Illustration: read pages 45-46 from Don’t Waste Your Life, about the tragedy of wasted life, Henry Marten the great missionary said, “if God has work for me to do, then I cannot die.” One account of the death of James, the brother of Jesus, was told of his being instructed to recant of his testimony and tell all the people not to believe these things about Jesus, he agreed, was carried up, and began to preach how Jesus is the Christ, and was thrown down, began to pray, and was clubbed to death, When James Calvert went out as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, I am told that the captain of the ship transporting him sought to turn him back. "You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages," he cried. Calvert only replied, "We died before we came here."
4. Most of us are not faced with the choice between faith and life very often, if ever. But we do live in a culture that would have us sacrifice faith to save our lives any day, when the bible teaches the exact opposite. It teaches that the value of Christ and His pleasure far surpasses the horrors of even violent death. Jesus doesn’t flitch at the possibility that He will die for God’s will, nor at the notion that the disciples would suffer the same fate. He only tells them that they will be rewarded in the life to come and to remain faithful. So the question comes to us, and we must answer, do we value Christ enough to risk losing our lives. For some it may be choosing life of an unborn child. For some it may be refusing treatment recommended to preserve an unborn’s life. For some it might mean serving as missionaries in a Muslim country. For some it may mean simply boarding a plane on a mission trip. For some it may mean losing a job because of your faithful witness. For some it might mean taking a bullet. For some it might mean giving up a comfortable retirement. For some it might mean giving up a larger social hall. Are we really crucified with Christ with the life we now live by faith being the Son of God living through us?
C. His superiority to pagan culture (v. 37)
1. The resolution to this situation is what leads me to say that Christ is superior to the culture. The apostles preached a gospel that attacked cultural norms on so many levels. And yet they did it without breaking laws. They were blameless. In fact, they didn’t do it by changing laws either. They did it simply by making converts. They transformed the culture of a city. And they did it by preaching the gospel of grace to a lost people.
2. 2 Cor 10:4-5, 1 Cor 1:19, 1Cor 1:27-29, 1Cor 3:19, 2 Cor 11:3, Col 2:8,
3. Illustration: “The world will tolerate a church that conducts its meetings and has its programs, but a church that vibrantly loves Jesus Christ, teaches His Word and reaches out in love to address the sins that are destroying our nation, our families and people’s relationship with the Lord will not be popular.”
4. Today we preach the same superior Savior. He is superior to the ranters about dirt roads and county commissioner raises; superior to the teaching of evolution and sex education; superior to atheism and agnosticism that pervades our society; superior to godless politicians and governments; superior to secular humanism and pop psychology and the self-esteem gospel; superior to inclusivism and pluralism; superior to alcohol, abortion, and homosexuality; superior to a pie-in-the-sky American dream of gardening and golfing for 30 years after an early retirement; and to every other thing that our culture says that we should pursue at the cost of our obedience and love for Jesus.
A. Closing illustration: Compass Direct this week reported on two brothers in a western Bangladesh village who were pressured by local Muslims into expelling their parents, who came to faith in Christ in early November. “Why should your parents live in this village? They do not have right to live here because they are no longer Muslims,” the Muslims reportedly told the brothers. In this case, the main threat was that if the brothers allowed their parents to stay in the home then their children would never be allowed to marry anyone in the village. The banished Christian couple remains steadfast in faith, even as they struggle to find food and deal with the pain of being rejected by their own sons. “I got salvation in Jesus. In this shelter without food, I am ready to flirt with death by debilitating illness or by attack by Muslim neighbors, but never will I go back to Islam,” said the 70-year-old father and grandfather.
B. Recap
C. Invitation to commitment
Additional Notes
• Is Christ Exalted, Magnified, Honored, and Glorified?
