Sermon Brief
Date Written: Jan 14, 2012
Date Preached: Jan 15, 2012
Where Preached: OPBC (AM)
Sermon Details:
Series Title: Awaken Series – Oak Park Baptist Church
Sermon Title: Awaken To Our
Sermon Text: Acts 19:11-20 [ESV]
11And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12so 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. 13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17And 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. 18Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19And 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. 20So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
Introduction:
Alarms are part of life, we hear the alarm clock go off every morning. We hear the smoke alarm sound off unexpectedly. We even have soft and subtle alarms come in our lives in the form of someone touching our shoulder and surprising us… but alarms serve a great purpose!
The alarm clock serves to WAKE us and indicates the start of our day. The smoke alarm serves to WARN us of impending danger within your home and for you to act. The subtle and soft alarm of a touch on the shoulder can serve to notify us that we may be missing something or that something may need our attention.
I find it rather interesting on how many times in Scripture, especially the NT that these writers, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, tell the believers within the early church to “Wake up!” We find one of these occasions in Rom 13:11, NLT, where Paul says “Another reason for right living is that you know how late it is; time is running out. [it’s time to] Wake up…”
Now I want us to understand that this admonition from Paul was NOT to those outside the grace of Jesus Christ. This was not a message to the lost of the city or those openly fighting against Jesus Christ. This was an admonition to those who were already believers! This was a charge to those who proclaimed themselves to be followers of Jesus Christ.
Paul was very clear in his words… it is time to WAKE UP! But why does Paul say this… why do we need to wake up? Paul gives the clear response, We need to wake up because “Time is running out.” What is Paul saying here, well I believe he explains it further when he sends a letter to the Ephesian church when he says, “15Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
The days are evil… if you don’t believe it all you need to do is to look around! Why must Christians awaken to understand the will of the Lord? Why must we seek Spiritual Awakening?
A quick look at the news of our time reveals the continued downward moral and spiritual decline in our state and across our country. In our state alone we suffer great depravity…
Louisiana leads the nation in murder rates per 100,000 people
Louisiana has the 2nd highest crime rate in the nation
Louisiana leads the nation in certain forms of sexually transmitted diseases
Louisiana saw at total of 8,167 babies aborted in 2009
But Louisiana is not alone in this depravity, within our nation we see:
A violent crime of some form occurs every 23.9 seconds.
A property crime occurs every 3.4 seconds!
Why is this? Why do we see such depravity and sin all around us? This world is ruled by the prince of darkness and his minions and because of his presence we live in a broken and sinful world; but why does it continue? After all, didn’t Jesus die on the Cross? Didn’t Jesus conquer sin and death? If so, then WHY is it like this? Why does it seem to be getting worse and worse!
The short answer is that the church is failing in its mission to reach the world. As believers we are sleeping on the job… like the watchman who falls asleep and allows the enemy to creep into the camp and destroy it, we have all but fallen asleep at the wheel.
We need to AWAKEN! We need to rise up and take hold of the calling of Christ in our lives! For far too long we have slumbered and allowed the enemy to gain a foothold! IT IS TIME TO WAKE UP!
The alarm is sounding all around us… the evil of Satan and his hordes is overtaking all the world… it is TIME we woke up… it is time to see the victory of our Lord proclaimed and experienced within ourselves, within our fellowship, within our city, within our state, within our nation and all over the world! IT IS TIME! Time to wake up!
My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, it is time for a Spiritual Awakening in our midst! But here is the issue, we cannot program, plan, or demand spiritual awakening from God. But what we CAN do is prepare for it! What we CAN do is pray for it, and what we CAN do is plead at the Throne of God for Him to send it our way.
In the 200 years of Baptist work in Louisiana there has never been a statewide spiritual awakening… we have seen it happen in other places… we know that God has done it in other places… but the question I am posing this morning is WHY NOT US? WHY NOT NOW? Let us call upon God to move us to a spiritual awakening so great that it shakes the very foundation of all we know!
Spiritual awakening is not going to come by our own hand. Spiritual awakening will not come by a church having the right pastor, or having the right deacons. Spiritual awakening will not come by our city having the right mayor or by us electing anyone…
Spiritual awakening will only come by the hand of God upon a submissive and broken people who seek nothing more than to please Him and serve His Kingdom. Are you ready for a Spiritual awakening…
Today we are going to launch a commitment from within our fellowship to pray and fast for the next 21 days to prepare ourselves for the Spiritual Awakening we pray God will bring to our fellowship and to this city. Today, I am calling on ALL of our Oak Park members and whoever else wishes to join with us… come and join with us and seek the face of God!
Today we begin 21 days of preparation, today we commit ourselves to participating in the 21 day preparation for a Great Spiritual Awakening in ourselves, in our church and in our state. Today, January 15th through Saturday, February 4th we commit to fast and pray and to seek the face of the Lord…
Today I am calling us to commit to focusing on OUR own need for spiritual awakening, with all this leading to our church becoming the ‘light set upon a hill’ for all to see… for all to be drawn to… for all to see Christ! Are you ready? Are you willing? God is calling us to WAKE UP! Are you ready to answer that call?
Preacher, I am a believer and you simply cannot be speaking to me. I am a saved believer… I am a servant of Christ… I am NOT who you are speaking to this morning!
Well my answer to that thought that many of you are having right now is simply this… YES, I am… I AM speaking to YOU, I am speaking to EVERY believer in this room, including myself!
Why is the world in the shape it is in? It is because the believers of our church today will NOT stand for the cause of Christ. It was once said, “For evil to flourish, all it takes is for good men to do nothing.” [Edmond Burke – father of modern day conservatism]
Likewise, all it takes for sin to flourish in our society is for believers to sit on the sidelines and do nothing. We cannot eradicate sin, but when we do NOTHING for the cause of Christ, sin runs rampant and flows over into our own fellowship!
Paul is challenging these churches to remain VIGILANT in the battle… to WAKE UP and fight the fight! True believers never sleep on the job. And in our Scripture this morning we can see that TRUE believers are used by God, but those who are NOT true believers… they are going to fail and fail miserably!
Read Acts 19:11-20 here
Now to give you some background on this passage we find Paul was in Ephesus and he had been there for 2 years teaching and training former disciples of John the Baptist. There were many who rose up against him, but he continued in his teaching and discipling of these 12 men…
Paul was obedient to God’s calling to go into the world and make disciples… especially to the Gentiles. Paul’s obedience and submission to God’s plan and direction made him a bright light and great conduit through which God’s spirit moved in a mighty way!
But we also find that there were those who believed that they could do things on their own, in their own way, by their own power…
Finally we see that God responds to broken and submissive hearts and will bless those who surrender to Him…
God’s Hand is Upon The Obedient Servant (v.11-12)
11And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12so 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.
We find Paul being used in a mighty way by God in this passage and all throughout the NT. Paul was a tool that God used in many mighty ways to grow and advance the Kingdom.
How was Paul able to be used by God in such a way? Was it because Paul was so steeped in religious teaching? Was it because Paul was so very super spiritual?
We know that the Bible tells us of Paul’s training… he was the star pupil and disciple of Gamaliel… a teacher that only the top 1% of all religious students were able to study under… and he was at the top of his class!
Paul knew the Scriptures, but Paul did not KNOW Jesus! Paul knew what Scripture said about God but Paul had not experienced the God of his learning… not until that day on the road to Damascus! Paul was struck blind and called into service… there Paul was converted and saved by the mercy and grace of God.
But was Paul used by God so mightily because he was so super spiritual? ABSOLUTELY NOT! We find Paul himself confessing his shortcomings and sin in his life. He tells that those things he knows to be right, he avoids and the things he knows to be wrong, he seeks after… Paul was a sinner just like you and me… a sinner saved by the grace and mercy of God!
What then set Paul apart to be used by God in such a mighty way? Well Paul was able to be used by God because Paul surrendered ALL of who he was to become ALL of what God desired him to be…
Paul said that he was willing to become all things to all people so that some may come to know the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ… He was willing to lay ALL of himself aside, he was willing to surrender all of his desire to the Lord and accept whatever God placed before him.
My friends that is the key to being used mightily of God… surrender of our heart and submission to His calling on our lives! The question is are we willing to do just this…
This world has yet to see the result of one who is FULLY surrendered to Christ… what changes could be reached by a congregation surrendering to Christ and His plan! By a fellowship of believers setting aside their own lives, their own desires and being willing to take up the cross placed before them!
Paul was willing and God used him in a mighty way! Oak Park, there is great work to be done in the Kingdom and we serve THE God of the universe who is able and willing to use us for His glory… the question is not is God able… but the question is are WE willing?
Are you willing to surrender ALL of who you are to be ALL He wants you to be? Paul was and we see what glories came about because of Paul’s obedience. Do you want to see Algiers changed for Christ? Do you want OPBC to be THE change agent in our community for Christ? If so you must surrender today!
So many of us SAY we want to surrender… so many of us SAY we HAVE surrendered and we go out and we attempt to serve God under our own power… and under our own guidance… but this is a very dangerous place to go! Let’s look at the next few verses and see… it is NOT about what WE can do, but it all about WHO is doing it through us!
God’s Hand is AGAINST Those who claim Him, but do not know Him (v.13-16)
13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” 14Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. 15But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 16And then the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped upon them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
Here were some men who believed in God, and who in their hearts wanted to do things to lift up God’s name. They were NOT followers of Jesus, but had seen how successful Paul had been when invoking the name of Jesus.
So they decided that they would hook up with that same power, but what they did not understand was that this was an exclusive power… reserved for only those who served Christ!
These men sought to deliver a man from a demon, but they were all challenged and then whipped upside one wall and down another… they were thoroughly defeated by this demon!
These were man who proclaimed a knowledge and relationship with God through their rituals and ceremony, but the problem was that this relationship was NOT real… they were NOT in tune with Christ, and therefore had NO access to the power to do what they were trying to do…
Their request fell on deaf ears… God hears the requests and responds to the requests of His children… those who seek HIS face, in submission! These men sought to deliver this man from a demon to lift themselves up… and God put them in their place!
The man who was possessed asked them ‘but WHO are you…’ in other words, Jesus is powerful… and Paul is His servant, but you are nothing, you are not a part, you are all alone and on your own… and because of this I am going to teach you a lesson!
These men were trashed by this one man… trashed and humiliated in front of many witnesses. It was made known to the all the city and both Jews and Gentiles came to an understanding that God was serious… that you cannot mock Him or you cannot imitate Him! They saw God’s hand in this rejection of these 7 men…
This leads me to my final point… we have many today in our churches… many today within our very fellowship who can talk a good game! They know all the words to say, they know all the Bible answers, they can convince anyone human that they are servants of God and seek to do His will… but I am here to tell you that God will NOT be mocked… He will not be put to shame… God is NOT going to allow those who do NOT know Him to proclaim His name in victory!
But what I DO know is this… if you are willing to submit to Him, through the confession of your own sin, and through the submission of your own heart…
If you are willing as Paul was willing… to surrender ALL of who you are to become ALL of what he wants you to be… God will move in a mighty way in your life!
The question is ARE YOU WILLING? Today we stand at a cross roads for our church… for our fellowship… are WE willing? Are we willing to surrender? Are we willing to submit to His glory, His authority, His calling?
God’s Blessing comes to those who confess & submit to His Lordship (v.17-20)
17and 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. 18Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19And 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. 20So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.
When we look at this we see a congregation of people in Ephesus who saw that they needed to submit to Christ… they needed to confess their sin!
Preacher, I don’t have sin in my life, I am living for Christ! Well, you can say this all you want, but we ALL have sin within our lives… we ALL have things that we refuse to surrender to the Lord!
God is willing to use us… God is willing to do mighty things thru us as a fellowship, but we must be willing to surrender ALL of who we are and submit to HIS lordship in our lives! Do you want Oak Park to be a beacon of light for the Gospel of Christ? Then we have to surrender to His calling, surrender to His Lordship and surrender ALL of who we are so that we can become ALL of what He wants us to be…
Conclusion:
ARE YOU READY? As Ken comes to lead us in our hymn of invitation, I call on you to begin this 21 days of fasting and prayer with a prayer of confession and surrender to the Lord! Surrender ALL of who you are to Him today… come as we begin to sing…
