I need to give you a background of the book of Ephesians, so you can see that it applies to our city. This way, you can get a feel for WHY Paul wrote what he did in the book.
Ephesus was one of the premier city of the Roman Empire. It was situated on
It benefitted from a great road system, all the major roads in that area pass through Ephesus. It was a port city, and had a lot of cultures, international people passing through it.
Consequently, it was a wealthy city, and a very multicultural city. This wasn’t your town where everyone in town was white and blue collar, and was raised there… the ideas were varied and many.
It was a leading city of spirituality in the Roman Empire. It was a famous center of worship, spirituality, and magic. Sorcery was practiced widely, and they believed that there was a spiritual world, where spiritual beings of various levels were directly involved with the natural world that you can see. Of course, we believe that as well.
We know of at least 50 gods and goddesses that were worshipped in Ephesus. They clearly believed in a spiritual world. IF you believe there is such a thing, then there’s the question about how you interact, how you impact, how you contact that spiritual world.
So, they sought to interact with that world through magic.
Now the natural thing if you believe in a spiritual world is fear. You realize that there is evil and there is wickedness… there are bad spirits out there. So you try to through magic interact with that world. Some people went to contacting bad spirits, thinking that if they do their will and cast curses and bad spells, the spirits won’t hurt them, and other people try to contact the good spirits, and they wear amulets, cast spells, and chant incantations to the good spirits to try to protect themselves.
This is basically what we have in today’s world – some people are strictly rationalists, but the culture overall is quite spiritual. Strict naturalism is kind of on its way out.
Like 90+% of people pray…
So we have a world where you have some people who practice black magic, because they are fascinated with it, and want power. Then you have a ton of people who basically are from the Barnes & Noble spirituality section where they repackage witchcraft as Wicca, earth-worship, paganism, where you cast spells to bless people & cast love spells to try to make boys fall in love with you, and have your very own episode of a soap opera in your love life.
We have Harry Potter movies, where some people do good “white” magic, and Voldemort the sorcerer is the “black” magic side of things. I don’t watch much in the way of movies, but I do track the industry, because it’s a good barometer of the country, and here’s what you have coming out in the next few months:
• Legion, a movie about angels and demons
• Sorcerer’s apprentice, a movie about a sorcerer and a teenager.
• The new Harry Potter movie
• Lightning Thief – a teenager wants to become one of the gods.
• Wolfman – about werewolves
• The next “Twilight” movie – vampires, werewolves, etc.
& that’s just off the top of my head.
TV shows:
• Sabrina, the Teenage Witch
• Bewitched
• Legend of the Seeker
• Etc.
And they’re marketing these things straight to teens. So, get ready, the culture in the next 20 years is going to get TONS more like Ephesus.
So, I want to explain to you how the spiritual world works, so you can understand when we read through this chapter:
Explanation of God & angels, Satan & demons
The one thing they did not realize is that there is a God named Jesus who rules over ALL these realms, and that any spirit not on his side is against him, and that no magic is necessary with Him, that He is King and Ruler exalted over ALL spiritual realms… and that’s the message Paul came with.
The most popular god in Ephesus was a feminist god, a goddess. Artemis, also known as Diana. You may have heard of her Temple, the 8th wonder as
Intro to Ephesians:
Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.
4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus."
5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
7 There were about twelve men in all.
These guys talk about being believers, (in fact the Scripture calls them disciples!) and he asks them if they’ve been filled with the Holy Spirit since they believed. Basically, they say, “Who?”
The Holy Spirit comes to live in your heart
John was the precursor to Jesus; he preached repentance and said believe on Jesus, the Messiah is coming. These guys had apparently heard John, repented and believed John’s message, but hadn’t heard that the Messiah actually came.
Many people today have bits and pieces of the truth in our city. They’ve heard a little. But they don’t know the full message… that’s OUR JOB! These people know little bits and pieces of the truth, and our job is to make sure they know the full truth, repent and trust in Jesus.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
This was Paul’s pattern; go to the synagogue, later go to the marketplace. If these people could be convinced from the OT that Jesus was the Messiah, then they could help evangelize the rest of the city. They know the OT well, and if they believe in Jesus, then they can be very helpful.
9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
So, he argues for 3 months and they will not listen. Paul is a brilliant guy.
You know people like this? Sometimes the people who have a great religious background, are the ones that have the hardest hearts, and will not see the truth of God’s Word.
Basically he rents a room at a community center, and starts teaching the Bible daily.
10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
Paul stays here longer than he did anywhere else. The great roads, the many people, the strategic location.
In this city, we’re very strategic to the heartland of America. We’re a days drive from tons of big cities. God’s put us here for a reason, and we’re going to plant churches in other cities, just like Paul did.
These people are fanning out because they come to Ephesus, and they hear about Jesus and get saved. They leave a couple years later, and go somewhere else in the area, and the gospel spreads through the province.
Most people think that someone who has been to Bible college or seminary… and those people should do ministry.
I don’t. I think that people who believe in Jesus should tell others about Him.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
God is very motivated by His glory. In this culture that is growing more and more spiritual and less and less godly, more and more like Ephesus.
This is a descriptive text, not prescriptive. It’s just teaching that God can heal through any way he wants to.
Notice that it says that people who were healed “and the evil spirits left them.”
There has been a very Western dualism about the person in the last hundred fifty years. That the body and the soul are very disconnected, and the two don’t affect each other.
The truth is that some people are sick just for physical reasons, while others are sick for spiritual reasons. There are some stories in the Gospels about Jesus, where he healed a woman and then said, “She has been bound by Satan for all these years.” There were other times where someone was deaf or mute, or had seizure like activity, and Jesus cast a demon out of them, and healed them. I have been in the homes of people who a doctor would have just given medication & told them to go home. It wasn’t just physical. It was spiritual.
I have held people down and prayed for them, while they kicked and screamed. I have had people spit in my face, mild-mannered people who would have NEVER done that… but it wasn’t just them.
Thankfully, there is power in the name and blood of Jesus, and when I prayed and used His name, they calmed and the spirit left them.
We often see this in missions work in the Christian world, where there is tremendous bondage and witchcraft in an area for hundreds of years, or from a very influential witch doctor.
That’s what was going on sometimes here. These people were so in bondage to the evil that was around them through magic and sorcery and goddess & earth worship, that it was affecting them mentally and physically.
Some people suffer mentally, emotionally, and physically BECAUSE of their spiritual darkness and oppression.
Not everyone who has depression, multiple personalities, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and hears voices is just suffering from a physical problem.
We need to proclaim that Jesus has dominion not just over the spiritual world, like he can save you from your sins, but he can also save the whole person, and heal. He does not always do so, but he absolutely can.
Interesting that the guy who wrote this book (acts 19) is a medical doctor.
You need to see evil around you in this city. You see GBC fighting against the Southside Locos and the Crips hating the Bloods. You see guys robbing the drugstore right down here, and a guy gunning down one of the robbers. You have drugs, adultery, fornication and sex outside marriage… teen pregnancy, poverty, greed, racism… why is that?
Is it because of capitalism? Is it because we don’t have enough Democrats? Or enough Republicans? If it was just a physical or political problem, we would have beaten it by now! The truth is, there’s a spiritual problem, and Jesus is the answer to that part.
Now comes what is to me, one of the funniest stories in the NT. There are a few moments in the NT you just wish you could see:
When you’ve got people suffering from demons and spiritual oppression, you will have people who try to make a business out of it:
Maybe we could create a business called “Demon Vacuums.”
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."
Bossing around demons…
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15 One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"
I don’t’ want to mess with Jesus or Paul, but you have none of his power. Satan is not afraid of spirituality, He is afraid of Jesus!
16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
If you go into the spiritual world, you are stepping into a war zone. People want to use Jesus or the Virgin Mary on their back window, thinking that they are protected. They put a crucifix around their neck, this is my good luck charm. IT WON’T WORK. The Virgin Mary has NO POWER. A crucifix has no “good luck” power – it’s what Jesus DID on the Cross that has power.
Jesus is the name I’m using to flush my demons.
I had a pastor friend that talked to a woman that wrote a book of prayers for healing, job finding, children, protection, etc. etc. and said, “Who do you pray to?” She said, “Oh, that doesn’t matter.”
YES IT DOES!!! That’s like picking up the phone and dialing a random number, saying, “Hey, I’m at such and such an address, and I’m just taking my child to the emergency room. Can you heal her please?” First of all, can they do anything about it? Second, how do you know they won’t ransack your house while you’re gone? It matters what address you’re sending these prayers out to.
That’s what these guys are doing. We don’t really care about who God is, and who Jesus is, we just want to be spiritual and help people. If that’s what you’re doing, you’re going to be in deep trouble.
You’re going to get hurt. These guys get naked and are screaming, running for their lives, because they got in way over their head.
ILLUS: Guy I heard about –
Who you need is JESUS, not a BIBLE or a amulet, or a crucifix. You need JESUS!
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
You can imagine that the news of this… 7 guys running naked and screaming through the streets…
Whoa… this Jesus is not someone to play around with. When you suddenly have Jesus in high honor, and you fear him, the natural thing is you do what the next verse says:
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.
19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
SLIDE: Drachma Coin
50k workers daily wages…
If this is $10 an hour, this would be 4-5 MILLION DOLLARS.
A tremendous revival is happening in Ephesus. People are realizing what I need is Jesus, not all these books, not all these spells! There is one good God, and his name is Jesus, and I need to turn from all these other Gods to HIM.
If you truly believe in Jesus, it will impact your life. You will have to get rid of some stuff.
Honestly, I will be real with you. Some of you have opened your life to all kinds of things that exalt witchcraft and demonic influence. Movies… Horror films… books…
I am not a person who minds scary. I can do that, and I am a sane sensible American. But I was in a person’s house once and watched about 10 minutes of a Freddy Kreuger movie on a Sunday morning before preaching. I battled spiritual warfare and tension the rest of the morning. I was literally in my car praying against Satan on the way home. He was assaulting me with fear and disturbance from those scenes. I saw a few minutes of “The Ring”… and “Saw II” … same thing. That stuff is just messed up.
Or you’ve got music like Eminem, who sings a song about cutting his mom’s throat, and is one of the biggest rap artists in history. Or 50 Cent who sings about his women, his hatred, and his Glock .40, and wears a cross.
Some of you guys have porn in a secret corner on your hard drive, or between your mattresses, or hidden in a closet somewhere. You wonder why your marriage or your relationship has conflict, and it seems like satan’s got ahold of your girlfriend or your wife.
Some of you have a stash of drugs, weed, alcohol. You know you’re not yourself when you’re on that stuff. You don’t think like yourself, you don’t talk like yourself. You say weird things, you make bad decisions, you say things you regret. Because you are under the control of a spiritual god that is not Jesus. Lots of people that smoke weed are spiritual. Some of them feel more spiritual when they’re smoking it. I’ve had drunk people quote Scripture to me.
ILLUS: My dad and Leon… “There’s no way in ------ a man can live a Christian life with that woman!”
You have filled your mind with Satanic philosophy for so long… is it any wonder that you are filled with fear and depression and are struggling? You need to understand that this world is a war zone, and most of the world is at war with God, because it belongs to the Kingdom of Satan.
You burn protection candles, have a little lucky charm, pray a little from time to time. Do you really think that is going to save you? You will continue being tormented, because Satan is not worried about Spirituality, he’s only worried about Jesus.
You think you’re smart because you can manage it. No you can’t. You’re an idiot. The Bible calls you a fool, and you are a sinner and you need to repent.
You need to repent. Those things are wrong, and sinful and you need to get rid of them. Don’t just pawn them or sell them. Really do something.
The greatest thing that could happen to some of you would be really get saved and cut some ties to that stuff. Go through your DVD rack, go through your CDs, go through your bookshelf, clean out your fridge, and your secret stash in the attic and the closet.
You need to realize that what you need is Jesus. Repent, trust in Him, love Him, follow Him. HE will protect you, HE is the master of the world, HE is more powerful than all the demons.
ILLUS: Mark Driscoll tells a story about a guy who had a vintage porn collection worth 10s of thousands of dollars.
So here’s what I’m gonna do. If you have something that you need to burn, go home as soon as this service is over and bring it. Right now. If you wait, you won’t do it.
20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
You can imagine the news and buzz that goes out into a city when some of the leading witchcraft people get saved and hold a public bonfire to burn 5 million dollars worth of witchcraft books.
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also."
22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.
Now, you can imagine that this is creating quite a stir. No shock that this next part happens. Whenever Christians have been effective in a culture and a city like ours, they have been hated!
Economic crisis… people use spirituality to make money.
Can you imagine the outcry if people started completely changing their lives in Jesus?
No one is buying porn any more?
No one is having abortions?
No one is purchasing alcohol?
The drug dealers are out of work?
24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.
25 He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.
The teamster thugs get together. It’s the Teamsters Ironworkers local 100.
26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
Paul’s teaching what the Bible says. He’s just being honest, and they hate his guts for it.
People in this city were worshiping things.
I don’t worship things. Yes you do. You love things. They make you happy, they bless you, you give your time and money and thoughts and praise to them. You do worship things. Man-made things.
Most people worship _____THINGS____, not ____JESUS___.
27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater.
This theater would seat 24,000.
30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.
SLIDE: Ephesus Theater
“Hey, look! 24,000 people – someone should preach!”
No, Paul. Not a good idea. Don’t go pick a fight with 24,000 union ironworkers.
31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
This beats going to work.
People are this way… if we all went outside and looked up, people would come out of their houses to see what it was.
33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.
34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.
37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.
39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it."
41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Acts 20:1 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia.
He says, I think you guys will do a great job spreading the Gospel, and if I stay here, I will just make it harder for you. You’ve got the Gospel from me, and continue preaching it.
Maybe this will give you a better feel for the book of Ephesians, and some of the things that Paul is going to say as he writes back to these Christians. He is talking to people who have discovered true spiritual power, who have discovered that Jesus takes lives that are broken and crushed and puts them back together. That Jesus takes lives that are in bondage to fear and demons, and heals them. That Jesus is the living Lord, ruling and reigning over all spirits and all families, and all races and all colors , and men and women, and black and white and brown…
Our city is not so different from this one:
• Spiritual, but doesn’t know Jesus.
• Confused about their theology.
• Worshiping things, not Jesus.
• Divisions - .
• People who are sick spiritually.
In short, this is a city in pieces.
I look around and I grieve over this city.
I see people who hurt.
I receive reports and prayer requests every week about husbands and wives who are divided and thinking of divorce.
About parents whose children aren’t obeying.
I see the graffiti.
I get reports of teens who are divided from their parents.
I see men who won’t work, who frighten their wives.
All of this, because people don’t know Jesus.
Maybe your life is in pieces. Then what you need is to find Jesus, to repent of the sin that you’ve committed, and believe with all your heart in Him. You need to burn the bridges. Maybe there are some things you need to throw away.
I want to tell you that if you follow Jesus, there will be some hard days. You will run into people who want to take you down. You will have family who hate that you’ve started following Him. They will try to draw you back.
HANDOUT:
Ephesus was one of the premier cities of the Roman Empire.
• Great road system – all major roads in the area passed through it.
• Port city – multicultural center, lots of travelers & workers
• Wealthy city
• Leading city of spirituality, magic & idol worship. At least 50 gods and goddesses were worshipped in Ephesus, most popular was Artemis
Colosse
• 100 miles from Ephesus; Small, old, dying town
• Idol-worship
• Probably started by Epaphras, after he was saved in Ephesus
The story of Christianity coming to Ephesus & Colosse:
1. Theologically ___________________ people…
Acts 19:1 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples
2 and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit."
3 So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John's baptism," they replied.
4 Paul said, "John's baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus."
5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.
7 There were about twelve men in all.
2. In a strategically _______________________ city…
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
3. Who were bound by ____________________…
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15 One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"
16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
Satan is not afraid of ___________________, He is afraid of ____________!
4. Are totally changed by ____________________…
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.
19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power …
In our value, this would be worth ____________________________ dollars!
5. Until it faced hateful ____________________…
23 About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.
24 A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.
25 He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.
26 And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.
Most people in our city worship ________________________, not _____________________.
27 There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."
28 When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
29 Soon the whole city was in an uproar. The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia, and rushed as one man into the theater.
30 Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.
31 Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul, sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
32 The assembly was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
33 The Jews pushed Alexander to the front, and some of the crowd shouted instructions to him. He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.
34 But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"
35 The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?
36 Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash.
37 You have brought these men here, though they have neither robbed temples nor blasphemed our goddess.
38 If, then, Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a grievance against anybody, the courts are open and there are proconsuls. They can press charges.
39 If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.
40 As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it."
41 After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.
Acts 20:1 When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia.
