Tearing Down the Strongholds of Hell Acts 19:8-27
[2Co 10:4 NIV] “The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.”
Paul stayed in Ephesus for 3 full years because there was much work to be done there. He was operating in the power that could bring down, even the strongholds of hell.
I want us to look at three things the Apostle Paul experienced while he was there. Maybe it will help us as we strive to become a better witness for Christ in our community. The first thing we’ll see is that:
1. Paul was given an awesome opportunity
[1Co 16:8-9 NKJV] “8 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and [there are] many adversaries.”
This door is a door of opportunity and Paul couldn’t pass it up.
Elim Bible has been given the same kind of opportunity here in Florence, SC.
Ephesus was a wicked city and a place of spiritual darkness. Paul brought the light of the gospel to that place because he saw this place of darkness as a place of opportunity.
Paul had the opposite philosophy of many Christians today. Christians today don’t want to be in a dark place…they are afraid of the dark. They only want to be in the well-lit areas. I hear people say things like, “There’s so many lost people where I work…I’ve got to get out of there!” I’ve said the very same thing, in the past, about places I’ve worked. I was complaining to Pastor Jim Crooks, years ago and he ask me, “Did it ever occur to you that’s why God put you there?”
God puts you in those dark places and He expects you to light up the dark places of this world. The Bible says that you, as a child of God, are the light of the world so what better place to put a light than in a dark room. Who knows… there may very well be others just like you, who are themselves, afraid of the dark and all it will take is for one believer to turn their light on and you’d be surprised what light does to dark.
What if light bulbs could talk: and you told the bulb you were going to put it in a room where there was no light. It might say, “You can put me anywhere but that dark room. Please don’t put me in the dark! I’m afraid of the dark!”
What good is a lightbulb that refuses to shine in a dark room?
What good are we if we refuse to be the light of the gospel in a dark world?
Now, we shouldn’t want to go to places that will drag us down, or places where we will be tempted to sin but God doesn’t want us to hide under our beds or in our closets either. As people who have received the light of the gospel, we are to be IN the darkness of the world, shining God’s light. BUT we’re not to be OF the darkness of the world. There must be a difference between you/me and the world.
So, God has placed, right in front of us a door of opportunity and our question this morning is this: will we walk through it?
The truth is that the darker the room, the more your light will be seen.
Your light cannot stand out in this sanctuary. Why is that?
Because this place is filled with other lights. When you go to your workplace or other places then your light has the potential of removing the darkness.
Paul wanted to stay in Ephesus until Pentecost because he knew it was about time for the Artemesian Games and the whole Roman Empire would be coming to town. Paul saw a city filled to the brim as an opportunity.
Now if you ask my family they will tell you that I don’t like crowds too much. One year we took the kids to Dollywood and I had them in the parking lot before the gates opened. By noon I was ready to leave because the crowd was getting too large for me. The truth is that you/I should love crowds because we have so many opportunities to share Jesus!
Look at verse 10 and you see what happened in just 2 short years.
Every single person heard the Word. Not all experienced salvation, but all had the same opportunity. The reason that all the people heard was the fact that Paul saw a door of opportunity open before him and he walked through it!
The second thing we’ll notice is:
2. Paul faced tremendous opposition.
Remember the verses I read earlier? [1Co 16:8-9 NKJV] “8 But I will tarry in Ephesus until Pentecost. 9 For a great and effective door has opened to me, and [there are] many adversaries.” There were many who opposed Paul and his teachings
Believe it or not, Ephesus was a religious city? The truth is religion is one of the main tools in the devil’s tool box and he uses it well.
Paul had to deal with at least 3 types of religion in that region:
a. Insufficient religion
In verse 8 we see that Paul always took the gospel to the Jews first. He spent 3 months in the synagogue, at Ephesus, showing them that their religion was insufficient.
Paul wanted them to understand that the OT teachings had a purpose BUT that purpose was to point them to the coming Messiah. Paul was telling them that their Messiah had already come, through the birth of Jesus Christ, and they had missed Him. They not only missed His coming but they had rejected Him when He arrived. After they rejected Him they killed their own Messiah!
Their religion was empty and insufficient.
I don’t want to know that you’ve found religion, I want to know if you’ve found Jesus! See the world is full of religious people…
And all over Florence County people are immersed in some sort of insufficient religion and they are living empty and hopeless lives.
On the outside they may dress fancy and look proper, but inside they are dead or dying. Churches have become nothing more than social clubs or time shares that promote having fun or just being good people. That’s insufficient religion and I’m afraid that all they are doing is making the world a better place to get to hell from!
Some of those Paul preached to actually did get saved, however, most did not, and after 3 months they kicked him out of the synagogue.
Look at verse 9. Paul didn’t leave town, he just moved from the synagogue to a well-known school. In 20+ years of ministry I’ve heard a lot of people say, “Pastor you need to go talk to so and so and get them back in this church.” Well if you’ve been trying for the last 10 years to get so and so back, what makes you think I can? Why beat a dead horse? Reach out in a different direction. Keep praying for so and so but move on! Paul knew he had to go a different direction, reaching new people.
So, he first dealt with insufficient religion…
b. Artificial religion. Look at verses 11-12
Paul was a tentmaker in a hot climate, so naturally his clothes would be sweaty and he would wipe his brow with handkerchiefs. Some began to notice that if the sick or possessed came into contact with these items they would be healed.
It could be that God was rebuking the pagan religion of that day because these people were well known for their emphasis on clean, white garments.
They used them in their religious rituals and everything had to be proper, and sparkling white. But with a handful of old sweaty rags God was saying, your artificial religion can’t accomplish anything, and your pristine white garments are powerless. The people were seeing that the God of Paul, the God of Christianity can do miracles using nothing more than a bunch of dirty sweat rags! If He could do so much with a handful of sweaty rags, what could our great and mighty God do with you or me?
These strongholds of hell had reached into every home in that city, so God used these special miracles to reveal Himself and His power to those who needed to see it.
Look at verses 13-15. They were imitating the real thing, yet, these were not the last people to try to imitate Paul. Just walk into any church and you can find those who practice artificial religion. Turn on today’s Christian television and for a price you can get a nice prayer cloth, or bottle of miracle producing water that has been “prayed over” by the guy on the screen. They tell you to “put your hand on the TV screen and feel the power!” Someone once told me they tried it and the hair stood up on their arms and head. That’s nothing more than static electricity!
I want you to understand that carnal believers WILL NOT get away with trying to act/look like they are right with God. You need to be the real thing to accomplish real things for God. The imitators will be dealt with appropriately. God WILL turn the tables on the imitators and magnify His Holy Name!
I want you to see something in verses 18-19.
Some of those who had truly been saved were, apparently hanging on to the things of the world. Letting go of this world is what God wants His children to do. Maybe some of them still had their Ouija boards, tarot cards, and their Harry Potter books! Shame on Christian parents who allow that kind of demonic stuff through the doors of their home.
These new believers saw this demon attack on the counterfeit Christians and they got under so much conviction they began to deal with the sin in their lives and I believe the church needs some of that today.
Maybe you are a new believer or maybe you’ve been saved for a time. Please understand that God wants to change you. He wants you to give up some of the old things for His new things.
They had a book burning in Acts 19, and when they added up what it was all worth, it was 50k pieces of silver, which is equal to 1 year’s wages for 150 men! (Today that would be a little better than 2mil$@ minimum wage.) Some of you, in this room, may need to go home and pour something out, throw something out, flush something down! Some need to get their home in order, get a handle on some things, or get married because when you continue living in blatant sin you are saying to God that your sin is more important than any relationship you might have with Him… STOP making excuses for what you know is sin! STOP telling God He’s not worthy of your time, your family and START recognizing that HE paid the real price for you! Start showing Him that He is more important than anything, any substance or anybody in your life!
You know it’s interesting that the demons of hell knew Paul.
I ask you last week if they know you. Are they threatened by your witness?
I’d like to think that the forces of evil and Satan himself know the name Elim Bible Church, and he is paying attention to what we’re doing here...
Paul had to deal with insufficient religion, artificial religion…and he had to deal with:
c. a religion of idolatry. Look at verses 26-28, 34-35
Ephesus was the home of temple to Diana who was the goddess of fertility in the Greek culture. Sex was the center of their worship and a big deal in their world of religion. As a matter of fact, her temple was one of the 7 wonders of that world. Hundreds of priestesses were available for a price. You might say it was a prostitution ring, operating in the name of religion and worship. Paul was bringing down the strongholds of hell, in that city.
That brings us to our final point…we’ve seen Paul’s opportunity and opposition, now I want to show you how:
