Impacting Our Community
Series: Acts
Chuck Sligh
September 3, 2017
TEXT: Please turn in your Bibles to Acts 19, starting at verse 21.
INTRODUCTION
Illus. – If you’re a student of church history, you’ve heard of the great Welsh revival or 1904, a revival in which some 100,000 people came to Christ in a 5-month period, which for a country that small in 1904 was huge. The equivalent of what that would be in the U.S. today would be twelve-and-a-half million conversions in a five-month period.
The social impact of the Welsh revival was astonishing. Judges came to court, but had no cases to try. Robberies, murders, burglaries, rapes or embezzlements dropped dramatically, even to zero in some areas! The District Council in one city held an emergency meeting to discuss what to do with the police now that they were inactive.
The Welsh revival later spread to America, though in a more limited fashion. Listen to an article in the Denver Post, dated January 20, 1905.
“For two hours at midday all Denver was held in a spell…the markets of trade were deserted between noon and two o’clock this afternoon, and all worldly affairs were forgotten. Going to and coming from the great prayer meetings, thousands of men and women radiated this Spirit which filled them. Seldom has such a remarkable sight been witnessed—an entire great city, in the middle of a busy weekday, bowing before the throne of heaven and asking the blessing of the King of the Universe.”
When Paul came to Ephesus in Acts 19, the city was locked in a stronghold of pagan superstition. But within two years of ministry in Ephesus, Satan’s stronghold was crumbling. The result was that they had a big bonfire in verse 19, as we saw last week. Christians brought their books on magic and their astrological charts and horoscopes and occult charms and burned them in a public square of the city.
So let’s study this passage and see two things about them that enabled them to have such a remarkable impact on their society for Christ, and two things they didn’t do that protected them from ruining their impact:
I. FIRST, NOTE THAT THEIR LIVES CHANGED SO DRAMATICALLY THAT IT AFFECTED THE LOCAL COMMERCE
Verses 24-28 – “For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana, brought no small gain unto the craftsmen; 25 Whom he called together with the workmen of like occupation, and said, Sirs, ye know that by this craft we have our wealth. 26 Moreover ye see and hear, that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much people, saying that they be no gods, which are made with hands: 27 So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth. 28 And when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath, and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.”
The patron goddess of Ephesus was Diana, known as Artemis to the Greeks. Diana was the goddess of earth and nature, or as we would say today—ecology, as well as the mother of birthing, or the “mother goddess.” As I told you last week, the temple to her glory was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world—four times larger than the Parthenon in Athens.
The religion of Diana was not an isolated little cult; it extended throughout the Roman Empire with more than 30 shrines to her—and Ephesus was the capital city of this religion. Every year, during a week in spring, Diana’s followers made a pilgrimage to Ephesus for a week of immorality and debauchery in her name. As they did, they would purchase silver replicas of Diana and the temple made by local silversmiths to take home and place on their family altars.
If you wanted to see what it’s like to be immersed in a false system of worship—worship surrounding the cult of a goddess—Ephesus provides that example. This religion was so perverse, so degrading that it affected the entire city. Another fact about Ephesus is that the temple of Diana superseded Roman law. The Temple was so powerful that, if any criminal in the Roman Empire could make it to the temple of Diana, he would be granted immediate asylum.
Ephesus was not only crawling with exorcists, sorcerers and prostitutes, but felons who had escaped the law by becoming worshipers of Diana. So Ephesus was a morass of sin—a stronghold of Satan.
Unfortunately, it increasingly sounds a lot like our culture where every form of depravity is portrayed and glorified in movies, on TV, over the Internet, in books and in music.
Now look again as Demetrius speaks in verse 27 – “So that not only this our craft is in danger to be set at nought; but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshippeth.”
Demetrius was apparently the leader of the local silversmith’s guild, who made the little silver souvenirs and idols of Diana and the temple. It was a booming business that made these tradesmen wealthy, as Demetrius pointed out in verse 25.
Demetrius was basically saying, “Either Christianity is stopped or we’ll go bankrupt.” What caused him to say that? For two years a large number of people had come to faith in Christ. But the occult was so ingrained in their culture that many of the believers were still holding on to the old life, and that was sapping them spiritually.
But then, as we saw last week, they had an encounter with demonic power that made them realize how dangerous their continued dabbling in the occult truly was. That led the Christians to make a clean break from occultic practices, stop buying the little idol souvenirs and have no more dealings with Ephesian idol worship. The revival was so effectual that it started to affect the tradesmen’s pocketbooks.
I wonder what would happen if every person who was truly born again fully turned from any activity or entertainment or behavior that was sinful or even hinted of sin? Would Hollywood feel a hit? Would overtly sexual music stars start to feel the pinch? Would the TV industry suddenly sit up and take notice?
Since the Church today is worldly, I wonder if we’ll ever know.!
Illus. – In his 1985 book Who Speaks for God?, Charles Colson tells of sitting with a president of one of the three major U.S. TV networks— Colson felt he had a great opportunity to influence this man, so he told him how millions of Christians were offended by the networks’ programming. Knowing that TV executives have a keen interest in profits, Colson suggested it would be good business to air wholesome family entertainment.
“After all,” added Colson, “there are fifty million born-again Christians out there.”
Well, Colson soon regretted starting this conversation! I’ll let him tell it in his own words:
He looked at me quizzically.…
“What you are suggesting, Mr. Colson, is that we run more programs like, say, Chariots of Fire?”
“Yes!” I exclaimed. “That’s a great movie with a marvelous Christian message.”
“Well,” he said, “CBS ran it as a prime-time movie just a few months ago. Are you aware of the ratings?”
All at once I knew I was in trouble.
He then explained: That night NBC showed On Golden Pond; it was #1 with 25.2 percent of all TV sets in America tuned in. Close behind was My Mother’s Secret Life, a show about a mother hiding her past as a prostitute. It was #2 with 25.1 percent. And a distant third—a big money loser—was CBS with Chariots of Fire—11.8 percent. In fact, of the sixty-five shows rated that week, “Dallas” was #1, Chariots of Fire, #57.
“So,” my companion concluded, “where are your fifty million born-again, Christians, Mr. Colson?”
Good question. Where are we?
If even half of Gallup’s fifty million born-again Christians had watched the show with the Christian message, Chariots of Fire would have topped the ratings. But the disturbing truth, as studies by the secular networks as well as the Christian Broadcasting Network show, is that the viewing habits of Christians are no different than those of non-Christians!
Since TV is a business, it gives its customers—the public—what they want. It is but a mirror image of us.
God help us to live lives of such holiness and purity that the world takes notice, that our tastes actually cause a change in the culture!
II. SECOND, NOTE THAT THE EPHESIAN CHRISTIANS HAD A REPUTATION FOR WHOLE-HEARTED COMMITMENT.
Verse 33 – “And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defense unto the people.”
Why would the Jews put forward Alexander to speak in their behalf? Well, this took a little digging in my commentaries, but it seems that the Jews who lived in Ephesus were concerned that they might be associated with Paul, who all knew was, like them, Jewish. There was the fear that they would be associated with this radical named Paul, so Alexander steps forward to disassociate themselves from the Christians.
You see, they wanted a religion and a belief in God, but they didn’t want to be associated with what they deemed to be getting TOO excited about God! I suppose if there’s one thing people fear more than anything in the world, it’s for a Christian to be totally sincere about his belief; to be labelled a fanatic. You can be all out for football…You can be a fanatic about a hobby…You can be passionate about a political party…but God forbid that you get excited about Jesus and live for Him with all his heart and try to be like Christ.
Alexander represents that sector of religion that wants to have “a form of godliness” but is shocked to be associated with anything so radical as really taking their belief seriously.
Unfortunately for Alexander, he never got a chance to say a word – Verse 34 – “But when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice about the space of two hours cried out, Great is Diana of the Ephesians.” The mob in Ephesians didn’t care if Alexander represented the “good, compromising religion” of the Jews, or “bad, zealous religion” of Paul’s group—it wasn’t THEIR religion. And for two solid hours 25,000 Ephesians worshiped their goddess, and they chanted praise to her with delirious passion. The Ephesian citizenry weren’t against passion in religion; they were simply anti-Christian.
III. LAST, NOTE TWO THINGS THE CHRISTIANS IN EPHESUS DID NOT DO
Verses 35-41 – “And when the townclerk had appeased the people, he said, Ye men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Jupiter? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, ye ought to be quiet, and to do nothing rashly. 37 For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. 38 Wherefore if Demetrius, and the craftsmen which are with him, have a matter against any man, the law is open, and there are deputies: let them implead one another. 39 But if ye enquire any thing concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly. 40 For we are in danger to be called in question for this day’s uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. 41 And when he had thus spoken, he dismissed the assembly.”
This town clerk had some sense about him. He said, “Okay, Diana is great. Nobody can overthrow a goddess as great as ours, so we don’t need a commotion that might jeopardize our status as a free city. These Christians haven’t committed any crimes, so if you have a problem with them, go through the legal recourses of the courts and the legislature.” Now this guy was really a typical politician—His main goal was to maintain the current status of the city in its relationship with Rome and not upset any apple carts—and to maintain his own position, I’m sure!
But what’s neat is how this guy became an unsuspecting biographer of early Christianity. Without realizing it, this non-Christian, pagan politician tells us a lot about how Christians acted in Ephesus and why they made such an incredible impact.
Did you notice what he said they DIDN’T do in verse 37?—“For ye have brought hither these men, which are neither robbers of churches, nor yet blasphemers of your goddess.”
1) First, the town clerk pointed out that the Christians didn’t act disrespectfully of the Ephesians’ religion.
The phrase “robber of churches” in the King James is hierósulos (?e??s????), which is one word in the Greek which means “temple-robbers.” (Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon, #2417) Desecrating places of worship of other religions is normal practice of Muslims and Hindus, but the Christian faith is not spread by coercion, but by the power of God’s Word, the influence of the Spirit and human logic.
To further buttress the Christians’ respect for the Ephesian’s religion, the town clerk pointed out that they didn’t knock blaspheme their religion. The Greek word is blasphem?o (ß?asf?µe´?), which means to “blaspheme, insult, slander, curse, dishonor, malign.” Knocking other people’s belief is not an effective tool of evangelism. The Gospel is spread by a loving, heart-felt presentation of the Gospel, using the Word of God, and trusting in the power of the Holy Spirit.
2) The second thing they didn’t do was try to change the Ephesians behavior by political activism, but by spiritual means.
Obviously, they didn’t have such a thing back then, Ephesus not being a democracy, but the Christians of Ephesus created huge waves in their town. How?—Warren Wiersbe writes,
“Paul did not arouse the opposition of the silversmiths by picketing the temple or staging anti-idolatry rallies. All he did was teach the truth daily and send out his converts to witness to the lost people in the city. As more and more people got converted, fewer and fewer customers were available.”
Another author, James Montgomery Boice, said this,
“How did Christianity triumph? How did Christians win the day?…The Christians did not circulate a petition to see if they could get 51% of the Ephesians to sign it saying, “Diana is no goddess, and the God of the Old Testament is the true God.” The Christians did not have a mass rally. They did not send Christians into the amphitheater to do their thing. They did exactly what Jesus Christ had done and what he sent them into the world to do. They preached the gospel so that men and women got converted, and once they were converted they taught them how to live for Jesus Christ.”
I’m not saying there are not times when we as citizens should be politically active to save innocent lives or maintain a voice in our society. But true societal change never comes by political means. Lasting societal change comes as we win people one person at a time: one by one; heart by heart; internal change wrought by conversion.
CONCLUSION
You know, we’re living in a generation in which we’re seeing the revival of many pagan beliefs and religions. We’re even witnessing the revival of goddess worship. The normalization of premarital sex, adultery, homosexuality and promiscuity are now accepted, endorsed and ordained by political and religious leaders in our day. And with all these things—we’re seeing the rapid deterioration of the family.
Is there hope?—Can we change our communities the way the Ephesian believers did?The only way we can is God’s way—by living holy lives ourselves, not by half-hearted commitment and not through politics, activism, or civil disobedience.
The church needs to take its cue from Ephesus. They swung the sword of the Spirit and turned Satan’s kingdom upside down. And they allowed God to change hearts through the power of Jesus Christ. America needs revival; Grafenwoehr needs revival; Grace Baptist Church needs revival; I need revival, and so do you.
1) But all big revivals start as little revivals in individual hearts.
They start as Christians get GROUNDED and SETTLED in the Word of God. That’s why faithfulness to church is so important to hear the Word preached. That’s why faithfulness to daily reading and obeying God’s Word is so vital.
2) Revivals start as Christians start getting things right with God and forsaking their sins and surrendering things that keep them from experiencing God’s best.
Peter commands us in 2 Peter 3:14 to “…be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without spot, and blameless.” How do you stack up to that standard—without spot and blameless?
3) Lastly, revivals start when Christians start sacrificing for the sake of the Gospel.
The Ephesians built a big bonfire and burned things of great value monetarily. What things does God want you to throw on the fire of sacrifice for God?
That’s how revival starts—when God’s people implement these three things in their lives INDIVIDUALLY—ONE-BY-ONE. And then that spreads to another believer, then another, then another, then another. There’s a hymn that used to be popular titled, Lord, Sent a Revival. The chorus goes like this: “Lord send a revival, and let it begin with me.” May we each experience a revival of repentance and commitment today.
