To the Ends of the Earth, Part 29
Lessons from Ephesus on Salvation and Revival
Acts 19:1-20
Dismiss children for nursery (under 4) and children’s church (ages 4-7)
Wed nights: Book of Romans - focused on chapters 8 through 15
Introduction
- Welcome to Seasons Church & 2024 sermon series, “To the Ends of the Earth”
-- Last week, we introduced Apollos and his ministry to the Church
-- What we unpacked is the message he preached was from John the Baptist
-- He and the 12 believers in Ephesus did not know about Jesus’ resurrection
-- Once he had the complete story, he became a one-man preaching machine!
- Over last 2 weeks we’ve covered two topics: First, we must let God be God!
-- And second, are we willing to do what God has told us to do (being obedient)?
- Today, I challenge us to see 2 points that are vital for the believer to know
-- These were true in 54 A.D. -- and still apply to Seasons Church in 2024!
- Read Acts 19:1-20 / Pray
Point 1 – Biblical lessons about Salvation
- There are 3 lessons on Salvation from this chapter …
1. Salvation requires belief and receiving of the Holy Spirit
• Paul asks, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (v2)
• These are disciples of John, who did not have the Spirit given to them
• Their belief was incomplete; knew about the Messiah, but didn’t know Him
- Don’t miss this: Paul did NOT degrade their faith! KEY!
• He did not rebuke them for not having the whole story (or shun them)
• He approached them in a positive manner and shared the whole truth
• Even reminded them of a truth that John said: (v4) But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
• APP: People don’t need your judgment – they need to know Jesus
- APP: When they heard the full story, the responded!
-- They believed, they were baptized (v5), and they received the Spirit (v6)
- CH: A person can repent of sin and be baptized, without receiving the Spirit
• How? Because we choose to allow our belief to be incomplete!
• We hold onto the incorrect idea that we still have to do something
• EX: Jesus + my accomplishments = salvation (this is incorrect!)
• This makes salvation about what we bring … and not what Jesus did
2. Salvation requires us to follow Jesus – (critical) we must choose to respond
- FACT: We either accept Jesus or we reject Him (“not now” is rejecting him)
• Paul disputed (GR: dialegomenos) the Gospel with the people
• He persuaded (GR: peithon) every man/woman to hear the Gospel
• Message is kingdom focus; many had become hardened (GR: esklerunonto)
3. Salvation must move the church to teach and protect new believers
- See: Paul took the believers out of the synagogue and formed a church (Ephesus)
-- He saw to it that they could grow … Peter later said (pastors): 1 Peter 5:2, “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly - not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.”
• He took them to where they could safely grow in the truth
• Churches have a responsibility here: “you birth ‘em, you raise ‘em!”
- Paul’s example is to work “all in” to help the church grow … consider:
• He worked in a secular job in the morning hours (up to 11a)
• He taught during the hours when Tyrannus was not at school (11a-4p)
• He taught in the homes of believers every evenings about the Gospel
-- SEE: He physically labored day and night, with all his energy, for the Gospel
- CH: Have we given this much to the Lord? Are WE willing to be this faithful?
-- Romans 12:1-2, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead (beseech) with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
- TR: With these truths in mind, let’s look at our second lesson for today …
Point 2 – What does the Bible say about Revival?
- Admittedly, the story of the Seven Sons of Sceva gets the attention here
-- But I’d like to challenge you to see a look a little deeper and see our application
-- Acts gives us many of these, and this one on revival is just (IMHO) perfect!
-- What does real revival look like (or, what are the actions and results?) (v10-20)
1. The word of the Lord is preached (v10)
- Paul preached here for 2 years; this led to the gospel growing across Asia
-- Note: It is probable the churches mentioned in Revelation 2&3 were founded
-- Timothy, Epaphras, and Philemon were also with Paul during this time
- These followers preached the word and revival happened … but why?
-- Because they preached the word of God, not their philosophies or preferences
-- They didn’t preach that people must live by their standards to be accepted!
-- APP: They didn’t just talk about reaching people – they went out and did it
-- HUGE: Why aren’t churches seeing/experiencing revival today? (consider)
2. Special miracles of God are seen (v11)
- Ephesus was a hotbed of the occult; fueled by an emotional population
-- Paul was given Apostolic power to heal, bible says his garments even had power
- I want you to understand this … there is no special magic or power in clothing
-- The healing is being by done by God, with God’s power, through Paul (servant)
• Hard truth: God has the right and power to heal whomever He desires
• Yet, His love STILL reaches out to all who will willingly receive it
• And (in the results) … he knows when a person’s faith is true
-- How is this possible? Matthew 19:26, “Jesus looked at them intently and said, “Humanly speaking, it is impossible. But with God everything is possible.”
3. False prophets get exposed
- Truth: Exorcists were common in the ancient world; almost carnival-like scene
-- The seven sons are either Jewish priest’s sons or those tied to a priestly family
-- RE: Priests are called to be servants of God, not to be promoters of themselves
-- In this instance, they have manipulated God’s word/power for themselves
- How? Caught up in the “next great thing”, so they try to improve their act
-- (Read v13-14) See it? They’ve decided to add the name of Jesus to their shtick
-- And what happens when someone decides to falsely use the name of Jesus?
- In this case, they get a response from an actual demon
-- This entity says (EMPH), “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?”
-- Then the spirit gives them the beating of their lives!! (v16)
- True revival, a true movement of the Spirit, will always expose false prophets
-- Yes, false prophets can use the name of Jesus, but they do so with NO power!!!
4. The fear of the Lord strikes the hearts’ of people
- When God moves, there is a sense of awe and reverence for Him
-- Imagine the scene of this one man beating the tar out of seven Jewish men!
-- Truly, when God’s power is compared to no power, there is wisdom to be seen!
-- Psalm 33:8, “Let the whole world fear the Lord, and let everyone stand in awe of him.”
5. God’s name is magnified, conversions take place (v17-18)
- BIG: When God is truly worshipped … He will be the star of the show!
-- This is what moves people to want to see Him, to know Him, to accept Him
-- As God is worshiped (even now), people are called to choose or reject Him
6. The removal of ungodly things happens (v19)
- See the reaction to the things in this community which were “anti-God”!
-- Ever go on a diet and decide to clear out anything that is junk related? (Day 1)
-- The people fully committed to following God & burned the things of evil
-- APP: There is no profit to be made in the ungodly, and so they were eliminated!
7. The Word of God spreads triumphantly (v20) (goes back to the first one)
- We must always remember: the work of God produces the results of God!
-- We are called to be the messengers of this, committed to go and “do the work”!
-- Hebrews 4:12-13, “For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires. Nothing in all creation is hidden from God. Everything is naked and exposed before his eyes, and he is the one to whom we are accountable.”
Call to Action:
- Ask for Romans 12:1-2 to be displayed again … read … are we this committed?
-- This is what we must do … and then the results are all God’s … where are you?
- Pray
