The Impact Of A Church Series

INTRODUCTION

• Over the next six weeks, we will look at the church of Ephesus’s growth and development.

• Interestingly enough, we will begin this series by spending our time in Acts 19.

• In Acts 19, we will see the beginning of the church of Ephesus.

• In Acts 19, we see Paul’s third missionary journey take him to the city of Ephesus.

• This was Paul’s second visit to Ephesus (Acts 18:19), (first visit during the second missionary journey in A. D. 52), but this time he would stay for a couple of years.

• About a decade after the church started, Paul wrote the letter to the Ephesians commending their faith and love (A.D. 62).

• The church of Ephesus is valuable for us to study.

• A careful reading of Ephesians shows that they had done well.

• The church appeared devout in their faith, well organized, and busy in the Gospel.

• During these early years, they had been growing, expanding, and doing the will of God.

• Jews and Gentiles from several ethnicities and nationalities had come together to form “one new man” (2:15) and “one body” (2:16).

• The church was multiethnic as well as diverse in its socioeconomic makeup.

• Paul commends their sincerity in the final sentence of his letter: “Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love” (Ephesians 6:24).

• Situated in Asia Minor, Ephesus was a central hub of commerce and trade, given its geographic proximity to the Cayster River.

• The city of Ephesus was also crucial to the Roman government.

• Periodically, the Roman governor would travel to Ephesus and make decisions related to important issues of justice.

• Ephesus was also a religious city.

• It was home to the temple of Diana (or Artemis—Diana was the Greek name and Artemis the Latin).

• The temple was a marvel: 425 feet long, 220 wide, and 60 feet high.

• In the temple was a statue of Artemis, who was believed by the devout to have fallen from heaven (William Barclay, The Acts of the Apostles[Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1975], 140–41).

• Ephesus was a major city, not just regionally, but for the world at that time, in terms of commerce, Roman power, and Greek and Roman religion.

• From our text today, I want us to see what a church making an impact looks like.

• In our society, for the Gospel to prosper, all of God’s churches must make an impact in the world they live in.

• We will read a good chunk of Acts 19 because the volume of text is needed to provide context for the message.

• Let’s turn to Acts 19.

• We will begin with verses 1-10.

Acts 19:1–10 (NET 2nd ed.)

1 While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul went through the inland regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples there

2 and said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They replied, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

3 So Paul said, “Into what then were you baptized?” “Into John’s baptism,” they replied.

4 Paul said, “John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, in Jesus.”

5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus,

6 and when Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy.

7 (Now there were about twelve men in all.)

8 So Paul entered the synagogue and spoke out fearlessly for three months, addressing and convincing them about the kingdom of God.

9 But when some were stubborn and refused to believe, reviling the Way before the congregation, he left them and took the disciples with him, addressing them every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

10 This went on for two years, so that all who lived in the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord.

SERMON

I. The church will make an impact by preaching and teaching the Word of God.

• When Paul arrives in Ephesus, he meets the disciples of John the Baptist.

• Paul introduces them to Jesus and then baptizes them (Acts 19:4–5).

• This leads to a period of three months of Paul’s teaching in the local synagogue (v. 8).

• If we are going to impact our community, we must focus on preaching and teaching the Gospel.

• Some say it does not matter what you believe as long as you believe, but that could not be further from the truth.

• Some say so long as you are sincere in your beliefs, that is all that matters.