God vs. Artemis
Acts 19:21-41
March 17, 2013

Last week, when we were studying Paul’s ministry here in Ephesus,
We talked about how God’s word spreads.

One of those ways was through Exclusive Capability.
We said that God’s word can do things that no false god can accomplish.

And for a moment we turned and read from the book of Jeremiah.
Tonight I want to pull that passage again to your remembrance.

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 10:1-16

And again we are reminded that
There is absolutely no need to fear a false god.

They are not real, they are man-made
And they cannot do anything, whether good or evil.

And the result is that throughout Scripture
We continually see God besting false gods,
By continually revealing His power as greater in every way.

Who can forget the plagues of Egypt?
Each of those plagues not only revealed the power of God,
But also the impotence of a specific false Egyptian god.

Hapi (Apis – the bull god) who was god of the Nile
God turned the Nile to blood

Heqet (goddess of birth) who had the head of a frog
God sent a plague of frogs to Egypt

Osiris (god of the crops)
God destroyed the crops with hail and locusts

Re (the sun god)
God sent darkness over the land

And there were more than that, but you get the idea,
God was revealing His exclusive power.

Or who can forget the day that the Philistines captured the Ark of the Covenant and put it in the temple of their god Dagon?

1 Samuel 5:2-4 “Then the Philistines took the ark of God and brought it to the house of Dagon and set it by Dagon. When the Ashdodites arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. So they took Dagon and set him in his place again. But when they arose early the next morning, behold, Dagon had fallen on his face to the ground before the ark of the LORD. And the head of Dagon and both the palms of his hands were cut off on the threshold; only the trunk of Dagon was left to him.”

Or who can forget the showdown between Elijah and Baal’s prophets?
Elijah even openly mocked Baal before his followers.

1 Kings 18:27 “It came about at noon, that Elijah mocked them and said, “Call out with a loud voice, for he is a god; either he is occupied or gone aside, or is on a journey, or perhaps he is asleep and needs to be awakened.”

And this was not uncommon.

Isaiah also mocked the false idols of Israel.
Isaiah 41:21-24 “Present your case,” the LORD says. “Bring forward your strong arguments,” The King of Jacob says. Let them bring forth and declare to us what is going to take place; As for the former events, declare what they were, That we may consider them and know their outcome. Or announce to us what is coming; Declare the things that are going to come afterward, That we may know that you are gods; Indeed, do good or evil, that we may anxiously look about us and fear together. Behold, you are of no account, And your work amounts to nothing; He who chooses you is an abomination.”

And this is important for us to recognize.
We live in a day when even believers
Are tempted to fear false gods who hold no power.

I think it is safe to say that even the governments of the world
Have grown to have a fear of Allah,
Quickly yielding to all the requests of Islam to keep from angering them.

And yet there is no need to spend time in fear of these false gods.
WHY?

Because they are never any match for God.
And that is evident again in our study of Acts as we see God vs. Artemis.

Once again we see a faithful missionary,
We see a furious mob, and we see God intervene.

And this again reiterates an important point to us.
Namely that the Christian is not to walk in fear of the enemy,
But is to walk in faith in God.

Opposition in this world is not a guarantee for a Christian,
But it is a guarantee for a faithful one.

Matthew 10:21-22 “Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. “You will be hated by all because of My name, but it is the one who has endured to the end who will be saved.”
John 15:18-20 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.”
And that list could go on and on.

But as believers we are not to be discouraged by the enemy,
But rather encouraged by the greatness of our God.

We are to endure suffering
We are to persevere through trials
We are to serve God no matter what
We are to trust Him to prevail

2 Timothy 1:8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,”

2 Timothy 4:5 “But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

1 Peter 4:1-2 “Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God.”

The point is that it cannot be our goal just to stay out of trouble.
Our goal must be to be faithful, let God deal with the trouble,
For we have seen time and time again that He is more than able to do so.

As Adrian Rogers said:
“God doesn’t promise to get you out of trouble. God promises to get into trouble with you.”

God doesn’t pull us out of the battle, God enters the battle and prevails.
And certainly we can see that again here.

There are two main points that we will elaborate on a little.
#1 THE ONGOING MISSION
Acts 19:21-22

What I want you to see here is the ever present focus of Paul.

This is a guy who has faced opposition nearly everywhere he has gone.
He has been stoned, flogged, imprisoned, threatened,
And run out of several cities already.

But his focus going forward was not safety.
His focus going forward was still faithfulness.

I want you to see his focus to the mission work of God.

Even in these two verses we see three things that Paul is clearly focused on.
1) ENCOURAGE THE SAINTS (21a)

“Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the Spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia…”

It really isn’t spelled out here, but when you read his letters
Paul’s intentions here become extremely obvious.

We know that Paul now has a desire “to go to Jerusalem”

But first he wants to pass back “through Macedonia and Achaia”

Well, those two regions are due West and Jerusalem is due East.
It seems strange that having a desire to go to Jerusalem
That Paul would first travel through those regions.

Until you remember why Paul wants to go there.
Paul didn’t just want to visit the people in Jerusalem,
Paul wanted to supply a financial need in their life.

He probably wrote it the clearest in Romans:
Romans 15:25-27 “but now, I am going to Jerusalem serving the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. Yes, they were pleased to do so, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they are indebted to minister to them also in material things.”

Paul was a minister to the Gentiles,
But Paul also understood that the mission to reach Gentiles
Had come with tremendous sacrifice on the part of the Jerusalem church.

Furthermore Jewish believers in Jerusalem suffered greatly for their faith.

You can gain some insight into this when you read the book of Hebrews.

That writer is encouraging those believers to hang on and endure
(they are contemplating quitting because it is so hard),
Let me read you part of what they are dealing with.

Hebrews 10:32-34 “But remember the former days, when, after being enlightened, you endured a great conflict of sufferings, partly by being made a public spectacle through reproaches and tribulations, and partly by becoming sharers with those who were so treated. For you showed sympathy to the prisoners and accepted joyfully the seizure of your property, knowing that you have for yourselves a better possession and a lasting one.”

Those are the types of things the Jerusalem believers
Have been forced to endure.
Paul’s response was to get these Gentile churches
To rise up and meet this need.

In his first letter to the Corinthians (Achaia) Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 16:1-4 “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also. On the first day of every week each one of you is to put aside and save, as he may prosper, so that no collections be made when I come. When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem; and if it is fitting for me to go also, they will go with me.”

By the time Paul writes the second letter to them,
He has already collected the offering from Macedonia (Philippians)
And is about to collect the one in Corinth.

2 Corinthians 8:1-5 “Now, brethren, we wish to make known to you the grace of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia, that in a great ordeal of affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth of their liberality. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”

Of course Paul would spend the rest of that chapter and all of the next encouraging the Corinthians to follow through with their offering also.

And so we recognize what Paul is up to.
Part of his mission is to encourage the saints in Jerusalem.
It is good old fashion brotherly benevolence.

And I think this is a point worth mentioning.
I am certainly not opposed to helping the lost in a benevolent way.
We have seen God open doors for us to speak the gospel to many lost people
Because of your willingness to help them.

But when we are talking about believers,
Benevolence is more than an opportunity, it is a divine expectation

Galatians 6:10 “So then, while we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, and especially to those who are of the household of the faith.”

Furthermore this was the expectation of the church.
1 John 3:17 “But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

We even listen to what Jesus said:
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

And you get the point.
While we are eager to help the poor in general,
We are obligated to help poor believers.
That is part of the mission.
We go and help other poor believers, even with physical needs.

That is what Paul is doing.
He is focused on encouraging the saints.

Let me show you something else he is focused on.
2) EXPAND THE KINGDOM (21b)

“saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.”

Here we are reminded of Paul’s ever increasing desire
To continue to expand the kingdom of God.

At first he was passionate about Asia.
But we learned in the last chapter that all of Asia had heard the gospel.

And since God had opened the door into Europe,
Paul now wants to reach Europe’s most powerful city; Rome.

Romans 15:20-21 “And thus I aspired to preach the gospel, not where Christ was already named, so that I would not build on another man’s foundation; but as it is written, “THEY WHO HAD NO NEWS OF HIM SHALL SEE, AND THEY WHO HAVE NOT HEARD SHALL UNDERSTAND.”

Paul was expanding the kingdom westward.

But even Rome was not his only goal.
Romans 15:28 “Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I will go on by way of you to Spain.”

Paul always had the horizon in his sites.
He was pushing the boundaries, spreading the gospel, growing the kingdom.

And that, obviously, is the continual focus of the missionary.
Yes we love the brethren and meet one another’s needs,
But we are not a society that just sits around focused on ourselves.

We are also a mission organization that understands Christ’s mandate
To take His gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

It didn’t matter that every time he entered a new synagogue he ran the risk of being brutally opposed, he was still eager to take Jesus to the people.

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Encourage the Saints Expand the Kingdom
3) ESTABLISH THE CHURCH (22)

“And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.”

• We know Paul is eager to collect that offering and serve the saints in Jerusalem.
• We know Paul is eager to get to Rome and beyond with the gospel.

And yet, despite those desires, Paul stays right where he is.
WHY?

Because he is also eager to make sure that
The church in Ephesus is grounded and fully established.

He isn’t leaving until they are ready.

You may remember that the Corinthians had written Paul a letter while he was in Ephesus wanting him to come to them in the worst way.

They had all sorts of problems that they needed him to straighten out.

DO YOU REMEMBER HIS RESPONSE?
1 Corinthians 16:7-9 “For I do not wish to see you now just in passing; for I hope to remain with you for some time, if the Lord permits. But I will remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries.”

Paul saw that Ephesus still had opportunities
And that Ephesus still had many adversaries.
He could not yet leave, it was not yet time.

And this is one of those places
Where Paul shows a TREMENDOUS BALANCE in ministry.

Our ministry is both to sinners and saints.
• We want to expose sinners to the gospel.
• We want to establish saints in the truth.

And Paul didn’t want to do either half-way.

While he had an urging to go and reach the lost,
He still felt an obligation to minister to the saved.

And we notice is that despite all the adversaries he mentioned,
They are not influencing his decisions in the least.

• He is not worrying about how to stay out of trouble…
• He is not concerned with maintaining some degree of safety…
• He is not seeking to preserve some degree of comfort…

Paul is only focused on his ongoing mission.
He has tunnel vision about the things of God,
And this certainly makes him a wonderful missionary.

Now that is the ongoing mission
#2 THE OPPOSING MOB
Acts 19:23-41

Paul knew there were adversaries, let’s look at some right here.
And these adversaries show up in the form of a mob.

Now we know about mobs.
• It was the mob that called for the crucifixion of Jesus.
• It was the mob that ran Paul out of Thessalonica.

If we want to go earlier than that, it was the mob
That often times caused Moses so much grief.

I mean, if we want to do a study we can find that mobs
Can often times be a very powerful and destructive force.

In the future it will be a mob that causes Paul to be arrested in Jerusalem.

So we are not underestimating the strength of this enemy.
But it is important that we see that God was more than able to deal with them.

1) THE FORMING OF A MOB (23-27)

Initially we see that “no small disturbance” has now occurred.

The cause?
(24-26) “…a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.”

We have here a businessman,
And Paul has put a pretty significant dent into his wallet.

See Paul keeps preaching that “gods made with hands are no gods at all.”

Didn’t we see this in Lystra?
When the local priest of Zeus wanted to come
And make sacrifices to Barnabas and Paul

Acts 14:15 “and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men of the same nature as you, and preach the gospel to you that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, WHO MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA AND ALL THAT IS IN THEM.”

And we even know from some of his letters
That Paul was successful in this.

1 Thessalonians 1:9 “For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God,”

Paul was a true servant of God, who understood that
Our goal was not just to get men to add Jesus to their shrine,
But to persuade men to forsake all other gods in favor of Jesus.

And Paul was successful.

And Demetrius understood that the more successful Paul became,
The less wealthy he would become.

For Paul had already “turned away a considerable number of people”

That was certainly his chief concern, but it WASN’T his ONLY concern.

He also was concerned that Paul would not just hurt his trade,
But kill the entire Ephesian economy.

(27) “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence.”

I think we can agree that Artemis isn’t much of a god if Paul can so easily dethrone her.

But the reality was that the temple of Artemis
Was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world.
This was a big time industry and draw to Ephesus.

It is not too drastic to suggest that the entire Ephesian economy
Was dependent upon this temple.

And now, Paul is seeking to dethrone her,
Which will certainly cut down on the draw to Ephesus, and hurt all businesses.

DO YOU SEE WHAT IS OCCURRING?
Paul’s preaching threatens the wallets of the locals.
That type of preaching will get a preacher in trouble anywhere.

If I talk to you about the despicable immorality that occurs here in Spur every fall under the guise of homecoming, and my preaching actually threatens homecoming, you can bet opposition will arise.

But what Paul was doing was even more drastic.
• It’s like going to San Antonio and telling us not to remember the Alamo.
• It’s like going to Yellowstone and clogging up Old Faithful.
• It’s like holding revival in Ft. Lauderdale and cancelling Spring Break.
• It’s like holding revival in New Orleans and cancelling Mardi Gras
• It’s like holding revival in Vegas and closing the casinos

What Paul is doing affects the wallet,
And he has gone too far in their eyes.

Demetrius has had enough and he is forming a mob.
2) THE FURY OF THE MOB (28-31)

Demetrius’s sermon obviously struck a chord, because the locals were “filled with rage” and quickly began to defend their pathetic deity.

We have all the makings here of an Islamic riot.
Zealots taking to the streets in heated fashion to defend their deity.

And soon this was widespread, for “the city was filled with confusion”

Soon an assembly was formed, and the mob grabbed the first believers they could find and drug them into the assembly.

Now Paul wanted to go in, certainly to address the mob and defend his friends, but none of the other disciples would let him.

They knew this to be a dangerous and volatile scene.
These lesser-known believers might survive, but Paul was in danger.

It just reiterates the deadly force and fury of this mob.

3) THE FOLLY OF THE MOB (32-34)

I’ve always found this verse humorous:
“for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together.”

It just speaks of the carnality of the human heart.
Men naturally draw to a a brawl, even when they don’t know why.

People love that sense of exhilaration to be able to give someone else a piece of their mind, even if they didn’t have a thought on the matter 5 minutes ago.

They are here and for two hours are shouting
“Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”

I’ll bet the local pagan priests
Had never seen such dedication before this day.
All of a sudden the whole city is passionate.
Everyone is enraged and the situation looks bleak.
So at this point we recognize what the believers are up against.

• We’ve got hot-headed people,
• Fueled by greed,
• Motivated by rage,
• Growing into a large mob ready to defend their deity.

This is the type of stuff you see on the news in some third world country.
Typically we would see police in riot gear and evacuations taking place.
This is a bad scene.

But…
4) THE FAILURE OF THE MOB (35-41)

Here the town clerk starts speaking reason to the mob.

He calms their fears that Artemis could not possibly be dethroned.
(35-36) “Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.”

Incidentally he was wrong, for no one today worships Artemis of the Ephesians.

But he assures them Artemis isn’t going anywhere.
(The image was most likely a meteorite,
Precisely the type of event that would cause a mystical following)

He goes on to insist that these men are INNOCENT.
(37) “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.”

Furthermore if they were guilty, he assures the crowd that there are BETTER means of trying them available than a mob.

(38-39) “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.”

And finally he reminds the crowd of the DANGER they could be in for forming a mob.

(40) “For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering.”

And then we love the last verse.
(41) “After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

In nothing flat, the mob was over.
I guess Artemis wasn’t all that powerful after all.
When up against the true god, she had no power whatsoever.

Just like at Corinth, God handled it without Paul having to say a word.

And again the point is that our focus
Cannot be on never offending the local deity…

Our focus cannot be on making sure
We don’t damage the local economy…

God is more than able to take care of all of those issues.

Our focus must always be on faithfulness to the mission.
• Encourage the Saints
• Expand the Kingdom
• Establish the Church

God is more than able to deal with Allah, or Buddah,
Or any of the 900+ Hindu gods.

At this time Allah was not threat, but Artemis was,
And God caused that riot to come to nothing.

In turn, Paul trusted God to do those things,
While he focused on the ministry.

And that is a good reminder for all of us.
(Not just those going on mission, but all of us)

Set your gaze on the mission, and walk in faith.
Don’t look at the opposition and walk in fear.

1 Peter 3:13-17 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

The Spreading of God’s Word
Acts 19:8-20
March 10, 2013

I’ve told you since the beginning that the book of Acts
Is the record of How Christ grew His church.

We have seen Him at work in so many ways,
And we have literally seen Him intervene
And not only grow the church but also set the church’s direction.

He has been the, architect, builder, and supplier of the church.

The other thing you and I must recognize in this regard
Is the agent that Christ uses to do these things.

Certainly we could say that the agent is us.
• Certainly Christ uses people in the work of evangelism and growing His church.
• Certainly the call to be His witnesses and to go, baptize, and teach are extremely significant commands.

But I think it is important to simplify it really even more than that.
While Christ does use us to grow His church,
He is still very specific in how He does this.

We as believers are used, but we are still given very specific guidelines
As to what we are called to do.

FOR EXAMPLE:
Several years ago, while in Stephenville, our church sent out a survey to the entire congregation asking various things about how we could increase attendance at the church.

(What they were looking for was some new angle or gimmick
That could be used to draw people in)

On my survey I wrote, “Free Beer”

If we had of served free beer, we most definitely would have boosted attendance, but I doubt it would have been exactly what Christ was looking for

And that is the point.
As believers were are called to do the work of the Lord in a specific way.

And that way is through the preaching of the gospel message.

In reality Christ grows His church
And the agent through which He does this IS HIS WORD.
The church is the agent that spreads the word.
Now, one of the things we talk about quite frequently, but will continue to do forever is that THE WORD OF GOD IS POWERFUL

I am convinced the church must be continually reminded of the power of God’s word.

Psalms 19:7-11 “The law of the LORD is perfect, restoring the soul; The testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The precepts of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart; The commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring forever; The judgments of the LORD are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; Sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them Your servant is warned; In keeping them there is great reward.”

Psalms 29:3-9 “The voice of the LORD is upon the waters; The God of glory thunders, The LORD is over many waters. The voice of the LORD is powerful, The voice of the LORD is majestic. The voice of the LORD breaks the cedars; Yes, the LORD breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon. He makes Lebanon skip like a calf, And Sirion like a young wild ox. The voice of the LORD hews out flames of fire. The voice of the LORD shakes the wilderness; The LORD shakes the wilderness of Kadesh. The voice of the LORD makes the deer to calve And strips the forests bare; And in His temple everything says, “Glory!”

Isaiah 55:11 “So will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It will not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.”

And of course we are all familiar with Psalm 119,
Its focus on the word of God, and the effect it has on life.

God’s word is powerful.
The implication then is that you and I should fully trust it.

Trust it for life
2 Peter 1:19 “So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts.”

And as we will learn in our text tonight:
Trust if for ministry
Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”

That was what Paul was saying.
I know the world isn’t particularly fond of the gospel,
I know people continually find a “new” “innovative” way
To grow the church.

But I really believe that the gospel is the key.
I really believe that the gospel is the power.
And I don’t mind continuing to preach it.

And this was the philosophy he passed on to other preachers.

2 Timothy 1:8 “Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord or of me His prisoner, but join with me in suffering for the gospel according to the power of God,”

2 Timothy 1:13-14 “Retain the standard of sound words which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus. Guard, through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us, the treasure which has been entrusted to you.”

So we are reminded, that when we venture to see God’s kingdom grow, (whether here or abroad),
We must trust the power that is only found in God’s word.

Well, in our text tonight, we have here the account of Paul in Ephesus.
You will see how he trusted God’s word.
You will see how God’s word spread.

And in order to help you establish the overall point of the text,
I first want to point you to the very last verse.

Acts 19:20 “So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.”

So you see what the point is.
Luke wants you to see how God’s word
Did in fact spread throughout the province of Asia.

3 things:
God’s Word Spreads:
#1 THROUGH ENDURING COMMITMENT
Acts 19:8-10

• Ok, as you know Paul has now come back to Ephesus.
• We saw him preach there for a short time and then leave.
• He was followed by Apollos who preached a short time and then left.
• And finally Paul has come back.

We most recently witnessed those 12 men get truly saved,
As evidenced by their receiving the Holy Spirit.

And so now the ministry is beginning full force.
(8) “And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.”

And there again we see Paul doing as his custom.
Certainly he was preaching, but that wasn’t all he was doing.

As I told you earlier, his goal was always full understanding.
And so Paul no doubt was open to questions and even debate.

He would present a truth and then allow them to question or challenge,
To which he would refute their notions and continue to proclaim Christ.

He was “reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.”

I don’t mind telling you that it takes
An extremely confident and convicted person to do this.

• It takes a person who has himself spent hours upon end studying the Scriptures…
• It takes a person who has spent time in the presence of God and wrestled out the deep meanings of certain passages….

You don’t just take your preconceived ideas in
And expect people to swallow them.

In order to do this Paul had to know what he believed,
And he had to fully believe it.

What this shows us is Paul’s commitment to knowing the truth.

I’ve often told people that the key to being a good teacher
Or a good preacher is first found in being a good learner.

Proverbs 2:1-6 “My son, if you will receive my words And treasure my commandments within you, Make your ear attentive to wisdom, Incline your heart to understanding; For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will discern the fear of the LORD And discover the knowledge of God. For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth come knowledge and understanding.”

No doubt Paul had done that,
And that is why he was able to debate and reason and persuade.

A man who is simply riding on another man’s coattails cannot do this.

EXAMPLE:
A couple of weeks ago the basketball team I am coaching got thrashed. Since I am a realist, I quickly recognized it was a coaching problem. I texted Lenny and said, “I’ll give you $1000 to help me at my next practice”.

Man he came in and was running drills and teaching and coaching
And it was an awesome practice.

So, the next week I just decided to run the same drills and do what he did.

IT’S NOT THE SAME
He knows why he has them running certain drills, I don’t.
He knows why an offense works, I don’t.
At the first hint of trouble or debate, I was sunk.

I tell you this, because it is important that you understand that
Being one who is committed to proclaiming the word
Doesn’t require you to copy what I do or some other preacher.

Being a faithful proclaimer of truth requires you
To get in the word yourself and wrestle out truth for yourself.
That is where conviction comes from.

No doubt Paul had done that.
He was faithful, he was thorough.

But that doesn’t mean it all went according to his desires.
(9) “But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.”

Now we learned this principle back in Corinth didn’t we?

There Paul dealt with blaspheming Jews in the synagogue so Paul said, “That’s it, I’m leaving and going to the Gentiles”

He shook the dust off of his feet and moved on.

Well, he is doing the same thing here.
In the synagogue at Ephesus, some believed, but some continually hardened their heart and the result was disobedience.

Eventually they even began to speak evil of “the Way” of Jesus
Before the people.

So what did Paul do?
He took all the believers out of the synagogue
And started meeting somewhere else.

“he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.”

One commentator pointed out that this school
Would have had a break during the heat of the day for rest,
And so it is quite likely that this is when Paul used the facility.

Some have suggested that since Aquila and Priscilla where in Ephesus
That Paul would have made tents in the morning,
Preached through the heat of the afternoon, and did ministry in the evening.

This would have been a grueling schedule.

And yet:
(10) “This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”

It was a grueling task and yet Paul did it for 2 years.

And the result is phenomenal “all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”

This would have been the province of Asia or Asia minor.
(modern day Turkey)

It is fair to assume that during this time Colossae formed a church
As well as those seven churches we find in the Revelation.

But after 3 missionary journeys and tremendous commitment,
Asia has now been fully exposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ.

HOW DID THAT HAPPEN?
Enduring Commitment

From one town to the next, into synagogues
And even when being run out of one, Paul would continue on.

And this is how Asia received the gospel.

Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

We must never underestimate the importance of being faithful to preach.

2 Timothy 4:1-5 “I solemnly charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with great patience and instruction. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths. But you, be sober in all things, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.”

If God’s word is going to spread
Then someone will have to be faithful to learn it and preach it.

There is no substitute for this.

God’s Word Spreads through Enduring Commitment
#2 THROUGH EXCLUSIVE CAPABILITY
Acts 19:11-17

This would explain why God’s word continues to be received.

This is what separates the word of God
From the various fads that will take our world by storm.

At various times we have seen a book or a movie literally spread throughout the globe,
And yet after a while it falls away or drifts off into the shadows.

But not God’s word.
WHY?

Because God’s word does what none other can do.
It has exclusive capability.
And that is seen here.

First we see God bearing witness to the message Paul is preaching.

(11-12) “God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out.”

What we have here is God validating Paul’s message.

God did this with Jesus:
John 5:36 “But the testimony which I have is greater than the testimony of John; for the works which the Father has given Me to accomplish — the very works that I do — testify about Me, that the Father has sent Me.”

And we have mentioned this before,
But the works that these men did were specific for their time.

When Jesus came, or the apostles, there was no New Testament.
They were bringing about new revelation.

In order to validate their new revelation
God ordained for them to perform miraculous works.

Such as the healing that was occurring here at the hands of Paul,
To an extent that even articles of clothing from Paul were healing people.

These were apostolic signs.
2 Corinthians 12:12 “The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with all perseverance, by signs and wonders and miracles.”

But this was not intended to be the norm for all believers.
Even later, as the New Testament was being formed the writer of Hebrews
Spoke of these types of gifts in a PAST TENSE.

Hebrews 2:2-4 “For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.”

But what you have here is
God vindicating the message that Paul was preaching.
God was doing extraordinary things for the purpose of
Giving Paul credibility that his message should be listened to.

Now, here is why I call it exclusive capability.

Because it couldn’t be manufactured.

(13-16) “But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”

Now there is an event.
• This “Jewish chief priest” (no record one named Sceva)
• Had seven sons who liked to use incantations to remove demons.

(Incidentally Satan works in confusing and strange ways. It is not uncommon for him to let his house be divided in order to deceive and manipulate. If these men ever had success it was only for the purpose of Satan using it to confuse and deceive)

None the less, they think they have found a new effective formula
For advancing their trade.

So they start trying to command demons “by Jesus whom Paul preaches”

But it didn’t work out so well for them.
This demon knew they had no authority
And he overpowered all seven of them.

These men left beaten, bloodied, and humiliated.

They did not have the power that Paul had.
They did not have the authority that Paul had.

What we learn here is that God and His word have exclusive capability.
God heals
God delivers
God intervenes

And He alone can do this.
Psalms 115:1-8 “Not to us, O LORD, not to us, But to Your name give glory Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth. Why should the nations say, “Where, now, is their God?” But our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases. Their idols are silver and gold, The work of man’s hands. They have mouths, but they cannot speak; They have eyes, but they cannot see; They have ears, but they cannot hear; They have noses, but they cannot smell; They have hands, but they cannot feel; They have feet, but they cannot walk; They cannot make a sound with their throat. Those who make them will become like them, Everyone who trusts in them.”

God is not like the rest, He is real, and He has power.
He has exclusive capability.

When we face the wrong thinking of this world, we do not have to be timid or afraid in presenting the truth of the gospel.

You don’t have to worry about the Quran,
Or the book of Mormon, they don’t have power.

God’s word wins out every time.

TURN TO: JEREMIAH 10:1-16

And of course the point is that God is higher, God is greater,
God is stronger and His word endures.

God proved that in Ephesus.
And the result of this demonstration?
(17) “This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.”

The end result was that the truth was now magnified.
• By Paul’s preaching the truth was fully heard.
• By God’s power the truth was magnified.

Through Enduring Commitment Through Exclusive Power
#3 THROUGH EVIDENT CONVERSION
Acts 19:18-19

And we certainly love what we see here.

We know what Paul told the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

God’s word changes people’s lives.

Paul has preached, God has testified
And now as people accept God’s word lives are changed.

(18-19) “Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”

First they came and confessed.
And then they came and fully repented.

• Imagine the scene of those one time magicians all coming out and declaring their works worthless.

• Imagine the scene of those satanic sorcerers burning all their books of spells.

And this was no little thing.
Luke says, “they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”

That would have been about 50,000 days wages for the common laborer.

WHY DID THESE MEN DO THIS?
Because their heart had been changed.

They didn’t need that stuff anymore and they certainly didn’t want someone else getting their hands on it and become enslaved by it.

These men tossed it aside.
And what a testimony this is to the power of God’s word.

It changes lives.

When Paul wrote to the Corinthians in defense of his ministry, he wrote:
2 Corinthians 3:1-3 “Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some, letters of commendation to you or from you? You are our letter, written in our hearts, known and read by all men; being manifested that you are a letter of Christ, cared for by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.”

In his letter to the Thessalonians he wrote:
1 Thessalonians 1:8-10 “For the word of the Lord has sounded forth from you, not only in Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place your faith toward God has gone forth, so that we have no need to say anything. For they themselves report about us what kind of a reception we had with you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God, and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, that is Jesus, who rescues us from the wrath to come.”

Paul himself had been a great testimony in this same regard
Galatians 1:22-24 “I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.” And they were glorifying God because of me.”

It is the testimony of a changed life.
It is the testimony of one who is now different.

And then the point of the whole passage:

(20) “So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.”

Not just “growing”, but “growing mightily”
And not just spreading, but “prevailing”

ISN’T THAT WHAT WE WANT IN CHURCH?
• Don’t we want God’s word to spread and prevail?
• Don’t we want to see lives changed?
• Don’t we want to see this sort of thing occur?

WELL, HOW DOES IT HAPPEN?

• It happens when faithful believers, faithfully endure to
proclaim God’s word amidst hardship and even rejection.

They faithfully preach
They faithfully endure
They faithfully proclaim throughout the scorn and hardship

• And as they do, God faithfully honors His word and bears
witness to what is being said.

In their day it was through miracles,
In our day it is through the conviction of His Spirit.

• And as some submit their lives to the Scriptures and their
lives are transformed they become a testimony to other
non-believers and the process keeps repeating itself.

The important thing for you and I to recognize is our part in it.
God testifies, God changes the sinner

Our part is to faithfully proclaim the word.
• In season and out of season
• Persevering through hardship and difficulty

• Trusting that God will never allow His word to return void.

Let me encourage you to continue to speak the word of God
In the world in which we live, don’t be discouraged.

Speak it again and again and see what God does.

Saving the Ephesians
Acts 18:18 – 19:7
March 3, 2013

Well tonight we get into a bit a transitional scene in the book of Acts,
And I don’t mind telling you that when reading ahead to this text
I was a little concerned as exactly what to preach.

• You have one section where Paul seemingly passes over a people who want to hear.
• You have another section where we have a bold preacher who doesn’t know the whole truth.
• And then we are faced with a confusing incident of men speaking in tongues and receiving the Holy Spirit.

Put all that together and I have to say I was dreading this text just a little.

But that is just where God is so good.
It is all His perfect word and He has such a wonderful way of revealing truth through the Scriptures He has preserved for us.

Now to first help us a little in this text, and for all the book of Acts
I need to remind you of the transitional nature of the book of Acts.

We are all familiar with the Old Testament way of doing things.
• The Jews are God’s chosen people.
• They are in a covenant with God.
• God has given them the Law to obey.
• God is dwelling in the temple.
• And to appease God’s wrath, you brought blood sacrifices.

We are familiar with the New Testament way of doing things.
• The Jews have been broken off
• The Gentiles have been grafted in.
• The church is God’s covenant people
• God is dwelling in men
• And God’s wrath has already been appeased by Christ on the cross

What makes Acts so unique is that it is the transition between the two.
• We literally see Israel fading away and the church emerging.
• We literally see God begin to dwell in men, and not the temple.
• And the predominant message is not Law, but Christ.

That is why some things you see are a little confusing.

Couple that with the fact that they did not have the New Testament
To help explain things and you understand a little better.

Now, understanding that, we look to our text tonight.
And I love the truths that this text brings to mind.
When you read all these verses there are three words
That are repeated three times.

(19) “They came to Ephesus”
(24) “Apollos…came to Ephesus”
(19:1) “Paul…came to Ephesus”

And because I am really smart I can surmise that this text
Has something to do with Ephesus getting the gospel.

The unique privilege we have here is that we are actually able to see the phases in which Ephesus did receive the gospel.

Now, we don’t always get to see this.
Often times we jump into the story about the time someone gets saved,
And we often only see the end.

But this text allows us to sort of see the progression
That the Ephesians walked through into their salvation,
And it makes for a very enlightening passage.

Well, there are three things I want us to see here.
#1 EPHESUS GETS A TASTE
Acts 18:18-23

Now the passage begins in verse 18 with Paul still in Corinth.
God has supernaturally determined to protect Paul and his ministry there
And Paul is milking it for all it’s worth.

But the time does come for him to depart.
(18) “Paul, having remained many days longer, took leave of the brethren and put out to sea for Syria, and with him were Priscilla and Aquila. In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.”

First you recognize that Paul takes “Priscilla and Aquila” with him.
Obviously the leadership in Corinth has emerged
And so Paul is able to take these two saints along with him.

And then “In Cenchrea he had his hair cut, for he was keeping a vow.”

This is kind of a peculiar verse,
But it lends that transitional concept I was telling you about.

Paul was paying a Nazirite Vow.
Numbers 6:2-5 “Speak to the sons of Israel and say to them, ‘When a man or woman makes a special vow, the vow of a Nazirite, to dedicate himself to the LORD, he shall abstain from wine and strong drink; he shall drink no vinegar, whether made from wine or strong drink, nor shall he drink any grape juice nor eat fresh or dried grapes. ‘All the days of his separation he shall not eat anything that is produced by the grape vine, from the seeds even to the skin. ‘All the days of his vow of separation no razor shall pass over his head. He shall be holy until the days are fulfilled for which he separated himself to the LORD; he shall let the locks of hair on his head grow long.”
Nazirites were living examples of holiness and dedication to the Lord.
And there are more qualifications than just these.
It was sort of a dedicated fast to the Lord.
At the end of the period you cut off your hair as an offering to the Lord.

Now it’s not SURPRISING that Paul would making such a vow to God.
Obviously he is grateful to God for the provision made at Corinth.

It does however seem a little STRANGE
That Paul would be participating in such a ritual as this.

And yet we are reminded of that TRANSITIONAL NATURE.
• Paul was a Jew.
• Born a Jew, raised a Jew, educated as a Jew, etc.
• And so it only stands to reason that Judaism would surface from time to time in
his life.

And then the arrival in Ephesus.
(19-21) “They came to Ephesus, and he left them there. Now he himself entered the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews. When they asked him to stay for a longer time, he did not consent, but taking leave of them and saying, “I will return to you again if God wills,” he set sail from Ephesus.”

Now many have read those verses and then critiqued Paul
For not staying longer in a place that was interested in the gospel.

I mean, “they asked him to stay for a longer time,”
But Paul “did not consent”

Instead he made use of their hospitality and went on his way.

His only promise was “I will return to you again if God wills”

Now some have critiqued him for it, but Scripture doesn’t,
And so we just have to accept it for what it is.

Now from there Paul sails back to “Caesarea” travels up to Jerusalem, down to Antioch, and stays there a while.

That is actually the end of the 2nd Missionary journey.

Then also in verse 23 he leaves again (Starting the 3rd Missionary Journey)
And travels back to the Galatian Region and Phrygia
“strengthening the disciples”

So you get the broad scope.
Paul comes to Ephesus leaves quickly returns home
And then back on mission.

The reality of the situation is that EPHESUS GOT A TASTE
And I hope you understand what I mean by that.

I’ve often likened the working of the Lord as similar to when people date.
• There is that period where after the initial attraction two people determine to date one another and just get to know a little about each other.

• They are not yet married, nor are they intimate (or at least they shouldn’t be), but they are just getting a taste of what it is like to be with that person.

The Lord also does this.
He allows a taste of a relationship with Himself.

Psalms 34:8 “O taste and see that the LORD is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!”

In Hebrews we really see this reality.
Hebrews 6:4-6 “For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.”

Now, we are obviously not dealing with a saved person here who loses their salvation, and for that argument we need another time.

But for brevity sake, we are dealing with a person who obviously received a TASTE of “the good word of God” and a TASTE “of the heavenly gift”

What we have there is a person who, for lack of better terms,
Was allowed to date Christ.

They were given a little of Him to enjoy.
They were given a taste.

They tasted things like what it is like to feel the Holy Spirit,
What it is like to understand the Scripture,
What it is like to have a transformed life.

But that particular person did not like what they tasted and then fell away, in effect crucifying Christ all over again.

But none the less, they received a taste.
• They received a little knowledge.
• They received a little feeling.
• They received a little experience.
They weren’t saved, they just tasted it.

Now the beauty for the Ephesians is that upon tasting, they wanted more.
Now Paul was not able to stay, but we know that
When a person wants more of God, God always obliges them.
Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

So Ephesus got a taste.
And there are many in our world who receive such a taste.
It is the first leg of salvation.

It is when the Holy Spirit breathes enough life in to you
To make you able to understand truth and able to respond to the gospel.

The purpose is to cause you to desire more,
And yet sadly so many stop right there and that is all they ever get.

So Ephesus gets a taste.
#2 EPHESUS GETS A TRUTH
Acts 18:24-28

They sought and God revealed.
Paul couldn’t stay, but God caused another to arrive.

(24) “Now a Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the Scriptures.”

• Here is a Jewish Egyptian named Apollos.
• He was a good speaker and He was a good student.
• Luke says “he was mighty in the Scriptures.”

This would have been the Old Testament Scriptures.
But Apollos was a man who knew the Bible and could speak it clearly.

He was the Adrian Rogers of Judaism.

And we notice something very important about this man.
Namely that his theology was incomplete.

(25) “This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John;”

He “had been instructed in the way of the Lord”
Don’t equate that with Jesus being the “way”.
This merely meant the truths of Old Testament Scripture.

Apollos knew about God through the Old Testament.
And because he was a committed man and a bold man
He was teaching about Jesus from the Old Testament.

• The coming Messiah
• Maybe the virgin birth
• Maybe the necessity of Messiah’s suffering
We don’t know specifically what, just that he was teaching about Christ.

But one thing we do know is what he did not teach about.
He didn’t teach about anything beyond repentance.

How do I know this?
He was “acquainted only with the baptism of John”

• John also spoke about Jesus.
• John said He was the coming king.
• John said to repent and get ready to meet Him.
• John said to turn your heart around and get cleaned up.

And that is what Apollos knew about.
He knew Messiah was here and he knew people needed to repent,
But that was all.

You might put it like this.
• Apollos knew about the Jordan River, but he didn’t know about the
Upper Room.
• He knew about repentance, but not the day of Pentecost and the filling
of the Holy Spirit.

But still, as much as he knew, he spoke about boldly.

Now that is why I said that Ephesus received “A” truth, not “THE” truth.
What Apollos preached was true, it just wasn’t the whole truth.

Apollos was like the last Old Testament prophet.
He was still seeing dimly, not fully.

But his message of repentance was accurate
To what the Ephesians needed to hear.

In fact, I’ve told you before that the first word of the gospel is always recognizable, it is REPENT
• John the Baptist preached
• Jesus preached it
• Peter preached it at Pentecost
• Paul preached it at Athens
• And Apollos is preaching it here.

Repentance is the first thing lost and fallen man needs to know.
They need to know God has been offended and man must repent of sin.

That is what Apollos is preaching.

(26) “But when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”

So finally Apollos gets the whole story.
No doubt, having served with Paul at Corinth, Priscilla and Aquilla
Filled Apollos in on the Holy Spirit and salvation by faith in Christ.

The only problem was, once Apollos heard that,
He began to feel led to move on to Achaia (Corinth)

(27-28) “And when he wanted to go across to Achaia, the brethren encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him; and when he had arrived, he greatly helped those who had believed through grace, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.”

So Apollos leaves for Corinth and does a great job
Helping those Corinthians in their battle against the Jews.

The problem was, once again it leaves the Ephesians wanting.

They have been GIVEN A TASTE.
A now they have been GIVEN A TRUTH.

They know enough about Christ to know they want more
And they know know the necessity of repentance to find Him.

And this again is a vital truth that people must accept.
But again, you cannot just stay here.

But you still cannot stop here, for salvation is still not there yet.

Ephesus gets a taste Ephesus gets a truth
#3 EPHESUS GETS A TRANSFORMATION
Acts 19:1-7

Now here is the third time we see someone coming to Ephesus.
They have seemingly been abandoned twice now.
But God has not abandoned them.

God is now sending Paul back to finish the deal.
According to verse 1, “Paul…came to Ephesus and found some disciples.”

And I really love what he said to them.
(2) “He said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said to him, “No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

And Oh, what a debate this verse has caused!

This verse has been the single most quoted verse to support
The concept of being saved and then receiving the Holy Spirit later.
It has been a verse used often by the charismatic movement
• To support that a person can be saved and then get a second filling of the Holy Spirit (often called: The Baptism of the Holy Spirit) at a later date.

They say, “here we have believers without the Holy Spirit”

But that is to do to this text what the Holy Spirit never intended.

As I told you, we are in a transition from the Old Testament to the New.
We are in a transition from the Old Covenant, to the New.

We have been taught our whole lives about God dwelling in us,
This is a totally new concept to them.

But beyond that, you see what is going on at Ephesus.
So far all they have been taught about was the baptism of John
Which equates to repentance.

• Now did they believe that? Yes.
• Did they believe in Messiah? Yes.
BUT DON’T AUTOMATICALLY EQUATE THAT WITH SALVATION

This is a flaw in much of our theology.
We have been so engrained with this “Easy-believism”
That we want to say that everyone who “believes” is obviously saved.

That just isn’t so.
Want proof?
James 2:19 “You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder.”
Does the devil believe in Jesus – Oh yeah.
But the devil isn’t saved.

That is some sort of intellectual belief,
But it falls ways short of the saving faith God requires.

Acts 8:13 “Even Simon himself believed; and after being baptized, he continued on with Philip, and as he observed signs and great miracles taking place, he was constantly amazed.”

And yet, we read on in Acts 8 and find him trying to purchase the Holy Spirit with money and Peter told him he was “in the gall of bitterness and the bondage of iniquity”

Certainly he was not saved, even though he had some sort of belief.

John 8:30-32 “As He spoke these things, many came to believe in Him. So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free.”

Saved right? Wrong
By verse 44 “You are of your father the devil”
By verse 47 “You do not know God”

Even people who were disciples of Jesus were not saved.
Certainly Judas was one of them.

Or how about this crowd?
John 6:65-66 “And He was saying, “For this reason I have said to you, that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted him from the Father.” As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew and were not walking with Him anymore.”

I know we sing “Only believe”
But listen, we are not just talking about intellectual belief.
We are talking about true genuine saving faith.

If you want to misunderstand this text, take their belief to equal salvation.

If that were true then we do have genuine believers who do not have the Holy Spirit and that is extremely problematic.

That goes against the promise of Pentecost:
Acts 2:38 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

Furthermore that is impossible because Paul is clear
That the number one tell all sign revealing a true Christian
Is the presence of the Holy Spirit.

In fact, if you do not have the Holy Spirit, you are not a believer.

Romans 8:9 “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him.”

There is no such thing as a Christian without the Holy Spirit.

Romans 8:14 “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.”

Paul is not talking to Christians
Wondering if they have yet received a second filling.

Paul is talking to professed believers
Trying to determine if they are in fact real or not.

Ever come across people like that?
• They claim to believe.
• They claim to have faith.

Ever wonder what you can say to them?

“Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

“Is your faith saving faith or not?”
Because if it is saving faith then you did get the Holy Spirit.
If your faith was not saving faith, then you did not.

Paul is probing for the genuineness of their faith.

Now notice the answer he gets.
“No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit.”

Now they are honest.
They don’t even know what Paul is talking about.

And that provokes the next obvious question.
(3) “And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” And they said, “Into John’s baptism.”

You believe, but you didn’t get the Holy Spirit.
OBIOUS QUESTION: Then what do you believe?

Because if you claim to believe, but didn’t receive the Holy Spirit,
Then there is something wrong with what you are believing.

So what were you baptized into?

And they give the answer: “Into John’s baptism.”

And that makes perfect sense doesn’t?

WHY IS THAT ALL THEY KNEW?
Because that is all Apollos knew when he preached to them.

They believed all they had heard
They just hadn’t heard all they needed to believe.

That reinforces what Paul told us in Romans:
Romans 10:14 “How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?”

That was the issue here.
Neither Paul nor Apollos stayed around long enough to set them straight
And so, even though they were repentant, they were not saved.

And so Paul gets to the point.
(4) “Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus.”

They were right to repent at the preaching of John.
However, even John knew more was needed.

John 1:29-37 “The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! “This is He on behalf of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man who has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’ “I did not recognize Him, but so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water.” John testified saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending as a dove out of heaven, and He remained upon Him. “I did not recognize Him, but He who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘He upon whom you see the Spirit descending and remaining upon Him, this is the One who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’ “I myself have seen, and have testified that this is the Son of God.” Again the next day John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as He walked, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus.”

John 3:31-36 “He who comes from above is above all, he who is of the earth is from the earth and speaks of the earth. He who comes from heaven is above all. “What He has seen and heard, of that He testifies; and no one receives His testimony. “He who has received His testimony has set his seal to this, that God is true. “For He whom God has sent speaks the words of God; for He gives the Spirit without measure. “The Father loves the Son and has given all things into His hand. “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

John knew what people needed to do.
They needed to believe in Jesus.

John even said:
Matthew 3:11 “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, and I am not fit to remove His sandals; He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

Repentance is necessary, but it is not enough.
You must also trust in the One who pays for sin; that is Christ.

(5) “When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.”

In other words, now they finally believed in Jesus.
Now they finally demonstrated saving faith.
Now they were saved.
And so:
(6-7) “And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about twelve men.”

Paul laid hands on them because it was a unifying act,
But don’t read too much into this as though this is a necessity.

Cornelius also received the Holy Spirit, only at the preaching of Peter
And even before he was baptized in water.

Paul is merely testifying to their faith.
Furthermore, don’t get too focused on the fact that they spoke in tongues,
This was merely an indicator to prove to these men
That they had received what they previously never heard of.

But the point is that Ephesus first got a taste, then they got a truth,
And now they get a full blown transformation.
The beauty is that they did not stop half-way.

So many today do.
• Many today get a taste of Jesus and that is all they want.
They don’t want anymore and don’t seek anymore.
They fall away and never return.

• Some get a taste and even the truth of repentance.
They understand the need to confess sin and live righteously.
They even believe to a degree in the truth.

But they still are not saved.
BECAUSE THEY DO NOT POSSESS THE HOLY SPIRIT

That is the warning and admonition I would give tonight.
DID YOU RECEIVE THE HOLY SPIRIT WHEN YOU BELIEVED?
If not, what exactly did you believe?

WE MUST HAVE THE HOLY SPIRIT

• At Sinai was God for us.
• At Bethlehem was God with us.
• But at Pentecost was God in us.

• We don’t have a temple
• We don’t have the incarnate Jesus
• But we do have the Spirit of God.

If you try to have a faith without Him, then you have a God-less faith.

That was Ephesus, but not anymore.

Let me encourage you as to what the process of salvation looks like,
And let me encourage you to pursue it to its intended end.

Trust Christ and receive the promise of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:38-39 “Peter said to them, “Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. “For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself.”

The Jews of Corinth
Acts 18:1-17
February 24, 2013

As you know we are dealing with Paul’s second missionary journey.
And over the course of the last couple of weeks
We are dealing with the opposition Paul has faced on this trip.

• The first part of this trip caused us to easily recognize the sovereign hand of God.

• The second part of this trip causes us to recognize the sinister hand of Satan.

We saw Paul deal with the Jews of Thessalonica and their mob mentality.
• They were not noble-minded.
• They were not truth seekers.
• They were simply jealous of Paul’s success and therefore sought to kill him.

And we face our mobs today.
Any time a group of people reach a senseless level of aggression
And just close their ears to reason and seek to stop the truth.

We see them.
And from Paul we learned how to deal with them: ENDURE

They ran him out of Thessalonica
So he went to Berea and once again preached in the synagogue.

Of course in Athens Paul met a different kind of opposition. These men would not have been considered ignorant, indeed they were just the opposite.

• These were the philosophers of the day.
• They were the critical thinkers, the questioners of their time.
• They were too sophisticated to form a mob.

The problem was they were too sophisticated to listen to Paul.
• They called him an “idle babbler”
• They called God a “strange deity”
• They called the gospel “strange things”

And they put Paul basically on trial before the court of human opinion
With the goal of humiliating him.

And we are familiar with mockers.
Men who are too educated or intellectual for the gospel.

And since the gospel runs contrary to the wisdom of man,
We often encounter this type of opposition.
Thankfully Paul showed us how to deal with the mockers of our time: PREACH THE GOSPEL
• Paul didn’t argue on a philosophical level
• Paul didn’t argue on a scientific level
• Paul didn’t argue on a rational level
• Paul didn’t argue on an intellectual level

Paul simply related the truths of God.
God is creator
God deserves worship
God demands repentance
God will judge

Paul taught us that we don’t have to look smart in their eyes
To deliver the truth.

Well, tonight we come across the third group of opposition:
The Jews of Corinth

And these men are MALIGNERS (blasphemers)

And we run across them too.
These are people who have heard the truth, know it to be the truth,
And then reject it anyway.
And not only do they reject it, they verbally and openly attack it.

And Paul shows us how to deal with them as well.

#1 THE OPPRESSION
Acts 18:1-17

Last week we saw that Paul had an INNER OPPRESSION.
He saw the idols of Athens and had a burning in his heart to address it.

Here Paul still has an inner oppression, but you can’t call it anger,
HERE PAUL IS FACING DISILLUSIONMENT.

We actually do ourselves a disservice when we put men like Paul on such a pedestal that we think them unable to struggle as we do.

Paul was a man.
Now he walked by the Spirit and therefore accomplished great things,
But he was a man none the less.

And all throughout Scripture men who serve God struggle.

Charles Spurgeon:
“It were better to break stones on a road than to be a preacher, unless God had given the Holy Spirit to sustain him. The heart and soul of a man who speaks for God will know no ease, for he hears in his hears that warning admonition, ‘If the watchman warned them not, they perished, but their blood will I require from the watchman’s hands.’ Is the infallible revelation of the infallible Jehovah to be moderated, to be shaped, to be toned down to the fancies of the hour? God forbid us if we ever alter His word.”

Spurgeon himself suffered with severe depression for much of his life.

• We cannot forget how the prophets in Scripture were treated.
• We cannot forget what sort of opposition Jesus promised to the disciples.

F.R. Maltby said, “Jesus promised His disciples three things: they would be absurdly happy, completely fearless, and in constant trouble.”

The reality is that it is a hard job
To be God’s spokesman or to lead God’s people.

Consider the cries of some of the men of old.

Moses
Numbers 11:11-15 “So Moses said to the LORD, “Why have You been so hard on Your servant? And why have I not found favor in Your sight, that You have laid the burden of all this people on me? “Was it I who conceived all this people? Was it I who brought them forth, that You should say to me, ‘Carry them in your bosom as a nurse carries a nursing infant, to the land which You swore to their fathers’? “Where am I to get meat to give to all this people? For they weep before me, saying, ‘Give us meat that we may eat!’ “I alone am not able to carry all this people, because it is too burdensome for me. “So if You are going to deal thus with me, please kill me at once, if I have found favor in Your sight, and do not let me see my wretchedness.”

Joshua
Joshua 7:7 “Joshua said, “Alas, O Lord GOD, why did You ever bring this people over the Jordan, only to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? If only we had been willing to dwell beyond the Jordan!”

Elijah
1 Kings 19:4 “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”

Job
Job 3:1-4 “Afterward Job opened his mouth and cursed the day of his birth. And Job said, “Let the day perish on which I was to be born, And the night which said, ‘A boy is conceived.’ “May that day be darkness; Let not God above care for it, Nor light shine on it.”

Jeremiah
Jeremiah 20:14-18 “Cursed be the day when I was born; Let the day not be blessed when my mother bore me! Cursed be the man who brought the news To my father, saying, “A baby boy has been born to you!” And made him very happy. But let that man be like the cities Which the LORD overthrew without relenting, And let him hear an outcry in the morning And a shout of alarm at noon; Because he did not kill me before birth, So that my mother would have been my grave, And her womb ever pregnant. Why did I ever come forth from the womb To look on trouble and sorrow, So that my days have been spent in shame?”

Jonah (although wrongly)
Jonah 4:1-4 “But it greatly displeased Jonah and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that You are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. “Therefore now, O LORD, please take my life from me, for death is better to me than life.” The LORD said, “Do you have good reason to be angry?”

Even when Paul wrote to the Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 1:8-9 “For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead;”

Spurgeon had it right.
It is a hard job, and at times this job takes its toll on the messenger.
That is precisely what we see here in the life of Paul.

Let me help you see what his life has been like of late.

It all started with a genuine desire to return to the mission field
And see how those churches were doing.

It all seemingly went downhill from there.
• A Divided Team
• A New Destination
• Physical Abuse & Jail Time
• 2 Hostile Evacuations
• A Separated Team
• A Public Mocking in Athens
• 53 mile walk, alone, to Corinth (the scariest city in the region)

It is almost like “Murphy’s Law”
“What can go wrong, will go wrong.”

• At this point Paul is financially broke. (that is why he is working)
• Paul is also afraid.

(9) “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent;”

He actually told the Corinthians in his first letter:
1 Corinthians 2:3 “I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling,”

• It is not a stretch to say he was lonely.
• And we know he was burdened.

It is not recorded in the Acts account, but we learn from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians that Timothy and Silas did join Paul in Athens.

But as soon as they arrived,
He sent Timothy back to Thessalonica
And Silas somewhere else in Macedonia (probably Philippi)

WHY? He was heavily burdened.
1 Thessalonians 3:1-5 “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone, and we sent Timothy, our brother and God’s fellow worker in the gospel of Christ, to strengthen and encourage you as to your faith, so that no one would be disturbed by these afflictions; for you yourselves know that we have been destined for this. For indeed when we were with you, we kept telling you in advance that we were going to suffer affliction; and so it came to pass, as you know. For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor would be in vain.”

Not only that, but now Paul was in Corinth.
• To help you understand, Corinth was a cross-roads city.
• It was also a port city
• It was also home to Aphrodite’s temple

It was so immoral and so dangerous that the term “Corinthianize”
Became synonymous with sexual immorality.

And Paul was in this violent, immoral city,
All by himself and on his last emotional nerve.

Paul had reached a real low point of disillusionment.

And that is seen here in the first 4 verses.
(READ VS. 1-4)

I can identify with Paul here, as most can in one way or another.
• He loved to preach.
• He was entrusted with the gospel.
• And on the Sabbath he still fulfilled his calling to do that.

But quite honestly, there were times
When he would just as soon be making tents.
(I can retreat to my woodshop pretty easily)

PAUL IS NOT ALONE
I often think of Peter, after his denial, even after the resurrection.
Peter decides to return to his former occupation.

John 21:3 “Simon Peter said to them, “I am going fishing.” They said to him, “We will also come with you.” They went out and got into the boat; and that night they caught nothing.”
The Greek there indicates that Peter was returning to fishing,
Not just going for an outing.
Of course Jesus re-routed all the fish in the sea, and ultimately appeared to Peter and three times told him to “feed My sheep”

Peter was no longer a fisherman, Peter was now a shepherd.
Well, Paul was no longer a tent maker, Paul was church builder.

And God is about to help him out.

The Oppression
#2 THE OPPOSITION
Acts 18:5-8

Verse 5 here actually put an end to Paul’s oppression.

“But when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul began devoting himself completely to the word, solemnly testifying to the Jews that Jesus was the Christ.”

HOW DID THEIR COMING HELP?

Timothy came from Thessalonica:
1 Thessalonians 3:6-8 “But now that Timothy has come to us from you, and has brought us good news of your faith and love, and that you always think kindly of us, longing to see us just as we also long to see you, for this reason, brethren, in all our distress and affliction we were comforted about you through your faith; for now we really live, if you stand firm in the Lord.”

Silas came from Philippi
Philippians 4:10-14 “But I rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at last you have revived your concern for me; indeed, you were concerned before, but you lacked opportunity. Not that I speak from want, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. I can do all things through Him who strengthens me. Nevertheless, you have done well to share with me in my affliction.”

• Through the Thessalonians Paul received emotional comfort.
• Through the Philippians Paul received financial help.

Both proved to be exactly what it took to re-energize this missionary.

When they arrived Paul was revitalized
And went right back into full-blown ministry.

So the oppression is over, but the opposition is about to pick up.

(6) “But when they resisted and blasphemed, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

So there you have those MALIGNING JEWS OF CORINTH.
They “resisted and blasphemed”

“resisted” translates ANTITASSO
It means “to arrange in battle against”

In some ways these men were like the Thessalonians with their militant style, the only difference is they were more organized.

But aside from just resisting, they also “blasphemed”

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?
It means to speak out against.

These men didn’t just reject Christ, they reviled Him.
They spoke against Him, they maligned Him, they verbally attacked Him.

• At times we come across people who neglect the gospel.
• At times we come across people who get angry, but don’t know why.
• And at times we come across people who are actually hostile toward Jesus.

WHAT DO YOU DO WITH THOSE PEOPLE?
How do you respond to them?

Exactly like Paul did.
“he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be on your own heads! I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

Jesus said:
Matthew 7:6 “Do not give what is holy to dogs, and do not throw your pearls before swine, or they will trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.”

Matthew 10:14-15 “Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet. “Truly I say to you, it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city.”

Jesus said to depart.
There is no use arguing with a mad dog or a dirty pig.

And it has amazed me in our day how many think that this is
“SO UNCHRISTIAN”.

I thought we were supposed to handle and accept abuse.
We are. When it is aimed toward us.

Jesus did that.
1 Peter 2:23 “and while being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously;”

Jesus even allowed Himself to be blasphemed.

But you know what He didn’t allow?

He didn’t allow the Holy Spirit to be blasphemed.
Matthew 12:32 “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”

If someone attacks you personally, sure you have to die to self
And endure it, just like Jesus did.

But we don’t have to just stand there and let the world attack Jesus.
We don’t have to treat that like it’s ok.

• Would you let them malign your spouse?
• Would you let them malign your kids?
• Would you let them malign your momma?

Then why in the world would you let them malign Jesus?

Paul wouldn’t.
They started out against Jesus, and he said that was enough.

Paul was filled with a righteous indignation.
And honestly I think at times we have far too little of this.

I’ve been studying the Holy Spirit lately.
And one of the things I have noticed about Him is that
When we are filled with Him we take on His emotions.

Could be compassion…
Could be mercy…
Could be joy or love…
But it could also be indignation:

1 Samuel 11:5-6 “Now behold, Saul was coming from the field behind the oxen, and he said, “What is the matter with the people that they weep?” So they related to him the words of the men of Jabesh. Then the Spirit of God came upon Saul mightily when he heard these words, and he became very angry.”

There are some things that should anger us.
(Was Jesus not angry when He saw what the chief priests were doing to His Father’s temple?)

There are some things that should anger us,
And one of those things is when people verbally malign Jesus.

Paul had enough.
He shook out his garments –
Symbolic of not wanting any of their filthy dirt on him.

And he said, “Your blood be on your own heads!”

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?

It comes from Ezekiel.
Ezekiel 3:16-21 “At the end of seven days the word of the LORD came to me, saying, “Son of man, I have appointed you a watchman to the house of Israel; whenever you hear a word from My mouth, warn them from Me. “When I say to the wicked, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to warn the wicked from his wicked way that he may live, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity, but his blood I will require at your hand. “Yet if you have warned the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his wicked way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered yourself. “Again, when a righteous man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and I place an obstacle before him, he will die; since you have not warned him, he shall die in his sin, and his righteous deeds which he has done shall not be remembered; but his blood I will require at your hand. “However, if you have warned the righteous man that the righteous should not sin and he does not sin, he shall surely live because he took warning; and you have delivered yourself.”

Paul mentions it again later in Acts.
Acts 20:25-27 “And now, behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face. “Therefore, I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men. “For I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole purpose of God.”

That is what Paul is referring to here.
I did all that I was required of me, you are on your own.

He voiced his displeasure at their opposition.
He said, “From now on I will go to the Gentiles.”

BUT (and you’ll love this) HE STILL MAINTAINED THE LOVE OF GOD

(7) “Then he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshiper of God, whose house was next to the synagogue.”

DON’T YOU LOVE THAT?
• Paul is pulling out!
• He is gone!
• He’s done with those Jews!

He walked right out the front door
And into the house right next to the synagogue.

That is a tremendous picture of both the indignation
And the long-suffering of God.

He voiced his displeasure, but did not totally cast them aside.
In fact Paul still maintained such a ministry
That even the synagogue leader was eventually saved.

(8) “Crispus, the leader of the synagogue, believed in the Lord with all his household, and many of the Corinthians when they heard were believing and being baptized.”

But I think you get a good idea
Of how to handle those maligning blasphemers.

• To the mob – we endure
• To the mockers – we preach the truth
• To the maligners – we rebuke and depart (always open to their repentance)

Now, let me show you one more aspect of the story.

The Oppression, The Opposition
#3 THE OPPORTUNITY
Acts 18:9-17

Remember now what Paul is up against.
Sure, he has been revived by the coming of Timothy and Silas,
But he is still in a hostile city with a hostile synagogue right next door.

This is a very intimidating place to be.
HAVE YOU EVER BEEN IN A SITUATION WHERE HONESTLY
YOU WERE SIMPLY AFRAID TO PREACH THE GOSPEL?

That is where Paul is.

But notice God open a door of opportunity for Paul.
(9-10) “And the Lord said to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid any longer, but go on speaking and do not be silent; for I am with you, and no man will attack you in order to harm you, for I have many people in this city.”

WHAT A STATEMENT!

“Do not be afraid”
“go on speaking”
“do not be silent”

WHY?
“I am with you”
“no man will attack you”
“I have many people in this city.”

I’ve actually had a moment similar to that.
When we went to Africa the first time, I was terrified.
I was pretty sure I was going to die over there.

Beyond that we had been told that wild animals shouldn’t be an issue,
But where we were going was known to have a large mamba (snake)
And scorpion population.

Carrie’s prayer before I left didn’t help much, “I know he will come home; I don’t know when or in what condition.”

And in all our studies before we left, all I could ever get from the Lord was be willing to suffer, be faithful to preach, proclaim My name.

So I was pretty stressed.

We flew from Lubbock to Dallas and then from Dallas to St. Louis.
And on that flight I opened my Bible and this is what I read:
Luke 10:17-20 “The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.” And He said to them, “I was watching Satan fall from heaven like lightning. “Behold, I have given you authority to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing will injure you. “Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rejoice that your names are recorded in heaven.”

Pretty good huh?
I think I know how Paul must have felt!

God had just written Paul a blank check and told him to settle in,
And get ready for revival!

People were about to get saved
And Satan would not be allowed to do a thing about it!

And Paul took advantage!
(11) “And he settled there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.”

And that is really all we need to know, but it isn’t all we want to know.

So Luke shows us how God kept His promise.
(READ 12-17)

• There we have Satan testing the metal of God.
• And notice that Paul didn’t even have to speak.
• God fought this battle and God handled the enemy.

Paul was in the midst of a vile and dangerous city
And yet God had placed him in a bubble
To be able to preach the gospel without fear.

Praise God for that!
Was their oppression? Yes
Was their opposition? Yes

But neither of those things indicates a lack of opportunity.
God opened a door in the midst of those things
For one of Paul’s most fruitful mission moments ever.

And with that we are encouraged in regard to facing opposition.
• God delivered Paul from Thessalonica
• God delivered Paul from Athens
• God delivered Paul from Corinth

In fact Paul got so used to God’s deliverance,
At the end of his life he wrote to Timothy:

2 Timothy 4:16-18 “At my first defense no one supported me, but all deserted me; may it not be counted against them. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me, so that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear; and I was rescued out of the lion’s mouth. The Lord will rescue me from every evil deed, and will bring me safely to His heavenly kingdom; to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Paul certainly believed what he wrote when he said,
“If God be for us, who can be against us?”

When you face opposition,
• Be ready to endure against the mob.
• Be ready to preach to the mockers
• Be ready to rebuke the maligners

And at all times watch for God to open doors
You didn’t even think were possible for Him to open.

After all, this is His mission.

The Men of Athens
Acts 17:16-34
February 17, 2013

We are presently in the middle of Paul’s second missionary journey.

• It started with a disagreement.
• That disagreement led to division.
• And the trip was finally orchestrated through diversion.

God supernaturally led Paul, Silas, and Timothy into Europe.
We call it “The Macedonian Call”

And the first part of Paul’s trip in Macedonia
Was certainly a tribute to the SOVEREIGN PLAN OF GOD.
• God led Paul to Macedonia
• God opened Lydia’s heart
• God sent the earthquake to free Paul

God was moving and Paul was working with Him.

The second part of this trip focuses on the SINISTER WORK OF SATAN.

As we said last week, the trip ends while really highlighting
Three groups of people who opposed Paul in one way or another.

• We have the Jews of Thessalonica
• We have the Men of Athens
• We have the Jews of Corinth

We saw the Jews of Thessalonica last week.
Their opposition came in the form of a senseless mob.

• They weren’t noble-minded like the Bereans.
• They didn’t search the Scriptures to see if what Paul said was true.
• They weren’t concerned about righteousness or truth.

Their only objective was defending their tradition.
So they gathered wicked men, they stirred up the crowds
And they had Paul run out of town.

And if you remember their accusation was priceless.
Acts 17:6 “When they did not find them, they began dragging Jason and some brethren before the city authorities, shouting, “These men who have upset the world have come here also;”

They saw Paul as on who had “upset the whole world”.

And what a great compliment to be given to a Christian!
We aren’t here to turn the world upside down,
We are here to turn the world right side up.
We understand that the world is passing away and also it’s lusts.
We understand that this whole world lies in the power of the evil one.

Absolutely we are trying to “upset the whole world”

But the world hated it and opposed Paul.
We learned that when you upset the world the only thing to do is endure.

And that is precisely what Paul did.
Run out of Thessalonica, Paul just preached in Berea.

Of course those Jews from Thessalonica followed him
And Paul was run out of Brea too.

And now we get to the second group of opposers.
We find them in Athens.

These men aren’t mob formers.
These men are mockers.

Not only does our message upset the whole world,
But our message is foolish to this world.

1 Corinthians 1:18 “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”

• The message of the cross was not conceived in the mind of man.
• The message of the cross is not understood by the intellect of man.
• The path to salvation is not learned in the schools of man.

It is a message that flies in the face of human logic.

Of course that is why the Christian is commanded:
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the LORD with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.”

That is why Paul told the Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 3:18-20 “Let no man deceive himself. If any man among you thinks that he is wise in this age, he must become foolish, so that he may become wise. For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, “He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS”; and again, “THE LORD KNOWS THE REASONINGS of the wise, THAT THEY ARE USELESS.”

And because that is true of the gospel,
Christians can expect a certain amount of scorn and ridicule
From the educated elite of our society.

And incidentally folks, just as we have all seen our share of mobs,
We have also seen our share of mockers.

And probably what bothers me more than anything is
The poor way much of Christianity has sought to respond to them.

In too many circles Christians have sought to
Try and argue the educated on their own terms.

There has been a real push toward what is called “apologetics”.
Now that word merely indicates a “defense of the faith”, and that is good.

Jude told us to “contend earnestly for the faith”

The question is: HOW DO YOU DO THAT?
• When faced with the intellectuals of our day…
• When faced with the educated elite…
• When faced with the PhD’s of our time…

HOW ARE YOU SUPPOSED TO ARGUE WITH THEM?

Many have sought to do so on their terms.
• We see Christians seeking out scientific proofs of the doctrines they believe.
• We see Christians seeking out philosophical proofs of the doctrines they believe.
• We see Christians trying to prove Christianity with solid evidence.

And the idea is to be able to go on Larry King or Oprah or Dr. Phil
And be able to speak of our faith in an educated way
And deliver solid proofs of our faith.

Some say this is the way to win the argument
And make Christianity relevant.

It seems more to me like this is how many Christians
Are trying to keep from looking foolish.

But the reality is looking foolish was always part of the plan.

We were not put here to prove that we aren’t as crazy as we sound.
We were put here to bear witness to truth that will always look foolish.

And the way we bear this witness is not by winning a scientific argument.

1 Peter 2:15 “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.”

The reality is that men were never argued into the Kingdom of heaven.
They are only led into the kingdom by the truth of God
And the conviction of the Spirit.

And tonight we have the privilege of seeing a man
Come up against the intellectuals of his day
And give us a prime example of how to deal with them.
So let’s look at our text. – 3 things
#1 THE OPPRESSION
Acts 17:16-21

In the previous text we talked about the oppression of the Thessalonian Jews.
They sought to oppose and squash Paul.
But that was outer oppression.

This oppression is totally opposite.
Here Paul faces and inner oppression.

(16) “Now while Paul was waiting for them at Athens, his spirit was being provoked within him as he was observing the city full of idols.”

The word “provoked” literally means “to become angry or infuriated”

It is very similar to the fire Jeremiah had in his bones.
Jeremiah 20:9 “But if I say, “I will not remember Him Or speak anymore in His name,” Then in my heart it becomes like a burning fire Shut up in my bones; And I am weary of holding it in, And I cannot endure it.”

As Paul walked around Athens, before he had any conversations,
He felt a very severe and serious oppression of the soul.

Paul saw a “city full of idols”

And you have to understand the oppression.
Indeed every Christian should feel such an oppression at idolatry.

Isaiah 42:8 “I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, Nor My praise to graven images.”

Isaiah 48:11 “For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My glory I will not give to another.”

God doesn’t share His glory,
And yet all over Athens people were giving the glory that belongs to God
And ascribing it to their false man-made deities.

These people didn’t even realize what they were doing,
But it was a heavy oppression upon the heart of Paul.
And this inner fire forced him to speak up.

(17) “So he was reasoning in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Gentiles, and in the market place every day with those who happened to be present.”

Paul sets out to speak, not only to the synagogue (which was his custom),
But also to all the idolaters on the street.

He wanted Jew and Gentile alike
To start worshiping the true God in the right way.

But this inner oppression wasn’t the only hardship he would face.
His oppression began as an internal agitation.
Now his oppression MOVES EXTERNAL.

(18-20) “And also some of the Epicurean and Stoic philosophers were conversing with him. Some were saying, “What would this idle babbler wish to say?” Others, “He seems to be a proclaimer of strange deities,” — because he was preaching Jesus and the resurrection. And they took him and brought him to the Areopagus, saying, “May we know what this new teaching is which you are proclaiming? “For you are bringing some strange things to our ears; so we want to know what these things mean.”

We clearly see this external oppression just in the fact that
They called Paul an “idle babbler”.

But you can hear their scorn in more than just that.
• They also called him “a proclaimer of strange deities”
• They actually brought him to the “Areopagus” (the place where Socrates was condemned) and basically put him on trial.

And again in verse 20 “you are bringing some strange things to our ears”.

These men are not curious.
These men are not under conviction.
These men are seeking to make a public spectacle of Paul.

This is a plot to publicly debate and humiliate him.

Notice verse 21, “(Now all the Athenians and the strangers visiting there used to spend their time in nothing other than telling or hearing something new.)”

They weren’t searching for truth, they just loved a good debate.

Ever watch a political talk show on television?
(Doesn’t matter if you are more of a Fox News or NBC type person)

Fox News brings many democrats on their show.
NBC brings many republicans on their show.

And they do so because all they care about is finding the truth – right?

Wrong! The whole purpose is to get them to talk, cut them off,
And then spin their statement to make their argument look foolish.

That is what they are about to do to Paul.
Bring him and his strange views on.
We’ll listen, debate, and humiliate.

And it brings us back to the point we made a moment ago.
HOW DOES A CHRISTIAN DEAL WITH THE INTELLECTUALLY EDUCATED WHO ONLY WISH TO HUMILIATE HIM?

Well, I am thankful that Paul was in this predicament,
Because he handled this situation with flying colors.

So you see the oppression
#2 THE OPPORTUNITY
Acts 17:22-31

Here Paul gets his chance to speak.
• You won’t find him greasing the ears of those listening.
• You won’t find him trying to argue on an intellectual level.
• You won’t find him trying to make himself look smart.

You will find him boldly proclaiming the facts about God,
With a trust in God’s truth and willingness to let God’s Spirit work.

THE FIRST THING WE SEE IS PAUL’S INTRODUCTION.
(22-23) “So Paul stood in the midst of the Areopagus and said, “Men of Athens, I observe that you are very religious in all respects. “For while I was passing through and examining the objects of your worship, I also found an altar with this inscription, ‘TO AN UNKNOWN GOD.’ Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

Now Paul really does two main things here.
1) He acknowledges their spirituality
2) He exposes their ignorance

He could walk around the city and see that
They were “very religious in all respects”

They had idols for everything.
• This was Athens, the home of Greek mythology.
• These were some of the most mystical people on earth.

In fact, they were so mystical
They even had an altar “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD”

The reality is that everything IS under the sovereign hand of deity.
We know who that deity is; they didn’t.

Now follow Paul’s reasoning.
By having an altar “TO AN UNKNOWN GOD”
YOU ARE ADMITTING that there is at least one thing that you don’t know.
You are ignorant of at least one thing.
That wasn’t his evaluation, that was their evaluation.

“Therefore what you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.”

And incidentally I think Athens
Was a pretty good foreshadow of our world today.

We also are very religious in all respects.
We also are fascinated with strange deities.

Spiritualism is very popular in our country.
Even celebrities are constantly talking about their religious experiences.

• Tom Cruise loves scientology
• Oprah Winfrey constantly spoke of spiritualism in some weird way
• Recently I read an article about Meagan Fox who likes to speak in tongues.

Oddly enough the interview was in regard to a sheer lingerie add she had recently shot; ad interview were she also dropped several F-bombs;
but in the interview she went on to say this about her experience speaking in tongues:

“It feels like a lot of energy coming through the top of your head… and then your whole body is filled with this electric current. And you just start speaking, but you’re not thinking because you have no idea what you’re saying. Words are coming out of your mouth, and you can’t control it,” … “The idea is that it’s a language that only God understands. It’s the language that’s spoken in heaven. It’s called ‘getting the Holy Ghost.'”

Our society is enamored with spirituality,
But do not confuse this with a genuine love for God or Christianity.

Spirituality is not Christianity

Christians are not seeking mystical, ecstatic experience.
Christians are seeking the righteousness only Christ can provide.

There is a major difference.

And so when Paul stands to speak to these Athenians, I think we clearly understand the relevance of what it is to speak to the mockers of our day.

Now, in verses 24-31 Paul simply gives 7 facts about God.
This isn’t a persuasive message,
This isn’t a message meant to make Paul look smart.

This is simply a message to make the unknown God become known.

Look at these 7 here quickly.

1) HIS EXISTENCE (24)
I told you that the men of Athens were very religious.
In fact, it was the center of Greek mythology.

Regardless of the gods found in Athens, one thing stood in common.
The gods were all relatively small.

Now, they would not come out and say so,
But it was evident in their theology in that each of them
Had their own temple in which they dwelled

And no doubt they would have also built a nice little cozy temple for our God too, if they only knew who He was, but Paul attacks that fallacy first.

Our God could not possibly dwell in a temple.
WHY?

He is “The God who made the world and all things in it” and “He is Lord of heaven and earth” He could not possibly “dwell in temples made with hands.”

In fact, when Solomon built that first temple for God he said:
2 Chronicles 2:5-6 “The house which I am about to build will be great, for greater is our God than all the gods. “But who is able to build a house for Him, for the heavens and the highest heavens cannot contain Him? So who am I, that I should build a house for Him, except to burn incense before Him?”

Even Solomon knew, the temple was not to hold God

And that is what Paul points out.
God is real, He is so real in fact
That He is the God who created everything you see.

Our God is the real God who created everything.
And “He is Lord of heaven and earth”

Genesis 1:1 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”

And because He is the Creator,
He is also the One this world will answer to.

SOMETHING EVERYONE NEEDS TO UNDERSTAND:
We are called now to submit to Christ as Lord,
But don’t treat the invitation as though it is an optional choice.

Today someone will say,
That God has given man the “free-will” to accept or reject Him.
No, He hasn’t.

“Every knee will bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord”

God has so orchestrated it that you will submit to Him.
You will either do it now and enjoy salvation,
Or you will do it later in the midst of destruction.

But He is real, and you will submit.

“He is Lord of heaven and earth”

His Existence
2) HIS POWER (25)

The next attribute Paul wanted these people to know about God
Is that He didn’t require any help from them at all.

Greek mythological gods all had special powers, but they all,
Like their human inventors also each had crippling weaknesses.

Hermes had a propensity to steal and was known as a cheater and thief
Aphrodite had many love affairs
Dionysus was given to drunkenness and was effeminate
Zeus was given to lust and a wandering eye, even to human women

And because their gods were beset with human weakness, there were also obvious times when their gods could need help.

But the true God is not like these.
“nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything,”

Psalms 50:10-12 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills. “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine. “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.”

The true God, is not beset with weakness,
Nor does He need anything from humanity.

Rather, “He Himself gives to all people life and breath and all things.”

It is not He who comes to you for help,
But it is you who should go to Him for help.

He is God, and He is powerful.
3) HIS SOVEREIGNTY (26)

Not only does the true God exist as creator of all things, and not only is He powerful, but the true God is also sovereign over His creation.

That means that the true God even determined your life.
Every human ever born was determined by God.
Where he would live, when he would live, etc.
“having determined their appointed times and the boundaries of their habitation,”

The true God is not controlled by His creation,
Rather He sits in control of His creation.

Jeremiah 10:11-16 “Thus you shall say to them, “The gods that did not make the heavens and the earth will perish from the earth and from under the heavens.” It is He who made the earth by His power, Who established the world by His wisdom; And by His understanding He has stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, And He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain, And brings out the wind from His storehouses. Every man is stupid, devoid of knowledge; Every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols; For his molten images are deceitful, And there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; In the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; For the Maker of all is He, And Israel is the tribe of His inheritance; The LORD of hosts is His name.”

God is real, God is powerful, God is sovereign
4) HIS INTENTION (27)

Paul even throws in, what it is that God intends,
By placing each man exactly where He placed them.

The intention of God is that His creation would seek Him.
In fact God intends that they would grope for Him,
And as a result of this seeking that they would find Him.

The Bible teaches that there is a partial knowledge of God all around us.
Both the conscience of man, and the creation of God testify of God.

Romans 1:19-20 “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”

That testimony is not sufficient to save us,
But it is sufficient to motivate us to seek the source of it.

If you see a building, then you know it had a builder.
If you see a painting, then you know it had an artist.
If you see a design, then you know there was a designer.

Everything around us points to a creator,
The idea is that we as humans would seek to know the Creator.

It is God’s intention that you seek Him and find Him.
Matthew 7:7-8 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. “For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.”

God is real, He is powerful, He is sovereign, and He expects to be sought
5) HIS PROVISION (28)

Not only is He the author of life, and sovereign over life,
But it is only because of Him that LIFE CONTINUES TO EXIST.

“in Him we live and move and exist”

Revelation 4:11 “Worthy are You, our Lord and our God, to receive glory and honor and power; for You created all things, and because of Your will they existed, and were created.”

And that is not some foreign new concept.
Even the pagan philosophers in Athens had enough sense to recognize that something, somewhere had to keep life going.

“as even some of Your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His children.’”

The point is, every man, should recognize that there is a true God
Who does indeed provide for life.

“I KNOW THAT GOD HAS ALWAYS BEEN WITH ME”
(Man in Florida airport)
WELL – DUH!

That is one of His key attributes.
He is the source of life and provider of all good things.

James 1:17 “Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow.”

His Existence, His Power, His Sovereignty, His Intention, His Provision
6) HIS DUE (29)

This really speaks not only of who He is,
But is also a type of invitation or expectation.

“Being then the children of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, and image formed by the art and thought of man.”

Not only did Paul want them to recognize there is one true God,
Paul also wanted them to quit dumbing Him down to their level.

God is not formed in our image, we are formed in His.
God is not created by us, we are created by Him.
We do not move God, God moves us.

We know the 2nd commandment.
No graven images
WHY?

Because every graven image is an insult to the true nature of God.
What are seriously going to compare Him to?

I can explain this, if you need an experiment.
Men, go home tonight and assign a “pet” name to your wife.
I’ll give you a list to choose from.

Cow, Mule, Mare, Hen, Turkey, Pig, etc.
(Let me know how that experiment works for you)

It’s the same with God.
Isaiah 40:25 “To whom then will you liken Me That I would be his equal?” says the Holy One.”

Are you seriously going to compare God to a horse or an eagle or a golden calf?

And Paul is letting the Athenians know that
God deserves more than they are giving Him.

7) HIS REQUIREMENT (30-31)

And this is really what the Athenians
(and all intellectual people) need to know.

• It doesn’t matter how smart you are.
• It doesn’t matter how much you like your life.
• It doesn’t even matter if you can argue me down.

THE JUDGMENT IS COMING!

Adrian Rogers story – “It is appointed a man once to die and then comes judgment”

Not God has been merciful.
“having overlooked the times of ignorance”

But God is serious
“God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent.”
(It doesn’t get much clearer, and we could say a lot here)

• But the reality is that man has offended God.
• Man is under the judgment of God.
• And man is facing the punishment of God.

Man should repent
“because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the word in righteousness”

God is going to judge.
He is going to do so “through a man whom He has appointed”

That means that one man will be the standard.

WHICH MAN?
The One God raised from the dead.

“having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead.”

• The resurrection proved the righteousness of Christ.
• The resurrection proved God was pleased with Him.
• The resurrection exalted Christ as the divine standard of judgment.

And so basically if you aren’t as good as Jesus, then you must repent.
This is what God requires.

And so clearly, Paul has given the truth to these Athenians.
• He debate philosophy
• He didn’t try to speak eloquently
• He didn’t try to look smart

When faced with the spiritual mockers in Athens,
Paul stood up and laid down the truth of God’s judgment
And the means of escaping it.

And Paul was willing to let the Holy Spirit do the rest.

The Oppression, The Opportunity
#3 THE OPPOSITION
Acts 17:32-34

You will notice that some instantly hated what they heard.
“some began to sneer”

Others rejected as well, but in a much more noble manner.
“We shall hear you again concerning this.”

WHAT MORE DID THEY NEED TO HEAR?
They were just being eloquent, not repentant.

“But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Aeropagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.”

So some believed, some did not.
And that is all according to the work of the Holy Spirit.

But it didn’t change Paul’s outlook.
It didn’t change Paul’s conviction.

When faced with the MOB who are concerned you are upsetting the world:
Preach truth anyway and turn their world over.

When faced with the MOCKERS who want to intellectually debate you:
Avoid the snare and give the simple truth of judgment and salvation.

Be willing to look a fool for Christ.
Give the gospel and let God do what He will.

There are all kinds of opposition,
But the believer must remain faithful through it all.

1 Peter 3:13-17 “Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”