Courageous & fearless in our witness for Jesus

Acts 19: 23-41 Paul is at the end of his time in Ephesus and he is in trouble again!

Ephesus was the World Centre for worship of the goddess called ‘Artemis’ V 23-26

And because so many of the Ephesians had become Christians through Paul’s ministry, the business of selling Artemis ‘shrines’ was in decline

The people who made money from this business were very upset with Paul and meant to do him harm!

Artemis was worshipped throughout the Roman Empire as ‘Mother goddess of the Earth’ v 27

Demetrius, the Leader of the trouble-makers, stirred up a crowd of 25, 000 angry people, against Paul V 28-29

They could not find him, but found 2 of Paul’s companions and dragged them into the City Arena

The crowd wanted Paul dead, but some of the City Leaders managed to calm the crowd by saying ‘these Christians have not robbed the Templeof Artemisor blasphemed her name – so, go home’ V 32-41 The crowd dispersed and went home

Just a few thoughts on ‘crowd mentality’

Crowds are controlled by a few dedicated Leaders v24 & 38

Crowds are confused about what the real issues are v32

Crowds are dangerous v31

Throughout his ministry, Paul was always in danger, and his Friends always had to rescue him!

Acts 9: 23-25, 29-30 Acts 17: 10, 14-15

We need to be more like Paul, courageous & fearless in our witness! V 31-32

Yes, Paul saw the danger of the crowd, but he also saw a ‘harvest’ of 25,000 lost souls!

If we give in to fear, we will fail in our witness for Jesus!

The Devil will have succeeded in silencing us

No – we must not remain silent in the face of rejection, opposition or harm

We must…speak out

In speaking out, under threat, we become true witnesses of Jesus

Revelation 12:11 ‘They defeated the devil by the blood sacrifice of the Lamb and by the message of God that they told people. They did not love their lives too much. They were not afraid of death’.

Acts 20: 1  Paul leavesEphesus for the new Churches inMacedonia and Achaia

The most important issues in Life are…

John 4: 6-9 Jesus has a conversation with a woman at a well

If you had the opportunity, like this woman, to have a conversation with Jesus – What would you ask Him?

How to be more successful in Life?

How to be happy?

How to make more money?

These questions are important – RIGHT? – Not as important as you may think

Jesus did not discuss any of these questions with her

Because there are more important issues in Life that need answers

So, what did Jesus and this woman talk about?

1/ What is the Source of Eternal Life?

John 4: 10-11 People are confused about Eternal Life

Jesus said that He/Himself was the Source of Eternal Life! V13-14

Without water, every living thing dies

Without Christ, our spirit/soul dies too

2/ Why is my Life a mess?

John 4: 16-18

She had 5 Husbands and was living with another man

Was she unfaithful to her husbands and they divorced her?

Whatever the problems were, Sin was at the heart of her mess

Sin is the Source of all suffering

Sin is the Human ‘condition’ without Christ

3/ How do I worship God?

John 4: 20

Is the right place to worship God…A Cathedral? ATemple? A Mosque?

No, the place means nothing -it is about the Person we worship!

V 23-24

You can only, truly, worship God, if you know Him

4/ Who is Jesus Christ?

John 4: 9 She recognized Jesus as a Jew

John 4: 11 She respected Him and called Him ‘Sir’

John 4: 19 She suspected He was a Prophet

Jesus Christ is more than just a Jew, a great Teacher, a Prophet V 25-26

He is the Savior of the World V 39-42

Success, happiness and money are not the most important issues in Life!

Yet, just about everyone thinks they are

The most important issues are Eternal Life, Sin, Knowing God and receiving Jesus Christ as your Savior

Our lives are to be lived, not as TAKERS, for our own selfish gain, but as GIVERS, for the glory of God!

Acts 19: 21-22  Paul is in Ephesus

It’s easy to ‘skip’ over a passage like this one “It’s so boring – let’s get to Paul’s next exciting adventure!”

Big mistake!

There is a very important lesson for us in this passage

The Church in Ephesus is now strong

Paul is planning to go back to the new Churches he started on his 2nd Mission trip Acts 19: 21

Then go back to Jerusalem (1 Corinthians 1: 15-16)

From Jerusalem he would go to Rome to visit the Christians there

Rome would be his base for a new Mission to Spain (Romans 15: 24-28)

Paul was a great Preacher, soul Winner and Church ‘Planter’

He also had a great burden for the suffering of his fellow Christians (2 Corinthians 11: 28)

At this time, the Christians in the Jerusalem Church were suffering The economy in Israel was in recession

Paul was organizing a generous offering to be collected from the new Churches and given to the Church in Jerusalem for disaster relief (1 Corinthians 16: 1-4, 2 Corinthians 8: 1 – 9: 15, Romans 15: 25-28)

Paul sends Timothy and Erastus ahead to help with the collection Acts 19: 22

This special collection took 1 year to organize and Paul was expecting it to be a generous offering (2 Corinthians 9: 1-5)

This Easter we need to remember that God wants us to be GIVERS too

Just like the Christians here in the Book of Acts – GIVING to be a blessing to others!

Our giving:

Honours the Lord 2 Corinthians 8: 19 ‘…we are doing this ….to bring honour to the Lord…’

Shows our eagerness to help 2 Corinthians 8: 19 ‘…and to show our eager readiness as Christians to help one another’.

Provides a testimony of the goodness of God 2 Corinthians 9:13 ‘…others will praise God…for your generosity…’

Unites us with those who receive our giving 2 Corinthians 9:14 ‘And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you…’

Produces blessings in our lives 2 Corinthians 9:11 ‘You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion’

This Easter we also need to remember that Jesus Christ GAVE His life for us on the cross to save us – from disaster! 2 Corinthians 5: 21 ‘Christ never sinned, but God put our sin on Him. Then we are made right with God because of what Christ has done for us’.

When we fully understand this truth – it transforms us

Our lives are to be lived, not as TAKERS, for our own selfish gain, but as GIVERS, for the glory of God!

If you say you are a Christian then be the real thing not just a fake

Acts 19: 11-20 The Apostle Paul is in Ephesus

And through his ministry people are being healed from sickness and delivered from demons Acts 19: 11-12

Some of the Jewish people tried to copy what Paul was doing Acts 19: 13-16

7 sons of Sceva tried using the name of Jesus to caste demons out of a man

The demon possessed man over powered them and beat them up!

People who are without Jesus, unsaved, are still living in spiritual darkness, they have no power and protection against evil

They live in fear of evil, worshipping false gods, images and idols

Sacrificing food and money to ‘spirits’ in the hope of finding favour with them

God only promises power and protection against the spiritual forces of darkness to Christians, those who belong to Jesus!

Mark 16:17 ‘These are the miraculous signs that will accompany believers: They will use the power and authority of my name to force demons out of people’

Many people in Ephesus came to Christ because of Paul’s ministry Acts 19: 17-19

They feared and honoured the Name of Jesus V17

They openly confessed their evil deeds V18

They destroyed all the things they used in the worship of false gods V19

Just as these new Believers made great change in their lives in coming to Christ – so must we!

Real Christians do not live half in the ‘dark’ and half in the ‘light’

Example: recently a famous singer died young

Whitney Houston claimed to be a Christian – but was she?

Her funeral was even held in a Church

But, her lifestyle said differently – She…

Was a cocaine addict and smoked marijuana

Got drunk and lived immorally

May have been a practising lesbian

Used offensive language

Saying that you are a Christian does not ‘make’/qualify you to be a Christian

We become a Christian when we believe in Jesus and receive new life through the re-birth of the Holy Spirit (John 3: 3-8)

When we come to Christ, we leave all darkness behind – this is called repentance John 5: 24, Acts 26: 18

 Because of the great repentance of the people, the ‘word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.’ V20

That’s what we want here in Nelson isn’t it!?

We want people to be saying…

“Those Christians at theNelson International Church are ‘on fire’ for God, they are unstoppable’!