And I am glad that you’re in the house of the Lord today. My soul needed that this morning. And you can open your Bibles to Acts chapter 18 and 19. We’re going to pick up where we left off last week and work our way into chapter 19 as we finish chapter 18. But last week we saw…
Anyone thankful to be in church this morning? I need that. Sometimes I wish I could just live in that all week long. It’s a rescue mission for my soul this morning and just so thankful and I’m glad that you’re here. And I can sense that you’re encouraged and emboldened by the worship of God’s people today as we look to Christ.
But last week we saw the end of Paul’s second missionary journey. And it didn’t take him long before he was up and at ’em and he’s off onto his third missionary journey. And the Lord sustained him through his valleys in Corinth. He stops back at the church at Antioch, which was his sending church. And the journey that he begins in our text today is his longest and final mission of carrying the gospel to the end of the earth. By the end of this journey we will see that he’s been shipwrecked multiple times, endured much suffering. He’s been arrested, he’s been taken to Rome, and he will eventually be martyred at the end of his life.
And from now until the end of his life is about twelve years. So it was 52 A.D. to 64 A.D. And the rest of the book of Acts is covering his efforts in this third missionary journey to carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. And the focus of today’s location and really the next few weeks is going to be in the city of Ephesus.
Ephesus was the capital city of the Roman province of Asia. There were 300,000 inhabitants in Ephesus. It was steeped in idolatry and the occult. So otherworldly power and sorcery and magic. And their main temple or their god was the temple of Artemis, which was the Greek name. And the Roman name was the temple of Diana. And she was the goddess of the hunt or the goddess of fertility.
And so young girls would sacrifice locks of their hair on her altar so that she would pay attention to them and bless them as they grew. And again, sexual immorality was just rampant in this temple. It was a massive temple in this big port city, so it got a lot of traffic. Four times the size of the Parthenon. So lots of people stopping by to pay their respects to the temple of Diana and to worship.
And all of these cities that we keep seeing in the book of Acts are searching to fill the same void. When humans try to fil the void in their life, we usually do it, or we try to do it, through sex, through money, through power, because those are the things that we can get our hands on. And those are the things that we think gratify the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life.
We don’t have temples in our cities and in our city squares, but we set up temples in our own hearts, don’t we? And we don’t need an Acropolis looming over our city of immorality. We have the pornography industry for that. We have all these industries that are claiming to bring you freedom, and really they just bring you bondage. And really if anything is true in our day, it’s easier to live a double standard. It’s easier to live a double life, to claim Christianity and set up temples in our private heart and hide what’s going on in the world.
All idolatry is a broken attempt to fill the void that only Jesus can fill. And we will see today that the power of Jesus is the only thing that can set you free. We’ll also see today how important it is to have a doctrinally sound relationship with this Jesus, a reality of who Jesus is and what God’s Word says about Him. The big idea in our text today is this: there is life-changing, demon-shaking power in the name of Jesus. And those in Ephesus, they were obsessed with powers and sorcery and magic. And among them were religious people who thought they had the power unto salvation. But only a biblically sound, doctrinally accurate reality of Jesus assures the message of salvation for all who will believe.
Now before we ever even make it to Paul in the city of Ephesus, we’re introduced to this extremely gifted man named Apollos. So let’s read the remainder of chapter 18 starting in verse 24, and we’ll get the context of what’s happening in Ephesus as Paul begins his travels there.
Now a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus. He was an eloquent man, competent in the Scriptures. He had been instructed in the way of the Lord. And being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue, but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. And when he wished to cross to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. When he arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus. (Acts 18:24-28)
So at the end of chapter 18 we’re introduced to this extremely bright man. We learn from Paul’s writings that Apollos became a force for the gospel of Jesus Christ and he had great influence in the sin city of Corinth where Paul left off last week. But as we’re first introduced to this brilliant man, we see that even the brilliant can have the wrong message.
The first point that I want to give to you this morning is this: the power of Jesus is in the right message. The power of Jesus is in the right message. Apollos was from Alexandria, which was an intellectual center. It was known for its library. It was much like Athens. Many philosophers came from Alexandria.
And just look at some of the ways that Apollos is described in verses 24 and 25. It says that he was an eloquent man. He was competent in Scriptures. The NASB version says that he was mighty in the Scriptures. The Bible doesn’t say that about anybody else in all of Scripture. It doesn’t say that about Paul. It doesn’t say that about Peter. Apollos is mighty in the Scriptures. He instructed in the way of the Lord.
He was fervent in spirit. You’ll notice that it’s lowercase “s”. It’s talking about the human spirit. The Greek word there is zao, which means he was boiling over. His passion was boiling over as he eloquently spoke and instructed based on the Old Testament and the Scriptures. And he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. But even with all of that going for him, (seems like a remarkable man) with all of that going for him, his message was lacking the key ingredient. He was missing the power of the message.
Verse 25 says that he knew only of the baptism of John. So the baptism of John is of course referring to John the Baptist. John was the cousin of Jesus. He preceded Jesus on the earth. He came preparing the way for Jesus. And John’s baptism was one of repentance. Hey, turn from evil. Turn from worldly things. Prepare your heart for the Messiah is coming.
And so John’s baptism was looking ahead to what Christ would do. But there’s a difference between John’s baptism and Jesus’ baptism. Christian baptism or the baptism of Jesus is looking back at what Christ has already done at the cross and in the life of the believer. That’s why we get baptized after Christ has changed our lives because we’re not looking ahead to what Christ will do. We look back to what has been done at the cross. And as we believe, His Spirit was placed in us and we dramatize exactly what Jesus did when He died on a cross in our place as a substitute for our sins. He was buried with the wicked; He rose on the third day. And when you believe, you share your testimony of how you were before Christ and when Christ intersected your life, how Christ has changed you. And you go under the water as if you’ve died and you are raised to walk in newness of life.
But in a sense, Apollos is trying to be a follower of the Way and he’s trying to tell people that Jesus is the Messiah and that He’s preparing the way of Jesus without understanding that Jesus already came and died and was buried and rose again from the dead. And so because of his lack of knowledge in the completed work of Christ at the cross, he had not yet come to a saving faith in Jesus Christ. He seemingly knows of Jesus and His teachings, but not His death, burial and resurrection. He didn’t seem to know about Pentecost, because at Pentecost John’s baptism went away and now we are baptized into the power of the Holy Spirit, which fills us upon belief.
And that’s a tragic way to live life, advancing a message that has no power to save, advancing a message that is empty, that has no power in it. And yet Apollos is proof- listen to this this morning. Apollos is proof that you can go to church your entire life and you can be a gifted teacher of the Bible and you can be a Bible scholar and you can sit under great Bible teaching and you can have religious zeal that sets you apart from your friends and your family. And you can be a bold evangelist and you can even believe that Jesus is the Messiah and tell others that Jesus is the Christ and still not be saved by the power unto salvation. Because nothing on your resume can actually save you. It’s only faith in the atoning work of Jesus Christ that saves.
I read this week about John Wesley, a more modern example of Apollos. John Wesley grew up in Oxford and he studied his whole life. And when he was in University he was part of the holy club, and they devoted their life to the things of God. And then he was sent to Savannah on mission. And he went to Savannah and he was preaching the gospel and he was sharing about Jesus and teaching the Scriptures. And he felt like he failed after spending two years of his life in Savannah on mission for Jesus, felt like he failed, felt like there was no fruit, felt empty inside. Comes home, goes and lives with the Moravians, people of holy lifestyle.
And it was during his time with the Moravians after his whole life devoted and spending to searching out the Scriptures and to holy things, he realized that he was empty. And it says that one night with the Moravians his heart was warmed and he knew that it was the Spirit of God that opened him up to the atoning work of Jesus Christ and he was saved.
Amazing moment, but what a sad reality to live your whole life advancing a message that hasn’t actually changed you, that hasn’t shaped you, that hasn’t shown you that it’s not your efforts but it’s Christ. I keep this quote in my phone by Charles Spurgeon. Maybe it’ll encourage you this morning.
“Remember, therefore, it is not your hold of Christ that saves you; it is Christ. It is not your joy in Christ that saves you; it is Christ. It is not even faith in Christ, though that be the instrument. It is Christ’s blood and merits. Therefore, look not so much to your hands with which you are grasping Christ as to Christ, and look not to your hope, but to Jesus, the source of your hope. Look not to your faith but to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith. We shall never find happiness by looking at our prayers, our doings, or our feelings. It is what Jesus is, not what we are that gives rest to the soul.”
And that’s why we come and that’s why we worship on a Sunday morning, not so we can be transformed. That is a byproduct of what our worship is. But when we come and when we worship, we are staring into the beauty and the magnitude and the greatness and the power of Jesus just because He’s worthy. And as you remind yourself that it’s all about Jesus Christ, you get transformed through the process.
But the right message is a matter of life and death. We see that in Apollos. And in God’s sovereignty He happens to be speaking this day in the presence of Priscilla and Aquila. Remember we met them last week and Paul dropped them off in Ephesus. And here’s Apollos preaching in the synagogue and Aquila and Priscilla happen to be present. And God uses these true disciples of Jesus to give the completed story of redemption to Apollos.
Notice that Priscilla and Aquila give us a great example for how to challenge someone or how to discipline someone or even course correct someone regarding their message and their theology. They didn’t rebuke Apollos in front of the whole synagogue. They didn’t attack his character. They didn’t go home and put on Facebook, Hey, if you’re listening to Apollos you’re going to burn in hell. Everybody turn away from Apollos.
It says that they took him and they explained to him the Scriptures. They approached this brilliant young man who had an error in his message. And it says they took him. I don’t know if they took him aside or if they took him to a coffee shop down the street. Knowing Priscilla and Aquila, I’m sure they invited him into their home. Like they’re always doing that as we’ll see them. They were hospitable.
Perhaps they invited Apollos into their home and said, Hey, we want to instruct you. We want to have dinner with you. We want to talk about this message that you are bringing because Jesus has changed our life and we think we can help you. And maybe they took him to their home and they explained, they expounded, they elaborated in greater, more accurate detail who Jesus is, what Jesus has done, and how HIs message could change lives, but first his own.
And this is not only a great way to approach those who have a difference in theology, but this is what discipleship in the Body of Christ looks like. Pastor Tyler Downing talks about like a discipleship win in our church would be every person in a discipleship context where they’re sitting across from someone or some other people with their Bibles open having godly discussion, having discussion over what Christ has said in His Word.
And you do that in small groups. You do that in men’s and women’s studies. You do that in Core classes and Hope classes. And hopefully those smaller groups get even smaller as you have friends and family that you are discussing the things of God with and theology with and you’re challenging one another. Apollos even gives us a great example.
He was a smart guy. He could have said, Who are you to tell me? I’m from Alexandria. I’m well read. I’m more eloquent than you. Don’t tell me how to think. And often that’s the response that people would give. This is a great picture of humility in the things that we bring to the table. Humility in what we think we know as we gather together.
And the text, it doesn’t give us a whole lot beyond that, but we see that Apollos, he must have gotten it because with eagerness he heads to Corinth with a recommendation letter, and he begins to strengthen the believers there. He refuted the Jews publically. Remember the Jews, they didn’t want much of Paul’s message when he left. And God must’ve used Apollos in some fashion to bring some more Jews to Christ in the city of Corinth.
And it just speaks of his brilliant ability. To be able to refute somebody publicly is a gift. It’s not easy. You have to be able to speak and know where you’re going and answer arguments. But he had an effective ministry in Corinth. Even if you read the book of Corinthians as you get there later, there was a time where the Christians in Corinth are like, Should we follow Paul or should we follow Apollos? And Apollos is unsure if he should stay. And Paul is like, No, stay. It’s not about us. It’s about the name of Jesus.
In 1 Corinthians 3:6-7 Paul says this. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants or he who waters is anything, but God gives the growth.
I love that about Paul. He is always deflecting the glory. It’s not about anything he’s done. It’s about God and His glory. And so we are just instruments in the hand of the redeeming God. And we go and we share the gospel and we trust that the Spirit will do what only the Spirit can do.
Priscilla and Aquila were true displaces who helped Apollos become a true disciple with the right message of Jesus. And as we step into chapter 19 we see the cristological error in more people in Ephesus. Perhaps these twelve men that we’re about to be introduced to, maybe they were disciples of Apollos’ first round of teaching. But Paul is a true disciple and he quickly notices their error.
Let’s read in verses 1-7 of chapter 19. And it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. There he found some disciples. Now the question is what were they disciples of? Because they’re not disciples of Jesus. You can be a disciple or a learner of something. Everyone is.
Verse 2. Paul said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John’s baptism.” (Acts 19:1-3)
So Paul as he goes into a new place, his judgment of whether someone was a believer or not was if they’ve received the power of the Holy Spirit. Do you have the Holy Spirit living within you? I would ask you the same question this morning.
Is the Spirit of God at work in your life? How do you get the Holy Spirit? You believe. That’s what Paul said. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe? And he hadn’t heard of him. They were preaching the baptism of John just like Apollos. And look at what Paul said in verse 4.
And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. There were about twelve men in all. (Acts 19:4-7)
So God, He opens the hearts of these twelve men to believe the true message of Jesus Christ. Paul was quick to see that they had the wrong message and there is only one message unto salvation and it is rooted in what Jesus has done at the cross, not what He will do. And so these twelve men believed and they were filled with the Spirit and they were baptized into Christ. And God authenticated yet again in a supernatural way in a new town, in a power-obsessed city. They began to speak in their own languages and prophecy of the goodness of God.
The gospel was claiming new ground in Ephesus. The gospel was changing lives in Ephesus and in the power-obsessed city they saw firsthand the power of God through the signs of speaking in tongues and prospecting the goodness of God. and it began a very fruitful season for the Apostle Paul in the city of Ephesus.
Look in verse 8. And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. (Acts 1:8-10)
It is the Word of God that does the work of God. You’ve got to write that down. You’ve gotta put that in your household. You’ve got to tell that to your kids. It’s the Word of God that does the work of God. And Paul is always a great example of remaining faithful to simply teach and explain the Scriptures. And this is what builds disciples of Jesus Christ. This is how we grow up into Christ, through teaching, through explaining, through expounding and correcting and reproving with the Scriptures.
And while he experienced opposition, the Lord provided him a place where he could teach daily for two years. It was so effective that Paul stayed in Ephesus for two years. And you have those three months. And we learn that there’s like another seven months or so. He was there for almost three years in the city of Ephesus. And all the residents of Asia heard the Word of the Lord. What a remarkable thing just from the daily teaching and preaching of God’s Word.
All the residents of Asia (that would be like our modern day Turkey) heard the Word of the Lord. It was spreading throughout the country. May everyone in Michiana hear the Word of the Lord. May it go forth from these walls and from the churches of this community as we are faithful to open God’s Word and expound what it says.
But don’t miss this. It wasn’t Paul’s charisma. It wasn’t his church growth strategy. He was simply faithful to the Word of God that does the work of God. And the Spirit put the wind in the sails of his message in the city of Ephesus. An amazing awakening begins to happen in this city. Incredible.
And now I want to go to the second point this morning. You’ve gotta have the right message, but the power of Jesus demands a response. Not only is the power of God found in the right message, which Apollos and these twelve men were lacking. And thank God for true disciples who have the right message and who can help instruct others. But the power of Jesus, it demands a response. And we get into some crazy stuff in Acts chapter 19 now, ok?
The sons of Sceva, which is just…you need a metal band name? That is a great name, Sons of Sceva. And if I was in seventh grade again, whoa. Verse 11.
And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. So I’m just going to comment as we go through this section, because there’s a lot here. Extraordinary miracles. God was doing extraordinary things in this apostolic age in this city. The things that are happening was an act of God through the apostle Paul. He’s just a vessel, and God’s power was coming through him. And we don’t see these extraordinary things to this degree in our culture today because we have the Word of God. And the Word of God has come to us and we have the Scriptures, which is all that we need for life and for godliness.
But in this city, like who was this Paul guy and what is this Jesus message that he is speaking. God shows up in power to authenticate the message that’s being preached. But it was going through the hands of Paul. I’ll encourage you in this room. Open your hands to the Lord and say, Lord, here am I. Send me. Lord, here am I. Use me. Make me the hands and the feet of Jesus to brothers and sisters in this city who desperately need you.
But look in verse 12. Here are the extraordinary things. So that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his (Paul’s) skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you (or I urge you) by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. (Acts 19:12-14)
So just imagine this. Power-obsessed city, people possessed with demons, people sick needing healed. And these people realized like as Paul is doing miracles and as Paul is healing people and as Paul is casting out demons in the name of Jesus, they’re taking a sweatband off his head and they’re taking the apron that he was probably wearing when he was tentmaking and they’re taking it to the sick and they’re taking it to demon-possessed people. And they’re laying it over them and they’re seeing those people healed just because those things had touched the apostle Paul. God’s power was so powerful that it was going through the sweatband that Paul happened to be wearing.
(25:26)
SPLIT HERE
And these exorcists, the sons of Sceva, rise up and they were, you know, trying to use a more powerful demon to take over the demon that was invoking a person in the area. And so just lots of sin, lots of darkness, lots of sorcery in this city. And they’re like, Whoa, Paul has got some power. And he’s using the name of Jesus and he’s got some serious stuff going on. We’ve used exorcism but we haven’t seen anything like that. We should use the name of Jesus for our own personal gain. We should start claiming the name of Jesus. We should start claiming the name of Paul and using it to cast out demons or to take over demons or whatever these exorcists were doing in Ephesus.
And I’ll just say, like our culture has done the same thing. Our world has done the same thing. In the last twenty years there have been televangelists, people that you can give a seed donation to and they’ll send you a handkerchief in the mail. They’ll send you a cloth in the mail with a hand printed on it. And you can lay that over your head and he’ll pray a blessing over you. You can get a blanket in the mail for a seed donation. Those are scams, man! They’re trying to line their pockets and they’re trying to pull their Holy Spirit theology out of the book of Acts when God was just doing extraordinary things in order to set up the church in Ephesus. This is not an everyday need or an everyday problem. We call upon the name of Jesus, who is our power and strength.
But the sons of Sceva, they begin to talk to the spirits. And in verse 15 it says, But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” (Acts 19:15)
Dude, I mean that’s awesome. The demons believe and they tremble, because Jesus created them. Jesus created the demons. And once they were worshiping Him in glory and they fell with Satan like lightning. And now when Jesus shows up on the scene, they’re like, Woah, we’re scary but we have zero power when Jesus is around. we tremble at the presence of Jesus. And they seemed to know Paul. The demons are familiar with Paul and the power that Paul carried because of the name of Jesus and the Spirit of God within him.
Do the demons know your name? Man, I pray that the demons know my name. I pray that hell knows my name because of the power of the Spirit of God that has changed my life and the power of Jesus that is within me. But these demons did not seem to know the sons of Sceva.
In verse 16, the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:16)
So the sons of Sceva became the seven streakers of Ephesus and they go running down the street bloody and naked. You know you lost the battle if you’re bloody and lost your pants, ok? And if you’re going to claim the name of Jesus and not have a relationship with Him, then you’re fair game for the enemy. If you’re going to talk to the devil and not have a relationship with Jesus, you’re dead meat.
And so much of our culture, so much of the world, is wrapped up in this stuff, and is trying to look for a higher power besides Jesus. And I’m just telling you, if you’re going to claim the name of Jesus and talk to darkness, then you are fair game for the enemy.
And in verse 17, this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled. Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. (Acts 19:17-20)
The Word of God continued to do the work of God in the city of Ephesus. And as we kind of like, we’re going to stop there in Acts 19, but I want to land on three powerful responses to the name of Jesus that we see in Ephesus that day. Because this is the necessary response to all those who would claim the name of Jesus. This is the necessary response to all those who would say, Yeah, I’m a believer. Yeah, the power of Jesus has changed my life.
And the proper response to the heart awakening to the soul-satisfying beauty of Jesus is what we see happening in Ephesus that day. The power of the name of Jesus should cause your life it never be the same. The power in the name of Jessus should shake you awake when today to your desperate need for His blood, for His cross, for His holiness, for His righteousness and for His love. And I just want you to see what the Lord did.
It’s remarkable to me that Paul is not even on the scene. Jesus isn’t necessarily on the scene. These exorcists use the name of Jesus falsely. The demons beat this man. They run out of there, and people begin to worship Jesus. That’s how powerful Jesus is. He can even use the evil in this world to draw people to Himself. And you see it in the Scripture and it is a beautiful testimony of the power that Jesus Chrsit has over sin and over darkness.
But three responses to the power of Jesus. The first is fear. The demons know Jessus and they tremble at His power. But how sad it is that often we forget to tumblr ourselves. I’ve spent my whole life in churches Monday through Friday, Saturdays, Sunday, Sunday nights going to church, youth group, AWANA, all those things. It’s a tragic thing when Jesus becomes so familiar to you that you forget to tremble at His power and HIs majesty and His beauty and His wonder.
Jesus is to be feared because Jesus is the God of glory incarnate. Jesus should be feared because He is King and He will judge the living and the dead. Jesus should be feared because He is all-powerful. And yet because of the good news of the gospel, our fear doesn’t keep us from knowing Him, but it is a proper fear that leads us to a relationship with Jesus.
Our fear of the Lord keeps us from thinking too highly of ourselves. Our fear of Jesus’ power should keep us from turning toward evil and unholy things. Our fear of Jesus’ power should not cause us to run from Him but to run to Him. Because when we recognize who He is, we see all that He has done for us.
And just like in verse 17, they fear because of what they’ve seen, but it quickly turns to the second response and that is worship. Verse 17 says, The name of the Lord Jesus was extolled in the city of Ephesus. Because of seven sons who used the name of Jesus for heier own selfish gain and realized that it has no power. Many turned to Jesus and began to extol His name.
I can’t emphasize this enough to us as a church. All of our study of the Scriptures and all of our growth in theology and all of our deepening of our doctrine, it must lead to the worship of Jesus Christ. It must lead to extolling and exalting Jesus Christ, realizing that He alone is worthy of the power and the praise. To extol Jesus is to praise Him enthusiastically. I love that I see enthusiastic praise happening at Gospel City Church. It shook me awake this morning. It awakens my own soul this morning. Desperately need that.
To worship Jesus is to respond to the revelation of His holiness. That’s what worship is. It’s a rhythm of revelation and response. God is always initiating worship all around us. He’s done it through His Word perfectly. But all of the heavens and the earth are declaring His great praise. And we have to stop and we have to noise and we have to taste and we have to see that He is good and He is always good. And we respond accordingly.
To exalt Jesus is to lift up and ascribe worth to Him beyond anything that this world has to offer. And the worship of Jesus must be the highest aim of the believer’s life. And as the Ephesians were confronted with the power of Jesus, their fear quickly moved to adoration.
Proverbs 9:10 says this: The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the holy one is insight. Man, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom because I see the Lord in all of His power and all of His holiness and I begin to whip Him. The fear of the Lord leads to insight. Knowledge of the holy one leads to the insight that I can come to Him and I can bow down before Him and I can give Him praise and honor and glory that He’s worthy of. And when you start to worship Christ, you see the foolishness of everything you’ve placed on the throne above Him.
If you were to follow a pathway to your heart of your time, your hobbies, your money, your energy, your talents, you’d come to a throne. Whatever is on the throne of your heart is what you worship. And Jesus is the only One worthy of being there. And the people of Ephesus found that out that day. They found out that Jesus is the power and Jesus is worthy to be worshiped.
And so it led to their third response, and it’s surrender. The third response is surrender. The heart that truly fears the Lord, the true worshiper of Jesus Christ, is not one of hypocrisy, lies and sinfulness, but one of brokenness and surrender. And to be confronted with the power and the name of Jesus is to cast down your idols, to disclose the secrets of your heart. True surrender is dragging all of your sinfulness and ungodliness out of the secret place into the light and setting it ablaze as if it has no value at all. Because compared to Jesus, nothing has value or is worthy of our worship except Him.
Look in verse 18 and 19. Many of those who were now believers came confessing and divulging their practices. Spiritual awakening in Ephesus. And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to 50,000 pieces of silver.
If it was the ancient currency of drachma, it was 138 years of a man’s wage. That’s like millions of dollars in books that they burn in the middle of this city that they’ve held onto for all of these years as their source of hoepa and their source of power. And perhaps you’ve had a moment like this and you remember the freedom that came from bringing your sin into the light.
If you’ve like me, you continually be reminded of your need to surrender to the power of Jesus everyday. Or maybe you’ve never actually come clean before the God of glory. May we not get so comfortable that we forget to tremble in worship and sever the sinfulness in our lives. Bring it into the light. Burn it in the streets. Get it out into the open. Because there is power in the public confession of our sin.
It’s why we have accountability in small groups. It’s why we get intentionally vulnerable with one another in young adults and in youth ministry. Became sin in our hearts will send us into all sorts of places that this world doesn’t want us to go. Sin needs disclosed. We bring it out into the light. We bring it out into the open and realize that only Jesus has the power to set us free.
In Ephesus that day there was a revival of sorts, a return to the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God took over and took control and sin stood no chance. And there was a spiritual awakening happening in this pagan city, and reform took place as the Word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. May it be so at Gospel City Church. May it be so in the city of Michiana. May it be so in our country that desperately needs to bring the sin into the light, to disclose the secrets of our hearts, to fear the Lord, to worship Jesus in the splendor of His holiness and to surrender to His majesty and His all-consuming power.
Would you stand to your feet? Just bow your heads for a moment and open your hands to the Lord even. Ask Him to show you the secrets of your heart. Disclose to Him even the mundane sins that you carry, the things that you could dismiss as small. When you truly fear the Lord like Isaiah did when he stood before the throne room, he said, “Woe is me.” That was both the small sins and the big sins because he trembled at the majesty of Jesus. Surrender to Him.
Holy Spirit, we are desperate for You to move. We want to return to You the power. And Lord, we desperately need Your Spirit to illuminate in our hearts our need for Jesus. We don’t hold on to what we bring to the table. We don’t hold on to our intellect. We don’t hold on to our ability to ask the right questions or solve the right questions. We look to Jesus, the author and the finisher of our faith. We look to Jesus who has saved our souls. We look to Jesus who is the power. Because without Jesus we are lost. Without Jesus we have nothing.
And yet You are the Way, the Truth and the Life and you are seated on high. And so Lord, I pray for my brothers and sisters in this room today. And as we weekly unpack the truth of God’s Word, would You not allow it become mundane, but Lord would Your Spirit open our hearts to recognize our need for Jesus? And would the power of Jesus set us free? Would the power of Jesus cause us to bring it into the light and surrender? Would the power of Jesus break down every wall, break every chain that we carry to the table?
God, we say that we need You in this place. In Jesus’ mighty name we pray. C’mon, would you just lift up these words?
