Proclaiming God's Word in Ephesus
First B Jackson
2014-01-05

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Yeah. Welcome, everybody. Glad that you're here. Happy 2014. I, I can't think of a better way to really start the year than just praising our savior, hanging out together as a church family, loving on Jesus.

What do you say we stand up? We sing together.

We have lots and lots of announcements this morning. It's the first of the year. So, we've got kicking off this, that, and the other thing but the very first thing is just welcome. Glad y'all are here. Glad we're here.

It's good to be back together. Aaron's back. That's nice. Here you go in the box back there and I'm going to flip through these. Connect hour is always between services, between the first and the second at about tenish or whenever the preacher finishes.

There will be people down there gathering for coffee and conversation and food, all kinds of good snacks and stuff but please, you can hang out here if you want to but there's food down there. So, Peak Children's Ministries is downstairs this morning. I forget sometimes to release you but I have released that responsibility now. Steve Landis will be releasing the kids. Somebody will be releasing the kids to go.

After the offering, it's time for the kids to go downstairs to children's church and that is happening for preschool through fifth grade. I need to announce this to the annual budget reports are available at the welcome desk in the foyer if you'd like to see those. Thank you, Renzi for reminding me. And middle school youth, this week, we'll start back next Sunday at 06:30PM. We'll meet Friday for breakfast.

The high school at 07:30 here at 1st B. So, I know that this time of year, everybody's in sports. Everything's going but at 07:30 in the morning, there's not a whole lot of conflict. So, 07:30 for high school, please come and join Renzy here. He's an excellent breakfast chef if you hadn't figured that out already.

Monday nights at First B happen every Monday night at First B. It was a very interesting musical selection last week. As promised, we had a ukulele and accordion duo. I don't think we're doing that this week though, are we? No.

Not doing that this week. So Monday night is at first be 06:15. You you just missed it. Sorry. Awana happens at the same time and this is the kickoff also for Awana again.

We've taken a couple weeks off for Christmas but after the service today, we'll put all the chairs up against the wall and we'll open up the game circle again. So, tomorrow night, 06:15 or 05:45 for Awana. Getting here and come on down the hall. Bring kids and then come on down the hall and join us. We've got all kinds of stuff going on.

Ladies, Beth Moore Bible Study on the book of Daniel took a hiatus also over Christmas. They're starting back up. The seventh, Tuesday, seven to 9PM and on Wednesday, 09:30 to 11:30AM. Does that make sense? Yes.

It's the same thing that happens on Tuesday nights and Wednesday mornings. Men's fraternity is studying winning at work and at home that starts this Wednesday, 06:30 in the morning. Is that right, Matt? Matt Lutzeman? Yes.

Good deal. Ladies precept class starts on Thursday. That's with Drake, Jane Kranenburg down in the fellowship hall. They're doing revival or captivity studying in second Kings and second Chronicles and that's always a very detailed Bible study and it's fun to get in there. They underline stuff and they're really pouring over the scriptures and thinking thinking through things.

That's a good group on Thursday mornings. It's a good time to start because it starts this Thursday. The first Friday fellowship, we'll be meeting on the second Friday this month. We already missed the first Friday but they they had rescheduled for the second Friday. So first Friday fellowship is for females at Firstbee.

It's very alliterative. That's a time for people to get together and do crafts and just hang out. It's a kind of a mom's night out. It's what it is. So, it's not for the kids but it is for the for any ladies that want to come and join.

So, that's first Friday. Annual congregational meeting is January 26, which is coming up quick and we're gonna start doing this this year and we're probably gonna miss some. I'll apologize in advance. We don't always hear about every baby but we heard about this one. Renzi's niece, Harmony Hayes Reno, that's Dusty and Rachel's little baby was born December 31, the last baby born in Jackson last year.

Mother and baby are doing great, Dusty and Rachel and they live over in Victor but I just wanted to announce that and if y'all have one, let the church office know and we'll try to announce this so we can all keep up. And welcome. We're glad you're here. Would you stand up and greet one another and we'll play a song to bring you back together.

Let's pray together. Lord, we don't wanna just sing these songs. We wanna proclaim these songs and say how great you are and mean it. And Lord, it can be hard sometimes to warm up and worship, but I do pray that you would begin to just soften us. You would begin to open up our hearts and our minds and take away the scales and the anything, Lord, that can hinder and come between us.

Break down those walls so that we can freely and honestly and genuinely worship you. And as we sing, tis so sweet to trust in you. Lord, we mean it. Tis so sweet to trust in you, to take you at your word. Thank you God for being our comforter, our provider, our strength, our salvation, our healer, and so much more.

You are a good God. You love your children. And we want to obediently and genuinely come before you and worship you and give you praise. Thank you for being our great father. Amen.

Ask the frontline team to come forward for offering as we continue in our worship this morning. A lot of times, this just feels like a really big disconnect where we just ask for money to keep the church going, and that's not what we want it to be. Wanna enlist each one of you here in the beginning of 2014. In your bulletins, there is a page called prayer request. Every one of you, I wanna try and enlist as a prayer warrior.

Please pull that out. Put it in your pocket somewhere where you'll feel it later. Stick it on your mirror in your bathroom, and please pray throughout the week. And if you're fortunate enough to be available on Wednesday morning at 07:30, great prayer time here usually in pastor Ray's office. So, we want to encourage you to take a part of that.

Each one of us can do that ministry and I wanted to read from Psalm 145 as we continue and remind, I need to be reminded why I'm here. I don't know about you guys, but Psalm 145 says, I will extol you, my God, and my king, and bless your name forever and ever. Every day, I will bless you and praise your name forever and ever. Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised, and his greatness is unsearchable. One generation shall commend your work to another and shall declare your mighty acts.

Let's pray. Our father, we thank you so much that you are the kind of God that we can rejoice in. You are the kind of God that we can come and rest in. You, Lord, set the heavens, and you've named the stars. You've put the planets in their place.

Actually, your word says you've breathed them from your mouth with just your word. Lord, we can't understand that. We can't comprehend that. But Lord, we know your greatness. We know your great compassion, your great love, your great mercy that you have shown to us.

And Lord, as we gather this morning, Lord, this room is filled with people in very different places. Some are very hurt. Some are struggling. Some are sad. Some are grieving.

Some are rejoicing, Lord. Some are just praising you. Lord, some of us are mediocre. We pray, Lord, as we come this morning that as we give, we give because you're worthy. We give because, Lord, we're grateful.

Even if we're hurting, Lord, we're grateful for who you are. So, Lord, your word says you love a cheerful giver. And as we give, we pray that you'll receive these gifts as inadequate as they are as in as Lord, we're impure people, but we ask that you would receive them. We pray that you'll multiply them. We pray lord that you'll save souls here in Jackson, in this state, in this country, and lord around the world.

Would you please go forth and use these gifts as you see fit? In Jesus name, we pray.

Amen. So, we've been walking through Acts. Last week was kind of heavy. It was heavy for me. It was heavy for y'all.

I think I closed with a long, long prayer about a guy of from a guy that just felt the weight of his sinfulness and felt like he couldn't get before God even and God just said, hey, the worst sin is not being down in the mud. It's not getting back up and so, it's a joyful and a good God that brings us back up like that. This week, it seems to me that we're kinda getting back to the main themes in Acts and these are those main themes. I see, what is that? Seven of em.

Look for em in the text. Look for where you see em because they're throughout. It's throughout the book of Acts but these are the things that stood out to me this week that are just over and over. You see it just kind of goodness gracious. It's it's it's never ending.

It's these seven things happen over and over in Acts. What was the greatest expansion of the church? It was exponential at this time period and other time periods, this time period that we're living in right now is one of the greatest expansions of the Christian faith that you've ever been and we hear a lot of bad news all the time but this era, finishing the task. It's a big deal. Go into the unreached.

Go into the reached. Going. Where he leads you to go. Preaching the word faithfully, working hard. That one is sometimes overlooked.

Engage in the people in your path and then a sub point really. It's six points with one sub point that if something seems off about the people in your path, investigate. Look into it. Try to see what's going on. Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Okay, that's preaching the word faithfully. It's double points. There are only five points. With a couple of sub points but leave the results up to God. Let's go through this.

This is Acts nineteen one through 20 and I put proclaiming God's word in Ephesus. Sometimes, we think of preaching. When I say preaching, it's like, as soon as I say the word preaching, it's like everybody out there goes, oh, that's his job. Preaching the same word for preaching is proclaiming. So, teaching, there may be some difference between preaching and teaching, maybe.

I tend to be more of a teacher, I think, than a preacher but proclaiming God's word is preaching. It does not matter if it's from this platform or in between services in those seats or in your cubicles, not that many people work in cubicles here but on the mountain side, on the ski lift, proclaiming God's word in Ephesus. Preaching, proclaiming. Same word, kerygma. We'll start off 19 verse one.

While Apollos was in Corinth, just so it's a time marker. We mentioned Apollos last week. That's what the whole thing was about. Apollos only having known the baptism of John, repentance from sin, and he was in Ephesus when he heard it from Aquila and Priscilla and then he went to Corinth. This is a time marker.

Paul was doing some traveling. He had gotten back to Antioch but while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus and it looks something like this. Apollos is in Corinth right there. Paul is in Antioch right there. He traveled through the interior regions, probably stopped off at home to have some good old home cooking.

I would imagine. The interior region's Tarsus. If I were going through my hometown, I'd have barbecue. I doubt that Paul the Pharisee did that. He went on over to Iconium where he gotten beat up, where he had been plotted against.

He moved on across towards Ephesus. That's the direct, most direct route. He traveled through the interior regions and reached Ephesus at the coast, it says. And on the coast, in Ephesus, where he found several believers and I thought it was interesting. Y'all know that the guy that translated version.

I'm using the New Living Translation of the Bible and one of the reasons I'm doing that is because my professor of Greek and seminary translated Acts for this particular translation of the Bible. He had obviously people looking over and helping and I don't understand why he translated it believers right there because the Greek is and there's no doubt about what it means. Means a learner, a pupil, or a disciple. It is someone who is a follower of a specific teacher or teaching. It is a learner, a pupil, or a disciple.

Not a believer necessarily. So, I think there's a fine point there and I'll ask Doctor Larkin next time I see him. He is, for those of you who've been praying for him, he is doing better than they have expected with his pancreatic cancer and he is coming through a lot better than expected. He's spending all week each week in in in Charleston, South Carolina at an American Cancer Society house and then he's coming home on the weekends but that's beside the point. So, Greek, Methetes, where he found several disciples.

Engage the people in your path. He finds these several disciples. We find out later. It's about twelve and he asked them straight up. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

Now, something prompted that question. He saw that they were followers of what? That's what we would think from believers, followers of the way but since it says disciples, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe? What prompted that question? I think is that they had not and they answered him flat out.

No. We haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Now, the Greek there that there is a Holy Spirit, it's pretty obvious if they from the from the later portion of this intercourse where they're talking. That they knew John's baptism. If something seems off, investigate.

That may sound weird to you but there's a lot of weird stuff going on out there and not all of it is of God's spirit. Not all of it is something that is scriptural. So, if something seems off about a fellow believer, work with them. We are told to judge one another. We actually are told that.

Not outsiders. They're under God's judgment. By all mean, love em in. Bring em in but with each other, we are supposed to judge one another in our doctrine That it be sound. That we get the main thing.

Keep the main thing, the main thing. Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? I want to go into something right here. I don't I don't evangelical unity is so important to me and there are enough places where it is ambiguous about is there a first blessing and second blessing and all that? That it has confused some people in the past.

The main teaching of the second blessing happened has happened recently and it's been happened recently because primarily of John Wesley teaching it. If y'all don't know John Wesley's story, he had been raised in a Christian home. He had kind of ascended to the facts of the story and he was already writing hymns and already preaching. When he got on a boat to come to The US to be a missionary and he saw a bunch of Moravian brethren, Baptist, sorry. Anabaptist and they worship God with an intensity that he had never experienced.

They had a truth about them that he had never seen. And that's where he believed and received the Holy Spirit and so he believed that since I already knew it, there's no possible way that God could have brought me to this completely new and different level without there being the second blessing. Like I said, I'm not I'm not discounting the facts that we can I I had an uncle? This is a personal story too. My uncle Allen is one of the godliest men that I have ever met and has been most of my life.

I thought he was the sweetest of my uncles. He was the one that was more apt to be merciful and Christ like and he ascended to all the facts and he was a deacon in the church but at a time when he was in his late 40s probably, mid 40s at least. God grabbed hold of him and just arrested him and brought him to a different place in his spiritual walk. Was that the place where he received the Holy Spirit? He said, no.

That's where I got saved. The rest of that I was doing on my own. I ascended mentally to it but it was all sin management like we talked about last week. Everything was about sin management but at that point, God arrested him and he knew it that he knew it. I want to mention a couple of different places.

John seven, when it says that we he did not we did not even know that there was a Holy Spirit. They certainly knew if they were disciples of John that there was a Holy Spirit because he said, there is someone who's going to come after me and he's going to baptize with the Holy Spirit. So, this is Jesus himself in John seven. This is at the great festival where he on the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, anyone who is thirsty may come to me. Anyone who believes in me may come and drink for the scriptures declare rivers of living water will flow from his heart and John, this is in John.

John, the disciple John, not John the Baptist, gives us a little parenthetic note, explanatory note. When he said living water, he was speaking of the spirit who would be given to everyone believing in him but the spirit had not yet been given because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory. Now, between the time that Jesus said this and John told us what he meant and the time that, well, between the time that Jesus said this and but and the time that that we're in right now in Acts, Jesus had entered into his glory. He had been through the cross. He had been into the grave.

He had been through the resurrection and he had entered the ascension and into his glory. So, that changes everything. He says, everyone believing in him would be given the spirit. I'm going to mention this again from Paul writing later back to these same Ephesians and he's saying, this is the norm and now you Gentiles have also heard the truth. The good news that God saved you and when you believed in Christ, he identified you as his own.

The Greek there is he put his seal on you by giving you the Holy Spirit whom he promised long ago. This phrase or this he identified you as his own. He by giving you the Holy Spirit when you believed. When you believed, he identified you. This to me was cool.

It's two words in Greek, two ridiculously long words and it says, having believed another participle, I just had to throw it in there. Having believed, you are sealed. One time. Having believed, you are sealed. If you're Christian walk and practice feels more to you like sin management than about a living and loving, abiding relationship with God almighty.

Consider that you might not yet have been sealed. This is heavy too. We're going to go on to a pretty good story here in just a minute but consider this and pray, pray. That God would open up. He says, anyone who believes, anyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved and it is about belief.

Put your trust in him and he will seal you. When you believed, he identified you. So, while Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions. We've gone through that. He found several learners, pupils, disciples.

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe? No. We haven't even heard that there is. Then, what baptism did you experience? He asked and they replied, the baptism of John which we talked about for a long time last week is about the repentance of sin.

So much of it's about sin management and so much that has been taught was taught to me. When When I was a little kid was it's all about how you walk the walk, how you do what you do. It's all about what you do. And dependent on how you do what you do, then God is either happy with you or he's upset with you. The baptism of John, Paul says, called for repentance from sin but John himself told people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus and as soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of Jesus.

Praise God. They knew that they were looking for something and when Paul said, this is what it is, they went for it. Praise God. That's what I'm asking for today too. If you've been in a condition where it's just a continual episode of sin management or that not just conviction of sin but that convincing of God's righteousness.

If you've been holding back from God and saying, no, God, I won't do that. I won't do that. That's mad. I'm not giving you that. As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. When he found out where they were hanging up, he started where they were and he brought them to where they needed to be and it always ends right there. Jesus. Christ centered preaching. Christ centered proclamation.

He didn't go into all of the places in the Old Testament at this point. He knew where they were. They were right here. John was the last Old Testament prophet, right? Then, when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them and they spoke in other tongues, in other languages.

That's what that says in other languages and they prophesied. There were about 12 men in all. Then, Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. Now, that is another one of those places where in when in the in the New Testament, especially in Acts, when we see people, as soon as they receive the Holy Spirit, they immediately start speaking in tongues. That happened three times, right?

It happened at Pentecost in Acts two which we've covered and that was in the midst of Jerusalem, in the midst of a place where there are people from all over the place and when these guys got together and the Holy Spirit fell on them, they spoke in other languages so that people could understand and it says, they were confused that they understood, right? It happened again in Samaria and John and Peter were there watching it. These were guys who had been at that first drop in of Pentecost and seen this the first time and Samaritans, Jesus stayed in Samaria for three days, right? But it was before he was glorified. They believed him.

They put their trust in him but it was before he was glorified. It was before the Holy Spirit had been given and at the time when it came upon the Samaritans, it was so that Peter and John could verify and that was the point in their life which it took off. It took off just like uncle Allen, just like John Wesley. It was one of those places. I'm not arguing that Wesley was not saved and he was later.

I don't know. I think that's the way it is. That seems normal to me. I don't want to twist God's arm and say, he can't do something in an abnormal fashion. We're going to see in a few minutes.

He says, this is an uncommon miracle. It's an uncommon way of doing things. He can do things however he wants to. I'm imagining though in Ephesus, a very, very sinful city, very cosmopolitan with people from everywhere. When these guys started speaking in other languages, 12 of em.

12 guys, praising God, knowing that what they had been doing was not complete but it was getting to meet and know Jesus, the redeemer. They prophesied. They were about 12 men in all then Paul went to the synagogue which was his normal matter. Of course, he met these guys on the beach. Right?

As soon as he got there, they were on his path. For the next three months, he was arguing persuasively about the kingdom but some became stubborn. Some of the guys in the synagogue rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the way. Now, the way is Christianity. That is what the early earliest disciples called the way because Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

No man comes to the father but by me and they were following that way. So, publicly speaking against the way. So, Paul, again, I said last week, he just dusted off his robes and left currents, right? Ah, enough with y'all. I've told you, your blood's on your hands and scoots away.

Here, he says, they became stubborn, rejecting his message, and he had already said, I'm going to the Gentiles. So, he took the disciples with him. All 12 of em, it sounds like. Then, he held daily discussions at the Lecture Hall Of Tyranus. The daily discussions at the Lecture Hall Of Tyranus.

Now, we know from other letters in scripture that Paul worked the whole time he was in Ephesus. He worked a job but there's a siesta in Ephesus and this is something that comes clear in a couple of different places. During the siesta from about eleven to four. Y'all ever been to Italy? In twenty years ago, I went to Italy.

At eleven to four, the bank closes for crying out loud. You can't do anything from eleven to four. You can't get a sandwich, you can't go to the bank, you can't go to the post office, nothing happens. It's closed. That's the way Ephesus was because it's hot and in the middle of the daytime, they would just out but Paul worked in the morning, he worked in the evening but he took that eleven to four and he went and he rented out a school, the school of Tyranus, which means tyrant by the way.

I don't know if his mama named him that or his students named him that. Went to the school of a tyrant. This went on for the next two years. He took those 12 guys for the next two years. I'm sure gathering as he went so that people throughout the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks heard the word of the Lord.

I had a professor that always said, all of Paul Pauline theology is grounded in dominical tradition. All of Paul's practice is founded in dominical practice. Paul found 12 guys and he trained them up over the next two years and he sent them out and so that people throughout the province of Asia, both Jews and Greeks heard the word of the Lord. God gave Paul the power to perform unusual or uncommon or very rare miracles. When handkerchiefs actually literally it's sweat cloths, sweat rags, the sweat rag around his head.

It's the same used, same term used when John went into the tomb and found Jesus's sweat rag there in the tomb. God gave Paul the power to perform uncommon miracles. We've already seen that too. When he was at Lystra and he healed the beggar, they called him what? Zeus and Hermes.

They called Barnabas and Paul, Zeus and Hermes. That's an uncommon miracle but not as uncommon as these. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases and evil spirits were expelled. I'd say that's pretty uncommon. That's pretty weird.

Paul worked for a living at leather work. He says that other birth other places in the Bible tells us that he worked here doing that. The sweat rags and aprons he used were passively soiled at his labor. Sweat rags. He didn't recite incantations over him.

He didn't pray over them. It was completely passive on his part but he was proclaiming the word of God during the hot part of the day and people were coming to hear it. He was doing this. He was doing what he did, tent making, working hard at his job. Morning and afternoon but in the middle of the day, he took what should be his rest time, his siesta time.

And he taught probably in his work clothes, I would imagine. This was a thoroughly sinful place and one of the main things that they had was the worship of Diana or Artemis and another one that they had was everything was about the spiritual realm. The Ephesians letters were incantations and spells and all kinds of stuff. It was a very magic oriented place and it was voodoo hoodoo. It was that kind of bad stuff, bad juju.

It was not good. But what Paul had was the truth It makes me uncomfortable to think about sweat rags and aprons curing people. What makes me uncomfortable about is the prosperity gospel preachers that would say, if you will send in just this much money, I will send you a little square prayer cloth that I have prayed over myself and you can hold that up to the television right now. That bothers me. So, I read this, I read this in the light of that and that really really bothers me but there's an extreme contrast.

It's an unusual miracle but God can do whatever he wants to. He can authenticate his messenger however he wants to. He's not bound to doing things the way we think that he should. He's bound to his character and his character is about bringing people to know him. If somebody's steeped in magic and they're hung up in sorcery and God can confirm a messenger that's preaching against it but he can confirm a messenger through that.

Amen. Praise God. But consider Jesus if you're worried about the sweat rags. An inanimate object. There's no way that that could possibly work.

Luke eight forty three to 48 says, the woman in the crowd had suffered for twelve years with constant bleeding. She could find no cure. Some versions put in there thinking Luke is a physician. He said, she had spent all of her money on physicians. Coming up behind Jesus, she touched the fringe of his robe, the hem of his garment.

Immediately, the bleeding stopped. Who touched me? Jesus asked and everyone denied it and Peter said, master, this whole crowd is pressing up against you but Jesus said, someone deliberately touched me. For I felt the healing power go out of me. And when the woman realized that she couldn't stay hidden, she began to tremble and fell on her knees in front of him.

The whole crowd heard her explain why she had touched him and that she had immediately been healed and he said, daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace. Putting your faith in the Chargers today. May or may not work. Putting your faith in something that is true.

God is true. He's fixed. He does not move. He is almighty. Chargers are not necessarily so.

They squeaked in. But they got a game today and I hope they win. But anyway, I I'm not saying you've gotta put your faith in something that is true and when that woman put her faith in the truth, she was healed. What Paul had was the truth. God authenticated his message by an unusual miracle.

Contrast that with the next scene in the narrative. This is my favorite part. I'm just gonna kinda run through it honestly because it's just so good. You don't have to add anything to it. A group of Jews, a vagabond group, the King James says, a vagabond group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits for among them.

They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation. I love that it says they tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation saying, I command you in the name of Jesus whom Paul preaches to come out. That sounds ridiculous just saying it, doesn't it? I command you in the name of a guy he's preaching to come out. Seven sons of Skeva.

Now, there are seven of em. Can you imagine this band of vagabond guys preaching for money? But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, I know you are, I know Jesus and I know Paul but who are you? I was reading through and I'm studying, going through commentaries and I hit one sermon that a guy had written about this and it said, does the devil know your name? I know Jesus and I know Paul but are you doing anything to get on the map?

Are you making the radar? Then the man with the evil spirit leapt on them, overpowered attacked them with such violence. Now, it's one guy against seven but he attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house naked and battered. The story of what happened spread quickly. I imagine it would.

All through Ephesus and a solemn fear descended on the city and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. Praise God. The name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. Contrast this, Paul, preaching the gospel daily, working day and night. He's interested in people.

He really does care. That's the truth about Paul and he passively healed the sick. Actually, I didn't go into the Greek there but it didn't say Paul did unusual miracles. He sent people his sweat claws. No.

It says, when the when Paul's sweat claws and aprons discarded were placed upon the sick, they were healed. It was passive. It was not something that he did. It was when those guys that were in sneaking up around the edges of the fringe of the synagogue assembly. I'm going to get something that that guy's got.

Passively healed the sick by applying his trade and preaching God's word and he was attacked by the religious leaders. The Jews they were Jews, the seven sons of Skiva but they were affected by their culture. They were steeped in sorcery. They were going about the vagabond part of that was that they were money. They were preaching for money or exercising demons for money.

No other work is mentioned. They were interested only in the money, actively tried to cast out demons, tried by magical incantations, sorcery, and casting spells and they were attacked by the demon possessed. We're not the only ones that saw that contrast. The very next verses say, many who became believers, this is believers at that point. Many who became believers, not disciples, many who became believers, confessed their sinful practices and a number of them who had been practicing sorcery, brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire.

The value of the books was sell several million dollars. That's based on a day's wage and 50,000 pieces of silver worth a day's wage. Several million dollars worth of magic books, incantations, spells, and verse 20 is my favorite. So, the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect. Leaving the results up to God.

There's several places in here where it's always saying what Paul's doing. It's always saying what he's doing. It's all almost always either proclaiming or teaching the word of God. These are the results passages. All four of em in this passage that God handles.

As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. They were healed of their diseases. The evil spirits were expelled. The many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. That's what the Holy Spirit does is convicts us of sin and convinces us of righteousness and sends us out.

So, the message of the Lord spread widely had a powerful effect. So, I come back to this. Go where he leads you to go. Preach the word faithfully. Try your best to preach it as it is.

Proclaim the word. Work hard. We'll get to it again but Paul works hard the whole time. Engage the people in your path and if something seems off, investigate. Not just investigate them, investigate scriptures, look back and see if you can line up the things.

Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and leave the results up to God. He can do more with your willingness and faithfulness than you can ever imagine. Do you think Paul ever would have thought leading out? He'd written two thirds of the New Testament. My goodness.

He was trying to encourage his friends. Go where he leads you to go. Preach the word faithfully. Work hard. Engage the people in your path.

Preach the gospel. That's it. Now, for those of us who have believed, I I want to read a poem because this guy, last week, I got this book because of last week's poem. It's it's a little bit long. I'm afraid of saying yes, lord.

Where will you take me? I'm afraid of drawing the longer straw. I'm afraid of signing my name to an unread agreement. I'm afraid of the yes that entails other yeses and yet I'm not at peace. You pursue me, lord.

You besiege me. I seek out the den of busyness for fear of actually hearing you but in a moment of silence, you slip through. I turn from the road for I've caught sight of you but at the end of the path, you're awaiting me. Where shall I hide? I meet you everywhere.

Is it then impossible to escape you? But I'm afraid to say yes, Lord. I'm afraid of putting my hand in yours for you hold on to it. I'm afraid of meeting your eyes for you can win me. I'm afraid of your demands for you're a jealous God.

I'm hemmed in yet I had. I'm captured yet I struggle And I fight knowing that I'm defeated. For you're stronger, Lord. You own the world and you take it from me. When I stretch out my hand to catch hold of people and things, they vanish before my eyes.

It's no fun, Lord. I can't keep anything for myself. The flower I pick fades in my hands, the laugh freezes on my lips, the waltz I dance leaves me restless and uneasy. Everything seems empty. Everything seems hollow.

You've made a desert around me for I'm hungry and thirsty and the whole world cannot satisfy me and yet, I loved you, lord. What have I done to you? I worked for you. I gave myself for you. Oh, great and terrible God.

What more do you want? And God's response, son, I want more for you and for the world. Until now, you have planned your actions but I have no need of them. You have asked for my approval. You have asked for my support.

You have wanted to interest me in your work but don't you see, son? You are reversing the roles. I've watched you. I've seen your goodwill and I want more than you now. You will no longer do your own works but you will do the will of your father in heaven.

Say yes, son. I need your yes just as I needed Mary's yes to come to Earth for it is I who must do your work. It is I who must live in your family. It is I who must be in your neighborhood and not you. For it is my look that penetrates and not yours.

My words that carry weight and not yours. My life that transforms and not yours. Give all to me. Abandon all to me. I need your yes to be united with you and to come down to Earth.

I need your yes to continue saving the world. Oh Lord, I'm afraid of your demands but who can resist you? That your kingdom may come and not mine, that your will may be done and not mine. Help me say yes. Amen.

So, now it's time for communion. For those of you who are believers in Jesus, would you take this time right now to just cleanse, clear out, confess and sins before God, he will clean you from all unrighteousness. He says that. For those of you who are not believers, I want you to know that in this name, the name of Jesus, there is actual power. There is actual truth.

Jesus Christ, the God man, came to Earth. He emptied himself of his divine attributes. He lived a perfect life. He did not deserve death but that's what he got. His body was broken for you.

Whosoever will believe. That's what it takes. Whosoever will believe. Jesus' body was broken. He was dead and buried in the tomb for three days and he arose and he ascended into heaven.

He extends a very real invitation for those of you who are not yet believers. You may be learners or pupils but you're not yet believers. I would ask you, say yes. God, thank you for your word. Thank you lord that it is so powerful and active in our lives.

As we go into this time of communion, lord, I ask that you'd bless these elements, that you'd bless each one receiving them, and lord, those who have to let the plate pass because they cannot say that they know you. Cleanse us from our unrighteousness, lord. In Jesus name, amen. Can I get the elders to come forward and on the same night that Jesus was betrayed, he took bread after supper and he broke it and he told his disciples this, knowing what would happen? He said, this is my body that's broken for you.

Take it and eat and do this in remembrance of me. Jesus, thank you for your broken body and thank you for your cleansing blood. Ask you to bless this cup lord as we remember that blood shed for the forgiveness of sins. There's no other way, lord. Amen.

In the same way that he took the bread, he took the cup after supper and he said, this is the new covenant in my blood. Praise God that it's not a magical incantation. Praise God that this is not something we do to ward off evil spirits. This is remembrance. We're doing this in remembrance of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen.

Alright. Would you, would you stand up and join us in this last song? And my encouragement to you this week is to lean on the everlasting arms of our savior. To let him guide you, to let him lead you, to follow in his footsteps, to enjoy the fellowship that comes and being in his presence too. And that's just a wonderful thing that it's not just here at first being at church and at worship during communion, but that can be at any and all times in our life.

So let's sing together.