In the book of Acts, radical changes for good took place when the Holy Spirit was at work in the lives of individuals, families, communities and even whole cities. Today the same thing is happening all over the world as millions of people discover that real Christianity, unlike religious tradition, brings love, life, liberty and new beginnings. Today you too can personally experience the revolutionary power of the Holy Spirit, and so too can our country and culture.
Acts chapter 19 tells us how one of the most famous cities of the ancient world, which was once far from God, quickly became a great centre for the good news of the gospel. Ephesus was a city that worshipped money, power and sex. Above all it was famous for containing one of the seven wonders of the ancient world: the temple which housed the great statue of the Greek fertility goddess Artemis. Yet it was here in this spiritually dark city and in the face of great opposition that God used the apostle Paul and his disciples not only to establish a great church but to shake the whole city. From this we see some simple lessons of how we too can experience the power of the Holy Spirit and see our society and nation shaken by the gospel.
1. Confidently and consistently share the gospel (Acts 19:8-10)
2. Expect people to respond radically to the gospel (Acts 19:17-20)
3. The gospel must affect every area of life (Acts 19:23-41; Matthew 6:33)
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Have you heard the life-changing good news of Jesus Christ? Do you confidently and consistently share this good news with others? Jesus told his disciples to take the good news of gospel to all people everywhere: men and women, young and old, people of all races. Time and again he told his disciples to do what He Himself had done. It was not to stay in a comfortable religious environment but to GO out and spread the word to the multitudes. The apostle Paul was very faithful in doing this, starting first as always with his own people, the Jews (Acts 19:8-10). Even if some weren’t interested, Paul just kept on telling people about Jesus. He and his disciples did this every day until the whole region knew all about Jesus. If we want to see a spiritual revolution in our day and age, every Christian needs to tell others that Christianity is good news in a world of bad news. What is this good news?
• the good news is that God knew that we couldn’t get to Him, so He sent His only Son Jesus to us in our world.
• the good news is that Jesus loves us like no one else will ever love us.
• the good news is that Jesus can heal broken hearts and sick bodies and minds.
• the good news is that Jesus died on the Cross so that we can be forgiven of all our sins and freed from guilt and condemnation.
• the good news is that Jesus is the good and great shepherd who will guide us through every season of life and help us overcome every problem we face.
• the good news is that Jesus rose again from the dead and because He conquered death we too can lose the fear of death and have the hope of heaven.
Maybe you have never heard this good news. Well you have now and it can change your life. We will change our world when we all never stop spreading the word.
Do you expect those who appear far from the gospel to still respond positively to the good news of Jesus? The people who became Christians in large numbers in Ephesus were not what you would call church-going types. Many of them had been deeply involved in the occult but when they experienced the power of the Holy Spirit they turned from the dark side and into the light. They made a complete break with the occult, sexual sin and idolatry (Acts 19:17-20). When the Holy Spirit is at work, people stop covering up sin and start getting honest about what has been going on in their lives. Light and darkness cannot co-exist and people who really want to get clean must first come clean. In Ephesus they didn’t just decide not to use their old occult materials. Instead they burned the lot of them. They wanted to get rid of every trace of their old way of life no matter what it cost them. They wanted nothing to do with works of darkness. Maybe it's time for you to come to, or return to, a place of reality and purity before God. It’s time to get serious. It’s time for your heart and life to be cleaned up. Every society-shaking revival begins with real repentance; that means turning totally from sin and turning totally to Christ and deciding to live God’s way. For when we change the world will change (Acts 19:20).
Who and what are you serving? Who and what is your God? Luke describes the riots that ensued in Ephesus and that the whole city was in an uproar (Acts 19:23-41). The trouble was all about what conflict is so often about: money. The rioters were stirred up by business people who put up a religious pretence that they were concerned for the honour of their goddess Artemis. But what they were really worried about was their loss of income and power because so many new Christians were no longer interested in buying their souvenirs of Artemis, who they no longer regarded as god. The basic trouble of those who opposed the apostle Paul was that they didn’t want Christianity to affect their lifestyle. But real Christianity will affect every area of our lives, not just on Sundays but every day in our homes, workplaces and every area of society. Jesus knew that we all need money but he was so clear that ‘you cannot serve God and money.’ And He gave this challenge in Matthew 6:33: ‘to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and everything else will be added to you.’ In Ephesus great numbers of people decided to throw away all other gods and leave their old way of life to totally follow Jesus. As a result, the whole city was shaken. Our world will also be shaken with a new Christian revolution when more and more people see that only Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and commit themselves fully to be His disciples. Today you can be part of that revolution when you say in the words of an old song: 'I have decided to follow Jesus. No turning back. No turning back'.
