Sermon on Acts 19, Paul in Ephesus during the Third Missionary Journey. For more information and a recording of the sermon check out the blog thoughtsfromeb.wordpress.com

1. Acts 19
In Ephesus

6. To be a Christian is …..
to respond appropriately to
Jesus Christ.

7. Those who reject him
• Some are motivated by money
The believers had not ‘blasphemed’ this
goddess (19:37)
Sometimes it is a choice between following
Jesus and continuing as we are
Money prevents some from following Jesus
(Mark 10:21)

8. Those who reject him
• Some refused to believe (19:9)
They should have known the truth
They became hardened

9. Those who seek to use him
• In a society that valued sorcery, Jewish
practitioners were highly prised (8:9-24, 13:6-
11)
• Perhaps they thought the name of Jesus was
another weapon to be used
• The Old Testament has many examples of
those who sought to worship God and idols
• The evil spirits knew about Paul and the Lord
Jesus
• Jesus is the only Saviour

10. Those who want to know more
• These twelve disciples are much debated
• Were they disciples in the sense we would
understand the word?
• Were they like Apollos in that they knew ‘about’
Jesus?
• What is clear is that their understanding of Jesus
was limited
• They heard of Jesus and were baptised in his
name
• They received the Holy Spirit

11. Those who are changed
• The encounter with the evil spirits seems to
have been a ‘wake up call’
• “Continue to work out your salvation with fear
and trembling” (Philippians 2:12)
• Costly confession
• “Thus the Word of the Lord *concerning the
attainment through Christ of eternal salvation
in the kingdom of God] grew and spread and
intensified, prevailing mightily.” (19:20
Amplified Version)

12. Those who are faithful in trials
• A clear and present danger
“We were under great pressure, far beyond
our ability to endure, so that we despaired
even of life” (2 Corinthians 1:8)
“If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus”
(1 Corinthians 15:32)
“They risked their lives for me. Not only I
but all the churches of the Gentiles are
grateful to them.” (Romans 16:4)

13. Those who are faithful in trials
• The mob sought out Christians and found
Aristarchus from Thessalonica and Gaius from
Derbe (20:4)
• Aristarchus was later a fellow prisoner
(Colossians 4:10)
• If there was a mob seeking Christians today,
would they seize you or me?

14. Those who are faithful in trials
• “And so Jesus also suffered outside the city
gate to make the people holy through his own
blood. Let us, then, go to him outside the
camp, bearing the disgrace he bore.”
(Hebrews 13:12-13)