We'll pick up our studies in the book of Acts this morning in Acts chapter 19 and verse 8. Acts 19, 8. Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, all praise is due unto Your name. And we are such unworthy creatures to be called to such a high duty, though we owe it to you, Lord, by creation. And we thank you that you have given us another reason as well, and that is redemption through Jesus Christ, our Lord. And we do desire today to show forth praises unto your name for all that you've done for us. And we acknowledge, Lord, that you are truly everything to us. And without you, we are nothing and have nothing. We ask today for your help to render unto you that which is due your name, that you would lift us out of our normal, weekly, daily concerns and help us to concentrate together upon your being, upon your character, upon your works, upon your word. Help us, Lord, to worship in true faith toward you. And we do pray today that you would minister to us all as we've gathered here in this place, and that you would meet the needs of every heart, whether that heart be yet in the darkness of sin or whether we have been justified by Christ and stand in His righteousness. Help us all, we pray, according to the way you see our need. And we ask this now in Jesus' name. Amen. We began chapter 19 in the last lesson and covered the incident when Paul encountered the twelve Men there in Ephesus that had been baptized unto John's baptism. We won't review any of that, but pick up here in verse 8. It goes immediately into verse 8, and it says, And he went into the synagogue and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. And when diverse were hardened and believed not, but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus." We recall the reception that Paul had received in the synagogue in Ephesus on his first visit there, chapter 18 and verse 20. Jews then liked what they heard, or at least they thought they did, so much so that they, it says, had desired him to tarry longer with them. And at that point, he couldn't. He had to go on. But they did have that desire when he first came. And having read this, then we see a little bit of a contrast, at least with some of them. So let us be reminded that Sometimes, initial impressions of certain truths and those that bear them are positive. Sometimes, however, initial impressions change, as they did here, and sometimes they radically change. Certainly, the Lord found this to be true during His earthly ministry. Some were immediately attracted to Him who later departed from Him and opposed Him. And of course, this is the very thing we're going to see on the part of some of these Jews here in this situation. We realize that Paul's message did not change. That was not the reason for their change. But along with that, some of the hearts of those in the synagogue had really never changed. That was the real issue. That was the root of the problem here. The hearts had not changed, even though in their initial exposure to Paul and his preaching, it had been positive. And we see that Paul's preaching would eventually expose those hearts, those unchanged hearts. So one lesson we can all apply here is that we are sometimes easily convinced of something that we easily reject later on for one reason or another, what we were formally convinced of, maybe starts to pinch a little bit, and then we begin to back away from it. And that is probably what happened to these Jews. The more they were exposed to the truth, the more it pinched their conceptions of the Messiah and of the Kingdom and of its demands upon their lives. You know, we have examples of that. One example that comes to my mind is Sometimes we see people readily accept the doctrines of grace, and these doctrines appeal to some people for different reasons. But when the doctrines of grace begin to be more manifest as to what they are, which is really the graces of the doctrine, the gracious workings of God In the soul, when those are emphasized and insisted upon, to some that's asking too much, and so they turn away from the doctrines of grace. To truly bow the knee to Jesus and think what he thinks, and love what he loves, and hate what he hates, that is kind of another thing when it becomes that demanding. That's a little too radical. And so sometimes we see people that readily accept truths like the doctrines of grace, when they begin to get pressed upon them, start to back away from them. There are other examples, I'm sure, that we could think of. But one thing we should learn to do consistently is to apply the Berean approach. Let us make sure, first of all, that the Word of God is our authority. And then let us prayerfully examine what we believe in light of the word. And let that determine our acceptance of anything taught as truth. And then let that determine our obedience to it. In a word, we could say, does what we learn, is it conforming us to the image of Christ? That's what should be happening. And of course, Only more illumination or improved understanding of the Word of God should move us to any sort of change in what we believe or practice. Well, we see here that Paul continued his usual method in Ephesus, going first to the synagogue to preach. And as it turns out, it is the last account of Paul teaching in a synagogue that Luke records. It was also of the longest duration of any synagogue ministry that he had. It was three months, we see there. And you know, as we look back and see Paul's approach as he visited various synagogues, he had reaped a harvest in doing that. But he never reaped a harvest without a price to pay. We see to the very end here he would hazard the consequences in order to see his brethren according to the flesh saved. I'll point you ahead to what Paul would say to the Ephesian elders later on there in the book of Ephesians concerning his motivation for his ministry both to Jews and Gentiles. And there he says in Ephesians chapter 20, I'll just read that quickly. Ephesians 20, I'm sorry, not Ephesians 20, Acts 20, is speaking to the Ephesians. If you caught that, you know there's not 20 chapters in Ephesians. But anyway, in Acts chapter 20, verses 21 through 24, where he's speaking to them, Tells us what his motivation is to continuing to go to the synagogues regardless of the cost. He says, testifying both to the Jews and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ. And now behold, I go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing the things that shall befall me there, save that the Holy Ghost witnesses in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy in the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the gospel of the grace of God." And so we see here as Paul continued to go to the synagogues, he was determined to finish his course. follow it through all the way to the end, and might that encourage us to be like Paul and to stick it out, no matter what the consequences are. Might it encourage and inspire each of us to do that? But, of course, we must always look to the grace of God in order to do it. What God called Paul to do was very demanding. He could not have done it without grace, without much daily grace. And what God has called you and I to do, I can assure you, takes grace. It takes much daily grace. And that's just the way it is. So let us look to Him to finish our course with that determination, leaning upon the grace of God. Well, we notice that Paul had never toned down the message to get along. He went into the synagogue and spake boldly. This is an adverb, and the adverb is consistently used with the verb speak throughout the New Testament. And so boldness characterized Paul's preaching, his speaking. If you just do a concordant study and go through the book of Acts, you'll see That's always the case. Paul always spoke with boldness. And, of course, we should recognize that boldness involves what we speak as much as the forwardness to speak, period. It was the gospel that Paul was bold to speak. And we know that the gospel of a crucified Christ was unto the Jews a stumbling block and unto the Greeks foolishness. And what he spoke, what Paul spoke, was routinely rejected, was scorned and ridiculed by some. That never caused him to halt the preaching of the gospel. That never caused him to decrease in his boldness. And we might tend to think that this was just a natural and easy thing for Paul to do. That it simply reflected his personality. You know, we tend to think that Paul was this tough little Jew born with real thick skin. But we notice that in his epistle to the Ephesians later on, in Ephesians chapter 6, and this is a real reference this time, Ephesians chapter 6, verses 18 through 20, what Paul requests from the Ephesians. Praying always, with all prayer, and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints. And for me, that utterance may be given unto me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel." Paul needed the grace of God to speak boldly. He understood that, and he requested that Others would pray for him that he would have this boldness. And of course, their prayers were wonderfully answered, not only for him in his first imprisonment, but Paul continued to speak bold to the very end, even there in prison in Rome, where it says that he continued there speaking with confidence, that same word, with boldness, right up to the very end, he maintained this boldness. Well, why am I laboring that? I think it is an important point. Do we sometimes let ourselves off the hook by saying, well, I just don't have the gift to testify of Christ that way? I was not born with thick skin. I don't have that boldness. Well, there is certainly something to being gifted to do certain things with boldness. But, you know, I don't think we ought to just throw in the towel and leave the boldness to someone else if we've never asked the Lord for the boldness to speak when and where we can. Paul, again, apparently received his boldness by prayer. And that is how we will be supplied with boldness as well. Don't just assume because you're kind of like me, a retiring person. Some of you may not think I'm retiring, but I am. And I don't like to speak out, but I should never assume that I can't if I haven't prayed for the boldness to speak out the gospel for Christ. So do we pray for that boldness for ourselves? Do we pray for that boldness for one another? We need that boldness, especially in this day in which we live. Might God give us that boldness? Well, Paul's method of preaching remained the same as well. He never changed the message. He never changed the method of delivering the message. It says he continued disputing or reasoning and persuading. This was both teaching and exhorting, if you will, didactic and hortatory, teaching Doctrine is vital, and we cannot be true to the Lord if we do not teach His doctrine. But exhortation to act on the truth, to act on the doctrine, is what completes biblical teaching and preaching. It's incomplete without that. And of course, even one-on-one witnessing, the same principle applies. It's not complete until we have urged those with whom we speak, to act on what they have heard. It's so important. And so we should pray also that so-called evangelical Christianity might return to these basics which so many have strayed from, preaching doctrine and exhorting people to repent and to believe the gospel. That's what Paul did. He labored at it, and we need to labor at it. The scope of Paul's preaching, we see here in his teaching, was things concerning the kingdom of God. He was following his Lord who, after his resurrection, was seen of them, that is of his eleven apostles, forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. And Paul, to his final day, would be preaching the kingdom of God and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus. We're told there again in Acts chapter 28 and verse 31. He preached the kingdom of God and the things concerning Jesus until His final breath. Well, we are still to preach the kingdom of God and the things concerning Jesus Christ, which includes Christ's salvation and His rule and His glory and His authority and bringing all things to the consummate and heavenly kingdom of glory. We are to preach the kingdom of God. Well, I guess we should just ask, are we in the kingdom of God today? Are you in the kingdom of God? Do you know His salvation? Do you know His rule? Do you know His glory in your soul? If you do, you're in the kingdom of God. The kingdom of God is a delight to be a part of. I don't know how better to say it. It's a delight to be a part of. It is a kingdom that no earthly potentate can take away the peace of. It's a kingdom that no earthly potentate or anyone else on earth can defeat. It's a kingdom that is untouched and unspoiled by the powers of darkness. And when the kingdoms of this world are but smoldering heaps, what's going to be left is the glorious kingdom of God. And if you're part of that kingdom, think about that. You are in a kingdom that one day shall be the only kingdom that is left. So in a day when men's hearts fail, As they see their earthly kingdoms unraveling, as they are, we ought to be ready then to proclaim to them a kingdom that shall never decline, and a king that they can give full allegiance to, and a king that they concern without any concern for his failure or disappointment. Oh, the kingdom of God is a precious, precious thing. And I hope we all are part of that kingdom today, and if you're not, strive to enter into that kingdom. There's no kingdom like it. Well, unless God graciously worked, as we see here in these verses, the most persuasive preacher the world has ever known, perhaps, availed nothing. The great apostle, with all of his understanding, and persuasiveness could do nothing with certain men unless God worked in their hearts. In fact, all of that preaching would only have a negative effect on some of these people. What we see in some of these Ephesian Jews is chilling to see. But we need to look closely at it and never forget it. is some spiritual truth lived out before our eyes. We should not pass over these accounts too quickly. And we want to notice that these Jews who heard and heard and heard were hardened. Rather than continuing to be receptive as they had at first to the truth, they became hardened against it. There is no indifferent ground relative to the truth. There is either an ongoing and a progressing receptivity of it or an ongoing and increasing resistance to it. The verb tense here indicates that this hardening is a process that renders a person's heart harder and harder, more and more resistant to the truth. And I also want to point out here that this is a passive verb. Hardened. And sometimes hardening is attributed to the unbeliever. Sometimes it's attributed to God. And however you want to explain that theologically, at least let that thought sober you. If you are here and you are an unbeliever, you may imagine yourself to be in the driver's seat. But just remember this, if there is a curve ahead and you ignore the warning sign, God is not obligated to keep you from a fatal crash. If you are ignoring and resisting the truth, that does not put you in control. God is still in control. Hardening is a A chilling thought. And again, you're either being more and more receptive to the truth or you're being hardened against it. There is no static place where you're not going one direction or the other. Well, the next thing we see here is they believe not. And this is not simply a state of negation concerning the truth. It is a state of overt positive refusal to accept and believe the truth. They believed not. And we have to understand that ultimately unbelief becomes a definite choice, a definite path a person determines to take. Perhaps a person at some point does not believe simply due to darkness and ignorance. But when they are confronted with the truth and they do not accept it, they will eventually, positively, and consciously refuse to believe. It's not innocence. And unbelief then will pervade the entire life of such a one. Unbelief will be the governing principle. It will be the way of life. unbelievers are unbelievers. It characterizes them. They don't believe. They've made a conscious choice not to believe and everything else is governed by that unbelief. So my dear friend, if you are in a state of unbelief, this ought to chill your soul. We look around us and see folks that are so proud that they have become wise and they've escaped the old superstitions of the Bible. They've determined to throw it all off. And this governs their lives. And this is a pride that will ruin the soul for sure, and forever, if it's not repented of. And then we notice these Jews, it says they spake evil of that way before the multitude. And so finally here is just open opposition to the truth. Their personal unbelief finally terminated in public blasphemy. They spake evil of that way against God's way of salvation. And so in so doing, they spake evil against the great goodness of God. How terrible that is. and they spake in such a way as to influence others to join them. At last, when men reject God's way of salvation and go so far as to denounce it, they're not simply refusing a doctrine or a teaching that they do not intellectually agree with. They are going the other direction and defaming God himself who has opened the way of salvation from eternal destruction. Think of it. To reject the gospel, to oppose the gospel is to scream in God's face and reject the goodness that he has poured out on undeserving people. It's a frightening thing, really, to see men reject the Gospel. They're rejecting the goodness of God. They're rejecting, and I use this term like a human, they're rejecting God's best. It's a serious thing. Oh, lost person, look carefully at these Jews right here. Don't pass over this too quickly. Become acquainted with these people who are in torment today for taking this path. You just see how confident they were? See how bold they were? See how independent they were? They're not like that today. Unless God granted these Jews repentance later on, they helped populate a place of eternal darkness today. Serious business when men persist in loving darkness rather than light. God will eventually accommodate them. Don't join them. Don't join them. And so finally we see here that Paul departed from them and separated the disciples. God took away His witness from them. They opposed it. God obliged them. Oh, again, listen and look at this. Do you think these Jews or any person that rejects God wins the argument when the voices you hate or they hated are quieted? Have you won? Do you feel better now if perhaps your conscience does not trouble you as it once did? Do you feel relieved when that person who has tried to witness to you and win you to Christ has finally shut up or been taken out of your life? If such a thing happens to you in your unbelief, you ought to be in terror. It is the most chilling thing that could ever happen to your soul. If God takes the witness away and leaves you in your obstinate unbelief, oh, sinners that have not repented. Look at this. I failed to find words to describe how desperate a person is that's in the case of these Jews here. But we should say that as long as they were still alive and breathing, as long as any sinner is still alive and breathing, there is hope. There is hope. And repentance is the key. Well, we look now at this school of Tyrannus. Disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus, And this continued by the space of two years, so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." Well, Paul took his disciples in his teaching elsewhere. The synagogue was no longer a place he could preach without great opposition here. And so in the providence of God, Paul was now given a far wider ministry than he had there in the synagogue. So in the end, the loss of these handful of Jews was the gain, it says, of all they which dwelt in Asia, that is the province of Asia. And so here's one of those situations in which the wrath of men praised God. The wrath of those in the synagogue redounded unto the spread of the gospel in a much broader way to the praise of God. Well, nothing for certain is known of this Tyrannus. His school is commonly thought to be the place Tyrannus owned and where he himself taught, perhaps as a philosopher. How Paul came to have access to this place, we don't know, but it is clear that Paul, in this place, wherever it was, there in Ephesus, in this place he had much personal freedom and he was greatly blessed of the Lord as he taught there over these two years. Well, Ephesus, we recall, I think we introduced it a little bit in one of the lessons, was the great city of the province of Asia. Being a great commercial center and the administrative city of the province, and also it was a center of religion, it was therefore visited by many people. There was much opportunity there. And apparently many of these people that visited Ephesus heard about Paul, came to this school of Tyrannus, heard him teach and preach, and took the message back out into the various cities of the province. So Paul now had, as a result of what happened in the synagogue, had a very highly visible place to preach the gospel. And the Jews still had access to it. The Jews that desired to hear him still had access to it. And of course, it would be a place where the Greeks were not inhibited to go. So just again, a wonderful opportunity that the Lord gave Paul here. It's just amazing. It says, so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. You remember that at one time Paul was forbidden to preach in Asia? And now the door is as wide open as it could possibly be. And there would be numerous churches established throughout the province of Asia. We know the seven churches of Asia that John addressed his letters to in the book of Revelation. There was Colossae. There was Hierapolis that's mentioned in Colossians 4.13. All of these churches sprung up probably with their roots in some way back here with what Paul is doing in Ephesus. A tremendous work that God opened up when he was forced to leave the synagogue. Well, let us remember here on a personal level, there may be some people we simply do not seem to be able to speak to of Jesus Christ. as Paul had not been able to speak to those in Asia before. But if that happens, let us not necessarily give up. Let us not assume it's a permanent situation because God's timing is not always our timing. Sometimes we miss an opportunity or providentially miss an opportunity. It might not be God's timing. But let's not write that person off and say, well, God didn't intend for him to hear the gospel or her to hear the gospel. No, there may be a more opportune time coming, as it was with Paul in Asia. Let's just not give up, I guess is what I'm trying to say. Not write anybody off or anything off until they are completely out of our hearing and out of our reach. Well, God's hand is not shortened today any more than it was here. He was just working in a marvelous way. And He does still work in marvelous ways. And may God forgive us when we forget that. Going on, we see the signs of an apostle in verses 11 and 12. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul. so that from his body were brought under the sick handkerchiefs or aprons and the diseases departed from them and the evil spirits went out of them. God was pleased at this particular time and in these apostolic times to accentuate the gospel through the use of miracles. We recall something similar in Peter's ministry there in Jerusalem. And we've seen it before with Paul. And Paul would make special reference to the gift or whatever to perform miracles there in 2 Corinthians when he is defending his apostleship. These were all signs of the apostles given for the purpose of drawing attention to the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were never ends in themselves. We're reminded in verse 11 that these miracles were by the power of God through human instruments. When we're told that God wrought these miracles, we should understand that they were God's initiative as well as His power. Men don't just perform miracles because they want to. They're God's initiative. And this was God's manifestation of His miraculous power to a city, the city of Ephesus, that was greatly influenced by what is called curious arts there in verse 19. Ephesus was a city, we're told, that had a reputation as a center for magical practice. The city was permeated with that. And so these miracles would be especially instrumental in such a city as this. This is kind of similar to when God sent Moses to confront the magicians in Egypt with his divine power. Paul here is going to confront and confound this superstitious city by God's divine power. These miracles were spoken of here in verses 11 and 12. They were the inception. They were what triggered that display and brought on Paul's encounter with the magicians of the city. That's how it all got started. And of course, at the same time, God accomplished much good and showed much mercy through Paul. that were plagued physically and spiritually were relieved through Paul's instrumentality. What we see there in verse 12 seems to be superstitious. These bringing handkerchiefs and aprons and so forth. Was there special power in these handkerchiefs or aprons? Or was God simply bending low and accommodating these people in order to show them His power. And that seems to be the case. It reminds me that though God never violates His holy character, we see from this and from other instances in Scripture, we just can't box God in, can we? He can work how He pleases. He uses whatever means He pleases. Think of Moses' rod. Was there inherent power in Moses' rod? Of course not. That rod was something that resonated with the Egyptians, and God used that rod as He did. All things are at God's disposal to use as He sees fit. And yet, having said that, I think it would be wrong to take a superstitious practice like this which some modern hucksters do. People have tried to imitate this very thing and try to standardize it. We simply do not have the license to take something like this and standardize it and operate this way. But again, God can do what He pleases and how He pleases to do it. Well, before going on, I want to point out how that Paul never pointed to working miracles as his grand work. As amazing as these miracles were, Paul never tried to put those at the center of his ministry or point to them as the great thing. He barely mentions it. Only mentioning it himself and defending his apostleship. But Paul's great work according to his own testimony in various places in the New Testament, was simply in proclaiming the gospel and seeing lost men and women come under the saving power of Jesus Christ and being freed from sin and condemnation and becoming citizens of the kingdom of God. How telling and how condemning it is to see religious hucksters today trying to make miracles the centerpiece of religious experience. And I think there is more evil in this than we may think, because what does it do? It distracts men and women from the true need of the healing of the sick and guilty souls that they possess. That's the true need. I would much rather live with a physical deformity or ailment and have a soul restored to God than to have a perfectly healed body and a crippled and dying soul. We, I guess, are so accustomed to some of this confusion that we tend to ignore it, at least I tend to ignore it, but we need to think about it from time to time and realize there are still people that are in bondage to this kind of thing, and there are still religious hucksters out there trying to bring people into bondage with this kind of thing. So, let us stay mindful of that. Well, now let's look at these exorcists in verses 13 through 16. Then certain of the vagabond Jews' exorcists took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits, the name of the Lord Jesus saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth, and there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew and chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them and overcame them and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." If you believe that there is a place for holy humor, here's an occasion for it. And I don't make light of this affair at all, but I can hardly contain a chuckle as I try to envision this scene. But let us examine it with the seriousness it demands. These vagabond Jews, literally, these going-about Jews, these itinerant Jewish exorcists that made it their business to go around supposedly casting out demons, At some point they observed Paul casting out evil spirits. They noticed Paul casting out the evil spirits in the name of the Lord Jesus. And no doubt they viewed this as a very potent incantation that worked very well for Paul, casting out demons in the name of Jesus. So they decided to give it a try. The incident before us, as we see, involved these seven sons of a chief priest named Sceva, who we don't know anything about. But these guys, as they're traveling around the city, come upon this man, obviously possessed with a demon, an evil spirit. And you can picture them circling around this guy. And called out the incantation mentioned there in verse 13. We adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preacheth Well, we've already read what happened. To call this an unsuccessful attempt at exorcism would be an understatement. It completely backfired. And rather than come out of this man, the man went wild with superhuman, demonic power and tore him up. And we can just picture them fleeing out of this house scratched and bruised and their tattered clothes flying behind them. Well, as I've said, the matter is somewhat humorous, but the truth we see here is profound and sobering. The truth is, and I'm sure we could glean several truths here, but the thing that hit me first is that There is no mere man nor group of men that are a match for the powers of darkness. See how this guy just tore these guys up. People laugh and joke about the devil and demons, but the reality is that there are powers that we cannot see that could and would undo us in a moment. if they could. From time to time, we are allowed to see, if we're perceptive, we're allowed to see what men can do when God removes the restraints and allows that evil power to take hold and do what it would do. We can think of incidents. You look at some things that happen, you say, how could that happen? That's how it happened. That's how it happens. But another truth is this. The powers of darkness know the name of Jesus. They know the messengers of Jesus. They knew Paul. And we know from other scriptures that these pose a real threat to the powers of darkness. Jesus and those that preach His gospel, Jesus and His message and His messengers Preach that which destroys the power of darkness. It's a threat. But next we must consider that the name of Jesus is not simply a good luck charm. It's not simply a potent incantation. And that's the way many use it today. And I think when they do, it's taking Jesus' name in vain. But that's kind of the way these sons of Sceva used it. But we need to see here that when the name of Jesus passes our lips, it ought to issue from a heart of holy awe. When the name of Jesus passes our lips in addressing the needs of a darkened world, it comes forth as a name that is above every name. It ought to come forth as a name that speaks of His greatness and power to save from spiritual darkness. It's not just an incantation. It's not just a good luck charm. When we speak Jesus, we speak of a glorious person that has power to save. Power to save men from the powers of sin and darkness. It's a name vested with all the authority of heaven and his power upon earth. So when we use it, let us use it, but let us use it carefully. We see something very interesting there in verse 17, that this event triggered by these exorcists brought glory to the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. This thing became widely known, we're told here. Widely known in this superstitious city, these wandering exorcists were no doubt well-known. Perhaps they had had some apparent success and people in the city knew that. Well, of course, this evil spirit had no intentions of glorifying the Lord Jesus and what He did in setting on these seven sons of Sceva. But his evil, the evil of this demon and wanting to hurt and destroy glorified the Lord. The wrath of devils praises God as well. But, you know, as we look at this, we see here also that this event kind of pulled back the curtains and allowed many in this city, this superstitious city, to see what they were given over to. And what they were dabbling in, which they could now see was far more threatening and dangerous than what they had ever realized. Many were awakened by this event here before us. And by this event, they were able to see that there was a power. There was a power indeed over evil spirits that was distinct and authoritative, and of course, was the Lord Jesus Christ. We see in verse 18 that there was a true and a real spiritual awakening over this incident. And many that believed came and confessed and showed their deeds. It brought many to faith and repentance. It's kind of difficult to tell here from this statement if these that believed were those that had already believed and were now shown even more of their sin and the need to repent even more, or if they were those who believed on this particular occasion and repented. And of course, both may be true. But whatever the case, the grace of God was evident in them. God wrought wonderfully through this incident. When men believe in Jesus Christ confessing their evil deeds, Something mighty and miraculous has indeed happened. That's a mighty act of God when men do that from the heart. I hope we appreciate that, what power, what a miracle it is when a sinner comes to confess their sin and repent. A mighty act of God is required for that. And we see there in verse 19 that many of them brought forth very evident fruits of repentance. True repentance goes beyond confession of sins. We see here they got rid of their old ways, so to speak. This was a remarkable event for this city. There was a huge book burning here. These books were books containing the spells and the incantations and the prayers and the songs involved in this worship that they practiced, their occult worship. And these were things that they had lived by. It was their life, it was their religion. And now we see here they're making a clean break from all of this in a public way. And we see also they didn't want anybody else to avail themselves of what they were throwing away. They didn't want somebody else to come along and pick up their book. They didn't send it to the used bookstore or give it to the library. No, they took it down and burned it. Well, here's a model of true repentance then. Old things are renounced and passed away. There's a removal of the old temptations. There's a deliberate separation from all that would lead us back into sin. And not only do we want to remove temptation from ourselves, we don't want to throw it in front of others. We will burn our books, so to speak, so that others are not tempted by them. Even if it means material loss. These people, you notice the cost of these books? I didn't take the time to compute that into modern dollars. It was a lot of money. It didn't matter. Well, we all need to examine our lives and see if there are not yet some things that need to be burned. Even if it cost us a friendship or some economic advantage or some earthly honor. We need to see if there's anything left that needs to be burned. And perhaps, as I've already said, some of these here had already believed, but maybe through this whole thing they were made more aware that there were still some of those old books up there on the shelf that needed to be burned. They'd not quite been able to get rid of them all up to this point. They needed to be burned. And so now they went home and they cleaned off their shelves. And they not only cleaned off the bookshelf, they did like the others were doing and they took their arm loads down to the city incinerator and threw them in. Threw them in. At the foot of the cross, as it were, there was absolutely no need for them anymore. We need to cast away all that is contrary to the cross of Christ, that they need to be burned. And you know, I find that there are legitimate things that were in my life five years ago, and I scratch my head now and I say, what in the world? Why didn't I burn that long before? That's not needed. Well, we see one of the prominent themes of the book of Acts there in verse 20, so mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed. There is in reality no power in this world that can withstand the Word of God. Do we believe that? No power can withstand the Word of God. It will always accomplish its purpose regardless of what that purpose is. We have a mighty, mighty power in our hands. Well, we're especially happy to see how it prevailed in the lives here of these people in Ephesus that had lived in darkness. This city had been a city of darkness, and many in it now had come to the light. Well, we preach the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation to the Jew first and also to the Greek. And it is a word that is tailored for all men, all men, and women, and boys, and girls, because we're all, by nature, in the darkness of sin. And God be thanked. It is a word that cannot be resisted if God stretches forth His saving hand You might want to take a little time and see the junctures where this is spoken in the book of Acts, where the word of God, after some mighty confrontation, prevailed. It always prevailed. It always will prevail. Let us believe that.