Amen. Let me invite you now to open your Bibles to Acts chapter 19, our text for this morning. Acts chapter 19. Thank you, choir and orchestra, for directing our thoughts to the incredible love of Jesus Christ. What wondrous love is this, O my soul, that caused the Lord of bliss to bear the dreadful curse for my soul. A love that doesn't come from anything in us, but flows from God's own nature. You know, in Romans chapter 5, the Apostle Paul contrasts the love of God with the love of human beings. He says, it's possible that a human would die for a righteous person, but God demonstrates His love in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And when you taste that entirely undeserved, free, sovereign, merciful love of Jesus Christ, it compels a life of service and worship and affection. And that's what's at the heart of The story we're going to look at in Acts chapter 19 this morning is a picture of the Apostle Paul and the kind of life he lived, and I think it challenges us to grow in like manner in our love and affection for the Lord Jesus. So as Jesse is about to begin teaching us through the book of Ephesians, it's appropriate for us, as we did the last couple weeks, and we'll finish today looking at Acts chapter 19, which is the origin story of the church in Ephesus, this... what became a mature church, ready to receive that incredible letter. We call the Ephesians that we'll look at for the next weeks, months, and years together. You laugh. I hope you're excited about that. I'm excited to see what the Lord is going to do in my life, in my family's life, and in our lives as we gaze anew and deeper truths about our God together through the book of Ephesians. This morning we'll finish Acts chapter 19 and the planting of that church. Acts 19 verses 21 through 41, that's our text for this morning. You know, one of the very first thoughts that a child gives expression to, and so one of the very first things that a parent hears from the lips of their child is that very famous phrase you hear over and over and continue to utter over and over again through your life, I need fill in the blank. And there's no end to what can go in that blank because this is one of the few things that is absolutely fundamental to human existence, that we are creatures of need. And this isn't a secret. It's not even just something that Christians recognize. I mean, this is lecture number one in psychology 101 in university, isn't it? Is that human beings, fundamental, basic to human existence is that we are creatures of need, but not so with God. Fundamental to God's existence is that He is self-sufficient and has no needs. You know, there's a very interesting psalm, Psalm 50, that lays these truths out before us. In Psalm 50, God rebukes a religious person who, in the course of offering his sacrifices and service to God, was under the foolish assumption that his service and sacrifice were supplying a need in God. And God rebukes him in these words. Listen to this in Psalm 50, verse 12. God says, if I were hungry, I wouldn't tell you, for the world and all its fullness are mine. God has no needs. And it's a fundamental religious mistake that we are prone in our nature to make to assume that when we come to God, we're at a bargaining table. Bartering over goods and services in the same way that we barter with other people. This is what lies, this assumption is what lies behind some of the most common religious statements that we are prone to utter. For example, when you utter, God, you do this and I will do that. We're assuming that God is at the table bartering with us, and perhaps He has more goods at His disposal, perhaps He's bigger than us and has a greater supply, but He's at the table, and we're bartering over a transaction with a peer. God corrects this misunderstanding in the same Psalm, in Psalm 50, verse 21. Listen to the way He rebukes the religious person with these words. Here's your mistake, God says, you thought I was like you. That's a fundamental mistake is thinking that God is like us. He is not like us, just bigger. He's categorically different. He's transcendent and holy, self-sufficient and self-existent for eternity. He has no needs. He is in want of nothing and we cannot supply Him with anything. In fact, the way that relationship with God will work is not a reciprocal transaction kind of relationship. Rather, God says the way relationship between an omnipotent, self-sufficient God and a created, needy creature will exist is one-way traffic. God is glorified when he supplies our needs. And God spells this out, again, same psalm. Psalm 50, listen to verse 15. Here's the way God describes relationship with his creatures. Listen to this. Call upon Me in the day of trouble, I will deliver you, and you will glorify Me." God is glorified when He supplies our needs. No one else is glorified in that situation. When you come to the table, not to barter, but you come to the table empty, with a need, empty-handed, with nothing to supply but a lack, and God supplies the need, then you aren't glorified because you didn't offer anything. The gift itself isn't even glorified because it's so evident that it came from the hands of a God who is better than the gift He gave. God is glorified when He supplies our needs. These are axiomatic truths laid out for us in the Scriptures. We are creatures of need. God has no needs, and He is glorified in supplying ours. The question then that we ought to ask is, then what needs can I expect God to supply?" And, in fact, Acts chapter 19 is a text that I think will help us to sort out the answer to that question. God is a God who is glorified in supplying needs. What needs are we to expect God to supply, and as we look at the life of the Apostle Paul and the Ephesians who were under the influence of his ministry, I think we will begin to see what kinds of needs we can expect the self-sufficient God to supply in our lives for our good and His glory. So let's walk through Acts chapter 19, and we'll look at this pretty amazing story about a riot at Ephesus. It's probably the title you have in your English version of the Bible. And it's going to unfold for us in three scenes. So let's begin. First scene of this story is in Acts chapter 19, verses 21 and 22. We'll call it Paul's resolve. Paul's resolve. Scene one in this story. Look at verse 21 in your Bibles. God's word reads, Now, after these events, Paul resolved in the spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem. And just notice that there's a connection here between what happened last week and what's happening now. Now, after these events, and of course, that's referring to what we talked about last week in verses 11 through 20, which gave us a snapshot of Paul's ministry in Ephesus. Now, we know that Paul was the pastor in Ephesus for two years. His ministry was highly influential and impactful, and verses 11 through 20 gave us a snapshot of what it looked like. And those verses describe that God was doing miracles through the Apostle Paul, so that bandanas and rags that had touched his skin were being carried to people with sicknesses, and their sicknesses were leaving them. So God was validating the gospel preaching of the Apostle Paul, saying, this is a divine messenger, listen to what he has to say. And God was further validating His message through the failure of the Jewish exorcists who attempted to cast out a demon and utterly failed. So God is working miraculously in Ephesus through the Apostle Paul to validate His message, and the scene culminates in God's glory being manifest in the conversion of His people. And so the last thing we saw in the text was that the many Ephesians were believing in the gospel, were turning from idols to serve the living and true God. And the last thing we saw was they had a bonfire in the town square as they gathered up their magical texts that they had previously used to navigate the spiritual world and were burning them, severing ties with their previous life, even their culture and their previous identity, to serve the living and true God. And recalling that scene is going to set half the stage. for this story as it progresses in the rest of the chapter. But the rest of the stage is set by looking at verses 21 and 22 again. I want you to notice a couple other things in this text. Look down in your Bibles at verse 21. It says, now after these events, Paul resolved in the spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and to go to Jerusalem, saying, after I've been there, I must also see Rome. So here's Paul's plan. In the course of his ministry at Ephesus, he has decided it's now time to come to an end. And so he's going to go to Macedonia and Greece and north of Greece, where he's going to visit some churches that he had previously planted. And so that would include the church in Corinth and the church in Thessalonica. And as he'd done before, he's going to go to these churches and encourage them to continue in their faith. Moreover, he's probably going to collect the offering that he had told them to store up to supply the needs in the church of Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, there'd been a famine, they were under harsh persecution from the Jewish leaders in the city, and they had financial needs. And so in 1 Corinthians chapter 16, verses 1 through 4, and other texts in Paul's letters to the churches in this region, he had asked them to store up an offering to partner with their brothers and sisters in need in Jerusalem. Here, he's going to encourage these churches, collect the offering, go to Jerusalem, and then go to Rome. It's quite a plan. Then look at verse 22. He's resolved to do it. Verse 22, he says, the text says that Paul sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, while he himself stayed in Asia for a while. And Timothy and Erastus are two of his closest companions, and so when he departs, when he parts company with them, and this isn't a light thing, he very much is making preparations and fully intends to rejoin his closest friends in this plan. What we see here is Paul's resolved and he's taking steps to do the next stage in his ministry, but for some reason he decides for a moment to stay in Asia, that is in Ephesus, to continue ministering for a while. I don't know why, but I do think it raises a question, doesn't it? What in the world, Paul? Things are going so well. Why would you leave? I mean, verse 10 says that Ephesus, this major metropolitan mecca in the ancient world, had become the springboard for planting churches all over the region. Church in Colossae and other churches are being planted through Paul's ministry in Ephesus. This is strategic, and it's successful, and the Lord is blessing it, and the fruit is growing. It's evident that God is blessing what Paul's doing there. Why would he leave? And that begs us to make another observation in the text. Look at verse 21. Look closely at the way the text is worded. Now, after these events, Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia, etc. Now, I know that some English versions, the NIV and the New English Translation, just say simply, Paul resolved. But most English translations render it like mine, the ESV does. He resolved in the Spirit with a capital S, and I think that's appropriate. By the way, if I can just do a footnote here to explain, why is there a disagreement in the versions? It's because there is an ambiguity in the Greek text. It's a Greek idiom. Usually, when this idiom is used, there is a personal pronoun that's added to clarify who the referent is. So we would expect when Paul, or rather Luke, the writer of the book of Acts, uses this idiom, he would say, Paul resolved in the Holy Spirit or Paul resolved in His Spirit. The text says neither. It just says, Paul resolved in the Spirit. And Luke, I think, is being intentionally ambiguous to make you scratch your head and go, wait a second. What's going on? Luke wants you to slow down and pay attention and ask questions of the text. Who's prompting this decision? Is it just Paul at a whim deciding, you know what, I've been here a while, I want to see something new? Or is there something more going on? Is he being directed by the Holy Spirit Himself? So let's follow Luke's cue to look closely at the text and let's make another observation. Look down at verse 21. At the end of Paul's resolve, he uses these words, after I have been there in Jerusalem, I must also see Rome. In that language, I must see Rome invites a comparison, not to a tourist, I must see Rome. rather to the Lord Jesus, who used identical language to describe his ministry. In Luke chapter four, Jesus said, I must preach the gospel, for that's why I came out. In Luke chapter nine, he says, a son of man must suffer many things and be crucified, and so at the end of that chapter, he set his face to go to Jerusalem, because he must go there to fulfill his mission. And the apostle Paul is the apostle of the Lord Jesus, who is being directed by the same spirit who filled the Lord Jesus and directed His ministry, and the Apostle Paul, at the prompting of the Spirit, has been told, the next stage in your foundation-laying ministry for the first century church is you've got to go to Rome. The Spirit has told Paul, you have a need. You must do this. And that sets the stage for the rest of the story as it unfolds through chapter 19. I want you to see that the stage is set for us to ask this question. When God says you have a need in your life, will he fulfill it? God has told Paul, you must do this. Will he fulfill the need? Because what's going to happen through the rest of the chapter, the next eighteen verses we're about to read are going to make it really apparent that everything in Paul's life was conspiring against this. Every circumstance in his life seemed to be conspiring towards preventing that mission from being fulfilled. So you ask the question, when God says you have a need, will He supply the need even if everything in your life conspires against you? That's what the rest of the text is going to teach us. So that moves us to the next scene in the story. We've seen Paul's resolve. Let's go secondly to the Ephesians riot, and that begins in verse 23. What I want to do, because this is a long text, is I'm going to go through the next couple paragraphs rather quickly, just commenting on some things to help us understand, and then we'll pause and we'll ask a big-picture application question that I think is just waiting for us to apply to our hearts in this text. So let's begin at verse 23. Look down at your Bibles with me and notice. It says, about this time there arose no little disturbance concerning the way. And that's just classic Lukean understatement. Luke loves to use understatement. He was a Brit before there were Brits. That… that particular phrase, no little disturbance, occurs one other time in Luke's writing. It's in Acts chapter 12 where the Apostle Peter is imprisoned in Jerusalem. And you remember that story, the angel comes to Peter while he's asleep, taps him on the shoulder, come with me, takes him out of the prison. The next morning the guards wake up. Where the heck is Peter? And there arose no little disturbance." Because the guards knew that when Herod finds out that the prisoner has escaped, we'll be executed, and that's what happens. In other words, this is a big deal. I mean, lives are on the line. That's the way the Ephesians in the following text are thinking about this incident. My life is on the line. So what is it that is driving them to this? Look down at your Bibles, but before we carry on, there's one other thing we ought to say about verse 23. It says, "'No little disturbance arose,' and it arose concerning the way." And I just want you to notice, there's something particular about Jesus Christ and about Christianity that is causing this commotion. Luke likes to use this expression, the way, as synonymous with Christianity. And when he attaches to that phrase, of course it comes from Jesus saying, I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father except through me, in John chapter 14 and verse 6, which speaks to Jesus as exclusive deity, exclusive saviorship. He's the only way to God, and that Jesus taught the way of salvation. And his apostles taught the way of salvation that comes through Jesus and on a narrow path of discipleship. What Luke is doing when he's calling Christianity the way is that he's highlighting the reality that Christianity is always, by nature, an exclusive religion. Jesus Christ is, by nature, an exclusive Savior. And that is the rub that creates everything that follows in this chapter. I want you to see that it was the exclusive nature of Jesus Christ that caused commotion in the ancient world, and it is the exclusive nature of Jesus Christ that causes trouble in the modern world. It may be the exclusive truth claims of Jesus Christ. It might be the exclusive moral commands of Jesus Christ, but it is the exclusive nature of Jesus Christ that causes trouble. But you have to recognize that It's Jesus, it's Christ, who defines Christianity. And Christ didn't describe Christianity as a broad field of people wandering about, finding their own way, doing their own thing their own way. He described it as one way to God. The door is Jesus Christ. You enter God through Jesus on His terms, and then you follow Him on a narrow path of discipleship, taking up your cross daily and following Him. That's Christianity. It is by nature an exclusive religion of devotion to the one Savior, Jesus. And that's what's causing this whole hubba-baloo that follows in chapter 19, and you see it beginning to arise in verse 24. So look down… back at your Bibles, verse 24. It says, "...a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsman." And he is the one who is going to start this whole commotion and riot that follows. Before we get into his speech that causes all of the turmoil, let's just remember for a second kind of the setting. the scene in which we find ourselves as we're imagining Demetrius and the speech he's about to give. Ephesus is a massive metropolis, the fourth largest city in the ancient Roman Empire. It's a port city, and so there's traffic coming from multiple continents, from Africa and from Asia and from Europe. It's also the head of what was called the Anatolian Highway, this ancient Roman road that stretched all the way across modern-day Turkey. It is the heartbeat of this part of the Roman Empire. And at the center of the city of Ephesus, the crowning jewel of this major city, is the temple to Artemis. Artemis is the most famous of the Hellenistic gods. She's worshipped all over the empire, and her temple is in Ephesus. It's this massive construction, four times the size of the Parthenon in ancient Greece that we learn about in history class in elementary school. Archaeologists have discovered over 127 pillars that they think stretch 60 feet tall. It's this huge edifice. And so people are coming from all over the empire, religious pilgrims, and coming in the course of their business travels, and they're doing pilgrimages to this temple. And so the reality of having this temple, it creates jobs, it creates wealth, it supplies the city economically, but more than that, it binds and ties the city socially. Because to be an Ephesian is to be a worshiper of Artemis. The culture of the city is bound up in this temple. All of their civic engagement took place in the temple. There was no way of separating Artemis from being an Ephesian. Artemis and Ephesus are synonymous. They're one and the same. If you are an Ephesian, you are a worshiper of Artemis. And as Paul has come in for two years, been preaching Jesus Christ and his exclusive salvation, things are changing. Artemis and everything it means to be an Ephesian is at stake. Their idol's been touched, and the Ephesians are angry." And that's what we find in the following text. Notice verses 25 to 27, Demetrius stands up and gives a speech to rally people to support the temple and everything that he thinks it means to be Ephesian. So I'll read this little speech in these three verses, and then we'll just make an observation or two. Look at verse 25. Demetrius gathered together the workmen in similar trades and said, men, you know from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger, not only that this trade of ours can come into disrepute but also the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence. She whom all Asia and the world worship. It's a clever speech that appeals to the heartstrings of an Ephesian. He not only appeals to the artisans whose work and their finances are at stake, but to anyone who counts themselves an Ephesian because your whole society and everything that it means to be who you are is at stake. Our whole city can come crumbling down. All the security and wealth and the good life that we have built is at stake here. And it found a ready and receptive audience. Because in verse 28, those who heard this speech were enraged and cried out, great is Artemis of the Ephesians! And the city was filled with confusion. And they rushed together into the theater, this 25,000 seat mega stadium in the heart of the city. And they're dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians who are Paul's companions in travel. It's a picture of the way people respond when their idol is touched. They respond with rage, with despondency, with panic. And the language that Luke uses to summarize their activity is just perfect. The word for rushed out is the same word that's used in Matthew chapter 8 when Jesus cast some demons out of a man and they entered a herd of swine, and the swine rushed over a cliff. Just unthinking, blind, emotional response. That's the way the Ephesians are responding to the idea that Artemis could be deposed. Well, Luke's gonna continue to describe the mob scene, but he interrupts with Paul's reaction. Notice verse 30. What does Paul do in the middle of this? Verse 30, but when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, that's what Paul wants to do. Paul says, I'm going in there. We asked at the beginning, like our preface question for this text was, when God says that you have a need, will he supply it? He told Paul, you need to go to Rome, and now there's this mob that wants to kill him. And Paul might think, well, God said I need to go to Rome, so I better get going, where's the boat? Paul's so confident that God will supply his needs that he says, I'll go in there, because if God says that I need to go to Rome, I'm going to Rome. Well, verse 30, the disciples would not let him, and verse 31, even some of the Asiarchs, those are the aristocracy who helped run the civil government, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater, and so they restrained him. Probably sage advice, because at this point Luke describes total mob mentality has taken over. Look at verse 32. Some cried out one thing and some another, and the assembly's in confusion, and most of them didn't even know why they had come together. But then some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put forward, and Alexander, motioning his hand, wanted to make a defense to the crowd. And so here, Jews are concerned that the Ephesians are going to lump Christians and Jews together in their opposition to Artemis. And Jews want to say, hey, we don't worship Artemis, but don't attach us to the Christians. We don't want to cause any trouble. But, The mob at this point isn't interested in a jolly conversation. Verse 34, Is this a wild scene? Just complete mob mentality is taken over. There's one last scene in the story, but before we move there, I want to back up and just ask one question. What in the world is going on here? What is happening? Why is this in the Bible? Why do we have this crazy riot, this mob painted so clearly before our minds in the Bible? I think the answer is in Demetrius' speech. I think Demetrius was right. Look at verse 27. In verse 27 he says, "...there's danger not only that this trade of ours can come into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis can be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence." Artemis was being deposed because Christians were repenting of their sins. They were, to use Paul's language to the Thessalonians, turning to God from idols to serve the living and true God and to wait for His Son Jesus who rescues us from the wrath to come. They were exchanging the magnificence of Artemis for the magnificence of Jesus Christ An absolute devotion to Him and to Him alone. And as that was happening, more and more and more, the magnificence of Artemis was falling and the Ephesians who loved her and looked to her to supply their needs were enraged. I think what's happening in these pages is that we have set before us a picture of some of the central realities of Christian life. We have here a picture of the spiritual dynamic that we call repentance. Last week, we talked a little bit about repentance because that was the climax of the story of what God was doing in Ephesus, was that He was supernaturally bringing about repentance of sins and love for His Son Jesus. And one of the things we saw was that in the course of Christian life, the Ephesians were coming to deeper levels of repentance. And so we said, fundamental to understanding Christian repentance is that it's not just a one-time thing. A Christian is not someone who says, I've been saved and been baptized, so don't worry about me. Repentance is not just a one-time thing that I did at the entrance of Christian life. It's a continual reality that goes on through the entirety of Christian life. But I think even saying that could still lend to misunderstanding, because repentance is not just an occasional thing. You know, we could even confuse repentance by saying that it's something that I do when I do an external oopsie. And so last Thursday I did something bad, it was pretty clear, and so I did some repentance. And then besides that, I mean, I don't know, like maybe last October? I remember there was something I did in October that I definitely had to repent for. And so it's like this occasional thing that once in a while it arises because I did something bad and so I do repentance. That's not repentance. That's at best a meager understanding of the spiritual dynamic at the heart of Christian life. At worst, it's missing the reality altogether. You know, Martin Luther, when he nailed his 95 theses to the church doors at Wittenberg to spark the Protestant Reformation, his very first thesis was this. When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, repent, He willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance. The entire life of a believer is a life of repentance. How so? How is the entire life of a believer a life of repentance? Well, because repentance is not just repenting of a physical idol or a physical wrongdoing. Repentance entails also repenting of the functional idols in our hearts, those things in our life that we bargain with to supply our needs, needs that only God can supply. So Christian life, if it's going to be a process of continual repentance, has to consist in identifying those idols so we can unmask them, repent from them, and turn to Christ. So we should ask the question, so how do I identify these idols, these functional idols in my life that are deeper than just the very obvious external bad things that I occasionally do? One of the ways you can recognize where the idols are in your life is just what's before us in this text. What is the thing in your life that when someone touches it, you respond? You want to run riot. You respond with fear, with anger, with despondency and anxiety. Probably, when you are responding in this way, it may be that there is an idol in your heart that someone is touching and you are like the Ephesians saying, great is fill in the blank. Don't you touch that. You know, Psalm 42 and verse five, gives us a picture of how to do this. In Psalm 42 in verse five, the psalmist says, why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you in turmoil within me? And that's what we need to learn to do in Christian life, is to take ourselves by the shirt and say, why are you feeling this way? Why are you so upset? Why are you so despondent? Why are you so fearful? Why are you so anxious? Why are you so angry? Is it that you put your trust in an idol, it's failed you, and now you're angry? That gives you an opportunity to repent. And this is something we do continually throughout our Christian life. In fact, in Psalm 42, it occurs three times. The psalmist says, why are you cast down on my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? Why are you cast down on my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? Why are you cast down on my soul? Why are you in turmoil within me? It's something you continually do and part of your life is recognizing, why am I responding this way? What is it that is provoking this response? And when you begin to learn to look at your spiritual life through this lens, you see that repentance is so much deeper than just the obvious surface sins in our life. It consists in those idols that we look to and bargain with to supply our needs, needs that only God can supply. Let me give you maybe a simple picture of this. When I was growing up, my very favorite movie was Rocky, the original Rocky, nothing less. And there is a line in that movie that I glossed over growing up, but I think I understand a little better now. Right before the climax, big boxing scene, he says, I just want to go the distance so I'll know I'm not a bum. What's happening there? He's bargaining with an idol, his body and with boxing, saying, I need to know I'm not a bum. I need to feel that I'm accomplished, that I'm approved, that I'm successful, that I'm secure. And so, body and boxing, I'll give you this and you give me that. He's bargaining with something. Bargaining with an idol to supply needs that only God should supply. And if he doesn't get it, if his idol fails him, he'll be crushed, despondent, because he'll feel like a bum. Now, I know I've just violated one of the cardinal rules of expositional preaching. I supplied you with a cheesy movie illustration. And yet, can you work with that? I think it is still illustrative of a reality that's going on in our hearts every day. I just need blank so that I can have blank." And I'm not even just talking about some of the obvious ways that we create idols in our life. I need to do this sin because I need the pleasure it'll give me, and I've earned it because I've been good. That is obvious idolatry that you need to unmask, repent of, and flee to Jesus Christ for cleansing and transformation. But I'm even talking about some of the good things in our life that undergirding that or self-centered idolatrous motives. So this works in the life of a person that works hard to supply financially for his family, and he says, I need this promotion, or I need this many dollars in my bank account so that I will feel like a successful, good husband who's done my job, and I'm financially secure. Or even in our parenting, I need my kids to behave a certain way. I need to end up with good and godly kids so that I will feel validated as a good, successful Christian parent. Do you see how even good things in our life, what undergirds them sometimes, is a functional idol? I'm looking to this activity, this good thing, to supply me with something only God can provide. And you can identify it. When someone touches it, you respond. This is one of the reasons why sometimes when our children don't behave in the way we expect them to, we get so upset. Because now I'm not validated, now I'm a failure. Ultimately, my parenting was about me. This is why sometimes when someone questions, hey, why is your kid doing that? You get so defensive. Because I have made my parenting fundamentally about me, and if you touch my idol, there's going to be a riot. See, there are a hundred ways in which we have undergird our good activity with idolatrous desires. We're looking to creation to supply our needs rather than the Creator. process of Christian life is identifying them and unmasking them and saying, no, I'm not just a warrior. I'm not just angry because I'm Irish. It's because I'm an idolater. That's my problem. You know, the second half of Psalm 42 and verse 5 doesn't just say, why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me, identifying what it is that is causing me to respond this way. But then once you have identified what that idol is, the second half of the psalm says, hope in God, for I shall again praise Him, my salvation and my God. And as he queries himself three times, he responds in turning to God three times. Hope in God, hope in God, hope in God, He is my salvation. So when we turn from our idol to serve the living and true God, and to serve God is for Him to supply our needs, and for He alone to supply our needs, you see how it renews and redeems all of these activities that before had been functioning from an idolatrous platform. So now our parenting is no longer, I need my kids to be raised in the right way, so I will feel validated, but now God is my security, God has validated me, as we just sang. I am chosen, not forsaken, I have an identity, a security, I'm clothed in the righteousness of Christ, I'm washed with his blood, I'm adopted and loved forever, and now I want my kids. to know the God who has saved me. I want them to taste of the love of Jesus who laid aside his crown and bore the dreadful curse from my soul. I want them to know that. God, I'm coming to you empty. Supply the need. I can't save them. I don't even know how to begin. I need wisdom, Lord. Supply me with wisdom, so I can raise them in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Supply me with wise counselors, because in the presence of many counselors, plans succeed. When you come to God now, looking for Him to supply the need, then you pour yourself out in service, not to get, but to give. This is Christian life, and what Acts 19 is doing is putting a picture before us of this dynamic of repentance, of identifying our idols, unmasking them, and turning to God to supply our needs. That's what's happening in the life of Paul. Now, we can go finally to the third scene in the story, and we'll see the conclusion. Does God supply Paul's need? We'll look at verse 35. The final thing we'll see is the Spirit's resolution. The Spirit's resolution, that's in verse 35. Look at the text, it says, now when the town clerk had quieted the crowd. Now, you ask, how in the world has the town clerk managed to quiet the crowd? Well, they've been raging for a few hours, and no matter how angry they were, eventually, they're gonna run out of steam, right? They can't do this forever. And the town clerk is the chief magistrate. He is the one who is the liaison between the Roman imperial government and the local city council, and so he's the one who's gonna be responsible. If the city ends up acting in ways Rome doesn't approve of, Then they can come take the power away from Ephesus, they can come in and rule it by military might, and he doesn't want that. And so he has a vested interest in making sure that the Ephesians calm down so Rome doesn't get upset. And now, after they've been going for several hours, he seizes an opportunity to begin to reason with the people. And look at the way that he persuades them to settle down. Look at verse 35. He quieted the crowd and said, men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the sacred stone that fell from the sky? Nobody can deny that. Artemis is okay, let's calm down a little bit. Verse 36, seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. For if you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess," and you know, he might be extending the facts a little bit in order to just calm people down, but then he offers them an alternative route to deal with their grievances. Verse 34. If therefore Demetrius and the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open, and there are procouncils, let them bring charges against one another. But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly, and here's the finale of his argument, verse 40, for we really are in danger of being charged with rioting this day, since there is no cause that we can give to justify this commotion. And when Rome says that you're rioting and we don't like it, They get angry. Just a previous generation there had been a riot and Rome had come and had slayed many thousands in the same vicinity as Ephesus. And the town clerk wants to avoid that. So verse 41, after he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. And that's the end, right? Not exactly. I think a better way to end is in verse 1 of chapter 20. It says, "...after the uproar ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and after encouraging them, he said farewell and departed for Macedonia." We started with, God said, Paul, you need to go to Rome. Everything that has unfolded in the succeeding verses has looked like Paul's not getting to Rome. And then just when it seemed impossible, God has sovereignly orchestrated all of the circumstances so that Paul is going to Rome. God said he had a need, and God supplied it. And that gives us opportunity to just make one more observation in the text that I think really seals this lesson for us. So look in your Bibles. Look closely at verse 36. Seeing then, this is the town clerk's speech, he says, seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you must be quiet and do nothing. Now some of our English versions, mine included, render that word ought, but it's the same Greek word. You must be quiet. Now the text started with Paul saying, I must go to Rome. And it seems like there's no way he's getting there until the town clerk of all people stands up and says, you must be quiet. Those same words, this connection, Luke is inviting us to fill in the blank. He says you must be quiet so Rome doesn't end up destroying Ephesus, but we know what's really happening behind the scenes is you must be quiet so Paul can get to Rome. You see, when God says you have a need, he will supply it and there are no circumstances that can possibly arise that will ever prevent him from supplying the need he says you have. And I think this also helps us to draw full circle to the original question we asked in the introduction. If God's glory is to supply our needs, which needs do we know He will supply? The ones He says you have. This is Psalm 37, 4, "'Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.' When God says you have a need, He will supply it." And do you know, just as God told Paul he had a need, the Scripture is filled with verses that say you have needs. The New Testament is replete with God speaking to you and saying, you have needs. For example, the same language that's used in the life of the Apostle Paul is used in New Testament letters. For example, 1 Timothy, Paul says he wrote the entire letter so that you will know how you must behave in the church of God, which is the household of God, the pillar and buttress of the truth. You need to know how to serve God in the church, fulfilling your roles and exercising your gifts that God has sovereignly distributed to you. You need to know and to do that and God will supply that need. Another text, in Colossians in chapter 4, Paul says, to walk in wisdom toward outsiders, make the best use of your time, and let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you will know how you must answer each person. That's just fancy language for saying you must share the gospel. You must talk to non-believers, have your speech seasoned with salt, and answer responsibly and appropriately. to magnify Christ in sharing your testimony and the faith of Jesus. And Paul says that's a need, and you can bank on if God says that's a need in your life, He will supply it. Here's another one, 1 Thessalonians chapter four, verse one, Paul says, brothers, we ask and urge you in the Lord Jesus that as you receive from us how you must, you must walk and please God just as you are doing that you do so more and more. You must please God with your life. You must live in holiness. You must obey Jesus and do you know what? God says you have that need, he will supply it. He will enable you to live a holy life, to keep his commandments and to please him with your life. You see, what is here is the New Testament has given us needs, has told us where our needs are, and I just wonder, are we reorienting our minds so that the needs that we recognize in our life are the needs that God says we have in our life? Or do we think that we are still sovereign so that we can define what our ultimate needs are, and God is the butler who will supply them? No process of Christian life is renewing our mind through the reading of God's word, where God tells us where our needs are, and that's where we can bank on God supplying our needs. You need to live a holy life, he'll supply you the power to do it. You need to share the gospel, and he will supply you the words and the opportunities to do it. You need to learn how to serve and live your life in the church, fulfilling the roles God's given you, and he will enable you to do it. Now you ask, well this sounds really spiritual. Well, yeah, I'm glad, I'm glad you're, glad you caught on. But it would be an appropriate question to ask, but what about all of these other needs? I mean, I need to eat, right? I need a house, I need a place to live, a place to put my head. Should I ask the Lord for those needs? Are those legitimate needs? And you know the short answer to that is according to the Lord Jesus? Yes! I mean, after all, in Matthew chapter six, Jesus said to pray to God every day for your daily bread, for all of your physical needs. You should pray to God because those are needs and ask Him to supply them. But by the way, He tells you to ask God for daily bread, not a daily buffet. So you should ask God for all of your physical needs. And your Heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be added to you. Because after all, isn't your life more than food and your body more than clothing? You have been put here on this earth for a higher mission than just having your physical needs met. You've been put here for something that will last forever. Just as Paul said, if I remain in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me that will echo into the canyons of eternity. And as George Whitefield said, until you have finished the mission God has put you for on this earth, you are immortal. Jesus Christ will supply all your needs according to his riches in glory. When you reorient your mind to recognize what your genuine needs are, the needs defined by the Father who loves you and bought you with His own blood, you can bank on it. He will supply them. Hallelujah. Father, we worship you for this incredible news that you supply our needs. Lord, expand our affections, expand our hopes and our desires. Lord, so often we have small desires. But Lord, you made us not for this world, but for the next world. So expand our affections, expand our expectations to receive what only you can supply. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for being with us today, and now, a parting word from Pastor Jesse. If you have any questions about what you heard today, or if you want to learn more about what it means to follow Christ, please visit our church website, EmanuelBible.Church. If you're not a member of a local church and you live in the Washington, D.C. area, we'd love to have you worship with us here at Emanuel. I hope to personally meet you this Sunday after our service. But no matter where you live, it's our hope that everyone who uses this resource is involved in their own local church. Now may God bless you this week as you seek Jesus constantly, serve the Lord faithfully, and share the gospel boldly.