We are in Acts chapter 19 this morning. Acts chapter 19, verses 1-10. Just to remind those of you who have been tracking as we go through the book of Acts and to assist those of you who are maybe visiting with us and have not been with us on a regular basis, we are going through the book of Acts and we are in what's identified as Paul's third missionary journey. And when we come to Acts chapter 19, chapter 19 is the record of Paul's return to Ephesus, the city of Ephesus, which was his stated intent back in chapter 18, verse 21. It says there, but taking leave of them and saying, I will return to you again if God wills, he set sail from Ephesus. So Paul had intended to and hoped to return to Ephesus again as the Lord might will. And so you have in chapter 19 his return to the city and also his work in the gospel ministry as he labored there in that city. Paul ministered in Ephesus for greater than two years, according to verse 8 and even verse 10 of our text. We'll be reading this in a few moments. And the city has become identified as the center of the Gentile mission, as saw the words of F. F. Bruce when he speaks of the importance that Ephesus begins to play as far as the advance of the gospel in Asia here, where Ephesus lies. And then, of course, From the church at Ephesus, we have the added benefit, as even the church to this day, given to us in the Holy Scriptures a letter to the church. The church at Ephesus called the Book of Ephesians, of course, the New Testament Bibles, and for that we are thankful. The work at Ephesus was a work that was not without its share of difficulties, but on the other hand also had its rewards. And so we'll begin beginning this morning with the first few verses of the chapter and then continuing on as the Lord wills over the next few occasions as we gather dealing with the book of Acts chapter 19. Follow with me as I read from Acts chapter 19 verses 1 through 10. It happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, Paul passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. He said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said to him, No, we have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. And he said, Into what then were you baptized? And they said, Into John's baptism. Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in him who was coming after him, that is, in Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Spirit came to them and they began speaking with tongues and prophesying. There were in all about 12 men. and he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks." Well, I trust that as we've read through this text this morning, particularly these first six verses, that there have been some eyebrows raised, some curiosity piqued, some questions to arise in your mind as to exactly what is going on here. That was my response, and I had to preach on this text. Not my response this morning, but in earlier readings of it, and then trying to decide what exactly is going on. And we will certainly look at what I'm satisfied is as good an explanation as I've considered on this. I want you to think about one of the difficulties of the modern day church, and that is directing our focus or prioritizing our focus. We always, as a church, seek for ways that we might interact with and engage with our culture as opportunities to share the gospel. So many churches are involved in various types of ministries and have many programs going forth with the design and the intent that the gospel be shared with those who are outside the normal walls of the gathered church. However, in doing that, there's always a danger, and the danger is what some have termed that the tail begins to wag the dog, in that we can become so focused upon our ministries, so focused upon our programs and whatever else we may have that we begin to lose sight of what the essence of the ministry of the church looks like. it's very easily to become redirected, misfocused. And so part of the responsibility we have is that we must always keep before us remembering that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is pre-designed by God. God has a design for the church. He doesn't call for us to come with our creative ideas and try to make the church something that it was never intended to be. that it's pre-designed by God Himself what the church is to be doing, what the church's purpose, what its areas of focus, its concerns, its priorities are to be. And so part of our calling is to keep the right concerns of the church as our priority. It doesn't mean that we do not do other things. It does mean that we do not lose our focus. We do not lose a sense of priority. We do not set aside a secondary. What are the primary concerns of the church in order to do these things? Must always be careful in that regard. This morning, I would have us to think about the church as being under God or under Christ rule. That Christ does rule over His church. That Christ does have a plan and a purpose. And as the people of God, as members of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, our responsibilities as stewards within the church to maintain that proper focus, to maintain a priority on the correct areas of concern. What are we to be concerned about as the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and that which we will have in common with all people who identify themselves as such? What are some of our focus of concern? I want us to take from our text here this morning three areas of concern. three areas of concern that we must keep before us regarding the church. And again, it's not that we do not look at things beyond these three things, but we do not lose the focus. that we have upon these. The first area of concern that we always keep before us as a church is the identity of the church. The identity of the church. Now we come to our text here in Acts chapter 19, verses 1 through 6 of this chapter are among the most difficult text in the book of Acts to deal with. This is one of those occasions when I think Who came up with the great idea of preaching straight through a book? I can't find a good way to get around Acts chapter 19 verses 1 through 6, so I've got to plow through it. And I trust to be faithful to that. And thank you for those who I asked on Wednesday night as we gathered to pray for me in that regard. And even as Wednesday evening as I was laying in my bed, and this is going through my head, and got up Thursday morning, and I take a walk on some mornings, and I was walking through the neighborhood, and the Lord just began, I think, to clarify some things for me in regard to this text. And I thank the Lord for that. I thank the Lord for you and for your prayers in that regard. In preparation in dealing with this text, I have seven different writers, some are commentators, some are not, but seven writers dealing with this text. And there was no consensus. Now, there were those who had some agreement, but there was no consensus. It basically came out with about four different views, which that's all I needed to bring into the pulpit this morning, wasn't it? Well, so what I want to share with you this morning is what I believe, my understanding regarding this group of Ephesian disciples that come to Paul here at Ephesus. And this was not, incidentally, all the makeup. This is a group, a group of those identifying themselves with the church there in Ephesus, a group of about 12 men. Well, to understand exactly who these people are and what's going on, I think, first of all, it's important to understand and remember the context in which we find it. This is the context of the man Apollos. Remember, for those of you who were here last week as we dealt with the text regarding Apollos being introduced, Apollos chapter 18, and we talked in verse 24, look back there with me, it says, A Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth from Alexandria of Egypt, He was an eloquent man, came to Ephesus, and he was mighty in the Scriptures. We don't really know much about this man other than what's written here. We don't know how he came to a saving knowledge of Christ. He is described in verse 25 of 18. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord. and being fervent in spirit, he was speaking and teaching accurately the things concerning Jesus, being acquainted only with the baptism of John." So in what he spoke, what he knew he spoke well. He spoke correctly. The problem was he didn't know everything. And we're going to look at that in just a minute of what that means, that he was being acquainted only with the baptism of John. Verse 26, And he began to speak out boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately. In the sense of more fully, more completely. So it wasn't though he was teaching error. It was just he didn't have the full picture here. So what does it mean here when it talks about that he was acquainted only with the baptism of John? Well, I do often do in cases like this one. Just be safe. I quote somebody else. And I want to quote from Linsky's commentary this morning in regarding this comment, which actually from the text from last week, that Apollos was acquainted only with the baptism of John. Minsky says this, by the baptism of John, the whole teaching and work of the Baptist, and speaking of John the Baptist, are referred to. The idea is not that he knew nothing about Christian baptism, but that his knowledge did not extend to the completion of the work of Jesus. This, of course, included also the command to baptize all nations and the events that transpired at the time of Pentecost and later. And then Linsky adds this, to know only John's baptism was not to know about the crucifixion, the resurrection, the Ascension, Pentecost, etc. Not to know the Lord's Supper, the first church at Jerusalem, the mission of the apostles, etc. So some significant things that he was lacking in. What he knew, he knew well. He simply did not have the whole story. But this was said about Apollos, a man who was teaching well, a man who taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, but he was pulled aside by Priscilla and Aquila, and they explained to him the way of God more accurately, in other words, more completely, to finish the story for him. Now, our text here, the group seems to have identified themselves with the church and as believers. In some sense, they were a part of those at Ephesus who were identified as followers of Christ. They're called, in the vague terminology, verse 1, it happened that while Apollos was at Corinth, he passed through the upper country and came to Ephesus and found some disciples. Now, the term disciples can have a very specific meaning. It can mean clearly those who have been born again by the Spirit of God and are followers of Christ. The word just simply means a learner or a follower. However, the term disciple can also be used in Scripture just to mean someone who follows in a general sort of way. And then we have, for example, in the book of John. that John speaks of an occasion in John chapter 6 that when Jesus spoke some of His difficult words, many of the disciples did not continue to follow after Him. So we would understand that they're not truly regenerate. They're not born again. So when we come here to the word disciple in 19.1, it's not clear. However, the fact that it's mentioned by itself by Luke with no explanation would seem to indicate that there is some sense in which they are rightly identified with the church. In some sense. It says that they had been baptized by someone into John's baptism. Verse 3. Paul said into what then were you baptized? They said into John's baptism. So what do we get from this? It seems that the one who administered the baptism to them was a follower of John and he did not accurately understand nor did he accurately or correctly communicate the nature of John's baptism. The one who baptized these in the name of John, he apparently did not understand the nature of John's baptism, so he did not communicate to them the true nature of John's baptism. Now, how do we know that? Well, we know in verse 2 it says, Paul said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? What was their response? Their response was, We have not even heard whether there is a Holy Spirit. Well, there's a bit of a problem with that if they have been baptized with the baptism of John. Look with me in Luke chapter 3, verse 16. This is John the Baptist. Luke 3, verse 16, John answered and said to them all, As for me, I baptize you with water, but one is coming who is mightier than I, and I am not fit to untie the thongs of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. So how can someone have rightly understood John's baptism and administered that baptism and not have mentioned the Holy Spirit. Because that was John's message. I baptize you with water, but there is one coming who will baptize you with the Holy Spirit. And so these in Acts chapter 19, we've never heard where there is Holy Spirit. So it seems that the one who administered the baptism to them as a follower of John did not accurately understand nor communicate the nature of John's baptism. So what does Paul do in our text? Acts chapter 19 verse 4. Paul clarifies to them regarding John's baptism. Verse 4. Paul said, John baptized with the baptism of repentance telling the people to believe in Him who was coming after Him, that is, in Jesus. So two things show forth here in John's baptism. It was a show or a demonstration of genuine repentance. That's what he says. John baptized with the baptism of repentance. Look with me again back in Luke chapter 3. Luke chapter 3 verse 8. It was not a mere profession of repentance. But it was a life that demonstrated repentance. Those who received the baptism of John, Luke chapter 8. I'm sorry, Luke chapter 3 verse 8. Back up to verse 7 to help us on context a little bit. So He began saying to the crowds who were going out to be baptized by Him, well here comes some people to be baptized by John, that's a good thing. Welcome aboard, right? No, you brood of vipers. Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Therefore, bear fruits in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, we have Abraham for our father. For I say to you from these stones, God is able to raise up children to Abraham. Verse 10 and following the crowd, a question saying, what shall we do? And he would answer and say to them, the man who has two tunics to share with him who has none. He who asked food to do likewise. Tax collectors also came to be baptized. What shall we do? What's in evidence? What's the proof of general repentance in our vocation? Collect no more than what you have been ordered to. Some soldiers were questioning and saying, what about us? What shall we do? Do not take money from anyone by force or accuse anyone falsely and be content with your wages. So part of the baptism of John that it was a demonstration of repentance and it was a baptism that required that there be fruits in keeping with that repentance. That there be some visible evidence. that there's been a genuine repentance, a genuine change of heart. But also note here, back in Acts chapter 19 verse 4, the first part was a baptism of repentance. The second part is this, telling the people to believe. It was not only a baptism of genuine repentance, it was also a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. It was anticipatory in its nature. It was anticipating, as he says here in verse 4, to believe in Him who was coming after him. That is Jesus. So the baptism of John was a baptism of repentance and faith. Does that sound familiar? I hope it does. That's the gospel. So back to our text, well, what about these guys then? Well, evidently because these ones had been baptized by someone who did not understand nor communicate the true nature of John's baptism, their previous baptism by John is regarded as deficient. And that's not always the case in Scripture. Paul is evidently the baptism of John. He was not baptized here in the book of Acts. Jesus himself baptized with the baptism of John. The apostles baptized with the baptism of John. The baptism of John was sufficient to be identified with Christ and in the New Testament church. It's not the fact that they were baptized in the baptism of John, and now they'll be baptized in the name of Jesus. It's not the fault. There's no fault with the baptism of John in and of itself. But there was something faulty here with these. And it seems that they had not been taught, nor do they understand the true nature of John's baptism, that it was a baptism of repentance, as well as a baptism of faith in Jesus Christ, who is to come after John. So what it amounts to, in spite of their testimony here that they had been baptized with the baptism of John, it was not actually so. It was not the true baptism of John, one of repentance and faith in Jesus. So that we find in verse 5, when they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus here, because now that's how all are baptized. There is no longer a baptism of John. As Jesus commissioned the church in Matthew 28, 18 and 19, he commended they go forth baptizing in the name of the Father and of the Son of the Holy Spirit. So they are here baptized in the name of Jesus because that's the name in which through whom all are baptized in the New Testament age from this point onward, even previously in the book of Acts, simply according to Jesus' instruction. And as an evidence of a participation in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit that they had previously missed, there had been an outpouring of the Spirit in Jerusalem, Acts chapter 2 at Pentecost. But as evidence of their being participants now in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, they are affirmed as being those who possess and are possessed by the Spirit by speaking in tongues and prophesying. So we do not go to this text. We do not go to this text as a proof that there is a conversion and then there is secondary, somewhere along the line, a baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because this was an odd duck in the big scheme of things. This was an abnormal situation. And so to confirm them as part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, they were given the signs, as other points through the book of Acts, the signs of speaking in tongues. Another question that may come up so well, Randy, were these already regenerate? And I knew you were going to ask me that, so I just thought I'd ask it for you. Were these already regenerate? Were they born again by the Spirit of God? Here's how I choose to answer that question. that I would regard these as those prepared by God's grace to respond to whatever measure of truth they encountered. We know this. They are included among God's elect. We know that because they are converted. And is that not the more important question? that God was in the process of bringing them to Himself. And to try to answer questions about, you know, when were these people converted? Were they already converted? What would have happened to them if they had died in this state? You know, that comes closely akin to asking the question, well, what would have happened to one of us if we had died before we were saved? Well, if you're God's elect, that wasn't going to happen. Just not going to happen. That's the nature of God's election, to assure that all whom He has chosen for the foundation of the world, they are saved. And so we can rest assured and say, this about these 12, they were counted among God's elect, brought unto Himself. Where in that process they were actually born again, regenerated by the Holy Spirit, I'm not sure. That's the best I can say. But we know this, they were counted among God's elect. Consequently, what do we see here? We see the church's identity is clarified. Now, that's a long way to get from where I started to where I am. That's where we're back to the first point you forgot. The thing we're concerned about is the identity of the church. And that's what this text deals with. Who is the church? What people make up the church. And the answer to that question is this. Those who are baptized, repentant, believers in Christ. There it is. They are repentant, they are believing in Jesus Christ, and they are baptized. That's the membership. of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is how the church is identified. And so likewise, it puts the same responsibility upon us that we have the concern of knowing how to identify the church. Who do we identify as those who are true brothers and sisters in Christ? Well, here's a bare minimum. They've been marked by repentance, repentance that has fruit to show that the repentance is genuine. They are marked by faith, believing in Jesus Christ, and they are marked by obedience to Jesus' command, having been baptized. That's bare minimums of identifying the church. We need to understand, though, when we speak of repentance and believing, what we're speaking of here is the importance and the absolute necessity of a regenerate church membership. that if you're not regenerate, if you're not born again by the Spirit of God, you are not a member of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ. And though your name may be on the rolls of a physical visible church or a local expression of the body of Christ, you're not a member of the invisible church, the universal church of the Lord Jesus Christ. We hold fast to a regenerate membership. Now just to let you know how quickly things like this may slip, two years after Jonathan Edwards preached his well-known sermon, Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God, in which the Spirit of God moved mightily within his church and in many areas around there, two years removed from that occasion. Jonathan Edwards was removed from his ministry because he advanced the truth of regenerate membership. That if you're going to be a member of the church, you must be born again. And the church had become something more than that. And to tell people of importance and significance in your community that they could not join your church because they were not born again didn't sit well with them, nor sadly some of the church. So you see how easily, how quickly something as basic as regenerative membership can be abandoned. Repentance, one who recognizes their own personal sin, their offenses against God. We're not talking about simply an awareness that we've done some things that are wrong, but we're talking about an awakening within our spirit wrought by the Spirit of God. that our sin is an offense against Him. Repentance as the gift of God. A repentance from which there is no repentance. A repentance that we do not regret. A true and genuine repentance. A godly repentance. And believing is embracing the person and the work of Jesus as the sole provision for our salvation. and baptized. We would not say that baptism is essential to salvation. We would say baptism is essential to church membership. And if someone would not submit to baptism in order to be a church member, we would question their conversion. Because baptism is a clear basic of those who follow Jesus. Jesus commands to go to baptize all who believe, identifying with and submitting to Jesus and His Church. And to note, it's not an emphasis, but to note that it is a Trinitarian baptism. It is in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. It also brings to mind another importance of what we would term as formal church membership. It is important to be identified in a formal public way with a local church. There is importance to membership. We press that, we stress that, and urge you to consider that. Secondly, and I promise you two and three will not take as long. Secondly, Concern for us as the church is the increase of the church. Not only that we identify the church, but also the church increase. We've seen portrayals throughout the book of Acts. Many of you have been traveling through what's been now a year and a half going through the book. We have seen the gospel advancing in place after place, city after city. And what's the process? The process is much the same. The process is laid out for us again right here in our text. the process of how the gospel spreads, it goes forth. It is through the faithful and the diligent preaching of the gospel. So we even see in our text here in verse 8, as often noted before, Paul does what? You can almost say without looking. Oh, we know what he did. He went to the synagogue, right? Sure. That's his pattern. He entered the synagogue. He continued speaking out boldly for three months. Now, we have set before you, and we'll set before you again one more time, what Paul's pattern here, and I think some of the key verses for us on this issue is chapter 17, verses 2 and 3. According to Paul's custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures. This is what he did when he went to the synagogue. He reasoned with them. Let's sit down, let's be reasonable about what the Scriptures teach. He reasoned with them from the Scriptures, and verse 3, what was he reasoning with them? Explaining to them and giving evidence to them that Christ had to suffer Let's deal with that first. The Christ, the Messiah, is not a great conquering king in the sense of earthly kings. He must come and He must suffer according to the scriptures, the Old Testament scriptures. That Christ had to suffer and rise again from the dead and saying, this Jesus who I proclaim to you is the Christ. So that's what he was doing when he went to the synagogue. He's reasoning with them from the scriptures, giving them evidence, giving proofs, explaining to them Christ had to die. He had to rise according to the scriptures. That's what he teaches. See this verse right here? Follow with me. Isaiah 53. You see this? Follow with me. Psalm 22. You see this? Messiah had to suffer. Follow with me. Psalm 16. He had to rise again. And this Jesus. Is that Christ? So he made his case from the Scriptures, taking the message of the Messiah having come to those who are most prepared, the Jews going to the synagogue, the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks who had joined with them in their worship. those who held to the teaching of the Jewish faith, those who embraced the truths of there is one God who is, in fact, a creator and a sustainer over all of His creation, who held and embraced the truth of man's guilt and man's sin, and who embraced the most important truth in regard to all of that found in the Old Testament Scriptures, that is the promised Messiah, the anointed one of God. reasoning with them from the scriptures. Again, as we saw in chapter 17, verses 2 and 3, explaining, giving evidence for the necessity of Christ's suffering and the identity of Christ as Jesus of Nazareth. So the scriptures are his guide and his confidence. And so you see in verse 8, he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly. He wouldn't have hearted about this because he knew the truth. bold witness for the truth of God, bold because he knows that this is God's truth, it is God's message. And the result we see as well in verse 8. And even the Son of God continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. In verse 9, some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the way, He withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyranus." Verse 8 though, last part, reasoning and persuading them. Reasoning and persuading them. Now we understand by this that it's more than just an intellectual ascent. That there was a work of the Spirit of God going on here. And they were convinced of these truths. They were persuaded. And notice what it says, they're persuading them about the kingdom of God. You remember that little motif? We've had that motif with us all the way from Luke's gospel three years ago. Jesus, what about teaching the kingdom of God? The disciples commanded to teach about the kingdom of God. And at the very last of the book of Acts, it's the kingdom of God. What's he doing here? Simply to mean the kingdom of God is the place of God's rule and God's reign. As Paul preached God's reign through the person and the work of Jesus Christ, using scripture as his evidence, some were persuaded. The kingdom of God is about submission to Jesus' rule and hearts. So it's God opening and understanding the heart of some who believe, not all, we just read there. Some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the way, verse 9. It simply means a change of venue for Paul. He withdrew from them and took away the disciples and reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. Evidently it was a facility that was owned by this man named Tyrannus. We don't know if he's a believer or not, but Paul was allowed to use it. And there he continues teaching and preaching to all who would come and hear this message of salvation. Committed to the increase of the church and knowing that the methodology to that increase is through the preaching of the gospel, is going to the scriptures. Let the scriptures make the case. The scripture makes the case. So rightly, as the church today, we concern ourselves with the increase of the church. So let's not get focused about numbers. I'm not focused about numbers per se, but I am concerned about the reality of the fact that there are people who need to hear the gospel. And I'm convinced, I'm convinced that God's means of saving whom he will is through the preaching of the gospel, through his word. And so we commit ourselves to the Word of God and with that trust that there will be an increase within the church of God. We just ought to be growing. We want to be careful. We don't want to become focused that we lose sight of the proper methodology. Our goal here is not to grow for growth sake. I had to come to terms very early, I think I shared some months or years back, that I had to recognize that my goal here as a pastor is not to make sure that anybody who comes and darkens these doors comes back and keeps coming back. That's not my goal. My goal is to preach the Word, let God build His church as He wills, and that's much safer, it's much healthier, and we rejoice in that. And our commitment has always been that we will build the level that Christ build his church through the ministry of the word and prayer. That's it. And that doesn't mean that we will not do some other things to be visible in the community to have opportunity opportunities, but we're not looking to build our church that way. I'm not looking to see how many lost people I can have for a week after week, after week, after week, and I never come to Christ. I don't want a lost person to get too comfortable here. If they're coming back, it's because they're becoming pricked. They're concerned about their own soul. They're concerned about eternity. And we're here gathered each Lord's Day primarily for the benefit of the church, of the saints. So I don't have much sympathy in what some have termed evangelistic worship. And I believe in some sense all worship is evangelistic. There's a message to this being proclaimed by our gathering, by our worship. We're preaching the gospel to some measure here. And it's not that there's never a place for evangelistic type services. I believe there are. But we're not going to refocus and redirect what we're doing here as a body of gathered believers in Christ to accommodate those who know nothing of Christ. Much of that we do outside these walls, building bridges, building relationships and bringing them in. So we rightly concern ourselves about the increase of the Church of God. We have a basis for boldness in our message. The basis for our boldness is the Word of God. How can I, you know, you hear Al Mohler this morning, those here in Sunskill Hour. You hear Al Mohler talking about all these guys and all these intellectual elites in our culture. How can I stand up to all these? Well, you don't have to. Most of those don't live in your neighborhood. Who are the people in your world? And it doesn't matter who says it loudest. What is truth? He's given us the gospel. And it's enough because that is His means. That is the means whereby the Spirit of God goes forth to bring men and women unto Himself. Do we long to see people converted to God's truth? For no other reason, and I think the best of reasons, that we long to see this place and many other places across this area and land filled with worshipers, because He's worthy. He's worthy that we bring, I think about a hundred of these chairs scattered around here. Let's fill them up. He's worthy that there be a hundred people in this place in the Lord's day that have a heart for Him, who love Him, who want to exalt Him and praise Him. He's worthy of that. So, Lord, build your church. The desire for the increase of His church is certainly a concern. You know, sometimes I think we become, and again, again, we in these reformed circles, we kind of get, we hunker down and say, well, most people don't care anything for reformed theologies. They just get the fact we're going to be small or whatever the case may be. And I'm fine with being small. But if we've got the facility, let's bring them in. Let's trust the Lord. Build your church. Build your church. And finally, a concern that we have beyond the identity of the church and the increase of the church is the initiative of the church. This is very similar to my previous point, but there is a distinction I want to make here. When we think about the increase of the church, we're thinking about there just the emphasis on the growth of a local church body. And we desire to see that, the church increase, and bodies of believers grow and increase in number in that sense. But when we speak of the initiative of the church, what I have here in mind is more of an emphasis on church plants and church starts in multiple places. We find here something of a summary statement in verse 10 of our text. This took place, this of course speaking of his ministry there in the school of Tyrannus. This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. And the focus for us in this point is this, all who lived in Asia. Now, we're not going to pick that apart and think that means that every single solitary person in the continent of Asia heard the gospel. There's nobody saying here. And that area known there, what we identify as Asia Minor, And that area identified that the gospel went forth in a mighty way there. I mentioned already that Ephesus became the center of the Gentile mission. Let me just read with you a little bit from F.F. Bruce and his commentary on this text and on this verse. It says, for two full years this work went on. Paul stayed in Ephesus, but a number of his colleagues carried on missionary activity in the neighboring cities as well. It was during these years that the churches in the Lycus Valley, those at Colossae, Book of Colossians, Hierapolis, Laodicea, that sound familiar, were founded. Although Paul does not appear to have visited these churches in person, perhaps all seven of the churches of Asia addressed in the Revelation of John, which is Revelation chapter two and three, the seven letters, seven churches, one letter. Perhaps all the seven of the churches of Asia addressed in the Revelation of John were founded about this time. the province was intensively evangelized and became one of the leading centers of Christianity for centuries afterwards. So when I speak of the initiative of the church, what I'm speaking of there is the church's tendency, and I would say its innate nature, to reproduce itself. that the church as a living organism not only increases in numbers of people, and that would be what we would term the increase of the local church, it not only increases the number of people, but also reproduces itself at more local expressions of the body of Christ. It says you had developed in that day that people were limited, of course, by great distance. It wasn't practical to go from one city to another city to worship. So as the Lord would raise up, they would start other churches in these areas. Paul would plant the seed. Paul doing much of his work here in Ephesus, but a great outgrowth of the church here from Ephesus. The church taking root here and spreading around from city to city as a testimony of divine work here in this place. So our plan, our passion, our concern is to see churches planted. We have a vision for that. Part of that we can fulfill through our Association of Reformed Baptist Churches of America. That there are Arabica churches with missionaries that are in places working and planting churches in foreign lands where there is no gospel witness. At times, seeking to plant churches in places where simply there's no Reformed church. And I want to be careful here. There are some times it's warranted. There are some times I think it's not. There are some times we just need to learn to get along. But there are other occasions where there are no faithful witnesses of the gospel. And we would say that in such places that it is warranted that we seek to start Reformed churches. And in the case of us, Reformed Baptist churches. But I'm not going to quibble with that one. Why? To see this take place as a testimony to God's saving grace among peoples all around the world. That wherever you go, wherever you go, You find the gospel belongs because there are men and women who need the Lord. They need Christ. It doesn't matter what culture they're in. They need the gospel. And so the gospel goes forth and it takes root. It finds home in the hearts of cultures that you think, how in the world could it ever happen? Now, what a testimony. What a testimony of the amazing grace of God, as it speaks of in the book of Revelation, that we stand before the Lamb to worship Him with those of every nation and tongue and tribe. We're not going to speak the same language. Our brothers and our sisters of all cultures around the world, what a testimony of the power of the gospel. It's not an American gospel. It's for the world. And the church of the Lord Jesus Christ is never to become stagnant. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a place of life. It is a place of vitality, desiring and determining to see Christ build his church. And he does that through people. That's how he does it. People. and that we be a part of what God is doing in advancing the gospel around the world through whatever means He may give to us, whether it be locally, whether it be in lands around the world, whatever the case may be. So matters of chief concern for us as the people of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, that we rightly identify the church. The church must be rightly identified. Those who are born again by the Spirit of God demonstrated through repentance, faith, and then baptized. That's the church. And it's important that we identify in the church and with the church with that. Second, the increase of the church. To see the church of the Lord Jesus Christ grow through evangelism, through the sharing of the gospel, through just simply speaking to people about the Lord. whatever gifts the Lord may give to you, whatever opportunities He may give to you in your world with your people. But also to be concerned about the initiative of the church, to see the church going forth in every place. There is no place upon the face of the earth that the church of the Lord Jesus Christ does not belong. Jesus shall reign wherever the Son does its excessive journeys run. It's all His. And may He be pleased to build His church in every place and give to us the privilege of being a part of that. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we thank You for the church. We thank You for Your work of grace that's brought us in. Lord, we would be blind. We would walk in darkness and sadly be content, except that You'd moved. Thank you for your work of grace. Lord, help us to be faithful as your people, as your church, as this one very small local expression of the body of Christ. Yet not insignificant because it's your work, it's your church. Lord, do as you would. Build as you would be pleased. Lord, fill our hearts with the desire and the design to see Christ build His church. These things we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.