Welcome to this podcast from Harvest Community Church of Huntersville, North Carolina, where our vision is to make disciples who make disciples. I'm your host, Liz Stefanini. I want to invite you to join me in Acts chapter 19. When you get there, if you would say word, so I know that you are there. I do this with our students, and I've not explained to our students why I do this. But the reason I do this is because we're coming together to get into God's Word and we want to hear from the Lord today. We don't want to hear from Corey. We want the Lord to speak. So we are in Acts chapter 19, continuing our walk through the book of Acts. And first off, I'd like to just thank you guys for your welcome to Kayla and I. We love being here. We love being a part of Harvest. There was a moment during worship a few weeks ago, for me, as we were worshiping over here, where just I had a moment with the spirit of, man, I love my church. I love being at Harvest. You guys have welcomed us since before we got through the door, and we're just thankful for that. And one thing for you to know about me is one of my favorite ways to relax, one of my favorite ways to unwind and just recharge is to watch movies. I really enjoy watching movies and I especially love watching movies at Christmastime. One of my favorite family traditions is to get together around Christmas and put away the distractions and watch a movie. And my favorite Christmas movie of all time, since I was a little kid, still to today, my favorite Christmas movie is a Muppets Christmas Carol. And I know that might be kind of odd to hear a 33 year old say that a Muppets Christmas Carol is his favorite Christmas movie. But it's my favorite for two reasons. One, it was one we would watch all the time. when I was a kid growing up, whenever I could convince my parents and my sister to sit down and watch it with us. And these are some of my favorite memories, piling in on the couch together to watch and to sing along with the songs. Just having that time together, just the four of us. But I also love the story of Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol. You see, when we first meet Scrooge, The best way to describe him is that he is a Scrooge. He only cares about himself. He's very selfish. He's very heartless. He's a greedy man that doesn't care about the poor, doesn't care about his family, doesn't even care about his employees, the people that work for him. But what we see through the process of the story of A Christmas Carol is that Scrooge's attitudes change. And by the end of the story, it's said that he is a man that keeps Christmas year round. He gives to the poor, he cares for his employees and their families, and he cares about his family. As Christ followers, we know that change like that only comes one way. Scrooge is a completely different person at the end of the story than he was at the beginning, but we know change like that only comes through an encounter with Jesus. It only comes by the power of the Holy Spirit. Scrooge is visited by three ghosts or three spirits and one night he's visited by the ghost of Christmas past, present and future and that forever changes his life. But we know as Christ followers the only thing that can change our lives, the only thing that can change our habits and change our actions is the Holy Spirit. And we see that lived out in Acts 19 for us, as the Holy Spirit works through Paul's ministry in Ephesus. And as he does, Ephesians are converted. They are converted from worshiping Artemis to following Jesus. And churches are planted. And Ephesus would eventually become one of the Christian centers of the world in that day. Well, today, the Holy Spirit is still working. through God's church. Because when God builds his church, lives are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. When God builds his church, lives are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our habits are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. Our daily actions The way we live are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. And we're going to see that lived out for us today in Acts chapter 19. So follow along with me as we start in verse 8. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate. They refused to believe and publicly maligned the way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul so that even the handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon possessed. They would say, in the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches I command you to come out. Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know and Paul I know about but who are you? Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believe now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to 50,000 drachmas. In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. After I have been there, he said, I must visit Rome also. He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia while he stayed in the province of Asia a little while longer. So here is how the Holy Spirit changes our lives. Here's how we will see the Holy Spirit change lives through Acts chapter 19 today. First, the gospel goes out. Then the Holy Spirit's power is displayed as the gospel goes out. We'll see it displayed in two different ways. Jesus' name is honored and ultimately lives are changed. Now Paul would spend two to three years in Ephesus here in Acts chapter 19. He first visited Ephesus on his second missionary journey in Acts chapter 18. We learned about this a few weeks ago. He visited, he went to the synagogue to teach. The Jews invited him to stay longer on his second journey, but he told them no. But he promised that if God allowed, he would come back. And so here in Acts chapter 19, God allows. And Paul comes back to Ephesus. And as was his custom, when arriving in a new city, Paul goes to the synagogue and preaches. And for three months, he is welcome to preach and debate in the synagogue. For three months, he is welcome to teach the Jews and to debate with them. And for three months, Paul teaches Jesus as our Messiah. Jesus. as our Savior, our only Savior, because salvation only comes through Jesus Christ. There is no other way to receive salvation than through a relationship with Jesus Christ. What we see lived out through the Old Testament is that the payment for sin is the shedding of blood. And as Chad just said, only perfect blood can pay for the sins of the world. Only the shedding of perfect blood could pay for your sins and my sins, which is why salvation only comes through Jesus. It only comes through putting your faith in the life, the death, and the resurrection of Jesus. Believing in his sinless perfect life, believing in his death on the cross that paid the price for your sins, and believing in his resurrection that brings us life. For three months, this is what Paul preaches. For three months, he preaches that Jesus is the Messiah, Jesus is our Savior, until, as always, opposition arises. As Paul is preaching, after three months, opposition arises and he is forced to leave the synagogue. but some of the Jews believed. Some of the Jews that heard him teach in those three months believed in Jesus as their Messiah, and so Paul takes those Jews, he takes those disciples, and he goes to the lecture hall of Tyrannus, where by God's sovereignty, Paul preaches for two years, and all the Jews and Greeks in Asia hear the word of the Lord. For two years, Paul teaches daily at the lecture hall of Tyrannus, And in that time, all the Jews and Greeks in Asia hear the word of the Lord. So if we go back to our handy dandy map here, you'll see where Ephesus is on the map. And you'll also see this week on our map are Hierapolis, Laodicea and Colossae. During these two years, these churches were planted and founded. We know this from Colossians chapter one. As Paul is teaching, Jews and Greeks are coming to the lecture hall of Tyrannus, but Paul is also sending out disciples that are taking the gospel out across Asia. So that in those two years, all of Asia, all of the Jews and Greeks in Asia hear the word of the Lord and churches are also planted. Look with me back in verse nine. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate. They refused to believe and publicly maligned the way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. So the gospel goes out as Paul is going. He is preaching the gospel. He is sending out disciples to also preach the gospel. And as he teaches, the Holy Spirit's power is displayed. As Paul is teaching, God displays his power through Paul. and the Holy Spirit's power is shown. And we see it shown in two ways here in Acts 19. The first way that we see the Holy Spirit's power displayed is through miracles. As Paul is teaching, God is doing miracles. He is working miracles through Paul. And what Luke tells us here is that cloths, handkerchiefs, and aprons that had touched Paul were taken to the sick, and the sick are healed, and demons are cast out. And this is another opportunity for us in the book of Acts to pause and look at what is prescribed versus what is described. Luke is describing to us the actions that the Holy Spirit is doing as Paul is preaching. He's not telling us to do these things. He's not telling us to expect or demand these things. He's certainly not telling us to go to lunch this afternoon, bless our napkins, and then expect those napkins that we have blessed to heal people. He's just describing what's going on as God is building his church in Acts 19. Unfortunately, Many people have taken this passage and passages like it out of context. If we were to go back and look at the medieval period of the church, we would see a lot of relic worship and the church worshiping things. If you stay up late enough and watch TV late enough at night, you'll still see people selling holy miracle water or a holy miracle seed or a holy miracle something. And they'll say something to you like, if you'll just send me $800, I'll send you this holy miracle water that I've blessed and it'll heal you. And within a month, you'll receive a check for 10 times the amount that you paid me. Now, can God still do these things? Can God still heal through cloths and through things like this? Absolutely. The Holy Spirit of God can do whatever the Holy Spirit of God wants to do. But Luke is clear here that we shouldn't expect these things. We shouldn't practice these things. And he's also clear that God is the one doing these things, not Paul. He's clear God is working through Paul but nowhere in Acts 19 do we see Paul bless these cloths that have touched him and say, go take this to the lady down the road that's sick. Go take this cloth to this demon possessed man that I've blessed and he'll be healed. We don't see that. What we see is God working through Paul. So don't buy the holy miracle water that some man or televangelist is telling you that they have blessed. Because this healing, it only comes through the Lord. It is only something that God can do. But I want you to watch what God is doing here. Because this is a beautiful thing that God is doing. It's one of my favorite things about the ways that God works. Ephesus is a city of superstition. People believe in magic. They believe in the occult. And I want you to watch what God does here. God comes down to their level and he displays his power in a way that gets their attention. God comes to the people of Ephesus and he displays his power through his Holy Spirit in a way that will get their attention. And doesn't God still do this today? If you're a follower of Christ, surely you can remember a time in your life when God came to you and displayed his power and his love to you in a way that you can understand. I'm thankful that as a 20-year-old junior at UNC Charlotte, God came to me as I was living a lifestyle that did not honor the Lord. In my darkness and in my sin, God came to me and God showed me his love in a way that I could understand. God showed me his mercy and his grace in a way that I could understand. He forever changed my life. You see, that's one of my favorite things about God, is when we can't get to Him, He comes to us. And that's why Jesus came. That's why God sent His Son, because we could not get to Him, so He came to us. Look with me, back in verse 11. God did extraordinary miracles through Paul so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that he had touched were taken to the sick and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. The second way that we see the Holy Spirit's power displayed is through a demon-possessed man. So we see the Holy Spirit's power displayed through miracles and now we see his power displayed through a demon-possessed man. In this day, especially in Ephesus, exorcists were common. They're not so common in our world today except for maybe in Hollywood and in movies. But in this day, exorcists were very common. And in Ephesus, you could make a living as an exorcist because the people of Ephesus believed that healings and cures came through spells and incantations from exorcists and from sorcerers. And they believe the more exotic the spell, the incantation, the more strange the words used, the more effective or the more powerful it was. Which could very well be the reason Jewish exorcists like the Sons of Sceva were so very popular. because they used Hebrew incantations that the people of Exodus that didn't know Hebrew thought strange, thought exotic, and didn't understand. And at this time, sorcerers would use any religion, words from any religion in their spells, which is why we see the sons of Sceva add Jesus' name to their practices. And I find it Very revealing to me that they add in verse 13, in the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Clearly, they do not know Jesus if they refer to him as the Jesus that Paul preaches. But you see, they saw demons cast out by Paul. They saw people healed by Paul. So they think if it works for Paul, it will work for me. And now we don't know who these sons were. There is no record of a Jewish high priest named Sceva all the way up to when the temple falls in AD 70. We have no record of a Jewish high priest named Sceva. So it very well could be that Sceva just claimed to be a Jewish high priest so that business would be better for him and his sons in Ephesus. So the Ephesians would think here this man is that has some higher power that we don't understand. Let's go to him for our healings. So the sons add the name of Jesus to their spells. And on this particular day, they go to cast out this demon. It doesn't go too well for them. Over and over in scripture, we see demons claim to know who Jesus is. We see demons profess to know that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the Son of God. They never profess faith in Jesus, but they have the knowledge of who Jesus is. And they fear him. Rightfully so. But these sons don't. And because of that, they leave the house beaten, bloodied and naked. You see, the Holy Spirit is not something that we can buy and control for our own personal gain. We saw this in Acts chapter 8 with Simon the sorcerer. The Holy Spirit is the spirit of the living God that indwells every believer and teaches us how to follow Jesus, convicts us of sin, and teaches us how to make disciples. I love what Matt Chandler says talking about this passage. He says, if when the fight started you were wearing pants, and when it was over you were no longer wearing pants, you lost. Clearly the sons of Sceva lost the fight on that day. Look back with me in verse 13. Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, Jesus I know and Paul I know about, but who are you? Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. So the gospel goes out, the Holy Spirit's power is displayed, and Jesus' name is honored. As a result of all of this, Jesus' name is honored. As a result of the miracles that have happened, as a result of the demons being cast out, Jesus' name is honored. And Jesus is worshipped. You see, the people of Ephesus would have looked at the sons of Sceva with respect. They would have thought of these men as powerful men because of what they believed. But when they went to cast out this demon, And this demon-possessed man knew Jesus and then jumped on these men and beat them until they ran out. The people of Ephesus fear the power of the name of Jesus. And we still today should have a healthy, respectful fear of the power of Jesus. It is the only name at which every knee will bow and every tongue will confess one day that Jesus is Lord. If there's something our world needs today, it is a healthy fear of the name of Jesus. And it is God's people to worship the name of Jesus, to honor and hold high and magnify the name of Jesus. Verse 17, when this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear. And the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. So as the gospel goes out, the Holy Spirit's power is displayed, Jesus' name is honored, and lies are changed. As a result of everything that we have seen so far in Acts chapter 19 this morning, lies are changed. And what we see here is that those who already believed in Jesus come confessing sin. Those in Ephesus who already believed in Jesus come confessing their sin. You see, apparently the believers in Ephesus still thought they could practice the occult and the magic and the things that they believed in while also having faith in Jesus. And so often, don't we see this in our world today? So many people think, well, I can live however I want. It doesn't matter how I live. I have faith in Jesus. I've prayed to receive Christ. I've been baptized. I can do whatever I want to do. We think we can go about living however we want to live and still follow Jesus, but Scripture teaches us otherwise. See, Scripture teaches us that to follow Jesus is to surrender, to give your life up for His and to follow Jesus. And that means forsaking your sin, turning away from your sin and following Jesus. And now in Acts 19, these believers in Ephesus realize that. And so they come publicly confessing their sin, come publicly burning their books and their scrolls of incantations. Eustache LeSure displays this for us in his painting, The Sermon of St. Paul at Ephesus. Gives us an idea of possibly what this would have looked like as they came, the believers came, burning their books and their scrolls. And they could have sold these for a very healthy gain. What Scripture tells us is that the things that were burned that day were valued at 50,000 drachmas. Or maybe if you're using a different translation, it may say 50,000 pieces of silver. Well, a drachma was a day's wage at that time. So the value of the things that were burned on this day in Ephesus was 50,000 days wages. which adds up to almost 140 years of wages. More than double what they would have earned in a lifetime, most likely. I know if somebody came up to me today and say, hey, I'll give you 140 years worth of wages, I would be sorely tempted to take that. But these believers don't sell their books. They care more about following Jesus than the money that they could receive from selling them. They care more about honoring Jesus and so they turn away from their sin. They remove any temptation to go back to it from their lives. This is what we as Christ followers should do when the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin. We are called to repent of that sin and to turn away from it and to turn and follow Jesus. You see for them it was more important to follow Jesus than to have financially what they could have. Look with me back in verse 18. Many of those who believe now came and openly confessed what they had done. A number who practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls the total came to 50,000 drachmas. And this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. So after this, Paul decides to go to Jerusalem, going through Macedonia and Achaia along the way. And we know from Romans chapter 15 that the reason Paul is going to Jerusalem is to deliver an offering, a collection, to the Jews there at Jerusalem. And he goes through Macedonia and Achaia to give them the opportunity to give to this offering. And after this and the rest of Acts chapter 19, there is a riot in the city of Ephesus. So many people were turning away from the pagan idol worship to following Jesus that there is a riot in the city of Ephesus. So many people are turning away from the idol worship that it actually impacts the economy in Ephesus. It starts a riot. And this riot sparks Paul to leave and head to Macedonia, Achaia, Jerusalem and eventually on to Rome. So how can we apply this passage to us today? I want to give you three ways to apply this passage to us this morning. At Harvest our mission is to make disciples who make disciples. We do that by living in relationship with Christ, growing together in Christ and going out for Christ. The easier way you'll hear us say this is live, grow, go. So I wanna give you three points of application this morning that go along with live, grow, go. The first being live. Put your faith in Jesus. If you're here this morning or you're watching online and you've never put your faith in Jesus, you've never surrendered to him and begun to walk after him, I encourage you this morning to put your faith in Jesus. Or maybe if you're a follower of Jesus, the Holy Spirit is revealing to you some sin this morning that like the believers in Ephesus, you need to confess, you need to repent of and turn away from. Next, grow, plug into a community group. A community group is a place where believers come together. It's a safe place where sin can be confessed. We see in Acts chapter 19 that sin was confessed publicly. But community groups are a place where believers can come together and be supported, be encouraged, be discipled, learn how to grow in their faith and where sins can be confessed. So if you're not in a community group, I encourage you to plug into one. The Christian life is not one meant to be lived alone, but God has designed us for community to walk through this life together. And then lastly, go out daily preaching the word of God. Go out daily preaching the word of God. You see, this is our calling. This is what we are called to do. Maybe there's somebody right now that you know in your family, at your work, that lives next door to you that you can share the gospel with. Someone that you know needs the hope of salvation that only comes through Jesus Christ. We're called to go out and take the gospel to them. And what I love is we see Paul live this out through his missionary journeys. We see Paul live this out. Everywhere he went, he took the gospel. Everywhere he went, he took the word of God that Jesus is the Messiah. He is the only Savior, the only one that can save you from your sins. And as he preached, people were introduced to live in a relationship with Jesus. And as people began to live in that relationship with Jesus, Paul would disciple them so that they would grow in their faith and then they too would be sent out to take the gospel. And as they took the gospel out, they would meet people and introduce them into a relationship with Jesus and disciple them. And as they grew, they would send them out. You see, our mission today, church, is the same as Paul's mission was 2,000 years ago. It's the same as Jesus was 2,000 years ago. Because when God builds His church, lives are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. When God builds His church, lives are changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. God is still building His church today, just like 2,000 years ago. And we want lives changed here. We want God to build his church here. Yes, we want God to build his church all over the world, but we also want God's church built here at Harvest in Charlotte, North Carolina. We want the power of the Holy Spirit displayed here through our lives, and we want lives changed through the power of the Holy Spirit here at Harvest. So I want to give you just a few moments, give you just a couple minutes to pray by yourself and ask the Lord how you need to apply this passage to your life. Maybe you need to begin your journey with Jesus. Maybe there's some sin that you've been holding on to, maybe an idol in your life you've been holding on to that you need to let go of and repent of. Maybe you need to plug into a community group. You need to surround yourself with other believers that can help you grow in your faith and hold you accountable. Or maybe there's someone you know you need to go and take the gospel to. Take a few moments, just you and the Lord. Spend some time asking the Holy Spirit how you need to apply this to your life. Father, I pray that you would reveal to us how to apply the word that you have shared this morning. Father, show us unconfessed sin in our lives and lead us to repentance, to life change. Father, bring us into relationships with other believers that push us closer to you and help us grow our faith where we can be discipled and disciple others. And Father, we pray that you would send us out to make disciples as you have already sent us out. Lord, build your church here. Display your power here. It's in Jesus' name we pray and surrender, amen.