Mission 3 begins - Acts 19
This is a sermon by Peter Birnie from the Riverside Church service on 24th November 2024.
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Acts 19 Mission 3 begins
Intro:
(Slide 1) I was talking to an Iranian on Sunday evening – radical Muslims tending to violence, control and harshness. Radical Christians tending to love and care and sacrifice for others. Interesting and encouraging testimony. But it got me thinking – why do those who follow Jesus around the world have such a hard time? (4,998 killed for their Christian faith, 15,000 churches attacked or forcibly closed in 2023). Why do Christians have it so hard? Might be different ways to answer that question but here is one that today’s passage points us to. People who put their faith in Jesus will face many, many difficulties, opponents and persecution (Slide 2);
- Because Christianity is spiritual reality (it is true)
- Because this real work of the Holy Spirit bringing light stirs up dark opposition in a sin-cursed, sin-filled world.
Why is this world hard for believers in Jesus? Because Christianity is true, and because the real work of the Holy Spirit brings real spiritual opposition. This morning in Acts 19, missionary journey 3 for Paul, we are to understand the vital work of the Holy Spirit in salvation and therefore we are to be ready for the trials that will come when God works to build his Church that even the very gates of Hell cannot stand against.
1) The Holy Spirit is necessary for Salvation (v1-10)
(Slide 3) Paul finished his second missionary journey in chpt 18 with a promise to return to the city of Ephesus. After some rest and refreshment in Antioch, off he goes again to make good on this promise. He arrives in Ephesus in chpt 19v1, finds some disciples and asks them a very important question; “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Why is this such an important question? It is because the Holy Spirit is necessary for Salvation. There are all sorts of things that we can become disciples of, there are all sorts of things we can believe in, but if a person is to be saved, if a person is to become a child of God, then it cannot happen without the Holy Spirit being at work.
(Slide 4) The answer that these disciples give to Paul is this; “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” How could this be? Well, at the end of chapter 18 we read of a really keen and zealous Jew called Apollos who arrived in Ephesus and taught with fervour and accuracy about Jesus. Apollos had a good knowledge of the Old Testament and knows that in Jesus he has found the one the scriptures pointed to. So these disciples had been convinced by Apollos and so there they were in Ephesus, really enthusiastic about Jesus but with some vital information missing. And this missing teaching is no small thing. (Slide 5) This isn’t like putting together a jigsaw only to find 1 piece not in the box, this is instead knowing that there is a jigsaw in the box but not even being able to open it. The Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation.
(Slide 6) These men had heard Apollos’ teaching about Jesus and they had received John’s baptism – that is the ceremony of baptism had been used by them to show that they were grieving over their sin and wanted to be saved. But to be saved, to believe in Jesus, to be given new real eternal life by the Holy Spirit, for this to happen they needed to be taught the full gospel of Jesus Christ. Being sad about sin is good, being positive about Jesus is good, but to be saved a person must put their trust in the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This is not a passage about some sort of extra experience of the Holy Spirit needed to really put you over the edge and make sure you are a Christian. No, this is a passage which emphasises that salvation is super-natural; having head knowledge about Jesus not the same as being saved by Jesus.
(Slide 7) Here is a good summary of doctrine on this topic that Paul wrote later to the Ephesian church, here is how the Ephesians came to be saved according to Paul in Ephesians 1 v 13-14; “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.” Hear, believe, receive. If you have heard the true gospel, if you have believed the true gospel, then the Spirit has worked new eternal life in you. These 3 go together. Hear, believe, receive. The Spirit’s work absolutely necessary. (Baptism assumed – fix it this January!)
(Slide 8) So Christ Church Riverside, as well as being confident in your salvation (hear, believe, receive), also be encouraged again in your gospel proclamation to the people around you. Do the simple and loving act of telling your friends who Jesus really is (hear he is God in flesh), and then pray urgently that God will save them as his Spirit transforms their hearts (Believe and be marked with the seal). And don’t despair when some people don’t respond – there are 2 groups of people mentioned in these first 10 verses. The 12 in verses 1-7 were miraculously saved as they heard, believed and the Holy Spirit worked in them BUT then there are some (v8-10) in the Synagogue who heard but obstinately refused to believe, publicly maligning “the way” (Christians), despite Paul’s persuasive and persistent preaching. No Spiritual work of new life in them.
(Slide 9) Christianity is a spiritual reality. What my new Iranian friend that I started with has experienced in Hull is the Holy Spirit powerfully working in believers to make them new creations filled with Jesus’ love and care for others. The Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation.
2)The Holy Spirit always seeks to reveal Jesus (v11-22)
(Slide 10) And in verses 11-22 see that the Holy Spirit always seeks to reveal Jesus. I really want us to get our understanding of the Holy Spirit right and these verses are so helpful. Firstly in verses 11-12 the Spirit working in Paul is carrying on Jesus’ ministry as these new churches are born (Slide 11).
Extraordinary miracles are being seen, illnesses being healed and evil spirits being driven away. These aren’t magic tricks designed to amaze and manipulate, instead these miracles show that Jesus himself is present in his people. The Holy Spirit, wanting to point people to Jesus, works powerfully so that those around connect these events with Jesus as they see his ministry continue.
And those around do not miss this. Look at verses 13-16, where some Jews recognise that it is in the name of Jesus that these miracles are being done and so they try to copy. But they don’t understand a key doctrine that we need to fully embrace (Slide 12); The Holy Spirit is a person living in his people rather than a force that can be tapped into. (“Christ in you, the hope of glory” Colossians – mysteries but spiritual realities). Look what happens when these Jews muck about with the evil forces in the heavenly realm without themselves having a relationship with Jesus (by hearing, believing and receiving) – verse 16 this man possessed by the evil spirit violently attacks them and beats them up. These men don’t have what we have. What an amazing privilege it is for normal believers like us to have Jesus himself living in us, protecting us form evil and changing us from the inside out.
As the Holy Spirit points people to Jesus, by carrying on Jesus’ ministry, and by living in his people, he also brings deep conviction about Jesus and about our sin (Slide 13). I love v 17-22 as people are filled with the fear of God, as they honour Jesus’ name, as they believe in him and confess their sins, and as they take the costly actions that repentance demands.
(Slide 14) As we pray for revival in this city and nation, this is what we are asking the Holy Spirit to do. How humanly hopeful are you that the government will ever change their mind on the easy access to abortion that people in our country have? How humanly hopeful are you that thousands of churches across this nation will come back to the true faith and preach the pure gospel that saves once more. How humanly hopeful are you that vast numbers of people in the UK will confess their sins and come to Jesus in repentance and faith? I am not humanly hopeful at all. I have no hope at all that mere humans will manage to bring this about.
So praise God that Christianity is a spiritual reality. Praise God that in Acts 19 new believers in Jesus are burning millions of pounds worth of filthy books about sorcery and evil. Praise God that the Holy Spirit brings deep conviction about who Jesus is and about how guilty and in need of Jesus’ blood we are. These verses should fuel our faith-filled prayers because when the Spirit moves in power, the name of Jesus is honoured once more, people are humbled and new believers are made. We should long for revival, pray for big things to happen, and at the same time not miss that the Spirit is working already - Last Sunday and 4 out of 5 guests!
(Slide 15) It is dangerous to try to summarise how God works because he is so much greater than our minds can fathom but verse 20 really helps us to grasp the core work of the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit ensures that God’s word bears fruit.
“In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.” From Genesis chapter 1 God’s word has gone out and has always accomplished its purpose - creating, sustaining, establishing, redeeming. And as we go through scripture we see more and more clearly that it is the Spirit of God who does this work of applying God’s word and seeing it bear fruit. That is what is happening in verse 20 – as the Holy Spirit carries on the work of Jesus, as he lives in followers of Jesus, as he shines light on Jesus’ identity, as he brings deep conviction of sin, the word of the Lord is spreading, the gospel is bringing light to darkness, God is building his church and he cannot be stopped.
As you wake up each morning and deal with your own struggles, shortcomings, battles with sin, worries and stresses, how amazing is it to remember that Christianity is a Spiritual reality. If you have put your faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit is living in you and his greatest desire for you is to love Jesus more, to live for Jesus more. One of my prayer triplet sent this prayer on Friday as I was writing this (Slide 16); “God, obedience is a way I can show my faith in you. Teach me how to be more obedient. Fill my heart with the perfect love you have shown me. Teach me what it looks like to offer every part of myself – heart, soul and strength – to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen.” We can pray prayers like that knowing that the Spirit is empowering us to live just that sort of life. Amazing.
3) When the Holy Spirit works powerfully there will always be satanic opposition (v23-41)
(Slide 17) Those sort of prayers are utterly vital to us because, as this riot in Ephesus in verses 23-41 shows, when the Holy Spirit works powerfully, there will always be satanic opposition. Gospel light is chasing away darkness in Ephesus as the word of God spreads, and look what happens – evil fights against this. Demetrius, motivated by a potent mix of financial greed and ideology, stirs up a furious mob who lose any sense of reasonableness and fairness. God’s people are very quickly in trouble because of the good that is being accomplished by the Spirit as the gospel goes out. Look how crazy things get (Slide 18);
- Furious people (v28)
- The city in an uproar (v29)
- Christians seized and their lives at risk (v29)
- Confusion (v32)
- Refusal to listen to reason (v34)
- 2 hours of chanting (v34)
How do we explain this madness? When the Holy Spirit works to reveal Jesus, to convict of sin, to spread God’s word, to bring new spiritual life, then Satan is actively at work opposing this. Sin means that people do not want to hand their lives over to Jesus’ Lordship, to bow the knee to the real King. So we are to expect serious opposition from the spiritual realm when we are serious about living for Jesus and speaking the gospel.
(Slide 19) This is the normal pattern and it should drive us more and more to prayer. The last time so many people were facing trials in CCR was surrounded by lots of spiritual growth as we prayed urgently. Think of the amazing work at CCOP and Rob and Emma’s situation (are we praying urgently for spiritual help and progress?). Think of the blessing the Grimsby group are seeing and Sam and Andy’s struggles (are we praying urgently for spiritual help and progress?). Think of the times of growth in CCN recently and how many trials members of the church families there are facing (are we praying urgently for spiritual help and progress?) Think of what is going on at CCH – surely Satan will be hating that (are we praying urgently for spiritual help and progress?).
Christianity is TRUE, it is a spiritual reality and as such brings spiritual opposition. Let us be a church family filled with the Spirit, crying out to God to build his church in our city and our nation, for his glory. Amen.
Today’s sermon: Acts 19 “Mission 3 begins”
Intro: Why do Christians have such a hard time?
- Because Christianity is a spiritual reality (it is TRUE)
- Because the real work of the Holy Spirt stirs up dark opposition
1) The Holy Spirit is necessary for salvation (v1-10)
If a person is to become a child of God, it cannot happen without the work of the Holy Spirit.
- We need to be taught the full gospel of Jesus Christ
- Having knowledge about Jesus is not the same as being saved by Jesus
Core doctrine: Ephesians 1 v 13-14
- Hear
- Believe
- Receive
Christianity is spiritual reality.
2) The Holy Spirit always seeks to reveal Jesus (v11-22)
- The Spirit carries on Jesus’ ministry (v11-12)
- The Spirit is a person living in his people (v13-16)
- The Spirit brings deep conviction about Jesus and about sin (v17-22)
- The Spirit ensures that God’s word bears fruit
Remember each morning that Christianity is spiritual reality
3) When the Holy Spirit powerfully works there will always be satanic opposition (v23-41)
How do we explain people hating Jesus and his people? Satan at work!
- So we should be driven to URGENT prayer
- And we should be confidently expectant about growth!
Memory verse: Acts 19v20
“In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”
Life Group Questions:
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