Acts 19 | The Upward Way | Bible Study with A. Z. Adams — Transcript

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1. 0:00Acts chapter 19 verse one. It happened
2. 0:03that while Apollos was at Corinth,
3. 0:06Paul passed through the upper country
4. 0:09and came to Ephesus
5. 0:13and found some disciples there.
6. 0:16Luke has been telling [music] us about
7. 0:18Apollos in the previous verses of
8. 0:20chapter 18.
9. 0:22And he's told [music] us that Apollos is
10. 0:25a minister
11. 0:26from Ephesus.
12. 0:29Originally from Alexandria, [music] but
13. 0:31he's an he's from Ephesus.
14. 0:33And
15. 0:34Apollos is on a trip. And while he's
16. 0:37away from his congregation,
17. 0:40he meets Priscilla and Aquila.
18. 0:43And they give him the way of God more
19. 0:45[music] accurately. They give him the
20. 0:47baptism in Jesus name
21. 0:50as opposed to merely the baptism [music]
22. 0:51of John. He immediately receives it and
23. 0:54is no less mighty and effective in his
24. 0:56ministry for it. He becomes more
25. 0:58effective. Okay? But while he's away
26. 1:01from his town of Ephesus, Paul meanwhile
27. 1:05is going to visit that same country and
28. 1:08he's going to meet up with this guy's
29. 1:10disciples.
30. 1:12Okay? And Paul's going to encounter the
31. 1:14same inaccuracy in Ephesus.
32. 1:17And so [music]
33. 1:18but there's no conflict. Their pastor,
34. 1:21Apollos, is away. He's getting schooled
35. 1:24by Priscilla and Aquila and receiving it
36. 1:26immediately. And meanwhile Paul's coming
37. 1:29to their hometown and the congregation's
38. 1:32going to get schooled by Paul and
39. 1:34they're going to receive it immediately.
40. 1:35And what the whole thing shows is that
41. 1:37this is not about sectarian
42. 1:41superiority. This isn't about my truth
43. 1:44and your truth and my interpretation.
44. 1:46They haven't weaponized
45. 1:48belief and doctrine to be a personal ego
46. 1:52trip.
47. 1:53It's just about knowing the truth more
48. 1:56and walking in it with all their hearts.
49. 1:58So, it happened that while Apollos was
50. 2:02at Corinth,
51. 2:03away from Ephesus,
52. 2:05Paul passed through the upper country
53. 2:07and came to Ephesus, Apollos' place,
54. 2:11and found some disciples there, likely
55. 2:14congregants of Apollos.
56. 2:17And he said to them,
57. 2:18"Did you receive the Holy Spirit when
58. 2:20you believed?"
59. 2:22Now, why is that the first thing that
60. 2:24comes out of the Apostle Paul's mouth?
61. 2:27He found disciples
62. 2:29and they have believed in Jesus.
63. 2:32But Paul did not think that believing
64. 2:35was receiving.
65. 2:36He did not think that if you've
66. 2:38believed, you've automatically received
67. 2:40the Spirit.
68. 2:42He hadn't been schooled in shallow
69. 2:44evangelical theology yet.
70. 2:47So,
71. 2:48he must have thought very similar to
72. 2:49what happened in Acts 8,
73. 2:53where the Samaritans believed and they
74. 2:55were even were baptized, but they didn't
75. 2:57receive the Spirit until Peter and John
76. 2:59came and prayed for them. So, he asks
77. 3:02them a question, "Did you receive the
78. 3:03Holy Spirit when you believed?" Now, he
79. 3:05must have felt that there was some kind
80. 3:08of power lacking from these disciples.
81. 3:11There's no disrespect in it, but there's
82. 3:13a good question. Hmm.
83. 3:15You guys seem to be a little bit more
84. 3:17like the frozen chosen that we used to
85. 3:20belong to before the Spirit was poured
86. 3:22out. Did you receive the Holy Spirit
87. 3:24when you believed?
88. 3:27And they said to him, "No."
89. 3:32"We have not even heard whether there is
90. 3:34a Holy Spirit."
91. 3:37And he said,
92. 3:40"Into what then were you baptized?"
93. 3:44And they said to him, "Into John's
94. 3:46baptism."
95. 3:47Luke's not making a mistake here. He's
96. 3:49telling us that they had the exact same
97. 3:51problem as the guy who likely led them
98. 3:53to Jesus, Apollos.
99. 3:56But God knows how to grow the church. He
100. 3:58knows how to bring it into alignment.
101. 4:01Paul said, "John baptized with the
102. 4:03baptism of repentance,
103. 4:06telling the people to believe in him who
104. 4:08was coming after him, that is in Jesus."
105. 4:12When they heard this, they were baptized
106. 4:15a second time
107. 4:16in the name of the Lord Jesus.
108. 4:20Now we know what the more excellent way
109. 4:22is.
110. 4:24And when Paul had laid his hands upon
111. 4:26them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and
112. 4:30they began speaking with tongues and
113. 4:32prophesying.
114. 4:35There were in all about 12 men.
115. 4:38Now we see that the exact same pattern
116. 4:41that occurred in Acts 2 and occurred in
117. 4:43Acts 10 is now occurring in Acts 19.
118. 4:46It's not a fluke.
119. 4:49When people receive the Holy Spirit in
120. 4:53that empowering baptism,
121. 4:56there's the sign. There's the evidence
122. 4:59of speaking in unknown tongues.
123. 5:01And that's what happens here, just like
124. 5:04it happened in the other instances where
125. 5:06it is described in detail.
126. 5:09Now I want to ask you, why did Paul
127. 5:13immediately assume that they hadn't been
128. 5:15baptized in the name of Jesus
129. 5:18when he learned that they hadn't
130. 5:20received the Spirit?
131. 5:22Because these are likely Jewish
132. 5:24converts.
133. 5:27And
134. 5:28they would have understood
135. 5:31that what was done at the cross
136. 5:34was open access
137. 5:37to the holy of holy presence of God.
138. 5:42They would have thought of what Jesus
139. 5:45had done as the high priest going in
140. 5:49and tearing the veil
141. 5:50and opening
142. 5:52a new and living way
143. 5:54to have access by one spirit to one
144. 5:57father through the blood of Jesus
145. 6:00Christ.
146. 6:01So, he immediately assumes that if you
147. 6:04haven't drawn near
148. 6:07to the spirit and the presence and the
149. 6:10Shekinah glory of God so as to be filled
150. 6:14like we all have been, then you must not
151. 6:17have really stood in the waters of
152. 6:19baptism and had his name put on you.
153. 6:23You must not have really been immersed
154. 6:26into what he did for you on the cross.
155. 6:28Because
156. 6:30if that had happened
157. 6:31the barrier would have been removed and
158. 6:34you would be filled today. So, he
159. 6:36doesn't look at baptism as a
160. 6:39as a wrote ritual, as somehow this
161. 6:41formulaic process. He expects the
162. 6:45baptism in the name to change our access
163. 6:49to the Holy Spirit.
164. 6:51To wash our consciences clean of an evil
165. 6:54conscience that saw God as a harsh
166. 6:57taskmaster
167. 6:58and allow us to draw near through the
168. 7:01blood of Jesus Christ, a blood that we
169. 7:03have been placed in and under through
170. 7:07baptism.
171. 7:08And he, Paul, entered the synagogue and
172. 7:11continued speaking out boldly for 3
173. 7:13months, reasoning and persuading them
174. 7:16about the kingdom of God.
175. 7:19But when some
176. 7:21Now, I want you to notice what was Paul
177. 7:24bringing to Ephesus?
178. 7:26He brought the power of the spirit.
179. 7:29And what was he reasoning and persuading
180. 7:31about? The kingdom of God. Because the
181. 7:33kingdom of God is righteousness, peace,
182. 7:36and joy in the Holy Spirit. As Jesus
183. 7:39said, "If I cast out demons by the
184. 7:42spirit of God, then the kingdom of God
185. 7:44has come."
186. 7:46So, he's speaking out boldly for 3
187. 7:49months, reasoning and persuading them
188. 7:51about the kingdom of God. But, when some
189. 7:54were becoming hardened and disobedient,
190. 7:58speaking evil of the way
191. 8:00before the people, he withdrew from them
192. 8:04and took away the disciples, reasoning
193. 8:06daily in the school of Tyrannus.
194. 8:10This took place for 2 years, so that all
195. 8:13who lived in Asia heard the word of the
196. 8:15Lord, both Jews and Greeks.
197. 8:19Do you remember that in
198. 8:21Acts 16, Paul had intended to bring the
199. 8:24gospel to Asia?
200. 8:26And he wasn't able, so he tried another
201. 8:28city and the spirit stopped him.
202. 8:31And then he had the vision and went to
203. 8:32Macedonia and found out that the
204. 8:35Macedonian man was the jailer. Remember
205. 8:37that?
206. 8:39What happened to Asia? Well,
207. 8:41in a
208. 8:42circuitous way, God brought him back.
209. 8:45And through the ministry to the Ephesus
210. 8:47believers, something was rippling out.
211. 8:51And the beachhead that he created for
212. 8:53several years in Asia was sending the
213. 8:56message throughout the entire continent.
214. 9:01All Asia
215. 9:02was hearing of what God was doing.
216. 9:06God was performing extraordinary
217. 9:09miracles by of Paul.
218. 9:12So that handkerchiefs or aprons were
219. 9:14even carried from his body to the sick,
220. 9:17and the diseases left them, and the evil
221. 9:20spirits went out.
222. 9:23What does that mean? Does that mean that
223. 9:25there's anything special in a piece of
224. 9:27cloth? No, it means there's something
225. 9:29special in faith.
226. 9:31But, [snorts] faith is not faith that is
227. 9:34not actualized.
228. 9:36You've got to act on faith.
229. 9:40Faith that stays a mental concept or an
230. 9:44emotional feeling is not faith.
231. 9:49So, faith becomes faith when the mental
232. 9:52and the emotional produce an action.
233. 9:56Jesus saw their faith.
234. 10:00And so in the same way, when we pray, we
235. 10:03cry out not because God is deaf, but
236. 10:06because we need to activate the feeling
237. 10:11in words.
238. 10:12And when we pray for the sick, we anoint
239. 10:14them with oil not because there's
240. 10:16anything magical in oil, but because we
241. 10:19need to activate what we believe is
242. 10:22happening in the spirit as the oil, the
243. 10:25invisible, intangible oil of the Holy
244. 10:28Ghost is meeting the need. Human beings,
245. 10:31we need to participate in these things.
246. 10:35So, it's not just symbolizing what has
247. 10:38been,
248. 10:39it's actualizing
249. 10:41what is happening in the moment.
250. 10:44The symbols of prayer, the symbols of
251. 10:48kneeling, of anointing, the symbols of
252. 10:52baptism and communion are not merely
253. 10:56outward demonstrations of what has
254. 10:59happened, they are
255. 11:01present
256. 11:03activations
257. 11:04of what wants to happen, of what should
258. 11:07happen, of what is happening in the
259. 11:09spiritual realm.
260. 11:11So, when someone has faith that they can
261. 11:14be healed and they take an apron or a
262. 11:16handkerchief, that apron and
263. 11:18handkerchief is nothing except it is a
264. 11:21means of expressing and visualizing what
265. 11:25they think is happening. I'm receiving a
266. 11:28fragment of touch, of anointing from a
267. 11:31guy I can't spend time with. So, they're
268. 11:34taking the apron and putting it on the
269. 11:36sick, and their faith is working the
270. 11:40healing.
271. 11:41But, they needed that small thing.
272. 11:43Doesn't mean there's anything special in
273. 11:45handkerchiefs and aprons, and we
274. 11:46shouldn't make a doctrine out of it.
275. 11:48But, it's just a way of activating
276. 11:50faith.
277. 11:51The paralytic was lying at the pool,
278. 11:55and Jesus did not look at him and say,
279. 11:58"Be healed." Jesus looked at him and
280. 12:00said, "Rise up."
281. 12:02And the healing does not come until he
282. 12:05activates the word of command with the
283. 12:09faith of obedience.
284. 12:11That's what these handkerchiefs are.
285. 12:13That's what everything is. You cannot
286. 12:15separate faith from action. If you do,
287. 12:19it is not faith anymore. It is mental
288. 12:21concept. It only becomes faith when it
289. 12:24puts on shoes and starts moving.
290. 12:27So, the 10 lepers
291. 12:30come to Jesus and ask to be healed, and
292. 12:32he does not say, "Be healed." He gives
293. 12:35them a way to activate their faith. He
294. 12:39says, "Go show yourself to the priest."
295. 12:41And while going, they are healed.
296. 12:45You have faith,
297. 12:47but until that moves into action,
298. 12:51it is potential miracle. It is potential
299. 12:55promise.
300. 12:56It requires an activating agent.
301. 13:00Just like settling in oxygen, it
302. 13:02requires an activating agent in order to
303. 13:05have the explosion of the miracle.
304. 13:09Jesus did not put mud on people's eyes
305. 13:12to confuse how the miracle was
306. 13:14happening.
307. 13:15He didn't want them to think that the
308. 13:17mud was somehow holy in that part of the
309. 13:19Jordan bank.
310. 13:21He just wanted to give them something to
311. 13:23do, because faith that is mental and
312. 13:25emotional only is not faith.
313. 13:28It must be acted upon.
314. 13:31And that's what this
315. 13:33s- almost silly example is suggesting.
316. 13:37That God honors faith that is acted
317. 13:39upon.
318. 13:40And they were able to visualize
319. 13:43and act on their faith more concretely
320. 13:46when they took a piece of fabric and
321. 13:48carried it and laid it.
322. 13:51It had more power.
323. 13:54But also, some of the Jewish exorcists
324. 13:58who went from place to place attempted
325. 14:02to name over those who had the evil
326. 14:04spirits the name of the Lord Jesus
327. 14:07saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul
328. 14:10preaches."
329. 14:11So, Luke is telling us here that people
330. 14:14who did not follow with Paul, who were
331. 14:16not believers,
332. 14:18but who saw the power of the name of
333. 14:21Jesus tried to use it as a trick. So,
334. 14:25they would go to the evil spirits
335. 14:28and try to use the name of Jesus. "I
336. 14:30adjure you by the name of Jesus whom
337. 14:32Paul preaches
338. 14:33to come out of a man."
339. 14:35Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief
340. 14:38priest, were doing this.
341. 14:41And the evil spirit answered and said to
342. 14:43them,
343. 14:45"I recognize Jesus
344. 14:47and I know about Paul,
345. 14:49but who are you?"
346. 14:53And the man in whom was the evil spirit
347. 14:56leaped on them
348. 14:58and subdued all of them and overpowered
349. 15:02them so that they fled out of the house
350. 15:04naked and wounded.
351. 15:07The moral of the story is don't use
352. 15:11the name of the one you haven't
353. 15:12submitted to.
354. 15:14Don't use the name like a tool if you're
355. 15:16not willing to come into relationship
356. 15:19with the God who bears that name.
357. 15:22This became known to all both Jews and
358. 15:25Greeks. I'll bet it did
359. 15:27who lived in Ephesus and fear fell upon
360. 15:30them all and the name of the Lord Jesus
361. 15:32was being magnified.
362. 15:35Many also of those who had believed kept
363. 15:38coming confessing and disclosing their
364. 15:41practices.
365. 15:43So
366. 15:44they're repenting sorcerers
367. 15:46are repenting.
368. 15:48And many of those who practice magic
369. 15:50brought their books together and began
370. 15:53burning them in the sight of everyone
371. 15:56and they counted up the price of them
372. 15:58and found it 50,000 pieces of silver.
373. 16:02So the word of the Lord was growing
374. 16:05mightily and prevailing.
375. 16:08Now after these things were finished
376. 16:09Paul purposed in the spirit
377. 16:12to go to Jerusalem after he had passed
378. 16:15through Macedonia and Achaia
379. 16:18saying after I have been there I must
380. 16:20also see Rome.
381. 16:23So the spirit puts a burden on Paul's
382. 16:24heart. You're going to go to Jerusalem
383. 16:26and then you're going to go to Rome. He
384. 16:28doesn't know yet exactly how
385. 16:31but he's got this burden from the spirit
386. 16:33to do this.
387. 16:35And having sent into Macedonia two of
388. 16:37those who ministered to him Timothy and
389. 16:39Erastus
390. 16:41he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
391. 16:45About that time there occurred no small
392. 16:47disturbance concerning the way.
393. 16:51This is what the Christian movement is
394. 16:53called. It's a way.
395. 16:55It's not a what. It's not a doctrine.
396. 16:57It's not a creed. It's a way of life.
397. 17:02They told him that the apostles were
398. 17:04telling the people all the words of this
399. 17:07life.
400. 17:10For a man named Demetrius a silversmith
401. 17:13who made silver shrines of Artemis
402. 17:16was bringing no little business to the
403. 17:18craftsmen.
404. 17:20These he gathered together with the
405. 17:22workmen of similar trades and said,
406. 17:24"Men, you know that our prosperity
407. 17:28depends upon this business."
408. 17:31They are idol worshipers.
409. 17:33And they're saying, "We've We got to
410. 17:35stop this monotheistic preaching because
411. 17:37we're going to not have a job if people
412. 17:39stop buying our idols."
413. 17:42You see and hear that not only in
414. 17:45Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this
415. 17:48Paul has persuaded and turned away a
416. 17:50considerable number of people saying
417. 17:53that gods made with hands are not gods
418. 17:56at all. Imagine that.
419. 17:58Not only is there danger that this trade
420. 18:01of ours fall into disrepute, but also
421. 18:03that the temple and the great goddess
422. 18:06Artemis
423. 18:07be regarded as worthless, and that she
424. 18:10whom all of Asia and the world worship
425. 18:13will even be dethroned from her
426. 18:16magnificence.
427. 18:18This is the effect of Paul's preaching.
428. 18:22It's putting out of business the idol
429. 18:24makers.
430. 18:25When they heard this and were filled
431. 18:27with rage, they began crying out saying,
432. 18:31"Great is Artemis of Ephesus."
433. 18:34The city was filled with confusion, and
434. 18:37they rushed with one accord into the
435. 18:39theater dragging along Gaius and
436. 18:42Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions
437. 18:45from Macedonia.
438. 18:47And when Paul wanted to go into the
439. 18:49assembly,
440. 18:50I want to get in that theater.
441. 18:53The disciples would not let him.
442. 18:56Also, some of the Asiarchs, who were
443. 18:59friends of his, sent to him and
444. 19:01repeatedly urged him not to venture into
445. 19:05the theater.
446. 19:06So then,
447. 19:07some were shouting one thing and some
448. 19:10another, for the assembly was in
449. 19:12confusion, and the majority did not know
450. 19:15for what reason they had come together.
451. 19:18This is a mob.
452. 19:21Some of the crowd concluded it was
453. 19:23Alexander, since the Jews had put him
454. 19:25forward, and having motioned with his
455. 19:27hand, Alexander was intending to make a
456. 19:29defense to the assembly.
457. 19:32But when they recognized that he was a
458. 19:33Jew, a single [music] outcry arose from
459. 19:36them all as they shouted for about 2
460. 19:40hours, "Great is Artemis of the
461. 19:42Ephesians!"
462. 19:44This is an [music] example of mob
463. 19:46violence.
464. 19:48This is how cynical,
465. 19:50money-driven
466. 19:53troublemakers can get an entire city in
467. 19:56an uproar, where they don't even know
468. 19:58what they're doing or why they're doing
469. 20:00it.
470. 20:02After quieting [music] the crowd, the
471. 20:04town clerk said, "Men of Ephesus,
472. 20:07what man is there, after all, who does
473. 20:10not know that the city of Ephesus
474. 20:11[music] is
475. 20:13guardian of the temple of the great
476. 20:15Artemis and of the image which fell down
477. 20:18from heaven?
478. 20:20So, since these are undeniable facts,
479. 20:23you ought to keep calm and do nothing
480. 20:25rash."
481. 20:26So, the clerk, who's a total pagan, is
482. 20:28like, "Oh,
483. 20:30the worship of Artemis is fine. Let's
484. 20:32not do [music] this.
485. 20:34For you have brought these men here, who
486. 20:36are neither robbers of temples nor
487. 20:39blasphemers [music] of our goddess.
488. 20:41So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen
489. 20:44who are with him have a complaint
490. 20:46against any man, the courts are in
491. 20:48session,
492. 20:49and [music] proconsuls are available.
493. 20:52Let them bring charges against one
494. 20:53another. But, if you want anything
495. 20:56beyond this, it shall be settled in the
496. 20:59lawful assembly.
497. 21:01For indeed, we are in danger of being
498. 21:04accused of a riot [music] in connection
499. 21:07with today's events, since there is no
500. 21:09real cause for it.
501. 21:11And in this connection,
502. 21:14we will be unable [music]
503. 21:15to account for this disorderly
504. 21:17gathering."
505. 21:19After saying this, he dismissed [music]
506. 21:22the assembly.
507. 21:34>> [music]