Jesus Christ The Way The Truth and The Life — Acts 19

0:00 I want to just tell you some of the things I've gleaned from the book of acts. I really appreciate it. Then we'll have an opening prayer and get right into it. I've noticed this time through that in every proclamation of the gospel, it's also in some instances, a mini apologetic. So we can learn also techniques in when we want in in sharing the gospel.

0:22 And there's been surprises, think, in every chapter. I chuckled this, I chuckled with this chapter. My portion today, I'll be looking at, we'll be doing, chapter 19 verse, I think it's verse eight through 20. And Luke describes an event as unusual. That's quite a statement for someone who's recording the book of Acts.

0:43 So let's let's pray. Father, again, we open your word, we do need your help. Me speaking it and the hearers hearing it. We we pray. I pray that the things I prepared might be might be edited according to your perfect will, and if you have other things you want me to add, that you'll bring them to mind.

1:02 And we pray in our Lord Jesus' name. Amen. They say a good teacher, and I'm gonna fake it. If I'm not, well, I'm not. I know I'm not, but they...

1:11 You tell people what you're gonna say and then you tell them what you just told them you're gonna tell them and then you review at the end. So I'm gonna not look at my notes and tell you what I remember from my preparation, but there's like three sections to this to this portion today. And I've chosen the title Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. And I've loosely aligned that first section, I think it's verses eight through 10 as the way. And then the section second section as the truth, we see in that second section, people who wanted to imitate the truth and it didn't work out good, didn't work out too well for them.

1:53 And then the last section is the life. So the Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life. Let me pull up my electronic device. I apologize because I used to ridicule electronic devices, but here we are. So I'll read the text and then I'll go back through it making some remarks.

2:19 Acts chapter 19 verse eight, And he, that being the apostle Paul, went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. Another marvelous sentence from the apostle Paul. I think he needs some periods in there, but we didn't get them. Run on sentence, I would call it, but nevertheless, verse 10, and this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.

3:14 So Paul had a previous visit to Ephesus and he was in the synagogue persuading and explaining and they said, We want to hear more. He said, Well, I've got to go, but I'll come back. So this is the time where he came back, but apparently, after three months, they had heard enough. But we see Paul going back to his standard operating procedure, going into the synagogue and preaching Christ to his fellow Hebrews who had missed the truth of the Lord Jesus Christ. He loved them dearly and wanted to see them understand the truth.

3:52 He was speaking boldly. Paul was firmly convinced of the truth. Hopefully, all of us in our own faith are firmly convinced of its veracity, but the curious thing is we can't convince anybody else the truth. They have to see it for themselves. The Lord has to open their heart and only the Holy Spirit can do that.

4:17 Paul's technique was also, I think, respectful and peaceful, reasoning and persuading. So he's discussing with them and trying to apply what he's saying to to the spiritual truths of the scriptures. The the... Those in the synagogue would have known the Old Testament scriptures. Sometimes you you get more details than you think you need.

4:40 This this time is not one of those times. It says he was he was persuading them concerning the things of the kingdom of God. I wish he would have elaborated for a few more paragraphs, cause that's sort of a an unclear subject to some of us. But I I want to go back to Acts chapter one. Remember when Jesus got back with the disciples after the resurrection and they said, okay, Lord, are you going to restore the kingdom at this time?

5:08 They were looking for it. And let me read his answer to them in Acts chapter one and then I'll make a few other remarks about my perspective or thoughts on the kingdom of God. They asked him the question and he said to them, it is not for you to know times or seasons which the father has put in his authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. One of the songs we sang this morning had the lines on the like, we don't understand.

5:48 We don't know everything you're doing, Lord, but we trust you. Their assignment was to was to go and after the spirit came upon them and and preached these things of of of the gospel. Jesus talked a lot about the kingdom of god. We... That very very familiar verse in Matthew six thirty three, seek ye first the kingdom of god and his righteousness.

6:48 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace, he made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in himself, that in the dispensation of the fulness of times He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which are on earth in Him. And then also 20 to 23, which he, God, worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age, but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave him to be head over all things to the church, which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. So my recommendation to you as you're trying to if you're wrestling with what is the kingdom of God, just realize that we have a spiritual relationship now and that there'll be a kingdom coming where Christ reigns.

8:03 He is the he is the preeminent one. Remember before Pilate, he said, my kingdom is not of this world, that's true. So maybe you would have preferred Paul expounding instead of my thoughts, but he's not here. So back to Acts chapter 19. I wanted to make a few remarks about the resistance that the that the others in the synagogue had, then that's not an uncommon result in our efforts to share Christ.

8:41 In fact, that's the normal result, which is why we struggle so much with sharing Christ because we don't like rejection. But the thought I want to share, one of the thoughts is that salvation really is a matter of obedience. I wanna read some scriptures through from the Kenneth Wuest translation in John chapter three verses 18 to 18. He who places his he who places his trust in him is not being judged. He who is not believing has been judged already and is under...

9:15 And is as a result under judgment because he has not put his trust in the name of the uniquely begotten son of God with the result that he is in a state of unbelief. We've had some grandchildren born, and I had I had the privilege of watching Case yesterday, and I've made at least once the remark, what a lovely little sinner. And he is a lovely little sinner. My point being, when we are born into this world because of the sin of Adam, we are under the judgment of God. And if we don't accept the cure, the gospel, we remain under that.

9:57 And that's a matter of obedience. And I think these others in the synagogue were simply not wanting to obey. The end of John chapter three verse 36, the one who places his trust in the Son has eternal life, but he who refuses to place his trust in the Son, being of such a nature that he refuses to be persuaded, shall not see life, but the wrath of God is abiding on him. Okay. I appreciate appreciate your remarks this week of the power of the word of God.

11:03 Having the authority and power of the word of God penetrate his heart. And so we need to remember that too. The word is alive and powerful. So Paul knew when he wasn't welcome, so he moved on to with his disciples. I don't know if those are the same fellows at the first part of chapter 19, but he withdrew.

11:29 I love the... I'll I'll read the I'll read the text. Well, they relocated to the school of Tyrannus, and this continued for two years so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. I love... Either love or or not so much love John MacArthur.

11:49 He uses the study Bible a lot, and I'm somewhere in the middle. He, John John John is with the Lord now, so he's got all his theology perfect, but I love some of his remarks that he makes. In the school of Tyrannus, he says, it might have just been the owner of the lecture hall or it might have been a specific instructor whose nickname was tyrant and that's why it's known as the school of tyrannus. I know that all of you who have gone to college have inevitably had nicknames for some of your professors. At least I did.

12:25 But classes were held in the morning in this facility, but due to the climate, the afternoon, people didn't go to class, so Paul made use of an opportunity and so did his disciples to use the facility in the afternoon and others came in and heard because and it was it worked out in the culture too because people took those afternoon hours off from their labor so that through the heat of the day, so they were available to come into that and be instructed in things of the Lord. So that's part of this first section of of the way. Paul was explaining to them things about and I forgot to explain or define the way. It says in that those in a synagogue were speaking evil of the way and that simple simply could be described as the Christian faith and practice. They didn't like what Paul was saying.

13:27 Things we can learn from this first section, we can speak the truth, but we can't open hearts. Personally, I think passion is good, but you can't be argumentative and condescending to people you're trying to talk to. Don't tell them they're stupid. I appreciate it too. I was recalling through the...

13:49 Over the last hundred years, there's three names. I don't know if you guys... You'll know at least two of them. Frank Morrison, Josh McDowell, and Jay Warner Wallace. These were all honest men because when they sought to find the truth or disprove Christianity, they all came to faith because they realized the evidence is very overwhelming and the Lord and His mercy opened their heart to see it too because there's a lot of smart people that did reject the truth.

14:22 My understanding is that Albert Einstein was an agnostic. Think about that. He didn't know if there was a God or not. Okay, moving on. So they continued there for two years.

14:38 I would say that Paul also, as he was discipling those fellows, sent them out because I don't think Paul could have gotten all over Asia to to talk to all the Jews and the Greeks. So moving on to part two, the truth. Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul so even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits went out of them. So apparently, the as Lord, you know, I think the key here is God worked unusual miracles. I mean, what what miracles are usual if you think about it, but God chose a unique operation at that time for for some purpose.

16:28 Now let's talk a minute about Skiva. He might have been a self appointed person for trying to cash in on the opportunity because witchcraft, as we'll see later in this text, was a very witchcraft and sorcery and other of those things were very prevalent in Ephesus. So they probably saw it as an opportunistic endeavor and he had he had seven sons who who were engaging in that trade. Here's where the story gets interesting, more interesting. So they went about and so they come up to a fellow to exercise and the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you?

17:27 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them and overpowered them and prevailed against them that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. I don't know if naked actually means naked, but they were they were they were beat up. It probably had been closed and threads. If you could imagine, probably only... You probably only can imagine, you probably never witnessed demon possessed man beat up seven other men.

18:03 And it was so anyways, you get the picture. They all licked their wounds and ran away. And notice verse 17, this became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus and fear fell on them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. So here we see people trying to counterfeit truth, trying to pretend they had the power of God, but they failed miserably. And when that happened, the bystanders, those who had witnesses, came to have great fear and awe and had a great reverence for the name of the Lord Jesus.

18:59 And that brings us to our third section, life. And when the name of the Lord is magnified, spiritual life follows. Notice that the Lord is giving credit, not Paul. Paul indeed did not seek any glory for himself. He called himself in Ephesians chapter four, the prisoner of the Lord.

19:28 And if you... I'd suggest if you'd... If you need a reminder, look at Philippians chapter three. That's how Paul saw himself in relation to Christ. Verses eighteen and nineteen, And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds, and also many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.

19:53 And they countered up the value of them, and it totaled 50,000 pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. A changed life is one of the indications of salvation. It affects how we live. And these people, their life was changing.

21:04 Appreciated our last song today, Great Is Thy Faithfulness. The Lord is always faithful to accomplish his purposes and to use us if we're willing to be yielded to him. And that's a great reminder for us as we continue on and wait until the Lord returns. That's the next event on the divine calendar, I believe. So some applications that we can make today and I'll use a double negative.

21:37 Don't let yourself be not awed by the Lord. Those of you that minister from this position know that the best part of this whole event is your preparation and I... It was no exception for me. Secondly, don't compare, you know, some of the unusual things in these in these chapters in Acts maybe just belong in in the book of Acts, but don't compare your gifting or calling to others. God specifically gifted you for your own ministry.

22:15 Also, don't judge others because they are different. We read in the... I love those verses in first Corinthians 12 verses four to seven that we read, There are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit differences of ministries, but the same Lord diversities of activities, but the same God who works all in all. As Christians, we share a lot of the same spiritual DNA, but it manifests itself in different ways. I I, those of you that have observed my grandson case, I won't explain it, but I was asking Anna, his mother, where does he get that from?

22:55 And he gets that from his grandmother who tragically died a couple years ago. Her personality flowed through him through the mystery of the DNA because he didn't get it from either of his parents or his grandparents on Anna's side. So, let's say in a similar way, there's diversity within the body of Christ. Those of you that were here Wednesday heard Kay's testimony, that was kind of peculiar, but it's your story and we all have our peculiar things that we must not give too much to each other too much trouble over. Give grace.

24:09 In fact, most apparently don't, but your way is the way that is true. Your truth is is conquers all. You we shall know the truth and the truth will set us free. We thank you for those those people involved in the sorcery that were set free. We know your truth is setting free people today and and then the life we live having been set free is by the work and power of the the Lord and the Holy Spirit.

24:36 Father, us this week in our opportunity... Opportunities and challenges to to find victory in you, and we pray in our Lord Jesus' name. Amen.