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Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. As always, it is good to have you with us. If you’ve been following us in our study of the book of Acts, you’ll remember that Paul (now on his third missionary journey) has come back to the city of Ephesus. And it says in…
Acts 19:8 (ESV)-- 8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. Reasoning & Persuading-- So for three months it says he is reasoning and persuading. Now those two words (reasoning & persuading) keep cropping up in and throughout the book of Acts. And the first one (διαλέγομαι) simply means reasoning; it’s where we get dialectic or dialogue; [it’s a back-and-forth, question-and-answer-type thing.] And the second word (πείθω) simply means to persuade or convince. Well, what was he reasoning and persuading them about? Verse 8: about the kingdom of God. Now what does that mean? Well, he no doubt focused not on explaining the inner workings of the coming Kingdom of God, but rather on how people could gain access to that kingdom. Because fast forward to the last two verses of the book of Acts, which find Paul in Rome, where it says… Acts 28:30-31 (ESV)-- 30 He lived there two whole years at his own expense, and welcomed all who came to him, 31 proclaiming the kingdom of God and teaching about the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness and without hindrance. Rising Opposition-- You see, at the center of all of it is the teaching about the nature and person of Jesus Christ; who is is, what He came to do, and how in Him we can have eternal life. It is only in Him that we can have access to the Kingdom of Heaven. And so Paul’s focus is on teaching the Word, expounding what it says about Christ, and defending the Christian faith. Now unfortunately (as always happens eventually) some harden themselves against Paul and what he is preaching. It says in… Acts 19:9 (ESV)-- 9 But when some became stubborn and continued in unbelief, speaking evil of the Way before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus. Hardening to Hardened-- So these particular Jews from the synagogue became stubborn (or hardened, your translation might say). By the way (just a side note) the word in the Greek here for hardened/stubborn is in the imperfect tense. And so once this is an ongoing process by which they slowly became more and more hardened. It didn’t happen all at once; no, it was progressive. They had slowly but surely hardened themselves against Jesus Christ and gradually grew in their rejection of the Gospel until eventually their hearts were like rocks and they vehemently refused to believe. Now unfortunately they were not content to merely passively and respectfully disagree. No, as Jesus said, darkness cannot abide the light. And so we see that they begin speaking evil of the Way, which was the name given to early Christianity. In Matthew and Mark this same word (κακολογέω) is actually translated “they cursed”. So it is a vicious attack aimed at the Way. And this was no doubt because Christians were proclaiming that the Way to the Kingdom of Heaven was through Jesus Christ and Him alone. They weren’t “a” Way. No, they were THE Way. They knew and proclaimed that there is only one way to salvation. And that is a message that still (even today) invites the curse of the world, but is the message the Church still needs to proclaim. However, here (as we’ve said) it invites the curses of these unbelievers who are cursing the Way in front of the whole multitude (your translation may saying congregation, which isn’t wrong; just keep in mind we’re not talking just the church congregation; the word (πλῆθος, from which we get our word plethora) is literally used to describe [a multitude, crowd, great number, assemblage.] Tyrannus-- Now you can imagine how disrupting it must have been for Paul to be preaching in the synagogue and have these hardened Jews stand up and literally curse him, his message, his Lord, and the disciples. And so understandably this forces Paul to withdraw from the synagogue, which he does. And it says he took the disciples with him. And so he moves his teaching ministry to a local schoolhouse; the teaching hall of Tyrannus. Now we don’t know too much about this guy. His name literally mean tyrant. I’m sure many of you had teachers who were called tyrants, but most likely not because that was their name. And hopefully that wasn’t a reflection on this guys’ teaching style. But you know, I’d love to know more about this guy’s parents. Pretty cruel to actually give that name to your child. But nonetheless, he appears to have been a teacher of some renown; and Paul uses his school to carry on the teaching ministry of the Church; and thus this is the first Christian church in a school. And thankfully, there have been many since then. Some of you may have attended a church started in a school. Or (as I did) a school born out of a church (which my kids do now as well). Now some might say “Well, isn’t Paul here allowing the church to become unequally yoked with this Tyrannus” guys? But the answer is of course no; because they weren’t sharing philosophies or becoming yoked in their beliefs. They were simply sharing a building. And it’s perfectly fine to meet almost anywhere as long as the church keeps the purity of its identity and doctrine, which of course they were doing. Now (like I said) we know nothing about Tyrannus other than he was likely a philosopher who (like any successful philosopher of his time) started a school and was teaching others his philosophy. And he seems to have done pretty well; and people are coming to hear him. But the school was available during the day. And at this point let me share with you something very interesting. [There’s an ancient Greek manuscript that adds the fact that Paul taught in this hall of Tyrannus from the 5th to the 10th hour. Now that would be from 11:00am to 4:00pm. Five hours.] And notice how verse 9 tells us how often he did this. How often? Daily. That’s a pretty heavy schedule to do in addition to your leather-making business. There’s no way he could have kept that up for long! But look at verse 10… Acts 19:10a (ESV)-- 10 This continued for two years, Scheduled Teaching-- So for two years, five hours a day, seven days a week, Paul is teaching the Ephesian Church. That is how dedicated Paul was to the ministry of the Word; how important he saw it was for people to get deeply (and I mean deeply) ingrained in the Word of God. Now let me expound that just a little bit more because that reality is further enhanced when we know a little more about Ephesus; because Ephesus (like all the Ionian cities) had a very interesting schedule. Everybody would work until 11:00am and then stop, and then would pick up work again at 4:00pm. Can anyone guess why? The heat; the absolutely oppressive heat. People would sleep mid-day, then get up at 4:00 and work into the night/early morning. [In fact, one Asian writer says there’s more people awake in Ephesus at 1:00 a.m. then there are at 1:00 p.m.]. So what would happen was Tyrannus would teach in his school in the mornings and probably resume for a bit in the evening. And so the time available to Paul was 11:00-4:00. And so he takes that time slot and uses it to deliver 730 five-hour sermons over the course of two years. Let me say that again; 730 five-hour sermons over the course of two years. Their Commitment-- Now that tells us two things. First, it shows us the level of commitment Paul had to this ministry. He took advantage of whatever opportunity God gave him to preach the word of God. But you know, it also tells us something of the tremendous commitment of these early Christians; because keep in mind they were giving up sleep to hear Paul preach. Not only that, but they were sitting there in that lecture hall cooking in the heat, just so that they might come to know “the Way” more fully. We here in the Seattle/Renton area complain of our yearly heat wave (and yes it is unpleasant). Some churches even shut down; and some for justifiable reasons (such as keeping watch over the elderly who might try to come when they shouldn’t). But nevertheless, I want you to see how hungry these Christians were to hear the Word of God. I don’t know if I’ve ever been THAT hungry for the word of God. But these Christians were. And that is what made ministry in Ephesus so explosive; because God always meets with those Christians who devote themselves as students of His word. May we also be that hungry. Now was this the only time that Paul taught? No. As unbelievable as it might seem, he is also leading evening Bible studies. Don’t believe me? Look at what he says to the Ephesian elders in… Acts 20:20 (ESV)-- …I did not shrink from declaring to you anything that was profitable, and teaching you in public and from house to house, Acts 20:31 (ESV)-- 31 Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. Paul’s Schedule-- And that three years includes the two years, the three months, and a little extra time. Now let me tell you what this looked like for Paul in terms of schedule. He’d make tents till 11:00am, teach till 4:00pm, make tents till 8:00pm, then teach till 1am or 2am; go to bed, get up, and repeat. And in light of that I want you to look at chapter 20, verse 27, because I promise you you will never look at this verse the same way again. To those Ephesian elders he is preparing to leave in charge he says… Acts 20:27 (ESV)-- 27 for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. The Fruit-- Boy, he sure did. He wasn’t exaggerating. He really did declare unto them the whole counsel of God. And do you know what the result was; what the result of one man setting himself to proclaiming the Word of God that fervently was? Verse 10… Acts 19:10 (ESV)-- 10 This continued for two years, so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. 7 Churches of Revelation-- How incredible is that! And you know what else we discover when we dig a little deeper? [All seven of the churches in Revelation 2 and 3 were most likely founded during these two years.] All of them. And so [at least six other churches] were born out of the ministry of this mighty minister of the Word of God. Now how did all of this happen? By spreading out all over Asia Minor trying to make sure everybody hears at least a basic presentation of the Gospel? No. It came by teaching the Word of God; making disciples who were deeply ingrained in their faith; and those disciples naturally reproduced themselves all over Asia Minor. And when Paul eventually left Ephesus, he left it strong and filled with elders ready to become pastors, to whom he entrusted the ministry of the Word… Burning Hearts-- Now let me make one more comment about the evening Bible studies Paul had. Because I want you to picture this mighty man of God (after a long day of tent-making and teaching) coming to your door. You say, “Would he do that?” Absolutely. That is what he did. Why? Because Paul had the heart of a shepherd. He cared about people. His heart burned for every person to know the Light of God’s Word. Let me ask you something? Is your heart burning like that for anyone else to know what you know; to experience what you have experienced? Are you willing to give of your time, to give of your sleep, to become uncomfortable so that somebody may come to understand the Word of God and the Gospel more deeply? Who are you doing that for? If you don’t have anybody, then I implore you to find somebody. Somewhere out there (and probably not far from you) there is someone waiting for you to help guide them into knowing God’s Word and walking with Jesus Christ. Let us be faithful to find those people and pour into them the full counsel of God. Amen.
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Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. It is good to have you with us today as we seek the Lord Jesus Christ (our Bread and our Life) in His Word today.
Paul in Ephesus— In our study of the book of Acts, you will remember that Paul has recently embarked on his third missionary journey, which started (just like the previous two) in Antioch, which was his home base where he pastored alongside Barnabas and three other men of God. But after spending some time there, he departs, and travels through the regions of Galatia and Phrygia, strengthening the disciples. And finally he comes back to the town of Ephesus, where he had left Priscilla and Aquila not too long before this; after he himself had spoken at the synagogue there and then left for Jerusalem. But now, upon his return, he finds a group of John the Baptist’s disciples and wins them over to Jesus Christ. They are baptized in the name of Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit, the signature mark of every true child of God. The Nucleus of The Ephesian Church-- And so we see that there is a strong nucleus begun in the church in Ephesus. We have Aquila and Priscilla there, a group of believers that Paul himself had led to Christ (including these 12 disciples of John), and then we have whoever Aquila and Priscilla have led to Christ. So the church there in Ephesus is off to a good start. The Beating Heart of Asia Minor-- But before we begin to work our way through the text, I need to kind of help set the scene a little bit, because the city of Ephesus was a very interesting city. [The city of Ephesus probably ranked with Corinth as the two most important cities on the road east from Rome. In the eastern division of the Roman Empire, the three main cities would be Antioch, Alexandria and Ephesus.] But Ephesus was the beating heart of Asia Minor, being a commercial center at which four main roads crossed. And so it was a place caravans would come to trade. But it was also a port city, because although it was three miles inland, the Cayster River flowed into Ephesus and (though it had a dredging problem and had to be dredged periodically) it was navigable by ships, which would also come to trade. Now that is not the case today; because [over the centuries, sedimentation gradually filled in the inlet around the city…{And so}…The coastlines moved seaward, and the ruins of Ephesus are now some 8 km inland from the coast.] But back then it was accessible via the Cayster River; and all this served to make Ephesus a lavish, rich, and fascinating place to be. And it had quite an immense population because of this. Everywhere you went, the markets glistened with the art of that world and the air was described as “salubrious”, meaning it was healthy or wholesome. John’s Vision-- Now John the Apostle was here, and in fact would later be exiled from here to the Isle of Patmos, which was off the coast just a little ways. And interestingly, when he wrote the book of Revelation, we find that in chapter 18 the Lord gave John a picture of the wealth, commerce, and sophistication of the world. It’s very possible that Ephesus came to John’s mind in relationship to that picture. In fact, listen to… Revelation 18:12 (ESV)-- 12 cargo of gold, silver, jewels, pearls, fine linen, purple cloth, silk, scarlet cloth, all kinds of scented wood, all kinds of articles of ivory, all kinds of articles of costly wood, bronze, iron and marble, A Picture-- Now that is not a description of Ephesus, but it was a description that very much matched Ephesus and may have brought Ephesus to John’s mind as he pondered the picture God had given him. A Dark Place-- But keep in mind that Ephesus was also a dark place because it was the center of worship of Diana or Artemis, whose temple was the centerpiece of Ephesus. And she was to be worshiped in and through prostitution, orgies, and that kind of thing. Ephesus was also a haven for criminals, who flocked to Ephesus for sanctuary. It was also a place entrenched in sorcery, witchcraft, magicians, and exorcists. And so talk about being a place of spiritual warfare. Suddenly Paul’s letter (when he wrote back to the Ephesians) makes a little more sense. He writes in… Ephesians 6:12 (ESV)-- 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Spiritual Warfare-- And we will see that it is in Ephesus that those evil forces come to a head against Paul and against the message of the Gospel. But Paul arrives in Ephesus. And he sets up leather-working business (the literal translation of the word), which probably included the making of tents. And this was because it was his custom not to make himself a burden, but to support himself. We know this because when he’s getting ready to leave Ephesus, he writes in… Acts 20:33-34 (ESV)-- 33 I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. 34 You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. Not A Burden-- And so we see that not only did he support himself, but he also was even able to support others. He worked hard in order to not be a burden and also to have the means to help others. And that just gives us one window into the heart Paul; his kindness and love towards those who needed help. That is why he worked. The Central Word-- Now although Paul had to work, that wasn’t where his heart was. No, the driving force and the very center of his ministry was without question the Word of God. It says in verse 20: So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily. And then when he eventually leaves Ephesus, he will say to the elders of the Ephesian Church… Acts 20:32 (ESV)-- 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. Saturated With The Word-- Everything Paul did was centered on helping to bring people into an understanding of the scriptures (in this case the Old Testament); what it foretold about the Christ, how Jesus is the fulfillment of all those Messianic hopes, and how now all can experience forgiveness from God through Jesus and have fellowship with God in and through Him. And what we have to understand is that the reason we will see such a strong Church built up in Ephesus; the reason why we will see Satan defeated in such an incredible way in the upcoming verses is because Paul saturated this Church with the teaching of the Word of God. Now why did the word of the Lord continue to increase and prevail mightily? Because it was proclaimed. Now that may seem obvious and simplistic. But at the same time it is easy to forget. The Word of God has the power to change people, but in order to do that it needs the hands and feet of faithful Christian ambassadors who will bring it to them. And that is what we see Paul doing in verse 8. It says… Acts 19:8 (ESV)-- 8 And he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God. Stayed Three Months-- Now one of the things important to note here is that Paul had already formed relationships with many of the Jews attached to the synagogue there. When he had left Ephesus before in chapter 18, it says in verse 20: they asked him to stay for a longer period. Now that must have been so refreshing to Paul because (think about it) every other synagogue he has gone to the unbelieving Jews have gotten angry and sought to drive him away. But this group doesn’t. They not only don’t set themselves against him, but are actually eager to hear what he has to say. And so he comes back and stays with them for a period of three whole months, which may not seem long to us but was unusually long for Paul, who sadly had become all too familiar with rejection. But these Jews were different. They were hungry. Speaking Boldly-- Now you might ask what Paul did for those three months. Well, it tells us that he entered the synagogue and for three months spoke boldly. Now the Greek word translated as “spoke boldly” is actually a single word in the Greek (παρρησιάζομαι); it is a type of speech that is bold. It is the same word used to describe the speech of Apollos in 18:26. And here it is in the imperfect tense, which simply means it is ongoing rather than being finished or completed. And so the text is better translated “and he was continuing to speak boldly.” And this is one of the signature marks of apostolic preaching by the way that we see occurring again and again in the book of Acts. In chapter 4, verse 29 the disciples (after a bout with persecution) pray to God for boldness and God gives them (and continues to give them) that boldness. And as time progresses they just keep getting bolder and bolder. And it is a boldness that is both strong, yet meek; powerful, yet not bullheaded and needlessly offensive. It is the kind of boldness that aligns with 1 Peter 3:15, which says… 1 Peter 3:15 (ESV)— 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, Now this kind of boldness is for you and me as well. Paul says that each and every one of us needs to have in our lives this boldness that comes through our faith in Christ. He says in… 1 Corinthians 16:13 (ESV)-- 13 Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. 2 Corinthians 3:12 (ESV)-- 12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, And so let us be bold. Let us proclaim the Word of God powerfully, with gentleness and respect, knowing that as we do God will be sowing seeds in people’s hearts that will bear fruit unto salvation. Let’s do so. Amen. Hello and welcome to Lechem Panim. It is good to have you with us today as we seek the Lord Jesus Christ (our Bread and our Life) in His Word today.
“In the hole he goes”-- Just recently I read of [Three small siblings {who} had a pet sparrow, which, to everyone’s disappointment, died. The children were very sad, and they decided to give the dead bird a really good burial service. Their families were faithful members of the church, so the children had some ideas of how to go about it. The first step was to dig the grave in a carefully chosen spot in a corner of the yard. Then they solemnly prepared for the actual interment. One child held the sparrow over the grave, and another recited, “In the name of the Father, the Son, and in the hole he goes.”] Now sadly, I’m sorry to say, the knowledge of many people regarding the Holy Ghost (or Holy Spirit) often does not rise too much above this child’s understanding. We Don’t Talk About…-- Every week, my family has movie night on Fridays. And not long ago we watched one of the new Disney movies, Encanto. And it was very fun and entertaining. And the music is very memorable. And one of the songs is “We Don’t Talk About Bruno”. And that is the refrain that you hear over and over again, “We don’t talk about Bruno, no no no no”. It’s quite catchy, no matter how much you might want to “Let it Go!, Let it Go!” But in thinking about it, I feel that if you were to replace the word “Bruno” with “Holy Spirit” or “Holy Ghost”, the song would fairly accurate. “We don’t talk about the Holy Ghost, no no no no." And I wonder why that is. I think for many of us, we just don’t understand the Holy Spirit. We get the Father (at least we think we do; though I think our understanding of Him is also very warped at times; we think we get the Son (though honestly, if you don’t understand the Father, you won’t understand the Son either, who came to reveal to us the Father); but the Holy Spirit is the one I feel we understand the least. What or who is the Holy Spirit? What role does the Holy Spirit have to play in our day-to-day lives? Those are questions I hope to be able to at least scratch the surface in answering today. And our passage today provides the perfect opportunity to do so. Because here in Acts 19, verses 1-7, we find Paul (now on his third missionary journey) coming back to Ephesus and encountering a group of men who (through him) receive the Holy Spirit. It says in… Acts 19:1a (ESV)— 1 And it happened that while Apollos {(whom we talked about last week)} was at Corinth, Paul passed through the inland country and came to Ephesus. Ephesus-- Now [Ephesus was the capital and leading business center of the Roman province of Asia (part of present-day Turkey). {It was} A hub of of sea and land transportation, {and} it ranked with Antioch in Syria and Alexandria in Egypt as one of the great cities on the Mediterranean Sea.] And it is here that Paul would be staying for a little over two years and would write his first letter to the Corinthians in order to help to counter several problems the church in Corinth was facing. And we will see later that during his imprisonment in Rome, Paul will write a letter to the Ephesian church (the book of Ephesians). And so we see that Paul kept his promise to return to the Ephesian church that he had made back in 18:21. When he had left them, they had been spiritually hungry to hear more; and now that he is returning he is hoping that the Jews will still be eager to hear. And when he arrives, it says in the rest of verse 1… Acts 19:1b-2a (ESV)-- There he found some disciples. 2 And he said to them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Now the answer to this question is absolutely critical because it is the Holy Spirit who marks us believers in Christ. Paul in fact writes to the Ephesians, saying in… Ephesians 1:13-14 (ESV)-- 13 In him {(Jesus)} you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory. Our Sanctifier-- But the Holy Spirit also has another role. Not only does He mark us as believers and children of God, but He is the One who sanctifies us, re-molding and re-shaping us into the very image of Jesus, leading us out of the old way of the flesh into the new way of the Spirit. Paul writes of this clearly in… Galatians 5:16-25 (ESV)-- 16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. {Now these “disciples” did not yet have the Holy Spirit in their lives. And so it says in…} Acts 19:2b-3 (ESV)-- And they said, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 And he said, “Into what then were you baptized?” They said, “Into John's baptism.” Hadn’t Heard-- And so Paul comes to this group of disciples who we see have a faith, but a faith that is incomplete, because not only had they not heard of what had happened at Pentecost (the Holy Spirit being given) but they say that they have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Now this does not mean that they had not heard of the Holy Spirit or even that they were not expecting the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. No. They would have known about the Holy Spirit through the Old Testament, which has clear teachings about the Holy Spirit of God and promises that He will one day be poured out (Joel 2:28). But they also would have known about the Holy Spirit in and through John the Baptist (whom verse three says they were baptized by); because he said very clearly that the Messiah/Lamb of God would “baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire (Matthew 3:11; Luke 3:16). And so all this phrase means is that they were simply ignorant of the fact that this expectation had been realized at Pentecost. They were Old Testament Saints still waiting for that promised gift of God, not knowing that it had actually already come. In fact, F.F. Bruce translates their answer, “We never even heard that the Holy Spirit is available.” And so these men were disciples of John the Baptist who had received John’s Baptism, which was an outward sign of repentance from sin, but was not a sign (as it is now) of new life in Christ. John’s Baptism looked forward in anticipation to the atoning work of Christ. The Baptism of the Holy Spirit looks back at the atoning work of Christ, resting on its completion. Well, these men had apparently believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but (like Apollos) they needed to come to understand the significance of his death, resurrection, ascension, and the coming of the Holy Spirit. And so it says in… Acts 19:4 (ESV)-- 4 And Paul said, “John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus.” Start With Jesus-- Now notice that Paul doesn’t explain to them about what it means to receive the Holy Spirit. Instead, he talks to them about the person of Jesus. And this is for two reasons. First of all (like we already talked about) they already knew who the Holy Spirit was and were anticipating His coming. But secondly (and this is what is key for us) Paul begins with Jesus because it is only in and through Jesus that we can receive the Holy Spirit. You have to start with Jesus; because it is in and through His atoning work alone that we are reconciled to God, given the Holy Spirit, and consequently are transformed by the Holy Spirit into the likeness of Christ. That is why if you have somebody in your life who is living in darkness; who is making bad choices; who seems bent on self-destruction (and I have known people like this), the best thing you can do is bring them to Jesus. Draw them to Christ with your words and actions; inspire them to Christ with your testimony of what He has done for you. Drive them to Christ with your prayers. Whatever it takes, if you can get that person to Him, He can reconcile them to Himself and give them the One (the ONLY One) who has the power to change a human heart. And that is what Paul does here. And they believe. And it says… Acts 19:5-7 (ESV)-- 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying. 7 There were about twelve men in all. A Unified Church-- Now this does not mean that speaking in tongues is necessary for salvation. But in the book of Acts (for every people group that received Christ) it was given as an outward sign in order to both ease the spread of the Gospel, but also as a sign to the Church that God was the one bringing this new people group into the fold. [And in each case apostles were present to verify that all received the same Holy Spirit in the same way. That having been completed, Paul could write to the Ephesians, “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism” (Eph. 4:4–5). From then on, the Holy Spirit would come to every heart at salvation, as the epistles teach.] A Sad Discord-- Now I find it amazing how the Holy Spirit, who was the means of bringing the Church together in the book of Acts, has since become the center of much controversy and division. And what is worse, in our day and age (perhaps because we don’t really understand the Holy Spirit; who He is and what He can do in us) we neglect Him. We know He’s there and acknowledge Him occasionally, but don’t know what it means to truly know the One who abides in us and be fully surrendered to Him. And what is so scary to me about the modern church (as somebody I read recently pointed out) is the fact that our churches are [so rigidly programmed that it seems we need no longer depend on Him—yet Jesus said, "Without Me you can do nothing.”] 95%— [The late Dr. A. W. Tozer, author and pastor, said, "If the Holy Spirit was withdrawn from the church today, 95 percent of what we do would go on and no one would know the difference. If the Holy spirit had been withdrawn from the New Testament church, 95 percent of what they did would stop, and everybody would know the difference.”] Let me ask you this, do you truly know the presence of God’s Holy Spirit in your life? Are you abiding in constant communion with Him and allowing Him to keep you in God’s Holy way? A Monopoly-- Once [A committee of ministers in a certain city was discussing the possibility of having D. L. Moody to serve as the evangelist during a city-wide evangelistic campaign. Finally, one young minister who did not want to invite Moody stood up and said: “Why Moody? Does he have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit?” There was silence. Then an old, godly minister spoke up: “No, he does not have a monopoly of the Holy Spirit; but the Holy Spirit has a monopoly of D. L. Moody.” Does the Holy Spirit have a monopoly on your life?] Do you have the Holy Spirit? If not, He is available to you know in and through faith in Jesus Christ. And if you are already a believer, is the Holy Spirit more than just in you? Are you fully given over to Him in utter and complete surrender? If not, give yourself to Him today; let Him have a monopoly on your life; and in the world He will make you like Christ and use you in amazing ways. Surrender to Him today. Amen. |
Rev. Cameron Ury graduated from Asbury University in 2007 with a B.A. in Bible and Theology. From there he continued his studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS. It was there that he met his wife Tanya, who graduated from WBS with her M.A. and M.Div. degrees. Cameron and Tanya got married in 2009. Cameron then graduated with his M.Div. degree with a pastoral concentration in 2011.
After shepherding churches in both Mississippi and Ohio, they joined the ministry team at Renton Park Chapel in January of 2018, where Cameron serves as Senior Pastor and Teacher. Cameron is also the founder and host of Lechem Panim, a weekly radio show that airs on KGNW 820AM "The Word Seattle". The ministry of Lechem Panim is centered around leading people into the life-giving presence of God in and through Bible study, prayer, and active discipleship with the aim of ministering to a world that is in desperate need of the healing touch of Jesus Christ. Archives
November 2022
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