God’s Work at Ephesus 3(19:21-41)

God’s Work in Ephesus

1. Evangelizing the Confused

2. Educating the Confirmed

3. Empowering the Communicator

4. Exposing the Copy-Cats

5. Exposing the Genuine

BoiceAs the gospel was preached, and the lordship of Jesus Christ emphasized, the believers saw that it was not possible for them to confess Jesus as Lord and still cling to their occult practices. They could not one foot in the church and the other in the world. So they repented of that sin and then brought their occult objects together and had them destroyed, particularly the magic scrolls that contained incantations.

Luke 9:23-25And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?

Acts 19:20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Acts 6:7 And the word of God continued to increase, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem…

Acts 12:24 But the word of God increased and multiplied.

“no Alexander, no Caesar, no other hero, approaches the large-mindedness of this little Benjamite.” --Bengel

1 Corinthians 15:32What do I gain if, humanly speaking, I fought with beasts at Ephesus?

Man’s mind is a perpetual factory of idols. --Calvin

The worst thing about good people is that they are often such

cowards.

in the final analysis the only thing heathenism can do against Paul is to shout itself hoarse. --Haenchen

He was seeking to convince in order to convert. --Stott