← Back to sermon library

Good morning. Welcome to Free 
Grace Baptist Church. Just one announcement. You may 
have noticed, but you may not have, having slipped in and looking 
for a seat quickly, because we know the 50 seats go very quickly, 
but Linda D'Armani has put a Pro-Life table up at the back, so definitely 
make yourself, avail yourself of the information there. There 
was an email sent out yesterday as well, just informing you. 
in regards to some things that are happening in the immediate 
future. But Linda is our pro-life representative for the church. 
So she's the conduit to send us information. And so that's 
what she has displayed at the back. So a lot of good information 
there. So please make sure you avail yourself of that information. 
That's it for announcements. Please turn your Bibles as we 
begin worship this morning to Psalm 84. Psalm 84. Psalm 84 to the chief musician 
on an instrument of gath, a psalm of the sons of Korah. How lovely 
is your tabernacle, O Lord of hosts. My soul longs, yes, even 
faints for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry 
out for the living God. Even the sparrow has found a 
home and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may lay her 
young. Even your altars, O Lord of hosts, 
my King and my God, blessed are those who dwell in your house. 
They will still be praising you. Selah. Blessed is the man whose 
strength is in you, whose heart is set on pilgrimage. As they 
pass through the valley of Baca, they make it a spring. The rains 
also cover it with pools. They go from strength to strength. 
Each one appears before God in Zion. O Lord God of hosts, hear 
my prayer. Give ear, O God of Jacob. Selah. O God, behold our shield, and 
look upon the face of your anointed. For day in your courts is better 
than a thousand. I would rather be a doorkeeper 
in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness. For 
the Lord God is a sun and a shield. The Lord will give grace and 
glory. No good thing will he withhold 
from those who walk uprightly. Oh, Lord of hosts, blessed is 
the man who trusts in you. Amen. Well, please turn with 
me in your hymn books as we begin worship. We will begin with hymn 
number 103D, as in David. 103D. Please stand. ♪ The tender love a mother has ♪ ♪ 
For all her children dear ♪ ♪ Such a love for me so tender ♪ ♪ Who 
could share it with fear ♪ and all our guilty foes, let 
this heart of mine ♪ As I do my deep prayer ♪ ♪ So 
that it may be sent away ♪ ♪ Before the last of death ♪ ♪ Unchanging 
is the love of God ♪ ♪ From which he leads us in ♪ ♪ His praise 
to all who do His will ♪ ♪ His face was on every corner 
everlasting ♪ ♪ There his children shall rejoice ♪ ♪ To see his 
righteousness ♪ ♪ Amen ♪ Gracious and our loving Heavenly 
Father, it's with great desire and interest that we come this 
day to worship the High King of Heaven and Earth. Thank you, 
Father, that you are a God who is holy, a God who is afar. in 
your holiness, in your righteousness, yet you're also a God who is 
very near and dear. We praise you, Father, that you 
are a God who can be known, and you've sent your Son, your one 
and only Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, to take upon Himself 
the form of a man, and live as a man in this lower world, so 
that when He died, He died as a perfect God-man. And how we 
praise you, Father, for that righteousness that is ours this 
day, through your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, as we come together 
to worship you this day, Father. We pray that you would be pleased 
to bless this worship time, cause us to have high thoughts of you, 
Father. We pray that we would put away those small, puny thoughts 
of the High King of Heaven. We pray, Lord, that we would 
see you in your holiness, in your righteousness, in your perfections, 
in your omniscience and omnipotence, and the fact, Lord, that you 
sustain this world and And you give to us a night and day, and 
you give to us the beauty of the sunshine outside, and the 
green grass, and the mounting mountains all around us. And 
all these things, Father, we speak of a great God, a gracious 
God in creation. So Lord, we praise you, we thank 
you for all the good gifts that we get to enjoy in the nature 
around us. Lord, thank you for providing 
for us as well, the goodness of food and for our daily nourishment, 
that we would gain strength to be here this day. and to be amongst 
your people and in your house to worship you. Father, we praise 
you for the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ that we're gathered 
here together as a local body, as a group here at Free Grace 
Baptist Church that are not just a small group here, but rather, 
Father, we are part of a much larger church universal. We praise 
you that you are in the business, as it were, of saving individuals 
and attaching them to your church and blessing the church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ and causing it to be that place where people 
would be taught the things of God where salvation would be 
declared definitively and clearly and where we get to come in out 
of the world and be unmolested and enter into this time of worship, 
this hour of worship before an audience of one. So Lord, help 
us now in this hour to be true worshipers of you. We pray that 
you would forgive us of all of our sins, cleanse afresh in that 
precious blood of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you, 
Father, that we are declared righteous, not in our own selves, 
by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. And we praise you, Father, for 
the fact that we have standing with you, that even our prayers 
and our petitions, our requests, our praise is heard in the very 
throne room of Christ himself because of our great high priest. 
And you have told us that you bend your holy ear to hear the 
praises and the prayers and petitions of your people. So Lord, help 
us now in this hour of worship to enter into that holy of holies, 
that presence of God himself, in this hour of worship. We pray, 
Lord, that we would put away those small puny thoughts of 
God and cause us, Lord, to see the blessed God that we serve 
and that we know and love. Help us in this time, Lord, to 
grow in grace, grow in our knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ as well, 
and we pray that we would grow in Christ-likeness and that we 
would be sanctified by your holy word. Lord, how we pray for any 
and all in this place who would not know the things of Christ 
personally, They may know of God, and they may know many things 
about God, but they do not know the blessedness of having forgiveness 
of sins. So, Lord, how we rejoice in that 
as your children, that we know what forgiveness is, and how 
we pray, Lord, that you would be pleased to till up the soil 
of every heart here, this place, that it would not be a hardened 
heart, but rather it would be a heart that would receive that 
knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ, that grace. And truly, Lord, 
we pray to you because salvation is of the Lord. It's not of man, 
it's not of wise words, it's nothing in ourselves but rather 
Father we look to you as the God who does save and the God 
who will save, the God who has promised to save and add to his 
church. Lord we do pray for any who are 
not with us this day due to illness, due to sickness, we pray Lord 
that you would strengthen them, cause them to know your help 
and your aid. We know there are some amongst us who are not well, 
we pray that those who are not well that they would know that 
help and aid that does come from on high. Give them your presence, 
Father. We pray that they would know in a special way that Holy 
Spirit, even though they cannot be with us as a body, they can 
certainly be with us through the Spirit of the Living God. 
And we pray that they would know that Spirit this day that you 
would give to them, help and aid physically, outwardly, but 
also inwardly as well. And we pray that the Word of 
God might dwell in them richly as well. We do thank you, Father, 
that we can meet together unmolested from those who govern over us. 
We do pray, Lord, for for our governing authorities, that you 
would be pleased to strengthen them, cause them, Lord, to rule 
in a righteous manner. We pray that they would not overrule 
and overstep their bounds. We do pray, Lord, that you would 
be pleased to cause them to make rulings ultimately for the good 
of your church throughout this nation and all around the world. 
Father, we do pray against the sin of abortion, as we were reminded 
in that table at the back. It is something that never goes 
away. We are to pray that your will would be done on earth as 
it is in heaven, where there is no killing, there's no taking 
of the innocent life of little ones, not even born, taken out 
of their mother's womb. How we pray, Lord, that you would 
do that work. We know that we can address these 
things human to human, but ultimately, Father, it's a spiritual thing 
that men want to destroy, image bearers of you. Lord, how we 
pray that you would change the tide in our nation, change these 
things, Father, so that they would one day be no longer spoken 
of. We do pray. We look to you, Father, that 
you are the God who can change, and we would confess the sins 
of our nation to you. Pray, Lord, that you would be 
pleased to heal us and forgive us our sins and cause us to love 
righteousness and love the things that you love and hate the things 
that you hate. We do pray. Bless those who do 
stand up on the part of life. We know that they are under attack 
as well. We pray, Lord, that they would have strength from 
day to day and that, Lord, you would be pleased to give them 
wisdom. And ultimately, Father, we do 
pray that the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ 
would go out and that we really would see a swelling of salvation 
going out across this nation so that naturally people would 
love the things that you love and love life. Lord, we do pray 
your blessing to be upon the churches that we know. We thank 
you that we had Pastor Kir Batra here last week. And just reminded 
of the church there in Surrey, as well as the church as they 
are seeking and attempting to meet up in Vernon. Lord, we pray 
that your blessing might be upon both of these congregations. 
For Pastor Mike and the church there that is established, we 
pray that you would help them as they seek to biblically order 
themselves, to have deacons amongst them. And Lord, we pray that 
even one day they might even have a fellow elder for Mike 
there. Lord, we pray that you would bless that church and own 
that church and cause them, as they meet together this day, 
to rejoice in you. We thank you, Lord, for the goodness 
and the kindness that you gave to them, a building that they 
can meet in and they can conduct themselves in a manner worthy 
of the gospel there. And as they meet together, we 
pray, Lord, that you would just instruct their hearts, instruct 
minds there this day, and bless Mike with the Holy Spirit as 
he brings the word. Give him unction from on high. 
And Lord, for wisdom on the part of those in Vernon, we pray, 
Lord, that you would be pleased to strengthen that group, keep 
them together, give them unity, and we do pray, Lord, that it 
would be your will that you would send a man amongst them who would 
be able to shepherd that flock there in Vernon. Lord, they are 
your people, and we pray that you would just bless them with 
wisdom and ultimately with elders and deacons there, we do pray. 
Lord, we ask your blessing upon the persecuted church as well, 
all over this world. We know that continues on, unabated, 
and we pray, Lord, that you would put a hedge of protection around 
your people everywhere. Cause them, Lord, to bear up 
under persecution, to bear up under the heavy arm of the legislators 
and the haters of the things of Christ in their places. We 
pray, Lord, that you would just give strength where strength 
is needed, and forbearance where forbearance is needed. and just 
a physical and spiritual protection in every way. For those who are 
in prison, Father, we pray that you would just gird them up and 
cause them to not grow weary, grow faint, but may they persevere 
and may they hold on to that, the hope of the gospel that one 
day, whether they're in prison or whether they lose their life, 
Father, ultimately it's for the cause of Christ. And they will 
be transported into that wonderful reality of the eternal heaven. 
We pray, Lord, that these things might bring great blessing and 
encouragement and heartening to them this day. So Lord, we 
just ask your blessing upon all these things. We do desire to 
be worshippers of you. We pray that you would bless 
us in this hour as we gather together. Bless Pastor Butler, 
strengthen him. We pray that you would enable 
him to lay hold of you as well and that he would have your help, 
your aid, your unction, and your spirit to be upon him and upon 
us as a congregation, that we would receive that word. and 
that we would receive it gladly. And we do thank you for the Word 
of God and pray that it would be enriched here in this congregation 
amongst us here this morning. And we pray all these things 
in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Well, please turn with me in 
your hymn books to hymn number 411, 4-1-1. And again, I'll ask 
you to please stand. 4-1-1. Oh, say does that star-spangled 
banner yet wave ♪ It saved me, Lord ♪ ♪ I saw Him, 
His Son, in the night ♪ ♪ And after Jesus did pass away ♪ ♪ 
He showed me the way of victory ♪ ♪ And I'm not afraid anymore 
♪ ♪ His mercy will still prevail 
♪ ♪ While angels celebrate His praise ♪ ♪ And sing His glory, 
glory still ♪ ♪ Alleluia to the Lamb of God ♪ We continue through the book 
of Romans to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6. And just as you're turning, just 
by way of review, sometimes it's always good to know where we've 
been and where we are in the Book of Romans. And if you remember 
back to Chapter 1 and Chapter 2, it opens up, Paul opens up 
with the bad news. The bad news obviously of sin 
and its thoroughness, it really is. It's in every fiber of our 
being, every fiber of the world in which we live in. So the thoroughness 
of sin, and yet in chapters, but ultimately God does, he has 
righteous judgment upon the people of Romans chapter 1 and 2. We 
see that very clearly identified that all those who are under 
that curse are therefore, God is quite right in judging them 
and bringing that judgment upon all people. And he makes a point 
of saying there's no benefit to being a Jew, certainly no 
benefit to being a Gentile. God's wrath is upon both Jew 
and Gentile equally because we are born in sin. All have sinned. and fallen short of the glory 
of God. And then chapters 3 to 5, which we just finished last 
week, was a new section. And he's moving, Paul moves to 
justification there. And the fact that the wonderful 
doctrine that we spoke of is imputation, the imputation of 
Christ's righteousness. There are three imputations, 
but the one I'd like to specifically deal with or emphasize is that 
imputation of Christ's righteousness to us. That's what truly is celebratory 
in the Christian life, that righteousness that is given to us through faith. 
And now Chapter 6, which we're going to start to read, Chapters 
6, 7, and 8. They're kind of in groups of 
three. It's heading into a new doctrine of sanctification. And 
he's going to deal with definitive sanctification. It was a new 
thought to me many years ago. I think it was when Pastor Butler 
arrived, this idea of definitive sanctification and progressive 
sanctification. The definitive sanctification 
is kind of referred to in in verse 11 of this chapter, chapter 
6, and definitive sanctification is that once for all definitive 
breach with reigning sin in our lives when we're saved and we're 
united with Christ. So that's a definitive thing 
when we all become saved. Yet, there's also in verses 12 
to 14, Paul deals with progressive sanctification. So if we wonder, 
well, why do I still deal with sin? God has sanctified me, justified 
me, set me apart. Well, he has, but we need to 
grow in grace. We need to grow in our knowledge. of the Lord 
Jesus Christ. And as we grow in knowledge, 
as we grow in grace, through the means, through attending 
church, yes it is for worship, but it's also that we grow in 
our knowledge of God. So we can grow in what does God 
love? Well we ought to pursue those 
things. What does God hate? We ought to not pursue those 
things. So it's a matter of growing in 
Christ, growing in our progressive sanctification. That's what he's 
going to deal with in chapters 6, 7, and 8. So that when we 
have that struggle with sin, remaining sin, doesn't mean we're 
not saved. Actually, it's probably in some 
ways, it's a good sign. It means that we recognize that, yes, 
there's still that, I still have that remaining corruption. I 
still have that remaining sin in me, but I don't want to pursue 
that. And that's ultimately what Paul is dealing with in these 
three chapters. So having said that, kind of giving a bit of 
an introduction as to where we've been and where we are now, Let's read 
chapter 6 in its entirety of Romans. What should we say then? Shall we continue in sin that 
grace may abound? Certainly not. How shall we who 
died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as 
many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into 
his death? Therefore, we were buried with 
him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised 
from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should 
walk in newness of life. For if we have been united together 
in the likeness of his death, certainly we also shall be in 
the likeness of his resurrection, knowing this, that our old man 
was crucified with him, that the body of sin might be done 
away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For 
he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with 
Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him, knowing that 
Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death 
no longer has dominion over him. For the death that he died, he 
died to sin once for all. But the life that he lives, he 
lives to God. Likewise, you also reckon yourselves 
to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus 
our Lord. Therefore, do not let sin reign 
in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. 
And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness 
to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the 
dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For 
sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law 
but under grace. What then? Shall we sin because 
we are not under the law but under grace? Certainly not. Do 
you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to 
obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin 
leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness? Excuse 
me. But God be thanked that though 
you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form 
of doctrine to which you were delivered. and having been set 
free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. I speak in 
human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. For just as you 
presented your members as slaves of uncleanness and of lawlessness 
leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as 
slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were slaves of sin, 
you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did you have then 
in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those 
things is death. But now, having been set free 
from sin and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to 
holiness and the end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is 
death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, 
our Lord. Amen. Let's pray. Our gracious and our loving Heavenly 
Father, we once again just give you our grateful thanks, Father, 
for having redeemed us. We who were born in sin, and 
we certainly know the state of our own heart when we were young 
children and growing up, and perhaps for others when they 
were adults before they became saved, Father, we need no teaching about, in regards to 
their own sinfulness. We know it's there. Yet Father, 
how we praise you that you have, that you have, those whom you 
have saved, you have removed those stony, cold hearts and 
you've given to us fleshly hearts. Hearts that would seek after 
you, Father, in this day. Lord, we know that we still have 
that remaining sin and we confess it to you and pray, Lord, that 
we would continue to be sanctified, set apart, for holiness, for 
holy things, that we might be made ready for that eternal hope, 
that is to be in heaven with you forever and ever, where we 
will be done away with all sin completely. We will be in that 
place where there will be no more sin, no more lies, no more 
murder, nothing that would besmirch the holiness of God. So Lord, 
we look forward to those things, but we do pray that in the meantime, 
you would help us in this hour as we sit under the ministry 
of the Word of God, that you would that you would conform 
us into the image of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, 
cause us to put away those things that are sinful, those things 
that would not speak well of the things of Christ. And how 
we pray that we would grow in Christ-likeness, that you would 
Help us each and every day to read the scriptures, to pray 
to You, to seek to be in Your house every time the doors are 
open. To be here in this place, Father, that we might grow in 
grace and grow in knowledge. And Lord, You'd be pleased to 
use all these things to sanctify us and to set us apart as Christ's 
ones. And again, Lord, we pray that 
for any and all who do not know of the things of which we speak 
of, Lord, how we pray that You'd be gracious to them this day. 
Cause them, Lord, to seek and to really look into these things, 
to find the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, whether it be through 
the preaching this day or through the meditations of their own 
heart, that, Father, You'd be pleased to lead them to the things 
of Christ and cause them to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ this 
day. And how we praise You, Father, for the blessing of Your Word. 
We pray Your blessing be upon Your Word now as Pastor Butler 
brings it, that You would strengthen us through it. And we do pray 
that your spirit might abide here in this place. And we just 
ask these things in Jesus' precious name. Amen. Well, please turn 
with me in your hymn books to the last hymn. That would be 
hymn number 543. 543. I'll ask you to please stand. Christ is my strength and Christ 
my guide, cradle of life, and this shall be my joy and proudly 
♪ God's good grace, lift up my 
eyes and see His face ♪ ♪ Thy praise reigning o'er the skies, 
Christ is the heav'nly host ♪ The ever-trusting soul shall 
prove Christ is His blood, and Christ is His blood. are near. We sing that God and 
Thou art near. Only He and Thou shalt see, that 
Christ is all in all to Thee. Well, please turn with me in 
your Bibles to Acts chapter 19. Acts chapter 19, as we continue 
in the third missionary journey, we associate that specifically 
with the city of Ephesus, for the apostles spent much time 
there. So I want to read the section, 
read the chapter, because it is a unit, and then our focus 
this morning will be on verses 11 to 20. But beginning in Acts 
chapter 19 at verse 1. And it happened while Apollos 
was at Corinth that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, 
came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples, he 
said to them, Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? 
So they said to him, We have not so much as heard whether 
there is a Holy Spirit. And he said to them, into what 
then were you baptized? So they said, into John's baptism. Then Paul said, John indeed baptized 
with the baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they 
should believe on him who would come after him, that is, on Christ 
Jesus. When they heard this, they were 
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid 
hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke 
with tongues and prophesied. Now the men were about twelve 
in all. And he 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. And this continued for two years, so that all who 
dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews 
and Greeks. Now God worked unusual miracles 
by the hands of Paul, so that 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. Then some of the 
itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the 
name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, 
We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Also there 
were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest who did so. And 
the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know and Paul I 
know, but who are you? Then the man in whom the evil 
spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, 
so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 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. And many who had believed came 
confessing and telling their deeds. Also many of those who 
had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them 
in the sight of all. And they counted up the value 
of them, and it totaled 50,000 pieces of silver. So the word 
of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. When these things 
were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed 
through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After 
I have been there, I must also see Rome. So he sent into Macedonia 
two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but 
he himself stayed in Asia for a time. And about that time there 
arose a great commotion about the way, for a certain man named 
Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver shrines of Diana, 
brought no small profit to the craftsmen. He called them together 
with the workers of similar occupation and said, Men, you know that 
we have our prosperity by this trade. Moreover, you see and 
hear that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, 
this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that 
they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this 
trade of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the 
temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence 
destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. Now when they 
heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out saying, great 
is Diana of the Ephesians. So the whole city was filled 
with confusion and rushed into the theater with one accord, 
having seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Macedonians, Paul's travel companions. And when Paul wanted to go into 
the people, the disciples would not allow him. And some of the 
officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading 
that he would not venture into the theater. Some, therefore, 
cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, 
and most of them did not know why they had come together. And 
they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him 
forward. And Alexander motioned with his 
hand and wanted to make his defense to the people. When they found 
out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about 
two hours, great is Diana of the Ephesians. And when the city 
clerk had quieted the crowd, he said, Men of Ephesus, what 
man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians 
is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image 
which fell down from Zeus? Therefore, since these things 
cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. 
For you have brought these men here, who are neither robbers 
of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius 
and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts 
are open and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against 
one another. But if you have any other inquiry 
to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly, for we 
are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar, 
there being no reason which we may give to account for this 
disorderly gathering." And when he had said these things, he 
dismissed the assembly. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father 
in heaven, we thank you again for the written word of the living 
and true God. We give praise to you that you've not left us 
as orphans in this world. Christ promised the presence 
of His Holy Spirit, another comforter just like Him, and as well you 
have provided the written word. We give thanks to you for the 
Bible. We pray now that the Spirit who gave it would illumine our 
minds and hearts and guide us as we study. We ask that you 
would encourage and strengthen our hearts and may the name of 
Jesus Christ be magnified in this place. Forgive us for all 
sin and transgression and anything that would darken our understanding. 
We pray for those who are still in sin, those who have yet come 
to the Lord Jesus. We pray that today would be the 
day of salvation. We know that You are God full 
of mercy. a God full of compassion, a God full of kindness and love. 
And we would pray that you would exercise that even in this place. We pray that you would open hearts, 
you would bring that conviction for sin, and you would set forth 
the glory of Christ as that one in whom alone there is forgiveness 
and a righteousness that avails with God. We thank you for the 
gospel of our salvation, we thank you for his life, his death, 
his resurrection, and we praise you for the current session where 
he sits enthroned at the right hand of God even now, where he 
ever lives to make intercession for his people and where he does 
save to the uttermost all who draw nigh unto God through him. 
We ask that you would bless this time and we pray through Jesus 
Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, as I said, we're 
in the third missionary journey of the Apostle Paul, and he starts 
that journey by visiting churches that he had established on the 
first and second journeys, and we see that at the end of chapter 
18. He covered a distance of about 1,500 miles, and then, 
as I said, he comes to Ephesus and he spends a considerable 
amount of time there. We see that he deals with these 
disciples of John the Baptist. We see that he then goes into 
a synagogue of the Jews. He is basically excluded from 
there because they are hardened, and so he rents this lecture 
hall at the school of Kuranes, and there he teaches the Word 
of God. And we see that all Asia heard the Word of the Lord at 
that particular time. Now in this particular section 
we're looking at this morning, we see conflict with the magicians. And then the chapter ends ultimately 
with this riot in Ephesus, which we will look at, Lord willing, 
next Sunday. But with reference to the magicians, we've already 
met a couple in our study in the book of Acts. We've seen 
that man, Simon Magus, in Acts chapter 8, and then this man 
called Bar-Jesus, or Elemas, in Acts chapter 13. And when 
I say magic or magician, I'm not talking about sleight of 
hand, pulling a quarter out of somebody's ear, or doing a card 
trick. That's not what's in view here. 
magic or those who engage in magic or those who try to attempt 
or attempt to manipulate or coerce or control either supernatural 
forces or the forces of nature in order to accomplish their 
particular ends. So we have two groups of people 
in this passage. We have these Jewish exorcists 
who in a sense are engaged in magic, but then we have these 
recent converts who get rid of their magic books. In fact, the 
city of Ephesus was noteworthy for this. Not only did they house 
the temple of Diana or Artemis, as we see at the end of the chapter, 
but also, as Gil says, there is frequent mention made of the 
Ephesian letters. And if we heard that, we would 
consider those things written by Paul. But no, Ephesian letters, 
which were no other than enchantments. And even Diana, the goddess of 
the Ephesians, is said to be a magician. So again, we are 
seeing Christ confront culture, sinful culture, polluted culture, 
wicked culture, and ultimately triumph and underscore the reality 
of what he declares in Matthew chapter 16. He will build his 
church and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. 
But whenever that church is proclaimed, or rather that gospel is proclaimed, 
and disciples are made and churches are planted, the gates of hell 
do try to resist. The gates of hell do send persons 
like these Jewish exorcists to try and oppose the work of the 
Apostle Paul, or magicians, or men who make idols. So all along 
the way, we see Paul confronting the various aspects of pagan 
culture with the one message, the constant emphasis on Christ 
and Him crucified. And it is most glorious to witness. 
So as I said, we'll look at verses 11 to 20. under four considerations. First, the power of God in verses 
11 and 12. Secondly, the folly of the exorcists 
in verses 13 to 17. Thirdly, the fruits of repentance 
in verses 18 and 19. And then finally, the progress 
of the Word in verse 20. But look at the power of God 
in verses 11 and 12. It says, now God worked unusual 
miracles by the hands of Paul. That's the declaration. And obviously, 
the connection goes back to verse 10. Wherever the gospel is preached, 
the Lord God often, at the time of the apostles, attended it 
by miracles, by signs, and by wonders, to authenticate and 
to demonstrate that the man speaking the truth of God's holy word 
was, in fact, God's man. I've often said that when we 
look at the Bible, it is filled with miracles, but it's not the 
case that it's only filled with miracles. God brought miracles 
at the time of Moses, God brought miracles at the time of the prophets, 
God brought miracles at the time of the Lord Jesus, and God brought 
miracles at the time of the apostles. And, again, it is to underscore 
and to authenticate that Moses, the prophets, Jesus, and the 
apostles were, in fact, God's men, that they spoke the truth 
of the living and true God. In other words, the signs and 
wonders were not the end in themselves, but rather they rather confirmed 
the Word of God. You see this in Mark 16, 20. 
It says, and they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord 
working with them and confirming the Word through the accompanying 
signs. So this is one of the arguments 
why I don't believe that miracles of the supernatural gifts of 
the Holy Spirit continue today. Now that's not to say God can't 
work miraculously and bring you relief from suffering and pain 
and all that sort of thing. But in terms of men functioning 
as agents or instruments, the apostolic era is over. The word of God is given and 
therefore we don't continue to look for that supernatural phenomena. Paul's emphasis to Timothy in 
2 Timothy chapter 4 is not to speak in tongues, it's not to 
heal people, and it's not to raise people from the dead. It 
is to preach the word, to be ready in season and out of season, 
to convince, rebuke, and exhort. So a closed canon means the cessation 
of those supernatural phenomena of the Spirit coming through 
the agency of man. Again, the argument isn't that 
God can't do miraculous things, that God doesn't do wonderful 
things. I would argue every act of regeneration, every time a 
sinner is born again, is illustration of the power of the miraculous 
power of God Almighty. But the fact is we have shysters, 
we have charlatans, we have the Christian sort of equivalent 
of snake oil salesmen that are basically fleecing the sheep 
of God by trying to tell them they have power to work miracles, 
or they have power to heal people. Well, if that's the case, why 
are there hospitals? Why don't these guys leave their 
churches and wander through the hospitals and restore health 
to everybody that is under the weather? So this is the situation 
here in Ephesus. God worked unusual miracles by 
the hands of Paul. So God is the responsible agent. Paul is the intermediary. Paul 
is simply the instrument by which this healing agency comes. Now 
in terms of the illustration of this, look at verse 12. It 
says, "...so that 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." Now, the handkerchiefs or aprons, these were things 
that Paul wore. The handkerchief was probably 
a sweat rag around his head. Remember that Paul not only preached 
the gospel, but he made tents. And this was a hot climate, and 
the man, the brother, he sweat. And so he would wear these sweat 
rags on his head to catch the dew and catch the perspiration. 
And so these items of clothing were taken over to those who 
were ill, and they were touched to them, and then those persons 
were healed. It really is a unique situation. so that even handkerchiefs or 
aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases 
left them, and the evil spirits were cast out. One man says, 
no intrinsic healing efficacy is ascribed to these things. 
The healing power lay in the name of Jesus. And you see something 
similar in the life and ministry of Jesus. Remember that woman 
with the flow of blood. She thought, if I could just 
touch the hem of his garment, then I shall be healed. So, Paul 
has that same, not power intrinsic to him, but rather God is engaged 
in this, working these unusual miracles through the agency or 
instrumentality of the Apostle Paul. Back in Acts chapter 5, 
in fact, you can turn there because it's similar in nature to what's 
happening here in the ministry of the Apostle Peter. Notice 
in Acts chapter 5 at verse 12, and through the hands of the 
apostles, many signs and wonders were done among the people, and 
they were all with one accord in Solomon's porch. Yet none 
of the rest dared join them, but the people esteemed them 
highly. And believers were increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes 
of both men and women, so that they brought the sick out into 
the streets and laid them on beds and couches, that at least 
the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on some of them. And 
when we looked at that particular passage, I did what I'm going 
to try and do right now to disavow us or disabuse us of the notion 
that these were magic handkerchiefs or magic aprons. It wasn't the 
fact that because something touched Paul, it could then touch others 
and be used to heal them. Notice what Luke says concerning 
this situation in verse 11. He says that God worked unusual 
miracles. Miracles, by definition, are 
unusual. That Luke says unusual miracles 
compounds or increases what we find in this passage. He is not 
giving us a recipe for the modern faith healers. He is not giving 
us a recipe for prayercloth.com. He is not giving us a recipe 
for, again, the Christian version of snake oil salesmen to try 
to fleece the people of God by enticing them with healing properties 
of their aprons or handkerchiefs. These were unusual miracles. Why does Luke record that, or 
why does God do that? Again, it's to display the power 
of God, it is to confirm the authority of the preaching of 
the Apostle Paul, and it is to indicate for us the glory and 
the majesty of the reign of Jesus Christ as it breaks into this 
present world. It is certainly not practice 
that the church should take up today and try to ape or try to 
imitate. We ought not to have special 
handkerchiefs or special aprons that touch the prophet and then 
we bring it to the deathbed of somebody that we love and lay 
it on them as if there's something intrinsically healing in that 
handkerchief or apron. That's simply not what's in view 
in this passage. It was unusual miracles, verse 
11, and then that's illustrated for us in verse 12, vis-a-vis 
these aprons, vis-a-vis these handkerchiefs, vis-a-vis these 
things that confirm the authority of the Apostle Paul. In fact, 
look at Romans chapter 15. Romans chapter 15. For those of you who might think 
I'm a bit odd here, if you are not familiar with sort of the 
excessive wing of Pentecostalism or Charismaticism, this is what 
happens. These are the sorts of things 
that are done. There is magic alive and well today in the professing 
church in some sectors. An attempt to manipulate, an 
attempt to coerce, an attempt to control either supernatural 
forces vis-a-vis God in the Christian construct, or as well, the forces 
of nature. We're not supposed to do that. 
Not because it doesn't work, but because God forbids it. You need to remember that. Deuteronomy 
chapter 18, the Lord Most High cautions the children of Israel 
as they go into the land of Canaan not to ape the practices of the 
Canaanites. Do not engage in witchcraft. 
Do not engage in necromancy, that is communication with the 
dead. Do not engage in soothsaying or any of those sorts of things. 
Rather, the nation of Israel, the people of God, were to be 
governed by the Word of God as it came through the prophetic 
ministry and as it was ministered by the priests. We see as well 
in 1 Samuel chapter 28, when Saul meets with that witch at 
Endor, she does conjure something up. She does conjure someone 
up, and so the argument isn't that this is absolutely empty 
and void, rather the argument is that it's abominable and wicked. 
Israel was forbidden, not because it didn't work, but because God 
condemned it and they were to be governed by the Word, and 
not by soothsayers, not by witches or warlocks or any sort of a 
magician, but with reference to God's Word alone. Notice Paul 
in Romans chapter 15 at verse 18. He says, for I will not dare 
to speak of any of those evil spirit. Now, that the evil spirit 
responds, again, is consistent with the ministry of Jesus. Notice 
that I'm not going to get into all of the jots and tittles, 
because I don't understand all of the jots and tittles. The 
fact that these aprons and handkerchiefs were taken from a sweat-browed 
face of Paul and laid on somebody and they were healed. That's 
as baffling to me as it probably is to you. The fact that these 
particular persons were possessed by demons or evil spirits and 
that the Spirit spoke through them, again, I've not met that 
at least consciously. No one I've ever met said, hey, 
I'm an evil spirit operative through this particular individual. 
I've certainly witnessed conduct where I've seen situations where 
I believe that evil spirits are behind it. Planned Parenthood 
is one of them. I certainly wouldn't invoke God's 
name to bless them, but rather to curse them because they are 
empowered by evil spirits. But with reference to this situation, 
we see it in the gospel ministry of our Lord Jesus. The evil spirits 
recognized him. James tells us that the spirits 
recognize or know that God is one. But notice how this evil 
spirit responds. The evil spirit knew that Jesus 
is the Messiah, and the evil spirit knew that Paul was his 
apostle. Interesting. But what else does 
the evil spirit know? The evil spirit knows that these 
are fakes. I know Jesus and I know who Paul 
is, but who are you, the Spirit says. And as I was working through 
this and meditating upon it, that sounds a little bit more 
esoteric than it actually needs to. Meditation can occur when 
you're walking or when you're showering or anything. It's not 
like you're in some assumed position and you're having all these, 
you know, God floods our minds and hearts with thoughts as we're 
working through Scripture. But with reference to this, I 
thought, wow, the evil spirit was able to recognize what many 
professing Christians today aren't, who the fakes are, who the frauds 
are, who those who are just trying to fleece the people of God are. 
When I look at the false teachers that populate the so-called Christian 
sphere today, I'm certainly upset with them, but I'm upset with 
the thousands and thousands and perhaps millions that follow 
them. Remember what Jesus says to his 
disciples concerning the false teachers in his day. He says, 
if a blind man leads a blind man, both shall fall into a pit. See, we often, and this is part 
and parcel of our victimhood, that victim mentality that is 
promoted in us from cradle to grave, we want to blame everybody 
else. Well, it was Benny Hinn. It was 
Kenneth Copeland. It was John Hagee. It was all 
these other guys. You are responsible. You must 
take the Word of God. You must examine the Scriptures 
to see if what is being spoken or taught is valid, is accurate, 
is right, and is true. You can't say, well, that's what 
he taught, and therefore... No, if a blind man leads a blind 
man, they both fall into a pit. So it is imperative upon the 
people of God to know their Bibles, to know good theology. We helpfully 
use the Second London Confession. It's not authoritative, it's 
not infallible, it's not inspired the way the Bible is, but it's 
a wonderful summary statement of what Scripture teaches about 
32 different doctrines or teachings. It's a helpful thing to hopefully 
keep us from the snake oil salesmen that are going to sell us an 
apron or sell us a sweat rag so that we can be cured of our 
maladies. That is absolutely contrary to the spirit of the 
Book of Acts. This is not given to dazzle the 
crowds, to impress the crowds. And so that the false spirit 
recognizes that these guys were frauds, I think is a rebuke to 
the many people who profess the true religion, vis-a-vis faith 
in Jesus Christ, but follow these men that look more like these 
Jewish exorcists or these Ephesian magicians than they do like the 
Apostle Paul. There is an imperative upon us 
to know the Scriptures, to know the truth, to understand. In 
the prophet Isaiah, Isaiah chapter 8, to the law and to the testimony, 
if they don't speak according to that, then get rid of it. 
You want nothing to do with this kind of fakery, with this kind 
of folly. So the evil spirit knew that 
these exorcists were fake, and then note what happens in verse 
16. It says, then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped 
on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that 
they fled out of that house naked and wounded. In other words, 
don't tangle with those forces you don't understand. I would 
suggest that we all be very cautious when it comes to these things. 
In fact, not be very cautious, be very strictly cautious not 
to depart from the written word of the living God. No Ouija boards, 
no necromancy, no witchcraft, none of that stuff. You may be 
opening a Pandora's box that you know nothing about, opening 
your soul up to forces that are way beyond anything that you 
are competent to ever deal with. It's in our culture, it's in 
the movies, it's in the literature, it's all over the place, this 
sort of a gateway drug into the occult. It is wicked and perverse, 
and again, God condemns it. Not because it doesn't work, 
but because it is an abomination to the true and the living God. 
So these, or the man rather, that had been possessed overpowered 
them, prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that 
house naked and wounded. And then in the midst of this, 
the name of Jesus is magnified. Now I guarantee you that these 
sons of Sceva didn't intend on this. They were just invoking 
the name because they thought it might help their particular 
cause. They weren't genuinely looking for the magnifying of 
the name of Jesus. The only people who want the 
magnifying of the name of Jesus are Jesus' people. No one speaking 
by the Spirit says Jesus is cursed. That's the reality of it, according 
to the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians. So these men actually are a conduit 
to magnify the name of Christ. I'm always reminded in instances 
like these of the psalmist. The psalmist says in Psalm 76.10, 
surely the wrath of man shall praise you. So verse 17, this 
became known to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus. And 
fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 
Now that fear may not mean, probably doesn't mean necessarily they 
were all converted. but they had witnessed the genuine 
power of God. They had seen an awesome display 
of the reality of God, and as a result, fear comes upon the 
people, and therefore there is the magnifying of the name of 
Jesus Christ our Lord. Now that brings us thirdly to 
the fruits of repentance. This is an interesting passage 
that we ought to consider in light of many other times we've 
seen repentance in this book. Notice in the first place these 
people come and confess. Verse 18, and many who had believed 
came confessing and telling their deeds. Now what they do in verse 
19 indicates the nature of their deeds. They burn their books 
that are black magic. They burn their books that are 
associated with the occult. But verse 18 indicates that they 
hadn't done this at the moment they believed. The tense of the 
verb is a past, but with present and abiding results. Look at 
verse 18 again. It says, and many who had believed, 
not just then, but those who had received the ministry either 
through Paul in the synagogue or through Paul in the school 
of Tyrannus. So now they are convicted and 
they engage in these fruits of repentance. Now that may seem 
a bit odd to us, but think about your own conversion. The moment 
you believe, did you repent or have a fruit of repentance for 
every sin that you've ever done? No, no. You may think you did, 
but you get to be about 20, 30, 40 years as a Christian and go, 
man, I hadn't realized just how bad I am in that particular area. 
It's been my observation that as you grow in the grace and 
in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, it's 
not always much more conformed to the image of Christ, but you 
see really how much you're not. The more that you live, the more 
that you realize, oh wretched man that I am, who will deliver 
me from this body of death? You get converted and typically 
the big things in your life go. If you are an adulterer, you 
stop committing adultery. If you are a thief, you stop 
engaging in thievery. If you are a magician, you stop 
engaging in magic. You would think, but at least 
in this instance, that's not what occurs. Remember, the fundamental 
meaning of repentance is a change of mind. What we see here are 
the fruits of repentance, and the fruits of repentance will 
come throughout our lives. There had been a belief in Christ 
among these Ephesian believers. There had been a repentance, 
a change of mind relative to who God is and who they were 
before him, and the fruits of repentance were coming. This 
is why we need to be gracious and charitable and kind. I know 
that may seem odd, but we really need to be gracious and charitable 
and kind with new believers. Again, we encourage them and 
we counsel them and we tell them, yeah, you can't murder people 
anymore. You can't rob banks anymore. You can't engage in 
those sorts of things anymore. But as that new believer grows, 
and as that new believer learns, and as that new believer matures, 
and perhaps his conscience is getting more educated by the 
Word of God, he realizes, you know, I've engaged in this pattern, 
I've engaged in this practice, I really ought to cease and desist. 
That's kind of what's happening here in Ephesus at this very 
point. They had believed, they were 
Christians, but now they are making public their repentance. They are making public their 
fruits of repentance. So in verse 18, many who had 
believed came confessing and telling their deeds. Did they 
confess to Paul? The text doesn't tell us. Did 
they tell every deed they'd ever done? The text doesn't tell us. 
I think verse 19 helps us to understand specifically what 
is in view. It is relative to their practice 
of the black arts, to their dalliances with the occult. to their thought 
because they lived in Ephesus. They had no doubt been schooled 
on the Ephesian letters. They were brought up in this 
context where they thought truck with these dark forces was perfectly 
acceptable. Now they're seeing, no, this 
isn't. And so they act upon it. So repentance 
is a change of mind. Fruits of repentance are consistent 
with that. Just because somebody gets rid 
of their books on black magic doesn't necessarily mean they've 
repented. Somebody could just have a change 
of course. My dalliances with the arts haven't 
been successful, so I'm going to get rid of that. We wouldn't 
call that repentance. Repentance is the change of mind 
with reference to God. It is the other side of the same 
coin with reference to saving faith. It is the fruits of repentance 
that are manifested here on behalf of those Verse 18, who had believed 
the gospel. So you see these fruits now. 
Notice specifically what they do in verse 19. Also many of 
those who had practiced magic brought their books together 
and burned them in the sight of all. and they counted up the 
value of them and it totaled 50,000 pieces of silver. Now, the burning of the books 
was a renunciation of their past commitments. I think that's obvious. 
The fact that they burned them indicates that it's a full and 
comprehensive renunciation. It's also indicative of the fact 
that they don't want others to be affected by that. Part of 
the appeal or part of the way that magic worked was that it 
had to be secret. Everything had to be on the hush-hush, 
it had to be on the down-low. You wouldn't, you know, Twitter 
or Facebook your secret spells or your charms or your incantations 
because then they would no longer work. So the fact that they wanted 
to burn these books was evidenced that they had made this renunciation 
for themselves and that they did not want others to be affected 
by that pollution. Now, it was an activity, or the 
activity, rather, was their own response to their own past. This was not government-impelled. This wasn't a Fahrenheit 451 
situation where the government just showed up at your door and 
burned unauthorized books. This was not a handful of Christian 
do-gooders standing in the city streets of Ephesus saying, disavow 
yourselves of those horrible books. We're having a burning 
today. Brethren, if we command people to manifest the fruits 
of repentance and they have no saving faith in our Lord Jesus, 
we'll certainly rid the world of some bad books, but it doesn't 
do them any good. We need to preach the gospel. 
We need to call sinners to repentance and faith. We need to tell them 
what it is to be a believer, and we need to allow the Holy 
Spirit to do the work of conviction. The Holy Spirit guides. The Holy 
Spirit leads. The Holy Spirit moves, the Holy 
Spirit directs, the Holy Spirit convicts, and the Holy Spirit 
showed these believers in Ephesus that it was time to publicly 
set their books on fire. So again, this wasn't a handful 
of Christians wandering around the city of Ephesus knocking 
on doors and saying, give us all your bad books so that we 
can make a bonfire with them. Bruce says, the act is not so 
much a protest against others as a public renunciation of the 
believer's former practice, since books are not seized but voluntarily 
destroyed. So I think that's important to 
understand as well. We get a B in our bonnet, and 
we think it ought to be in everybody's bonnet, so we tell them what 
to do. Again, if there are things that persons ought not to have 
and we are in the position to disciple people, yeah, you can't 
be involved in the occult. You ought to get rid of that 
Ouija board. You ought to do those things that are contrary 
to the law and the word of the living and true God. But with 
reference to a public sanctioned book burning, where the Christian 
people are calling upon everyone everywhere to bring their bad 
things and put them in the fire, that's not what's happening here. 
These were believers in Christ, who under the power of the Holy 
Spirit, as they witnessed the situation facing the Jewish exorcists 
and the Apostle Paul, they're convicted, they go home, they 
get their books, they confess their deeds, and then they burn 
those books, and we see that it was a value of a large sum 
of money. How much? It was a lot. That's 
what I can tell you in terms of the sum of money. And then 
that brings us finally to consider the progress of the Word. Notice 
in verse 20. Verse 20 tells us, So the word of the Lord grew 
mightily and prevailed. The word of the Lord grew mightily 
and prevailed. Turn back for a moment to Acts 
6. Acts chapter 6. Verse 7, then the word of God 
spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly 
in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient 
to the faith. Notice in Acts 9, verse 31, then 
the churches throughout all Judea, Galilee, and Samaria had peace 
and were edified, and walking in the fear of the Lord and in 
the comfort of the Holy Spirit, they were multiplied. Chapter 
12, verse 24. After the death of the tyrant 
Herod, God killed him. Verse 24 tells us, but the word 
of God grew and multiplied. Chapter 16 at verse 5. Chapter 16 at verse 5, so the 
churches were strengthened in the faith and increased in number 
daily. And then again here in 19, 20, 
and then the book ends sort of with this as well. Chapter 28, 
verse 30, then Paul dwelt two whole years in his own rented 
house and received all who came to him, preaching the kingdom 
of God and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus 
Christ with all confidence, no one forbidding him. Now, these 
are what some have called, and I've called, progress reports. progress reports. Remember kids 
when you used to go to school and functioned in a normal capacity 
and there were progress reports or you got a report card. Maybe 
that was a happy day for you, maybe it wasn't a happy day for 
you. Maybe you tried to run home and flush it down the toilet 
before your parents ever got to see it. I guess now everything's 
digitalized. Back in my day you could flush 
your your report card down the toilet, now they just email your 
parents or text them and tell them what a miserable job they're 
doing and what a miserable job you're doing. But these are progress 
reports that Luke gives us throughout the narrative to show us, to 
highlight the triumph of Jesus Christ. And in this culture, 
in the city of Ephesus, which was given over to magic, which 
was given over to the temple of Diana or Artemis, this city 
that was given over to idolatry, such that as we witness next 
week, we'll see that the trades were being put out of business 
through the proclamation of the gospel. I've always had that 
thought, that as we preach the Word, and as sinners get saved, 
hopefully money-making businesses that make their money on garbage 
and wickedness and vileness and wretchedness, they will be put 
out of business. They will end up being beggars 
on the street. Psalm 109, David prays that with 
reference to the enemies of God Most High. May their children 
be orphans. May they wander and beg. Why? Because they've resisted the 
true and the living God. So we see the power of the gospel, 
and all throughout this book of Acts, Luke indicates that. He highlights that, he shows 
us that, so that we'll be encouraged. We'll see that though the opposition 
rages, though there is political tyranny focused upon the church, 
though there are false religionists, though there are, you know, hucksters 
and charlatans, and though there are magicians and exorcists and 
those sorts of things, they can't stop the spread of the gospel. 
Well, the Apostle Paul in Acts chapter, as we follow on, we'll 
see his plans for the future, and he's eager to go to Rome. 
For Luke, that's everything. For Luke, he wants Paul in Rome. 
Why? To show that if the gospel can 
get to Rome and conquer Rome, it can go everywhere. The book 
of Acts shows us the power of the risen Christ at the right 
hand of God most high, and so we expect these sorts of statements 
along the way. So the word of the Lord grew 
mightily and prevailed. Now consider in Ephesus, the 
word had been slandered by Jews associated with the synagogue, 
verse 9. But when some were hardened and 
did not believe, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, 
It had been unsuccessfully imitated by the Jewish exorcist, as we've 
just seen. It's been honored by both Jews 
and Greeks, according to verse 17. And it's been graced by people 
who formally engaged in the occult. And so you see, it's not just 
a, oh, well, I'm going to put a little filler in here to sort 
of breach the gap between what's happened then and what's going 
to happen now. These progress reports are crucial. These progress 
reports feed the faith of God's people. These progress reports 
motivate and actuate or activate the people of God so that they 
know if they live in a city like Ephesus, the gospel conquered 
at once, they can certainly go forth in the power of God to 
see it conquered again. Brethren, Christianity is a religion 
of hope. Christianity is a religion ultimately 
of conquest. Christianity is a religion ultimately 
of empire. Christ's empire, Christ's reign, 
Christ's rule, Christ's manifestation of his power enthroned at the 
right hand of God most high. So verse 19, or verse 20 rather, 
is crucial in the narrative to encourage and to strengthen the 
people of God. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. 
And the Lord willing, God helping us, we continue to next Sunday, 
we'll see that it brought this trade guild into the place of 
having to go defunct. It brought the temple of Diana 
into great confusion. Praise God Almighty for the simple 
preaching of the gospel that does that. Praise God Almighty 
for the message of the gospel, which is the power of God unto 
salvation, for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to 
the great, for in that gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed 
from faith to faith, And as it is written, the just shall live 
by faith. Well in conclusion, I want to 
just bring a few thoughts and then we'll go. First, the power 
of Jesus' name. The power of Jesus' name. not 
an incantation, not a lucky charm, not something we say in order 
to get what we want, or to try to manipulate or coerce the forces 
of nature or supernatural things. But the name of Jesus, according 
to Peter in Acts 4, is that name by which we must be saved. Acts 4.12, nor is there salvation 
in any other. For there is no other name under 
heaven given among men by which we must be saved. If you are 
an unbeliever here this morning, the issue for you is belief in 
Jesus. The issue for you is the name 
of Christ, not as a talisman or as a lucky charm, but rather 
as the name that is altogether lovely and chief among 10,000. 
that name that represents the one who came into this world 
for us men and for our salvation, who took on our humanity. Consider 
that. The second person of the triune 
God leaves heaven above. He leaves the throne room. He 
leaves that place where angels are worshiping him. They're praising 
him. They sing an antiphonal praise 
to him constantly. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord 
of hosts. The whole earth is filled with 
His glory. Well, He leaves that place. He 
takes on our humanity with everything that makes us human except sin. And in that body as the God-man, 
the Lord Jesus Christ obeys His Father. And that is absolutely 
crucial because we don't. What is our problem fundamentally? Our problem is not the climate. Our problem is not the economy. The problem isn't China. They're 
a problem in some ways, but not relative to us before God. Our 
problem is sin before a thrice holy God. And the only way that 
we can ever have access into his presence is through the work 
of the Son. So the Son obeys the Father's 
law. For 33 years of his earthly life, 
he always does what the Father tells him. There's never a lustful 
thought in the mind of Jesus. There's never thievery. There's 
never speaking ill of anyone. He doesn't gossip. He doesn't 
slander. He doesn't covet. He doesn't 
do anything that would transgress the law. He doesn't do anything 
that would evidence a lack of conformity under that law, but 
he always does what the Father tells him. But that's not all. He goes to the cross. And there 
at the cross, he stands in the place of his people. It's all 
about substitution. It's all about Jesus taking in 
himself the wrath, the curse, and the penalty that you and 
I deserve. When we look at the cross, it's 
not simply an example. Well, it isn't. It's not simply 
something to sort of melt our hearts once or twice a year. 
It was an act of justice. The Lord Most High was pleased 
to smite him, to bruise him, to crush him. Why? Because in 
him he is punishing the sins of his people. But then he's 
raised again the third day. And so that Paul can say that 
Christ was delivered up because of our offenses and he was raised 
for our justification. It is the name of Jesus Christ. It is the one in whom alone there 
is forgiveness and a righteousness that is given that you need. 
And that's what Jesus answers to. So that life of perfect obedience, 
when we believe the gospel, the righteousness of Christ is imputed 
to us. It's counted to us. It is constituted 
ours. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? This is why James can say, the effective fervent prayer 
of a righteous man avails much. We don't go to God in our righteousness. We go to God in the righteousness 
of another. We are clothed in the righteous 
garments of our Lord Jesus Christ. So that life of obedience answers 
to the obedience that you and I need. But then that death brings 
forgiveness. What's Paul say in Hebrews chapter 
9? He says, without the shedding of blood, there is no remission. 
What does John the Baptist say when he puts his eyes upon Jesus? 
He says, Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the 
world. So the gospel, the good news concerning Jesus, we need 
that life, we need that death, and we need that resurrection. 
Faith in His name. Belief in Him. Again, name is 
not disconnected from Him. The name represents Him and His 
offices, and His works, and His conduct, and His actions relative 
to needy sinners. It is faith in the name of Christ 
Jesus that you and I need for entrance into heaven. If we don't 
have that, we don't enter heaven. That's the grim reality. Westminster 
Shorter Catechism asks the question, what does every sin deserve? 
The answer, every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in 
this life and that which is to come. It is a horrifying concept, 
the doctrine of hell. It is a horrifying contemplation, 
the doctrine of hell. Horrifying in the sense that 
we really don't know how bad sin is. We really can't conceptualize 
how holy God is. We really don't know just how 
just and righteous His wrath is. And so the idea of entering 
into hell should horrify. It should terrify. It should 
promote fear, but it should also call you, at least along with 
many other things, to look unto Jesus Christ and be saved. The prayer this morning was that 
the Holy Spirit would overpower unbelievers in this place the 
way that man that was possessed with the evil spirit overpowered 
those seven sons of Sceva. The Spirit is able. The Spirit 
is powerful. You may in your heart of hearts 
say, not me, no, not ever. But the Lord God Most High is 
stronger. The Lord God Most High is more 
powerful. Some of us thought that. I bet 
there's a handful of us in this room said, I never wanted to 
be a Christian. I wasn't running to Jesus. I 
wasn't looking for God. I wasn't seeking after Him. As 
we become converted, we reflect upon Romans 3. We say, yeah, 
Paul is right. There is none righteous, no, 
not one. There is none who seeketh after God. There is no fear of 
God before their eyes. And lo and behold, here we sit, 
praising our Savior on the Sabbath day, seeking to honor the Lord 
in our lives because He has saved us by His grace through faith. 
So if you are challenging the Lord, or if you are challenging 
the power of the Holy Spirit, my bet's on the Spirit. He is 
powerful. He is able. He makes men willing 
in the day of His power, and that's the prayer, that the Holy 
Spirit will overpower your unbelief and bring you to that sphere 
of confessing faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and as Savior, 
and knowing the blessedness, the joyfulness of being found 
in Him. Not having a righteousness of 
your own, which is according to law, but that which is given 
by God, received through faith in the Son of God. It really 
is a glorious thing that those who are hell-bent to sin against 
God, to reject and resist God, are now en route to heaven, singing 
His praises, shouting the glory of Zion, and looking forward 
to that blessed day when we shall see Him as He is. If you are 
not a believer, I call upon you, look unto him and be saved. And for believers, rejoice. The 
gospel that was powerful in Ephesus to send these Jewish exorcists 
running, the power of the gospel that was evident in the conversion 
of these Ephesian believers who had lived in a city steeped in 
the magic arts, now burning their books, that gospel is powerful 
in this age and in this culture. We ought to expect, with what 
Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, to see the end of these sorts 
of persons and organizations that rise up in opposition to 
Christ. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15, 
he must reign till all of his enemies are made his footstool. 
And we have great confidence in that, so we pray, hopefully, 
we pray believingly against the likes of Planned Parenthood. 
We pray against the likes of false religions and those things 
that are destroying and those things that are tearing down 
and those things that are murderous. We pray for the brothers and 
the sisters in the persecuted church, realizing that the Christ 
who is triumphant here in Ephesus can be triumphant in Nigeria. 
We believe with the Psalter that he shall have dominion from sea 
to sea. We believe with the prophets 
that the knowledge of Yahweh will cover the earth as the waters 
cover the sea. We affirm with the blessed Savior 
that he will build his church and the gates of hell itself 
shall not prevail against it. Unbeliever, believe. Believer, 
believe. Christ is enthroned at the right 
hand of God and while at times it may look like the devil is 
winning, he ain't. The Lord God Most High reigns 
omnipotent. Let us pray. Our Father, we thank 
you for your word. We thank you for the triumph 
of Christ. We see his triumph at the cross 
over principalities and powers of darkness. We see his triumph 
over our sin in his life and his death and resurrection. We 
see triumph in these cultures recorded in the book of Acts. 
We see no more Roman Empire that so viciously opposed the people 
of God Almighty. They are not around today. We 
see all those who rise up in opposition against our Holy Father 
that will ultimately be put down. Give us, as your people, that 
confident expectation that He must reign till all of His enemies 
are made His footstool. And we pray for the proclamation 
of truth today, that Your Word would run swiftly and it would 
be glorified. and that men, women, boys and 
girls from every tribe, tongue, people and nation would come 
to the living and true God through Jesus Christ the Lord in the 
power of the Holy Spirit, so that God may be all in all. And may you encourage and comfort 
our hearts with the reality of Psalm 4610, that we are to be 
still and to know that you are God, that you will be exalted 
among the nations and you will be exalted in the earth. We bless 
you, we praise you, and we thank you that the word of the Lord 
prevails mightily, and we pray through Jesus Christ our Lord, 
amen. Well, let us close by singing 
the doxology, hymn number 568. In the name of Jesus Christ, 
amen. And they sang a new song, saying, 
You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you 
were slain and have redeemed us to God by your blood out of 
every tribe and tongue and people and nation, and have made us 
kings and priests to our God, and we shall reign on the earth. 
Then I looked and I heard the voice of many angels around the 
throne, the living creatures and the elders. And the number 
of them was 10,000 times 10,000. And thousands of thousands sang 
with a loud voice, worthy is the lamb who is slain to receive 
power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory 
and blessing. And every creature which is in 
heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in 
the sea and all that are in them I heard saying, blessing and 
honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne 
and to the lamb forever and ever. And the four living creatures 
said, Amen. And the 24 elders fell down and worshiped him who 
lives forever and ever." God, we thank you for this glimpse 
of the heaven to come. We give you glory and praise 
for the victory of the Lamb. We give glory and praise to you 
for your election, your choosing, your predestination. We know 
we're not in Christ because we made good decisions or were wiser 
than our fellows We're somehow better, but we know it's sovereign 
grace, and we confess your glory, your majesty, and your excellence. And we pray that you would keep 
us, that you would fill us with hope and expectation for the 
future, and cause us to walk by faith and not by sight. And 
we ask this through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. Well, please 
be seated for a brief time of meditation. So, the the the so