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Well, you can turn with me in 
your Bibles to the book of Acts. We're in Acts chapter 19 on the 
third missionary journey with the Apostle Paul. He spends a 
great deal of time in the city of Ephesus. And we have seen 
in chapter 19 when he comes to Ephesus, he initially deals with 
some disciples of John the Baptist. We saw that in verses 1 to 7. 
And then his ministry at the school of Tyrannus. in verses 
8 to 10, his conflict with the magicians in verses 11 to 20, 
and then today, or this morning, the riot in Ephesus in verses 
21 to 41. But I'll begin reading in verse 
1 again, just to set it before our eyes. 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 a 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. And 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 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 in here 
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. And 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. Then 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. But 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, we 
thank you for the written word of the living and true God. We 
pray for the ministry of the Holy Spirit who gave us that 
word, that you would sanctify us by your truth, that you would 
encourage our hearts to continue to witness the triumph of the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ from city to city in the then 
known world in the first century. We thank you for the apostolic 
ministry and for their writings and for all of the blessings 
you poured out on the church at that time. Give us grace, 
wisdom, and strength to receive these things with open and glad 
hearts. And again, forgive us for all sin and everything that 
would darken our understanding. And we pray through Jesus Christ 
our Lord. Amen. Well, we come to Paul's 
final situation in Ephesus in this riot or this potential riot 
that occurs in the city over the Christians or over, as we 
see here, the way. Verse 23, the way refers to Christianity, 
the people of God, those who follow Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Well, I want to look at this riot at Ephesus under four considerations. Before we get to the actual riot 
itself, we'll look at first the plan for future ministry in verses 
21 and 22. Paul is a man on the move, he 
is engaged in strategy and tactics, and he wants to canvas the world 
so that Christ may be proclaimed. Secondly, we'll notice the anger 
of the silversmiths in verses 23 to 26. Thirdly, the uproar 
in the theater in verses 29 to 34. And then finally, the intervention 
by the city clerk in verses 35 to 41. Certainly a sane and balanced 
and well-composed man, that city clerk. I can think of many cities, 
at least south of us, that could use such clerks like this to 
try and quell the situations facing them in their cities. 
But notice his plan for ministry. He not only includes himself 
in verse 21, but also his companions in verse 22. And that first statement 
is a bit enigmatic or a bit puzzling. When these things were accomplished, 
Paul purposed in the Spirit. Does that mean his own determination, 
his own desire, his own will? The New King James interprets 
it of the Holy Spirit as it capitalizes the S there. Most likely, that 
is consistent and legitimate. Paul does not sort of chart his 
own course without dependence upon the Lord God Most High. 
He knows where he needs to go, he knows what he needs to do, 
but he's dependent upon the Lord to direct his steps and to guide 
and move him along so that he may be able to preach the word 
throughout the then known world. And then notice what he says 
at the very end of verse 21, I must also see Rome. Now, ultimately, 
Paul ends up in prison in Rome, probably not what he had in mind, 
but at this particular juncture, he wanted to get to Rome not 
because he wanted to see the prestige of the city or to be 
a marveler at the architecture of the city, but he wanted to 
go to preach the gospel. He wanted to encourage the saints 
of Christ. There'd already been a work there. There were already 
believers there and Paul wanted to go so that he encouraged them 
and stabilize them and help them along, but also to make known 
Christ in that city so that others would be called out of darkness 
into marvelous light. And so Rome is a citadel and 
a place where the apostle wants to go. One commentator Barrett 
says, Rome is the goal of his Luke's story. And if he can show 
the faith planted and its great teacher at work in the capital, 
he will have accomplished his task. If the mission can reach 
Rome and within a generation, there is nowhere it cannot go. And I think we need to be encouraged 
by that. As we see the growth and the 
spread of Christianity in this first century context, realize 
there was a great deal of opposition. We've seen political tyrants 
in the book of Acts. We see religious persecution 
on the part of unbelieving Jews. We'll see an increased persecution 
along the New Testament lines as the empire becomes increasingly 
more hostile to the cause of God and truth. And so this is 
an encouragement to show that if the gospel can get to Rome 
at that particular juncture, there is nowhere it can't go. 
And as the people of God, we are bidden by the Lord to pray 
to the Lord God Almighty, the Lord of the harvest, to raise 
up laborers and to send them forth. There are men from every 
tribe, tongue, people, and nation to be reached for King Jesus. We need men raised up, men qualified, 
according to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, and men sent forth by 
their churches to proclaim the excellencies of Christ and Him 
crucified for the salvation of sinners. So Paul sets a great 
example here as to what the power of God's word does have. And 
then the plan for his companions, verse 22, he sent into Macedonia 
two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but 
he himself stayed in Asia for a time. Most likely they were 
sent there to collect money. The churches in Judea were suffering. There was great hardship financially. 
And so Paul sends his companions to collect this money. Paul and 
the companions will ultimately go to Jerusalem, according to 
Acts chapter 21, and present that money to Pastor James in 
the church at Jerusalem to show a great deal of solidarity between 
both Jew and Gentile in the cause of Jesus Christ. So that's the 
plan for future ministry. Now, let's look secondly at the 
anger of the silversmiths in verses 23 to 26. Back at verse 
20, we read, "...so the word of the Lord grew mightily and 
prevailed." As we understand in this world, whenever that 
obtains, there will be resistance. Jesus said, I will build my church 
and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. But the 
gates of Hades will try. The gates of Hades will, in fact, 
try to oppose the work of Christ. And so we see that the word is 
prevailing mightily. And then there's a great commotion 
in the city as a result of the way. Wherever God's word is blessed, 
wherever it prospers, wherever it goes forth, the devil will 
be there. The false religionists will be 
there. The men of greed like Demetrius, these covetous men, 
will be there to oppose the work of Christ. That's just part and 
parcel. When we pray to the Lord God Most High to revive the church 
or to awaken those who are dead in their trespasses and sins, 
again, that doesn't just happen in a vacuum. God blesses and 
the devil opposes. God blesses and wicked men oppose, 
and that is precisely what happens here in the city of Ephesus. 
So we have this man by the name of Demetrius. There's one in 
3 John 12, and some have identified them. I'm thinking that's pretty 
unlikely. Now, he was a silversmith who 
made silver shrines of Diana. These were most likely replicas 
of the temple. The temple of Diana or the temple 
of Artemis was one of the seven wonders of the world. It was 
a very massive structure and Ephesus was the guardian. Ephesus 
was the location for this particular temple. And so you see that this 
man built these little shrines, he built these little idols and 
he made a great deal of money out of that. In fact, later when 
he starts talking about piety and patriotism, it is very suspect 
because we see that what drives him is profit. He doesn't want 
his money dried up as a result of the preaching of the Apostle 
Paul. But the silversmiths can't very well go into Ephesus and 
say, we have to stop Paul because he's shriveling up our funds. He is drying up our bank accounts. 
No, that's not what they do. It's all about Diana. It's all 
about Artemis. It's all about the great temple. 
So they have to gin up the crowd so that the crowd will be involved 
in the opposition of the way. So that's what's happening in 
terms of this man Demetrius. Now, who is this goddess Diana? It was Artemis, Ephesus' major 
goddess, was known as a goddess of fertility and as a mistress 
of the wild beasts, a daughter of Zeus and Leto and a sister 
of Apollo. So that was in the Greco sort 
of realm or in the Grecian version. But by the time the Romans obtained 
or got a hold of Diana, In Roman religion, she was known as Diana. 
In this cult, she was a virgin who helped women in childbirth, 
a huntress with bow and arrow, and the goddess of death. So 
she had a whole bunch of stuff in her resume there that doesn't 
seem very consistent with one another. But nevertheless, she 
was a pagan deity. She was revered and worshipped 
highly. And Ephesus was the citadel of that particular cult. Now 
notice the consultation with his other smiths. Verse 25, he 
called them, the other smiths, together with the workers of 
similar occupation and said, men, you know that we have our 
prosperity by this trade. So again, finance, money. Do-Re-Mi. That's what motivates 
this particular fellow. In fact, John Calvin makes the 
observation. If he had suffered no loss by 
Paul's doctrine, he would have sat quietly at home. He would 
have neither have taken thought for the worship of Diana, neither 
would he have troubled others. But Calvin sees it as a ruse. 
Calvin sees it as a hoax, that he's actually concerned about 
something beyond prosperity. But nevertheless, because these 
devotees were of Diana or Artemis, they were purchasers of these 
little shrines. Now, were they looking at those 
things themselves as idols or as the goddess itself? No, but 
it helped them in terms of their worship of the goddess, their 
false deity. Now, notice he doesn't stop with 
prophet, But again, he's got a gin up popular sort of involvement 
in the opposition. So verse 26, he appeals to piety. He says, 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. The effect of Paul's 
preaching was not just in Ephesus, but in all Asia. We see that 
in chapter 19 at verses 8 to 10. When the synagogue rebuffs 
Paul, when the synagogue does not want to hear Paul, he pays 
money to the school of Tyrannus, and there he preaches and teaches 
the word of the Lord, so that all those who dwelt in Asia would 
in fact hear the word of the Lord. Demetrius understood this. The other silversmiths understand 
this. Communist China understands this. They understand the reality that 
when God most high, now they don't articulate quite like this, 
but when the people of God are affected by the word of God, 
good things happen in terms of the people of God. The Demetriuses 
of the world, the silversmiths of the world, and the commies 
of the world, they see it as a horrific threat to their way 
of life. With reference to these men, 
it's not only the prophet, but now the piety. We know that this 
apostle Paul persuades man that the things made with hands are 
not God's. Paul does that directly. Paul 
does that indirectly. By preaching and teaching the 
true and living God, he indicates that those things that are made 
are not God. Remember in Athens, he highlights 
that very clearly. The Most High doesn't or is not 
contained in earthly dwellings. He is not contained by those 
things that express man's devising and man's artistic ability. So 
Paul was a threat to this particular community, vis-a-vis the prophet, 
as well with reference to the piety. And then notice what he 
says. It's an intriguing statement. 
Moreover, you see and hear, verse 26, that not only at Ephesus, 
but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned 
away many people. Now, Demetrius can be forgiven 
for not being reformed. He doesn't understand the salvation 
of God. He doesn't understand that Paul 
doesn't have the ability to open men's hearts. Paul doesn't have 
the ability to produce the new birth. Paul doesn't have the 
ability to grant the graces of faith and repentance. It is God. 
But Demetrius doesn't know that, so he says that it's Paul that's 
doing this persuasion. Now, in light of that, as we 
look at Paul's ministry in these missionary journeys, he goes 
into the synagogues, or he goes into the Agora, or the marketplace, 
or he goes to the Areopagus, and there he explains the Scriptures. There he demonstrates from the 
Scriptures, and there he reasons from the Scriptures. such that 
an outsider could say, in fact, it is him that is persuading 
these multitudes. Now, Christians understand God 
is blessing the Word as it goes forth from Paul, but God blesses 
the Word as it goes forth from Paul because it's accurately 
preached. Because it's 16 ounces to the 
pound truth. Because Paul's not sharing his 
heart. Paul's not engaged in storytelling. Paul's not engaged in autobiographical 
sort of sketches of his own life and his own ministries and the 
opposition that he faces along the way. No, Paul preaches Christ 
and Him crucified. Remember, he says that to the 
Corinthians. I determined to know nothing 
among you except Christ and Him crucified. Of course that's the 
type of preaching that God blesses. When we pray for preaching and 
preachers, it ought to be the kind of the Apostle Paul, where 
it's reasoning, where it's explanation, where it's demonstration that 
Christ is the Messiah come in fulfillment of the Old Testament, 
to live, to die, and to be raised the third day. That is the kind 
of preaching we ought to pray that God will raise up in our 
own generation and in our own day. Because quite frankly, brethren, 
the times are too tough for people to go for entertainment. The 
times are too tough for people to simply go for a bit of a pep 
rally. What the people of God need is 
the word of God. Jesus prayed, sanctify them by 
thy truth, thy word is true. What stabilizes us, what secures 
us, what gives us that grit and determination to stand up against 
encroaching opposition? It's not us, it's the word of 
God. It is the power of the gospel 
of our salvation. So that's the kind of preaching 
that is blessed, and even an outsider will say that it's Paul 
that persuades and turns away many people. But then notice, 
he moves on from prophet to piety and now to patriotism. Look at verse 27. 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. World there is the inhabited 
world. It most likely refers to the 
Roman Empire. Though this great temple was 
located in Ephesus, that doesn't mean that was where the worship 
of Artemis or Diana was confined. It went out through other cities. 
It was quite rampant in terms of a false religion, what we 
would call a false religion, but a certain religion that was 
prevalent in that particular day. So you see what he's saying. 
If we don't stop this way, the very city that we know and we 
love, temple guardian to Diana, is going to fall into disrepute. 
This man is bright, I've often thought, with reference to the 
enemies of Christ. They're not dumb, they are diabolical, 
and we see this in this particular man. And so notice what prevails 
with the tradesmen, what prevails with these silversmiths in verse 
28. Now, when they heard this, they 
were full of wrath and cried out saying, great is Diana of 
the Ephesians. Again, they don't go to the city 
streets and say, great has been our profit stream as a result 
of our silver shrines to Diana. And if we don't stop the way, 
then our bottom line is going to be affected. They're not going 
to gin up popular support for their cause and movement doing 
that, so they appeal to Diana, this great one of the Ephesians, 
so that popular support will rally with them and they can 
oppose the way. One commentator, Dennis Johnson, 
makes the observation, Demetrius frankly placed concern for financial 
gain first and foremost in portraying the crisis to his colleagues 
in the guild. But when they took their cause 
to the streets, the rhetoric of piety and patriotism eclipsed 
talk of profit and loss. When Paul had sent the divining 
spirit out of the Philippian Oracle, her owners masked their 
resentment over their loss of revenue behind a facade of political 
correctness. Go back to Acts chapter 16. You 
see a very similar thing happen there in Philippi, as Johnson 
points out. Acts chapter 16, verse 16. Now, it happened as we went to 
prayer that a certain slave girl possessed with a spirit of divination 
met us, who brought her masters much profit by fortune-telling. 
This girl followed Paul and us and cried out, saying, These 
men are the servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to us 
the way of salvation. And this she did for many days. 
But Paul, greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, I command 
you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came 
out that very hour. But when her masters saw that 
their hope of profit was gone, they seized Paul and Silas and 
dragged them into the marketplace to the authorities. And they 
brought them to the magistrates and said, These men, being Jews, 
exceedingly trouble our city, and they teach customs which 
are not lawful for us, being Romans, to receive or observe." 
Again, see the diabolical nature of these men. It's their profit 
stream that's dried up. That's what they're concerned 
about. But when they bring these men before the government, before 
the magistrate, they tell them what they're teaching is contrary 
to Roman law. And therefore, they must be stopped. 
I would say to these people, man up. Do it yourself. You don't 
have to invoke the civil government to target the people of God. 
If you're that adamant, then bring it on. I'm not saying, 
well, get into physical fights or whatnot. But it's an unfortunate 
thing that the godless will invoke the power of civil authority 
to shut down the godly. And unfortunately, the godly 
at times don't cry out against it. The godly at times don't 
pray for any change. Solomon tells us that the king's 
heart is in the hand of Yahweh, and he turns it the way he turns 
waters. Brethren, are we praying that the Lord God Most High would 
stay the hand of civil opposition against the Church of Jesus Christ? 
That is something that may happen in an increasing manner in our 
own generation. Again, Demetrius understood the 
threat posed by the preaching of the gospel. These silversmiths 
saw the threat posed by the preaching of the gospel. We just read in 
the last hour, in terms of our prayer meeting, where China is, 
again, increased oppression upon the churches of Christ, tearing 
off crosses, boarding up buildings, putting locks or changing locks, 
and forbidding the people of God, the professing people of 
God, to engage in the worship of their God. Now again, we don't 
have that kind of thing happening, but it doesn't just happen all 
at once, it's by steps, it's by increments, and oftentimes 
the people of God are slumbering. We need to awaken ourselves, 
we need to consider what is happening, and we need to cry to God Most 
High to protect His bride, protect His church here on earth. And 
if it is the case that there is more opposition or more persecution, 
then that God would give us the grace to deal, the grace to persevere, 
the grace to stand fast because it is simply unacceptable for 
the people of God to just go hide in the corner. If you look 
at the book of Revelation, Revelation chapters 2 and 3, John is told 
to write letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor. Each 
one of those letters ends with an exhortation to overcome. Overcome, overcome, overcome, 
persevere, endure, go forward. Why? Because there's great opposition 
on the earth. Revelation chapter 13, you have 
the beast from the sea, you have the beast from the land. What 
do they do? They target the people of God Almighty. You have that 
great whore, Babylon, targeting the people of God Almighty. You 
have the false prophet, targeting the people of God Almighty. We 
get to the book of Revelation chapter 21, verse 8, it tells 
us who goes to the lake of fire. And one of them, one of the descriptors, 
are the cowardly. I've encouraged our church before, 
cowardly there isn't persons afraid of bears, it isn't persons 
afraid of lions, it isn't persons afraid of tigers. You're not 
going to be excluded from the New Jerusalem because you have 
a fear of the dark. That cowardice is those who didn't 
overcome. That cowardice is those who did 
not persevere. That cowardice is the ones who 
are ashamed of Christ and His Word. Mark chapter 8, verse 38. Of Him, the Son of Man will be 
ashamed. So when you read that in Revelation 
21.8, and you say, wow, cowardly, I'm not the boldest, bravest 
person that I know. It's about perseverance. It's 
about endurance. And as we pray for God Most High 
to stay off the, or to keep from us persecution, if it does come, 
give us the grace to go forward. Give us the grace to imbibe what 
Paul speaks of in Philippians chapter 2, that we as the collected 
people of God would shine as lights in a crooked and perverse 
generation, and we would hold forth the word of truth. So we 
see that opposition mounted against the church. We see with reference 
to profit, with piety and patriotism, but they sell it with reference 
to piety and patriotism, not their own profit. Now again, 
the response of the Smiths, they run around the city saying, great 
is Diana of the Ephesians. No doubt, persons would ask them, 
why are you saying that? And they would say, because we 
want to oppose this way. So again, that gins up the opposition 
now, and that brings us thirdly to the uproar in the theater 
in verses 29 to 34. Notice the response of the city. Verse 29, 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. Now we've met Aristarchus, he's 
going to be referred to in chapter 20 at verse 4. So will Gaius, 
but that was a very common name. It's difficult to know for certain 
if this is the exact same Gaius or perhaps another one. But you 
see their response. You see the city take this sort 
of statement concerning Diana and concerning the way to heart. And so they seize guiltless men, 
they seize innocent men, and they bring them into the theater. 
Who knows what they're going to do with them? I mean, at this 
particular juncture, they are enraged. There is an uproar. There is a great deal of panic 
among the people in this community because of the threat posed by 
Paul and the way. Now, Paul gets wind of this, 
according to verse 30, and he wants to go to the theater. Now, 
the theater was quite substantial. It was huge. Many, several thousands 
of people could be in that particular theater. So Paul wants to go 
to the theater. Matthew Poole suggests, on the 
one hand, to testify, to attest, to give a defense of the doctrine 
that he had preached and proclaimed, but as well to die if need be. We know that Paul was not afraid 
to die. Philippians 1.21, For to me to 
live is Christ, and to die is gain. What do you do with a man 
like that? Do you kill him? He gains. What 
do you do with a man like that? You let him free? He gains. Whatever 
you do with Paul, he gains because Christ is with him, whether in 
the valley of the shadow of death or whether in life itself. So 
the apostle was not afraid to die, but the disciples and the 
officials in the city stop him. The disciples obviously don't 
want Paul to die. Why? Because he's Paul. We wouldn't 
want Paul to go into this angry mob. We wouldn't want him to 
go into this theater. We wouldn't want him to get ripped 
apart limb from limb. We would want to preserve his 
life, and that is good. Matthew chapter 10, the Lord 
directs his disciples, when they persecute you in one city, flee 
to another. Sometimes people say, well, you 
just need to stay there and die. I don't believe, or I believe 
there are times when you do need to stay there and die. But I 
also think there are times when you need to not stay there and 
live. And in this instance, the disciples 
saw that and they forbid Paul to go into the theater. But then 
as well, it's these city officials, these Asiarchs, these men that 
had some degree of authority within the city itself. Notice 
what the text says in verse 31. Then some of the officials of 
Asia who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would 
not venture into the theater. These men were friendly to the 
Apostle Paul. That doesn't necessarily mean 
they were converted, but it means that they at least had enough 
sense, like this city clerk, to realize that the problem in 
Ephesus wasn't the way, it was the response to the way. The 
civil authority in that city understood that. The city clerk 
in that city understood that. That's why he says, if the Romans 
come, they're going to shut us down, not Paul and his companions, 
because Paul and his companions haven't done anything wrong. 
The only persons doing anything wrong in Ephesus at that time 
were the Ephesians. And so the city clerk had a brain 
and so did these Asiarchs or these city officials. So they 
plead with Paul not to go there. Let's not exacerbate the situation. And certainly we don't wanna 
see one with whom we are friendly end up dead as a result of this 
devotion to Diana and their continual refrain, great is Diana of the 
Ephesians. And before we move on, consider 
God's providence here. Consider God's providence. We 
expect disciples to say, no, Paul, we don't want you to go 
into the theater because you're going to get brutalized. But do we expect 
civil officials? No. God turns their hearts. God made them favorable to the 
apostle Paul. This is what I'm suggesting, 
brethren, when we understand that Yahweh is in the heavens, 
he does whatever he pleases. When we understand Revelation 
chapter 1 that tells us that Jesus is the king over all the 
kings of the earth presently, we understand that everything 
that happens on this earth is under the control of our Father. 
So we go to our Father and we ask Him, would you cause people 
to be favorable to these particular leaders? No, He may not! But 
he may, like we have in this particular instance, where these 
officials tell Paul, please don't go there. We don't want further 
exacerbation, and we don't want you to get hurt. Now, notice 
the confusion in the theater. It's hard to read this passage 
or hear this passage and not think about current events, isn't 
it? It's pretty tough not to think 
about, you know, the sorts of rioting that we have been seeing 
and wondering if, you know, 55 days in, it really still is about 
George Floyd. I mean, this is what we have. 
You get people caught up in an event. You have people get caught 
up in a particular situation. You have people that then participate 
and they're completely ignorant in terms of why they're there. 
Notice in verse 32, 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. Never underestimate the power 
of mobs. Never underestimate the power 
of rioting. Never underestimate the reality 
of the threat that that poses to civil authority, not only, 
but to the ecclesiastical sphere as well. You see, right now they 
may be going after certain sort of official figures or official 
sort of civil spheres. But there are calls. There was 
a call on Twitter, not many weeks ago, where a man was advocating 
for the pulling down of any statues or any... Now, you know, I'm 
conflicted, because I don't think there should be statues with 
reference to Christianity. It's always a conflict of interest 
for me, because I'm not into that. I'm not into images or 
things that depict the Savior. I think those are violations, 
grossly so, of the Second Commandment. But I am upset that there is 
this animus toward the church of the Lord Jesus Christ and 
anything representative of the Christian faith. So brethren, 
right now, presently, it may be one thing, but it tends to 
evolve and turn into other things along the way. And so you have 
people in this place that are just shouting, that are just 
outraged, but they don't even know why. Somebody might have 
come in and said, you know, with a microphone, why are you here? 
I'm not sure, but it sure is fun. I'm not sure, but this is 
a great way to express myself. I'm not sure, but everybody else 
is doing it. One commentator says the only 
thing heathenism can do against Paul is to shout itself hoarse. And that is precisely what they 
are doing here. Now, verses 33 and 34 speak of 
a man by the name of Alexander. a man that's a Jew, and it's 
difficult to know exactly what's happening in this instance. The 
likely scenario, as I understand it, is that the Jews put forth 
Alexander to speak on behalf of the Jews, because the Jews 
understood there was at least a connection, or a degree of 
connection, between Paul and the Jews. So if Paul is the target 
of the city's opposition, then the Jews might be a target of 
the city's opposition as well. And the Jews, like Paul, oppose 
the worship of idols. These Jews subscribe to the Ten 
Commandments and the Second and First Commandments, which prohibit 
idolatry. So they know that if Paul is 
opposed, as one who denies that Diana is what she says she is, 
or what people say she is, then they might go down as well. And 
then also, they just want to make a public declaration or 
a separation from the apostle. They want to essentially say, 
yeah, we're opposed to him too. Whatever you guys do to him, 
we're with you as well. As we have seen, one of the chief 
persecutors of the church initially is unbelieving Israel. So they 
put forward this fellow Alexander. Now, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy 
refer to an Alexander. Paul in 2 Timothy 4 refers to 
Alexander the coppersmith who did him much harm. May the Lord 
repay him. And it's hard again to know if 
this is the exact same Alexander. It was a very common name even 
among the Jews at this particular time. I lean to the sense that 
it wasn't, but there are theories out there that he was converted 
or professed conversion and then became an apostate. But all that 
to say, when they found out he was a Jew, they shut him down. 
And that was another thing the Jews knew. Not only would they 
associate Paul with the Jews, not only would they associate 
Paul with the Jews in the sense that they opposed idols, But 
as well, they would associate the reality that the prevailing 
people in the Roman Empire weren't really favorable to the Jews. 
And we see that fleshed out here in verse 34. Notice what the 
text says. But 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. They wouldn't even listen to 
it. There was just this mob mentality. There was just this mindset. 
Just two hours of blathering on that Diana was great among 
the Ephesians. I mean, these people can't be 
reasoned with. You can't have rational discourse with them. 
You can't demonstrate. You can't prove to them. You 
can't reason with them. They have this mob mentality, 
and they're ready to throw down. Well, that brings us fourthly 
to the cooler head that prevails. in this city clerk. The intervention 
of the city clerk in verses 35 to 41. Now the town clerk was 
a keeper of records, registrar, and accountant for temple funds. 
He was the highest civic official in the city, operating like a 
powerful city manager, and also a liaison with the Roman authority. So that's who this fellow is. 
Notice in verse 35, 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? So 
the city clerk is able to quiet the crowd. He's able to keep 
them silent. They are enraged. They have been 
saying, great is Diana of the Ephesians. They have shouted 
down Alexander and his attempt to distance the Jews from the 
apostle and the way. But now the city clerk is able 
to hush them and he's able to remind them what the silversmiths 
had previously. Ephesus has prestige. Ephesus 
is great. Ephesus is the one that has received 
the thing which fell from Zeus, literally something that fell 
from the sky. Some suggest it was perhaps a 
meteorite comes to Ephesus and they think this is a sign from 
the gods and therefore they construct this temple to Diana or to Artemis. Interesting sort of backstory, 
but that's the bottom line. The city clerk appeals to them 
at that level, hushes them, and now speaks wisdom to them in 
a way that hopefully, if we don't know the story, they will appreciate. Notice in verses 36 to 39, he 
first tells them to be quiet and do nothing rashly. Be quiet 
and do nothing rashly. This is a parallel, at least 
thematically, to Gamaliel in Acts chapter 5. Remember, the 
Jews really want to stop the church. They really want to stop 
the apostles. And Gamaliel was the cool head 
that prevailed and said, look, you may end up being ones who 
fight against God. So back it down and chill out. 
They took his advice, thankfully, in Acts chapter 5, and the city 
clerk is essentially doing the same thing. Cease and desist. We run the risk here of being 
in big trouble. There were no 55-day riots in 
the Roman Empire. That stuff was put down. You've 
heard me refer to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. That 
was a response to the rebellion of the Jews. How does the Roman 
Empire take that? They put it down with great, 
great vehemence. They didn't play games, and the 
city clerk understood that. The Romans prided themselves 
on law, order, justice, and righteousness. In fact, when we look through 
the various characters in the pages of the Book of Acts, They're 
not 100% consistent, but there is a determination on their part 
to at least maintain some semblance of law and order. We saw it with 
Galileo in chapter 18. We saw where he didn't want to 
involve himself, and that was a good thing. The state shouldn't 
involve itself in intramural theological debates between persons 
who profess faith. But then he was inconsistent 
because they beat a Jew in front of him and he didn't do anything. 
So he doesn't highlight the principle of equal justice under the law 
for all men in that instance. But here, specifically, the city 
clerk understands and wants to stop or quell the potential riot 
in the city. He declares that Gaius and his 
fellows have done nothing wrong. Gaius and Aristarchus have done 
nothing wrong. Notice in verse 37. For you have 
brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor 
blasphemers of your goddess." You have to appreciate what's 
happening here. He is fearful in a good way. If the Romans 
come, they're going to strip us of the freedom that we enjoy 
as a city-state in the empire. They're going to give us what 
for, for having engaged in this kind of conduct when Gaius and 
Aristarchus are not guilty of either sacrilege or blasphemy. 
You should not do this. You should really consider this. 
You should think twice before you act once is what the city 
clerk is encouraging the people here. He reminds them that if 
Demetrius and his fellow Smiths have a real beef, there's courts 
for that. They had, again, a significant 
jurisprudence system in the Roman Empire. Much of what we hold 
to goes back, or at least is affirmed by, what we see in that 
particular context. He says if Demetrius and the 
Smiths have a legit beef against the way, there's courts, there's 
proconsuls, they can go the lawful way and make their case and try 
to get these men stopped. And then finally, he recognizes 
that they had the right under Roman law to lawful assembly. 
But what's his implication? This ain't it. We have the right 
under Roman law to lawful assembly. This is the word church, by the 
way, the end of verse 39, the lawful assembly, ecclesia, it's 
an assembly. It's the people that are brought 
together in a formal sense. We have that right under Roman 
law, but what we're doing here today is not that. And that brings 
him to his conclusion in verse 40. He says, for we are in danger 
of being called in question for today's uproar. It's, again, 
we, not them. Paul didn't do anything wrong. The Asiarchs were the ones who 
told him, don't even go into the theater. These people were 
too ignorant and too foolish and so filled with rage against 
some supposed offense that they were not able to see rationality 
or see reason. Again, this cooler head of the 
city clerk prevails, thankfully, to tell them that it's not them 
that are in danger today, but it is rather us. 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. This is not acceptable. This 
is not legit. This is not due process. This 
is a farce. And as a result, good citizens 
of Ephesus depart. Be dismissed. Cease and desist 
from what it is that you are doing here because it is a travesty 
against Roman law and the Romans will come and shut it down. Remember 
the high priest when they are conspiring, the priest rather, 
with the high priest are conspiring in Matthew chapter 26 to take 
Jesus down. What is one of their concerns? 
Not during the feast. Why? Because Jewish feasts, if 
there was an uproar, again, the Romans didn't say, well, go ahead 
and burn the city down. Go ahead and give all the graffiti 
in the world. Go ahead and destroy every vestige 
of whatever it was that once obtained in that city. No, they 
crushed the rebellion. And so the priests in the Sanhedrin 
in Matthew 26 said, don't do it during the Passover. That's 
why they do everything under the cover of night. That's why 
they go to Gethsemane and find Jesus there and Caesar apprehend 
him there. They don't want to do this in 
public because they know that if they do, the Romans are going 
to show up and shut them down. So thankfully, the city clerk 
is able to prevail with these people, and in verse 41 it says, 
and when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. And 
then 21 connects the context. After the uproar had ceased, 
Paul called the disciples to himself, embraced them, and departed 
to go to Macedonia. So those plans that he had made 
for himself in verse 21 had been at least somewhat interrupted 
by this riot in Ephesus. He stays there for the time. 
And now after the uproar has ceased, he will go on his way 
in this third missionary journey. And again, we can be thankful 
for both the disciples and these officials in the city that they 
stopped Paul from going into that place. Again, brethren, 
it may be the case that you are called to die in a particular 
place. But it may also be the case that 
you are called to live, and you are called to move on. And if 
they persecute you in one city, move to the next. Paul would 
ultimately meet his end when he's imprisoned again under Nero, 
and he would lose his head. he would be beheaded for the 
cause of Jesus Christ and for the truth. But that time was 
not now. There was still mission, there was still souls, there 
was still persons that needed to hear the gospel as proclaimed 
by Paul, as well he still needed to write several letters with 
reference to the New Testament documents and to be faithful 
in terms of the churches. So we see God's provision, God's 
care, God's kindness and providence unfolding in the life of the 
apostle. He goes to these various places, 
he preaches Christ and Him crucified, he's opposed, he is violently 
opposed at times, and nevertheless the Lord preserves him, and the 
Lord protects him, and the Lord sends him on the way so that 
he can proclaim the truth as it is in Jesus. Well, in conclusion, 
just a few thoughts and then we'll close. First, we need to 
appreciate the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ. You say, well, 
Butler, you say that every week. Yeah, because we need to be reminded 
every week. If you haven't observed, there's a lot of stuff going 
wrong in the world. If you haven't paid attention, 
there's a lot of things that cry out gospel preaching. They may not, but we know what 
they need, ultimately, right? It's the power of Jesus Christ. It's the glory of the gospel 
of our salvation. We see it in the salvation of 
individuals. the salvation of an Apostle Paul, 
the salvation of a Gaius and Aristarchus, the salvation of 
an Apollos, the salvation of the various characters that we 
met with in the Book of Acts, men that at one time were committed 
to exterminating the way are now its chief proponents. Paul 
was saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus. We see as well 
with reference to the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the 
destruction of idols. Demetrius saw it. The silversmiths 
saw it. Those who actually knew what 
they were protesting in the city of Ephesus saw it as well. As 
I've mentioned, various nations around the earth, they see what 
a potential threat Christianity is to their way of life. And 
it really is odd Because if Christianity is just left alone, we don't 
go out and burn and destroy and rape and pillage and murder and 
all those sorts of things. For the most part, the people 
of God should just be busy with their own hands, minding their 
own business, doing what God calls us to do. If civil authority 
had half a brain, they would not persecute the Church of the 
Lord Jesus Christ. but because they have full brains 
of opposition to Jesus Christ, that's why they engage in this 
particular aspect. So the destruction of idols. 
Paul speaks concerning this in 1 Thessalonians 1 at verse 9. He's talking about the salvation 
of the Thessalonians. He says, for they themselves, 
other cities, declare concerning us what manner of entry we had 
to you and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living 
and true God. See, when any of us come to the 
Savior, we leave the idol behind. When anyone in Ephesus was actually 
converted to the Lord Jesus, they didn't continue to bow down 
to Artemis. They didn't continue to bow down to Diana. They didn't continue to praise 
Zeus, from whom all blessings flow. They knew the true and 
living God. And when you look back at Old 
Covenant to Israel, the people that are worshipping Molech and 
the people that are worshipping Baal, they're not true believers. 
Not all Israel is Israel, Paul says in Romans chapter 9. There 
was always a remnant among the people that believed, a remnant 
among the people that confessed faith in God and served Him consistently, 
but there were idolaters. This is a great mark, a great 
evidence, a great sort of description of whether or not we are born 
again. For idols are dead. We no longer bow to that which 
once captivated our minds and hearts. We no longer bow to the 
mammon. We no longer bow to the bale 
or whatever it was that captivated us at one time. We see Christ 
as altogether lovely. We see Christ as chief among 
10,000. And we see Christ as that one in whom alone there 
is forgiveness and a righteousness. But it's not only salvation, 
it's not only the destruction of idols, but it's the impact 
upon a culture. This is a great and encouraging 
thing, brethren. Paul's preaching actually brought 
men who made their money by making idols into a position of less 
money. I thought that if we preach and 
we teach and we pray and we see the converting hand of God Most 
High, love to see abortionists put out of business, love to 
see these people that make their money in wickedness and lawlessness, 
that make bank doing horrible things. Brethren, the gospel 
is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes, to 
the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness 
of God is revealed from faith to faith, that as it is written, 
the just shall live by faith. This gospel is powerful for the 
salvation of sinners, the destruction of idols, and for impact upon 
a culture. When sinners get saved, as Lloyd-Jones 
says, even the cat benefits. The man doesn't come home drunk 
at night and kick the cat across the living room. So when a man 
receives the saving grace of God Almighty, everything is impacted. And here we see an actual idle 
trade in threat of going bankrupt. I say, praise God Almighty and 
may the gospel be thundered from sea to sea so that everybody 
who makes their money in vile and wicked ways would be put 
into a bread line or put into begging on the street corner. 
David prayed this for his enemies in Psalm 109. May their children 
be orphans, may they wander as vagabonds, and may they beg their 
daily bread. Why? Because they've risen up 
in opposition to the living and the true God. That was the heart 
of David, brethren, and we see that fleshed out with reference 
to this idol trade of Diana or Artemis in this city. There is 
a theological impact. Consider, great is Diana of the 
Ephesians. Guess what the converted in Ephesus 
would ultimately confess? Great is the mystery of godliness. 1 Timothy 3, verses 16 and 17. So some of them perhaps at one 
time confessed great is Diana of the Ephesians. They received 
the grace of God. They understand the theological 
impact of that grace. And now they're confessing the 
mystery of godliness as being great. That stuff touching on 
the person and the work of our blessed savior. There is practical 
impact. There is practical impact. When 
we pray for revival, we're not praying for some top-down imposition 
of God upon man. We're praying for the proclamation 
of the truth, the blessing by the Holy Spirit, salvation wrought 
by the power of God, and change affected in the lives of individuals. And as those individuals move 
and breathe and have their being and civil polity, hopefully, 
they'll affect it. Hopefully, they'll stop aborting 
babies if they're doctors and promote life. Hopefully, they'll 
stop defending people that are criminals and start going on 
the opposition against such people. You see, the gospel is that power 
that changes men from the inside out. And of course, the economic 
impact, we see it and we should rejoice in it. Secondly, in terms 
of a concluding thought, there is an apologetic focus in this 
account. And by apologetic, I don't mean, 
I'm sorry, we use that word that way. But apologetics means defense. And Luke is a theologian. Luke 
is the narrator, Luke is the historian, and Luke wants to 
show us something about the reception of Christianity and the church 
in the Roman Empire. And by so doing, he's encouraging 
Christians within the Roman Empire to stand fast, to be faithful, 
to persevere. Don't shrink back from what it 
is you're doing. In the first place, the city 
clerk understood what I think we're often made aware of in 
our prayer meetings when we read reports from other countries. 
The fact that it is opposition to Christianity, rather than 
Christianity itself, that oftentimes causes problems. You see that. Various cities, we read up. Somebody 
gets upset with Christians, and then they target those Christians 
with destruction, and then the civil state steps in, and the 
opposers say, well, it was all their fault. No, it wasn't. They 
were just sitting in their homes. They were just sitting there 
and you firebombed them. They were just sitting there 
and you dispossessed them of their home. They were just living 
and trying to eke out a living in this particular sphere and 
you opposers came. This is what the clerks saw all 
too clearly and all too well that I don't think many people 
in other countries see. It isn't Christianity causing 
the ruckus, it is the opposition to Christianity that's causing 
the ruckus. Never forget that, brethren. 
Our doctrine, our preaching, our teaching, it may be opposed, 
it may be disagreed with, but we don't firebomb people so that 
they'll accept it. We don't rage against them in 
some violent expression of our allegiance to King Jesus. No! 
We're pretty much a live and let live sort of people. But 
in these various places, it is the opposition to Christianity 
that is the problem versus Christianity itself. The people, I'm sorry, 
the city clerk understood that the people of Ephesus were guilty 
of potential riot and would be shut down by Rome versus the 
people of God having been guilty of any particular crime. Gaius 
and Aristarchus didn't do anything wrong. Paul the Apostle didn't 
do anything wrong. We're in danger today, brethren, 
or friends in Ephesus, because of our own conduct. As well, 
the officials of Asia were friendly toward Paul and pleaded with 
him to not enter the theater. That's an apologetic. That is 
Luke telling us it's not the case that every civil authority 
is opposed to Christianity. You have freedom in the empire. 
You have the ability to speak the truth. Now, even if that 
is done away with or it's encroached upon, you still have a duty, 
you still have a responsibility to preach the truth and live 
consistent with it. But in these early days of the 
church, it was imperative that the people in the church be told 
what they had in terms of legal recourse within the empire itself. And this passage goes a long 
way to foster confidence among the people of God that we're 
okay, at least at this point. I think I've shared with you, 
at the point that we're at in the history, there was pretty 
much the civil government, the Roman Empire, didn't really bother 
with the Christian church. Initially, they saw the Christian 
church as a subset of Judaism, and they left it well enough 
alone. But as time progressed, as things went on in the empire, 
under Nero specifically, he had an animus, he had a disdain for 
the church. He blamed them, or blamed the 
Christians for the city burning down, and ultimately turned the 
mighty power of the Roman state against the Christian church. 
But at this time, the people of God needed to be educated 
that they had prerogatives, they had freedoms, and they had liberties. And as well, the disposition, 
we've already seen it, of Galileo toward Christianity in chapter 
18, verses 12 to 17. There in Corinth, Paul is brought 
before the civil magistrate, and the civil magistrate says, 
I don't want to get involved. This is not my purview to get 
in and start to be the theologian in chief and sort out for you 
your theological differences. Galileo said, no, you do what 
you do. So that would help the people 
of God at this time in the church of God to know that what they 
were doing, at least in terms of the Roman state, was free 
or they had liberty to do so and they should capitalize upon 
that liberty. Now, with reference to liberty, 
we enjoy a lot of it. I mean, we have been blessed. 
As I reflect on the last few months and the pandemic, we in 
BC, God has smiled upon us in a profuse way. We have been blessed 
richly in this environment. But with reference to this whole 
idea of freedom, this whole idea of liberty, this whole idea of 
not being molested by the civil state, brethren, if we are not 
faithful when we have that, I'm not sure we ought to be encouraged 
that we're going to have it when we don't. In other words, if 
we're not using the liberty to propagate the glorious gospel 
of Jesus Christ, why would we think we would if we were threatened 
with punishment, threatened with imprisonment, threatened by the 
civil authority to put us down? We need to utilize the freedom 
that we enjoy for the glory of God. We need to utilize it for 
His worship, for the proclamation of truth. We need to steel ourselves, 
and we need to ready ourselves such that if there is encroachment, 
and if there is a ripping away of these liberties that we do 
enjoy, we nevertheless worship God. We nevertheless preach the 
truth. We nevertheless continue on. I remember it was many, many, 
many, many years ago. When I got here, we were praying for Voice 
of the Martyrs. And somebody in China said, don't pray that 
the Lord will take away our persecution. Pray that he'll give us the grace 
to deal with it. That always stuck with me. We 
do pray. And I don't think it's illegitimate. 
Lord, please give us liberty. Lord, please give us the freedom. 
Give us the ability. In fact, many of us are praying, 
restore what we had before completely so that everybody can gather 
together and we'll never have to turn anyone away from the 
church. But brethren, we need to understand that if that persecution 
does come, our prayer is God help us to be faithful in the 
midst of it. Help us to take that counsel 
given by the risen Christ to those churches in Asia Minor 
to overcome, to stand fast, to understand the beast will rise 
up, the beast will oppose, the beast will seek to destroy, but 
the people of God are to persevere, they're to put their shoulders 
to the plow and they're not to look back. This is an encouragement 
in the Book of Acts to that particular end. John Stott says, Luke's 
purpose in recounting this incident was clearly apologetic or political. He wanted to show that Rome had 
no case against Christianity in general or Paul in particular. In Corinth, the proconsul Galileo 
refused even to hear the Jews' charge. In Ephesus, the town 
clerk implied that the opposition was purely emotional and that 
the Christians being innocent had nothing to fear from duly 
constituted legal processes. Thus, the impartiality of Galileo, 
the friendship of the Asiarchs, and the cool reasonableness of 
the city's clerk combined to give the gospel freedom to continue 
on its victorious course. So Luke didn't just write for 
us, he wrote for them too. And he wanted them not to shrink 
back. He wanted them not to be muzzled. He wanted them not to be stifled, 
but he wanted them to cry aloud, to spare not, to lift up their 
voices like a trumpet, and to proclaim the glory of Jesus Christ 
in the Roman Empire so that Diana would fall. so that Zeus would 
fall, so that all of those idols would fall, and so that persons 
would turn from them to the true and living God. And if you have 
not today, if you are still in idolatry, now that idol may not 
be a little shrine, It may not be a little thing you wear around 
your neck. It might not be some lucky charm that you have in 
your pocket. Jesus speaks concerning mammon or money. That's an idol 
to some, or perhaps many. Paul speaks about an effect of 
the gospel turning us, those who live for themselves, unto 
him. So whether your idol is whether 
your idol is stone, whether your idol is metal or mental, whatever 
your idol is, it is most imperative that you turn from it by the 
grace of God to the true and living God. Come to the Lord 
Jesus Christ in faith, believe on Him, and you will be saved. It's a most blessed, most wonderful, 
and most excellent thing that God Most High, the Holy One, 
The angels stand at the throne of God and they cry, holy, holy, 
holy. We read it in Isaiah 6 and we 
think, wow, three times. There's a variant reading in 
the book of Revelation where it's nine times that holy, holy, 
holy. I don't want to go nine times 
because you'll probably say, okay, we get it. But it wasn't 
just three times, and it wasn't just nine times. There's a class 
of angelic being that just stands before the throne of God Most 
High saying, holy, holy, holy. Brethren, that holy God has made 
provision for us unholy men. That God has made provision in 
the person and the work of his son. The second person of the 
Godhead took our humanity with all of the essential properties 
and common infirmities thereof, and yet without sin. And for 
us men and for our salvation, he came down from heaven. He 
lives in obedience to the law of God. He dies as a sacrifice 
and as a substitute. He's raised that third day, not 
for his sins, not for his crimes, not for his malfeasance, but 
for ours. such that everyone who looks 
to him in faith will receive the forgiveness of sin and a 
righteousness that avails with God. Most blessed it will be 
on that day to stand in the presence of the King and to hear those 
blessed words, well done, good and faithful servant. That is 
by virtue of our union with Jesus Christ. So do not continue in 
your idolatry, do not continue in that which is not God, but 
rather forsake, rather look unto the Lord Jesus and have everlasting 
life. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for your word, we thank you for your loving kindness, 
we thank you for the grace that is demonstrated in page after 
page in Holy Scripture, exemplified in the work of the Savior on 
behalf of His people. And God, help us to see the power 
of the Gospel, not only in the pages of the Book of Acts, but 
the power of the Gospel today, as it is proclaimed in these 
various nations that are so adamantly opposed to You and to Your people. 
We pray for the people of God in the persecuted church, that 
they would go forward persevering, knowing the grace of God, enabling 
them to do so. And in our context, help us to 
use the liberties that you've blessed us with for your glory 
and for your honor and for your praise. Thank you again for this 
meeting. Thank you for this time to study 
scripture and may it impact our hearts for good. And we pray 
through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. We'll close our service 
by singing hymn number 570, Hymn number 570, when you find 
that, you can stand and we'll sing together. ♪ Praise God above and all that 
is low ♪ Praise Him, all creatures here 
below. Alleluia! Alleluia! Praise Him, above the heavenly 
host. Praise Father, Son, and Holy 
Ghost. alleluia The Lord bless you and keep you. 
The Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. 
The Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. 
God, thank you for this benediction, this good word. We pray that 
it would be made effectual by your spirit in our own hearts 
and lives. May we know the nearness of God is our good, and may you 
encourage and strengthen us And God, keep us. We know, as one 
man as well said, if we could, if we could lose our salvation, 
we certainly would. We are dependent upon sovereign 
grace and upon power. And we know that you have these 
things to keep us, watch over us, grant us grace and help and 
strength. And we pray this through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, please be seated 
for a brief time of meditation.