Christianity Enters Ephesus, Part 2

Today on Summit Life with J.D.

Greer. The Bible we study is not a set of obscure religious discussions or tips about how to live. We are talking about Jesus, the Master, Creator, and Lord of the universe, who is so majestic that the world simply must know about Him, and that your life is hopelessly incomplete until you do. Who is so powerful that our rebellion against Him is the worst possible thing we could have done, but whose offer of salvation is the greatest news we could have hoped for? Welcome to Summit Life, the Bible teaching ministry of pastor, author, and theologian, J.D.

Greer. As always, I'm your host, Molly Bidevich. Today on the program, we're continuing a new study of the book of Ephesians called Mystery and Clarity. In this introductory sermon, Pastor JD has given some important historical context on the city of Ephesus. And through the story of this ancient city, we're discovering the amazing things we can accomplish when we follow God's leading. We're actually returning to Acts chapters 18 to 20.

And if you missed the beginning of this message, you can catch up online at jdgreer.com. Let's join Pastor JD for part two of a message titled, Christianity enters Ephesus. When we challenge the gods, listen, that people worship here, when we threaten to undo their whole way of living, you can expect the same kind of reaction that Paul got. When you tell somebody their God is not real, things get ugly, right?

Let me give you a few examples. A lot of people in this area worship knowledge and science. I hear scientists making pronouncements about the world, and science is great, but what I hear is the extreme confidence that scientists have in themselves and their intelligence and their morality and their ability to figure it all out. Listen, science is a gift from God and we need to use it to the fullest extent, but the Bible would say that science is not something to trust your whole soul to because scientists are fallible human beings and can be wrong. Cutting edge technology, perfect health, those things are great, but they can't answer our deepest questions like who we are and where we're going and what the point of it all is and why we can't find happiness. Now, when I say stuff like that, people in this area often say back to me, well, he's just anti-intellectual.

No, I'm just saying that Jesus is a more sure basis of knowledge about God and eternity and that he is able to save us in ways that science cannot. Here's one, many people trust money. When I tell people they shouldn't trust money and that they should trust God instead and that one of the ways that God tells us to show that we trust him is to tithe and to give some of our money away, people roll their eyes and they're like, he's talking about money again, as if my main concern was the offering of this church. You say, I don't like it when he talks about money. No, you don't like it because I'm attacking your idol.

That's what you don't like. I am concerned about your soul and your concern about your soul, not your wallet. Some of you live for money. It's your security and your joy and that's why you're so stingy with it.

You get my drift? Preach against idols and Jesus is the only savior and people get violent. They always have and they always will, but that is our sacred mission. Number two, God demonstrates his power over false gods by doing extraordinary things through us. See in verse 11 how it describes Paul's ministry as doing extraordinary things. Specifically, it's talking about Paul's powers to heal and cast out demons.

People were wiping their hankies on them and it was making their headaches go away. It's not an exaggeration. Just look at it, verse 11. But there are three things throughout the book of Acts that are presented about the first Christians that were extraordinary. I'm going to give you all three real quick because you're going to see all of them in the book of Ephesians. The first one is that one right there, extraordinary miracles.

There were to be evidences of the supernatural in our lives that were just not explainable in any other way. When Paul summarizes his message to the Ephesians in chapter 20, he says to them, I proclaim to you the kingdom of God. One of the central features of Paul's message was that one day God would bring a kingdom where there was perfect peace and healing. And a lot of times what God does in Acts is he demonstrates that kingdom that we are preaching by healing someone supernaturally.

Acts calls those signs and wonders, a sign that points to or demonstrates the message. And I think that sometimes we at this church have gotten so into preaching the message of forgiveness that we have neglected preaching about the kingdom. God is not just forgiving us, he wants to restore us.

Now we ourselves can't build that kingdom here. Only Jesus can do that when he comes back. But part of our ministry like Paul's can be to give signs of the kingdom. Extraordinary miracles and supernatural healings through our prayers is a sign of the power of Jesus and the kingdom that he is able to bring. Extraordinary miracles. We were also to be people of extraordinary generosity. The early church gave generously and shared with each other and ministered to the poor and they did it to such an extent that it was amazing.

Then there was thirdly, extraordinary joy where we possess a joy that baffles the world. And this is seen most clearly, catch this, in suffering. Everywhere he goes, Paul says, sufferings await me like he experienced here in Ephesus. Now can't you hear the Ephesians asking, why? If this is God's message, why is his main messenger suffering? Why are we being persecuted and fed to the lions? Aren't we supposed to be victorious? Aren't we supposed to show prosperity of the kingdom?

Aren't we supposed to have our lives demonstrate how peaceful and wonderful the kingdom of God is? Listen, did you know that there is not a single, single place in Acts where God heals the sickness of a believer? He raises a few from the dead, which is kind of cool, but he never heals a believer of sickness. It's always people on the outside who get healed. I'm not saying that we shouldn't ask for healing for ourselves because the book of James in the Bible clearly tells us that we should. I'm just saying that Acts doesn't record any healings of believers in the church. Why? Why doesn't God automatically heal all the church of their diseases?

Here's why. Because having joy in suffering is how God puts his glory on display. You see, anybody can be happy when things are going well. That's ordinary joy. It's when you are joyful when everything is not going well that your joy becomes extraordinary.

Sometimes I'll flip through the channels late at night as my wife and I are preparing to go to bed and I'll come across one of those TV preachers and my wife will be like, don't do it. It's going to get you so fired up you're not going to go to sleep. But I can't. It's like a train wreck.

You got to watch it. And she's exactly right. You know these guys come on to be like, God wants to make you rich. He does. And he wants to prosper you and that'll bring him glory. God does prosper us sometimes and when he does we give him glory for it. But that really damages some people who love God like Paul but still suffer.

Paul described himself as saying, I walk around the earth with a sentence of death on myself. And it misses one of the main points of the book of Acts is trying to teach and that is that God's glory is often demonstrated in us when in the midst of suffering we have a deep abiding joy that the pain cannot take away. When we're so wrapped up in the glory of God that even pain can't rob us of our inexpressible joy. That is a joy that the world does not understand. That is a joy that is extraordinary.

You see that? When life squeezes you it is then that you have a chance to show that you have a joy that is greater than anything else life can give and that death cannot take away. Extraordinary miracles, extraordinary generosity, extraordinary joy.

These are the three ways that God validates the gospel in Acts. And can I say to you candidly that that's what the problem is with some of us? It's not that you're bad Christians. You're just so ordinary. It's not I don't mean ordinary in terms of talent.

I mean in these terms. You're a good Christian but you don't see exciting answers to prayer. You're a decently cheerful person when things are going well.

But when things aren't going well you complain and whine like everybody else. Paul got flogged and left thanking God for the chance to know and serve him. That's extraordinary. You give a little but your generosity is not extraordinary. It doesn't inspire me. What inspires me is when you start living with a passion that consumes you. When you joyfully share your stuff and give your money away to the work of God. Empower generosity and joy. Many of us are just ordinary. You start telling me about your Christian life and I want to go to sleep. That's not God's intention for you. We were to be extraordinary in power, generosity, and joy.

Here's number three. Wherever the people of God go they change the entire climate of the city. Here in Ephesus the move of God was so significant that even the business community noticed. Now this is where I begin to really dream. What does it look like for an awakening to happen here that gets the attention of the business community, the universities, the city council?

We have so much more to do. There are five groups God has placed on my heart here in our cities. Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill. The homeless, prisoners, high school dropouts, orphans and foster kids, and unwed mothers. I don't know exactly what we're supposed to do with them yet but I want to do something so extraordinary that the city says that Summit Church, they are everywhere in Raleigh, Durham. And every time we find a need we find them meeting that need and ministering to them and putting the gospel on display.

I want you to notice also real quick here, I can't spend long on this before I move off of this point. I want you to notice that Paul disrupted the economic order. That was not his intent. He's just preaching the gospel and you need to understand that anytime the gospel is preached it does disrupt a lot of the political and economic orders. And if we preach the gospel rightly that is what will happen here.

But I want you to hear me, that is not our intent. We're just trying to show people that Jesus is the Savior, that he is the Lord. All right and when this stuff happens it will happen to us like it happened to Paul and we just say, hey, we're not, it's not our point.

Point's not economic or political. The point is Jesus. The point is Jesus.

The point is Jesus. Acts chapter 20, let's go there. Acts chapter 20 verse 22, Paul is speaking to the Ephesian elders and he's saying goodbye to them for good.

This is his last kind of farewell speech to the Ephesian elders. Later he'll write back the book of Ephesians to them but this is the last time he talks to them one on one. Verse 22, now behold I'm going to Jerusalem constrained by the Spirit not knowing what will happen to me there except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me. This is a great little vignette there because in the next chapter this prophet in the early church named Agabus comes to Paul and he does this big elaborate ceremony where he takes out a sheet and a rope and ties himself up. Right and he says this is what the Holy Spirit says will happen to you if you go to Jerusalem and Paul's like that's exactly what he's been telling me and Paul does it anyway. All right so Paul knows he knows what's about to happen. Verse 24, but I do not he says love this do not account my life of any value nor is precious to myself if only I may finish my course and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel the grace of God and now behold I know that none of you among whom I've gone about proclaiming the kingdom will see my face again.

Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all of you because I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. Verse 28, pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock over which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers to care for the church of God which he obtained with his own blood because I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you not sparing the flock and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things to draw away the disciples after them therefore be alerts. Real quick, look Paul's aware that the demons he encountered and throughout in chapter 19 are going to try to re-enter the church and if Satan can't terrorize the church with demon possession he's going to mess him up with twisted doctrine. You see when Satan fails on one front he tries another. If he can't make a pastor fall to temptation he'll show he'll sow disunity in the church. If he can't destroy you high school student with temptation he'll do it with discouragement.

If he can't do it with discouragement he'll puff you up with pride. Listen Paul was aware of the spiritual forces at work all around the Ephesians so he tells them be alert you've got an enemy that's always scheming to destroy you. Paul was aware of the powers of the spiritual world at work in the city of Ephesus and I'm afraid that many of us are not aware of the spiritual forces at work around the summit church and the campus of Duke and Chapel Hill and North Carolina Central and all around this city. Verse 31, therefore be alert remembering that for three years I did not cease night and day to admonish everyone with tears and now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace we which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.

Here's number four. Paul looked at his mission to the city as a matter of intensely personal obligation. So must we. You see that phrase in verse 26 free from the blood? Paul looked at his delivering the word of God to the Ephesians as a matter of blood.

If he did not do it he would be guilty of their blood. Now I can tell you without hesitation that this is how I feel about you and the city of Raleigh Durham. You see there's always a temptation for me to water down the message to stay away from controversial things to tell you what you want to hear but I must deliver the word of God to you regardless of whether or not I want to preach it or you want to hear it and what I need you to do is pray for me that I will preach the word of God fearlessly to you. Yes I read the letters and the emails and the comments on my blog but I'm telling you by God's grace they're not going to change a thing because at the end of the day I'm just a deliverer of the message and not its writer and I answer only to God and not to anybody else. Plus I want to tell you everything that God says in love because I know your life depends on it. I look at my obligation to you as a matter of blood and for you one of the most important things that you can do in your life is figure out whose blood God has made you responsible for. Maybe it's your suitemates, maybe it's the office where you work, maybe it's the people of a certain profession, maybe it's your own children, whoever that is for you figure it out and make it a matter of your blood. Pray over them. Plan ways to show Christ's love to them.

Reach out to them. So who is it? Who is it that you sense Jesus's heart for? Over whom specifically do you hurt over their lostness?

Whose name has God put on your heart? Listen it won't be everybody. It'll be a specific group. I had a friend in college who felt like he was called to the world, the whole world.

I was like where are you going to serve after you graduate? The world. I'm like what part of it?

All of it. I'm like okay Jesus. You know it can't be the world. Maybe it's an unreached people group. Maybe it's a person that God has placed on your heart. Recently I read the biography of John Patton missionary probably 100 or so years ago felt like God had put a set of islands in the Pacific on his heart.

Now that sounds like a pretty good gig doesn't it? The problem is that at this point in history a nobody spoke their language ever except for them and b they were all cannibals and every foreigner who had gone to them before had been turned into beef jerky. But God had told him to go and so he went. You ever think about what you would do if you seriously were given the assignment of having to reach an island of people and you didn't speak their language and they were all cannibals? I mean what do you what do you do first?

You get there you put up a sign you know Sunday school this week nine o'clock bring a friend. No I mean you can't do it that way. He ministered there for over 35 years and he lost so much. His biography said that all he really loved in the world was his wife and she died in childbirth with his child. He had to sleep on their graves for four nights to make sure the islanders did not dig them up and eat them. Later after a chief had come to Christ the chief asked him said when you first got here we planned to kill you many nights. Who was that army who guarded your house each night?

Evidently a team of angels had surrounded them and protected them. When he left that island 35 years later John Patton said he didn't know a single native who had not professed faith in Jesus. Before he went somebody had asked him why he was doing it since he'd probably be eaten by cannibals and his statement was was great. He said eaten by cannibals that makes no difference to me.

Eventually all of us will die and be eaten by worms eaten by worms eaten by cannibals makes no difference we all end up at the same place. He said I however am driven by the thought that the people on those islands are perishing without even a chance of knowing God's love and mercy and he knew that God had made him responsible for it. So who is it for you? Who are the Ephesians for you? Because if you don't know you're not going to understand the book of Ephesians it's not going to apply to you like it should because this is written to people on mission. Number five doctrine matters. Doctrine matters. Paul tells them that there will be people who always try to dilute and twist the doctrine.

See verse 29 fierce wolves will come speaking twisted things and that they got to pay attention to the truth Paul is teaching them. It was a matter Paul said of life and death. Your life he said depends on believing the right stuff about God. Now real quick this is pretty different from how people in our culture look at truth and doctrine. Our culture's approach to doctrine was summarized by Thomas Jefferson 200 some years ago in a letter he wrote to some woman where he said what you believe about God does not matter at all because it is deeds not creeds that count.

What Paul is saying is exactly the opposite of Thomas Jefferson. He says that the most important thing about you is what you believe about God. That ultimately doctrine determines everything in your life. So the book of Ephesians is a deep doctrinal book because knowing the truth about Christianity matters. In fact the way the book of Ephesians is set up is pretty interesting. The first three chapters of Ephesians are pretty deep doctrine and I don't mean light stuff deep stuff like predestination the nature of sin and judgment all that kind of stuff salvation regeneration all kinds of stuff big words in the first three chapters. The last three chapters four through six are some of the most intensely practical chapters in all the bible where he just starts to say this is what this means for your marriage what it means for relationships etc etc and in between chapters three and four is one word that opens chapter four therefore. In other words how you live four through six is going to be determined by your understanding the doctrine of these first three chapters. So learn the doctrine study it.

Now before I close I don't want you to miss the biggest point of all here. Watch this whole story in Acts 18 and 19 ought to make you ask one huge question. What is this mission Paul is on? Who is this Jesus who can heal who moves his people to extraordinary acts of kindness who gives them a baffling joy in the midst of pain? Who is this Jesus who is master of the spirit realm that the demons fear just a mention of his name? Who is this Jesus who is so much greater than all the gods worshipped in the world so that Paul has to tell people about him even if it means he'll lose his life doing it? What is this message that is so important that Paul considers giving it a matter of life and death? You see the Bible we study is not a set of obscure religious discussions or tips about how to live. We are talking about Jesus the master creator and lord of the universe who is so majestic that the world simply must know about him and that your life is hopelessly incomplete until you do. Who is so powerful that our rebellion against him is the worst possible thing we could have done but whose offer of salvation is the greatest news we could have hoped for. The mission is that we stand in rebellion to God but God in his mercy has sent Jesus to die for our sins to give us forgiveness and healing and restoration and he is the only way and what you ought to see from all this is that the sacrifices of Paul the miracles of Acts the message of Ephesians all point us to the greatness and the glory of Jesus. Do you know this Jesus? Do you know Jesus?

This question is at the core of all we do here at Summit Life. If you have questions let me encourage you to visit us online and learn more about what it means to be a follower of Christ. Go to jdgrier.com and Pastor JD whether our listeners just heard the gospel for the very first time or if they've been walking with the lord for years I'm sure all of us would say that we want to know more about God.

In light of that what is this new series Mystery and Clarity all about? Well Molly Ephesians is one of the most powerful books in the New Testament. We hold up the mystery and the majesty of the gospel to show that no matter how long we go in Christ how far we travel that road that there's still a mystery of how great his love is and how how incredible his plan is and how for all of eternity we will like the angels kind of stand in wonder at the grace and mercy and the glory of our God but there's also clarity.

There's clarity about who God is and what he wants from us and you know the gospel is simple enough that a child can understand it the gospel is also majestic enough that the greatest theologian is never going to get anywhere close. If there's any book of the Bible that you could profit from a chance to ponder and go deeper it's going to be the book of Ephesians. Thank you JD and to help you get a better understanding of God's love for you and who you are in light of that we'd like to send you a copy of our exclusive Summit Life Mystery and Clarity Bible Study. Today is the first day that we're offering it and it comes with our thanks when you donate to support this ministry at the suggested level of $25 or more. Ask for your copy of our new nine session study Mystery and Clarity the book of Ephesians when you call 866-335-5220 that's 866-335-5220 or request the study when you give online at jdgrier.com.

I'm Molly Bittovitch. Be sure to join us Tuesday as we discover the lengths that God went to to adopt us as his own. We'll see you tomorrow right here on Summit Life with JD Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by JD Greer Ministries.