Acts  Sermon Series

Wheelersburg Baptist Church 6/22/03 Brad Brandt

Acts 19:1-10 "A Ministry That Lasts in a Throw Away Society"**

Last week my wife came home from the store with a fancy looking Fuji camera. For about $10 or less you can buy an underwater camera, and the thing is disposable! Snap it 27 times, get your pictures, and the camera is history. That’s quite a change from when I got my first camera, a heavy duty Yashica with case and all!

We are living in a throw away society. Make it, use it, dispose of it. The bottom line these days is money and convenience. That’s fine when it comes to cameras. But what about ministries?

Many churches these days are resorting to ministry tactics that remind me of a movie set for an old western town. When movie producers do their construction, they don’t build a town to last. In fact, they didn’t even build a real western town, just a shell, something that looks good from the outside to those who come to watch the show. And that’s fine for a movie set, but a ministry?

What happens if you build a ministry where getting a crowd is the bottom line? If the goal for your church is to put on a show and satisfy the customers, what would you do? You’d be inclined to give lots of attention to style while minimizing substance.

And that’s what’s happening these days. Visit a consumer-oriented church some Sunday and what will you find? A crowd? Probably. You’ll also likely see quite a show, with quality music, powerful drama, and technology-enhanced messages. You may leave impressed, even motivated and fired up to change the world. But by the end of the day you’ll probably discover you’re still struggling to change your own life, let alone the world.

Please don’t misunderstand. I’m all for using the best methods available to accomplish our God-given mission. But I wrestle with this thought. Are we doing ministry in a way that will last?

How do you do lasting ministry in a throw away society? That’s the question the contemporary church needs to address. Sure we can do things to attract crowds and build impressive ministries. But will they last? My observation is that crowds come…and go in search of the latest show in town.

The key to doing ministry that lasts is to do ministry God’s way, not based on the latest marketing strategies of men. But that raises the question, what is God’s way? How does God want us to do ministry? We need not wonder for He tells us in The Book, the holy Scriptures. Simply put, here’s what we’ll discover today. According to God’s Word we must fulfill two assignments if we’re going to have ministries that last. Paul modeled both assignments for us in Acts 19:1-10.

Ministries that last are ministries that major on bringing people to the Word. They don’t just dabble in the Word. They don’t give lip-service to it. They don’t allude to it once in awhile. They major on bringing people to the Word.

Friends, it’s no secret that the Bible is merely an ornament in many American homes. What’s sadder is that it’s a decorative ornament in many American churches.

Pollster George Gallup Jr. has long referred to America as a "nation of biblical illiterates." Only four in 10 Americans know that Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. A majority of citizens cannot name the four Gospels of the New Testament. Only three in 10 teenagers know why Easter is celebrated. Two-thirds of Americans believe there are few, if any, absolute principles to direct human behavior. A new poll by the Barna Research Group suggests that religious illiteracy has increased. For example, three out of four Americans (and nearly half of "born-again" Christians) believe the Bible teaches that "God helps those who help themselves."

If we’re going to have ministries that last we need to be serious about assignment #1. We need to bring people to the Word. That’s exactly what we find Paul doing in Acts 19.

As the story begins Paul is in his third missionary journey which started in Acts 18:23. If you’ll look at a Study Bible map and compare Paul’s three missionary journeys, you’ll notice something rather quickly. On Paul’s third trip he didn’t go to new places. Basically, he went back to the places where he’d led people to Christ during the first two trips. This third trip was all about strengthening, training, and recruiting. Paul took steps to make sure his ministry lasted.

When it came to doing ministry, Paul’s emphasis was to take people to the Word. What’s involved in taking people to the Word? Two basic tasks.

A. Find out where people are (1-3). That’s what we find Paul doing as Acts 19 begins. Notice verses 1-3: "While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples and asked them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" They answered, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." So Paul asked, "Then what baptism did you receive?" "John’s baptism," they replied."

The first step in Word-centered ministry is finding out where people are. At the end of chapter 18 Apollos, a powerful Jewish preacher groomed by Aquila and Priscilla, left Ephesus to do ministry in Corinth. Paul arrived in Ephesus after a 200 mile cross-country ministry trip through what is today central and western Turkey.

Ephesus was a strategic city. Paul made a brief stop there on his second journey and promised to return if it was God’s will (18:21). It was God’s will and Paul ended up staying in this city longer than anywhere else, almost three years.

The city of Ephesus was a port city with about a third of a million people. It had a theater that could seat 25,000 spectators. It was known for its materialism. It was also a cesspool for the occult, housing the Temple of Artemis, one of the Seven Wonders of the World. This temple was over 400 feet long, 200 feet wide (roughly the size of a football field), and had 127 marble pillars. Kent Hughes writes, "Ephesus was a waterhole for every kind of magician, witch, clairvoyant, and criminal. Con artists, murderers, and perverts all found the climate of Ephesus unusually agreeable. That city was the Dark Castle of Asia Minor."

When Paul came to Ephesus his goal was simple—to bring people to the Word. But people are different. People are at different levels of Bible knowledge, so the first thing we must do is find out where they are. Here’s how Paul did it, in three phases.

1. Paul found some disciples. That’s what Luke says. "There he found some disciples." There were twelve of them, according to verse 7. These men are called "disciples" which in Acts typically is an identification tag for a follower of Jesus. Here Luke seems to be using it in a more general sense, for although these men were followers of Jesus, the Jesus they knew was the Jesus taught by John the Baptist.

In other words, they were religious men, but their religion was based on inadequate teaching. How do you find out where people are at spiritually? Do what Paul did.

2. Paul asked some questions. Here’s the first, in verse 2, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" Why did Paul ask that? He wants to know the spiritual condition of these men. You don’t bring the Word to people the same way. You must find out what they know—and what they don’t know—in addition to finding out what they’ve done with what they know.

"No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit," was their reply. Did that response tell Paul anything about the spiritual status of these folks? It sure did! If they haven’t heard about the Holy Spirit, they don’t know about one of the most important events that’s ever occurred on this planet. After Jesus died for sinners on the Cross, conquered the grave, and returned to heaven, He kept His promise and sent Someone to the earth. Who? He sent God the Holy Spirit. The fact is, we are living in the age of the Holy Spirit, this age between Jesus’ first coming and His second coming. The ministry of the Holy Spirit is one of the main themes of New Testament theology. His ministry is vital in order for a person to become a Christian as well as to live the Christian life.

But these men were in the dark concerning the Spirit. So Paul asked a follow-up question, one that would give him further insight into their spiritual condition. Verse 3, "Then what baptism did you receive?" And their reply was, "John’s baptism." That answer told Paul what he needed to know. To put it plainly…

3. Paul discovered a deficiency. These men were not irreligious, just missing something. What they had done wasn’t bad. It just was incomplete. The baptism of John the Baptist was a baptism of expectation rather than a baptism of fulfillment. John the Baptist taught, "The Messiah is coming. Repent and get ready for Him." And those who did were baptized to show their sincerity.

That’s what these men had done. In a sense they were like "Old Testament saints." Maybe they were some of Apollos’ early converts and as such had never heard the whole story about Jesus. Yes, they believed what they knew. They just didn’t know the whole story, that the Messiah had come and that the Holy Spirit had come, and that those who believe in Messiah Jesus receive the promised Holy Spirit.

With those two questions, Paul learned a lot about the Bible knowledge of his audience. It’s vital we do the same. We never teach in a vacuum.

As the story goes, a new minister was asked to teach a boys' class in the absence of the regular teacher. He decided to see what they knew, so he asked who knocked down the walls of Jericho. All the boys denied having done it, and the preacher was appalled by their ignorance. At the next deacons' meeting he told about the experience. "Not one of them knows who knocked down the walls of Jericho," he lamented. The group was silent until finally one seasoned veteran of disputes spoke up. "Preacher, this appears to be bothering you a lot. But I've known all those boys since they were born and they're good boys. If they said they didn't know, I believe them. Let's just take some money out of the repair and maintenance fund, fix the walls, and let it go at that."

If we’re going to help people grow, we must start by finding out where they are. That’s task one. Here’s task two.

B. Take people where they need to be (4-7). Watch Paul in action: "Paul said, "John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all."

Did you see what Paul did? He found out where these men were and took them where they needed to be. That’s what the ministry of the Word is all about. Now look closer at the second part of this task. How did Paul take his listeners where they needed to be? He did two things, as we must do.

1. Paul built on what they knew. They knew about John’s baptism, so he started with John’s baptism. He didn’t shoot them down for their ignorance. People can’t act on what they don’t know.

"So you know about John’s baptism? That’s good. John taught people to repent, to get their lives in order. Yes, that’s vital."

What’s Paul doing? He’s building on what his hearers knew. A good teacher does that. A good teacher realizes he may not be the first person God has ever brought into the hearer’s life to teach Him the Word.

When I witness to people, even people who don’t know Malachi from Revelation, I often find they know some things from the Bible. Maybe a grandmother taught them some truth. Perhaps they visited Vacation Bible School years ago. Possibly a friend gave them a tract to read. As I seek to bring the Word to them, it’s important to build on that, again like Paul did. He built on what they knew. Then…

2. Paul taught them what they didn’t know. "John the Baptist did something else besides preach repentance. He also told people to believe, to believe in the One coming after him, to believe in the one and only Messiah, Jesus.

There was the missing piece of the puzzle. Jesus. These men knew some truth. They were religious. They were sincere. But they didn’t know Jesus. They’d never placed their faith in the One who died for their sins and rose again for their salvation.

But on this day they did! "On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus." No, baptism doesn’t save a person. God saves a sinner the moment he believes in Jesus. But baptism is God’s designated way to show you have believed in Jesus. And being baptized "in the name of Jesus" isn’t some formula that must be recited to make a baptism valid. To be baptized in Jesus "name" simply means the person acknowledges that Jesus is the Savior—which is what His name means, Yeshua, the Lord saves. "I can’t save myself. I believe that is why He came, to save me."

That’s what twelve men did that day. And the reason they did is because someone took the time to bring them to the Word.

Beloved, if we’re doing God’s kind of ministry, ministry that will last, we must bring people to the Word. And to do that we must personally go to the Word or we won’t be able to help people work through their confusion.

Martin Luther shared this testimonial: "I study my Bible like I gather apples. First, I shake the whole tree that the ripest may fall. Then I shake each limb, and when I have shaken each limb, I shake each branch and every twig. Then I look under every leaf. I search the Bible as a whole like shaking the whole tree. Then I shake every limb--study book after book. Then I shake every branch, giving attention to the chapters. Then I shake every twig, or a careful study of the paragraphs and sentences and words and their meanings."

Now, when we shake the branches of God’s Word sometimes we find things that are difficult to understand. Like what happened next in verse 6, "When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied." Why did Paul put his hands on them? We don’t see him doing that elsewhere with new believers. And why did these believers speak in tongues? Is that something all believers should do?

To answer those questions we must see this text in the light of the rest of the Bible. In the book of Acts Luke is telling us what happened, not what should or will happen for other believers. Here he is simply recording what happened to twelve men in Ephesus. Paul placed his hands on them, the Spirit came, and the believers spoke in tongues (lit. other "languages") and prophesied. He’s not saying this is the norm. In fact, this is the last time he mentions tongues-speaking in the book of Acts.

Here’s a simple statement to keep this in mind when interpreting the New Testament. Acts is narrative. The epistles are normative. Acts tells us what happened in the early church. The epistles show us what should happen thereafter.

A comment by Warren Wiersbe explains, "Today, the gift of tongues is not an evidence of the baptism of the Spirit or the fullness of the Spirit…When Paul wrote to his Ephesian friends about the filling of the Spirit, he said nothing about tongues (Eph. 5:18ff.). Nowhere in Scripture are we admonished to seek a baptism of the Holy Spirit, or to speak in tongues, but we are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. Read Paul’s letter to the Ephesian church and note the many references to the Holy Spirit of God and His work in the believer."

Acts 19 doesn’t give us the pattern for today. The purpose of Acts 19 is to show the unity of God’s people. In Acts 2 we see what happened when God saved Jews in Jerusalem. In Acts 8 we see what happened when God saved Samaritans. In Acts 10 we see what happened when God saved Gentiles. In Acts 19 we see what happened when God saved Jews living outside the promised land. And in each case, what happened? In each situation, the same thing occurred. When God opened the door of faith to Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles, and even Jews outside of Israel, He gave them the same gift (the Holy Spirit), and the same spectacular demonstration of the Spirit’s presence (tongues). By doing so God made it clear He has no second-class citizens in His family. Jews, Samaritans, Gentiles—once saved, they all become one in Christ.

What happened in Ephesus in Acts 19 was a distinct event in a place that would have a distinct role in God’s unfolding outreach plan. F. F. Bruce comments, "Ephesus was to be a new center of the Gentile mission—the next in importance after Syrian Antioch—and these twelve disciples were to be the nucleus of the Ephesian church. By this exceptional procedure, then, they were associated in the apostolic and missionary task of the Christian Church."

Some people today use a text like this to "prove" that receiving the Holy Spirit is an event that occurs subsequent to conversion. But again, that’s a misuse of a narrative text. What God did for these twelve men in Ephesus isn’t the pattern for the church today. You ask, "What is the pattern?" It’s what happened to the rest of the people God saved in Ephesus. Paul didn’t lay hands on them. They received the Spirit when they believed in Christ, as Paul explains in the letter he later wrote to them (Ephesians 1:13-14):

"And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory."

That’s the pattern today. When a person believes in Christ, at that very moment he or she receives the Holy Spirit. That person is baptized by the Spirit into the Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:13), a one time event. The Spirit seals that person for the day of redemption (Eph 4:30). Yes, if you are in Christ, the Holy Spirit is in you—and He will never leave.

You say, "Do I have any responsibilities when it comes to the Holy Spirit?" Indeed. You are to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Eph 5:18), which is a daily matter and is linked to how you respond to His Word. You can grieve the Holy Spirit (Eph 4:30) and even quench His ministry in your life (1 Thes 5:19). You are to keep in step with Him and allow Him to produce His fruit in your life (Gal 5:22-25).

Perhaps you’re thinking, "If that’s what the Bible says, why is there so much confusion today?" There are several reasons, but perhaps the greatest is this. Too many churches fail to bring people to the Word. They look to human experience or human reason instead of looking intently at God’s sufficient and superior Word. Ministries that last are ministries that take people to the Word.

There’s a second assignment we must fulfill, one that Paul models in verses 8-10.

Ministries that last are concerned about depth—taking people to the Word so they can know it better—and breadth—taking the Word to people who have yet to hear it. Paul’s outreach ministry in Ephesus went through two phases.

A. Phase #1: Paul preached in the synagogue (8-9a). "Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them."

On his first trip to the city, Paul had preached in the synagogue with a somewhat favorable response (18:19-20). In fact, the Jews asked him to spend more time teaching them. After returning, he did exactly that. As was his custom he sought to reach the city of Ephesus by starting in the synagogue.

We learn a couple of things here from Paul about taking the Word to people.

1. Our message is the kingdom of God. For three months Paul went to the Jewish house of worship. Because he was a trained rabbi he was given permission to speak. And speak he did! Boldly, he proclaimed to the listening Jews from their own Hebrew Bible a subject dear to their hearts, namely, the kingdom of God.

For centuries the Jews had been waiting for God’s kingdom to come. They’d been waiting for the king, the Son of David, to come. So Paul opened the Scriptures and showed them the prophecies:

God’s Anointed One would be born of a virgin (Isa 7:14), born in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2), and eventually be crucified (Ps 22:16), not for His own sins but for the sins of His people (Isa 53:5). Then He would rise again (Ps 16:11), ascend to heaven (Ps 68:18), and send the blessed Holy Spirit (Joel 2:28-32).

Week after week Paul announced, "The King has come! King Jesus has come, just as God predicted. Receive Him and be saved!" Which is what some apparently did.

But some became obstinate, according to verse 9. Which teaches us something else about taking the Word to people.

2. Our message will offend those who refuse to believe in the King. You can’t have a little of Jesus. Either you receive and submit to Him, or you reject Him. You can’t live life with two kings.

John Wesley used to ask his young men whom he had sent out to preach on probation two questions: "Has any one been converted?" and "Did any one get mad?" If the answer was "No," he told them he did not think the Lord had called them to preach the Gospel, and sent them about their business. When the Holy Ghost convicts of sin, people are either converted or they don't like it, and get mad. 

So Paul left the synagogue, discouraged I’m sure, but not disillusioned. His ministry in Ephesus was far from over.

B. Phase #2: Paul taught in the lecture hall (9b-10). "He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord."

Notice the three steps involved in this phase of Paul’s teaching ministry.

1. He worked with the disciples. Luke says when Paul left the synagogue "he took the disciples with him" and started teaching them.

2. He increased the frequency of teaching. He taught these disciples and others who eventually came daily. Don’t miss that. Paul began conducting daily discussions.

Where? He found an available lecture hall. Tyrannus was probably either the owner of the lecture hall or perhaps one of the philosophers who taught there. His name means "our tyrant" which may be a nickname his students gave him!

One Greek manuscript says that Paul taught in the hall from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. That certainly makes sense. Tyrannus would have used the building in the morning hours and perhaps in the evening hours. Because of the heat all the Ionian cities stopped work at 11:00 and didn’t start again until late afternoon. The people took a siesta in the middle of the day. I read that there would actually be more people sound asleep in Ephesus at 1:00 p.m. than at 1:00 a.m.

Which shows how serious Paul was about teaching the Word. In Acts 20 Paul says while in Ephesus he worked to support himself, apparently doing so in the morning hours as a tentmaker. Then from 11 to 4 while others slept he taught in the vacant lecture hall. That left the evenings for the house to house teaching ministry that he referred to in Acts 20:20.

This makes it clear that Paul was serious about taking the Word to people. It also shows that some people were as serious about learning God’s Word as Paul was about teaching it, for they too sacrificed their siestas!

Let the numbers sink in. Paul taught the Word of God in this city about five hours a day every day for two years. Let’s assume he took one day off for worship on the Lord’s Day. In two years that adds up to more than 3,000 hours of teaching. James Boice comments that this is "more solid teaching than most seminarians receive in a three-year academic program preparing them for the pastorate."

Here’s the secret to a ministry that lasts, but it’s no secret. It’s what Paul did. Take people God brings into your life to the Word, and then find ways to take the Word to more people. Teach the Word of God consistently, carefully, and continuously. Build lives by the Book.

Someone has written the following poem, A Builder Or a Wrecker:

Paul had a building ministry. He invested his time building up God’s people by building God’s Word into their lives.

But it didn’t end there. Verse 10 shares this staggering result: "This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord."

Did you catch that? All the people in Asia Minor heard the Word. No, it doesn’t say they all believed it, but they all heard it. That’s thousands and thousands of people. How did Paul reach all of them? He didn’t. He just put step #3 in motion.

3. He mobilized his students to reach the region. Luke specifically says that Paul taught daily in Ephesus for two years. But Luke also says the Word spread throughout the whole province of Asia. If he is in Ephesus then that means he isn’t outside of Ephesus, right? Which indicates Paul got others involved.

He practiced what he later preached in 2 Timothy 2:2. He found faithful men, taught them, and then urged them to do the same.

For instance, 100 miles east of Ephesus was the city of Colosse. A church started there. How did those people hear the Word? Paul didn’t tell them. One of his students did, a man named Epaphras (Col 1:7). Apparently, the Word made it to the cities of Hierapolis and Laodicea the same way (Col 4:13). In fact, it’s possible that all of the seven churches of Asia to which Jesus wrote in Revelation 2-3 were started at this time.

My friends, what we’re seeing here is intensive outreach that reached a region nearly the size of the state of Ohio (roughly 200 miles by 150 miles) in just two years. And it all grew out of a strong teaching ministry at home base in Ephesus.

Do you want a strategy for a ministry that lasts? Here it is. It’s not complicated. It is proven and God-blessed. We must follow four simple guidelines.

1. We need to give people God’s Word, not our opinions. God’s Word is powerful. God’s Word can do what man’s ideas cannot do, change lives! Let’s give it away!

2. We need to emphasize teaching, not entertainment. Paul taught the Word 25-30 hours a week every week for two years in Ephesus. Should we rent lecture halls and do the same? Not necessarily. But what would happen if the churches in American became as serious about teaching God’s Word as they’ve been about entertaining the lost? To be honest, they would lose some people. They would also begin to build ministries that last.

3. We need to focus on our mission, not our comfort. Paul didn’t get a lot of sleep in Ephesus. He worked night and day with tears (20:31). Why? Because God’s mission matters more than our comfort.

4. We need to remember whose ministry it really is. It’s God’s. And when God’s work is done God’s way it has God’s blessing. So let’s do all we can to bring people to the Word and bring the Word to people.

Acts  Sermon Series