Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision

By Defeating the Darkness 06/14/09

Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging our Vision

Title: By Defeating the Darkness   Text: Acts 19:8-20 

Introduction: The little town of Barrow is located on the northern tip of the state of Alaska, above the Arctic Circle. There the sun sets in the afternoon on November 18, and it doesn’t rise again until January 24. 65 days of darkness. 65 days when the sun doesn’t shine. Up there, the earth is tilted in such away that the sun never shows itself for over two months out of the year. But when the sun does rise for a moment on January 24, the whole town comes out to celebrate, because finally, there is light again.

I wonder if the prophet Isaiah had the people of Barrow, Alaska in mind, when he wrote:

Read: Isaiah 60:1 ‘Arise, shine, for your light has come, and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.’

What God’s Word talks about here is a different kind of light, and a different kind of darkness. And when the light that God speaks about begins to shine through the darkness, the results are much more spectacular and joyful than anything you could experience in northern Alaska. (Don Schultz)

Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 19:8 (pg. 848 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you) For it’s there we’ll discover we enlarge our vision of God by defeating the darkness.

I. Acts 19:8-10   The Light...teaches!

Read: Acts 19:8-10

How do we let our light shine so we can defeat the darkness? By teaching others about Jesus. That’s exactly what Paul did.

Paul was able to spend 3 months in the synagogue in Ephesus before he got kicked out...that’s a record for him. But notice the text says he argued ‘persuasively’ about the Kingdom of God. That means people believed...they came to faith in Jesus. But after 3 months the rest of the Jews had enough and Paul wore out his welcome.

Again notice he didn’t stop teaching about Jesus. He just changed locations. Paul starts a Bible study in a local school house called ‘the School of Tyrannus.’ It’s the same word we have for tyrant.

I hope that name wasn’t given to him by his parents. But certainly some would have see the irony of Paul teaching about the great, unconditional love of Jesus in the school whose principal was called a tyrant..

Anyway, it would seem that a lot of people went through Paul’s school during the 2 years he taught there. And after they heard Paul’s teaching, they believed, placing their faith in Jesus, and went to the surrounding areas and taught others about Jesus.

·       Kind of reminds me of what we do at our Christmas Eve Candlelight service. One candle lights the dark room...then one by one others candles are lit and the room is no longer dark.

The text says ‘all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the Word of the Lord.’ It seems Paul was doing what he would later write about in his letter to the Ephesians.

Read: Ephesians 4:11-12 ‘It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

That’s why it’s important to attend Sunday Worship, Sunday School, Women’s Walk, Men’s Breakfast, Wed. Prayer and Praise, youth group and our other small groups:

·       They give you the opportunity to, as Paul put it, to be prepared for works of service.

·       And, the means for each of us to be built up/to mature, as the Body of Christ.

Transition: The light was beginning to pierce the darkness of Ephesus through Paul’s teaching. But God had even greater things planned for the darkness.

II. Acts 19:11-12         The Light...confounds!

Read: Acts 19:11-12

ILL: Three boys who lived in the same neighborhood got to bragging one day. None of  the three could top the other two until they started bragging about their grandfathers.  The first boy said, “My grandfather was in the FBI and caught several famous  criminals.” The second boy said, “Oh yeah? Well my grandfather was a military hero  who saved his whole platoon from being captured by the enemy.” The third boy said,  “That’s nothin’. My grandfather knew the year, month, week, day, hour, minute, and  second that he was going to die!” The first boy asked, “Really?” The second boy asked, “How did he know that?”  The third boy replied, “The judge told him!” (Michael Luke)

 

We’ve become a society that is fascinated by the astonishing and the spectacular:

·       We demand amazing athletic feats from our sports figures.

·       In movies and television, we expect to see dazzling special effects and breath taking stunts.

·       We turn to talk shows to see and hear about bizarre acts performed by those on the fringe of society.

Sadly, the same is true for the Christian world...today and in Paul’s day. Many are not content with the ordinary...we demand the extra-ordinary, even from God.

Perhaps you’ve heard something like this on the TV:

·       If you’ll just send in $25.00, I’ll send you this prayer cloth that I have laid hands on and prayed over.If you’ll carry it around with you, you’ll receive a miracle from God.

Or this on from KerneyThomas.org  a pastor in the Church of God in Christ denomination...a large denomination by the way.

·       ‘God has worked many Miracles because of faith and the anointed Olive Oil soap. (I am not kidding) Many said how they felt the presence of God as they held it in their hand and you will also. The spirit of poverty has been destroyed as they washed their hands. Healing miracles from cancer, aids, aches and pain to skin rashes. Your skin will also feel brand new as you bathe with the anointed olive oil soap.’

I have to admit, this makes me angry when I hear things like this because God doesn’t sell His miracles, He gives them, out of His grace, love and mercy.

Anyway, those Christians today who are not content with God working in the ordinary, use this text as proof of God’s desire to do the miraculous at our beck and call. The problem is they have used faulty Bible study techniques. Let me give you just three things presented in this text that if studied in a complete way, would yield a difference outcome.

First, the text says ‘God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.’

·       True miracles from God are unusual in themselves, but the text says these were ‘extraordinary. They were somehow different than the other miracles God has done through His people. This means we should not see them as the ‘norm’ for the Christian life.

Second, the text mentions that handkerchiefs and aprons were used in the miracles. Track with me on this.

·       Paul was a tentmaker, it was hot, he used handkerchiefs to wipe the sweat off his forehead and neck. His apron would have gotten very dirty in his line of work.

·       Historians tell us that the people in Ephesus were known for their cleanliness, only clean white garments were used in their religious ceremonies. Imagine what God could say by healing people with dirty, sweaty pieces of rags. It’s not the handkerchief, it’s not the apron...it’s Me, the One, True and Ever Living God who heals.

Third: Considering what was going to happen next in our text, the extraordinary miracles God did through Paul confirmed the authority of his teaching about Jesus in the light of the false use of the name of Jesus by the Jewish exorcists.

Yes..I believe God is still in the miracle business. But, too many people, many of them pastors, have made it a business for them as well.

Transition: Let’s look at what happens when people make a business out of God’s miracles..

III. Acts 19:13-16       The Light...reveals!

Read: Acts 19:13-16

The demon gives testimony of the light and power of God in the life of the Christian when he said ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?’ I’m sorry, every time I read that I want to laugh at the audacity of those who try to use the name of Jesus for their own personal gain. They were ‘name droppers’ who were revealed as not really knowing the person they named.

The Light does that...it reveals the darkness in our lives. It did for the 7 sons of Sceva.

The part that is sad is there are some in God’s Church today who, like the 7 sons of Sceva, will be revealed by God’s Light at the judgment as never having been known by God.

Read: Matthew 7:21-23 ‘Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

You don’t want to hear that from God. Ask God to reveal His truth to you, believe it and ask Jesus to forgive your sins and be your Savior. Then when you face God you will hear:

Read:  Matthew 25:23 ‘...Well done, good and faithful servant!... Come and share your master’s happiness!’

Transition: Next, Luke kind of changes gears and rather then talk about the darkness in the world, he shows how the Light of Jesus purifies His people.

IV. Acts 19:17-19       The Light...purifies!

Read: Acts 19:17-19

Listen to this part again: ‘...many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds.’ Luke isn’t talking about the unsaved in Ephesus who were seized with fear...there were those for sure.

Luke is talking about the Believers who were holding on to some of the sinful practices of their past.

The Light of Jesus’, purifies His people.

Notice they openly confessed their sin and not only that, they got rid of the resources to continue in that sin. And it was a very costly repentance and confession...50 thousand drachmas...estimated that is over 2 million dollars.

Dare I say it?

·       What do you need to confess?

·       What do you need to remove from your home, from your life that’s a remnant of a sinful activity?

Transition: What happened when God’s people chose to live in the light?

V. Acts 19:20              The Light...prevails!

Read: Acts 19:20

Read: Matthew 16:18

What rock? Peter’s confession of who Jesus is.

Read: Matthew 16: 13-16

Read: Job 42:2 ‘I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.’

Read: Isaiah 14:27 ‘For the Lord Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?’

Read: Acts 19:20

It happened in Ephesus when God’s people chose to walk in the Light. It will happen here in Monmouth County when we chose do the same.

Conclusion

Christian scholar and philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, tells this parable.

There was a wild duck who made himself at home in a domestic barnyard, settling down to enjoy just a few moments of sumptuous corn. A few moments turned into an hour, and an hour into a day, and a day into a month, and a month into a home. When the wild ducks flew overhead and honked at him to join them, he tried, but found he’d grown fat and unable to fly. Every year they’d come by, and he’d flap his wings a little, but eventually, he didn’t even hear their calls.

The same thing happens in our lives when we immerse ourselves so deeply in the things of the world, and crowding out the things of God.  Over time, we too can fail to hear the call of God to a life of holiness.

As it was evident in Ephesus, those who came face-to-face with the Light of God’s truth, will want to be done with the things of this world that serve to hinder holiness and keep us floundering in the darkness. (Bryon Harvey)

Things may seem dark in your life, it may seem like the darkness is overtaking the light in your life. But you  can be sure of this: in the final analysis, the Kingdom of Light will triumph over the kingdom of darkness.

·       Eschatalogically in our future

·          Practically in our lives when we choose to walk in the light.

 

We enlarge our vision of God by defeating the darkness.