To the Ends of the Earth, Part 29
Lessons from Ephesus on Salvation and Revival
Acts 19:1-20
Dismiss children for nursery (under 4) and children’s church (ages 4-7)
Wed nights: Book of Romans - focused on chapters 8 through 15
Introduction
- Welcome to Seasons Church & 2024 sermon series, “To the Ends of the Earth”
-- Last week, we introduced Apollos and his ministry to the Church
-- What we unpacked is the message he preached was from John the Baptist
-- He and the 12 believers in Ephesus did not know about Jesus’ resurrection
-- Once he had the complete story, he became a one-man preaching machine!
- Over last 2 weeks we’ve covered two topics: First, we must let God be God!
-- And second, are we willing to do what God has told us to do (being obedient)?
- Today, I challenge us to see 2 points that are vital for the believer to know
-- These were true in 54 A.D. -- and still apply to Seasons Church in 2024!
- Read Acts 19:1-20 / Pray
Point 1 – Biblical lessons about Salvation
- There are 3 lessons on Salvation from this chapter …
1. Salvation requires belief and receiving of the Holy Spirit
• Paul asks, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” (v2)
• These are disciples of John, who did not have the Spirit given to them
• Their belief was incomplete; knew about the Messiah, but didn’t know Him
- Don’t miss this: Paul did NOT degrade their faith! KEY!
• He did not rebuke them for not having the whole story (or shun them)
• He approached them in a positive manner and shared the whole truth
• Even reminded them of a truth that John said: (v4) But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.”
• APP: People don’t need your judgment – they need to know Jesus
- APP: When they heard the full story, the responded!
-- They believed, they were baptized (v5), and they received the Spirit (v6)
- CH: A person can repent of sin and be baptized, without receiving the Spirit
• How? Because we choose to allow our belief to be incomplete!
• We hold onto the incorrect idea that we still have to do something
• EX: Jesus + my accomplishments = salvation (this is incorrect!)
• This makes salvation about what we bring … and not what Jesus did
2. Salvation requires us to follow Jesus – (critical) we must choose to respond
- FACT: We either accept Jesus or we reject Him (“not now” is rejecting him)
• Paul disputed (GR: dialegomenos) the Gospel with the people
• He persuaded (GR: peithon) every man/woman to hear the Gospel
• Message is kingdom focus; many had become hardened (GR: esklerunonto)
3. Salvation must move the church to teach and protect new believers
- See: Paul took the believers out of the synagogue and formed a church (Ephesus)
-- He saw to it that they could grow … Peter later said (pastors): 1 Peter 5:2, “Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly - not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God.”
• He took them to where they could safely grow in the truth
• Churches have a responsibility here: “you birth ‘em, you raise ‘em!”
- Paul’s example is to work “all in” to help the church grow … consider:
• He worked in a secular job in the morning hours (up to 11a)
• He taught during the hours when Tyrannus was not at school (11a-4p)
• He taught in the homes of believers every evenings about the Gospel
-- SEE: He physically labored day and night, with all his energy, for the Gospel
- CH: Have we given this much to the Lord? Are WE willing to be this faithful?
-- Romans 12:1-2, “And so, dear brothers and sisters, I plead (beseech) with you to give your bodies to God because of all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice - the kind he will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him. Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”
- TR: With these truths in mind, let’s look at our second lesson for today …
Point 2 – What does the Bible say about Revival?
- Admittedly, the story of the Seven Sons of Sceva gets the attention here
