Impact Your Atmosphere, Acts 19:21-41

Acts 19 could be a three-act play.

Act 1 Pneumatology.

Act 2 demonology

Act 3 Mythology

If we could open the veil between the natural and spiritual realm in this chapter, and then capture it on camera, it’d make an exciting Spiritual Warfare movie.

Today, the curtain opens on Act 3 of Acts 19.  

²¹ When these things were accomplished...

When, what things were accomplished?

The verse before explains, ^20...  the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

How’d that happen?

We saw it played out in the first two sections of this chapter.

Over two years of preaching and teaching the Word of God, and the Church minding its business, doing the Lord’s business of being soul winners and disciple makers, resulted in folks being filled with the Holy Spirit (verses 1-7) and emptied of demons (verses 8-19); and the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.

This reflects Jesus’ words; I will build My Church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it... (Matt. 16:18).

The Church (Ekklésia, the people of God) prevailed.

The Church is called by Christ to reign, conquer, succeed, overcome, all pervasively prevail impacting the atmosphere of every arena of life; personal and public, natural and spiritual, economic and religious and political.

After all those things were accomplished...

²¹...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.” 

After the Church grew mighty and prevailed, after it was strong and steady, the Lord put the desire in Paul’s heart that he had other fields to plow, all the way to Rome.

That’s how it goes. When we delight ourselves in the Lord, He gives us the desires of our heart. Psalm 37:4. When we commit our works to the Lord, our thoughts are established Proverbs 16:3.

The Lord plants a Seed. An inner unction. A still small Voice.

Walking in His calling, not our comfort, allows us to hear His leading.

²² So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

Notice it says, Paul sent, not Paul went.

He sent ahead a couple men on his ministry team to start preparing the new harvest field.  

But Paul stayed for a time.

The Lord may plant the Seed simply, suddenly, unexpectedly, but the Divine Timing for the Seed to sprout, blossom and bear fruit, usually takes plowing planting, sunshine and rain, pruning and patience.

(NOTE: this applies specifically to when God plants a Seed, NOT when He gives a command. At His command, we stop, drop and roll, with whatever He said, without hesitation.)   

²³ And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way.

Consider the timing.

Peek behind the veil into the realm of spiritual warfare.

The activity of the Church impacts the natural and spiritual atmosphere.

Paul has set his sights on leaving. Two of his ministry partners have departed. Now a great commotion about the Way, the Church, breaks out.

Perhaps the enemy of the Way, the Truth, the Life, saw this transition as a sign of weakness, a good time to strike, like a serpent waiting, watching, in the weeds.

Consider the timing when not so long ago (2020) an invisible enemy shuttered, masked and muzzled much of the Church. Then, shortly thereafter demons came out screaming and rioting and looting and shooting and burning down the system. They were openly praised and applauded and funded by left wing lunatics, mentally manipulated media and puppet politicians.

However, just a few days ago, 1.20.25, terror supporters had planned mass riots in 70+ cities across the country on Inauguration Day.

But today the Church is NOT shuttered, masked, muzzled, and we saw no mass rioting anywhere in our nation. Only the squeaky voice of an imposter hiding behind a bishop’s pulpit, a confused, silly woman laden with sins, led away with diverse lusts (2 Tim. 3:6).

A picture of the battle we’re in.

Let God arise and His enemies be scattered. Psalm 68:1.  

 ²⁴ For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. ²⁵ He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: “Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade.

The pagan worship to Diana brought a lot of revenue to the silversmiths.

The temple was bigger than a football field and had about 1,000 male and female prostitutes.

The silversmiths made a fortune selling little dirty Diana dolls, or idols, to temple worshippers.   

But they had a problem. So, Demetrius, like the head of the silversmith's union or guild, called a meeting.

Guys, you know we’ve gotten filthy rich off this trade...

 ²⁶ 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 Church was simply minding its business, doing the Lord’s business, of soul winning and disciple making.

Folks becoming Christians no longer bought dirty Diana dolls. That had a huge impact on the silversmith’s bottom line.

The activity of the Church impacts the economic atmosphere.

Speaking of economic impact, have you heard that Bible sales have skyrocketed?

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.”

Demetrius ignites a fire. He exaggerates the situation to engage and enrage his listeners, (like media today).  

These Christians are not only a threat to our local economy, but a threat to the whole world’s worship of our magnificent great goddess Diana.

The activity of the Church impacts the religious atmosphere.

Christianity is an affront (offense) to religion.

Christianity exposes the weakness of religion.

Christianity is relationship with God, not religion to God.  

²⁸ Now when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying,

The activity of demons manipulates mobs into wrath.

BLACK LIVES MATTER!

From the river to the sea!

My body, my choice!

Equal rights!

No wait, wrong time period.

Back about 2,000 years they shouted:

“Great is Diana of the Ephesians!”

Same story.

Same evil trying to silence Truth.

Same darkness trying to extinguish Light.

Same source.

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. 

³⁰ And when Paul wanted to go in to the people, the disciples would not allow him. ³¹ Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater. 

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.

The activity of demons results in mass confusion.

James 3:16, For where there is envy and strife there is confusion and every evil work.

1 Cor. 14:33a, God is not the author of confusion.

 ³³ 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. ³⁴ 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 didn’t even give Alexander a chance, they shut him down simply because he was a Jew.

The activity of demons displays discrimination.

Prejudice and race baiting, is evil, driven by demons, and just plain stupid.

They gathered in a theatre, like a stadium, that’d seat 25,000 people. You can still visit the remains today. It still has awesome acoustics.

In that stadium they shouted for two hours.

If you’re thinking, “Nobody would be dumb enough to sit in a stadium and shout, ‘Great is Diana!’ for two solid hours.”

Just change the words to, “Go Packers!” or Lions or, Vikings or Cowboys or Giants or...”

Over and over, they repeated, Great is Diana (Artemis) of the Ephesians!

This repetition was a chant, a form of worship. Repeating the same phrase over and over again.

Jesus said, when you pray, don’t use vain repetition like the pagans do. Matt. 6:7.

Parroting mind manipulation is used among media today. A lie often told is soon believed. The devil is the father of lies.

The activity of demons brings strong deception.             

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? 

The city clerk (mayor) settled the crowd.

A little Greek Mythology sneaks in here.

Tradition claims a meteorite fell on Ephesus and they believed it was a statue of their goddess Artemis (Diana) from Zeus. They claimed her to be the goddess of sex and fertility. Thus, the multi-breasted statues and little idols.

The mayor continues.

³⁶ Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. ³⁷ For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. ³⁸ 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. ³⁹ But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. ⁴⁰ 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.” ⁴¹ And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.

God can use a secular politician to promote His plan and protect His people.

In an instant God changed the trajectory of the politics, by using an unlikely source to defend His people.

The activity of the Church impacts the political atmosphere.

The mayor stuck up for the Christians, even though he was not a Christian. Remember, he had just said, “the city of the Ephesians is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana, and of the image which fell down from Zeus.” So, evidently, he believed that nonsense.

However, he found no wrong in the Christians, they were above reproach, so commonsense prevailed.

When the Church minds its own business, doing the Lord’s business, of being soul winners and disciple makers, it impacts the natural and spiritual and economic and religious and political atmosphere of the world.

1 Peter 2:9, But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.

Let’s pray.

Lord Jesus, we want to be about Your business of being soul winners and disciple makers, so no matter where we go or what we do, we impact the atmosphere, for You. Thank You for helping us shine Your marvelous Light.

We Love You, forever.

Amen.

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This was feed for you to read. Now it’s Seed for you to sow.

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