Extraordinary Events in Ephesus
Passage: Acts 19:11-20
About now someone is thinking you are glad I am the preacher and not you. About now I am thinking I should have given this text to Pastor Mike.
Remember when people in Jesus’ day asked if anything good could come out of Nazareth? One could ask can anything good come out of this text? What could this possibly say to me that could be helpful in my life today?
Those are OK questions to ask as long as you ask them in faith, believing the truth of II Timothy 3:16 that all Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correcting, and training in righteousness.
Remember also II Peter 3:16 when Peter says about Paul’s writings that some things are hard to understand. Some things in Scripture are harder to understand than other things, some things require more effort, more study, more prayer.
When I approach any Scripture that seems difficult, challenging, not very applicable I pray what David prayed in the Psalms, “Lord, open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your Word. Give me understanding from your Word, Lord.”
That’s why we have a brief prayer for illumination before the sermon, acknowledging we are dealing with holy things and we need help. We need extraordinary help when dealing with extraordinary things. I have prayed, read, studied, listened, sought help, nothing is original.
Extraordinary things, 19:11-12.
We are dealing with extraordinary events here, this is not normal. This is very unusual.
Even as miracles go, these were extraordinary miracles. Handkerchiefs that heal, aprons that cast out demons, demons that cast out exorcists, people who practiced magic or occultic arts totally giving up their evil ways, the Word of God prevailing mightily. God is clearly up to something special and it is as relevant today as it was then.
Luke has set up a great contrast of power seen in the colossal failure of the sons of Sceva and the tremendous success of the apostle Paul. In this contrast we will see the reasons for why we experience defeat and victory in our lives as Christians and as a Christian church.