Acts Chapter Nineteen
Let’s look at some of the highlights of chapter nineteen.
Paul in Ephesus
5 On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
The Baptism in the Holy Spirit. Again we see an example of when people were baptized in the Spirit. This was normal in the early church. Upon finding some believers in Ephesus, Paul asked if they had received this gift from God. We see that this was very important and that the church leaders understood the necessity of the power of the Spirit to win the world to Jesus. Let our prayer and desire be for the fullness of the Spirit in the church TODAY. In America. In Wisconsin.
A good modern day example is church leaders in Africa. While God is doing many amazing things across what was once considered the dark continent, the church leaders have been realizing the necessity of the Baptism for the church. They have launched The Decade of Pentecost with the goal of seeing ten million believers baptized in the Spirit. This is expressing their realization of the importance of the work of the Holy Spirit in the church. America needs the power of the Holy Spirit to break the spiritual bondage we face.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
Paul learned how to discuss and speak the truths of the Word of God. Yes, some people have a greater gift in this than others. But, that cannot be an excuse for any believer to not make an effort to know as much of the Bible as possible so they can discuss it intelligently. Our culture desperately needs people all over to be discussing it intelligently. In Romans Paul said that the Gospel is the "power of God unto Salvation". The Bible is also called a sword that pierces deep in to the life of a person. We really need to know what the Bible says. We need to know what we believe and why. This is not so we can win arguments, but win people to Jesus.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
Since God never changes, He will do miracles still today. Seek HIM for them.
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 (One day) the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"
Don’t try to do the work of God by cloning what someone else is doing. Seek God and be filled with His power. Way back in the dark ages when I was younger, there was a T-shirt someone made up that said: "I am Satan’s personal nightmare". That is a good spiritual challenge to think of. Do the forces of darkness know who you are? The more we grow in our walk with the Lord and His power, the more we will tear down the walls of resistance.
Many more things happened in this chapter. I can’t cover them all. Be sure to read them all. See you tomorrow.
