Acts 19:8
May 30, 2010 · Pastor Miles DeBenedictis
In this teaching
Teaching from Acts 19:8-20, Pastor Miles traces the biblical theme of the kingdom of God—a spiritual kingdom entered by grace through faith, ruled by a King who reigned from a cross—and shows how Paul preached it boldly in Ephesus amid rejection, occultic opposition, and God's authenticating miracles. The message calls believers to live as ambassadors of that kingdom and to trust the prevailing power of God's word.
- The Jews of Paul's day expected an earthly, political Messiah, but Jesus preached and established a spiritual kingdom that is "within you" and entered by grace through faith.
- We become citizens of the kingdom by willingly submitting to the lordship of Christ, and we should live according to the culture of that kingdom by knowing the King through His word.
- When rejected, Paul departed rather than forcing the gospel, modeling that God grants free choice while warning that rejecting the King means standing against an unshakeable kingdom.
- Our evangelism should center on the gospel of the King and His kingdom, not merely our personal testimony, even when that message is politically incorrect.
- God's extraordinary miracles through Paul, and the failure of the sons of Sceva, show that miracles authenticate the message and always magnify God, not the messenger.
- God's word prevailed over disease, devils, deceivers, and dark arts in Ephesus—proof that we can trust the prevailing power of preaching the word in our day.
Readable is a lightly edited reading copy; Verbatim stays close to the spoken words. The audio and video are the record of what was said.
And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when diverse were hardened and believed not, but spoke evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them, and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space of two years, so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
The kingdom Paul preached was not the earthly throne Israel expected, but a King who began to reign from a cross—and a word that still prevails.
Paul Returns to Ephesus
Paul is now on his third missionary journey. On his first journey, with Barnabas, he went into the region of Galatia and planted the churches there. On his second journey, beginning in , he and Silas returned to strengthen those churches, and Paul desired to continue into Asia Minor. But God shut the door, so Paul went into Macedonia and down into the Greek region, planting churches in Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica.
Now he has returned to that area of Asia Minor where he had first wanted to go. At the end of his second journey, Paul had gone into Ephesus and spoken in the synagogue, and the people begged him to stay and instruct them further. But he had an appointment in Jerusalem, likely to celebrate the Feast of Pentecost, and he said, "If the Lord wills, I will return." Now, in , it was clearly God's will that Paul come back. He is once again in the synagogue, and the people there—the very ones who had pleaded for him months before—were likely looking forward to his return. For three months he boldly spoke, disputing and persuading concerning the kingdom of God.
The Long Expectation of a King
The Jews of the first century had a great expectation of the coming Messiah and His messianic rule. They long recognized the kingship of God. After Israel came out of Egypt and crossed the Red Sea, they praised God in , speaking of the forever reign of the Lord. So all the way back in Exodus there was an expectation that God would rule and reign over a kingdom forever.
Through Israel's history we see this anticipation for a king. In the days of Samuel, the people desired an earthly king to represent them, and so began the monarchy, which lasted for centuries but ultimately left a bad taste in their mouths, as earthly rulers tend to do. By the close of the Old Testament in Malachi, after many bad kings and a few good ones, there was a heightened expectation of a king who would rule and reign in righteousness. spoke of a child born, a son given, with the government upon His shoulders. received a vision of a king who would rule forever.
By Paul's day, this expectation was at a fever pitch. They looked for a descendant of King David, since God had promised the king would come through David's line. But they were expecting an earthly kingdom—a Messiah who would restore Israel, cast off Roman oppression, and remove the emperors so that Israel would have a glorious day.
Jesus Preached the Kingdom
Imagine the anticipation when, after 400 years of prophetic silence, a prophet appeared in the wilderness of Judea preaching, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Multitudes came to John the Baptist asking, "Are you the Christ?" He told them no, but pointed to one coming who would baptize with the Holy Spirit and fire.
Then Jesus arrived. In He preached, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." says that after John was put in prison, "Jesus came into Galilee preaching the good news of the kingdom of God." The bulk of His message centered on the kingdom, and excitement built—until He was crucified, and the people were deflated. In , even His disciples, walking away from Jerusalem in despair, said, "We thought He had been the one to bring the kingdom."
Jesus said preaching the kingdom was the very purpose for which He came. In , after a great day of healing and casting out demons, the crowds wanted to crown Him king in Jerusalem. But the next day He departed to a desert place, and when they sought Him He said, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent." After His resurrection, tells us He continued speaking of the things concerning the kingdom of God for forty days before ascending.
A Kingdom Not of This World
The disciples were so excited that on Jesus' last day on earth, on the Mount of Olives, they asked, "Will you now restore the kingdom to Israel?" Like nearly every Jew of their day, they completely misunderstood. They expected an earthly kingdom and the restoration of Israel.
Jesus had spent three years preaching kingdom parables—"the kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed seed," "like a man who had a vineyard," and so on. The concept of the kingdom of God, or kingdom of heaven (used interchangeably by Jesus), appears about a hundred times in the New Testament. Yet to Pontius Pilate, just before His crucifixion, Jesus said, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my followers would rise up and fight." And in He told His disciples, "The kingdom of God is within you."
This is the very thing Paul now preached in the synagogue at Ephesus—a King who began to rule and reign not from a throne but from a cross. He did not enter Jerusalem on a white stallion, but meek and lowly on a donkey, just as Zechariah foretold. But come He did, and establish His kingdom He has.
The Kingdom Now and Not Yet
The kingdom of God is a heavenly kingdom that will one day overtake the kingdoms of this world. says, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." Yet He has already begun to reign here and now in our lives, for the kingdom is within us. That is why Jesus instructed us to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." Jesus would not have taught us to pray that if He were not going to fulfill it.
God is the ruler of this kingdom, and His rule right now is over all who willingly subject themselves to Him as Lord. God is not a tyrant or dictator forcing His rule on people; He desires that we willingly submit to Him. By grace through faith we become part of His kingdom. In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom." To Nicodemus He said, "You must be born again or you shall not see the kingdom of God." It is not entered like a physical city, but by grace, through faith, because of the work of God.
Living as Citizens of the Kingdom
If you have willingly subjected yourself to the lordship of Christ, then you are a subject of the kingdom, and you should live according to the culture of that kingdom. The culture of the kingdom mirrors the nature of its King. So if we want to know how to live as citizens, we must get to know the King through His word. That is why we are so dedicated to the word of God at Calvary Chapel—we want to know what our God is like, so that we can be good ambassadors.
Church history has often been a bad example of this. Study the Crusades and you will see men using the name of God to force His rule and reign here on earth—not for good. He will one day come and establish His earthly kingdom, as Revelation shows. But here and now His kingdom moves forward by grace, by power, and by the proclamation of the gospel—not by sword or spear or tank or airplane. Jesus promised in that the gates of hell will not prevail against it. We are to be those preaching the gospel of the kingdom.
When the Gospel Is Rejected
As we proclaim the King, not everyone will receive Him. Verse 9 says, "When diverse were hardened and believed not, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, he departed from them and separated the disciples." The Jews were focused on an earthly, powerful king who would destroy their enemies, and they were intensely patriotic—far more than any conservative American. When Paul preached that Israel was not going to be the kingdom, they could not fathom it. The good news was not good news to them.
Their unbelief turned into active force. They did not keep quiet; they stood up before everyone and said, "Don't listen to this man." And what did Paul do? He departed from them. As we've seen before, Paul knew when to leave. He recognized that God has sovereignly given man free choice, and he allowed it.
I confess I am sometimes tempted to force the gospel down people's throats when they don't want to hear it, but that is not the example of Scripture or the teaching of Jesus. Our earthly kingdom mindset says, "You will submit." This is important: Islam's focus is to bring about its kingdom by the sword. God's plan for His kingdom is not that way. When someone rejects the gospel, we recognize their free choice—but, as Paul and Jesus did, we let them know what that rejection means. They are standing in opposition to a kingdom that will not be shaken, as enemies against the King of kings, and He will destroy them, because His kingdom will not be stopped. That is the only alternative to submission.
Two Years in the School of Tyrannus
Paul took the disciples who were following the truth and daily taught in the school of Tyrannus. Some manuscripts indicate he reasoned there from eleven in the morning until four in the afternoon—likely the hot hours when the hall was available. For two years, five hours a day, this cost Paul both time and treasure. In the morning hours he worked at his trade as a tentmaker, then taught in the afternoon.
Verse 10 says this continued for two years, "so that all they that dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks." The door God had once shut was now wide open. People came from cities all around Asia Minor. It is very probable that the seven churches of Asia Minor—Sardis, Smyrna, Philadelphia, Laodicea, and the rest of and 3—were planted during this period, not by Paul traveling to them, but by others who heard at the school and carried the gospel out.
Notice it says all in Asia heard the word—not that all believed. They considered the claims of Christ; some received and others did not.
The Gospel of the King, Not Our Story
It is important to recognize what Paul was preaching: the kingdom of God, the gospel of the King and His kingdom—not himself. Paul did at times use his personal story; in he recounts his conversion on the road to Damascus. But primarily his message centered on the King.
This instructs us, because in our day evangelism often centers more on our personal testimony than on the gospel of Jesus. We start with who we were before Christ and how we came to faith, and we often leave it there—talking only about our experience without clearly declaring the gospel of the kingdom. A personal testimony is good, but it should not be the only thing we share, because the common response is, "I'm so glad that works for you. I have something different." You never see that response in Acts. Either people flatly rejected the message or they tried to run Paul out of town—because the message was politically incorrect.
So what is the gospel? There is a King who has a kingdom, and you are outside of it because of your rebellion against His law. He stands against you, and His kingdom will one day come and He will judge. But He has an open-door policy—amnesty in His kingdom. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." He told Nicodemus, "You must be born again if you would see the kingdom of God." If you stand in opposition to the King, you will be destroyed when He comes in glory—and He will. The world does not like that story. You may have come on Memorial Day weekend expecting only encouragement, and I'm sorry—but the gospel of the kingdom is a matter of great importance, not of opinion.
God's Authenticating Miracles
As proof of this message, verse 11 says God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that handkerchiefs and aprons—even his sweat rags—were brought from his body to the sick, and diseases departed and evil spirits went out. Circle the word God. It was God who did these miracles, not Paul, and Paul's sweat was nothing special. God worked through the instrument that happened to be Paul.
Miracles are not abnormal in Acts, but Luke highlights these as extraordinary. This was the first time under apostolic ministry that God used an article of clothing to bring healing or deliverance. The only other time we see this is in the Gospels, when the woman with the issue of blood touched the hem of Jesus' garment and power went out of Him. God's primary purpose for miracles is not to ease human suffering—if it were, He would ease suffering all the time. Their primary role in Scripture is to authenticate the message. In John's Gospel there are seven miracles and seven "I am" statements: "I am the bread of life," proven by feeding the multitudes; "I am the light of the world," proven by giving a blind man sight. The miracles proved who He was. So too here, the miracles authenticated Paul's apostolic ministry.
The False Power: The Sons of Sceva
Verse 13 introduces certain vagabond Jewish exorcists who tried to call over those with evil spirits, "We adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Among them were seven sons of Sceva, said to be a chief priest. This is amazing: the Jews of Ephesus had rejected Paul and wanted nothing to do with his Jesus, yet they were willing to fraudulently use His name.
There was a clear recognition of the spiritual realm in the first century. Jewish exorcists commonly cast out demons by invoking a name greater than the demon's, and they decided to add the powerful name of Jesus to their method. But there is no record of any Jewish chief priest named Sceva—he was a fraud through and through. The evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?" At that moment I imagine Sceva and his boys turned white. The man with the evil spirit leaped on them and overcame them, so they fled out of the house naked and wounded. The seven sons of Sceva became the seven streakers of Sceva.
The result: fear fell on all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. The risen Jesus is shown powerful over disease, over devils, and now over deceptive swindlers. There will always be those who try to use the power and name of God while refusing to submit to His lordship. I once flipped past an infomercial of a man asking for a "suggested donation" for prayer cloths he had anointed—cons and frauds. The proof of a swindler is that his "miraculous" points to himself; every true miracle in Scripture directs attention to God and magnifies Him.
The Word of God Prevails
Verse 18 says many who believed came and confessed and showed their deeds, and many who had used curious arts brought their books together and burned them before all men, counting the price at fifty thousand pieces of silver. "So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." When Paul went to Athens he met intellectual idolatry; in Corinth, immoral idolatry; in Ephesus, occultic idolatry. The new believers recognized their dark arts as wicked, brought them to the city square, and burned them publicly. They believed, confessed their sins, and repented—and it cost them dearly. Fifty thousand days' wages is millions of dollars. Yet they gladly submitted to the lordship of Christ because they recognized He was greater and worthy to be served.
In this passage God's word prevailed over diseases, over devils, over deceivers, and over the dark practices of Ephesus. God's word prevails. That means we can trust its power. Many today say preaching doesn't work in our postmodern world—that we need new methods, that we cannot talk about sin, wrath, hell, judgment, or repentance, and that we must keep the message under twenty minutes. But I say the word of God prevails. If it was good enough for Jesus and good enough for Paul, it is good enough for us. Perhaps we should simply continue to preach the word, instant in season and out of season.
Ambassadors of the Kingdom
I believe this is what we need in our day. Study revival, and you will see that the preaching of the word of God always accompanies it. Prayer, confession, and repentance are important, but the preaching of God's word is central to His moving—and not just from pulpits, but from every believer declaring the gospel of the King and His kingdom. There are over 300,000 Christian churches in America, yet there is a famine of the word of God. May we be those who carry it, knowing it will not return void.
Paul calls us ambassadors—those sent with a message. Billy Graham once asked an ambassador what his job was, and the man answered, "To go on behalf of the United States to other nations and make friends." We are ambassadors of Christ, sent from heaven into this world, carrying the message of the kingdom and making friends. Prophetically, the kingdom will come. Until that day, we pray, "Thy kingdom come."
Closing Prayer
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Father, we pray that your kingdom would come. But before you come to rule and reign in your kingdom, would you rule and reign in my heart and in my life? Lord, that I would be a clear and true ambassador of you wherever I go and whatever I do. Would you shine through me and through my brothers and sisters, that we would be ambassadors of you. Thank you for revealing your nature and character, that we might know what your kingdom is all about. Help us to declare it plainly to all we come in contact with. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
And he, Paul, went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for the space of three months, disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God. But when diverse individuals were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of that way before the multitude, he departed from them. He separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of Tyrannus. This continued for the space of two years, so that all those who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs and aprons. The diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
Father, as we look now into Your word, we pray that You would, by Your Spirit, instruct and teach us, giving us understanding, Lord. We thank You that You have revealed Yourself to us by Your word. You desire that we would know You, Lord, and that we would understand and know Your ways. So we look to You now. We pray that You would continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds. Wash us by the washing of the water of Your word. For we ask this in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.
Paul is now on his third missionary journey. On his first journey with Barnabas, he went up into the region of Galatia and planted the churches of that region. In his second missionary journey, beginning at , Paul and Silas went back to Galatia to strengthen the churches. It was Paul's desire to continue from there into Asia Minor, but God had shut the door, so to speak. Therefore, Paul, with Silas, went into Macedonia and down into the Greek region of the Roman Empire, planting churches in Philippi, Berea, and Thessalonica. Now he has returned to that area of Asia Minor, where he had first desired to go.
At the end of Paul's second missionary journey, we saw last week that the apostle went into Ephesus and spoke in the synagogue. They desired that he stay. They begged and pleaded that he would tarry with them so that he might be able to instruct them further. However, he had an appointment in Jerusalem. He desired to go and celebrate the feast, likely the Feast of Pentecost there. He said, "If the Lord wills, I will return."
As we come to , we see that it was clearly God's will for Paul to come back to Ephesus. Last week, at the end of our study, we considered the twelve almost Christians that he ministered to in the city of Ephesus, sharing the gospel with them. Apparently, they became believers and disciples of the Lord.
As we pick it up here in verse 8, we see that Paul is now back in the synagogue in the city of Ephesus. The people of the synagogue were probably looking forward to his return. Remember, they were the very ones who had pleaded with him to remain with them several months, maybe a year before this. Now he comes back in and begins to boldly speak concerning, as we are told, the kingdom of God. For three months, he boldly spoke, disputing and persuading things concerning the kingdom of God.
We have considered several times, as we have been going through the book of Acts over the last many months, that the Jews in the first century had a great expectation of the coming Messiah and his messianic rule. The Jews long recognized the kingship of God. Going all the way back to the book of Exodus, after the children of Israel had come out of Egypt and had been severely oppressed under Pharaoh, they crossed the Red Sea and praised God in a great worship song in . Right there, about verse 18, they speak of the rule of God, the forever reign of the Lord. We sang about him reigning forever today.
So, all the way back in the book of Exodus, there was this expectation that God would rule and reign over a kingdom forever. Throughout the history of the children of Israel, we see this anticipation for a king. So much so that during the time of Samuel, in 1 Samuel, the people desired to have a king. Yes, God was their king. Yes, God ruled over the nation, but they desired one to represent them here on earth, an earthly king.
And thus started the monarchy of the children of Israel, which lasted for many centuries but ultimately left the people with a bad taste in their mouths, as earthly rulers tend to do. When you come to the close of the Old Testament with the book of Malachi, you see that the children of Israel had experienced many bad kings. Yes, there were some good kings, but for the most part, it leaned towards bad kings. There was a heightened expectation that a king would come and that he would rule and reign in righteousness. Many of the prophets looked forward to this coming king.
The prophet Isaiah, in , spoke of a child that would be born, a son that would be given, and the government would be upon his shoulders. He would rule and reign with righteousness. The prophet Daniel, while the children of Israel were under severe oppression by the Babylonians, received a word from God—a vision from God—in , of a king that would come and would rule forever.
By the time that Paul was journeying through the ancient world, there was this heightened expectation that the Messiah would come. They were looking forward to the kingdom that would have a righteous scepter, a kingdom that would rule over all kingdoms, a kingdom that would be everlasting. However, the Jews of Paul's day were expecting an earthly kingdom. They anticipated a Messiah who would establish Israel once again, restore Israel to what they considered to be their proper place, and cast off the Roman oppression, getting rid of the emperors. They longed for the day when Israel would have a glorious future.
They were awaiting the king and his kingdom, looking for a descendant of King David because God had promised that this king would come through the line of the great king of Israel, the psalmist of Israel. Imagine the great wonder and anticipation that must have been present when this prophet began to speak after 400 years of silence. The nation of Israel had not heard from God; they had not received a prophetic utterance for 400 years. Now, there was a prophet down in the wilderness of Judea preaching the kingdom of God, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Multitudes came out into the wilderness to find this prophet, John the Baptist.
And they came with questions: "Are you the one? Are you the Christ?" He told them no, and they were probably a little deflated. But he said, "There is coming one who is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
Then Jesus showed up on the scene. In , we read of his message. He was saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Right about that time, John the Baptist was put in prison. We read in the Gospel of Mark, and you may want to jot this down: . It says, "Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching the good news of the kingdom of God." He was saying that the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand. "Repent and believe the gospel."
Imagine how awesome the anticipation was when Jesus began to travel around Galilee and even go down into Jerusalem. The bulk of his message centered around the kingdom of God. The people were looking forward to this kingdom, and excitement began to build to a fever pitch until that individual, Jesus, was crucified on a Roman cross there in Jerusalem. The people were deflated, even many of Jesus' disciples.
We read in that after Jesus had raised from the dead, his disciples didn't know that he had raised from the dead. They were departing from Jerusalem when Jesus joined two of them. They spoke with great despair about how they thought he had been the one. They expected that he would be the one to bring the kingdom.
Did you know that Jesus even said in his preaching that one of the purposes for which he came was to preach the good news of the kingdom? Turn in your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke. Matthew, Mark, Luke—. In , Jesus had a great day of ministry as he was casting demons out of demoniacs and healing the sick. As he was doing these miraculous things, a multitude of people gathered, thinking he must be the king, and so they had to bring him to Jerusalem and crown him with glory and honor.
We read in , that when it was day, the day after those things took place...
When it was day, He departed and went into a desert place. The people sought Him and came to Him, urging that He should not depart from them. He said, "I must preach the kingdom of God to other cities also, for therefore am I sent. I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God, for this purpose was I sent." Jesus came to preach the good news of the kingdom.
After His resurrection, tells us in verse 3 that He continued to speak about the things concerning the kingdom of God for 40 days before He ascended into heaven. states, "To whom He showed Himself alive after His passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." Jesus' disciples had seen that He had been crucified and laid in a tomb, but now they had seen the risen Lord. He came back to them, preaching once again about the kingdom of God and explaining what the kingdom of God is.
They were so excited that on the last day Jesus was on earth before He ascended into heaven, in , they came to Him on the Mount of Olives. What did they ask Him? "Will You now at this point restore the kingdom to Israel?" I imagine that at that point, Jesus probably did one of those sighs. Well, probably not; He is much more gracious than I am. I would have done one of those.
You see, His disciples completely misunderstood the teaching concerning the kingdom of God. They, like just about every other Jew in their day, expected that the Messiah would come and establish an earthly kingdom, restoring Israel. He had spent three years preaching about the kingdom. Just about every one of Jesus' parables is called kingdom parables; they deal with the kingdom of God.
The concept of the kingdom of God or the kingdom of heaven, which are really interchangeable, is seen a hundred times in the New Testament. Some people see a difference between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven, but as you study through the Gospels, you see that they are really used to refer to the same thing by Jesus. The New Testament speaks much about the kingdom, and Jesus spent three years preaching about it.
Telling them mysteries and secrets about the kingdom, Jesus would share stories saying, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that went out to sow seed." He would continue, "The kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that had a kingdom, and he went to a far country." He also said, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who had a household, and he left his servants over his household." Additionally, "The kingdom of heaven is like a man who had a vineyard."
Constantly, Jesus was talking about the kingdom of God and the kingdom of heaven. The people were eagerly looking forward to Him coming with power to establish that kingdom. However, Jesus said something amazing to Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of the area of Judea, just before His crucifixion. Pilate approached Him in and asked, "Are you a king?" Jesus replied, "Yes, and for this reason am I sent." But He added, "My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, then my followers would rise up and fight, but it's not of this world."
Jesus also told His disciples something else that was rather interesting. In , around verse 20 or 21, He said, "The kingdom of God is within you." The kingdom of God is completely different from what the early followers of Jesus were expecting and looking for. Yet, it was the very thing that Jesus preached on, and ultimately, the same thing that Paul the Apostle preached when he went to the synagogue in Ephesus.
Paul spoke about a kingdom and a king who ruled and reigned, not from a throne, but from a cross. This was completely contrary to everything they anticipated and everything they looked for. Jesus did not enter into Jerusalem on a white stallion; He came meek and lowly, riding upon a donkey, just as Zechariah had foretold. But come He did, and establish His kingdom He has.
The kingdom of God is a heavenly kingdom that will one day overtake the kingdoms of this world, as we are told in the book of Revelation. states, "And the seventh angel sounded." These are the trumpet judgments. The seventh angel sounds the trumpet, and there was a great voice in heaven saying, "The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord and of His Christ, and He shall reign forever and ever."
will one day become the kingdom of our God. He will reign forever and ever, as we sang today. But He has already begun to reign here and now in our lives because the kingdom of God is among you. It's within you, Jesus told His disciples.
We were instructed by Jesus to pray that His kingdom would come. How many of you have prayed that Lord's Prayer before? In and , we are instructed to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it already is in heaven." You see, Jesus occupies a throne in heaven. He is the King on the throne. The kingdom of God will one day come, and that's why we are instructed to pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done." Jesus would not have instructed us to pray that if He was not going to fulfill it. The kingdom of God will come.
However, the anticipation of the Jews, both in Jesus' and Paul's day, was that the kingdom was going to be here and now, and it was going to be a clearly physical kingdom. They were hoping to get rid of the emperor and the Roman oppression, believing that Israel would be the glorious kingdom of all kingdoms. Paul came into the synagogue and, for three months, he reasoned with them and persuaded them that this was not what the kingdom was all about. The eternal sovereign God is the ruler of this kingdom, and His rule right now is over all those who willingly subject themselves to Him as Lord.
God is not a tyrant, and He will not be a dictator who forces His rule over individuals. God desires that we willingly subject ourselves to Him as Lord. By grace, through faith, we can become those who are of His kingdom. In Jesus' teaching in the Sermon on the Mount, He said, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." To Nicodemus in , He told him, "Nicodemus, you must be born again, or you shall not see the kingdom of God."
The kingdom is not entered into like a physical kingdom or a physical city. It is entered into by grace, through faith, because of the work of God. But we must willingly subject ourselves to the lordship of Christ. Therefore, if you have willingly subjected yourself to the lordship of Christ, then we are...
Subjects of the kingdom should live as though we are members of that kingdom. This means we should live according to the culture of that kingdom. So, what does it look like to live according to the culture of that kingdom? The culture of that kingdom mirrors the nature of its King. If we want to know how we ought to live as citizens of the kingdom of God, we have to get to know the King of that kingdom through His Word. That's why we're so dedicated to the Word of God here at Calvary Chapel. We want to know what our God is like and what His rule and reign truly look like, so that we can be good ambassadors of the kingdom of God.
Paul recognized that he, and we with him, are ambassadors of Christ here on this earth. We are citizens of heaven, and we look forward to the coming of that kingdom with great expectation. However, we ought to be living kingdom lives here and now, so that the world would see and know that the kingdom of God is wholly different from the kingdoms of this world.
I will say that church history has been a bad example of this. If you study church history over the last twenty centuries, you will see that there have been many times when men, in the name of God and in the name of His kingdom, have tried to establish a kingdom of God here upon the earth. Take some time to study the Crusades, and you'll see exactly what I'm talking about: man trying to force the rule and reign of Christ, using the name of God for their own gain, but ultimately not for good.
He will come one day and establish His earthly kingdom, as we see in Revelation. But here and now, He is already moving forward His kingdom, and you and I are becoming parts of that kingdom by grace through faith. The kingdom of God is within us. We are given a great promise by Jesus in that the gates of hell will not prevail against that kingdom. The enemy will not be able to prevail against the kingdom of God. It will move forward with force and power, and it will overtake—not by sword, spear, tank, or airplane, but by the grace and power of God and by the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom. Therefore, we are to be those who actively participate in this mission.
That are preaching the gospel of the kingdom, giving forth the word of this King and of His kingdom. However, we must also recognize that as we share the word about the King, not everybody will receive it. Many are in opposition to the kingdom. Although the kingdom will prevail against them, they still stand in rebellion against the King of kings and Lord of lords.
We see this in verse 9 of , where it says, "But when diverse were hardened and believed not, but spoke evil of the way before the multitude, Paul departed from them and separated the disciples, disputing daily in the school of Tyrannus." As Paul spoke boldly in the synagogue there at Ephesus for three months about the coming of the kingdom, which was completely different from the kingdom that they were looking for and expecting, there began to be those who stood in opposition to what he had to say. Their focus was on an earthly, powerful, mighty King who would come and destroy all those who were against them. They were very patriotic. You might think good old conservative Americans are patriotic, but the Jewish people of Paul's day were far more so.
Paul was preaching that Israel was not going to be the kingdom. The kingdom of God was wholly different from what they were expecting, and so they said, "We just can't fathom this; we can't grasp this." Apparently, the message of good news was not good news to them. It says they were hardened and they believed not, and their disbelief against the gospel was displayed in their active force against it. They began to speak evil of the way in front of everybody. They didn't keep it to themselves and say, "Well, we just don't like this guy, and we're not going to listen to what he has to say." No, they stood up before everyone and said, "Don't listen to this man. He's false."
So, what did Paul do? Did he stand up in defense against them? No, it says he departed from them. Reach over to your neighbor's Bible and just underline that he departed from them. As we've looked at a number of times before, Paul knew when to leave. He recognized that God has divinely and sovereignly given man free choice, and so he allowed man that free choice.
I don't know about you, but I am sometimes tempted to try and force it down people's throats when they don't want to hear it. That's not the example we have in the Scriptures, nor was it in line with the teaching of Jesus. You see, our earthly kingdom mindset is, "No, you will submit." I just woke somebody up. I don't want to say this just to say it; it is rather important.
The focus of Islam is to, by force, bring about their kingdom by the sword. God's plan for His kingdom is not that way. When someone rejects the gospel, we must recognize that God has given them free choice to do so and say, "That is your decision." Now, as Paul did, as Jesus did, and as we're instructed to do in the Scriptures, we let them know what that rejection means. It means that they are standing in opposition to a kingdom that will not be shaken. They are standing as enemies against the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He will destroy them because His kingdom will not be stopped.
It's not that He is just arbitrarily looking for a reason to kick people into hell; it's just that if you stand against Him, that's the only opposition. That's the only alternative. There were those who were hardened against Him, and they believed not and spoke evil of the way. So, He departed from them and took with Him those disciples who were now following the truth of the gospel. He daily began to teach and instruct in the school of Tyrannus.
Some manuscripts show that Paul reasoned in the school of Tyrannus from the hours of 11 in the morning until 4 in the afternoon. For two years, for five hours a day, Paul would go into the lecture hall of Tyrannus to dispute or to reason with people from the Scriptures, to speak about the kingdom of God. Those were likely the hot hours of the day, and Tyrannus probably said, "Sure, you can have the lecture hall during those hours," but this came at a cost to Paul—both of his time and his treasures. Paul was invested in the work there in the school of Tyrannus.
During the morning hours, Paul would go and work at his trade as a tent maker. From 11 to 4 in the afternoon, he would begin to speak boldly the truth. This continued for two years, as verse 10 states, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
Initially, when Paul wanted to journey into the region of Asia Minor, he was withstood; the Lord wouldn't open the door. However, now the door was wide open. For two years, he reasoned from the Scriptures in the school of Tyrannus, and people came from all the cities around Ephesus and throughout Asia Minor. They came to the school daily to hear what he had to say. It is very probable that during this two-year period, the seven churches of Asia Minor were established and planted.
What am I talking about regarding the seven churches of Asia Minor? Revelation chapters 2 and 3 speak about the churches of Sardis, Smyrna, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. All seven churches were likely planted not by Paul specifically traveling to those places, but by others who came to the school of Tyrannus during the two years he was preaching there and then took the gospel out. God's word was having an effect, and he continued reasoning from the Scriptures.
It is important to note that while all those in Asia heard the word, it does not say that all believed the word. They heard the gospel of the kingdom. Many came as he taught, considered the claims and creeds of Christ, and some received while others did not.
It is crucial for us to recognize what Paul was preaching. He was preaching the kingdom of God, the gospel of the King and its kingdom. It does not say that he was speaking about himself; he was speaking about the King of kings and Lord of lords. This does not mean that Paul never used his personal story. When we get to , we will see that Paul does speak about his conversion on the road to Damascus. However, primarily, Paul's message was centered around the King and His kingdom. This is important for us because it serves as instruction for our day.
Our evangelism centers more around our personal testimony than the gospel of Jesus. What do I mean by that? Well, a lot of times when we're sharing the gospel with people, we start with our story. We begin with who we are or who we were before Jesus came into our lives or before we became a part of His kingdom. Then we share how we came to be a part of that kingdom. Oftentimes, we leave it there. We talk only about our experience as it relates to the gospel of the kingdom, and we don't clearly declare the gospel of the kingdom.
While a personal testimony is important and very good, it should not be the only thing that we share. Why? Because oftentimes the response to our personal testimony goes something like this: "Well, I'm so glad you have that. I have something different, but I'm glad that works for you." We all have our own way, right? How many of you have been met with that response before?
Many of you have encountered that response. "I'm so glad that you have that." However, we never see that in the Book of Acts. Never did anyone respond, "I'm so glad you have that. I'm glad that works for you." No. Either they flat out rejected it, or they kicked Paul out of the city. Sometimes they even wanted to kill him. Why? Because the message that he brought was politically incorrect. The message that we've been given, the gospel of the kingdom, is also politically incorrect. Oftentimes, the response to the gospel is not going to be an immediate, "Oh, absolutely, I'll take it." A lot of times, people are actually very upset with us when we share the gospel of the kingdom.
What exactly is that gospel? Well, there is a King who has a kingdom, and you are outside of that kingdom because of your rejection of Him and your rebellion towards His law. As a result, He is standing against you, and you are against Him. His kingdom will one day come, and He will destroy you eternally in hell. However, He has an open-door policy. He has something that we might call amnesty in His kingdom. This is a big topic today. There is a way to become a part of His kingdom; He has made a door open.
A way is open. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, and no one comes to the Father but by me." He told Nicodemus, "You must be born again if you're going to see the kingdom of God." If you're not born again and you stand in opposition to the King and His kingdom, you will be destroyed when He comes with power and glory, and He will. The world doesn't like that story. Perhaps you came here on Memorial Day weekend expecting to hear something that would be greatly encouraging, and I'm very sorry. However, the word of God, the gospel of the kingdom, is a matter of great importance. It is not a matter of opinion. It's not a matter of a personal story, although I have one. It is the story of the King of Kings who has a kingdom and desires that you would become a part of that kingdom. But if you are hardened and do not believe, then you are set at odds against that kingdom, and He will come.
As proof of this message, we see in verse 11 that God brought special miracles by the hands of Paul. From his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs and aprons, or even his sweat rags literally, and diseases departed from them, and evil spirits went out of them. As Paul continued in Ephesus, teaching at the school of Tyrannus and working according to his trade, God worked special miracles, or extraordinary miracles, at the hands of Paul.
Now, circle in your Bibles the word "God" or the name "God" in verse 11. It was God who did these miracles. Paul's sweat was not something special, nor was Paul. It was God that was working miracles by this instrument that happened to be, at this point in time, Paul.
Miracles in the book of Acts are not an abnormal thing. We see there are many miracles in the book of Acts. However, these miracles are highlighted by the author of this book, Luke, as being extraordinary. Why were they extraordinary? This was the first time that we see under the apostolic ministry where God used just some article of clothing to bring about a healing or a deliverance from a demon.
We see this in the Bible in the Gospels when Jesus was touched by the hem of His clothing by a woman who had an issue of blood. Power went out of Jesus, and she was healed. In this passage, we witness this extraordinary miracle, a special act that God performed as proof or authentication of Paul's apostolic ministry. This was meant to authenticate the message.
Miracles are often given by God to validate the message. We must recognize that God's plan for miracles is not to ease human suffering. If that were the case, God would perform miracles all the time to alleviate suffering. The primary role of miracles, as we see them in the Bible, is to authenticate the message brought by the messenger.
If you read through the Gospel of John, you will find that there are seven miracles performed in that book, along with seven "I am" statements made by Jesus. In , Jesus says, "I am the bread of life," and He proves this by feeding the multitudes. In , Jesus states, "I am the light of the world," and in , He gives sight to a blind man. These miracles in the book of John authenticate the message and prove who He was.
Now, here is Paul in Ephesus, who clearly knew about occult practices, as we will see shortly. Paul is being used by the Lord to bring about miraculous outcomes. What is the result? Diseases departed from people, and evil spirits went out of them.
We read in verse 13 that there were certain vagabond Jews, exorcists, who took it upon themselves to call over those who had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "We adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." There were seven sons of Sceva, a Jew and a chief priest, who did this.
This is amazing to me because the Jews in Ephesus had completely rejected Paul. They wanted nothing to do with him or the Jesus that Paul preached. However, they were willing to fraudulently use the name of Jesus. Here we have the contrast between true power, demonstrated through an apostle, and false power, represented by this group of vagabond Jews and exorcists.
Those who cast demons out of demon-possessed individuals understood that there is a spiritual realm, far more so in the first century than there is in the 21st century. There was a recognition that demon possession could occur, where a demonic, evil spirit could come into an individual and overtake them.
Jewish exorcists commonly practiced using a name greater than that of the demon to cast it out. They had come to see that the name Jesus was something powerful. So, they decided this would be their new plan: they would command an evil spirit to come out of an individual by the Jesus whom Paul preaches. Among them were the seven sons of Sceva, who attempted this method.
Sceva was described as a Jewish chief priest; however, there is no record of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva, indicating he was a fraud. The seven sons of Sceva decided to use this method, and we read in verse 15 that the evil spirit answered, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?" At that moment, I think Sceva and his seven boys turned ash and white. The man in whom the evil spirit was leapt on them, overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. The seven sons of Sceva became the seven streakers of Sceva.
This incident became known to all the Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus. Notice the result: fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was exalted and magnified. The risen Jesus is seen in this passage to be powerful over disease, powerful over devils, and now powerful over deceptive swindlers.
We must recognize that there will always be those who try to use the power and name of God, even though they refuse to submit to the Lordship of Christ. These individuals were not part of the kingdom, but they wanted to use the kingdom for their own ends.
For their purposes, it happened 20 centuries ago, and it happens today. A number of years ago, I remember flipping through channels one night and came across an infomercial of a man who was asking for a suggested donation for prayer cloths that he had anointed and touched. He claimed that you could receive this prayer cloth, just like Paul's sweat rags, and touch it to something that was hurting, and it would take your pain away.
Cons, frauds, swindlers, and deceivers will come. What is the proof of a swindler or a con? Their miraculous claims always point to themselves and not to magnifying God. Every miracle we see in the Scriptures directs attention to God; it magnifies and exalts Him. Ultimately, even through these foolish frauds, God was magnified, but it was through their deception that He was glorified. The evil spirit leapt upon them, overcame them, and prevailed against them, but God's word prevails against these swindlers.
The result, as stated in verse 18, is that many believed. Many of those who believed came, confessed, and showed their evil deeds. Many of them, who used curious arts, dark arts, or magic arts, brought their books together and burned them before all men. They counted the price of the books and found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver, or 50,000 days' wages. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
When Paul went to Athens, he was confronted with intellectual idolatry. When he went to Corinth, he faced immoral idolatry. When he came to Ephesus, he encountered occultic idolatry. The people there were given over to occultic practices. Many of those who became believers through this powerful display of God recognized that their occultic books and dark arts were wicked and evil. They brought them to the main square of the city, displayed them in front of everybody, and burned them. They believed in God and confessed their sins.
And they repented of their evil practices, and it cost them a great deal—50,000 pieces of silver. A drachma was a piece of silver, a day's wage. So we're talking about 50,000 days' wages. Now, I want you to think for just a moment about your average day's salary if you have a job, and multiply it by 50,000. We're talking millions of dollars here. It cost them to serve and follow the King and to be a part of His kingdom.
But they gladly and willingly submitted to the kingship and lordship of Christ because they recognized that He was greater and worthy to be served. As a result, the word of God grew mightily and prevailed. We see in this passage that God's word prevailed over diseases, devils, deceptive swindlers, and all the dark practices of the people there in Ephesus. God's word prevails.
What does that mean to us? I think one of the things it means is that we can trust in the power of God's word. There are a lot of people today who, for many years, have been saying that preaching just doesn't work in our modern, post-modern world. They argue that we need to come up with new methods, get back to the narrative, and stop preaching. They say we certainly cannot talk about sin, wrath, hell, judgment, and repentance because people don't like those things. They suggest keeping the message under 20 minutes, claiming that's the only attention span Americans can handle.
To that, I say the word of God prevails. If it was good enough for Jesus and if it was good enough for Paul, I think it's probably good enough for us. Perhaps we should just continue to preach the word. Be ready in season and out of season to convince, rebuke, and exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine. Yes, sure, there will come a time when they will not endure sound doctrine and will heap up for themselves teachers who will tickle their ears. But you do the work of an evangelist. Preach.
The Word. Paul preached the kingdom of heaven until the Jews said, "We don't want you around here anymore." They kicked him out of the synagogue. But Paul didn't stop. He continued to preach the kingdom of God there in the school of Tyrannus for two years, and many heard, believed, and were converted. Then God displayed His power. God revealed His mighty power, and as a result, God was magnified at the end of the day.
Let me say, I believe that's what we need in our day. If you study revival, you'll find that many people are desiring revival in our nation. I'm not talking about a revival of the nation or the Constitution; I'm talking about a biblical revival. If you look into the history of revival, you'll see that one of the things that always accompanies revival is the preaching of the Word of God. Prayer is important. Confession is important. Repentance is important. But the preaching of God is central to God moving and working.
And it's not just from pulpits; it's from every individual within the body of Christ declaring the gospel of the kingdom, the good news of the King and His kingdom. It is our desire that you would be thoroughly equipped to do just that. Our city, our state, and our nation in this world need a revival of the Word of God. There are over 300,000 Christian churches in America today, and yet, even with that saturation of churches, there is a famine of the Word of God. May it be that we are those who carry the Word of God, trusting and knowing that it will not return void wherever it goes.
We are a part of the kingdom—ambassadors, as Paul says. An ambassador is one who is sent with a message. I heard a story once about Billy Graham talking with an ambassador of our country to another nation, I believe it was somewhere in China. Billy asked him, "What exactly is your job as an ambassador?" The ambassador replied, "My job is to go on behalf of the United States to other nations and make friends." We are ambassadors of Christ, sent from heaven.
From God, to go into this world and make friends, carrying the message of the kingdom. Prophetically, the kingdom will come. Until that day, we pray, "Thy kingdom come." Amen?
Let's stand and pray together.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be Thy name. Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Father, we do pray that Your kingdom would come. But Lord, before You come and rule and reign in Your kingdom, would You rule and reign in my heart? Would You rule and reign in my life? Lord, that I would be a clear and true ambassador of You. Wherever I go, whatever I do, Lord, would You shine through me? Shine through my brothers and sisters that we would be ambassadors of You.
God, thank You for revealing Yourself, Your nature and character, that we might know what Your kingdom's all about. Help us to be those that declare it plainly to all that we come in contact with. For we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Thank You. Amen.
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