Acts 19:21-27

                                                                     Acts 19:21-27

Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world worship.”

PAUL PLANS HIS MINISTRY: After spending some of the most productive years of his ministry, Paul decides that it is important to return to Macedonia, Achaia, and then visit Jerusalem again.  He then expresses a desire to go to Rome at some point either before or after Jerusalem.  Apparently, the desire to return to Jerusalem had to do with some financial needs the saints there were facing.  Part of the reason for him to return to the churches he had planted before was to collect an offering from them for the saints in Jerusalem.  It is interesting to note that the younger churches were helping the older church instead of the other way around.  Paul sends his traveling companions to begin setting up his visit from a logistical standpoint while he remined in Asia to finish the work there.  The body of Christ is called to work together, and the servants of Christ are called to work together for the health of the body.

 

PAUL PERSUADES MANY: You can measure the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry by the impact that it had on the entire community.  A major source of persecution for Paul was due to the economic impact of the Gospel in the city.  False religion has always been a source of financial gain for those who are “selling salvation.”  The purchase of idols or indulgences paid to reduce the suffering of loved ones in purgatory are examples of how false doctrines have been sources of profit.  Many in Ephesus were making money from this business.  So many people were coming to Christ and therefore abandoning the worship and purchasing of idols that the economy of making idols was drastically reduced.  The Gospel frees people from slavery to sin and false religions.  We are called to impact the communities where we live.

 

APPLICATION: It is important for us to plan and cooperate with one another to be strategic about the advance of the Gospel and the health of the church in the nations.  Our preaching of the Gospel should result in such significant life changes that others are impacted and transformed in a way that entire communities are effected.  

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