The Word Made Plain

Tony Clark: Welcome to The Word Made Plain with Senior Pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching a study in the book of Acts. Please open your Bible to Acts chapter 19:35 through 41. All right, let's dive into the Word of God together. Turn with me in your Bibles to the book of Acts, chapter 19.

We're going to be looking at verses 35 to 41, and we're going to finish up this chapter. For those of you who don't know, we go verse by verse, chapter by chapter, and book by book through the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation. On Sunday mornings, we're in the book of Acts, and so we're picking up where we left off, and we're going to finish up this chapter, and God's will next week, we'll go right into chapter 20.

You don't have to worry about what's Pastor Tony going to be teaching them? I'll just pick up where I left off. That's just how we do it here. And Father, thank you so much for this glorious opportunity to study your word. We pray God that you would speak into our hearts, that you will open up our minds to the truth of your word today.

And Lord, we just pray that lives will be changed. Our lives will be changed by the power of your spirit, using the Word of God. And this in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Acts 19, looking at verses 35 to 41. The title of this message is The Voice of Reason. The Voice of Reason.

Now, the voice of reason, by definition, is the person who tries to get the group to adopt decisions using evidence and logic. It is a person who influences others to act sensibly. And this is the subject of these verses. Now, let me give you the background. The last time we were together, we saw how Paul preached the gospel to the Ephesians and a riot broke out in verse 23.

We saw how it was instigated by a man named Demetrius, who was a silversmith. He stirred up the other silversmiths and appealed to their pockets by telling them that Paul was teaching that there were not gods made with hands in verse 26. He went on to appeal to their national pride by saying that the entire world knew that they were temple guardians of this image that fell from heaven.

When they heard this news, they were full of rage, and they started crying out, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians." The city was filled with confusion and rushed into the theater. And when the people tried to quiet the crowd using a man named Alexander in verse 33, but when they found out that he was a Jew, oh, they cried out for two hours. They just went berserk and cried out for two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians."

And now we pick up the story in verse 35. Look what it says there. It says, "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.'"

Now, the conjunction and that begins this particular verse is connecting the events of verse 35 with verse 34. As this crowd was shouting for two hours, "Great is Diana of the Ephesians," is when the city clerk had quieted the crowd in verse 35. And now the city clerk, he was the voice of reason in this case.

What gave him the authority and the respect that he could quiet this angry mob and they would listen to him? Well, the city clerk in those days was like the mayor of the city. He was the highest-ranking civic official. He usually presided over citizen assemblies and was the city's representative of Rome.

What's so amazing is is that he used the same logic and rhetorical tools of persuasion to dismiss the crowd as Demetrius did to stir up the crowd. He will appeal to their national pride and their religious zeal as we will see. I want us to see here, let me pause here and say this is the power of influence.

Leadership is defined by one word and that is influence. This is a beautiful and powerful example of influence. Two men, one using their influence for good like this city clerk, and the other using their influence to stir up anger and confusion. Who are you more like? Are you more like Demetrius, spreading discord on the job against someone, stirring up the family against another family member?

Or are you more like this city clerk, using his influence to be the voice of reason? Oh, I've seen mothers, some of you are here. I've seen mothers become like Demetrius, using your influence to stir up hatred and anger in your children's lives against their father. Because of your bitterness and your anger towards him, you spread and use that influence.

The power of a mother's influence, to stir up anger in your children's lives and then they grow up angry and bitter in them just like you. Oh, I just wonder, are you Demetrius today? This is what Demetrius did. And I'm just seeing also, I've seen where people have become the voice of reason.

That everyone turned to when there was anger because they know that you would be just the one to calm everybody down. Who do you relate more to today? Are you Demetrius, or are you more like the city clerk? Stirring up mess or are you the one everybody say, "Hey man, can you can you can you talk to them? You you seem to calm everybody down."

You're the voice of reason. I just wonder who you relate to more today. So the city clerk quieted the crowd and said, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there who does not know that the city of the Ephesians," now he's appealing to their national pride, "is temple guardian of the great goddess Diana?" We know Diana is her Roman name. Artemis was her Greek name.

And the image which came down from Zeus. Or as your margin says, came down from heaven. The translators use Zeus because that is what the Greeks believe, that the image came down from Zeus. They believed in Greek mythology. But all it means that it came down from the sky. It is believed that it was a meteorite that fell down from the sky that they used to carve out an image of Diana.

I was thinking about this this morning. And I just, and I just I'm I'm amazed at this. I'm amazed at how here they are. A image fell down from heaven or fell down from the sky. They took and carved out into a multi-breasted idol for them to worship. They make a god with their own hands.

And then they turn around and worship that image. I'm so thankful that the God that I serve and the God that I worship, he made everything. He's the one who made it all. He's the creator of heaven and earth. It's the folly of man to make an image with his own hands and turn around and worship it.

The folly of idol worship. And it's amazing to me but this is what they did here. And the entire city and the entire Roman and Greek culture worshipped Diana. Look what it says there in verse 36. It says, "Therefore, since these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly."

Now, what the city clerk was saying is that this new religion preached by Paul cannot change the worship of Diana. The whole world knows that we, the Ephesians, are the temple guardians of this goddess. Therefore, with this in mind, you ought you ought to be quiet and do nothing rashly. This shows us the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The gospel message, please don't underestimate the power of the gospel. Please don't think that the gospel message has lost its power going into 2020. Is it still just as potent as it's always been? This is the power of the gospel that we're to preach to this world. And so, it's amazing how the power of the gospel message, no one worships Diana today, but millions worship Jesus.

This is a beautiful thing for us to see. Notice how you never read of the Ephesians believers, notice, out picketing in front of the temple of Diana, nor holding rallies to put an end to this false religion. No. They simply preached the gospel to them, and when they were born again, they put away their idols.

It's just like what First Thessalonians 1:9 says. They turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God. Once this took place, the people stopped going to the temple of Diana, and eventually went into ruins like it is today. My point is this: If we preach against people's sin, their individual sin, they will argue, they will condemn us, and be full of rage against us.

But if we simply preach the gospel message, which is Jesus died on the cross for your sin and was buried and rose again. And no longer do you have to carry the weight of your sin that Jesus paid it all, and all to him we owe. And when you begin to share that gospel message with people, when people get saved, the Holy Spirit will convict them on what they need to turn away from.

And what is not Christ-like in their lives. Far too long, we, as the church, we've this is where we've blown it. We go out and we we preach against individual sin instead of preaching the gospel. And then when people are arguing, getting mad at us and rage is in their face because we're preaching against their individual sin.

Now keep in mind, I was no different than everyone else. Oh, I did the same thing. But when you preach the gospel and they get saved, then the Holy Spirit's job is to convict them of those things in their lives that's not like Christ. Then they turn away from those things. They don't have to get mad at you and and and and say, "You and you, but what about you?"

"I I this is me, but what about you?" "I don't know about you, but what about you?" And then we're going back and forth. But when we preach the gospel and folks get saved, it's the Holy Spirit's job to convict the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment. And then the Holy Spirit will convict them, then they will turn away from those things.

And you didn't have to preach against them. It was the Holy Spirit's job to convict them, and they turned away. This is what happened here in this case. The city clerk continues in verse 37. Look what he says there. He says, "For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess."

Oh, this is huge here. The city clerk turns and rebukes Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen for kicking up all of this mess and said, "You have brought these men here, watch this, who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess." I find this fascinating that the mayor of the city testifies to the Christian character of Paul and his friends.

He said they were neither robbing our temples, nor being dishonest by using religion to make themselves rich. Oh, can can I pause here? When I hear this, I'm reminded of what First Timothy 6:5, it says, "Useless wrangling of men of corrupt mind and destitute of the truth, who suppose that godliness is a means of gain, from such withdraw yourself."

Paul said, when you find and come across people who are trying to use godliness as a means of making money, trying to use godliness as a means of getting rich, from such, turn away from. Oh, this is huge. In other words, when you see people trying to use religion, especially Christianity, to make themselves rich, this verse says, "From such people, withdraw yourself."

Paul was not doing this in Ephesus. And this city clerk testified of this of their character in this area. In other words, the city clerk was saying that Paul and his companions have done nothing wrong. This is the city clerk, an unbeliever saying this about the Christian. I'm always saddened when the ones who get the press, who are on all the news, all the social media outlets are those who are trying to use Christianity as a means of getting rich with fleets of airplanes and and several homes across the United States and the world.

And using Christianity as a means of getting rich. The Bible says from such, turn away from, withdraw yourself. But it's amazing how they draw millions to them. Millions of people to them. It's those are the ones who get the press, and then the ones who are trying to feed the sheep and love the sheep and care for the sheep.

You don't hear anything about them in the news. But let one of them cut up in some kind of way, and it'd be blasted across social media and all across the media forms. And here it is, this unbelieving mayor said, you know, Paul and his his companions have done none of these things. What are you guys doing?

He turns around and rebukes Demetrius and his boys. He said, "Neither were they blaspheming," notice, "blaspheming our temple nor Diana." In other words, Paul was not going around speaking against Diana, nor of her temple, which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. You remember I told you, this temple was some kind of temple.

It was held up or surrounded around 127 pillars. Each pillar was 60 feet tall. It was a huge, magnificent temple of Diana. One of the seven wonders. Paul wasn't in front of the temple of Diana, picking it and, you know, you shouldn't be going in there and all this sort of stuff. And once again, to win people to Christ, we don't have to preach against their sin.

I thought I had to. In my early days, I thought I had to, I had to point out, you, and you doing that, and you, and you, especially you. You know. And I thought that I had to preach against individual sin. Which we have done far too long. We're called to preach Christ and him crucified. First Corinthians 2:2 teaches.

Allow the spirit of God to rebuke them, change them, and show them what is not Christ-like in their lives. So often and for far too long, the church, and the church is made up of people. For far too long, too many individual Christians, the church. We have been people's human Holy Spirit. Oh, I know y'all don't want to hear that.

That's okay. But this is what we've been for too long. Parents, we've done this to our children too. Yes, we are to correct them and to train them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, but far too long, we've crossed the line and become their Holy Spirit. The human Holy Spirit. And no longer do they need the Holy Spirit because we're it.

And we do that to our coworkers, and we do, and we go around with the smug nose up in the air, and we're cocky and we're arrogant, and and and we wonder why, we wonder why people are turned off so much to Christianity. They're not turned off to Christ. They're turned off to our representation of him. That's what they're turned off to.

And too long, we have misrepresent misrepresented the Lord. We have. And I say we because I'm included. We've misrepresented the Lord, and we raise our nose up in the air as we point out their sin and their lifestyle. What do you think the world does? They live like the world. That's what they do. That's what we did when we were out there.

We lived like the world. We expect the world to act like Christians, to live like Christians. They're not Christians yet. And so often we try we treat them like that. Now, who we should be dealing with is in the church. Watch this. We talked about it in in this morning. We talked about it leadership is going through First Corinthians.

We're in First Corinthians chapter 5, and it was talking about how, hey, Paul said, "Look, you allow God to judge the world. You judge those who are within the church, who call themselves Christians." Those who you're to judge. Yes, we are to judge. Yes, people, we are to judge. Those who are in the church, not those outside the church.

Paul said, those outside the church, you let God deal with them. But so often, watch this, we judge those outside the church, and then those in the church, we just let kind of go. When it's backwards, we should let those outside in the world, leave them to God and deal with those in the church.

And and on top of that, they were dealing with a guy who was in sin and and Paul said, "Deliver such a one to Satan, or remove them from the church because they will be like leaven that will leaven the whole lump." If you remove them from the church, and we were talking about today, you do that today. Folk said, "Deuces. You kick me out of this church, I'll just go down the street to the next one."

And this is why the old people, this is why the old people used to say, when you come to a church, how do you come? By letter? See, by letter, that means that I'm coming from another church and I was in good standings with that church. That's what it meant by letter, coming by letter. Because what they're saying is that we're not going to let you just come in here and you just come in here and bring your mess up in here.

You came from what church? Did you get kicked out of that church? Oh, give me a letter from that pastor or that leader or something. That's what that meant. You you come by letter, by baptism, by Christian experience. See, they you know, we heard that, and you're like, what what's all that about? That's what it was about.

So we we we got some we got some things to square away. And this is why I'm so glad we're teaching through verse by verse through the word, so we can get taught and get corrected on how we're to conduct ourselves. Look what it says in verses 38 and 39. It says, "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.

But if you have any other inquiry to make, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly." The city clerk continues to rebuke the instigators of this riot and Demetrius being the ringleader. And said, "If you have a case against Paul, settle it through the legal system. The courts are open, according to verse 38, and he reminded them that the courts were open and proconsuls, who were the lawyers of the time, were available."

And in verse 39, if they were not available, then this situation should have been decided in a lawful assembly. Look at last look at verse 40. He says, "For we are in danger of being called into question for today's uproar, uh there," he says, "uh there being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering."

And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. The city clerk was concerned that the news of this riot would get back to Rome, and they, especially him, would have been called into question for this uproar, seeing that he was the mayor of the city. And because there was no reason which we can give to account for this disorderly gathering, the city clerk, in so many words, took up for the believers.

Why? Because Paul and his other believers had an impeccable reputation in the city of Ephesus. This is the kind of reputation we should have in our city, so that people, when people stir up riots against us for our Christian faith, someone can stand up like the city clerk did and testify of our outstanding Christian principles.

This is how we're supposed to live. This is also shows us that we're called to be peacemakers and not troublemakers nor instigators. Matthew 5:9 says, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God." In other words, one of the characteristics of being children of God is that we bring peace everywhere we go.

Jesus came to bring peace between God and man. Oh, isn't this what the angel said on that day Jesus was born in Luke 2 and verse 14? We talked about it on Christmas Eve. They said, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will towards men." Oh, peace will come to those who have embraced that the Savior is born.

Could it be that the reason why you are not a peacemaker, but a troublemaker and an instigator, is because you have never received peace yourself? Peace with God is found in the one who came to bring peace, Jesus Christ. And when you repent of your sin and believe that Jesus died on the cross and was buried and rose again for you, when you accept him into your heart by faith, he comes in and makes his home in you.

Is Jesus at home in your heart? Is Jesus at home in your life? This is the question you have to ask yourself. Because when Jesus is at home in your life, your life will be peaceful. And you will take peace everywhere you go. This is what the Word of God teaches. This is what the Word of God says.

When you experience peace with God, you become you become a person of peace. Your life chaotic or is it at peace? Is your life messy and just a bunch of mess going on in your life? If The Word Made Plain has been a source of inspiration and encouragement to you, why not consider becoming a Word Made Plain giving partner to keep this listener-supported program on the air.

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