Lord, Send a Revival, and let it begin in me.
Acts 19: 8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. ---then because of opposition--- Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left 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 the 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 Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Revival in Ephesus and Asia Minor
How would a true revival effect my life and my world? Well, this chapter, chapter 19 in Acts, describes how a revival affected the region of Ephesus, and Asia Minor, so as we pray for revival for our church, and Wichita, there are several things we need to know that we are asking for.
True revival from God is rigorous; hard work, rewarding; results in real change, rapturous; spiritual change, not superficial, righteous; based in right doctrine and glory to the right one, reveals real power uncovering counterfeit power, revolutionary; power of the life-giving Spirit at work, and riotous; powerlessness of men
We’ve covered all of those points and now we are at the last two.
Real Revival is revolutionary.
The word revolutionary means,
1. Relating to or being a revolution.
2. Bringing about or supporting a political or social revolution.
3. Marked by or resulting in radical change.
That last definition is the one that spells it out most clearly for us. Real revival from God is marked by and results in radical change in people’s lives. It’s not just a Gallup poll question where more people say they are born again this year than last year. Something spiritually miraculous happens in each individual. Their life is changed, their thinking is changed, their direction and purpose are changed.
That’s why real revival on a massive scale, whole cities, or countries, is rare.
But people are often reluctant to change. I refer to Cornford’s law as a reason for that.
Cornford's Law: Nothing is ever done until everyone is convinced that it ought to be done, and has been convinced for so long that it is now time to do something else.
People are hesitant to change, and groups of people are even more hesitant. I remember reading about…
When the railroads were first introduced to the U.S., some folks feared that they'd be the downfall of the nation! Here's an excerpt from a letter to then President Jackson dated January 31, 1829:
As you may know, Mr. President, 'railroad' carriages are pulled at the enormous speed of 15 miles per hour by 'engines' which, in addition to endangering life and limb of passengers, roar and snort their way through the countryside, setting fire to crops, scaring the livestock and frightening women and children. The Almighty certainly never intended that people should travel at such breakneck speed. Martin Van Buren Governor of New York
Source Unknown.
So, it is not at all surprising that the revolution of a massive real revival is infrequent and scares people. That’s where we pick up from where we left off last week.
You remember that Revival had broken out in Ephesus and Asia Minor. The evidence of that revival was that Paul (vs 10)“continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks,” (vs 11)“God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul,” (vs 17) “the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified,” (vs 18) many believed and repented, and in sum, (vs 20) the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.”
This was all aided by God manifesting His power through Paul in healing and casting out demons.
This week’s point is that real revival revolutionizes people’s lives. So, let’s pick up with verse 17.
I. Revolutionary
While I read think about what happened that would be called revolutionary.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
Now in these four short verses, we have described the revolution that occurred in many lives in Asia Minor.
Three revolutionary things happened as the result of real revival. First, the name of Christ was exalted in the community. Second, there was open confession of sin. And third, those truly changed, truly changed their behavior.
But before we hit those, let’s go back and define again what real revival is. Real revival is not superficial. It is not a planned set of meetings. It is not emotionalism, or a massive breaking out into ecstatic signs. It is not when a huge crowd is drawn to some curious event.
I have heard meetings called revivals because of all those things. But there are really only two things that make a real revival a real revival. First is that a real revival originates from God, not people. What happens in a real revival comes from God’s Holy Spirit. God initiates it, God’s Spirit works in people’s hearts. Salvation comes by the redeeming work of Christ. And the second thing that is always present in real revival is that because it comes from God, people’s lives are changed, not by emotions or moving services, but by God’s planting the seed of His Word in people’s hearts that springs up producing real fruit upward, and deep and enduring roots downward.
If a “revival,” comes, and there is no fruit of life change that endures, it wasn’t God’s real revival. Real revival is real life change.
So, let’s go back to our story. Real revival is revolutionary. Three revolutionary things happened as the result of this real revival in Asia Minor. First, the name of Christ was exalted in the community.
A. First, the name of Christ was exalted in the community.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
Verse 17 begins “When this became known…” When what became known? Well, if you weren’t with us last week, you missed the explanation of a thrilling part of this story. It’s described in verses 13 through 16. Let me summarize. Paul had returned to Ephesus after a trip to Jerusalem. And after coming back, he continued the ministry of Christ apostle by preaching the gospel, accompanied by supernatural signs. Through Paul, God performed healing miracles, and demons were cast out.
But what separated Paul from other healers or supposed exorcists was that the work was truly and undeniably supernatural. As they say in the scientific world, what he did was verifiable. What do I mean by that? It means that nobody could deny that a real miracle had happened. Let me give you an example; Let’s take blindness. If God used Paul to heal a blind person, it wasn’t just psychosomatic blindness; People blind from birth could suddenly see, or people who were blind because they had no eyes, had eyes grow back in their heads.
And one of the most remarkable miracles was casting out demons. Their society had seen people afflicted with disease, but also people tormented by indwelling demons. And I believe part of Paul’s apostolic gift was not only to have power over demons, but also to be able to recognize demon possession. And when he cast them out, it wasn’t like the people had seen before by supposed exorcists. They had witnessed exorcisms before that had exorcists chanting over the demon-possessed for days and weeks, quoting Scripture or enchantments, feeding the demoniac spells, even tormenting the possessed in order to expel the demon. And sometimes it seemed to work. The demon-possessed had the demon expelled for a time and was given a period of peace. But it didn’t last. The demons returned, sometimes more destructive than before.
But when Paul cast them out in the name of Jesus, it was instantaneous, and permanent. Well, we read last time how there were some local Jewish exorcists, 7 sons of Sceva, who witnessed Paul doing this, and thought they had come upon the ultimate “magic spell” to expel demons. “In the name of Jesus” come out. And they tried using the name of Jesus to expel a demon to horrific results.
They would say, “In the name of the 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 Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
So, when Verse 17 begins “When this became known…” that is what they are referring to. When the incident of the “whoopin” of the 7 sons of Sceva became known.
Word spread rapidly through the town, and the region. “Did you hear about Sceva’s sons trying to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus and Paul?” And you can imagine in a world without Netflix, that this was all anybody was talking about. They might say, “The world of demons know and are driven out by Jesus’ name by Paul, but they don’t even know or respect the sons of Sceva.”
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear,
Why were they afraid? Because this was undeniable supernatural power come to town. This wasn’t just some charlatan doing parlor tricks. This wasn’t anything they had ever encountered before. They were afraid because in one incident, Paul’s gospel was proven to be authentic, and their way of seeing the world was proven to be false. It shook them up. And the result was what happens in all real revivals. It revolutionized the regions beliefs about Jesus.
“and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.”
Now notice, it doesn’t say that everyone in the region became believers. They just had a new reverence for the name of Jesus. I’ll bet they did. What had they just witnessed? That the name of Jesus in the mouth of a true apostle of Jesus had supernatural power over disease and demons, but the same name in the mouth of fakes, ended up in a demonic beating.
I bet nobody was taking the Lord’s name in vain in that community for years. Unbelievers probably avoided even mentioning the name of Jesus, for fear of calling down some evil on themselves.
I have to say that I would love to see that evidence of real revival. The exaltation of the name of the Lord. No curse word in the world offends me more than when someone takes the Lord’s name in vain.
And when real revival came to Asia Minor, people had a new and high regard for the name of Jesus, and not just the new believers, it was everyone in the community.
And the same will be true if real revival comes to us. Do you want to know one reason why I think people and societies become flippant with the name of God and Christ? Because those who represent God and Christ are flippant with them. I don’t believe the Christian community reverences and honors the name of the Lord as they have historically.
Let me tell you one of my pet peeves. “Christian” jokes about God or Christ. I can endure, or even laugh with you when you joke about preachers, or churches. But don’t tell me a joke that impugns God’s character, or even humanizes God. I get very uncomfortable when Christian comedians, for the sake of a laugh, put “funny” words in the mouth of God, or Jesus.
The name of God, the name of our Lord Jesus is not to be trifled with. And in real revival, it is held in high honor by believers, and even among non-believers. But a second thing happened that demonstrated that a real revolution had occurred.
A. Second, there was open confession of sin.
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
I’m sure the school of Tyrannus started getting very crowded from 11 to 4 every day. Many people decided to follow Jesus, as taught by Paul, and they began that journey by confessing sin.
And there would have been plenty to confess in Ephesus. Around two areas; the worship of idols and sexual immorality. We’ve learned a little about Ephesus. It was called ’the mother city’ of Asia. It had an estimated population of around 200,000 – 250,000, which was huge for those days. it was an extremely important commercial centre-in fact, the largest trading centre in Asia Minor, attracting people from all over the world. It had many fine buildings, but its greatest claim to fame centered around religion.
The most important structure in Ephesus were temples, one devoted to the worship of Caesar, and a major temple to the Greek goddess Artemis (known in Rome as Diana), which was one of the 7 wonders of the ancient world and which people came from far and wide to see. It had been a sacred site for over 1200 years. So, as you might surmise, the city and its citizens were already steeped in the sin of idolatry, but it gets worse.
As a fertility goddess, ritual prostitution played an important part in the worship of Artemis. At one time hundreds of temple prostitutes plied their trade in the streets of Ephesus, all in the name of religion.
The whole city was wallowing in a cesspool of idolatry and sexual immorality. But when they heard about Paul, the power from God, the gospel of Jesus Christ. Many believed and openly confessed- idolatry and sexual immorality.
Now, this is the result of real revival among those who came to faith. “Those who believed…openly confessed” sin. This is something that I think is sorely missing in our time. Open confession of sin. I think confession is a cornerstone to coming to salvation, and growing as a Christian. Now, before a line forms to the microphone to confess sin, I’m not suggesting for everyone to divulge their past, or present sins to the entire church.
Confess your sins, one to another
I do think there are times that public meeting confession is appropriate. When someone comes to faith, and gives a testimony of where they come from, it is appropriate to kind of say, “Christ has delivered me from…” But it is not done as entertainment. It is not done so that we can know all the sordid details of a person’s life. Let me give you an example; if a person came to our church, and they came out of a life as a drug dealer. When they came to faith, I do think that it is appropriate for that person to say, “I was a drug dealer.” But I don’t need to know all the details, where it turns into a sordid tale of your worldly behavior.
I also think there are times in the life of the church, when a person’s sin is widely known, or effects many people in the church, that public confession is appropriate. But most of the time, confession should be to one or a few close Christian friends who can support and pray for you.
But even that is missing in many churches today. And I think it is missing, because we don’t take our sins very seriously. Once we get saved-we have our ticket to heaven, what’s the point of confession of sin? The salvation gospel has been cheapened. My friends, salvation from God is not some “one and done” occurrence. But that’s what we’ve been sold. As Baptists, if we know anything about our salvation, we know “once saved, always saved,” right? But that’s not the end of the story. Your “getting saved” at some moment in the past is not the end of the story.
Before you run me out on a rail as a Baptist heretic, many Christians, Baptists, only think of salvation as a past event. “I got saved when I was 8.” “I live like the devil today, but I got saved when I was 8.” But let me borrow from Jesus’ parable. True salvation, like real revival, plants the seed, sees it grow into a plant, that produces fruit, deepens roots, and endures through dry seasons. Yes, the seed sprouting was the past moment of your salvation, but the fruit and the root, are present evidence of your salvation, and the endurance to the end is proof of your salvation. So, in that way, salvation is past, present, and future.
Past
Ephesians 2:8-9 reads “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Present
1 Corinthians 1:18 we read “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
Future
Romans 5:9 tells us that “having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.”
And so, I think that confession becomes an ongoing part of our salvation experience; when we came to faith we confessed, now we continue to confess, and we will confess sin to one another until we are perfected at the Lord’s return. These new Ephesian believers confessed sin.
B. And third, those truly changed, truly changed their behavior.
19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c] 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
In Ephesus, not only did they confess sin, they made real changes to prevent future sin. They burned their sorcery books. What kind of books are we talking about here? They were the books of “those who practiced sorcery.” Magic arts, soothsaying, necromancy, conjuration
Ephesus was famous for this sort of learning; here Apollonius Tyaneus, in the beginning of Nero's reign, opened a school and taught magic, and such like things: frequent mention is made in history of the Ephesian letters, not to be confused with the letter of Paul to Ephesus. Which were no other than enchantments; and even Diana, the goddess of the Ephesians, is said to be a magician:
Magic was big business in Ephesus
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
superstitious arts, overbusy with the supposed secrets of the invisible world. These arts were almost, so to speak, the specialité of Ephesus. Magicians and astrologers swarmed in her streets there was a brisk trade in the charms, incantations, books of divination, rules for interpreting dreams, and the like,
This stuff was everywhere in Ephesus- but many believed.
They now understood how pointless and powerless these things were and decided to start a bonfire. This sounds like a grassroots movement—it doesn’t say that Paul told them to burn the scrolls.
They were publicly saying, “We’re done with this superstitious stuff.”
And let me make a point here; real revival brings real repentance where people desire real change in their behavior, so they make real sacrifices to prevent relapse into sin.
They destroyed the path to relapse. Look at what they did. They burned their scrolls with spells. So, was this only a couple of people who practiced sorcery? No
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.[c]
Note that a drachma was about a day's wages. That means that the given value of the trash was about the same as 1 man's wages for 137 years. Or 10 men's wages for almost 14 years.
Over one million dollars—It had to be a large number of people bringing stuff to burn.
Either a few rich people had to have had a lot of scrolls, or more likely, a lot of people had a lot of scrolls. One question that is fascinating to me is “who was making an account of how much this stuff was worth? Either an accountant in the church, or maybe an unbelieving citizen saying, “You won’t believe what these Christians are doing.”
Ephesus had a whole superstitious system that many had built their lives and habits around. And now they knew that it was empty and foolish. But they also knew that since they were things that they had done habitually, that they needed to break the path. Burn the books.
The point is that real revival is revolutionary. People who have the Spirit of God make them pure, they desire to remain pure. As Jesus put it to Peter, they have been washed, now they just need to keep their feet washed. They have been made clean by the blood of the Lamb, but they have to keep walking in this dirty world. So, they destroy as many pathways to sin that it is practical to destroy.
And I believe this is another reason why we don’t see real revival very often. We are not willing to destroy the pathways. We still participate in the pathways. It’s as though we are of the Ephesian people, and we say, “I don’t want to burn my scrolls, these were expensive.” “They are classics.” “They will really be worth something in the antique market someday.” “And really, I know these spells are meaningless, so what’s the harm in keeping the book, or even reciting them every once in a while?”
And that’s what we do. We reason away a clean break from the world. We read the world’s books, watch it programs, listen to its music, use its language, adopt its values, and wonder why we don’t see revival.
Not so with the church in Ephesus. They gathered their scrolls and they burned them.
20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
The world talks a lot about change doesn’t it? They talk about and seek self- improvement. There are all kinds of self-improvement programs and techniques. But the wisest in the world, I believe, start to have a sneaking suspicion about a truth we find in Scripture; that real change is rare and extremely difficult.
Job 14:4 4 Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean? No one!
Jeremiah 13:23 Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard its spots? Then may you also do good who are accustomed to do evil.
Trying to affect real life change is compared to a person trying to change their skin color, or a leopard trying to change its spots.
Proverbs 27:22Though you grind a fool in a mortar with a pestle along with
crushed grain,
Yet his foolishness will not depart from him.
So, real change is rare and difficult. But it is not impossible, Jesus said, “with men this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. How does real change happen? When God does it.
1 Corinthians 2:14But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Next time; Real revival is riotous—it causes a reaction in the world---the world does not like real revival. Take a clue, if all we, as the Church, as Christians, get from our world is approval, we are doing something wrong.
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