PT-2 "Exhortation" (Acts 20:1a,2b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/27/2018 8:48 AM

My Worship Time                                                                                  Focus: PT-2 “Exhortation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 20:1a, 2b

            Message of the verses:  “And after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them…and had given them much exhortation”

            I have to believe that the exhortation that Paul was preaching with to the Ephesians after this riot does not go on nearly as much as it should be going on in today’s church.  John MacArthur adds:  “Preaching that exhorts from the Word no longer holds the central place it held in the early church (Acts 10:42; 13:5, 32; 14:7, 15, 21; 15:35; 16:10; 17:3, 13; 20:25; 28:31).  Paul’s charge to Timothy to ‘give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching’ (1 Tim. 4:13) is too often ignored.

            “The results of downplaying strong, biblical preaching are tragic.  When pastors neglect their responsibility for ‘the equipping of the saints’ (Eph. 4:12a), then the saints cannot do their ‘work of service’ (Eph. 4:12b).  As a result, the ‘building up of the body of Christ’ (Eph. 4:12c) does not take place.  The disastrous consequences include lack of true unity (4:13a), imperfect knowledge of Jesus Christ (4:13b), and lack of spiritual maturity (4:13c), resulting in immature ‘children’ who are ‘tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming’ (4:14).”

            In John MacArthur’s commentary he continues with two more pages talking about the preaching that goes on today in many places.  I have to make a decision as to whether or not I am going to quote this entire section as there are many good thoughts and instructions in it that may benefit some who read these Spiritual Diaries. 

            I think that it best that I go ahead and quote this entire section, which I will break up into the next two days for our Spiritual Diary.

            “Why is preaching being minimized?  First, because of the widespread assaults on the authority of Scripture.  Never in the history of the church has the Bible been subjected to the savage attacks it has endured in the last century and a half. Skeptical unbelievers deny the inspiration of the Scriptures, deriding them as the pre-scientific myths of the Hebrew tribes.  They assert that the Bible is rife with gross scientific blunders historical errors, even moral blemishes.

            “More subtle attacks have come from those within the church.  Some agree with the skeptics that the Bible contains errors, yet claim that it is still authoritative.  The absurdity of such a view is obvious,

‘for while it is no doubt a mystery that eternal truth is revealed in temporal events and presented in human words, it is sheer unreason to say that this truth is revealed in and through that which is erroneous.  (Geoffrey W. Bromiley, ‘The Authority of Scripture,’ in Donald Guthrie, J. A. Motyer, Alan M. Stibbs, and Donald J. Wiseman, eds., The New Bible Commentary:  Revised [Grand Rapids:  Eerdmans, 1970], 10)

  “Others affirm the Bible’s inspiration and inerrancy but deny in practice its uniqueness as a source of divine revelation.  The claim that God speaks today through prophecies, visions, and dreams denies that the Bible alone contains ‘the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3) and ‘everything pertaining to life and godliness’ (2 Pet. 1:3).

  “Paul’s exhortation was firmly based on the authoritative Scriptures (as were his writings—cf. Rom. 4:3; 9:17; 10:11; 11:2; Gal. 3:8, 22; 4:30; 1 Tim. 5:18).  Acts 17:2 notes that ‘according to Paul’s custom, he went to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures.’  To the Corinthians he wrote:

‘3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4 and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures.’

            He instructed the young pastor Timothy to ‘give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching’ (1 Tim. 4:13), since ‘all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work’ (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

            “The loss of belief in an authoritative Scripture seriously undermines preaching.  In fact, there can be no truly biblical preaching if the Bible’s authority and singular preeminence are rejected, since that would leave no divine revelation to proclaim.  What is left is humanistic rationalism on the one hand or subjective mysticism on the other, both of which are antithetical to biblical preaching.”

            In my opinion one of the greatest things that causes people not to believe the Bible as being true and authoritavely is the theory of evolution, as I have written about in many earlier SD’s.  Evolution not only effects those who are not believers in that it causes people to believe that the universe is just one great gigantic accident, and it causes believers to stumble when the read the first few chapters in Genesis which clearly states that God created all that we see in six 24 hour days.  If you take this part of Scripture and cause people to doubt it, then you can take other parts of Scripture and bring about doubt in it too.  If creation is not true the perhaps salvation is not true either.  You cannot pick and chose different doctrines from the Bible and believe some are true and others are not.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “John.”

Today’s Bible question:  “The fruit of what tree was Adam forbidden to eat?”  (Hint:  It was not the apple tree!)

Answer in our next SD.

6/27/2018 10:02 AM  

PT-2 "The Calming of the Riot" (Acts 19:35-41)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/24/2018 10:15 PM

My Worship Time                                                             Focus:  PT-2 “The Calming of the Riot”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:35-41

            Message of the verses:  “35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40  "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering." 41 After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

            We learned in our last SD that the first thing that the town clerk (mayor) is to talk about the idol, although he did not call this god and idol.  He now moves on to a more serious issue:  “37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess.”  This town clerk could have told lies about these Christians, but he says that they have done nothing wrong, which of course is against what Demetrius claimed of them.

            The next thing that he does is to criticize Demetrius and the craftsmen for starting this riot.  ““38 So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly.”  Now I said yesterday that this town clerk (mayor) was looking out for his own job and for himself, for if the riot would continue he would be in danger of losing his job.  With that said he concludes his speech with a sobering warning:  “40  "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering."”  As I said I think in a selfish way he was looking out for himself and his job.  After this comment we read verse 41 “After saying this he dismissed the assembly.””

            John MacArthur concludes his commentary with the following:  “The Ephesian believers weathered the storm of persecution unleashed by Demetrius’s speech and the resulting riot.  Indeed, the church at Ephesus would play a prominent role in church history for several centuries.  So again in Acts, God caused the wrath of men to praise Him (Ps. 76:10).”    “10 For the wrath of man shall praise You (Psalm 76:10a).”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Peter” (Acts 8:9).

Today’s Bible question:  “Simon the sorcerer bewitched the people of what city?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/24/2018 10:30 PM

 

PT-1 "Exhortation" (Acts 20:1a, 2b)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/26/2018 3:42 PM

My Worship Time                                                                                 Focus:  PT-1 “Exhortation”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 20:1a, 2b

            Message of the verses:  “And after the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them…and had given them much exhortation.”

            One of the many reasons that I like John MacArthur’s commentaries is because many times he puts the meaning of the key words that are found in the passages that he is going over, and in this case he writes the following:  “The word thorubos (‘uproar’) is a fitting descriptive for those tumultuous events sparked by Demetrius the silversmith.  Matthew used it to describe the disturbance that took place during Pilate’s trial of Jesus (Matt. 27:24).  Luke used it later in Acts to describe the riot that broke out when Paul visited the temple in Jerusalem (Acts 21:34).  In all three instances the word describes an uncontrollable, hysterical mob.”

            What we read in these two partial verses shows how much Paul truly loved the church.  After the riot it is probably good to say that most people would have just left and gone on to their next destination, but not Paul as before he could leave Ephesus he had “sent for the disciples and exhorted them” for one last time.  A little later on when we get to Acts 20:29-31 we will see the reason that Paul wanted to exhort these Ephesian rulers of this church:  “29 “I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; 30 and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. 31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.”  When we studied the book of Revelation and looked at the different churches in chapters 2-3 Ephesus was the first church we looked at.  One of the things we studied about this church was to look at its history and we found out that if you visit modern day Turkey which is where Ephesus is we found out that it is now in ruins, so Paul’s fears were realized.  One of the reasons that he was speaking to the leaders of this church was because they probably were wondering if there would be more riots.  MacArthur adds “The cure for both problems was instruction from and exhortation to follow God’s Word.  Only after charging the Ephesian believers did Paul take ‘his leave of them’ to begin his planned trip to Jerusalem via Macedonia and Achaia (cf. 19:21).”

            We have been learning about Paul’s plans to get to Jerusalem and we have learned that Paul spent three years there in Ephesus growing this church.  We know about his great love for all of the churches, but think about him being there for three years and how much he had grown to love them during that time.  Paul is coming to the end of his third missionary journey, one that had brought about much trouble for him and those who were with him, and as mentioned he wanted to get to Jerusalem.  There is a period of time after Paul is released from Rome in his first prison experience that he may have gone to see these churches in Asia once again, but we don’t know that for sure and surely Paul did not know at that time what he would be doing after his prison sentence in Rome, for he would not really known at this time that he would even be going to prison, but Paul learned to take one day at a time, trusting the Lord for the direction that he should be following.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  My SD was a bit late do to the fact that I did not sleep well last night and then I went to visit my sister, who by the way reads my spiritual diaries each day, as she has some surgery this morning.  Praise the Lord that everything went well with that and I trust that here healing will also go well too as I continue to pray for that.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust the Lord for the healing of my sister after surgery, and for the confusion to leave my 100+ year old father in law.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Sarah” (Genesis 12:10-20).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who wrote the book of Revelation?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/26/2018 4:11 PM

"Intro to Acts 20:1-17

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/25/2018 12:11 PM

My Worship Time                                                                              Focus:  Intro to Acts 20:1-17

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 20:1-17

            Message of the verses:  “1 After the uproar had ceased, Paul sent for the disciples, and when he had exhorted them and taken his leave of them, he left to go to Macedonia. 2 When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. 3 And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. 4 And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. 5 But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. 6 We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days.

    7 On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to leave the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. 8 There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. 9 And there was a young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor and was picked up dead. 10 But Paul went down and fell upon him, and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." 11 When he had gone back up and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while until daybreak, and then left. 12 They took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted.

    13 But we, going ahead to the ship, set sail for Assos, intending from there to take Paul on board; for so he had arranged it, intending himself to go by land. 14 And when he met us at Assos, we took him on board and came to Mitylene. 15 Sailing from there, we arrived the following day opposite Chios; and the next day we crossed over to Samos; and the day following we came to Miletus. 16 For Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus so that he would not have to spend time in Asia; for he was hurrying to be in Jerusalem, if possible, on the day of Pentecost.

    17 From Miletus he sent to Ephesus and called to him the elders of the church.”

            John MacArthur entitles this chapter in his commentary “For the Love of the Church.”  In his introductory comments he talks about different pastors and what they did for the church as they loved the church, even giving up their lives for the church.  He talks about people like Luther, Calvin, the different Puritan pastors, and also talks about Charles Spurgeon.  These men, along with the apostle Paul gave their lives for the church, as many actually died for the cause of Christ while others, because of the stress they went through because of problems in the church died probably before their time.  As we have actually been looking at the life of the apostle Paul through the last half of the book of Acts we can see how much Paul loved the church.  He is now on his third missionary journey as it is about to end, and then will go onto Jerusalem where he will be arrested for the cause of Christ, and then eventually sent to Rome, a place where he has always desired to go in order to preach the gospel in the hub of the Roman empire.  Paul suffered a lot for the church as he chronicles in 2 Corinthians 11:23-28:

            “23 Are they servants of Christ?-I speak as if insane-I more so; in far more labors, in far more imprisonments, beaten times without number, often in danger of death. 24 Five times I received from the Jews thirty-nine lashes. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked, a night and a day I have spent in the deep. 26 I have been on frequent journeys, in dangers from rivers, dangers from robbers, dangers from my countrymen, dangers from the Gentiles, dangers in the city, dangers in the wilderness, dangers on the sea, dangers among false brethren; 27 I have been in labor and hardship, through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure. 28 Apart from such external things, there is the daily pressure on me of concern for all the churches.”

            Notice the highlighted portion of this section of Scripture and you will see that the greatest thing that caused pain in the life of Paul was not those physical things that happened to him, but the pressure he had concerning the churches.

            As I normally do when we begin a new chapter in John MacArthur’s commentary, I quote the last paragraph in order to give us the outline we will be following here.

“Acts 20:1-17 does not describe love in the soaring terms of 1 Corinthians 13.  In fact, it contains no doctrine or practical exhortation at all.  But this simple, straightforward narrative illustrates Paul’s love for the church in action (where love is best seen).  That love is made visible in his exhortation, giving, persistence, availability, and concern.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  In thinking about love, especially in our English language, it is difficult to think that as a husband that I am to love my wife, when perhaps I would use the same word (love) to describe my feelings for say “backed beans.”  We only have one word for love in our language.  However love is action as Jesus stated “If you love me, keep My commandments.”  Love is more than feelings, as it is doing.  God loved us so much that he sent His Son to die for us.  That my friend is doing something.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Love in the Biblical way.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Samaria” (Acts 8:9).

Today’s Bible question:  “To whom was Abram referring when he told the Egyptians ‘She is my sister’?”    Answer in our next SD.

 

PT-1 "The Calming of the Riot" (Acts 19:35-41)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/23/2018 10:50 AM

My Worship Time                                                                      Focus:  “The Calming of the Riot”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:35-41

            Message of the verses:  “35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40 "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering." 41 After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

            When we look at the words “town clerk” we may wonder why this man would have the power to do what is described that he did in this section of Scripture.  When I looked up this word “clerk” in my Online Bible dictionary (Greek/English), it said that this position was different in different towns, and so we have to believe that in the case of Ephesus this man indeed had the power to do what is described here, and that is to s top the demonstration that was going on.  John MacArthur states that this man was like a mayor of a modern city.  It is believed that if this demonstration was not stopped that this man would be accountable to Rome, and we can surely believe that he did not want that to happen and that is why he came to stop what was going on in the theater.  One of the things that he said to calm the situation was to talk about this god that many of the Ephesians worshiped:  “, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven?”  In his commentary John MacArthur quotes John Polhil:

“Meteorites were often associated with the worship of Mother Goddess [Artemis].  The most famous of these was the sacred stone taken from Pessinus to Rome in 204 BC.  A meteorite also seems to have been associated with the cult of the Taurian Artemis. Although there is no evidence beyond this text for such a sacred stone being connected with the Ephesian cult, it is altogether likely that one existed, given this common association of the mother goddess with a ‘stone from heaven.’”

            This town clerk continues on by saying “since then there are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash.”  If I am correct in my thinking about this I think that this man was doing something to make sure he did not get into trouble with the Romans.  You may call it CYA (Cover Your Anatomy).  Now due to things that are going on this morning at our house we will have to finish this section in our next SD.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Every eye.”

Today’s Bible question:  “Who said ‘Aeneas, Jesus Christ makes you whole:  arise, and make your bed?’”

Answer in our next SD.

6/23/2018 11:43 AM  

 

PT-2 "The Characteristics of the Riot" (Acts 19:28-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/22/2018 9:52 AM

My Worship Time                                                   Focus:  PT-2 “The Characteristics of the Riot”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:28-34

            Message of the verses:  “28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"”

            We begin with verse 30 this morning talking about how Paul wanted to go into the assembly.  We can see how courageous Paul was in wanting to go into the assembly in order to rescue his friends, but as we read on in this verse we see that cooler heads prevailed as “the disciples would not let him” go into the assembly for his own protection, after all this riot was in some ways about him for Demetrius mentions Paul as the one who has been causing the people in the silver guild the most problems. 

            Now as we look at verse eight. I was having a slight problem with the word “Asiarchs” and so I did some digging in my Online Bible Greek Lexicon and found the following:

“Each of the cities of proconsular Asia, at the autumnal equinox, assembled its most honourable and opulent citizens, in order to select one to preside over the games to be exhibited that year, at his expense, in the honour of the gods and the Roman Emperor. Thereupon each city reported the name of the person selected to a general assembly held by some leading city, as Ephesus, Smyrna, Sardis. The general council selected ten out of the number of candidates, and sent them to the proconsul; and the proconsul chose one of these ten to preside over the rest.”

            Now as we look at this verse we see that “some of the Asiarchs were friends of him [Paul] and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater.”  So we have some of the disciples and these men urging Paul not to go into the assembly.  John MacArthur quotes Everett F. Harrison as he writes about Paul having prominent individuals who were friends with Paul:

“The very fact that such men of prominence and wealth were Paul’s friends reveals with utmost clearness that they did not regard him as dangerous or as carrying on an unlawful activity.  Here is positive proof that the imperial cult (the worship of the Roman emperor) had not yet come to the point of opposing the Christian cause.  The action of Gallio (18:14-15) may have been influential in making the officials of the province [the Asiarchs] favorable to Paul.”

            From verse 32 we see that the situation in the theater was growing worse as it looks like many of the people there did not realize why they were there as we read that the “assembly was in confusion.” 

            Further showing that “the majority did not know for what they had come together,” we see that in verse 33 “Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly.”  It is possible that Alexander was a Jewish believer, but that is not known for sure, or he could have been a spokesman for the unbelieving Jews, which probably is more reasonable to be true.  In 1 Timothy 1:20 we read “Among these are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan, so that they will be taught not to blaspheme.”  The problem in identifying him as the same one is doubtful, due to the commonness of the name. 

            The problem with Alexander speaking to this assembly was that they found out that he was a Jew, and once they found this out the crowd began to say “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”  They wanted nothing to do with the God of Abraham, or Jesus Christ whom Paul spoke of.  The irony of this was that as Jesus said “whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”  This shouting went on for two hours, and I do find that hard to believe, but that is what Luke says so it must have been true.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  One has to at least admire the enthusiasm that these people in the assembly had for their false god, and I would hope that I as a believer would also have enthusiasm in talking about the greatest thing that has ever happened on planet earth and that is that Jesus Christ provides salvation for all who will accept his saving grace, realizing that they are a sinner without anything that they can do on their own.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will continue to watch over my wife’s father as he is now in a different nursing home where he has a much larger room.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “He had paid a great sum of money for his citizenship” (Acts 22:28).

Today’s Bible question:  “According to Revelation 1:7, how many eyes shall see Christ when he returns?”

Answer in our next SD.   6/22/2018 10:34 AM

PT-1 "The Characteristics of the Riot" (Acts 19:28-34)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/21/2018 8:23 AM

My Worship Time                                                    Focus: PT-1 “The Characteristics of the Riot”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                     Reference:  Acts 19:28-34

            Message of the verses:  “28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"”

            In our last SD we mentioned three things that got these men worked up, their financial disaster, the thought of losing their religious beliefs and the threat of their civic pride, and all of these were too much for the crowd to bear as seen in verse 28 “When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"”  It was for sure that Demetrius had accomplished his goal, that is to whip the crowd into frenzy as we can see in our verses for today.  These men, not sure how many Demetrius was talking to, left the place where this meeting occurred and then began to move through the streets shouting about the greatness of Artemis, and by doing this they gained in strength.  What we see here and this is not the first time we have seen this in Acts, as this was the first stage of a riot.  In the 7^th chapter of Acts we saw the death of Stephen as a result of a riot.  In Acts 16:22-23 we saw the crowd rise up against Paul and Silas, and in the future, Acts 21:27b-21 we will see a large crowd become a riot and in that case would have killed Paul if not for the Roman army protecting him.

            What was the real cause for these riots?  Well the gospel makes people angry because unless one’s heart is opened to the truth of the gospel by the Holy Spirit it is very offensive.  To have someone tell you that you were born a sinner and unless you repent of your sins and accept in your heart what Christ has done for you that you will end up in hell, burning for all eternity.  That is the truth of the gospel, but many people cannot take it and so when riots like these occur they are proving that these people are indeed sinners.

            The next characteristic of a riot is confusion:  “The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia (Verse 29).”  John MacArthur writes about these two men:  “According to Acts 20:4, Aristarchus was from Thessalonica, a city in Macedonia.  The same verse, however lists Gaius’s hometown as Derbe, a city of Galatia.  It may be, as some commentators argue, that the plural genitive Makedonas (‘from Macedonia’) was originally a singular.  In that case, it would describe only Aristarchus.  However Caius was a beloved companion of Paul, who would accompany him on his ill-fated voyage to Rome (Acts 27:2) and share his imprisonment in that city (Col. 4:10).  He was a Jewish believer, since Paul describes him, along with ‘Barnabas’ cousin Mark’ and ‘Jesus who is called Justus’ as ‘fellow workers for the kingdom of God who are from the circumcision’ (Col. 4:10-11).”  It was in the theater where this riot ended up can be seen today as the ruins are remarkably preserved.  This was the normal place for the town meetings, and in this case it turned into a riot.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Even though I know that the gospel is offensive I have to trust the Lord to be able to tell others about Jesus Christ and when He did for them.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Trust that the Lord will be with all of us who are helping my father-in-law move from one nursing home to another.  I suppose it is not too many people who are over 100 years of age that get to set out on a new adventure, and for that we are thankful.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “By having Moses cut down a tree and throw it into the water” (Exodus 15:24-25).

Today’s Bible question:  “How had the chief captain who talked with Paul become a Roman citizen?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/21/2018 9:07 AM

PT-2 "The Causes of the Riot" (Acts 19:23-27)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/20/2018 10:52 AM

My Worship Time                                                                  Focus: PT-2 “The Cause of the Riot”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:23-27

            Message of the verses:  “23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26 "You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence."”

            We ended our SD from yesterday by looking at the end of verse 26 talking about the phrase “a considerable number of people.”  Now as we go on looking at the main character in this section of Acts 19, that is Demetrius who was a silversmith, heading up what we would call today a union, as he gathers others under him to talk about how Paul was causing their business to go down because when a person become a believer then they do not worship idols made with hands.  What we see here is that Demetrius was a great opponent of the Christian faith.  Even though he was an opponent of the Christian faith he came to the point where he had to admit that many were turning to Christ for salvation. 

            John MacArthur states two reasons why the gospel in Ephesus was successful.  The first reason was because of the Apostle Paul who worked very hard to tell many about Christ, and then he would disciple those who came to know the Lord who would then go out and tell others about Jesus Christ, disciple them as they would then go out and do the same.

            The second reason for the success of the gospel in Ephesus is because the church was purged from their idols as found in Acts 19:18-19 “18 Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.”

            John MacArthur goes on to write about a third reason:  “The third reason for the success of the gospel was the church’s use of proper spiritual means.  The Ephesian believers did not lobby the city authorities, picket the silversmith’s shops, or organize demonstrations against Artemis worship.  They did not try to be popular.  They preached and lived out the message and let the power of their changed lives confront and push out the old ways.”

            Demetrius began his speech to those who were in this guild or as we stated like a union by bringing out the fear of losing money.  Judas loved money more than God and that is what Demetrius is doing to those he is speaking to, telling them that they are going to lose much money because of the gospel.

            Next he talks about their own religious system, which we know was false, but they thought it was real and so he moves to telling them that it could be ruined because of Christianity. 

            MacArthur concludes talking about a third ploy that Demetrius was using:

“Finally, Demetrius appealed directly to the issue of income.  If ‘she whom all of Asia and the world’ worshiped were to ‘be dethroned whom all Asia and the world’ worshiped were to ‘be dethroned from her magnificence,’ Ephesus would suffer.  The temple of Artemis was famous throughout the Roman world, and it had been built with gifts from many rulers.  Anything that tarnished Artemis’s reputation would lower Ephesus’s status, hinder civic pride, and disastrously cripple the city’s economy.  Loyalty to Ephesus demanded that the craftsmen oppose the new religion that threatened to undermine the city’s claim to fame and source of revenue.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  The Bible has more to say about money than love, and money and in 1Timothy 6:10 we read: “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”  According to the Word of God all believers are stewards of what He has entrusted us with and we are to be wise in what he has entrusted us with.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Seek the wisdom of God before buying anything, especially something large.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Fourteen.”

Today’s Bible question:  “How did God change the bitter water of Marah into good water?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/20/2018 11:23 AM

" The Causes of the Riot" (Acts 19:23-27)

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/19/2018 8:31 AM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  “The Causes of the Riot”

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:23-27

            Message of the verses:  “23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26 "You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence."”

            When Luke writes “About that time” he is referring to the time before Paul left Ephesus as he planned (cf. vv. 21-22).  He goes on to write “there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way.”  Now we have gone over before that when we see these words “The Way” that the Christian church is being spoken of.  I don’t know if it came from what John wrote that Jesus said in John 14:6 where we read “Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  If this is where it comes from then we know that it is speaking of those who follow the Way, or Jesus Christ. 

            Now we read in Acts 19:20 “20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.”  It does not take a great imagination to see that this was upsetting to Satan, and so he begins to do his dirty work and he does it through a man named Demetrius who was a silversmith.  John MacArthur answers a question that I have when he writes “Demetrius was a common name, and there is no reason to assume that he is the individual mentioned in 2 John 12.  His business was making silver shrines of the goddess Artemis (probably depicting her seated in the temple).  The shrines served as household idols and were presented at the temple as votive offerings.  Archaeologists have unearthed numerous terra cotta shrines, but no silver ones.  The latter were most likely melted down for their silver content, probably even by the temple priests.”

            Perhaps Demetrius as the head of the silver guild at this time and I suppose humaningly speaking he was only trying to take care of his business along with those who were working for him, and yet as mentioned this was from Satan as he used these men to stop the work that Paul was doing for the Lord, but we must remember that it is the Lord who is in control, and it is the Lord who works things out for our good, and also for His glory.  The worship of the goddess Artemis was widespread throughout the Roman Empire which meant that this was worth a lot of money for Demetrius and those who worked for him.

            The problem was that because of the widespread of Christianity showing that idols were worthless, and that there was only One God, and salvation came through His Son, Jesus Christ, thus there business was certainly going downhill.

            We see Demetrius begins by saying “Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business,” speaking of idol making business.  He goes on to say “You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all.”  Now as I look at this phrase “but in almost all of Asia,” it makes me think of Acts 19:10 “This took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks.”  This verse makes me want to praise the Lord as Paul had a large influence for the gospel in all of Asia, which is actually modern day Turkey today.  However this was not good news for Satan.

            We will continue looking at the cause for the riot in Ephesus in our next SD.

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  Even though I go through a lot of temptation, and I believe it is because I am trying to be faithful in my writing of these Spiritual Diaries that go around the world on my blogs, I realize that God is in control and will keep me from stopping the writing of these Spiritual Diaries even though at times the temptation is great.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  Continue to seek strength from the Lord to write these Spiritual Diaries.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Elijah” (1 Kings 18:17).

Today’s Bible question:  “How many judges are referenced in the book of Judges?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/19/2018 9:03 AM  

PT-2 "Intro to Acts 19:21-41

 

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 6/18/2018 9:03 AM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-2 Intro to Acts 19:21-41

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:21-41

            Message of the verses:  “21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome." 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26  "You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence." 28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 35  After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40  "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering." 41 After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

            I want to begin this SD by giving a quote from John MacArthur who talks about Paul’s plan to get to Jerusalem.  “His itinerary seems puzzling, since Macedonia and Achaia were in the opposite direction from Jerusalem.  Further, he had just ministered in those regions before coming to Ephesus (18:23).  But Paul had a definite plan in mind, one that reveals his deep concern for the unity of the church.

            “Many in the church at Jerusalem were poor and in need of sustained financial assistance.  To meet that need, Paul wanted to take to Jerusalem with him a love offering from the largely Gentile churches he had founded.  Before returning to Jerusalem, he revisited Macedonia and Achaia to collect that offering (Rom. 15:25-27; 1 Cor. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. 8-9).  By contributing to the financial needs of the Jewish believers at Jerusalem those Gentiles would emphasize the church’s unity (cf. 1 Cor. 12:26), while confirming in a very practical way their love for their Jewish brethren.  James 2:15-16 describes the importance of such care:

“15  If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16  and one of you says to them, "Go in peace, be warmed and be filled," and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that?”

            As we continue to look at what Paul planned to do we see that Jerusalem was not his ultimate goal, as he desires to go to Rome, and as we mentioned before the Lord will give Paul a free trip to Rome, but perhaps as we look at how he gets that free trip we will not be as spiritually minded about what happened to Paul as he was.  In my prayer time on Saturday’s I pray specifically for the pastors of our church and some of the things that I pray for them come from a time when I was studying the letters to the Thessalonians.  I will take a moment to quote a couple of things from this prayer list as they have to do with Paul’s service in collecting money for the Jewish church in Jerusalem as they were going through a drought at this time.  Paul was praying that the Jews in the Jerusalem church would accept this offering and as we have just learned this was a big part of church unity. 

            “Direction:  This speaks of direction in our Pastors lives concerning their ministry, their priorities in their ministries, a week from now or a month, or a year or five years down the road.  Example from Romans 15:32 ‘so that I may come to you in joy by the will of God and find refreshing rest in your company.’  Here Paul is asking prayers for his future plans that they may be in the will of the Lord.”  So we see from this prayer request that I pray for my Pastors that in the life of Paul it has to do with his situation in Ephesus where he is making these plans for the direction of his ministry.

            Now as we look at the book of Romans and chapter fifteen verses 22-24 we read more of Paul’s plans for his ministry:  “22 For this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you; 23  but now, with no further place for me in these regions, and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you 24  whenever I go to Spain-for I hope to see you in passing, and to be helped on my way there by you, when I have first enjoyed your company for a while.”

            At this time I want to quote from MacArthur’s commentary which as we usually do will give us the direction and outline which we will be following as we move through this last verses in Acts 19.  “He [Paul] delayed all his travel plans temporarily because, as he wrote at this time to the Corinthians, ‘I shall remain in Ephesus until Pentecost; for a wide door for effective service has opened to me, and there are many adversaries’ (1 Cor. 16:8-9).  Those adversaries soon made themselves known, as a riot erupted in Ephesus over the success of Paul’s ministry.  Luke ‘s account of that riot relates its causes, characteristics, and calming.”  Those three descriptions of “The Riots of Ephesus” are the outline that we are going to begin to look at as we move through these 20 verses of Acts 19.

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Jezreel” (1 Kings 21:1).

Today’s Bible question:  “Who did Ahab blame for the famine in Samaria?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/18/2018 9:52 AM

PT-1 "Intro to Acts 19:21-41

 

SPIRIUTAL DIARY FOR 6/17/2018 6:49 AM

My Worship Time                                                                    Focus:  PT-1 Intro to Acts 19:21-41

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 19:21-41

            Message of the verses:  “21 Now after these things were finished, Paul purposed in the spirit to go to Jerusalem after he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, saying, "After I have been there, I must also see Rome." 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while. 23 About that time there occurred no small disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, was bringing no little business to the craftsmen; 25 these he gathered together with the workmen of similar trades, and said, "Men, you know that our prosperity depends upon this business. 26  "You see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in almost all of Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away a considerable number of people, saying that gods made with hands are no gods at all. 27 “Not only is there danger that this trade of ours fall into disrepute, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis be regarded as worthless and that she whom all of Asia and the world worship will even be dethroned from her magnificence." 28 When they heard this and were filled with rage, they began crying out, saying, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 29 The city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed with one accord into the theater, dragging along Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia. 30 And when Paul wanted to go into the assembly, the disciples would not let him. 31 Also some of the Asiarchs who were friends of his sent to him and repeatedly urged him not to venture into the theater. 32 So then, some were shouting one thing and some another, for the assembly was in confusion and the majority did not know for what reason they had come together. 33 Some of the crowd concluded it was Alexander, since the Jews had put him forward; and having motioned with his hand, Alexander was intending to make a defense to the assembly. 34 But when they recognized that he was a Jew, a single outcry arose from them all as they shouted for about two hours, "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!" 35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, "Men of Ephesus, what man is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from heaven? 36 “So, since these are undeniable facts, you ought to keep calm and to do nothing rash. 37 “For you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against any man, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; let them bring charges against one another. 39 “But if you want anything beyond this, it shall be settled in the lawful assembly. 40  "For indeed we are in danger of being accused of a riot in connection with today’s events, since there is no real cause for it, and in this connection we will be unable to account for this disorderly gathering." 41 After saying this he dismissed the assembly.”

            In John MacArthur’s commentary on this section he entitles it “The Riot at Ephesus.”  We will probably take a couple of days looking at the intro to this section, and when we finish looking at these verses we will have completed chapter nineteen.

            As we have been looking at the book of Acts for around a year now and one of the things that we have seen in this book is that there has been much persecution of the early church, persecution that still goes on today in various places around the world.  One of the places that it is going on now is in the Central African Republic, something that I am a bit aware of because of people that I know who are in our Sunday School class who were actually born there as missionaries children and so we sometimes hear reports of what is going on there as they are being persecuted by Muslins who are tearing up this once calm country.

            In John MacArthur’s commentary he gives a brief paragraph on the persecution that we have seen in the book of Acts, and who it was who caused this persecution so I thought that since it would be a good review that I would quote it:

“The early church faced persecution from its inception.  In Jerusalem, that persecution came from organized religion (Acts 4:1-31; 5:17-42; 6:9-15; 8:1-4).  In Antioch, it stemmed from prejudice and envy (13:44-52).  In Lystra, it was the result of ignorant paganism (Acts 14:8-19).  In Philippi, it was the reaction to a victory over the demonic realm (Acts 16:16-40).  In Thessalonica, it came from an unruly mob, urged on by jealous religious leaders (Acts 17:1-9).  In Athens, the gospel faced the opposition of worldly philosophy (Acts 17:16-34).  In Corinth, as in Jerusalem, it came from Judaism, this time in a Roman court (Acts 18:5-17).  Wherever the church boldly and faithfully proclaims the gospel it faces Satanic opposition.  It comes as no surprise, then, that persecution also arose in Ephesus, stemming from a pseudo-religious materialism.  Hardened hearts, hypocrisy, and hatred energized the opposition to the gospel.”

            Dr. Luke talks about Paul’s plans in the first part of our narrative in these verses, and his plans are to travel to Rome by way of Macedonia, something that would be changed by the Lord, as the Lord would give him a free trip to Rome as we will see in the last chapter of Acts. 

            Let me just give an opinion of why our country has not faced great persecution like what we have read about in our study of Acts.  The United States of America actually began because of persecution of believers in Europe as people wanted to go where there was no persecution and so they headed to this vast new country.  We know that after the Revolutionary war that our forefathers set up a constitution for this new country.  I have to say that there was a great revival before that war; a revival that I believe helped the outcome of this war.  As the country went on religious freedom abounded.  Another great revival came before the Civil War, a war that about ended this country.  It was during the late 1800’s that our country began to send missionaries to other nations, as this was a golden time for the church here in America and also in England.  However what went up had to come down as materialism began to become more important than the worship of God.  We as a country have been a great light for the world to see, a place where freedom to worship has been going on for many years and perhaps that is why the Lord has not allowed great persecution to come here.  However there is persecution here now and this persecution will continue to come as long as the church in our country is a sleep or it continues to backslide, not paying attention to the Word of God. 

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Abram” (Genesis 13:8).

Today’s Bible question:  “Where was Naboth’s vineyard?”

Answer in our next SD.

6/17/2018 7:31 AM