R1545 The People of Ephesus

God has an encouraging word for you and me today to the Bible-based preaching of Dr. Don Wilton in a message on the people of Ephesus, the Ephesians had their highs in their lives just like you and I do and were going. The book of acts chapter 18 with Dr. Don Wilton just a moment Dr. Don Wilton on author evangelist and pastor to give us insight that will help us understand only the parallels between us as today's church and the church at Ephesus. Also how we can follow their example and Paul's challenge to be the men and women of God.

We need to be in this day and age we study God's word together know the reader to encourage you personally would love to pray with you and for you at 866-899-WORD. That's 866-899-9673 or let's get a keyboard to keyboard online@theencouragingword.org. Now Dr. Don Wilton's be in acts chapter 18.

Watch what I'm about to cite as we journey with pole on we were about to begin his third missionary journey. That's what I'm focusing on is this incredible man that God uses. He went from town to town from city to city because God told him to do that and what a difference he made and it's it's amazing as we study this. Each city presents a unique circumstance, just a unique circumstance and end today.

I've been top of my message I mean is this not brilliant. This the most brilliant typo you've ever heard the people of Ephesus.

I mean I came up with that all by myself. The people of Ephesus listen don't you just love your own city. Your own town unit everywhere I go I meet people say way and I'll say where you from, well, you know, I grew up in such and such a town in such and such a state, and that's where I'm from, or people will describe where they from the place you from actually is very important and you know towns and cities like churches, all unique, you know, one town, one city is not necessarily the same as the next one ought I tried to teach young preachers and pastas.

Just understand one thing.

No congregation is the same every congregation has a character you know that as a as a pasta is it is a pasta it's very important for me and for us as leaders to understand the five of our congregation going to try educators.

Every cost is different and it's made up of people. It's not black, will we just going to do this in the same way you tap into if if I may use the word the personality of the people who reside in you don't change the message. This gospel cannot change but you make the application of that gospel in accordance with the personality, the character all of us who are parents you deal with your children coming from the same mom and dad but you deal with each one of them in accord with the people that they all I wish I could tell you that we treated. We love them the same equally but we approached them we treated them even discipline them differently. My two sons who are now grown with their own families. They only 18 months apart and I like this Robin great databased frames in the world. They will almost black twins in some way they 18 months apart. But I'm telling you they both are they more incredible preachers ministers of the gospel today, but they all different personalities you with me on that when when my two sons were growing up, I could just say something to Rob.

My oldest son son you don't do that. That's actually normal to your view and and it would be like I'd punished him in the worst possible way.

I mean it was like everything. Not great. I'd say them, son. You just know you don't, I'm just going to tell you you do that again and he'd stand and look at me and say what stating your nose dating Stuckey never heard a thing. I had to literally send grid to Cyprus and banding to an island in the Mediterranean for six weeks just to get his attention. I'm not going to go to my daughter – she had me wrapped around her finger, daddies and daughters are entirely different.

She was allowed to do anything she wanted and my brother still remind me so yes Ephesus I want you to just take take a look. So in in the lost stage of of he's second journey, which we didn't deal a lot with he actually stopped in Ephesus. This is the lost stage. Now he's coming back to Ephesus. He's coming back. He's now about to spring some singers, and I'm going to be unpacking this over the next two and this this place your cold Ephesus right thing is is a very interesting place, probably limit. Let me tell you a couple of things about it first.

Very prominent in the Bible is, you know, Paul wrote, he's limited to these people. It's called Ephesians later to Ephesians the Ephesian people want out what else would you think about with Ephesus. Do you know in the book of Revelation chapter 2 verse one. It's the first of the seven churches in the seven churches of Asia minor.

The church at Ephesus became the leading church Christian church. It was it was very strategic. You can see it because the Aegean Sea rots a beautiful scene with all these islands here in Ephesus was right on the age of the Aegean Sea.

It was situated between Smyrna on the north coast north of it and my lead to this on the southern coast, which are very strategic and during the time of the Romans. Ephesus is saying she was Greek colony very important to hear that it was a Greek colony so it it brought into the streets of Ephesus, an incredibly strong Roman influence.

In fact justice. Caesar was a very prominent season one that we know of most of all, Augustus Caesar introduced a whole series of reforms that impacted and were carried out in Ephesus through the Romans that occupying interned emphasis into a very prosperous city. They even had her up. Now when you go to Ephesus today.

The port now sits like 6 miles in land is things of dried up and the topography has changed somewhat. The movements in some of the earthquakes have altered the location of the port side sits like 6 miles in embeds very strategic. Some of the most famous people we have another.

Have you ever wondered what happened. Often Jesus on the cross looked at John and said to him. John behold your mother Mary. And when Jesus said that John John behold John, I'm about to die. You are my brother and there is your mother take care of your mother so what did John do with his mother. He took her to Ephesus in her grave.

Mary the mother of Jesus died Ephesus John himself. We know had the experience on the island of Patmos. This is way he received the revelation the book of Revelation on the island of Patmos.

I want you to see how close Patmos is to Ephesus. This was in John's backyard and John ended up writing a lot of the book of Revelation in Ephesus. We don't the manuscripts on if you would just give me five hours every Sunday I could explain some of this to you because you going to go back into the early manuscripts, many of which I've had the privilege of study because I didn't Greek New Testament at a at an advanced level and many of you have not had so in textual criticism of the Greek New Testament which is also one of my majors textual criticism of the Greek New Testament go back into the original documents. This is how you you connect all these little pieces together, so to speak, and so right here. You not only have pull him talk about: you got the influence of John the influence of the doctrine of lost things, you got the death of G of Mary the mother of Jesus got this incredible port city and this place became quite a cosmopolitan meeting place of culture so became highly cultural. You were somebody if you came from Ephesus back in the day Ryan and it it was a good.

It was a good place to live. A good place to be and it it was a valued place.

It was a highly thought-out place.

So when you go to Ephesus today. You'll even see the big library of Celsus that fact, it's very the ruins of very prominent and then you walk down from the library of Celsus and you run into one of the most Megan amphitheaters ever in this empty theater seats about 2500 people as very intact today and next week on a talk about that because when Cole began to clash with everything that was going on in the city. They dragged them right there to the empty theater wide to the amphitheater because that's where all the people could get together and really give it out put it on pole as he was telling them about Jesus and then of course allowed.

I'll explain this a little bit more later on. Probably one of the most prominent things. Here is the temple of Artemis ART EM I is the temple of Artemis very prominent fact there. The room still standing today and if you want to know who the who the godliness of Artemis was the Romans quarter. The godliness Diana and me tell you this godliness. This, she was the goddess of fertility, childbirth, and there were several other things, wildlife, hunting, old things, which was very prominent.

Back in those days. This this this godliness.

She was the goddess of chance to see Chastity. He got fertility, chastity, childbirth. I want you to just think of all of these things so occult grew up around the godliness: Diana Artemis. They erected a temple and the color began to take the religious fervor of the city people followed the cult. God is, and to this comes pole. I want you just think about. So think about your own city right now. I want to read to just a few exits cannot do that. I meant to read to just a few exits because it's quiet. It's quite a long story.

Next chapter 18 that start with verse 24 your listening to Dr. Don Wilton zero The Encouraging Word will be back with this complete message. The people of Ephesus from Dr. Don in just a moment to remind you that were here for you, connecting you with right resources will help you grow in your faith like the daily Encouraging Word Bible guide is a physical copy can call ask for a copy be sent to you at 86689 were 866-899-9673 or sign up online right now the Encouraging Word.org. Also, the Great Lakes will find more news about this wonderful book called totally secure. Hello my friends want to personally speak to you today. My heart to yours. You know, it seems to me that throughout the wound people from every walk of life, both churched and unchurched struggle with questions just like this one is salvation is my salvation will I go to heaven. What happens when Austin most of you know that I had a long wonderful personal relationship. Dr. Billy Graham how much he impacted my life and millions of people around the world. You know on one of our occasions back in the early 2000's.

Mr. Graham looked at me and he said Don there are two critical things that we need to deal with someone.

The question of salvation people giving their lives to Christ. I see dear Mr. Brian what's the second he said that those people have given their lives to Christ no, that they belong to him.

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This is 866-899-WORD 866-899-9673. Now back to today's message with Dr. Don. Now Julie named Paulus a native of Alexandria, came to Ephesus.

He was an eloquent man competent in the Scriptures. He been instructed in the way of the Lord being fervent in spirit, and he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning of Jesus.

Now watch this little note to even though he only knew of the baptism of John.

Important. Let's go to chapter 19. This is in Ephesus and it happened that while Paulus was at Corinth pull Boston the country and came to Ephesus. They he found some disciples and he said to them, did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believe and they said no we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit and he said to them in into what then were you baptized, and they see into John's baptism before I read the next page of Scott Auster questions anyone here who would suggest that John could save anybody. Let's go down to verse eight. This is all happening in Ephesus and he entered the synagogue and for three months he spoke only reason and persuading them about the kingdom of God between some became stubborn and continued in their unbelief.

Speaking evil of the way of the Lord before the congregation, he withdrew from them and took the disciples with him, reasoning daily in the whole of tyrannosaurus by the way, it was a great teacher would tyrannosaurus is the derivative of the word tyrant and some historians, why, why am I telling you this audit just tiny little took bits of information you but some historians the word derivative is tyrant tyrant. They believe that he was so astute he was so learned.

He was so highly held that students referred to him as the agent painted tyrant menu getting front of tyrannosaurus visa tyrant to you put so much education on you. You wont even begin to think anymore. You'll get an overload on, let's go down to verse 11 and God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that he touched that touched the skin were carried away to the sick and the diseases left him, and the evil spirits came out of them now got out of verse 20, so the word of the Lord continue to increase and prevail mightily so the people of Ephesus as we try to get an understanding as a people as to what exactly is it that God is trying to teach us what about these people. What about Ephesus I'm gonna make the statement again in order to effectively reach anybody for Christ.

Make it your business to know who they all you want to reach your city for Christ become well-versed in the cultural and social political societal make up of the people into which you are bringing the gospel Dr. Billy Graham told me frequently over 25 years he would tell me so often about crusades in parts all over the world. You know that with the Billy Graham Crusades and now with Franklin and will preaching all over the country and what God is doing. Mr. Brian would look at me need say to me, Don. You know, we would go into a city. Sometimes two years before the Crusade began. They would have advanced teams going in those advanced teams would go and live among the people and they would prepare why the number one reason was to understand the city into which he was bringing the gospel. Mr. Brian would Spain treat these days if not months getting reports and studying and preparing his heart whether he was in England using India, where the reason Africa, Asia and the United States. He would Spain countless amounts of time understanding the people and the culture and the makeup and the politics into which he was bringing this message, which is alterable under change to what can you say about the people of Ephesus. I'm going to just touch on this number things. Among these people will first of all, some of them were passionately when Paul arrived there was passionate teaching going on a Paulus Paulus was there and he was just one of many, and he was teaching the word of God passionately so they was the presence of the gospel, even though the Bible tells us that he was doing it, not with the full complete understanding of the gospel, because it hadn't reached him yet it was still Jesus was still fresh KB looking here word back then they didn't have the means they didn't have the printed Scriptures right little while later we gonna find out that's why God who always loves people even used people like pull as the means of printed Scripture to show people about even healing.

I don't have the means that that we are so accustomed to the sum total passionately but some also believed sincerely but they didn't know Bible tells us in chapter 19.

One of the first things pull good in the context of these people would say to them, and you receive the Holy Spirit.

That kind of he Austin. The most important question you could have all because he understood what was going on, but they were very sincere in what they believed through John the Baptist you can go to any city in the United States of America and you going to find some a lot of very religiously sincere people so I brought friends all over the country that have great day of religious sincerity, but they don't know Jesus you can believe deeply in your heart that your church into which you are born is the means by which you have salvation, but the Bible doesn't say that the church can give you salvation but you can be some of the most wonderful sincere people I've ever made in my life really believe that the church you belong to the church and you going to heaven and they very sincere about archive Abbott frames your very sincere about doing works works can mean some of the most unbelievably sincere people in the world believe they genuinely believe because they go on a mission trip will they give them money or they do things or they praise certain prayers and they are as sincere and I respect them.

Paul came in and said listen, have you been baptized in the Holy Spirit and who is nice, it will drop. They were very sincere. Paul didn't get up there and say not give me a break. You know that only Jesus can save you listen you could be so sincere that you deeply respect the Pope and you absolutely believe that the Pope is the man and he is absolutely what he says what he does and you believe that you can be as sincere as you can possibly be the Pope cannot give you salvation is what happened. I won't.

Today's food of religious sincerity. Do you know, I present to you, Jesus, our time is gone for today but being presented. Jesus is not the same as knowing him. We love to speak with you. Pray with you, you can connect with us right now at 866-899-9673 that 866-899-9670 find that number and many other ways to connect with us on our website@theencouragingword.org.

Until next time. It's our prayer that we would see how God's word is ready to encourage you and me together at 866-899-WORD 9673 m online and the Encouraging Word.org