Let's turn in our scriptures
to Acts chapter 19. One of the reasons for giving the
parables and particularly the context of that parable is that
again and again we see that the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ
and the response to the ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ and
the response to the extraordinary evidence that he brought before
the people of who he is and what he has done is mirrored in what he continues
to do in this world today. And Acts the Apostles really
should be called the Acts of the Lord Jesus Christ, because
they are all the Acts of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when we
read the events that happened in, for example, in Matthew 21,
and in Acts 19, and all throughout the book of Acts, we should be
expecting and should be looking, if the Lord would give us eyes
to see, that these things are exactly what's happening today.
God hasn't changed. people haven't changed. Satan
is enraged as he was 2,000 years ago. His rage grows as time goes
and his craftiness probably has reached extraordinary bounds
but nevertheless our God is the same and he rules and Satan is
but a chained lion. He will only ever do God's bidding. ministry in Ephesus, and I might
remind you that by the time you get to the following chapter,
in chapter 20 verse 17, we actually have a church that has a goodly
number of elders. And so this church that began
with such humble circumstances grew to be a very, very large
church in this short space of time, this few years that Paul
was about with them. Let's read from the beginning
of Acts 19. And it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth
and Paul, having passed through the upper coast, came to Ephesus.
So he went through what is now modern-day Turkey to the west,
to the southwest of modern-day Turkey, which is where Ephesus
is. And finding certain disciples, he said unto them, Have you received
the Holy Ghost since you believed? And they said unto him, We have
not so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost. And
he said unto them, Unto what then will you baptise? And they
said, Unto John's baptism. And Paul then said, Paul, John
verily baptised with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the
people that they should believe. on him which should come after
him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they had heard this, they
were baptised in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And when
Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came upon
them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. And all the men
were about twelve. This church began with Paul,
Priscilla and Aquila for a short time, and Paul. Just thirteen. Thirteen people. And he went into the synagogue
and spake boldly for the space of three months, disputing and
persuading the things concerning the kingdom of God, and when
those were hardened and believed not, but spake evil of that way
before the multitude. spoke evil of that way before
the multitude. He departed from them and separated
the disciples, disputing daily in the school of one tyrannist.
So he went to a public hall, as close, I would imagine, as
he could find one convenient to the synagogue. And so for
the next two and a half years or so that he was in Ephesus,
as in Corinth, When they went to the synagogue on Saturday,
they would have looked across and seen Paul and the church
gathering next door. They were laid side by side as
they were in Corinth. Certainly, to the knowledge of all the Jews
that were there, He separated the disciples, disputing daily
in the school of one Tyrannus. And this continued by the space
of two years, so that all they which dwelled in Asia heard the
word of the Lord, the word of the Lord Jesus, both
Jews and Greeks. And God wrought special miracles
by the hands of Paul, so that from his body were brought unto
the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from
them, and the evil spirits went out of them. Then certain of
the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them
which had evil spirits in the name of the Lord Jesus, saying,
We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. And there were seven
sons of one Sceva, a Jew and chief of the priests, which did
so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus, I know. And
Paul I know, but who are ye? And the man in whom the evil
spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and reviled against
them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. And this was known to all the
Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus. And fear fell on
them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. And many that believed came and
confessed and showed their deeds. Paul began this ministry in Ephesus,
and it's the last time we'll find him in the Book of Acts
in a setting of a church. He will continue to bear witness
to the Lord Jesus Christ, but most of the rest of the time
in the Book of Acts he's actually in prison, either at Caesarea
or in Rome. But what a way, verse 9, what
a way to speak evil of. They spoke evil of the way. They spoke evil of the kingdom
of God. They spoke evil of that particular
way. It is extraordinary, isn't it?
We live in an age, as no doubt they did in those days, where
you can choose whichever way you like and nothing much will
be said about it. When was the last time you heard
any public criticism of all the Buddhas and all the yoga and
all the Hinduism which pollutes this whole world these days?
When was the last time you heard any criticism of this extraordinary
notion that somehow we've created ourselves and somehow we remarkably,
remarkably are at the end of this extraordinary chain of development
from little amoebas? Isn't it remarkable that no one
speaks against it? It's remarkable that David Attenborough
has made a fortune and a great name for himself, hasn't he?
By taking the creation that God has made and the beauty and the
wonder of that creation and showing it to people and then explaining
away the creator. Has he ever been criticised for
it? You think of all the isms that
pollute this world and none of them have spoken evil of. But
you declare before people and you declare before religious
people a sovereign God, a sovereign God who reigns, a sovereign God
who elected a people for himself, a sovereign God who put those
people in his son before the foundation of the world, a sovereign
God who loved those particular people and them only, a sovereign
God who died for that particular people. So this is the way that
people speak evil of today. And don't be surprised if they
continue. Why don't you turn back in your
scriptures, or turn over in your scriptures to Ephesians chapter
1 and we'll read something of this way that they spoke evil
of. See, mankind will tolerate any
God except the real one. And religious man will tolerate
any Jesus except the real one. This is the God that is proclaimed
and was proclaimed. This is the way that's spoken
evilly against. And as with all of God's people,
for repentant sinners, who've fallen upon that rock, in Matthew
21, and been broken by that. They find the rebuilding that
God does, and the declarations he makes of himself, the most
delightful thing in all the world. He says in verse two, grace be
unto you and peace, from God our Father and from the Lord
Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who have blessed us with all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Are you lacking any
spiritual blessings, brothers and sisters in Christ? Not according
to the Word of God. Not according to the word of
God. You're blessed with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
places. The only blessings that really matter are spiritual blessings.
We live in a world which is just flooded with material blessings. And we live in a world where
people are more depressed and more anxious about all sorts
of things and more unhappy with all those blessings than ever
people have been before. Ever. Spiritual blessings, spiritual
blessings, children of God, are the greatest blessings. There's
no greater blessing than the presence and the peace and the
grace that comes from God to his children. And we've got them
in heavenly places, they can't be corrupted. I love the fact
that all my spiritual blessings are in heavenly places, because
that means that nothing down here is going to pollute them.
I can't pollute them. I can't get my hands on them
in that way to destroy them. They're all given to me in Christ
Jesus and they're kept in the best place ever. Read 1 Peter,
you'll see they're just there. Blessed be the God and Father.
According, this is how he's done it, according as he's chosen
us in him before the foundation of the world. God's children
love the notion of election. We love the fact that it has
to be proclaimed you can't preach the gospel without preaching
election. all of God's children love the
fact that they're in Christ because God put them there. And once
again, if God put us there, and he put us there from the foundation
of the world, then all of the wickedness and the sin and the
rebellion, all of the rebellion of me saying, I will not, and
all of the wicked rebellion of righteousness saying, I'll do
it, I'll do it, all of that. doesn't take him by surprise
and cannot change his love. He's given us before the foundation
of the world that we should be holy and without blame before
him in love. That's what he's doing, isn't
it? That's the work of the gospel. That's the work of our Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what Paul has been sent around this world to
proclaim. That's what is causing the enmity
they speak against this way. Having predestinated us, it means
that he controls everything. Predestination is like election,
it's just God being God. And God's children love God being
God. They're so thankful for him.
He predestinated, he determines everything. He determines everything. But there's a purpose, isn't
it, of his predestination under the adoption of children by Jesus
Christ to himself. That's a great declaration of
the gospel throughout the scriptures, isn't it? I will be a God unto
them, and they'll be my people. We'll be one with Him. According to the good pleasure
of His will. God's people love the fact that
God has a will. And man, man's will. does not ever thwart God's will. And anyone who claims that they
have a God, who taught them that they have free will, has got
an idol for a God. to the praise of the glory of
His grace. That's what God's people were
singing. That's what they were singing in Ephesus, weren't they?
When those 12 disciples were baptised, they would have been
singing to the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He
hath made us accepted in the Beloved. That's where we're accepted
by God, in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through
his blood. His blood actually redeemed.
His blood didn't try and redeem. His blood redeemed and it redeemed
a particular people. In whom we have redemption. It's not offered to God's people. They have it. That's what he
says, isn't it? This is what Paul was preaching
in Ephesus. And he preached it again and again and again. And
the people in Ephesus for two and a half years heard the same
message. In one way or another, whether he was preaching out
of Genesis or preaching out of Malachi, Paul would have brought
this same message every time. In whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins. According to what? According to your activities,
according to you exercising faith, according to you doing, according
to the riches of His grace, riches of His grace. What a wealth of
riches there is there. We have received grace upon grace. It's a throne of grace that we
come to. It's a fountain of love that
just overflows. Wherein he is abounded toward
us in all wisdom and prudence, having made known unto us the
mystery of his will. We know what God's will is. This
is the will of the Father, that all that he's given the Son will
come to him, and all that come to him he'll know as cast them
out. The will of the Father is done, brothers and sisters. It
was done from the foundation of the world. According to his
good pleasure, See, he is pleased to reveal himself to those he
chooses. And God's people love the fact
that God is God. He's not obligated to reveal
himself to all, and he doesn't. You might recall in Luke chapter
10, they came back, the 72 were sent out, and they came back
rejoicing and said, the demons submit to us. We can perform
miracles. We have control over demons. And what did the Lord Jesus Christ
say to them? He says, don't you rejoice about
the things that you can see and the things you can do here? You
rejoice because your names are written in heaven. And then he
says, doesn't he? He says, I thank you, Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, that you've hidden these things from
the wise and prudent, and you've revealed them unto babes. The
Lord Jesus Christ rejoiced. Rejoiced over the sovereignty
of God. Rejoiced over the power of God. Rejoiced over the choosing
of God. Rejoiced over the revealing of
God to particular people. Rejoiced over God hiding it from
people. is made known unto us, the mystery
of his will, according to his good pleasure, which he has purposed
in himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of time he might
gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in
heaven and which are on earth, even in him. He's gathering them
all together. The family of God is going to
be gathered together in the most remarkable way. You can read
about it in 1 Thessalonians 4. The Lord Jesus Christ is coming
back. He's coming back with all those saints that have been surrounding
that throne and rejoicing and singing the songs that you can
read about in Revelation. They're singing those songs now.
And they have the extraordinary wonder of being in the presence
and the glory of what there is in heaven, which just captivates
the minds of people. It blows your mind. You have
to be taken out of this flesh to be able to appreciate how
glorious it is. But what's he doing? He's coming
back. When he comes back, they're coming back and we'll be lifted
off this earth together to join him. And then he's destroying
this earth. Then there's a new creation coming,
a real physical creation. You will have a real physical
relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and with the creation
and with others, a multitude that is beyond number, that extraordinary
multitude of the redeemed. We must get out of our minds
that even though we are a remnant and all of God's people have
always been a remnant through our time, The multitude is monstrous. The multitude is such that when
we get there, the glory of the victory of the Lord Jesus Christ
will be so evident, and it'll be evident to all of God's people,
and it'll be evident to all of His enemies. He will be Lord
of all, and He'll be Lord of glory. And God's people will
live in a new creation. It's the home of the righteous.
That's our home, brothers and sisters. That's where we really
belong. I love what Gregory says. He
says, when we get there, we'll realize that we've always been
there. We've always been united and
one with him. So how do you get it? Verse 11
of Ephesians 1. In whom? in whom also we have
obtained an inheritance." How do you get an inheritance? You
get it because you're part of the family. Lisa's not here,
so I can tell the story, but her grandfather, before he was
dying, he'd been in the First World War and been gassed in
the trenches of France in the First World War. But he actually
was a staunch Presbyterian and he knew what the Presbyterians
said, you actually save an inheritance for your children's children.
And so before he had a child who was married, he had four
children, he actually set up an inheritance, not for his children,
but for his children's children before he had any at all. So
how do you get that inheritance? It might just be petty, so please
don't misunderstand me. But how do you get that inheritance?
He didn't know any of them. Will you lose that inheritance
because you've been wicked? Do you get more of that inheritance
because you've been good? You get that inheritance on what
basis? on one simple basis, and he wrote it down, didn't he?
He wrote it down 60, 70 years ago, before any of them were
married. He wrote it down and signed it, didn't he? They get
an inheritance because they're my grandchildren. End of story. We get an inheritance because
we're the children of God, brothers and sisters. We get an inheritance
not on the basis of how good we are, and we get the same inheritance. All of them get exactly the same,
why? Because they're all children
of God. So what's this, people talk about crowns and rewards
and you get extra prizes for being in heaven and you get this
elevated position because you're closer to the throne than all
these other all-so-rounds. Not according to this book. Paul
says in 2 Timothy that the crown that he gets is what? The crown
that every believer gets. You've got the Lord Jesus Christ.
You've got everything that this creation offers, brothers and
sisters. You've got everything that is ever needed. We have
obtained an inheritance being predestinated according to the
purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his
own will. So this is what Paul was preaching.
This is the way, it's called that way in our verse there,
isn't it? They spoke against that way. They spoke evil. They were hardened
and disbelieving, these Jews. And they went before the multitude
and they spoke evil of that way. The hardness and disobedience
and disbelieving of the children of Adam is a great, great picture
and a sobering picture, isn't it, of the depth of the fall
of humanity, that you would find that message offensive. But who
finds that message most offensive in this world? The people who find that message
offensive today are exactly the same as the people who found
that message offensive 2,000 years ago, and found that message
offensive when the Lord Jesus Christ walked on this earth,
and found that message offensive when Isaiah preached to them,
and found that message offensive when Noah preached to them. Nothing's
changed. It is the glory of our God to
take away a heart of stone. See a heart of stone disbelieves. Read Ezekiel 36 and you'll see
the I wills of God, the glorious I wills of God, and he gives
them a new heart. You have a new heart to believe.
But everywhere that gospel is proclaimed there is offence.
You might recall Paul's journey in Antioch in Acts 13. They were
filled with envy and they spoke against Paul and they contradicted
and blasphemed. And Paul turns to them and he
says, you put the word of God from you. I'm going to preach
on. You count yourselves, you judge
yourselves unworthy of eternal life. Herod killed James the
apostle. And what happened to the Jews?
It pleased the Jews. It pleased the Jews. Wherever
the gospel goes, the unbelieving in Iconium in Acts 14, and the
unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and made their minds
evil-affected against the brethren. In Acts 14, they came and persuaded
the people and they stoned Paul and left him for dead. Wherever Paul went, in Acts 16,
In Philippi, the multitude rose up together against them. In
Thessalonica, wherever they went, you have seen this story all
through, haven't you? We've seen this division. The
gospel comes, and there's this extraordinary division, and God
gathers his people, and the things that we read out of Ephesians
1 become a delight for them. And so the message of Acts 19
is, you preach on. What did Paul do in the face
of this opposition? He just preached on. He preached
on, and the church grew, and the Word of God grew, and it
spread throughout all of that whole region of Asia. It multiplied
and grew. The Word of God is unbound and
unbroken. God sends it where he wishes
to send it, and it does its work where God wishes it to do its
work. And it does the work that we've
just been reading about in Ephesians chapter 1. And the fact that
there are men that rise up in wicked opposition and slanderous
opposition against God and his servants does absolutely no harm. Do you see what God does in the
midst of... There you have these disbelieving Jews, they're stirred
up a multitude, they've created as much havoc as they can, and
Paul takes his people out, as God does, he takes his people
out and he separates them. And what does he do in verse
11? In the midst of all that opposition, God wrought special
miracles by the hands of Paul. And what's special about these
miracles? They're remarkable miracles, aren't they? so that
from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs and aprons
and the diseases departed from them and evil spirits went out
of them." Isn't that a remarkable saying in Ephesus? If you could
get a handkerchief from Paul brought to you, you would have
a demon depart from you and you would be cured of a disease.
You might recall that Peter's shadow would fall upon people
and they would be healed But here we have those special miracles.
So Paul doesn't need to be present. Just something that had touched
him, just something that had touched him. You remember that
lady, don't you? She said, if I can just touch the hem of his
garment, I'll be healed if I can just touch. See, God, wrought special miracles. The Lord Jesus Christ wrought
these special miracles. And the Lord Jesus Christ doesn't
have to be physically present to heal. As God, He's omnipresent. As God, He's omniscient. As God,
He's omnipotent. He has all power. As the centurion
said, you just say the word and my servant will be healed. Just
say the word. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. It might be evil spoken of. But
the king's ambassadors carry the power of the king. And I
remind you yet again that these are special miracles that the
apostles only performed and those to whom the apostles gave that
power. And when the apostles had finished
their work and the word of God had been completed, these special
miracles ceased. And therefore, when you encounter
the miraculous today, be extraordinarily suspicious of it. If you encounter
the miraculous in the religious world, run away from it. Have nothing to do with it. It's a glorious picture, isn't
it? that God brought these special miracles by the hand of Paul.
So there, for this next two years or more in Ephesus, if you were
sick, all you needed was Paul's handkerchief. If you were demon-possessed,
all you needed was an apron from Paul. And that is in the face
of these men that speak evil of that way. It's exactly what
the Lord Jesus Christ had given his apostles, and he'd given
them power. But in these miracles, he's declaring something remarkable,
isn't he? All the miracles in the New Testament,
all the real miracles, are miracles that point to the miracle of being freed from Satan's grasp,
and freed from the disease of unbelief, and being freed from
the disease of religious self-righteousness, and set free by a gospel. See, he was declaring, he was
declaring by the preaching of the gospel, the creation of saints,
the creation. This church, what's there in
Turkey that's appealing? God's children are there. God
sends his servants, God sends his servants, and from his body,
The Lord Jesus Christ dwelt in Paul. He dwelt in Paul. You can read it in Romans 8 and
Colossians 1, isn't it? It's Christ in you, the hope
of glory, from his body, the garments that came and touched
the body of Paul are pictures of the garment of the Lord Jesus
Christ. He robed his bride in his garment. You might recall that garment
that the Lord Jesus wore to the cross of Calvary was just made
of one piece. It was just made of one piece,
sewn from top to bottom without a single seam in it. It is the
seamless robe of the Lord our righteousness. It's an undivided
garment. It's undivided because He will
not be divided from His people and He will not be divided from
the glory of His character and we are united We are united by
the faithfulness and we're united in the faithfulness of our Lord
Jesus Christ. And there's a garment, there's
a garment that heals, there's a garment that defeats the schemes
of Satan to take his people captive, and the garment of the righteousness
of the Lord Jesus Christ, it covers our shame. And this is
a garment, a garment but has no seam in it. It reveals that
the law and all of its demands have been perfectly met. And
he robes his people. It's a garment, as Isaiah 63
says, it's a garment that's red. It's a garment that's red in
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Who is this that cometh from
Edom, dyed with garments from Bosra? This that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength,
I that speak righteousness. And listen to how he describes
himself wearing this garment dyed with blood. Mighty to save. He speaks righteousness. He's
mighty to save. Wherefore, up thou read in thine
apparel, and thy garments like him that treadeth the winepress.
He says, I have treaded the winepress alone, and the people, there
was none with me. He did it all by himself, brothers
and sisters. And that robe is the robe of
his righteousness. The garments that came from Paul's
body, picture the garment that the Lord Jesus Christ robes his
people with. John was asked a question in
heaven, wasn't he? He was asked a question, what
are these that are arrayed in white robes? John, Revelation
17, 13. Arrayed in white robes, from
whence came, where did they come from? And I said unto him, Sir,
thou knowest. And he said to me, these are
they which came out of great tribulation. In this world, brothers
and sisters, it's appointed unto you to suffer for the Lord Jesus
Christ. You haven't been promised a bed
of roses. You haven't been promised, this
is going to be easy, you've come out of great tribulation. and
have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb." That's the robes that he robes his people with. It's
the garment that comes from the body. Therefore are they before the
throne of God, and serve him night and day in his temple.
And he that sits on the throne shall dwell among them. And they shall hunger no more,
neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them,
nor any heat. For the lamb which is in the
midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto
living fountains of water. I love when the graces of God
are revealed in the scriptures, they're almost invariably in
the plural. The fountains of waters, and
God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. That's the robe. that the Lord
Jesus Christ, from his body, robes his people with. Let's
pray. Our Heavenly Father, we pray
that you might create in our hearts that which would not ever
be there by natural generation, that you might, by your Spirit's
power, Heavenly Father, created us hearts that love your dear
and precious Son, that look to Him, that find Him to be our
all in all, that look to Him on Calvary's tree and see us
one with Him and united with Him, and see Him bearing our
sins and bearing them away forever by His own work, heavenly Father,
to see Him being accursed that we might be set free from the
curse of the law. And Heavenly Father, may we see,
may we see by faith the glory of your people being robed in
his righteousness. Perfectly fit to be in the presence
of the awesome and wondrous holy Lord God of this universe. Father,
exalt your Son amongst us and cause Him to be honoured by causing
us, Heavenly Father, to have the simplest childlike faith,
just to rely upon Him. to look to Him and trust Him. We praise you, Heavenly Father,
that you perform all your words because you are righteous. We pray that you perform them
for us today and until that great day where we meet Him in glory. For we pray in His name. Amen.