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Good morning, Christchurch. My name is Suzy Shin, and I'll be reading today's scripture from the Acts of the Apostles, chapter 19, and Paul's letter to the Ephesians, chapter 1, as printed in your liturgy.
A reading from the Acts of the Apostles.
While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus.
Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
But some of them became obstinate. They refused to believe and publicly maligned the way.
So Paul left them.
He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
This went on for two years so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to 50,000 drachmas.
In this way, the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia.
After I have been there, he said, I must visit Rome also.
He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
About that time, there arose a great disturbance about the way.
A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in a lot of business for the craftsmen there.
He called them together, along with the workers in related trades, and said,
You know, my friends, that we receive a good income from this business.
And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus,
and in practically the whole province of Asia.
He says that gods made by human hands are no gods at all.
But there is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name,
but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited,
and the goddess herself, who is worshipped throughout the province of Asia and the world,
will be robbed of her divine majesty.
When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting,
Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
Soon the whole city was in an uproar.
The people seized Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's traveling companions from Macedonia,
and all of them rushed into the theater together.
Paul wanted to appear before the crowd, but the disciples would not let him.
Even some of the officials of the province, friends of Paul,
sent him a message begging him not to venture into the theater.
The assembly was in confusion.
Some were shouting one thing, some another.
Most of the people did not even know why they were there.
The Jews in the crowd pushed Alexander to the front,
and they shouted instructions to him.
He motioned for silence in order to make a defense before the people.
But when they realized he was a Jew, they all shouted in unison for about two hours,
Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.
The city clerk quieted the crowd and said,
Fellow Ephesians, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis
and of her image, which fell from heaven?
Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to calm down and not do anything rash.
A reading from Paul's letter to the Ephesians.
For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God's people,
I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers.
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father,
may give you the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that you may know him better.
I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you,
the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,
and his incomparably great power for us who believe.
That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead
and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
far above all rule and authority, power and dominion,
and every name that is invoked,
not only in the present age but also in the one to come.
And God placed all things under his feet
and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, which is his body,
the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
This is the word of the Lord.
Thank you, Susie, for that reading.
Let's go to the Lord in prayer as we open up this word.
Holy Spirit, we ask that you would come.
That you would convince us that apart from your son, we can do nothing.
Would you show us our powerlessness
and at the same time show us your great power
that we've seen in the resurrection of Christ.
Help us to have a holy hunger for that power
and for your glory.
And would we see that here as a church community
as we seek to be a people who go in the name of Jesus
to love and serve this world.
So would you do that, Lord?
Would you do that for us by your grace?
In Christ's name we pray.
Amen.
All right.
Well, next week, just to let you know,
we're going to be at retreat, so don't come to church.
All right.
Just wanted to get that out there.
We'll say it a couple times today, just so you know.
But this also marks kind of the end of our series in Paul.
Today we're looking at this last episode in Paul's ministry.
We're looking at the origin story of the church in Ephesus.
And I'm just going to just dive right in,
tell you a little bit about this city, Ephesus.
All right.
I've got a map of Ephesus right up here.
It's a prominent city in Asia Minor,
Turkey as we call it today.
And in Paul's day, it was the most populous city
and the most prosperous and populated providence in the Roman Empire.
It wasn't like some small potatoes little town.
It was a cosmopolitan center.
And not just politically, economically, and culturally,
but also religiously.
Ephesus was basically the epicenter of worship
for the Greek and Roman gods.
It was like the Mecca of the Greek and Roman world.
It was particularly known for its worship
of this Greek goddess named Artemis.
And in fact, the temple of Artemis in Ephesus
was considered one of the seven ancient wonders of the world.
Right up there with the great pyramid,
it was a temple like four times the size of the Parthenon.
And so people all over the world,
they came to Ephesus to worship Artemis,
this goddess of fertility and childbirth
and nature and wilderness.
Which if you think about it,
are all things that throughout history,
humanity has struggled to get under our control.
So tons of people are coming,
trying to get that under control
by coming to worship Artemis.
So again, this is not only a politically,
economically, and culturally prominent city,
but it's a religiously significant one in Paul's world.
And it's even more accurate to say
that this was a spiritually dynamic city.
Ephesus was like a crossroads of every kind of religion.
Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Jewish,
now Christian with Paul coming in there,
and even like local pagan cults.
Archaeologists have found tons of like inscriptions
and talismans and various other ceremonial artifacts
that indicate all sorts of worship
and practice of magic and sorcery in Ephesus.
That's your little history lesson on Ephesus.
Why am I starting the sermon
with all these facts about Ephesus?
Well, our text today, as Susie experienced,
is quite long.
We're not gonna be able to turn over every stone,
but if I could identify one main theme
from our passage today,
I'd say that these texts that were read
are about power.
I wanna talk about power today,
what we're looking at today
in the Ephesian episode in the book of Acts,
and what Paul prays to God for
as he later writes the church in Ephesus
is a power encounter.
All right, a power encounter.
Now, for those of you who are immediately skeptical
of this kind of a language, I hear you.
Maybe speaking about a power encounter
reminds you of those health and wealth,
prosperity preachers on TV,
and you rightly fear the abuses
and excesses of charismatic Christianity.
I get it, I hear you.
Don't worry, we're not going there.
I'm right there with you.
And as we walk through this text,
I think you'll see a distinction
between the power encounter here
and what happens, unfortunately,
in so many churches,
especially in America today.
Now, maybe there are others of you, though, here,
and this idea of a power encounter,
it just raises red flags, though.
It makes you kind of roll your eyes
because you're just not quite convinced
of the invisible spiritual realm.
You prefer to live and operate
within what the Canadian philosopher Charles Taylor
calls the imminent frame,
this disenchanted, simply natural, rational world
without reference to the transcendent.
And if that is you this morning, I get it.
And we want to be a church for you.
And I totally understand why
what you heard red this morning
could sound like, you know,
a bunch of just backwards,
ancient, superstitious people
arguing with each other
about whose superstition was better.
And maybe it's probably hard for you
to appreciate how any of what was read today
has relevance for you in the, you know,
the 21st century.
But listen, if this describes you,
well, there are tons of conversations
that we'd love to have with you
in this church about that.
We could talk about, you know,
how the Western secular skepticism
actually came as a byproduct
of Christianity's successes
and its success at dismantling, you know,
ancient, pagan, medieval superstitions.
We could talk about how actually impossible it is
to sustain a solid sense of meaning
and purpose and morality
just within the imminent frame
and without any reference to the transcendent.
But just for the sake of time,
could I just ask all of us
to have an open mind this morning
to the spiritual?
Because the truth is,
if you're skeptical about spiritual powers
outside the imminent frame,
outside of nature,
you're actually in the minority.
And not just throughout human history,
but even today,
the spiritual realm is not so far-fetched
to most people living in the world.
In the United States
and even in more secular countries
like France and Germany and Japan,
the Pew Research surveys show
that the majority of people
believe that there is something spiritual
beyond the natural world,
even if we cannot see it.
And I think this is because
none of us can fully escape
what Jesus and the Scriptures teach,
that we're all imprinted
with the image of God,
which means deep down,
we all know that reality
is far more expansive
than what meets the eye.
And try as we might
to answer life's biggest questions.
Why do things happen
the way they do?
Why does it matter
that I'm alive?
What goals should we pursue
with our lives?
We all know
the answers to these questions
cannot be found
simply within the imminent frame
where all that matters
is matter.
And I'm not saying this
to belittle anyone here
or to bully you
and just try to guilt you
for your skepticism,
but really more than trying
to win an argument
or convert you to my team.
What our heart is here
at Christ Church
is for everyone here,
Christian or not,
religious or not,
what we pray for as a staff,
what your elders pray for,
what we pray for downstairs
at 9.30 every Sunday
in the boiler room,
every Sunday,
over everyone who comes in
through these doors,
is that every single person
who comes into this place
to worship with us
would have a power encounter
with the living God.
It's like that's what
this thing is here.
This is not a lectern.
This is a pulpit.
I'm not here trying to share
information with you today
about Christianity,
trying to make it sound
more plausible.
I'm trying to communicate to you
the fullness
of what your maker
and sustainer
desires for you.
And listen,
it's so much more
than His love.
We love talking about
His love here.
It's wonderful.
We focus tons on that,
that there is a Father
who loves you,
who has sent His Son
to bring you into His family
and give you His inheritance,
that this is a God
who is personally interested
and invested
in you and your life.
We love the good news
of God's love here.
But guess what?
There's even more good news.
Good news that this Father
is also a king.
And if He is your Father
and King,
if you are a royal child
of God,
then that means
you don't just have
the love of the Father.
You have the authority
and power
of your Father
and King
in heaven.
The good news
I have for us
this morning
is that God
doesn't just want you
to know Him personally,
He wants you to know Him
powerfully.
And you know,
to make this more personal,
just to give you a window
into my own heart
and my vision
and prayer
for my family
and for myself
and for our church
in the season ahead.
You know,
I've just completed
seven years
of ministry here
at Christ Church.
I get my sabbatical
right after Easter.
Looking forward to that.
But I'll miss you,
of course.
But 2026 Easter
is also when
Christ Church East Bay
turns 20 years old.
20 years old,
20 years of leading people
into deeper relationships
with Christ
and His church
through community
and for the city.
But you know,
Jonathan and I
and our elders
as we've been praying
and discerning together,
thinking to ourselves,
God,
not thinking to ourselves,
praying to God,
God,
what would you have for us
in the next decade.
What I keep coming back to
when we think about
our mission statement
that we exist
to lead people
into deeper relationships
with Christ,
I think what God
keeps bringing back to me
is the words
deeper still.
Deeper still.
And so,
you know,
what I've been praying for
toward that end,
what I've been praying for
is God's power.
Not just His wisdom,
not just more strategic
church practices,
not even just that we'd be
a church full of love,
care,
and compassion,
I've been praying
that we'd be a church
full of the power
and presence of God
like we haven't yet seen
in this church.
A power and presence
that permeates
our church family
and radiates
into the Bay Area cities
around us
and our communities
just like what we see here
in Acts chapter 19.
And now,
maybe you've never
thought of Christianity
in these terms.
Maybe for you,
Christianity is about
comfort and peace
and identity.
Maybe it's about
salvation and eternal life
or answers to life's
big philosophical
existential questions.
But this morning,
I want to invite you
to consider the power
that's offered to you
in Jesus Christ.
And I think this is
particularly relevant
in our present
cultural moment,
especially here in the Bay
where in many ways
we're feeling more powerful
than we've ever been,
right?
We carry these little
supercomputers
in our pockets
that connect us instantly
to the whole world,
right?
And put oceans of knowledge
at our fingertips.
AI promises us
unprecedented efficiency
and productivity.
Biotech is pushing
the boundaries
of human life itself.
And yet,
at the same time,
many of us probably
also feel more powerless
than ever,
right?
At the very same time.
More connection
means more exposure
to the world's pain.
More knowledge
means more responsibility
and higher expectations
we can never meet.
More efficiency
just means the bar
keeps rising
and with every new solution,
new unforeseen challenges
and problems emerge.
So sure,
technology can extend life,
but it cannot tell us
what life is for.
It can give us information,
but it cannot give us wisdom.
It can connect us,
but it cannot heal us,
which is why we need
a different kind of power.
Not just the power
to hit deadlines
and meet quotas,
but the power to live
as we were created to live.
The power to resist evil,
the power to persevere
in suffering,
to be healed
and renewed,
the power to see
the broken made whole.
We need a higher power.
And see,
that's the kind of power
Acts 19 puts on display
for us.
That's the kind of power
that Paul prays
for the church in Ephesus
to encounter the power
of Christ's resurrection
at work,
in us,
in the world.
All right,
so sorry for that long windup,
but let's take a look
at this origin story now
of the church of Ephesus.
So remember,
this is a city
full of political,
economic,
cultural,
and religious power,
and its people
are extremely spiritual,
which basically means
they were seeking
even more power.
Like sure,
they were living
in this upscale,
cosmopolitan city
as Ephesian citizens.
Even the silversmiths
and the craftsmen
and the clergy
were getting paid,
but they were a society
still always seeking more.
Like what secret spell,
what incantation,
what practice
can I add to my life
to level up,
to be healthier,
to be more prosperous,
to be more successful,
this was the climate
that Paul was stepping into
in Ephesus.
Now,
verses two through seven,
they aren't printed
in your liturgy
for the sake of time,
but basically what happens
is Paul enters Ephesus
and he meets some people
who heard and accepted
the preaching
of John the Baptist
many years before,
but they hadn't yet
heard about Jesus,
which means that
they were living lives
of repentance,
they were living lives
of turning away from sin,
but they didn't exactly know
who or what to turn to.
So Paul tells them
and they get baptized
in the name of the Lord Jesus
and boom,
power encounter.
They are baptized
in the Holy Spirit.
They're empowered
to speak in tongues
and to prophesy,
indicating that they are now
children of God
who speak with
and commune
with the living God
and who also hear from Him
and share that word
with others.
So basically,
the Holy Spirit's power
falls upon people
immediately
as Paul enters
this incredibly
spiritually dynamic place
and this is just
the beginning.
As was Paul's practice,
he also goes
into the synagogues first.
He goes into the synagogues
where he always went
to find the spiritually
interested
and verse 8 says
he spoke boldly there,
persuasively making a case
about the kingdom of God.
Basically,
showing the Jewish people
of Ephesus
how Jesus was the fulfillment
of their scriptures
and announcing to them
that His kingdom had come
and that it was a kingdom
better than
and radically other than
any other kingdom.
But apparently,
the reception was mixed there.
Some were persuaded
and others refused to believe
and verse 9 says
some publicly malign the way
which is what they called
Christianity back then,
Jesus' way.
And so Paul leaves them
and he starts lecturing
and holding daily discussions
in a public space
called the Hall of Tyrannus
which by the way
should encourage us
to see Christianity
as not a private religion only
but as a viable public faith
to be shared
and to be in dialogue
with the public.
That's what I love
about being here in Berkeley
just two blocks from Cal.
That's what I love
about our Cal Scholar Series.
You PhD students,
so many of you PhD students
coming here
and integrating
your academic disciplines
with your commitment to Christ.
I love that.
That's what we need to be about
at Christ Church.
And the hope and prayer
is that God will bless
and use our church
as He did in Ephesus.
Verse 10 says,
Paul lectured
and held daily discussions
for two years
and then everyone
in all the province of Asia
heard the word of the Lord.
That is how powerfully
God was working
through Paul's ministry
in Ephesus.
Can you imagine that?
The whole province of Asia
had heard the word of the Lord.
Can you imagine
because of the teaching here
that all of California
hears about who Jesus is?
I want to pull up the map again
and basically when it's saying
that the word of the Lord
went through all the province of Asia,
like, you know all those churches
that you read about in Revelation?
That's what happened.
Those were church plants
that resulted
from this powerful work of God
in Ephesus.
Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis,
Smyrna, Philadelphia, Laodicea.
This is a result
of what God is doing
through Paul's ministry
and teaching
through the Holy Spirit
in Ephesus, all right?
And then verse 11 says,
God doesn't just do miracles
through Paul
but extraordinary miracles
as if normal miracles
weren't extraordinary enough.
More power encounter.
And we didn't print
all that happened here
in the liturgy
but basically
from verses 11 to 16,
God is working powerfully
through Paul
and people recognize it.
People are even
taking handkerchiefs
that had touched Paul
and they're bringing them
to their sick friends
and people are getting cured.
Evil spirits are fleeing.
And you know,
with this being
a very spiritually dynamic city,
there are also these
Jewish exorcists
that Acts 19 talks about
who notice the power
that's at work in Paul.
So what do they try to do?
They try to copy
Paul's technique.
They invoke the name of Jesus
trying to command evil spirits
to flee from people.
But when they try this,
an evil spirit goes,
I know Jesus
and I know about Paul
but who are you?
And the man with the evil spirit
beats them bloody
and runs them out of the house
naked.
And you know,
you might think
that this would weaken
the people's faith
in the power
of the name of Jesus.
You know,
maybe that was one spirit
that, well,
the name of Jesus
didn't work on that one.
But verse 17 says
the opposite actually.
When this became known
to the Jews and Greeks
living in Ephesus,
they were all seized
with fear
and the name of the Lord Jesus
was held in high honor.
Apparently,
everyone heard about
what happened
with these Jewish exorcists
trying to use Jesus' name
for their own purposes.
And then rather than
people thinking,
oh well,
that didn't work,
or well,
I guess some evil spirits
are immune to Jesus'
the Jesus incantation.
No,
people probably
because of Paul's teaching
and life
were recognizing that,
hey,
this Christianity stuff,
the way
is not like
any other religion.
It's not just about
performing a ritual
or using some
religious technique
to wield
and manipulate
divine power
for our own purposes.
Christianity
isn't just some
life hack.
No,
that evil spirit
recognized Paul,
recognized Jesus,
and recognized
their authority,
but not these
Jewish exorcists
because these Jewish
exorcists had no
meaningful relationship
to Jesus.
He wasn't their Lord.
They weren't united
with Jesus
and his Father in Heaven.
They had no authority,
no power.
Jesus' name
was not going to be
manipulated,
objectified,
or used.
And in fact,
Jesus is seen
as so powerful
that he's actually
seen as sovereign
over that evil spirit
that went to teach
those Jewish exorcists
a lesson.
So ironically,
their failure
to cast out a demon
in the name of Jesus
ends up leading
to Jesus' name
being held
in even higher honor
in Ephesus.
They are all seized
with fear, it says.
And not only did this
impact all of Ephesus,
but it led to a revival,
a large public corporate
act of repentance
in the city.
Verse 18 says,
many of those
who believed
now came
and openly confessed
what they had done.
This means that
many who said
that they were Christians,
many who said
that they were part
of the way,
were also mixed up
with other faith commitments,
caught up in the spiritual,
syncretistic climate
of Ephesus,
but now they're moving
toward the exclusivity
of Christ.
The one who said,
I am the way,
the truth,
and the life.
No one comes to the Father
except through me.
And this wasn't just
a confession of their lips,
but it was repentance
in action,
even at great expense.
Verse 19 says,
a number who had
practiced sorcery
brought their scrolls
together and burned
them publicly.
When they calculated
the value of the scrolls,
the total came
to 50,000 drachmas.
You know,
archaeologists
have dug up this area
and they've noticed
tons of these
types of scrolls,
tons of these written words
and inscriptions
all over Ephesus.
They call them
the Ephesian letters.
And piecing together
all the evidence
and reading the historians,
what they've gathered
is that these words
were magical formulas
that people used
and they would carry
and recite
to protect themselves
from harm.
So when you read about
these burning of the scrolls,
that's what's happening.
People are burning
their scrolls
with all these magic formulas.
And it says
50,000 drachmas worth.
For reference,
50,000 days wages
for an average worker.
A drachma is like
a day's wage.
So that's,
I did the math,
135 years of salary
were burned right there
in repentance
because of the power
of the Holy Spirit
working in that city.
And so this was
a massive public repentance
and renunciation
of the prevailing powers
in Ephesus.
And it only led
to the word of the Lord
spreading even more widely.
Verse 20 says,
in this way,
the word of the Lord
spread widely
and grew in power.
Again, Ephesus
was having a power encounter
and the power of Christ's word
and spirit
were prevailing.
And so much so
that it was even disturbing
the Ephesian economy
and threatening
their political stability.
Again,
the Christian faith
isn't just a private
personal religion
but a public faith.
And when God's word
and spirit move forth
in power,
it doesn't just change
individual lives
and hearts
but it impacts
whole societies.
That's what the power
of Christ wants to do
here in Berkeley,
here in the Bay Area,
in our world.
Read with me
from verse 23.
About that time
there arose
a great disturbance
about the way.
A silversmith
named Demetrius
who made silver shrines
of Artemis
brought in
a lot of business
for the craftsmen there.
He called them together
along with the workers
in related trades
and said,
you know my friends
that we received
a good income
from this business
and you see
and hear
how this fellow Paul
has convinced
and led astray
large numbers of people
here in Ephesus
and in practically
the whole province
of Asia.
He says that
gods made by human hands
are no gods at all.
There is danger
not only that our trade
will lose its good name
but also that the temple
of the great goddess Artemis
will be discredited
and the goddess herself
who is worshipped
throughout the province
of Asia and the world
will be robbed
of her divine majesty.
When they heard this
they were furious
and began shouting
great is Artemis
of the Ephesians.
Soon the whole city
was in an uproar.
So basically
Paul's message,
Paul's ministry
centered on Jesus
and his kingdom.
It has massively
disrupted
this entire city,
its very economy,
its political stability.
There is undeniable
power encounter
going on
in this spiritually
dynamic city.
So that's what happened
here in Acts 19
but so what?
So what
and then what?
What are the implications
for us particularly
as it relates
to power?
Well first notice
Paul's spirit led,
spirit empowered method.
It's super important
to notice
that all Paul's success
in Ephesus
is completely owed
to the direction
and the power
of the Holy Spirit
which Paul had
absolutely no control over.
Notice he doesn't
try to climb the ladder
in Ephesus
to gain influence
and a hearing.
He simply goes
to the spiritually interested
and those who are open
to the way of Jesus
even if they're a fringe group
and he starts there
just with those 12 disciples.
And he's not coercive
but he seeks to win
and persuade.
He's not selling anything
but he's simply
convinced himself
that everyone
has every reason
to embrace Jesus
and his kingdom.
And this is why
he also brings his message
into public places
side by side
in dialogue
with anyone
who's willing to talk.
That's why they go
to the hall of Tyrannus.
He spends multiple years
there just unpacking
all the reasons
that he has
for why the kingdom
of Jesus
is so great
while also at the same time
healing and casting out
evil spirits
in Jesus' name
to demonstrate
his power.
But the whole time
he's relying
not on his logic
or his persuasiveness
but ultimately
on the Holy Spirit
to change people's hearts
and even to change
whole regions
and societies.
Paul's method
is not a technique
so much as
a relational
spirit-led
spirit-driven faithfulness
that inevitably
bears fruit
in exactly the way
that God intends.
And this is such
a huge contrast
to what the Ephesians
were probably used to.
You have the Jewish exorcist
who tried to manipulate
Jesus' name
like a magic formula.
You have your
Greek philosophers
who leaned on logic
and syllogisms
to try to persuade people.
You have the silversmith example,
Demetrius,
he's leveraging wealth
and people's greed
and populist rhetoric
to try to get people
to do what he wants them to do.
But as Paul simply
follows the leading
of the Holy Spirit
in faithfulness
to his calling
as an apostle,
he effortlessly
demonstrates
that the highest power
is not magic,
logic,
money,
it's not popular opinion
or influence,
it's simply
the Spirit.
I mean,
I feel like
I return to this
again and again
because I think
it's what God
wants me to hear
again and again.
My job,
our job
as human beings,
as children of God,
it isn't to win
at life
by all the metrics
that are set
before us.
It's not to be
the most impressive
tree in the forest,
no,
it's to be
the tree of Psalm 1.
And if you haven't
memorized Psalm 1 yet
and you're a member
of this church,
get on it,
alright?
Psalm 1 is our psalm,
right?
God's calling us
to be a Psalm 1 tree
with ever deepening
roots in Christ,
less concerned
about branching out
than going deep
and reaching high
into the heavens.
And as the psalmist
says,
that is the kind
of tree
that will bear fruit,
that will experience
the powerful
abundance of God,
maybe not exactly
when we would
have planned it,
but always
in season,
in God's
perfect timing.
And this is tied
to the second thing
I want us to notice
which is the way
that the way
of Jesus
and His Spirit
runs so counter
to the idolatrous
way of Ephesus.
The second implication
here is that
Jesus' way
is really the only
positive sum game.
Just think of
like all the people
every year
coming into Ephesus,
flocking to the
temple of Artemis
every single year
seeking to offer
their worship,
seeking to pay
their tribute,
seeking to purchase
that new scroll
with that new
magical formula,
seeking to make
a fortune selling
those scrolls,
plugging into the
religio-economic
machine that is
Ephesus.
But whether
they were there
for wealth
or health
or both,
they were all
basically engaging
in the same
practice.
Transaction-based
salvation.
Zero-sum
game religion
or even negative-sum
game religion.
If I sacrifice
this much wealth,
then I will
receive this
much health.
If I sacrifice
this much time,
then I will
gain this much
treasure.
If I just
follow this
magic formula
or just pick up
that innovative
technique,
then I can
level up.
Then I can
power up in
my lifelong
effort towards
saving myself
from pain
and discomfort
and harm
and misfortune
and even death.
And this isn't
just an ancient
practice in Ephesus
though, right?
We may not
be as overtly
and explicitly
spiritual here
in the Bay Area.
We may not
all be hunting
for magic scrolls.
I don't know
if that's your
thing.
But maybe,
and even more
sadly,
we're still
convinced of
life only in
the imminent
frame.
And so we
just look to
technology and
human ingenuity,
self-help,
hacks, tips,
and techniques to
basically do
exactly what the
Ephesians were
doing.
Trying to secure
our salvation,
trying to secure
our health,
our wealth,
and our happiness
through transaction.
But see,
Jesus offers us
a far better way.
He doesn't call us
to power up
to save ourselves,
but to plug into
Him and to enjoy
His resurrection
power.
He invites us
to die with Him
and to rise with
Him and to live
in His abundance
as a counterculture
to a world
absorbed with
scarcity.
He's the only
positive sum game.
I love what
the New Testament
scholar Dennis
Johnson writes
about the difference
between the
the ways of Christ
and the ways
of Ephesus.
He writes,
magical manipulation
is a manifestation
of the common
human quest
for salvation
by works.
Our hunger
to control
our destinies,
to break free
from our need
for and our
dependence on
divine grace,
but the message
of Jesus
is a message
of God's gift.
Unearned,
undeserved,
unmanipulated,
and uncoerced.
It is the good
news of rescue
for the penniless,
the helpless,
the hopeless,
who can neither
pay their benefactor
in advance,
nor repay
His kindness
in their gratitude.
God's gift
unmasks our
pretensions to
independence,
our delusion
that we can bargain
or barter
with the Lord
of the universe.
The Spirit
is God's gift,
not a product
to be purchased
or a service
to be contracted
or a wage
to be earned.
See,
what God
offers us
is the same
power that
raised Christ
from the dead,
the Holy Spirit,
at no cost
to us
and at every cost
to His Son.
It's the only power
worth having
and we can have it
without striving
but simply
by faith,
by trusting in Him
and receiving
His gift.
And this leads us
to the final implication
which is that
God's powerful spirit
dismantles exploitation.
You see,
when Paul was preaching
and when people
were being freely healed
and set free
from evil spirits
in the name of Jesus,
all for free,
Paul was declaring
that Jesus is Lord
above every false
man-made God
the Ephesians
had been paying
tribute to.
And the results
were staggering.
Whole segments
of the population
turned away
from Artemis.
You remember
the 135 years worth
of wages
that were burned
in magic scrolls.
It was a massive
repudiation
of the spiritual economy
in Ephesus.
Paul wasn't even
trying to run
an anti-Artemis campaign.
He didn't boycott
the silversmiths.
He didn't bomb
the ancient wonder
of the world temple.
He simply preached
Christ crucified
and risen
and people started
connecting the dots.
And as they did,
they walked away
from an entire system
that had been
exploiting them.
False authorities
demanding allegiance,
unjust economies,
draining their resources.
If you pay attention
to Demetrius' speech,
right,
he didn't care
about the people
whom his idols
were basically pillaging.
Demetrius was happy
to continue churning out
these ineffective products,
happy with the status quo,
as long as money
kept flowing
to his pocket.
But the Spirit
dismantled all of that,
and not through force
or violence,
but through the truth
and freedom
of Christ.
Whereas Demetrius
preached the message
of greed
and fear
to preserve
his unjust,
deceitful status quo,
Paul was preaching
a God
of generous grace.
He was preaching
freedom from empty,
expensive rituals
and true power
to disrupt
the wicked status quo.
And see,
that's what's going
to change the world.
That's what's going
to change the world,
the message
and ministry
of Christ
and his Spirit
reconfiguring
what we invest in
with our time
and our money,
altering the goals
that we have at work,
altering the goals
that we have
for our children,
reshaping
how we spend
our leisure
or even how we use
our bodies.
And we desperately
need this transformative
power in our world
and in our lives
because make no mistake,
Artemis is still
very much with us.
She just wears
different clothes now,
right?
We may not be
bringing sacrifices
to her temple
but maybe we offer tithes
at the altar of consumption
where what you have
determines what you're worth
and where our closets
are full
but our souls
still feel empty.
Or maybe we kneel
at the altar of success
where our resumes
and our promotions
promise salvation
yet leave us anxious
that we'll still
never measure up
or maybe it's
the temple of beauty
right?
This multi-billion dollar
industry feeding off
of our insecurities
and still
none of us ever
feels attractive enough.
It could be
the temple of politics
demanding allegiance
to false saviors
who promise us
power or protection
yet leave us
divided
and disillusioned
still.
Or maybe it's
the glowing temple
in our pockets again
where algorithms
exploit our weaknesses,
addict us to
distraction
and enslave us
to mindlessness
and pornography
and all the filth
that's out there
only making us feel
more restless,
lonely,
and dissatisfied.
We need,
the church needs,
the world needs
a higher power.
And though no one
would have expected
it to come
through a crucified
Jewish man
from Nazareth
who claimed to be God,
that is precisely
where it's found.
And if you will
take hold of that power,
if you will take hold
of that person,
if you will take hold
of him,
Jesus Christ,
not to wield his power
for your own purposes
like those Jewish
copycat exorcists,
but to be used
of God
as Paul was
and as many others
who've gone before
and after him,
that same power
that Paul prayed for
in Ephesians chapter 1,
the immeasurably
great power of God
that raised Jesus
from the dead
is the same power
that will be at work
in you who believe.
A power that truly
makes you free,
free from fear,
free from greed,
free from slavery
to what cannot satisfy,
free to bear fruit
like the Psalm 1 tree,
rooted deep
and flourishing
in season.
And my practical challenge
to each of us this week,
something I've been doing
myself,
is not presuming
that we've already arrived,
already approached
my max efficiency
and fruitfulness.
I've been asking God,
God,
where are the places
in my life
that you want to show me
your power?
Where are the places
where I feel powerless
or limited?
Show me your power
in those places.
Or where are the places
where I need to be confronted
with my limits
and powerlessness?
Show me your power
in those as well
in my powerlessness.
Oh God,
show me,
show us,
show the world
your greater power.
God,
we're going to be
instead
and increase
our dependence
on you
and you alone.
This is a God
who wants you
to know his love
and he wants you
to know his power.
It's a beautiful combination
and this is what
will change the world
by the Spirit
of Christ.
Let's go to him
in prayer.
Oh Lord,
we ask that you
would stir up
within this church
a holy hunger
for your power.
Not for our own ends
but your perfect
holy ends.
That your kingdom
might come,
that your will
might be done
on earth
as in heaven
through us
in our neighborhoods,
in our workplaces,
in our homes.
Would we be a people
who depend upon,
who experience
and who share
with others
the incredible power
of God
in Christ,
the power of salvation
for all who believe,
the power of resurrection,
the Holy Spirit
residing in us.
Lord,
show us,
give us a higher view
of what you're calling us to.
show us the good works
that you've prepared beforehand
that we should walk in
and surprise us
with how amazingly
extraordinary
those works are
as we walk them out
in service
of our King Jesus.
In his name we pray.
Amen.