Hello, my ‘Walking with Jesus’ friends on this Friday,
What motivates you to take action? A need you want to meet? A personal agenda or dream you want to accomplish? Responding to a call for help from someone you care about? Or maybe the financial or accolades benefit you anticipate?
I left you yesterday with the apostle Paul, in the great city of Ephesus, in about 55ad. Paul had been there several months (Acts 19:10) and was seeing remarkable results in response to his proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ in various settings. (Acts 19:20) You may recall we looked briefly, yesterday, at an event which shook the city of Ephesus at its social, moral and spiritual core.
Hundreds of Ephesian people, who were deeply involved in occult practices, had been convicted by the Holy Spirit of God to abandon those dangerous involvements with the kingdom of darkness. They had actually burned their occult books and amulets. (Acts 19:17-19) The value of this huge public bonfire was set at 50,000 drachmas, the currency of that day, which would be about $4 million today!
More important than the money was the powerful and undeniable spiritual work the Holy Spirit was accomplishing in that great city of Ephesus and the surrounding area, as the strong influence of the evil kingdom of darkness was being pushed back by Jesus! (Acts 19:20) In this excitement, it appears Paul had the urge to head back to Jerusalem, perhaps to give a report of this remarkable event. The record says: “After all this happened, Paul considered going to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achia.” (Acts 19:21) It appears to me Paul intended to make sure a stop in Corinth would be on his route. (1 Corinthians 16:3-7)
But something happened to delay Paul from leaving Ephesus right away, for Paul wrote: “I will stay on in Ephesus until Pentecost, because a great door for effective work has been opened to me, and there are many who oppose me.“ (1 Cor. 16:8) Do you find that interesting? Have you ever made travel plans change for spiritual reasons? Paul was developing the very important ability to DISCERN what God was doing where he was and how God was involving Paul in God’s larger purposes there. Are you and I developing that unusual ability?
Do you see that Paul recognized two opposing spiritual dynamics happening around him?
* First, God was opening ‘a great door for effective work’, Paul wrote.
Paul’s work was spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ, by any possible means, for the purpose of establishing and growing the Church of Jesus in places where the Gospel was largely unknown. I presume Paul was saying that he recognized the Holy Spirit was awakening spiritual hunger in many people. The Spirit was opening their minds and hearts to respond to the Gospel, and they were experiencing life transforming Salvation by Jesus Christ!
But secondly, did you notice Paul wrote: ‘and there are many who oppose me.’?
My friends, do you understand the unseen but very powerful spiritual WAR that has raged on planet earth since the days of Adam and Eve? Satan is determined to frustrate God’s purpose of drawing humanity to a sin forgiven relationship with Jesus, and give them the assurance of eternity in heaven! Even more, Satan is determined to draw as many people as possible, in every generation, in every place on planet earth…AWAY from God and into the stronghold bondage of the dark kingdom of evil. Why? Because in that bondage people will live in despair, torment and hopelessness. Self-destructing by their own poor choices, they will wound many other people! THAT, my friends, is Satan’s purpose in our world, and therefore Satan and Jesus are embroiled in a global, every generation battle for the soul of EVERY person!
That is why Paul wrote that simultaneously, in Ephesus, Jesus was opening doors of great opportunity before Paul and Paul was seeing great spiritual results; but at the same time Satan was raising up great opposition against Paul! The battle for the soul of the city of Ephesus was raging.
So, while Paul wanted to leave Ephesus and go to Corinth and then go on to Jerusalem, Paul felt compelled to remain in Ephesus, fully engaged in this great battle, seeking to prepare as many other people as possible to understand and engage in this battle for the soul of their city!! Pause. Do you understand what I’m describing, and do you see it in YOUR city? Can you discern what the Holy Spirit is showing you about YOUR role in the spiritual battle raging for the soul of your city?
As Paul was wrestling with these powerful realities, evidently, he received a delegation from the struggling church in Corinth with a deeply troubling report that this spiritual war raging in Ephesus was also raging for the soul of the great city of Corinth! (1 Corinthians 16:17) You’ll remember Paul had spent 18 months in Corinth, about 3 years prior. (Acts 18:11) Pause. Have you ever wished you could be in two places at the same time?
Unable to be both in Ephesus and Corinth at the same time but realizing this battle for the soul of both cities was very serious, Paul sat down to write a very important letter to his friends in that great city of Corinth. We have that letter in our Bible, and we know it as 1 Corinthians. Remarkably, this letter is so very relevant to the spiritual war raging for your city and mine, and every city in the world.
We’re going to carefully dissect Paul’s letter in hopes of finding great resources to help us in the battle for our cities. I believe you’ll find this letter incredibly pertinent to the issues you see every day which call for you and me to make some important decisions about our involvement in this battle between the kingdom of God and the dark kingdom.
The ‘lessons learned’ notes for today are very powerful and waiting for you at the link just below, and a wonderful worship song will draw you to prayer, and I’ll be here with Paul ready for you to join us in 1 Corinthians tomorrow.
Today’s Scripture: Acts 19:20-21.
Choose below to read or listen.
 |  |
Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.
Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.
Pastor Doug Anderson
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)
Archived back issues of “Walking with Jesus” and other resources are available by clicking here to open our ‘home page’ (or go to HOME at upper right of this page).
Share with friends. Subscribe below for daily “Walking with Jesus”.