Acts - Week 10 / Monday

Reading for today: Acts 19:1-20

These are the Scriptures that we covered in this past weekend's message, so I will just comment briefly. When Paul discovered that these 12 disciples in Ephesus had not been taught about the Holy Spirit at the time of their conversion, he laid his hands on them and prayed, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues and prophesy.

The laying on of hands in this situation did not cause them to receive the Spirit, but it encouraged their faith, just as it still does today. Remember, the baptism in the Holy Spirit is a gift that the Father loves to give to His children. There is no special way or place that is necessary for you to receive this gift. Just surrender yourself to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

As always, Paul went to the synagogue, starting with the Jews first when he arrived in Ephesus. For 3 months he argued persuasively with the Jews, but as usual, some of the unconverted Jews became hardened and obstinate. So, Paul withdrew from them, found the lecture hall of Tyrannus, and met daily there for the next two years, preaching and teaching the gospel.

Acts 20:34 tells us that Paul continued his usual practice of working at his tentmaking trade to support himself and his party. Ancient manuscripts tell us that he worked from dawn until about 11 a.m. at tentmaking. Then he would teach from about 11 a.m. until 4 p.m. In the evenings Paul would go to various homes to teach and establish the believers and to help win their friends and neighbors to the Lord.

The result was that the whole of the Roman province of Asia was evangelized. Since Ephesus was a great center, people were continually coming in and out of the city, and it is possible that many of them heard the Word of God, were converted, taught by Paul, and then went back to their own cities where they became powerful witnesses for Christ, and churches grew up around them.

Is it possible that this same kind of thing could happen in the central part of Wisconsin? I think the key word is "faithfulness." If we are a faithful people in sharing the "good news" of the gospel, God's Word will not return void. It will impact lives and hearts.

Tomorrow: Paul causes a riot!