19:6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. 9 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. 10 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.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
Acts 19:6-12
When Paul arrived in Ephesus, he asked the 12 men he met, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit?” “No, we have received only John’s baptism.” Paul realized they needed the good news of salvation – so he told them about Jesus’ death, resurrection, saving power of the Holy Spirit in his name, and so they believed and were baptized. Then the Holy Spirit came upon them. They spoke in tongues and preached the gospel message in other languages.
For by one Spirit we were baptized…
1 Cor 12:13
This event was a mini-Pentecost.
In Acts, this is the final event of tongue speaking recorded. So, in order to remember the work of the Holy Spirit, we must remember several things.
- The book of transitions
- The starting of the New Covenant age
- The new History book
So, about speaking in tongues, we must remember, these instances are erratic, not very often.
Yes, this is ONE of the gifts of the Holy Spirit, but is NOT evidence of the baptism of the Holy Spirit, not evidence of the fullness of the Spirit.
“Do all speak in tongues?” No.
So, remember, the key point of the book of Acts = the Spread of the Gospel and its inclusiveness. The key verse is Acts 1:8:
When the Holy Spirit comes on you, you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
Acts 1:8
We must seek to share our faith through the power of the Holy Spirit in this way. Nowhere are we admonished to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit nor to speak in tongues, but we are commanded to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Paul’s ministry lasted 3 years and was marked by the movement of the Holy Spirit. “The name of Christ was held in high honor through transformed lives…”
6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
Acts 19:6-8
Paul was asked to stay in Ephesus on his first missionary journey, but he declined their offer. Still, he promised to return later if God allowed. Now, he’s kept his promise by entering the same synagogue and speaking boldly about Christ for three months – until encountering opposition.
In Christian life, keeping your word is very important. This is not just for good intentions. One of the commonest promises we Christians make to each other is: “I’ll pray for you.”
I will….
I’ll pray for you.
This promise, from a Christian mouth is a VERY serious promise – with God as witness before you. So, whenever we make this promise, we must keep this promise at least more than one time. This is a promise we make not only before the other person, but also before God – because we pray TO God.
9 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. 10 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.
Acts 19:9-10
This means that the whole province of Asia Minor was evangelized.
When the door of the synagogue was closed, God opened the Way much wider through the whole province of Asia.
At that time, synagogues were usually schools for Jews. But this lecture hall of Tyrannus was larger and more available for Gentiles.
Tyrannus may have been a Greek philosopher or just the owner of that building at that time. Such buildings were often used in the mornings to teach Greek philosophy, but they were often empty during the middle of the day – due to the heat (the hot part of the day).
In Ephesus, the work day ran:
- From at 7am,
- Break at 11am – 4pm.
- Work again until 9:30pm
Paul worked all morning and evening at his secular job. But during the break period, he preached the gospel daily for two years. Can you calculate how many hours he preached the gospel? 10,000+ hours?
- 5 hours * 2 years =
- 3, 120 hours of lecturing =
- 130 days of lecturing without stop at 24 hours per day
Paul kept a “killer” schedule. Why? Because at that time, religion was a “big business” in Ephesus. So, he WORKED hard to keep himself free from appearing that he was “in” this “business” for money.
You remember my toil and hardship, working night and day, to not be a burden to anyone while I preached the gospel of God to you.
1 Thess 2:9
10 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.
Acts 19:10
It was during this time of year that the churches mentioned in Revelation came into being.
- Paul taught and preached,
- admonished the believers,
- went and evangelized house to house,
- planted many churches,
- directed a great missionary enterprise.
In today’s age of “meism” and selfishness, “hedonism” and self-pleasure, we need “tough” Christians like Paul.
We can learn three lessons we can apply to our own lives today.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
Acts 19:11-12
It was not Paul who did miracles, but God. They had a three-fold purpose:
- To demonstrate God’s power and authority
- To authenticate Paul as the spokesman for the true God
- To demonstrate God’s compassion, mercy, and grace to those in great need
From these miracles, we can find three lessons for our own Christian lives today.
3 Lessons
#1 God wants us to be holy
As our Father is holy, we must be holy. You know, at that time, aprons and handkerchiefs were dirty, sweatbands, used from making tents, they were not special.
But the ultimate purpose of Paul’s tentmaking was to preach the gospel more effectively. That’s why God blessed his secular job.
How about us?
God does not want us to do sometimes what is holy and sometimes what is not holy. He doesn’t want holiness only in the church, and unholiness out of the church. He wants holiness everywhere.
Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, do it all for the glory of God.
1 Cor 10:31
In your office, your hagwon, your school, are you doing a “holy” job or a “secular” job? At the time of Noah: “They were eating, drinking, giving in marriage” – but it was unholy, secular, because their motivation for doing so was only for their own physical pleasure.
Even though we are eating, drinking, making money – if we do this for his glory, it will be accepted as holy. Thus, this is our mission field given by God. He wants us to do what is holy all the time, not just sometimes.
#2 God wants to use what is in your hand
In serving and saving others, God wants to use what you’ve got in your hands.
- God used what was in Moses’ hands to save Israel from Egypt.
- He used the sling in David’s hand to kill the giant and save Israel.
- He used the loaves and fishes in the boy’s hand to feed 5,000.
- He used the clothes in Paul’s hand to save and heal others.
These things were merely symbols of dignity of heart, sincerity, humility, and God used them to release his power.
Yes, today, we may not be able to do these kinds of miracles, but we are able to give him our hands – and through our hands, he is able.
#3 Healing is still possible and available today
Physical, bodily, spiritual, mental, psychological healing, all are possible through Jehovah Rafar.
He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our sins. By his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
He himself bore our sins on the cross so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. By his death, we have been healed.
1 Peter 2:24
He took up our iniquities; he carried our diseases.
Matthew 8:17
Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. This kind of miracle is still available for those who have faith and trust in Christ.
Let’s pray.
