December 27, 2012
Acts 19:15 - "Jesus I know and Paul I know about, but who are you?"
Those are the words of an evil spirit that questioned those who were acting as if they were legitimate believers when they were not. Interesting how "evil" can see the difference between truth and darkness when those who live in the light often either don't see it or refuse to see it.
Paul continued his journey from place to place telling the Good News of Christ. If people refused to believe—he left them. What happened around Paul did not change him. Acts 19:11 - "God used Paul..." I like that. God uses people to do His work and to bring Honor and Glory to Himself.
Then there are those who try to counterfeit God's work in order to bring honor and glory to themselves and even the evil spirits recognize them as counterfeiters. Some people want the glory without the work of a surrendered life. And some people are threatened by the Word of God. Demetrius was one of those. He was a silversmith who made images of the Goddess they worshiped. He made a lot of money, and that was his number one concern. He was worried about losing "his good name," and he was concerned that the people would lose interest in their Goddess if they listened to and believed Paul. People losing interest would hurt his profits, so he instigated an uproar and riot against the believers. Large amounts of people joined in even though they didn't know what the uproar was about. Eventually, the uproar died down and everyone was sent home.
You can try to deny God's message. You can try to keep it from going out. But nothing can stop the moving of the Holy Spirit. Acts 19:20 - "So in a powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing."
Next Entry: Acts 20:1–38
Acts 19:15 - "Jesus I know and Paul I know about, but who are you?"
Those are the words of an evil spirit that questioned those who were acting as if they were legitimate believers when they were not. Interesting how "evil" can see the difference between truth and darkness when those who live in the light often either don't see it or refuse to see it.
Paul continued his journey from place to place telling the Good News of Christ. If people refused to believe—he left them. What happened around Paul did not change him. Acts 19:11 - "God used Paul..." I like that. God uses people to do His work and to bring Honor and Glory to Himself.
Then there are those who try to counterfeit God's work in order to bring honor and glory to themselves and even the evil spirits recognize them as counterfeiters. Some people want the glory without the work of a surrendered life. And some people are threatened by the Word of God. Demetrius was one of those. He was a silversmith who made images of the Goddess they worshiped. He made a lot of money, and that was his number one concern. He was worried about losing "his good name," and he was concerned that the people would lose interest in their Goddess if they listened to and believed Paul. People losing interest would hurt his profits, so he instigated an uproar and riot against the believers. Large amounts of people joined in even though they didn't know what the uproar was about. Eventually, the uproar died down and everyone was sent home.
You can try to deny God's message. You can try to keep it from going out. But nothing can stop the moving of the Holy Spirit. Acts 19:20 - "So in a powerful way the word of the Lord kept spreading and growing."
Next Entry: Acts 20:1–38
No comments:
Post a Comment