Bibles tonight to the Book of Acts in chapter 19. Acts chapter 19. Appreciate Joe Fraga filling in last Wednesday night. We were able to get in on the server to join you through the live stream last Wednesday evening. And so that was a blessing to be able to kind of participate in that way. By the way, one other thing, I guess, announcement. Mike and Mona Ward, who we just took on as missionaries, they're going to be in the area over the weekend. And they needed a place to park. So their RV will be out there. They're coming on Saturday and they'll be leaving sometime midweek next week. So if you see an RV out there, that's who that is. They won't be with us because they've got meetings at other places, but just need a place to park and asked if they could do that here. And we're glad to be able to provide that for them as well. So just wanted you to know that. Well on Wednesday nights we're studying through the life of Paul and we're on Paul's third missionary journey and he is at Ephesus and we have looked at this over the last several Wednesday nights and so I'm just going to pick up in the middle of the account of Paul's ministry there but just remind you that you know in chapter 19 as Paul comes to Ephesus He first of all encounters these disciples of John the Baptist and preaches the gospel unto them, preaches Christ to them. And they believe on Christ and are baptized. And then Paul goes in and preaches the gospel in the synagogue. He had done that on his, at the conclusion of his second missionary journey as he was making his way back to Jerusalem. He stopped in Ephesus just very briefly. preached the gospel in the synagogue. It was well received. They asked him to stay. He said, no, but I'll be back. So he came back and preached the gospel for three months in the synagogue at Ephesus. And really that's when the church took off, the church at Ephesus. as Paul ministered there. And then there was opposition that caused Paul to withdraw the church from the synagogue, from meeting in the synagogue. They met in the school of Tyrannus. And so for about three years, Paul ministered at Ephesus. And God did some special miracles, the Bible says, even though this was a time when God was working miracles through the hands of the apostles and perhaps others. But God did something even over and above that through the Apostle Paul in that there were handkerchiefs and aprons, it says in verse 12, that were taken from Paul and placed on the sick and demon-possessed, and their sicknesses were cured, the evil spirits left them, and God just testified to the reality of the gospel, the truth of the gospel through these spiritual miracles that were done. But that led to some Jews who were not believers. They saw what God was doing through Paul. They tried to imitate what Paul was doing when they tried to cast a demon out of a man. And they said, we adjure you by Jesus, whom Paul preached it. They didn't believe in Jesus. They were not saved. But they tried to call the name of Jesus over these demons. And the demons said, we know Jesus and we know Paul, but we don't know you. This man pounced upon them, there were seven of these Jews who tried to cast this demon out, and this one man overpowered all seven of those Jews and beat them so that they barely escaped with their life. But the result of all that was that Paul's ministry and the ministry of the gospel was actually magnified so that not only were more people getting saved, but many who believed, who had been still practicing the occult, came and confessed their sin and turned from that, and they burned all these books. In today's economy, we said it was about $6 million worth of books that were burned. And verse 20 tells us that, "...mightily grew the word of God and prevailed." took hold in Ephesus, and God was doing a mighty work there. Paul determined to leave, and this was the last thing that we looked at in thinking about Paul's exit strategy. He was going to go to Macedonia and Achaia, and then to Jerusalem, and so he sent Timothy and Erastus ahead into Macedonia, but he remained at Ephesus still for a while, and it was at that time, verse 23, is where we pick up the account that there arose no small stir about that way. You know, Paul faced many struggles, and some of them are not specifically recorded in Scripture. That is, sometimes there's an allusion to Paul's sufferings or his troubles that we don't have the details of. We'd love to have the details. We'd love to know more of what Paul endured for the sake of the gospel. But we don't read about all those things. But sometimes he references something. And so some of the things that we read about occurred at Ephesus, and again, we have reference to that. Not necessarily the details. In 1 Corinthians 15 and verse 32, and if you remember, that letter was written from Ephesus, but he says, if after the manner of men I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what advantage is it me if the dead rise not? Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die. Paul was hazarding his life to preach the gospel. And in that chapter 15 of 1 Corinthians is a resurrection chapter where Paul's saying, you know, if there's no resurrection, then me putting my life on the line for the gospel is foolish. Let's just eat, drink, and be merry. And tomorrow we die. Live it up. Make the most of this life because this is all there is. And why should we hazard our lives for the sake of the gospel? But what does it mean when Paul says, I fought with beasts at Ephesus? Was he actually put in the arena with wild beasts? And probably not. As a Roman citizen, he could not legally be forced to fight the beasts in the arena. But he says, after the manner of men, so that he's probably referring to men as beasts. Some of the opposition that he faced at Ephesus was akin to going out in the arena and actually fighting wild animals. But clearly, Paul's stating that he put his life on the line for the sake of the gospel. In 2 Corinthians, which he also wrote from Ephesus, he said, we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia. And Ephesus, again, was the chief city of Asia. But he says, we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life. But we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raiseth the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver in whom we trust that he will yet deliver us, you also helping together by prayer for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons, thanks may be given by many on our behalf. Paul said we despaired even of life at Ephesus, but God delivered us from so great a death, and doth deliver us. And even in Romans 16 verses three and four, he says, greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for my life laid down their own necks, unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Somehow or another, Aquila and Priscilla put their life on the line so that Paul could be spared his life. And again, Romans was written from Ephesus, so it's very possible that that occurred at Ephesus. So we don't know all the details of everything that Paul endured at Ephesus in those three years for preaching the gospel. But clearly, there was challenges and troubles that Paul faced. But we do read about this one event that occurred as Paul is making his plans to leave Ephesus, there's an uproar and we take that word uproar, the uproar at Ephesus because of Luke's terminology in Acts 20 and verse 1 after the uproar was ceased, that's what Luke called it, an uproar. So taking his word, this uproar occurred and God delivered Paul and his companions from, again, the possibility of death at the hands of a mob. And so, as we look at this, let's consider, first of all, the cause, and then we'll look at the confusion, and then the conclusion of this uproar. But what caused this uproar? And, of course, one of the things that we could say is the tenets of Christianity, the teachings of Christianity. Again, because in verse 23, there arose no small stir about that way. That way is a reference to Christianity, to the church. That was the terminology that was often used to describe or speak of Christianity in that day, that way. It really was considered a cult in its day. But the word way literally means a course or a road. You traveled a way to get here to church. You got on the roads that lead from your house to the church. That was the way to the church. But it's used here, obviously metaphorically, to speak of a way of life, the teachings of Christianity, the way of life that Christianity leads to. And of course, the way of Christianity would not allow for idolatry or immorality, and all of that was part of the worship of idols. So, as Paul came in to preach the gospel and people are getting saved, there's a change that's taking place, and they're no longer worshiping idols. no longer engaging in the immorality that was so much a part of that. And remember, as Paul comes into Ephesus, you know, there has been some preaching of the gospel. The gospel is not entirely new when Paul comes on this third journey, because he had stopped there before and preached the gospel briefly, and he left Priscilla and Aquila there, and no doubt they had continued to present the gospel while Paul was away. So it's not entirely new, but as Paul comes in, again, the gospel really takes off and the church grows exponentially as Paul comes to Ephesus so that the word grew and prevailed so that more and more people are getting saved and things are changing. But prior to Paul's coming, the society, the city was just, it was a city of idolatry and immorality and that was what everybody did. And so now things are changing. Ephesus was known particularly for its worship of Diana. Those of you that are familiar with the story, you know we're going to get there. that that was a particular issue that came up, but Diana was the goddess of fertility. Evidently, a meteor of some sort fell from the sky, and it was believed to have some connection to Diana. This temple was built at Ephesus in her honor, and worship was established there at Ephesus. The Temple of Diana was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It was about 420 feet long and 250 feet wide. It had 127 columns that were 60 feet high. So, let's see, I think there, no, I thought I put one in there. I didn't, I'm sorry. So, I got a picture of the arena but not of the ruins of Diana's Temple. But anyway, it was a massive building. I mean, you think about 60 feet high, that would today for us to put that in terms that we can understand, that's a six-story tall building. And they didn't have all the modern equipment that we have today to build something that massive. But this is a huge building where this worship took place. And literally, the world came to Ephesus to worship Diana. And particularly in Asia, but even from other parts of the world, they would have come there on their pilgrimage to worship Diana. And many of them carried home little shrines dedicated to Diana, which could be used in worshiping her at home. But again, the new converts, these people that are getting saved are led to abandon idolatry. I just note here, we are not saved because we change. In other words, we're not saved by works, but we change because we are saved. And as these people are getting saved, there's a change that was taking place in their life, and they're abandoning idolatry. They're abandoning the immorality that was so much a part of that and so much a part of their society. And so there is the teachings of Christianity that were taking hold as these people were getting saved, and really it is the influence of the gospel. Because it goes on to tell us that there was a certain man named Demetrius, who was a silversmith, which made silver shrines for Diana. These were these little... silver replicas either of the temple itself or of the goddess Diana that as these pilgrimages were made, they would buy these things and take them home with them. So they're making these silver shrines and it brought them no small gain. They were getting rich off the selling of these shrines to these pilgrims that came to Ephesus to worship Diana. This Demetrius, who is kind of the president, if you will, of the silversmiths' union, called together the workmen of like occupation and said, sirs, you know that by this craft we have our wealth. And moreover, you see and hear that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away much people, saying that there be no gods which are made with hands. And think about what he's saying there. Again, Paul has persuaded and turned away much people, not only at Ephesus, but throughout all Asia. And again, as Paul preached the gospel in Ephesus, the Bible says in verse 10 that all Asia heard the word of the Lord, that all Asia is hearing the gospel and people are getting saved throughout that entire area. And all these people have been worshiping Diana, now they're not doing that anymore. They're not coming to Ephesus to worship Diana. They're not buying the shrines and taking them home because they're being told that, you know, Diana is just a work of men. There's not really any Diana. And you don't need to worship this God. And so he says, not only this our craft is in danger to be said it not, verse 27, but also that the temple of the great goddess Diana should be despised and her magnificence should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worshipeth. If that was still true, that all Asia and the world worshiped Diana, then there really shouldn't have been any issue. with them losing money, but the reality is that was the influence of the gospel. So many people are getting saved. So mightily grew the Word of God and prevailed. And when we looked at that verse earlier, we noted the fact that prevailed has the idea that the gospel is becoming the dominant force in Ephesus. See, Christianity is taking hold in Ephesus, and it is impacting That society, it's making a difference. It's purifying that society to some degree. And so the income of the craftsman is in jeopardy. And I want to note here, and I know we've hit this theme, but I think I want to hit it again tonight because I think it's significant. And this is exactly what's happening here. That as Paul went into Ephesus, There is a change that is taking place in that society for good and for God or towards God. But it is not the result of political influence or political activity. It is a result of the preaching of the gospel. Paul didn't go in there and lead protests against the worship of Diana. He didn't lead picket lines outside her temple, down with Diana, defeat Diana, whatever. He didn't do any of that. He just preached the gospel. And so many people are getting saved that really it is affecting the worship of Diana and the trade of these craftsmen who are making her shrines, so that really they literally are losing money. And if it continues like it has, and more and more people are getting saved pretty soon, there's so many people in Ephesus that are believers, and in all of Asia, not just in Ephesus, but in Asia, so that literally they could be put out of business. But it was because of the preaching of the gospel and the discipling of those that are saved. When the gospel prevails in a community, it changes that community. And we've said before, and I would say again tonight, the thing that will make the difference in America today, if there is any hope for America at all, it is not through politics, it is through preaching the gospel. If people, if the vast majority of people are saved, the rest of things will fall into place because number one, the majority of people are not going to tolerate the kinds of things that are going on in America today. They won't vote for politicians that will promote or support or legalize things that are happening today. The problem is that more and more we are becoming a secular society. And we have the answer to that. It's just a matter of what will we do with that. I was reminded of things that have happened in the past, even in America, Sam Jones may be a name that some of you may know. He was a Methodist evangelist in the late 1800s, early 1900s. But he was saved out of a life of drunkenness, became a well-known evangelist. It was estimated that he preached to 25 million people and saw over 500,000 come to Christ. A revival in Nashville, Tennessee in 1885 gave him national attention. I mean, they were writing about his meetings in papers across the nation, even printing his sermons. In Nashville, he won his most famous convert, a man by the name of Tom Ryman. Does that name sound familiar? All right. Ryman's riverboats carried Not only a large share of Nashville's river trade, but also bar rooms, gambling casinos, and dancing girls. But following his conversion, Ryman decided to clean up his boats. There was a change, a moral change that took place because a man got saved who was promoting immorality. And he built a building to hold the revival meetings. It was known as the Union Gospel Tabernacle. And, of course, it became the Ryman Auditorium, the home of the Grand Ole Opry. But it was originally constructed to be a place for preaching the gospel. And for years, Jones would go back to Nashville and preach in that auditorium. And God was blessing. But again, I note the fact that as this man got saved, there were some changes, some bars that closed down, some casinos that closed down, some immoral behavior that ceased because a man got saved who was leading that, who owned those businesses. There was another, a man named Tim Watson attended a meeting that Sam Jones held in Thompson, Georgia, and said this. He said, after the meetings, the community settled back to business, but it has never been the same community since. Gambling has disappeared, loud profanity on the streets was heard no more, and the barrooms were run out of the country. Why? Because people got saved, and they no longer craved those things, not only supported those businesses. When the gospel is preached, it makes a difference. When people get saved in a community, it makes a difference. And that is the need in America today, is the preaching of the gospel and the conversion of the American people so that there is a return to a cry for godliness and morality in our nation. We can't just hope to, by external pressure, force men to embrace something that is not in their heart. Their heart has to change, and then they will want that which we want, and we want it because of our heart, because of the fact the Holy Spirit of God lives within us, and we believe that God's word is true, and that God is a holy God, and we desire to be holy as God is holy. And even as we struggle against sin and we sometimes fail the Lord and we fall into temptation and sin, but we don't like that and we turn from that and we confess it to God, we want holiness in our life and in our community because of God in us. And that will make the difference. That's what made the difference at Ephesus. And so the gospel had impacted that community to the point where the main idol of their community and their whole region, the worship of that goddess has diminished to a point that these men are losing money and so as Demetrius is troubled by that, he gathers again the craftsmen And he gets them stirred up and verse 28 tells us that when they heard these sayings, they were full of wrath and cried out saying, great is Diana of the Ephesians. They run out into the streets of Ephesus and they're crying out, they're chanting, great is Diana of the Ephesians. And the whole city is filled with confusion. The whole city is stirred up by the chanting of these craftsmen. And so they grab Aristarchus and Gaius, two of Paul's companions in travel, and they rush with one accord into the theater. There you go. There's the arena. And so the chanting craftsmen got the city stirred up, they grabbed Aristarchus and Gaius, and they head to the theater. This theater would hold about 25,000 people, it was said. But the majority of these people, they don't know why they're going. They're following the crowd. Verse 32 tells us that some cried one thing and some another for the assembly was confused, and the more part knew not wherefore they were come together. They don't know what they're doing here. They're just caught up in the excitement of this crowd that's making their way to the arena, and they don't know what's going on. But they want to be a part of that. And so then in verse 33 we read that they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. Remember in Ephesus there are a number of Jews Paul preached in the synagogue. And what's happening here is this opposition of the craftsmen is against Paul. and his companions who are preaching the gospel, and people are getting saved, and they want to push stop to that. But the Jews realize, you know what, this could easily turn against us as well. We could be associated with Paul and his companions, who are also Jews, and the Jews have always been kind of in a precarious position and that was prophesied that it would be that way because of the rejection of Jesus. They don't wanna face the brunt of this persecution or this opposition that could result in harm to them. And so they wanna distance themselves. They wanna note that they too are against Paul and his companions. And so they grabbed this man Alexander and they put him forward hoping that he can address the crowd and say, hey, we Jews are with you. We don't like these guys either. We don't agree with them either. But when the people knew that he was a Jew, they just, it just stirred them up more and they cried out for two hours, great is Diana of the Ephesians. And so they're just chanting over and over and over again, great is Diana of the Ephesians. And so there's this confusion in the uproar as, by the way, that, I think we saw some of these when Phil told us a little bit about Ephesus. This is the main street. that runs through the city of Ephesus. And at the end, at one end is the arena. At the other end was the harbor. But you can just picture this crowd, this mass of people marching down that street to the arena. And that's what they were doing, right down that very same road that's there today. The ruins have been uncovered. They marched right down that same road, this whole mass of people, ultimately probably 25,000 of them, and gathered in that arena. And there's Aristarchus and Gaius down at the base of the arena. Let's see if we got. I don't have the right picture for that, but anyway, at the base of that arena, all that crowd gathered up in there and just chanting. I mean, how far away would that have been heard? Great is Diana of the Ephesians. What in the world is going on here? And by the way, Paul wanted to jump in there. When Paul would have entered, verse 30 tells us, in unto the people, Paul didn't want his companions to have to suffer this and him not be a part of it. Maybe when they rushed out into the streets and began to cry, great is Diana, the Ephesians, and they're making their way, probably they're going to try and get Paul, drag him into the arena, and maybe even beat him to death. They can't find him for whatever reason, and Luke doesn't tell us where Paul was or why he wasn't taken into the arena initially, but when he finds out what's going on, he wants to go in there. Even knowing that he would go in there at the risk of his life, He wanted to go in there, but the disciples wouldn't allow him. The Christians, these people that he led to Christ, they're not going to allow him. And then certain of the chief of Asia, which were his friends, verse 31, sent unto him desiring that he would not adventure himself into the theater. Some of the rulers even who are friendly to Paul said, don't go in there, Paul. By the way, just an aside here, but it's interesting to me to note the fact that they were certain of the chief of Asia, which were Paul's friends. And it doesn't say necessarily that they were believers as well. They may have been. But Paul had friends even among the rulers in Ephesus. Everywhere that Paul goes, he makes friends. And sometimes even friends in high places. When Paul is traveling to Rome as a prisoner, The centurion who is guarding him, who is in charge of him, he's a friend of Paul's. I mean, he watches out for Paul. And even at one point, the sailors want to kill all the prisoners because they're afraid they'll escape and then the soldiers would be liable for them and could be put to death. And the centurion wouldn't allow it. Paul knows making friends. And I think this is true, and I think this is part of the reason. You know, legalism repels. The Jews were legalists. Of course, they didn't have the gospel, so they didn't have anything really to offer people other than a system of rules and regulations. But, you know, in their, like the Pharisees, who were so bound up by their, not only their observance of the law, but even their traditions that went beyond the law, and there's all these rules and restrictions and regulations, and looking down at people who don't follow their rules and regulations, and they turned people away. The Jews were hated. Here comes Paul, preaching the gospel of grace. Paul, who is, though a defender of the faith, But nonetheless, obviously, there's something about Paul. There's a graciousness, even though Paul is a staunch defender of the faith, there's a graciousness in Paul's life and in his ministry that, though obviously some people reject the gospel and thus reject him, that many people were attracted to Paul and became his friends, even many who didn't receive his gospel because Paul had that kind of spirit about him. Can that be said of us? When we get around sinners, are they repelled by us? Or are they attracted to us, even if they are not immediately accepting the gospel message we preach, but does our demeanor, our manner of presenting truth drive them away? Or does it draw them to Christ? It's not just proclaiming the truth, but proclaiming the truth in love. And our manner, our mannerism, our demeanor should, obviously, yes, because we do preach truth and it is uncompromising truth, there are some people that are just going to reject us because they reject the truth that we're preaching. But at the same time, there ought to be many people who are, who like us. even if they don't embrace our gospel because of the difference that Christ makes in our life. But lastly, we need to move on to the conclusion of the uproar. How does this all then play out? And if you know the story, you know what happens, but it's interesting how the Lord works to preserve Paul and his companions and bring an end to this. When it says in verse 35, when the town clerk had appeased the people. So the town clerk, either he's there or he hears about it and he comes. But the town clerk is a representative of the Roman Empire. He's kind of the liaison for the Roman Empire. His job is in jeopardy, by the way. If this continues, his job is in jeopardy, maybe even his life, because, again, he's a representative of the Roman Empire there. But the Lord used this town clerk to preserve the life of Aristarchus and Gaius, just as the Lord had preserved Paul's life through the influence of the Christians who wouldn't let him go into the arena. But this town clerk is probably not a believer. There's nothing here to indicate that he is a believer. But he said, you men of Ephesus, what man is there that knoweth not how that the city of the Ephesians is a worshipper of the great goddess Diana and the image which fell down from Jupiter? And seeing then that these things cannot be spoken against, you ought to be quiet and to do nothing rashly. He reasons with the mob. Hey, listen, everybody knows about Diana and about Ephesus and, you know, that hasn't changed. And not only that, but you brought these men hither which neither are robbers of churches nor yet blasphemers of your goddess. They haven't directly denounced Diana. which tells us, again, something about the way that Paul approached things in Ephesus. It wasn't a vendetta against Diana. It was the preaching of the gospel against sin and the need of Christ. And part of that, yes, was turning from the worship of Diana. But Paul wasn't out there, again, attacking Diana and her temple, per se. He's out there preaching the gospel. And so, you know, what the clerk is saying is, they're not really hurting us. They're not really hurting our worship. They haven't blasphemed our goddess. And so if Demetrius and the craftsmen which are with him have a matter against any man, the law is open and there are deputies. Let them implead one another. But if you inquire anything concerning other matters, it shall be determined in a lawful assembly, for we are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may be given account of this controversy." He says, you know, not only does he reason with them about the fact that, you know, hey, it's all good. I mean, everybody knows about Ephesus, and everybody knows about Diana, and these guys have blasphemed Diana, and they're not really robbing Diana's temple. And so, not only that, but there are legal channels. You guys, this is not legal, what you're doing. As a matter of fact, one writer noted, it was not the believers who had broken the law, but Demetrius and the silversmiths who had done wrong. And that's what this clerk is saying. Hey, if you have a dispute with Paul and his companions, there's legal channels to go through to deal with this. But this thing that's going on, all this mob and all that's going on today, this is not legal. And not only that, but we could be called into question for this. We could get in trouble with Rome because Ephesus was a self-governing city. Rome allowed them to do that. But they could lose a lot of their privileges. Rome could take them away because they hear about this uproar and, you know, the Romans want to preserve the peace. And if you're going to disturb our peace, we're going to take strong measures to see to it that the peace is preserved. We'll do whatever we have to do. It's interesting how God works. I mean, he uses what I believe is an unsaved, you know, basically government official in the city of Ephesus to calm everybody down, to remind them, you know, there's legal ways to deal with all this. And you guys are not doing it the right way, and we could get in trouble for this. It's just how God works. Psalm 34, 19 says, many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. Psalm 65, 6 and 7 says, the Lord by his strength stilleth the tumult of the people. And that's exactly what God is doing. He's using an unsaved town clerk. to calm everybody down, disperse the crowd. When he had spoken, he dismissed the assembly. Verse 41, God was taking care of his preachers. God was preserving the believers even. God has many ways of preserving his preachers, and I use that term broadly because you are his preachers if you know Christ as Savior. I'm not talking about just those that are called to preach the gospel as a ministry or vocation, but we're all to be witnesses. We're all to be preachers of the gospel, and God can take care of us. I was reminded of the fact that at one point there was a mob that was threatening to kill John Wesley, and he began praying for them out loud. In the midst of this mob, he begins praying for them, and when he finished, the heart of one of the leaders of the mob had changed, and instead of threatening to kill Wesley, he vowed to defend him. He said, sir, I will spend my life for you. Follow me and not one soul here shall touch a hair of your head. And two or three of the others agreed and they surrounded Wesley to defend him from the angry mob and bring him on his way. God has ways of taking care of his people. And I would remind us tonight, we are never at the mercy of men. God may allow, and God did allow Paul to suffer many things, in his ministry, but it was never just happenstance. It was never, you know, God had lost control. God was always in control. The things that happened to Paul were things that God allowed to happen to Paul for the furtherance of the gospel. Paul even says that. He said, I'm in prison, but everything I'm suffering is for the furtherance of the gospel. But God also preserved Paul. when it was in his plan to do so. And God can do the same for us. And so let me conclude with just a couple of thoughts. Number one, the church will prevail. Jesus promised to build his church and the gates of hell would not prevail against it. And no matter how strong the opposition was at Ephesus and how many times Paul's life was threatened, if there was more than this event, as Paul's referring to those things in his letters to the Corinthian church and the Roman church, but no matter how much strong the opposition to the gospel was in Ephesus, the church was established there. And though churches may come and go, the church will never cease to exist because Christ promised to build his church and Satan can never stop that from happening. And no matter what happens in America today, Satan cannot stop the work of God going forward. The church will prevail. And in the end, the Lord Jesus will come and establish his kingdom and deal with all of his enemies. But in the meantime, even if we suffer as believers, the church will prevail. But the second truth is that we need to die to self if we're gonna faithfully preach the gospel. And again, I would remind you of what Paul wrote to the Corinthian church, 2 Corinthians 1, 8, and 9. He said, we would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our trouble which came to us in Asia, that we were pressed out of measure, above strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life, but we had the sentence of death in ourselves. Paul said, I wasn't even sure I was going to live, but it didn't matter because I had already died. I had died to self, I was alive to God, and I was willing to suffer whatever God wanted because my life didn't count. It wasn't about self-preservation. it was about faithfully preaching the gospel and leaving my safety to the Lord. So we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God, which raises the dead. Paul said, even if it costs me my life, it really doesn't, because all they're taking from me is my physical, earthly life, but God raises the dead. If I die, Paul wrote to the Philippian church, to die is to be with Christ. And one day Christ will resurrect that dead body and transform it into a glorified body. And so the believer, death is not the end. It's just the end of your human existence. Temporarily, even that, we come back to the earth, to a new heaven and a new earth with a glorified body and we dwell here forever. And so we need to trust God and be willing even to die if it's necessary. If that's what God calls us to do in faithfully serving him, then we need to be willing to do that. And God will preserve us until he's through with us, then he will take us to himself. But it's all good in the end. I know it's not easy, it's not easy to die to self and it wouldn't be easy to be a martyr for the cause of Christ or to suffer physically for the cause of Christ, but we need to be willing to do that if that's what's necessary for God's work to go forward. Let's stand together and we'll close in prayer. Father, we thank you for the work that Paul did at Ephesus and for the pen of Luke that recorded for us under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit truths that will help us today. Thank you for Paul's faithfulness and Lord the way that you worked in his heart to bring him to that place of being willing to say I die to self. To put his life on the altar for you. Lord bring us to that place of consecration as well. That we would be willing even to die if necessary in order to be your witness to tell others the good news of the gospel. And Father, we need a change in America today. We need to return to you. But Lord, help us to be committed to the reality that that change will only take place through the preaching of the gospel. And Lord, may souls be saved, and may you send a great revival in our nation that would turn us back to you. But Lord, in the meantime, give us wisdom and help us to be faithful to you in the challenges that are ours in this day, in a changing society, a society that is changing not for the good, but for the bad. And so, Lord, use the message tonight to speak to our hearts according to our need, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.