Act 3: Can you hear me now? series Sermon 3: Blocked Calls April 21, 2013 Can you hear me now? It was the cell phone commercial that caught everyone's attention 3 years ago when Verizon came out with a clever marketing ad of this guy wandering around asking the question Can you hear me now? You ever done that? I'm sure on more than one occasion each of us has asked that question when we've been in a conversation with someone on our cell phones. Not only do we ask it but we try and move to a different location, or hold the phone at a different angle, or for those who still have them maybe extend the antenna on our phone in hopes that we'll get a better signal to help us carry on our conversation with whomever we are talking to. Can you hear me now? has also been our mini-series that we've been in the past few weeks as we continue our walk through the book of Acts. Two weeks ago we looked at the topic of eligible for an upgrade. For many the cell phone upgrade is one of the highlights that comes along every two years. Even though the one we have works great--- the excitement of something new has us counting the days down until we can go get the newest model that has hit the market. Jan 1, 2013 was a big day in the Sutphin house as we had three who were eligible for upgrades. Even though Olivia wasn't eligible with her phone it was still exciting for her because she knew she was going to get one of our "old" phones which was way better than hers so she was excited too. Some may say---why change? If what you've got is working why do you need something else, something new, something different. For a while I thought that way. The phone I've got is good. It can do what I want it to do or what I need it to do. But when I did make the change because mine finally died I was like Holy Cow-look what I've been missing. Look at what I can do now---all with this little device. Now our devices within the church don't always get smaller like phones have but it's important that we take advantage of the upgrades that have come along in technology, sound, equipment, ministry opportunities and the like so that we can be effective in our sharing of God's word. As you've heard Doe say the past few weeks the message doesn't change-jesus Christ is still preached as the way, the
truth and the life---but our methods of sharing that message must always be changing to meet a culture that is constantly changing. Last week we looked at the topic Software Updates. I don't like updates. It's not that I don't like updates but they always seem to happen or need to happen when I'm in the middle of working on something. All of a sudden I change screens and I get this pop up telling me I need to update something on my system. If I choose to proceed I'm going to have to stop what I'm working on---save it then wait for the system to update, shut down and restart itself. And that's annoying to me. Sometimes as Christians we need updates to our software as well. We like to think we are people who are full of grace and truth---equal on both parts-but when we stop and look at ourselves we often find we are stronger on one than the other and unfortunately I think we lean more towards being strong on the truth side. Don't get me wrong---i think we should be strong on the truth side but we can't be so overbearing with the truth that we don't share it in grace and in turn push people away from the one who showed us grace and truth. And that brings us to today-blocked Calls. I'm sure the majority of us signed up for the no call program a few years ago to keep us from getting all of those calls from telemarketers who were trying to sell us everything from "free" vacations to solutions to our septic tanks issues. It's amazing to me that even though we did that with our phone at home we still get calls from telemarketers trying to get us to purchase their product, support their cause or mail out letters to our neighbors. Often times, much to the chagrin of the ladies whom I live with, I'll answer the phone when I see that it's a toll free number calling. Sometimes I play along for a few minutes and other times I immediately tell them I'm not interested. I'm hoping that answering will keep them from calling back but I don't know if that works or not. I'm guessing if I don't answer they'll just keep calling and calling until they finally get someone to speak to. You ever feel like God's blocking your calls to him? You ever wonder if God's put your number on the do not accept call list? You ever wonder if your attempts to reach him are being blocked? Our text today takes us to an interesting story that takes place with Paul when he makes his way to Ephesus. If you've got your Bible, ipad, iphone, android, laptop
or some other techy thing I'd like to invite you to join me in Acts 19 as we take a look at this unique story that is found in scripture. Ephesus was an interesting city in this day and time. It was a commercial center, a port city and 4 main roads intersected in Ephesus. Here one would find a huge structure built for the Greek goddess Artemis-the goddess of fertility. This structure was considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. When Paul made his way to Ephesus he found a city that wasn't as important in the political and commercial climate as it once had been. It had become a city that was reliant upon this temple to support its economy as pagan worship thrived in this area. It was known for its witchcraft, exorcists and magical incantations. You could buy charms, amulets and Ephesian writings which were scraps of paper that contained spells and magical formulas. These writings, many believed, allowed you to control the evil spirits by reciting these writings. And this is the city that Paul has come to in order to carry on the ministry that God had laid on his heart. Paul had wanted to come to Ephesus for some time but God had kept him from doing so until this time. When he arrives he finds what Luke considers to be disciples. Of course this is not the 12 disciples that traveled with Jesus in the gospels but another group of people who were known as John's disciples---that being John the Baptist. In his discussions with the 12, Paul finds out that they received the baptism of John but not the baptism of Jesus and so he shares with them about Jesus and they accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior and are baptized. Vs 8 tells us that Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly for 3 months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. Even though the term synagogue is singular in the text the belief is that there would have been many synagogues in Ephesus, because of the size of the town, and that Paul probably made his way to each one of them over this 3 month period speaking about Jesus. And 3 months was a long time for Paul to spend in any one location without a riot taking place or him getting thrown into jail. Now even though a riot didn't occur, we begin to see the effects of Paul's preaching as vs 9 tells us that some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way.
I'm guessing they became obstinate because the words that Paul was sharing were filled with truth and they didn't want to hear them. I also wonder if the reason that rioting didn't take place and Paul didn't get thrown in jail was because he was sharing the truth with an equal amount of grace. It's interesting to see how truth when shared with grace can have a convicting feel but not a condemning tone which can lead to chaos. I wonder how many of us get obstinate when someone is sharing the truth with us. I wonder if we ever get obstinate with God when someone is sharing His truth with us. Because of this public maligning Paul steps away from the synagogues, taking the disciples with him and heads to the lecture hall of Tyrannus where daily he continued his discussions. Tyrannus-I've seen people name their kids after John, Peter, Thomas and many other bible names but no one has gone for Tyrannus yet. I just can't figure that one out. I'm thinking that would be a good name for a son. Tyrannus Sutphin. I'm past the desire on raising a son but if anyone else wants to use that name-feel free to. So Paul sets up shop in this lecture hall and for two years carries on discussions. It is believed that Paul did this every day from 11 am - 4pm. During this time public activity came to a standstill in this region and many would head home for an afternoon nap. For some reason I'm thinking some of you are wishing you either lived in this time period or you are going to try and contact a political candidate and see if you can't get a bill calling for this type of routine on a daily basis here. So the norm was to go home and take naps but it appears that many in this province chose not to do so because vs 10 tells us that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province heard the word of the Lord during this two year period. I shared a few minutes ago that Paul rarely stayed more than 3 months in a place while on his journeys but we see from this text that he spent at least 27 months in Ephesus. Was it because he loved this city or was it because of the spiritual
need he saw in these people---we can't say for sure. All we do know is that he spent a great deal of time sharing the news of Jesus so that everyone heard it. Now because of his teaching or preaching vs. 11 tells us that God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. Belief is that these handkerchiefs were more like sweat cloths that Paul had used to wipe his sweat away while teaching or while working as a tent-maker in order to make a living while doing his travels. The aprons weren't like the ones your grandmother wore in the kitchen but instead may have been worn by Paul as he worked in his trade and probably would have been covered with sweat and dirt. The Ephesians were used to having trinkets, charms, writings that they could touch and use to bring about magical powers so maybe God allowed these items to be used to show his power that was being spread through his chosen one at this time. For me personally---those aren't the things that God chooses to use today to show his power but I'm also not going to say God can't use whatever or whoever he wants to bring about his will and his message in a culture that desperately needs him. Now here is where the story gets interesting. Vs. 13: Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus," whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." We see throughout the Bible that demon possession was a prevalent thing in this day and time and there were some who had the power to drive them out of people. Were these Jews part of that group who had been doing this or were they some who had sat under Paul, heard his teaching during this 27 month ministry, saw what was happening with his hankies and his aprons and thought they would give it a try? I think it was probably the second group. I think it was a group of people who had seen it done before---saw the accolades that were poured out upon those who
had performed such a miracle and then wanted to give it a try themselves. And you know what they became? They became name droppers. You know anybody that's a name dropper? Name droppers know names but they really don't know the people behind the name they're dropping. They may have had a brush with the person but they really don't know the person. If the two were in a room full of people the only one who would remember the other would be the name dropper. And unfortunately that's what these guys were. How do we know that? Look at vs. 14. Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. So you've got these seven sons-probably grown men--- going around trying to cast evil spirits out of people. We don't have proof that it worked but these guys thought there was power in what they were saying so they kept going around saying In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out. Apparently one day things didn't go as planned. Vs. 15: One day, the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who the heck are you guys? Uh oh. Can you imagine the look on their faces? Had they heard the voice of an evil spirit before I don't know? What I do know is this one called them out for the fake-for the name dropper that they were. They were trying to use the power of God when they didn't know him. They were trying to use the power of God that they had seen displayed in Paul but you don't have the ability to call on the power or the name of God when you're not a follower of His. So this evil spirit goes Chuck Norris on them. Look at vs. 16. Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of house naked and bleeding. You've seen Chuck Norris do that before haven't you? He's the only guy in a house surrounded by 7 or10 or 15 guys who have knives, clubs, guns and all he has are his hands and his feet and he's the only one to walk out of the house alive. Usually 1 vs 7 isn't very good odds but this evil spirit knew what he had---he knew what they didn't have---the power of Jesus within them even though they
were dropping his name---so he went stone cold Steve Austin on them and sent them running naked and bleeding out of the house and into the city streets. Now I'm thinking I would have gotten out of there with my clothes on cause once I saw that dude take down one or two of my brothers there is no way I'm going to stand around and wait for the butt whipping to commence on me. My preaching partner Randy-I've been waiting for just the right time to say that-- pointed out the interesting fact here that you have evil attacking evil. You have an evil spirit attacking a group of men who are evil because they aren't true followers of Jesus---they are just trying to use his name in hopes of getting some recognition as exorcists. Our discussion led us to the idea that this probably happened because Satan wanted no part of Jesus receiving glory for these healings even if Jesus' name was being used in vain----so he trounced them and sent them running back home looking for their daddy. So what does this story have for me? What does this story have for you? I asked earlier if you ever felt like your calls to God were blocked? If you ever felt like God had put you on his do not accept list? I wonder sometimes if we don't have access to God's power even when we call upon it because of where we are in our lives at that moment. Maybe we're at a place in our life where we are looking to God to provide some direction, to provide some clarity but because we are pushing Him back--- because we are ignoring his nudges-because we only want to do what we want to do---we don't have access to His power and His spirit which can provide the direction and the strength that we need. Sometimes our connection with God isn't blocked because he's not answering or not allowing us access to him. Sometimes our connection is blocked because we've gotten ourselves in an area where the only thing we want to hear is what we want to hear or the only thing we want to do is what we want to do. Are you familiar with Jonah? The dude that got swallowed by the big fish. Most of us probably know the story but do you know why he ended up in the belly of that great fish? Because Jonah pushed back against God. Because Jonah ignored the nudge that God was giving him. Jonah didn't like the people God wanted him
to go to so he decided he wasn't going to do what God wanted him to do. And because of that he got to spend 3 days in the belly of this great fish. You want to spend 3 days in the belly of a fish? I'm not saying that us getting swallowed by a great fish is going to happen to us today but sometimes we put ourselves there (figuratively speaking) because we don't want to do what God is asking us to do. We ignore his nudges - we turn away from where He's directing us and then we wonder why we don't feel his presence in our lives at that moment. Maybe we're at a place in our life where we are looking to God to provide some if direction, to provide some clarity but because we are not connected to Him, how can we expect Him to help us with our requests or our needs. I have a lamp that sits in my living room. It's something that Ashley picked out when we redid our living room. It's got a nice shade on it. Has one of those 3 way switches that enables you to create a certain mood in the room if you desire (not that I've ever tried that) or at least allows you to burn a lower watt when you are gone to make someone think you are home. It's got a long cord on it which enables you to move t around your furniture if you're not close to an outlet. But you know what's interesting about that lamp---it doesn't work if it's not plugged inthe light will not come on if it's not connected to its power supply. It's still a lamp but it's useless to provide light if it's not plugged in to the outlet that will provide the needed power to make it work. Sometimes that can happen to us as Christians. We can look like Christians, we can talk like Christians, we can show up at church like Christians, we can give a tithe or give a donation like a Christian, we can be involved in a ministry and try to help others like Christians, we can even have 2 or 3 bible apps on our smartphones like Christians but if we're not connected to God-if we're not plugged in to Him by reading his word, sharing with others, spending time communicating with him on a daily basis then we're not going to have access to the power that can be found in His name. Matthew 7:21-23: Jesus said: "Not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord, will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in
your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, I never knew you. Away from me. Maybe we're at a place in our life where we are looking to God to provide some direction, to provide some clarity but because we really don't know Him-we only use his name or call on him when we need something-we're a name dropper--- how can we expect him to help with our requests or needs. I love sports. As I kid I played football, basketball and baseball. Many of you know of my love for Notre Dame football and my desire as a kid to play for Ara Parsegian, the famous coach of the fighting Irish in the mid 70's. I was also a huge Washington Redskins fan and I wanted to be like #55 Chris Hanburger. I could never get his number while playing so I would be #56 or #57. Trying to get as close as I could. I also wanted to be like Joe Morgan who played 2nd base for the Cincinnati Reds. I used to pump my arm like he would when he was at the plate readying himself for the next pitch. Funniest of all to me---as I look back on it now---is that often times I would cross myself like I saw many athletes do at the start of a game or when they stood at the free throw line or when they took their place in the batter's box. I thought performing that ritual which I saw many professionals do was going to help me. It helped them or at least that was the way it appeared to me so surely it would help me as well. I had accepted Christ as my Lord and Savior by this time in my life but I'm not sure that he was anything more than just a name to drop whenever I felt like I needed something. He was a trinket, a charm, a writing that I could pull out and recite and then would receive whatever it was that I was asking for. Is that what Jesus is to you now? Do you call on Him when you need help with a test or when you've found yourself in trouble at school? Do you only look for Him when you're having trouble in a relationship with your spouse, with your parents, with a boyfriend or girlfriend or when things have gone wrong at work and you're worried about your job? Maybe you're at a place in your life where you are trying to figure out who this Jesus is. You've heard talk of him you've heard stories about him but you're not sure there's much to him. Maybe you've seen the impact he's had on others
around you-how they have changed, how they have become content, how they have become free, how they have become a person filled with joy and laughter and it's got you thinking maybe there is something to this person Jesus. This morning we would love to talk to you more about Jesus. Some of our staff, some of our leaders would be more than happy to spend some time with you today sharing about this Jesus who Luke wrote about, who Paul preached, and who we preach, worship and believe in. God is accessible to all of us no matter where we may find ourselves this morning. He's not blocking us from reaching him. Where we've put ourselves may be blocking us from Him but He hasn't done it. If we want to reach him all we must do is open ourselves to him-bend our knee---call upon him and he will hear us.