How is the church suppose to react to the dialog about moral issues when the world bases its arguments primarily on emotion, not facts?
I love Acts 19. Paul spends two years in Ephesus ministering in one of the most pagan cities of his day. The Gospel is being heard. People's lives are changing, and this sets the scene for a riot rooted in greed, lies, and defensiveness. How was Paul and his teammates suppose to effectively dialog when the majority have no intellectual integrity, reverting to name calling, emotionalism, and lies.
I don't want to give it all away, but this message may be one of the most relevant I've preached in the recent few weeks. I hope you will hear the connection between Paul's context and our experience, today. If you like this, please share it with others. And let me know what you think.
May God bless you and his church as we stand for Truth in our world of chaos and confusion. - Kirk McCormick
“The Crowd Goes Wild”
** I want to speak
with you today about Ochlocracy…
…you may know it better as Mob Rule.
Point: The problem
with the Mob is that it is usually empowered by emotion, not fact…
…to the point that
many in the mob do not even know why they are there.
…such was the
situation in Ephesus…
Acts 19:32b - “Most of the people did not even know why they were there.”
General Tactics of Satan to Confuse…
1. Deceive
Revelation 12:9 - “So the great dragon was
cast out, that serpent of old, called the Devil
and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was cast to the earth, and his angels
were cast out with him.”
Point: We are so gullible sometimes…
2. Destroy
Point: It was not enough for the merchants to co-exist
with the Christians and Jews in Ephesus…
…they wanted to
destroy the competition, even to the point of killing them.
Note: Even the City
Clerk saw the evil intent of the Mob…
v. 36 - “… you ought to be quiet and not do
anything rash.”
1 Peter 5:8 - “Be self-controlled and alert.
Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
3. Deny (think - Lie)
John 8:44 - Jesus…speaking to the
religious leaders of his day, said - “You belong to your father, the devil, and
you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the
beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native
language, for he is a liar and
the father of lies.”
Bible: God makes you/each person…He makes them
either man and woman…
…and how do we know
what God wants them to be?...
…He gives them
specific parts to clearly define them as either male or female.
Transgender: “I know that my biology/body parts would
define me as male/female…but, God, you got it wrong…you made a mistake…so I’m
going to switch.”
Point: So the choice we have is to embrace God’s
truth/way/Law/design or, essentially, tell him he messed up and got it wrong.
The Barriers to
Truth…
Barrier 1 - Beware of Materialism
Acts 19:25 - “Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.”
Antidote to
Materialism: Avoid the “Love” of money…
1 Timothy 6:10 - “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people,
eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many
griefs.”
Barrier 2 - Beware of Emotionalism
Acts 19:27 - “There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name…”
Antidote: How do we
overcome the barrier of Emotion?
Answer: Submit to the truth
John 8:31, 32 - Jesus said, “If you hold to
my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the
truth will set you free.”
Barrier 3 - Beware of Manipulation
Acts 19:27 - “There is danger not only that
our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great
goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess
herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty.”
CONCLUSION
Let me conclude with
this reminder…
As it was for Paul,
we live in a hostile world…
BUT!...
·
The
church ministers by persuasion, not propaganda.
·
People’s
lives are changed by the MESSAGE, not manipulation.
·
We share
God’s truth, not religious lies.
·
Our
motive is love, not anger
·
And our
goal is the glory of God, not the praise of men.
** This is why the church goes on,
even when the Crowd Goes Wild.
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