Monday, December 5, 2016, 9:00 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put in mind the song “When in the Stillness.” Speak, Lord,
your words to my heart. I read Acts 19:23-41
(ESV).
Man-made gods
(vv. 23-27)
About that time there arose no little disturbance
concerning the Way. For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver
shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. These he
gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know
that from this business we have our wealth. And you see and hear that not only
in Ephesus but in almost all of Asia this Paul has persuaded and turned away a
great many people, saying that gods made with hands are not gods. And there is
danger not only that this trade of ours may come into disrepute but also that
the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing, and that she
may even be deposed from her magnificence, she whom all Asia and the world
worship.”
There are many man-made gods
in our world today – money, reputation, acceptance, houses, property,
possessions, talent, intellect, entertainment, TV, careers, appearance, time,
social status, public figures, preachers, politicians, actors, sports figures,
musicians, Santa Claus, etc. They are called “gods” when we give our time,
attention, priority, hearts, passion and commitment to them at the sacrifice of
our time with God and our heart relationship with him, as well as at the cost
of time we could have spent caring for others and showing them the love of
Jesus Christ.
People hang on to these “gods”
because in them they find some sense of pleasure, fulfillment, and satisfaction,
although it is temporary and fleeting. These idols (gods) are self-gratifying
and are inward focused, rather than God-glorifying and outward focused towards
ministry to others. They are driven by human flesh, appeal to the flesh, and
bring enjoyment to the flesh. These things (gods) are not all wrong, in and of
themselves. They only become gods (idols) in our lives when they take the place
of God in our hearts, or the place of family, and we end up giving our worship
to them rather than to God and to what priorities he has defined for our lives.
Many Christians are being led
astray from their pure devotion to Christ to follow after the idols of human
making. So, as followers of Jesus Christ, and as ministers of his gospel, it is
our responsibility to address the issue of idolatry, first in our own lives,
and then within the body of Christ, his church. Yet, when we talk about
idolatry, those who don’t want to give up their idols may chastise us, mock us,
reject us and persecute us in retaliation, or in hopes that we will back down
and we will leave them alone in their sin. Also, those who make some type of
gain (financially or not) from people’s addictions to these idols may want to
silence us so that we don’t convince their “customers” to forsake their idols
and to follow the one true God.
Into the Theatre (vv. 28-34)
When they heard this they were enraged and were crying
out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” So the city was filled with the
confusion, and they rushed together into the theater, dragging with them Gaius
and Aristarchus, Macedonians who were Paul's companions in travel. But when
Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. And even
some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him
not to venture into the theater. Now some cried out one thing, some another,
for the assembly was in confusion, and most of them did not know why they had
come together. Some of the crowd prompted Alexander, whom the Jews had put
forward. And Alexander, motioning with his hand, wanted to make a defense to the
crowd. But when they recognized that he was a Jew, for about two hours they all
cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!”
I know this passage of
scripture is talking about a physical structure when it refers to “theatre,”
but I feel the Lord impressing it on my heart to look at this subject of
idolatry, and in reference to going into the theatre, in a slightly different
way. The word “theatre” also means “drama, acting, performing,” etc. If you
have known anyone with a sin addiction, and if you have tried speaking with
that person about his or her addiction, in an effort to help that person be
delivered so that they can walk in freedom and victory over sin, you may have
also encountered that individual taking their case into the theatre, i.e. they
may put on a performance (act) to try to convince you that they are really ok,
or to try to shame you out of talking with them about their sin addiction, and
they may do this in front of others.
They will go to any lengths
to hold on to their “god,” even if it means destroying your reputation in the
process, because their god has such a stronghold on their lives to the point to
where they will sacrifice everything else – God, family, home, etc. – so that
they can keep their idol. And, that often times involves going “into the
theatre,” i.e. into a performance for the benefit of others to convince them
that they are the ones being persecuted; that they are the victims, instead of
the other way around. And, thus, they will gather supporters to them who will
join them in persecuting you.
Reality Check
(vv. 35-41)
And when the town clerk had quieted the crowd, he
said, “Men of Ephesus, who is there who does not know that the city of the
Ephesians is temple keeper of the great Artemis, and of the sacred stone that
fell from the sky? Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to
be quiet and do nothing rash. For you have brought these men here who are
neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. If therefore Demetrius and
the craftsmen with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open,
and there are proconsuls. Let them bring charges against one another. But if
you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. For we
really are in danger of being charged with rioting today, since there is no
cause that we can give to justify this commotion.” And when he had said these
things, he dismissed the assembly.
Though I am going at this
with a slightly different bent than is presented here, what calmed the people
was a reality check, according to their reality, that is. And, when people who
have sin addictions go into the theatre, i.e. into a performance (act), to try
to convince themselves and others of their innocence and of their “persecutor’s”
guilt, what they need, and what their supporters need is a reality check, only
not according to what they believe is their reality, but according to what God
knows is their reality.
Sometimes they will calm down
and stop the performance, and they will admit the reality of their situation,
but if they are not willing to let the addiction go, they will recycle addiction
and performance over and over again. Other times they will keep the performance
going, and will balk at a reality check, and they will seize the opportunity to
attack the one who is trying to help them, and sometimes this will be in front
of others in order to gain sympathy for themselves and to try to make their
confronter look bad, partially as a way to punish the one who cares about them,
and partly to try to shame their confronter/helper into backing down and giving
up.
But, if they would respond
positively to a reality check, and would admit their wrong, and would honestly
and sincerely seek help and healing and deliverance from their addiction, they
could find true freedom. Part of that reality check, though, involves absolving
the ones, who are truly trying to help them to freedom, from accusation of
wrongdoing, and admitting their own culpability for their own sin addiction. And,
it involves facing the reality of their own sin addiction and being willing to let
go of it and do what needs to be done to get free, i.e. they need to obey Jesus
and his Word and submit to him as their only Lord and Savior, and let him
transform their lives.
When in The Stillness /
An Original Work / September 26, 2011
When in the stillness of this moment,
Speak to me, Lord, I humbly pray.
Be my desire, set me on fire,
Teach me to love always.
Help me to walk in fellowship with You,
Listening to You; sit at Your feet.
Whisper Your words to me,
Oh, how gently, guiding me in Your
truth.
While we are waiting for Your blessing,
Lord, in our hearts be King today.
Help us to live for you ev’ry moment,
List’ning to what You say.
May we not stray from your word within
us,
Help us obey You, Lord, in all things,
Walking each moment, Lord, in Your
presence,
Our offerings to You bring.
Help us to love You, Lord, our master;
Be an example of Your love,
Helping the hurting, lift up the
fallen,
Showing them Your great love.
Teach them to love You, follow You
always,
Bearing their cross and turning from
sin;
Walking in daily fellowship with You,
Making You Lord and King.
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