Please join me in your Bibles at Revelation 2:1-5: 

2 "To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: The One who holds the seven stars in His right hand, the One who walks among the seven golden lampstands, says this: 2 'I know your deeds and your toil and perseverance, and that you cannot endure evil men, and you put to the test those who call themselves apostles, and they are not, and you found them to be false; 3 and you have perseverance and have endured for My name's sake, and have not grown weary. 4 'But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. 5 'Remember therefore from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you, and will remove your lampstand out of its place — unless you repent. 

You might recall that we studied this passage awhile back in our series from Revelation. These words make up the first of seven messages written by the apostle John to the seven churches of Asia. This one is addressed to Ephesus. Let me draw your attention especially to verse 4: “But I have this against you, that you have left your first love.” 

What “first love” had the Ephesian church left? Serious Bible students speculate that they may have ceased to love one another as they used to. Others say their love for Christ had cooled to the point that it was cold. Still others suggest that perhaps they had lost their love for the lost. 

I wonder what we would discover if we could go back in time and see the beginning of the church at Ephesus and ask what “first love” they had lost.

We don’t have a time machine, but we do have a description of the founding of the church at Ephesus in the book of Acts, and I’d like to go there and see what we might learn about this “first love” of the Ephesian church.   

We continue this morning with our sermon series called Acts of the Apostles, a verse by verse study through the book of Acts. Today’s message is called, Evangelizing Ephesus and our intent is to cover Acts 19:8-20. 

The city of Ephesus was known as The Treasure House of Asia Minor– and that was no overstatement. Ephesus was a center of wealth and affluence for many. It possessed the most favorable seaport in the Roman province of Asia and was the most important trade center west of Tarsus. Pergamum was the capital city of Asia Minor, but Ephesus was the largest city in the province, with a population of 300,000. The city contained an amphitheater that seated 25,000 people. It had a highway 105 feet wide that ran from the theater to the harbor. Ephesus was known worldwide for its religion. In the city was the Temple of Artemis, a magnificent edifice considered to be one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. It drew visitors from all over the Empire and boasted worshippers in many lands. Artemis was supposedly the guardian of motherhood and fertility. The idol was represented by a multi-breasted image said to have fallen from heaven. The Ephesians took great pride in their temple with its 127 columns, each over 60 feet high. The worship of Artemis was supported by gifts from the rich and the sale of silver, marble, and clay images of the so-called deity.  

Under the influence of pagan worship, Ephesus was also a city full of superstition. Astrologers and magicians swarmed the streets and there was a brisk trade in charms, incantations, books of divination, rules for interpreting dreams, and such. There were also the so-called “Ephesian Letters” which were well known to the ancients. Allegedly these contained certain combinations of letters or words, which, when pronounced with the right intonations of the voice, were believed to be effective in expelling disease or evil spirits or, when written on parchment, and worn like jewelry, were suppose to operate as amulets and charms to guard against evil spirits.  

It was into this pagan city that Paul came on his third missionary journey, returning after an earlier visit that was cut short. We saw last time his encounter with 12 men who were disciples of John the Baptist. After teaching them the way of the Lord more accurately, he baptized these men into Christ. From there Paul made his way to the Jewish synagogue where he began his evangelism of this city. We find his thus engaged in verse 8: 

1. Preaching the Kingdom 

8 And he entered the synagogue and continued speaking out boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading them about the kingdom of God.  

So Paul continues his custom of going to the Jews first – something we simply have to marvel at, given the opposition and persecution he regularly received from them. This time in the synagogue was a bit different than some of the times before in other cities. Paul had three months rather than just a few weeks before some of the Jews turned against him and his message. Ultimately however, it happened.

9 But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the multitude, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus .  

God did not require Paul, nor does he require us today to persist in presenting the gospel to those who become belligerent and violent. We’ve commented on Jesus’ teaching about casting pearls before swine in Matthew 7:6 before. When it was obvious that the teaching applied here, Paul withdrew from the synagogue and took away the converts with him. 

You might recall from Acts 18:7 that in Corinth Paul withdrew from the synagogue after the Jews resisted the message and took up his teaching nearby in the home of one Titus Justus who lived next to the synagogue. Here he withdraws similarly and takes up the teaching again in the school of Tyrannus. There is much speculation as to what this “school of Tyrannus” was. Perhaps the best guess is that it was a rented or borrowed building where the Christians could meet in quarters which they controlled – without the resistance that came from the Jews in the synagogue.  

10 And this took place for two years, so that all who lived in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks. 

These words record the effectiveness of Paul’s ministry in Asia. The “Asia” mentioned here of course is not the continent of Asia but rather the Roman province of Asia. It is likely that at this time the other of the “Seven Churches of Asia” as described in Revelation 2-3 were planted. These extraordinary results were partly because of the force and logic of the preaching of Paul and partly because God was: 

2. Performing Extraordinary Miracles 

11 And God was performing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that handkerchiefs or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 

I think that we would have to say that all miracles are “extraordinary” in a very real sense, but what Luke describes here was “extraordinary” even among miracles. Not only were these miracles taking place at the hands of Paul, but presumably with his knowledge and permission (Luke doesn’t say otherwise) items of his clothing were carried to other areas and miracles took place there, too.  

Luke’s describing these as “extraordinary miracles” indicates that this wasn’t a regular thing, but something somewhat rare. These rare miracles are akin, perhaps, to a few other limited cases described in the New Testament where inanimate objects were used. There was the case of the woman who was healed by touching the fringe of Jesus’ cloak in Matthew 9:20-21. Then there was the case in Acts 5:15 where presumably some were healed when Peters shadow fell upon them. Perhaps another similar case was when a man was healed of blindness when Jesus rubbed mud on his eyes as described in John 9:6. The fact that we can only think of these three underscores that such things were relatively rare with Christ and the apostles. 

Is this passage justification for the TV preachers who send out prayer cloths that supposedly heal people if they have enough faith? I say “no” for several reasons. First, by Luke’s own description, these “extraordinary miracles” were, well, extraordinary. They were exceptions to the normal exceptions that miracle are. They were certainly not the norm. Second, there was no money exchanged in order to procure these items. Paul didn’t send them out in the hope of receiving a donation to feather is own nest. In fact, as we’ve already seen, Paul frequently made tents so as not to burden the new converts he made in several areas. Third, in each of the cases where we find such “extraordinary miracles” described, the source was either Jesus or one of his apostles. Fourth, having listened carefully to the messages of some of these radio preachers with the prayer cloths, it is not the gospel they preach, but rather a distorted message of “health and wealth” that is foreign to the teaching of Christ and the apostles. Their so-called “miracles” don’t originate from God because they don’t do what Bible miracles were designed to do, that is, confirm the word of God as it was preached.[1] These men are charlatans who are not preaching the gospel. 

We come now to a very interesting incident describing some who were: 

3. Pretending Christ’s Authority 

13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to name over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, "I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches."  

That Ephesus was full of magicians and sorcerers who cast spells and claimed to be able to do great things, we’ve already pointed out. Here we have some Jews (Luke does not say they were Christians) who were going around “from place to place,” claiming to be able to cast out demons by uttering just the right combination of words and names. They would do this by “naming over” some special name or authority thought to contain special magical or supernatural powers.  

Gareth L. Reese writes in his commentary on Acts, “Between the years 50 and 100 A.D. there were numerous such Jews in the Roman Empire who went around hoodwinking the people by magic. They travelled wherever there was any prospect of gaining monetary advantage by their exorcisms…. Josephus and Justin Martyr both have references to exorcisms in the circle of their experience.”[2] 

That there were so many of these imposter exorcists underscores the fact that demon possession was fairly widespread in New Testament times. By demon possession we mean that certain individuals, through some means or other, were actually inhabited and possessed by evil spirit beings. These beings, called demons, lived in them, spoke through them, and often caused their hosts to do very harmful things to themselves. The subject is too big for me to discuss here. It is a fascinating Bible subject that deserves detailed study. But alas, we must move on. 

14 And seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.  

That is, they were “naming over” the name of Jesus, attempting to cast out demons. Who this “Sceva” was is not known. Apparently he wasn’t a high priest as no such name was known among the Jews in that capacity. This man was probably one of the heads of the 24 courses of priests who did service in the temple.

15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, "I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?"  

This demon recognized Jesus. It knew Paul. But these imposters, these phony’s, it did not know. Neither was it about to submit to their demands to come out of the man. The Greek reads literally, “But you? [With great contempt] Who are you?”  

16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them and subdued all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 

That this man was able to subdue all seven men suggests a degree of superhuman strength. In the New Testament there is at least one other case of demon possession that involved super-human strength. You might remember it. I speak of the Garasene Demoniac – a case where the possessed man was so powerful he could not be bound with chains. He would just snap them off. This demon possessed man in Ephesus apparently had similar super-human strength due to the demon within him.  

Before we leave this section I want to ask you to think. Ephesus was a city known for its magic arts, itinerate exorcists, and other such occultist practitioners.  Apparently the Ephesians held such men in high regard. Here now was a challenge to all that that suggested several things. First, it suggested that there are powers far greater than humanity in play in this world, and you had better not fool around with them. Paul would later write to the Ephesian church: For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.[3] 

The seven sons of Sceva, though they fancied themselves as exorcists, were no match for true demonic forces. Second, and more important, there was One far greater than any demonic power – One who really could command demons to vacate human bodies – One for whom the demons had great fear – One who will ultimately order the banishment of such powers to the “eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.” I refer to Jesus Christ.                                       

It was the realization of this power, seen in the preaching and miraculous works of Paul, and the authority of Jesus over the demons, which caused the penetration of the gospel message into the darkness of this city and its environs. That’s what I refer to in this next section of our text where we see a: 

4. Penetrating with the Gospel Message 

17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified.  

Such an event should provoke fear. Fear is a proper response to powers greater than self. People living in our part of the world have too long been complacent – so much so that they’ve come to think there is no danger, that they have nothing to fear. Oh that we could see a bit of the fear of God come back into our nation! These people were affected greatly by these events – so much so that they made a clean break with the evil of their past. And pay attention – the nature of the break they made could very well help us understand that “first love” they would later lose. 

18 Many also of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and began burning them in the sight of all; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 

Many years ago when my sister and I still lived with our parents, Debbie was invited by a friend to attend some kind of church revival meetings. I don’t recall the nature of these meetings. I wasn’t interested in such things back in those days. Anyway, one night she came home from a meeting and started breaking up her records. (Yeah kids, we had black plastic disks in those days called “records” that played music!) She just came in and started snapping them in half. I remember jumping up and asking her what in the world she was doing. She told me that she was through with the devil’s music (or something like that). I begged her to just give them to me but she would hear nothing of it. She continued snapping records until they were all broken, much to the horror and dismay of her older brother. At the time I thought she was nuts.  

Years later, after I had become a Christian myself and came upon this passage in Acts, I thought of that day and what my sister did. Sometimes the best way to deal with the affect of evil in your life is to make a clean break. Throw it out. Destroy it. Break it. Burn it up. Yes, it may look radical to others, but what it shows is a true willingness to turn to God with the whole heart and burn the bridges that lead back to evil. The fact is Kathi and I went through our music collection some time after we were converted and did a little of what we called back then, “black disk skeet shooting.” Some of you might look at that as crazy but it came from two people wanting to serve God fully and hold nothing back. Like the Ephesian Christians perhaps, our first love was Jesus and we were ready and willing to “forsake all others” for Him. 

You know, some of you might do well to go through the books, cd’s, t-shirts, and other things that bear the words and images of the enemy of our souls and consider whether they identify you as ones who truly love Christ. It’s pretty hard to have an effective testimony for the Lord with some of the images on clothes these days. Have you thought about that? Have you thought about what you are listening to? Have you teenagers who are Christians given any thought to cleaning up your life? 

“Wait a minute! Are you trying to dictate what I wear and listen to?”  No, I’m not. You probably wouldn't like my choices anyway. But is Jesus Christ really pleased with some of the stuff we wear and listen to? Would He really have been pleased had these people in Ephesus put one foot in His kingdom but kept the other foot firmly planted in their occult practices? I’m just asking.  

Was this some kind of censorship here in Acts, this book burning that we read about here? No, it was totally voluntary. It came from the hearts of people who wanted to turn to God fully. These people were truly changed in their hearts and it came out in their actions. This was none of the tepid “conversion” so-called that we often see today that produces no change in a life and probably no change in direction regarding heaven and hell either. These people meant business. They had the right kind of fear in their lives and it came out where all could see. And as the smoke of those burning books curled up into the Ephesian air, maybe some of it drifted back over the Temple of Artemis and some of the other of Satan’s strongholds in the city. Perhaps, too, some who witnessed it asked that same question that I asked my sister so many years ago. “What is going on? What has gotten hold of you?” What gets hold of people in cases like this is the love of Christ – that “forsaking all others” kind of love that throws out all the rivals and leaves only Christ to be honored.

What effect would such drastic action have were it to become more widespread? We see it in the next verse. I’ve called it the: 

5. Prevailing of God’s Word. 

20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing.  

Conclusion 

It has been said that there is no such thing as a spiritual vacuum. I believe that is probably true. Men and women will always find something to fill their empty hearts. Darkness and occult practices once filled the hearts of these Ephesians. Then they saw the power of God and heard the message of the gospel. As a result they willingly emptied their lives of the things that displeased God and filled up their hearts with the love of Christ.   

Some forty years after the Ephesian book burning, years after Paul and the other apostles were dead and only one apostle remained, the aged John wrote those words to the church at Ephesus in Revelation 2:4: “I have this against you, that you have left your first love.”  

What about you and me? Have we left our first love? Does it matter? Do we care? 

Jesus warned the Ephesians that if they didn’t repent He would remove their lampstand. He would remove the light from their lives. That’s a serious warning.  

Perhaps some of you have never really broken with the world. Maybe a glance at what you wear, what you listen to, and what you watch tells the true story of what you really value. Are you content with what you see? Is God content with it? 

Or perhaps some of you are like me. Those early days were days of great steps of commitment. But the years take their toll. The fire burns down. Will you let it go out?  

Whatever the case, if your love for Christ isn’t what it should be, you don’t have to resign yourself to the kind of fate that results.  There is still time. You can change. Yes, it takes courage and determination, but you can change. What will it be?