Acts – GaryCombs.org

CONFESSION AND REVIVAL GO TOGETHER

June 29, 2024

“Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices” (Acts 19:18 ESV). An amazing thing began to happen in the city of Ephesus, new believers began to confess their sin and turn from their sinful practices. Their faith in Christ led to life-change. And their confession and repentance led to

PRAYING FOR REVIVAL IN OUR CITY

June 29, 2023

“The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect.” (Acts 19:17,20 NLT). The preaching of Paul and the apostles

PAUL USES A LECTURE HALL FOR CHURCH MEETINGS

June 28, 2023

“So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord.” (Acts 19:9-10 NLT). Ephesus was one of the largest

“Inside, the people were all shouting, some one thing and some another. Everything was in confusion. In fact, most of them didn’t even know why they were there” (Acts 19:32 NLT).

June 29, 2022

RIOTING AND REASON RARELY GO TOGETHER A riot broke out in Ephesus over the importance of the Temple of Artemis to the city’s identity and fame. The riot began as an angry response by the silversmiths of Ephesus, who made a living making figurines of the Greek goddess Artemis (Roman: “Diana”) to sell. Their business

“This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” (Acts 19:17 HCSB).

June 29, 2021

PRAYING FOR REVIVAL IN OUR CITY The preaching of Paul and the apostles and the story of how demons acknowledged the name of Jesus and even of Paul, caused the fear of God to come over the city of Ephesus and the “name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.” A spiritual awakening took place in

“He withdrew from them and met separately with the disciples, conducting discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. And this went on for two years, so that all the inhabitants of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the message about the Lord” (Acts 19:9-10 HCSB).

June 28, 2021

PAUL RENTS A LECTURE HALL FOR CHURCH MEETINGS Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire during the time of Paul. It was a seaport city with a population of over 250,000. It became the center of Paul’s missionary efforts in Asia Minor. Some gospel work had already been done in Ephesus,

“Some therefore cried one thing and some another, for the assembly was confused, and most of them did not know why they had come together” (Acts 19:32 NKJV).

June 29, 2020

HOW SHOULD WE RESPOND TO RIOTING A riot broke out in Ephesus over the importance of the Temple of Diana to the city’s identity and fame. The riot began as an angry response by the silversmiths of Ephesus, who made a living making figurines of the goddess Diana to sell. Their business had declined with

“…A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored” (Acts 19:17 NLT).

June 29, 2019

PRAYING FOR REVIVAL IN OUR CITY The preaching of Paul and the apostles and the story of how demons acknowledged the name of Jesus and even of Paul, caused a “solemn fear” of God to come over the city of Ephesus and the “name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored.” A spiritual awakening took

“Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices” (Acts 19:18 NLT).

June 29, 2018

CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL
An amazing thing began to happen in the city of Ephesus, new believers began to confess their sin and turn from sinful practices. Their faith in Christ led to life-change.

The word “confession” in the New Testament has the literal meaning, “to say the same” (From “homologeo”). So, when we confess our sins to God, we are agreeing with God that we have sinned. It’s not news to Him. He already knows. Confessing our sins, we no longer deny our sinfulness, but agree with God. More than that, confession is a crying out to God for relief from the guilt that pervades the soul as sin’s consequence.

The apostle John wrote, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Our part is confession. God’s part is not only forgiveness, but also cleansing. So that even sin’s stain might be removed.

“So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:9-10 NLT).

June 28, 2018

PAUL RENTS A SCHOOL FOR CHURCH MEETINGS
Ephesus was one of the largest cities in the Roman Empire during the time of Paul. It was a strategically placed seaport city with a population of over 250,000. It became the new center of Paul’s missionary efforts. Some gospel work had already been done in Ephesus, but now Paul lay a foundation for one of the greatest churches of the first and second centuries. The people of Ephesus and the surrounding province were so open to the gospel that Paul was able to rent a school from a local named Tyrannus, where Paul preached and taught daily for over two years.

Our church rented schools for our meetings for 19 years before we purchased a property of our own. I’m not sure how long the church at Ephesus rented the school of Tyrannus, for Paul felt the call to head back out on his third missionary journey after two years. Perhaps they were still renting when Jesus had John send them a letter some years later (Rev. 2:1-7).