Acts 19:29 And the city was filled with confusion; and they rushed with one accord into the theater, seizing Gaius and Aristarchus of Macedonia, Paul's traveling companions. (35) And the town clerk, having quieted the crowd, said, Men of Ephesus, which of you men is there then who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is the temple keeper of the great Artemis and of the image fallen from Zeus? (37) For you have brought forth these men who are neither temple robbers nor blasphemers of our goddess.
From these verses we see how great was the turmoil caused by Paul's prevailing ministry. In Ephesus the heart of the power of darkness was the temple of the goddess Artemis. The more the Ephesians became believers in the Lord, the less influence this temple had. Apparently, the disturbance was caused by certain craftsmen. Actually, it was stirred up by the demons who were behind the scene. Our ministry is to propagate the resurrected Christ as God's kingdom. But today every city is the kingdom of the Devil. Hence, the prevailing ministry for the propagation of Christ is a fighting, a battle, for God's kingdom. The whole earth is the kingdom of darkness. If our ministry is truly prevailing, there is bound to be opposition. However, we should not do anything in ourselves to stir up trouble, thinking that this is a proof that our ministry is powerful and prevailing. It is terrible to do such a thing, for that will be used by the power of darkness. We all need to realize that a battle is raging between God and Satan. Therefore, we need to be certain that whatever we do is absolutely on the side of the kingdom of God and that nothing is involved with the kingdom of darkness. Because of the battle raging between God and Satan, we should be prepared for the enemy's attack. If we carry on a prevailing ministry, eventually we shall be attacked. The demonic "arrows" will be aimed at us. However, instead of being dismayed by this, we, like Paul, should be encouraged.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Acts, pp. 451-452. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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