ACTS 19:21-41 WHAT MOTIVATES PEOPLE2017 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Acts 19:21-41 What Motivates People

You are listening to FerventWord, an online Bible study ministry with teachings and tools to help you grow deeper in your relationship with God. The following message was taught by Jerry Simmons in 2017.

Well, this evening we're going to be in Acts chapter 19, finishing up the chapter. It's been a couple of weeks since we've been in the book of Acts because of the holidays and such. And so it's good to kind of be back and get plugging away back into what we do verse by verse, chapter by chapter. We've been working our way through the book of Acts for about a year now. And it's been exciting seeing all the things that God has done.

set up, you know, for ministry and been giving us examples of ministry and how to do ministry and lots of stuff about serving him. And that continues this evening as we look at Acts chapter 19 verses 21 through 41. Let's begin by reading verses 21 through 28 and then we'll jump into some of the details that God has for us this evening. Acts chapter 19 verse 21 says,

When these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem, saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome. So he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus. But he himself stayed in Asia for a time. And about that time, there arose a great commotion about the way.

Verse 26.

Moreover, you see in here that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying that they are not gods which are made with hands. So not only is this trait of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. Verse 28 says,

Now, when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out, saying, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. Here, as we jump into this final block of verses here in chapter 19, we're continuing with Paul in his third missionary journey.

And the third missionary journey really kind of begins at the beginning of chapter 19 and kind of skips over a bunch of area where he just kind of passes through ministers to people but doesn't give us details. But it's kind of like he makes a direct line to Ephesus.

which was a major city there in Asia Minor. And so he's spent some time in Ephesus and the past couple studies in the book of Acts, we've been looking at his time in Ephesus. He spent a little over three years altogether in Ephesus ministering there on this third missionary journey.

This is going to be the winding down of that time. He's going to be heading out of Ephesus soon. But before he does, there's a riot that breaks out, some commotion that happens, and it all gets resolved here in this passage closing out chapter 19. So we'll look at that and understand some of what took place there.

But it's an interesting passage. It's not a whole lot of, you know, biblical instruction, not a whole lot of, you know, truth or teaching from the Apostle Paul, but it's really an accounting of this disruption that took place and this uproar that happened there.

the city of Ephesus as a result of the ministry that the Apostle Paul had been doing in the area. Now, as I was going through this and seeking the Lord on the things he would have me highlight, he really brought to light some of the things that I thought were interesting about the motivations of the different groups of people involved. And so I've titled the message,

this evening, what motivates people. And as we go through these things and talk about what took place, I want to encourage you to consider the motivations of the people in the text, but then also, of course, as, you know, as a reminder, as an opportunity for you to seek the Lord about your own motivations and why you do the things that

that you do. If you've been around a little bit, you know, I'm a big fan of this time of year, kind of reviewing, how did I do last year? What kind of things happened in my life last year? How did I grow last year? Heading into this new year, what does the Lord want to do differently? How does the Lord want to redirect me? And so this is kind of along those lines that self-evaluation is really good for us and we need it.

we need to consider and evaluate the things that we're doing and specifically, why do we do the things that we do? Every day, I mean, you could even just think about what's happened already this far in 2017. Why did you do every day the things that you did? Why did you do today? Why did you eat today where you ate today? Why did you go today where you went today? Why did you come here today? What's the motivation and what's happening in your heart today

that is causing you to take the steps that you've been taking. And it's important for us to understand those things, even the things that we would think,

Well, there's no need to question motivation about that. Things like ministry and serving the Lord also are good things for us to review. You might remember that Paul mentions in Philippians 1, verse 15, that some preach Christ from envy and strife, and then also some preach from goodwill.

And he was talking about his time in chains there and how people were preaching the gospel, but they were approaching the ministry with different motivations. There was different things on their minds and hearts. And so even the things that we think might be automatic, I don't need to evaluate that. There's things that, well, it's worth evaluating because even the best things that we can do, we can do with bad motivations, with the wrong heart. Yeah.

And so it's important for us to do some review, to give God an opportunity to highlight issues in our hearts because the heart is deceitful. And so we can get caught up in things that

We're doing maybe even what looks like good things, but not really for the right reasons, that our heart's in the wrong place and our motivations are all wrong. And sometimes we get caught up in the world's values, being surrounded by people in the world, being surrounded by the entertainment, the advertisements. All the world is around is trying to sway us to

to the values, to the mindset, to the heart of the things that are of the world. And we get caught up in that. Every one of us will have to face those things and recognize, hey, I'm getting pulled in a different direction and my motivations are changing and the reasons why I'm doing things are maybe not what they should be.

Sometimes our motivations need to be checked because, well, we've been just keeping this routine for so long. You know, we're just doing what we've always done and maybe forgotten why we began doing it and forgotten, you know, why the Lord had us do those things in the first place. And sometimes those routines, which started out really good, can end up being not very valuable because sometimes

Well, our motivation has changed and it's more about, you know, the routine than it is about the things that God wants to do. And also keep in mind, one last thing is that we're surrounded, not just with the values of the world and stuff, but there's actual attacks on your motivations, on your heart, on your attention, on your affections. And there is a direct attack

purposeful attempts to manipulate you to move into things and to go in directions and have a heart and a mindset that people around you want you to have. For example, advertisers, you know, their whole objective is to manipulate you. And I'm sure everybody's aware of this, but

maybe you just need a little bit of a reminder. Their job is to make you desperately need something that you don't need. That's their job. And they do that effectively. They're very good at that. And, you know, salespeople, but then just all around us, there's an attack on our hearts and our minds. And there's attempts to manipulate us in ways that are

Kind of subtle and below the surface. And so we might not recognize it right away. And so, again, it's important for us to evaluate, to consider what is our motivation. And so as we look at the different motivations of people throughout the passage this evening, I would encourage you to just be open to the Lord and be inviting the Lord to speak to you about things.

Maybe some things that he wants to reveal and some things he wants to bring up and remind you about as we look at these different things. So five different motivations that we'll see as we work our way through the passage. The first one is found in the Apostle Paul in verses 21 and 22. And here we see that Paul is motivated by God's plan. The reason why he's doing what he's doing, his purpose is directed and set to

By the will of the Lord. Look again at verse 21. It says, when these things were accomplished, Paul purposed in the spirit when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia to go to Jerusalem saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome.

What we see happening here in verse 21 is Paul laying out his travel plans. Now, I mentioned earlier about Paul's third missionary journey. He kind of made a direct line to Ephesus, and he spent about three years in Ephesus. That time is winding down. And so where is he going to go next? Well, here's what he lays out in verse 21. He says, you know, I'm going to go through Macedonia and Achaia.

And that is the region where Philippi is and Thessalonica is and then down to where Corinth is. And so he's going to go back through that region where he's been before.

Then after he's gone through those two regions, he's going to head over to Jerusalem and spend some time in Jerusalem. And then after that, his plan is to go to Rome. And so he's laying out his plans here. This is my agenda. This is my itinerary. These are the places I'm going to go. In verse 21, it says that Paul purposed in the spirit. He purposed. That word purpose could also be translated to set or to resolve.

And so, if you would just allow me a little bit, Paul made a New Year's resolution. He said, all right, here's my plans. Here's what I'm going to do this year. I'm going to go through Macedonia. I'm going to go through Achaia. I'm going to go to Jerusalem. And then I'm going to go to Rome. But as he makes this New Year's resolution, it's important to notice, it says that Paul purposed this.

in the spirit. This wasn't just Paul with his own agenda, wanting to do what he wanted to do. This was in cooperation with the directing and the leading of the Holy Spirit. And so Paul, as he's walking with the Lord, as he's seeking the Lord for direction, as the Holy Spirit is speaking to him, he's in agreement with and committing to the things that the Holy Spirit is putting upon his heart. And so he sets this agenda, not just

You know, I've always wanted to see Rome. I hear the Colosseum is really amazing and beautiful at sunset. And so I just got to go see that. That's not the motivations of his heart. He's in line with the Holy Spirit, motivated and in agreement with what the Holy Spirit wants to do in his life. And so he sets his travel plans from Ephesus. He's going to go through Jerusalem.

Macedonia, go back up to Philippi, go through Thessalonica. And there's a lot of things that were going on. He was going to be receiving an offering for the saints back at Jerusalem. And so he's going through there to pick up all that, but also to minister to those churches that he had planted and encourage the brethren. And then he was going to head to Jerusalem and keep the feast and participate in some of the things that God was doing there. And then he knew that God had called him to go to Rome to preach the gospel and

He explains that and shares that in the book of Romans multiple times that he wants to go where there's not a foundation already. Again, he's been in Ephesus for a long time. He's laid a solid foundation in Romans chapter 15. He explains, I want to go where I haven't been, where there is not a foundation and preach the gospel to the people who need to hear it. And so this is Paul's plan. This is what he has set forth and proposed. This is the resolution that he made and,

And again, I would ask you to consider why. Was it for vacation? This is just his, you know, vacation plans. He's been working hard in Ephesus. He just needs some time off. And so go kick back, you know, in Macedonia and go visit Jerusalem. It wasn't for vacation. It wasn't to see the world. And it wasn't to have an exciting Instagram feed. He was going in this direction. He was setting these plans, right?

Because he was motivated by God's plan for his life. He wanted to be faithful to what the Lord had called him to do. And so in agreement with the Holy Spirit, notice at the end of verse 21, he says, after I've been to Jerusalem, I must also see Rome. I must. It's a strong word there. He has to. It's a necessity. He must go to Rome.

He's expressing here that God has placed this burden on his heart.

He is called to go to Rome. He has a burden to go there, to bring the gospel, to share the gospel and encourage the believers that are there. And so with this plan in mind, with these resolutions in his heart, in verse 22, it says, so he sent into Macedonia two of those who ministered to him, Timothy and Erastus, but he himself stayed in Asia for a time.

So he makes these plans and because he has these plans, he sends two guys, Timothy and Erastus ahead of him. And part of the reason he explains in some of his other letters is that so they could prepare the churches and the financial offering so they wouldn't have to, you know, collect it when he got there, but it'd be ready and he could pick it up and then transport it down to Jerusalem to give to the saints who were in need there.

But because he has this plan, he's sending these guys ahead of him. But again, as much as he wants to go there and he has these plans, he still stays behind. Because although this is the plan and this is what God has called him to do, God hasn't called him to go just yet.

There's still a little bit more work to do. And so he stays behind in Asia and he waits there until it's the right time for him to go and do the plans that God has set before him. And so having the right plan of God and the right route and everything is important, but

but having the timing of God is important as well. And that's Paul's motivation. He's choosing to stay because that's what God's called him to do. He's setting his plans to go because that's what the Holy Spirit has prompted him to do. This was important to the apostle Paul. We'll see this in probably just a couple of weeks, but to kind of give you a glimpse of the future in Acts chapter 20, verse 24 says,

Paul says, none of these things move me, talking about some trials and tribulations that await for him. He says, none of these things move me, nor do I count my life dear to myself so that I may finish my race with joy and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus to testify to the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul says, here's what's important to me. Not so much my health, not so much, you know, my wellbeing, not so much that I am painless or pain-free in my life. Those things are not that important to me. Here's what's important to me. I don't count my life dear to myself, but here's what's important, that I finish the race with joy.

that I fulfill the ministry which I received from Jesus Christ. Paul is motivated by God's plan. He is seeking to be faithful to the plan of God. And again, as we look at these things this evening, I would encourage you to consider what motivates you. And do you have this motivation like the Apostle Paul? Are you motivated by the plan of God? I would encourage you to be asking yourself why.

As we start this new year, there's going to be a lot of firsts for 2017, right? The first time you eat at Carl's Jr., first time you ate at Jack in the Box, first time you eat at In-N-Out, first time you go to Denny's. Ask yourself why. First time you go to work, first time you have a vacation, first time you have a weekend, first time. There's going to be a lot of firsts this year. So it's a good opportunity for you to just pause and reflect.

And ask the Lord to reveal your heart. Why are you living the way that you live? Because it's the plan of God for your life. Is that what is most important to you? Not so much your health or painless life or this or that, but, but that your mission this year, your motivation is to finish your race with joy and

and fulfill the ministry, fulfill the calling, and do what God has called you to do. You have a calling in your life just as much as the Apostle Paul did. And that doesn't mean that you necessarily have to quit your job. Maybe your job is part of your calling. And so it's not that it's like, you know, segregating these ideas of missionary life versus normal life, but your workplace, you should be able to go there. You should be able to participate in that work

with the conviction, this is God's plan for my life. And that's why I do it. I don't just do it to pay the bills or because I need money or because I, no, I do this because this is what God has called me to do. And we need to make sure, we need to check our hearts and make sure our motivations are what they need to be, that we're mission-minded in the sense that our mission is to fulfill the plan of God for our lives.

And so I would encourage you to be asking yourself, why is this part of the race that God has called me to run? Is this out of my desire to be obedient to God and faithful to God and pleasing to God? Listen, if that's your heart, if that's your motivation, you can't go wrong. These other motivations that we'll see in this chapter, there's some good ones and some not so good ones, but even the good ones can lead you astray. Sometimes things that seem like good motivations can actually take you in the wrong direction.

And so we need to understand that, well, motivations are important and they set the course of our hearts and you cannot go wrong. If your heart is to fulfill the plan of God and be faithful to God and be pleasing to God, you will keep yourself in the center of God's will.

And you won't go astray. And so that's important for us. And that's what we see modeled for us by the Apostle Paul. But of course, that's not the only motivation we have here in chapter 19. Now, as we move on to verses 23 through 28, we have point number two. And here we see Demetrius motivated by money.

Money is at the heart. It's at the root of what's driving Demetrius to do what he does here in chapter 19. Look again at verse 23 and 24. It says, So we're introduced to this guy Demetrius here in these verses.

Now, there's a big commotion that arises at this time. Paul sends out his two guys. He's winding down his ministry. But before he goes, there's this uproar. There's this commotion. And we find out here that it's kind of sparked by, started by this man named Demetrius. And it gives us some key points about Demetrius. He's a silversmith.

So he fashions things out of silver and specifically he fashions shrines of Diana. Now, Ephesus was a place that had this incredible temple to this goddess Diana, also known as Artemis. It was a Greek god that they worshiped.

And someone found a carving of this Greek goddess. And so they decided, well, this fell out from Jupiter. And so God, you know, their false God sent this. And so we must build a temple here. And so they built this temple that was just...

Incredible. That was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world because of its size. This structure was 165 feet by 345 feet. Now, if you're not quick with your math, that's about 57,000 square feet. Just to give you a sense of how big this building was by comparison,

that's just about the exact same size as our whole property here at Living Water. So all the way from Lincoln to Adams, from railroad all the way to that block wall all along the back, that's our property. It's about 58,000 square feet. It's about the same size. So imagine, you know, and that's not so impressive today. We have buildings much bigger than that. But for this time period, this temple was just huge.

huge it was absolutely impressive and again one of the uh seven wonders of the ancient world and so to hold up a building this big they had 127 pillars made of white marble that were 60 feet high so not only was it the size of this property but 60 feet high um

This ceiling is about 10 feet high, 12 feet high, around there somewhere. So you can imagine six of these. I mean, this was a huge, impressive building adorned with sculptures and gold and all kinds of decorative things. And so it was something that Ephesus was known for. And people from all over the world came to worship this goddess Diana at Ephesus because of this great temple that was there. And so here's Demetrius, who's part of this whole system.

He's part of the worship of Diana. He, you know, profits off of the worship of Diana by selling replicas of this great temple that is built. And so people can take home souvenirs. They can also take home and worship the goddess Diana, you know, back at their house. And so he's profiting from that. And you'll notice the indications of his heart there in verse 24. It said that it brought no small profit to the craftsmen.

So he's making a significant living in this trade. That's what's motivating him because that is being threatened. In verse 25, it says, he called them together with the workers of similar occupation and said, men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. So referenced again, again, making it very clear. Here's the heart of Demetrius saying,

This is our prosperity. This is how we get such great profit through these idols that we sell, through these souvenirs that we sell. We are making a good living and that is, you know, why we've been so prosperous. But here's the danger, he says in verse 26,

Moreover, you see in here that not only at Ephesus, but throughout almost all Asia, this Paul has persuaded and turned away many people, saying they are not gods which are made with hands. And so here, Demetrius presents the problem to his fellow craftsmen. Guys, we're prosperous. Everything's going really well. We make our living. We make a really good living. But there's this threat, not only here at Ephesus, but everywhere.

throughout almost all Asia. So he sees that the work of God is spreading. The gospel is being accepted by people. And the result is business is dying down. Business is dropping because people are getting saved. Now here you have the testimony of an unbeliever that Paul's ministry in Asia is

had been very effective, right? I mean, it's a cool testimony there that it's being effective. And Paul was not on a, you know, let's defeat the goddess Diana campaign. He was on a preach the gospel of Jesus campaign. But that's what the gospel does. It changes hearts, it changes lives, and it changes behavior. It changes our activities. And so people are turning aside from idolatry as they turn to follow Jesus, right?

I was thinking about this as I was reading through this passage and considering the things that the Lord had for us this evening. And I was reminded about this woman in Okinawa who got saved and we were there visiting. And this was back, I think in 2006. And she was a brand new believer at the time. And the Lord just brought some conviction upon our heart about these idols that she had. It was part of the Japanese culture, but, but,

But she had these idols and she came and said, you know, it's hard for me to get rid of these. But I know the Lord wants me to get rid of these. And so will you help me get rid of these? Will you take them away for me? And so she approached Joanna and we were able to go and pray and encourage her and help her. But it wasn't, you know, that Pastor Tom had to preach this.

a get rid of your idols, you know, type message or campaign. It was, it was the conviction of the Holy spirit. It was the work of God in her life. It was, God was changing her. And that's what the gospel does. It changes us. And, and so that's, what's happening in people's lives are changing. And so their spending habits are changing. They're not buying the things that they used to buy because, well, they've become believers. Now they're turning to the Lord and walking with him and it's changed their

The way that they live, it's changed the way that they spend their money. In verse 19 here of Acts chapter 19, we studied this last time we were in the book of Acts. It tells us that many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. That there's this repentance that was going on for those who practice magic. So it wasn't just people who worship Diana, but

People dealing with all kinds of things that were not of the Lord, their lives are changing and they're turning around.

from sin. They're turning from nonsense. They're turning from idolatry and following the Lord and it's changing their behavior. And so Demetrius is recognizing this. He's looking at his charts and graphs and he's seeing that ever since Paul came, Paul came at this time and then it just keeps, you know, dropping, dropping, dropping from there as people are turning to Jesus and they're not worshiping Diana in the way that they used to. And so verse 27, he says,

So not only is this trait of ours in danger of falling into disrepute, but also the temple of the great goddess Diana may be despised and her magnificence destroyed, whom all Asia and the world worship. Verse 28. Now, when they heard this, they were full of wrath and cried out saying, great is Diana of the Ephesians.

And so he concludes his speech to his fellow craftsmen. And he says, look, our trade is in danger.

Our prophets are in danger. And then he kind of like throws in a last kicker. Not only that, but the temple is in danger, you know, kind of calling out their religious pride in the temple. Again, it was a massive temple. It was a wonder of the world. It was something they were proud of. And he says, look, that's going to be ruined because of what's happening here. And so it stirs them up. It provokes them to great wrath. And they cry out, great is Diana of the Ephesians.

They try to kind of counteract, you know, this gospel work that's going on by shouting and proclaiming that Diana is,

is great and the temple of Diana is great. It was their pride and joy of their whole region. And so in their regional pride, it's maybe like Raiders fans, in their pride of their team, there's this strong passion, this strong conviction. It's like, oh, don't you dare say something bad about that. That's going to be serious then. And it stirs them up.

And we'll see the commotion continues on in the next couple of verses, but it's all provoked and prompted by this man, Demetrius, motivated by money and really kind of motivated by money.

the threat of lost money, that he's not going to be making the living that he was making. And it prompts him, it provokes him to have this discussion and to stir up this kind of rebellion against the work that God was doing through the Apostle Paul.

Now here's something to pay attention to. Obviously we could talk about being motivated by money and everyone's like, oh yeah, definitely. I see it. You know, I understand what you're saying. Good. Let's move on. But, but here's the thing to kind of pay attention to. It's not just that Demetrius was motivated by money. He was greedy and he wanted more profits, but, but here's what we need to understand as we look at this. Demetrius was not really concerned about the truth. Right?

See, it's not just that he wanted the profits, wanted the money, but it was that those motivations kept him from what he really needed, which was the gospel. It didn't cause him, this whole situation didn't cause him to stop and think,

wow, there's a lot of people turning to the Lord. Maybe I need to evaluate, is that the truth? Is there truth to that message? Is that something that I need to pay attention to? Because, well, there's eternal implications. It didn't prompt him because he instead is focused on the profit that he is going to make or the profit that he's not going to make. And so it's not just a matter of,

you know, he's focused on the money, but it's that motivation of his heart actually keeps him from accepting, from evaluating the truth that has eternal implications. And so you and I, we might, you know, look at our finances. We might look at our budget and,

Obviously, there's decisions that we have to make as a result of the constraints that we have. And that's not necessarily wrong, but we do need to be careful and to make sure that our lives are not ruled by money, that our lives are not ruled by not getting money or getting more money, that those things do not keep us from the really important things of eternity. And so I would encourage you.

This year, you're going to have some firsts, right? You're going to spend money for the first time. You're going to make money for the first time. You're going to get your first paycheck. I would encourage you. This is a good opportunity to ask yourself why. Why do you divvy up the money the way that you do? Why do you spend the money the way that you do? Why do you earn the money the way that you do? Why are you so stressed out about money the way that you are? What's going on? And maybe there's some motivations of your heart. Maybe like Demetrius, you're fearful of

the possibility of less money coming in, less profits coming in, and it's causing you to miss out on actually some really important things. Money, of course, is important. It's a part of life. But as far as priorities go, we need to make sure that first and foremost, we're motivated by the plan of God. And God's plan has to be more important than how much we make or how much we don't make. And so...

It's a good opportunity for you to ask yourself why. Our heart is deceitful. We get caught up in the world's values and think that we have to have things and need to have things and things are requirements that maybe are not requirements as far as God is concerned and part of his plan for your lives. We keep spending the way that we've always been spending because that's the way we've always spent. But maybe that's not God's plan for your financial condition and financial situation.

It's a good opportunity to ask why. What's motivating you in the way that you spend, in the way that you earn? Moving on now to verses 29 through 31, we have point number three, motivation number three, and that is to be motivated by concern for people.

Here in verse 29, it says, Verse 30. And when Paul wanted to go into the people, the disciples would not allow him. Then some of the officials of Asia, who were his friends, sent to him pleading that he would not venture into the theater.

Here, as the situation unfolds, there is this massive, you know, upheaval as the cry out great is Diana of the Ephesians. And so it tells us that they rush in to the theater. Now, along with the

temple that they had there in Ephesus. They had a very impressive theater as well. And much of it still exists today. You can see it there. It seats, seated over 25,000 people. And it was this massive theater with great acoustics and all of that, you know, well-designed. This is the ruins of it, but there used to be a building, you know, right there as well. And,

a stage and such. But so they rushed into this theater, which was this kind of hallmark of Ephesus as well. And so now they're filled in the theater. They're packing out the theater. And as they've gone in there, they've grasped hold of, they've seized a couple of Paul's travel companions. And so you see now some concern for his friends in the Apostle Paul.

And so he wants to go into this riot. He wants to go into this mosh pit that's erupting there in Ephesus. He wants to go in the midst of it. And the disciples, it says, are holding him back. They're restraining him. They're not allowing him to.

And then on top of that, there's some officials in Asia, officials in Ephesus who know Paul well enough. Oh man, this trouble is brewing. They're upset over the ministry of the apostle Paul. They've got a couple of Paul's guys hostage. We know Paul, he's going to want to go in the midst of that. And so they send word to Paul, hey, Paul, whatever you do, don't go in there. Don't venture into the theater. It says they're pleading with him.

And so we see concern for people on multiple levels. We see Paul's concern for his friends, the travel companions. We see the disciples concerned for Paul. We see that the officials of Asia concerned for Paul. And they're thinking about the welfare of these people who are involved. Now, as I mentioned at the beginning, motivations are important.

There's a variety of them, and this one could be considered a good motivation, right? To be concerned for people and their well-being and their welfare is, generally speaking, a good thing. And so it's a good motivation to see demonstrated here. As Paul's concerned for his companions, Gaius and Aristarchus, his friends from Macedonia, he wants to go into the arena for their sake.

But obviously, it's probably not the safest thing to do to go right in the midst of the riot. It wouldn't necessarily help them and it wouldn't help him either. And so his friends, the disciples, are holding him back because here the disciples, the believers, are concerned for Paul.

It'd be just like, you know, if there was a riot and Russell wanted to go in the midst of this riot and we're holding him back. Russell, no, don't go into the midst of the riot. It's dangerous in there. I know there's your friends in there, but you're going to get hurt. You know, things are going to happen. And so the disciples did not allow Paul because they're concerned for Paul.

I think it's kind of cool too in verse 31 how it talks about the officials of Asia that are concerned for Paul. And so they plead with him, don't go in there, don't go in there. That Paul had, you know, these friends and these connections with people who were not necessarily the disciples. They weren't part of the church necessarily, but they

They were officials in the area. And so he's had a relationship with them to such a degree that they care for him. They know his character. They know what he's going to want to do. And so they are in their concern, say, please don't go into the theater. Now, in all of these instances...

I think it'd be easy to say this was the right thing, that their motivations were good as they're concerned for these people in all these different scenarios. There was nothing wrong with Paul's concern for his friends and nothing wrong with the other people's concern for the Apostle Paul. But here's the thing that I would ask us to consider about Paul.

This concern for people, which may motivate us. Again, thinking about these things in our own lives, it's easy for us to be concerned with people. And that prompts us to behave certain ways, to say certain things, to do certain things. And that is not always going to motivate us to do the best things.

Although it's good to be concerned for people, there's a greater degree of concern. There's a greater type of love that needs to be demonstrated, which goes back to being motivated by God's plan. Let me give you an example, if you don't mind. Turn a couple pages to Acts chapter 21.

Acts chapter 21. You remember in the beginning part of this passage that we were looking at tonight, Paul laid out his plans, right? He's going to Jerusalem. Well, as he's on his way to Jerusalem, we're picking that up in Acts chapter 21. Everywhere he goes, the Lord has been speaking and saying, there's danger, there's pain, there's chains that await Paul in Jerusalem.

And so that has been going on. In Acts chapter 21, we see an example. Acts chapter 21, verse 10, it says,

So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. So this prophet brings bad news, right? He takes Paul's belt and says, they're going to bind you and they're going to hand you over to the Gentiles. Verse 12. Now, when we heard these things, when we heard this prophecy, both we and those from that place pleaded with him not to go up to Jerusalem.

Now, going back to the original point, point number one this evening, Paul was motivated by God's plan. He was going to Jerusalem, not just because he hadn't been in a while. He really missed it. He wanted to see the temple again. You know, he was going there in agreement with the Holy Spirit. This was God's plan for his life. But here you have...

These people concerned for Paul, pleading with Paul to not go to Jerusalem because of the things that waited for him there. And yet it was the plan of God for Paul's life. Now, they wouldn't have seen it this way. They wouldn't have understood it this way. But reading this, we understand they were trying to persuade Paul not to obey God. And that's where I say,

being motivated by concern for people is good, but there are limits to it because we can find ourselves so concerned with the temporary, so concerned with the now that we plead with people to disobey God. And we keep back from obedience because of our concern for people. And in verse 13, here's what Paul says to them, still in Acts chapter 21, Paul answered, "'What do you mean by weeping and breaking my heart?'

For I am ready not only to be bound, but also to die at Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul says, you're making this really dramatic. It's hard on me. It's emotional. I mean, I know this is rough and there's things that are ahead that I'm not going to look forward to, but this is part of the plan of God. And I need to be faithful to that. And I'm seeking to fulfill my ministry. And even if that costs me my life, I'm willing to die for Jesus at Jerusalem, Paul says.

And so although they were concerned for Paul and they loved Paul and they didn't want Paul to go through hard things, that was God's plan for Paul. And so we need to understand. And again, it's just an opportunity for us to evaluate what motivates you. It's a good opportunity as we start this new year to ask yourself why.

Why do you do the things that you do? And it might be because you're concerned for people, but is that out of balance? And now are you more concerned for people than you are for the plan of God? Let me remind you of what Jesus said in Luke chapter 14, verse 26. He says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, in his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Here's what Jesus says.

My will, my plan for you must be the number one priority. That needs to be your greatest motivation, that your concern for faithfulness to the plan of God needs to be greater than your concern for people. Ultimately, we have to trust God and know, even though there might be pain, even though there might be difficulty, even though there might be affliction, their lives are in God's hands.

And sometimes we're motivated by concern for people and it keeps us from being where God wants us to be. It keeps us from doing what God wants us to do. It keeps us from having discussions that we need to have it. It keeps us from, because we want to spare them the pain. We want to spare them the difficulty, spare them the affliction, but that might be exactly what is necessary and part of God's plan for your life and for their life.

And so it's not necessarily wrong, but we need to check our hearts and we need to seek God and allow him to redirect us when our concern for people is greater than our concern for the plan of God and the will of God. Because ultimately love is bigger than the temporary. I mean, you can care for people in the temporary and meet their temporary needs and keep them from pain. But then if they spend eternity in hell, that that's not really love. That's, you know, you cared for them and you were concerned for them, but you,

in a way that disregarded the bigger picture and the eternal scene. And so what is best for people are the things of eternity. So let me say it this way. I've said it this way many times before. The best thing for your family is for you to be radically on fire for the Lord and walking with him with all your heart and loving him and pursuing him and passionate and motivated to fulfill the plan of God, just like the apostle Paul.

That's the best thing for your family. And you may look at the situation and say, well, that doesn't seem like that because there's going to be this pain, this affliction, this difficulty. And so we talk ourselves out of obedience to the plan of God because of our concern for people. But we need to be careful and make sure that our highest motivation is God's plan, God's will, pleasing him and faithfulness to him. And that that supersedes even sin.

The love of our spouse, the love of our parents, the love of our children, the love of one another, that we would be faithful to love God first and foremost. And so here we see these different people motivated by concern for people. Generally, good thing, but we need to make sure that it's in balance and that it doesn't override our motivation to obey the plan of God. Moving on to point number four, verse 32 through 34 says,

Here we see people motivated by who knows what. Check out verse 32. 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. I think this is interesting, right? This mob mentality. There's this uproar and everybody's there. Everybody's all up in arms and everybody's all worked up.

but most of them don't actually know what it's all about. Most of them are clueless, but it's interesting. They're united, but clueless, right? It says with one accord in verse 29, jumping back a couple of verses, the whole city was filled with confusion and rushed into the theater with one accord. They're all in agreement about what they don't know, but they're in agreement and they're upset and they're passionate about,

You know, this is something that continues to happen today. And again, this is why it's important for us and good for us to evaluate. Sometimes we can be caught up in things all worked up, super dramatic, super passionate. And when it comes down to it, we actually don't really know why. And sometimes

I think, honestly, this can be demonstrated not just in massive gatherings of people and that kind of mob mentality, but this can be demonstrated online. I think a lot of social media is a lot of this. All worked up, some crying one thing, some crying another thing, but we're confused and we don't know why. We're all upset, we're passionate, but we don't really know what about. It's a lot of uproar without much reason.

And so these people are motivated. They all rush into the theater with everybody else. But most of them did not know why they had come together. Verse 33. And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand and wanted to make his defense to the people. But when they found out that he was a Jew, all with one voice cried out for about two hours. Great is Diana of the Ephesians. Think about this.

the amounts of energy that it takes for an arena of 25,000 people to cry out for two hours the same thing over and over and over again. I mean, they were seriously worked up. They were really upset. They were really passionate about

And when Alexander is pushed forward by the Jews, there's a lot of discussion between scholars about what exactly is happening here. Alexander doesn't seem like he's a believer. He seems like he's a representative of the Jews. Whether he's going to try to speak on behalf of Paul or against Paul, we don't really know. But they wouldn't even listen to him. We don't even want to hear it. You're a Jew. We're Greeks. We worship Diana. Great is Diana of the Ephesians. And so...

They're tuning out. We don't want to hear from you. We don't want to listen to anything, but we want to sit here and chant for two hours. Great is Diana of the Ephesians. We here in our culture, typically we kind of celebrate that unity and, you know, kind of democracy we like, you know, when the people have spoken, that kind of thing. But here's something we need to evaluate and think about.

Just because a lot of people are in agreement and can shout really loudly about it for a long time doesn't mean that it's right. It doesn't mean that they even know what they're talking about. It doesn't mean anything. And sometimes we can get caught up in these movements. We can get caught up in these messages. We can get caught up in these things that are going on and get all worked up about it without really understanding what it's all about.

And so I would just encourage you, this is a good opportunity for you to ask why. Think about it this way. Again, there's going to be some firsts in 2017. The first time you get worked up and get into a heated discussion with somebody at work, stop afterwards and think, now why am I so passionate about that? And you may find that you don't actually know why you're so passionate about that. That it really doesn't make sense if you stop and think about it. But boy, do you get worked up about it.

Now, you may find that there is some real substance there, and maybe it's something you still need to be passionate about and get worked up about. There are things to be worked up about. But I would say give yourself an opportunity to seek the Lord and say, why? The first argument you have with your spouse this year, and maybe I'm too late. Maybe it already happened. It's okay. Stop and evaluate. Why? Why do we get so worked up over this? Why do we get so passionate about this?

What's our motivation? And sometimes we get so worked up, we get so enthralled and we're caught up in something, some kind of wave of something, whether it be the people around us, whether it be, you know, the way that we've always done it or things that we've always thought or who knows. But take a time, take an opportunity to stop and say, what is causing me to get so worked up? What is causing me to get so passionate about this? And again, is it superseding the plan of God?

Because maybe these things that I'm all passionate about and worked up about, really, I don't need to be so worked up about those things. Maybe I need to let some things go. Maybe I need to hold on to some things. But give God the opportunity to show you where your motivations are just caught up in who knows what and you don't know why. And he wants to show you why. And he wants to show you what's important. Well, finally, finishing it up in verses 35 through 41 says,

We finished up with the city clerk motivated by Seir. Now, as we look at the city clerk that's introduced in verse 35, this would be something like we would consider the mayor of the city. It wasn't just like a secretary or clerk kind of thing, but he had a real authority and responsibility of the city before Rome. And so he was like what we would consider the mayor. He was an elected official.

And so he comes in and he's fearful of Rome's response to this uproar that has taken place. And maybe he's fearful for his own position. Maybe he's fearful because Rome, you know, didn't put up with these kinds of uproars and disputes. And so there would be penalties brought upon them. And so he could be fearful for a variety of things. But this fear that's motivating him prompts him to really give some good instruction, some wisdom,

But again, I would say, although it is generally, you know, can be a good thing, we need to check our hearts and check out when we're motivated by fear to make sure it's for the right reasons. Well, in verse 35, it says,

So here the mayor, the city clerk gives some instruction and kind of correction. Hey guys, don't do anything rash. Don't, don't, you know, you grab these guys, you seize these guys, Paul's companions, don't put them to death. Don't stone them. Don't kill them. Don't hurt them. Don't, don't do something rash because you're all worked up in this moment.

He says, everybody knows it's worldwide. They know Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of Diana. And that image fell down from Zeus. Now, again, that's all lies and falsehood, but everybody knows that legend, that fable, that story, right? And so there's no threat here. Everybody knows that, you know, the things that you're claiming are not true. And then he goes on to say, hey, if there is some truth

accusation here that has, you know, some merit, then use the proper channels. Verse 37, for you have brought these men here who are neither robbers of temples nor blasphemers of your goddess. Therefore, if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a case against anyone, the courts are open and there are proconsuls, let them bring charges against one another.

But if you have another inquiry to make, it shall be determined in the lawful assembly. And so the clerk here, he's concerned about the unlawful assembly. You're gathered together, but in an unlawful way, in a riotous way, and this is appropriate. These guys have done nothing criminal. They haven't, you know, mounted a campaign against Diana, the goddess. They

They haven't blasphemed the temple. They haven't blasphemed the goddess. They haven't done that. And so if there is an accusation, let's use the proper channels. Go take it to the courts and let them resolve these things. Verse 40, for we are in danger of being called in question for today's uproar. There being no reason which we may give to account for this disorderly gathering. And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly. All right, guys, get out of here.

Because there's no good reason. And if Rome calls and says, hey, what happened? And why did you guys behave that way? Why did you guys do that? We have no good reason to give them. And so we might incur penalties. There might be some repercussions for us behaving this way for no reason. And so that's where I bring out the motivation here of the clerk is fear. He's concerned about this danger here.

of this being called to account, this accounting that might have to be given to Rome.

Now, again, this fear prompted him to give some wisdom to resolve a kind of pretty intense situation. And so not necessarily a bad thing in this situation. And yet I would just remind you of what Paul told Timothy in second Timothy chapter one, verse seven, for God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind that there are things to fear. And there are things that we need to fear. There is appropriate kinds of fear that,

But you need to understand that God has not given us a spirit of fear.

that we're not to be driven and our lives are not to be ruled. And even our decisions are not to be dictated by the fear that we have. And maybe like this clerk, the fear of repercussions, the fear of consequences. Sometimes God wants you to go forward, even though there's going to be consequences that, that you need not fear the things of man. Jesus said, you know, Hey, don't fear man who can only kill the body, but I'll show you who you should fear. Fear God, right?

who can kill the body and then cast the soul into hell. And so there is an appropriate kind of fear, but we need to make sure that it's prioritized correctly. And sometimes it'll produce wisdom, but sometimes it'll produce foolishness as it keeps us from the plans of God. And so we can be motivated by God's plan, which is,

Paul models for us. That's the good example for us. We can be motivated by money, by concern for people, by who knows what. We just get caught up in things. We can be motivated by fear and the list could go on and on. These are just some examples we see here in this chapter. But I would encourage you as we wrap up this evening, as we head into the rest of 2017, that you would take some time as you experience those firsts of 2017 to

to consider what motivates me. Ask yourself why, because your heart is deceitful. And the enemy wants to use that to his advantage to keep you in patterns that you've been in and that keep you from the plan of God, that keep you from the will of God. And so you need to check your heart. You need to evaluate. Maybe you've been caught up in the world's values. Maybe you've been caught up in a routine and just doing what you've always done and forgotten why and your heart's not where it needs to be.

Maybe you've been manipulated or deceived. Maybe you've gone astray. And so those motivations need to be checked. The heart needs to be evaluated. And the scriptures encourage us to do that. And so I would encourage you to do that. It's a good opportunity to ask yourself why, what motivates you? Are you first and foremost living your life like Paul the apostle to fulfill the plan of God, to fulfill the ministry that he's given to you, the calling that he set before you?

to be pleasing to him, that you would stand before him one day and he would say, well done, good and faithful servants. Let's pray. Lord, as we look at all these examples and this,

the different motivations, Lord, and even the motivations that might be in our hearts that aren't from these examples. I pray, God, that you would bring some clarity and some revelation. Lord, we need help as we evaluate our hearts, as we evaluate our motivations, because we do deceive ourselves and trick ourselves and justify, Lord, things that are not good and not of you. And so I pray that you would speak directly to us and provide some clarity for us, God, that we could recognize that

When our motivations are not good and not of you and not to please you first and are taking priorities over the things that you have called us to. God, I pray that you would help us to recognize those things, to catch those things and Lord to respond by changing and putting you back on the throne and submitting to your plan and your will and seeking to live our lives for your glory, loving you with all of our hearts and soul and mind and strength.

And Lord, I pray that you would remind us, each and every one of us, Lord, that loving you is what's best for the people around us. So even when we're concerned for them, Lord, we need to put you first and be obedient to you. No matter what we may sear about those results, no matter what we may be concerned about, what happens to the people around us or happens in our lives or happens to our prophets, Lord,

Lord, help us to love you first, to put you first, and to live our lives for your glory. In Jesus' name I pray. Amen.