"No Little Disturbance (Acts 19:21-19:41)" | 7/31/22
Acts 19:21-19:41 | 7/31/22 | Will DuVal
Many of you love C.S. Lewis’ classic tale - The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe - in which the 4 Pevensie children (Peter, Susan, Edmund and Lucy) accidentally enter the magical world of Narnia on the other side of an old wardrobe, and have to fight to save Narnia from the wicked White Witch, with the help of the TRUE king of the land, Aslan. One of the best scenes in the book comes when the humans first hear word of the great lion-king and Christ-figure Aslan, from the friendly and articulate Mr. and Mrs. Beaver.
Lucy asks, "Is he - quite safe?”
"Safe?!" said Mr. Beaver; "Who said anything about safe? 'Course he isn't safe. But he's good. He's the King, I tell you."
He isn’t safe. He’s good. He’s the King. Those 3 facts about Jesus provide about all the explanation we need in order to understand why Christianity is so steeply declining in our country today. MOST folks like our safety, we LOVE our sin, and we want more than anything to be FREE. And yet, Jesus ISN’T safe, he opposes sin (he is good), and He demands our obedience (He is the King).
Jesus is THREATENING. He was arrested by the Pharisees, because he threatened their religious power; he was crucified by the Romans, because he threatened their political power; and he was REJECTED by most of those he encountered in his life, because he threatened their personal power, their autonomy. Jesus demanded, ““If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily to follow me.” (Lk 9:23) He said, ‘You’ve got to lose your life, to come find new life in me.’ Jesus wasn’t just speaking in CODE; he MEANT it. Luke 9 recounts the stories of 3 would-be disciples who fell away because they refused to pay the price that Jesus demanded - the “cost of discipleship”, as Bonhoeffer put it.
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“One said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” [“Are you willing to be HOMELESS, to be with me?”] 59 To another Jesus said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.” [“Are you willing to drop EVERYTHING at a moment’s notice, even important things, and count it all rubbish compared to knowing me?] 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”” [“Are you willing to choose me, Jesus over mother, father, spouse, children… Jesus said, “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own [family], yes, and even his own life - If your affection for others doesn’t PALE in comparison to your affection and pursuit of ME - then you cannot be my disciple” (Lk 14:26)]
In other words, “Follow me WHEREVER I take you, WHENEVER I call you, and WHATEVER it costs you, or don’t follow me at all. Jesus is threatening. Following Him necessarily means “no little disturbance” to your current way of life.
And this morning, we’ll see that even two and a half decades after his death, resurrection, and ascension back into Heaven, Jesus continued to threaten folks, specifically, in the city of Ephesus, where the apostle Paul spent two whole years of his third missionary journey, evangelizing and strengthening the church in Acts ch19. Last week we read that “God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul” in Ephesus, supernaturally healing and casting out demons - not to mention saving SOULS eternally! - and yet, many of the Ephesians perceived - RIGHTLY perceived! - that Jesus was a THREAT to their way of life. In 3 ways. And I’m gonna argue that Jesus STILL threatens our way of life TODAY in these same 3 ways. But then I’m gonna conclude by telling you why He’s WORTH it. Cuz some of you will be sitting here by the end thinking, “Uhhh, I thought you were supposed to be SELLING me on Jesus, pastor! But you’re telling me he’s a THREAT? To my autonomy, my right to self-determine my own life? That sometimes Jesus calls people to HOMELESSNESS, to forsake their families, that in EVERY case Jesus demands that we DIE to our own will, to follow Him instead? Who’d wanna follow someone like THAT?”
I DO. And I’m gonna try and convince you that you should too. That He’s worth it.
I invite you to stand with me… Acts 19:21-19:41
“Now after these events Paul resolved in the Spirit to pass through Macedonia and Achaia and go to Jerusalem, saying, “After I have been there, I must also see Rome.” 22 And having sent into Macedonia two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, he himself stayed in Asia for a while.
23 About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way. 24 For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen. 25 These he gathered together, with the workmen in similar trades, and said, “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth. 26 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. 27 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.”
28 When they heard this they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” 29 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. 30 But when Paul wished to go in among the crowd, the disciples would not let him. 31 And even some of the Asiarchs, who were friends of his, sent to him and were urging him not to venture into the theater. 32 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. 33 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. 34 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!”
35 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? 36 Seeing then that these things cannot be denied, you ought to be quiet and do nothing rash. 37 For you have brought these men here who are neither sacrilegious nor blasphemers of our goddess. 38 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. 39 But if you seek anything further, it shall be settled in the regular assembly. 40 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.” 41 And when he had said these things, he dismissed the assembly.” This is the word of the Lord… Let’s pray…
Jesus threatens us in 3 ways this morning:
#1 - He threatens our WALLETS. (19:21-25)
That’s the whole backdrop for this section, vv21-41 of ch19 - some of your Bibles might title the passage “A Riot at Ephesus” - but the whole instigating REASON for the riot is that Jesus was starting to hurt ‘em where it smarts the most: in their WALLETS. I considered titling this sermon “It’s All About the Benjamins” or perhaps “It’s the Economy, Stupid!” But suffice it to say, the Ephesians, like many of us today, would put up with a LOT politically, religiously, but when it started to affect them economically… financially… when gas stayed at $4.50 a gallon for long enough, we have our limits.
The passage actually begins with Paul planning to LEAVE Ephesus and head “through Macedonia and Achaia [en route back] to Jerusalem”, and ultimately, all the way to Rome. Remember, he’s been in Ephesus over 2 years now, his longest stay ANYWHERE on ANY of his missionary journeys, and his ministry has been SO successful there, that last week we heard “that all the residents of Asia [Minor] heard the word of the Lord, both Jews and Greeks” (19:10). So Paul deemed his work there done, time to move on, and he sent “Timothy and Erastus” on ahead of him, not realizing yet that God’s got one last surprise for Paul in Ephesus.
V23: “About that time there arose no little disturbance concerning the Way.” v23 sets the stage for us here. It tells us WHAT happened, WHEN it happened, and WHY it happened.
WHAT happened? “No little disturbance”; a MAJOR riot, as a matter of fact.
WHEN? “About that time”, that Paul was ready to move on, because of all his ministry success in Ephesus. Doesn’t that make sense, though, that Satan would attack the church at the peak of its success? Why would Satan bother going after Paul in Ephesus if the church HADN’T been growing like gangbusters? Unlike God, Satan is NOT omnipotent; he has limited resources, and he’s not gonna waste them attacking a church that’s NOT advancing the gospel; just give ‘em a loud band and a fog machine and let them entertain themselves to death. Or how about this: give them a BIBLE and let them study themselves to death, without ever paying it forward, entrusting the word to others, as 2 Timothy 2:2 exhorts us. Satan’s not gonna waste his time on “Christians” who never evangelize or disciple others, who pose no threat to his kingdom of darkness; just give ‘em a Netflix subscription and an Instagram account and let ‘em entertain themselves to death.
Now I point that out for TWO reasons - first, on the personal level, some of you may be experiencing “no little disturbance” in your personal life right NOW, as we SPEAK; perhaps you’ve even wondered if God is allowing you to suffer hardship as punishment for some unknown sin in your life; maybe. But maybe Satan is attacking you because like Paul, you are EXACTLY where God wants you to be, doing exactly what He’s called you to DO. And that makes you a THREAT.
I also point it out for us corporately, because on the church level, I think we need to prepare ourselves for “disturbances”, for opposition, here at West Hills. We may not be Ephesus, but we HAVE grown by over 30% in the past 2 years, in SPITE of Covid. That’s almost unheard of. In spite of our lack of fog machines, Christ is building His Church here at West Hills - praise God. But we should be ready for Satan’s attacks that are sure to come.
And that’s the third point here in v23: WHY did Satan attack in Ephesus? This “disturbance… concern[ed] THE WAY”. Remember, “the Way” was the predominant term used for the church in the 1st c., before the term “Christians” caught on. But it was ALSO, not coincidentally, a term JESUS had used to refer to Himself: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life”. Well, we’re about to meet some Ephesians who didn’t CARE much for Jesus (the Way), they didn’t care much for the Church (the followers of the Way), and they especially didn’t care for the impact that Jesus and the Church were having on THEIR way… of life, particularly, on their WALLETS, their bottom line.
V24: “For a man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought no little business to the craftsmen.” Here’s some historical context:
Ephesus was the epicenter of the worship of Artemis, the Greek goddess of nature and fertility (aka “Diana”, in the Roman pantheon of gods). She was one of the big 12, the Olympian gods in Greek mythology, and the temple constructed for her there in Ephesus is considered one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Millions of pilgrims would flock there every year to worship and beseech her favor. We’re talking BIG business!
And apparently Demetrius was something like the head of the silversmith labor union in town. Because in v25, he gathers together all his fellow silversmiths, along with “the workmen in similar trades [blacksmiths, coppersmiths, ALL the smiths…], and [reminds them], “Men, you know that from this business we have our wealth.” “This is our LIVELIHOOD, that the Church is threatening here”, cuz they made silver idols, figurines, coins, statues… all manner of Artemis memorabilia and paraphernalia, for her devotees to purchase and return HOME to worship with. But sales have been down, WAY down, in the past two years since this Paul guy came to town and started preaching about JESUS. Started convincing people, v26, that “gods made with hands are NOT [in fact] gods.” Go figure. Paul persuades them: “Listen, if it’s possible for your horse to hit a pothole on the ride home and your “GOD” can fall outta the saddle bag and shatter to pieces, it probably wasn’t all that powerful to begin with.”
Demetrius is gonna PRETEND like he cares about Artemis in v27, but there’s a REASON that he started his complaint with the danger to “this trade of ours”, the threat to our “business”, “our WEALTH”, v25. Because it really is all about the Benjamins.
We in the 21st c. American Church often bemoan the rapid secularization of our surrounding society. But can you imagine if instead of just complaining about the growing godlessness, we actually CURBED it, as light and salt, if we stemmed the darkness and decay, with our WALLETS?
Do you know how I know that the majority of Americans aren’t ACTUALLY Christians, despite 63% of them still self-identifying that way: because the top two most watched shows last year across ALL streaming services were “Squid Game” and “Lucifer” - a series about a violent game show where contestants compete to be the last person not graphically MURDERED on screen, and a show that sympathetically portrays the DEVIL! With our wallets, and our views, these are the shows we’re asking Hollywood to keep producing for us.
(https://www.businessinsider.com/most-watched-tv-shows-netflix-disney-more-of-2021-nielsen-2022-1#1-lucifer-netflix-15)
The #2 most streamed SONG of 2021 was “Montero” by Lil Nas X, which he wrote *quote* “to help normalize same-sex LUST in music”, and whose music video features Nas X giving the devil an erotic lap dance in Hell. (https://newsroom.spotify.com/2021-12-01/what-the-world-streamed-most-in-2021/; https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/lil-nas-x-montero-call-me-by-your-name-lyrics-breakdown-9547933/ )
Friends, if 63% of our society was truly regenerate, there wouldn’t even be a MARKET for such filth.
If 63% of our society was regenerate, Starbucks wouldn’t still be the #1 coffee chain in the country, despite their very public decision last month to start paying for employees who want to cross state lines to get an abortion…
Disney wouldn’t get away with actively pushing its LGBTQ agenda on our kids…
Because we’d start voting with our WALLETS. When Jesus changes a person, TRULY changes us, he eventually changes every PART of us, and that INCLUDES our wallets. Jesus will change the way you spend your money.
That was true in late 19th c. England, when the Salvation Army began taking the gospel into the streets of London. So many drunks and degenerates got saved and sobered up that all the bar and brothel owners in town organized their own “Skeleton Army” to try and combat the evangelism of the Salvation Army! Cuz Jesus was terrible for business.
It was true of the Ephesian converts last week in vv17-20, who were renouncing their dark magic and turning to Christ instead, and as they DID, they brought all their old sorcery and witchcraft books and “BURNED them in the sight of all”, despite the fact that Luke tells us: they could have SOLD the books for a sum of over 5 million dollars. But the idea that they would have been encouraging others to participate in such ungodly practices was just unthinkable to them, no matter the pricetag.
Contrast that with the story from Matthew ch19 of another would-be follower of Jesus, a rich young man, whom Jesus invited to follow him: “Sell your stuff, give the proceeds to the poor, you’ll get treasures in heaven, plus you’ll get to be MY disciple!” But the man went away sad, because he was so wealthy. And Jesus was a THREAT to his wallet. Jesus said, “You can’t serve two masters… you can’t serve both God and money” (Matt 6:24). You’ve gotta pick.
How about you - have you picked? You should pick Jesus. He’s the much more sensible choice. As Jesus himself explains: it doesn’t make much sense to “store up treasures for yourselves here on earth, where moth and rust can destroy and where thieves break in and steal”; why not invest your “treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal” (Matt 6:19-20). Live for earthly treasures that can at BEST bring you pleasure for a few decades here in a world that is a mere SHADOW of the glories that await us in the world to come, and at WORST, those treasures can be taken from you in the blink of an eye - an economic downturn, another stock market crash, a bad investment, a business deal gone bad.
OR live for Jesus, and store up treasure that will last for all eternity!
Friends: the choice is clear. But you should know, should you CHOOSE Jesus, that he will threaten your wallet. Because Jesus knew exactly how DANGEROUS money can be. Money, perhaps more than any other idol we chase after, has the potential to enslave us, to become our “master”. So Jesus warned, that “it’s easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God” (Matt 19:24). Hebrews 13:5 warns us to “Keep your life free from love of money”, because 1 Timothy 6:10, “the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils”, and besides, Ecclesiastes 5:10, “He who loves money will never be satisfied with money”; as John D. Rockefeller - one of the wealthiest men to ever live - admitted, when he was asked, “How much money will be enough?”; he famously replied, “Just a little bit more”. But even more importantly than THAT, as Proverbs 11:4 reminds us, all the money in the WORLD won’t be able to SAVE you on the day of JUDGMENT; as Jesus put it: “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world but forfeits his soul?” (Matt 16:26) Jesus lovingly threatens our wallets for the SAKE of our souls.
#2 - Jesus threatens our WORSHIP. (19:26-28)
Even though Demetrius seems to be feigning concern for the worship of Artemis here in v27 - “if we let Paul go on preaching, “the temple of the great goddess Artemis may be counted as nothing… she may even be deposed from her magnificence…”” - we discover in v28 that many of his fellow Ephesians were truly distraught over the threat that Jesus posed to the worship of Artemis: “When they heard this [Demetrius’ speech], they were enraged and were crying out, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!””. Demetrius reached for his pocket to secure his wallet, but others reached for their idols to safeguard their WORSHIP. They got so upset, v29, that “the [whole] city was filled with the confusion, and they rushed together into the theater [the amphitheater in Ephesus could hold up to 25,000 people; they PACKED it out!], dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus”; they couldn’t find Paul to string him up, so they grabbed the closest guys they could find, “Paul's companions in travel”. And lest we question the sincerity of their devotion to Artemis, we read in v34 that “for two whole hours they all cried out with one voice, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!””.
Now, say what you want about the SILLINESS of worshiping a fake goddess and a “sacred stone that fell from the sky”, v35; apparently, a meteorite had fallen in Ephesus that they believed was divine proof of Artemis’ power - say what you want about it, but let me just ask you: when was the last time YOU worshiped JESUS for 2 hours straight? Some of you roll your eyes when Brian has us repeat the chorus a third time at the end of a song; meanwhile, they chanted “Great is Artemis… Great is Artemis… Great is Artemis…” for TWO HOURS!
Sadly, the closest parallel you’re likely to find these days won’t be in the SANCTUARY; it’s in the STADIUM, isn’t it? If you went downtown for the parade back in 2019 when the Blues finally won the Stanley Cup - sadly, I can wrap my mind around a crowd of 500,000 chanting “Let’s Go Blues” for 2 hours straight, or singing “Gloria” on repeat for 2 hours - that’s a WHOLE lot easier to imagine than drawing a crowd of 500 to sing “Holy, Holy, Holy” for 2 hours straight on a Sunday. And yet, according to Revelation 4:8, that’s what we’re gonna be singing for the rest of ETERNITY around Jesus’ throne together.
And that’s a good segue way to our personal application of point #2 here. We may not chant for make-believe goddesses, or bow before rocks that fell from the sky anymore, but are we really any less IDOLATROUS, in our OWN modern ways, than these 1st c. pagans? An idol is anything you put on the throne of your heart that’s supposed to be reserved for Christ alone.
Jokes aside, sports has become an IDOL for many people, even many Christians, today. Some of you spend more time on fantasy football than you do in God’s word. More time on college football recruiting news sites than you do in prayer. More time cheering for the Cardinals than you do worshiping Jesus (it’s not hard when they play for 3 hours almost every single NIGHT!). Even YOUTH sports: please don’t become one of those families this fall who will spend more Sunday mornings on the soccer field than in the sanctuary; what are you teaching your kids about the relative importance of regularly gathering with the Body of Christ?
But sports are just the tip of the iceberg. How about the idol of WORK? Some of us spend MOST of our waking hours throughout the week with our hearts unconsciously chanting, “Great is Boeing”, or “Great is BJC Healthcare”, or “Great is Special School District of St. Louis County”. And Jesus has to compete with our employers for our heart.
Or the idol of POLITICS. “Great is Donald Trump”. “Great is Joe Biden”. Some of us, if we’re REALLY honest, wouldn’t even THINK of voting for Jesus if He was on the ballot. He’s soft on immigration (“welcome the stranger”, Matthew 25:35), he’s weak on foreign policy (“love your enemies”, Matthew 5:44), and don’t even get us STARTED on his economic plan (see point #1 above).
Or maybe it’s your FAMILY. After all, HOME is where the heart is supposed to be, as they say. Family is the most “socially acceptable” idol there is. “Great is Polly”, “Great is Ellery”, “Great is Elijah” - that’s what my heart is SUPPOSED to cry, society tells me. But not Jesus. He said, “If you don’t hate your own father and mother, your wife and children, your brothers and sisters, yes, and even your own life, you can’t be my disciple.” (Lk 14:26)
Which brings us to our #1 idol, of course, the idol of SELF. More than anything else, my heart cries, “Great is Will”; your heart cries: “Great is _____”... “Great is _____”, doesn’t it?
A.W. Tozer said: “There is a cross and a throne in every man’s heart, and you will find him on one or the other.” Ohhh, that’s good: “There is a cross and a throne in every man’s heart, and you will find him on one or the other.”
Which did YOU climb this morning, when you woke up - the cross, or the throne? Did you RE-climb the cross when your kids woke up early and threw off all the plans YOU had for your morning? When your wife informed you that she made lunch plans with her family for after church, so you’re NOT gonna catch the Cardinals game this afternoon - did you RE-climb the cross?
Friends: Jesus wants to threaten our worship today. Our worship of sports, of entertainment, of comfort, pleasure, sex, money, status, power, politics, work, family, of SELF - Jesus is inviting us to so much BETTER than ALL of it this morning; he’s inviting us to worship HIM: the One by whom and FOR whom we were created. Will our hearts beat for HIM, above all else?
Lastly, and very quickly: #3 - Jesus threatens our WELL-BEING. (19:28-19:41)
Webster defines well-being as “the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous”. Listen: if you’re looking to live “your best life now”, here, on this earth, then Jesus is NOT the guy for you. He actually promised that if you follow Him, you will have troubles, in this life. The apostle Paul is case in point; he wrote in 2 Corinthians 11 that he suffered “far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless beatings, and often near death. 24 Five times I received at the hands of the Jews the forty lashes less one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from robbers, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers; 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, in hunger and thirst, often without food,[b] in cold and exposure. 28 And, apart from EVERYTHING else, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.” (vv23-28). And he PROBABLY would have died prematurely, a decade or so early here, if he’d of gone into the Ephesian amphitheater like he WANTED to - that’s Paul for you: he sees 25,000 people all gathered in one place, and all HE can think about is, “What an opportunity to share the GOSPEL with them!” Never mind the fact that the REASON they’re gathered is to KILL me! - and he would ultimately be beheaded for the faith a decade later, but he’d of gladly died for Christ here in ch19 had his fellow disciples and Asiarch friends not forcibly STOPPED him from entering the fray, in vv30-31.
Jesus threatened Paul’s well-being.
He threatened Gaius and Aristarchus’ well-being.
And you need to know this morning, friend, that if you choose to follow Jesus, he will threaten your well-being as well. Jesus did NOT come to offer you health, wealth and happiness, in THIS life. That’s how the so-called prosperity gospel has tried to redefine the good news of Christianity: “Jesus wants you to be healthy, wealthy, and happy in THIS life”! And the problem with the prosperity gospel - aside from the fact that it’s self-evidently false; the book of Ecclesiastes admits, and anyone with 2 eyes and a brain can plainly observe that godly people get sick and die every day, while the wicked prosper - but theologically speaking, the real problem with the prosperity gospel isn’t that it OVER-promises; it’s that it UNDER-promises.
Friends: what Jesus came to offer you - what he DIED and was RAISED to offer you - is so much more than health and wealth; he offers us so much MORE than even the BEST that THIS world can afford us. Paul said, “If for this life only we Christians have hope, we are to be PITIED.” (1 Cor 15:19) No, Jesus came to offer us NEW life, ETERNAL life… PERFECT life, with Him, that never ends. Where moth and rust can’t destroy. Friends: don’t settle for anything less.
CONCLUSION: Who would want Jesus, if he’s so threatening to your current way of life? Your wallet, your worship, even your well-being?
Well, the answer really depends on your assessment of the relative value of 2 things: your current way of life, and JESUS.
Analogy: I saw this funny FB meme last week (1993 Camry) - some of you think, “I LIKE my 1993 Camry life”. So much so, that if I offered you even a brand new 2023 Camry, with 30 years worth of updates (back up cam, ), 0 miles, etc. but on the condition that you had to trade in your 1993 Camry… some of you might not take it.
But friends, the better analogy is really that SOME of you are still trying to drive around your broke-down 1971 Ford Pinto , and this morning, Jesus is offering you a 2023 Lamborghini Huracan (I got passed by one of THOSE on the drive home from Michigan this past week).
It seems silly to even try and persuade you that Jesus is WORTH the trade in - it’s not even a CONTEST. He is WORTH it. The new life, ETERNAL life, that He’s offering you this morning: it’s WORTH it, dying to your self, your current way of life, your wallet, your worship, even your well-being in this world. Jesus is better. Will you receive him this morning?