When the Word Conquers All

0:00 I'm gonna go quickly just for the sake of time, uh, but it has been 750 days and there remain. I know that we're in a, a ceasefire, a a, I should say a, um, what do you call a, uh, always on the verge of collapsing ceasefire, I dunno what the word is, but always on the verge of collapsing ceasefire at this time. But it's been 750 days and there remain 13 bodies, uh, that are being held in Gaza. Uh, just a couple things of note this week, Hamas continues to break the ceasefire rules, uh, in agreement in multiple ways, um, number one by holding bodies. But number two, actually, they, they opened fire on a,

0:48 on an Israeli, um, post this week. Um, secondly, another thing I found quite fascinating. I had a video to show you today, but unfortunately we asked permission from the person who posted the video to show the video, and they said no. Um, so this is why you always ask forgiveness and not permission. I mean, I'm sorry, don't, I didn't say that I'm from the stage anyways, but one other, one other note that I found quite, quite interesting this week is Israel has, now I'm not Israel, Egypt has now committed 5,000 police to go into Gaza as part of a stabilization force.

1:34 Uh, quite fascinating to me that now there's some other countries that are, are beginning to, uh, provide input. Anyways, I would like to invite Marcus Raven to come to the stage. Avi Sha may our father in heaven. Lord, I thank you for my brother Marcus. Lord, I thank you for, uh, his diligence to study and to pursue you. Lord, I just ask that you would speak to us today through Marcus's preparation, through his lips. Lord, we just ask that you would open up our ears to hear from you. Draw us near to you in Yeshua's name. Amen. Amen.

2:24 Thank you Rabbi Ori Shabbat shalom. Joshua's gonna be so disappointed in me if I lose this clicker when the word conquers all what if, what if the power you depend on is powerless

3:10 when it matters most? Ephesus was a city drunk with power idols. Temples magic scrolls, scrolls promising supernatural results, but they didn't just want religion and emphasis, but they wanted a power that worked. But beneath the spectacle, emptiness, sound familiar? We chase success, status,

3:58 even spirituality, anything but intimacy. Which brings me to a question that I believe every disciple must answer. Is the power in me real or just ritual? Lemme say it another way. Is my faith built on authentic authority or borrowed belief? Here's the truth that Acts 19 will help us discover

4:44 what I believe it's about to prove authority flows from sincere intimacy. See, not shallow imitation. Let me say that again. Authority flows from sincere intimacy, not shallow imitation because intimate, but, but 'cause imitation, no matter how real it seems in certain times, it always breaks down under pressure.

5:29 When Paul got to Ephesus, there were some amazing things happening. We pick up in the text in chapter 19, starting at verse eight. If you have your Bibles, please follow along. If you have your devices, you can open those up. You can find the notes in the new version app, and if you don't have either, then we have projection on the screen. Paul went into the synagogue for three months and spoke boldly, debating and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when they were hardening their hearts, but when they were hardening and refusing to believe speaking evil of the way before the whole group, he withdrew from them

6:14 taking the disciples with him, debating daily in the Hall of Tyrannis. They continued for two years so that all the residents of Asia heard the word of the Lord, Jewish as well as Greek people. The word of the Lord confronts opposition. Paul had just returned from Ephesus after traveling through Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, Foria, and this city was the convergence of commerce of culture and cultic worship. Ephe was home to the temple of Artemis. Y'all may not recognize the name Artemis.

7:01 Y'all may know from the Roman name Diana. And this temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, A structure that is twice in large, in total area of a football field For the, for you non-sports fans, for the shoppers in the crowd, it, it, it was the size of a Costco or Sam's that may help you. But instead of being built out of steel and concrete, it was made entirely of marble with over a hundred tower, a hundred columns, towering six stories high.

7:48 Let's compare that to something from the Bible. Something that we actually read in this week's Torah portion. If Noah's Ark were a monument, the temple of Artemis would still be twice the size of Noah's Ark. Double the footprint. It wasn't just a temple, it was a statement of supremacy dominating the sky. Why the skyline, the way massive sports stadiums or super, uh, super mall might do, might dominate ours. Today, the markets overflowed in Ephesus with magic scrolls called Ephesian letters.

8:33 And the idols filled every corner for three months, Paul reasoned and persuaded in the synagogue lifting up Yeshua as the promised Messiah. But when the heart's hardened and the people mocked, they mocked the way. When they mocked the way he didn't fight for position in the synagogue. He followed the ruach redirection and protected the disciples that were with him. He left the synagogue and moved into the Hall of Tyrannus, a lecture hall where he taught daily for two years, daily for two years. Rabbi Ari, how long have we been in the book of Acts?

9:21 Daily? Daily. For two years, Paul knew that fighting opposition in the flesh leaves you exposed and wounded. He chose the spirit strategy, and it took time. Two years of daily teaching, two years of laying truth as a foundation. Don't misunderstand the moment. Opposition is not failure. It's formation. Rejection isn't ruined,

10:06 it's redirection. Paul wasn't there to provide information but transformation. And although he had had written the book till Romans, yet, he was already living. Now what we now know as Romans chapter one verses 16 and 17, I am not ashamed of the gospel of, or the good news for it is the power of salvation to everyone who trusts to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Paul's teaching in that hall was a masterclass in orthodoxy. When I say orthodoxy, I, I don't want y'all to think about, uh, a certain sect of people who dress a certain way

10:51 and live in a certain part of town. No, when I, when I'm talking about orthodoxy, I'm talking about right thinking. For two years, he was not just correcting doctrine, he was reconstructing identity. He was teaching them that their identity does not flow from cultural affinity. Their identity does not flow from tribal belonging. It flows from trust. In Yeshua, Years later, he would write to these same ephesian believers and say, therefore, be imitators of God as beloved children.

11:37 Notice that imitators of God, not imitators of each other, not imitators of tradition, not performers of ritual. We are imago day, we are the image of God, and that image is restored. That image is revealed through an intimate relationship with our messiah, not through borrowed belief systems. The hardening in the synagogue, unfortunately, that was a rejection of an in, of a, of an invitation to have a

12:22 transformed identity. They chose the comfort of what they knew over becoming known by him. But Adonai is not, he's not fazed by people's rejection. Adonai consistently propels his word forward, transforming every no into an opportunity for a greater yes. So let me let you understand. I hope you understand that rejection is redirection. Opposition is opportunity.

13:11 We see here in the book of Acts that every time the word is resisted, it multiplies. But when the word multiplies, it attracts two things, intimidation and imitation. In verses 11 through 16, we read God was doing extraordinary miracles by Paul's hands so that even handkerchiefs and aprons touched his skin and were bought to the sick And the disease left them and the the evil spirits went out of them. But some traveling Jewish exorcist tried to invoke the name

13:57 of the Lord Yeshua saying, I charge you by the Yeshua whom Paul preaches. Seven sons of a Jewish ruling, coen named Skiva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered and said, I know Yeshua and I know about Paul, but who are you? Then the man with the evil spirit sprang at them, subduing and overpowering the all of them, so that they fled out of the house naked and wounded. Naked and wounded.

14:42 The word exposes counterfeit power. I joked about it. It was a little over two years ago. I looked, I checked our preaching schedule. We started in the Book of Acts in September two years ago, so you may not remember, but let's flash back in Acts chapter one, verse eight. Yeshua says, you will receive power when the Ruach hakodesh has come upon you, and ye will be my witnesses. That promise finds a stunning confirmation here in the, here in Ephesus, in the city's saturated

15:30 with sorcery and magical charms, God demonstrated that his power is superior to all counter fix. Luke records that God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul. Notice the emphasis here. These weren't ordinary healings, even handkerchiefs and aprons that touched Paul's body brought healing and deliverance. This wasn't about a cloth, though. It was proof that the power came exclusively from God, not from Paul, not from any object, not from some magical formula

16:19 and the capital of magic. The genuine spirit and powered authority caused an immediate crisis. These seven sons watch Paul command demons through the name of Yeshua and thought that they could hijack that power for profit. They mistakenly believed they could hack into holiness. They were sons of a priest. They had probably grown up around the temple of God. They definitely had heritage,

17:05 but they didn't know the son of God who tabernacle among us. They had no habitation, no indwelling. They wanted Yeshua's preeminence without Yeshua's presence. This moment right here is spiritual warfare 1 0 1. The demons. Demons are the ultimate critic of authority, right? They rebelled against authority. The evil entity looks at those seven sons and says, I know Yeshua. I know about Paul, But Who are you?

17:54 In that moment, the difference between authority and imitation became violently clear. The sons of Skiva had no armor, no intimacy, no authority. They were beaten because you cannot fight a spiritual battle with a superficial script. Years later, Paul would write to these same Ephesians believers, and he would tell them, put on the full armor of God so that you are able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood,

18:39 but against the rulers, against the powers, against the worldly forces of darkness. Think about what happened that day. The sons of Skiva stood before a demon with no truth to anchor them, no righteousness to protect them, no faith to shield them, no intimacy with the word to wield as a weapon. They had a formula, but they didn't have any foundation. They were left naked and wounded. Because our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is against powers that recognize authentic authority

19:24 and expose counterfeit credentials. I see this as a warning to us. If our faith is simply secondhand is a secondhand formula, we are one bad situation. We are one demonic encounter away from being exposed. Power without his presence always leads to being stripped, bare, naked, and ashamed.

20:11 We pick up in verses 17 through 19. This became known to all who lived in Ephesus. Both Jews and Greek people. Fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Yeshua was being magnified. Many also of those who had believed came confessing and recounting their practices, and many of those who practice magic arts brought their books together in the heap, burning them before everyone. They total the value of the books and found it to be about 50,000 pieces of silver. The word produces costly repentance.

21:02 When the seven sons were exposed, fear fell on everyone, and the name of the shul was magnified. Just as we sang today, we magnified his name in this place, believes, came forward confessing. They were confessing their practices, and then came the fire. 50,000 pieces of silver, that's millions and millions worth of livelihood gone up in flames. Paul had spent two years, y'all, two years,

21:48 laying the truth as a foundation. The Ephesians spent one day burning their past. See, deep roots produce radical fruit. When you've been anchored in the truth long enough, repentance doesn't hesitate. It acts. These Ephesian letters weren't just these letters that they were holding these secret scrolls that they were keeping. They were, they were just keepsakes. They were income, they were identity, they were insurance policies for a whole culture, but they didn't sell the scrolls to make a profit. Although they could have, they could have resold them

22:36 on the Ephesus version of eBay, could have posted it on Craig's list and got somebody to come by. May have even put it on Facebook. Marketplace told the folks that it was free. All you gotta do is have a truck and pick it up. No, they didn't sell the scrolls to make a profit. They set the scrolls on fire for the sake of purity. The Ephesians understood something profound, right? Thinking orthodoxy must become right. Living Orax

23:23 orthodoxy without orthopraxy is just theory. It's a trivial pursuit. Paul would later write to them and say, lay aside the old self and put on the new self. Here's what they discovered in that fire light. You cannot put on the old self while clutching, you cannot, excuse me, you cannot put on the new self while clutching to the old self's treasures. Yeah, I, I learned this the hard way. Some of y'all know my testimony. A a few of y'all on the front row know it a little too well.

24:12 I spent some years, uh, building that testimony. During my first year in college, I discovered a loophole. This loophole was with Columbia Music House. They had a, they had a music club. Anybody remember Columbia Music House? Oh, yeah. Okay, that's good. You could get 12. Let's go back. You could get 12 records. You could get 12 albums for a penny. By the time I was in college, of course, albums were out. Now was all about CDs. So all the albums that I had hanging up in my room and all the albums that I used to play

24:57 and make mixtapes with, they, I couldn't travel with those. So I needed to, I needed to beef up my collection. Everybody was trying to beef up their collection. See, I don't remember exactly when it was, but my first roommate dropped out and he went home. Thing was, he would still get mail delivered to us every now and then. Well, that's when it hit me. I could get some extra CDs if I just used his name. So I signed up, made the selection, and boom, there, grew my CD collection.

25:43 The only dilemma that I had at this point, I see some of y'all shaking y'all's head. I I was not shaking my head like this. I was, yes, mm-hmm. The only dilemma that I had at that point was trying to figure out who had dropped out and how could I get the person in the mail room to deliver those new CDs to me. Now, just in case y'all wonder, I was able to work my magic. Now, years went by. Some of that collection got stolen, other pieces of it got destroyed. But finally, the ru I convicted me. I wouldn't say when I was doing all of that, y'all, I gotta understand. I hadn't, I hadn't come into an encounter. I didn't know about his power yet.

26:29 But the ru I convicted me and I trashed what remained. See, when the spirit brings conviction, you don't negotiate, you eliminate. I did the right thing, but I, I honestly, I wouldn't count that as a true sacrifice because those CDs, they didn't, they didn't cost me anything. Well, they cost me a few pennies, But that's nothing. Those pennies are nothing compared to the 50,000 pieces of silver.

27:14 Now here's what's beautiful about when you start to, when your, when your worship changes and your witness changes and your walk changes. When we model radical obedience, it shapes the people who are watching us. It influences them, especially the next generation. Our children are watching us to see if we will compromise or if we will truly count the cost. They learn what matters most to us, not just from what we pro boldly proclaim, but what by what we are willing to burn.

28:07 A few years ago, ASA had a birthday party. Y'all know how birthday parties go. The theme was all set. The decorations had been, had been delivered, had purchased and delivered. The cake had been ordered, but we had two problems. We could not easily find the toys for the original theme. That was problem number one. And he had recently been introduced to a cartoon character that some, a cartoon character of some of his, that some of his friends were collecting. So we were caught between the original theme and this newfound interest.

28:56 So some of his birthday gifts ended up being paraphernalia from this second character. He had pajamas, he had sheets. My mama bought him curtains. I think he had a couple of toys, and of course, he had those trading cards. Honestly, it, it worked out great for him, and everything seemed fine until sometime in that next year, he was talking to another friend and asking him, did he not have any cards to trade? So his friend with conviction,

29:43 with courage and with compassion told him no. And he explained why. So we started doing a little researching. Now, I, I'm not gonna lie to y'all, I, I was skeptical about the information that we had received, but we kept studying. We kept seeking the truth. Until one day, ASA and his sister said, we gotta get these idols outta our house. We need to burn 'em in the backyard. Daddy.

30:30 Now, some of y'all, y'all may think that that's extreme or fanatical, but when you're trying to worship God and walk by faith, your witness may look a little fanatical. This week's Torah portion introduces us to Noah, the same Noah who built an ark 510 feet long anticipating a flood when it had never rained on the earth. I think he looked like a fanatic.

31:17 Now, remember I told you this before, the Temple of Artemis that towered over Ephesus was more than twice the size of the Ark. Noah's obedience looked fanatical until it didn't. The Ephesians bonfire looked fanatical until the shadow in the shadow of that massive temple, until the word of the Lord prevailed. It's not extreme when you redeem by faith and you wanna serve a God who's extremely great. Unfortunately, Our Our insecurities inhibit our identity.

32:07 I'm gonna say that again. Our insecurities inhibit our identity. I'm afraid that we inhale, ingest, we invite things into our lives that are inappropriate and not in line with the intimacy and the increase that the father has in store for us. Oh, but when we surrender to him, not that stuff that's just obviously horrific, but when we surrender to him, even that which appears harmless,

32:56 we humble ourselves. We hallow his name and we honor his holiness. When te Shava transforms our treasury, the word of God triumphs in our territory. So the word of the Lord was growing in power and prevailing the word conquers. All. The word of the Adonai prevailed because it's powerful.

33:43 See, we have to understand that Paul was not a motivational speaker. Paul was a transformational teacher. Look at what his preaching and teaching accomplished. It silenced the slanderers and secured the saints. It conquered cultural complexity and destroyed comp compromises. It exposed the expensive schemes of the devil with the exalted substance of the Son. Because the word of the Lord is ultimate truth.

34:33 And as the old cowboy used to say the truth, fear is no confrontation The truth. Fear is no confrontation, but it facilitates transformation. Make no mistake, what was happening in emphasis was a destruction. It was the dismantling of a satanic stronghold. This was a showdown akin to what God did when he delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt. He, Yeshua asked his disciples in the book of Matthew,

35:21 he said, who do people say the son of man is? They answered, some say, John thee Mercer. Others say, Elijah and still others say, Jeremiah or one of the prophets. He said, but who do you say I am? Simon Peter answered and said, you are the Messiah, the Son of the Living God. Yeshua said to him, blessed of you, Simon, son of Jonah, because flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my father who was in heaven. And I tell you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I build, I will build my community.

36:11 And the gates of shield will not overpower it upon what rock Some people say, oh, it was Petros, the Little Rock. Well, the way that I read the text in the very next scene, Petros, the little Rock gets rebuked And Yeshua says, get thee behind me, Satan. So that can't be the thing that this community, that this body is built upon. It can't be just Peter. It's upon the revelation that Yeshua is the Messiah, the Son of the living God. And that revelation destroys the very gates of shield.

36:56 That's why I say this was a face-to-face showdown between a wannabe God and the Lord, the creator of the ends of the earth. His community, which we are a part of, is built upon that revelation and the gate of hail cannot prevail. So when we look at the Ephesians, we shouldn't just admire them. Wow. This is a fantastic story, Marcus, and I appreciate you sharing bits of your testimony, and I have so many different questions. Well, I have some questions as well.

37:43 Some people may wanna know what was on those scrolls, or some people may ask me like, man, what, what kind of music did you get rid of? It don't matter. Some of y'all may wanna know like, what character was it that that Asa got rid of? It doesn't matter. Those details are irrelevant. Here's some details that I want y'all to consider. Where have I grown comfortable with cultural norms that don't honor God? Question number two, how can opposition

38:31 refine my witness and my walk and my worship? Question number three. Am I relying on formulas or faithful intimacy? And question number four, what scrolls from my past still need to be burned? I wanna be clear. I want y'all to hear my heart. This isn't about shame, it's not about works.

39:21 It's about freedom. The Ephesians didn't burn their scrolls because they were trying to earn God's favor. They burned them because they had already encountered his power through his presence. When we embrace the real thing, the counterfeits lose their hold. Let us walk with him in intimacy and reign with him in victory. Authority flows from sincere intimacy,

40:11 not from shallow imitation. Adonai, I pray that you would make your word prevail in us. Burn away every counterfeit calling, restore intimacy where imitation has crept in. Let repentance run deep Lord, until your word conquers every adversary that opposes us, every perverted power that tries to subdue us, every chain that binds us. Let us hold fast to the truth, and use the truth to set us free.

40:59 And your shoe is mighty name. Amen. May the Lord bless you and keep you. May the Lord make his face shine upon you and be gracious to you. May the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Come you

42:01 in the name of our Messiah, Yeshua Shalom.