Acts 19- Sex and Money

Acts 19 is a tremendous chapter in Acts.  Please read it.

In this chapter Paul went to Ephesus where he lived for just over two years.  Paul had many great triumphs in this city.  People were coming to faith in Jesus and they were even being healed by handkerchiefs and other articles of clothing that Paul had touched.

This chapter is awesome.  There are so many lessons to be learned from this section of Acts.  But I want to focus on one particular thing.

Ephesus was the capital of Asia (modern day Turkey).  It was  a trading hub of the ancient world, a hot bed of the occult and the home of the Temple of Artemis.

The Temple of Artemis was one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World; alongside the Great Pyramid of Giza, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, the Statue of Zeus at Olympia, the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, the Colossus of Rhodes and the Lighthouse of Alexandria.  The Temple of Artemis and Artemis were the source of pride and a lot of money for Ephesus.

Artemis was a fertility goddess pictured with many breasts.  The way she was worshipped was with wild orgies and drinking.  You can see why she was popular to worship.  The worship of Artemis also involved pre-pubescent and adolescent girls serving in the Temple of Artemis for one year.

Sex and money.  These two things drove the Ephesians to riot and nearly kill the Christians in town, including Paul, because the Christians were speaking the truth.

Before we say, "Silly Ephesians!  How could your society be so base?"  Let's look at our own society.  While we don't have a temple were we have orgies and make money, we do have a terrible secret obsession with sex and money.

Let me tell you about one aspect of our dangerous obsession with sex and money.  Breaking Free ministry is an organization that helps free girls and women from sex trafficking.  Below are some stats about sex trafficking:

~The U.N. estimates 27 million people are enslaved worldwide (more than any time in history).
~50% of these are children.
~Human trafficking is the fastest growing black market crime in the world.  $32 billion a year.
(The U.S. is not exempt.  In fact Minneapolis/St. Paul is a hub for this market.  That's were Breaking Free is located.)

So, what's the answer to this issue that we and the Ephesians share?  Jesus.  He will have victory over this problem.  In fact, remember the Temple of Artemis?  Of the 121 beautiful columns that composed it only one still stands.  The rest were used for making churches, roads and forts.  The pagan temple was turned into Christian church buildings.

What's the answer to our ugly sex and money problem today?  Jesus.  But Jesus loves to use His people to answer prayers.  I invite you to visit www.breakingfree.net if you are interested in one way you can be an answer to a young woman's prayer.

Jesus is the answer.  Don't be controlled by the gods of sex and money.  Instead, let Him use you to be an answer to a prayer today.