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Paul in Ephesus: Have you ever felt stuck? With something needing to change hanging over your head? We say it all the time: Jesus changes everything. But what can we do when change is slow in coming? The whole region was changed after the Apostle Paul spent a few years in Ephesus. We learn three essential elements from his time there for real and lasting change. Recorded on Jun 11, 2023, on Acts 19:1-20 by Pastor David Parks. The Life of Paul is a new sermon series (mostly) from the book of Acts in the Bible. The Apostle Paul has a fantastic story. Born Saul of Tarsus, Paul was a brilliant young man who was a violent persecutor of Christians. But then he met Jesus, which changed everything. Eventually, Paul would become not only the preeminent Apostle to the Roman world but one of the most influential people who ever lived. Paul’s story offers a great case study of what it looks like to learn the way of Jesus. Sermon Transcript So all year, we’ve been focused on Learning the way of Jesus. And today, we’re continuing a sermon series on the life of the Apostle Paul as a case study for learning the way of Jesus. Now one of the things about the way of Jesus, and we’ve tried to make this clear throughout the last year, is that his way is a totally different way compared to the ways of the world or even the way of our lives if we chose our own way. And when you follow this different way of Jesus, all kinds of stuff changes in your life. But honestly, have you ever felt stuck? Have you ever felt like there was this thing hanging over your head that just never seemed like it would go away? I have. As a Christian, even as a pastor, I’ve had issues/struggles/doubts that took years to work through before I saw real change. Sometimes I felt embarrassed along the way, sometimes defeated. But then, in God’s timing and by his grace, I was able to see change and experience more of the fruit of the Spirit, more freedom in Christ, and more joy as a child of God. But what’s up with that? On the one hand, following the way of Jesus seems to change some things right away. But on the other hand, other things seem to take forever. I’ve talked with many people over the years who share this same perplexing experience. Do you know what I’m talking about? Have you ever felt stuck in an area of your life? We say it all the time: Jesus changes everything. But today, we’ll see how. If you have a Bible/app, please take it and open it to Acts 19:1. We’ll put the Scripture up on the screens for you as well. But as we join the Apostle Paul in the city of Ephesus, we’ll unpack this in three parts, revealing three essentials for experiencing real life change: 1. The Gospel 2. Discipleship 3. Spiritual Power. So first, the need for the truth of the gospel… Acts 19:1-7 (NIV), “19 While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples 2 and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” 3 So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?” “John’s baptism,” they replied. 4 Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5 On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues  and prophesied. 7 There were about twelve men in all.” Let’s pause here. So as we’ve said, the Apostle Paul was born Saul of Tarsus, a brilliant young Jewish man who was a violent persecutor of Christians, that is, until he met Jesus and became a Christian, which changed everything. By his early 40s, he was a leader of the influential church in Antioch. But then God called him out. So the church sent him out as a missionary to bring the gospel to other people/places around the Roman Empire. For the past few weeks,