Acts 19

http://www.esvbible.org/Acts+19/

Paul travels to Ephesus and finds that many of the people there are already baptized; however, when he asks them if they received the Holy Spirit, they claim the never heard of Him. This answer baffles Paul, and he asks them how they could possibly be baptized if they do not have the Spirit. The Ephesians say that they were baptized in the way of John the Baptist. Paul scoffs at them and tells them that John only baptized for repentance, or changing your ways to those of God. Paul tells the Ephesians that they must be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, so he baptizes them, and the Holy Spirit instantly fills them. Paul takes up speaking in Synagogues in Ephesus, but the non-believers are so stubborn that they refuse to believe anything he says. Again, sometimes people will find any fault in what you say or simply just refuse because they are not ready or do not want to believe. Paul finally gives up and moves on to the city of Tyrannous in the Province of Asia. While he stays in Asia, God does amazing things through Paul. People would take pieces of his clothing to those who were sick, and it would heal them or cast out their demons. Paul had so much faith in God and such a great connection to the Holy Spirit that anything was possible for him. God fills you as much as you let Him, so you could unlock the ability to do great things if you just let God take control in your life. Many people in people used to travel around casting spirits out of people in the name of Jesus who Paul talks about. Some sons of a Jewish High Priest did that when the demon grew angry at them and attacked them. This event showed the people that they needed to have the most extreme faith in Jesus, and sometimes, they may not have as much faith as they think. When the people realized this, many of them confessed to performing spells or joining an occult. At that time, the people burned all of the books from unholy practices and found the cost to be around 50,000 silver pieces, but they knew that God is worth more than all of the money in the world. After Paul sees how all of the people change their ways, he fells called to visit Rome itself, so he sends two of his disciples ahead of him and stays awhile in Asia.

A silversmith in Ephesus, who made silver statues of the goddess Artemis, heard about the work Paul did and grew angry. He called together his workers and others who did similar work to express his feelings. This man told them that Paul told the people that gods made by human hands are not gods at all. All of those present thought Paul had some reason to put them out of business; furthermore, they thought that Artemis was the great goddess of Ephesus, so they began to riot. The formed a crowd out of confusion and took two of the men who travelled with Paul to the theatre. Once they arrived, the confusion continued and no one really knew why they were there. Many decided that Alexander must be the cause, so they had him speak. When they realized that he was Jewish, some began shouting that Artemis is the goddess of Ephesus. The whole time, Paul wanted desperately to defend his men, but all of his disciples, including some city officials, urged him to remain at a safe distance. Finally, a city clerk took control and said that everyone knew Artemis is the goddess of Ephesus, and the believers have not stolen from her temples or defaced them; in fact, they were all in danger at the moment of being accused of forming a mob for no reason, so he sent them away.