Transform the Foothills | Chip Stallings | September 27, 2026

Acts 19 shows how God transforms people, and then sends transformed people into homes, workplaces, schools, and communities. The gospel does not just change a person privately. The gospel sends that person out, so that others begin to notice, “Something is different here.” The difference is not that Christians are perfect people. Christ is the perfect One, and His Spirit goes with His people into every place they live, work, play, learn, and worship.

Paul meets twelve men in Ephesus who have many pieces of the puzzle, but they are missing the center. Paul asks the question that gets right to the matter: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” The Spirit is the essential evidence of new life, because a person can be church-going, baptized, sincere, and still be “Christian-ish” without belonging to Christ. God does not leave people sitting in ambiguity, because He wants them to know whether they are in the faith. The Spirit changes a person’s true nature, producing fruit that cannot be faked over time.

Paul then faithfully argues and persuades from the Word for two years in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. The Word of God reaches all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, because God transforms an area through the power of His Word shared by His people. The problem is often not a lack of knowledge, but a lack of boldness. The Bible is living, effective, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

God also performs extraordinary miracles through Paul’s hands in the middle of occult-centered Ephesus. The seven sons of Sceva try to use Jesus’ name as a trick, but the evil spirit exposes their lack of spiritual authority: “I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul, but who are you?” God’s power cannot be counterfeited or worked up in the flesh. Salvation remains the greatest miracle, because dead men become alive and eternal life replaces spiritual darkness.

Luke finally shows believers confessing their practices and burning costly magic books in public. Their past is not hidden, defended, or managed. Their past is brought into the light and burned up because Jesus has made them new. The word of the Lord spreads and prevails when transformed people humbly confess, refuse shame, and lift up the name of Jesus rather than their own.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. The Spirit is essential evidence The Holy Spirit is not an optional add-on for a believer. God gives His Spirit to those who surrender to the lordship of Jesus Christ, and His presence steadily changes their nature. A past prayer cannot be the only source of confidence when the Spirit’s fruit is absent. God gives clarity so that a person does not have to remain trapped in uncertainty. [49:10]
• 2. Sincerity can still be sincerely lost The twelve men in Ephesus were not portrayed as dishonest men trying to fake faith. They were around truth, but the truth had not yet come alive in them through Christ. Religious familiarity without repentance and new life leaves a person close, yet still fully lost. God’s loving questions can expose what is missing and lead someone into real salvation. [48:22]
• 3. God transforms through His living Word Paul did not trust cleverness, creativity, or human wisdom to change Ephesus. God spread His Word through faithful, repeated, everyday conversations until an entire region heard. Christians already carry more biblical treasure than they may realize. Boldly sharing that treasure where life happens becomes part of God’s transforming work. [63:10]
• 4. Salvation is the greatest miracle Physical healing and freedom from addiction are beautiful gifts, but they remain temporary in a fallen world. Salvation raises spiritually dead people into eternal life through Jesus Christ. God alone gives the increase, yet He uses ordinary hands to plant and water. Christ receives glory whenever darkness gives way to life. [73:25]
• 5. Confession brings hidden things into light The Ephesian believers publicly burned what had once held them captive. Their testimony declared that the things once used to fill life were empty compared with Christ. Confession does not earn forgiveness, because Jesus alone forgives and cleanses. Confession does bring wholeness, humility, and freedom from hiding.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [18:26] - Opening Acts 19
• [35:33] - Back2Back Missions Partnership
• [37:05] - The Gospel Changes and Sends
• [38:18] - Something Is Different Here
• [42:51] - Did You Receive the Holy Spirit?
• [49:48] - Baptism and New Life
• [60:40] - Faithful Preaching of God’s Word
• [67:04] - Extraordinary Miracles in Ephesus
• [71:02] - The Seven Sons of Sceva
• [75:17] - Burning the Magic Books
• [83:09] - Freedom Begins When Hiding Ends
• [85:53] - This Week’s Gospel Love Challenge
• [94:57] - A Prodigal Son Returns

Bible Reading

Acts 19:1-20
“While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions and came to Ephesus. He found some disciples and asked them, 'Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?' 'No,' they told him, 'we haven't even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.' 'Into what then were you baptized?' he asked them. 'Into John's baptism,' they replied. Paul said, 'John baptized with a baptism of repentance, telling the people that they should believe in the one who would come after him, that is, in Jesus.' When they heard this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began to speak in tongues and to prophesy. Now there were about twelve men in all. Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly over a period of three months, arguing and persuading them about the kingdom of God. But when some became hardened and would not believe, slandering the Way in front of the crowd, he withdrew from them, taking the disciples, and conducted discussions every day in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for two years, so that all the residents of Asia, both Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. God was performing extraordinary miracles by Paul's hands, so that even facecloths or aprons that had touched his skin were brought to the sick, and the diseases left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists also attempted to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, 'I command you by the Jesus that Paul preaches!' Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were doing this. The evil spirit answered them, 'I know Jesus, and I recognize Paul—but who are you?' Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them all, and prevailed against them, so that they ran out of that house naked and wounded. This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high esteem. And many who had become believers came confessing and disclosing their practices, while many of those who had practiced magic collected their books and burned them in front of everyone. So they calculated their value and found it to be fifty thousand pieces of silver. In this way the word of the Lord spread and prevailed.” [34:48]

Romans 8:9
“You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to him.” [46:25]

Hebrews 4:12
“For the word of God is living and effective and sharper than any double-edged sword, penetrating as far as the separation of soul and spirit, joints and marrow. It is able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” [01:05:50]

Observation questions

1. What details in Acts 19:1–7 show that the twelve men had received John’s baptism but still needed to hear clearly about Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit? [49:48]
2. What did Paul do after some people in the synagogue became hardened, and how long did he continue his daily discussions in the lecture hall? [01:00:37]
3. What contrast does Acts 19:11–17 make between the miracles God performed through Paul and the actions of the seven sons of Sceva? [01:11:02]
4. What did the Ephesian believers do with the practices and books connected to their former way of life, and what was the result for the word of the Lord? [01:15:01]

Interpretation questions

1. Why was Paul’s question about receiving the Holy Spirit loving and necessary for the twelve men rather than harsh or judgmental? What does their response reveal about sincere religious activity without a surrendered relationship with Christ? [48:22]
2. Acts 19 shows Paul reasoning and persuading over a long period of time. What does this suggest about the place of patient, repeated gospel conversations with people who have questions or resistance?
3. Why did the evil spirit recognize Jesus and Paul but reject the authority claimed by the sons of Sceva? What does this reveal about trying to use Jesus’ name without truly belonging to Him? [01:11:11]
4. Why was the public burning of the magic books such a powerful response to salvation in Ephesus? How did it show both repentance from the past and trust in Jesus for the future? [01:17:14]

Application questions

1. Paul’s question still matters: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” Where does a person look for evidence of the Spirit’s work—not perfection, but a growing change in desires, character, and direction? Is there any uncertainty that needs to be brought honestly to God? [51:30]
2. The gospel changes people and sends them into their homes, workplaces, schools, friendships, and communities. In which place does God most want others to notice that something is different because Christ is present in a believer’s life? What might that difference look like this week? [38:45]
3. God transforms people through His living Word shared by His people. Who is one person with whom a simple, natural conversation about Scripture, Jesus, or what God is doing could take place this week? What makes boldness difficult in that relationship? [01:04:09]
4. Salvation is the greatest miracle because God brings spiritually dead people to eternal life. Who is someone in need of Jesus that the group can begin praying for and lovingly investing in through planting and watering? [01:13:04]
5. The Ephesian believers brought hidden practices into the light instead of managing, defending, or hiding them. Is there a habit, influence, relationship, source of temptation, or pattern of secrecy that needs to be honestly addressed with God and possibly shared with a trusted believer? [01:23:09]
6. Confession does not earn forgiveness, but it can bring humility, wholeness, and freedom from hiding. What would it look like for the group to respond with grace and prayer when someone honestly shares an area where God is still transforming them? [01:36:01]