GOD’S SOVEREIGNTY AND OUR FREE WILL

<p> GODS SOVEREIGNTY AND OUR FREE WILL 1</p> <p>We read in the last half of Acts Nineteen how Paul sets up a Bible school called the school of Tyrannus and teaches both Jews and Greeks the Gospel there for two years, and God works powerfully through Paul, so that people who even touched Paul's clothing and handkerchiefs were healed. Many evil spirits came out of people through Paul’s ministry and many people who practiced witchcraft repented and burned their books of magic which were reported to be worth fifty thousand silver coins.  When Paul saw that God’s word was now sovereign and prevailing in Ephesus he decided to move on to Macedonia. Then he said, ‘from there I’m going to Jerusalem and then I'm off to Rome - I've got to get to Rome’. But before he left Ephesus, a man named Demetrius who manufactured and traded statues of the Ephesian goddess Artemis (Diana to the Romans) accused Paul’s teachings of destroying the glory of Artemis, whom the whole world worshipped and that her statues would end up a pile of rubbish. These accusations set the crowd off into a frenzy, and Paul and those with him were again in danger of being severely punished for this crime.</p> <p>But the mayor of Ephesus finally quietened the mob and said, ‘This conduct is unworthy of Artemis, and these men have done nothing to harm either our temple or our goddess, and if Demetrius and his artisans have a complaint, they can take it to court and have it dealt with - we're putting our city in serious danger here, because Rome does not look kindly on rioters.’ With that, he sent everybody home.</p> <p>Reading on now in Acts Chapter Twenty after Paul had just farewelled the people of Ephesus Paul travels to Greece and preaches there for three months. He discovers that the Jews are plotting again to take his life, so he sails over to Troas in northern Turkey and preaches there for seven days. On the final day he went to preach at their communion service. Acts 20:7… He preached in an upstairs room until midnight! and as Paul spoke on and on, a