Acts 19: The Word of the Lord Changes Your Life

Introduction

On Sunday, October 4, 2026, at the first worship service of Kobe Christ Glory Church (神戸キリスト栄光教会) in Kobe, the preacher continued his reading of the book of Acts with a long passage: Acts 19:8-20. The title of his message is simple: "The Word of the Lord Changes Lives."

In Ephesus, Paul proclaims the gospel. Some close themselves off, others believe. God acts with power, the name of Jesus is glorified, and believers bring their books of magic to burn them in front of everyone. The account ends like this: "So the word of the Lord was growing and prevailing mightily."

The preacher reads this text in four stages, then asks each person a question: you may not have any books of magic at home, but what in your life should be burned?

Message Outline

1. The Word of the Lord Was Proclaimed

Paul enters the synagogue in Ephesus and, for three months, speaks boldly about the kingdom of God (verse 8). The kingdom of God is where God reigns as king. The one who came as king of this kingdom is Jesus Christ, so the heart of what Paul proclaims is the gospel.
Not everyone receives this good news with joy. Some become hardened and speak evil of "the Way" before the crowd (verse 9). This is nothing new in the book of Acts, but Paul does not stop proclaiming the gospel. He withdraws with the disciples and teaches every day in the school of Tyrannus.
This goes on for two years, until everyone who lived in Asia, Jews and Greeks alike, had heard the word of the Lord (verse 10). The text says it plainly, but it is an immense reach, whether they heard it from Paul directly or through others.
The preacher brings it home: imagine someone saying, "Everyone who lives in Itayado has heard the word of the Lord," or even "Everyone who lives in Nagata." People often say that the gospel has not yet spread in Japan. His answer is: "It is still too early to give up." He thanks God for those who keep sowing the seed of the gospel, and for the fact that we, who were saved first, have received a mission.

2. The Name of the Lord Jesus Was Glorified

"God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul" (verse 11). Even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched his body healed the sick and drove out evil spirits (verse 12). The preacher stresses the subject of the sentence: it is God who acts. Paul is only an instrument, and through that instrument the Lord himself is at work.
He shares a personal observation. Since he began designing the church's posters, he looks closely at the posters of Christian gatherings, especially healing meetings. Sometimes he feels uneasy: on some posters, God is not at the center. He admits the question touches him too, when his own photo is put on the poster of a meeting where he is invited, or when he himself put a guest pastor's photo up in large size. He concludes that we live in a time that calls for discernment, and that church leaders carry a particular responsibility in this.
Hearing "this meeting is a sure thing" or "this church is a sure thing" can make a pastor glad. But we must not get the subject wrong: it is God who acts.
In verses 13 to 16, traveling Jewish exorcists, the seven sons of Sceva, try to speak the name of Jesus "whom Paul preaches" over people who are possessed. The evil spirit answers them: "Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?" They flee naked and wounded. They knew the name of Jesus, but they had not received him as their Lord.
For the preacher, the name of Jesus is not a magic word to be used freely. Jesus is not someone we use; he is the one before whom we bow and whom we look upon with reverence. Verse 17 shows the right response: fear falls on everyone, and the name of the Lord Jesus is glorified.

3. The Lives of Those Who Believed Were Transformed

"Many also of those who had believed came, confessing, and declaring their deeds" (verse 18). The preacher sees in this a confession of sins, and he acknowledges that bringing our actions into the light before others is not easy to live out.
In verse 19, those who practiced magic bring their books and burn them in front of everyone. Here, faith becomes visible in life.
He restates what repentance is: turning toward God, changing direction. Until now you held your life in your own hands, and you hand it over to the Lord, saying to him: "You are my Lord."
We come to Jesus with our sins. By grace, we believe in him and are saved. By the blood of the cross, our sins are washed away, we are declared righteous by faith, and a new life is given to us. Then, in those who have received this salvation, a change begins: "I cannot stay the way I am."
He quotes a sentence he received from another pastor and often repeats: "Loved as you are, and changed into who you are meant to be." That is what repentance is, and it is the path on which the Spirit renews us day after day.

4. The Price of Repentance

The books that were burned were worth fifty thousand pieces of silver. A drachma was roughly a day's wage, so that is about fifty thousand days of work.
The preacher did the math: if we assume, as a hypothesis, 10,000 yen per day, we arrive at 500 million yen. Even with a lower estimate, it is an enormous sum.
This figure shows the determination of the believers in Ephesus. By human reckoning, they lost a great deal because they had believed in Jesus. Yet there was joy in them, and they did it willingly.
Then the question becomes personal: "We do not have books of magic." But do we not still hold something in our hands that should be burned? When something becomes bigger than Jesus, we have the weakness of clinging to it. Each of us can ask what in our own life corresponds to those books of magic.

5. The Word of the Lord Spreads Even Further

"So the word of the Lord was growing and prevailing mightily" (verse 20). The word was proclaimed, the name of Jesus was glorified, believers multiplied, they confessed their sins, and their lives changed.
When the word of the Lord reaches a person, that life is changed down to the root. And through transformed people, the word spreads even farther. That is what happened in Ephesus.
The preacher invites the congregation to pray, saying to the Lord: "I hand this over to you. I burn it. You are the Lord of my life."
He also suggests living out faith in "You are my Lord" concretely this week: in the family, at work, in the way we are with others, in how we use money. The Lord rejoices in a heart that repents.
He ends with a blessing: may the word of the Lord work with power in your life, in your family and in the church. Just as God worked miracles by the hands of Paul, he can accomplish great things by your hands.

Key Takeaways

The gospel was proclaimed with perseverance despite rejection, and a whole region heard the word of the Lord. It is still too early to give up.
It is God who acts. The servant is only an instrument, and God must remain at the center.
The name of Jesus is not a formula to be used: Jesus is the Lord before whom we bow.
Repentance shows in life: we are loved as we are, then changed into who we are meant to be.
A life changed by the word becomes a channel through which that word spreads even further.

Personal Application

What in your life plays the role of the Ephesian books of magic and should be burned?
Is there something you are gripping tightly because it has become bigger than Jesus for you?
In your service or your witness, who is at the center: God or you?
This week, how can you live out "You are my Lord" in your family, your work, your relationships and your use of money?
Around you, who has not yet heard the word of the Lord, and how could it reach them through you?

Passages Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What happens in Acts 19:8-20?

Paul proclaimed the kingdom of God for three months in the synagogue, then every day for two years in the school of Tyrannus. Everyone who lived in Asia, Jews and Greeks, heard the word of the Lord. God worked special miracles by the hands of Paul, the name of the Lord Jesus was glorified, and many believers confessed their practices and burned their books of magic.

What do the sons of Sceva teach us?

These traveling Jewish exorcists knew the name of Jesus, but they had not received him as their Lord. They wanted to use it as a formula and they were routed. For the preacher, the name of Jesus is not a magic word to be used freely: Jesus is not someone we use, but the one before whom we bow.

Why did the believers in Ephesus burn their books of magic?

It was the fruit of their repentance: turning toward God and handing over to him a life they had until then held themselves. The books were worth fifty thousand pieces of silver, about fifty thousand days of wages. By human reckoning it was a loss, but they did it willingly and with joy. Their faith became visible in their lives.