The Cecil Whig. [volume] (Elkton, Md.) 1841-current, 1909-08-21
Sabbath School
NOTES BY r. s. HOLMES.
Lesson VIII August ~. 1909.
THE RIOT IN EPHASUS.

Golden Text "He said unto me,
Nv grace is sufficient for thee, for my
strength is made perfect in weakness"
III Cor. II: q.
Perhaps il would have been better
had Paul gone with Erastus and Tim
othy. He would have escaped the
danger OF his lie and the great sor-
row which came TO him out OF the
riot caused by Demetrius. But II was
Gods way. end we will study 10 see
how hostile the selfish human heart
can be.
THE LESSON.
vs. "a That way" In passing on
TO the story. note that the religion OF
Jesus had. by the middle oi the first
century. received the name, The
Way" or That Way" This verse is
simply the statement that simultane-
ously with the departure OF some OF
the evangclstic company, the oppon-
cnis ui Christianity, or That Way
raised great commotion. 1t was
real testimonial To the power at the
work done in Ephesus.
VS. - The riot began with a man
whose business had suffered because
OF the revival The same thing caused
the uproar in Philippi IL has hap
pencd many times in the history OF the
Church. lust now, IN our country.
certain manufacturers are crying out
against local option because il has
caused a great leSsening III the de-
mand for tumbers Selfish interest
does not like a religion that intericrcs
with IT,
Demetrius was the spokesman. He
was apparently an employer al many
Craftsmen" His business was to
make small silver models OF the tenn
pie OF the Ephcsian Artcmis, or Diana,
and small image oi the goddess
vs.. 25 pcmctrius assembled the
men al his class. and their employees,
and began an haranguc. There IS no
better proof 81 the iar-rcaching power
of the revival than this assembly
EpheSuS had been profoundly moved
and men had stopped buying these
silver models and images The first
sentence is the key to the whole story:
by this craft We have our wealth"
II is not the last time that wealth has
seemed oi more value than salvation
VS.. 10 This is a great tribute to
Paul II comes from an enemy 90
He has preached throughout all Asia
(2l He hath turned away much pco-
pie CD He says gods made with
hands are no gods
That was very direct The man
knew 81 what he was speaking. Paul
could not have said it better Even
the enemies oi Christ know whether
the preacher speaks out with plain
ness. Dcmctrius named none 81 the
rest al the cvangcist>. It was Paul
with whom he would quarrel
VI p. Here comes the thought
that animated the man a. Our
business is III danger. t1) Diana will
be dishonorcd
That was crafty speech. Its first
appeal was To- >clh>hncSS, its next to
superstition. or L" religious passion.
and that = even more dangerous
thing than selfish interest.
Religious fanatics are the worst in
the world To- day Remember the re
cent atrocities at \dana in ASiatic
Turkey. Religious hate murdered
thousands
W.. - II had immediate effect.
They we're nll oi wrath. With a ire
menduu, roar they cried in honor al
Diana What happened was natural
Won know how caNily = crowd can be-
gathered rn any street have seen
crowd III i've hundred gather SO
quickly Is to make me wonder whence
they could have come Excitement
is contagious
vs. ~. The city heard the cry,
Great is Diana and at once there
was confusion everywhere. men shout
ing. men running, every one in COM
motion Where is he" Where is
this Paul Two 81 hi, companions
were in the streets They were
Greeks: men from Macedonia who
were i'll Paurs COMPANY The crowd
saw them. seized them. rushed To- the
ampithcatrc. probably 4 grca oui-oi-
door place for spccraclcS alter the
manner ni ancient Oriental cities
vs. 90 Paul heard al it, Hi, first
thought was. Let me get there as
quickly rs | can. How brave he was
He wanted To- 60 L. the help ui his
friends Once more he could speak
for Jesus But his friends were wiser
than he No ono could talk to Such,a
crowd \ mob ha, neither heart nhr
brain
VI a. Some ~ the officials. who
were his friends. also seat word To
Paul. asking him not to cndanger
since IL shows To- what class some 81
Paul's converts belonged They were
Chief men 81 Asia" The Gospel
reaches every class. rich and poor,
high and low. the Chief and the Subor-
dinate
vs.. q This /, about the most per