FIVE SMOOTH STONES - The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherds Bag

FIVE SMOOTH STONES — The Five Ascension Gifts in the Heavenly Shepherd’s Bag

After Paul spent three months in the synagogue preaching to the Jews and the Gentile God fearers, he withdrew from the synagogue, and began intensive training at the school of Tyrannus. From here he began to raise up leaders, not only for the Church in the city of Ephesus, but also began to send out his disciples to plant and establish Churches in other cities in the region. It was through this training and sending effort that all of the Churches written to in the book of Revelation had their beginning. In fact, the book of Acts records that in just two and a quarter years all who dwelt in the Roman province of Asia (Asia Minor) heard the word of the Lord Jesus (Acts 19:10). What was it that changed and turned the group of about twelve disciples left behind by Apollos into the regional force of the ekklesia of Ephesus? The keys to understanding this change are recorded right in the same chapter of the book of Acts. Hidden by the Holy Spirit and also revealed by the Holy Spirit to those who look a little harder and are led a little deeper. Through the apostle Paul and his work with the saints in Ephesus the scripture records that the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed (Acts 19:20). It seems that whenever there is an advancement that the Lord makes through His people, that the devil attempts a counter action through people whom he exerts force upon. This also happened in the city of Ephesus when the gospel of the kingdom was preached and believed. This gospel began to have an impact upon society. People began to change, they began worshiping the true God rather than the pagan goddess Dianna (so called by the Greeks, called Artemis by the Romans) and destroyed all their occult books and paraphernalia. The impact became so great that those who made their living selling statues of the goddess to pilgrims and wor- shipers began to notice the loss of revenue. A leader among the sil- versmiths, Demetrius, began to stir up the people against the followers Jesus, called followers of the Way, who is Jesus. Acts 19:23 “ And about that time there arose a great commotion about the Way. 24 For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith, who made silver shrines of Diana, brought no small profit to the craftsmen. 25 He called them together with the workers of similar occupation, and said: "Men, you know that we have our prosperity by this trade. 26 "Moreover you see and hear that

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