Gaining Spiritual Authority
“Who’s the Boss?”
Acts 19:13-20
Intro: Have you ever been caught in the middle of a power struggle? I can think of jobs I’ve had in the past when there was more than one boss to whom I was accountable. Sometimes one of them would try to get the upper hand on another of my bosses by getting me to do something that they knew was against the wishes of the other boss.
-Well, life is filled with power struggles between parents and children, among classmates, within social groups, on the job, and yes, even in churches. The question that so many people MUST find the answer to is, “Who calls the shots? Who’s the Boss? Who is the dominant one in this setting?”
-It is strange that churches should battle so much with this question because Jesus clearly stated that the great ones or dominant ones in His kingdom were those who served Him and others. So, let’s try to remember that next time we are stepping on someone else’s head, trying to get to the top of the heap.
-Well, today we’re talking about spiritual authority. I’m not talking about the authority that comes with a title or an office. I’m talking about the authority that God has given every true believer over the powers of darkness – the devil and his evil companions. There really are demonic spirits loose in this world and in our community that seek to torment people and hinder God’s plan of love and restoration. Paul and several other NT figures encountered evil spirits as they ministered. Things really haven’t changed all that much over 20 centuries later. We may not see as many cases of demonic possession in our small circle of influence as we read about in the Bible, but make no mistake: the devil and his demons are every bit as active and evil as they were back then!
-What happens when we enter a situation where we know that there is demonic activity going on? Can we do anything about it, or should we just steer clear and keep on doing the best we can? I believe we can do something about it, but we need to keep our focus on Jesus and the presence of the Holy Spirit, rather than trying to show how strong we are or how much we can handle. The main thought I’d like us to think about today is all about relationship, and here it is:
Prop: God wants us to get close to Him, using His authority to accomplish His will.
Int. Sentence: As we get closer to God through obedience, prayer, worship, and the word, how does this affect the level of authority God has given us?
TS: Let’s look at a few brief thoughts today that speak to the issue of spiritual authority.
I. Spiritual Authority Comes through Relationship, not Ritual (Acts 19:13-16)
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" 16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
-Only Christ-Followers Have Authority over Evil Spirits. Some people think that if you just say the right words, then you can tap into powers higher than yourself. They assume that spirituality is all about incantations and spells and magic formulas. This is really the mindset of witchcraft and manipulation, and is not the least bit Biblical! People get rich claiming to have the spiritual powers to read people’s minds, to see into their future, or to make contact with dead people so people can once again hear from loved ones who have passed on. I do not want to needlessly offend anyone here today, but let me just say that the Bible explicitly forbids seeing mediums, witches, or spiritists to contact the dead or gain some magical or supernatural advantage.
-Deuteronomy 18:10-12 says, “Let no one be found among you … who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, 11 or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritist or who consults the dead. 12 Anyone who does these things is detestable to the LORD, and because of these detestable practices the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you.” God said, “Don’t play around with other powers or put your trust in any power but Me. Listen to those I’ve chosen to lead you and obey what I’ve commanded you.” He wants us to love Him and trust Him to help us. He wants us to get close to Him and far away from the cheap imitations of His power.
-God does have power that He wants His followers to use, but it is based on a loving, trusting relationship with Him. When Jesus sent out 70 followers of His, and gave them authority over evil spirits, He did not teach them to say some magic words, or to use His name as some kind of spell that would exorcise a demon. No! They were in right relationship with Jesus, and it was out of this relationship that they were able to command demons to leave the people they were tormenting. And when His followers came back to Jesus all excited about how the demons were subject to them in His name, what did Jesus say? Luke 10:20 “…do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven." What did He mean? I believe He was talking about relationship! The only way your name gets written in heaven is by putting your trust in Jesus for forgiveness and starting a relationship of love and obedience to Him. If we get too overly focused on the fact that we have spiritual power, we might just forget the fact that our relationship with Jesus is the source of that power.
-So where does that leave us? Well, hopefully it leaves us wanting to get closer to Jesus. Hopefully, we realize that God is not playing games with us, expecting us to figure out the magic formulas that will get us the results we want. Sometimes there are right ways and wrong ways to do things, but the power is in the relationship we have with God, not in the rituals that people go through.
-Honestly, there is nothing wrong with ritual as long as we don’t minimize or neglect our relationship with God. However, if we start to substitute formulas for relationship, then we begin to bypass the leading of the Holy Spirit.
-Our text gives us a big example of this. These 7 sons of Sceva did not know Jesus, nor had they asked Him to be their forgiver and leader. However, they had probably seen Paul in action when he was driving a demon out of somebody. Maybe they heard Paul say something similar to what he said in Philippi when he drove a demon out of a servant girl: Acts 16:18 “’In the name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!’ At that moment the spirit left her.” So, they tried to steal some spiritual authority by using the same formula Paul used. "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out."
-Just like 2nd hand faith cannot save you, so 2nd hand spiritual authority falls short. These 7 men became sorry they’d ever messed around with powers they knew nothing about. See, Satan does have power, and without the power of God in us through faith in Jesus, we don’t stand a chance against him. However, as John said, “The one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world” (1 John 4:4). If Jesus is in you through faith, then Satan doesn’t stand a chance against you. Stay in close relationship with Jesus, and you will have access to all the spiritual authority you will need to do what God has called you to do.
-TS: Next, let’s look at the purpose of spiritual authority.
II. Spiritual Authority Is Given to Bring Honor to God (Acts 19:17)
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
-When people heard that these sons of a Jewish priest had failed their test of spiritual authority and had come away severely beaten, they began to realize that there was really something to Paul’s message. What was Paul’s message? “You can be forgiven and have a close relationship with God through Jesus the Messiah!” His message was confirmed by extraordinary miracles (19:11), and by the authority he used to drive out demons (19:12). Paul received spiritual authority in order to bring glory to God. How do we bring glory to God? Among many ways, one of the best is to show others how awesome God is, and that His love and power are more than enough to turn our lives around.
-If we begin to think that this spiritual authority is all about us, we will become less effective for the Lord, and will find ourselves drifting away from Him. However, if we remember that He deserves all the credit, and that it’s all about Him, then we will be in a position to be used by Him. We will be in a position to bring glory and honor to Him.
-TS: Finally, let’s look at the results of using spiritual authority in the right way – in the context of a loving relationship with Jesus.
III. Spiritual Authority in Action Can Result in Widespread Acts of Repentance
(Acts 19:18-20)
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. 19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. 20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
-Paul used spiritual authority in such a way that people began to understand that this was the real thing! When imposters tried to do the same thing Paul was doing, they found out that the enemy was too strong for them. They were happy just to escape with their lives. The counterfeit made the real thing look even more real and more powerful. So people took notice and were brought to repentance. They began to realize that spiritual power was nothing to play around with. They knew they’d better quit dabbling in sin and come clean with God before they got the same treatment as the sons of Sceva.
-Notice the acts of repentance here. Repentance is more than just saying we’re sorry. Repentance means turning around and changing the way we live. Someone might pray, “Lord, I’m really sorry I looked at pornography. Please forgive me.” But they do nothing about what kind of movies they rent or what TV channels they subscribe to. They don’t protect themselves from the sources of temptation that come right into their home. Repentance is willing to do whatever is necessary to stop the offense against God! If it means throwing out the TV, so be it. If it means making yourself accountable to other Christian friends, you’d better do it! Do we really want to stop sinning, or do we just want our conscience to feel better?
-When God’s power was shown in Ephesus, people (even believers) came and openly confessed their evil deeds. Those who practiced sorcery brought their books and scrolls on witchcraft and spells and black magic to be burned publicly. They were making a clean break away from their sin. BTW, a drachma was a piece of silver that was roughly equivalent to a day’s wages. By today’s standard, let’s just say that it was 100 bucks. 50,000 times 100 is $5 million. These people were serious about getting right with God.
-I remember during my freshman year in Bible College we got a little taste of this kind of thing. During a particular chapel service, people began to get up and confess their sins and repent for being unfaithful to God and untrue to their friends. It was pretty incredible! Some of it wasn’t too pretty, but it was born out of a deep desire to make things right with God. Nobody was condemning anyone else because we all realized that we were in the same boat. We had all failed in various areas and we were sorry and wanted to change.
-That is the stuff true revival is made out of. It is not about hyping things up and singing “Give Me that Old Time Religion.” Revival is about waking up from our slumber, awakening our conscience, experiencing true sorrow for sin, and doing something about it with God’s help. Some people try to reproduce the effects of revival, but the excitement and joy will all come when true revival happens and lives are changed by the power of God!
-Would you like to see a spirit of repentance sweep over the churches and people of our community? Maybe, if we will humbly, yet boldly, use the spiritual authority God has given us – maybe we will begin to see widespread acts of repentance as people see God at work and begin to honor Him with their lives.
Conclusion: As we conclude, let me ask, “Who’s the Boss?” As Christ followers, our answer must be “JESUS!” If He is the boss and we line ourselves up under Him and invest in a close relationship with Him, then He will use us to show the world His power and glory. I. Spiritual Authority Comes through Relationship, not Ritual (Acts 19:13-16). II. Spiritual Authority Is Given to Bring Honor to God (Acts 19:17). III. Spiritual Authority in Action Can Result in Widespread Acts of Repentance (Acts 19:18-20).
-Maybe there is someone here who has never made Jesus the boss of their life. Maybe you’ve never had the opportunity to ask Jesus to forgive the wrong things that you’ve done. Maybe you’ve never asked Him to be the leader of your life. If you feel something inside of you that makes you want to do that, I can tell you who it is. It is God, speaking to your mind and your heart by His Holy Spirit. He is saying, “Come clean with Me. Let me help you get your life on the right track. I love you and want to give you a new beginning in life.” Please listen to that voice. That voice is one that you can trust because it is the voice of someone who loves you more than anybody else ever has or possibly could. He values you. He gives you dignity and worth. He can turn your trouble and pain into joy and laughter. Please listen to His voice and invite Him to come into your life and change you for the best! [Believers, let’s keep getting close to Jesus and let Him awaken us to the spiritual authority He has given us. He wants us to use it to honor Him so that many more people will see and know what an awesome God He is!]
