I want to bring a message this morning from the Book of Acts Chapter 19. I have always been INTRIGUED by this passage of scripture. It’s kind of CRAZY what goes on here.
Do you all ever get tired of TELEMARKETER’S calling? Man I do. Right at DINNER TIME when I’m sitting down to eat they call.
Let me tell you what I started doing a while back but it came back to bite me. I got a call several years ago from a Telemarketer out of Texas. I answered the phone, “Hi, how are YOU doing!!!” And then I keep it up like I am so excited that they would call and I get more and more excited until they finally hang up on me. So that’s what I started that evening with the Telemarketer from Texas until I figured out it was my Health Insurance Agent. I think she thought I had flipped my lid. Well, she explained who she was and then I had to explain myself. It was a little bit embarrassing. But she said she thought it was funny. That’s just a NICE WAY of saying, “I think you’re CRAZY.”
But in this passage we’re going to read today there were some “CRAZY” things going on. And these “CRAZY THINGS” were brought about NOT by Paul or any other person but by the Power of God. Let’s take a minute and turn to the Book of ACTS. Chapter 19. And we will read Verses 11-20.
“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul:
12 So that from his body were brought unto the sick handkerchiefs or aprons, and the diseases departed from them, and the evil spirits went out of them.
13 Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.
14 And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.
15 And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
17 And this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.
18 And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds.
19 Many of them also which used curious arts brought their books together, and burned them before all men: and they counted the price of them, and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver.
20 So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.”
Yeah, I learned a good lesson that evening by making a fool out of myself.
And in this passage we see some fellows who make a fool of themselves. The seven sons of Sceva.
But before we get into this message let’s go to the Lord in Prayer.
Brother_________ would you lead us?
Before we actually get into the HEART of the message let’s take a look at what all was happening here in this passage.
This EPISODE takes place in the City of Ephesus. It was the LARGEST and MOST IMPORTANT city in the Roman PROVINCE of Asia Minor.
Ephesus has been called the Dark Castle of Asia Minor.
It was known for it’s black magic and spiritism.
The Pagan Temple of Diana was located there.
Nearly the entire city was involved in some kind of Idol Worship.
It was a ROUGH PLACE for Paul to start a church. But start a church he did and he spent about three years here in Ephesus WORKING with the Believer’s who had become followers of Jesus.
I. Now looking at Verses 11 and 12 we see where Paul, through the POWER of God, was working some miracles here in Ephesus and it was getting people’s attention. Handkerchiefs and Aprons that Paul had WORN and USED, they were being brought to the SICK and DEMON POSSESSED and the sick were healed and the demon possessed were being delivered.
I think it’s important to see that these folks who saw this, and marveled at this, KNEW that it was the POWER of GOD and NOT Paul. And it was this POWER that they wanted.
They didn’t want Paul’s Righteousness. They wanted God’s power like Paul had.
They didn’t want to become a SERVANT to others like Paul was, they wanted God’s power like Paul had.
They didn’t want HUMBLE themselves like PAUL had done, they wanted GOD’S POWER like Paul had.
It was this GOD GIVEN POWER that they wanted.
I think this has to be one of the BIGGEST PROBLEMS in the church world today. People don’t want God in their lives. They WANT what they BELIEVE GOD will BRING into their lives. I’ve mentioned this before but when you have these so-called preachers PUSHING this HEALTH, WEALTH and PROSPERITY GOSPEL, the REAL MEANING of the GOSPEL gets left behind.
Jesus tells us in John 10:10
“The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”
This ABUNDANT LIFE Jesus was talking about has nothing to do with driving a new Mercedes and living in a Multi-Million Dollar mansion. It has everything to do with having PEACE in your HEART knowing everything is alright.
It has EVERYTHING to do with living a fulfilling life that is PLEASING to our Father in Heaven.
Now does that mean that a Christian will never be financially successful. NO, OF COUSE NOT. All I’m saying is God does NOT measure whether someone is LIVING AN ABUNDANT LIFE by the car they drive or the house they live in and we shouldn’t either.
There’s an awful lot of people who live very UNHAPPY lives in their multi-million dollar houses and an awful lot of folks who live VERY HAPPY lives in their TWO ROOM SHACK.
I’VE SEEN IT WITH MY OWN EYES AND I KNOW THIS TO BE TRUE. ILLUS: Bill and Marilee McCloud
II. So then we move on down to Verses 13 and 14.
We find here in these Verses a group of Vagabond Jews and SPECIFICALLY the SEVEN SONS OF SCEVA.
These men were TRAVELING EXORCISTS. They were going about trying to COPY the Apostle Paul THINKING this was the KEY to his success. It tells us that they were saying, “WE ADJURE YOU BY JESUS WHOM PAUL PREACHETH.”
Adjure mens: urge or request (someone) solemnly or earnestly to do something.
This is almost COMICAL to me. In todays ENGLISH this is what they were saying.
“Now you Demons, you better get out of this person in the name of Jesus. You know Jesus, the One that Paul preaches.”
I think this is important to notice. They didn’t STRONGLY URGE these DEMONS to leave in the NAME OF JESUS whom they had a PERSONAL RELATIONSHIP WITH. No, it was in the name of JESUS who PAUL KNEW in a PERSONAL WAY.
I want to tell you something. These BOYS were messing with fire. And if you mess with FIRE when you don’t know what you’re doing ....... YOU’RE GONNA GET BURNED.
Ephesians 6:12 and 13 tells us,
“For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
13 Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.”
It’s interesting to me that this passage we just read, this LETTER, is written to the Church at Ephesus. The same place Paul is at here in the Book of Acts. He KNOWS exactly the Spiritual Battle that these folks were facing there at Ephesus because he had been there.
And you and I better know that the BATTLE we face today is NOT a PHYSICAL BATTLE but a SPIRITUAL ONE.
The BATTLE against immorality is NOT PHYSICAL but SPIRITUAL.
The BATTLE against CORRUPTION in our LOCAL, STATE and NATIONAL Governments is NOT PHYSICAL but SPIRITUAL.
There may be a SPIRITUAL BATTLE RAGING today RIGHT HERE in this church. There may be those here who DOUBT the WORD of GOD.
Those who are ANGRY with someone here. Maybe me.
Those who are ANGRY with your husband or wife.
PEOPLE WHO ARE BEING INFLUENCED, TEMPTED and DECEIVED by the Devil himself.
There is a war RAGING TODAY that we can’t see. It is a WAR that will continue until SATAN is totally DEFEATED and CAST into the LAKE of FIRE.
Let me tell you something folks, SATAN IS REAL. And these SEVEN SONS of SCEVA are about to find out in a very REAL WAY.
III. Verses 15.
“And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?
I want you to VISUALIZE this in your mind. “Now listen to us you old demon. In the NAME of Jesus we’re telling you to GET OUT. You know, the same JESUS that Paul preaches about.”
And this is what the EVIL SPIRIT, the DEMON said BACK to them.
“Yeah, I know Jesus. And I know Paul. But WHO...ARE...YOU?”
Let me ask you something this morning. Does the DEVIL KNOW WHO YOU ARE?
Or does he say, “Who are you.”
“I know who that Old Singing, guitar playing, Clarence Ashlock is I HATE HIM but ... who are you?”
“I know Sue Crain, Erma Crook, Mary Brazeal and others. Two old widow women who have been praying serving the Lord for a long time but ... who are you?”
“Old Kevin and Don here, they used to serve me but now they serve the Lord. I HATE THEM TOO ... but who are you?”
I look out across this building and I can see a lot of people that the DEVIL KNOWS WHO YOU ARE. Maybe you used to follow him. But now you follow Jesus and you’re nothing but trouble to the Old Devil.
I BELIEVE THIS CHURCH IS FULL OF FOLKS THAT HAVE CAUSED THE DEVIL TROUBLE. FULL OF PRAYER WARRIORS. FULL OF SAINTS OF GOD. I GUARANTEE YOU MORE THAN MOST CHURCHES.
But I want to bring this down to an INDIVIDUAL LEVEL.
Does the Devil Know who you are?
“Have you caused him any GRIEF!!!”
“Have you STOLEN any SOULS away from him.”
“Have you INFLUENCED anyone for the Cause of Christ.”
“Have you stood against EVIL.”
“Have you STOOD UP for the Lord and PROCLAIMED HIS NAME.”
“Have you ever bent down on your knees and BOMBARDED HEAVEN with people’s needs.”
I HOPE the DEVIL knows who I am. I HOPE that he CURSES my name and that he HATES my guts.
IV. Let’s look at Verse 16.
“And the man in whom the evil spirit was, leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”
Now I want you to notice something. This wasn’t the EVIL SPIRIT that JUMPED out onto these men. It was the man who was POSSESSED by this EVIL SPIRIT that jumped on all 7 of them and gave them a WHOOPING.
He LEAPED ON THEM.
He OVERCAME THEM.
He PREVAILED AGAINST THEM.
And they ran out of the house BEAT UP and with all of their clothes RIPPED off of them. I started to say I’d like to have seen that but ... I wouldn’t have.
This SPIRITUAL BATTLE became a PHYSICAL BATTLE.
And who won? The DEVIL.
I’m sure these guys fought back. I’m sure they didn’t just stand there as this man beat on them and ripped their clothes off. We don’t know but maybe this EVIL SPIRIT gave this man SUPERNATURAL POWER. It seems that way. Never-the-less, he WON.
And that’s exactly what will happen when we as humans try to take on the DEVIL in our own power. That’s why Paul told the Church at EPHESUS to put on the WHOLE ARMOUR of God. THE WAR that RAGES across our land is SPIRITUAL but as we saw last week in Utah, it can become PHYSICAL.
The Spiritual war in Butler Pennsylvania became a Physical war as President Trump came within an inch of death.
TRANSGENDERISM. The WAR to DISFIGURE and MAME our young people because of a MENTAL CONDITION has become a PHYSICAL WAR.
ILLUS: I’ve seen demon possession with my own eyes. I have seen when the SPIRITUAL WAR becomes a PHYSICAL WAR.
I’ve seen the POWER OF GOD OVERCOME demon possession.
I’ve seen those who didn’t want to give up their demon.
I’m NOT talking SYBOLLICALLY.
I’m talking LITERALLY.
You might think I’m crazy. It might be something you laugh about later. BUT…..
The DEVIL is REAL.
His DEMONS are real.
He wants to DESTROY YOU.
And this BATTLE is NOT something to be taken on WITHOUT the POWER of God in your life.
V. Now in closing we see what all of the CRAZINESS this caused there in Ephesus. Verses 17-20.
Everybody heard about it. Remember SCEVA, the father of these seven men, he was Chief of the Priests. He was well known. I’m sure this made the newspapers. “The seven sons of Chief Priest Sceva, beat up and stripped of their clothes.”
When everybody heard about it “FEAR FELL ON THEM ALL.” You know what I call this? HEALTHY RESPECT. The BATTLE became real to all those who saw and heard what had happened.
“And the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.”
So some boys go in and try to cast a DEMON out of a fellow on their own power.
They get a whooping and their clothes are stripped off.
FEAR falls on the people and the NAME OF THE LORD IS MAGNIFIED.
HOW? How does this MAGNIFY the Lord?
Well I’ll tell you. Folks realized that it was ONLY through God’s power that the Devil and his demons will be destroyed. Therefore GOD’S NAME is magnified.
And we see because of HIS NAME being MAGNIFIED, it caused ACTION.
SOULS were saved. People BELIEVED. It became real to them. And they confessed their sins. I believe this means they REPENTED of their sins. Turned the other way. Began to serve God who was the ONLY ONE who could overcome Satan.
And when they turned their lives over to God they got rid of the THINGS they had used in the WORSHIP of SATAN. Their BOOKS on Spells and Rituals used in satanic and Idol worship. These ALL went into the FIRE. Not just a little bit but a LOT. The VALUE of all of that JUNK was worth 50,000 pieces of silver.
This was TOTAL COMMITMENT wasn’t it? Why didn’t they just sell these items? Get some of their money back? Because those items were WICKED and EVIL and they didn’t want anyone else to get their hands on them.
Folks, I know this has not been your typical Sunday Morning message. But it is a message that needs to be heard. So many folks in our world and even in our churches NEVER realize the BATTLE that RAGES today. It’s a SPIRITUAL BATTLE but it’s going on all around us.
THE CHURCH NEEDS TO WAKE UP.
Verse 20 says that the Word of God GREW and PREVAILED!!!!
Folks, I want this church to grow. But more importantly, I want the WORD OF GOD to grow. The WORD of GOD. The MESSAGE of the GOSPEL. THAT!!! is what changes lives. Our JOB as a church is to PROVIDE the WORD of GOD. To PREACH the message of the GOSPEL. To TELL folks about the DEVIL’S plan for their ETERNAL SOUL but then tell them what God’s plan is for their life.
So folks, let’s wake up. This all backfired on the DEVIL there in EPHESUS. Some fellows got a good whoopin but in the end GOD WAS GLORIFIED and SOULS were brought into the Kingdom of God.
I pray that this HORRIBLE TRAGEDY of Charlie Kirk being killed in UTAH will bring about another Great Awakening here in our country. I PRAY that the DEVIL’S PLAN to SILENCE CHARLIE and his MESSAGE will backfire and we will see a GREAT REVIVAL in our country.
Let me encourage you to make sure the DEVIL KNOWS who you are. Take a STAND against him. Spend time in PRAYER. And stand up for the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
And if you’re here and you have never put your trust in HIM, today would be a great day to do that. Don’t let the DEVIL win in your life, trust in the Lord.
Let’s Pray
