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1Joh 3:8 He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.
Acts 19:11-20 And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul: 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. 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. And there were seven sons of [one] Sceva, a Jew, [and] chief of the priests, which did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? 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. 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. And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds. 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. So mightily grew the word of God and prevailed.
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When a child of God shouts praise, and he/she truly has a relationship with God, fear rocks the hearts of the spirits of hell.
Holy Ghost earthquakes crack the devil’s gates.
The enemy knows that such a child of God is threatening and they do not know what to expect!
A revival occurred in Ephesus without Paul even leading it.
Paul’s name was mentioned, he did not initiate the revival.
Strange reason for this revival
7 sons of a man named Sceva saw Paul’s works and felt they could perform them also.
I get the hint that these men were known to be religious.
"The seven sons of Sceva"
Felt their religious experience was just as good as Paul’s.
Their’s was a dead religion.
Were they baptized?
No.
Were they filled with God’s Spirit?
Evidently not.
For "Greater is He (Holy Ghost) that is in you than he in the world. "
They saw a man who was demon-possessed and attempted to "exorcise" the devils out.
God’s people are not "exorcists"
"Exorcists" did nothing to help this man.
The devils spoke out of the person, using his vocal chords.
They heard the sons refer to Jesus and Paul.
So it looks like these men tried getting the benefits without having given their lives.
Just continue in their religious fame
Maybe they felt outdone by Paul, so they proved they could do it, too.
Though man knew of the Sons of Sceva, obviously the devil was not impressed
"We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth."
Jesus smashed every plot the enemy devised.
Paul preached Christ so fully and totally believed and totally gave himself to do God’s will
The devils thought...
"Yes, Jesus is proper authority. We recognize that. His name is feared throughout all the Kingdom of Hell."
"Yes, Paul does preach Jesus. We know Paul’s name. Even when we had him beaten, in hopes of making him stop, trying to get him to react to love for self more than love for Jesus, in prison he worshipped! Paul preaches Jesus so much and so forcefully that we shake with fear when he comes to town."
Paul was genuine.
He had the real thing!
We see that 7 boys had watched Paul do his great work for God
Others watched too, though no one could see them
The enemy.
"But we do not know who these 7 boys are. We are aware of no threats ever made by them. We see nothing in them to be afraid of. We have no fear of these men."
And the demons used the man’s body and tore upon the boys
7 men could not keep him down.
All 7 of them ran out of the house naked and wounded.
When devils seen nothing to fear in the seven sons,
They then defeated these men.
It says they were sons of Sceva.
Why did it not say they were "sons of God?"
Obviously no real experience with God.
Fact was that Sceva stood out more in their minds than did God.
The whole city of Ephesus heard about this
They heard what the devils said and what supernatural strength the man used against the 7 men.
And the city realized something which moved into a revival.
IT DOES MATTER HOW YOU LIVE!
When the populace heard that 7 men were thrown out by a single person who was possessed, and that person was used by the devils to SAY that they knew JESUS and they knew PAUL, and showed FEAR for these two NAMES, the people thought about what Paul preached.
They recalled that Paul preached to give your life to Jesus fully.
They remembered that Paul preached a message which a group of followers who were of the radical John the Baptists’ group accepted and were baptized in Jesus’ name and were filled with the Holy Ghost.
Acts 19:4-6 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spake with tongues, and prophesied.
And they added two and two together, and realized that that man Paul was not kidding and that his words were actually TRUTH! They realized THEIR LIVES DID MATTER!
This is not about just attending a church!
The seven sons were probably good religious men.
But they had no POWER
Many go to Church, BUT GOD WANTS YOUR LIFE
They saw Paul’s dedication.
They may have laughed at him when he was in town, but they were not laughing now.
They realize THEY NEED THE HOLY GHOST like Paul preached it.
The devil himself listens to the commands of one who is Holy Ghost filled and has given one’s life to Jesus.
The devil knows he faces God’s power itself when a COMMITTED believer tells him to go!
SING to make God move and touch
Testify to change a life!
Say MOUNTAIN be removed! !
Crush Satan here
Crush Satan there.
When he reminds you of your past, remind him of his future.
Psa 119.165 Great peace have they which love thy law and nothing shall offend them.
Look at the list of names in Hebrews 11
Roll call of the heroes of faith
More than man knows these names.
Satan gathered as much as he could about them -"When will they be here? If they’re here, I’m out of here!" -Devil said, ’Avoid these guys"
World has too many church-goers and not enough hell-gate destroyers.
Church arise! ! !
Satan is bold enough to attack our country and drag it into Atheism and agnosticism -let’s return the favour and drag him down to hell. -we need holy boldness to strike him!
BUT FIRST OF ALL, WE NEED TO LIVE FOR HIM FULLY AS DID PAUL
IT DOES MATTER HOW YOU LIVE!
A man named Paul who preached that it did was recognized by mere mention of name by devils.
And when the devils tore 7 grown men, but said they were afraid of Paul, the city realized the power of this JESUS!
You must be in the place of God which Paul preached to be right with God.
Not just anybody is like that.
It does matter how you live! ! !
If any old person could do that without any dedication, then the 7 sons of Sceva should have.
AND REVIVAL BROKE OUT!
Strange repercussions hit true believers
Its not coincidence
The true believer knows he’s hurting hell
How DID Paul preach Jesus?
Acts 19:4-6 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus. When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands upon them, the Holy Ghost came on them; and they spade with tongues, and prophesied.
Those who may think they can coast along and are never concerned about HOW THEY LIVE each day should take the lesson that Ephesus learned.
Give yourself to JESUS
There is a real host of angels and unseen spirits
Do not just got to Church
Get the Holy Ghost!
Come to church and sing in the Spirit
Come to church and worship in the Spirit
Live the life and have the life!
The real thing!
POWER OF REAL RELATIONSHIP.
Between you and the glory of heaven, spirits stand in the way
Punch a hole through their forces and bring down the glory! ! !
Get that power inside you and shake the enemy when he hears mention of your name, due to your dedication to God.
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