A REVIVAL TRIGGERED BY DEMONS
by Pastor Jim May
Acts 19:10-20, "And this continued by the space of two years; so that all they which dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 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."
Our world, our community and our church needs a revival like never before. We need to see a mighty outpouring of the Holy Ghost. We need to see the kind of revival that shakes the souls of men and women so that they run to the altar and cry out for salvation.
Too many churches are no more than a meeting hall! There isn’t enough power of God in most of them to heal a flea of a headache, much less cast out a demonic spirit, but there are a lot of them who claim to have that power or who try to look like they have it.
That’s not only true of churches, but it’s true of individual Christians, and preachers as well.
How often do I hear someone say that they can pray the prayer of faith and your answer will come? It’s a common thing in today’s Christian circles to hear of people who claim to have great, mountain moving, sin killing, devil chasing, and miracle working faith. If you listen to them, you would think that they sit on the arm of God’s throne on a daily basis, just getting a special anointing that no one else can have.
The problem is that I don’t see them performing the miracles of Elisha and Elijah. I don’t see them preaching the truth of the blood of Jesus Christ that cleanses from all sin. I don’t see them preaching the gospel of salvation and repentance and then allowing the Holy Ghost to fall in waves across the congregation, filling people with the mighty power of the Holy Ghost. All I see them doing is bragging about how good they can teach, or preach, and sing. All I see them doing is begging for money and constantly trying to convince you that they are the only ones with a true message.
I thank God that there are a lot of true men and women of God, whose message is not tainted with the desire to build a huge ministry, or who water down the Word of God so as not offend anyone. I say that if the preaching of the truth of the Word of God offends you, then you need to be offended.
Jesus said in Matthew 10:34, "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword."
If the messages that I preach to you always make you feel good and you always agree with everything I have to say that is based upon the truth of the Bible, then either you are perfect, or I am not preaching the right things to you.
I cannot tell you the number of times that the message I bring to you is just as abrasive to me as it is to you. In fact, if the message doesn’t speak to me, it’s probably not going to speak to you either.
Paul was on a mission, directed by the Holy Ghost. It was a mission to preach salvation, repentance and the receiving of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost wherever God would take him.
Paul’s message was a message of wealth and prosperity. It wasn’t a message of healing and miracles. It wasn’t a message of building churches and vast facilities. It wasn’t a message that brought the focus of people upon Paul’s own talents and skills. Paul’s message was the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ crucified, raised from the dead and alive for evermore. Paul’s focus was always pointing people to Jesus and showing them the way to salvation.
He had come to Ephesus to preach the gospel and he would not be deterred from doing what God had called him to do. He wasn’t easily distracted like we are today. We get distracted by jobs, family troubles, and our own hearts desires for the things of this world. In fact, we often forget what our primary mission in life really is – tell other people about Jesus.
We need Christians and preachers today who will come with the same attitude as Paul had when he said these words in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5, "And I, brethren, when I came to you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God. For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God."
I don’t want to hear some preacher dazzle me with their knowledge, entertain me with their talents, or “tell” me about the power of the Holy Ghost. I want to hear a preacher who “has” that power in them. I don’t want to hear about your fine cars, big houses, radio and TV stations, and all the trappings that make you look successful in the eyes of the world.
I want to hear you preach and teach the truth of the gospel and tell me something from the Word of Almighty God that will stir my soul and set my heart on fire for God, and help me get to the place where the Holy Ghost can fall over me. I’m hungry for something real, something powerful, something that will be life-changing, and something that I won’t forget by Monday morning! Tell me about Jesus! Tell me about his love, mercy and grace! Tell me about the Blood that he shed for me! Tell me about the Baptism of the Holy Ghost and Fire! I need the real thing, not some weak, watered down message that doesn’t have enough power in it to chase devils out of the room.
There are too many people today who won’t pay the price in living for God, so that God can entrust them with a true anointing. They make up for that lack of anointing by showing off their education and trying to make things happen in the church that appear to be a move of God when it’s nothing less than man’s plans being carried out.
We can have the outward appearance of a mighty move of God if we want it. We can make it look like there is a revival going on by getting people to come to listen to our 40 days of purpose programs, or following a group of 12, or by many other means that we can devise. We can get families to attend if we build an entertainment center. We could have a church with hundreds, or thousands, or as many as you want, by following the plans of man, but where is the reality of the power of God in that?
I want the convicting power of the Holy Ghost moving upon the hearts and lives of sinners to be the means by which our church is built. Anything less than that is just playing church and there won’t be any anointing there, no outpouring of the Holy Ghost, no real life-changing experiences. It will only be a social club and a hub of “spiritually appearing activity” but no real manifestation of the power of God.
I don’t need man’s plans – I need God’s direction and God’s anointing, and so do you! If God doesn’t build the house, it’s all for nothing because it won’t stand the judgment.
Paul didn’t ask for a ministry of healing. He didn’t go around bragging about how that he could send you some prayer cloth and God would heal your sickness and diseases. If that would have been some of today’s preachers, we would have a whole ministry built around “Miracle Prayer Cloths”.
Just send me your gift of $20 and I’ll send you one of these miracle working prayer cloths! But wait! For an extra gift of $20, we will send you six extra “Miracle Prayer Cloths”. Just think, you can have 7 miracles of healing for the low price of only $40. That’s seven miracles for the price of two. But Wait! If you act now, call this toll free number, put the order on your credit card, we will also send you a free 8 X 10 glossy picture of Bro. So and So, in the very act of applying one of these “Miracle Prayer Cloths” in one our recent healing revivals.
If Paul had done that he probably would have never had to make tents or work to earn his living in some of the cities where he preached.
But Paul knew that those kinds of shenanigans would only cheapen the message of the gospel and bring about a lot of fake conversions. He didn’t want the false version of revivals; he wanted the real thing!
I’m convinced that most of the church world today is in the same mindset as those seven sons of Sceva who thought that they could buy their way, or fake their way into Heaven. They realized too late that their power wasn’t real. They realized too late that Satan doesn’t play games with make believe Christians. We might fool ourselves or fool others into believing that we are something that we are not, but you will never fool the devil and you will never fool God!
The devil will just stand next to the false preacher in the pulpit, laughing and clapping for joy, because there is no real gospel going forth! The demons will have a picnic in the back of the church during the service, because they love the entertainment we put on for them. But the Holy Ghost will be nowhere around because the Spirit will have departed to find someone who means business.
But it isn’t just preachers, and ministries that try to fake their way through like the sons of Sceva. I wonder if the fact that there were seven sons doesn’t speak to us of the completeness of the deception that Satan has brought upon the modern church? Are we so completely deceived that we cannot see what the devil is doing anymore?
That deception doesn’t start with the congregation or just the preacher though. It starts with the individual Christian who lives a life that is not committed or dedication totally to God.
How many Christians, and maybe even some of you here right now, are deceived by the devil to think that everything is right in your life when its not?
Is Jesus first in your life, or does everything else push him further back on your list of priorities?
Is being ready for the coming of the Lord more important to you than getting ready for the next trip to the park?
Is studying the Word of God more important to you than watching the newest movie to hit the Silver Screen?
Is being in the House of God more important to you than visiting with grandma or Aunt Lucy?
Is your prayer life more important to you than your computer games?
Are you living in obedience to the Word of God in the giving of your tithes and offerings, or are you still making excuses why you can’t obey God?
Let’s get real folks! We can’t expect a mighty move of God, an outpouring of the Holy Ghost and a great revival where lost souls are saved if we are living in disobedience!
Just like those sons of Sceva were chased off in utter defeat, so will the church live in defeat as long as we play church. In that same manner, every Christian who plays Christian will always live in defeat as well. We have to get real with God and mean business with him!
The sons of Sceva were called “vagabond Jews” and “exorcists”. Do you know what that means? A vagabond is nothing more than a “bum” or a “gypsy”. He travels from place to place living off of handouts and what can be easily stolen without much effort. An exorcist is someone who appears to be spiritual and pretends to cast out demonic spirits through unscriptural means.
A know a lot of vagabonds and exorcists in the church today. Have you seen them? Have you seen those who won’t commit to serving the Lord because they are too busy flitting from church to church or place to place and they won’t put down any spiritual roots so that they can grow in the Lord. They go from church to church taking the cream off the top of what is being taught but they don’t stay around long enough to get to the real meat. They want to hear the “good stuff” but don’t preach to me about what I’m doing wrong.
Then there are those who pretend! Oh, we are a great society of “Pretenders”. We have learned to put on our “façade” and look beautiful and spiritual to other people. But we know down deep inside that we are nothing more than “whited sepulchers full of dead men’s bones.”
Are you hungry for reality this morning? Have you gone to church time and again looking for an answer but you can’t seem to find it? This is your day!
Does life feel empty for you? Do you feel that everything about you is just about to crumble and fall? Jesus is your answer!
I want you to know this morning that there is only one foundation that will stand the test of time, trouble and judgment – and that foundation is the Lord Jesus Christ!
Everything else that you put your trust in is nothing more than a lie from the devil. He looks at your fake Christianity and laughs at your coming eternal doom. He looks at your façade and sees the pain it covers over.
Jesus is here this morning. He is here to set you free from those things that have you bound. He is here to wash you in his precious blood and make your life new again. He is here to give you eternal life. He is here to give you victory. He is here to Baptize you in the Holy Ghost and fire. You don’t need to fake it anymore! It’s time to get the Real Thing!
You will know when it’s real. Once you have experienced the reality of God’s saving grace, and experienced the reality of the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, you will never be able to settle for the fake spirituality again because it will no longer satisfy.
After the sons of Sceva were chased away by the man possessed by demons, a mighty revival broke out in Ephesus and lives were forever changed.
That’s the result of a true revival! They threw out their occult books and all their idolatrous materials; over 50,000 pieces of silver worth of unclean materials were destroyed because those Christians now had the real thing.
You can always tell when there’s a real move of God in the church because suddenly, you will begin to hear of people throwing away their drug paraphernalia, their occult games like Ouija Boards and Tarot Cards and then they’ll quit calling the Psychic Hot Line, and stop playing their music, destroying the tapes and CD’s that glorify sex, money and power and building up sin as something great.
That’s when you know that people are faking anymore! They start casting aside everything that keeps them from God or that leads them into temptation, even when those things that they are casting away have cost them dearly in the past.
When knowing God and having an experience with God becomes more important than the things we love in the world, that’s when we know that true revival has come!
Do you need a revival in your soul right now? Do you need a fresh infilling of the Holy Ghost? Do you need to feel clean and washed again? Do you need salvation?
Come now! Come to Jesus and give it all to him! Let him set you free! Let the Word of the Lord, the Holy Spirit, and the presence of Almighty God grow mighty in you! Get real with God!
Those demons who chased off the sons of Sceva were showing the whole world the difference between the true power of God at work in the life in a man of God and the fake spirituality of those who only had the appearance but not the reality of God’s power.
Those demons unwittingly triggered a mighty revival in Ephesus! God can use demons to start a revival if he has too, but I would rather let God begin a revival by using you and I! Let the revival begin in me! Let in begin in me, spread through the church and then spill out into the world around me.
Let me have the same attitude as Paul. I want to know nothing more about you than that Jesus is in your life and that you are full of the Holy Ghost and fire!
