SERIES: “LESSONS FROM THE EARLY CHURCH”
TEXT: ACTS 19:8-20
TITLE: “GOD CAN!”
INTRODUCTION: A. Three boys who lived in the same neighborhood got to bragging one day. None of
the three could top the other two until they started bragging about their grandfathers.
The first boy said, “My grandfather was in the FBI and caught several famous
criminals.” The second boy said, “Oh yeah? Well my grandfather was a military hero
who saved his whole platoon from being captured by the enemy.” The third boy said,
“That’s nothin’. My grandfather knew the year, month, week, day, hour, minute, and
second that he was going to die!”
The first boy asked, “Really?” The second boy asked, “How did he know that?”
The third boy replied, “The judge told him!”
1. We’ve become a society that is fascinated by the astonishing and the unbelievable
a. Amazing athletic feats and tremendous displays of strength
b. In movies and television, we expect to see dazzling special effects and breath-
taking stunts.
c. We turn to talk shows to see and hear about bizarre acts performed by demented
people
2. We observe such things and exclaim: “Wow! Did you see that?” Man! How in
the world did they ever do that?” Oh! That’s just incredible!” “I can’t believe
anybody would try something like that!”
B. Yet, if we’d just take some time to look at the biblical records, we’ll find that there is
not one actual or simulate event in our technically advanced society that can even
begin to stand beside the might works of God:
1. Gen. 1 – speaks the world into existence
2. Ex. 14 – parts the Red Sea
3. Josh. 10 – Holds the sun and moon still in their orbits
C. There are other scriptures that remind us of the power and strength of God
--That show us the possibilities that exist when it comes to God and what He can do
1. Jer. 32:17 – “Oh, Sovereign LORD, you have made the heavens and the earth by
your great power and outstretched arm. Nothing is too hard for you.”
2. Lk. 18:27 – [Jesus says,] “What is impossible with men is possible with God.”
3. Eph. 3:20 – Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or
imagine, according to his power that is at work with us…
D. One of the most important scriptural teachings that we can depend on, that we can lean
on, that we can in, is that when things seem impossible and we can’t, God can!
I. GOD CAN PERFORM EXTRA-ORDINARY MIRACLES FOR THOSE WHO WILL TRUST HIM
--Acts 19:11-12 – God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that
had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
A. First thing to point out: it is God who performs the miracles
1. The miracles didn’t happen because of Paul but because of God
2. Lots of times I’ve heard radio or TV preachers say something like, “If you’ll just send in your money,
I’ll send you this pillowcase or prayer cloth or handkerchief and if you’ll just sleep on it or just carry
it around with you, you’ll receive a miracle.”
a. That kind of thing makes me cringe when I hear it because God doesn’t sell His miracles
--He gives them out of His grace and mercy
b. Another thing that makes me cringe is that these so-called preachers act like miracles happen
because of their own abilities.
3. Supernatural events occur through the agency of two persons: God or Satan
a. Satan’s supernatural acts are faulty and weak – they don’t last
--They’ll fade. They’ll turn bad just like a rotting tomato.
b. God’s miracles are perfect
--They’re permanent and will not fade
c. 1 Jn. 4:1 – Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from
God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world.
B. Second point brought out in tonight’s text is that these miracles were unusual
--Understandably, miracles are unusual in themselves but these were extraordinary
1. God does perform miracles but these were different than ones He normally performs
2. This particular type of miracle is only described in a few isolated incidences in the New Testament
a. The woman with the hemorrhage that touched the hem of Jesus’ garment
b. In Acts 5, when people would try to get passed over by Peter’s shadow
c. Here in our passage this evening
C. Two reminders:
1. All of God’s miracles are extraordinary becuae they happen outside of the natural ways of operation
2. God also works through normal, ordinary processes
--God will honor the dedicated work of physicians and other medical personnel
D. As we look at miracles in the Bible, God primarily used people to be the agents of miracles
1. The church still ought to be a place of healing
--Where people who have dis-ease find comfort and help
2. There are two basic kinds of dis-ease: physical and spiritual
a. Natural processes many times determine physical disease
b. Spiritual disease is always caused by spiritual processes
c. Sometimes physical disease is determined by spiritual processes
d. God can heal every manner of dis-ease.
e. Sometimes, God uses that dis-ease to teach us about Himself and to draw us closer to Him
--In 2 Corinthians, Paul talks about carrying around a ‘thorn in the flesh”.
1). He had asked God several times to take it away
--to heal the dis-ease
2). Paul reported that God had told him that He would leave it there to remind Paul that God’s grace
was sufficient for Paul’s need.
3. The most unused and unclaimed scripture passage in the New Testament is found in James 5:14-15 –
Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with
oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord
will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.
a. Who does this passage say to call?
1). Who do most people want to come see them when they’re sick?
2). I wonder how many people have missed out on a blessing because they’ve failed to heed this
particular scripture?
b. Notice that this passage also covers both physical and spiritual healing
1). Physical: “the Lord will raise him up”
2). Spiritual: “If he has sinned, he will be forgiven.”
4. In our text tonight, people were not only healed of physical maladies but also cleansed of evil spirits
a. Evil spirits are not something we like to talk about because it’s scary and makes us think about all
those horror movies we’ve watched
--Stop watching! Why do you want to watch something that glorifies evil and makes it look cool?
b. The Bible tells us that when Satan rebelled against God and tried to overthrow God that God cast him
out of heaven and that he took one-third of all the angels with him.
c. Those spirits who serve Satan like to inhabit and torment human beings because we’re precious to
God.
d. Many times they’re present in someone’s life because either consciously or unconsciously they have
been invited in
1). Some people have consciously opened their lived to control by demonic spirits
--they have taken part in the rituals of witchcraft or Satan worship
2). Others have unwittingly opened their lives to demonic spirit activity because of involvement in
things that are forbidden to God’s people: astrology, psychics and mediums, Ouija Boards, and
Tarot cards
3). Many times these people are miserable and don’t know why
--They need to know that God can heal their lives and release them from spiritual bondage
II. GOD CAN PUNISH THOSE WHO ONLY PRETEND TO SERVE HIM
--Acts 19:13-16 – “Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord
Jesus over those who were demonpossessed. They would say, “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches,
I command you to come out.” Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. (One day) the
evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 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.
A. Look closely at this passage
--These guys weren’t faith-healers; they were fake healers!
1. If they were around today, they could probably put on as good a show as any religious huckster around
2. They acted like they knew Jesus and tried to operate like they knew Jesus but the fact of the matter is
that Jesus was no more a part of their lives than an automobile was
--They would have had absolutely no concept about an automobile and had no concept as to who Jesus
was either
a. They were hypocrites
b. Remember this morning?
--A hypocrite was an actor who changed roles by changing masks onstage
B. Even today, churches are filled with people who play like they’re Christians, attempt to operate like
they’re Christians but have no idea or conception who Jesus really is because they have no relationship
with Him.
1. Like these seven sons of Sceva, they can put on a pretty good show
2. Their faith is in the appearance they give by the things they do
a. They know the hymns, they can quote Bible verses, they know when to stand up and sit down in
the worship service, they come to church on a regular basis, and they may even hod an office or
a title.
b. They believe that all they have to do is just to balance their bad deeds with good deeds and
they’re going to be all right
--their Christianity is a sham
3. A man was looking for a job and he noticed that there was an opening at the local zoo. He
inquired about the job and discovered that the zoo had a very unusual position that they needed to
fill. Apparently, their gorilla had died, and until they could get a new one, they needed someone to
dress up in a gorilla suit and act like a gorilla for awhile. All the person need to do was to just sit,
eat, and sleep. His identity would of course be kept a secret. Thanks to a very fine gorilla suit, no
one would ever figure it out.
The zoo offered good pay for this job, so the man decided to do it. He tried on the suit and sure
enough, he looked just like a gorilla. They led him to the gorilla pen. He took a position at the back
of the pen and pretended to sleep. But after awhile, he got tired of sleeping so he walked around a
little bit, jumped up and down, and tried making a few gorilla noises. The people who were
watching him seemed to really like that. When he would move or jump around, they would clap
and cheer and throw him peanuts.
This man really loved peanuts. So he jumped around some more and tried climbing a tree. That
seemed to get the crowd excited. They threw more peanuts. Playing to the crowd, he grabbed a
vine and swung from one side of the pen to the other. The people loved it and threw more peanuts.
The man thought, “Wow! This is great!” He continued to swing on the vine, getting higher and
higher. All of a sudden, the vine broke. He swung up and out of the gorilla pen, landing in the
lion’s cage that was next door.
He panicked! There was a huge lion not twenty feet away, and it looked very hungry. So the
man in the gorilla suit started jumping up and down, screaming and yelling, “Help! Help! Get me
out of here! I’m not really a gorilla! I’m just a man in a gorilla suit! Help me!”
The lion quickly pounced on the poor man in the gorilla suit. The lion held him down and said
through clenched teeth, “Will you SHUT UP? You’re going to get both of us FIRED!”
C. This particular part of our text lets us know that it’s a very dangerous thing to pretend to be something
you’re not
1. We can’t trust the devil
--He’ll beat us up and leave us bloody and confused
2. We can’t trust ourselves
--Our best attempts are feeble at best and hazardous at the worst
3. We can only trust in Jesus
a. Jesus won’t bless the fakers
--only the faithful
b. He won’t give ultimate victory in this life to the fakers nor will he give them eternal victory
--Mt. 7:21-23 – “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,
but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day,
‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and
perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you
evildoers!’”
III. GOD CAN PROVIDE SPIRITUAL REVIVAL TO THOSE WHO SUBMIT THEMSELVES TO
HIM
--Acts 19:17-20 – 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. Many of those who believed now came
and openly confessed their evil deeds. 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. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
A. Fear took hold of a large number of people who lived in Ephesus and the name of Jesus was held in
high honor because of what happened
1. Prov. 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and
discipline.
2. Some people think that we shouldn’t use fear as an incentive for becoming a Christian
a. One of the problems with our current society is that they’ve lost their fear of the Lord!
b. If they were convinced about what the Bible said is going to happen to those who refuse to
acknowledge who God is, how holy God is, and how God’s justice system works, they’d spend a
whole lot more time contemplating their eternal destiny
3. Vss. 18-19 tells us that when people in Ephesus operated their lives out of fear of the Lord, they
gave up those things that kept them in the bondage of sine and were released to freedom from sin’s
control over their lives.
a. It was an expensive proposition
--The value of all the things they gave up and the total was 50,000 drachmas
b. A drachma was Greek equivalent to a day’s pay
--In our current terms, 2.5 to 3 million dollars
B. Too many people want the comfort of knowing they’ll never have to suffer in hell but they don’t want
to give up those things that keep them separated from Christ
1. We want a casual Christianity that doesn’t bother our consciences, impede our desires, or prevent us
from doing the things we want to do.
2. Wilbur Rees: I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please. Not enough to explode my soul or
disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm mil or a snooze in the sunshine. I don’t
want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant. I want ecstasy, not
transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not the new birth. I want a pound of the Eternal in a
paper sack. I would like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.
C. The church has to be a place where people can be convicted of their sins
1. We don’t need to back-peddle, beat around the bush, talk around the subject or be apologetic about
what the Word of God says about sin.
2. We do need to declare the whole truth by declaring the whole Word of God!
--Jn. 8:31-32 – To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are
really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
D. The church also has to be a place where people can confess their sins
1. Spiritual healing and freedom can’t happen without the process of confession
a. Confession is an act of humility and submission
b. It says, “I give up! I don’t want to be a faker anymore! I don’t want anything to come between
God and me!”
2. For a church to be a place where sins can be confessed, we have to be a place where our concern for
lost souls and for those who are faking their Christianity over-rides our pettiness and snobbery
--John R.W Stott: “The ministry to the broken-hearted is rooted in the ministry of the bleeding
heart. When we fail to bleed, we fail to bless.”
CONCLUSION: A. A little boy visiting his grandparents was given his first slingshot. He took it out into
the field on the other side of the woods next to his grandparents house. He practiced and
practiced with the slingshot but never could hit his target.
As he came back into his grandparents’ barnyard, he saw Grandma’s pet duck. On an
impulse, he took aim and let a rock fly. It hit the duck right in the head and it fell over
dead. The boy panicked! He desperately tried to hide the dead duck in a woodpile but
when he finished, he looked up and there stood his sister. She’d seen everything but she
didn’t say anything.
After lunch, Grandma said, “Sally, let’s wash the dishes.” Sally said, “Johnny told me
he wanted to help in the kitchen today. Didn’t you, Johnny?” She leaned over to her
brother and whispered, “Remember the duck.” So Johnny did the dishes.
Later in the day, Grandpa asked the children if they wanted to go fishing. Grandma
said, “I’m sorry but I need Sally to help me make supper.” Sally smile and said, “That’s
all taken care of Johnny wants to do it.” Again she whispered, “Remember the duck.”
Johnny stayed to help Grandma while Sally went with Grandpa.
Over the next several days, Johnny did all of the work. Sally only played. Finally, he
couldn’t stand it any more and he confessed to Grandma everything that happened.
Grandma said, “I know Johnny,” and gave him a hug. “I was standing at the kitchen
window and saw the whole thing. Because I love you, I forgive you. I just wondered
how long you would let you sister make a slave out of you.”
B. Maybe you’re here this evening and have allowed certain things to make you a slave.
--It’s kept you in physical and spiritual bondage for a long time. How much longer are
you going to allow it to go on?
1. For some of you it might be a bottle of liquor, a container of pills, or a bag of
marijuana
2. Maybe for others its pornography and lust
3. Maybe its past events in your life that you feel you have no control over and will
forever haunt you.
4. Some of you are harboring hatred and resentment against someone who has harmed
you at some point in time
5. Some of you have placed your trust in things that will fail you when you need them
most
C. God is saying, “I love you. I’ll give you forgiveness and healing. How long are you
going to allow those things to hold you in slavery? I know that you can’t do anything
about it but I can!”
--Is there something in your life that you can’t overcome? God can!
1. We have to turn away from those others things and turn to God
2. David, Ps. 66:18 – If I had cherished sin in my heart, the LORD would not have
listened…”
3. 1 Jn. 1:9 assures us: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us
our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
