I. PRAYER
II. Introduction
a. If you have every been anywhere for any length of time, and then leave the place, only to return a while later, you know how the Apostle Paul felt when he returned to Ephesus.
b. Last week, we saw in Acts chapter 18, where Paul landed at Ephesus for a short while with Aquila and his wife Priscilla. Paul stayed in Ephesus for only a very short amount of time, but the Ephesians that Paul met up with there were very interested in the gospel message, in fact, they asked Paul to stay on for a while in Ephesus, when he was there the first time.
c. This was something new for Paul, having someone ask him to stay and minister in a place. Most places, like Philippi and Lystra, Paul was run out of town, rather harshly. He had been stoned, beaten, and put into prison for what he had been saying. One of the best responses Paul got was at Athens and again at Corinth, which could best be described as indifference.
d. But, the folks at Ephesus were different. They wanted to hear the message that Paul had, but the problem was, he had to leave. So, Paul leaves Ephesus, but leaves Priscilla and Aquila, and heads for Jerusalem.
e. After a short stay in Jerusalem, Paul goes home to Antioch, his home church for a time of rest; he set out again and visited the churches at Galatia and Phrygia. We’ll pick up the story today here, as we pick up with Acts chapter 19.
III. Background
a. Now, just to kind of give you a little background, the city of Ephesus was a Roman colony, and the capital of the Roman province of Asia. Its ruins can still be seen if you go to Modern Turkey today.
b. Paul’s stay in Ephesus was a very unusual one. In the previous weeks, we talked about how Ephesus was really the religious center of the Roman Empire at the time. There were three temples dedicated to the worship of Caesar there, as well as the temple of Artemis or Diana there.
c. Ephesus being a very religious city had some effect on Paul’s ministry there. As I said earlier, in most cities, Paul was run out of town, at the instigation of the local Jews.
d. But to contrast to that, in Ephesus, we see that Paul is very effective in ministry, not only to the Greeks, but also to the Jews living there. Paul taught in the Jewish synagogue there in Ephesus for three months. The longest we ever see Paul teaching in a synagogue elsewhere is three weeks.
e. So, there was an openness amongst the people there in Ephesus not only to hear the gospel, but also to respond to the gospel message. It is my prayer that as we open up God’s Word to study this morning that we would have that same openness. So that we might not only hear God’s Word, but to obey it.
f. Turn with me in your bibles to Acts chapter 19. Acts is right past John, and just before Romans in the New Testament, kind of in the back third of your Bible. If you need a Bibl, just raise your hand… Let’s read starting at verse 1.
IV. Study
a. Intro
i. 1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples 2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit." 3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John’s baptism." 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus." 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
ii. 8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks. 11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
iii. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
iv. We see a lot of things going on in Ephesus in these 20 verses. We see many, many people getting saved, and coming to the Lord here in Ephesus.
v. We also see what we would call spiritual manifestations here in Acts chapter 19. We see manifestations of God’s power and manifestations of the power of Darkness or Satan there in Ephesus.
vi. You see, one of the things that was pretty common in those days, especially there in Ephesus was that people were given over to the occult practices, or the contact of spiritual entities.
vii. If you look back in the literature, the city of Ephesus was very much in the grip of occultic or spiritual masters. Something that we need to understand is that this still represents the vast majority of the world’s religious focus today.
viii. If you go to places like India, the predominant religion is Hinduism. In reality though, most people in India are what we call animists. If you go to Japan, the main religion is Shinto, but here again, in reality, these people are animists.
ix. Animism is the belief that every tree, rock, bush, cow, etc., has spirits associated with it. These spirits are generally believed to be malevolent for the most part; that they want to harm us somehow. If you’ve ever heard someone say that their fung shui or their karma is out of whack, that’s what they mean, that these spirits are against them.
x. If a person wants to live a safe, trouble free life, one must do something to appease there spirits around them. This creates a need for shamanism, or witch doctors, or in many places they call them holy men to offer up sacrifices to these spirits.
xi. In our western culture, we don’t believe in these kinds of things. We just blow these things off as superstition, but the real truth is that there are spiritual entities at work in the world, some of God and others not. The city of Ephesus was given over to the powers of darkness.
xii. The gospel was in contradiction to this darkness. Think about it. Christianity is unique among all of the religions of the world in that not only is God good and holy, but He is benevolent, he wants to help us out. He loves us. Guys, most of the world, whether they are animists, or agnostics, or whatever believes that God is at the very least indifferent, if not hostile towards man.
xiii. The spiritual world to these folks is something to be feared, and something that they feel like they need protection against, and this is one of the greatest deceptions of the Enemy, because in reality, we know that God loves us, and that He wants to have intimacy and fellowship with us, that’s why the gospel seems so foreign to these folks.
xiv. That’s why the gospel is so attractive to these folks once they actually get it in a format that they can understand. When Paul wrote back to the Corinthians in 1st Corinthians 2:2 He wrote, I preached nothing to you but Christ, and Him crucified. What that means is that he taught them about the love of Christ, how He laid down His life for us.
xv. Bearing all this in mind, we see that Paul’s first encounter in Ephesus was with twelve men who are referred to as disciples; we see them in the first four verses.
b. The Disciples (Acts 19:1 – 4)
i. . Verse 1 says - 1 And it happened, while Apollos was at Corinth, that Paul, having passed through the upper regions, came to Ephesus. And finding some disciples.
ii. So Paul comes to Ephesus by the back road this time, by land. Last time he was here, he came by boat. All this was happening while Apollos was in Corinth doing his thing, and if you weren’t with us last week, Apollos was a teacher who was sent to Corinth by the church at Ephesus, while Paul was in Antioch resting up.
iii. But the first part of chapter 19 here has caused a lot of heated discussion in the church down through the years, and it’s all because these twelve guys are called disciples here.
iv. The word disciple here means disciple in the Greek. In every context in the Bible, it is used to describe people who are followers of Jesus Christ.
v. The problems come up when we start to look at verse 2.
vi. 2 he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" So they said to him, "We have not so much as heard whether there is a Holy Spirit."
vii. So, Paul asks, hey! Did you guys receive the Holy Spirit? They answer – “What Holy Spirit?” That’s the picture here. I don’t like to say that this is one of the more controversial passages in the New Testament, so let’s just say that it is one of the most discussable.
viii. One of the most respected commentators of the Bible, a man by the name of F.F. Bruce tells us that without a doubt these men were Christians. That Luke’s description clearly relates that these men were Christians, but had not seen the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in their lives.
ix. A similar story is told by Luke about the work of Peter among the Samaritans back in Acts chapter 8. Peter and John go to Samaria after Philip goes in to preach an evangelistic message, and people believe, but when the apostles show up, they lay hands on these folks, and they start speaking in tongues, giving glory to God.
x. One of the other more esteemed commentators of our day, a man named John Stott has said that there is no way that these men here in Acts 19 could have been Christians. He goes on to say that if they had been Christians, then it would give support for the Pentecostal or Charismatic belief in a subsequent ministry in the life of the believer by the Holy Spirit.
xi. Some have called this the Second Blessing or the Second Touch throughout the years. The idea is that we receive the Holy Spirit when we believe in Jesus Christ as our Savior. Then, at some point in time, that person may be filled with the Holy Spirit to the point of overflowing in their life.
xii. Some have borrowed a term from John the Baptist and called this the Baptism of the Holy Spirit, because John taught that this is what was going to happen.
xiii. You see in Christianity today we have to camps if you will. In one camp, you have what we call cessationists. They believe that the more miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit died out with the apostles. At that point, the church had been established, and God didn’t need to move in that way anymore.
xiv. Then you have people of the Pentecostal or Charismatic slant that believe that the more miraculous gifts of the Spirit are for today. On their side of the argument, the Bible tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow.
xv. We could sit back and play a game of Spiritual ping pong about this issue. To be quite honest with you guys this is something that I have struggled to define in my own life and beliefs for about ten years.
xvi. You see, I came at this whole Christianity thing from a cessationist denomination. I was raised in a cessationist church. I was baptized in a cessationist church. I got my call to the ministry and I was a youth pastor in a cessationist church. I signed up for believing that the Holy Spirit didn’t work that way anymore, but at a point in my life, personal experience began to hint to me otherwise.
xvii. I would have to say that what really opened my eyes was a relationship with some folks that we are still real dear friends with We saw a genuine faith and love for Jesus in these folks’ lives. What we saw was the fruit of the Spirit in them, and we became good friends with them.
xviii. The problem for me was, they were from a more charismatic background. As we discussed things, I was forced to defend what I believed with an honest study of the Bible.
xix. Honestly, I didn’t want to believe that God worked that way anymore, but I came to the conclusion that God was all powerful, and if He wanted to work that way today, there was nothing stopping Him, except my unwillingness.
xx. I have struggled with calling it the Second Blessing, because honestly, I have heard some explain it as “getting more of the Holy Spirit”. In my understanding, the Holy Spirit is a person and He comes to dwell in us at salvation, and you can’t get more of that person, the Holy Spirit.
xxi. When Jesus came to the disciples in John chapter 20 on the day of His resurrection, we read this account in John chapter 20, starting at verse 19 - 19 Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them, "Peace be with you." 20 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. 21 So Jesus said to them again, "Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you." 22 And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit.
xxii. Now, what’s significant about that last verse to me is that this was before Pentecost. The form of the word receive in the Greek there is imperative. It means – Receive the Holy Spirit, NOW.
xxiii. So, in my mind I see Jesus breathing on them and they received the Holy Spirit then. I do agree though, that there is another manifestation of the Holy Spirit within the life of a believer, and it is the overpowering, empowering filling of the Spirit described in Acts chapter 1 verse 8, when Jesus told the disciples to tarry in Jerusalem, because they would receive power. This happened to them at Pentecost.
xxiv. To sum all of this up, I believe that the Holy Spirit is necessary to empower us for service to God, and that there is a second experience available to us. I also think that it is God’s prerogative as to how that is accomplished, and just how that takes place, but one thing I do know – it is God’s Will for us to server Him and to be continually filled and re-filled with the Holy Spirit. So, do I believe in a Second Blessing? Yes, and a Third, Fourth, Fifth, etc.
xxv. Now that we’ve settled that discussion, we can move on. Remember last week, Apollos was a follower of Jesus Christ, but he didn’t have it all right. He needed some more education on the things of God. That’s what these guys were; they were Christians who needed a little help. You have to read these verses in context of the previous account of Apollos, and it makes much more sense. We see Paul instructing these 12, like Aquila and Priscilla did for Apollos, in verses 3 and 4.
xxvi. 3 And he said to them, "Into what then were you baptized?" So they said, "Into John’s baptism." 4 Then Paul said, "John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus."
xxvii. Paul asks, what were you baptized into then, because they hadn’t heard of the Holy Spirit. Their answer was, “The baptism of John the Baptist.” Their answer was a little confusing, because John the Baptist taught about the Holy Spirit coming, and the Messiah coming.
xxviii. Apparently though, some form of John’s teaching had made it to Ephesus in the twenty some-odd years since his death, but like Apollos, they lacked a solid foundation of truth, and that is precisely what Paul gives them.
xxix. Paul doesn’t chastise them, or rebuke them for their misguided ideas. I think he was rejoicing to run into someone who was receptive to the gospel message.
xxx. Paul contrasts John’s baptism with Christian Baptism, and this is bridge the gap between what they believed and the rest of the story. John’s baptism was in preparation for the Messiah. Jesus’ baptism was in celebration of the Messiah. John’s baptism was a sign of repentance. Jesus’ baptism was a sign of regeneration.
xxxi. We see their reaction in the verses that follow. Verse 5 says -
c. A Dozen Get Filled (Acts 19:5 – 7 )
i. 5 When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
ii. They respond to the lack in their belief system with obedience. That’s all baptism is, it is obedience to the Lord’s commands. Baptism is just an outward symbol of the inward work that has already taken place in the believer’s life.
iii. I have known people who were baptized as children to get baptized again as adults, because that is the model we see in scripture, adults being baptized in water by immersion, after they came to faith in Jesus.
iv. That is what I liken verse 5 to. These guys had the faith in the Messiah; they just didn’t know who He was. Paul straightened that out for them, and they were baptized with a Christian baptism, to show their faith in Jesus, just like the Lord commands. Let’s continue on to verse 6.
v. 6 And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied. 7 Now the men were about twelve in all.
vi. Paul then laid his hands on them, and they spoke in other tongues or languages, and prophesied. In Acts chapter 8, the Samaritans believed and were baptized, and didn’t receive the manifestations of the Holy Spirit until the apostles came down and laid hands on them.
vii. This was done to show the church at Jerusalem that these Samaritans were truly believers, and I believe that is why we see this here, to further give evidence that these twelve disciples were Christians.
viii. After Paul finishes up with these guys, he has more teaching to do in Ephesus, let’s read on to verse 8-.
d. Declaring the Gospel (Acts 19:8- 10)
i. 8 And he went into the synagogue and spoke boldly for three months, reasoning and persuading concerning the things of the kingdom of God.
ii. So, we see Paul going back to the synagogue that had invited him to stay a year earlier. He goes in, and by the wording of the Greek, he goes in without holding back.
iii. These are real strong verbs used her to describe his ministry in the synagogue. He talked to them about the kingdom of God, which was one of the main themes of Jesus. This encompassed the entire Christian life.
iv. Now, he was able to teach the whole story because he was there for three months. Remember, the longest he had ever been invited to stay teaching in a synagogue up until this point was three weeks.
v. But he stays on here in Ephesus for three months, boldly proclaiming the gospel message to the Jews and the God-fearing gentiles that came to hear his lively message every Sabbath.
vi. Again, we see here the word reasoning, and in the original language it means a back and forth dialog. Not everyone in the synagogue was happy though; take a look at verse 9.
vii. 9 But when some were hardened and did not believe, but spoke evil of the Way before the multitude, he departed from them and withdrew the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.
viii. Some folks hardened their heart and turned away. This was not a surprise to Paul. He had seen plenty of that. We too, will run into people that simply will not listen to the gospel. All you can do at that point is pray.
ix. Some of the local Jews went even farther than rejecting the gospel; they began to slander the church in front of the synagogue. The Way was an early name for the church. They really didn’t know what else to call it, and Jesus told them that He was the Way in John chapter 14, verse 6 - I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
x. It was at this point that Paul realized that he could no longer effectively minister there in the synagogue, and he left there along with the church, to find a new place where he could teach. He had done this in Corinth, setting up in a house near the synagogue. But here in Ephesus, we see him renting out the school of a man called Tyrannus.
xi. We know that this was probably not his real name, because it means “little tyrant” in the original language, and who would name their kid that?
xii. Sometimes, we may feel like our kids are little tyrants, but you don’t want to name them that. This was likely a nickname that he was called by his pupils. He taught in the school, and Paul rented it out for the time that Tyrannus wasn’t using it.
xiii. The workday in Ephesus consisted of four hours of work from dawn until 11 am, and then they took a break during the heat of the day, from eleven to about 4. This is still common in Latin cultures today, they call it a siesta. So, Paul used Tyrannus’ school during the heat of the day. We see that this went on for a god while, as we continue to verse 10.
xiv. 10 And this continued for two years, so that all who dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks.
xv. Paul continued to teach there at the school of Tyrannus in Ephesus for two years. We also see here in verse 10 that the gospel spread all over the province of Asia, and both Jews and Greeks heard.
xvi. This wasn’t through the mouth of Paul, but from the disciples there at Ephesus. As Paul taught, they were equipped to go forth and minister all around.
xvii. In Revelation, we are told about seven churches – Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. These were the churches of the province of Asia, and Paul only started the one at Ephesus, the others sprung out of this ministry in Ephesus. So, from this verse, and the ones in Revelation, the gospel truly did spread throughout the province of Asia.
xviii. God’s power flowed throughout Asia, as we see in the next few verses.
e. A Display of Power (Acts 19:11 - 12)
i. Verse 11 and 12 says - 11 Now God worked unusual miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them.
ii. We see in verse 11 that God worked some miracles through Paul while he was at Ephesus. Now, notice that Luke tells us in verse 11 that these were unusual miracles. In some other translations, the word is rendered extraordinary. So, if we believe in miracles, if we expect miracles, these were very unusual by first century standards.
iii. The word handkerchief there in verse 12 literally means sweat-bands in the original language. The aprons weren’t the kind that your grandma wore either, they were the leather kind that a blacksmith or tradesman wore, as you remember, Paul was a tentmaker, apparently even while in Ephesus.
iv. How did these things work? In the same way that the shadow of Peter or the hem of Jesus’ garment might heal; in that they would become a point of contact by which a person would release faith in Jesus as healer.
v. We’re not told that Paul encouraged this. Sometimes you see people on TV asking for money, and they will send you a handkerchief that they have supposedly prayed over. If I were you, I personally wouldn’t do that because most likely, these guys are just doing that for the money.
vi. But, the ancient writings tell us that the people of Ephesus were very superstitious, and that they believed that power was bound up in inanimate objects, like the ones we see here.
vii. So on the one hand, we have occultists and witch doctors handing out stuff, but we see Paul’s dirty laundry actually accomplishing a healing, there was no real power in these things or in Paul for that matter.
viii. The power came from God, and God was glorified in it. That’s why God allowed this to happen in Ephesus – to meet the needs of the people of Ephesus where they were at in life.
ix. But soon, word got around of the power of God working through Paul, and we begin to see imitators appearing on the scene, starting at verse 13.
f. A Demon vs. the sons of Sceva (Acts 19:13 - 16)
i. 13 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so.
ii. The power of God was at work in Ephesus, and some itinerant Jews tried to model this for their own personal financial gain. You see, in those days, an exorcist went around from town to town trying to cast out demons, and he was paid whether he was successful or not. But I see in the Bible where Jesus and the apostles didn’t charge for these services.
iii. These sons of Sceva were a sham. There is no record of a high priest named Sceva, and the Jews keep excellent records of this. So, it is most likely that they just called themselves sons of the chief priest for show, so people would used their exorcism services.
iv. The point of this little narration by Luke is to let us know that there is no power in the name of Jesus unless we actually believe in Him. These Jews weren’t believers, but they tried to use the Christian quote-unquote “formula” for casting out these evil spirits. A scroll about exorcism preserved in a museum in Paris dates from this period, and says “I adjure thee by the God of the Hebrews, Jesus.
v. The problem comes when there is no power without the precepts. As a Christian, a person in whom the Holy Spirit dwells, we have the power over the darkness through the authority given us by Jesus. This brings me to an interesting point though -
vi. I have run into people over the years that say that this is their ministry that God has called them to, going face to face with the powers of darkness. I have a hard time with this, because I don’t see this in scripture – the office of exorcist. Also, as we see in verses 15 and 16, being face to face with the forces of darkness is a very scary thing.
vii. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" 16 Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
viii. They failed because they did not have a personal relationship with Jesus. They did not have the authority to do what they were trying to do.
ix. The demon knew Jesus, and Paul, but these sons of Sceva had no power against him, because they didn’t have authority over him. They were overpowered by the demon and driven out.
x. Before I move on though, I want to make one point. The forces of the enemy are at work in the world today, just like they were then. People involved in occult practices are vulnerable to being overtaken by demons, just like this man in Ephesus.
xi. In our society, we might label this man as depressed, or psychotic, or schizophrenic. There are real mental conditions like this, but I think Satan would do a real good job to try and get a person like this medicated rather than set free, as we see other people in the Bible were.
xii. These people need the power of God at work in their life, just like sons of Sceva did. Maybe you’re here today, and you are wounded. God wants to meet you at your point of need.
xiii. Well, word of all this got around Ephesus pretty fast, and we see the results in the last four verses, and we will finish up there today.
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g. A Demonstration of Devotion (Acts 19:17 - 20)
i. 17 This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus; and fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 18 And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. 19 Also, many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver.
ii. After the sons of Sceva incident, people got serious about God. They realized that the power of the enemy was at work in their city. They confessed their sins – that means that they were convicted of them. This was significant, because the occult is called a dark art. They thought that the power of magic spells resided in their secrecy, which was renounced in their confessions.
iii. So, they took the magic books and scrolls out of their closets, and they made a bonfire out of them, so that everyone in the whole city could see. These were the Christians, guys, the people in the church!
iv. Fifty thousand pieces of silver was about a years wage for 150 men. This was a huge amount of money. In our economy, this would be roughly equivalent to five million dollars!
v. Maybe you’re not involved in occult practices, but is there something in your life that is standing between you and God? Something that He would rather have you get rid of, but you are hanging onto it? If so, read verse 20 with me.
vi. 20 So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.
vii. When did the Word of God grow and prevail? When the believers burned their junk. If you’re burned out with Bible study, prayer, or meditation — chances are it’s because you need to burn something up.
viii. We need to come to the point where we pray, `Father search me and show me the junk in my life which has caused my desire for You to be diminished.’ And you know what? He does.
ix. We’re going to finish up here today, but I’d like to invite you to come up after service and pray if you have a need in your life. I’d like to close with a short story.
h. Conclusion
i. A Christian leader—we’ll call him Steve —was traveling recently by plane. He noticed that the man sitting two seats over was thumbing through some little cards and moving his lips. The man looked professorial with his goatee and graying brown hair, and Steve placed him at fifty-something. Sure that the man was a fellow-believer, Steve leaned over to engage him in conversation
j. “Looks to me like you’re memorizing something,” he said. “No, actually I was praying,” the man said. Steve introduced himself. “I believe in prayer too,” he said. “Well, I have a specific assignment,” said the man with the goatee. “What’s that?” Steve asked. “I’m praying for the downfall of Christian pastors.” “I would certainly fit into that category,” Steve said. “Is my name on the list?” “Not on my list,” the man replied.
k. That’s s pretty extreme and blatant example of the powers of darkness at work in the world. Most times, Satan works much more subtly than that. Often times, people aren’t even aware that they are being used. The power of darkness is real, but we as Christians don’t need to live in fear of it, we just need to resist it, because Jesus has overcome it.
l. Let’s Pray.
V. Closing Prayer
