Acts 19:11 – 20
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.
Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the 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 Paul I know about, 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.
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 what they had done. 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.
REFLECTION
I love verse 11, “God did extra ordinary miracles through Paul. God uses us to fulfill His purpose here on earth. May God use you for His glory in Jesus mighty name.
Paul wrought extra ordinary miracles that believers want to be associated with until today. Handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
The sons of Sceva (who was a priest), decided to share in what Paul was doing and instead of developing a personal relationship with Jesus they decided to be middlemen. “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
The bible says “…..according to the power at work within us”. It is the Jesus I know that will work miracles through me. Not someone’s else. Do you know why? Because there is a price to pay.
There are middlemen who take away more money than the real manufacturers. They benefit from someone’s else hard work and labour but the kingdom of God is not like that. We have to develop a personal relationship with God; through prayer, reading the word, fellowship, fasting and all the other Christian disciplines that God has made available for us.
The sons of sceva managed to cast of some demons but not for long. One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” This is a very serious question that tells me the devil is not foolish. The bible says he uses loopholes (legal ground). He knows he has no authority over our life hence he must look for a lee way and when he gets one, he makes very good use of it. The devil who has guts to tempt Jesus, can you imagine! He knows too well that Jesus is a son of God.
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. Can you imagine!
The bible commands us to bring every high thing that exults itself against the mind of God to the obedience of the Lord Jesus but add we shall be able to punish every act of disobedience when our obedience is complete. We obey a God we know (so that know can tell what he wants and what he does not want).
This event brought fear of God. The name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Those who were practicing sorcery began to confess and brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. This is the Jesus we want today. I hate it when witches, sorcerers and magicians attend church services and go home like nothing happened. The church should get back its power.
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas (a value that could equate to around 14.4 million USD). All this amount of money was dedicated to evil altars!
In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. This is our portion in Jesus name.
PRAYER
Lord God almighty, I come before your throne, help me to know you and to understand the power in the name of Jesus and use it to the glory of your name. That I will seek to be a partaker of the kingdom and not a spectator in Jesus name I pray and believe.
Comments are closed