11 And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 12 so that cloths or aprons were even carried from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out. 13 But also some of the Jewish exorcists, who went from place to place, attempted to invoke over those who had the evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, “I implore you by Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Now seven sons of one named Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said to them, “I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” 16 And the man, in whom was the evil spirit, leaped on them, subdued all of them, and utterly prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. 17 And this became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus; and fear fell upon them all and the name of the Lord Jesus was being magnified. 18 Also, many of those who had believed kept coming, confessing and disclosing their practices. 19 And many of those who practiced magic brought their books together and were burning them in the sight of everyone; and they counted up the price of them and found it fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord was growing mightily and prevailing. Acts 19: 11-20 LSB
Acts 19: 11-20
Now, in Ephesians 2:2, as a point of introduction, we find the characterization of every man since the fall and before conversion. Paul says, “You walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now works in the sons of disobedience.” The prince of the power of the air is Satan. He is called the spirit that works in the sons of disobedience. From the time of the fall, all men have become Satan’s tools. They’re born into the world operating, functioning in response to satanic impulse.
And man is a slave, then, to Satan and his demons. Like the ship is at the command of the pilot who turns and directs it as he wills, so is the life of a man driven by the will of Satan. Now, Satan rules men usually in two ways, and these are very general. There may be others, but these are just two general thoughts.
First of all, he rules men by virtue of their understanding. “The natural man understandeth not the things of God.” So the natural man, the man without Christ, without God, is left with only the information which is available to him apart from God. And that really makes up all of the information which Satan uses and can use, even though some of it is God’s truth. And so Satan rules the understanding. In fact, is says in 2 Corinthians 4:4 that, “The god of this world has blinded the minds of them that believe not.” Satan blinds the mind. That is, he rules the understanding.
The second thing that Satan dominates in the unregenerate man is the will. He rules the understanding and the will. Though he cannot make the will act, he can certainly force it. Though he cannot make you do something, he can certainly draw you into that by temptation. John 8:44, “Jesus said to the Pharisees, “The lusts of your father, you will do.” And their father, of course, was the devil. Satan then dominates men by controlling the information that they have and by controlling the will that they exercise.
Now, this is the predicament of every man. And it is precisely at this point that Jesus Christ comes with power to free men. Jesus came into the world, according to 1 John 3:8, “For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.” And in Hebrews chapter 2 in verse 14, again it says that Christ came to destroy the devil himself. His works and his person.
Now, as we saw in our last study, Jesus from the very beginning is set against Satan; and we can know victory over Satan only insofar as we yield to the strength that is His strength. Ephesians 6, Paul says, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.” Our only strength is in Christ, and Christ came to give us victory over the enemy. Now, when Jesus arrived in this world, and His ministry, He first of all began by showing His power over Satan from the very start. Even at His birth, right? - J Mac from GTY Sermons ACTS 19
Vs. 11-12 By the hands of Paul - It was God's power, but He used Paul as the instrument. Paul was an Apostle as well, during the Apostolic age, of all times, who was establishing the early church and writing the Epistles. These miracles were extraordinary, lending credibility to the speaker and the message. Miracles were a part of their Master's ministry as well, and confirmed that He was Messiah, coming from the Father. There are those throughout history who have tried to produce false signs and wonders, trying to draw men to themselves and then the money from their pockets. Please don't by the handkerchiefs and holy water that the Pentecostals and Roman Catholics sell on line.
…6After that, He appeared to more than five hundred brothers at once, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7Then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8And last of all He appeared to me also, as to one of untimely birth.… 1 Corinthians 15: 6-8
…18I will not presume to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obedience by word and deed, 19by the power of signs and wonders, and by the power of the Spirit of God. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ. 20In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.… Romans 15: 18-20
…3how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him, 4and was affirmed by God through signs, wonders, various miracles, and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to His will. 5For it is not to angels that He has subjected the world to come, about which we are speaking.… Hebrews 2: 3-5
V. 13 I implore you by Jesus, Whom Paul preaches - The Jewish exorcists thought this was a formula that they would follow after observing Paul. For anyone with a demon, the best hope for them is to come to Christ, believe in Jesus. When you believe in Christ as Savior and Lord you are then indwelt by the Holy Spirit, so you can no longer be possessed by demons. It is Christians who can resist the devil and he has to flee. You can still be tempted and afflicted, but don't partner with him by pursuing sin, confess it and turn away from it. He is the father of lies, and though it may feel and look okay momentarily, it's always a trick, what place has darkness with light?
6But He gives us more grace. This is why it says: “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” 7Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.… James 4: 6-8
…27But Jesus took him by the hand and helped him to his feet, and he stood up. 28After Jesus had gone into the house, His disciples asked Him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” 29Jesus answered, “This kind cannot come out, except by prayer.”… Mark 9: 27-29
Vs. 14-15 I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, but who are you - That's your cue to exit stage left, run! When I was in the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement they would try to cast out the demon of doughnuts if you were over weight, drugs if you were an addict, even the demon of poverty if you had an empty billfold, and they would refer me to the great commission verse below. It also mentions handling snakes and drinking poison, and I have offered to bring them a venomous snake, but most say they don't like snakes, except for a few small groups in the mountains. This is where bad doctrine and theology meet superstition and get blended into something that is just sad. Someone gets a dry bite from a snake and now thinks they're immune to snake bites. It's no different than associating a dance with why it's raining. These seven sons of Sceva thought they found the phrase that pays, though their chant even acknowledges that they don't have a personal relationship with Jesus, He's the guy Paul preaches about.
…17And these signs will accompany those who believe: In My name they will drive out demons; they will speak in new tongues; 18 they will pick up snakes with their hands, and if they drink any deadly poison, it will not harm them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will be made well.” 19After the Lord Jesus had spoken to them, He was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God.… Mark 16: 17-19
Seven sons of one Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this - This is all we know of Sceva. He is Jewish. His name is Sceva. He is designated chief priest. There is no record he actually lived in Ephesus. Luke says his sons were doing this (exorcisms) and does not say he knew about it and does not say whether he approved or not. There is no record of a Jewish chief priest by that name of Sceva, so we can only speculate that either he was a member of a high priestly family or that he claimed this title to impress his clientele. We simply cannot make many objective comments about this passage, so it is best to avoid speculation now and ask Dr Luke in Heaven! - PA
…29“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?” 30 In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. 31So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”… Matthew 8: 29-31
But the question is this: If you take a non-Christian individual today, what does the Bible say about getting rid of his demons? Nothing. But I’ll tell you one thing, if he comes to Jesus Christ, repents of his sin, confesses Christ as savior, Christ will clean his life out. Do you believe that?
You say, “Well, what about the Christian, John? Can a Christian be a partner with a demon?” Yeah, according to 1 Corinthians 10. That’s really being duped by Satan for a Christian to go that far. But what happened in Corinth was some of the Christians were coming to the fellowship of the table of the Lord, and then they go out and go back to their pagan religions. And when they go back to their pagan religion, Paul says, “You’re fellowshipping with demons!” 1 Corinthians 10:20, listen. “I say the things which the Gentiles sacrifice. They sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I would not that you should have fellowship with demons.”
They were actually having a partnership with demons! He says, “You can’t drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You can’t be partakers of the Lord’s table and the table of demons.” But what about this bunch? Now, they’ve got this problem right now. They’re fellowshipping with demons and they’re Christians; what’s going to happen to them?
Let me show you the solution. 1 Corinthians 11:27. “Wherefore” – and you remember they had violated the Lord’s Table - “Wherefore, whosoever shall eat this bread and drink this cup of the Lord unworthily shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord.” In other words, some of these people were fellowshipping with demons and then coming to the Lord’s Table!
Now, you say, “What are you going to do? Are we going to get a big group of people and get rid of all their demons and have a big, Christian exorcism? How we going to help these people?” Watch this. Verse 28, “Let a man examine” – what’s the next word - “himself. And so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup.” Verse 31. “For if we would judge” – what’s the next word? – “ourselves, we should not be judged.”
Beloved, listen to this. This is the point I’ve been trying to make in this message and the message before. You take care of your own life before God in the area of holiness, and demons have no way that they can bother you. That’s the point. We don’t need to run around and have the demon of fingernail biting and post nasal drip cast out of us. We don’t need to be preoccupied with all kinds of long, drawn-out sessions of the Christian exorcism using the Name of Jesus like a formula.
Beloved, I just believe this. That the Bible says here’s a case of people who are having fellowship with demons and Paul simply says, “You examine yourself, and you enact judgment in your own heart. You bring about confession and repentance in your own life, and man, you’re acceptable.” Listen, and I’m not - at the risk of making too many points, let me make one point. And I don’t want it to go any further than this one point. This. I don’t need you as other Christians to take care of my own holiness.
Do you understand what I’m saying? That I can take care of myself. That’s between God and me. Now, I may need you to rebuke my sin, but it’s up to me to be honest enough to confess and repent of it. That’s between me and God. And I don’t care whether - I asked somebody this last time. I said, “What is worse, to tell a white lie or to be infested with seven devils?” “Oh, seven devils!” I said, “Why is it worse?” Well, he wasn’t too sure. I’m not so sure it makes any difference. It’s all sin.
So how do you get rid of the problem that you get with telling a lie? Simply confess it, turn from it, repent from it. How do you get rid of the same problem with seven devils? Same thing. Submit to the Holy Spirit, confess your sin, repent, and allow the Spirit of God to cleanse your life, and off you go. It’s the same thing.
So don’t ever get the idea that you – you know, if all these devils get to you, you’re going to be stuck and you’re going to have to have some great big eight-hour sweat session to get rid of them. That’s something you can take care of in your own life. Let a man examine himself. These people were fellowshipping with demons, but they had the resources within them to have victory over Satan. - J Mac from Acts 19 sermon
Vs. 16-17 Fear fell upon them all - There are people who deny the spiritual all together now, and insist there is only the material, and some say the eternal material, like that sounds less hokey, even though everything they point out materially they also put an age upon. I'm not that smart, so I believe the infinite created the finite, that the eternal made the material, that God is Spirit and those who worship Him worship in spirit and in truth. I put Him up above the creation, the self existing, not called into being, the Creator of time and space. Now the people around here don't have a correct understanding of what is taking place, but they see that the demon possessed man just beat the tar out of the seven cocky guys who thought they had learned a magic spell. Now this little Paul is a scary man because the demons recognize him as appointed by Jesus.
…8They will be made to stumble, their own tongues turned against them. All who see will shake their heads. 9Then all mankind will fear and proclaim the work of God; so they will ponder what He has done. 10Let the righteous rejoice in the LORD and take refuge in Him; let all the upright in heart exult.… Psalm 64: 8-10
…8and placed everything under his feet.” When God subjected all things to him, He left nothing outside of his control. Yet at present we do not see everything subject to him. 9But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone. 10In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.… Hebrews 2: 8-10
…12In a loud voice they were saying: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing!” 13And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power forever and ever!” 14And the four living creatures said, “Amen,” and the elders fell down and worshiped.… Revelation 5: 12-14
Vs. 18-20 Found it to be 50,000 pieces of silver - Now some would get mad that you are burning books, I mean look at all the money they are wasting. None of it was worth anything in comparison to the knowledge of the eternal God, and all of it was without a correct understanding of the spiritual anyway. There were people who thought they were talking to dead people back then, but it was all actually demonic, a familiar spirit so to speak. Lies and tricks, yet here was this man with the truth, about the God Who said not to play with witchcraft. They wanted to be free of it.
…12all their men of valor set out and retrieved the bodies of Saul and his sons and brought them to Jabesh. And they buried their bones under the oak in Jabesh and fasted seven days. 13So Saul died for his unfaithfulness to the LORD, because he did not keep the word of the LORD and even consulted a medium for guidance, 14and he failed to inquire of the LORD. So the LORD put him to death and turned the kingdom over to David son of Jesse.… 1 Chronicles 10: 12-14
…10Let no one be found among you who sacrifices his son or daughter in the fire, practices divination or conjury, interprets omens, practices sorcery, 11casts spells, consults a medium or spiritist, or inquires of the dead. 12For whoever does these things is detestable to the LORD. And because of these detestable things, the LORD your God is driving out the nations before you.… Deuteronomy 18: 10-12
…19The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity, and debauchery; 20idolatry and sorcery; hatred, discord, jealousy, and rage; rivalries, divisions, factions, 21and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.… Galatians 5: 19-21
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