Tag Archives: sons of Sceva

THE BOOK OF ACTS – MESSING WITH DEMONS

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MESSING WITH DEMONS

“Some itinerant Jewish exorcists who happened to be in town at the time tried their hand at what they assumed to be Paul’s “game”. They pronounced the name of the Master Jesus over victims of evil spirits, saying, ‘I command you by the name of the Jesus preached by Paul,’ The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were trying to do this on a man when the evil spirit talked back: ‘I know Jesus and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?’ Then the possessed man went berserk — jumped the exorcists, beat them up and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.” Acts 19:13-16 (The Message).

Such was the city of Ephesus, a city of idol-worship and a city of witch-craft and demon-possession! Like god, like people! Messing around with demons was okay until they got inside and then it was another story. Idols, demons and exorcists went together. Some let them in and others tried to get them out!

During this time of heightened supernatural activity, demons were making their unwanted presence felt. Paul was God’s instrument for dealing with them, both in the bodies of the sick and in the spirits of the tormented. But there were others who tried to do what Paul was doing without realising that they were on the wrong side!

How do demons get in in the first place? Choices! It’s all about choices. The first choice is to ignore or reject God as the rightful owner of your life. This happens every time you choose to follow the desires and appetites of your sinful nature instead of heeding the warnings of His Word. Until you acknowledge that Jesus is the rightful authority in your life and give over the reins to Him, you will have to go it alone under the influence of the unseen usurper, the devil.

Follow the patterns of sin long enough and the devil begins to make his presence felt. He offers all sorts of perks for following him without revealing the handcuffs that tie you to him. Eventually he sends in his “squatters” to occupy the territory he has illegally claimed and then it’s too late. He has you hooked and you are his slave; and remember, he is a destroyer. Only then will you begin to taste the fruits of his occupation.

Why were the sons of Sceva not only impotent to cast the demons out but also victims of their abuse? They were on the devil’s side. Only a radical relocation from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus will break the chains of the devil’s dominion over you. Only Jesus can set prisoners free.

He did it by dying, an innocent man as a criminal, condemned by those who were the devil’s emissaries and who thought they were right. He came back from the dead, not only to prove His innocence, but also to take His rightful place as Lord of the universe He had created and of all those who recognise who He is and bow to Him.

Jesus warned that a house divided against itself will not stand. People on the devil’s side cannot cast out demons. They only set themselves up for a beating. And likewise, believers who make it their business to oppose other believers also set themselves up, and the fellowship to which they belong, for serious damage.

We have to know to whom we belong and to whom we owe our allegiance. If we are God’s children, we belong to Jesus, and we are members of His body. We cannot take up arms against fellow believers and hope to emerge unscathed.

We can be the answer to Jesus’ prayer, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe on me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” John 17:20 (NIV).

THE BOOK OF ACTS – FREED FROLM THE TORMENTOR

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FREED FROM THE TORMENTOR

“One day, on our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic and, with her fortune-telling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her. She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by yelling out, ‘These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out the road of salvation for you.’  She did this for a number of days until Paul, finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her, ‘Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!’ And it was gone, just like that.” Acts 16:16-18 (The Message).

So what was the problem? Didn’t this girl give Paul just the sort of publicity he needed to get his message across? Wasn’t she helping him in his ministry?

At face value it seems that his reaction was a bit harsh. He interfered with this girl’s owners’ source of income and he cut short the publicity she gave him by her psychic “insight” into who he was and what he was doing.

Let’s look at the issues a little more closely.

First of all, Jesus had the same problems with demon-possessed people as Paul. The demons in them had no option but to acknowledge who He was but that did not mean that they did it by their own free will. They were enemies of Jesus, aligned with the devil, and knew very well who the real Master was. Jesus refused to accept testimony from them.

Only people who freely and willingly submitted to Him as Lord had reason to testify. Even then, He would not allow then to speak until His work on the cross was complete. Publicity for the wrong reasons hindered rather than helped His ministry.

Paul, likewise, would not accept publicity from someone who did not bow to Jesus as Lord. This girl’s babbling was not a testimony to the salvation she experienced. She was mouthing words she was forced to speak from the “squatters” who dominated her.

Secondly, the girl was not only owned by unscrupulous masters; she was possessed by an even more unscrupulous spirit who controlled her thoughts and actions. She was a slave in every sense of the word, exploited by her human masters for money and by a demonic spirit who drove her to do his bidding day and night. She was doing to Paul what the demon did to her, tormenting him with her words.

Why he did not act immediately is not clear. Perhaps he was preoccupied with the ministry he was engaged in. Perhaps it took him a while to become irritated by the girl’s tailing him and shouting. Perhaps he was reluctant to fall foul of her owners because he was already in enough trouble with antagonistic Jews.

Finally her condition got to him. In the name of Jesus he evicted the squatter and released her from her so-called “gift” which was nothing but a chain around her spirit. We have no idea what happened to her. No doubt her masters took it out on her as well as on Paul and Silas. They could not control the owners’ treatment of the girl, but at least she was free from the inner torment that had enslaved her spirit. Did she perhaps respond in faith to the Most High God she had so mindlessly proclaimed? We would love to think that she did.

Paul was a man who knew who he was in Christ. He was not afraid to engage the enemy of the Lord Jesus Christ, not to win the battle already won on the cross but to take the spoils of war which belonged to the winner. No wonder the demons said to the sons of Sceva who were trying to drive them out, “We know Jesus and we know Paul, but who are you?” and beat them up until they fled!

Messing With Demons

Bible Study, ,

MESSING WITH DEMONS

“Some itinerant Jewish exorcists who happened to be in town at the time tried their hand at what they assumed to be Paul’s “game”. They pronounced the name of the Master Jesus over victims of evil spirits, saying, ‘I command you by the name of the Jesus preached by Paul,’ The seven sons of a certain Sceva, a Jewish high priest, were trying to do this on a man when the evil spirit talked back: ‘I know Jesus and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?’ Then the possessed man went berserk — jumped the exorcists, beat them up and tore off their clothes. Naked and bloody, they got away as best they could.” Acts 19:13-16 (The Message).

Such was the city of Ephesus, a city of idol-worship and a city of witch-craft and demon-possession! Like god, like people! Messing around with demons was okay until they got inside and then it was another story. Idols, demons and exorcists went together. Some let them in and others tried to get them out!

During this time of heightened supernatural activity, demons were making their unwanted presence felt. Paul was God’s instrument for dealing with them, both in the bodies of the sick and in the spirits of the tormented. But there were others who tried to do what Paul was doing without realising that they were on the wrong side!

How do demons get in in the first place? Choices! It’s all about choices. The first choice is to ignore or reject God as the rightful owner of your life. This happens every time you choose to follow the desires and appetites of your sinful nature instead of heeding the warnings of His Word. Until you acknowledge that Jesus is the rightful authority in your life and give over the reins to Him, you will have to go it alone under the influence of the unseen usurper, the devil.

Follow the patterns of sin long enough and the devil begins to make his presence felt. He offers all sorts of perks for following him without revealing the handcuffs that tie you to him. Eventually he sends in his “squatters” to occupy the territory he has illegally claimed and then it’s too late. He has you hooked and you are his slave; and remember, he is a destroyer. Only then will you begin to taste the fruits of his occupation.

Why were the sons of Sceva not only impotent to cast the demons out but also victims of their abuse? They were on the devil’s side. Only a radical relocation from the dominion of darkness to the kingdom of God through faith in Jesus will break the chains of the devil’s dominion over you. Only Jesus can set prisoners free.

He did it by dying, an innocent man as a criminal, condemned by those who were the devil’s emissaries and who thought they were right. He came back from the dead, not only to prove His innocence, but also to take His rightful place as Lord of the universe He had created and of all those who recognise who He is and bow to Him.

Jesus warned that a house divided against itself will not stand. People on the devil’s side cannot cast out demons. They only set themselves up for a beating. And likewise, believers who make it their business to oppose other believers also set themselves up, and the fellowship to which they belong, for serious damage.

We have to know to whom we belong and to whom we owe our allegiance. If we are God’s children, we belong to Jesus, and we are members of His body. We cannot take up arms against fellow believers and hope to emerge unscathed.

We can be the answer to Jesus’ prayer, “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe on me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you.” John 17:20 (NIV).