Do You Really Know Him?
Tidbit Text: Acts 19:11-16 – 11God did extraordinary
miracles through Paul, 12so 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. 13Some 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 Jesus, whom
Paul preaches, I command you to come out.’ 14Seven sons of
Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 15One day, the
evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are
you?’ 16Then 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" (NIV).
We’ve all heard the lyrics, "I’m gonna stay on the battlefield ‘til I
die." Well, so many of us have been bruised and scarred so badly that
we’ve become unrecognizable. The enemy has kicked us around like old ragged
footballs, and we’ve let him. Why? Because we haven’t had the power to fight.
Our tidbit text tells of seven men (sons of a Jewish priest named Sceva) who
were going around driving evil spirits out of people. (The KJV refers to them
as "exorcists.") I’m not sure how successful they were, but evidently
they had some measure of success. One day, these men saw (or heard of ) a man
whose power was so awesome that all the people had to do was take a piece of
cloth that he had touched to the sick and demon-possessed, and they would be
healed. The seven sons of Sceva decided, "Hey, this guy’s technique works
much better than ours; let’s try it.—‘In the name of Jesus, whom Paul
preaches, I command you to come out.’" There was just one problem. They
didn’t really know the source of Paul’s strength and power: Jesus.
You see, Paul was a mighty soldier in the Lord’s army. He wasn’t one of the
casualties that was left behind. No, not Paul. He was "kicking butt and
taking names" to the point that he was known in all three realms: heaven,
earth, AND hell!!! That’s right! The devil knew Paul by name, just as he knew
Jesus by name. But the devil didn’t know the seven sons of Sceva, and one day
he called them on it. He said, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but
who are you?" Then the enemy used one man to give them the beat-down of
their lives. I’ll say it again. One demon-possessed man had enough power to
inflict serious injury upon seven "good-intentioned" men. Why?
Because they didn’t have any power. They didn’t have a personal relationship
with the Lord. I think it’s important to note here that these men aren’t even
identified by their own names. They are identified through their father. In
other words, they hid behind someone else’s reputation and authority—first
their father’s, then Paul’s.
We have to remember that power to fight the enemy does not come on its own;
it requires an investment of time and energy. Each one of us needs to ask,
"Do I know Him? Do I really know Jesus?" A personal relationship with
us is what He desires. What greater gift can we give to the One who has given
His all?
From my heart to yours,
Veronica
