From
Acts to Revelation
Part
53 – Blessings and Demons
Pastor Bruce A. Shields
House
of Faith Church | www.PS127.org
| www.TruthDigest.org
INTRODUCTION
Last week we looked at how Paul became
frustrated with those within the Synagogue, and after working there for three
months, trying to help them come to an understanding of Christ and the Gospel,
he met nothing but opposition and frustration.
He left, taking the disciples with him,
knowing that the people there rejected Christ, and there was no use giving them
anyone to teach them further.
This week, we see in the scripture,
blessings of objects, and possession of humans.
The blessing of objects is nothing new in
modern times, but it's abuses and misuses have made it a joke, as opposed to
its original intent, the power of God through His servants.
Possession as well has been misconstrued,
and misrepresented in movies as well as campfire ghost stories and the like.
Today is scripture, we will see the correct
definition of these, as well as the purposes and correct manner in which to
deal with them.
SCRIPTURE REFERENCE
Acts 19:11-22
11 God did extraordinary miracles through
Paul, 12 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.
13 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.” 14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish
chief priest, were doing this. 15 One day the evil spirit
answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” 16 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.
17 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. 18 Many of those who believed now
came and openly confessed what they had done. 19 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. 20 In
this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
21 After all this had happened, Paul
decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and
Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome
also.” 22 He
sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he
stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
a. What
the scriptures say about these objects
i. This was an extraordinary miracle of God through
Paul
ii. They were objects that Paul touched
iii. They were taken to those who were ill because of
evil
iv. they were healed ad the evil spirits left them
b. Why did
God do this “extraordinary miracle”?
i. Because people could not travel then as they do
today
ii. God wanted Paul to be recognized as one with
authority and who truly spoke for God
a. Remember: Apostles were those who witnessed the resurrected
Christ, and was given special authority and miraculous abilities to establish
the fact that they had the authority by God to author the foundation of the New
Testament Christian Faith and Church.
iii. God wanted the power of Jesus' name to be know far
and wide, so as to spread the truth of the Gospel, which in turn saved the
lost.
c. What
does the world think of these “objects”?
i. Some faiths teach these items are to be worshiped.
a. They build shrines to the objects, carry them around
on special occasions, and parade them before people, who touch, kiss, or pray
to them.
b. Some denominations collect them, thinking they are
“holy”
1.
nothing is to become a idol
d. Some
teach that this miracle of God can be done today, simply because they “want to”
i. Why would they do this?
a. Blessing cloths, or oils, or “holy water”
b. It has been abused as a means of control or greed.
c. In nearly all modern day cases, this “blessing” is
done for others in exchange for a “love offering”, “donation”, or as a means of
control to give the impression that “they” speak for God, and are the “only”
authority and only church, therefore you must be with them, and no other
church.
e. It is
true, God “can” still perform extraordinary miracles today.
i. However, we cannot control the Holy Spirit, or the
how or when or why of God's works. To try and use God's blessings for control,
manipulation or financial gain is a horrendous sin.
II.
ONLY SONS OF THE KING HAVE HIS AUTHORITY
a. In
verses 13-20, we are introduced to exorcism.
i. The casting out of demons.
ii. The fact of this matter is this, we are created in
God's image.
a. We have three parts, our body, our mind (or
soul/being), and our Spirit.
b. If we do not have the Spirit of God within us, we
have a void.
c. Demons will try to fill this void, in hopes of
destroying our lives, and the lives of those around us, as well as keep us from
ever coming to a knowledge of Jesus Christ and the truth of the Gospel.
b. Remember,
this is the New Testament, the Church Age, and people in scripture here have
been possessed by demons.
i. There are quite a few accounts of possession in
scripture.
ii. We see examples of Jesus Himself casting out demons,
more than once.
c. Though
the name of Jesus holds power and authority, those who are not sons of the Most
High, do not have access to this power and authority.
i. We see here how these sons of a high priest try to
cast demons out using the Name of Christ.
ii. The possessed man turns on them, beats them all, and
sends them off bloodied.
d. The
scripture says, “One day the evil spirit answered...”
i. this tells us they had tried more than once to
exorcise the demon.
ii. He remained silent before now.
iii. For whatever reason he decided to speak.
a. “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are
you?”
e. To me,
this cries out, that without Jesus as our Lord and Savior, who are we?
i. We are of no consequence to evil.
f. However,
if we are in Christ Jesus, we, as sons of the Most high, have Christ's
authority and power, through His Name!
g. The
evil spirit sent the sons of the High Priest off, naked and beading.
i. This is here in scripture, because God wants the
world to know, there is no power or authority in the Old Covenant!
ii. These sons of the High Priest, were trying to
operate in the Old Covenant, and did not have Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
iii. There is only condemnation in the Old Covenant,
which was given to point man to the need of a savior, Jesus Christ.
iv. And it is ONLY through HIM, we have salvation from
the Old Covenant, acceptance into the Kingdom, and given the full rights and
benefits of the Kingdom, which is the power and authority in Christ's Name.
III. TURING
FROM WICKEDNESS
a. We see
that after this took place, the people realized the power in the name of Jesus
alone!
b. Many
turned from their witchcraft, and burned their scrolls, which were worth
$50,000 Drachmas, or $63,718.62 in U.S. Currency.
c. Paul
then traveled to Jerusalem, wanting to go to Rome
i. He sent
Timothy and Erastus to Macedonia while he stayed in the province of Asia a
little longer.
CONCLUSION
So we see in scripture that the blessing of
objects serves God's purpose, not man's, and that it should only be by God's
Will, through His blessing and power, not by man to control, or manipulate
God's people. And it should never be
done specifically for obtaining financial gain!
We also saw how possession is not only
real, but should be taken seriously, and only one who is in good standing with
Jesus Christ should attempt to cast out a demon.
Remember, the disciples tried and failed,
and after Jesus cast them out Himself, they asked what they did wrong, and
Jesus answered them, "some can only be cast out after fasting and
prayer."
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