Jesus I Know, but Who Are You?

before Paul discerned that something was amiss.

These disciples whom Paul had thought were Christians were missing something.

So he asked them in verse 2,

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

This is Paul's litmus test.

In the New Testament, the reception of the Holy Spirit is the decisive mark of the Christian.

Romans 8 verse 9 says,

Romans 8:9

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

1 Corinthians 12 verse 13 says,

1 Corinthians 12:13

In one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, Jews or Greeks, slaves or free,

and all were made to drink of one Spirit.

The Christian is, by definition, someone who has the Spirit of Christ.

All Christians have received the Spirit.

So when Paul asks those men,

Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?

He's really asking them whether or not they are really Christians.

Whether or not they really come to believe in Jesus.

And their response is revealing.

They say,

No, we had not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.

Matt pitched on his passage last week,

and he mentioned that these were not disciples of Jesus,

rather they were disciples of John the Baptist.

They were baptized with water for repentance,

with John's baptism,

but they have not been baptized with the Holy Spirit and fire,

which is Jesus' baptism.

That's why in verse 5,

Paul baptizes them in the name of the Lord Jesus,

which shows that they have not been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.

They were not yet Christians.

They were not aware that Jesus had died, risen, and ascended to the heavens,

and that he has sent his Holy Spirit to his people

to mark the new era of God's salvation.

So when at the time of their baptism,

Paul laid his hands on them,

they received the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit comes upon them.

Genuine repentance from sin,

genuine faith in Jesus,

and Christian water baptism,

they are always accompanied by the reception of the Holy Spirit,

by Jesus' baptism with Holy Spirit and fire.

And we should not make a mistake,

because there's a big difference between life with the Spirit and life without him.

Jesus said to his disciples in John 16, verse 7,

John 16:7

I tell you the truth,

it is to your advantage that I go away.

For if I do not go away,

the Helper will not come to you.

But if I go,

I will send Him to you.

Isn't that amazing?

Jesus told us that it's better for Him to leave,

so that we might have the Holy Spirit with us.

But sometimes,

I think we live like Jesus never fulfilled that promise.

We think of holding the Holy Spirit as this wallflower

who sits quietly in a corner

and stays out of everyone's way.

But the book of Acts paints a radically different picture.

In Acts 1-8,

which is a thesis of this book,

Jesus says,

you will receive power

when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.

And you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem,

in all Judea and Samaria,

to the end of the earth.

To have the Holy Spirit is to have power.

And our pastor this morning,

she knows that clearly.

He says in verses 11-12,

And God was doing extraordinary miracles

by the hands of Paul.

So that even handkerchiefs or aprons

that had touched his skin

were carried away to the stake.

And their diseases blessed them,

and the evil spirits came out of them.

Earlier in Acts, in chapter 5,

it says that many signs were done regularly by the apostles.

But what's happening here

is not a regular, run-of-the-mill miracle.

These are extraordinary miracles.

And what's extraordinary about it

is not the nature of the miracles themselves,

but the manner in which these miracles are being performed.

The sick being healed,

and evil spirits being cast out.

These are nothing new in the book of Acts.

A lame man was healed in chapter 3.

Aeneas the paralytic was healed.

Dorcas was raised from the dead in chapter 9.

A trickle was made to walk in chapter 14.

A demon-possessed slave girl

was exorcised in chapter 16.

So these miracles in chapter 19

were not extraordinary in and of themselves.

Luke tells us exactly why they were extraordinary.

Verse 12,

So that even handkerchiefs or aprons

that had touched his skin

were carried away to the sick,

and their diseases left them

and the evil spirits came out of them.

Usually, miracles were mediated

directly by God's chosen agents.

But in these unusual cases,

miracles were mediated indirectly

by common everyday objects

that had touched God's chosen agents.

This is similar to what happened in Luke chapter 8,

Luke 8 · chapter mention

when a woman who had discharged her blood

for 12 years believed that

if she just touched the hem of Jesus' garment,

the fringe of his garment,

that she was healed.

And with that faith,

she touched,

reached out to touch the edge of his garment,

and she was healed in me.

Evidently, God does perform miracles sometimes

through things that have touched

his spirit of little children.

How many of us,

if today we've heard a report

of such things happening around us,

would dismiss it out of hand

as baseless superstition

of theologically unmercable?

I think we're too quick to put God in a box of hearts.

God is the creator and Lord of heavens and the earth.

He is not bound by the ordinary laws of nature.

God can do what he pleases.

And he can heal in any manner he pleases.

And evidently, God does heal in this way.

At times.

Gifts of healing are one of the gifts

of the Holy Spirit mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12

that God distributes sovereignly among his people.

And 1 Corinthians 14.1 commands us

to earnestly desire those gifts.

But I also want to caution us

about the other extreme.

This account of the miracles

that occurred through handkerchiefs

and aprons that Paul had touched

is not a blueprint

for a successful healing ministry.

These are extraordinary miracles

precisely because God does not

usually work in these ways.

Note that Paul doesn't start

in a handkerchief ministry.

He's not going around

collecting handkerchiefs,

piling up,

touching them all,

blessing them,

and then saying,

hey, ship them out

to as many people as you can.

He doesn't do that.

He definitely doesn't see this

as an opportunity

for lucrative business

and starts selling

such handkerchiefs

which some people do.

And there's a very simple reason for that.

Look at who is the subject

of the verb in verse 11.

And God

was doing extraordinary miracles

by the hands of Paul.

God was doing the miracles.

Paul is not performing these miracles.

God is the one doing it.

Paul is the medium,

the conduit

through which God is

using his healing power.

This is why Paul

cannot start

a handkerchief ministry

because he cannot guarantee

that the handkerchiefs

will heal anyone.

The source of healing power

is God,

not Paul.

Paul.

You can

implore your mailman

as much as you want,

but he cannot guarantee you

that you will get

a Christmas present this year.

Why?

Because he's just

a delivery man.

He doesn't send

the gifts.

A guitar

cannot make music

by itself

because it's

only an instrument.

It needs a musician

who knows how to play it.

Likewise,

Paul cannot heal

anyone

because he's not

the one who heals.

He's simply

the instrument.

It is God

who heals

through him.

So this is reason

to be humble

when God does

use us at times

miraculously

to heal sick people

or to cast out demons

which some of us

have experienced.

We are not

great.

We are not

powerful.

We merely serve

a great

and powerful

God.

So as God

is doing

extraordinary miracles

to Paul,

some pretenders

want in

on the action.

They're called

here to seven sons

of a Jewish high priest

named Sceva.

Being sons

of a Jewish

high priest,

these men

have an impeccable

religious pedigree.

They appear

to have

leveraged

their position

and standing well

to carve out

a place for themselves

in this exorcism

in this group.

And it says

in verse 13

that some of the

itinerant Jewish

exorcists

undertook

to invoke

the name

of the Lord Jesus

over those

who are in evil

spirits saying,

I adjure you

by the Jesus

when Paul

proclaimed.

To invoke

the name

is a technical

expression

that refers

to calling.

It's an incantation,

incantation

that ancient

people used

to call

forth a spirit.

To name

a name,

to invoke

the name.

By naming

a person

or spirit

or deity

with higher

authority,

these people

believed that

they could

drive out

weaker,

lesser spirits.

And this

belief that

names

have magical

powers

and that

secret knowledge

of such names

of deities

and spirits

conferred power

on that person

is found

in numerous

ancient

and pagan

texts.

So the

seven sons

of Sceva

try to

invoke

the name

of the

Lord Jesus

in order

to drive

out

the evil

spirits.

And theoretically

this should

have worked.

Right?

Because

Ephesians 1

20-21

tells us

that God

the Father

raised Jesus

from the dead

and seated

him at the

right hand

in the heavenly

places

far above

all rule

and authority

and power

and dominion

and above

every name

that is

named.

Not only

in this

state

but also

in the

world

to come.

The words

rule,

authority,

power,

dominion

are all

words that

the ancient

people used

to refer

to magical

and magical

text

angelic

powers.

Spirits.

Paul is

saying that

all spiritual

forces are

subject to

Jesus

because the

Lord Jesus

has the

name that

is above

every name.

so that

theoretically

invoking the

name of

Jesus,

the highest

name of

Jesus

should have

worked

in casting

out these

evil spirits.

But it

doesn't work.

And the

outcome is

terrifying.

It says in

verses 15-16

but the

evil spirit

answered

them,

Jesus I

know and

Paul I

recognize.

But who

are you?

And the

man in

whom was

the evil

spirit

left on

them,

mastered

all of

them and

overpowered

them so

that they

fled out

of that

house

naked

and

wounded.

The

evil

spirit

freely

admits,

Jesus I

know.

Yes,

I know

Jesus.

He has

complete

authority

over me

and there

is nothing

I can do

about it.

I know

Jesus.

Oh,

I also

know

Paul.

He's

been

wreaking

havoc.

He's

full of

the

Holy

Spirit.

He's

a servant

of the

mighty

Lord

Jesus

and

there's

nothing

I

can

do

about

him

either.

But who

are you?

Who do you

think you

are?

You're

a fraud.

You have

no authority

to cast

me out.

You

think I

care that

your daddy

is the

high priest?

You

have no

spiritual

power.

You

are no

high.

And

aided by

the power

of this

demon,

this man

who is

possessed by

the

demon overpowers

all seven

sons of

demon.

And

they

leave

with their

tails behind

their

legs,

between

their

legs.

And

that's

the way

you

say it

right?

Totally

exposed,

embarrassed,

abused.

Ironic,

they came

out to

drive out

the

demon.

Instead,

they're

joined

out by

the

demon.

This

begs the

question,

why didn't

their

exercise

work?

it's

because

they're

only

pretenders.

They're

not

Christians.

They

have not

been

baptized

in the

name

of

Jesus.

They

don't

actually

bear

the

name

of

Jesus,

so

they

don't

carry

his

authority.

They

don't

have

the

Holy

Spirit.

They

don't

even

know

Jesus

is

baptized.

They

only

know

Paul,

who

seemed

to have

great

spiritual

power,

and

was

performing

miracles

in the

name

of

Jesus.

So

look at

their

incantation.

That's

why it's

secondhand.

They

don't

say,

I

abjure

you

by

the

name

of

our

Lord

Jesus.

No,

they

don't

say that.

They

say,

I

abjure

you

by

Jesus

whom

Paul

proclaims.

What's

sad

about

this.

But

the

Lord

Jesus

is

not

someone

you

can

manipulate

for

your

own

purposes

through

some

magical

incantation.

The

Lord

Jesus

through

those

who

have

believed

in

him.

Those

who

have

pled

allegiance

to

him.

Those

who

have

been

indwelled

by

the

spirit

of

Christ.

It's

not

the

formula

in

Jesus

name

that

matters

as

much

as

the

reality

of

being

united

with

Jesus

through

faith.

Do

you

know

Jesus?

Have

you

been

indwelled

by

the

spirit

of

Jesus?

Do

you

have

a

personal

relationship

with

him?

Or

do

you

merely

invoke

the

name

of

Jesus

when

Paul

proclaims?

Or

Sean

proclaims?

Or

your

parents

proclaims?

Or

your

spouse

proclaims?

Or

your

friend

proclaims?

Do

you

have

first

hand

knowledge

of

Jesus

or

only

a

second

word?

Knowledge.

It's

how you

tell the

difference.

Jesus

said in

Matthew

7

21

to

23

Not

everyone

who

says to

me

Lord,

Lord,

will

enter the

kingdom of

heaven,

but only

the one

who does

the will

of my

Father in

heaven.

Many will

say to me on

that day,

Lord,

Lord,

did we not

prophesy in

your name

and in

your name

drive out

demons

and in

your name

perform many

miracles?

Then I

will tell

them

plainly,

I

never

leave you

away from

the

illegal

doors.

What is

Jesus

saying?

There are

many people

like the

sons of

Sceva

who try

to use

Jesus'

name for

their own

purposes,

try to

use

Jesus'

name to

do

miracles,

try to

use

Jesus'

name.

However,

the true

people of

God

are

those who

do the

will

of

the

Father.

True

Christians

don't use

Jesus

to

advance

themselves.

They

renounce

themselves

as

following

him.

Some

politicians

use the

Bible

as

a

prop.

Use

the

church

building

as

a

formula

just

to get

the

Christian

book.

Some

people

repeatedly

bring up

their

religious

upbringing.

I grew

up going

to church

on the

campaign

trail.

Not

because

their

views

are

actually

informed

by

scripture,

by their

faith,

wanting

to earn

people's

trust and

win

their

books.

They

use

the

name

of

Jesus

for

self

advancement.

They

don't

proclaim

Jesus.

They're

essentially

just name

dropping to

boost their

own

credentials,

when in

reality they

have no

relationship

with the

Lord Jesus.

Some

people use

Jesus like

a charm

or a

talisman.

They

wear a

cross necklace

or put a

crucifix on

the wall,

put a

statuette of

a Christian

saint,

a Catholic

saint in

the garden,

get their

infants baptized

in the

church even

though they

don't go

to church

the rest

of their

life.

And

their

lives are

utterly

inconsistent

with the

word of

God.

They

think that

by doing

so they'll

bring blessing

and good fortune

upon us.

Some

people think

of faith

and Jesus

in the same

way they

think of

life insurance.

They think

all they

need to do

is pay

their dues

on time,

give a

little bit

of money

to the

church here

and there,

attend worship

occasionally,

once in a

while,

maybe on

Easter and

Christmas,

and they

think they'll

be covered

when they

die.

Their

religion is

entirely

think that

they're

masters

of their

own

faith.

Jesus

is not

their

Lord

because

they

don't

do

his

will.

Let us

not think

that Jesus

exists to

meet our

needs and

make us feel

better about

ourselves.

Jesus does

not exist for

our self-advancement

or self-fulfillment.

The church is not

ultimately about

us.

it's about

God.

We are

worshiping

people.

Do you ask

God to

promote

your own

agenda

in life

or do you

submit to

Him?

Jesus?

Do you

cherry pick

and use

the word

of God

to justify

your views

and behaviors

or do you

let the

word of God

search you

and challenge

you?

If someone

were to

draw a picture

of your

hopes

and dreams

would Jesus

be that

picture?

only those

who have

surrendered

to the

worship

of Christ

enjoy the

power

and

privileges

of being

in Christ.

Jesus is

not content

with you

just knowing

about Him.

He wants

you to know

Him.

He loves

you and

invites you

into a

relationship

with Him.

He wants

to dwell

within you

by His

Spirit.

He wants

to be

closer.

So then

how should

we respond

to Jesus?

That brings

us to

my last

point

in the

believer's

repentance.

He says

in verse

17

And this

became known

to all

the residents

of Ephesus

both Jews

and blacks

and fear

fell upon

them all

and the

name of

the Lord

Jesus

was

extolled.

The news

of what

happened

to the

Jewish

exorcist

quickly

made its

rounds

throughout

Ephesus

and as

a result

fear fell

upon them

all

and the

name of

the Lord

Jesus

was

extolled.

Hey,

remember

those sons

of Sceva

that fleeced

us last time

and took

thousands

from us?

They were

just exposed

the other

day.

It turns

not

they're

charlatans

pretenders

but guess

what?

That Jesus

that Paul

proclaims

he had

really

weight

authority

power.

So Jesus'

name

is lifted

up

and many

people respond

by putting

their faith

in Jesus.

He says

in verses

18-20

Also

many of

those

who were

now

believers

came

confessing

and

divulging

their

practices.

And a

number

of those

who had

practiced

magic

arts

brought

their

books

together

and

burned

them

in the

sight

of

all.

And

they

counted

the

value

of

them

and

found

they

came

to

50,000

pieces

of

silver.

So the

word

continued

to

increase

and

prevail

mightily.

Spirits

and magic

were part

of everyday

life in the

ancient

world.

So it's

not surprising

that many

of the

newcomers

to

Christianity

were

practicing

the

magic

arts

as well.

But after

coming to

faith in

Jesus

they came

confessing

and

divulging

these

practices.

They

voluntarily

nobody

this is

not the

inquisition

nobody

saying

bring all

your

books

we're

going

to

burn

them.

No

they

voluntarily

bring

the

books

that

they

had

paid

hefty

sums

for

and

burned

them.

these

books

cost

a lot

of

money

because

they

contained

these

secret

incantations

that they

believed

conferred power

on the

people who

knew them.

It says

total value

of the

earned books

came to

50,000

pieces of

silver.

A piece

of silver

is a reference

to the

Greek

drachma

which is

a common

laborer's

entire

day's

worth of

wage.

One

silver.

50,000

silver.

If you

divide that

by 365

that's

the

equivalent

of

137

laborer's

annual

wage

with

no

days

off.

If we

say that

an average

worker

today

in the

U.S.

earns

$15

per

hour

$120

per

day

50,000

drachmas

will

equal

approximately

$6

million.

Those

are some

expensive

books.

People's

life

investments.

Why

did people

do that?

Why

did people

buy it?

Because

they

thought

if I

just

had

this

spell

if I

just

had

this

incantation

I

can

make

sure

me

and

my

family

were

healthy

were

wealthy

we

have

a

successful

life.

People

had put

their

hopes

and

dreams

into

these

things

but

very

gladly

they

come

now

and

burn

them.

They

not

only

renounce

them

for

themselves

they

don't

want

anyone

else

to

use

these

futile

books.

Scripture

uniformly

condemns

all forms

of divination

witchcraft

and

interpretation

of

omens

because

these

are

all

attempts

to

seek

guidance

and

spiritual

help

and

power

apart

from

God.

They

are

human

attempts

to

know

and

control

the

future

to

be

self

sufficient

to

cut

God

out

of

the

picture.

They

are

an

affront

to

God's

sovereignty.

They

are

a

rejection

of

God's

gracious

and

loving

initiative

to

speak

to

us

to

relate

to

us

to

guide

us

to

save

us

to

save

us.

If you

have

dabbled

in the

occult

and

nowadays

this is

more and

more

common

Ouija boards

power

cards

or

scopes

witchcraft

if

you

have

visited

mediums

and

psychics

you

must

repent

and

never

return

to

your

faith.

If

you

have

Buddhist

Muslim

Hindu

Native

American

or

other

religious

amulets

or

talismans

in

your

room

in

your

house

if

you

have

idols

you

must

rid

yourself

of

these

things

turn

from

those

vain

things

to

the

living

God

and

this

passage

is also

relevant

for

those

of

us

who

haven't

had

anything

to do

with

such

things

people

in

the

ancient

world

bought

these

books

and

magical

incantations

as a

way

of

securing

their

health

and

wealth

and

prosperity

as a

way

of

controlling

their

lives

and

their

future

in

what

ways

do

you

try

to

control

your

own

life

to

control

your

own

future

what are

the

things

that

you

bank

on

what

do

you

rely

on

for

your

security

and

sense

of

well-being

do

you

do

you

rely

on

money

1

Timothy

6

17

commands

us

not

to

set

our

hopes

on

the

uncertainty

of

riches

but

on

God

who

richly

provides

us

with

everything

to

enjoy

you

try

to

control

your

life

and

your

future

by

being

a

workaholic

you

try

to

control

your

life

by

worrying

excessively

you

think

that

you

can

have

control

of

things

by

worrying

I'm

not

saying

don't

save

your

money

or

invest

your

money

or

don't

work

hard

I'm

not

saying

don't

make

plans

but

we

must

not

rely

on

these

things

do

these

things

apart

from

our

dependence

on

God

we

must

be

careful

that

nothing

displaces

God

as

our

source

of

hope

and

trust

after all

that's

what

it

means

to

follow

Jesus

to

continually

trust

ourselves

more

and

more

that's

why

verse

18

calls

the

new

Christians

believers

that's

what

we're

called

Christians

are not

called

the

true

exorcists

or the

true

miracle

workers

in

contrast

to

Jewish

exorcists

Christians

are not

defined

primarily

by

what

they

do

they're

defined

by

what

they

believe

by

the

name

they

proclaim

and

what

exactly

do

they

believe

in

verse

20

so

the

word

of

the

Lord

continue

to

increase

and

prevail

minorly

and the

result

of all

this

the

result

of

God

working

extraordinary

miracles

is not

an unhealthy

fascination

in pursuit

of only

those

supernatural

occurrences

the result

the consequences

the prevailing

of God's

mighty word

increasing faith