Acts 19 vs. 13-15 (nkjv)
13Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” 14 Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. 15 And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
As believers, the enemy knows us; the enemy knows our spiritual status and stature. We must not just be interested in miracles only but in the Miracle-worker Himself.
We cannot give what we don’t have; the sons of Sceva did not have Christ in their lives but wanted Him to surface and perform miracles through them. Jesus is not a spirit that we can evoke to our advantage. For Christ to work for us and through us, we must first have a walk with Him. Paul had a walk with Him, little wonder why He was able to perform diverse miracles even through his handkerchiefs and aprons.
These sons of Sceva were seeking popularity. They wanted to perform miracles and be well-known like Paul. They wanted the attention of people to be shifted from Paul to them. They were exorcists and had analysed the financial rewards they will get by the virtue of casting out evil spirits.
If God uses you as a vessel in His hands to perform miracles, signs or wonders; do not become proud and haughty. If through you, souls are being saved and drawn to their creator; never become proud or seek men’s glory. Let the works of God through you make you humble rather than being proud.
“Jesus I know, Paul I know” – The word “know” in this context, demonstrates that the enemy knows our current state. The evil spirits must have known that Paul was once a sinner but now a saint. So, we must be very careful in the way we live our lives. We must not permit careless moments in our lives because the enemy is going about seeking whom He may devour. Therefore, watch and pray and let your experience of Christ be current and not an historic experience.
by Ndubuisi Paul Okafor
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
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Jesus loves you, come to Him today and be transformed.
Love this quote: “let your experience of Christ be current and not an historic experience.”
Thank you Ava.
God will give us the grace to constantly maintain a relationship with Him.
Excellent! I hadn’t thought about that in awhile–that the enemy knows us, too. I want the enemy to know me as a Christ-filled woman of God, one who tries hard every day to shine His light in the darkness. It is indeed a daily, hourly, commitment.
Yes Jessica, God knows us and the enemy knows us as well.May God keep us shinning His light.
Amen. We need to remain in humble communion with our Lord, and He will use us for His glory. Thank you for this reminder.
Amen.
Thanks for the comment Stephen.
Thanks for reminding us to be careful and to walk with our Savior daily.
Thanks for reading too Yvonne.
Thank you for the reminder to be always watchful and careful. We cannot let our guard down; indeed we have an enemy!
Yes, and the enemy knows when we are weak or strong.
Thanks Candice.
Praying that we all show God’s love to each other every day. 🙂
Amen. Thanks Melissa.
Love this post and the ending as well -‘Let our experience be current and not historic’. God wants to us to abide in Him daily. His mercies are fresh and new every morning..
Thanks Tinashe.
We glad you were blessed by this post.