Making Jesus Personal

 

By:  Dale Weckbacher

 

Text:  Acts 19:11-20

 

Acts 19:15

But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?”

(ESV)

 

Would there be enough evidence based on how I live my life to convict me of being a follower of Jesus Christ?  While Romans 12:1 makes an appeal for us to present ourselves as living sacrifices that are holy and acceptable to God, we all fall short of this standard and why we must continually sever any conformity to the world and allow God’s Word to renew our minds (Romans 12:2).  The motivation to experience this transformation comes from a life dedicated to achieving intimacy with God and His Word becoming one’s greatest source of peace and joy.  This intimacy with God is key to God performing miracles through the hands of Paul (Acts 19:11) and is something the sons of Sceva are about to learn. 

 

While the exact location of the events of Acts 19:11-20 is unclear, they may have occurred in or around Ephesus due to the events becoming known to the Jewish and Greek residents there (Acts 19:17).  The events begin with God doing extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul with people receiving healing and even the exorcism of evil spirits using handkerchiefs and aprons touched by Paul (Acts 19:11-12).  The sons of Sceva, a group of Jewish itinerant exorcists may have seen Paul casting out demons or others placing the handkerchiefs or aprons on people and invoking the name of Jesus and casting out demons.  As itinerant exorcists, they believe they too can cast out demons by invoking the name of Jesus (Acts 19:13-14).  Unfortunately, their use of Jesus’ name does not bring the desired results with the demon in the man they were attempting to exorcize overpowering them with them running away wounded and naked (Acts 19:15-16). 

 

Once the news of what happened to the sons of Sceva, the Jews and Greeks were full of fear with the name of Jesus extolled (Acts 19:17).  Many of these Jews and Greeks were believers who came confessing their sinful practices (Acts 19:18).  Acts 19:19 provides evidence that the sinful practices divulged by these believers were possibly the practice of magic arts, evidenced by their burning of books.  This repentance from the sinful practice of magic arts and the severing of any ties to these practices by burning their books led to the continued increase of the word of the Lord with it prevailing mightily (Acts 19:20).   

 

The seven sons of Sceva witnessed the extraordinary miracles performed by the hands of Paul through the laying on of handkerchiefs and aprons that healed disease and cast out demons (Acts 19:11-12).  As itinerant Jewish exorcists, they mistakenly believed they had discovered a magic name, the name of Jesus through which they could perform miracles.  Although not stated in the passage, these men most likely profited from their activities and saw an opportunity to make more money (Acts 19:13-14).  However, they would soon discover that the name of Jesus only has power when used by one having a personal relationship with Jesus like Paul (Acts 19:15-16).  Upon seeing what happened to the sons of Sceva, believers who still practiced the magic arts burned their valuable books (Acts 11:17-19).  This commitment of dedication to God by abandoning the practice of the magic arts, causing the word of the Lord to increase and prevail mightily (Acts 19:20). 

 

While Jesus has given the Church great authority and power through the use of the name of Jesus to cast out demons and heal the sick (Mark 16:17-18), this authority and power are reserved for those believing in Jesus’ name.  In Romans 12:2, Paul urges believers not to conform to the world but to experience transformation through the renewing of their minds.  Like the believers in Ephesus who burned their valuable books on the black arts, the church must rid itself of conformity to the world so revival can occur through the uninhibited preaching of the word of God (Acts 19:18-20).   

 

The evidence of one being a believer in Christ is not simply belief, but belief linked to a personal relationship with Christ out of love for what Jesus did for humanity on the cross and by resurrecting from the grave.  Paul had this level of intimacy with God and why his invoking the name of Jesus led to the performance of extraordinary miracles.  The sons of Sceva invoked the name of Jesus but did not have a personal relationship with God through accepting Jesus as their savior, and thus were unable to perform any miracles.  It is also possible they invoked the name for profit and not out of love for Christ.  The lesson learned here is that for one to experience the power of God in their life, one must make Jesus personal. 

 

If you are reading this and have never prayed to make Jesus your savior, I encourage you to do so now by praying for me,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

Like any relationship, a relationship with God grows as one gets to know God.  While this may seem impossible, we have the benefit of God’s creation showing his majesty (Romans 1:20), God taking on flesh in the person of Jesus to relate to us (John 1:14), and the Bible (John 1:1).  Believers in Christ grow in their relationship with God through the study of the Bible (God speaking to us), prayer (us speaking to God), and encouragement and direction provided through regular involvement in the local Church.  Do not be like the sons of Sceva who believed in a name without a relationship but be like Paul who had a personal relationship with God through Jesus Christ.  May God bless everyone reading this post.