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Don't try this at home (1)
'JESUS I KNOW, AND PAUL I KNOW...BUT WHO ARE YOU?' ACTS 19:15
Do you ever watch those TV programmes where people do mad things - things you might be tempted to try to do? There's always a caption on the screen that says 'don't try this at home.' With that in mind we're going to spend the next few days looking a story from the book of Acts.
The first thing we need to note is that at this time Paul was on a roll: 'God did extraordinary miracles through Paul...handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.' (Acts 19:11-12 NIV)
The next thing we read is that other religious people saw what he was doing and decided that they'd have a go at casting out a few demons themselves. We'll pick up the story in verse 14: 'Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this: the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know and Paul I know...but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and...gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding' (Acts 19:11-16 NIV).
It's a pretty gruesome scene isn't it! So what's the message to us? Should we play it safe and live a risk-free Christian life or just jump into every scrap hoping that we'll come out on top? Well, the key thing was that Paul was doing the specific job God had given him to do. These other copycats weren't. You see, God doesn't empower you to do your own thing, He empowers you to do His thing; which is the only thing that matters.
written by Bob Gass
'JESUS I KNOW, AND PAUL I KNOW...BUT WHO ARE YOU?' ACTS 19:15
Do you ever watch those TV programmes where people do mad things - things you might be tempted to try to do? There's always a caption on the screen that says 'don't try this at home.' With that in mind we're going to spend the next few days looking a story from the book of Acts.
The first thing we need to note is that at this time Paul was on a roll: 'God did extraordinary miracles through Paul...handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.' (Acts 19:11-12 NIV)
The next thing we read is that other religious people saw what he was doing and decided that they'd have a go at casting out a few demons themselves. We'll pick up the story in verse 14: 'Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this: the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know and Paul I know...but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and...gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding' (Acts 19:11-16 NIV).
It's a pretty gruesome scene isn't it! So what's the message to us? Should we play it safe and live a risk-free Christian life or just jump into every scrap hoping that we'll come out on top? Well, the key thing was that Paul was doing the specific job God had given him to do. These other copycats weren't. You see, God doesn't empower you to do your own thing, He empowers you to do His thing; which is the only thing that matters.
written by Bob Gass
