WEBVTT 00:00:06.410 --> 00:00:13.250 Acts chapter 19, verses 11 through 20. I love 00:00:13.250 --> 00:00:15.089 this story. It's one of my favorite stories. 00:00:15.210 --> 00:00:17.789 Maybe some of you have read it before. And you 00:00:17.789 --> 00:00:19.710 may not have read it, and that's okay too. We're 00:00:19.710 --> 00:00:25.910 going to talk about it today. Acts chapter 19, 00:00:26.350 --> 00:00:30.629 verse 11. Let's read through these verses, and 00:00:30.629 --> 00:00:35.880 then we'll pray and get started. was performing 00:00:35.880 --> 00:00:40.299 extraordinary miracles by Paul's hands, so that 00:00:40.299 --> 00:00:43.179 even face cloths or work aprons that had touched 00:00:43.179 --> 00:00:46.719 his skins were brought to the sick, and the diseases 00:00:46.719 --> 00:00:50.299 left them, and the evil spirits came out of them. 00:00:50.880 --> 00:00:54.460 Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists attempted 00:00:54.460 --> 00:00:57.579 to pronounce the name of the Lord Jesus over 00:00:57.579 --> 00:01:01.460 those who had evil spirits, saying, I command 00:01:01.460 --> 00:01:05.780 you by the Jesus that Paul preaches. Seven sons 00:01:05.780 --> 00:01:09.400 of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. 00:01:09.900 --> 00:01:14.099 The evil spirit answered them, I know Jesus and 00:01:14.099 --> 00:01:18.799 I recognize Paul, but who are you? Then the man 00:01:18.799 --> 00:01:22.879 who had the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered 00:01:22.879 --> 00:01:26.299 them all and prevailed against them, so that 00:01:26.299 --> 00:01:29.500 they ran out of that house naked and wounded. 00:01:30.159 --> 00:01:33.340 This became known to everyone who lived in Ephesus. 00:01:33.920 --> 00:01:38.060 both Jews and Greeks. Then fear fell on all of 00:01:38.060 --> 00:01:41.439 them, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified. 00:01:42.159 --> 00:01:45.200 And many who had become believers came confessing 00:01:45.200 --> 00:01:48.299 and disclosing their practices. While many of 00:01:48.299 --> 00:01:50.659 those who had practiced magic collected their 00:01:50.659 --> 00:01:54.480 books and burned them in front of everyone. So 00:01:54.480 --> 00:01:57.400 they calculated their value and found it to be 00:01:57.400 --> 00:02:02.969 50 ,000 pieces of silver. In this way, The Lord's 00:02:02.969 --> 00:02:06.109 message flourished and prevailed. Let's pray. 00:02:06.950 --> 00:02:09.710 God, we come to you today, and I pray, God, that 00:02:09.710 --> 00:02:13.509 your word would speak to us. God, there's no 00:02:13.509 --> 00:02:15.789 good word that I can say if it does not come 00:02:15.789 --> 00:02:18.370 from you. So, God, we pray that your spirit would 00:02:18.370 --> 00:02:20.590 open our ears today, that we would hear and open 00:02:20.590 --> 00:02:22.810 our eyes, that we would see your word, dear Lord. 00:02:22.870 --> 00:02:26.229 Take away any pride or any fear that's within 00:02:26.229 --> 00:02:30.250 me, God, that I can rightly speak and preach 00:02:30.250 --> 00:02:33.650 and teach your word today. God, I pray whatever 00:02:33.650 --> 00:02:36.250 worries and distractions and thoughts we came 00:02:36.250 --> 00:02:38.349 in here with today, I pray that you would free 00:02:38.349 --> 00:02:42.289 our minds from that. I pray, God, that if there 00:02:42.289 --> 00:02:44.229 are any that came into this building today and 00:02:44.229 --> 00:02:46.469 they do not know Jesus, that they would know 00:02:46.469 --> 00:02:49.330 him today. God, I pray for those who do know 00:02:49.330 --> 00:02:52.870 Jesus, that we would know him better. God, I 00:02:52.870 --> 00:02:54.830 pray that we would find strength in your word 00:02:54.830 --> 00:02:58.490 and that you just speak to us today. All for 00:02:58.490 --> 00:03:00.789 your kingdom and all for your glory. In Jesus' 00:03:00.930 --> 00:03:06.099 name I pray it. Amen. Now Paul had been doing 00:03:06.099 --> 00:03:10.099 some extraordinary things. Paul was one, we talked 00:03:10.099 --> 00:03:12.919 about this some last week, Paul was one who had 00:03:12.919 --> 00:03:15.520 really been opposed to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:03:15.599 --> 00:03:18.819 He was religious in many ways and really knew 00:03:18.819 --> 00:03:21.159 what we would call the Old Testament well and 00:03:21.159 --> 00:03:24.240 was really zealous for God, or so he thought 00:03:24.240 --> 00:03:28.280 he was. And then he encountered Jesus. And when 00:03:28.280 --> 00:03:30.639 he encountered Jesus, he realized that everything 00:03:30.639 --> 00:03:34.159 he thought he knew about God and God's law, that 00:03:34.159 --> 00:03:37.939 he had missed the whole purpose of it. And so 00:03:37.939 --> 00:03:41.659 he encounters Jesus, and Jesus changes his life. 00:03:42.039 --> 00:03:44.300 And so in the first part of the book of Acts, 00:03:44.379 --> 00:03:47.580 we see Peter. Peter, the one who had denied Jesus, 00:03:47.680 --> 00:03:50.599 and Jesus restored him after he was resurrected. 00:03:50.960 --> 00:03:54.340 And Peter went out, and man, one minute he's 00:03:54.340 --> 00:03:57.159 denying Jesus, and it ain't many days later that 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:01.219 he is at the forefront of this Jesus movement, 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:04.300 of promoting the gospel and telling people about 00:04:04.300 --> 00:04:07.680 Jesus, and not shying away, not denying Jesus, 00:04:07.879 --> 00:04:11.520 but preaching him with all his might. And then 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:14.259 we see as we get about halfway through the book 00:04:14.259 --> 00:04:17.040 of Acts, we've been introduced to Peter, I mean, 00:04:17.060 --> 00:04:19.420 excuse me, to Paul, and we begin to shift gears 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:22.439 and we begin to focus on Paul and begin to see 00:04:22.439 --> 00:04:26.399 Paul's works. Now, Paul did many miraculous things. 00:04:26.660 --> 00:04:29.300 He was definitely anointed by God. And Jesus, 00:04:29.579 --> 00:04:32.720 when Jesus was still alive and walking the earth, 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:35.779 we see scriptures where Jesus gave authority 00:04:35.779 --> 00:04:39.120 to his apostles. Now, we talked a couple of weeks 00:04:39.120 --> 00:04:42.600 ago that all authority belongs to Jesus. And 00:04:42.600 --> 00:04:45.079 he says that. Before he's resurrected, he says, 00:04:45.100 --> 00:04:47.420 look, all authority has been given to me in heaven 00:04:47.420 --> 00:04:51.019 and on earth. And so Jesus is the authority, 00:04:51.160 --> 00:04:54.319 and Jesus chose in his disciples to give that 00:04:54.319 --> 00:04:57.480 authority to heal diseases and to cast out evil 00:04:57.480 --> 00:04:59.439 spirits and demons and these type of things. 00:04:59.540 --> 00:05:03.060 We see that Jesus gives that authority to his 00:05:03.060 --> 00:05:06.639 apostles, and Paul had that same authority. We 00:05:06.639 --> 00:05:10.579 see Paul raising somebody from the dead. We see 00:05:10.579 --> 00:05:13.959 Paul casting out demons. We see Paul healing 00:05:13.959 --> 00:05:16.879 people. We see all of these miraculous things 00:05:16.879 --> 00:05:18.879 that Paul is doing. So he is having an impact. 00:05:19.040 --> 00:05:21.620 He's going all over to these different places, 00:05:21.680 --> 00:05:24.720 and he is serving the Lord, and it's hard, and 00:05:24.720 --> 00:05:27.519 he's constantly under persecution and in prison, 00:05:27.600 --> 00:05:30.779 and life is in danger, but God is with him, and 00:05:30.779 --> 00:05:33.639 God delivers him, and God uses him in a mighty 00:05:33.639 --> 00:05:36.819 way to continue to do these miraculous works. 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:40.819 So certainly word of Paul had got out, much like 00:05:40.819 --> 00:05:43.279 it did with Jesus. You know, people start raising 00:05:43.279 --> 00:05:45.579 the dead and doing all these miracles. Well, 00:05:45.699 --> 00:05:48.699 word gets out. People want to be healed of their 00:05:48.699 --> 00:05:50.600 sicknesses. We understand that. We want to be 00:05:50.600 --> 00:05:52.980 healed of our sicknesses, and we want our loved 00:05:52.980 --> 00:05:56.019 ones to be healed of their sicknesses. And so 00:05:56.019 --> 00:05:59.060 we see these miracles in this passage we look 00:05:59.060 --> 00:06:01.779 at. God was performing extraordinary miracles 00:06:01.779 --> 00:06:05.939 by Paul's hands so that even face cloths or aprons 00:06:05.939 --> 00:06:07.839 that had touched his skin were brought to the 00:06:07.839 --> 00:06:10.899 sick and the diseases left them and the evil 00:06:10.899 --> 00:06:14.750 spirits came out. Now, I don't know about these 00:06:14.750 --> 00:06:17.850 face cloths and these aprons. Maybe God did anoint 00:06:17.850 --> 00:06:20.389 these materials in some way that they really 00:06:20.389 --> 00:06:23.370 did have this miraculous power to heal. It could 00:06:23.370 --> 00:06:26.290 have been that that's what God chose to do, to 00:06:26.290 --> 00:06:29.250 just remind people and show people of his power. 00:06:29.850 --> 00:06:31.810 and the power and authority that comes through 00:06:31.810 --> 00:06:34.269 Jesus Christ, through his crucifixion and resurrection, 00:06:34.629 --> 00:06:37.269 and that power still exists in his followers. 00:06:37.470 --> 00:06:41.709 And he could have simply made these face cloths 00:06:41.709 --> 00:06:45.350 and these aprons. He could have just anointed 00:06:45.350 --> 00:06:47.430 them in some way that they really did have healing 00:06:47.430 --> 00:06:51.149 power. However, I think that probably the healing 00:06:51.149 --> 00:06:54.569 power came maybe not necessarily from the fabrics 00:06:54.569 --> 00:06:57.620 and materials. but from the faith of those who 00:06:57.620 --> 00:06:59.800 are touching them and who are receiving them. 00:07:00.199 --> 00:07:02.300 Now, we see this throughout Scripture. You may 00:07:02.300 --> 00:07:04.980 recall there was a woman with a problem of bleeding 00:07:04.980 --> 00:07:08.600 for many years and had tried everything and nothing 00:07:08.600 --> 00:07:11.399 had worked. And she said, if I can just touch 00:07:11.399 --> 00:07:14.680 the hem of the garment of the clothes that Jesus 00:07:14.680 --> 00:07:18.240 is wearing, then I will be healed. And she did 00:07:18.240 --> 00:07:20.079 just that. She worked her way through the crowd. 00:07:20.199 --> 00:07:22.579 She reached out. She barely touched Jesus' clothes. 00:07:22.860 --> 00:07:24.899 Jesus said, who touched me? And his disciples 00:07:24.899 --> 00:07:26.540 said, you're nuts. There's a million people. 00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:29.439 Everybody touched you. But Jesus said, no. This 00:07:29.439 --> 00:07:31.199 person that touched me was different. I felt 00:07:31.199 --> 00:07:35.639 power leave from me. And this woman came forward, 00:07:35.839 --> 00:07:40.139 and Jesus told her, your faith has healed you. 00:07:40.180 --> 00:07:42.300 He didn't say, because you touched my garment, 00:07:42.360 --> 00:07:44.500 it heals you. He didn't say, my garment is what 00:07:44.500 --> 00:07:46.800 heals you, because my garment has some special 00:07:46.800 --> 00:07:50.019 power. He said, your faith has healed you. And 00:07:50.019 --> 00:07:51.939 here in this instance, we got people taking these 00:07:51.939 --> 00:07:54.579 face cloths and these aprons that they had gotten, 00:07:54.600 --> 00:07:56.439 that Paul had touched, and they're taking them 00:07:56.439 --> 00:07:58.779 back to their sick or those who are possessed 00:07:58.779 --> 00:08:01.139 by these evil spirits, and they're being healed. 00:08:01.339 --> 00:08:03.339 There's somebody acting on their behalf, getting 00:08:03.339 --> 00:08:06.000 to the sick people, and I believe there that 00:08:06.000 --> 00:08:08.300 it's probably their faith that's healing them. 00:08:08.459 --> 00:08:11.060 You may remember a story. There was a guy who 00:08:11.060 --> 00:08:13.199 was too sick. He couldn't get to Jesus. He was 00:08:13.199 --> 00:08:16.279 on a bed, and his friends couldn't get to Jesus. 00:08:16.339 --> 00:08:18.160 There was too many people around the house where 00:08:18.160 --> 00:08:21.120 Jesus was. And they took the roof off, and they 00:08:21.120 --> 00:08:26.339 lowered this man down into the roof. And what 00:08:26.339 --> 00:08:28.639 does Jesus tell them? He says, by your faith. 00:08:28.720 --> 00:08:31.819 He says it's their faith, their faith, the man 00:08:31.819 --> 00:08:35.100 and his friends, that has healed him. And so 00:08:35.100 --> 00:08:37.539 we see this time and again in Scripture that 00:08:37.539 --> 00:08:40.980 people are healed by Jesus. But we see often 00:08:40.980 --> 00:08:44.220 after they're healed that it says your faith 00:08:44.220 --> 00:08:47.840 has made you well. And so regardless how God 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:50.279 worked through these aprons or through these 00:08:50.279 --> 00:08:53.860 face cloths, whatever means he chose to work, 00:08:54.059 --> 00:08:57.399 it seems to me that these people who healed probably 00:08:57.399 --> 00:09:02.360 had faith. That faith is what brings about... 00:09:02.679 --> 00:09:05.200 healing and so these miraculous extraordinary 00:09:05.200 --> 00:09:08.600 works were taking place and evil spirits were 00:09:08.600 --> 00:09:11.139 being cast out let's read a little further and 00:09:11.139 --> 00:09:14.440 see what it says in verse 13 then some of the 00:09:14.440 --> 00:09:17.799 itinerant jewish exorcists attempted to pronounce 00:09:17.799 --> 00:09:21.049 the name of the lord jesus over those who had 00:09:21.049 --> 00:09:24.070 evil spirits. Now, itinerant, that means traveling. 00:09:24.230 --> 00:09:27.289 These were traveling exorcists. In this case, 00:09:27.289 --> 00:09:29.529 there was a guy by the name of Sceva. He had 00:09:29.529 --> 00:09:32.830 seven sons, and his sons were going around, traveling 00:09:32.830 --> 00:09:36.549 from place to place, driving out these evil spirits. 00:09:36.730 --> 00:09:38.309 Now, I don't know what their motive was. Maybe 00:09:38.309 --> 00:09:39.970 they were just godly people, and they wanted 00:09:39.970 --> 00:09:42.370 to free people. Maybe there was some other motivation. 00:09:42.750 --> 00:09:44.610 Maybe there was financial gain in it. I don't 00:09:44.610 --> 00:09:46.669 know. The Scripture doesn't tell us. It just 00:09:46.669 --> 00:09:51.240 tells us that these men were going around, Driving 00:09:51.240 --> 00:09:54.360 out evil spirits or claiming to drive out evil 00:09:54.360 --> 00:09:58.220 spirits, whether they were or not, is unknown. 00:09:58.440 --> 00:10:01.220 It appears that they probably were not because 00:10:01.220 --> 00:10:04.440 we see this encounter here. And so they know 00:10:04.440 --> 00:10:08.059 of Paul and they know of the Jesus that Paul 00:10:08.059 --> 00:10:11.539 preaches. But it seems clear that they do not 00:10:11.539 --> 00:10:14.759 trust in the Jesus that Paul preaches. And so 00:10:14.759 --> 00:10:17.460 they've heard of these things, and obviously 00:10:17.460 --> 00:10:19.940 they know that Paul is driving out evil spirits, 00:10:20.120 --> 00:10:22.899 and so they add this tactic to their playbook. 00:10:23.039 --> 00:10:24.980 Now, I don't know what methods they were using, 00:10:25.039 --> 00:10:26.480 what they were doing, what they were saying, 00:10:26.539 --> 00:10:28.919 what actions they were doing to drive out these 00:10:28.919 --> 00:10:31.440 evil spirits as they traveled around, but whatever 00:10:31.440 --> 00:10:34.139 they were doing, they saw what Paul was doing, 00:10:34.220 --> 00:10:36.820 and so they decided, then we're just going to 00:10:36.820 --> 00:10:39.820 go this route. We're going to call on the Jesus 00:10:39.820 --> 00:10:44.330 of Paul to drive out these evil spirits. And 00:10:44.330 --> 00:10:47.070 so they encounter a man who has evil spirits. 00:10:47.470 --> 00:10:49.370 And listen to what they say in the middle of 00:10:49.370 --> 00:10:53.970 verse 13. They say, I command you by the Jesus 00:10:53.970 --> 00:10:57.649 that Paul preaches. So that's what they say. 00:10:57.690 --> 00:10:59.909 They go to this evil spirit and they're going 00:10:59.909 --> 00:11:02.850 to get it out and they say, I command you by 00:11:02.850 --> 00:11:06.250 the Jesus that Paul preaches. They're thinking 00:11:06.250 --> 00:11:07.970 this is going to do the job because certainly 00:11:07.970 --> 00:11:10.330 they probably had seen and heard of Paul in the 00:11:10.330 --> 00:11:13.110 name of Jesus. Get away. Get out of this person. 00:11:13.679 --> 00:11:17.059 And the evil spirits would flee. Paul was casting 00:11:17.059 --> 00:11:19.480 them out. They said, we'll try that. We'll do 00:11:19.480 --> 00:11:22.100 what Paul's doing. I command you in the name 00:11:22.100 --> 00:11:26.039 of the Jesus that Paul preaches. But it didn't 00:11:26.039 --> 00:11:29.000 work quite like they had hoped. Listen to what 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:31.320 the man possessed with the evil spirit says. 00:11:33.059 --> 00:11:38.419 In verse 15. The evil spirit answered them. I 00:11:38.419 --> 00:11:44.730 know Jesus. And I recognize Paul. But who are 00:11:44.730 --> 00:11:50.429 you? But why didn't it work? They said the name 00:11:50.429 --> 00:11:56.110 Jesus. Why didn't the evil spirit leave? The 00:11:56.110 --> 00:11:59.470 spirit, he acknowledged Jesus. I know Jesus. 00:11:59.509 --> 00:12:03.289 Yeah, I know Jesus. And I know who Paul is. I've 00:12:03.289 --> 00:12:08.169 heard of him. But who are you? What he was saying 00:12:08.169 --> 00:12:11.990 is, where is your authority to tell me what to 00:12:11.990 --> 00:12:15.100 do? Who gives you authority? Now the authority 00:12:15.100 --> 00:12:17.700 that Paul had came from Jesus Christ because 00:12:17.700 --> 00:12:20.440 he had trusted in Jesus Christ. And what the 00:12:20.440 --> 00:12:23.299 evil spirit is really saying, by what authority 00:12:23.299 --> 00:12:25.519 are you commanding me to leave? You don't have 00:12:25.519 --> 00:12:30.139 any authority over me. Now we know the one who 00:12:30.139 --> 00:12:33.799 has authority, it's Jesus Christ. We know others, 00:12:33.840 --> 00:12:36.080 his followers that have authority through Jesus 00:12:36.080 --> 00:12:40.429 Christ that he gives to his followers. But these 00:12:40.429 --> 00:12:43.750 men were not followers of Jesus Christ. They 00:12:43.750 --> 00:12:48.230 knew his name. They believed he existed. But 00:12:48.230 --> 00:12:50.009 they weren't his followers. Let me ask y 'all, 00:12:50.090 --> 00:12:52.210 this is a test. This is an easy one. Man, I hope 00:12:52.210 --> 00:12:55.570 y 'all all pass. If you're in this room today 00:12:55.570 --> 00:12:58.610 and you believe in God, I want you to raise your 00:12:58.610 --> 00:13:01.809 hand. I hope that's everybody's hand. I think 00:13:01.809 --> 00:13:05.110 it is. Well, let me tell you this. You know who 00:13:05.110 --> 00:13:08.419 else believes in God? The devil. He believes 00:13:08.419 --> 00:13:11.720 in God. He knows God exists. He believes in Jesus. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:16.100 He knows Jesus exists. Listen to this. The evil 00:13:16.100 --> 00:13:19.019 spirit, they even spoke the name of Jesus. They 00:13:19.019 --> 00:13:24.200 said His name. They said, I know Jesus. So even 00:13:24.200 --> 00:13:26.779 the evil spirit can speak the name of Jesus. 00:13:29.940 --> 00:13:34.120 We can speak the name of Jesus. We can believe 00:13:34.120 --> 00:13:38.889 in God. But it's not just about knowing that 00:13:38.889 --> 00:13:42.750 Jesus existed. It's not just about knowing that 00:13:42.750 --> 00:13:46.610 God is real. It's about do you trust in Him or 00:13:46.610 --> 00:13:50.610 not? Do you trust in Him? Have you put your faith 00:13:50.610 --> 00:13:54.809 in Him? And these men, they knew of Jesus, but 00:13:54.809 --> 00:13:58.470 they did not know Jesus. They looked the part. 00:13:59.250 --> 00:14:02.090 They were going around by all accounts. It looked 00:14:02.090 --> 00:14:05.909 like they were doing God's work. but they did 00:14:05.909 --> 00:14:10.029 not know the Lord. And so they called on the 00:14:10.029 --> 00:14:14.710 name of Jesus, but it didn't help them in any 00:14:14.710 --> 00:14:18.669 way because they did not know Jesus. They weren't 00:14:18.669 --> 00:14:22.049 under his authority. They weren't under his protection. 00:14:22.490 --> 00:14:25.950 And so when Paul could boldly go and drive out 00:14:25.950 --> 00:14:29.309 these evil spirits in the name of Jesus, these 00:14:29.309 --> 00:14:32.870 men could not because they knew of Jesus, but 00:14:32.870 --> 00:14:35.830 they did not know Jesus. And so they approached 00:14:35.830 --> 00:14:38.429 this evil spirit and this evil spirit says, who 00:14:38.429 --> 00:14:40.889 are you to tell me what to do? And listen what 00:14:40.889 --> 00:14:44.830 happens to them. In verse 16, then the man who 00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:47.690 had the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered 00:14:47.690 --> 00:14:50.990 them all and prevailed against them so that they 00:14:50.990 --> 00:14:56.509 ran out of the house naked and wounded. Naked 00:14:56.509 --> 00:14:59.909 and wounded. They were trying to go up against 00:14:59.909 --> 00:15:04.320 the evil by their own power. Just because they 00:15:04.320 --> 00:15:06.580 thought they had some knowledge of Jesus, they 00:15:06.580 --> 00:15:09.399 thought that was enough. But even though they 00:15:09.399 --> 00:15:11.639 had knowledge of Jesus, they hadn't experienced 00:15:11.639 --> 00:15:16.559 the power of Jesus. And as a result, they took 00:15:16.559 --> 00:15:21.039 on the evils and they lost. The evil spirit overtook 00:15:21.039 --> 00:15:24.620 them. One man overtook seven men, and they ran 00:15:24.620 --> 00:15:26.919 out of the house naked and afraid. They were 00:15:26.919 --> 00:15:29.120 fearful, they were wounded, and they hit the 00:15:29.120 --> 00:15:33.779 road running. And is that any of our stories 00:15:33.779 --> 00:15:39.080 today? That maybe we know of Jesus. And we know 00:15:39.080 --> 00:15:42.659 that Jesus has authority. And we know that Jesus 00:15:42.659 --> 00:15:45.960 can heal. And we know that Jesus can drive out 00:15:45.960 --> 00:15:49.860 evil spirits. And we know about the Word of God. 00:15:50.179 --> 00:15:52.820 And we know God is real. And we believe that 00:15:52.820 --> 00:15:58.299 God is real. But we don't really have a relationship 00:15:58.299 --> 00:16:01.919 with God. We don't really have a relationship 00:16:01.919 --> 00:16:06.740 with Jesus Christ. And we know of God, but we 00:16:06.740 --> 00:16:09.720 don't know God. And we're going through this 00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:12.179 world, but we're really still trying to do things 00:16:12.179 --> 00:16:14.519 on our own the way we want to in our worldly 00:16:14.519 --> 00:16:18.620 ways. And so many times we go up against our 00:16:18.620 --> 00:16:21.659 sins and our temptations and the evils we face, 00:16:21.860 --> 00:16:26.059 and they destroy us. We can't overcome them. 00:16:26.080 --> 00:16:28.620 We can't stand up to them. They are far greater 00:16:28.620 --> 00:16:32.200 than anything that's within us. Because Jesus 00:16:32.200 --> 00:16:36.100 is not within us. We know about Jesus, but we 00:16:36.100 --> 00:16:40.360 don't know Jesus. That's the case for some people. 00:16:40.419 --> 00:16:42.059 Maybe some of you in this room, that was the 00:16:42.059 --> 00:16:47.559 case for these men in this story. He who is within 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:49.399 you is greater than he who is within the world. 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:53.190 If he's in you. He's got to be in you. He's got 00:16:53.190 --> 00:16:56.070 to be the Lord of your life. You've got to submit 00:16:56.070 --> 00:16:59.350 to the authority of Jesus Christ to be able to 00:16:59.350 --> 00:17:03.830 call on the authority of Jesus Christ. And so 00:17:03.830 --> 00:17:06.089 many times we go up against the evils in our 00:17:06.089 --> 00:17:10.349 life and they just destroy us. And we leave, 00:17:10.390 --> 00:17:12.750 spiritually speaking, naked and afraid. We are 00:17:12.750 --> 00:17:16.089 wounded and we are heading out. And we're wondering, 00:17:16.109 --> 00:17:19.920 why didn't it work? Well, God's not fooled if 00:17:19.920 --> 00:17:22.799 we just go through the motions. Why didn't it 00:17:22.799 --> 00:17:27.160 work? Why wasn't Jesus there? I said Jesus' name. 00:17:27.299 --> 00:17:29.579 Well, even the evil spirits said Jesus' name. 00:17:29.799 --> 00:17:32.019 But what the evil spirits didn't do was trust 00:17:32.019 --> 00:17:34.779 in Jesus. What the devil doesn't do is trust 00:17:34.779 --> 00:17:38.140 in Jesus. And that's the difference. God doesn't 00:17:38.140 --> 00:17:40.240 just want us to know about him. He wants us to 00:17:40.240 --> 00:17:42.619 trust in him. He doesn't just want us to know 00:17:42.619 --> 00:17:45.119 who somebody is. He wants us to have a relationship 00:17:45.119 --> 00:17:48.670 with him. There's no authority in just knowing 00:17:48.670 --> 00:17:51.890 who someone is. If I leave tomorrow and I go 00:17:51.890 --> 00:17:54.829 up to Washington, D .C., and I tell all the congressmen 00:17:54.829 --> 00:17:57.369 and women, let me tell you what, in the name 00:17:57.369 --> 00:17:59.630 of Donald J. Trump, you need to do what I tell 00:17:59.630 --> 00:18:02.710 you to do. And guess what? They ain't going to 00:18:02.710 --> 00:18:05.710 do nothing. I'm going to say, I know Donald Trump. 00:18:05.769 --> 00:18:07.609 I've seen Donald Trump. I see him all the time. 00:18:08.630 --> 00:18:11.650 But guess what? I know who the president is. 00:18:11.730 --> 00:18:15.289 I know him. But I don't know him. I don't have 00:18:15.289 --> 00:18:17.660 any authority. that anybody's going to listen 00:18:17.660 --> 00:18:19.720 to me if I say in the name of Donald J. Trump. 00:18:20.559 --> 00:18:22.779 I've got no authority. Now, if I was close to 00:18:22.779 --> 00:18:24.920 him, if I was real close to him, people knew 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:26.460 I was close to him, if I said his name, they 00:18:26.460 --> 00:18:31.240 probably would do what I ask them to do. So if 00:18:31.240 --> 00:18:33.319 we call on the name of Jesus, but we really don't 00:18:33.319 --> 00:18:36.279 know Jesus, we really haven't trusted in Jesus, 00:18:36.380 --> 00:18:39.339 we really haven't put our faith in Jesus, then 00:18:39.339 --> 00:18:41.559 we're not experiencing the freedom and the power 00:18:41.559 --> 00:18:45.240 that come through Jesus Christ. We're trying 00:18:45.240 --> 00:18:48.359 to face all of the evils of this world on our 00:18:48.359 --> 00:18:53.819 own, and we cannot do it. The word of this story 00:18:53.819 --> 00:18:57.039 spread quickly throughout the area. A lot of 00:18:57.039 --> 00:18:59.319 people there that was practicing some sorcery 00:18:59.319 --> 00:19:01.000 and some other things, it says at the end of 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:04.839 this passage. And it says that fear spread throughout. 00:19:05.599 --> 00:19:07.960 And guess what happened after this event? People 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:11.740 said, whoa, hold up. Hold up a second. There's 00:19:11.740 --> 00:19:15.079 something to this Jesus that Paul preaches. And 00:19:15.079 --> 00:19:17.559 we're not just going to call on the Jesus of 00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:20.180 Paul. We're going to call on Jesus to be our 00:19:20.180 --> 00:19:23.279 Jesus too. And it says that they begin to burn 00:19:23.279 --> 00:19:25.859 all of their magic books, all their sorcery books, 00:19:26.000 --> 00:19:27.880 all their spells, whatever it was they were doing. 00:19:27.960 --> 00:19:30.259 It says that they begin to get together and they 00:19:30.259 --> 00:19:32.880 begin to burn all of these materials up that 00:19:32.880 --> 00:19:35.220 they've been trusting in and living by. All the 00:19:35.220 --> 00:19:37.319 things of the world that they had been seeking 00:19:37.319 --> 00:19:40.250 for security and protection and guidance. They 00:19:40.250 --> 00:19:42.250 realized they weren't good enough, and they said, 00:19:42.269 --> 00:19:44.769 we have to get rid and get away from the things 00:19:44.769 --> 00:19:47.410 of the world if we're going to trust Jesus. And 00:19:47.410 --> 00:19:49.750 it says that they burned up stuff that equaled 00:19:49.750 --> 00:19:54.309 up to about 50 ,000 pieces of silver. That's 00:19:54.309 --> 00:19:57.890 a lot of silver. Some of your translations may 00:19:57.890 --> 00:20:01.369 say 50 ,000 drachma. That was a form of money 00:20:01.369 --> 00:20:06.130 in those days. So one drachma was a day's wages. 00:20:06.849 --> 00:20:10.630 So a drachma is a day's wages. The books and 00:20:10.630 --> 00:20:12.750 the materials that they had been trusting in, 00:20:12.890 --> 00:20:16.349 they considered them worthless. Even though they 00:20:16.349 --> 00:20:18.609 were of great monetary value, they considered 00:20:18.609 --> 00:20:21.569 them worthless in the presence of Jesus Christ, 00:20:21.710 --> 00:20:25.470 and they burned up 50 ,000 days' worth of money 00:20:25.470 --> 00:20:29.650 in books when they came to Jesus Christ. If you're 00:20:29.650 --> 00:20:32.369 curious, if you do the math, that's 136 years. 00:20:32.690 --> 00:20:38.349 That'd be 136 years' worth of wages. And their 00:20:38.349 --> 00:20:42.329 life was changed by Jesus Christ. They didn't 00:20:42.329 --> 00:20:46.529 just want to know about the Jesus of Paul. They 00:20:46.529 --> 00:20:48.150 just didn't want to hear his name. They didn't 00:20:48.150 --> 00:20:50.309 want to be just familiar with him. They wanted 00:20:50.309 --> 00:20:51.990 to know him and they wanted to follow him and 00:20:51.990 --> 00:20:55.849 they wanted to trust him. And they did. And it 00:20:55.849 --> 00:20:59.130 changed their life. And they gave up their old 00:20:59.130 --> 00:21:02.230 ways. And they began to follow Jesus Christ. 00:21:03.569 --> 00:21:07.220 And that's the same choice that you and I are 00:21:07.220 --> 00:21:11.140 faced with today. Praise the Lord. You all believe 00:21:11.140 --> 00:21:12.900 that God exists. You all raise your hand. That 00:21:12.900 --> 00:21:14.859 is fantastic. If you didn't raise your hand, 00:21:14.960 --> 00:21:18.200 I'd love to talk to you sometime and we'll talk 00:21:18.200 --> 00:21:21.859 about it. But we all believe on some level, hopefully, 00:21:21.900 --> 00:21:25.599 that God exists. I want to tell you today that 00:21:25.599 --> 00:21:29.319 Jesus Christ is the Son of God, that we are sinners, 00:21:29.440 --> 00:21:32.460 that Jesus was sent to save sinners, that He 00:21:32.460 --> 00:21:34.619 was nailed to a cross, He was placed in a tomb, 00:21:34.680 --> 00:21:37.309 and He was resurrected. I want to tell you today 00:21:37.309 --> 00:21:41.170 that Jesus Christ is real and he wants to forgive 00:21:41.170 --> 00:21:45.710 your sins today. And you've heard that. If you 00:21:45.710 --> 00:21:47.930 weren't daydreaming in the last 15 seconds, you've 00:21:47.930 --> 00:21:51.869 heard that. You know the gospel of Jesus Christ. 00:21:52.710 --> 00:21:55.789 I want to tell you that he loves you, but it's 00:21:55.789 --> 00:22:00.289 not just enough to know that he loves you if 00:22:00.289 --> 00:22:04.950 you haven't trusted in him. It's not about looking 00:22:04.950 --> 00:22:09.410 apart. It's not about knowing of him. Knowing 00:22:09.410 --> 00:22:13.710 of Jesus doesn't make you a Christian. Your family 00:22:13.710 --> 00:22:15.849 knowing of Jesus doesn't make you a Christian. 00:22:17.130 --> 00:22:21.690 Knowing Jesus personally does make you a Christian. 00:22:23.910 --> 00:22:25.829 So we don't want to be those who look the part. 00:22:27.549 --> 00:22:29.990 We want to be those who have experienced Jesus 00:22:29.990 --> 00:22:33.089 Christ. Some of you may have noticed today I'm 00:22:33.089 --> 00:22:36.230 wearing this nice Wrangler shirt. And I'll tell 00:22:36.230 --> 00:22:37.710 you why I'm wearing this wrangler shirt today. 00:22:38.410 --> 00:22:40.890 Partly because of our t -shirt reveal. But also 00:22:40.890 --> 00:22:43.309 because I'm a cowboy now. And y 'all didn't know 00:22:43.309 --> 00:22:50.390 that. Well, it ain't funny. We got a cow a couple 00:22:50.390 --> 00:22:56.470 of weeks ago. We did. We got a cow. And I was 00:22:56.470 --> 00:22:58.430 informed last night that I was not a cowboy, 00:22:58.529 --> 00:23:00.849 that I was a cattleman. So I don't know what 00:23:00.849 --> 00:23:02.509 I have to have to have a cowboy. I don't know 00:23:02.509 --> 00:23:04.210 if I have to have a horse, if I need boots, a 00:23:04.210 --> 00:23:06.089 hat. I don't know what the requirements are, 00:23:06.269 --> 00:23:10.990 but I believe I'm a cowboy. And y 'all can think 00:23:10.990 --> 00:23:13.490 what you want to think. And I'll wear my Wrangler 00:23:13.490 --> 00:23:20.289 shirt and my boots. And y 'all laugh. Y 'all 00:23:20.289 --> 00:23:23.730 laugh at that because you know that I'm not a 00:23:23.730 --> 00:23:27.480 cowboy. I've got a Wrangler shirt on. And I do 00:23:27.480 --> 00:23:29.339 have a cow, a small cow. Her name's Little Cow. 00:23:29.720 --> 00:23:34.019 Very original. Her name is Little Cow. And I 00:23:34.019 --> 00:23:35.880 can wear shirts and I can get cows, but I'm not 00:23:35.880 --> 00:23:39.599 really a cowboy. When we got our cow, I stood 00:23:39.599 --> 00:23:43.160 there. A man drove up with a trailer. He backed 00:23:43.160 --> 00:23:45.299 it up to another man's pasture and unloaded our 00:23:45.299 --> 00:23:51.180 cow, and I did this. I just watched. Watching 00:23:51.180 --> 00:23:55.779 a cow wearing a shirt or boots. It does not make 00:23:55.779 --> 00:23:59.740 you a cowboy. It's your experience that makes 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:03.099 you a cowboy. Are you doing the things that cowboys 00:24:03.099 --> 00:24:07.980 do? Are you living the life? What about as a 00:24:07.980 --> 00:24:11.539 Christian? Maybe today you say, I'm a Christian. 00:24:12.819 --> 00:24:20.220 Are you? Maybe you are. Maybe you're not. Maybe 00:24:20.220 --> 00:24:23.579 you look the part. Maybe you dress the part. 00:24:25.440 --> 00:24:29.660 Maybe you even know the right words to say. But 00:24:29.660 --> 00:24:31.980 if you have not trusted in Jesus Christ today, 00:24:32.119 --> 00:24:37.740 you are not a Christian. You are up against the 00:24:37.740 --> 00:24:41.359 evils and all of the stresses and the worries 00:24:41.359 --> 00:24:45.359 and the pain of this world and they are tough. 00:24:48.140 --> 00:24:50.680 But I want you to be able to call on Jesus Christ 00:24:50.680 --> 00:24:55.089 as your Lord and Savior today. Not because your 00:24:55.089 --> 00:24:56.849 parents were Christians or your grandparents. 00:24:57.750 --> 00:25:01.069 Not because of anybody else. Don't call on the 00:25:01.069 --> 00:25:04.930 Jesus of somebody else. Make Jesus your Jesus 00:25:04.930 --> 00:25:10.990 today, your Lord and Savior today. We'll know 00:25:10.990 --> 00:25:15.250 if we're a Christian by our actions. Not if we 00:25:15.250 --> 00:25:19.009 look the part, but how we live our life. And 00:25:19.009 --> 00:25:20.990 we can know today without a shadow of a doubt. 00:25:22.920 --> 00:25:25.579 That if we call on the authority of Jesus Christ, 00:25:25.680 --> 00:25:28.039 if we have trusted in him, he will hear us and 00:25:28.039 --> 00:25:31.880 he will deliver us. But if we continue to go 00:25:31.880 --> 00:25:33.980 through all the things of this world on our own, 00:25:34.099 --> 00:25:38.839 we will be defeated. And we will leave naked 00:25:38.839 --> 00:25:44.079 and afraid just like these men did. There are 00:25:44.079 --> 00:25:47.440 many who saw this story in real time and they 00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:52.269 said, hold up. We want to follow Jesus. And they 00:25:52.269 --> 00:25:55.210 turned from their ways, they repented of their 00:25:55.210 --> 00:26:01.029 ways, and they turned to Jesus Christ. And that's 00:26:01.029 --> 00:26:03.069 what God calls you to today. If you don't trust 00:26:03.069 --> 00:26:05.990 in Jesus Christ, He calls you to repent, to put 00:26:05.990 --> 00:26:09.569 your evils aside, to turn from your ways, to 00:26:09.569 --> 00:26:13.490 turn to Jesus Christ and call on Him from your 00:26:13.490 --> 00:26:17.869 heart, and He will hear you. You will search 00:26:17.869 --> 00:26:20.319 for me and find me when you seek. for me with 00:26:20.319 --> 00:26:24.160 all of your heart, the scripture says. Are you 00:26:24.160 --> 00:26:27.859 seeking Jesus today? I pray that you are. Let's 00:26:27.859 --> 00:26:31.660 pray. God, we come to you this morning. We thank 00:26:31.660 --> 00:26:35.559 you for your good word. I pray that we would 00:26:35.559 --> 00:26:40.380 learn something from this text today, God. Maybe 00:26:40.380 --> 00:26:42.160 there are some in here today that know about 00:26:42.160 --> 00:26:44.880 you. They may have come to this church or other 00:26:44.880 --> 00:26:47.019 churches or read their Bible and they know all 00:26:47.019 --> 00:26:49.819 about you, dear Lord. They know about Jesus, 00:26:50.059 --> 00:26:54.440 but they have not ever really trusted in Jesus. 00:26:55.380 --> 00:26:57.680 They know of him, but they don't have a relationship, 00:26:57.980 --> 00:27:01.859 dear Lord. God, there are so many times that 00:27:01.859 --> 00:27:05.039 maybe we go through this world and we're trying 00:27:05.039 --> 00:27:07.319 to depend on our own power and to do it our way. 00:27:08.160 --> 00:27:12.220 God, and man, the things of this world just knock 00:27:12.220 --> 00:27:15.299 us upside the head and just get us down, dear 00:27:15.299 --> 00:27:19.099 Lord. But I pray, God, that we would not trust 00:27:19.099 --> 00:27:23.140 in our abilities today, but that we would trust 00:27:23.140 --> 00:27:26.579 in Jesus Christ. That it not just be a word that 00:27:26.579 --> 00:27:30.220 we say, God, that comes out of our mouth, but 00:27:30.220 --> 00:27:33.579 it be a cry for help and deliverance that comes 00:27:33.579 --> 00:27:37.119 from our heart. So God, I pray that if there 00:27:37.119 --> 00:27:39.539 are any in this room today that don't really 00:27:39.539 --> 00:27:42.259 know Jesus, that never have put their faith in 00:27:42.259 --> 00:27:46.640 Him, I pray today that they would repent. That 00:27:46.640 --> 00:27:49.819 whatever it is in their life that's keeping them 00:27:49.819 --> 00:27:53.539 from Jesus, that's been what they've been depending 00:27:53.539 --> 00:27:55.599 on, God, I pray that they would repent of that 00:27:55.599 --> 00:27:59.140 today. They would give that to Jesus Christ. 00:28:01.460 --> 00:28:03.680 God, I pray for those in here that are yours, 00:28:03.740 --> 00:28:05.799 and maybe there are some, God, and they just, 00:28:05.859 --> 00:28:09.380 they know you, but they haven't been living like 00:28:09.380 --> 00:28:12.460 it. Maybe they've been looking to part. And maybe 00:28:12.460 --> 00:28:15.180 by all accounts on our end, we'd look at them 00:28:15.180 --> 00:28:17.220 and say, oh, they're a godly man and woman. But 00:28:17.220 --> 00:28:19.359 dear Lord, you look far deeper into their heart. 00:28:20.740 --> 00:28:22.920 And God, you convict us. You let us know. We 00:28:22.920 --> 00:28:25.579 know what's in our heart, God. If we don't know, 00:28:25.640 --> 00:28:27.200 I pray that we'd seek you now that you would 00:28:27.200 --> 00:28:30.180 help us to know. God, we don't want to be those 00:28:30.180 --> 00:28:33.559 who play a role. We want to be those who know 00:28:33.559 --> 00:28:36.519 Jesus and experience Jesus, that our lives would 00:28:36.519 --> 00:28:40.609 be changed by Jesus. So God, I pray. That this 00:28:40.609 --> 00:28:43.670 morning you forgive us of our sinfulness. That 00:28:43.670 --> 00:28:45.430 you would just break our hearts. That in these 00:28:45.430 --> 00:28:48.750 few moments as we sing, God, that if you have 00:28:48.750 --> 00:28:50.589 spoken to any today, that if there are some that 00:28:50.589 --> 00:28:52.650 do not know Jesus Christ, that today they would 00:28:52.650 --> 00:28:54.710 repent and put their faith in him. That they 00:28:54.710 --> 00:28:56.549 would come down this morning, dear Lord, as we 00:28:56.549 --> 00:28:58.130 sing. That they'd come down, let me pray with 00:28:58.130 --> 00:29:01.230 them, rejoice with them. Maybe there are some 00:29:01.230 --> 00:29:02.890 here today, God, and they're yours and there's 00:29:02.890 --> 00:29:05.170 just some things that they just need to go to 00:29:05.170 --> 00:29:07.069 you and bring before you. I pray, God, that they 00:29:07.069 --> 00:29:10.190 would open their heart out to you today. And 00:29:10.190 --> 00:29:13.089 I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen.