WEBVTT 00:00:09.839 --> 00:00:13.400 In Acts chapter 19, we're going to read verses 00:00:13.400 --> 00:00:20.219 13 through 17. But also some of the Jewish exorcists 00:00:20.219 --> 00:00:24.059 who went from place to place attempted to name 00:00:24.059 --> 00:00:28.920 over those who had the evil spirits the name 00:00:28.920 --> 00:00:34.219 of the Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus 00:00:34.219 --> 00:00:38.979 whom Paul preaches. Seven sons of one Sceva. 00:00:39.759 --> 00:00:44.000 A Jewish chief priest were doing this. And the 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:49.460 evil spirit answered and said to them, I recognize 00:00:49.460 --> 00:00:54.579 Jesus and I know about Paul, but who are you? 00:00:55.280 --> 00:01:00.340 And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped 00:01:00.340 --> 00:01:04.560 on them and subdued all of them and overpowered 00:01:04.560 --> 00:01:08.180 them so that they fled out of the house naked 00:01:08.180 --> 00:01:15.579 and wounded. This became known to all, both Jews 00:01:15.579 --> 00:01:19.439 and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus. And fear fell 00:01:19.439 --> 00:01:23.000 upon them all. And the name of the Lord Jesus 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:28.780 was being magnified. We've seen that Paul is 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:35.280 coming to Ephesus, this place full of paganism 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:41.269 and the occult. Spiritism and witchcraft. And 00:01:41.269 --> 00:01:43.930 many other things. But we see that the gospel. 00:01:45.310 --> 00:01:49.370 Comes into Ephesus. And that it's effective. 00:01:51.430 --> 00:01:55.750 That it's powerful. That it's mighty. That it's 00:01:55.750 --> 00:01:59.849 working. We see that the gospel is coming into 00:01:59.849 --> 00:02:04.870 Ephesus. That it's actually conquering. Overcoming 00:02:04.870 --> 00:02:08.539 and defeating. The devil's kingdom, it's pushing 00:02:08.539 --> 00:02:11.800 back the darkness. It's pushing out the darkness 00:02:11.800 --> 00:02:18.240 from Ephesus. We know that ever since Genesis 00:02:18.240 --> 00:02:23.680 3, verse 15, there has been a conflict and a 00:02:23.680 --> 00:02:30.840 battle raging in this world when God spoke curses 00:02:30.840 --> 00:02:35.719 to the man, to the serpent, and to the woman. 00:02:36.379 --> 00:02:40.860 We read in Genesis 3, verse 15, And I will put 00:02:40.860 --> 00:02:44.719 enmity between you and the woman, and between 00:02:44.719 --> 00:02:48.759 your seed and her seed. He shall bruise you on 00:02:48.759 --> 00:02:53.000 the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel. 00:02:54.199 --> 00:02:58.939 The Lord is preaching the gospel to Adam and 00:02:58.939 --> 00:03:01.879 Eve, and he's declaring a curse on the devil 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:05.430 himself. But he's also teaching us that there's 00:03:05.430 --> 00:03:09.150 going to be enmity. There's going to be hostility. 00:03:09.229 --> 00:03:14.270 There's going to be conflict between the offspring 00:03:14.270 --> 00:03:18.009 of the serpent, the devil, and the offspring 00:03:18.009 --> 00:03:21.550 of the woman, those who would believe in the 00:03:21.550 --> 00:03:25.009 promise. Those who would have faith. Those who 00:03:25.009 --> 00:03:27.509 would call on the name of the Lord throughout 00:03:27.509 --> 00:03:30.550 the ages leading up to Christ. and those who 00:03:30.550 --> 00:03:32.729 would trust in Christ as the fulfillment of the 00:03:32.729 --> 00:03:38.110 promise following His entrance into history and 00:03:38.110 --> 00:03:42.509 the incarnation. So there's a battle that's raging 00:03:42.509 --> 00:03:45.129 in the world, and it's been raging since the 00:03:45.129 --> 00:03:49.069 fall of man. And it will continue to rage until 00:03:49.069 --> 00:03:55.150 the Lord Jesus Christ returns from heaven in 00:03:55.150 --> 00:03:59.259 glory. We see that the Apostle Paul actually 00:03:59.259 --> 00:04:04.379 speaks of this in the book of Galatians. The 00:04:04.379 --> 00:04:09.580 Apostle Paul says in Ephesians chapter 6, he 00:04:09.580 --> 00:04:13.280 says, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:16.319 strength of His might. Put on the full armor 00:04:16.319 --> 00:04:19.420 of God so that you will be able to stand firm 00:04:19.420 --> 00:04:24.209 against the schemes of the devil. Then he goes 00:04:24.209 --> 00:04:26.629 on and he says, for our struggle is not against 00:04:26.629 --> 00:04:29.589 flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against 00:04:29.589 --> 00:04:32.769 the powers, against the world forces of this 00:04:32.769 --> 00:04:35.829 darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness 00:04:35.829 --> 00:04:39.509 in the heavenly places. That last part, it literally 00:04:39.509 --> 00:04:43.470 says, it literally says in the Greek, against 00:04:43.470 --> 00:04:49.649 wicked spirits. Paul is telling us that this 00:04:49.649 --> 00:04:54.959 is the true that's taking place behind the scenes 00:04:54.959 --> 00:04:59.279 in the world. We're actually told a little earlier 00:04:59.279 --> 00:05:04.079 in the book of Ephesians by the Apostle. We read 00:05:04.079 --> 00:05:08.480 in verses 8 -10 of chapter 3 of the same epistle, 00:05:08.620 --> 00:05:12.879 To me, the very least of all saints, this grace 00:05:12.879 --> 00:05:17.959 was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable 00:05:17.959 --> 00:05:22.019 riches of Christ. And to bring to light what 00:05:22.019 --> 00:05:24.819 is the administration of the mystery which for 00:05:24.819 --> 00:05:27.720 ages has been hidden in God who created all things. 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:29.920 And then listen to this, brothers and sisters. 00:05:30.860 --> 00:05:34.699 So that the manifold wisdom of God might now 00:05:34.699 --> 00:05:39.740 be made known through the church to the rulers 00:05:39.740 --> 00:05:44.339 and authorities and the heavenly places. The 00:05:44.339 --> 00:05:49.139 apostles telling the Ephesians. That the purpose 00:05:49.139 --> 00:05:54.019 of redemption, the purpose of the church, is 00:05:54.019 --> 00:05:59.319 to display the manifold wisdom of God, not to 00:05:59.319 --> 00:06:03.399 the people in this world, but to the spiritual 00:06:03.399 --> 00:06:08.519 forces in the heavenly places. The cosmic powers. 00:06:08.879 --> 00:06:13.459 God is displaying His splendor, His glory, His 00:06:13.459 --> 00:06:17.300 majesty. He's displaying His manifold wisdom. 00:06:18.699 --> 00:06:22.879 to rulers and authorities and the heavenly places 00:06:22.879 --> 00:06:27.920 by saving sinners. John Calvin calls the church 00:06:27.920 --> 00:06:33.740 the theater of redemption. Now, that begs the 00:06:33.740 --> 00:06:38.180 question, if the church is the theater of redemption, 00:06:38.600 --> 00:06:43.899 who is looking on? Who sees what's taking place? 00:06:44.589 --> 00:06:48.050 Who is observing? Who is watching this great 00:06:48.050 --> 00:06:53.230 act of redemption that's occurring? Rulers and 00:06:53.230 --> 00:06:58.850 authorities in the heavenly places. This is the 00:06:58.850 --> 00:07:01.670 purpose of redemption. To bring God glory. To 00:07:01.670 --> 00:07:06.470 display His glory and His wisdom in all the cosmos. 00:07:07.149 --> 00:07:11.029 In all the world. To all creatures. To all beings. 00:07:11.329 --> 00:07:17.199 To all powers. To all rulers. Authorities. This 00:07:17.199 --> 00:07:20.420 is one of the grand purposes and schemes of redemption. 00:07:22.000 --> 00:07:25.680 Now when we consider these realities, and these 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:28.740 spiritual realities, we always have to be cautious. 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:31.779 And we always have to be sober. And we always 00:07:31.779 --> 00:07:35.100 have to approach them with an attitude of victory. 00:07:36.540 --> 00:07:40.939 Now as Paul comes into Ephesus, we have to recognize 00:07:40.939 --> 00:07:44.100 that this is the same attitude. That he had. 00:07:45.220 --> 00:07:50.180 The Lord Jesus. Has. And he demonstrated in and 00:07:50.180 --> 00:07:54.600 throughout his ministry. Absolute. Authority. 00:07:54.980 --> 00:08:00.459 And power. Over wicked spirits. Over evil and 00:08:00.459 --> 00:08:02.720 unclean spirits. You remember when he was tested. 00:08:03.800 --> 00:08:06.459 In the wilderness. You remember at the end. What 00:08:06.459 --> 00:08:11.220 does he do? He tells the devil. Go away. And 00:08:11.220 --> 00:08:14.790 what does the devil do? He obeys Him. Do you 00:08:14.790 --> 00:08:19.970 remember the Gerasene demoniac in Mark chapter 00:08:19.970 --> 00:08:23.790 6? The Lord Jesus is coming over the lake and 00:08:23.790 --> 00:08:28.129 there's this picture of this crazy, wild man 00:08:28.129 --> 00:08:32.070 who's naked, who's cut, who's beaten, who's bruised. 00:08:32.090 --> 00:08:34.190 And the Lord Jesus and His disciples are getting 00:08:34.190 --> 00:08:35.789 out of the boat. And as they're getting out of 00:08:35.789 --> 00:08:38.419 the boat, There's this insane man that's running 00:08:38.419 --> 00:08:41.120 full speed after the Lord. And it carries this 00:08:41.120 --> 00:08:43.139 idea that he just slides on his knees to the 00:08:43.139 --> 00:08:44.700 Lord. And he says, what do you want with us? 00:08:46.080 --> 00:08:50.659 The Holy One of God. The man knew who Christ 00:08:50.659 --> 00:08:55.740 was. And the demon named Legion seeks permission 00:08:55.740 --> 00:09:01.179 from Christ to be going into the swine, into 00:09:01.179 --> 00:09:05.759 the pigs. He seeks permission. He implores, he 00:09:05.759 --> 00:09:09.360 begs the Lord Jesus, the Holy One of God, not 00:09:09.360 --> 00:09:12.600 to send them to torment before the appointed 00:09:12.600 --> 00:09:15.519 time. Why are they begging with the Lord Jesus? 00:09:16.200 --> 00:09:19.559 Why are they imploring him? Why are they seeking 00:09:19.559 --> 00:09:22.320 permission? Because they are in absolute, complete, 00:09:22.460 --> 00:09:27.320 and total submission to him. He has absolute, 00:09:27.500 --> 00:09:32.799 perfect, and complete authority over the devil. 00:09:34.029 --> 00:09:37.049 over evil spirits, unclean spirits, and demons 00:09:37.049 --> 00:09:40.769 in this world. And we see the same is exactly 00:09:40.769 --> 00:09:46.970 true of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians, in Ephesus. 00:09:47.370 --> 00:09:51.350 The same thing is true. The Lord Jesus was absolutely 00:09:51.350 --> 00:09:55.750 effective in bringing forth the kingdom in his 00:09:55.750 --> 00:09:59.870 ministry and driving out the devil. And we see 00:09:59.870 --> 00:10:05.250 the same is true of the Apostle Paul. in Ephesus. 00:10:06.049 --> 00:10:09.950 He had authority that was delegated to him. The 00:10:09.950 --> 00:10:12.649 Lord Jesus exercised his authority perfectly 00:10:12.649 --> 00:10:17.730 in and through the apostle. He was always effective 00:10:17.730 --> 00:10:22.289 when it came to these evil spirits. And we see 00:10:22.289 --> 00:10:24.870 that it wasn't this great difficulty for the 00:10:24.870 --> 00:10:28.649 apostle, was it? We see that it wasn't this great 00:10:29.019 --> 00:10:31.899 and terribly difficult thing that he had to deal 00:10:31.899 --> 00:10:35.240 with because it was even through aprons and handkerchiefs 00:10:35.240 --> 00:10:37.860 that these things were taking place. That the 00:10:37.860 --> 00:10:43.240 power of God was so upon and with the Apostle 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:47.799 Paul and his message that men and women were 00:10:47.799 --> 00:10:50.320 being delivered from their diseases and that 00:10:50.320 --> 00:10:55.379 men and women were being delivered from evil 00:10:55.379 --> 00:10:59.389 spirits and their... and their oppression that 00:10:59.389 --> 00:11:03.590 they experienced from these spirits. Now why 00:11:03.590 --> 00:11:06.730 is it that the Apostle Paul has the same authority 00:11:06.730 --> 00:11:11.750 as the Lord Jesus Christ in his ministry? It's 00:11:11.750 --> 00:11:14.509 because the Apostle Paul is preaching the same 00:11:14.509 --> 00:11:18.509 gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed. 00:11:19.450 --> 00:11:22.870 It's because the Apostle Paul is advancing the 00:11:22.870 --> 00:11:28.899 true gospel of Christ in... Ephesus. He's advancing 00:11:28.899 --> 00:11:32.820 true religion. He's advancing Christianity. He's 00:11:32.820 --> 00:11:35.720 advancing the church, the work of God, and God 00:11:35.720 --> 00:11:39.000 is blessing him and God is working in and through 00:11:39.000 --> 00:11:45.100 him. Today, we come to this episode, we see this 00:11:45.100 --> 00:11:51.539 fiasco with the seven sons of one Sceva, or one 00:11:51.539 --> 00:11:58.240 man, and they seek to... Cast out an evil spirit 00:11:58.240 --> 00:12:04.019 simply by using the name of the Lord Jesus as 00:12:04.019 --> 00:12:07.600 an incantation. Today we're going to consider 00:12:07.600 --> 00:12:12.360 the men involved in this. We're going to consider 00:12:12.360 --> 00:12:17.179 the two major errors of these men. And then we're 00:12:17.179 --> 00:12:20.759 going to see the failure of these men. Their 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:28.129 abysmal failure. They do not succeed in any way 00:12:28.129 --> 00:12:34.250 whatsoever. They fail at replicating and bringing 00:12:34.250 --> 00:12:39.029 about that which the true gospel can accomplish. 00:12:39.909 --> 00:12:44.110 They are incapable and inadequate at doing what 00:12:44.110 --> 00:12:48.450 Paul himself could do in the power of the Spirit 00:12:48.450 --> 00:12:51.850 of God. So who were these men that were involved? 00:12:52.429 --> 00:12:56.320 Well, the text says, that some of the Jewish 00:12:56.320 --> 00:13:00.120 exorcists who went from place to place attempted 00:13:00.120 --> 00:13:03.879 to name over those who had the evil spirits the 00:13:03.879 --> 00:13:08.080 name of the Lord Jesus. We see a little bit more 00:13:08.080 --> 00:13:13.879 information in verse 14. Seven sons of one Sceva. 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:18.799 So who were these men? Well, they were Jewish 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:24.419 young men. They were sons of most likely a leading 00:13:24.419 --> 00:13:29.879 priestly person. They were most likely brothers. 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:33.000 We don't know for certain, but they were probably 00:13:33.000 --> 00:13:37.679 brothers. And they were traveling or itinerant 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:44.220 exorcists of the Jewish sort. Now, it's interesting 00:13:44.220 --> 00:13:48.860 that they're in Ephesus, isn't it? Where the 00:13:48.860 --> 00:13:54.570 occult... is so rampant, where spiritism is so 00:13:54.570 --> 00:13:59.129 prevalent, it's interesting that these men who 00:13:59.129 --> 00:14:03.529 have as their occupation exercising evil spirits, 00:14:03.629 --> 00:14:07.289 that they're in such a place populated with these 00:14:07.289 --> 00:14:10.529 things. Now, it makes sense in one level, but 00:14:10.529 --> 00:14:12.929 it also makes sense on another level, considering 00:14:12.929 --> 00:14:16.610 they're probably doing pretty good business in 00:14:16.610 --> 00:14:21.190 Ephesus. They're probably making pretty good 00:14:21.190 --> 00:14:25.309 money and remuneration for their work and for 00:14:25.309 --> 00:14:28.990 their exorcism. They're probably gaining a name 00:14:28.990 --> 00:14:37.090 until the Apostle Paul comes into town. Until 00:14:37.090 --> 00:14:43.509 the gospel makes its way into Ephesus. The Lord 00:14:43.509 --> 00:14:48.509 Jesus himself actually makes mention. Of these 00:14:48.509 --> 00:14:51.309 exorcists. These sons. Not these in particular. 00:14:51.929 --> 00:14:57.450 But we see in Luke chapter 11. Where the Lord 00:14:57.450 --> 00:15:02.269 Jesus himself condemns. Exorcism in general. 00:15:03.090 --> 00:15:07.470 We see. He speaks of these things in Luke chapter 00:15:07.470 --> 00:15:13.350 11. Specifically we read in verses. We'll start 00:15:13.350 --> 00:15:18.600 reading in verse 14. Speaking of the Lord, and 00:15:18.600 --> 00:15:22.200 he was casting out a demon, and it was mute. 00:15:22.600 --> 00:15:25.720 When the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, 00:15:26.000 --> 00:15:29.879 and the crowds were amazed. But some of them 00:15:29.879 --> 00:15:33.320 said, He cast out demons by Beelzebul, the ruler 00:15:33.320 --> 00:15:37.200 of the demons. Others, to test him, were demanding 00:15:37.200 --> 00:15:42.039 of him a sign from heaven. He knew their thoughts 00:15:42.039 --> 00:15:45.649 and said to them, Any kingdom divided against 00:15:45.649 --> 00:15:48.990 itself is laid waste, and a house divided against 00:15:48.990 --> 00:15:53.690 itself falls. If Satan also is divided against 00:15:53.690 --> 00:15:57.190 himself, how will his kingdom stand? For you 00:15:57.190 --> 00:16:00.470 say that I cast out demons by Beelzebul, and 00:16:00.470 --> 00:16:03.009 if I by Beelzebul cast out demons, listen to 00:16:03.009 --> 00:16:08.230 this, by whom do your sons cast them out? So 00:16:08.230 --> 00:16:13.059 they will be your judges. The Lord Jesus himself 00:16:13.059 --> 00:16:17.620 recognizes that the sons of the Jews were exorcists. 00:16:18.399 --> 00:16:23.639 But here's the thing. Who does the Lord Jesus 00:16:23.639 --> 00:16:28.059 say that the sons of the Jews were casting out 00:16:28.059 --> 00:16:32.500 demons and the power of? What are the implications 00:16:32.500 --> 00:16:36.399 of that text? He's saying that these sons are 00:16:36.399 --> 00:16:40.659 actually casting out demons by? The very accusation 00:16:40.659 --> 00:16:44.059 that they're making against him. The power of 00:16:44.059 --> 00:16:48.379 Satan. The sons of the Jews are casting out spirits 00:16:48.379 --> 00:16:53.220 by greater and stronger spirits. And what's the 00:16:53.220 --> 00:16:57.139 result? They always end up worse. At the end 00:16:57.139 --> 00:16:59.539 of that text, we see that that spirit's going 00:16:59.539 --> 00:17:01.740 to go and get seven other spirits and bring it 00:17:01.740 --> 00:17:04.519 back and dwell and live and make it his permanent 00:17:04.519 --> 00:17:07.660 abode in that individual, leaving the individual 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:12.059 worse than they were at the beginning. The Lord 00:17:12.059 --> 00:17:15.740 Jesus condemns it, but he also recognizes that 00:17:15.740 --> 00:17:18.019 this was a practice, and it's a practice that 00:17:18.019 --> 00:17:23.940 had made its way to Ephesus. There were two major 00:17:23.940 --> 00:17:29.559 errors that these men took part in and that they 00:17:29.559 --> 00:17:32.500 have. It wasn't just the fact that they were 00:17:32.500 --> 00:17:36.299 exorcists and they ought not to be. And they 00:17:36.299 --> 00:17:38.440 ought not to be taking part in this practice 00:17:38.440 --> 00:17:44.400 that our Lord forbids and condemns. But the first 00:17:44.400 --> 00:17:46.579 has to do with their knowledge of the gospel. 00:17:47.960 --> 00:17:53.029 Listen to what these men say. In verse 13, what 00:17:53.029 --> 00:17:55.549 they use, how they say, and how they plan to 00:17:55.549 --> 00:17:59.750 cast out this evil spirit in this man in Ephesus. 00:18:00.049 --> 00:18:06.269 They say, I adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preaches. 00:18:06.890 --> 00:18:11.250 So obviously, these men knew about the Lord Jesus. 00:18:12.069 --> 00:18:16.230 These seven sons of one Sceva, they knew of Paul's 00:18:16.230 --> 00:18:20.640 preaching. They knew about the message. They 00:18:20.640 --> 00:18:26.559 knew about the Gospel. They probably witnessed 00:18:26.559 --> 00:18:31.359 some of these extraordinary miracles. They understood 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:34.000 and they saw and they recognized the effectiveness 00:18:34.000 --> 00:18:37.519 and the power of the Gospel. They knew about 00:18:37.519 --> 00:18:40.480 the Jesus that Paul himself preached. But here's 00:18:40.480 --> 00:18:43.759 the issue, brothers and sisters. It was second 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:48.430 -hand knowledge. These men knew nothing of that 00:18:48.430 --> 00:18:52.730 gospel themselves. They only wanted to use the 00:18:52.730 --> 00:18:57.650 gospel. These men had never personally enjoyed 00:18:57.650 --> 00:19:00.869 or experienced the realities of the gospel in 00:19:00.869 --> 00:19:04.130 their own lives. These men knew about it. They 00:19:04.130 --> 00:19:06.710 knew of it. They had working knowledge of it. 00:19:07.470 --> 00:19:10.130 But brothers and sisters, they did not personally 00:19:10.130 --> 00:19:13.450 experience those realities in their own soul. 00:19:13.630 --> 00:19:16.369 They may have even sat under Paul's preaching 00:19:16.369 --> 00:19:22.269 himself. Think about that. These seven sons of 00:19:22.269 --> 00:19:24.710 one schema, they may have been in Paul's audience 00:19:24.710 --> 00:19:27.509 at one point in time. They heard this man preach 00:19:27.509 --> 00:19:30.589 of Christ, heard this man proclaim the glorious 00:19:30.589 --> 00:19:33.170 realities of the kingdom of God and the power 00:19:33.170 --> 00:19:36.549 of God. And they sat under it and they sat under 00:19:36.549 --> 00:19:38.589 it and they sat under it. Maybe, we don't know. 00:19:39.950 --> 00:19:42.049 But they went away from that and they weren't 00:19:42.049 --> 00:19:47.289 changed. They witnessed it. They saw it. They 00:19:47.289 --> 00:19:51.170 knew about it. They comprehended it to a degree 00:19:51.170 --> 00:19:54.789 with their minds. But brothers and sisters, they 00:19:54.789 --> 00:19:58.470 knew nothing of the Gospel themselves. They did 00:19:58.470 --> 00:20:03.410 not believe the Gospel. It was second -hand knowledge. 00:20:04.140 --> 00:20:07.960 It was not personal knowledge of Christ and the 00:20:07.960 --> 00:20:12.160 Gospel. They could not say, it is my Gospel. 00:20:13.119 --> 00:20:17.720 It was Paul's Gospel. It was the Jesus whom Paul 00:20:17.720 --> 00:20:24.200 preached. These seven sons of one Sceva are like 00:20:24.200 --> 00:20:30.380 so many today in the church and around the church. 00:20:32.359 --> 00:20:36.579 There's so many individuals today that know about 00:20:36.579 --> 00:20:44.539 the gospel. They know of Christ. They know so 00:20:44.539 --> 00:20:48.779 -and -so's Christ. They know Jesus, who's so 00:20:48.779 --> 00:20:54.160 -and -so's Savior and so -and -so's Lord. Maybe 00:20:54.160 --> 00:21:02.150 it's mom's Jesus whom she preaches. Maybe it's 00:21:02.150 --> 00:21:06.029 dad's Jesus whom he preaches and he knows. Maybe 00:21:06.029 --> 00:21:09.789 it's my brother's Jesus whom he knows and loves 00:21:09.789 --> 00:21:14.789 and he has experience with and he loves. Maybe 00:21:14.789 --> 00:21:17.690 it's my sister's. Maybe it's my son or my daughter's. 00:21:17.690 --> 00:21:19.990 Maybe it's my wife's or maybe it's my husband's 00:21:19.990 --> 00:21:22.349 Jesus whom they know and whom they preach about. 00:21:23.589 --> 00:21:28.170 But you yourself don't know anything of it. There's 00:21:28.170 --> 00:21:32.119 no personal knowledge. There's no personal faith 00:21:32.119 --> 00:21:41.259 in that gospel which you know about. Can you 00:21:41.259 --> 00:21:46.500 say, with the author of Song of Psalms, My beloved 00:21:46.500 --> 00:21:52.940 is mine, and I am my beloved's. Can you say, 00:21:53.140 --> 00:22:00.789 Christ is mine. He's all mine. I love Him. He's 00:22:00.789 --> 00:22:05.170 my Savior, my Lord. He saved my soul. He spared 00:22:05.170 --> 00:22:08.970 me from hell. He saved me from my sins. He spared 00:22:08.970 --> 00:22:14.990 me from wrath. And I know it. Can you say that? 00:22:15.329 --> 00:22:19.529 Can you say that Christ is pleased with you because 00:22:19.529 --> 00:22:23.609 He has justified you in His righteousness? Does 00:22:23.609 --> 00:22:26.970 He know you? Does He take note of you? Does He 00:22:26.970 --> 00:22:29.970 look upon you? Does He love you? Are His affections 00:22:29.970 --> 00:22:33.009 on you? Do you delight in the Lord Jesus Christ 00:22:33.009 --> 00:22:38.190 and the reality that He delights in you? Or is 00:22:38.190 --> 00:22:43.049 it all second hand? Is it knowledge of and knowledge 00:22:43.049 --> 00:22:46.150 about and there's no actual personal experiential 00:22:46.150 --> 00:22:51.109 reality taking place in the soul? Do you know 00:22:51.109 --> 00:22:59.509 personally by faith the Lord Jesus Christ? Are 00:22:59.509 --> 00:23:04.150 you able to say, it's not their gospel. It's 00:23:04.150 --> 00:23:11.609 my gospel. It's my Christ. He's my Lord. He's 00:23:11.609 --> 00:23:18.150 my Savior. Brothers and sisters, the gospel is 00:23:18.150 --> 00:23:25.900 meant to be known. And enjoyed personally. It's 00:23:25.900 --> 00:23:29.680 meant to be known and enjoyed in your own soul. 00:23:31.460 --> 00:23:40.619 Between you and God. Listen. Redemption is about 00:23:40.619 --> 00:23:46.480 you being reconciled to God. That's what the 00:23:46.480 --> 00:23:49.799 gospel is about. The gospel is not primarily 00:23:49.799 --> 00:23:53.759 about these horizontal things over here and over 00:23:53.759 --> 00:23:56.940 here. The gospel primarily has to do with you 00:23:56.940 --> 00:23:59.740 as a sinner being reconciled to a holy and a 00:23:59.740 --> 00:24:03.299 righteous God. That's what the gospel is about. 00:24:04.259 --> 00:24:11.180 Do you know that reality? Is there faith in your 00:24:11.180 --> 00:24:18.579 heart? The Christian is the one who knows. The 00:24:18.579 --> 00:24:22.180 living God through the Lord Jesus Christ. The 00:24:22.180 --> 00:24:24.960 Christian is the one who experiences these realities 00:24:24.960 --> 00:24:27.579 in their souls. The Christian is the one who 00:24:27.579 --> 00:24:30.539 reads this book, brothers and sisters, who reads 00:24:30.539 --> 00:24:34.500 the Word of God. And they have an affinity for 00:24:34.500 --> 00:24:37.380 the Word of God. Do you know why? Because the 00:24:37.380 --> 00:24:40.180 realities in the Word of God appeal to their 00:24:40.180 --> 00:24:43.990 heart and they can say, I know that. They go 00:24:43.990 --> 00:24:45.910 and they read and they study the Psalms and they 00:24:45.910 --> 00:24:48.930 see the psalmist delighting in God and His Word 00:24:48.930 --> 00:24:51.490 and His law. And they say, I delight in Him and 00:24:51.490 --> 00:24:55.829 His Word. I wish I delighted more. There are 00:24:55.829 --> 00:24:58.809 realities which are tested and tried and proved 00:24:58.809 --> 00:25:03.589 in our own souls. We read about Paul in Romans 00:25:03.589 --> 00:25:06.930 chapter 7 as believers and we say, I know that 00:25:06.930 --> 00:25:11.710 reality. I know the conflict. Between my remaining 00:25:11.710 --> 00:25:15.009 sin in my own heart and the new man that I've 00:25:15.009 --> 00:25:17.490 been made into. I know that I want to do these 00:25:17.490 --> 00:25:23.190 things so often. But I don't. We know the realities 00:25:23.190 --> 00:25:26.230 the Word of God speaks of. We can relate to them 00:25:26.230 --> 00:25:30.130 intimately. Because they're actual true realities 00:25:30.130 --> 00:25:36.950 in our souls. A believer is one who knows these 00:25:36.950 --> 00:25:43.750 realities for themselves. They know that Christ 00:25:43.750 --> 00:25:48.630 loves them. And they know that they love Christ. 00:25:50.309 --> 00:25:55.609 I wonder how many today here present have fallen 00:25:55.609 --> 00:25:59.750 into the same error as these seven sons of one 00:25:59.750 --> 00:26:07.309 Sceva. Knowing about the gospel. Having a second 00:26:07.309 --> 00:26:11.220 hand knowledge. Of the Lord Jesus Christ. But 00:26:11.220 --> 00:26:16.940 never knowing it. Themselves. That was the first 00:26:16.940 --> 00:26:20.259 error of these men. But there was another error. 00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:26.119 And the second has to do with the reality. That 00:26:26.119 --> 00:26:29.240 they were seeking to use the gospel. For their 00:26:29.240 --> 00:26:36.559 own. Selfish. Purposes. The text says. That these 00:26:36.559 --> 00:26:41.799 seven sons of one Sceva. attempted to name over 00:26:41.799 --> 00:26:44.759 those who had the evil spirits the name of the 00:26:44.759 --> 00:26:48.500 Lord Jesus, saying, I adjure you by Jesus whom 00:26:48.500 --> 00:26:56.140 Paul preaches. These men knew that the gospel 00:26:56.140 --> 00:27:01.700 was effective. These men knew the power of God 00:27:01.700 --> 00:27:05.799 was with the gospel and with Paul. These men 00:27:05.799 --> 00:27:09.559 knew that the name of the Lord Jesus cast out. 00:27:09.849 --> 00:27:12.910 Evil spirits. They knew it worked. They understood 00:27:12.910 --> 00:27:15.549 it worked. They saw it and they probably witnessed 00:27:15.549 --> 00:27:20.410 it. And so they said to themselves, we want to 00:27:20.410 --> 00:27:27.309 use that. Ultimately, these men saw the usefulness 00:27:27.309 --> 00:27:30.009 of the gospel. They saw the usefulness of the 00:27:30.009 --> 00:27:32.630 name of Christ. They saw the usefulness of what 00:27:32.630 --> 00:27:38.170 Paul was doing. And they sought to pragmatically 00:27:38.170 --> 00:27:45.690 and selfishly use it for their own ends. Again, 00:27:45.690 --> 00:27:51.869 like so many in the church today. So many in 00:27:51.869 --> 00:27:56.349 the church today want what the gospel can offer, 00:27:56.609 --> 00:28:04.769 but they don't want the gospel itself. So many 00:28:04.769 --> 00:28:11.930 today see the usefulness of the gospel. The usefulness 00:28:11.930 --> 00:28:16.430 of Christianity. It's becoming very popular in 00:28:16.430 --> 00:28:21.369 modern culture for men, strong men, supposedly 00:28:21.369 --> 00:28:28.210 moral men, to say, I'm a Christian now. I see 00:28:28.210 --> 00:28:32.339 that it works. I see that... It's the basis for 00:28:32.339 --> 00:28:36.359 society and flourishing. I see that that's how 00:28:36.359 --> 00:28:40.160 reality functions. They want the benefits. They 00:28:40.160 --> 00:28:42.700 want the blessings. They want the social capital. 00:28:42.859 --> 00:28:45.319 They want the reputation. They want the supposed 00:28:45.319 --> 00:28:49.119 morality that comes with it. But brothers and 00:28:49.119 --> 00:28:51.480 sisters, listen to me well. Those men don't want 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:55.619 the Gospel. They don't want the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:28:55.680 --> 00:28:59.480 They want what Christianity can offer them. And 00:28:59.480 --> 00:29:03.549 there's many others. How many view the church 00:29:03.549 --> 00:29:11.430 as a tool for making friends? How many view the 00:29:11.430 --> 00:29:14.990 church as a means of finding, establishing, and 00:29:14.990 --> 00:29:21.109 enjoying community at long last? How many find 00:29:21.109 --> 00:29:26.170 the church as a means to the end of relationships? 00:29:29.069 --> 00:29:31.869 Finding a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Finding 00:29:31.869 --> 00:29:34.490 friends that will like me and that I can relate 00:29:34.490 --> 00:29:36.990 with. Someone that will pay attention to me. 00:29:37.049 --> 00:29:38.730 Someone that will give me safety and security. 00:29:40.509 --> 00:29:42.789 Someone that will pay attention to me and my 00:29:42.789 --> 00:29:47.289 personality. Some people use the church as a 00:29:47.289 --> 00:29:51.670 means of finding a platform. As a place where 00:29:51.670 --> 00:29:54.049 they can speak, where they can serve. But brothers 00:29:54.049 --> 00:29:55.869 and sisters, listen to me. That's not the purpose 00:29:55.869 --> 00:29:57.490 of the church. That's not the purpose of the 00:29:57.490 --> 00:30:02.079 gospel. The purpose of Christianity, the purpose 00:30:02.079 --> 00:30:05.160 of gospel, is the reconciliation of sinners to 00:30:05.160 --> 00:30:09.579 a holy and a righteous God. There are benefits 00:30:09.579 --> 00:30:11.460 and there are blessings, brothers and sisters, 00:30:11.640 --> 00:30:14.819 for they flow from and they come out of knowing 00:30:14.819 --> 00:30:20.779 Christ Jesus as Savior and Lord. They come out 00:30:20.779 --> 00:30:25.339 of repentance and faith, a genuine, authentic, 00:30:25.740 --> 00:30:30.519 true, personal knowledge of God. People don't 00:30:30.519 --> 00:30:33.980 understand. When you rightly come to the Gospel, 00:30:34.220 --> 00:30:39.200 you're not going to any longer think about what 00:30:39.200 --> 00:30:44.240 God can do for you. When a person rightly comes 00:30:44.240 --> 00:30:47.839 before a holy God with genuine humility and genuine 00:30:47.839 --> 00:30:51.160 contrition, broken and trembling before Him, 00:30:52.259 --> 00:30:54.740 do you know what they all of a sudden get consumed 00:30:54.740 --> 00:30:57.640 with? Do you know what overtakes them? Do you 00:30:57.640 --> 00:31:01.730 know what overwhelms them? His grace and His 00:31:01.730 --> 00:31:04.470 mercy. They're overcome with the reality, not 00:31:04.470 --> 00:31:08.269 what God can do for me, but what Christ has in 00:31:08.269 --> 00:31:14.329 reality done for me. They're overtaken with the 00:31:14.329 --> 00:31:18.309 reality that the Lord Jesus Christ has been so 00:31:18.309 --> 00:31:22.069 gracious and merciful, and now they're overcome 00:31:22.069 --> 00:31:28.329 by the Gospel. They're overwhelmed by it. We 00:31:28.329 --> 00:31:32.730 don't. Use the gospel, brothers and sisters. 00:31:33.390 --> 00:31:39.390 The gospel is not a tool. The gospel overcomes 00:31:39.390 --> 00:31:45.549 people. It lays hold of people. It dominates 00:31:45.549 --> 00:31:50.069 those who rightly come to it. It transforms them 00:31:50.069 --> 00:31:53.069 and changes them. It changes their whole outlook 00:31:53.069 --> 00:31:59.720 on the world. These men. just like so many today, 00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:05.359 sought to use the gospel for their own selfish 00:32:05.359 --> 00:32:11.019 purposes. The gospel saves sinners, brothers 00:32:11.019 --> 00:32:16.000 and sisters. It's not a tool to be used, a tool 00:32:16.000 --> 00:32:19.380 to be instrument, or a tool to be utilized for 00:32:19.380 --> 00:32:23.140 your own plans and purposes. It's something that 00:32:23.140 --> 00:32:28.700 changes your life. that transforms you and sanctifies 00:32:28.700 --> 00:32:33.519 you and grows you and matures you in grace. It's 00:32:33.519 --> 00:32:39.180 what brings you to the living God. These men 00:32:39.180 --> 00:32:43.440 fell into this trap and they sought, in their 00:32:43.440 --> 00:32:47.880 unbelief, to use the true gospel for their own 00:32:47.880 --> 00:32:53.539 ends. Now, this doesn't end well for them. We 00:32:53.539 --> 00:32:59.240 see this in verses 15 -16. And in verse 17 as 00:32:59.240 --> 00:33:04.539 well, we see the failure of these men in these 00:33:04.539 --> 00:33:07.960 verses, really in the response of this evil spirit. 00:33:08.680 --> 00:33:13.099 We read in verse 15, And the evil spirit answered 00:33:13.099 --> 00:33:18.920 and said to them, I recognize Paul, and I know 00:33:18.920 --> 00:33:22.539 about, I recognize Jesus, and I know about Paul, 00:33:22.819 --> 00:33:26.880 but who are you? Now, one of the things we have 00:33:26.880 --> 00:33:29.140 to understand about this text is it says the 00:33:29.140 --> 00:33:33.680 evil spirit answered them. It wasn't the man 00:33:33.680 --> 00:33:38.140 that answered them. It was the spirit dwelling 00:33:38.140 --> 00:33:42.440 in the man. One of the most common occurrences 00:33:42.440 --> 00:33:44.799 and nearly universal in all demon possession 00:33:44.799 --> 00:33:49.319 throughout history is that the one possessed 00:33:49.319 --> 00:33:54.930 speaks in a voice not their own. So this evil 00:33:54.930 --> 00:34:00.210 spirit responds to these seven sons of one Sceva 00:34:00.210 --> 00:34:06.490 in an abnormal and strange voice, saying, I recognize 00:34:06.490 --> 00:34:12.809 the authority of Jesus. I know him. I would submit 00:34:12.809 --> 00:34:18.590 to him. I would obey him. I recognize the authority 00:34:18.590 --> 00:34:22.869 of Paul. I know him. I would submit to him. I 00:34:22.869 --> 00:34:25.630 would obey him because of his relationship with 00:34:25.630 --> 00:34:29.150 Jesus. Because he's been given authority and 00:34:29.150 --> 00:34:31.670 delegated authority and God's power works through 00:34:31.670 --> 00:34:33.929 him. I would obey him and I would submit to him. 00:34:34.070 --> 00:34:41.469 But the evil spirit says, now, who are you? I 00:34:41.469 --> 00:34:46.429 don't know you. I don't recognize your authority. 00:34:48.079 --> 00:34:52.900 I don't have to obey you. I don't have to submit 00:34:52.900 --> 00:34:57.280 to you and I'm not going to. In fact, you're 00:34:57.280 --> 00:35:02.579 going to submit to me. You're going to be subdued 00:35:02.579 --> 00:35:07.079 and overpowered and beaten and humiliated and 00:35:07.079 --> 00:35:11.099 ashamed because you thought you could command 00:35:11.099 --> 00:35:17.300 me. It's evident that this evil spirit does not 00:35:18.849 --> 00:35:22.469 recognize any authority being with these men. 00:35:23.150 --> 00:35:26.289 And that's not the biggest issue. The biggest 00:35:26.289 --> 00:35:28.829 issue is not that the evil spirit does not recognize 00:35:28.829 --> 00:35:30.969 authority to these men. The biggest issue is 00:35:30.969 --> 00:35:34.070 this, brothers and sisters, God has not given 00:35:34.070 --> 00:35:38.730 authority to these men. God does not recognize 00:35:38.730 --> 00:35:43.489 these men. It is not his gospel and they are 00:35:43.489 --> 00:35:48.849 not his apostle. They have no right. as unbelieving, 00:35:48.869 --> 00:35:53.710 unregenerate sinners to even appeal to the authority 00:35:53.710 --> 00:35:59.110 of Christ. They have no right to do so. They 00:35:59.110 --> 00:36:02.969 can't pray to Him. They can't proclaim His Word. 00:36:03.389 --> 00:36:05.869 They can't appeal to His authority. They just 00:36:05.869 --> 00:36:07.849 want to use the message for their own purposes. 00:36:08.949 --> 00:36:12.690 What's the outcome for these seven sons of one 00:36:12.690 --> 00:36:16.710 Sceva? We're told. And the man in whom was the 00:36:16.710 --> 00:36:20.909 evil spirit leaped on them and subdued all of 00:36:20.909 --> 00:36:24.969 them and overpowered them so that they fled out 00:36:24.969 --> 00:36:28.730 of the house naked and wounded. This became known 00:36:28.730 --> 00:36:33.849 to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived in Ephesus, 00:36:33.909 --> 00:36:36.949 and fear fell upon them all, and the name of 00:36:36.949 --> 00:36:43.090 the Lord Jesus was being magnified. We see clearly. 00:36:44.170 --> 00:36:51.150 that God was not with these men. His blessing 00:36:51.150 --> 00:36:54.630 was not with them. His power was not with them. 00:36:55.369 --> 00:36:59.789 His favor was not with them. This was not the 00:36:59.789 --> 00:37:03.829 true gospel, but they were seeking to do that 00:37:03.829 --> 00:37:10.989 which the gospel alone can do. This whole fiasco 00:37:10.989 --> 00:37:15.710 demonstrates the insufficiency. and the inadequacy 00:37:15.710 --> 00:37:20.550 of anything other than the true gospel of Jesus 00:37:20.550 --> 00:37:24.269 Christ to deliver men from the domain of darkness 00:37:24.269 --> 00:37:27.309 and to transfer them to the kingdom of God's 00:37:27.309 --> 00:37:31.530 beloved Son. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ 00:37:31.530 --> 00:37:35.889 can illuminate a sinner's heart and mind, allowing 00:37:35.889 --> 00:37:38.389 them to see the glory of God in the face of Christ 00:37:38.389 --> 00:37:42.949 Jesus and the blessed gospel. Only the gospel 00:37:42.949 --> 00:37:47.429 that proclaims the right Christ and the right 00:37:47.429 --> 00:37:53.469 work of Christ can save a person. It's only the 00:37:53.469 --> 00:37:57.590 Jesus that Paul preached which saves brothers 00:37:57.590 --> 00:38:04.809 and sisters. But this gospel does save. It makes 00:38:04.809 --> 00:38:09.449 men new. It transforms men. It brings them out 00:38:09.449 --> 00:38:14.630 of death. and into life. It makes men who have 00:38:14.630 --> 00:38:16.989 been dwelling and living in darkness as sons 00:38:16.989 --> 00:38:19.369 of obedience according to the course of this 00:38:19.369 --> 00:38:22.110 world under the power and authority of Satan. 00:38:22.829 --> 00:38:26.269 And it brings them into God's blessed kingdom 00:38:26.269 --> 00:38:29.949 as those who willingly love and submit to the 00:38:29.949 --> 00:38:35.010 Lord Jesus Christ. Freed from sin, death, hell, 00:38:35.210 --> 00:38:38.969 and wrath. And fills them with the Spirit of 00:38:38.969 --> 00:38:41.489 God. And makes them new creatures in Christ. 00:38:41.829 --> 00:38:44.710 So that it can be said of them. Greater is he 00:38:44.710 --> 00:38:49.090 that is in you. Than he that is in the world. 00:38:50.730 --> 00:38:54.710 Brothers and sisters. It is only the gospel of 00:38:54.710 --> 00:38:57.949 Jesus Christ. Which Paul proclaimed. Which we 00:38:57.949 --> 00:39:00.829 have in the scriptures. Which saves sinners. 00:39:01.030 --> 00:39:05.670 And overcomes and defeats and conquers. Sin, 00:39:05.670 --> 00:39:17.210 death, and hell. Christ alone is the salvation 00:39:17.210 --> 00:39:23.610 of sinners. Christ alone breaks through the darkness 00:39:23.610 --> 00:39:27.869 and brings forth the kingdom of God, brothers 00:39:27.869 --> 00:39:28.510 and sisters.