While Apollos was in Corinth, Paul traveled through the interior regions until he reached Ephesus, on the coast, where he found several believers. “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?” he asked them. “No,” they replied, “we haven’t even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.” “Then what baptism did you experience?” he asked. And they replied, “The baptism of John.” Paul said, “John’s baptism called for repentance from sin. But John himself told the people to believe in the one who would come later, meaning Jesus.” As soon as they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then when Paul laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in other tongues and prophesied. There were about twelve men in all. Then Paul went to the synagogue and preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. But some became stubborn, rejecting his message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall of Tyrannus. This went on for the next two years, so that people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of the Lord. God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled. A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered. The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. Many who became believers confessed their sinful practices. A number of them who had been practicing sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire. The value of the books was several million dollars. So the message about the Lord spread widely and had a powerful effect. Afterward Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia and Achaia before going to Jerusalem. “And after that,” he said, “I must go on to Rome!” He sent his two assistants, Timothy and Erastus, ahead to Macedonia while he stayed awhile longer in the province of Asia.
Acts of the Apostles 19:1-22 NLT
Authentic faith is both personal and practical – it needs both heart and action. The sons of Sceva tried to cast out demons using the name of Jesus like it was a magic formula. They tried to live the Christian life without knowing Christ. The demon did not come out, and they were badly beaten. After this, many of the Christians turned that in their scrolls of magic. They knew they weren’t supposed to have them, and they knew that in Christ they did not need them, but not until they heard the story about the sons of Sceva being beaten did they confess and burn the scrolls. These Christians knew Jesus but did not follow through with action.
It is not enough to say we are Christians; we truly have to know and follow Christ. Jesus invites us to experience His love and joy and life, all can serve Him and make a difference with Him. Too often we substitute token acts of religion for a realrelationship with the Creator. We substitute cheap religion for a life of total devotion and love for the Lord. We wonder why we don’t experience His power, but we are not plugged in to Him. We wonder why it feels like there should be more to our faith, but we haven’t given Him everything or accepted everything that He offers. Fully devoted means following Him in love and experiencing His power.
What needs more growth in your faith – the personal (inner life, prayer) or the practical (actions, serving)? Are you plugged in more to Jesus or something (or someone) else? What difference does that make?
