More Than a Name

Introduction

Good morning beloved. I greet you this morning with great joy at another opportunity to proclaim God’s word to you.

Imagine with me for a moment. Say I come up here and begin bragging to you about my friend Theodore. Now, my friend Theodore is an awesome dude. He loves everything that I love, into all of the same sports and hobbies that I enjoy, and is never in a bad mood.

Actually, as a matter of fact, my man Teddy never says no. Whatever I ask of him, he does. Whenever I call him to ask to hang, he’s always down. In fact, there isn’t a time that we’ve gone out to dinner that he hasn’t INSISTED on picking up the bill.

If I need a hand with anything, he’s there. He’s never in a bad mood, loves Jesus, and prays for me constantly.

If you’re a normal person, you’d probably love to meet this guy, right? Well…what if I told you that he doesn’t actually exist. In fact, he’s just an imaginary friend that I’ve kept by my side for about 15 years too long. Hopefully, you’d ask what in the world is wrong with me! It doesn’t matter if I think I have a real friend name Teddy unless he’s actually a real person.

Church, praise God we do not serve an imaginary Savior. Our God is alive and His name is Jesus. It would not matter what our Messiah’s name is if He didn’t really save us, purchase us, redeem us, care for us.

But, He is God, therefore we worship Him according to who He has revealed Himself to be in the Scriptures.

Matthew 1:21 “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.””

This is the essence of the text that we’re in this morning. My sermon’s title is: “More Than a Name”. Our God is more than just a few letters put together in a specific order. He is the Almighty, all-powerful, uncreated, existing from everlasting to everlasting GOD of the universe.

And we can be known by Him. And know Him. And worship Him. And love Him. And be loved by Him.

By His grace, we’ll see why this all matters in Acts 19:11-20.

READ TEXT

Context

We pick up this morning in the text after learning last week about some of Paul’s ministry in the city of Ephesus. We were left with a note from Luke in verse 10 that Paul continued on in this city for 2 years, so that all of the residents of Asia would hear the word of the Lord.

Verse 11 is a continuation of Luke accounting what was occuring with Paul in Ephesus.

Text

19:11-12- Paul was reasoning daily in the hall of Tyrannus, explaining and advocating for the Scriptures and how they reveal that Christ Jesus is the Way.

We see therefore in verses 11 and 12 that God confirms Paul’s teaching and reasoning through extraordinary miracles.

Literally, sweat-band like cloths that touch Paul’s skin were brought to those with sickness and demons and they healed people! Praise the Lord!

Do not miss the language Luke uses in verse 11: GOD did these miracles through the hands of Paul. This wasn’t something Paul even sought out to do, God just did it!

It is clear, as it is throughout the book of Acts in its entirety, that God did this to affirm the word of the Lord that Paul was preaching.

This extraordinary miracle was not just done for the sake of being done, God carried it out to confirm that what Paul was teaching was true.

This fact is something that is crucial for us to understand in the 21st century. Signs, wonders, gifts, miracles, all of these amazing moves of God are never done by the Lord just for the sake of doing them.

Paul writes in his later letter to the Ephesian church about him being a minister of the Gospel, his main duty amongst the Gentiles:

Eph 3:7-13 “Of this gospel I was made a minister according to the gift of God’s grace, which was given me by the working of his power. To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God, who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through our faith in him. So I ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory.”

This is the point of miracles being performed by the Lord through His people: to confirm the validity of the Gospel message.

What good is a miracle performed if a life is not changed in some way as a result, if a seed is not planted, if the reality of God is not grasped a bit tighter?

Therefore, I would encourage us, the next time we ask ourselves or those around us the question: “why aren’t we seeing miracles done today like those in the Scriptures?” to examine our hearts and motives in asking such a question.

Are we interested in a mere display of power just for the sake of being blow away? Do we want to see a miracle just so we can say we’ve witnessed one? Are you jealous of someone who perhaps has witnessed an amazing act of God and you haven’t?

Or…are you actually that hungry to see the Gospel confirmed and God magnified in such a way?

I would humbly admonish you, if your motive in desiring to witness God perform miracles is not the latter, please re-examine your heart.

We should only want to see the miraculous to see Christ lifted up and His truth confirmed!

19:13-16- Witnessing this miracle take place, some itinerant Jewish exorcists (seven in total, sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva) want to try to replicate some of what they’d seen.

And notice what they say in attempting to exorcise an evil spirit: “by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

David Guzik, a commentator of the Scriptures and a preacher, stated a thought well when it comes to this verse. I believe it may perhaps be relevant to some here today.

Some of you here today only know the Jesus that the preacher talks about. Some of you only know of the Jesus your parents told you about growing up. Some of you only know about the Jesus that your Bible study has been discussing.

Matthew 7:22-23 “On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”

If you do not know Christ, and if He does not know you, you have not and will not inherit eternal life. If you believe that I may be talking about you, please do not wait. Place your faith and trust in Christ, in who He is and in His death, burial, and resurrection right now!

That is the issue with the sons of Sceva here. They did not know Christ, they were not known by Him. Yet, they attempted to utilize the name of Jesus for their own work and purposes, not the Lords.

Of course Jesus would exorcise demons, thats not the issue at hand here. What is wrong with this picture is that these itinerant exorcists simply wanted to invoke the name of Jesus for their own gain.

They had no interest in seeing Christ exalted, they were motivated merely by their own plans and focus.

They of course paid dearly for this.

I don’t know about y’all, but verse 15 is a bit eerie to me. READ.

We know of course that even the demons believe and shutter before Christ. But what does this statement from the evil spirit mean in regards to Paul?

Was Paul making such a great impact that he in fact was known by the forces of darkness? Was the enemy that afraid of him?

I of course would not discount the fact that Paul made a major impact for the kingdom of God, empowered by the Holy Spirit. However, I don’t think verse 15 is revealing to us something special about Paul.

As a matter of fact, I would actually argue that its revealing something that applies to all believers.

Eph 6:12 “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

I can’t explain to you how it all works specifically, however, it seems apparent that this evil spirit of course knew that these exorcists did not believe in the name that they were proclaiming.

Therefore, perhaps evil spirits are aware of/recognize all believers.

But, don’t fret and be fearful. Follow the example of Jude 1:9 “But when the archangel Michael, contending with the devil, was disputing about the body of Moses, he did not presume to pronounce a blasphemous judgment, but said, “The Lord rebuke you.””

1 Corinthians 15:56-57 “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

If you’re a believer in Christ, His victory is yours. Do not fear Satan!

Though verse 16 is eye-opening , let it serve as a lesson for us all. The evil spirit, through the body it was inhabiting, tore these men up, leaving them naked and wounded. We must understand that spiritual warfare is no joke and can’t be taken lightly.

I’m not saying you’re going to get jumped by an evil spirit anytime soon. Though, the text is making clear here the danger of flippant spiritual practice.

You see, the name of the Lord Jesus is not to be referenced or “used” haphazardly. As a matter of fact, as believers we are not to “use” the name of Jesus at all.

Something we must understand is that the letters J-E-S-U-S do not have any weight on their own. You can not just utter the name “Jesus” and expect something magical or miraculous to happen.

This is the essence of what the sons of Sceva did. They merely requested evil spirits to be exorcised by the name of a Savior they didn’t even know.

Well then, what about Mark 9:38-41? “John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for no one who does a mighty work in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. For the one who is not against us is for us. For truly, I say to you, whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ will by no means lose his reward.”

Why is the exorcist in Mark 9 acceptable but not the sons of Sceva? I would argue that, for Jesus to accept this case, this person must have been faithfully exorcising demons with faith in Christ.

The sons of Sceva were attempting to use Jesus’ name for their own gain rather calling upon the real person of Christ.

Perhaps the ones in question in Mark 9 are the disciples, given their apparent exclusivity in the passage.

Beloved, our God’s name is not something we use, but a title we address Him by. I want to flesh out two points in this regard.

First, what a blessing it is to even know our God’s name and be given a way to address Him. We aren’t even worthy of such a thing.

Second, we must come to understand that mentioning the syllables of Jesus’ name does not do anything. No, the only power lies in the PERSON of Jesus, the second person of the Trinity.

Let me be clear, I’m not suggesting that the name of Jesus is insignificant. What I am suggesting though is that the only reason this name has significance is because of the God which it describes.

I’m not advocating for a complete throwing out of the name of the Lord, far be it from me to suggest such a thing!

I simply want us to understand what we mean when we call upon, mention, or pray in the name of the Lord Jesus.

The person, the God-man, Jesus Christ is the Almighty, all-powerful one, not the spelling or reciting of His name. Our God, the Lord Jesus Christ is the only One who saves.

Col 3:17 “And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.”

What Paul says in this Colossians passage is that we do all that we do in the name or character of the Lord Jesus. Furthermore, the second half of this verse makes it clear that we are to do everything, and give thanks to God the Father, through God the Son, the Lord Jesus, the only mediator between God and man.

John 15:16 “You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you.”

When we pray and ask the Father in the name of Jesus, we aren’t merely covering our prayers with His name, but praying in His authority and character.

Humanity has not been revealed to the name of the God-man Jesus Christ in order that we may use His name as a weapon. God has revealed His own name to us by His grace so that we may know Him and lift Him up as a result.

More deeply, Jesus Christ is YHWH. Sinclair Ferguson, teaching on Exodus 3 and the burning bush, once stated the following: “And so, He created something like Himself as a kind of picture, an active parable of a God who is absolutely independent, uncaused, in need of nothing, sufficient for Himself: a fire who simply burns, uncreated fire. And yet, at the same time, He is the I Am who makes Himself present in history and among His people, like the fire in the bush, without them being consumed. In fact, He comes not to consume them, but to preserve and save them. He is infinite and independent, but He’s not a prisoner of His infinity. In the mystery of His being, He can make Himself known in history. And more than that, He can come to be with His needy people and save them.”

This is the Lord Jesus Christ.

19:17-20- In verse 17, Luke records that the residents of Ephesus understandably become healthily fearful, as the name of Jesus is praised!

The following two verses essentially describe a full-blown revival took place within the city. Confession of sin, ridding of magic arts books.

Luke even goes so far as to reveal the monetary worth of the books that were burned, to drive home just how significant the change was among the people.

And of course, the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevailed mightily. It spread and remained in strength.

Do you want this type of revival in our city? Verses 18 and 19 are admittedly very specific to the nature of the city of Ephesus, but do you wish to see verses 17 and 20 in Palm Harbor?

The name of Jesus being praised all around and the word of God increasing and lovingly conquering souls all over our communities! This is the make up of true revival.

Verses 17-20 round off our passage and help reveal the purpose of this entire account.

God performed miracles with Paul’s sweat to confirm the word of the Lord that he was preaching.

He allows for the sons of Sceva to be overpowered by an evil spirit inside a man to prove the sanctity of Jesus.

This leads to the city of Ephesus fearing Christ and praising His name, as well as confession and the burning of magic arts books.

Which of course ultimately leads to the word of the Lord increasing.

Conclusion

May our hearts and subsequently our actions be after praising and living for the Lord Jesus Christ, who is more than just a name, but God Himself.

PRAY

Heavenly Father, we praise you for who you are and for what you’ve done and for what you’re doing. Please make all of our hearts hungry after seeing your Gospel go forward in our communities and confirmed according to your will. We ask this morning that you would keep us from being like the sons of Sceva, viewing your name as nothing more than a magic word. Father, we want to see revival in Palm Harbor, where your Son’s name is extolled and your word increases and prevails. Please lead us to this end, for the glory of your great name.