Spiritual Warfare, Demon Possession, and Sorcery
Notes
Transcript
Please turn to Acts 19.8. Acts 19:8.
Last week we had a controversial sermon over the Holy Spirit—particularly when you get Him whether in 1 stage all at once when you believe, or 2 stages…you believe and get Him at a later stage.
This week’s sermon topic is very interesting, and a little controversial too
Acts 19:8–22 (NIV)
8 Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
9 But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. (another name for Christianity…it’s a way of life, Jesus is the Way, Truth and life). So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
10 This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.
that is modern day Turkey (see map)....pretty amazing that this whole area heard about Jesus. _Paul probably worked in the morning as a tentmaker, then they would take a break in the heat of the day, and they were curious enough and God was working through Paul enough that he had the chance to teach about Jesus daily.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
12 so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.
(these were possibly his sweat bands—head bands, and aprons he wore while working as a tentmaker, a leather-worker)
We are not going to focus too much on these passages…but it’s worth noting that...
1. God did these miracles (nothing special about Paul)...
2. God is so gracious that he accommodated Himself to the people’s worldviews—who had a fascination in spiritual objects. God even used handkerchiefs!
and btw—some ministries have abused that — saying this handkerchief or whatever has been blessed and prayed for and can be yours for an easy payment of $19.95.
3. God still does miracles today but don’t feel pressure to be like Paul and this extraordinary ministry of miracles...
Here is the part we will focus on mainly today...
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”
16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
17 When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor.
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
21 After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”
22 He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer.
So spiritual warfare, demon possession, sorcery, the devil...
what do we learn: (3 lessons with some FAQ’s along the way…)
the devil, demons, and spiritual warfare are real… (vs. 13-20)
we see that in the story of 7 sons of Sceva, sons of a wealthy Jewish chief priest, who had a traveling ministry of casting our demons. a way they made money.
and apparently they heard about Paul and his ministry—after all, Paul taught the Gospel in power for over 2 year in the lecture hall...
he had a ministry of healing—God used Paul to heal people of physical illness
and a ministry of spiritual healing—evil spirits left people
and they tried to copy and imitate this power. They were attracted to it.
and they encounter a man possessed by a demon...
but failed in casting out the demon…before I comment on that..it’s worth backing up and asking some FAQ’s
who is the devil/what are demons?
remember, the devil first shows up in Genesis 3 in the form of a serpent, tempting Adam and Eve.
1 Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?”
so in a perfect world---Adam and Eve had perfect fellowship with God, each other, and the world—the devil shows up, lying and twisting God’s good Word. he loves to deceive and—he is the father of lies...
where did Satan come from? good question.
if we piece Scripture together, we believe God made Satan—everything was made good. he was an angel of light
14 And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light.
so God made Satan, and originally Satan was good.
yet somewhere between Genesis 1 and before Genesis 3, Satan rebelled. 2 Peter 2:4 and Jude 6
4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;
6 And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their proper dwelling—these he has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great Day.
these demons are fallen angels—originally created good…now I think these verses are talking about their ultimate judgment—they still are on the prowl looking to inflict harm
Satan is the leader of demons (who are fallen angels)—the prince of darkness, the ruler of the kingdom of the air. and he was led astray by himself, his own wicked desires.
he is bent on opposing God and God’s creation—taking glory for Him.
another question—if demons are real...
is demon possession still real today?
sadly we probably get our ideas more from Hollywood than any where else.;
I remember when I was in high school, it was around halloween and our friends wanted to watch a scary movie, so we rented what was considered a classic, called the Exorcist…I don’t recommend it. but in it is a little girl who is demon possessed—and she starts climbing up the wall, her head spins around, she spits out pea green soup…that is the idea we get of demons.
and I don’t think those are helpful…more on that later...
instead, we need to get it from Scripture. and what do we learn in Scripture...
I don’t usually like challenging English translations of the Bible—because our English translations are incredible translations of the original languages—OT Hebrew—NT Greek.
in NIV that we see here, it uses the words demon-possessed. and I understand why it does b/c that is a term we normally use.
but literally—i like how one Bible scholar puts it--”one thing the Bible doesn’t tell us, however, is that demons possess anyone. IN fact, several times in Scripture people are said to have demons but demons are never said to have people. In the original Greek here—the translation would be “over those who were having evil spirits...” the evil spirits didn’t have them—they had the evil spirits.
other times we encounter demons in the Bible with people—the Greek word is that the person was “demonized...” impacted by a demon, under the influence of a demon, attacked by a demon.
I bring this up as a caution—because when we use the word possessed it gives the impression that when a person is influenced by a demon—they have no control. Most of the cases in Scripture we see people who are influenced and attacked by demons—but it hasn’t take over their personality. they are demonized. there are only a couple instances where we see people being very affected by demons:
Luke 4:33-36 (man at synagogue)
Mark 1: 21-28 (man at synagogue)
Luke 8:26-38 (Gerasene demoniac) (also in Matthew 8 and Mark 5)
but other times when people are attacked by demons in Scripture—there are physical symptoms, a boy with epilepsy, a man unable to speak. sometimes demonic attack is mentioned in that it influences bad decisions—such as the case of Satan over Judas.
it might be better to use the terms demonic attack and demonic influence more than possession most of the time (Mike McKinley - Did the Devil Make Me Do it pages 38-39)
another FAQ — Can a Christian be possessed by a demon...
short answer - no b/c Colossians 1:13-14 says we are part of the kingdom of light; not darkness. 1 John 4:4 — greater is the one in us than the world
however, we certainly can be influenced, tempted, accused, attacked. Jesus was attacked in the wilderness and resisted by standing strong in God’s Word and Holy Spirit. we read in the OT that Satan incited David to sin. 1 Peter 5:8
8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
(that’s written to Christians?)
FAQ - (and related to this passage) — How do I cast out demons? and should Christians perform exorcisms?
before I answer that that brings me to my second point...
Jesus, His power, His name will not be manipulated. Jesus is not a magic genie.
look back at Acts 19:13-14
13 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”
14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
these were traveling exorcists---they recognized the power Paul had—were fascinated and intrigued by it—and recognized the secret was the name of Jesus.
so they try to cast out the demon and the demon says this:
15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”
16 Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding.
when we read something like this—it kind of makes me think of the exorcist movie I watched back in high school. a Roman Catholic priest had this battle—chanting things in Latin, holy water, trying and striving to cast out the demon from this little girl, and we weren’t sure who was going to win.
but that’s not what the Bible is teaching...
these Jewish priests couldn’t cast out the demon because they were using Jesus as a magic formula, a genie. Jesus was just one of many powers in their magic book..but Jesus is not a power to be manipulated. He is not a good luck charm. They didn’t have a personal relationship with him—they had not genuinely called or believed in the name of the Lord. the demon would have listened to Jesus, or Paul who knew Jesus but not them.
reminds us of what Jesus said in Matthew 7:21-23
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.
22 Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’
23 Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’
so back to that question—do we ever cast out demons or perform exorcisms?
Jesus certainly interacted with demons throughout his ministry—he commanded them to come out, he rebuked them, he silenced them, he cast them out, he saved people from their influence.
he gave authority to his disciples to do similarly—the 12 and the 72, Phil and Paul in Acts....
so at some level by example, if we encounter what we think is demonic activity, should we do similar? great question. little bit of a tension here...
because many theologians have noted that after Jesus’ resurrection—we don’t see any New Testament letters commanded us to cast out demons, or even seek them out. instead we are called to use spiritual gifts to discern the spirits....exercise faith in prayer, resist the devil, stand strong in the Lord, put on the full armor of God. so it’s interesting…we are not to go demon hunting...
at the same time, based on Jesus’ example and Paul’s, there are times when it is very appropriate to pray against the work of the devil, and if we suspect demonic activity, it is very appropriate to pray against it, to even say “In Jesus’ name, I command you to come out...” that’s not magical...
I think this gets at the tension that CS Lewis in his book the Screw Tape letter said (fiction—senior writer writing to a junior writer)
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” (Screw Tape Letters)
“There are two equal and opposite errors into which our race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them.” (Screw Tape Letters)
some of us here have an unhealthy excessive interest in them…we see a demon behind everything...
i am struggling with lust or pride must be a demon
financial struggles must be a demon
my car won’t start—must be a demon...
my dog keeps going to the bathroom in my house…must be a demon. If it were a cat, it probably would be...
but on the other hand…some of us forget—that the demonic world, spiritual warfare exists. if we have a problem in our life, we don’t even consider it…and that’s wrong too.
the reality is the devil and demons are real
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
and yet—we are not to be overly consumed with them...
I feel this tension in my life…I have seen some strange things in ministry…and so have you.
my wife and I have noticed that whenever we are embarking on a new ministry venture or trying to reach out into someone’s life, life gets crazier. something breaks. someone gets sick. I had a buddy back at my last church who led short term mission trips and it never failed whenever he was about to leave, all sorts of crazy things would happen in his life. was that the devil or not? or just living in a fallen world where things break?
I notice sometimes that I will have very demonic dreams at times—especially when I am trying to lead into new territory or reach people with the Gospel—I will have a recurring dream of an evil witch like lady—same lady, I can’t move in my dream until I say the name of Jesus, and then I wake up, and pray. is that the devil or too much pepperoni pizza the night before?
I have heard stories of kids who wake up screaming in the middle of the night—very young kids. One missionary recalls how their 2 year old described some type of demonic witch, and so the missionaries prayed, and the kid was able to sleep. The parents asked—was the demonic witch still there, and the kid said “no—she tried to get in our house, but couldn’t get in anymore...”
some of you have told me stories of how it seems like when you take a stand to grow, get baptized, dedicate your child, or when you step up on leadership at church or ministry or in your family…don’t be surprised.
and a handful of you have encountered demonic activity—and I don’t doubt it. I believe you...
we need to be discerning…and consider that the devil may be at work.
he is only 1 of 3 enemies
the world
the flesh
the devil
but he is real...
and so if I sense that the devil or demons are at work, I will personally pray something like this...
“Lord, help, and I don’t know if the kingdom of darkness is at work; you do. and if it is, in the mighty name of Jesus, I pray that you would bind Satan and his work, and He would be gone and have no influence in this situation or person’s life.”
I don’t dwell on it—I pray on it—and I move on...
and focus on Christ
i actually think most of the way we battle the kingdom of darkness is pretty ordinary...
—we pray...
—we read Scripture—truth so we are not deceived by lies from Satan
—we have fellowship with others—when you are alone and have no Christian community—you are subject to attack
—we put on armor of God—our Christian identity as children of God...
but sometimes it will be more in your face, more dramatic at times—but we need not fear…why?
the devil is no match for Jesus (see Luke 8:26-39) (put this last?)
it’s not as if they are 2 opposite but equal forces...
if you turn to Luke 8:26
26 They sailed to the region of the Gerasenes, which is across the lake from Galilee.
Luke 8:27–31 (NIV)
27 When Jesus stepped ashore, he was met by a demon-possessed man (literally having a demon) from the town. For a long time this man had not worn clothes or lived in a house, but had lived in the tombs.
28 When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell at his feet, shouting at the top of his voice, “What do you want with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, don’t torture me!”
29 For Jesus had commanded the impure spirit to come out of the man. Many times it had seized him, and though he was chained hand and foot and kept under guard, he had broken his chains and had been driven by the demon into solitary places.
30 Jesus asked him, “What is your name?” “Legion,” he replied, because many demons had gone into him.
31 And they begged Jesus repeatedly not to order them to go into the Abyss.
already we have a contrast.
the 7 Jewish exorcists took on 1 demon.
Jesus took on hundreds of demons.
32 A large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside. The demons begged Jesus to let them go into the pigs, and he gave them permission.
33 When the demons came out of the man, they went into the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and was drowned.
34 When those tending the pigs saw what had happened, they ran off and reported this in the town and countryside,
35 and the people went out to see what had happened. When they came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had gone out, sitting at Jesus’ feet, dressed and in his right mind; and they were afraid.
the demonic realm, the devil—no match for Jesus.
don’t obsess over Satan—don’t focus on him—focus on the one who has defeated Him.
and this is what is amazing—we read accounts like Luke and see Jesus’ power...
but interestingly—the decisive blow dealt to Satan and his kingdom—came not in these dramatic displays of power—but the cross..
13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins,
14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
Jesus paid for our sin…all of it. we are no longer guilty. even the worst sin you did, or the thing you failed to do and should have…Jesus paid for it—nailing it to the cross.
what a reminder!!
15 And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.
this disarmed the powers and authorities—reference to Satan’s kingdom.
no longer can Satan accuse us—he does—but he has no legal standing. He says things like “who are you to think you can change...” “you are no good...” “remember that thing you did and how you made a mess of your life…remember this or that...” I feel those attacks at the things I have done or failed to do...
and he made a public spectacle of them…that’s an image from war in Roman times—where the victorious army would bring back their prisoners and march them…parade them through the city..that’s what Jesus did to Satan and his kingdom...
no longer are we enslaved to sin and Satan…they still influence us, but don’t have ultimate power....
and that’s what we are going to celebrate in Communion.
communion is open to anyone who is a believer in Jesus...
I want to invite the ushers forward…if you need communion, please raise your hands?
23 For I received from the Lord what I also passed on to you: The Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread,
24 and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body, which is for you; do this in remembrance of me.”
25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
as part of this, Paul encourages us to examine ourselves...
28 Everyone ought to examine themselves before they eat of the bread and drink from the cup.
as part of this examining...
we confess sin…maybe for the first time if we are not a Christian
but also if we are Christians, it is a good daily, healthy practice as Pastor Logan preached on a couple weeks ago...
and we don’t wallow in our sin..we look to Christ—and thank Him for paying for it...
I love in Acts 19...
this last point takes me to communion...we surrender to Jesus’ life by repenting, confessing, and making a clean break from our past life
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
19 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas.
amazing...
is there anything you need to make a clean break from?
any attacks from Satan that you need to pray against?
and how can you focus on Jesus?
b/c Jesus became like the demonic man…he became naked and unclean on the cross, he became stripped and abandoned and forsaken…he wasn’t possessed—but he identified with us by becoming a sin offering for us
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close with Revelation 12:10-11
10 Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say: “Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Messiah. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters, who accuses them before our God day and night, has been hurled down.
11 They triumphed over him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.
resource....