Acts 19:15
And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”
The sons of Sceva’s experience is quite revealing for today’s disciples. The Bible tells us several things about them. Firstly, they were Jewish believers, sons of a chief priest. So they were likely members of the Judaism faith. Secondly, they were itinerant exorcists. That means they travelled from place to place doing “deliverance”. Thirdly, they were impressed by the power of Christ manifesting in Paul’s ministry. Fourthly they decided to imitate Paul’s approach.
That is the huge mistake they made! These boys never surrendered their lives to the Lord Jesus. They were not willing to pay the price of submitting themselves to Christ. They simply wanted to add aspects of the Christian message to their own. They wanted to retain their own religion but benefit from Christianity at the same time. So they were not born again. Their names were not registered in the book of life.
You see, when your name is written in the book of life, you’re not only known in the Kingdom of Heaven but also in the kingdom of darkness. Your relationship with Christ gives you victory over evil spirits. Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world. You’re more than a conqueror. Only when you’re truly born again and not pretending!
Dear friends, there are so many relevant lessons for us here. It’s not enough to be impressed by the Gospel of Christ. It’s not good enough to emulate genuine ministers. Each one of us must be truly born again. Also, we must not think every “deliverance” ministry is of Christ, no matter how respectable it looks. The “Sons of Sceva Deliverance Ministry” is a useful bad example!
Today I plead with each one of you not to assume you’re going to heaven when you die. I beg you to examine yourself honestly and check whether you are truly in Christ. Have you surrendered your life to the Lord Jesus Christ? Are you born again? Is your name registered in heaven? Does the spirit-world recognise you as an ambassador of Christ? If you’re not sure, today is your day of salvation. Humble yourself and give your life to Jesus afresh. Pastor Josh
Josh Chigorimbo