daily java

Daily Java:

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 . (Acts 19:13-17)

This is a funny passage and made me laugh out loud again. Seven men who thought they were something else came up against the powers of darkness without the help of God and got their clocks cleaned.

They decided that casting out demons wasn’t as hard as all that, and since the apostles, men they probably considered their intellectual inferiors could do it, so could they.

So they tried. The evil spirit looks at them and says, whoa re you anyway? And attacks them. They were indeed fortunate to get out alive. They are standing out on the street beat to pieces and everybody is looking at them and realizing their total lack of power.

I am reminded of the story in 1 Samuel 28 when King Saul was trying desperately to get some advice. God had turned from him for his arrogance, and Samuel was dead, having not spoken to Saul for several years before he died.

Saul found a witch at the city of Endor and went to her in disguise. It was, after all, against the law to be a witch. When she did her conjurings, Samuel popped up. The minute he did, she knew she was in a real situation. And she was scared. All of her other stuff had been fake. Just like the seven men in the story in Acts 19.

In the movie, Leap of Faith, Steve Martin plays a fake evangelist who holds a revival in a small town. He claims to be able to heal and to prophesy, but it is a sham, accomplished by a good ability to guess and a radio transmitter in his ear to hear advice from his staff that they have found out. He then “miraculously” delivers this information during the course of his “ministry.”

At one point a crippled boy comes forward and is really and truly healed. The real thing in the midst of all his fakery scares the preacher so badly that he quits and runs away. The fake was normal, the real was frightening.

Occasionally we come into contact with something that is real and honest and it can scare us. Someone who is really good, or pure, or holy. We try to be these things, but when someone comes up who really is, we don’t know what to do. It can be frightening.

At one point in the gospels, Luke 5, Jesus points out a large load of fish for the apostles to catch. When they pull them in, it is one of the biggest catches they have ever seen. The apostles realize that it is because of the power of Jesus that they caught it.

Peter is overwhelmed. In front of him is real power. He was big and strong and considered himself to be good at what he was, but here was the real thing. He fell to his knees and said: Oh, Lord, please leave me—I’m too much of a sinner to be around you (Luke 5:8).

The real thing is frightening.

My wife has a look of love and trust in me that at times is almost too much to see. I am afraid I am not worthy of it. The way your children look at you when they are little. You are the most powerful being in the universe to them.

When these seven men thought they would just do some stuff and people would really appreciate them, they were wrong. The powers of the devil, without the help of God in your life, are overwhelming and there is no way you can stand up to them. You will only get hurt if you try.

People say things like “one of these days, I will get my life straightened up and I will come to church.” It will never happen. You cannot straighten up your life. Only God can. His is the real power.

He is the real thing.