“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.’ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?’ 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 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.” (Acts 19:13-17 NIV)
I have often tried again and again to warn the Church of the danger of operating in the flesh and not in the Spirit. This story of the seven sons of Sceva is one of the best examples to warn us of that danger. We, who are spiritual war fighters for the church, need to realize that we are not in a warfare against flesh and blood. We are in our spiritual warfare against spirits, powers, principalities, and every other force of darkness. We must understand that because of this, we cannot try to engage in warfare against these evil forces in the flesh, but we must come against them in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, armed with the blood of the Lamb and empowered by the Holy Spirit.
Here in Acts 19, seven men were attempting to use a religious formula over a demon possessed man. Religion doesn't have any power against devils. Quoting theological terms or even Bible verses isn't going to get the job done. You must be empowered by a power that is much greater than you. You must be empowered by heaven's own Holy Spirit. If this is even in doubt, we must remember this story in Acts 19, of how one man, demon controlled, could so easily overpower these seven silly religious men. While the seven sons of Sceva fled into the streets naked and ashamed, the demon possessed man went on his way with seven new outfits to choose from.
During this encounter, though, with the demon possessed man, I want you to pay attention to something the demon said when it manifested itself. It said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know or I've heard of, but who are you?” What a high praise to be known by the forces of darkness right along with Jesus himself! What a testimony that Paul had. But how did Paul get that way? Why did demons know of Paul? Consider for a moment this man, the Apostle Paul. God and Paul were on intimate terms. Revelations were granted to him. His servants were angels, and at his fingertips were earthquakes. His spirit empowered words shattered the shackles of sin filled lives. In Corinth, this mighty man Paul established a church on the devil's very doorstep. Paul snatched souls from under the noses of the forces of darkness themselves. While Paul lived, darkness had no peace.
What was Paul's Armory? Where did he sharpen his blade? His secret lay in the Word of God. The Word, like the Lord, was unmovable. Paul's anchor was cast in the depths of God's faithfulness. His battle-ax was the Word of the Lord. His strength was faith in that Word. The spirit alerted Paul to the strategies of the devil. Paul was not ignorant of his devices, therefore darkness suffered. Part of Paul's secret is also found in the fact that he didn't just recognize the cross as a place to get saved at but realized that it was also a place where he himself must be crucified. Yes, Paul was dead. He crucified the fleshly man. He said often that it wasn't him, but that Christ who lived through him. Jesus lived through him. There is an ancient saying that says, “dead men tell no tales.” But I want to turn that around and make a spiritual application here, and say, “Dead men fear nothing!” Paul was dead in his flesh; thus the enemy had no advantage over him, nothing to use against him.
Paul no longer wrestled with flesh, but he “wrestled against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world.” Does that shed any light on why this demon said, “and Paul, I recognize”? Paul had been wrestling against the demon powers of darkness. How sad it is in these modern days, how demons are launching a war against this world like never before, but this power of binding and loosing that Paul knew is almost forgotten, ignored or sadly, misused.
On the last lap of Paul's earthly race, he declared, “I have fought a good fight.” Demons could probably have said amen to that statement, for they suffered more from Paul than Paul suffered from them. Yes, Paul was known in hell. Paul was a man with a mission to win men to Christ at any cost and to launch a war against the enemy. Because Paul loved his Lord with a perfect love, he also hated sin with a perfect hatred. Thus, he saw men not only as prodigals, but also as rebels in cahoots with the devil.
Paul had no side hustles, no books to sell, and no ambitions–thus, he had nothing to be jealous about. He had no reputation–so he had nothing to fight about. He had no possessions–therefore nothing to worry about. He was already broken–so no one could break him. He was dead–so no one could kill him. He was less than the least–so who could humble him? He had suffered a loss of all things–so who could defraud him? Does this let you know why the demon said, “and Paul, I recognize and know”? This God-intoxicated man caused hell to suffer migraines.
Yet another anchor to the spirit of this saint of God was the power that is in the blood of Jesus and its ability to save fully. Paul believed fully that Christ is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto Him. Oh, that the world might know this precious Lamb of God. Oh, that the Church would know the power that's in the blood. Paul was convinced that the blood's power could overcome all the powers of the enemy. And there is still power in the blood!
Another anchor for Paul was the blessed assurance that “to be absent from the body was to be present from the Lord.” No soul-sleep here. No intermediate state here. No. There was no time. It was a time of action. It was a time of decision. It was a time of war. Paul didn't have time to worry about his stripes, imprisonments, pains and sufferings. It was a time to engage in warfare. It was a time to storm the gates of hell. All the fiery darts that hell threw at him were to no avail. And do you now wonder why the demon said, “and Paul I know”? Paul was known in hell.
It's time for the Church to move out in that same power and authority that Paul had. It's time for us to awake out of our sleep and to launch a full-scale attack against the powers of darkness themselves. It's time for war. We must fight. We must attack. God is looking for a few men and women that will become mighty warriors for God, that will lift up the blood-stained banner of Jesus Christ and march forward in battle. Can demons say they know you? If not, it's high time for us to be known in hell as God's chosen warriors, like Paul was.