I'll be honest, I want heaven now.

The Lord has done great things for us...

(Acts 19:-11-17, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, February 3, 2013)

[11] And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, [12] so that even handkerchiefs or aprons that had touched his skin were carried away to the sick, and their diseases left them and the evil spirits came out of them.

Paul had an extremely fruitful daily teaching ministry in Ephesus, so that the whole province of Asia heard the Word of the Lord, both Jews and non-Jews. But there was more than good teaching. The kingdom came with power. God did extraordinary miracles by the hands of the teacher.

These miracles could not be easily explained away. They were reminiscent of the signs of the kingdom coming in the ministry of Jesus. Like those great deeds of power performed in the prior generation they pointed forward to a place of perfect kingdom fulfillment where Christ is now at the right hand of the Father. They gave the church hope in a coming day of perfect healing upon the earth when Christ returns in glory.

Even a crumb from that place and time works the most powerful wonders in overturning the present darkness. If there was so much of the power of God at work in a piece of cloth that had touched the gospel ambassador's skin, how great must be the power of the King of Glory, Jesus, the Son of God!

[13] Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists undertook to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “I adjure you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims.”

Naturally there were those who wanted the power of the kingdom to use as they wished. There was an undeniable power in the Jesus whom Paul proclaimed. There were those who tried to use the Name of the Lord Jesus as their ticket to success.

They acknowledged the existence of an evil spiritual realm that touches this fading world with trouble. They had seen or heard of instances of powerful victories of healing and deliverance involving the Name of Jesus. They wanted to be able to command dark powers to be gone in the Name of Jesus whom Paul proclaimed.

We want the victory of heaven over evil too. But will we listen to everything that God says about the coming Kingdom and believe and follow all of His Word, or do we just want to use the Name of Jesus for our own purposes?

[14] Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. [15] But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” [16] And the man in whom was the evil spirit leaped on them, mastered all of them and overpowered them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.

This proved to be a dangerous pathway for some. Luke mentions seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva who were doing this. This family had already proven that they were willing to do things their own way. Why was this family referring to the Jewish title “high priest” here in Ephesus anyway? Was their father, Sceva, a real son of Aaron, or did he just take the title of priest as some had dared to do in the days of Old Testament history?

Also, had they submitted to Paul's teaching about the Christ? Surely the final High Priest had come, and his name was not Sceva. We have a great High Priest over the house of God. He offered up Himself as the final atoning sacrifice for our sins and then rose from the dead. He ascended into heaven, purifying the sanctuary above for our sake. He sends forth His Holy Spirit from on high, and He intercedes for us. Surely Paul was teaching and preaching these biblical truths regarding Jesus. How could someone dare to use the Name of the Jesus that Paul proclaimed, but ignore the High Priest Himself?

Even Paul acknowledged a duty of respect toward true authority figures of Judaism, though the order of the Old Covenant was swiftly fading away. But Paul would never have showed deference to those who were usurping those titles as part of their own private healing and deliverance ministry. Miraculous deeds of power have to agree with the Word of the kingdom. Otherwise they are a dangerous attempt to ignore the whole counsel of God.

This end run around proper kingdom order and authority did not even win the respect of demonic realms. Rather than mastering the evil spirit, they were mastered by some dark power that was beyond them. They ran away naked and wounded.

[17] And this became known to all the residents of Ephesus, both Jews and Greeks. And fear fell upon them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled.

But the Name of Jesus did not suffer harm. All the residents of Ephesus heard about this, and they were afraid. This story spread and man people honored the Name of Jesus.

Like many people all around us, we too are sick of disease and death. We are looking for powerful answers to the problems that face us. But we want God's victory according to His Word and His eternal purpose.

Whatever taste of heaven comes now with the Name of Jesus and the true preaching of that Name, there is a future hope for the people of God that is amply testified to throughout the Scriptures. We cast our cares upon the Lord, and we know that He cares for us, but that does not mean that all of our troubles are instantly removed. Sometimes the message to us is that the grace of Jesus is sufficient for us and that our immediate trouble is not going away today since His power is made perfect in our weakness. Very often the Lord's call to the church is to suffer now as those who have the sure beatitude of a secure future hope.

But there is no need for us to deny the power of God at work in His great acts of healing and deliverance through His church. These deeds of glory cannot be about our use of secret spiritual techniques. They are the displays of the merciful grace of God distributed in various times and places according to His own good will.

What we can say together with all who have been called to patient endurance throughout the centuries of calling upon the Name of God is that the Lord has done great things. He will restore our fortunes at just the right time. We will bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things, because we know that the love of Christ will never end.

We can also rejoice in the spread of the kingdom of God throughout the Gentile world recorded for us in the book of Acts. In the ministry of Jesus to Jews, there were occasional crumbs from heaven's table for Gentiles. But now in Ephesus, a working man's rags that touched Paul brought relief to a weary world. We celebrate the miracles of God in the world beyond Israel, and we know that our eternal wholeness is in the person and work of Jesus, the King of Glory.

Old Testament Passage: Psalm 126 – … and we are glad

Gospel Passage: Mark 7:24-30 – Even a crumb is enough from heaven's table

Sermon Text: Acts 19:11-17 – Miracles for Gentiles, but only safe in Jesus

Sermon Point: There is a powerful and sure hope of eternal wholeness for the church in Jesus Christ