Acts 19:16 And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.
In the 19th Chapter of the Book of Acts, we find a demon-possessed man and a group of at least seven Jewish people who tried to cast the demon out of him. As we discussed yesterday, the demon actually spoke to these people and told them that they were no threat to him because they had no power or authority over him.
In fact, the demon used the man to beat them all up single-handedly! Luke recorded the whole incident. Now God worked unusual Miracles by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the Name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.” Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded. (Acts 19:11-16)
These people had watched Paul cast out demons in the Name of Jesus and they wanted to do the same. However, they did not have the power or authority to do so and in the end, the demon overcame them! We don’t know exactly how many of them there were, but we know there were at least nine (seven sons of Sceva and the itinerant Jewish exorcists; plural).
When we compare this incident to that of the demoniac that Jesus set free in Mark 5:1-20, we find a completely different conclusion. Jesus acted in Power and Authority over the thousands of demons that possessed that man and he was set free and returned to his right mind.
When we compare the two incidents, we find some distinct differences that are pertinent to Deliverance Ministry today. First of all, the people who attempted to cast the demon out of the man in the Acts story did not have the Power or Authority to do so. Therefore, they failed and were themselves overcome by the demon.
Secondly, the demoniac in the Mark 5 story came to Jesus on his own because he wanted help. The demon-possessed man in the Acts 19 story did not. In that case, the Jews knew he was possessed and they wanted to help him, but he didn’t want help.
This is very important in this type of ministry. As ministers of the Gospel of Christ we are Called to operate in Deliverance Ministry and we have the Authority and Power to do so. However, we cannot cast a demon out of a person if they want to keep that demon. Unfortunately, many people are comfortable with their demons and they want to keep them. Until they come to the place where they want to be set free, no one will be successful in ministering to them.
Freedom from all demonic influence is available to anyone who wants it. Oftentimes people have to hit rock bottom before they come to the place where they WANT to be changed. At that point, they are standing on Miracle Ground and they can be totally delivered and set free from all possession and oppression of the enemy. This was the condition of the people Jesus Touched, Healed, and Delivered.
Jesus is still Touching, Healing, and Delivering people today and He uses other people in this Ministry. You may be one such person Called into this Ministry. It’s easy to see that people need help but until they WANT the help, the only thing we can do is pray for them and ask the Lord to bring them to the place where they WANT His Help. Then, and only then, can they be Delivered and set free!
Pray for people in this condition. God hears and answers our prayers. The Holy Spirit is able to do all things. He can change their want-to. He can cause them to reach out to Jesus Who is right there waiting to help them. Hallelujah!
Reach out to Jesus. He will………..turn the tide……..in your world.
Praying for them, Doreen
www.bettsministries.org
