Jonathan Brenneman's Blog, page 13

When To Give Out Of Need And Expect Supernatural Provision

 

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African-American male hands cradling a piggy bank.

Last week we compared the story of the widow of Zarephath with the story of the widow in the New Testament who put all she had to live in on in the offering. We saw that rather than being parallels, these stories show truth in tension.

Giving Out Of Extreme Poverty

The widow of Zarephath gave out of extreme poverty, and by doing so she experienced supernatural provision. Yet Jesus was upset when he saw the widow in the temple give her last mite in the offering. He said the Pharisees would be judged most severely for devouring widow’s houses. What was the difference? Let’s look at some other people who gave generously out of extreme poverty:

2 Corinthians 8:1-5, 9 (NIV) And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people. And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us…For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Verse nine is one of my favorite verses in the Bible. It shows God’s generous heart. Jesus became poor so that through his poverty we might become rich. Notice that the Macedonians gave “entirely on their own” and “pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people.” They gave because they participated in God’s heart.

Nobody had to ask them for an offering. There was no coercion. It sounds like Paul was probably reluctant to accept their gift because they were so poor, which was why they had to beg to be allowed to participate!

2 Corinthians 8:12-15 (NIV) For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

This is why the stories of the two widows are actually quite different. The widow of Zarephath gave out of her need to meet the need of another person in need. She had one meal left, but Elijah had nothing left! The context of 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 is collecting an offering to meet the needs of impoverished Judean Christians in a time of famine.

People are what God’s cares about. People are God’s temple.

Give To Meet People’s Need’s

Take Paul’s words about “equality” and supplying each other’s needs and apply it to the story of the widow who fed Elijah. It fits perfectly. Then try applying it to the story of the widow in the New Testament who put the last she had to live on in the offering. It doesn’t fit.

The widow who gave her last mite in the New Testament didn’t give to help anybody in need. Neither did she give “entirely on her own.” She was shamed into giving by the boasting and large public offerings of the rich. Contributions were a status symbol. Her offering went not to help people, but to adorn a temple that was about to be destroyed. She gave all she had to live on for the cause of the religious leaders’ pride. Those leaders loved the seats of honor, but God would not honor them!

To the widow who gave her last mite, she was nothing if she gave nothing! She could never measure up to those rich people who gave great gifts and had the seats of honor, but at least if she gave a little she wouldn’t be “nothing.”

If you are going to give out of need, give to meet people’s needs! Don’t give because you feel your worth depends on it. Don’t give as an attempt to “measure up.”

Let’s continue to examine Paul’s teaching on giving:

2 Corinthians 9:6-12 (NIV) Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written:

“They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor;

    their righteousness endures forever.”

Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 

I think we can’t repeat this part enough: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion.”

If we are giving because someone told us to instead of giving according to what we have desired in our heart, we are violating Paul’s New Testament command on giving. This includes where we give. Are you giving what and where you desire (in your born again, God-filled new heart) to give, or according to what someone has told you?

Giving can never be measured in God’s kingdom by an amount of money, a number, or a percentage. It can only be measured according to participation with God’s generous heart. It’s all about sharing God’s nature.

God had already commanded the widow of Zarephath to feed Elijah. That’s why he could go and ask her for food. The widow who gave her last mite wasn’t giving because God told her to. I can guarantee it. According to the law and scripture, they were actually supposed to be giving to care for her needs. She was giving out of compulsion.

Friends, I believe God wants us to prosper. There are so many needs in this world that we need to prosper in order to be able to help people! I believe God has supernatural provision for us. As many people are offended by the “prosperity gospel,” scripture has some wonderful passages about God’s blessing prospering us.

We just read some of those promises in 2nd Corinthians 9. But remember that the context is taking an offering for the poor and giving freely, not under compulsion. The quote in 2nd Corinthians 9 is from Psalm 112. The context is also caring for the poor.

Psalm 112:2-3 (NIV) …the generation of the upright will be blessed. Wealth and riches are in their houses, and their righteousness endures forever.

When should you give out of need? When you desire to do so and you are meeting another person’s need. And when God speaks to your heart to do so.

Give As You Purpose In Your Heart

As a young guy, I remember how much I always wanted to give more towards groups that were digging wells in remote areas so people didn’t have to walk 5 hours a day to get water. I wanted to give towards people helping the homeless in Russia. Or others doing amazing work with alleviating poverty, making a huge impact for a relatively small amount. Some Christians doing such work are making more of a difference than huge government programs with much funding that gets wasted.

Yet I never gave as much as I wanted to those things because I was giving under compulsion. I was being told where and how to give. Yet these things I wanted to give to are the very things that are top priority in the scriptural teachings on giving.

I keep pointing out that the context of promises like we read in 2nd Corinthians 9 and Psalm 112 is helping the poor and meeting human needs. That’s not to say “don’t give to other things.” Again, give as you purpose in your heart, because you have been born again and your heart has been joined to God’s heart.

But if you are really giving as you purpose in your heart and not under compulsion, you will probably find that you are giving most to these areas that scripture emphasizes. God has given you stewardship of your money. You are responsible for investing your “talents” wisely. Nobody else is. Be honest. Wherever you are giving, are you giving because you’re trying to make the best use of what you have for the kingdom of heaven to advance on this earth?

Next week we will talk about those testimonies of “I gave $5000 and got a financial miracle.” Are such stories true? I believe many of them are. How should we respond to them? How can we step into a supernatural grace of giving, experience miracles of provision, and leave the control, condemnation, and other baggage behind? Stay tuned, and I’d love to hear your comments so far…

The post When To Give Out Of Need And Expect Supernatural Provision appeared first on Go to Heaven Now!.

The Widow’s Mite And The Widow Of Zarephath—Truth In Tension

[image error]Today we’re looking at two Bible stories which are often thought of as parallel. However, they actually demonstrate truth in tension. Understanding this will help us to experience heaven on earth in the area of giving, finances. and supernatural provision.

The Widow Of Zarephath

First Kings chapter 17 contains a remarkable story of supernatural provision. There was a drought in the whole land and God had sent Elijah to drink from a brook and be fed by ravens. Wow! Think of that! If that’s how God provided for Elijah, how much more can He provide for us!

When the brook dried up, God commanded a widow who thought she was going to starve to feed the prophet Elijah! Notice how Elijah received God’s provision. He heard God’s voice and obeyed, even when it sounded a little crazy, like “ravens are going to feed you” and “I’ve commanded a widow to feed you.”

1 Kings 17:8-15 (NIV) Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

God’s nature is love. Participating in his nature gets our eyes off of our problems and struggles. So often when we have a need, God leads us to a place of joy by enabling us to meet someone else’s need. We also experience supernatural provision for our own needs. Both Elijah and the widow with her son experienced a daily miracle of supernatural multiplication.

Philippians 2:4 (NIV) …not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.

This story parallels other stories of food being multiplied supernaturally. The fish and the loaves in the New Testament were multiplied when the disciples gave them to the people, and there were plenty of leftovers for their own provision as well. In one of my most popular stories, Supernatural Multiplication Of Ham, my grandfather cut up the little ham they had and gave it to guests. There was plenty for them to eat as well, and to make sandwiches for the next day. So my grandfather also experienced provision for his own family.

However, before we start telling everyone in need to sow a “miracle offering,” let’s review the story of the widow’s mite.

The Widow’s Mite

We often hear the story of the widow’s mite taught as a bible lesson encouraging people to give when they have a need of their own, like a parallel to the story of the widow of Zarephath. However, few realize that such an interpretation is taking the story way out of context!

Of course, the chapters and verses we have in the Bible are helpful for finding things, but they were added long after the Bible was written. The immediate context for the story of the widow’s mite is at the end of the previous chapter. The following verses provide even more context.

Luke 20:45-47 (NIV) While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted with respect in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets.  They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will be punished most severely.”

Luke 21:1-6 (NIV) As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Some of his disciples were remarking about how the temple was adorned with beautiful stones and with gifts dedicated to God. But Jesus said, “As for what you see here, the time will come when not one stone will be left on another; every one of them will be thrown down.”

Jesus was not teaching a lesson in giving out of your need in this verse! He was rebuking the teachers for devouring widow’s houses and making a show of their religion! When he pointed out the widow, he was exposing injustice and oppression! Jesus was saying “This is wrong!,” not “This is a great example for others.”

Are you still unconvinced? If you’ve never read the Bible from cover to cover, I encourage you to do so. The Old Testament is full of commands for Isreal to care for widows and the disadvantaged. Widows did not give a tithe in the Old Testament. The actually received it. (Deuteronomy 14:22-29, Deuteronomy 26:12-13) When they ate their tithe in the presence of the Lord, God commanded them to share it with the orphan, widow, and Levite, who had no inheritance in the land. One of the major subjects in scripture is justice for the orphan and widow.

The New Testament also teaches that it’s the church’s responsibility to care for widows who have no family members to help them. Every single offering initiated by the apostles in scripture was taken to help people in need.

Here in Brazil, I heard an old woman lamenting “I can’t go to church today. I don’t have my tithe money.” She could barely pay for half her needs with her own income, and was relying on others to help. Was her church especially legalistic? No. Her pastor would say she totally misinterpreted what they meant. He wouldn’t want her to feel like she couldn’t come. Yet even so, he was teaching that she needed to support the church with a tithe. In fact, he taught God would curse her if she didn’t. This scenario is all too common, especially in third world countries.

It wasn’t that he was a bad person. He was teaching what he was taught, the standard doctrine, as so many do. Yet so much of the “standard doctrine” flies in the face of what scripture teaches. Did he consider that in the Old Testament, widows received from the tithe, and in the New, the church provided for widows if their family couldn’t?

Instead of caring for the widows, the teachers of the law in were interested in a big religious show and a temple adorned with beautiful stones and “gifts to God.” According to the law, it was their responsibility to take care of her. Yet she was giving all she had to live on to adorn their beautiful temple.

While Jesus’ disciples were admiring the temple, Jesus said “You see this? It’s all going to be destroyed in judgment!”

Two different places in the book of Acts say that God doesn’t dwell in temples made by hands. (Acts 7:48, Acts 17:24) God desired people for his temple. God doesn’t care about a pretty building adorned with beautiful stones. Jesus wasn’t impressed with that “temple” like his disciples were. He cared about the true temple of God—people.

So we have one story where God commanded a widow to give her last bit of food to a prophet, and another story where Jesus rebukes the teachers of the law for devouring widow’s houses! This is truth in tension. Next week we’ll look deeper into the truth that’s found in the tension between these two stories. We’ll also see how even these stories seem similar, they were actually quite different circumstances. And we’ll compare the generosity of the Macedonians (who gave out of need) to that of the widow of Zarapheth.

The post The Widow’s Mite And The Widow Of Zarephath—Truth In Tension appeared first on Go to Heaven Now!.

God’s Favor Can Make You The Most Influential Person Wherever You Are!

[image error]Two weeks ago, we talked about resisting Satan’s accusations that we’ve messed up or lost God’s favor when circumstances become difficult. Then last week we started examining how Paul walked in God’s favor regardless of the circumstances. Today we will look at how God’s favor made Paul the most influential person wherever he was, even when he was a prisoner!

Shipwreck!

Paul began the long trip as a prisoner on the way to Rome. He was excited about sharing the gospel with Caesar, and this way he got a free passage! God’s favor was apparent again. God moved the hearts of the Romans to show him favor even when he was there as a prisoner. As the voyage progressed, that favor became really apparent.

Acts 27:3 (NIV) The next day we landed at Sidon; and Julius, in kindness to Paul, allowed him to go to his friends so they might provide for his needs.

When things God dangerous, Paul warned them that continuing the trip would be a disaster. They needed to wait for conditions to change. But the centurion listened to the owner of the ship, and the majority decided to sail on.

They got caught up in a hurricane-force wind and soon threw the cargo and then the ship’s tackle overboard. After many days of not eating or seeing the sun or stars because of the violent storm, they gave up all hope of getting out of this alive. Then Paul stood up:

Acts 27:21-26 (NIV) After they had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up before them and said: “Men, you should have taken my advice not to sail from Crete; then you would have spared yourselves this damage and loss. But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because not one of you will be lost; only the ship will be destroyed. Last night an angel of the God to whom I belong and whom I serve stood beside me and said, ‘Do not be afraid, Paul. You must stand trial before Caesar; and God has graciously given you the lives of all who sail with you.’ So keep up your courage, men, for I have faith in God that it will happen just as he told me. Nevertheless, we must run aground on some island.”

I’ve never been in danger of shipwreck, but I have felt like I was on the brink of great loss! Sometimes I still do. I know how Satan comes with accusations and blame, trying to deceive us into thinking we’ve lost God’s favor when the circumstances look rough. I’ve seen some Christians fall to such accusations, thinking God had abandoned them.

The worst of situations was when God’s favor became most evident on Paul’s life. As an ambassador of Christ, he carried hope when nobody else had any! Like Joseph in the Old Testament, even as a prisoner, he became the most influential person in the whole place! May this be a lesson for us. I think it was Bill Johnson who said something like “The person who has the most hope is the one who has the greatest influence.”

This is why we are talking about remaining aware of God’s favor which is on us if we are in Christ, no matter what the circumstances. If Paul had doubted God’s favor or gotten trapped in the accusations of Satan saying “You messed up…” he would not have carried the same influence for the sake of the gospel. Self-pity can be one of our greatest enemies. When we know we carry God’s favor and act on it, miracles happen!

After Paul’s words imparted hope, people started listening to him!

Acts 27:30-44 (NIV) In an attempt to escape from the ship, the sailors let the lifeboat down into the sea, pretending they were going to lower some anchors from the bow. Then Paul said to the centurion and the soldiers, “Unless these men stay with the ship, you cannot be saved.” So the soldiers cut the ropes that held the lifeboat and let it drift away.

Just before dawn Paul urged them all to eat. “For the last fourteen days,” he said, “you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food—you haven’t eaten anything. Now I urge you to take some food. You need it to survive. Not one of you will lose a single hair from his head.” After he said this, he took some bread and gave thanks to God in front of them all. Then he broke it and began to eat. They were all encouraged and ate some food themselves. Altogether there were 276 of us on board. When they had eaten as much as they wanted, they lightened the ship by throwing the grain into the sea….

When daylight came, they did not recognize the land, but they saw a bay with a sandy beach, where they decided to run the ship aground if they could. Cutting loose the anchors, they left them in the sea and at the same time untied the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach. But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was broken to pieces by the pounding of the surf.

The soldiers planned to kill the prisoners to prevent any of them from swimming away and escaping. But the centurion wanted to spare Paul’s life and kept them from carrying out their plan. He ordered those who could swim to jump overboard first and get to land. The rest were to get there on planks or on other pieces of the ship. In this way everyone reached land safely.

Guys, this is huge! Paul acted and believed according to God’s favor that rested on him. God’s favor on Paul saved not only his own life, but the lives of everybody on the ship!

More Favor!

They landed on Malta and a snake bit Paul’s hand while he was gathering firewood. He shook it off, unharmed. He was walking as a heavenly person, as an ambassador of Christ, and he knew all of heaven was backing him. When the people saw that he didn’t swell up and die, they mistook him for a god. Because of God’s favor, Paul quickly became the most influential person on the island of Malta.

Publius was the chief official of the island, and his dad was dying. Paul laid hands on him and healed him, and then the rest of the sick on the island came and were cured. The people of Malta honored the whole group that was with Paul, because God’s favor was on Paul’s life, and they gave them supplies to sail again after they had wintered on the island for three months.

Paul finally arrived in Rome. God’s favor had taken him to the center of the Roman empire to proclaim the gospel! Again, he received unusual favor as a prisoner, being allowed to live in his own rented house with only a soldier guarding him. This is the last thing we read in the book of Acts:

 Acts 28: 30-31 (NIV) For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and welcomed all who came to see him. He proclaimed the kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all boldness and without hindrance!

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Do You Know God’s Favor Is On You?

[image error]Last week we talked about resisting the lies of the enemy that say God has abandoned us. It’s important to maintain confidence that God’s favor rests on us in Christ, and to realize that sometime God’s favor is actually what sends us into adverse circumstances so we can manifest heaven on earth. Today we’ll look at how Paul walked in God’s favor. Paul’s story encourages me because Paul knew God’s favor rested on him even when circumstances were crazy.

A Different Perspective On Favor

Our story starts in Acts 21. The disciples at Tyre warned Paul, through the Spirit, not to go to Jerusalem. (Acts 21:4) He continued on his journey, and a prophet named Agabus prophesied of how the Jews at Jerusalem would bind Paul and hand him over to the Gentiles. The other Christians pleaded with Paul to not go to Jerusalem, but he refused. Paul said “Why are you crying and breaking my heart? I’m ready to be bound and even to die at Jerusalem for Jesus’ sake.” (Acts 21:10-14)

We could debate of Paul was really not supposed to go to Jerusalem, or if that was just the interpretation of the prophets who saw what would happen to him. Many people think it was just the interpretation of the prophets, but verse 4 does say it was “through the Spirit” that they warned Paul not to go.

One thing I notice here is that Paul had a different perspective on God’s favor. He asked the other Christians why they were weeping at the thought of him being bound. But Paul’s perspective was “what if God’s favor is what’s sending me to Jerusalem, where I will be bound and taken to testify of the gospel before kings?” Paul wanted to share the gospel with the emperor, which is why he later kept appealing to go to Rome!

Whether or not God was calling Paul to go to Jerusalem, or it was a mistake, God’s favor continued to rest on him the whole time! There have been tough times when I’ve wondered if I made a mistake. Satan comes with accusations, saying “You missed it, and now what you’re suffering is the consequence.” He tries to get us into a place of hopelessness. But difficulties don’t necessarily mean you missed God’s will. Following a high calling usually leads us right into difficulties.

There have also been times when I know I made a mistake. But God didn’t withdraw his favor or stop being faithful! His favor continued to rest on me.

I can’t say how many times friends in the US have said “It’s time to come home from Brazil.” I’ve had to explain the situation, that to do so would be leaving my aging in-laws with nobody to properly care for them. It would not be cheap or easy to bring them to the US. But aside from that, what if it was God’s favor that sent me to Brazil? God put such a love in my heart when I was a teenager that I wanted nothing more than to go to the nations. I’ve felt this love physically, like a current of electricity flowing through my body. If you have felt such love compelling you, it changes your perspective. It feels like a privilege to be in a difficult place.

Escaping Death

Rioters in Jerusalem grabbed Paul and were beating him to death, but they stopped when some Roman soldiers showed up. The soldiers arrested him and put him in chains. (Acts 21) Paul barely escaped flogging by notifying the centurian that he was a Roman citizen. (Acts 22) But none of this made Paul turn inward in self-pity. He continued sharing the gospel.

Then Paul caused a dispute between the Pharisees and Sadducees of the Sanhedrin, and it became so violent that the Romans had to rescue him by force. Circumstances were crazy! But God’s favor rested on Paul.

Acts 23:11 (NIV) The following night the Lord stood near Paul and said, “Take courage! As you have testified about me in Jerusalem, so you must also testify in Rome.”

The next morning, more than forty men swore to never eat or drink until they had killed Paul. It’s easy to read this as just a story, like entertainment, watching a movie. But in the last year someone threatened to kill us and we felt the frustration of the law refusing to lock this guy up and knowing we face legal consequences in Brazil if we do much to protect ourselves. Facing those threats made me imagine what Paul must have felt, with a much more serious threat on his life. And Paul’s story encourages me to keep a right perspective in it all.

Fortunately, someone discovered the plot and the Romans sent him to Governor Felix with 200 soldiers, 70 horsemen, and 200 spearmen to protect him! (Acts 23:23)That’s a great picture of God’s favor in the middle of crazy circumstances!

Injustice, Bureaucracy, Corruption

Five days later, Paul was brought to trial. Felix decided the whole matter could wait, so he adjourned the proceedings and kept procrastinating! But he sent for Paul to talk to him often, hoping for a bribe. After two years of procrastinating, he left Paul in prison with his successor because he “wanted to grant a favor to the Jews.” (Acts 24)

I’ve felt so much anger and frustration over corruption. Christians in many countries face governments that regularly refuse to do their jobs without a bribe to help them on. It can take years to get a simple permit without a bribe. A few months ago, after dealing with an official who refused to do his job without a bribe, I got an email from a reader in India who was frustrated with the corruption in his country. I started a Facebook discussion and heard the stories of other Christian friends who struggle with the same problems in their countries.

I’ve heard of people being imprisoned because they had the same name as somebody else. I feel so angry at the bureaucracy of a government that can’t even realize there are many people who have the same name and we need something more than a name to identify a criminal. The culture in some places seems to be that there is so much bureaucracy that it’s almost impossible to do anything. So almost nobody follows the rules anyway, because it’s very difficult to survive or make progress if you follow the rules. In the end, it’s always about “granting a favor” to someone or giving a kickback, never real justice.

Paul was kept in prison for a few years just because the government wasn’t doing its job and the governor wanted a bribe. When the governor didn’t get a bribe, he ended up “granting a favor” to the people who falsely accused him. I can relate to Paul story in a new way now because I know how much that kind of thing upsets me! And seeing how Paul maintained a right perspective encourages me.

Even then, Paul enjoyed God’s favor. He was allowed unusual freedom, and his friends were allowed to care for his needs. (vs. 23)

The new governor, Festus, also wanted to do the Jew’s a favor (Acts 25:9), but Paul appealed to Caeser. He was in a legal battle against a corrupt system and chose to take his case to the highest court. Soon after that, Festus decided to have Paul speak before King Agrippa.

Paul could have chosen to feel sorry for himself. But God’s favor was bringing him to share the gospel before governors and kings! Paul started “King Agrippa, I consider myself fortunate to stand before you today…”

In Paul’s perspective, he was fortunate. He was fortunate to be able to share the gospel with a king who had a good background to be able to understand what he was talking about and understand the gospel. So Paul shared the gospel with Agrippa. Paul’s confidence in God’s favor enabled him to do so.

Acts 26:28-29 (NIV) Then Agrippa said to Paul, “Do you think that in such a short time you can persuade me to be a Christian?” Paul replied, “Short time or long—I pray to God that not only you but all who are listening to me today may become what I am, except for these chains.”

Paul’s response to Agrippa revealed his attitude. Paul wasn’t wallowing in self-pity. He was the one who had God’s favor resting on him, who had eternal hope, abundant life, and the joy of salvation! They needed what he had! They need to become what he was!

After hearing Paul, Agrippa said “This man could have been freed if he hadn’t appealed to Caesar.” It seems that King Agrippa may have had more character than Festus and didn’t realize that Festus was more interested in “granting a favor to the Jews” than in justice! I often wonder if Agrippa ever did become a Christian.

Next week we will continue with Paul’s story and look at how God’s favor made him the most influential person on the ship, and then on the island of Malta, even though he was a prisoner.

 

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Circumstances Can’t Change God’s Favor On You!

[image error]I recently read the last several chapters of Acts, which tell the story of Paul’s imprisonment and eventual journey to Rome. Do you know how sometimes we heard a Bible story so many times before, but then we read it again and it’s still fresh? This time when I read it, I could relate so many things in Paul’s story to our experience in Brazil. The whole story spoke to me about God’s favor.

Like Joseph who was sold as a slave by his brothers and unfairly imprisoned, Paul went through many trials. Yet Paul was a man marked by God’s favor. Sometimes the reason we face trials is actually that God’s favor rests on us!

Did You Ever Wonder If God Was Really With You?

Jesus promised that he would be with us always. However, when circumstances are difficult, sometimes Christians wonder “Is God really with me?” Satan tries to plant doubts to make us lose our confidence in the Lord.

An ugly twist on this happens when those doubts are mixed with guilt and condemnation. Many of God’s people have been tormented by the thought “I must have done something wrong and lost God’s favor.” This is often exacerbated by performance-oriented and legalistic teachings which have deceived the church.

There seem to be two common areas where this bad teaching has made Christians vulnerable to being tormented with Satanic accusations. One is manipulative and legalistic teaching about money and giving.

I grew up with this kind of teaching. When I faced financial trials, I always felt like I hadn’t given enough in the offering. The church taught that you were not even giving at all until it surpassed your tithe. So I gave more, but when more financial difficulties came, I felt like it must not be working because I wasn’t cheerful enough about what I did give.

This led to horrible cycles of mental torment. I soon realized that such teaching undermined the very foundation of my faith. Scripture does teach about growing in the grace of giving, as well as sowing and reaping. But when that get’s twisted into teaching that God’s favor on you hinges on how much you give, it becomes a horrible perversion of truth. (See the article Righteousness, Blessing, Salvation.)

The second common area is the teaching that there is a hierarchy of authority between you and God. I gave a thorough rebuttal to that teaching in my first book, I Am Persuaded. In this short post, it’s enough to say that many of the most effective Christians in history have found the religious establishment at odds with them.

For example, Bruce Olson, who led multiple unreached people groups to Christ, was told he was in rebellion against the church and against his leaders. He faced incredible trials, including long periods of time without food and nearly losing his life more than once. I’m sure Satan tried to accuse him, saying he was deceived, in rebellion, and God was no longer with him.

Millions of people’s lives have been changed forever when they heard the gospel at a Reinhard Bonnke crusade. Yet Bonnke often faced resistance from the religious establishment. His own father, a pastor, didn’t believe in his call. Bonnke had to have the peace to know that he was obeying the Lord and God was with him, even when circumstances were challenging.

God’s Favor On Jesus

God spoke from heaven about his favor on Jesus:

Matthew 3:17 (NIV) And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”

What did God’s favor look like on Jesus? There were certainly a lot of miracles! People were healed and delivered everywhere he went. He paid his tax with a coin from a fish’s mouth. He multiplied bread and calmed storms.

Yet Jesus also grieved when his cousin John was beheaded. He was rejected by many of those who were closest to him. He got tired, and angels strengthened him. God’s favor eventually lead him to the cross. But God resurrected him and highly exalted him!

If you clothe yourself with Christ, you are also highly favored!

1 Corinthians 1:30 (NIV) It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption.

This gives me a fresh perspective on God’s favor. God’s favor puts us in places where things are difficult and people need help. We are the highly favored ambassadors of Christ, sent with the honor of representing him! If you’re in a difficult place, count it as your privilege to be sent to such a place as an ambassador of Christ! Remember that God’s favor on Jesus led him to leave heaven and come live in a human body in a broken world. God’s favor led him to humble himself and become unimpressive, as nothing. And what looked like defeat ended as the greatest victory of all history!

Find Encouragement In Other Christian’s Stories

I’ve faced challenges. Sometimes friends in the US have been amazed at the things my wife and I have faced in Brazil. It seems like one crazy thing after another. Kidnapping and death threats from a criminal who the police won’t lock up. Escaping multiple highway robberies. Seeing public buses set on fire by criminals. My wife escaping kidnapping at gunpoint by crashing the car into a trash truck. All the money being taken out of our bank account three separate times, due to government error. Wrecking the car on a dark, rainy night because another car was sitting still, with no lights on, in the middle of the highway after the driver was robbed.

We just had a strike over high gas prices. Grocery stores ran out of vegetables for a few days, food prices skyrocketed, and we had to search to buy water. None of the gas stations had gas. The situation is finally normalizing today, vegetables are back, and many gas stations have fuel again. It wasn’t really that terrible, since it ended fairly quickly, but the anger I feel over greed, corruption, and bureaucracy make me better able to relate to Paul’s story.

None of the difficulties have stopped God from doing miracles! We must never doubt that God’s favor is on us just because of tough circumstances! If we doubt, it will keep us from stepping out in faith so that favor is manifest in our lives. Of course, doubts will come, but refuse to accept them or act on them!

When we know that we have God’s favor, we will continue to step out in faith and take bold risks regardless of the trials or circumstances we have faced. When we do so, God’s favor manifests through miracles! This is exactly what Paul did, and it’s why his story is so encouraging to me.

Next week we’ll look at Paul’s story, and I’ll share some of the ways I can now relate to it in a fresh way.

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Can A Christian Have A Demon?

[image error]Last week in Casting Out Afflicting Spirits I shared how I was surprised to learn how often sickness or pain is caused by an evil spirit attacking someone’s body. I mentioned that at that time, most of the people I was praying for were Christians. At that point, some people protest, saying it’s not possible for a Christian to have an evil spirit. After all, scripture says the Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit. 

Today we’ll examine this issue and I’ll share what I tell a Christian when an afflicting spirit manifests in their body.

The Temple Of The Holy Spirit

The fact that the Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit doesn’t imply that nothing else can be in there. The temple of the Old Testament was a shadow of the time when the Holy Spirit would inhabit our bodies, and several Old Testament passages deal with idolatry in the temple.

2 Chronicles 33:15 (NIV)  He got rid of the foreign gods and removed the image from the temple of the Lord, as well as all the altars he had built on the temple hill and in Jerusalem; and he threw them out of the city. 

Jesus cleansed the temple in the New Testament:

Matthew 21:12-14 (NIV) Jesus entered the temple courts and drove out all who were buying and selling there. He overturned the tables of the money changers and the benches of those selling doves. “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be called a house of prayer,’ but you are making it ‘a den of robbers.’” The blind and the lame came to him at the temple, and he healed them.

The apostle Paul wrote that we have been given fullness in Christ in Colossians 2:10. He also wrote about being filled with all the fullness of God.

Ephesians 3:19 (NIV) …and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

Are these scriptures contradictory? No! God has given us all of himself, putting the Holy Spirit in us, but that fullness fills and permeates every part of our being as we come to know, experientially and by participation, God’s love that surpasses mere head knowledge. That’s why various Old Testament passages also talk about the temple being filled with God’s glory.

2 Chronicles 5:14 (NIV)  and the priests could not perform their service because of the cloud, for the glory of the Lord filled the temple of God.

Can A Christian Have A Flu Virus?

Some people believe that if someone has an evil spirit, they must not have ever really been saved. When Christians wonder how they could have an evil spirit in their body, I often ask “Can a Christian have a flu virus.” Of course! I don’t know anybody who assumes a person was never saved if they get the flu!

Yet the flu virus, like an evil spirit, is something that doesn’t belong in the temple of the Holy Spirit. So is a cancerous tumor. God’s manifest presence also can destroy both of these. One time when I was exhausted and had a horrible sore throat, I was singing to the Lord and my face and hands started to vibrate with God’s presence. Within a few minutes, I no longer had the flu. God’s presence released a frequency that destroyed the virus.

That brings up another point. If a Christian gets the flu or cancer, it’s rarely because of some terrible thing they did. It’s just because they were vulnerable in some way. It’s the same with an afflicting spirit.

Some Christians, for lack of understanding, might feel really embarrassed or ashamed when they realize it was an evil spirit causing their pain. That’s why I explain that it’s a bit like a virus. It doesn’t mean you did something terrible or that you aren’t saved. It’s just something that doesn’t belong, it’s attacking you when you’re vulnerable, and we kick it out.

We talked about vulnerabilities in Does The Devil Have Legal Rights? I don’t believe the devil has a “legal right” to afflict anybody. He claims that he does, but he is a liar. He is not law-abiding. Sin can make a person vulnerable to attack, but it is not the only thing that can. In the case of an afflicting spirit causing physical pain, it often entered when the person was weak or tired, or experienced trauma.

When we don’t realize that a problem is being caused by an evil spirit attacking our body, Christians often assume it is natural or normal. For example, a believer might think “It’s common for people to have knee pain when they are over 50.” 

I don’t want to paint a picture that Christians are weak and powerless, prey for the enemy. Jesus has given us all authority in order to plunder and trample over all Satan’s power. However, if we don’t recognize an attacker for what it is or even accept it is normal, we will not resist that invader. Instead, we’ll tolerate it.

That is why it’s so common for Christians to be afflicting by spirits attacking their bodies. Yet when we realize what the thing is and resist it in Jesus’ name, it’s really easy to kick out! I hope last week’s and today’s posts may help some of you to recognize how an overly naturalistic worldview can sometimes trick us into tolerating invaders.

Try this. If you or somebody near you have pain anywhere, rebuke it aggressively in Jesus’ name. If it moves or increases, you’ve uncovered an invader, and its time is up! Keep rebuking it until it leaves.

For another take on this issue, including the difference between being “possessed” and “demonized,” check out this article by Jennifer Eivaz: Can A Christian Be Demon Possessed?

 

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Casting Out Afflicting Spirits

[image error]I first started ministering healing (at least with any success) at a Global Awakening conference. Sometime later (2006?), I went on a mission trip to Brazil with Global Awakening. Little did I know that in 2012 I’d end up moving to the same area of Brazil I was visiting.

Some of the things Global Awakening taught us were getting words of knowledge and casting out afflicting spirits when ministering healing. I’d already been seeing people healed regularly, but casting out afflicting spirits was new to me. I’d also tried to get words of knowledge with little success, and it would be a while longer until I started seeing much happen through words of knowledge.

Global Awakening’s team taught us when we minister to a person and then interview them, the pain may sometimes move in their body. If this happens, it is probably an evil spirit attacking their body and we should cast it out.

Can Evil Spirits Cause Sickness Or Pain?

This sometimes seems like a novel idea for people who are used to modern medicine and scientific explanations for disease. However, some people have conditions that modern medicine can’t explain. These are often afflicting spirits. It’s also true that we may see a physical problem and there is also an evil spirit causing or exacerbating that problem.

A quick read through the gospels shows that Jesus often cast out an afflicting spirit when he healed someone. The woman with the spirit of infirmity is just one example of many:

Luke 13:10-13 (NIV) On a Sabbath Jesus was teaching in one of the synagogues, and a woman was there who had been crippled by a spirit for eighteen years. She was bent over and could not straighten up at all. When Jesus saw her, he called her forward and said to her, “Woman, you are set free from your infirmity.” Then he put his hands on her, and immediately she straightened up and praised God.

Modern medicine acknowledges the relationship between mental affliction and many physical diseases. In some cases, the mental affliction may be related to an evil spirit tormenting a person in their thoughts. Those thoughts then directly affect the body through the endocrine and nervous systems, causing disease or making a person vulnerable to it. In other cases, and I think more often then we realize, an afflicting spirit causes pain in a more direct way.

My Experience With Expelling Afflicting Spirits

I may not have had great success with words of knowledge on that mission trip, but I quickly began to experience what Global Awakening’s team had taught us about afflicting spirits. Many people, when receiving prayer, felt the pain get worse or move to a different part of their body. When that happened, the evil thing lost its cover and was easy to cast out.

Was this only happening in Brazil? No! After I came back to the US, I experienced a whole month where everybody except for one person I prayed for that month was healed, to the best of my knowledge. That means they reported after prayer that any symptoms they were having before prayer were now gone. Some people have issues like diabetes which may not be causing symptoms at the moment, and I don’t always get to follow up with everybody.

Believe it or not, in that whole month, every single one of those people who was healed manifested an afflicting spirit. They were healed when I cast it out. The pain moved or increased in their body. For example, one person had pain and restricted mobility in the shoulder. When I prayed it moved from their shoulder down their arm. When they told me that, I realized it was an afflicting spirit. I commanded it “In Jesus’ name, get out now!” The pain went to the elbow. I commanded it to go about five times, and each time it moved further down, from the elbow to the wrist, into the hand, and out the person’s fingertips. The pain was gone. (See Zeal And Striking Your Enemy )

Some of those people had problems that I would have thought had a purely natural cause. One man had pain ever since a car accident. I would not have imagined it was an afflicting spirit. However, when I laid my hand on this man’s shoulder and commanded his body to be healed, the pain intensified and moved. I then commanded it to leave until it moved down each time and finally went out his toes.

I then realized that this pain had a natural cause, but an afflicting spirit found a vulnerability and latched on to the physical trauma of the accident. This thing had kept the pain from going away for two years. Otherwise, the man would have totally recovered and the injury healed.

It really was remarkable that I had that experience so consistently for a whole month, as if God was teaching me something. I don’t always experience that with such frequency as I did during that month. John G. Lake and Smith Wigglesworth regularly treated disease as a demon, especially cancer. I doubt that an afflicting spirit is involved in every problem, and we do not deny the role of natural causes in disease. However, this experience taught me that the view of John Lake and Smith Wigglesworth was closer to reality than I had imagined.

At that time, I was still mostly ministering healing to Christians. I realized that some Christians would feel confusion or condemnation, as if they had done something terrible, when they found out they had an afflicting spirit. So some explanation was needed. Some believe that a Christian can’t have an evil spirit. When one is uncovered, they imagine that person must not have really been saved. Next week I’ll share my view on this issue as well as how I explained what was going on when an afflicting spirit manifested in a Christian’s body.

Meanwhile, I just came across a great testimony of a man who struggled with severe central apnea. The pain left and he slept soundly after he cast an afflicting spirit out of himself. If you’re in the mood for some more encouragement, check out his story Pain From Treatment Banished.

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Yes, I Teach Man-Glorifying Doctrine!

[image error]Some time ago, someone left a comment on one of my Facebook posts. I think it may have been a quote from Bill Johnson that I shared. This guy was ranting against Bill Johnson and several other people he considered “wolves in sheep’s clothing.” It was really just a lot of general accusations without anything specific, so I asked him to be specific about what he disagreed with and why. (Check out the article “How to discern other people’s discernment.”)

I didn’t get very far with finding out exactly what he thought Bill Johnson said or did that was wrong. However, one of his main accusations was that Bill and several others teach “man-glorifying doctrine.”

When I read that I felt the Holy Spirit stirring my heart with this phrase: “Yes, we do teach man-glorifying doctrine. It’s called the incarnation. And whoever denies the incarnation is an antichrist.” The reason this guy would make such as accusation was that he was operating in an antichrist spirit.

God’s Will Is To Glorify You!

This truth is offensive to so many religious sentiments that are simply not based on Scripture. But this “man-glorifying doctrine” that we teach isn’t man attempting to take God’s glory. It is man being glorified with God, and God being glorified through man!

The incarnation is one of the fundamental doctrines of the Christian faith. It’s one of the major differences between Christianity and several other religions that teach Jesus was a prophet or a good spirit, but deny His deity and humanity as one. God chose to glorify man by sending Jesus as a man. God highly exalted Jesus and gave him the name that’s above every other name, and he joined us to Jesus. God has chosen to glorify men by putting his Spirit in us.

Some may be offended by this point, but scripture is clear. Jesus’ glorification means our glorification.

Romans 8:30 (NRSV)  And those whom he predestined he also called; and those whom he called he also justified; and those whom he justified he also glorified.

John 17:22 (NRSV) The glory that you have given me I have given them, so that they may be one, as we are one

Romans 8:17 (NRSV) and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ—if, in fact, we suffer with him so that we may also be glorified with him.

Hebrews 2:6-8 (NRSV) But someone has testified somewhere, “What are human beings that you are mindful of them, or mortals, that you care for them? You have made them for a little while lower than the angels; you have crowned them with glory and honor,  subjecting all things under their feet.” Now in subjecting all things to them, God left nothing outside their control…

Let God Glorify You So He Is Glorified!

Scripture says God has crowned us with glory and honor, so we should not think it’s humble to resist him. He has glorified us, and he will continue to be glorified through us!

We are the body of Christ, we are in Christ, and Christ is in us. We’ve often cited the scriptures for these truths, and anybody with a basic understanding of the New Testament should know them. So how can Jesus be glorified without the church being glorified? When we resist the glorification of the church, we are resisting Jesus receiving the glory that belongs to him!

Ephesians 3:20-21 (NIV) Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

As I’ve often heard Bill Johnson say “God will not give his glory to another—but you are not another.”

1 Corinthians 6:17 (NRSV) But anyone united to the Lord becomes one spirit with him.

 

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What Does “In Jesus’ Name” Mean?

we talked about Jesus’ promises for those who ask in his name. We saw that asking in Jesus’ name must be more than just saying “in Jesus’ name” or pronouncing certain syllables. Today we are continuing by talking about what it really means to “ask in Jesus’ name.”

What Did A Name Mean To Hebrews?

A little study will reveal that a name was much more important to Hebrew thought than it was today. A name was character and identity. It wasn’t just syllables. We still understand this today, but we don’t attach nearly as much importance to it as they did. Many people today don’t even know what their names mean.

The names of God in scripture reveal God’s character. The name “Jesus” means “God saves” and “Christ” means “anointed one.” 

When Jesus’ gave his disciples such amazing promises about praying in his name, I don’t believe he was talking about pronouncing syllables. If that were so, we would probably have to say his name in Hebrew for it to work! But that’s not how Christianity works. Witchcraft works by putting faith in special incantations that you have to say just right and perform perfectly. It emphasizes that. Christianity works by faith in a person, a God-person, Jesus.

Jesus was talking about asking the Father from a place of identification with him. Christianity brings us into identification and union with Jesus.

We identify with Jesus’ death and resurrection first by baptism, and then by considering ourselves dead to sin and alive to righteousness. (Romans 6:11) We are in Christ and He is in us. His nature is our nature. He is the head, we are his body. We are united to Him! We should know this. We should act like it’s true.

Christians don’t necessarily always identify with Christ. When we continue to self-identify as sinners, we are not identifying with Jesus. If we act like we’re alive to sin and dead to righteousness, we are not identifying with Jesus. Sadly, sin-consciousness has infected much of Cristian culture. I often hear called “worship songs” in church that are poison. By even singing the lyrics, we self-identify as alive to sin and dead to righteousness, the opposite of what scripture teaches us to do. 

Identifying with Christ means my hands are Jesus’ hands. My nature is his nature. Even when I move on the earth, it is Jesus moving, because my body is his temple and the manifestation of His Spirit on this earth comes through my body. If we really believe that and act like it’s true, we are identifying with Christ. We are speaking and acting “in his name.”

 Romans 13:14 (NIV) Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh.

This scripture tells us that identifying with Christ is something we must continue to do intentionally as Christians. If we say things like “I don’t have any more patience,” “I just can’t love that person,” or “I can’t help it…” we are not identifying with Christ, because those things are not his nature. If we act like we are separate from Jesus instead of united with Jesus and sharing his nature, we are not identifying with him. If we are walking in shame, guilt, and condemnation, we are not identifying with Christ. Receiving God’s free gift of righteousness enables us to identify with Christ.

Do You Need To Yell At The Devil To Cast Him Out?

Somebody saw a preacher yelling at demons. The demons were screaming and coming out of people. Others were being healed in the meeting. Later, they tried to imitate the preacher but didn’t get the same results. 

Some people yell when they are telling a disease to go or pain to get out of someone’s body. Some people don’t say a word. I’ve done both. You can yell if you want. But what matters isn’t if you yell or don’t yell. What matters is that you’re identifying with Jesus. 

If you are yelling at the demon the same way you yell at your spouse or co-worker, you probably aren’t identifying with Christ. If you are yelling only because that thing is afflicting somebody in your family and it’s causing you suffering, you probably aren’t identifying with Christ in that situation.

But if you yell because you love that person with Jesus’ love and that thing that’s hurting them doesn’t belong, you are identifying with Jesus. There is an anger that comes from God, and it comes from love. Mere human anger is self-centered, and it doesn’t produce the righteousness of God.

James 1:20 (NIV) …because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.

I remember hearing somewhere the story of a demonic principality that confronted Bob Jones. Bob was about to rebuke it, but the Lord stopped him. He had almost made the mistake of identifying with the very nature of the thing he was about to rebuke in the way that he rebuked it. If he had done so, it would have killed him.

Colossians chapter 3 is also about identifying with Christ. Look at the first few verses:

Colossians 3:1-3 (NIV) Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God.

When you identify with Jesus in his death and resurrection, your life is hidden with him. It’s a place of safety. It’s a place of supernatural protection. You can tread on all the power of the enemy, and nothing will by any means hurt you. So clothe yourself with Christ now! I believe saying “In Jesus’ name” is a great way to pray, but we want to understand and really mean what we are saying.

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When It Doesn’t Work To Say “In Jesus’ Name”

[image error]Did you ever see a great manifestation of God’s power or authority in Christ, and then try to imitate what you saw but end up disappointed with the results? Or have you read scriptural promises and tried to act on them, but it seemed like they “didn’t work?” Why?

Promises For Those Who Ask In Jesus’ Name

Scripture has incredible promises for those who ask in Jesus’ name:

John 14:12-14 (NIV) Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.  You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

John 16:23-24 (NIV) In that day you will no longer ask me anything. Very truly I tell you, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.

1 John 5:14-15 (NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him.

I think that Christians often read these promises and try to hold on to them, but when it seems like it “didn’t work,” unbelief settles in our hearts.  Of course, we continue to mentally acknowledge that scripture is true. But we don’t act like it is. And when we read such incredible passages of scripture our hearts are hardened to them because they make us feel pain. They remind us of disappointment.

What if these promises really are true, but there’s something we aren’t understanding? What if these scriptures can actually become our experience?

When It Doesn’t Work To Just Say “In Jesus’ Name”

Lately I’ve been referring a lot to the story of the seven sons of Sceva. This passage gives us some insight into what it really means to pray in Jesus’ name. It hints that praying in Jesus’ name is more than just saying “In Jesus’ Name.” Let’s look at this story again:

Acts 19:11-20 (ESV) And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul, 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. 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.” Seven sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva were doing this. But the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I recognize, but who are you?” 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. 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.

These seven brothers invoked Jesus’ name, but it didn’t work. Paul didn’t necessarily speak Jesus’ name in every case, but he identified strongly and personally with Christ. And even things that had touched his skin drove out demons and diseases. He was speaking and acting in Jesus’ name. What a difference!

Years ago, a friend told me that when he was involved in witchcraft they sometimes used Jesus’ name to expel demons. Since then I’ve read about exorcism practices in other religions. I learned that several religions use Jesus’ name in their exorcism practices. And it seems like they sometimes have limited or apparent success when they do so.

The seven sons of Sceva may have had some limited success with using Jesus name. When it says they “were doing this,” it makes me think they may have been doing it for some time before this particular story. And if they kept doing it, it was probably because it seemed to be helping. But obviously, they soon found out that it wasn’t enough to use Jesus’ name like a magic word without personally identifying with Jesus.

I don’t think saying “In Jesus’ name” is a bad thing. But this must be more than a ritualistic incantation. We must know what it means and mean what we’re saying! Next week we’ll look more at what it means to pray “in Jesus’ name” by identifying with Jesus.

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