Sermon Manuscript

In 1962 Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created what many believe to be the greatest super hero of all-time.  A super hero who was like no other.  At the time superhero comics were dominated by characters like Superman and Batman and Captain America and Wonder Woman.  Characters who had supernatural gifts, abilities, and powers.  But Stan Lee and Steve Ditko wanted to do something different.  They wanted to create someone “ordinary”.  Superman was an alien and Batman was a billionaire.  Captain America was a war hero and Wonder Woman was a Princess from a foreign island.  They were all adults.  So Stan and Steve decided to create a superhero who was a teenager named Peter Parker.  A teenager who would have teenage problems like bullies, homework, loneliness, and relationship issues.  But a teenager who will be bitten by a radioactive spider and acquire superhuman strength, speed, reflexes, and an ability to climb up walls.  A teenager who would become… Spiderman.  And within a decade Spiderman would become more popular than all of the others.  The greatest superhero of all-time.

And while some of us grew up wearing superhero pajamas or reading superhero comic books or watching superhero cartoons all of us grew up with a sense of wonder and awe about what they could do.  Right?  We would imagine what it would be like to fly like Superman or be brave like Batman or use the Lasso of Truth like Wonder Woman.  We were young and we were filled with wonder and awe.  And our world was filled with possibilities.

But somewhere along the way everything changed.  Somewhere along the way we began to look at our world differently.  Somewhere along the way we lost our ability to imagine and pretend.  That piece of paper that we could fold into an airplane and play with for hours or that box that we had turned into a boat and used to sail around the world or that blanket we had used to tie around our neck and become a superhero changed.  We changed.  And we no longer believed in castles and dragons and princesses.  

Because our world of endless possibilities became a world of endless limitations.  We learned that we actually have limited knowledge.  So we questioned everything.  We had limited abilities.  So we no longer tried new things.  We had limited control.  So we no longer took chances in life.  We had limited strength.  So we stopped playing the sports we loved as children.  And we had limited finances.  So we no longer dreamed of purchasing that dream car or dream vacation.  Our world had changed and our view of what our lives could become had changed too.

But there is something that can take the ordinary and change it into the extraordinary.  Something that can fill us with wonder and awe again.  It’s a miracle.  Because a miracle is an extraordinary event that cannot be explained through natural causes.  It’s an event that goes beyond the ordinary acts of nature.  An event that only God Himself could cause to happen.

G.K. Chesterton, in his book called Orthodoxy, once said, “The most incredible thing about miracles is that they happen.”  Miracles fill us with wonder and awe because they show us that there is a God who exists outside of our world but who can operate within our world.  Miracles point to the existence of God.  C.S. Lewis in his book called Miracles once said, “Miracles are a retelling in small letters of the very same story which is written all across the world in letters too large for some of us to see.”  Miracles fill us with wonder and awe because they speak of a God who is all-powerful and all-knowing.  A God who created this world and everything in it and still has the ability to step into our world and to change it.  

Miracles make us “child-like”.  They force us to have a “child-like faith”.  To once again dream of the impossible and to believe that even castles and dragons and princesses still exist.  When Jesus was asked by His disciples in Matthew 18 “Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?” he placed a child into their midst and said in verse 3, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”  In other words, He told His disciples that they must become like children and once again believe that all things are possible.  Later in Matthew 19:26, He said, “With God all things are possible.”

You see in order to follow Jesus and to be His disciple you and I must believe in miracles.  We must believe in the God of the Impossible.  We must believe that the same God who created our world and placed us within it is capable of doing all things.  We must become like children and believe that with God anything is possible.

So over the next five weeks we’re going to enter into a series of messages called Miracles.  And we’re going to examine a portion of the book of Acts which is filled with miracles.  Miracle after miracle after miracle in which we see God step into our world and do what only He can do.  And it is my hope and prayer that through this series you will be encouraged to know what God can do, empowered to believe what God will do, and enabled to see what God is doing all around you.  Because God performs miracles every day.  We often simply cannot see them.

Let’s get started.  If you have your Bibles, turn with me now to the book of Acts chapter 19.  Today we’re going to be in verses 11-20.  If you would like to follow along with us online you can do so by using our app.  It’s called Church Center and we use it each week.  So if you download it and open it up and then click on Sunday Services followed by Message Notes you will find everything that you need for our time together this morning.

As you turn there let me quickly remind you that all throughout 2026 we have been in a yearlong theme called Be My Witness where together we are learning as a church family how to make a difference for Jesus and be the witnesses He has called us to be for Him.  And to learn how to do this we’ve been examining the book of Acts and the actions that the early church took in order to live out the Great Commission and reach the world with the Good News of Jesus.

A few weeks ago at the end of chapter 18 we examined the story of Apollos.  Apollos was a Jewish teacher who believed in Jesus but knew only of the baptism of John.  So Priscilla and Aquila pulled him aside and taught him about the baptism of Jesus.  The need to be baptized into Jesus name in order to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit and to be saved.  And after that event Paul ran into a group of men in Acts 19 who had also been baptized in the name of John and not received the gift of the Holy Spirit.  So Paul baptized them into the name of Jesus and they received the Holy Spirit.  Paul then went into the synagogue in Ephesus and taught there for three months.  But when they became stubborn and wouldn’t believe he then went to a lecture hall and continued to teach there for two years.  Speaking to both Jews and Greeks.

Here’s what happened next.  Luke, the author of Acts, writes in Acts 19:11 these words:

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. 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.” 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. 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. 18 Also many of those who were now believers came, confessing and divulging their practices. 19 And a number of those who had practiced magic arts brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted the value of them and found it came to fifty thousand pieces of silver. 20 So the word of the Lord continued to increase and prevail mightily.

Alright.  So this passage is known as the story of “The Sons of Sceva”.  And if we’re honest we’d have to say that by any definition this is a strange and odd story.  It even begins in an odd way.  Doesn’t it?  Because verse 11 says “And God was doing extraordinary miracles by the hands of Paul.”  So what is an “extraordinary miracle”?  Are there really “ordinary” miracles and “extraordinary miracles”?  Are there really “crazy events where God does what only He can do” and “really, really, crazy events where God does what only He can do”?  

Well, apparently.  Because Luke seems to be almost out of words trying to describe the type of miracles that God was doing through Paul.  Remember.  Luke was a doctor.  So as a doctor he would have been drawn to stories of healing and especially miracles of healing.  Such as when Peter healed the lame man in Acts 3 or how Paul healed the crippled man in Acts 14.  Those were incredible miracles.  But there were some miracles that were just “different”.  Like when Peter’s shadow healed people in Acts 5 or here when “handkerchiefs” and “aprons” were rubbed on Paul’s skin and then taken away to people who were sick and diseased and demon-possessed and they were healed!  Now those are extraordinary miracles!

So you can just imagine how as these events took place over and over and over again that people became curious and amazed and then began to want to perform those miracles for themselves.  Because that’s what apparently happened with a group of seven Jewish exorcists who were sons of a Jewish high priest named Sceva.  The sons of Sceva.  Verse 13 says that these seven sons began speaking to the evil spirits and saying, “I command you by the Jesus whom Paul proclaims to come out of that person!”  And yet what happened?  Verse 15 says that the evil spirit said, “Jesus I know and Paul I recognize but who are you?”  And the man with the evil spirit jumped on them, overpowered them, and beat them up so that they ran out of the house both naked and wounded.  Wow!

And as news spread of this event verse 17 tells us that “fear fell upon them all” and that “the name of the Lord Jesus was extolled”.  The Greek word here for “extolled” is MEGALYNO which means to “exalt, magnify, or glorify”.  So the name of Jesus was being magnified and glorified because of the fear that fell upon the city of Ephesus.  

Archaeologists and historians have found evidence which shows that ancient Ephesus had numerous magical traditions.  Magic and occult practices were part of their culture.  So when this happened they recognized that as followers of Jesus they could no longer do this.  And so they burned all of their books in verse 19.  The value of which came to 50,000 pieces of silver or about 50,000 days wages.  One calculation I found said that a modern equivalent would be about 5-7.5 million dollars!  That’s a lot of money!  But what they were saying by doing this was “We are no longer going to participate in this!  We are no longer going to do this!  Right here and right now we publicly denounce this behavior and declare we will never do it again!!!”  And as a result, Luke finishes by saying that God’s Word continued to increase and to prevail mightily.

In other words, these two stories are both a warning and a wake-up call.  First of all, it was a warning to nonbelievers.  The story of the sons of Sceva showed that people who did not have a relationship with Jesus should not be using His name in any way He had not given.  Because this is why the evil spirit said, “Jesus I know and Paul I recognize but who are you?  Who are you that thinks they can use the name of Jesus to speak to me?”  The seven sons were then beaten because of it.  So it was a warning to nonbelievers.  But it was also a wake-up call to believers.  Because apparently there were believers, followers of Jesus, who had begun to follow Jesus through Paul’s ministry but who had not yet turned away from their former way of life.  And so they needed a wake-up call.  And they got one.  They realized that the children of Light cannot dabble in darkness or engage in evil or mess with magic.  Followers of Jesus Christ must completely turn away from their former way of life and any of these practices.  So at a high-level we can see how these two stories served as both a warning and wake-up call.

But at a deeper level and a much more practical level this passage teaches us about the miraculous power of God that is found within the name of Jesus.  Because in my Bible I circled that phrase “the name of the Lord Jesus”.  It’s found in verse 13 and later in verse 17.  And I’d encourage you to do the same.  Circle those two instances.  Because if you are here today and you are a follower of Jesus Christ, if you have given your life to Him and been baptized into His name, then you need to understand something very, very, powerful.  God has given to you and to me access to His power, His miraculous power through the name of Jesus.  However, there’s also a second idea.  Because we have access to this miraculous power we must learn to use it well.  To respect it and honor it and recognize that it is the very power of God for our lives.

So this morning I want us to learn how to do that together.  Here’s three truths that we can remember from this morning’s passage in order to better honor the power of God that has been given to us in Jesus.  First and foremost, we need to remember that God’s power should not be manipulated.  Because that’s what was going on with the seven sons of Sceva.  They saw what people were able to do through the hands of Paul and the name of Jesus and they wanted that power for themselves.  They wanted that power to be used in the way they wanted to use it.  But they had no relationship with God through Jesus.  They were Jewish exorcists who had not yet given their lives to Jesus.  And that’s why the evil spirit said, “Jesus I know and Paul I recognize but who are you?”  If an evil spirit doesn’t know you as a follower of Jesus then he will not listen to you if you speak for Jesus.  Even if you invoke “the name of the Lord Jesus”.  Why?  Because God’s power is made available only for those who are in a right relationship with Him.  His power can only be released by those who are in a right relationship with Him.  People who do not know Jesus cannot use His name and His power for their glory.  The sons of Sceva learned that the hard way.  And we need to learn from their example.  God’s power should not be manipulated at any time and by just anyone.  It’s reserved for people in a relationship.

Second, God’s power should cause us to praise Him.  Because when the sons of Sceva were overpowered and punished.  When they were forced to flee the house naked and wounded it was a clear sign and a clear warning.  And it caused all of the residents in Ephesus, both Jews and Gentiles, to fear God and fear the name of Jesus.  It caused them to properly recognize who God is, what He is capable of doing, and how the name of Jesus cannot be misused.  It must be held in high regard and honored properly.  And a proper fear of God which recognizes who we are before Him will cause us to worship.  It will cause us to understand the power God truly has and who we are before Him and it will lead us to “extoll” Him and to “extoll” the name of Jesus.  Which we learned means to “magnify, glorify, and praise”.  When you and I see the power of God at work in our lives and in the lives of others it should cause us to praise God for both who He is and what He can do.  His power should cause us to praise Him.

And then third, God’s power should change our behavior.  Because at the end of this story when the believers took their magic books and burned them publicly they were renouncing their former way of life.  They were saying, “This is who I used to be but that’s not who I am today.”  And we need to do the same.  When we recognize the power of God at work within our lives we should understand that it will oppose all that God opposes.  It will oppose all forms of sinful behavior.  And so within our lives we, too, should renounce our former way of life.  We should be able to say, “I renounce my former way of life.  I am no longer going to live my life for myself.  I am no longer going to use my life for myself.  I am no longer going to seek the pleasures and the comforts and the material possessions of this world.  I renounce that behavior and instead will pursue what God wants for me.  I will date who He wants me to date.  I will marry who He wants me to marry.  I will choose the profession He wants me to pursue.  I will purchase what He wants me to purchase.  I will use my money in the way He wants me to use it.  I will live my life for Him.  I will live my life for Jesus.  Jesus is my Lord.  He is my Master.  He is my owner.  I hereby renounce who I was before and declare publicly that I will live my life only for Him.  I will burn and get rid of every single aspect or part of my life which does not honor Him.  No matter what it costs and no matter how valuable it might be.”  That’s how we change our behavior.

That’s how we honor the miraculous power of God within our lives.  That’s how we honor the name of our Lord Jesus.  We recognize the power of God that has been given to us through Jesus and we refuse to manipulate it.  We recognize the power of God and what it can do for us and we praise God for it.  And we recognize that the power of God can and should change our lives and we allow God’s power to do so.  We respond appropriately to the power of God.

So here’s the question for you and for me.  How will you respond to the miraculous power of God within your life?  How will you respond to the miraculous power of God you’ve been given just as it was given to Paul?  Because with great power often comes a great need to respect it.

That’s a lesson that Peter Parker, who became Spiderman, in the comics had to learn as well.  Because when Stan Lee and Steve Ditko created the super hero Spiderman they created him from a very normal, everyday, average, person.  A teenager with teenage problems.  And they named him Peter Parker.  A character who was awkward and shy and poor and unpopular.  An ordinary person who made many, many mistakes.  Someone people could relate to.  And then they gave that ordinary person extraordinary powers.  The ability to shoot webs and climb walls and a “spidey sense” which enables him to detect danger quickly and to act incredibly quickly.

And in the story of Spiderman initially he uses his super hero powers poorly.  He actually helps a criminal to escape prison.  But that same criminal then goes and kills his Uncle.  Uncle Ben.  But when this happens he learns a valuable lesson which has become a very popular phrase.  You’ve probably heard it before.  It simply says, “With great power comes great responsibility.”  Because Spiderman had to learn that the superhero powers he had been given had to be used to help others and to be used responsibly.  Irresponsible behavior leads to disastrous results.

That’s a good lesson for us as Christians.  As followers of Jesus you are like a superhero.  Because you have been given the miraculous power of God.  Power that has been made available to you in the name of the Lord Jesus.  But you must learn to use it well.  You must learn to revere it and respect it and honor it.  And you must remember not to manipulate it or use it for your glory but only for God’s.  You must use it to remember what God alone can do and how you are called to praise Him for it.  And you must use it to change your behavior.  To live in such a way that you uphold and honor the name of Jesus.  Because you have been given great power but “with great power comes great responsibility”.

So let’s do that today.  Let’s learn from the mistakes made by others.  Let’s recognize the power we have been given in Jesus but choose to use it not for ourselves but for God’s glory.  So…

Respect and honor the miraculous power of God given to you in Jesus.

Let’s pray.

[Prayer:  For God to help us honor the power we have been given in Jesus’ name.]

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