Introduction

Imagine you’re driving down the road when you see a set of lights go on behind you. You pull over and roll down the window and watch in your rearview mirror as a man dressed in a Tim Horton’s uniform gets out of the car behind. He tells you that you were driving too fast and so you need to pay (him) a fine. Would you feel inclined to pay it?

Now imagine the same situation, except the person who gets out of the car is a police officer with a badge and a uniform. It could be the same person in both instances, but in the first one you could roll your eyes and drive away, while in the second example you would feel compelled to cooperate.

The difference is that in the first instance, the man pulling you over is working on his own authority, while in the second, the police officer is working under a higher authority to which you (and he) are accountable.

We intuitively understand that legitimate power comes from authority. But let me adjust the illustration a little: What if the police officer pulls you over and tells you that you need to pay a fine to him in BitCoin? You might feel intimidated by the badge and gun, but you’d also understand that this isn’t a legitimate request. The officer has authority to enforce the speed limit, but not to solicit personal gifts from people who exceed that limit.

Power coming from authority isn’t just something that affects our interactions with the police, it’s also something we see in our relationship with The Spirit. In the book of Acts, we see the power of the Holy Spirit at work in the Apostles. While Paul is ministering in Ephesus, he is able to perform healings in a way that almost seems magical:

¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ^{12 s}o that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them. (acts 19:11-12, NIV)

But the power doesn’t work through Paul because he’s got magical powers, but because he’s submitted to God’s will. We can see this in what comes next:

¹³ Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” ¹⁴ Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. ¹⁵ One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” ^{16 T}hen the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. (Acts 19:13-16, NIV)

When the Seven Sons of Sceva try to use God’s power for their own benefit, they find that God can’t be manipulated or mastered. As a result the people of Ephesus come to revere God.

¹⁷ When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. ¹⁸ Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. ¹⁹ A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. ²⁰ In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. (Acts 19:17-20, NIV).

In these stories we see that God powerfully works through those who are submitted to his authority. But God does not give the power to those who work for their own ends.

I. Placing ourselves Under the Authority of the Spirit

A. The Apostles Work for the Glory of God.

Throughout Acts, we have seen how the Apostles did amazing things under the authority of God. In the very beginning of Acts, Jesus promises the Apostles power so they can go in his authority to carry out his mission: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NIV). This power allows the Apostles to communicate with people in different languages, it gives them boldness to proclaim Jesus’ message in the face of dangerous opposition, it allows them to perform miraculous signs, like when Peter & John to heal a lame beggar.

The Spirit doesn’t just tell the Apostles what to do, but it also sometimes tells them what not to do. In Acts 16, we see comments that the Spirit stops Paul from doing things that Paul intended:

⁶ Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. ⁷ When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to (Acts 16:6–7, NIV).

Preaching in the Province of Asia or in Bithynia (modern Istanbul) wasn’t an immoral thing to do (far from it). But this shows that the Holy Spirit isn’t just keeping the Apostles from living in sin, but the Spirit is strategizing and actively directing so that Paul’s actions can have the maximum impact.

Paul’s obedience to the Spirit’s direction, even when he doesn’t understand why, is what makes his ministry in the Province of Asia so fruitful. Part of what the Spirit wants to do is to work special miracles through Paul. Miracles coming from Paul’s garments seem strange to us, but wouldn’t have seemed so unusual in that cultural context. It was a common belief in the Greco-Roman world that things that had come into contact with divine power had healing properties. So Paul’s handkerchiefs would be expected to have healing properties if Paul was working closely with God. So the Spirit works with the expectations of the people to show how Paul has genuine divine authority. People listen because the miracles validate his message.

B. We must work for the Glory of God

Like Paul, we have been given power that comes from submitting ourselves to God’s authority. The Spirit directs us to do certain things and The Spirit may close certain doors. These things may be good ideas, but not what God wants us to do at that particular time. We can do things with the intention of honouring God, but if we don’t do them in submission to his authority, the Spirit won’t invest our efforts with the power that comes from obedience. So we need to discern what opportunities are good ideas and which are the Spirit’s direction.

This discernment process isn’t as straight forward as we might like it to be. But this isn’t just something we struggle with. It seems like Paul had a plan set up to go into the Province of Asia before the Spirit’s timing was right. He had a plan to go to Bithynia and the Spirit nixed that. So not getting it right on the first try isn’t a problem peculiar to us. Even apostles experience it.

Through prayer we discern opportunities, and seek divine guidance. Then we discern as the best that we can , but keep listening in case the Spirit redirects us while we’re in motion. There’s a verse in Isaiah that captures this dynamic well: Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, “This is the way; walk in it” (Isiah 30:21, NIV). We might like the Spirit to give us direction ahead of time. But God often says, “get moving and if you make a wrong turn, I’ll let you know how to get back on track.”

As we do our best to follow God, keeping our ears open for his correction, God will direct us. And when we walk in his ways, he will empower our efforts for his glory. But things don’t work this way if we try to use the Spirit’s power for our own glory as the seven sons of Sceva found out much to their horror and embarrassment.

II. Placing the Spirit Under our Authority

A. The Sons of Sceva try to manipulate the Spirit

The Sons of Sceva were Jewish exorcists. People offering deliverance from demonic oppression were common in the ancient world. They would use magic spells and incantations. The idea was if they knew a high ranking deity’s name, they could use it’s authority to manipulate lesser spiritual beings. That’s what the Sons of Sceva were trying to do.

Interestingly, there are no historical records of a chief priest named Sceva. This seems to suggest, they were a group of charlatans using a made up position of authority to manipulate people. The power obviously at work in Paul seems like something they want to use for their own purposes. If Jesus is as powerful as Paul’s miracles make him appear, being able to claim his authority for themselves could be very good for business. So they attempt to use Jesus’ name as an incantation – a magic spell at their command.

And how does that work out for them? When they have to flee the scene naked and bleeding, it’s pretty obvious that things in the spiritual realm don’t work they way they assumed. The Sons of Sceva’s humiliation shows us that while Jesus’ power works through those under his authority, it is not something we can access when we work independently of his authority.

B. When We try to Manipulate the Spirit

I’m going to guess that most of us aren’t tempted to try to use the Spirit’s power in magical spells. So is there an application for us?

While the Sons of Sceva are attempting to use magic to wield God’s power while not being under his authority, we can try to do the same thing by other means. It’s a very easy thing for us to seek a relationship with God for what we get out of it. The church has often mistakenly marketed our faith: “Come to Jesus and he’ll take away your sicknesses, cure your addictions, make you happy and give you material prosperity.” We’re so infused by our capitalist culture that we try to ‘sell’ faith as a collection of benefits.

While God loves us and desires to bless us, he does this according to his priorities, not ours. A friend of mine does a great deal of mission, partnering with churches in Tanzania. God is doing some amazing things in Tanzania, but one problem he has encountered is a legacy from western missionaries who sold the faith as a means of getting to the front of the line for God’s material blessing. So when they pray for that material blessing and it doesn’t come, it can rock their faith, because it doesn’t match up with their expectations.

We don’t just have a distorted view of how God will bless us materially, we also have a distorted view of how forgiveness works. God is in the process of renewing creation. That happens when people become new, not just when they are forgiven for their sins. God isn’t interested in papering over our sins. He forgives us, yes, but his grace isn’t about helping us avoid consequences, rather it’s about our old, sinful, selves dying and being replaced daily by someone a little more like Jesus. So God’s blessings always come with an eye on this greater purpose.

Our prayer serves as a helpful barometer of what we really want out of our relationship with God. So we should consider what we pray for? Is our focus on this transforming work at the heart of God’s agenda? Am I always praying for safety, comfort, success, protection, vindication and prosperity? There’s nothing wrong with asking for these things, but if this is all we’re asking for, we’re missing the plot. In Jesus’ prayer in the garden on the evening he was betrayed, we see what Godly submission looks like. Jesus, about to be arrested and knowing what is about to happen to him prays: “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39, NIV). Jesus prays for safety, and comfort (the removal of the suffering he knows is about to start). Yet, Jesus confirms that God’s will is a higher priority. Jesus wants comfort, but more than that, he wants the Father’s will to be done.

I remember one of the darkest times in my life when I was miserable. I kept demanding God take me out of the situation. But God didn’t. It was only after I exhausted myself in resisting God and submitted, praying “God, if there’s any way for me to get out of this situation, I pray that you would make it happen, but if it’s your will for me to stay here, then I just ask you to give me the strength to endure it. Shortly after I came to that place, the situation resolved itself.

So is Jesus our Lord, or our Lucky rabbit foot? Are we committed to his authority? If we are, God will do powerful things through us as he did through Paul. If we want to use his power without bowing to his authority, then he withholds that power. So We need to submit to his will

Submission to God’s authority begins with prayer. When we’re faced with the kind of situation we just want to pray away, we should stop and ask ourselves what God might be doing through the situation. If Someone is lying about you to make you look bad – you could pray that God could make it stop or that people won’t believe the lies. But you can also pray that God would soften your heart to the one spreading the lies, so you can learn to love your enemy as Jesus commands. If you find yourself enduring a painful illness you can pray that God would heal you But you can also pray that God would give you hope in the midst of the suffering because you know that our aches and pains and even death don’t have the last word. If you find yourself in financial difficulties you can pray that God would turn your finances around But you can also pray that God would give you confidence to know that he is faithful to provide what you need, even when our financial situation looks dire. As John Blanchard said: “Prayer is not so much submitting our needs to God but submitting ourselves to him.”

But submission moves beyond prayer to action. Don’t just pray for God to teach you to love your enemy, put it into practice doing good to those who would hurt you. Don’t just pray that God would give you hope in the face of sickness. Sing songs of praise and give thanks to God for his many blessings. Don’t just pray that God would give you confidence in his provision, but even in your need, maintain a posture of generosity with those around you, anticipating that God will provide for you. When Paul submits to God’s authority, miracles happen. When, like Sceva’s Sons, we try to wield God’s power, without submission it leads to injury.

III. The Consequence of the Spirit’s Authority

The Pain Sceva’s sons experience at the hand of the demon possessed man does have an unexpected benefit. It says that the people were all filled with fear. The ‘fear’ here is awe and reverence – People realize Jesus isn’t a God to be manipulated, but rather submitted to. He’s proven to be more powerful than the gods the people worship. Particularly the deity most associated with Ephesus: the goddess Artemis

Today, the temple of Artemis is some scattered ruins, but it was one of the seven wonder of the ancient world. The temple was a cash cow for the local economy. The decline in Artemis’ popularity as a direct result of Paul’s missionary work leads to a riot later in chapter 19. But at this point, people are realizing that the cult of Artemis and the incantations and spells associated with it aren’t worth anything in light of the power demonstrated by this greater deity: Jesus Christ.

As a result, many people abandon their practice of sorcery and turn to Jesus, going so far as burning their scrolls. In our context, the value of these scrolls would be millions of dollars. A pretty significant sum. When people see a comparison between the power of those submitted to Jesus with the powerlessness of those who are not, they turn to God.

When saying Christians need power, I feel I need to qualify what I mean by power. Christians aren’t supposed to pursue the kind of power that allows us to force people to do things they don’t want to do. Rather we seek the power of God that renews and restores. If our community see us wielding coercive political power, some people will be drawn in, but for the power, not the relationship with God This is essentially what the Sons of Sceva did

But if people see Christians being set free from the power of hatred, fear, and addiction, some will be drawn into a relationship with Jesus and with his people. The best evangelistic tool the church has is to be a community transformed by the Spirit’s power and engaging the world around it in love. This kind of community was what allowed the Christian message to spread all over the Roman Empire in a few decades, even in the face of opposition and hostility. While our culture and the type of opposition and hostility we face is very different (more indifference and derision, less hungry lions and crucifixions), the witness of a community of people transformed by submitting to Jesus would be just as powerful today as it was then. So let’s pray not just for the easy comfortable benefits we can get from God But instead, let’s pray that God’s will be done in us, That more than getting the blessings we naturally want, God glorifies himself in us by making us more like Jesus.