Wannabe Exorcists

Acts 19:13

Then certain of the vagabond Jews, exorcists, took upon them to call over them which had evil spirits the name of the Lord Jesus, saying, We adjure you by Jesus whom Paul preacheth.

Acts 19:15

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know,  Paul I know; but who are ye?

In this rather hilarious account of a botched up "exorcism", we observe some serious truths that we see played out even today.

1) In the name of the Lord 

So apparently, these con-exorcists operated "in the name of the Lord Jesus", and even brought the apostle Paul's name into the picture! This clearly illustrates the fact that, merely invoking the name of the Lord does not make an act authorized! Over and over, we want to emphasize that "in the name of the Lord" simply means "with the authority of the Lord". This is exactly what Jesus was preaching about in Mat 7:21-23. Authority is not established by mere profession but by following exactly what God had commanded.

2) Even the devils knew Jesus and Paul

We are reminded of James 2:19

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

And among many passages in the gospel accounts, Luke 4:41 summarizes it all -

And devils also came out of many, crying out, and saying, Thou art Christ the Son of God. And he rebuking them suffered them not to speak: for they knew that he was Christ.

Wow...if even devils, the minions of Satan acknowledge and fear God and His Son and His authorised servants, what says of the men who deny and especially those who seemingly profess yet deny with their beliefs? 

The manifestations of devils and evils spirits no longer happen today, with the ceassation of miracles, yet the concepts remain applicable. Today, we can too be similarly overcome by "devils" (cf. V.16), of we do not have proper authority in what we do! And yes, it does not matter how loudly and sincerely we declare it to be "in the name of the Lord" but only that it is according to God's will.

On the other hand, we too can be recognized and be feared by Satan and his minions, just as Paul was when carry proper authority from God by following what He Wills. As James exhorted us in James 4:7 - Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

The Devil is powerless against us! Until we allow him to...

Let us not be as the wannabe exorcists, deceiving people and themselves, and getting their due punishment, but be true priests of the royal priesthood, feared by the devil, and accepted and pleasing unto God, that we might be fruitful in our Christian walk and finally receiving our reward in heaven.