In Peter Allison's sermon, 'The War for Ephesus: The Demonic Battle,' he explores Acts 19 and the spiritual conflict in Ephesus during Paul's ministry. God performed unusual miracles through Paul, healing the sick and casting out evil spirits, which authenticated Paul's apostleship. The sermon emphasizes the distinction between 'redemption accomplished' by Christ's historical work and 'redemption applied' through the Holy Spirit. These miracles, unique to the foundation of the New Testament Church, are not normative for today. The sermon highlights the power struggle between God's divine power and the demonic forces in Ephesus, known for its occult practices. It warns against engaging in demonic practices and underscores the importance of God's protection and redemption. God's power is shown in delivering individuals from sin and darkness, exemplified by former practitioners of magic who turned to Christ. The sermon concludes by urging believers to rely on God's power and grace for salvation and spiritual growth.

Our Scripture reading is Acts 19. To begin reading at verse 11. This is the middle of Luke's account of Paul's ministry, three-year ministry at Ephesus and the planting of the Ephesian church and all of the churches, seven churches that are named in Revelation that surround or are around Ephesus. Verse 11, Now God worked unusual miracles by the hand of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought from his body to the sick and the diseases left them and the evil spirits went out of them. Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.

Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest who did so. Then the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know and Paul I know, but who are you? Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped upon them overpowered them and prevailed against them so that They fled out of that house naked and wounded. This became known both to all Jews and Greeks dwelling in Ephesus. And fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.

And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds, and many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all. And they counted up the value of them, and it totaled fifty thousand pieces of silver. So the word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed. Those who seek these his precepts will walk at liberty. Father in heaven, your word is truth.

We ask that you would fill us with your truth, that you would sanctify us, set us apart, that you would renew our thinking and strengthen us in the inner man to walk in obedience. We ask that you would do this through the preaching of your word this morning. And I ask that you would sanctify my sinful lips that they may proclaim this wonderful gospel of the grace of God to sinners like us in Jesus name amen In Jesus name, Amen. In the message a couple weeks ago, we saw how the Jerusalem Pentecost in Acts 2 was mirrored in Samaria in Acts 8. And then it was mirrored again in Caesarea in Acts 10.

And in each of these cases, there was a baptism of the Holy Spirit, followed by speaking in tongues, or unusual miracles, or demonic deliverances, or in most cases, all of those things. I think speaking in tongues is the only thing that's not mentioned in Samaria. And so these things happened as the kingdom advanced from Jerusalem to Judea and Samaria and then to the ends of the earth. And we saw that this is exactly what we saw in Ephesus in the first seven verses. And that's why some People call this the Ephesian Pentecost.

The final ripple of the Jerusalem Pentecost in Acts 2. You remember the Acts 2 where the tongues of fire fell upon the 120 in the upper room, and they spoke in tongues. And there was the preaching of the Word and many were saved. The tongues were the baptism of the Holy Spirit. There was miracles, demons were cast out, unclean spirits, People were healed just passing as the shadow of Peter came across them.

So unusual miracles like that. Then the same thing happened in Caesarea and then in Caesarea. The difference, though, with what happened at Ephesus and all the other times are two. First, this is the first time it happens outside of Israel. And second, it involves Peter, Paul, instead of Peter.

All the other cases were in the land of Israel, and Peter was the spokesperson. The apostle who was, the named apostle who was associated with these events. So this then event serves to confirm Paul's apostleship. Paul is an apostle like he says, equivalent, equal, on par with all of the other apostles, not less than them. Essentially, remember when Israel crossed the Red Sea, the Bible says that Israel then believed the Lord and Moses.

That was a confirmation. When Moses parted of the Red Sea, it was a confirmation that this was God's man, this was God's prophet, and that God was working through him. And so this Ephesian Pentecost is for Paul what that Red Sea crossing was for Moses or what the other Jerusalem Pentecost was for the other apostles. It's God's confirmation of Paul's apostleship. God put His seal upon Paul as his apostle to the Gentiles, and God gave these authenticating signs that Paul was an apostle that was bringing revelation from God.

And he does this by working these unusual miracles and casting out demons through Paul. It says that people brought aprons and handkerchiefs that had been in contact with Paul's skin. They had touched him. They brought them to the sick and they were healed They brought them to people that were possessed by unclean spirits and they were delivered they left Now these these two words apron and handkerchief the aprons would would have been what Paul wore around his waist as an artisan in his tent-making labors. It was the apron of a workman.

And the handkerchiefs were a type of face cloth worn around the head for absorbing perspiration, like a bandana. Or at least they were used for wiping perspiration from the head. And so both of these things would have been articles of clothing or cloth that They would have seen Paul wearing and would associate with Paul. And so they thought that there was some power in these articles. And really this whole message, this whole section is concerned with power.

It's comparing two powers, the power of God and the power of the evil one. So we've titled this message The Clash of powers or the demonic warfare, the battle of the demonic. And so these people thought that there was some power in these articles, and that if they touched Paul, then they could take them to the sick and they would be healed because of the power in the article and though they're though they are sadly and Greatly mistaken they are still healed Just like Jesus healed the woman who touched the hem of his garment in her superstition that if she touched his hem that there would be power in that and she would be healed. He didn't rebuke her for seeking the power to be healed at the wrong place. He commends rather her faith and her humility.

And so these, Luke calls these miracles unusual. Now why are they called unusual? Aren't all miracles unusual? I mean, in one sense, that's what a miracle is, something that's very unusual, out of the ordinary, Not through ordinary means, or not the way that God ordinarily works. Well, we know that the Scriptures tell us about Christ and His redeeming work.

That's what they're about. From Genesis to Revelation, the Scriptures are about Christ and His redeeming work. But we have to distinguish between the work that accomplishes that redemption and the work that applies what Christ has done to us. In other words, we have to distinguish between redemption accomplished and redemption applied. They are two different things.

Redemption accomplished is Christ's work in history to accomplish or to affect our salvation. Redemption applied is the work of the Holy Spirit to apply Christ's finished work to us. And so Christ's work to accomplish our salvation is unique in history, and it is not repeated. It's never meant to be repeated. The creation, the fall of Adam and Eve, Christ's incarnation.

That's the big word for what we celebrate at Christmastime, when Christ added a human nature to His divine nature. So Christ's incarnation, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension are one-time events that are never to be repeated. They're once and for all events. He died once and for all. Some people try to replicate these events.

There are people in the world that try to crucify themselves at Easter time in a very misguided attempt to celebrate Easter and in some way, some misguided way, to honor Christ. But of course, such acts are not at all pleasing to God, no matter how sincere the people that are doing them might be. And the same is true of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost and the subsequent ripples in Samaria, in Caesarea, and in Ephesus. These are one-time events when the Holy Spirit came and God's people were given a power of the Holy Spirit in a new way to advance His Kingdom here on earth. And so these are events that we should not try to imitate or expect to be repeated.

Much of the Gospels and much in Acts concerns the history, the narrative, of these one-time, these unique one-time events. And so we shouldn't consider these things that are being described here as normative for us today. We shouldn't try to replicate them by being in some way filled with the Holy Spirit, different from what we receive at our salvation. And then trying to replicate some of these things that happen here. And there are people that try to do that.

This is unique history where God is authenticating new revelation. He's authenticating his message and his messenger, just like he authenticated Moses or the other Old Testament prophets through whom he gave new revelation. And so the reason that these kinds of miracles don't happen today, though there are miracles that happen today, there are people that have been raised from the dead, and other incredible miracles, They don't happen. These unusual miracles don't happen today, not because we don't have enough faith, or because we aren't spiritual enough, and they're certainly not because we haven't given enough money to some church or to some scam artist. So telling somebody that they aren't healed because they don't have enough faith or haven't sacrificed enough is very, surely very unkind.

You see, these things don't happen today because they are part of the foundation of the New Testament Church. And foundations, you know, are only laid once. You don't continue to lay the foundation after it has been laid. And the foundation of the New Testament Church, the Bible tells us, was laid upon the apostles and the prophets. And it's done.

What's building built today is the superstructure. But We see here God's great compassion and kindness. Here are these people that believed in this superstition that there was some power in these artifacts. And yet God heals them. Jesus said in Luke 6, Love your enemies, do good, and land hoping for nothing in return, and Your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for He is kind to the unthankful and evil." God is kind to the unthankful and even to the evil.

And so that's why we are to love our enemies and to do good and to lend, hoping for nothing in return. Because we're to be imitators of Christ in that way, of God in that way, who is kind to the unthankful. He gives to those who never thank Him. Just think of everything that we have. From the clothes on our body, the health, the life, to everything around us, the food that we get every day, that God gives to us.

And He gives it to unbelievers even when they don't thank Him for it. And so we see here God's kindness in actually two ways. First, He's healing all these people at Ephesus. He's healing these superstitious people who thought there was some power in a piece of cloth that had been in contact with Paul's skin, and then could be brought to somebody who was sick or possessed of demons, and they would be delivered. These are superstitious people who, instead of attributing that power to God, instead of being thankful to Him for it, are attributing it to something that He made.

We don't read about these people here being healed because of their faith. Jesus would sometimes say, your faith has made you well. We don't see that here. We see rather a superstitious belief in the power of some articles. And yet, God heals these people because He's a compassionate God.

God heals people, some of whom were sick from their own bad choices. And secondly, we see God's compassion here in saving sinners and delivering them from their sins. We know this. We know that. But sometimes we get it backwards.

And we sometimes think, even if we don't say it, We sometimes think in our minds that people first need to turn away from their sins and then God will save them. But this is a very clear passage that the order is exactly the opposite. God saves sinners, those who are bound in their sin. Notice in verse 18, it says, And many who had believed came confessing and telling their deeds. And this happened as a result of an incident we'll look at in a minute.

And they bring their magic books to be burned. The Greek verb for believe is in the perfect tense, And there's no exact translation in English because the perfect tense describes an action that has been completed in the past with consequences that continue into the present. An action that's completed in the past with consequences that continue in the present. So these people had believed in the past at some point prior. They believed.

And the present consequence of their believing is their forsaking of their magic arts. God gave saving faith to people involved in witchcraft before they had abandoned their evil deeds. Not because they had forsaken their sins. And that's a very significant point because without it, we couldn't be saved. It's only because we are united to Christ and made partakers of His power that we are enabled to repent and forsake our sins.

We come to Christ in order to forsake our sins. We don't forsake our sins so that we can then come to Christ. Christ saves the ungodly. He saves sinners. You see, it's impossible for sinners to forsake their sin, unless they are in Christ.

So if God doesn't save those who are yet in their sins. Then no one could be saved. But praise the Lord, He saves those who are in their sins. And He delivers us from those sins. And One sure evidence of his saving work is that we do forsake those sins.

And when we don't, it's a sign that his power isn't in us. And we aren't his. Now, I'd like here to turn to the focus of I think this passage which is this clash of powers and this demonic warfare in Ephesus. Ephesus was a city that is known for its occult activity. It was a demonic stronghold.

In fact, it was so well known for its magic business that Greek and Roman writers referred to its magical formulas and incantations as Ephesian writings. Ephesian writings. In the ancient world, Ephesian writings were the magic arts, magic books, and so on. In Ephesus, this city has been extensively excavated and has provided an abundant amount of archaeological artifacts from which we can learn a great deal about Ephesus. It was a major city as we saw, it was the capital city of Asia, It was behind only Rome or Alexandria.

And some people even say it was behind only Rome in terms of its status and importance. And so scrolls with magic words written on them, rings granting people good luck, amulets which were believed to protect the bearer and necklaces extending life. All these sorts of things are easily found in the ruins of ancient Ephesus. We know that there was, from these excavations, that there was a vast market for the magical items in the commercial agora of Ephesus. That was the marketplace.

This was a Grand Central Station for all things related to the occult. Even criminals came because I'm not able to find a source for this, or to verify this with any primary sources, but all the commentators seemed pretty agreed that Ephesus was a haven for criminals because of the temple of Diana, Artemias. That if you were within the geographical vicinity of that temple that you were somehow protected. And so apparently, this was also a haven for all the crooks and criminals. So this is a very wicked city.

It was given over to the demonic in the same way that Corinth was given over to sexual immorality. Now, God had commanded Israel in Deuteronomy 18, verse 9 and following, against these things. When you come into the land which the Lord your God has given you, He said you shall not learn to follow the abominations of these nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or daughter pass through fire, that's offering children as a sacrifice. That's something that happens today, children are sacrificed.

There actually was, and I have even a picture of an original ticket to this event. There was an event in 1933 in Soldier Field in Chicago where a monument to Baal was set up and a child was tossed into that fire. That's in our country in the 20th century. Whether there was an actual child in that, we might never know. So he said, there should not be one who makes his son or daughter pass through fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead.

For All who do these things are an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations, the Lord your God drives them out from before you. The people were being kicked out of their land because of these abominations. They were disinherited. And the same could happen to us if we engage in these things.

We shouldn't expect anything different. You shall be blameless before Jehovah your God, for these nations which you will dispossess, listen to soothsayers and diviners, but as for you, Jehovah your God has not appointed such for you." That's a pretty clear and direct statement. They're an abomination, and God has not appointed these things for us. What are these things? Witchcraft.

The word for witchcraft there means divination. It's a false prophecy. Jeremiah 14, 14 says, And the Lord said to me, the prophets prophesy lies in my name. I have not sent them, commanded them, nor spoken to them. They prophesy to you a false vision, divination, the same word, a worthless thing, and the deceit of their heart.

That's witchcraft. False prophecy can also involve interpretation of omens. In determining where to go next, Ezekiel says that the king of Babylon practiced divination. Next, Ezekiel 21, 21, For the king of Babylon stands at the parting of the road, at the fork of the two roads, to use divination. He shakes the arrows, he consults the images, he looks at the liver.

This is practicing divination. So making decisions based on information or intelligence from fallen angels or demons, that's what demons are, fallen angels, is divination. Demons don't know the future, but they may know things we don't know because of their ability to travel and their ability to communicate with one another. And God says, don't do that. Don't do that.

That is not a legitimate source for your information. You're to be governed by the Word of God. Every word, we're to live by every word that proceeds out of his mouth, not what we can gather from these other means. And there is real information that can be gathered. It's not a prediction of the future.

And of course, wherever there's a real thing, there's also scams and fake artists that spring up to deceive as well. They're not any better. The second thing is here are soothsayers. That's one who pretends to prognosticate or to predict the future, to know the future. It's a Chaldean word for those people who try to foretell fortunes and the destinies of individuals from the position of their stars at their birth and by various arts of computing and divining.

Today we would call this the horoscope. And it's printed in all of our papers, or most of them, the pagan ones I should say, not the Bible-believing ones, but it's printed in most pagan newspapers. That should tell you newspapers are carrying the demonic. And if you just look at that and think, well, that's harmless, I think you're sadly mistaken. It's demonic.

God says, don't do it. And the people were kicked out of Canaan for practicing these things. God commands us not to dabble in these things, not to attempt to discover what God has not revealed to us. It's to pry into His secret will. And Moses said that God's secret will belongs to Him.

And we're not to look into it. What He has revealed to us belongs to us and to our children, and we are to look into that. The other thing mentioned here is a medium. The word for medium is actually the word for asking. It's a verb.

It's used extensively in the Bible. To ask, to borrow, to interrogate, to consult, and so forth. That's all the same word here, to ask. There's nothing wrong with asking or seeking information as long as we seek it in the proper places, as long as we seek it through the means that God has ordained, through those sources of information that He has allowed us to look into. He has commanded us to study this world that He created.

And we have to do that in the light of the Word that He has given to us. But that's a source in the light of God's Word we can learn through the study of His creation. But a medium is one who inquires in the spirit world for information that God has forbidden to us. In Ezekiel 21, the passage that I read, the King of Babylon said he consults the images. That's the same word.

He's asking information from these images. He was seeking to gain information from a source that God has commanded us not to seek information from. Ouija boards are an example today of asking for information in the spirit world. It's not a game. It's real.

And people that use them are giving an open invitation for the demonic to come into their life and wreck and destroy it, utterly destroy it. A sorcerer is also mentioned. That's one who practices divination. A spiritist, which is mentioned in Deuteronomy 18, is one who communicates with the dead or tries to communicate with those spirits, like the witch at Endor that Paul consulted in 1 Samuel 28, I believe. And so these people then are trusting in these other things that God has said we're not to put our trust in.

They were trusting in these artifacts or in a name. They thought there was some power in a particular name. And for them, magic consisted in saying the right name and the right incantations and the right series of secret words. And so we have these seven sons of Scyva, or Scyua in Greek. They are itinerant Jewish exorcists, Luke says.

They can't stay in one place. These people are frauds. And if they stayed in one place, they would be exposed for the frauds that they are. That's why the snake oil salesmen are always traveling, snake oil salesmen, never stay in one place. Secondly, this was a business for them.

They made money at it. It's not a ministry. They did it to make a name for themselves, not to bless and serve other people. The second thing we see about them is that they took it upon themselves. They took it upon themselves.

Very telling statement. Demonic powers are very real. And they are very powerful. So much so that even Michael the archangel dared not bring a reviling accusation against Satan, but said, the Lord rebuke you, when he disputed about the body of Moses in Jude. And in Daniel 9, the demonic power inhabiting the king of Persia prevents an angel from coming to Daniel for three weeks.

And only Michael could enable him to break free. You see, there is very real power in the demonic. It's nothing to trifle with, or at least this demon prevented somebody from coming to Daniel. This doesn't say if it's an angel or not. But it's a very real power.

And it's not a war that we can see usually. Sometimes there are manifestations of this power in the visible world, but for the most part, this is a battle, and this is power that is exercised invisible to us, but it's very real. And it's nothing, it's nothing that we should ever want to trifle with. And so no one should ever become involved in a demonic deliverance without the special calling and gifting of God. Even Paul in Philippi, You'll remember, did not immediately confront the spirit of Python, the Python spirit.

He waited until God called him to do it. Because Paul did not take it upon himself to go after the demonic. That had to be by calling, by the calling of God. There are people who are Christians who do this kind of work, and it's a totally life-consuming work. And the things that they suffer are beyond description.

They take into their own bodies many of the things that are happening. And it's horrific what they endure to do this. But God has apparently given them the grace and the power for this. And He's pleased to work through them. But it's nothing that we should ever take upon ourselves.

I know people who have seen these things happen, seen these deliverances, But it's not something that you should ever seek to wander into and take upon yourself, like these did. They took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits. And notice what they did do. They didn't call upon the Lord Jesus. Do you see that?

They didn't ask the Lord for something. They didn't call upon the Lord. They called the name of Jesus over these people. In other words, they were trying to use Jesus' name as if there was some power in the sound of those letters put together in a certain way. And what they learned is there's absolutely no power in the sound of certain letters put together in a certain way.

The power to do these things is from the Lord. Verse 11 begins, God worked unusual miracles. It wasn't Paul that worked them. Paul was simply the instrument in God's hand through which God's power was delivered. And when these people take it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, the Lord is not pleased with that at all.

They are seeking to do something in their flesh of which they have no understanding of what they are doing. They are seeking to make a name for themselves and to do with some secret incantation, some combination of letters and sounds, what is impossible to do? Satan is powerful. And Jesus Christ is the only one who can defeat him. He is the strong man.

When we see demons being cast out, then we know that Satan has been bound by the strong man. Satan himself is called a strong adversary. And so this demon hears these sounds being spoken, sounds that have absolutely no power. And his response, or actually, his evil spirit's response is, Jesus, I know. That's a word for knowledge, to know something in the sense of a husband and a wife knowing, or a God knowing us.

This demon is saying that they know Jesus. And Paul, English has two words, no, but there's two different Greek words here. And when they say Paul, they know it's a recognition. They know his name, they know of him, because Paul had been used by the Lord mightily in this area. These demons were being cast out.

This kingdom was suffering defeat after defeat after defeat through the power of God through Saul, through Paul. And so Jesus, they know, this demon knows, and Paul's name they recognize. I'm sure the other demons that have been cast out, the unclean spirits that have been cast out, they can communicate. And since These people had not called upon Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ was not exercising His power over this demon.

This demon is now free. And he leaps upon them. That's seven of them. And he overpowers them. And he prevailed against them.

That's one man possessed by a demon. Leaps upon seven men, presumably in good health, and he's more than the seven men can handle. And they can't even get away from him. Away from him. He overpowers them, strips them naked, and wounds them.

See, these people didn't know God and they had no power whatsoever over the demonic. The power is in God. The power is God's. You see, Christians can become involved in the demonic. There is a hedge of protection that Job says, we read about in Job, have you not made a hedge about them, speaking of God protecting Job?

Have you not made a wall around Job? And around his household, and around all that he has on every side? Because God had protected Job. And then God gave, you remember in the story, God gave Job permission to hurt Job's surroundings. And then later on, he gave him permission to touch Job's body, but not take his life.

God was very specific about that. You can touch his body. You can make him sick, but you can't take his life. There is no fellowship of light with darkness, as Paul told the Corinthians. So in other words, there is a difference.

We're not to be unequally yoked with unbelievers for what fellowship has the righteousness with lawlessness, and what communion has light with darkness, and what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part is a believer with an unbeliever? Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols? Remember, when they sacrificed idols, they're sacrificing to demons. For you are the temple of the living God.

As God has said, I will dwell in them and walk in them and I will be their God and they will be my people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate says the Lord do not touch what is unclean and I will receive you and I will be a father to you and you should be my sons and daughters says the Almighty." That's the promise we have in Scripture that we're to come out of this and that the Holy Spirit dwells with us, that we have communion with light. But we can break that hedge by our sin. Remember Samson was filled with the Spirit of God. And Samson is cited in Hebrews 11 as a man of faith.

And what happened to him? The Spirit withdrew from him when he disobeyed God and allowed his hair to be cut. He did return after. And Samson was able to destroy, to push over the pillars that held up that Philistine temple that's today gone. But we can break that hedge by our sin.

Ecclesiastes 10-8 says, He who digs a pit will fall into it, and whoever breaks through a wall or a hedge will be bitten by a serpent." And Jesus calls the demonic serpents and scorpions. Remember, the devil came to Eve as a serpent. In Luke 10, Jesus says, "'Behold, I give you authority to trample on serpents and scorpions and over the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. But there are things that we can do, even as Christians, that Break that hedge. And anger is one of the sins that breaks that hedge.

Jesus says be angry and do not sin. Do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Anger, unconfessed anger. Anger that is not resolved that we allow the sun to go down on, it gives a place to the devil. And it opens up our lives to the harassment and the destruction that the evil one brings.

Sexual immorality is another sin that breaks that hedge and extends a legal basis to demons to come into our lives. Remember all the temples in the ancient world often had temple prostitutes that were part of that part of that idolatry and part of the demon worship because through sexual immorality and through the fornication with these prostitutes demons gained access into people This is nothing brothers and sisters to trifle with these These sins are sins against their own body. Even Paul's admonition to husbands and wives that if they deprive one another for a time, for the specific purpose of prayer, they were to come back together again so that Satan does not tempt you. Because sexual immorality is one of the things that gives Satan a legal foothold in our lives. And we have these great and precious promises of God's protection for us.

But like Samson, when we sin, we break out. We break the hedge. And we give a legal foothold. It doesn't mean Satan will always use that legal foothold. But we are giving a legal foothold to him in our lives.

And we have the great and precious promises of Scripture that when we confess those sins then he loses that legal foothold and we can resist Satan and it says he must flee he must flee James says Resist the devil and he will flee. Because he has to. But we have to resist him with the means and the resources that God gives to us. And we have to, first of all, ensure that we have not given any legal foothold to Him in our lives. That we have confessed and forsaken those sins.

We see God's power in this passage. We see first His sovereign power over all aspects of His creation. God works these miracles. He heals these people of these diseases. He delivers these people from these unclean spirits.

Paul is the instrument through which God works. He's like the scalpel. Paul is the scalpel in the hands of a surgeon. But God is sovereign over all of His creation, and that includes Satan and all his fallen hosts of angels that followed Him. God controls everything, even what the demons can do and what they can't do.

The demons that left their proper domain and committed fornication with people, Jude says that they are reserved in everlasting chains under darkness for the judgment of the great day. God does that by His sovereign power. He's held them there so that they never do that again. And He never has to destroy the earth again with the flood. We also see God's protecting power here.

Satan tries to steal, to kill, and to destroy. He's at war with Christ and His people. But God protects even these seven sons of Sceva. This demon did not kill them. Why?

Just because the same reason Satan didn't kill Job. Because God did not give them permission to do that. God protected them. God protects us from demonic activity continually. We don't see that, but He does.

Angels are assigned to children. Angels guard us. We are children of light, protected by the power of God. But notice also, He delivers people who are possessed by unclean spirits because of their own sin. These are people who dabbled in witchcraft and they gave legal ground to these demonic beings to trouble them.

And yet when they believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, they are delivered. He helps the helpless who are unable to deliver themselves. So we see God's protecting power and we also see God's redeeming power. People who once loved and trusted in their magic arts now burn those things and put their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. They believed, they confessed their sins, they destroyed their magic books.

And as a result of these demonstrations of God's power, the Word of God grew mightily and prevailed. The Word of God grew mightily because God was working mightily through Paul and through this Ephesian church And he was delivering these people and and he was Using these Wonders signs and wonders of an apostle But it wasn't because of these signs and wonders. Don't ever think that these people believed because they saw these wonders, and that if we could see these wonders today, then people would believe. No. These people believed through the preaching of the Word and the power of God, not the signs and the wonders.

When people believe it is the power of God, and that power that saved these people is still the power that works today and saves people today. It's the power that saved us. And it's the power that is at work as we bring the Gospel to people that are in darkness. God works powerfully. May He give us grace to believe in Him, to forsake our sins, and to speak of His grace to us.

Heavenly Father, we thank You that You are the mighty God as you revealed yourself to Abraham, God Almighty. And you have done great and mighty works throughout history. Great and mighty works that your name might grow, that your Word might prevail, that you might be glorified as the mighty God, as the Prince of Peace, as the King of kings, as the Savior of men, as the Redeemer and the Lover of our souls, as the gracious and compassionate Father. We thank You that You have known us from before the foundation of the world, and that You have accomplished so great a salvation on our behalf, and that You have sent Your Holy Spirit to apply it to us. Father, may we never, never lose that first love that we first had when you saved us.

May we never lose That humble adoration for you and for the great work of redemption that you have accomplished for us and applied to us. And as we grow in knowledge, may we also grow in Your grace. And in our zeal for Your kingdom, and in our love and compassion for those lost that are around us. This we earnestly ask, claiming your promise that you are able to keep us from stumbling and to present us faultless before your presence with great joy. Through Jesus Christ.

Amen.