DON'T CALL ON HIS NAME IF YOU DON'T KNOW HIM

PROCLAMATION

“And God wrought special miracles by the hands of Paul … 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.’  And there were seven sons of one Sceva, a Jew, and chief of the priests, which did so.  And the evil spirit answered and said, ‘Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye?’  Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.”  Acts 19:11-16 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These are the acts of the apostles of Jesus, The Christ, as written by Luke, the physician, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here Luke records that while Paul was in Ephesus, he met twelve disciples of John, the baptizer, and baptized them in the name of The Lord Jesus.  He laid his hands of them and they received The Holy Spirit. (Acts 19:1-7)  The Lord God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.  Even the handkerchiefs that he had touched cured the sick. (Acts 19:11-12)  Seven Jewish exorcists tried to copy Paul and invoke the name of The Lord Jesus to call out the evil spirits from demon-possessed individuals.  However, the evil spirit turned on them, and beat them severely.  This became known all throughout Ephesus and the name of The Lord Jesus  feared and held in high honor. (Acts 19:11-20)  About the same time a silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines for the goddess Diana, caused a riot when he told the people of Ephesus that Paul had discredited their goddess Diana by turning the people to Christ. (Acts 19:23-29)  Only after the town clerk spoke did the angry crowd quiet down. (Acts 19:30-41)

 

APPLICATION

If you do not know Jesus, The Christ, or The Lord God, it is not wise to call on His name.  If you are non-believer, you should only call on Him to confess your sins and to ask Him to come into your life as your personal savior.  Otherwise, you probably should not call upon his name.  The Lord God is not to be played with.  Unfortunately, today many people who do not have a relationship with Him use His name in their casual conversation and in profanity.  We are not to use the name of The Lord God in vain. (Exodus 20:7)  If you are not going to reverence Him, or ask Him for salvation, then you should not talk about Him, or try to invoke His powers.  These seven men learned that the hard way.