The Sons of Sceva.

Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest 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 Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” One day, the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” Then 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. This is recorded in Acts 19:13-16

Sceva had been exorcising demons for a long time. Many would have considered him one of Ephesus’s finest exorcists. He hardly ever failed. Even when the people weren’t really helped, at least they felt better momentarily. All seven of his sons had followed him into the family business. It was a family business.

 Apostle Paul fellow came to the town of Sceva. He preached gospel and exorcised in the name of Jesus Christ. With his new Jesus method, he wasn’t just revolutionizing the whole industry, but he was also stealing their business. After a little industrial espionage, however, they had figured it all out. It was this Jesus fellow’s name that seemed to work. The Sceva family felt that by using Jesus’ name like Apostle Paul was enough to rejuvenate their family business. After teaching his sons this wonderful new mantra, Sceva sent them out to try it on one of their newest clients who seemed to be harmless enough. There was no way one man would overwhelm or defeat them.

The young men surrounded the demoniac, and immediately tried out the new formula. “In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out,” they chanted. Before they knew it, the evil spirit in the man answered them; “I know Jesus. In fact, I’ve heard about Paul, too. But who do you think you are?” The old demoniac jumped on them and beat them to a pulp. He even ripped off their clothes, and the young men ran for their lives, bleeding and naked.

 This story teaches us that spiritual power comes by being under the authority of Jesus Christ. The only type of Christians whose authority the enemy respects are those who are clearly under the authority of Christ themselves. This is the true secret of all spiritual authority. If Christ is not the Lord of your life, and if you are not walking under His authority, all the Christian slogans and trite sayings in the world are not going to save you. You have to believe in His power and let Him be your Lord and savior. Only then you’ll the spiritual power that can put the spiritual enemies away.