Sons of Sceva

In our day and time, there is an awakening in many hearts to the power and wonder of God revealed as He was in the lives of the first church. However, along with this, there are those who seek the power of God for their personal gain. This is seen in the example of the Sons of Sceva.


The sons of Sceva (Acts 19:14) were vagabond jewish exorcists. In their attempt to use what was probably to them the latest spiritual "thing" they attempted to cast a demon out of an individual. However, in this encounter ended in failure. The demon's response was the he knew Jesus and Paul, but did not know these individuals. He then proceeded to compel the man he possessed to physically attack these exorcists.

Why did this attempt at exercising authority fail? Let me suggest some ideas:

• First, there is no indication they were born again
• Second, they were attempting use authority for their own benefit
• Thirdly, and in my mind the most important - they were not sent. If they were not sent, there would not have been the authority to operate
  

The application of this to our lives is simple to state, maybe hard to do. We must make sure we are entering into a ministry based on His sending and not one of our own making. If he is sending, the authority will be there for us to operate in.

food for thought
if you are frustrated in ministry; did He send you there? or was it your idea?

till next time
martin