The beloved physician Luke wrote how, “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 preaches. 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 you?”, and in chapter nineteen and verse sixteen of the book of Acts Luke shared how “the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them” where we read:
And 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.
The verse begins, “And the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, and overcame them, and prevailed against them, ...”: Luke began with the words, “and the man” which means “and the male human being” “in whom the evil spirit was” or “within whom the labor filled, annoying and wicked demon was who inhabited his body” “leaped on them” which means “jumped and sprung upon the seven sons of Sceva”, “and overcame them” or “and brought the seven sons of Sceva in subjection and under his power”, “and prevailed against them” which means “and was strong, wielding power, forceful and availing in opposition to the seven sons of Sceva”. Luke shared how the “man” who was demon possessed jumped on the “seven sons of Sceva” and overpowered them all.
The verse goes on to say, “... so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded.” Luke continued with the words, “so that they fled” or “insomuch, wherefore and therefore the sons of Sceva escaped and sought safety in flight” “out of that house” which means “apart and separate from the dwelling place, habitation and abode” “naked” or “unclad, without clothing and striped of their clothing” “and wounded” which means “and inflicted and injured”. Luke shared how the “demon” so overpowered the “seven sons of Sceva” that they ran out of the “house” they were in without their clothes on and injured.
When we meditate upon Luke's words in this verse, we learn how the “demon” in the man jumped on the “seven sons of Sceva” and beat them so badly that they ran out of the house they were in without their clothing on and they were inflicted with “wounds”. This was the effect of their attempting to cast the “demon” out of the man without being known by the “evil spirit”. God's supernatural power is His to distribute as He sees best, and no one should attempt to duplicate it without direction from His Holy Spirit. God's desire is to have a personal relationship with every person who yields themselves to His Son Jesus. When they surrender to Him, He will forgive their sins and grant them everlasting life. Afterward He will direct them according to His miracle working power, and rather than being led by their own “spirit”, they are to be directed by His Holy Spirit. Let all who read these words submit themselves to Jesus and allow Him, and Him alone, to direct them in the supernatural things.
Next time Luke shares how, “this was known to all the Jews and Greeks also dwelling at Ephesus”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until tomorrow…there is more…
See more devotionals on the website "thewordfortodaywithray.com" or look for the daily devotional book “Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County" in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com ; http://www.barnesandnobles.com ; download to e-books, and find it locally at www.mrzlc.com/bookstore. All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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