Who Are You?

And the evil spirit answered and said, Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are ye? Acts 19:15

Paul spent two years in Ephesus preaching and teaching in the school of Tyrannus. Paul done so many miracles and had such a touch of God on him that the people would take Paul’s apron or handkerchief to the sick and it would cause the demon or disease to leave their bodies. 

Sceva, a vagabond Jew, who was  chief priest had seven sons. They got the idea that if Paul could work great miracles so could they. These boys went and found a man possessed and demanded that the spirit leave the man. The problem was they did not personally know Jesus. All they knew was that Paul preached through the power of the name of Jesus. They did not have the personal relationship or the touch of Jesus on their lives. 

So when they demanded that the spirit leave by Jesus whom Paul preaches, the spirit mocks them and says, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

Are you famous in hell? Do the demons know your name?  Maybe Billy Graham, Vance Havner, Dwight L. Moody, Charles Surgeon, Elizabeth Elliot, Oliver B. Greene, and Hudson Taylor would have been some that were well known by the spirits. But what about us? Do we pose a threat? Are we loyal soldiers of Christ?

I believe there were a few reasons why Paul was well known. 1. He was associated with Jesus. He had a personal relationship with the Savior and communed with Him frequently. 2. Paul was patient. Day in and day out for 2 years, just in Ephesus, he taught the scriptures. Before that he was a year and a half in another city. Besides those he traveled non-stop preaching, teaching and exhorting the brethern. 3. He was consistent. Paul’s message never changed. Everywhere he went whether to Jew, Greek, man, woman, elderly, or child he preached Christ – Creator, Crucified, Resurrected, and Returning. 4. He was committed. He was stone, beat, shipwrecked, etc, but nothing discouraged Paul from keeping on keeping on. 5. He was a faithful hardworker. Even though he spent all his time teaching and preaching, he also continued to make tents. He supported himself and his ministry. When the time come that God would ask him to travel to the next city he would have the means to do so and no excuses. 

We look at great men and women and think that we don’t even have the ability to be well known like them, but the spiritual realm is different than the physical. Many of us will never step foot onto the mission field, lead millions to Christ, teach a coliseum full, or have an opportunity to debate with the philosophical giants of our day.  That doesn’t mean that we can’t be the spiritual giants that make hell tremble. A mama that whispers “His name is Jesus” in the ear of her baby, or teaches the child to discern the times and evaluate the scriptures is a greater threat than she realizes. The wife that is on her knees pleading for the souls of her children, the leadership of her husband, the power of her preacher, and the unity of her church has an abundance of ammunition. 

The pattern for that mom is the same as Paul. To personally know Christ, be consistent, committed, patient, and faithful is still the recipe. But actually all those things can be simplified into one main idea that is common among all who God uses in a great way – OBEDIENT. If we can just be obedient in every thought, whim, and action there is no stopping that which Christ desires to do with our lives. May we be and raise spiritual giants that cause hell to tremble!