A Dangerous Lesson

Some people think they can take on the Devil. Maybe you’ve even seen some TV preachers mocking the Devil and calling him names.

Yet the Bible tells us, “Michael the archangel, in contending with the devil, when he disputed about the body of Moses, dared not bring against him a reviling accusation, but said, ‘The Lord rebuke you!’” (Jude 1:9 NKJV).

If someone as powerful as the archangel Michael would not engage with the Devil, then how much more should we keep our distance from him? James tells us, “Resist the devil and he will flee from you” (4:7 NKJV).

In the book of Acts, we find a story about some men called the sons of Sceva who thought they were exorcists. By the way, there are people today who say they have the ministry of exorcism, but there’s no such ministry in the Bible. We find examples of demons being cast out, but no one was called to be an exorcist. In fact, the Bible’s only mention of exorcists refers to people who weren’t even believers to begin with.

Here’s the trouble that the sons of Sceva got themselves into. They found a man who was demon possessed and told him, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches” (Acts 19:13 NKJV).

The evil spirit replied, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?” (verse 15 nkjv). Then the man attacked them and almost killed them.

We need to keep our distance from the Devil. He’s a lot more powerful than we may think. Don’t play around with sin, and don’t play around with Satan.

Instead, here’s what we need to do: “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (Ephesians 6:10 NKJV). Before it says anything about putting on the armor of God, the Bible tells us to stand in the Lord and in His strength. It tells us to stand in His might.