Episode #1074
The Power is in the Name of Jesus | Two Minute Daily Devotional
Acts 19:11 gives us something we haven't seen recorded in quite this way before: “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul.” Even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and people were healed and evil spirits left them. Here we see another dimension of the healing ministry. God was working so powerfully through Paul that even cloths that had touched him were being used as a point of contact, and the sick were healed. But then we come to a very different situation. Some men were attempting to drive out an evil spirit, and the spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?” The man who had the evil spirit then jumped on them and overpowered them. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. Look at what happened! They weren't acting in the name of Jesus – they were trying to do it in their own power. And without the authority of Jesus, they had no power over that evil spirit. This is so important. The power is not in us; the power is in the name of Jesus. We cannot manufacture spiritual authority. We must know Jesus, trust in His authority and operate in His name. And when this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, Acts 19:17 says they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honour. That is the result we should desire – not that people glorify us, but that the name of Jesus is lifted up and honoured.
