Central Text: Acts 19:1-20; cf. John 4:23-25
Dear Young Worshipers:
The title is slightly misleading, this blog is less about awe and more about authenticity. I submit to that genuine authentic worship is rooted in an authentic relationship with the Godhead (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Don't miss that, there are a lot of people that love the mysterious "God" or are inspired by Jesus (a good loving man that could have been a prophet) or really want to be "spiritual" without any of the discipline and growth required by the other persons of the Godhead. Awe is necessary to have a relationship with God. One of the major problems that I have run into as a maturing Christian is believing my own hype: losing touch with the divine and overwhelming holiness of God. Do we remain truly humble and available when God uses us? Do we respond looking for the instantaneous reward at the end of doing His will? Are we truthful and connected to the Spirit as much as possible in our daily lives?
I raise these questions in the light of Acts 19:1-20. This scripture has been on my heart to teach/preach on for a long time. I have heard maybe 2 quality sermons on this text and I have wondered about why not more about a real lesson in authenticity and the power of an awe-filled relationship with the Godhead. Part of it is the issue of the scriptural controversy of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit (that is a different discussion for a different day) that is at the beginning of the chapter. For our purposes, the practical lesson from the first 6 verses is that we should always be aware of the needs of brothers and sisters and unafraid to ask the hard questions to serve our brothers and sisters. So, Paul has separated from Apollos in Corinth and travels into Ephesus and begins an incredible ministry of discipleship (1-7), public preaching in the synagogue, then lecture hall (8-10), and extraordinary miracles (point-of-contact miracles) (11-12).
While this is going on we have some itinerant Jewish exorcists that have decided to use the name of Jesus without authentic relationship. I want to stick a pin here to highlight a brief phrase in verse 9, "But when some (Jews in the synagogue that heard Paul preach) became hardened and would not believe slandering the Way (earliest name of Christian Movement) in front of the crowd..." (Acts 19:9a, context added). This is the climate in which we have the Jewish exorcists that see a monetary means to capitalize on the power of the name of Jesus. Paul had signs of the power of Christ and these men see dollar signs. Read between the lines, these men experience some success using this method. Why do you say this? I am glad you asked, taking in the context, how the method is introduced. There must have been some success for this story to be included. Hearkens to the celeb-obsessed culture of today. These guys were the Miss Cleo's of their day. They saw an opportunity to capitalize on the success of anointed men of God. (Let me stick a pin here and say that this obsessed chase of fame and capitalization is still plaguing the modern Church. The need to be like the successful megachurches at all costs. I am going to stop my editorializing and move on.)
The sons of Sceva were religionists as well as capitalists. This means that they grew up around the language of religion because their father was a Jewish priest, but there is little evidence that they were devout. They had prestige and religion without relationship. This is shown by their response in verse 13. They do not take ownership of Jesus and the power available in the Holy Spirit because they are not redeemed. They possessed enough jargon to be dangerous saying, "I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!" (Acts 19:13b, NLT). This was successful until they encountered a demonic spirit that saw through their lack of authenticity, "Jesus I know, Paul I recognize (Jesus's Authority and personage I know, Paul's authenticity I know and recognize), but who are you?" (Acts 19:15). Their lack of a confident answer gave the go-ahead for the demon-possessed man to beat them up and cast them out of the house. These men were ran out naked in the street. Nakedness indicating great shame and failure. Their failures led people to fear God and become greatly open to the message of the Gospel. Paul and the missionaries in Ephesus were given a greater platform not because of anything they did, but because of the failure of inauthentic people.
I will close with the dialogue between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. The dialogue could be a series of blog posts and not be anywhere near be exhausted. But there is an interesting shift in the timbre, from lifestyle to worship. Seemingly stark but really actually directed and flowingly poetic. Jesus addresses worship in way that is both very clear, yet very profound. Worship up to the earthly ministry of Christ was very much location-centric (see the woman's response in verse 22). Jesus says something spectacular, "But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship Him. God is a spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit in truth." (John 4:23-24). Jesus flips the script, providing access to God that is not limited to a location. God the Father is looking for men and women, then and now, who will be authentic and drenched in the Holy Spirit to worship Him. Inauthenticity breeds death...when we are inauthentic in our worship, in our lives we deny the power of Godhead. We must be intentional to check our authenticity, our availability and our humility. Don't drink your own Kool-Aid!!!
Be blessed family! It's been too long,
Ernest
