by Nick Miller

In the previous weeks we had discussed what the early church of Acts looked like and how we can walk like they did. It was an amazing journey through their story for me personally, especially as we are starting this community called Cœur Church.

There was one passage that we didn’t talk about that I wanted to share with you this week. In this particular passage, Paul is expanding the early church to the Ephesians and performs many signs and wonders among them. After hearing his theological discussions and seeing the miraculous events following him, people began to follow Christ. In seeing Paul’s faith, people were challenged and inspired to live as he did.

One group of people began to seek those who were captive to evil spirits. As Paul did, they too began to drive out demons. This was truly miraculous for they had seen the power of God in their walk personally, not just through the apostle Paul. Even after experiencing success in this endeavor, the group runs into a spirit that confronts them and ends up hurting them. Listen to the way that they begin to address the spirit:

Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, “In the name of the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.” – Acts 19:13

These men speak of Jesus, which is the greatest name, a name that can do impossible things. However, this situation reveals to us that while they were inspired by Paul, they perhaps weren’t intimately connected to Jesus. This group speaks of Jesus, but lacks the real connection to Him. As a result, this evil spirit reacts to these men who speak of Jesus:

One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. – Acts 19:15-16

Though this situation seems overwhelming, I personally received such a challenge from this interaction. We are going to face the enemy at points in our life, there is no doubt about that. Without a personal connection to Christ, we are susceptible to the enemy’s attacks. Our faith needs to be personal!

Our strength comes from knowing Christ intimately. I don’t want to know of Christ, I want to know Him. When we know Him, when our faith is personal, we can confront the enemy in a whole new way. When we know the power of Christ, we can speak with true power. The enemy that wants to attack has to flee when he sees us walking with Christ. The enemy cannot stand against those who are close to Jesus. The closer that we are to Him the stronger we are when facing the enemy in trying times.

I love how David describes God in Psalm 28. He depicts God as a shield, defending him and giving him strength. In fact, David uses this analogy multiple times in the book of Psalms, and I don’t think it was a coincidence. I believe that David knew that the closer he was to the Lord, the stronger he was when facing the enemy.

From a literal point of view, a warrior does not receive protection from the shield if it is not close to his body. When David was close to God, he was at his strongest, able to defeat massive enemies, conquer kingdoms, and lead people. Listen to David’s heart in describing the closeness between him and God:

”The LORD is my strength and my shield; My heart trusts in Him, and I am helped; Therefore my heart exults, And with my song I shall thank Him.” – Psalm 28:7

To conclude, the enemy is going to try attacking this week, but our closeness to our Savior will supply us with protection and strength! More than listening to an inspiring message like the men did in the story of Acts, go to Jesus this week and make it personal. Talk to Him, read His word, connect with Him as if he is right next to you! The closer we are to our shield, the stronger we are in our battles with the enemy.

photo: unsplash.com