The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever.
He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us. Verses 8-12
Isn't that great news?
Acts 19:11-17
This is an interesting passage. God was doing such powerful things through Paul, that, in some cases, people only had to be touched by pieces of clothing that had touched Paul to be healed!
Some traveling Jewish "exorcists" decided to try this "game." They were the seven sons of some guy named Sceva (apparently a Jewish high priest). They encountered an evil spirit in a man. They pronounced the name of Jesus over him, saying, "I command you by the Jesus preached by Paul!" The response of the spirit was, "I know Jesus and I've heard of Paul, but who are you?? I can't help but thing of the "hooka-smoking caterpillar" in Alice in Wonderland. "Who are you?" it asked of Alice.
Anyway, after asking that question, the spirit attacked the exorcists, beat them up, stripped them naked and chased them away.
This created even more curiousity about Paul.
I think the most obvious reason this happened was that these "exorcists" weren't true disciples of Christ, but were simply trying to get some attention and glory, trying to copy what Paul was doing. The differenc was that Paul was doing whatever he did for the glory of Christ and for no other reason. He makes this clear in the bulk of his writing in the New Testament.
The "seven sons of Sceva" were exposed as frauds. They left the scene bloody, naked, and very embarrassed. What did God want them to learn about themselves? More than likely that they were frauds. But also, that this whole business of Christ and demonic forces is serious business! It is not something to be dabbled in lightly.
May God expose us to ourselves so that we may not be disqualified.
Grace and peace, friends.