Not Fortune Tellers and Mediums

Celsus Library, Ephesus 

Today’s reading is Acts 19:11-20. Paul is in Ephesus (in present day Turkey) and God is performing miracles through him so people would believe in Jesus. The sons of Sceva were using the name of Jesus to drive out evil spirits.

 

The problem was that the sons of Sceva did not believe in Jesus. They were using his name to perform “magic tricks”, most likely to obtain money from people in Ephesus.

 

As it turns out, a man with an evil spirit severely beat the sons of Sceva. The sons learned that you will get burned if you play with fire.

 

Some people today want to interact with God and the spirit world. They use séances, tarot cards fortune tellers, mediums and other portals to the spirit world. Their interactions must be on their terms. Little do they know that they may be playing with fire.

 

God has given us the portals we need. He has told us what those interactions are.

 

 He sent the Holy Spirit to us for guidance and counseling. He gave us God’s Word – the Bible – so we will know God’s Will.  Baptism and Communion are very important touch points into God's spiritual world. The Holy Spirit becomes part of us at baptism, and Jesus nourishes us at communion.

 

These are the best ways to find God – and safely I might add!

 

This explains how someone can find God. But what if God is looking for someone?

 

Yes, there is a portal, or touch point, in the this direction too. It is Christ’s Church. God finds his people through Christ's Church. As members of his Church, we represent Christ, spreading His message and looking for his members.

 

The church is a portal into the heavenly kingdom. We are members of the church. People can find Christ in us and in our actions. We can be a portal for someone into the heavenly kingdom.

 

This is why we need to know Christ, Grow in Christ and Go with Christ.

 

The Church is the real portal into the God's World. Not fortune tellers, mediums and tarot cards.

 

Mission and Miracles

Christians sometimes debate what a miracle is. Many might say that a miracle is something that is an extra-ordinary event, outside the boundaries explainable by science. Others might counter that a miracle is an act of God that man cannot understand. Still others (my personal favorite) will say, “They are hard to define, but I know one when I see one!”

Some have argued that God’s purpose in performing miracles is to bring someone to faith.

 

Each year our church participates in the Samaritan’s Purse program that sends Christmas packages to children in underdeveloped countries. Brenda, my wife, participates and we spend perhaps $50 – no big deal from our perspective. Yet from the receiver’s perspective, a person who may have difficulty getting food every day, such a package might very well appear to be a miracle.

 
Since God works though Christians, such a gift is from God. Further, such a gift could bring someone to faith. Perhaps the receiver is correct and my nonchalant attitude is wrong! God works at least some of his miracles through people and congregations.

 

Today’s reading, Acts 19:11-20, is about miracles. From the reading, we know that God worked miracles through Paul. We also know that many people came to faith because of the miracles performed in Ephesus.

Sceva’s sons tried to perform miracles for their own personal gain. These sons are probably among the false prophets that John warns us about in 1 John 2:18-23, 4:1-6. These false prophets, or antichrists, try to keep people from knowing Jesus.

 

The Samaritan’s Purse example is one of a mission occurring overseas. Yet the people John warns us about exist in our country today. They are in some of our spiritual centers, our politics and our media. The world is trying to keep people from knowing Jesus.

 

What can we do about these false prophets? We can’t stop them from doing their thing. But we can counter them by bringing the Good News of Jesus Christ to our community.

 

The mission field is not just overseas, but it is also here! We can do miracles here!