Cancel Crisis with a Name
VERSE
ACTS 19: 13-16 - A group of Jews was traveling from town to town casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, “I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, to come out!” Seven sons of Sceva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, “I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you?” Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house, naked and battered.
DEFINITION
cri·sis
/ˈkrīsis/
noun
a time of intense difficulty, trouble, or danger.
INTRO
It’s all over the news. It’s usually in red, and is followed by bad news, always. The word crisis.
The greek definition for the word crisis defines it as a crucial turning point, a decision or an opportunity.
What we see is not what God sees, what we do is not what God does, but whose authority we use matters in both heaven and earth.
The Jews were in a crisis at the time, they didn’t know what to believe. They only knew Paul, they saw how he served, they saw how he worshipped. But they never knew WHO he worshipped, they only knew of him.
The bible says Paul performed so many miracles, that they began to get unusual. Someone could touch Paul with a handkerchief and lay it on a sick person and they would be healed. How could this be?
He knew the name, he had an authentic and genuine relationship with Him.
Did this mean Paul never went through a crisis? Absolutely not, he was beaten and jailed, multiple times, he was hated and persecuted for nearly the length of his ministry.
He knew crisis, he was familiar with it but he knew what can cancel out crisis, what can cancel out disease, what cancels plagues and famine, pestilence and suffering. Paul lived in an environment that had all these things.
But he knew Jesus.
DISCUSSION
Are you in a time of intense difficulty, trouble or danger? Setting aside the Covid-19 pandemic, are you being affected by something? Something you can’t understand?
Do you sometimes feel like what you’re going through overpowers what God is doing in you?
Are you aware that you can count on Jesus to help see you through? Are you aware that you can cancel crisis with the name of Jesus?
INTERCESSION
Intercede with your group, give them a little insight as to what it is.
Pray and cover any requests your group may have.
Discuss any progress that your group has made. How are they now? Is there something they need to talk about?