252 – Acts
19: How Do I Know If My Faith In God Is
Real?
Then Paul went to the synagogue and
preached boldly for the next three months, arguing persuasively about the
Kingdom of God. But some became stubborn, rejecting his
message and publicly speaking against the Way. So Paul left the synagogue and
took the believers with him. Then he held daily discussions at the lecture hall
of Tyrannus. This went on for the next two years, so that
people throughout the province of Asia—both Jews and Greeks—heard the word of
the Lord. God gave Paul the power to perform
unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely
touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their
diseases, and evil spirits were expelled. 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.
The story of what happened
spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear
descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored. Many who became believers confessed their
sinful practices.A number of them who had been practicing
sorcery brought their incantation books and burned them at a public bonfire.
The value of the books was several million dollars. So the message about the Lord spread widely
and had a powerful effect. ACTS 19:8-20 NLT
Real
faith in God:
Cannot
be faked forever
And this is the message I
proclaim—that the day is coming when God, through Christ Jesus, will judge
everyone’s secret life. ROMANS 2:16 NLT
Respects the name and reputation of
Jesus
You must not misuse the name of the
LORD your God. The LORD will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his
name. EXODUS 20:7 NLT
Creates the desire to confess
sin
Create in
me a clean heart, O God. Renew a loyal spirit within me. PSALM 51:10 NLT
Confess your sins to each other and
pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a
righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results. JAMES 5:16 NLT
Is reflected in my
Desires
You won’t spend the rest of your
lives chasing your own desires,
but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 1 PETER 4:2 NLT
When you follow the desires of your
sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful
pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of
anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkenness, wild parties,
and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone
living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God. GALATIANS 5:19-23 NLT
Attitudes
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
PHILIPPIANS 2:5 NLT
But the Holy Spirit produces this
kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.
GALATIANS 5:22-23 NLT
Finances
I want you to excel also in this
gracious act of giving. 2 CORINTHIANS
8:6-7 NLT