Acts 19:1-22
1While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road
through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There
he found some disciples 2and asked them, “Did you receive
the Holy Spirit when c you believed?”
They answered, “No, we have not even heard that
there is a Holy Spirit.”
3So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
“John’s baptism,” they replied.
4Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance.
He told the people to believe in the one coming
after him, that is, in Jesus.” 5On hearing this, they were
baptized into d the name of the Lord Jesus. 6When Paul
placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on
them, and they spoke in tongues e and prophesied.
7There were about twelve men in all.
8Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there
for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom
of God. 9But some of them became obstinate; they
refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So
Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had
discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. 10This
went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks
who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the
Lord.
11God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, 12so
that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched
him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were
cured and the evil spirits left them.
13Some 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 Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to
come out.” 14Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest,
were doing this. 15õOne dayÕ the evil spirit answered
them, “Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who
are you?” 16Then 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.
17When this became known to the Jews and Greeks
living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the
name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. 18Many
of those who believed now came and openly confessed
their evil deeds. 19A number who had practiced sorcery
brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly.
When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total
came to fifty thousand drachmas. f 20In this way the
word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.
21After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to
Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. “After
I have been there,” he said, “I must visit Rome also.”
22He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to
Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little
longer.
Notes;
. The Church needs both Word and Spirit to be balanced and this will lead us to encounter God and be transformed.
. We are call to be prophetic people but what does it mean to be prophetic