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Black Magic versus Gospel Power

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Chris Sicks
March 30, 2025

Sermon Manuscript

Black Magic versus Gospel Power


Pastor Chris Sicks
March 30, 2025
Acts 19:8-20

Please pray with me.
Father in heaven, we come to you because you are the source of life and truth.
Jesus, we worship you because you are full of mercy and love.
Holy Spirit, please open our hearts and minds to be transformed by the word of God, amen.
Tonight we will look at Acts 19:8-20, where we find the Apostle Paul in the city of Ephesus.
In Acts 18 Paul visited Ephesus briefly, and left his friends Priscilla and Aquila there to start a new church.
Now Paul is returning, to begin a long period of pastoring the new church of Ephesus.
The Temple of Artemis in Ephesus was one of the 7 Wonders of the Ancient World.
Ephesus had 50 temples for worship of different false gods and goddesses.
The entire city was obsessed with religious and magical power.
When the Ephesians needed answers for life they looked to the stars.
When they wanted healing for their bodies, they tried to access supernatural power with magic spells and magic jewelry.
Is the modern world really that different?
When the problems of life are overwhelming, and God seems to be silent, where do we look for help?
If you want this lamp to work, you need to plug it in.
Why?
Because the light bulb cannot get electricity unless it is connected to the power source.
Would you like to know how to experience the power of God flowing into your life?
Then let’s look together at what God’s Word says to us tonight.

Please listen now to Acts 19:8–20.
8 “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.
9 But 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.

10 This 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.
11 God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
12 so 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.
13 Some 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 the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”

14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.
15 One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”
16 Then 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.

17 When 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.
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
19 A 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.

20 In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”

Together we read Isaiah 40:8:
The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.

Some wild things happen in this passage of scripture, right?
Let’s start with the miracles in verses 11 and 12:
11 “God did extraordinary miracles through Paul,
12 so 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.”

This sounds strange, but we see something similar in Matthew chapter 9.
A woman with a bleeding problem touched Jesus’ cloak, and she was healed.
We can also look at Acts chapter 5.
People tried to get near the shadow of the apostle Peter so they would be healed.
It can be tempting to try to reproduce these kinds of miracles when we need help.
However, nowhere in the Bible does God say that clothing or shadows have special powers.
When Timothy was sick, Paul didn’t write:
“Enclosed with this letter, I’m sending one of my handkerchiefs to heal you.”
When Jesus rubbed mud on a blind man’s eyes, there was no magic power in the mud!
The book of John calls the miracles of Jesus “signs.”
Why?
Because the purpose of New Testament miracles was to authenticate God’s messengers.
The miracles verified that Peter, Paul, and Jesus were speaking truth about to the source of true power.
Luke is careful to say in verse 11 that “GOD did extraordinary miracles.”
These were unusual events.
And it was God who healed, not a handkerchief or apron or Paul himself.
Remember that Ephesus was a city full of people obsessed with magical powers.
It seems that God did these “extraordinary miracles” to lead the people of Ephesus away from lies and into the truth.
The healings pointed people to Paul, so Paul could point them to the truth about God and salvation.
People who are deceiving you about spiritual things will point to themselves, instead of God.
We see this in verses 13-14:
13 “Some 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 the Jesus whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out.”

14 Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.”

Sceva and his seven sons thought the name of Jesus was like a magic word.
But the name didn’t work for them.
Because they were not connected to the power source.
When I unplug the lamp, what happens?
The light goes out because the power source has been cut off.
When Paul preached about Jesus it had a powerful effect in the lives of people.
Paul didn’t have the power.
But the Holy Spirit flowed through the words of the gospel, into the hearts of people.
Through faith, they got connected to Jesus who is the power source.
The seven sons of Sceva didn’t know Jesus, therefore had no access to his power.
That’s why they were humiliated in verses 15-16:
15 “One day the evil spirit answered them, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?”
16 Then 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.”


These seven fakers want the popularity and power they see in Paul.
But instead, they are running through the streets of Ephesus, naked and bleeding!
I love how direct the demon is: “I know Jesus and I’ve heard of Paul, but who are you?”
Parents, do you ever send one child with a message to another child?
Maybe your older daughter goes to your son’s room and says:
“Mom wants you to unload the dishwasher.”
Who is brother obeying when he goes to the kitchen?
He is obeying mom.
The daughter is just the messenger.
The power to punish the boy remains with mom because she is the authority.
Power flows through relationship.
Now, imagine if sister goes down the street and tells a boy in another house:
“My mom wants you to come unload the dishwasher.”
The boy in the other house will say:
“Who are you? I don’t have to listen to you.”

The sons of Sceva are like that sister, going to another house.
The demon says, “Who are you?
I don’t have to listen to you, because I can see that you are not connected to Jesus, the power source.”
You can’t detach power from the relationship, that’s the point.
God punished these men for trying to misuse the power of His name.
My friends, we violate the first three commandments when we try to access spiritual power outside of a relationship with the living God.
It’s black magic to look to any object and ask it to do what only God can do.
Black magic is sin, and it is dangerous.
Satan has power, as we just saw.
Satan can do things that look like miracles, to distract us from the truth.
I was talking to one of our members on Wednesday.
He said a coworker gave him a little piece of paper, rolled up.
The coworker said, “If you want success in life, pray this prayer every day.”
When my friend opened the paper, he was shocked.
It was actually a prayer of obedience to Satan.
The guy said, “You will always be a loser unless you pray this prayer.”
But that guy has already lost his soul by giving it to the devil.
Satan wants you to look to him for help, or to magic objects–anything other than Jesus.
Because if Satan can keep you unplugged from Jesus, he has power over your life.
But when the power of Jesus starts flowing in people’s hearts, amazing things happen.
Look what happened after the demon humiliated those seven guys.
Acts 19:17-19.
17 “When 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.
18 Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.
19 A 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.”


Ephesus was famous for magic scrolls.
These documents contained magic spells in different languages, with the names of various gods that sounded powerful.
People from everywhere came to buy these scrolls, seeking power to solve their problems.
Today, these same scrolls have been digitized and put online.
People today continue using them practice witchcraft.
Tarot cards, horoscopes, and crystals are also huge businesses today.
People believe that the position of the stars can affect their days or give them luck.
A friend of mine from college posted on Facebook that she was “cleaning and charging” her crystals under a full moon.
She believes her crystals can absorb negative energy, and pour good energy into her life.
That breaks my heart.
It reveals that my friend, and millions like her, believe that supernatural power is real.
But they are plugging into the wrong power source.
They are looking for help in created things, instead of the Creator.
It’s even worse when people misuse the name of Jesus for their own benefit, like the sons of Sceva did.
Around the world today, pastors compete to build megachurches and their own reputations.
To attract people to their churches, they offer holy water, anointed oil, handkerchiefs, jewelry, and perfumes.
They claim special blessings and prophecies will come to anyone who purchases these items.
These things are evil because they point the hearts of vulnerable people to useless objects, or to their pastor, instead of pointing them to Christ.
Christians should know better.
Did you notice that in Ephesus it was believers in Christ who confessed that they were practicing witchcraft?
Verse 18 again:
“Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done.”

When God opened the eyes of people in Ephesus, they understood the truth about God’s power, and the lies of Satan.
Black magic functions in secret and in shadow.
But these new believers confessed publicly, and burned piles of black magic items.
Depending on how you calculate the value of 50,000 drachma, it was at least $10,000 dollars.
But it might have been $1 million.
Burning all the black magic out of their lives was expensive.
But when their eyes were opened, they knew what they had to do.
My friends, please don’t read the horoscope, even for fun.
Don’t let anyone read your palm, or predict your future.
Don’t wear evil eye jewelry, or put your trust in any object.
These things are attempts to tap into an alternate power source.
Satan’s power is real.
## [hold up other cord, but don’t plug into it].
When you play around with those things, you are looking to Satan for help.
Please, if you need hope or help, look to the only power that will actually change your life for good.
Paul wrote about this power in Romans 1:16–17.
16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
17 For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed–
a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:
“The righteous will live by faith.”


Salvation and righteousness and power are available to all who believe the gospel.
Jesus offers a gospel invitation to us at the beginning of his ministry, in Mark 1:14–15.
14 “Now after John was arrested, Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God,
15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”

When your heart is spiritually dead you are powerless over the sin in your life.
You are pulled this way and that way by temptation and evil forces.
How can a dead heart start beating?
Doctors can restart a physical heart with an electric shock from defibrillator paddles.
But the paddles only work if they are plugged into the power source.
Spiritually dead hearts only start beating when they are connected to the power of Christ.
The Holy Spirit delivers the power of Christ’s resurrection life into our dead souls.
And Jesus explains what you must to do plug into that power:
“repent and believe in the gospel.”
Inviting people to do that was the focus of Paul’s entire life.
Paul did not come to Ephesus with better magic scrolls.
He didn’t pray over pieces of cloth or jewelry to fill them with magical power.
What did Paul do to unleash God’s power on the streets of Ephesus?
Look again at Acts 19:8.
8 “Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.”

Paul simply preached the Word of God.
After three months, Paul relocated to a school nearby, where he taught from the scriptures every day.
Verse 10: 10 “This 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.”

The city of Ephesus was turned upside down by the simple, faithful teaching of God’s Word.
The Word unleashed the power of God to overcome evil, save people, and move them to repent of their black magic.
The power of God flows through the Word of God.
That’s why it is wrong to focus on handkerchiefs or miracles of healing.
Their only purpose was to authenticate the messengers of the Word.
Sometimes when we pray, God will heal our diseases, solve our problems, or bless our careers.
But the most-important work of the gospel is to change our hearts.
Can I tell you how the gospel changes our hearts?
Remember that Jesus announced the gospel by inviting people to “repent and believe.”
Early Christians were called “people of The Way.”
That’s because following Jesus involves movement.
Left foot: repent.
Right foot: believe.
Left foot: Repent of your sin as the Holy Spirit reveals it to you.
Right foot: believe the gospel truth that your sin and shame are forgiven.
Walking in the gospel changed the hearts of the believers of Ephesus.
They burned all their black magic.
And they told other people about what God did for them.
Paul could never preach the word of the Lord to “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia” as verse 10 says.
Instead, it was the people of The Way who moved out in gospel power.
They followed Jesus in faith (right foot) and repentance (left foot).
And Luke reports in verse 20:
20 “In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”

Friends: These bodies are wasting away.
Before long, each body in this room will be buried in the ground.
Please don’t put your hope in temporary physical healing.
If any of you are using crystals, or astrology and horoscopes, please stop.
If you own jewelry with an eye symbol because you think it will protect you from evil, please throw it away.
There is no such thing as holy water, either.
God doesn’t put his power into objects.
But we are tempted by these shortcuts to power, because they don’t demand anything from us.
They don’t require us to walk in faith and repentance.
The real power of the real and living God is available to you.
And it works today the same way it did in Ephesus.
If you need power for life, it will flow through word of the Lord.
Is the Word spreading widely and deeply into your heart?
Let’s be honest with ourselves and with God.
What things interfere with your time in the Word?
Can we all repent of anything that is getting in the way?
Can we commit to staying plugged in to our relationship with Jesus?
Because in him we have hope, and help, and the power we need for life.

I’m going to invite us to pray a prayer of confession together now.
Please stand.
ALL: Heavenly Father, we confess that our hearts are easily divided.
We are tempted to seek help from created things, instead of you, the Creator.
This world is full of pain and problems.
Millions of people are trapped in darkness, trapped by Satan’s lies.
We need spiritual power!
But we often ignore the source of power: your living Word.
Holy Spirit, please grow the seed of the Word in our hearts.
Help us walk in faith and repentance, and to share the good news of the gospel with the world.
We pray in the powerful name of Jesus, amen.

Questions for Meditation and Discussion


1) Memorize Psalm 86:11 this week.
a) How does God teach his way to us?

2) Read Hebrews 4:12 and Luke 11:27-28.
a) What do we learn about the power of God’s Word from these verses?

2) Read 1 Corinthians 1:22–25 and Luke 6:43-45.
a) Where are the roots of your heart planted?
When you are scared, anxious, lonely, or tired–where does your heart look for help?
If you want good fruit, where must you plant your roots?



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