But [one] evil spirit retorted, Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you? – Acts 19:15, AMP

Have you ever been paid a compliment by a demon? The Apostle Paul has, and it was one of the greatest compliments he was ever paid.

In Acts 19, we find Paul engaged in his ministry at Ephesus, and for over two years Paul won converts and wrought miracles. As Acts 19:12 reports, God worked through Paul so mightily that even towels and handkerchiefs that merely touched Paul’s skin were used to heal the sick and to drive out evil spirits.

Desirous of replicating, in particular, the miracle of exorcism, seven sons of a Jewish chief priest named Sceva attempted to drive out evil spirits in Jesus’ name.  In retort to their efforts, one evil spirit said, “Jesus I know, and Paul I know about, but who are you?” Then, the evil spirit proceeded to whoop up (Southern lingo for “beat up”) on the sons of Sceva, driving them from his presence.

Respect is not given to you by others. It must be earned, and it is earned only when you live a life of integrity. It is relatively easy to earn the respect of someone who loves, or at least likes, you.  It is another thing entirely to earn the respect of an enemy. The evil spirit in Acts 19:5 had never met Paul, but he had heard of Paul and he respected his enemy because of Paul’s integrity.  The penetrating question for us to ask ourselves is, “What would that demon have said about us had we tried what the sons of Sceva had tried? Would the demon have respected our authority in Christ as he respected Paul’s? Or, would he have whooped up on us like he did the sons of Sceva?

Sadly for most of us, it’s not really hard to answer that question. We like to think of ourselves as soldiers of Christ, but we hardly (if ever) lift a finger to war against Satan and his minions. We are content to defend our own ground against attack, but we never go on the offensive like Paul did, actively seeking to bring the hurt to the enemy just as the enemy seeks to bring the hurt to us. Most of us will never earn a demon’s respect because most of us will never be anywhere as solid for God as Paul was.  Why? Because we are too selfish. In order to be like Paul and earn our enemies’ respect, we must die to self so that God can flow through us. Until we do that, the only thing that flows through us is our pride, and why would any demon in his right mind fear that?

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