Cappin' Christians

Then some of the itinerant Jewish exorcists took it upon themselves to call the name of the Lord Jesus over those who had evil spirits, saying, "We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches." Also there were seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, who did so. And the evil spirit answered and said, "Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?" Then the man in whom the evil spirit was leaped on them, overpowered them, and prevailed against them, so that they fled out of that house naked and wounded." - Acts 19:13-16

I must admit. I laughed when I read that the evil spirit whooped those men. I laughed because they, of all people, being sons of a chief priest, should have known better. But it should be noted that though I kee-kee'd, I wasn’t laughing because I enjoy watching others get beat. I snickeled because they shouldn’t have been messing with that man. But I digress. But as I thought about what happened, God revealed something less comical. He showed me that the man was able to overpower them because he was empowered by demons who'd given him supernatural strength. When I saw that, I then realized why Hollywood’s depiction and the world’s perception of Christians is so weak.

It's because there are those, who like the itinerant Jewish exorcists [take] it upon themselves to go out and try to cast out demons, heal the sick, and do other exploits. The problem with that is that God never taught or told those people to do it. They did so based on presumption. These gentlemen, who grew up in the church, PRESUMED God would want that demon cast out and thus, PRESUMED they should be the ones to do it. But again, God never taught or told them to do it. Because they did, it caused them to be publicly humiliated by a demon-possessed man and thus helps us better understand why evil is depicted as being more powerful than good, and is why the world, as a whole, views Christianity as a joke. They don’t believe in our ability, strength, and more importantly, the power of our God; all because some Christians been out here cappin’ 😊.

For my ebonically-challenged readers, a capper is someone who lies and/or exaggerates about what they have and/or can do. Thus, in large, the world has seen cappin’ Christians try to cast out devil's with a whole lotta spittin' and shoutin'. They've seen public displays of laying on of hands only for someone to be pushed to the ground while they lay there pretending to be motionless, or they've seen people walk into revivals hoopin' and hollerin', claiming to have been miraculously healed, all the while never reporting their newfound healing to the Social Security Administration. Such false depictions are usually performed by those who pretend or presume to do so because of or by the Jesus whom they know nothing about. Because if they did, then they would know that Jesus Himself said, “…the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner….” And thus explains His effectiveness. If they really knew the Lord, then they'd know they wouldn't have to make anything happen because Jesus Himself said that, “[He could] of [Himself] do nothing…” (Jn. 5:30) which means Jesus did nothing without first being told, instructed and/or led by God to do so. Therefore, to try to work up something, based upon the Jesus they know nothing about, is a total fabrication of the kingdom and a misrepresentation of the power of the Most High God.

Don't let Hollywood make you believe that evil is more powerful than good. Don't let some witch or warlock trick you into thinking that every demon, hell, and Satan himself weren't defeated in three days. Don't let them fool you. They're not the only ones with power. We can do it too...punch-a-nella-funny-fella! Jesus walked on water, turned clay into an eyeball, spoke to hurricanes, raised the dead, died, and in three days took the keys to hell. Don't you for one moment think that you don't serve the Lord God of Hosts, and as His child, that you're not powerful. Think about your own testimony and what God has brought you through and worked by your hands. That within itself is proof enough that you don't serve a weak God. So the next time you see a movie where evil wins, know that if it did, it was because some cappin' Christian let it happen. But trust and believe, there are some real ones.

Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, please forgive me when I was presumed You wanted me to do something that You never taught or told me to do. Please forgive when I pretended that I knew more about You than I did. I ask that You help me to get to know You so that I no longer get beat by life. In Jesus' name.

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