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. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed what they had done. 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. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. 
Acts 19:17-20

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It had to be an interesting and exciting time in Ephesus when Paul was there for two years preaching and mentoring. The passage for today directly follows the story of a demon-possessed man who beat up seven Jewish exorcists. The demon recognized the power and authority of Jesus as well as the imputed power and authority that Paul had, but not any power or authority of the seven brothers.

What’s interesting is the reaction of the townsfolk. Those who did not know Jesus were seized with fear and awe. The Christians who saw or heard of the respect that evil spirits gave to Jesus and Paul prompted their repentance to surrender 100 percent to Jesus. The power of the Holy Spirit was no longer hindered by the sins of these new believers, including secret sins. 

All sin, including the ones you do not want others to know about or are ashamed of, leaves us vulnerable if unconfessed and unrepented. A person’s compromised will and commitment hinder the Holy Spirit from freely and powerfully working in and through that person and the lives of others connected to the compromised person. Gather a lot of those people in the same church, and that community is weakened, even neutralized.

Years ago, even though I knew who Jesus was and worshipped Him, it was a compromised, arms-length relationship. One day, at the nagging insistence of a woman named Trudy, I went home and prayed to be born again. She had instructed me that I needed to be born again and burn all that was unholy and opposed to God. Occult-related books, magazines, and certain herbs went into the fireplace and burned as I prayed to God. I felt an instant change in myself. A few days later, I put James 5:16 into practice, and I gave a life confession to a man in vocational ministry. Immediately after, the weight of my years of sin was removed. I felt a thousand pounds lighter. People often experience this when they get baptized. It was wonderful and amazing!

Although my life with Jesus was not always smooth sailing after that period, it was a sea change—forever changing my life for the better.

Next Steps

Ask yourself and Jesus if there is anything in you and your life that needs to be surrendered to Him, and then surrender whatever it is. Go all in. It may not be easy to do or maintain, at least initially, but it is worth doing so.