Spiritual Warfare in Acts: Your Life as a Battle on Two Fronts

Sermon Notes
1. The Battle in the Material Realm (Culture / Flesh and Blood) (Acts 19:8-10)
a) Pushback happens when you are living for Christ in a fallen world.
b) When you speak the truth, expect people to put up walls and harden their hearts.
c) It sometimes looks like people and circumstances are aligned against you, but behind it are the forces of darkness. (Eph 6:10-12)
2. What do you do when people line up against you? When circumstances threaten to crush you?
Persevere.
3. The Battle in the Spiritual Realm (Demonic / Powers) (Acts 19:11-20)
a) The Spirit of God reveals His power to expose the counterfeit. (Acts 19:11-12)
b) When the counterfeit is exposed, the weakness of the demonic is revealed. (Acts 19:13-16)
c) When the weakness of the demonic is revealed, people turn to the true source of power and leave their sin behind. (Acts 19:17-20)
How do you experience the power of the Holy Spirit? Line yourself up with His purposes.

Follow-up Questions from Sunday:

Quick Review:
Looking back at your notes from this week’s teaching, was there anything you heard for the first time or that caught your attention, challenged, or confused you?

Introduction question for groups:
What do you think are some of the reasons why our culture is pushing back so hard against Christianity today?

Digging Deeper:

1. When you read Acts 19:8-20, how would you describe Paul’s overall Ephesus ministry experience in the physical and spiritual realms?
2. In verses 8-9, what was the signal for Paul to stop teaching in the synagogues and why do you think this is so? How could this help us in sharing Jesus with people today?
3. As you read Acts 19:11-12, notice that Luke mentions that God is behind these miracles, not Paul or some other agency. Now read Luke 8:40-48. What are the similarities between these accounts (both recorded by Luke)? If power can even come through an article of clothing, what does it show about the source of that power? What does it reveal about God’s ability to work through any part of your life?
4. In Acts 19:13-16, seven sons of the chief Jewish priest tried to cast out demons in the same way as Paul, but it didn’t work? Why do you think this is? How does Luke 10:17-20 help us understand this?
5. When you compare verses 8-9 with 13-15, how do these two groups of Jews view Jesus differently? If you were one of Sceva’s sons, what would you say about Jesus after being jumped by evil spirits?
6. From the reaction of the crowd in verse 17-19, how would you describe the general response to Jesus prior to verse 13-16? Why do you think those events changed people’s ideas so much?
7. How do you see people trying to use Jesus for their own purposes today? What is the difference between that and real faith in Jesus?
8. Read Ephesians 6:10-17. What are some of the schemes that Satan is using in today’s world to captivate our hearts and minds? What are some practical ways we can do what Paul says and “take our stand”?

Prayer:
Pray for each other in your group that God would give all of you opportunities to share Jesus with people this week.