When Pressure Hits, Only Real Relationship With Jesus Stands

A rising pressure is squeezing more than opinions—it’s testing confidence, identity, and whether our faith is rooted in routine or real relationship. We open our Bibles to Acts 19:11–20 and face a bracing scene: seven men speak the right name but carry no authority, and one demon exposes the gap. That question still echoes: “Jesus I know, and Paul I know, but who are you?” We unpack why spiritual authority can’t be borrowed from the crowd or outsourced to a pastor—it grows where intimacy with Jesus is lived, not performed.

From there, we sit with Psalm 34 and wrestle with a hard gift: God’s “no.” What if denial is protection and delay is preparation? We share practical ways to use waiting seasons well—praise as resistance, Scripture as rebar for the soul, confession that clears out pretense, and service that keeps love warm. This is not hype for hard times; it’s formation for a world that’s increasingly hostile to quiet, stubborn trust in Christ.

We also press into the difference between knowing church and knowing Jesus. Testimony becomes more than a story; it’s evidence of encounter—mercy received, forgiveness experienced, deliverance tasted. When the Holy Spirit empowers us, witness turns from mere words to a life that can’t help but point to Jesus. If there’s a breach of trust from the inside—cynicism dressed as wisdom, performance masquerading as faith—this conversation calls it out and invites us back to first love.

Walk with us through Acts 19 as we begin a series on authority, intimacy, and standing firm when pressure mounts. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs courage today, and leave a review with your answer to the piercing question: when the heat rises, who are you?

Transcript

A Rising Spiritual Confrontation

SPEAKER_02 0:01

Today we're gonna explore what God has been speaking to my heart for weeks. And that's a rising spiritual confrontation that doesn't just come to argue with our beliefs, but it comes to put pressure on our confidence. Watch this from the inside. It comes to put pressure on your faith. In the sermon series, we're gonna deal with a couple issues. And one of them is you got to know the difference between knowing church and knowing Jesus. The difference between doing church activity and being in a relationship with Jesus. When the pressure hits, the surface stuff is gonna crack. The sermon series is coming out of Acts chapter 19, verses 11 through 20, and we're gonna rest there for a minute. We're gonna talk about the seven sons of Seba and how they knew the right name, but carried no authority to use the right name. And that name is the name of Jesus. You can't just know the name, you gotta know the power behind the name. We're gonna see how when they ran into this spirit of confrontation, how this one demon overpowered seven men and exposed their emptiness and bald faith. This sermon series is a warning and an invitation to grow deeper roots, to seek the kind of intimacy with Christ that transforms a name into power that you can use in the time of need. So sit back and take some good notes and let's take another journey through the Word of God. Thank you for joining me this week on Solid As They Come Podcast, where we journey into the presence of God, break strongholds, and discover and experience the love of Yahweh. Ephesians 3.19 in the New Living Translation says, May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to fully understand, then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God. The goal is not to be perfect, but to trust in, to believe in the perfect love of Jesus, the realest love you will ever experience. Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on us. Let's put in some work. Let's put it in. Praise God. I thank God to be back with live recording. Like a little baby demon or something jumped into my computer, jumped into my microphone, messed up my software, tried to silence PD and keep me from coming to you on Sunday mornings with a word from God. But like I tell the devil all the time, check my paperwork, I'll never give up, I'll never give in. I'll never stop doing what God called me to do. Praise Yahweh. Psalms 34 and 1 says, I will praise the Lord at all times. I will constantly speak his praises. I will boast only in the Lord. Let all who are heartless take heart. Come, let us tell of the Lord's greatness. Let us exalt his name together. That's kingdom right there. Let us exalt his name together. Let's work together. Verse 4 says, I prayed to the Lord and He answered me. Oh my God. Did you hear what the word of God just said? I prayed to the Lord and He answered me. That's a blessing within itself for you to pray to God and He answered you. Watch this, don't miss this. Even if the answer was no, it's still a blessing. Because a no from God can keep you from a lot of hurt. A no from God can keep you from a lot of pain. A no from God can keep you from going somewhere that you're gonna regret later on. I've learned that a no from God is not rejection, but it's protection, is redirection. It could be allowing you time to prepare yourself because maybe you're not ready for what you're asking for. And God is too loving to give you something that is supposed to benefit you, but it ends up hurting you because you're not prepared to handle it. Oh my God, Priest PD. God gives us the things that we are prepared to handle. That's a word for somebody. Because you've been praying and you've been praying. You've been looking, you've been looking. But God is saying no, not to hurt you, not to reject you, but to protect you. In this time of no, that's when you need to be preparing yourself. Can I share a set-you-free word? Can you bless the Lord at all times? Can you praise the Lord at all times? Can you trust the Lord at all times? Will you worship the Lord at all times? When everybody else around you is getting blessed, can you still bless him? When it feels like all hope is gone, will you still bless the Lord? When it seems like he's not answering your prayers, can you bless the Lord? Lately I've been doing a lot of last day teaching because I believe that we're in the last days. And in these last days, we got to be built a certain way. In these last days, we're gonna have to trust God a certain way. In these last days, we're gonna have to stand on our faith in a certain way. In these last days, the real preachers of God don't have time to make you feel good. We don't have the luxury of preaching things that'll make you just shout. I pray every day, God, Yahweh, give me a word that'll stick to the people that adhere to spirit. Let me drop something heavy in your spirit. It's a confrontation in the atmosphere. It's a spiritually wicked confrontation in the atmosphere, and is looking to beat every bit of faith out of the people of God. This type of confrontation I'm speaking of is going to challenge your faith in God and challenge your trust in God and challenge your history with God. This confrontation is so dangerous because it's not outside interference, it's an inside breach of trust. You're gonna have to really be paying attention to see it. It's going to be hostile towards you. The closer you get to God, the more hostile it's gonna get. The closer you get to Jesus, the more hostile it's gonna get. Please don't miss this eye opener. If you only know church and church activity, if you only know tradition and not relationship with Jesus, if you don't know the love of Jesus, the real love of Jesus, you're not gonna make it. You got to know more than just church to deal with this spirit. I came about to drop something heavy in your spirit this morning. You got to love Jesus for yourself. You got to believe in Jesus for yourself. That's what this whole word is for. Encouraging you to be in a relationship with God for yourself. Not because of your mother, not because of your father, not because you want to be with some chick, not because you want to be with some dude. But check this out you need to be in it because you love God, and it better be a real love. Because this spiritual, wicked confrontation is gonna visit the door of everybody who says that they're a Christian. I'm hearing God in the spirit, and I'm on this microphone right now, and I'm just preaching, and I'm just putting out what I'm hearing in the spirit, and I hear God say that this spiritual wicked confrontation is designed to expose what you really love. Oh my god, preached PD is designed to expose what you really love, to expose who you really love, who you really put your trust in, who you really got faith in. Yahweh is dropping this spiritual soul food in my spirit, and boy, I pray that you pull up to the table and eat. Being a real Christian in these last days, a follower of Jesus, is not gonna be for the faint of heart. Because this confrontation that's let loose in the atmosphere, the hate that's coming against the church and the people of God is gonna be on steroids. It's gonna be some big hate, it's gonna be some big talking about, it's gonna be on steroids, it's gonna be that extra strength. Listen to me when I say this. Don't miss this. The wickedness that's gonna come against the people of God is not out to just fight us, it's out to oppress us. Man, let me put some Bible on this. I want y'all to see this. It's in Acts chapter 19, starting at verse 11 in the New Living Translation. You got to see this. Acts 19, starting at the 11 verse in LT. God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on the sick, they were healed of their diseases. And evil spirits were expelled. Come on, somebody, he was real. Even the spirit of confrontation had to get up out of there when Paul came. A group of Jews was traveling from town to town, casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches. Did you hear what they said? They said, I command you in the name of Jesus, who Paul preaches. Come on, somebody, they didn't say who we preach, who we believe in, who we standing on. They said in the name of Jesus who Paul preaches to come out. They wanted to come out. The seven sons of Skeva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, come on, somebody, they were about to get exposed. Did you hear what the word of God said? One time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, I know Jesus. Come on, somebody. Y'all remember, go back, go back. If you just know church and you don't know Jesus, it ain't gonna work. Watch this. I know Jesus and I know Paul. Somebody else can't keep praying for you. You got to know God for yourself. You got to be in a relationship with Jesus for yourself. I know Jesus and I know Paul. But watch what the evil spirit told him. But who are you? Oh my God. Verse 16. Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them. Alright, go back, go back. Somebody missed it. It said, then the man, one man with an evil spirit, go back up to 14. It was seven brothers. The one man beat down the seven brothers. Verse 16. Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with, watch this, such violence that they fled from the house. Watch this, naked and battered. Oh my God. Did you hear what the word of God just said? They ran upon a spirit of confrontation that they wasn't ready for. They wasn't equipped for that. They was running around, acting like they knew Jesus. They were running around, acting like they had a relationship with God. And then when they ran into this spirit of confrontation, it exposed them. The more of this passage of scripture is you have to be real. Man, I got to read that again. I'm gonna read it straight through without interjecting anything. And I just want the Spirit of God to speak to your heart. Acts chapter 19, starting at verse 11, and it says, God gave Paul the power to perform unusual miracles. When handkerchiefs or aprons that had merely touched his skin were placed on sick people, they were healed of their diseases, and evil spirits were expelled. Verse 13. A group of Jews was traveling from town to town, casting out evil spirits. They tried to use the name of the Lord Jesus in their incantation, saying, I command you in the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches to come out. The seven sons of Skeva, a leading priest, were doing this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, I know Jesus, and I know Paul. But who are you? Verse 16. Then the man with the evil spirit leaped on them, overpowered them, and attacked them with such violence that they fled from the house naked and battered. And for the people that don't know, that wasn't a parable. That was real life. But can I tell you why it went so wrong for them? It went wrong for them, y'all, because they was trying to do something in Jesus' name without faith. They was trying to do something in Jesus' name without relationship. They was trying to do something in Jesus' name without trust. Watch this, don't miss this. They were traveling around using the name of Jesus without the authority to use the name. Preach PD. Did you hear what I just said? They were using the name of Jesus without the authority behind them to use the name. The name of Jesus is useless without the power behind the name. That's why it didn't work. They wasn't really connected to Jesus. That's all they knew was the name of Jesus, but they didn't know him. All they knew was church. I got to ask this question. Do you really know him this morning? 2 Peter 1.3 in the NLT says this. By his divine power. Oh, let's put some Bible on this. 2 Peter 1.3. By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this. Watch this. By coming to know him, do you really know him? Let me drop something heavy in your spirit this morning. This is one way to really know that you know him. If you really know him, then you got a testimony about him. Oh my God, priest PD, did you hear what I just said? If you really know him, then you got a testimony about him. And if you got a testimony about him, that means you are a living witness for him. That means that you have been a witness of his grace. That means that you have been a witness of his mercy. That means you've been a witness of his deliverance. That means you've been a witness of his power. That means that you are a living witness of the salvation that comes from knowing him. That means you are a witness of his faithfulness. That means that you are a witness of his forgiveness. That means that you are a witness of his love. A witness is a person who has had a personal encounter with the source of what they witnessed. Oh my God, preach PD. A witness is a person who has had a personal encounter with the source of what they witnessed. I'm standing ten toes down on what I'm about to say next. If you're a real witness of the grace of God, the mercy of God, the love of God, if you have had a personal encounter with Yahweh, let me tell you something. There's no way that you ain't telling everybody. There's no way that you're not telling somebody else. Y'all know what time it is? Let's put some Bible on this. Acts 1.8 in the NLT says, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be my witnesses. Oh my God, say it again. And you will be my witnesses. Watch this. Telling people about me everywhere in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. You can't witness, you can't encounter, you can't be living with a love like this, grace like this, mercy like that, and not tell somebody about it. I know I'm not gonna get finished today, and I know I'm gonna have to put a part two and maybe a part three on of this, but I want to leave you with something. Uh go to Acts chapter 19, go to verse 15, and I want to leave you with this. And in the word of God, it says this. But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, Don't miss this. I know Jesus, and I know Paul, but who are you? Oh my god, did you hear what the word of God just said? I know Jesus, I know Paul, but who are you? I want to leave that deep down in your spirit. Chew on that all week, but who are you? This text, this part of the statement that the evil spirit made forces us to look at ourselves. It forces us to present, watch this, our identity. For some reason, the evil spirit knew Jesus and knew Paul, but didn't know the seven sons of Sefa. And this is what I think with my sanctified imagination. I believe that demons and evil spirits and people can see the God in you when you're really connected to Yahweh God. So you gotta be careful because just like in the text, sooner or later fake connections will get exposed. So we're gonna rest here in Acts chapter 19, verses 11 through 20 for a while, and we're gonna revisit them week after week and exegete these scriptures, bringing them to life and applying them to our life. But as I exit, I want to put that thought back on your mind. Go to verse 15. And in the word of God, it says, But one time when they tried it, the evil spirit replied, I know Jesus and I know Paul, but who are you? Until next week, friends and family, remember, keep it silent.

SPEAKER_01 21:42

Falling in love with Jesus, falling in love with Jesus, falling in love with Jesus. No place not rather rather not falling in love with she falling in love with she's the best thing I've ever done in his own I feel protected connected I feel I feel protected There is no place I ever ever be And now I'm falling in love in love with Jesus falling in love with Jesus is the best thing I've ever done from comfort in feel protected in his own everything everything is connected I feel I feel I feel protected there's no place forever there's no place forever there's no place forever where to be