Mark 9:38

Mark 9:38 says, And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us.  John came to Jesus telling Him about someone casting out devils in the name of Jesus.  John said the man did not follow the disciples, so they forbade him from continuing to cast out devils.  We need to acknowledge two things.  First, the man was being successful in casting out devils, and second, the man was doing it in Jesus's name.  Just because he wasn't following the disciples didn't mean he was not putting his faith in Jesus, because by his own power he would have been unsuccessful.  We may not always be a part of the same fellowship of believers, but we should never believe that we alone are doing the work of Christ today.  Verse thirty-nine adds, But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.  As Jesus said to John, those who do miracles in His name cannot at the same time lightly speak evil of Him.  At this point, even the disciples did not understand Who Jesus really was, so they were not any more empowered than anyone else. They were only successful when they acted by faith in Jesus, just as we are today. The only difference is that we have the Holy Spirit with us to empower us at all times. Verse forty continues, For he that is not against us is on our part.  Then, Jesus said that those who were not against the disciples and Him were a part of them.  Not all of Jesus's disciples were physically following Him, but they were all putting their faith in Him spiritually.  As followers of Christ, we need to realize that we are no better than any other follower of Christ, and we should all support and uplift anyone who is being successful in doing God's work.