Encouragement

---

Acts 13v1-12
Luke 10v9

We read from the book of Acts about the setting apart of Saul and Barnabas in chapter 13. The Holy Spirit said to the praying brethren, "Set apart for Me, Barnabas and Saul to do the work for which I have sent them." That statement can speak into your life as well in that we have all been set apart for a work. John 15v8, 16 tells us that we have been set apart to bear fruit, fruit that endures. It is time for us to depart in the same vein and way in which these two men did and get to work for the Sovereign God.

The two set apart men were then sent on their way as ambassadors of Christ. They just didn't go but they were sent. In Luke 10 we read that Jesus sent the disciples out on an assignment. As a Church we need to be aware of Him who sends us out and the reason for the same. We cannot just assign ourselves to a mission, there has to be a release into the same. When Barnabas and Saul reached their destination, the proclamation of their message was of the TRUTH, EXISTENCE, and HAPPENING OF the Word of God in the synagogues. Luke 10 says "Proclaim/say out the message."

Saul and Barnabas took John along as their HELPER. Jesus tells us in John 14v16 that He "will send you another HELPER to be with you forever." This HELPER is the Holy Spirit. We need Him to help us as we proclaim the Good News. These men went throughout the whole island until they came to Paphos. The Great Commission of Acts 1v8 commands that we should preach the Gospel until all men have heard about Jesus. We should preach the Good News until we enter into Heaven's gates with thanksgiving in our hearts. The commission is not just to a single place, it is unto the ends of the world.

As the story continues, we hear about how the Proconsul, Sergius Paulus, wanted to hear the Word of God. Romans 10 asks: "How can they hear until someone preaches to them? And how can they preach unless they have been sent?" We have been sent and as a result we must preach only the true undefiled Word of God unto those who are eager to hear it. Sergius Paulus was a Gentile, an alien to the Jewish God, but he desired to hear the Word proceeding from His mouth. But, as these men discharged their assignment, they met a false prophet who tried to turn the Proconsul away from the faith. The word "but" is defined as "something contrary to the previous statement." In Matthew 24v24 we are told that false prophets will appear to deceive even the elect, if that were possible. We need to recognize that there will be people bent on inhibiting the move of the Gospel and will try at all costs to stop its spread.

As we look at the character of Elymas we realize the use of three tactics he used to destroy the faithful, the same type of tactics a modern day false prophet uses:

1. DECEPTION- Mark 4v19 talks about the deception brought about by life. These deceptions make the Word of God to be unfruitful.
2. TRICKERY- The Word tells us to be careful about the signs we ask for because the evil one can manifest himself as an angel of light. He too can counterfeit the miracles of God. The devil is a trickster.
3. PEVERSION- The enemy seeks to pervert the truths of God's ways. The enemy is bent on spoiling the Gospel for he knows that it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1v16). The prophet Hosea says in chapter 4v6, "My people perish because of lack of knowledge."

Yet in spite of these tactics, the Word must go on. The poise taken by Paul was a significant one. He took a stand because he was full of the Holy Spirit. Only when you are full of the Holy Spirit can you take a stand. You can only face falsehood when you are under the unction of the Holy Spirit. According to the passage, Paul did three things:

1. He identified who Elymas was- a child of the devil thus an enemy. Make every effort to know your enemy. He prowls around like a roaring lion seeking one to devour. In Ephesians 4v27 Paul encourages the Church not to give the devil a foothold. We are in a spiritual war and our enemy is unseen. As a result we ought to know his tactics and think of a counter strategy to repel his attacks.
2. He noted the tools that the enemy used in his trade- deception, trickery and perversion. The devil is out to steal, kill and destroy and as such we must endeavor to identify him in the midst of many conflicting forces and deal with him as the Word demands.
3. He spoke God's wrath in the same way that Elisha did to the Arameans in Dothan in 2 Kings 2. Matthew tells us that, since the days of John the Baptist, the Kingdom of God has suffered violence, and it is the violent who shall take it by force.

Today the Church of God, His Bride, is blind like Elymas and unable to see the Light, who has come into the world, whose Kingdom we are proclaiming. John was a witness to the Light and we too ought to be witnesses to the Light. The Church is still in misty and dark conditions about the Kingdom of Her Husband as the enemy blinkers are fast at work. Ephesians 4v17-18 tells us not to be like the Gentiles who are futile in their thinking, who are darkened in their understanding and separated from the Light of God because of ignorance and the hardening of their hearts. The Bride has become very insensitive to the things of God.

Today She is in need of someone to lead her by the hand, that someone is Jesus, the Great Shepherd of the sheep, the husband who has laid down His life for the one He loves. She needs the guidance and leading of the Holy Spirit who will lead Her into all truth. She needs an Ananias who will come to Her, like he came to Paul, and say, "The Lord has sent me that you may see again." We need to see scales falling off the eyes of the Church.

The Bride needs to seek the Lord while He may be found. The 10 virgins in Matthew 25 had mixed fortunes- 5 were privileged to find the Groom and be shut in with Him, while the other 5 found the door closed and missed out on the wedding they had spent ages waiting and preparing for. The door is fast closing on the Church that has for over two millennia waited for the Great Wedding of the Bride and Groom to take place.

Let's go back to the story and develop the plot a bit further. When the Proconsul saw what had happened, he believed. The Word of God reminds us that we are a people who walk by faith and not by sight. Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Moffat interprets the same definition thus: “Now faith means we are confident of what we hope for, convinced of what we do not see." The Proconsul stood on the stance of what he saw and was amazed at the teaching of the Word. Paul encouraged Timothy to study the Word so as to show himself an approved workman who would not ashamed and who correctly handles the word of TRUTH. When the Kingdom comes, know about it because the Holy Spirit must teach you about its coming.

Stir into flame the faith that is in you seeing what God has done for and in you. In Acts 9 Paul was busy persecuting the Church as a blind man, but now he wants you and I to come into the Glorious Kingdom of Light he was trying to cover in darkness. And to end this sharing, there are three things I desire you to hold onto. You can forget the rest of it but hold fast to these as they will help you in your walk of faith:

• You need to realize that you are in great need of God's Word. Romans 10v17 tell us that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing the word of God."
• You need to realize who your enemy is and stand against him. James 4v7 tells us to resist the devil and he will flee from you." We read about the one mission statement he has- to steal, kill and destroy.
• You need to believe the teaching God has for you and allow Him to reveal His Kingdom to you.

---

PLEASE ENCOURAGE AUTHOR BELOW LEAVE COMMENT ON ARTICLE