Acts 13:4-12: Truth and Consequences

The New King James Version Chapter 13

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

The New King James Version Chapter 13

4 So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. 5 And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John as their assistant.

6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”

And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

Today we are going to tackle something that our world today is very much in need of. TRUTH. Not partisan truth or cultural truth, actually life giving truth. We are going to examine the first mission of Paul and Barnabas, and see what happens to them on the island of Cyprus.

Where we left off was with Paul and Barnabas being sent out by the church at Antioch.

Seleucia was the port city closest (about 15 miles) to Antioch that made it the most likely place from which to sail.

This is the first point for us today.

They had a part in this ministry, they were called by the Holy Spirit, commissioned, sent but they still walked to the boat.

What step are we taking? Answering the call!

This is a good way to look at volunteering and service, is God calling you then try to fill the role

Inside and out

We can’t serve if we are not led

This idea is continued in the fact that they sailed to Cyprus.

It seems like a random spot, but it wasn’t

In fact it was the homeland of Barnabas himself which made it perfect for these men to travel there.

DO I love my homeland?

If I could go home would I do the work of Jesus?

They came to Salamis a port city on the East coast of Cyprus, they began the work by preaching at the synagogues. Paul had a system, and it worked.

Luke also puts in a note here that John Mark was with them

Next time we see the kerfuffle

We touched on it last week but we will look again, they took a chance on this kid, are we taking a chance on people?

Who?

As we move on we will begin to flush out the idea of truth and what it means to the Lord.

The New King James Version Chapter 13

6 Now when they had gone through the island to Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus, 7 who was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, an intelligent man. This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.

They end up going across the island as Paphos (the capital) is on the Southwestern port of the island.

While there they met a man named Bar- Jesus that is to say son of Jesus, ironic I know.

He was a Jew, a false prophet, and a sorcerer.What a combo?

What is our combo?

He worked for attached himself to, the proconsul Sergius Paulus, now the proconsul was like the governor of the region and it says he was an intelligent man.

He was a man seeking the truth and wanted to hear what Paul and Barnabas had to say.

That is one of the biggest issues that we have today is that we take things to personal because we do not hear out both sides.

Kathleen

If we really care about the truth (important later) we will search and hear it out.

The New King James Version Chapter 18

13 He who answers a matter before he hears it,

It is folly and shame to him.

Here is where the problems begin is that Elymas did not want the proconsul to be a follower of Jesus, so he intervened and tried to pull him away by means of deceit.

The problem? He chose to fight with God.

We have probably seen or experienced this sabotage of relationship, in our lives. Where we do not want God to move because it is inconveinient for me.

Ever ask God not to move?

Not to save?

Wait till later?

It’s the same heart

As we see Elymas trying to fight the truth , we will see the response of Paul the apostle and how he sees truth in the light of God.

The New King James Version Chapter 13

9 Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 10 and said, “O full of all deceit and all fraud, you son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, will you not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? 11 And now, indeed, the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you shall be blind, not seeing the sun for a time.”

And immediately a dark mist fell on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.

We see for the last time he name Saul in the new testament. From now on the “chosen one” will be called “little.” This also changes the group dynamic as Barnabas and Saul become Paul and his team.

It is amazing what a little persecution can bring out of us.

Now let’s look at the response that he gave Elymas, deceit, fraud, son of the devil, enemy of righteousness, perverting the truth.

Before we get excited about the way we can confront people let’s keep a few things in mind.

First Paul was full of and led by the Spirit of God.

Imagine if all of our confrontations were Spirit led?

but I am Spirit filled

Also there is no record of Paul raising his voice.

How we say it

The other important thing here is that he is disputing truth, actually life altering truth

So many times it seems when we talk to others this way it has nothing to do with truth

At least not gospel truth

Also we cannot call punishment on people, that is what only God could do and inspired Paul to say.

Next level

Immediately he became, blind and went looking for someone to lead him by the hand.

This is where it starts to change, we see that the proconsul was amazed and believed.

The New King James Version Psalm 98

1 Oh, sing to the LORD a new song!

For He has done marvelous things;

His right hand and His holy arm have gained Him the victory.

The New King James Version Chapter 16

Declare His glory among the nations,

His wonders among all peoples.

The New King James Version Psalm 72

18 Blessed be the LORD God, the God of Israel,

Who only does wondrous things!

The New King James Version Psalm 71

17 O God, You have taught me from my youth;

And to this day I declare Your wondrous works.

What is amazing here is that he is not amazed by the miracle but by the Word of God

I love that so much that he is amazed by God

Are we?

Still?

That is enough, to bring new life is to see God and be amazed

what is He amazing you in?

How is that impacting how you live?

Truth should astonish us, and impact us in a deep personal way. Let’s be astonished today!

Let’s pray!