Satanic Resistance

Published by Stanley Pouw in 2016 · 11 September 2016

Let's turn tonight to Acts 13. Obviously, Acts is a missionary book about spreading the Gospel. This chapter is about "Satanic Opposition to a Spirit-Filled Mission." Satan is working today, as he did then. We see it not only in our culture, but in other cultures around the globe. The enemy is always actively antagonizing the ministry of Jesus Christ.

Now, Satan is at work in the world in many ways. But be aware of the fact that he is always active. And when we set out to accomplish the work of God, we can expect to face the opposition of our enemy. Now, let's look at the satanic resistance to a Spirit-filled mission in Acts 13 which is a critical chapter in the flow of expanding God’s Kingdom.

It has been about 25 years since Pentecost. The church has flourished. It has reached Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and it has been concentrated primarily in those areas. But now it is time to move into the Gentile world, to establish that final part of our Lord's commission, and that is to preach the Gospel to every person in all the world. And by this time, an effective base of operations has been planted in the church at Antioch.

Antioch was a marvelous church, a Christ-honoring Spirit-filled church that is ready to evangelize the world. They had a very strong foundation in the truth of God. And it had many gifted men and women who were highly trained and capable. This is for us a pattern and example. A church committed to what we see here in Antioch is a church that can evangelize the world.

The work of the Holy Spirit was everywhere. Look at these following verses, verse 2, “As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said." Verse 4, "So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia." Verse 9, "Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit." Now if you go back to Acts 11:24, it says of Barnabas, "He was a righteous man and full of the Holy Spirit.” This was a church under the control of the Holy Spirit.

A Spirit-filled church is simply a church in which the people walk in consistent obedience to the will of God and where is the will of God expressed. In Ephesians 5:18 it says, "Be filled with the Spirit," and in Colossians 3:16, it says, “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.” So it all has to begin with a Spirit-filled church in order to affect the world around it.

Now, for a church to be effective it has to have the right leadership. Look at verse 1, “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” The church that would reach the world will always feature strong, spiritual men as leaders.

In 1 Timothy 3:2-5, the Apostle Paul shows us the kind of men that can become leaders in God’s church, and the standards are high, “He must be blameless.” A one-woman man, and that means that he is to be totally committed to and in love with his wife. That is a present tense spiritual qualification. Just being married to the same woman does not qualify you, because that doesn't say that you really love of her.

Verse 2-5 continues, “Temperate, sober-minded, of good behavior, hospitable, able to teach; 3 not given to wine, not violent, not greedy for money, but gentle, not quarrelsome, not covetous. 4 one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence 5 for if a man does not know how to rule his own house, how will he take care of the church of God?” He is not to be a recent convert and so on.

Secondly, the church that is going to reach the world has to be engaged in spiritual ministry. What does that mean? It means to serve the Lord and to fast and pray. And how is the Lord served? He is served in the explanation of His Word and in prayer, and that is the same perspective of Acts 6:4 where it said, "We will give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word."

The word minister basically means to serve in a priestly manner. They see their ministry as an act of worship to God. My sacrifice to God is my service rendered, and every sermon I preach is in my heart an offering to the very sanctuary of the Old Testament to present it to God. Every day I live, every hour I study, every moment I pray is what I offer God as an act of worship for Him.

Now, there are many other things you have to do like work on projects and do all kinds of details, but never lose sight of that priority. These men ministered to the Lord rather than just to the people. When all you are concerned about is ministering to the people, you tend to compromise, because the people become the end. But as long as you are offering everything to God, there is no place for compromise.

They also fasted, which indicates the intensity of their prayer. Fasting is a way to express devotion, vigilance and passion. Stopping to eat will not make you look better or feel better. And that happens when you are so passionately consumed by God in your heart that you have no desire for food; and it is even sometimes just a partial abstinence from the things of the world.

Then comes a third element and that is a spiritual mission. Verse 2 says, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” The Holy Spirit moves and speaks through the prophets before the completion of the New Testament. The apostles gave the doctrine. The prophets spoke the practical aspects and the application.

And notice that it happened as they were ministering. God uses the ones that are in the middle of ministering. God takes the best. God called Barnabas and Saul and send them for a special mission. There is a call when the Spirit of God puts His hand on your heart, and that call is dominantly expressed through your desire.

Verse 3, the church responded, “Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.” That is a sign of affirmation and confirmation. It's like saying, “Hey guys, we are with you. We are in solidarity with you and your cause. We stand behind you with prayer and support, and we sent you out.” Verse 4, “So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”

Verse 5 says, “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.” That refers to John Mark. So they departed to Seleucia, which is the port of Antioch, about 15 miles away on the Mediterranean. Cyprus, was the home of Barnabas about 110 miles away, and then, beyond that, Salamis and there they preached.

That was the main trade center, the largest city, with a great number of Jews. That was large enough to have many synagogues. They went into one of those synagogues, and they preached. Did you notice at the end of verse 5, that they had John as their helper? This is John Mark, named in 12:12 of Acts. John, whose surname was Mark, who's mother's name was Mary; and they used to have home Bible studies in his house.

And as they are sent on a spiritual mission; they run immediately into spiritual militants. Verse 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.” This was an amazing name for a sorcerer because it means ‘son of salvation’. Now Paphos was the seat of Roman government and it was also the center for the worship of Venus, the love goddess.

Tradition says that Venus was born out of the foam of the sea; and she was worshipped in the wildest sexual orgies imaginable. The city was a sin pit where people wallowed in moral filth. No wonder that they found this sorcerer named Bar-Jesus there. Verse 7 continues, “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.”

God arranged for Barnabas and Saul to have an interview with the Roman governor. So they received an audience with him, and they found alongside of him this sorcerer who was basically a medium who contacted demons. And so here was an evil satanic man who was a false prophet. Verse 8, “But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.”

So here we see the spiritual battle, Satan's agent, Elymas Bar-Jesus, begins to withstand them in order to turn away the Governor from the faith. So whenever you set out to reach a soul for Jesus Christ, you can be sure that the devil wants to prevent you from doing that. Elymas comes from the Arabic word alamin, which means powerful. It also shows us that Sergius Paulus dabbled in the occult.

Listen to the dangers described in 1 Timothy 4:1, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits.” Have you ever wondered why someone comes along and seems to be interested in the faith, and all of a sudden falls away? It may have been a hellish invasion by "deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons." So the satanic seduction that happens when faith confronts a soul is nothing new. And we see it illustrated in Acts 13.

Now, Satan not only resists us on the outside, but he resists us also on the inside. Verse 13, “Now when Paul and his party set sail from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia; and John, departing from them, returned to Jerusalem.” You have the outside attack related to Elymas, and you have the inside attack from John Mark. Do you know, the church in its mission is very often devastated internally as much as its devastated externally? There is disunity, discord, dissension and an unwillingness to go.

Here is John Mark, he just bails out. We are not told why, but he had no good reason, and Paul never forgot it. In Acts 15:37-38 it says, “Now Barnabas was determined to take with them John called Mark. But Paul insisted that they should not take with them the one who had departed from them in Pamphylia, and had not gone with them to the work.”

And you know what happened? Verse 39-40, “Then the contention became so sharp that they parted from one another. And so Barnabas took Mark and sailed to Cyprus. 40 but Paul chose Silas and departed, being commended by the brethren to the grace of God.” Paul knew that John Mark had demonstrated cowardice, and Paul was tough. Barnabas wanted to forgive him and restore him, but Paul resisted.

But Paul forgave him in his old age. Paul writes in 2 Timothy 4:11, "Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, for he is useful to me for ministry.” God restored Mark, and Paul was willing to take him back. What made Mark leave Paul and Barnabas? Well, it might be fear of the danger. They were going to have to cross the Taurus Mountains and their caves were always full of robbers.

Paul referred to the perils of robbers in 2 Corinthians 11:26. The dangers were clear when Mark thought about the difficulty of the journey, the tremendous price he had to pay, and so he just quit; and that attacks the mission from the inside. So whenever you start a project where people have to go out there, they get attacked. But then there are those who never make it out because they quit right there.

Verse 9-10, “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?” How do you deal with the devil? Head on. The occultist is deceitful, wicked and mischievous. Secondly, he says, "You son of the devil." Your name may be son of salvation, but you are the son of Satan.

Verse 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.” God struck him blind on the spot. But the battle wasn't really with Elymas. The battle was for the soul of Sergius Paulus.

Verse 12, “Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord.” There are many souls all over this world that God would reach. There are many tribes in areas of Papua that have never heard the message of Jesus Christ. There are many places where Satan has a stronghold. And, yes, there is always a spiritual war out there.

Do you know what we have learned in missions? We learned that the geographical location of your feet has absolutely nothing to do with your heart. If you are not concerned about souls here, there is no reason to believe you will be concerned about souls somewhere else. Spiritually minded men and women who are engaged in spiritual ministry are the kind God chooses and calls to a spiritual mission.

And they must face the fact that immediately upon the call to a spiritual mission, they are going to run right into the militants of Satan to thwart that effort. But if they are faithful, and if they call on the resource and the power of God, they will know the spiritual mastery that God gave to these men that day. For our God will not change, Amen? He is always the same and the victory is ours.

The key behind everything is that we should be controlled by the Holy Spirit. Many people think we now live in a post-missionary time, but that is not true. We need more people to minister for Christ all around the world. There is a lot of work to be done. Satan will continue to resist, but God’s Word says in 1 John 4:4, "Greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” That is the promise of victory. Let us pray.