Spiritual Warfare and the Holy Spirit

Acts 13.4-12 | Ps Alex Huggett | 4.5.2025

Part of a series on the book of Acts

© Bentley Baptist Church Inc.
www.bentleybaptist.org

Transcript

Encountering Spiritual Darkness

Speaker 1 0:00

I wonder if you've ever encountered spiritual darkness . You know we sometimes talk about spiritual warfare , coming up against something that just doesn't feel right . Maybe sometimes it's overt and you think this is really jinky . Sometimes it just feels off . You can't quite explain it . Spiritual opposition comes in all sorts of shapes and sizes . Sometimes it's what we might expect and sometimes it might not . So how do you deal with it , though , when you feel like you're up against something that's spiritual darkness , opposition , or straight-out demonic opposition or straight out demonic ?

Speaker 1 0:50

Well , the Holy Spirit had called Paul and Barnabas prophetically to go and proclaim the gospel to now the non-Jewish people of the Roman Empire . Up till now , the Gentiles we've seen as we've tracked along have been welcome into the church , but up to this point , they've largely been what we call God-fearers . They've been people who are familiar with the Jewish religion , maybe a little bit familiar with the Old Testament , and now the apostles are going to start going into predominantly Gentile areas . In fact , some of these places won't have a Jewish synagogue at all , and so , as we track their journey , we find them encountering new challenges . They're having to adapt to new contexts , so possibly Saul changing his name to Paul Paul may have been part of his name already , but starting to use that because Saul , paul had grown up in a Greek city and they're facing spiritual darkness . It's not like they haven't faced opposition before , but they're coming up now against new forms . So it's actually an exciting story as you track through this full of action , all sorts of stuff happening and we can learn from them how we can be a witness in our own culture that's largely forgotten its Christian roots .

Speaker 1 2:21

So look , one of the features of this passage that really strikes me is just how , if you like , charismatic . The nature of the apostolic mission is the way Luke words this . Now , by charismatic I don't mean hanging from the rafters , pentecostal sort of thing , I mean that the presence and power of the Holy Spirit is throughout , particularly this chapter . The author Luke reminds us twice at the beginning so you would have read a few weeks ago in verse 2 , that the Holy Spirit said to set apart Barnabas and Paul . And then he reminds us in verse 4 that , being sent by the Holy Spirit , in a moment , paul is going to confront this guy bar Jesus or Elemas by the Spirit , and we'll get in a few weeks . We'll see at the end of this chapter that the disciples are filled with joy and the Holy Spirit . Again , it's like Luke is bookending this particular section with the Holy Spirit to remind us that this is God at work through his spirit .

Speaker 1 3:32

As we've seen throughout Acts , the apostles in the church keep encountering situations that would utterly defeat them if it wasn't for the presence of the spirit with them , the spirit God himself with them , and so the Spirit gives them , as we see throughout this book , a supernatural boldness to proclaim the gospel , a supernatural power to work miracles , even when they're dragged to prison , executed . But the church keeps growing because of the work of God . They feed the poor , they care for the sick among them , in an overflow of this spirit-filled love . And now they'll take this same power , this same presence of God , and now they'll take this same power , the same presence of God , into new and sometimes hostile , sometimes welcoming territory . You know , sometimes we associate the ministry of the Holy Spirit with weird . I've spent some time in Pentecostal churches , which I love , still love . But maybe you think of an excitable Pentecostal church when you think about the ministry of the Holy Spirit , with raucous services and people yelling in tongues , which can be quite strange if you're not used to that , and you know , where the Spirit is , there is certainly joy , and where the Spirit is , there is certainly joy , and where the spirit is , there is freedom . But good news , particularly for the introverts here the Holy Spirit moves in all kinds of ways and so you don't need to be afraid to cry out to the spirit for a fresh filling , a fresh baptism , a fresh move , because the way the Spirit moves in different contexts is going to look different . The lives we seek to live as Jesus followers and the community we seek to be as a church , the ministry we want to bring to our community around us , this is spiritual by nature and as a church seeking to be a gospel witness in Perth , the presence of the Holy Spirit is as vital in our lives and in our church and in our witness as it was for the church in Acts . And so why is the power of the Holy Spirit so important . All sorts of reasons .

Speaker 1 6:12

But in our passage today for Paul and Barnabas because they were called by the Spirit and I had been prophetically called there were prophets in the church that called them that said this is what the Spirit is saying . It meant that when things got tough and man , we'll see things get really tough for them , they could be confident that they were on the right track because God had called them . There wasn't just a thought bubble they'd had when the circumstances were dire and sometimes Paul will write in some of his later letters that he feared for his life . But they could still have a supernatural joy in the midst of that , and many Christians through time have testified to this joy they have . Even in the midst of persecution , of imprisonment , of torture by the Holy Spirit , of imprisonment , of torture by the Holy Spirit , they can have this supernatural faith that not only keeps them going but makes them victorious and effective . When they came up against spiritual opposition , like we see in our story today , they didn't have to rely on their own resources , but they had the supernatural power of God for insight , authority and boldness . And so the presence of the Holy Spirit is Jesus' promise to us , to you and to me . And you know the Spirit , the presence of the Spirit goes hand in hand with the resurrection life , and the good news is that the Holy Spirit is moving again today in our world , as we speak , you won't see a lot of noise and hype around it In the UK there's this move of the Spirit .

Speaker 1 7:55

They're calling it a quiet revival , but God is moving here in Australia as well . So over there what we're saying , even though church as here , church attendance and it's fallen off a cliff in Britain it's been in decline for decades and attendance overall is still down but what we're starting to see is a return to church of Gen Z , so sort of 18 to 25-year-olds . In fact , in less than the last decade the number of 18 to 25-year-olds in church has doubled in about the last eight years . Isn't that incredible ? When it's meant to be all you , gen Zers , who are leaving church and stuff , they're the ones starting to come back . Interestingly , they're finding a lot of young men Now . It's both men and women , but young men are returning to church . Isn't that interesting ? But we're seeing similar trends in Australia .

Speaker 1 8:50

Let's not miss this moment . Let's not miss this moment . Let's seek God's presence and power so we can see his kingdom come to your neighborhoods , your streets , your workplaces , our city . Let's unfurl the sails and catch the wind of the spirit in prayer and in worship and by faith , and let's listen for the voice of the Holy Spirit , as the apostles did . What's he calling us to ? What's he calling you to . We want to open our ears and our hearts to receive his word and a fresh experience of God's love and power .

Speaker 1 9:30

The case of Barnabas and Paul it's a good

The Holy Spirit's Essential Role

Speaker 1 9:32

thing . They were open to the Spirit and being led by the Spirit , because they're about to have a spiritual confrontation and we're introduced to this guy , this sorcerer , bar-jesus . So Bar-Jesus , bar is Aramaic for son Jesus , is from the Hebrew for a saviour . Jesus' name Literally he's the son of a saviour . A name Literally he's the son of a saviour , aka , we're told , elemas . It's really ironic , isn't it ? Because , as we'll see , he is not the son of a saviour , he was a sorcerer .

Speaker 1 10:06

Sorcery could cover all sorts of practices in the ancient world that word . Now , back in chapter 8 , we met a guy named Simon , who was called Simon the sorcerer , who possibly dabbled in what we call black magic . Here Luke calls Elymas a false prophet . So he probably claimed to be able to tell the future through astrology and divination . And if Elymas or Elymas , I don't know , make it up yourself how you say his name properly .

Speaker 1 10:38

But if he was any good , it's not surprising that a Roman governor would consult with him . We might think well , that's a bit out there . But you know , in the ancient world , religion the occult and the government were all tied up together . They had this thing called augury , where they would release birds and see how the birds acted and fed or didn't feed or whatever , and that would tell them the will of the gods . And generals would do this practice augury before a battle , so they knew what to do . So kind of weird , yeah , that's the way it was . So not like today where we try to keep things separate .

Speaker 1 11:18

So anyway , it's not surprising , if Elimus was any good , that Sergius Paulus , the Roman governor , was consulting with him . So Paulus summons Barnabas and Paul summons Barnabas and Paul . He probably does it , scholars think , in an official capacity , because one of his jobs is to keep the peace in this province , and so he needs to make sure that this new Christian movement that he's hearing about isn't going to be a problem For Barnabas and Paul . Of course , this is a fantastic opportunity , isn't it Getting called up before the governor to talk about your faith ? They're going to use it . But for Elimus , he only sees a threat to his influence and he tries to poison the governor against them .

Speaker 1 12:08

So then we read Paul filled with the Holy Spirit , filled with God's authority and power . He sees what's going on and he rebukes Elanus . He does so very harshly . Now you've got to keep in mind that this whole interaction isn't just between Paul and a pagan system over there . He comes up against those sorts of things and he does confront them , but in a very different way . You see , elymas is a Jew and Jews weren't meant to practice sorcery of any kind . Paul calls him a deceiver , so he's probably a fraud who's ripping off the governor . His name means son of a saviour , but Paul calls him the son of a devil and an enemy of all . That's right . That's twisting God's ways . So there's this almost internal Jewish thing going on there as well , because although Saul is an apostle a Christian apostle , he's also a Jew . What Paul does with ?

Speaker 1 13:23

Would you

The Quiet Revival Movement

Speaker 1 13:24

go up to the premier premier's advisor , one of his chiefs of staff or the prime ministers and do something like this ? No way , jose , I'd be doing this If I had to confront someone . Sorry , I'd be doing this If I had to confront someone , sorry , I'd be doing this very gently and respectfully . But Paul just has at him . And then Paul backs it up by striking Eliamas blind Now temporarily , but it's like whoa . But this is kind of prophetic in itself . This guy who's meant to be illuminating the future is actually full of darkness , and so that's what this judgment spells out without using words . So , not surprisingly , it gets the governor's attention and he believes the message . Isn't this interesting that his astonishment is not at the miracle , it's at the message that they've been teaching . Now , no doubt , as I've been explaining the gospel , they've been talking about the resurrection of Jesus from the dead , and isn't that even bigger news than striking a man blind ? So it's not surprising then that the governor takes them seriously in all of this . Well , on the surface , elamus's opposition probably looked political Maybe I don't , we're not given details but in reality it was spiritual , and so often we encounter similar dynamics , and it requires wisdom and discernment , a spiritual discernment , to see what's going on really .

Speaker 1 15:00

I've been in situations in very unexpected places in Christian settings , where something is just really jinky and I have no freedom . I was thinking of this particular . I'm not going to say where it was because it doesn't matter , but I'm in this Christian meeting actually , and I was feeling I just had no freedom . I was meant to be making a presentation . People commented afterwards it just I was struggling . I was really struggling and I had been looking forward to doing this presentation and it struck me afterwards . I realised there was someone in there , another Christian but who opposed me , and I hadn't sort of put all this together . I discovered that afterwards Someone who had spoken against me , and I had heard that from someone else later on there was something spiritual happening there from another Christian that I hadn't put together .

Speaker 1 15:59

Sometimes

Paul Confronts the Sorcerer

Speaker 1 16:00

it requires spiritual discernment . If I'd known what would I have done in that situation ? I wouldn't have struck him blind . I probably would have just prayed about it and moved through it . But we need discernment . These things come in all sorts of shapes and sizes and ways and we need spiritual discernment to see what's really going on .

Speaker 1 16:24

At the political level , so much of what often presents as just ideology and philosophies has a spiritual root . Was it , mel praying about chaplains in schools today ? And there are people who want to end chaplaincy in school . Now let me ask you a question Does that sound like something God would inspire someone with ? Where would that idea come from ?

Speaker 1 16:48

In some states and it's coming to WA governments are outlawing it's illegal to pray with someone who is wrestling over their sexual identity . Someone comes who's ? I'm a Christian and I'm struggling with same-sex attraction , or I'm struggling with my identity as a man and feel like a woman and pastor . Will you pray for me ? It's illegal to say yes . Where does that come from ? Do you think that is something from God ? Or maybe from the other place ? There are people who want and of course it's pretty liberal here in Australia think we should be able to end life in the womb on demand for any reason . Where does that come from ?

Speaker 1 17:40

So , at a political level , sometimes these things actually have a spiritual root . They look political ideology , but they're from a spirit of darkness . But on a more personal level , we see it as well . We encounter people all the time who may be full of anger and rage and we might be able to identify circumstances in life that have led them to that place . But there's a spiritual root there as well . A person who is suffering addiction , a person who is abusive or sometimes depressed even and it's not that they're evil necessarily , and it's not even that all the time . These things have started spiritually , but they open up a gap for the spiritual realm to come and bring further harm . And it's not that we don't want psychologists or need those sorts of things in there , or other interventions , but that's not the only thing . We maybe need a multidisciplinary approach , both the physical , the psychological and the spiritual .

Speaker 1 19:01

Sometimes people need deliverance , and it's not always spiritual , demonic oppression or possession , but it can be an oppression . How do you discern that , though ? How do you know ? Well , by the Spirit . How do you deal with it ? By the Spirit , and the point of this story , and the point of what I'm saying , isn't that , when you come up against something like that , you should tell people , you should make them go blind . That's not the point of the story .

Speaker 1 19:43

God revealed

Discerning Spiritual Opposition Today

Speaker 1 19:44

the darkness in Elimas' heart so that Sergius Paulus could step into the light , and that's what we want . We want people to step into the light , and that's what we want . We want people to step into the light . We want to bring the light , the good news of Jesus , into the lives of those who are filled with darkness , as the Spirit leads us through prayer and intercession . The goal isn't to bring judgment . The goal is to bring freedom and life , and that was Paul's goal ultimately , here Remember what Paul was dealing with .

Speaker 1 20:18

There would be like me going up if the Premier or the Prime Minister has an advisor there who claims to be a Christian and I wouldn't do it , I'm just not that personality . But let's just pretend the Lord says Alex , I want you to go and confront that person . I'm sort of doing so . Even though there's a political dimension here , there's also a Christian dimension here which gives me a different kind of relationship with that person . That's what Paul is doing in this situation . But when we're out there with people who may or may not claim to be Christians , and particularly when we come with I'm sort of switching gears here a little bit , because this guy Elimas , he was really in the wrong . I mean , there's no justification here .

Speaker 1 21:04

What I'm trying to apply it to is more , where people are victims of this sort of thing , the people who have fallen for the deception of someone like Elimas , and now they're oppressed and caught up in it because they fell for a deception . We don't bring judgment . We bring hope and life and healing and love and deliverance for them . But we do it , and I guess this is my point . Why do we need the Spirit ? Because we need the Spirit to lead us , to give us the authority to know how to do that , to do that , and that comes through prayer and revelation . I guess in everything that I've been saying , though , there's also a warning for us about how we live our lives as well . If we're going to be led by the Spirit and bring the light and life of the gospel to other people , we need to make sure we're free of spiritual deception ourselves . We need to not be the Elimus in people's lives .

Speaker 1 22:10

So , as I said , one of the reasons Paul is so harsh with Elanus is that sorcery was forbidden to the Jews . So Deuteronomy 18 says let no one be found among you who sacrifices their son or daughter in the fire I mean , that's how bad it got back in those days who practices divination or sorcery , interprets omens , engages in witchcraft or casts spells , or who is a medium or a spiritist , or who consults the dead . Anyone who does these things is detestable to Yahweh , and because of these same detestable practices , yahweh , your God , will drive out those nations before you . You must be blameless . Yahweh , your God , will drive out those nations before you . You must be blameless before Yahweh , your God .

Speaker 1 23:01

So you know , a return to church isn't the only spiritual trend we're seeing among young people . There's also a resurgence in the popularity of what the Bible calls sorcery , what we've been talking about , practices like today voodoo , tarot , reiki crystals , new age beliefs in general are all making a comeback as well . These are all forbidden to the followers of Jesus . And you know , we can be very skeptical , if you well , maybe younger people don't , but my age , we have a bit more of a modernist , materialist mentality , even Christians . Often it's just the air we breathe . It's very hard to get out of that . But the problem with these practices isn't that they don't work , that they're a fraud , it's that they do work and they come from demonic sources .

Speaker 1 23:46

Paul will later write to one of the churches he'll plant in Corinthians . And they come from demonic sources . Paul will later write to one of the churches he'll plant in Corinthians . What am I saying then ? That food sacrificed to idols is anything , or that an idol is anything ? No , but

Bringing Light, Not Judgment

Speaker 1 24:06

I do say that what they sacrifice , they sacrifice to demons and not to God . I do not want you to be participants with demons , and so , as Christians , we have the Holy Spirit , and when we've got the Holy Spirit , we can't be possessed by another spirit . We can't be possessed by evil spirits , but if we invite them into our lives in some way , into our sphere of influence , the sphere of our life . Through various practices or having crystals or whatever it is , they can afflict us . So , whether it's at the political , the social or the overtly spiritual level , we are in a spiritual battle . We're battling spiritual forces of darkness . Jesus calls us to live as children of light and , in the power of the Holy Spirit , we have the power to both live in that reality ourselves and invite others into it as well .

Speaker 1 25:17

Bit of a heavy topic there , but look , I want to end up with CS Lewis in his book the Chronicles of Narnia , the line sorry , in the Chronicles of Narnia , the Lion , the Witch and the Wardrobe . Anyone read that ? You remember , mr Beaver and Mrs Beaver ? And Mr Beaver excitedly declares Aslan is on the wardrobe . Anyone read that ? You remember , mr Beaver and Mrs Beaver ? And Mr Beaver excitedly declares Aslan is on the move . Aslan the lion who will set everything right . And of course Aslan is an allegory for the lion of Judah Jesus . And it certainly feels like Aslan is on the move today . But like Narnia where Aslan is on the move today , but like Narnia where Aslan is on the move , the forces of darkness will rise up to oppose him .

Speaker 1 25:58

And so the question for us . This isn't about going and looking for demons to stomp at all . This is more just be ready for it . Make sure that we are walking in the light so that when we come across it , we are ready and can deal with it . So will we embrace the life of the Spirit , so that we can both reveal the darkness through our words and actions , like Paul did . It was a problem for Elimas , but it brought life to the people around him when they saw the truth . So will we be filled with the Spirit , so we can reveal the darkness through our words and actions and bring the light of the gospel to those who are crying out . So , friends , let's not let the Spirit pass us by , but let's cry out to him to come among us .