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Bentley Baptist Church Sermons
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
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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: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: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: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: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: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: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:The case of Barnabas and Paul it's a good 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: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: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: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: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:Would you 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: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:Sometimes 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: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: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: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: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:God revealed 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: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: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: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: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: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 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: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: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.