“Can You See What Satan Sees?” Acts 13:4-12
I love to ride down the road and see how many animals I can spot. Most seem to be hidden from view but when you have what some call “Woods eyes” you can spot the turkeys, the deer and other critters.
We’ve been talking about moving forward and as we begin, taking the gospel to the world, we will need to be paying close attention to our surroundings.
We need to know where we’re going and how we’ll get there. We also need to understand that if God is not in it we don’t move but if He is we better get to stepping. We also need to understand that just like I watch nature, Satan is watching us and he will do whatever he can to hinder and even destroy the work that God has called us to.
Most victorious military leaders were so because of one thing. They knew their enemy. They could see what the enemy saw and I want to show you three things that the enemy of the church sees. We need to be aware of these things in order to stay out of his evil trap.
1. Satan sees those who are sent. Look at verse 4
Notice here, first of all these men are sent by the Holy Spirit…
If we strike out on our own we are in trouble and will surely fall into the trap that Satan sets for us. We don’t go simply because it FEELS like the right thing to do.
We as individuals and as a body of believers must never operate on feelings…
The leadership of the Holy Spirit is critical to our success as servants of the Most High God. If we allow Him to be our Guide, He will fill us with encouragement, power and authority. But if he is not leading the way, fear and discouragement will set in until the work is destroyed.
Let me show you some ways we can be encouraged when the Holy Spirit is our Guide.
We have several promises as children of God
a. The Holy Spirit will abide in us. He is not here today and gone tomorrow.
[John 14:16-17 NIV] “16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever-- 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”
b. The Holy Spirit will guide us.
[John 16:13 NIV] “But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.”
c. The Holy Spirit will tells what to say.
[John 14:26 NIV] “But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.”
d. The Holy Spirit will bring success to the work God gives us to do.
[John 16:8-11 NIV] “8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.”
The Holy Spirit told the Church to set aside Saul and Barnabas for the work to which He had called them and then He sent them out to do that work.
But here’s where the problem lies. Look at verses 5-6.
Not only was this done for all to see, Satan was also watching.
When you think about all that Paul endured in his ministry it is clear that Satan took notice.
Satan hasn’t changed since then. He still sees those who are sent and we should too.
I believe the sad truth is that, even though Satan sees those sent, he doesn’t need to pay very much attention to most of us.
Why might that be?
Well for most of us there isn’t any chance that someone would come to Christ as a result of seeing our lifestyle. For some it isn’t any different than theirs and they sure aren’t going to hear the gospel shared verbally.
*Why that would be too embarrassing and pushy and we wouldn’t want to offend anyone and keep them from making a salvation decision.
No, Satan will only be concerned with those who might make a difference for the cause of Christ.
2. Satan sees those who are seeking. Look at verse 7
The Bible tells us that Sergius Paulus was an intelligent man.
He was a seeking man and he called for Saul and Barnabas because he wanted to hear the unbridled word of God.
Many today are satisfied with the watered down version of the Word of God.
For me it’s like going from whole milk to skim milk….
When you get tired of the watered down version the whole milk is a little hard to swallow. The unbridled truth of God’s Word is a bit hard to swallow but it’s better for you than the watered down version.
Sergius Paulus was not seeking the oratory skills of Saul or Barnabas. He was not looking for some dog and pony show. All he wanted was to hear the word of God and Satan could see this clearly.
But listen to me, this morning. If we are going to be obedient to the command of Jesus in Acts 1: 8 to carry the gospel out beyond these walls we must understand that Satan already has someone in place to run interference.
Look back at verses 6-7. Where was Bar-Jesus? On the inside! If you don’t think Satan will use someone in the church to stop the Word of God from getting out you’re sadly mistaken. More churches, in the US are brought down by internal affairs than outside attacks.
Satan had a man in place, on the inside, ready to interfere with the gospel presentation of Paul and Barnabas and we need not think EBC will fly under his radar.
Satan wants to stop those who are seeking from hearing the word of God and he will use whatever means possible to prevent it from happening.
You and I must recognize those who are true seekers and share the word of God with them no matter what the enemy throws at us along the way.
This brings us to the final thing we need to see.
3. Satan sees those willing to stand in the way. Look at verse 8. [read in NKJV]
Check out how the NLT reads: [Acts 13:8 NLT] “But Elymas, the sorcerer (as his name means in Greek), interfered and urged the governor to pay no attention to what Barnabas and Saul said. He was trying to keep the governor from believing.”
If you have a problem with the message or with what is taught in your Bible study take it with me or with your teacher, personally. When you pick up the phone and discuss it with others…YOU HAVE GIVEN YOURSELF TO THE ENEMY!
Now, here’s where it’s going to get sticky; because up to this point things have been pretty clear cut. Those who are sent are believers. Those who are seeking are nonbelievers. But what about those who will stand in the way? In this passage Elymas was clearly a nonbeliever. Paul referred to him as a “son of the devil”. His intent was to prevent the seeker from hearing or believing the word of God.
Satan saw him and was willing to use him.
Should we assume that if we are to see those who will stand in the way we would need to look for those like Elymas? Are we looking, only for those who speak lies and distort the truth of God’s Word?
If you do you would only be half right. The problem with hindrance is that it can be both active and passive.
Elymas was actively standing in the way and that is easy to see...
But what about the passive hindrances?
Scripture plainly states that each and every believer is part of the body of Christ and not only that but each and every part has a purpose. There is something you are supposed to be doing, within the body.
The truth is that if one part is not functioning as it is intended it then becomes a hindrance.
Paul confronted the one standing in the way head on with the power of God, and so should we. BUT the way we approach active and passive hindrances are a bit different.
a. For the active hindrance we are engaged in spiritual warfare in which the power of God must prevail.
b. For the passive hindrance we should be engaged in spiritual encouragement and love in which the Spirit of God will prevail.
Failing to recognize these three things will result in difficulty, stress and perhaps even the spiritual death of those the Lord has commanded us to proclaim the gospel to.
Verse 12 shows the victory that was won when God’s people could see clearly all of the things that Satan could.
Get in the game or get off the field…
Thank you Pastor Rich Dunbar
