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. 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.
This is one
of those stories that shows me how far from Jesus I am and how much
boldness I lack. The name Bar-Jesus means 'son of Jesus'. He was a Jew
yet a sorcerer. He was in appearance a follower of God yet a follower of
Satan. Behind the feigned interest in the gospel he was really a son of
the devil. Paul and Barnabas were new to this place and to him.
It would be similar to the times I have come to a new place. I meet new
people. I meet my church members. In name they are all sons and
daughters of Jesus and present that they have an interest in the gospel.
As time goes on some of them begin to work against me and against the
gospel. They display their true colours. They are sons of Satan rather
than sons of Jesus. As I work to bring others to Jesus they work to take
them away. It's literally a war.
However the bad part is not
that this reality exists. The bad part is I am not close enough to Jesus
to handle it as I should. I lack holy boldness. I lack Divine wisdom. I
lack the connection that would allow me to let Jesus handle the
situation leaving no doubt in anyone's mind that He is the King of
kings.
Why do I lack this closeness and boldness and connection
with Jesus? Because Paul and Barnabas were men of prayer who fasted for
direction. They sought Him daily. They knew their need of Him.
"Father make me like Paul and Barnabas so I can be bold for you and bring glory to Your Name."
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