SCRIPTURE
6Afterward they traveled from town to town across the entire island until finally they reached Paphos, where they met a Jewish sorcerer, a false prophet named Bar-Jesus. 7He had attached himself to the governor, Sergius Paulus, who was an intelligent man. The governor invited Barnabas and Saul to visit him, for he wanted to hear the word of God. 8But 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. 9Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye. 10Then he said, “You son of the devil, full of every sort of deceit and fraud, and enemy of all that is good! Will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Acts 13:6-10
OBSERVATION
Sergius Paulus was a man of power and position who had given a position of power to the sorcerer in his life. Luke writes that Bar-Jesus “attached himself to the governor” and the narrative makes it clear Paulus was seeking out Paul to find some freedom. When Bar-Jesus saw he was about to lose his hold he sunk his teeth in deeper and tried to manipulate the governor. It wasn’t that Sergius Paulus was a fool, in fact he is described as an intelligent man. There’s a difference between intelligence and discernment. We aren’t told how this sorcerer wormed his way into this man’s life but it’s clear that this has been a long relationship. The longer we hold on to a lie the more difficult it is to keep that lie from holding on to us. Paulus was trying to sneak towards the truth but Paul knew it was going to require a direct confrontation with the lier. This part gets me fired up. I get a “showdown in the ok corral vibe” with a tumbleweed blowing in the background and faint cowboy whistles giving way to the sound of spurs on boots walking up to each other in the dusty center of town. This probably isn’t too far from the truth as the narrative paints a picture of a face to face confrontation in the public square. This was a cultured man of influence and so naturally the people wondered how this was going to go down. Luke writes something very significant in this moment that must not be missed, “Saul, also known as Paul, was filled with the Holy Spirit, and he looked the sorcerer in the eye.” From this point on Luke would refer to him by his Gentile name Paul as his ministry to the Gentiles was kicked off by this power encounter. Paul was leaving his old identity behind to step into his new assignment which was to speak to Gentiles in places of influence about there true identity in Christ. Paul had to fix his eyes on Jesus before he fixed his eyes on Bar Jesus. This man who had once been struck blind by God so he could truly see would now do the same to this sorcerer who was leading many people astray. After seeing this, Sergius Paulus could truly see how blind he had been. He had been a disciple of the Jewish magician, Elymas Barjesus and now he would become a disciple of Jesus Christ. This blood sucking leech had lost its grip on him.
APPLICATION
Typically found in freshwater environments, leeches look like tiny monsters from a science fiction movie. Shaped like worms but equipped with suckers and teeth, they attach to your skin with one goal in mind: suck your blood. Often times a person doesn’t even know they are there because leeches release an anesthetic so their bites are painless and where there’s one, there’s likely more. The danger in removing a leech comes from the bacteria that’s housed in their stomach. Rip them off carelessly and you risk pushing that bacteria into your open wound, causing a dangerous infection. Likewise, common removal techniques like salting and burning the leech have their own negative consequences, like making the leech vomit that bad stuff into your wound. The best way is direct confrontation. Use a flat-edged tool like a credit card or your fingernail to carefully press the leech’s narrow head to the side until it detaches from your skin. Flick it off quickly; once the leech is detached, it will try to re-attach to your skin. If you’re wondering how I know so much about detaching leeches let me recommend Google. It’s amazing how much is on there. The point of all this, of course, is that if we want to lose the leeches in our lives, the lies that have been sucking the life out of our faith, it’s going to take direct confrontation. The longer that leech as been there, the longer that lie has been passed down from generation to generation, the more difficult it becomes to address. We might even justify its presence as “just the way it is”. We have all heard the phrase, “It runs in my family” as applied to various addictions, personality defects, destructive habits etc. It runs in the family because we have let it run our family and its time to stop running and start facing down the lies that attached themselves to our lives. The confrontation starts with confession. We aren’t told what the governor told Paul but it was obvious he was looking for a way out from under the sorcerers control. James 5:17 says, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.” We need the power of the Holy Spirit and the strength of our brothers and sisters to remove these lies. It’s time to bring these blood suckers under the blood of Jesus Christ before which they must loosen their grip and be flicked back to the swamps we used to swim in. Are you ready to lose the leeches in your life? Start by finding a safe place with a fellow brother or sister of faith and look that leech in the eye and say “no more” in the Name of Jesus!
PRAYER
Wow! Thank You God. I needed this. I want to thank You for how many leeches You have flicked off of my life. Thank You for the restoration of identity and for teaching me to walk in the authority of Your Name and the power of the Holy Spirit to see other brothers and sisters set free from the lies!
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