Led by the Spirit

The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus. 5 When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the Jewish synagogues.John was with them as their helper.

6 They traveled through the whole island until they came to Paphos. There they met a Jewish sorcerer and false prophet named Bar-Jesus,7 who was an attendant of the proconsul, Sergius Paulus. The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God. 8 But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. 9 Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit,looked straight at Elymas and said, 10 “You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?11 Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand. 12 When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord.  Acts 13: 4-12

When was the last time you felt the Holy Spirit leading you? Perhaps you felt a nudge by the Spirit to pray for someone. Maybe you felt him leading you to encourage a neighbor or co-worker. The Spirit leads us every day if we are open to Him. It is important that we seek out his direction and stay alert.

In our scripture passage today we see Paul and Barnabas being led by the Spirit to the island of Cyprus. The Spirit is leading and the disciples are obedient. While on the west side of the island they encounter two very different men. One was a Jewish man and false prophet opposed to the gospel. The other is a Roman governor, open to what Paul and Barnabas have to say.

Sergius Paulus, the Roman official wants to hear the gospel message but Bar-Jesus, the sorcerer, kept trying to stop the official from coming to faith. This is where I would have loved being a witness to these events. Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, lets the opposition have it. He totally calls out Bar-Jesus, whose name means, “Son of Jesus” and calls him a child of the devil.

Paul could have shied away from the confrontation, but he again is obedient to the leading of the Spirit and because of it, the Roman official comes to faith in Christ. The Spirit is active in our lives as well. He may not be calling us to confrontation, but he is leading us to action and it is our job to seek his leading and obediently go.

What About Him?

The arrival of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost changed everything for this band of Christ followers. They were all together in one place and were filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit in our lives is a game-changer. It was for them as well.

Peter had to make some major adjustments to his beliefs and his practices to be on the same page with God. He went so far as to argue his point with God after God commanded Peter to "kill and eat". Then God gave him a sign and Peter got the message. But, then he had to convince the other disciples.

What it boiled down to was God wanted everyone to get to know Jesus but Peter thought only the Jews should know and be saved. "When the others heard this, they stopped objecting and began praising God. They said, “We can see that God has also given the Gentiles the privilege of repenting of their sins and receiving eternal life.” (Acts 11:18)

The Disciple's task just became a whole lot bigger. Now they had to share the Gospel message with Jew and Gentiles. The same can be said for us. We are to share the Gospel message with everyone so that all have the opportunity to know and be saved. It doesn't matter the nationality, the social status, educational background or who they know. The only thing that matters is that God loves them and we should also.

When pointing at our neighbor and asking, "What about Him?"  Yup, him too.  What about my boss who doesn't even like me? Yes, but maybe someone else could tell him or her about God's love. The point is, we all have the right to know Jesus. And one of us needs to get started.

Acts 11:1-18