As they ministered to the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Now separate to Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away. So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia, and from there they sailed to Cyprus. And when they arrived in Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John [surname Mark] as their assistant. (Acts 13:2-5)
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, 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. But Elymas the sorcerer (for so his name is translated) withstood them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith. (Acts 13:6-8)
Sergius Paulus was appointed by the Roman government to be the governor of Cyprus. (read "Sergius Paulus") People in positions of authority, and all of us for that matter, need to be very careful who we allow in our inner circle. There is all kind of knowledge in the world, but they all fall under two categories, either good or evil. (Genesis 2:15-17) The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, They have done abominable works, There is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there are any who understand, who seek God. (Psalm 14:1-2) But, The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;
A good understanding have all those who do His commandments. His praise endures forever. (Psalm 111:10)
If we have someone around us who leads us away from God and His Word and not towards God and His Word, we need to separate ourselves from their counsel. Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful; But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1) All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work. (II Timothy 3:16-17)
Then Saul, who also is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him 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? 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. (Acts 13:9-11)
From the beginning, when God established His covenant with the children of Israel, He was very clear, “When you come into the land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you anyone who makes his son or his daughter pass through the fire, or one who practices witchcraft, or a soothsayer, or one who interprets omens, or a sorcerer, or one who conjures spells, or a medium, or a spiritist, or one who calls up the dead. For all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord, and because of these abominations the Lord your God drives them out from before you. You shall be blameless before the Lord your God. For these nations which you will dispossess listened to soothsayers and diviners; but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you." (Deuteronomy 18:9-14)
These kinds of things and the people who practice them are involved in the a cult, and all who do these things are an abomination to the Lord. Modern day examples are horoscopes, psychics, fortune tellers, palm readers, mediums, etc. We are not to visit these people, listen to these people, read what these people write, or have anything to do with any of these abominations. Even though it may seem "everyone else is doing it", but as for you, the Lord your God has not appointed such for you. Instead, God has appointed a specific Person for us to listen to. The Lord God told Moses, "“The Lord your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear, according to all you desired of the Lord your God... (Deuteronomy 18:15-16)
“And the Lord said to me: ‘What they have spoken is good. I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him. And it shall be that whoever will not hear My words, which He speaks in My name, I will require it of him. But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name, which I have not commanded him to speak, or who speaks in the name of other gods, that prophet shall die.’ And if you say in your heart, ‘How shall we know the word which the Lord has not spoken?’— when a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord, if the thing does not happen or come to pass, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken; the prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him." (Deuteronomy 18:17-22)
This Prophet Whom God would put His words in His mouth is Christ Jesus, the Word of God in the flesh. (John 1:1-34, 45) Paul dealt with this Elymas the sorcerer the same way we are to deal with all the false teachers and a cultist we may come in contact with, or who may have someone we care about believing their evil deceit and fraud; we are to filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at them and say, “Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men.” People are looking for something, and they're watching both sides, the good and the evil. Let us represent Christ is such a way that more will choose the good! Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. (Acts 13:12)
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