Naylor Community Christian Church
Naylor, Georgia
I. Introduction
-- turn in Bibles to Acts 16:16-24
Acts
16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female
slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great
deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the
rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are
telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally
Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the
name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the
spirit left her.
19
When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they seized
Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the authorities.
20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews, and
are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs unlawful for us
Romans to accept or practice.”
22
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates
ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been
severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to
guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the
inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
-- as I mentioned briefly last week,
my time in Tennessee was a spiritual awakening in my life – I was a Christian –
I had been saved years before – but my spiritual life was not where it needed
to be
-- when Kim and I moved to
Tennessee, we didn’t find a church or attend worship services on a regular
basis – we’d go from time to time and visit different churches, but we never
found one that we went to more than once or twice
--
honestly, we were Christians in Name Only -- saved, but not living the life –
saved, but not part of a community of faith – if anyone asked, we would tell
them we were Christians, but we were not doing anything that would be
considered normal for a Christian to do
--
that spiritual absence and lack of participation in faith activities weighed on
me – I began visiting Christian bookstores and started reading Christian
literature – both non-fiction and fiction – and I started to grow spiritually
--
I began reading the Bible and studying it on my own at lunch while at work – a
coworker noticed, and she was the one who introduced me to Bible Study
Fellowship – BSF – that I mentioned last week – after getting involved with BSF
and studying the Bible in a systematic manner with other men in a small group
setting, I really started to grow spiritually
--
another friend at work told me about this new group called Promise Keepers –
Promise Keepers was an organization started by Coach Bill McCartney in Colorado
in 1990 – and they put on events in stadiums across the country to try to call
men back to true Christianity and to help them grow into leaders in their homes
and their churches – he said that Promise Keepers was coming to Knoxville and a
group from his church was going – he asked if I wanted to go – this was in the
fall of 1997 – and the event would be on a Friday evening and then on Saturday
morning through early afternoon
--
I wasn’t sure – I didn’t know anyone from his church – we had never attended
there – and I had never heard of this group – so, I told him I’d get back with
him
--
I went ahead and bought a ticket to the event on my own to make sure I had a
ticket if I decided to go – but I didn’t commit, one way or the other
--
it wasn’t long after that that I started seeing a lot of negative information
about Promise Keepers – local churches were putting out ads saying that Promise
Keepers was not a real Christian organization – that it was not evangelical,
but closely tied to the Catholic Church and had some questionable teachings –
there were even negative ads in the Christian bookstore I frequented
--
I heard people on the radio condemning Coach McCartney and questioning his
faith and what he was really doing in this movement – they made it sound like
it was just a money grab and it wasn’t something that Christians should
participate in
--
I had told Kim that I was going – but then my friend told me that he had
decided to drop out – I certainly wasn’t going to go with his church, since I
didn’t know anyone there – and when I heard all the negative information about
Promise Keepers on the radio and in ads, I wavered on whether I should go or
not
--
but I had a ticket in hand and that ticket was not cheap – it was a sacrifice
to buy it – and if I didn’t go, I felt like I would be throwing our money away
– so, I talked it over with Kim and I decided I would drive down to Knoxville
for the Friday night session, just to see for myself if this was a good thing
or not
--
Knoxville was a little over an hour from our house, so after work on that
Friday, I headed down there all by myself – I found my way to the stadium at
the University of Tennessee, and joined the thousands of other men heading
inside
--
I found a seat and sat there all by myself – still not sure if I made the right
decision or not – still not sure if this was put together by God or by Satan –
I was trying to decide whether to stay or to go, and then the bottom dropped
out – it began to rain – and I don’t mean just a little rain – this was a
monsoon – I was soaked to the skin – my program guide was soaked – my Bible was
soaked – I didn’t have a jacket – and then the conference started
--
that conference changed my life – that Promise Keepers’ event was what I needed
to jumpstart my spiritual life and to get me moving in the right direction –
the music was inspiring – the preaching and teaching were totally in keeping
with the Scriptures and they moved my heart as the Spirit convicted me of my
unfaithfulness and led me to see where I had been failing as a Christian
--
I drove back home that night, completely soaked to the bone and shivering with
cold – but I got up the next morning, and drove back to be there when the doors
opened again
-- Ezekiel 12:1–2 states:
"The word of the Lord came to me: 'Son of man, you are living among a
rebellious people. They have eyes to see but do not see and ears to hear but do
not hear, for they are a rebellious people.'"
-- that experience at Promise
Keepers taught me a great lesson about faith and opposition to the faith –
anytime there is a movement of God – anytime God moves in your life or in the
life of the church – whether that is an individual congregation or a larger
move within the church of Christ – opposition will always arise
-- we are warned in the Bible to
guard ourselves against the devil’s schemes – and one of those schemes is when Satan
stirs the hearts of rebellious people to cast doubt and raise aspersions and to
make people question God and His righteousness when He begins to move in and
through His church on earth
-- that is what happened when
Promise Keepers came to Tennessee – Satan schemed against it, stirring up
people to speak out against Promise Keepers in an effort to keep men from
coming and experiencing God in those events and in the small groups that rose
out of that movement
-- we saw the same scheme rear its
ugly head again when Rick Warren released his mega-popular book, “The Purpose
Driven Life” – article after article and story after story came out denouncing
Rick Warren, his ministry, and the book in an effort to keep people from
reading it – but Satan could not hold back that move of God, and Warren’s book
touched many lives with the message of the gospel
-- and we see that same scheme outlined
for us here in the Book of Acts, as Paul and Silas continued to face opposition
and persecution in every place they visited as they shared the gospel with both
Jew and Gentile in Europe
-- the Book of Acts contains example
after example of Paul and his companions being harassed and persecuted in every
town – previously, in Chapter 14, we read about Paul being stoned in the city
of Lystra by Jews opposed to his message
-- and here in Acts 16 and 17, we
see Satan raising up opposition to Paul by having Paul and Silas thrown into
prison and having crowds of people oppose them, forcing them to leave each city
they have visited
-- this morning, as we continue in
our sermon series through the Book of Acts, I want us to look at two examples
of what Satan’s opposition to the gospel looked like in the life of Paul – the
first was direct spiritual harassment that led to Paul and Silas’ imprisonment
– the second was opposition and derision by the learned people of Athens
-- so, if you would, join me again
here in Acts 16:16, and let’s begin our study of the devil’s schemes and how
opposition always arises when the gospel is preached and God moves in and
through His people
II. Satan Sends a Slave Girl (Acts 16:16-24)
-- verse 16 – “Once, when we
were going to the place of prayer”
–
just as a note, the place of prayer Luke talks about here is the gathering
place for Jews and followers of God in the city of Philippi which was on the
banks of the river just outside the city – this is where Paul met Lydia, the
first convert to Christianity in the city who eventually hosted the church of
Philippi in her home
--
the fact that this was where the Jews gathered for prayer in Philippi tells us
that there wasn’t a synagogue there – the Jewish men had failed in their
responsibility to build a place of worship – and the Jews were forced to gather
near the river for worship on the Sabbath – that’s one reason we don’t see a
combined group of Jews opposing the gospel in Philippi and why Satan used
another resource to come against Paul and the message of God in that city
--
verse 16-18
Acts
16:16 Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a female
slave who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great
deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling. 17 She followed Paul and the
rest of us, shouting, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are
telling you the way to be saved.” 18 She kept this up for many days. Finally
Paul became so annoyed that he turned around and said to the spirit, “In the
name of Jesus Christ I command you to come out of her!” At that moment the
spirit left her.
-- Luke tells us here that as Paul
and Silas and their companions were headed to the place of prayer on the
Sabbath, they met this slave girl who was possessed by an evil spirit – she
started following them around and yelling at the top of her voice, “These men
are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved”
--
apparently, Paul tolerated all this yelling as he made his way to the place of
prayer – but then the slave girl found them the next day and did the same thing
– everywhere they went, she followed them around, yelling at the top of her
voice, “These men are servants of the Most High God, who are telling you the
way to be saved” -- and then she did the same thing the next day and the next
and the next – Luke says this went on for many days, and finally Paul had
enough
--
he became so annoyed at her and at this yelling which was coming from the
unclean spirit within her that he turned around and cast the demon out of her
in the name of Jesus
--
so, what was going on here and why did Paul eventually put a stop to it?
--
well, the first scheme of Satan here was to harass Paul – to keep people away
from Paul because they didn’t want to be around this slave girl yelling – and
to keep Paul from being able to preach and teach to the people who did come to
listen – all they could hear was the girl yelling, and not what Paul was trying
to tell them
--
there have been a couple of times in my life that I have come across a street
preacher who would yell out to the passing crowd just like this slave girl in
this passage – and even though I am a Christian, it was an uncomfortable
situation for me – I can only imagine what it was like for the unbelievers who
were passing them on the corner
--
I watched as people crossed the street and intentionally avoided these
preachers, because the simple fact is most people don’t like to be around
someone yelling at them in this way – no one likes to be around someone causing
a disturbance – and even if they are preaching and teaching the word of God,
they are not having a positive impact because of the way they are presenting
the message
-- that’s part of what was going on with this
slave girl – she is yelling and causing a scene – and the people of Philippi
were likely avoiding Paul and Silas because of her – no one wanted to be part
of this scene – and Paul couldn’t get his message out
--
the second thing going on here is more subtle – we read here in verse 17 that the
message that the slave girl was shouting was, “These men are servants of the
Most High God, who are telling you the way to be saved” --- nothing wrong with
that, right? – that depends
--
some modern translators have proposed that the translation of this verse in the
King James Version and the NIV here and in other Bibles is wrong – that the definitive
article in this verse – the word “the” in our Bibles – should be
translated as “a” – which is how the New American Standard Bible
translates it
--
and here’s why this makes a difference – rather than shouting that Paul and
Silas are telling people THE way to be saved, these scholars
contend that what the slave girl actually shouted was, “These men are
bond-servants of the Most High God, who are proclaiming to you A
way of salvation.” – and that changes everything
--
that means that this slave girl who was possessed by an unclean spirit was not
confirming that Paul was telling the people the only way to be saved – that
salvation was by grace through faith in Jesus alone – but that Paul was merely
giving them “another” way of salvation
--
in other words, the unclean spirit was claiming through the slave girl that
salvation through faith in Jesus was just one way to be saved and that there
were many other ways to be saved
--
and you could see how this would cause a problem for Paul – because this phrase
would be in direct conflict with the gospel message that he was preaching
--
so, regardless -- whether it was just because her shouting caused distractions
and turned people away or whether it was because she was shouting out a heresy
to the people – or whether it was because of both reasons – Paul became annoyed
and commanded that the unclean spirit – the demon that possessed her – leave in
the name of Jesus – and when he said that, the spirit left her
--
verse 19-24
Acts
16:19 When her owners realized that their hope of making money was gone, they
seized Paul and Silas and dragged them into the marketplace to face the
authorities. 20 They brought them before the magistrates and said, “These men
are Jews, and are throwing our city into an uproar 21 by advocating customs
unlawful for us Romans to accept or practice.”
22
The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates
ordered them to be stripped and beaten with rods. 23 After they had been
severely flogged, they were thrown into prison, and the jailer was commanded to
guard them carefully. 24 When he received these orders, he put them in the
inner cell and fastened their feet in the stocks.
--
Paul thwarted the devil’s schemes by casting the demon out of the slave girl,
but Satan didn’t give up – when the owners of the slave girl realized that the
unclean spirit was gone and she could no longer make them money by predicting
the future – they seized Paul and Silas and carried them to the authorities
--
they didn’t tell the whole story – they didn’t say that Paul had cast the demon
out and hurt their wallet – but instead, they said that Paul and Silas had
caused an uproar in the city and were advocating customs unlawful for Romans to
accept or practice – meaning that Paul and Silas were trying to get people to
worship Jesus rather than Caesar and the Roman gods
--
the crowd joined in and finally the magistrates had Paul and Silas stripped and
beaten with rods and thrown into prison
--
Satan’s plan here is obvious – if you can’t keep them from preaching and
teaching by distracting the crowds, then isolate them by having them thrown
into prison
--
Satan will always have a plan to try to keep the word of God from moving and
reaching the people – whether that’s through distractions like the unclean
spirit shouting through the slave girl or by persecuting the people of God
--
of course, we know the rest of this story – Paul and Silas find themselves in
the Philippian jail – and at midnight, as they are singing hymns and worshiping
God, God sends an earthquake to shake the jail – releasing Paul and Silas from
their chains and opening the doors of the prison
--
the jailer realizes this is a sign from God and rushes in, asking what he must
do to be saved – and Paul presents the gospel to the jailer – the jailer and
his whole household become believers in Jesus and are baptized
--
Satan may come up with plans and schemes to stop the word of God from getting
out, but God proclaims in Isaiah 55:11 that His word will not return empty, but
will accomplish what He desires and will achieve the purpose for which He sent
it
--
Satan tried to keep God’s word from going forth by first harassing Paul with
the slave girl and then by sending him to prison, but God’s word continued to
go forth and lead people to salvation, including the Philippian jailer
III. Opposition by the Learned (Acts 17:16-34)
-- in our time remaining, let’s turn
over to Acts 17:16 and look at yet another of the devil’s schemes to oppose the
word of God – this time, opposition by the learned men of Paul’s day
-- verse 16-21
Acts
17:16 While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to
see that the city was full of idols. 17 So he reasoned in the synagogue with
both Jews and God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the marketplace day by day with
those who happened to be there. 18 A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers
began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to
say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this
because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. 19
Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they
said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? 20
You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what
they mean.” 21 (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent
their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.)
--
John Wesley, the Anglican priest who founded the Methodist Church, was known
for keeping detailed journals – reading them provides great insight into how
his initial attempts at reformation in the Anglican Church was met:
--
From his journal for 1738:
Sunday a.m., May 7, preached in St. Lawrence’s, was
asked not to come back anymore.
Sunday p.m., May 7, preached at St. Katherine Cree’s
church, deacons said, “Get out and stay out.”
Sunday a.m., May 14, preached at St. Ann’s, can’t go
back there either.
Sunday afternoon, May 21, preached at St. John’s,
kicked out again.
Sunday evening, May 21, preached at St. somebody
else’s, Bennet’s maybe, deacons called special meeting and said I couldn’t
return.
--
From his journal for 1739:
Tuesday, May 8, afternoon service, preached in a
pasture in Bath, 1,000 people came to hear me.
Sunday, September 9, preached to 10,000 people three
weeks in a row in Moorfields.
--
From his journal for 1742:
Friday, March 10, preached in meadow, chased out of
meadow as a bull was turned loose during the services.
-- we do not have a journal from the
Apostle Paul, but if we did, it would look a lot like John Wesley’s – as Luke
records for us in the Book of Acts, Paul would come into a town – speak at a
synagogue – be rejected by the Jews there – go out and preach to the Gentiles –
and eventually get chased out of town by the Jews who refused to believe his
message
-- we saw that in his first
missionary journey with Barnabas – and the same thing continues here in Acts
16-18 in his second missionary journey with Silas
-- after getting out of prison in
Philippi, Paul made his way to Thessalonica and was promptly chased out of town
by the Jews there
-- he went to Berea, where he had a
more favorable response in the synagogue, but the Jews from Thessalonica found
out he was there – showed up – and caused a scene again – forcing Paul to leave
the city and go somewhere else
-- Paul left Berea by himself –
leaving Silas and Timothy behind – and took a ship to Athens, where he was
going to wait for Silas and Timothy to join him to continue their journey
spreading the gospel
-- while he was alone in Athens,
Paul walked around town and became distressed at the number of graven images
and idols that were on every street corner, because they showed just how far
away from belief in the one true God the people of Athens were
-- these idols are yet another of
Satan’s schemes to keep people away from the word of God – just as he uses
idols in our lives – money – power – sex – sports – work – family – even
religion – to keep us from truly following God
-- Paul followed his set routine –
preaching in the synagogue and then on the street – where he shared the gospel
with the people of Athens
-- adherents of the two leading
philosophies of the day – Epicureanism and Stoicism – were interested in Paul’s
teaching – if for no other reason than it was something new
-- they took Paul to a meeting of
the Areopagus – the Areopagus was originally the ruling council of Athens – it
consisted of the leaders of Athens and it made up the courts, so people who
were being tried of crimes were brought before the Areopagus
-- in Paul’s day, the Areopagus
primarily existed as a group of scholars and learned men – philosophers and
teachers – who met to discuss philosophy and to teach their disciples in
various areas of learning
-- because Paul came with a new
teaching, he was invited to share it with these learned and wise men to see
what they thought of it
-- verse 22-34
Acts
17:22 Paul then stood up in the meeting of the Areopagus and said: “People of
Athens! I see that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I walked
around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar
with this inscription: to an unknown god. So you are ignorant of the very thing
you worship—and this is what I am going to proclaim to you.
24
“The God who made the world and everything in it is the Lord of heaven and
earth and does not live in temples built by human hands. 25 And he is not
served by human hands, as if he needed anything. Rather, he himself gives
everyone life and breath and everything else. 26 From one man he made all the
nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their
appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. 27 God did this
so that they would seek him and perhaps reach out for him and find him, though
he is not far from any one of us. 28 ‘For in him we live and move and have our
being.’ As some of your own poets have said, ‘We are his offspring.’
29
“Therefore since we are God’s offspring, we should not think that the divine
being is like gold or silver or stone—an image made by human design and skill.
30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people
everywhere to repent. 31 For he has set a day when he will judge the world with
justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by
raising him from the dead.”
32
When they heard about the resurrection of the dead, some of them sneered, but
others said, “We want to hear you again on this subject.” 33 At that, Paul left
the Council. 34 Some of the people became followers of Paul and believed. Among
them was Dionysius, a member of the Areopagus, also a woman named Damaris, and
a number of others.
-- so, Paul meets these men where
they are – these are not Jews or Gentiles familiar with the Jewish scriptures –
so, he begins to share with them the word of God based on the foundation of
religious knowledge they had
-- he talks to them about their
idols and altars, especially the altar they had made to an unknown god – and
proceeded to tell them that he knew who this unknown god was – that this was
not just another god among many, but the one true God who created the heavens
and the earth and through whom men might be saved for eternal life
-- but when Paul shared about the
resurrection of the dead and the afterlife – something which the Stoics and
Epicureans did not believe in – some of the men closed their ears and began to
mock him – sneering at him
-- a few asked him to come back to
share more with them later – and a very few became believers as God’s word
penetrated their hearts and brought them to faith
-- another of Satan’s schemes to
keep people away from the word of God is to have the truth of God’s word
questioned by our leaders, educators, scientists, and other learned people
–
in America today, it is a fact that most campuses of higher learning do not
accept the teaching of the Bible or the gospel message that Paul presented to
the members of the Areopagus
-- we hear the same thing from many
of our elected officials – our leaders – and our scientists
–
just this week, Kim told me about a segment from the Today show with Neil
deGrasse Tyson, renowned American astrophysicist and writer, where he was
talking about the total solar eclipse that Europe experienced this past week
-- he shared how Earth’s moon was
unique in its size – how it was just the perfect size and the perfect distance
from both earth and the sun to allow us to see eclipses the way we do
-- but he was quick to point out
that this was something that developed naturally – coincidentally – and was
just an astronomical anomaly and nothing more
-- Tyson certainly was not going to say
that God designed it this way – that God created the heavens and the earth in
just such a way that the size of the moon was what it was and that its location
in the heavens was set by God for His own purposes – because Tyson will tell
you that God and religion have no place in science
-- I can tell you from personal
experience that any scientist or student who believes in the Bible and the word
of God faces derision and ridicule from most other scientists and teachers –
proclaiming faith in God and proposing that God’s word is correct is a sure way
to be discriminated against by academia
-- and the same is true for a lot of
our elected officials and leaders, too – they do not believe in God or they
believe that God should not be part of the public conversation – so if people
speak out for God in the public square, they are met with derision and ridicule
just like Paul experienced in Athens
-- but we can take heart in the
response of some in the Areopagus that day – in verse 34 it says that some of
the people became followers of Paul and believed – including Dionysius, a
member of the Areopagus – a woman named Damaris – and others
-- those with ears to hear and
hearts to receive the truth of God’s word will respond in faith, despite
Satan’s best attempts to keep God’s word from going forth
IV. Closing
--
the take-home message for today is that spiritual attacks and opposition to
God’s word are common – anytime there is a move of God, you are always going to
see Satan do something to oppose it
--
sometimes, that will take the form of distractions and direct harassment, such
as Paul experienced with the slave girl
--
sometimes, it will take the form of persecution, such as the owners of the
slave girl who had Paul and Silas thrown into prison
--
and sometimes, it will take the form of public ridicule – or sneering or
mockery or public embarrassment to try to keep you from standing up for your
faith or sharing God’s word with others
--
there will always be opposition to the word of God and to the people of God
standing up and trying to live for Him in this world today
--
it is a fact – and we need to be aware of this, because you are going to
experience this in your life as you try to fulfill God’s calling and live out
your faith on a daily basis
--
as I close, I want to leave you with two cautions to be careful of in your life:
--
the first is not believing that Satan and demons exist -- there’s a lot of
people in our world today that dismiss spirituality and religion -- that don’t
believe in God or Jesus -- and there’s just as many that don’t believe that
Satan and his demons are real
--
even Christians, especially those in more progressive and liberal
denominations, tend to dismiss the accounts in the Bible about Satan or demonic
activity or any supernatural event
--
however, as we see in the Scriptures, Satan and his demons do exist and the
Bible identifies them as our spiritual enemies who actively influence our lives
to try to keep us from becoming mature in our faith
--
remember what Paul wrote in Ephesians 6 – our struggle is not against flesh and
blood, but against the spiritual forces of darkness behind them – when people
oppose you – when systems oppose you – know that there is an underlying
spiritual battle taking place
--
pray for the Holy Spirit’s help and trust in God and His word when you are
harassed, distracted, or persecuted
--
the second caution is to not fall into the trap of making a mountain out of the
demonic -- thinking there’s a demon under every bush and that the devil is
behind every tree
--
some people go through life thinking that every bad thing that happens is
because the devil did it
--
some of us are old enough to remember the comedian Flip Wilson’s tag line --
“The devil made me do it” -- and this type of thinking can be a trap for us to
avert personal responsibility in our lives and to try to blame everything that
goes wrong on the devil
--
so, while the Bible makes it clear that we have a spiritual enemy who tries to
impact our lives, not everything that happens to us is because of demonic
activity
--
some things happen because we are fallen humans living in a fallen world and
some of the things that happen to us are the consequence of our own actions or
the actions of those around us -- some things happen because this is the
natural course of events
--
if I don’t pay attention and trip going down the stairs today, it’s not because
a demon pushed me -- it’s my own fault -- and I need to take responsibility for
that
--
bad things happen -- and sometimes, bad things happen to good people -- it’s a
fact of life -- but that doesn’t mean the devil made it happen
--
keep this in mind: spiritual attacks are
primarily attacks on your faith and on your walk with Jesus -- so, things
outside of this -- like falling down the stairs -- are probably because you
weren’t paying attention or something was wrong with the stairs -- it is almost
certain that falling down the stairs is not a demonic attack
--
so, be careful of falling into either of the two extremes -- thinking that
demons don’t exist or that there is not another supernatural and spiritual
reality around us -- or thinking that everything is the result of demons
--
the truth is somewhere in the middle -- and we need to be discerning in our
evaluation of what is going on and not blame someone else, including Satan and
his demons, for things that are our own fault
--
the thing I want you to leave here knowing this morning is that spiritual
attacks and spiritual warfare is a reality – opposition to God’s word will
happen -- it’s something that we need to be aware of -- but we can’t let it
encompass our lives or our thinking
--
always remember that we have an advocate in the Holy Spirit who dwells within
us -- who works in our lives to empower us to counter the devil’s schemes and
his attacks when they come
--
and our response should be the same as that of the Apostle Paul – when
opposition arises, continue to step out in faith in God and share God’s word
and trust in His mighty power and strength to help us, no matter what occurs
--
with that, let us close in prayer
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