Acts 13:4-13 Takes One To Know One

 Scripture: So being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.  When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews.  And they had John to assist them.  When they had gone through the whole island as far as Paphos, they came upon a certain magician, a Jewish false prophet named Bar-Jesus.  He was with the proconsul, Sergius Paulus, a man of intelligence, who summoned Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the word of God.  But Elymas the magician (for that is the meaning of his name) opposed them, seeking to turn the proconsul away from the faith.  But Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently at him and said, "You son of the devil, you enemy of all righteousness, full of all deceit and villainy, will you not stop making crooked the straight paths of the Lord?  And now, behold the hand of the Lord is upon you, and you will be blind and unable to see the sun for a time."  Immediately mist and darkness fell upon him and he went about seeking people to lead him by the hand.  Then the proconsul believed, when he saw what had occurred, for he was astonished at the teaching of the Lord. ~ Acts 13: 4-12

Sermon Outline:

Situation: Things are going poorly for Saul

• Jewish plot to kill in Damascus (Acts 9:24) 
• Apostolic rejection at Jerusalem (Acts 9:26)
• Greek plot to kill in Jerusalem (Acts 9:29)
• Presence disruptive enough to Tarsus (430 miles)

Complication: Encounters remind of his old life

• Acts 8:1 and 13:10 tie Saul to Elyma in enmity to the Church
• Acts 9:26 and 13:10 tie Saul to Elyma in deceit and trickery (apostles didn't trust Saul)
• Acts 7:58 and 13:10 tie Saul and Elyma in perverting the right ways of the Lord
• Acts 9:9 and 13:11 tie Saul to Elyma in blindness (Saul knew what kind of blindness)

Resolution: Saul, filled with the Holy Spirit, overcomes opposition

• Acts 13:13 lists Paul and his companions instead of Barnabas and Saul
• Each remaining Acts 13 reference lists Paul and Barnabas
• Acts 13 starts and ends with the presence / influence of the Holy Spirit

Celebration: Proconsul Sergius Paulus comes to faith

1. John 4:53 shows a household coming to faith because the leader believed
2. Acts 10: 24, 33, 44 shows Cornelius' family and friends receiving the Holy Spirit
3. Acts 16:34 shows the jailer's household believing in the Lord Jesus
4. Acts 18:8 shows Crispus and his whole household believing in the Lord

Take Aways:

1. Like Barnabas and John, we can work without full understanding of blindness:
1. In homeless shelter though never homeless
2. Foster parent as a member of a forever family
3. Financial coach though never filed for bankruptcy
2. Like Saul, called Paul, we can use our past for God's glory:
1. Recovering addict as a recovery sponsor
2. Felon or misdemeanor to reach people in trouble with law
3. Recent convert can evangelize / disciple skeptic
3. It's not how we start but how we finish that matters:
1. Woke up holding a grudge but can go to sleep in forgiveness
2. Woke up owing money but can commit to retiring debt
3. Carrying guilt and shame from past but can confess sin and be forgiven

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Observations:

• Saul became Paul in this passage (Acts 13:9)
• Saul needed Barnabas as a handler:
• Acts 9:27 shows Barnabas taking hold of Saul and vouched at Jerusalem
• Acts 11:25-26 shows Barnabas retrieving Saul from Tarsus
• Acts 11:26 lists Barnabas and Saul (notice order) meeting and teaching
• Acts 11:30 shows the Judean gift being sent by Barnabas and Saul
• Acts 12:25 lists Barnabas and Saul returning from Judea / Jerusalem with John Mark
• Acts 13:1 lists Barnabas first and Saul last
• Acts 13:2 shows the Holy Spirit naming "Barnabas and Saul" for the work
• Acts 13: 4-12 unfolds in Barnabas' native land (Acts 4:36) of Cyprus
• 
  
• Paul takes Barnabas as a companion
• Acts 13:13 lists Paul and his companions instead of Barnabas and Saul
• Each remaining Acts 13 reference lists Paul and Barnabas
• Acts 13 starts and ends with the presence / influence of the Holy Spirit
• 
  
• Saul recognized himself in Elyma
• Acts 8:1 and 13:10 tie Saul to Elyma in enmity to the Church
• Acts 9:26 and 13:10 tie Saul to Elyma in deceit and trickery (apostles didn't trust Saul)
• Acts 7:58 and 13:10 tie Saul and Elyma in perverting the right ways of the Lord
• Acts 9:9 and 13:11 tie Saul to Elyma in blindness (Saul knew what kind of blindness)
• 
  
• Barnabas and John were present but silently helping
• After Acts 13:12 Saul is permanently Paul by the power of the Holy Spirit

Applications:

• As Saul's recognition of Elyma led to Sergius Paulus' conversion, so does our revisitation of the familiar open opportunities to minister;
• As the church at Antioch worshipped and fasted before the Holy Spirit spoke, we can follow a worshipping and fasting  lifestyle with expectation of hearing from the Lord;
• AS there was prayer, fasting and action after the Holy Spirit spoke, so are our responses to the Lord's instructions tied to action;
• As Barnabas and John were unempathetic to blindness, so can Christians bear witness to the Holy Spirit's work without full comprehension:
• takes selfish men to understand selfish men
• takes frustrated students to understand students' frustrations
• takes a victim of abuse to connect with victims of abuse
• takes anxious people to "see" anxious people  

Note: When an influencer came to faith, the entire organization / household came to faith.  Perhaps Paul's prophecy about Elyma's temporary blindness was an awareness that if the proconsul comes to faith, Elyma as his attendant would eventually follow.

1. John 4:53 shows a household coming to faith because the leader believed
2. Acts 10: 24, 33, 44 shows Cornelius' family and friends receiving the Holy Spirit
3. Acts 16:34 shows the jailer's household believing in the Lord Jesus
4. Acts 18:8 shows Crispus and his whole household believing in the Lord