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You can turn with me in your 
Bibles to Acts chapter 13, the book of Acts chapter 13. I'll read verses 1 to 12, and 
then our focus this morning will be on verses 4 to 12, but beginning 
in Acts chapter 13 at verse 1. Now, in the church that was at 
Antioch, there were certain prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon, 
who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaan, who had been 
brought up with Herod the Tetrarch, and Saul. 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 Solomus, they preached the 
word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They also had John 
as their assistant. 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. Then Saul, who also 
is called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked intently 
at him and said, O fool 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. 
than the proconsul believed when he saw what had been done, being 
astonished at the teaching of the Lord. Amen. Well, let us 
pray. Father, we thank you for the 
written Word of God. We thank you for this blessed 
privilege and opportunity that we have to gather together on 
the Lord's Day for the worship of the true and living God. And 
we pray even now that Christ would be found walking in the 
midst of this lampstand We pray that we would know the nearness 
of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the Holy Spirit to guide us 
and lead us as we consider this section in Acts. We pray, God, 
that You would bless the preaching and the hearing of Your Word 
for the edification of the people of God and for the salvation 
of those dead in their trespasses and sins. And God, we don't appeal 
to the free will of men, we don't appeal to their ability or their 
goodness, but we appeal to a sovereign God who is able to make men willing 
in the day of his power. And we pray that you would demonstrate 
that even in our midst this morning. And wherever the gospel is preached, 
we pray that it would run swiftly and be glorified. And God, do 
forgive us now for our sins and our transgressions of your holy 
law. Please wash us in that precious 
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And it's in his name that we 
pray. Amen. Well, that section that Steve 
read in Acts chapter 9 shows us the conversion of Saul of 
Tarsus. We pick up the narrative about 
15 years, 14 or 15 years later, in this section in Acts chapter 
13. Remember last week we saw how the Spirit came to the church 
there in Antioch, according to verses 1 to 3, and said to them, 
separate Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called 
them. and thus began what was called the first missionary journey. 
This is recorded in Acts 13 to 14. It took place in AD 47 to 
48. It covered about 1,400 miles. As we see in the text before 
us, they first go to Cyprus and then churches in Southern Galatia, 
Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. And on the way back, 
according to chapter 14, they visit a couple of other cities 
as well. So it encompassed a great deal 
of mileage, it encompassed a great deal of time, and the focus obviously 
was on preaching the gospel and calling sinners, both Jew and 
Gentile, to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. So we pick up 
this morning, as I said, in verses 4 to 12, the ministry in Cyprus. The ministry in Cyprus. I want 
to look at three things. First, the journey to the island 
in verse 4. Secondly, the arrival in Salamis 
in verse 5. And then finally, the confrontation 
in Paphos. in verses 6 to 12, which will 
take most of our time this morning. But with reference to the journey, 
notice in verse 4, it says, so being sent out by the Holy Spirit. We saw how they were sent out, 
according to verse 3, by the church. That does not mean there's 
a contradiction. It simply means that the Spirit 
works in and through the church. the Spirit comes to the church 
to highlight or find rather two men that are capable for this 
particular ministry. And as I said last week, Paul 
had been converted probably about 14 years by now, 15 years, and 
Barnabas had been converted even longer. So the Spirit comes and 
calls for the best of their men to go into this particular field 
of ministry. So the Spirit working in and 
through the church, the church sends them, but we can say that 
the Spirit sent them because it was in fact divine in its 
origin. And we notice that they went 
down to Seleucia, that was the port city there in Antioch, and 
then they sail over to Cyprus, and it's about a 60-mile journey. And with reference to Cyprus, 
we remember from Acts 4.36 that Barnabas came from Cyprus. So 
perhaps it was Barnabas's idea, hey, as we launch out on this 
missionary journey, let's go first to that island to call 
sinners there under repentance and faith. Only this is not the 
first time that Cyprus had been visited by evangelists. In Acts 
chapter 11 at verse 19, we see that some had gone to Cyprus 
previously to this, but not quite like this. And then notice, secondly, 
as well, they arrive in Salamis, and what Paul's custom, or Saul's 
custom, he's Saul up until we see in verse nine, and essentially 
in verse five, it says, when they arrived in Salamis, they 
preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. They 
also had John as their assistant. Now, this would be Paul's custom. 
As he goes to various cities, he goes to the synagogues. One, 
to call Jews to repentance and faith, but two, there would be 
God-fearing Gentiles in those synagogues. You see that as we 
move through the book of Acts later. There were those among 
the Gentiles who were enamored with Israel's God, and so they 
would go to the synagogue on the Sabbath day. And certainly 
Saul of Tarsus, as he preached, was preaching to Jews, but he's 
also preaching to those Gentiles. Remember that that's the main 
emphasis in this missionary journey. It's not the neglect of the Jews, 
but rather the emphasis is upon calling Gentiles now to Israel's 
God through Israel's Messiah, even our Lord Jesus Christ. And 
this practice as well reflects Paul's statement in Romans 1. 
In Romans 1, he says he's not ashamed of the gospel, for it 
is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, to 
the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in that gospel, the 
righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. So this 
reflects that statement. He goes to the synagogues and 
there notice what he does according to verse 5. They preach the Word 
of God in the synagogues of the Jews. Now, last week I defined 
the word missionary. There's a general or a broad 
sense where missionary simply means a Christian going to another 
place and doing things. Doing it in the name of Christ. 
It might be building houses. It might be instructing people 
in math. It might be teaching people English 
as a second language. It might be digging wells or 
whatever. But I suggested that we're going 
to focus on the narrow definition of missionary. Those are men 
qualified, according to 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1, to go and to preach 
the gospel, to call sinners to repentance and faith, and when 
they do that, and there is salvation wrought, and there are converts, 
then they found or plant churches. And that's how Saul and Barnabas 
are functioning here. They are missionaries narrowly 
defined. Saul by trade or by his own ability 
was a tent maker, but that's not the emphasis in these missionary 
journeys. Paul's emphasis is to preach 
the word of the living God. Because as we know, apart from 
the word of the living God, there is no salvation. Romans 10, 17 
highlights that very clearly. Paul says, faith comes by hearing 
and hearing by the word of God. And I want to encourage you this 
morning to pay attention to the Word of God, not because it's 
me preaching it, but because it is in fact the Word of God. 
The Second Helvetic Confession says the preaching of the Word 
of God is the Word of God. And then it goes on to say that 
even if the minister be evil or a bad man, because all of 
the men that occupy the face of the earth have remaining corruption, 
it is nevertheless the word of the living God. And such was 
the case here when they come to this city called Salamis. 
They preach the word in the synagogues of the Jews so that faith can 
come by hearing, and hearing by that word of God. And then 
as we move into this next section concerning the confrontation 
at Paphos, this sorcerer has big problems. And the biggest 
problem of this sorcerer is that he's trying to block the reception 
of the word of God with reference to the proconsul. I don't suspect 
that Saul of Tarsus or the Apostle Paul, everywhere he went where 
they turned a deaf ear to them, would rebuke them in the manner 
in which he does. What he does in terms of this 
sorcerer is very severe. In fact, I'll issue a trigger 
warning this morning because you might be offended at what 
Saul of Tarsus says with reference to this sorcerer. But the problem 
was, is that the sorcerer tried to bar up, he tried to stop, 
he tried to withstand the Word of God with reference to Sergius 
Paulus receiving that Word. And I hope that all of you will 
appreciate that there's a great spiritual battle taking place 
even now. I've often thought that on the 
Lord's Day, the devil is most active in the Lord's churches. 
In many respects, he's already got those outside the church, 
so he comes to target those within those places where the preaching 
of the word takes place. Remember the parable of the sower, 
as Jesus tells it in Luke's gospel. He speaks of the birds of the 
air. Those birds of the air, once that seed is planted, they 
come down and they pick up that seed. And then he likens that 
or he now makes the analogy with reference to the devil. The devil 
functions like that as well. He tries to pick up that seed, 
lest the hearers hear that word and believe and be saved. Now, 
as I've said many times, birds don't have a diabolical end when 
they come to gather up your seed. If you're a farmer and you plant 
seed and birds come to eat it, birds don't necessarily want 
you to go to hell. They just simply want to fill 
their little bird bellies. But with reference to the devil, 
he doesn't want you to hear the Word of Truth, he certainly doesn't 
want you to believe the Word of Truth, and he most assuredly 
doesn't want you to be saved by the reception of that Word 
of Truth. So my encouragement is to pay 
attention, to see what Saul of Tarsus says to this sorcerer, 
because it underscores how important the preaching of God's Holy Word 
is. So let's look at this confrontation 
in Paphos now. They travel throughout the city. 
Well, back to verse 5. They also had John as their assistant. 
This is John Mark. We've already met him. We've 
met his mother. She was the one that had the 
house in Jerusalem according to the beginning part of Acts 
12. And this John Mark attends Paul and Barnabas. He serves 
as their assistant. Perhaps he was helpful because 
he possibly was an eyewitness of the ministry of the Lord Jesus 
Christ. Some suggest that he is that naked man that you see 
in the Gospel of Mark. He was a close associate of the 
Apostle Peter. He's certainly a close associate 
at this particular time, but he then departs from them on 
this first missionary journey, and it's as a result of him that 
Paul and Barnabas butt heads. in Acts chapter 15. But back 
to Paphos, they have basically traversed the entirety of the 
island, and verse 6 tells us, when they had gone through the 
island of Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, 
a Jew whose name was Bar-Jesus. So this man is referred to as 
a sorcerer. We've already met one like this 
in Acts chapter 8, Simon Magus, Simon the magician. This man 
is described as a magician as well, or as a sorcerer, one who 
engaged in incantations or formulas or trying to manipulate the natural 
forces to try and get the particular end. He's a sorcerer. He is bad 
news. Notice as well, possibly, he 
was a court astrologer. In other words, why would the 
proconsul have an association with this man? Because this man 
was helpful. Why does this man get all upset 
at the thought of the proconsul being saved? Because if the proconsul 
is saved, he may realize that he doesn't need a sorcerer. He 
doesn't need a court astrologer. He doesn't need to read tea leaves. 
He doesn't need to read the stars. He has the written word of the 
living and true God. So that's probably what his function 
was. He was on the payroll, he was a court astrologer, and he 
engaged in that sort of fortune-telling with reference to the consul. But he's also identified as a 
false prophet. I don't think he's called a false 
prophet here because he prophesied and those things did not come 
to pass. I think he's a false prophet 
because he claims to speak for God. He claims to have sort of 
contact with the supernatural. He makes this statement about 
his own abilities. It's not that he predicted something 
and it didn't come to pass, but it's rather how he asserted himself. And then notice that he was a 
Jew and his name was Bar-Jesus. Now the fact that he's a Jew 
and he's a magician, the fact that he's a Jew and he's a sorcerer, 
the fact that he's a Jew and that he's a false prophet is 
very disturbing because obviously Israel in the Old Testament is 
forbidden against such things. We talked about this yesterday 
morning in the theology meeting. Why does God prohibit those in 
the church or in the covenant community from seeking out mediums 
or seeking out witches or seeking out an alternate way of communication 
or revelation. It's not because it doesn't work, 
it's because it's wicked and abominable before the Lord God 
Almighty. And so this bar Jesus, which 
means son of Jesus or literally son of salvation, is a man who 
is compromised through and through. He is a man who as a Jew was 
part of that covenant community and who now finds himself in 
engaged in or engulfed in this idea of paganism and heathenism. So the fact that he is a Jew, 
that he is all these things, is quite disturbing in terms 
of who he was. So that's the man, the sorcerer, 
the false prophet named Bar-Jesus, but they also meet this proconsul. 
Notice in verse 7, Bar-Jesus was with the proconsul, Sergius 
Paulus, an intelligent man. It's a beautiful thing, isn't 
it? He's an intelligent man. How do we know he's an intelligent 
man? Because he calls for Barnabas and Saul to hear the word of 
God. That is what makes him intelligent. See, today we're told that the 
truly intelligent have sort of outgrown the Bible and church. 
The truly intelligent have graduated. They've graduated and adopted 
science and other forms of philosophy. It's all of us, you know, toddlers 
that are still enmeshed in this idea that the Bible is, in fact, 
the word of the living God. Well, this man is intelligent, 
and his intelligence is seen in this way. Well, first, he's 
a pro-consul. in a senatorial province, and 
he is basically the governor of this particular island. I 
mean, he didn't get to that place because he was good-looking. 
He got there because he was, in fact, an intelligent man. 
But I think the intelligence is seen even more in that he 
wants to hear from Barnabas and Saul the word of the living God. 
And that's what we see in verse 7. He was an intelligent man. 
This man called for Barnabas and Saul and sought to hear the 
word of God. And I would ask you this morning, 
are you intelligent? You may be here where the Word 
of God is being preached, but are you paying attention? I know 
what it's like to have a wandering mind. I know what it's like to 
be thinking about tomorrow when it's today. And I want to encourage 
again, we have such a precious amount of time, or a little bit 
of time each week, that I think it is imperative that we give 
attention to what Scripture says. If you are concerned about your 
soul, if you are concerned about your status before a holy God, 
if you are concerned about the fact that you are a sinner by 
nature against that holy God, then you should take heed. You 
should pay attention. Be intelligent men like Sergius 
Paulus. Pay attention to what the word 
of God says to sinners in our condition. But then notice what 
this false prophet does. Again, I want to issue the trigger 
warning because the way that Paul responds is not something 
that would go over well today. He would be thrown out of every 
church. He'd be thrown off every college campus. He would be happily 
ejected by those who are opposed to truth. Notice what the desire 
of the false prophet is. Verse 8, but Elimes, the sorcerer, 
for so his name is translated, withstood them, seeking to turn 
the proconsul away from the faith. It's sort of reminiscent of Romans 
1.32. They know the righteous judgment 
of God. They themselves are guilty and 
therefore culpable, but they also help others in sinning. They also help others in damning 
themselves. And this is Elemas. This is the 
sorcerer. This is what the false prophet 
does. Saul and Barnabas bring the word that this man desperately 
needs and he stops or he tries to stop them from preaching the 
word to them. As I mentioned in Luke chapter 
eight, Jesus says, those by the wayside are the ones who hear, 
then the devil comes and takes away the word out of their hearts, 
lest they should believe and be saved. Again, I don't think 
we fully. wrestle with the implications 
of that. If you're not a believer here 
this morning, you're not saved. If you're not a believer here 
this morning, you are under the wrath and the curse and the judgment 
of God. It may not look like that because 
you haven't entered into the fullness of it, but it is the 
case. John 3 tells us, he who believes 
the Son has everlasting life, but he who does not believe the 
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him. Again, 
it's not a gas that you can see. You can't spray paint it and 
say, well, there's this green cloud sort of over me that indicates 
I'm under the wrath of God. That's not it at all. You may 
have a good meal today. You enjoy the creation today. You'll get to drink water today. 
There's all these benefits that come from God. It might help 
you or it might cause you to think, well, I'm not necessarily 
under the wrath of God, but the Bible says that you are. The 
Bible says that all of us have sinned against God. Every single 
one of us. All we like sheep have gone astray. 
There is none righteous, no not one. There is none who seeks 
after God. There is no fear of God before their eyes. If you've 
come here this morning and that's you, do not think for a moment 
that the people surrounding you that are heaven-bound are great 
and excellent people. We're not great and excellent 
people. We're miserable, wretched sinners for whom the Lord Jesus 
Christ lived, died, and was raised the third day. That's the beauty 
of the gospel. It isn't fix yourself up, try 
a little harder, stop doing this and start doing that. No, the 
glory of the gospel is that God is in Christ, reconciling the 
world to himself. The glory of the gospel is that 
Christ lived, died, and rose so that all who look to him in 
faith will have everlasting life. Isn't that beautiful? We're not 
going to heaven based on our doing or our dying or our rising. We're going to heaven based on 
the glory of Jesus Christ. So if you're unredeemed or you're 
unsaved or you're lost here, you're an unbeliever, don't think 
for a moment, well, I'm not quite like that person who was brought 
up in that background. I didn't have the same sort of 
of blessings that they have. That's not the point. The point 
is, look unto Jesus Christ the Lord. Look unto him in faith, 
and you will have everlasting life. That's the beauty, and 
that's what the devil specifically doesn't want you to hear this 
morning. The devil probably really would like you to hear, try harder, 
be better, do more. because ultimately you're going 
to be one trying harder, being better, doing more, on your way 
to the pit of hell. Where that gospel, so-called 
gospel preaching, is going on, I doubt the devil is very active. 
I think the devil is at the place where the seed is sown such that 
those who receive it are saved. That is his desire, to keep you 
from salvation. So the sorcerer withstood them 
so that the proconsul wouldn't believe. It's a terrible thing, 
and if you're doing that to somebody else in your life, shame on you. Shame on you if you're bent on 
your life of sin in such a way that you want to drag others 
down with you. That's what Elemis is doing here. 
Elemis understands that what these men preach could affect 
Elemis in the financial bottom line. And so he wants to keep 
that gravy train open, so he withstands these men, so that 
the proconsul will not hear and believe. He's similar to the 
magicians in Egypt. Remember those magicians in Egypt 
who resisted Moses? Paul identifies them in 2 Timothy 
3.8 as Janus and Jambres. Why did they resist Moses? Because 
Moses spoke for the true and the living God. And this man 
is not an Egyptian, he's a Jew himself, but he's functioning 
just like those two men. in Old Testament history. Now, 
notice the rebuke of the false prophet on the part of the Apostle 
Paul. Notice verse 9. Then Saul, who also is called 
Paul. Now, there's a lot written on 
why Luke chooses to tell us that now. It's simple. Saul was his 
Hebrew name, Paul was his Roman name, and now that he's on this 
missionary journey to the Gentiles, it seemeth wise under Luke to 
continue to identify him by that Roman or Gentilic name, Paul. He is called Paul from this point 
on, except when he rehearses his conversion, and he rehearses 
the fact that Jesus said to him, Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting 
me? So this is the Paul, the Apostle 
Paul. It's not some, you know, because 
Sergius Paulus, there was connection there. That's not it. It was 
just a good time for Luke to tell us that his name is Paul. 
That's his Roman name. It wasn't brand new. It was something 
that he would have borne as a Roman citizen. And then notice that 
he's filled with the Holy Spirit. And this is crucial because I 
think at times we undo the work of the Spirit of God because 
it offends our delicate sensitivities. In other words, what Paul says 
here is hard, hardcore. What Paul says here is severe. What Paul says here is sharp. 
but it comes as a result of his having been filled with the Holy 
Spirit. I see analogy here with reference 
to Samson. The typical or the common sort 
of approach to Samson among biblical Christians is that he was this, 
you know, big bumbling oaf that was governed by his lusts and 
his passions, and he went from one thing to another and just 
happened to get some things right. That's not it at all. Four times 
in the Samson narratives we read that the spirit of Yahweh came 
upon him. The first is when he comes upon 
him and then he kills the lion. The second is in chapter 14 at 
verse 19. The spirit of the Lord comes 
on Samson and then what happens? Samson kills 30 Philistines. The next time is in Judges 15. 
The Spirit of the Lord rushes upon Samson, and then what does 
Samson do? Samson picks up the jawbone of 
an ass, and there he kills a thousand Philistines. So before you say, 
well, that's just not the way we do things. That's the way 
the Spirit of God does things. Now, I'm not suggesting we all 
go find jawbones of asses and go out and kill people. That's 
not the point. That is absolutely positively 
not the point. But the point is, is that when 
the Spirit of God comes upon Samson, Samson gets the job done. And instead of saying, oh, he's 
just this big bumbling fool that bounces around governed by his 
lust, appreciate the reality that he's a man filled with the 
Spirit advancing the cause of God on the face of the earth. 
That's what happens here with Paul. The Spirit of God comes 
upon him. So everything that follows from 
this point on is sanctioned divinely. He's not leaving the reservation. He's not getting upset. He's 
not losing it. He's not engaging in discourse 
that is unbecoming of a gospel minister. He is speaking by the 
power of the Holy Spirit to condemn this particular man. John Gill 
said he had by the Spirit not only a discerning of the wickedness 
of this man, but of the will of God to make him at this time 
a public example of divine wrath and vengeance for his opposition 
to the gospel. As I said earlier, I doubt that 
Paul walked around the city and just rebuked everybody who wouldn't 
listen. I mean, you get that, right? You all try to witness 
from time to time, hey, let me tell you about Jesus. They say, 
well, I don't want to hear you. Do you, filled with the Spirit, 
rebuke them the way that Paul does in this instance? You son 
of the devil! You one that's full of all fraud 
and deceit! No, you don't do that! But this is a different 
scenario. Remember what's happening. Sergius 
Paulus, an intelligent man, wants to hear the word of the living 
God. That word that is able to bring him eternal life. And this 
man, Elemus, knows this. This sorcerer, this false prophet, 
understands the stakes of the game. And so he then tries to 
resist Barnabas and Saul, or Paul. So that's why the apostle 
speaks the way that he does. Notice, he charged him with being 
full of all deceit and fraud. This goes back to what I said 
earlier. He was probably a court astrologer. He was probably on 
the payroll. He was probably one of the toadies 
that told the proconsul the various things that he would need to 
hear to govern that particular island. At this point, a proconsul 
in a senatorial sort of province would not have had troops. Not 
that there would never be a need for that, but it was the imperial 
provinces where they had troops placed. In Cyprus at this particular 
time, that wasn't it. But this man, nevertheless, was 
a governor. He was over the affairs of this nation or of this island. 
And so he has this man, this fake, this deceit, and he is 
one of them that is advising him. Now, the second word that 
Paul uses means unscrupulousness. It is the action of one who endeavors 
to gain some personal end through clever or tricky means. You get 
that, right? Through clever or tricky means. 
I think that's the nature of magic. That's the nature of sorcery. Yeah, and there's a power to 
it, certainly a dark power to be sure. But for the most part, 
it's a sham. For the most part, it's a fake. 
For the most part, it's look into these things and I will 
tell you your fortune. And it's always vague and it's 
always general, right? You're gonna have a nice day 
today. Oh, wow, okay. That's really not getting at 
the core of my being here. I don't know if that's precisely 
how this man counseled the proconsul, but it is that sort of thing. 
Craft and cunning and unscrupulousness and that sort of an attempt to 
garner monetary benefit through deceit and through trickery. 
But he then also calls him a son of the devil. Now, this is, again, 
very severe, but very ingenious, because what's his name? Bar-Jesus. You know what Bar-Jesus? Bar 
means son of Jesus, or son of salvation. Jesus was a common 
name. It's the Old Testament, or the 
equivalent is the Old Testament Joshua, and it means Yahweh is 
salvation. He says to him, not only are 
you not Bar-Jesus, but you're actually the son of the devil. 
Now that is severe, brethren, and the Apostle Paul is not playing 
games with those who would try to block the reception of the 
Word of God. This is what is underscored in 
this statement. It's reminiscent of when Jesus 
calls the religious leaders of his time in John 8, 44, you are 
of your father, the devil, and the desires of your father you 
want to do. And this is what Paul says concerning 
this man. And then he calls him an enemy 
of all righteousness. I mean, just think for a moment, 
if somebody stood up in the modern scene and said some of this stuff 
to an actual breathing human being, we'd castigate them. This is so politically incorrect. 
I mean, come on, don't you know, Paul, we don't talk to people 
like that today. You can be, claim, or say, or 
do whatever it is you want. Unless, of course, you're a Christian 
and conservative and that sort of thing. Then we have to run 
you down and shut you up. But in terms of lawlessness and 
wickedness and unrighteousness, Paul, lighten up. It's just elements. That's his shtick. That's what 
he does. Don't respond so severely. I'm not even suggesting this 
is going to happen out in the city square, because I don't 
think they'd tolerate it for a moment. But it's going to happen 
in the churches. It's going to happen among the professing people 
of God. There's a decorum that we profess that isn't biblical. We've got to call spades spades 
once in a while. We've got to identify those who 
are the enemies of righteousness. We have to occasionally name 
Alexander the coppersmith, the apostle Paul does in his letter 
to Timothy, who did me much harm. And then he says, may the Lord 
repay him. That's what Paul says in 2 Timothy 
chapter 4. Now you might be given to think, 
well that's just Paul. He seems to have a little bit 
of issues that he's working out at the expense of those innocent 
souls around him. This is not an innocent soul. 
This soul is trying to keep a man in the bonds of Satan and trying 
to secure his perdition in hell. This man is in fact an enemy 
of all righteousness. And then Paul says, will you 
not cease perverting the straight ways of the Lord? In other words, 
he is telling this particular sorcerer, you need to be quiet. You need to stop. You need to 
shut it down. You need to remove yourself from 
this scenario so that we can minister the word of God to this 
man because he's an intelligent man and he has called for us 
to hear the word of the living God. And we want that man to 
be saved. And we want that man to be saved 
so much that we don't care about triggering you or getting you 
upset or making you cry and run to your little safe space. LMS, 
you are an enemy of the gospel. John Calvin, as he sort of surveys 
this, and Calvin himself was not one who was immune to using 
some severe language. Calvin certainly in the institutes 
and at times in the commentaries, he doesn't treat Roman Catholics 
really graciously, for instance. He doesn't have a lot of time 
for Anabaptists. He doesn't have a lot of time for those that 
would oppose what he was trying to do. But when he comments on 
the Apostle Paul, he makes this statement. He says, such was 
the vehemency. He's showing that it's not just 
Paul in the New Testament, but it's the prophets as well. I'm 
sure there's instances in the Old Testament prophets where 
you're reading that. Can they say that? Can they do that? Is that legit? Is that okay? Read Ezekiel 16, 25 especially, 
when you go home this afternoon. And preferably in the New American 
Standard Version, because it's one of the only ones that actually 
translates it literally. You'll start to say, wow, you 
know, God is serious about the integrity of His Word and the 
necessity of His Word, and just about how wicked and heinous 
sin is. And one of the things that happens 
is that we don't like the tone that's employed, and so therefore 
we're going to just dismiss the message. That's happening now, 
brethren, in the professing church. We don't like the way certain 
people say certain things, and it offends us, so we're going 
to dismiss their message. Now, I'm sure that every one 
of us who speak publicly could work on being gracious and kind 
and a little bit more in tune with the feelings and the likes 
and the wants of others, but there are times when we need 
to cry aloud. Spare not, lift up our voices 
like a trumpet and declare the greatness of God Most High and 
the sinfulness of men. And this is one of those instances 
and one of those points. So Calvin is likening him to 
one of the Old Testament prophets. And he says, such was the vehemency 
of holy zeal and of the spirit in the prophets, which if dainty 
and soft men judge troublesome and raging, they consider not 
how dear and precious God's truth is to him. Let me just read that 
again, because you're all looking a bit tired and a bit taxed and 
burdened. And I don't want that to be the 
case, because I think what Calvin says here is symptomatic of our 
age within the context of our churches, that when somebody 
says something, we don't like his tone. Okay, we can try to 
help him with his tone, but we need to understand the fundamental 
message that he is preaching. See, you just don't get to do 
that. Well, I didn't like his tone. Well, what about the word of 
the living God? What about the truth that you're 
a hell-deserving sinner and that Christ is the only way to salvation? I mean, I'd like to say that 
in the nicest possible way so that everybody would say, tone 
and message on point, I'm gonna believe. But brethren, you don't 
always get to call the shots in terms of tone. And when a 
man actually raises up and preaches the way God has called him to, 
let's not complain about that. Let's not say, oh, Paul, you 
don't realize that today you would be laughed off or actually 
chased off any university campus if you ever called an enemy of 
the gospel an enemy of the gospel. See, we've lost sight of the 
fact that it's the truth that matters. Does that make sense? Does everybody get that? Does 
this text underscore that? Saul's not, or Paul's not just 
like, well, it's okay, just block him up and let him go to hell. 
No, this man is a creature, an image bearer of the living God. 
So back to Calvin, which if dainty and soft men judge troublesome 
and raging, they consider not how dear and precious God's truth 
is to him. So he not only rebukes him, but 
then he pronounces a judgment on him. This is a judgment miracle, 
brethren. We've already seen them. We've 
seen them in Acts chapter 5 with Ananias and Sapphira. Remember 
when they lied to the Holy Spirit? What's the Holy Spirit do? He 
kills them. Now again, that may sound offensive 
and my tone may need to be checked, but that's what happens. The 
Holy Spirit kills them because they lied to God Most High. We 
saw a judgment miracle at the end of Acts chapter 12. What 
happens there? When the crowd is praising Herod 
and they say, the voice of a God and not of a man. What's Herod 
do? Herod doesn't say, be quiet, 
I'm a creature like you are, do not do that. No, Herod quite 
likes that. Herod enjoys that. Herod finds 
some benefit in this pronunciation by the crowd. So what happens? 
Immediately the Lord struck him and he was covered by worms. 
So this is another judgment miracle that the apostle pronounces on 
this man. Calvin again says, for as they 
did excel in power of the Spirit to help the faithful with miracles, 
so had they the whip in their hand to tame the rebellious and 
obstinate withal. So you see they do miracles, 
God doing miracles through them. for the increase of faith among 
the people of God. But there are these instances 
along the way where God brings judgment to bear upon Ananias 
and Sapphira, to bring judgment to bear upon Herod the Great, 
or Herod Agrippa I, and then to bring judgment to bear on 
this particular sorcerer, this false prophet, this bar Jesus, 
this man who wanted to withstand the true preaching of the gospel. 
So notice what Paul says to him, verse 11. And now, indeed, the 
hand of the Lord is upon you." So you can't mistake this. Paul 
didn't smack him. Paul didn't poke his eyes out. 
Sometimes naturalistic interpreters approach the scriptures and they 
say, well, God didn't actually cause Elymas to lose his sight. 
God did actually cause Elymas to lose his sight. It wasn't 
Paul that hit him. It wasn't Paul that blew some 
dust in his eyes. It wasn't any sort of a naturalistic 
interpretation. What the text says is what actually 
occurred. And the apostle Paul understood 
this. And so he pronounces this judgment upon Elymas. He says, 
the hand of the Lord is upon you and you shall be blind, not 
seeing the sun for a time. That last statement for a time 
indicates that it was temporary. Did Elemus come to the saving 
knowledge of Christ? I don't know. But in this particular 
instance, as he's trying to block the way of God's righteousness 
coming to this man, Sergius Paulus, he is blinded for a time. And 
it's a very fitting and an appropriate judgment, isn't it? Think about 
it. Think about it. What's Elimus doing? Elimus is 
trying to extinguish the light of the gospel and keep Sergius 
Paulus in darkness. This Elimus is trying to be cloud 
the glory of God and his revelation in the gospel and to keep this 
proconsul in the dark so that he ends up in hell. This is a 
most fitting and most appropriate sort of application of lex talionis. It is the law of retribution. 
The very thing the sorcerer is trying to do is the very thing 
that the hand of Yahweh afflicts him with, such that he is blind 
for a time. And then notice in 11b, this 
takes place. And immediately a dark mist fell 
on him, and he went around seeking someone to lead him by the hand. Calvin said, for seeing that 
the sorcerer assayed to darken the sun and to take from others 
the benefit of the light, he was by good right cast into horrible 
darkness. Job to notice the similarity 
with Paul himself. Doesn't this happen in Acts chapter 
9? God most high, the Lord Jesus 
Christ, strikes Paul, the apostle Paul, or Saul of Tarsus, with 
this blindness, such that he had to be led away. Is this Luke's 
telling us that ultimately, elderness comes to a saving knowledge of 
the Lord? I don't know. It was for a time, it does accomplish 
the purpose for which it was necessary and intended, because 
that brings us finally to consider the faith of the proconsul. Notice 
in verse 12, then the proconsul believed when he saw what had 
been done, being astonished at the teaching of the Lord. He 
saw God's judgment on the sorcerer. Notice that the sorcerer didn't. 
I mean, he felt the effects, but he couldn't see this situation. So he saw God's judgment on the 
sorcerer, and then notice what the text says. It says the proconsul 
believed, when he saw what had been done, being astonished at 
the teaching of the Lord. Now think about that for a moment. 
He sees the hand of God strike this particular fellow. And so 
he sees a miracle, but what's astonishing to him is the teaching 
of the Lord. Why is that? Because at the teaching 
of the Lord we have the blessed, wonderful account of Jesus himself. See, when God judges, when God 
strikes, when God, if I speak in the manner of a man, a manner 
of men lashes out in judgment against sinners, we all know 
at a fundamental level they deserve it, don't we? When bad things 
happen to us, at some level, when we're being honest, we know 
that we deserve it, right? I mean, we've got issues, we've 
got problems, we've sinned against God. Why should it be the case 
that everything goes our way? Right? I think we all know that. 
And so, the seeing of God's hand, not physically, literally, a 
hand coming out and sort of slapping this elemas, but when he sees 
the hand of God come in judgment upon him, that certainly confirms 
the power of God. But what's astonishing is the 
message of God. What's astonishing is not that 
he is slapping and judging and pouring wrath out upon people. 
What's astonishing is that God, the Son, the second person of 
the Trinity, comes into this world and he takes on our humanity 
with all the essential properties and the common infirmities thereof. 
That that son subjects himself to the law of God. That that 
son obeys that law every jot and tittle. That that son, when 
he's reviled, reviles not. That that son, when he is mocked, 
just takes it. When that son is ultimately delivered 
up to be crucified, goes. And he goes in the stead. He 
goes in the place. He goes as a substitute for all 
that the father gave him. And there on that cross, he suffers 
not only the taunts and the punishment and the violence of men, but 
there he understands the wrath and fury of God most high. According 
to his humanity, he cries out, why hast thou forsaken me? And 
then that son is buried in the tomb. And that son on the third 
day is raised again. You see, it's not astonishing 
that God judges sinners. It's astonishing that God saves 
sinners. Amazing grace, how sweet the 
sound that saved a wretch like me. I once was lost, but now 
I'm found, was blind, but now I see. I suggest that Sergius 
Paulus, as an intelligent man, having believed by the grace 
of God, understands that. That what happens to Elemis is 
an act, a miraculous act, of God coming upon him. But even 
more astonishing, more wonderful, more excellent, is the reality 
that God saves sinners. That's what astonishes Him, and 
that's what brings Him into the fold. So yeah, the wrath of God 
is a great motivator to some sinners to believe the gospel. 
But as well, the love of God is a great motivator to some 
sinners to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. There's a whole 
host of ways that guilty men enter into the presence of God 
through the power of the Spirit. As Spurgeon says, different fish 
respond to different bait. And in this instance, having 
witnessed the judgment of God, he is rather astonished at the 
teaching of the word of God, because that word of God reveals 
to him the Christ, the Savior, the Redeemer, the champion of 
Israel, the mighty one of Israel, the Redeemer King. And that's 
what the man believes, and that's what indeed is the means of his 
salvation. Bach makes this observation before 
we conclude the exposition and move on just to a few thoughts 
of application. Bach makes the statement, he 
says, a Roman Gentile responds where a Jew with supposed religious 
connections rejects the message. The contrast is intentional. I mean, what a great way to start 
the first missionary journey, isn't it? I mean, nothing's reported 
about Salamis. They go into the synagogue and 
there they preach the Word of God. Were there converts? Did 
people get saved? I don't know. But in this instance 
in Paphos, Luke wants to make sure that we understand that 
this Gentile mission has taken off. This Gentile mission is 
going forward. This Gentile mission is conquering 
and to conquer. So he says there is this deliberate 
contrast. But then he makes this statement, 
one that I think accords with what Paul will write in 1 Corinthians. Bach says, in addition, one of 
high social class is responsive. See, this was a proconsul. He 
was the governor of Cyprus. He had money. He had status. He had esteem. He had prestige. 
He had probably his own parking place. He had all the accoutrements 
that go with that type of position. And what does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 
1? He says, for not many wise, according 
to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble. We could certainly 
add, but some are. It may not be many wise, it may 
not be many mighty, it may not be many noble, but some are. So in other words, if you are 
of a position that is, you know, esteem and prestige and all that 
sort of thing, don't think in light of 1 Corinthians 1.26 that 
there's no hope for you. Now, there's hope. May not be 
many, but there are some, and we see them in the pages of Holy 
Scripture. This Simon, Sergius Paulus being 
one of them. Well, brethren, in conclusion, 
just a couple of thoughts, and then we'll pray and go upstairs. 
I hope you'll go upstairs, it's a great time for us to fellowship 
and talk about things and encourage one another and to do what the 
body of Christ is supposed to do. To admonish, to exhort, to 
love, to express kindness and affection. And that fellowship 
meal is a time for us to do that. But in terms of some thoughts, 
first the focus of the missionaries. The focus of the missionaries, 
again, I don't ever want it to be taken that I don't think going 
over seas and digging wells or teaching children is a bad thing. 
It is a most excellent and a most glorious and a most wonderful 
thing that persons who have that desire and that motivation and 
that drive, by all means, go do that. But missionary, narrowly 
defined, is what these men are engaged in, and their focus is 
on the Word. Brethren, all the digged wells 
on the face of the earth. I actually think that's grammatically 
correct. All the dig wells on the face of the earth aren't 
gonna save men. Dig the well and preach Christ 
to them. Teach them math and preach Christ 
to them. Set men apart that are qualified 
according to 1 Timothy 3. Men that are recognized by the 
church. Men that have hands laid on them. Men that are then sent 
out into these places to preach the word of the living God. This 
is a great need in our day and age. This has always been a great 
need because this is the means by which God advances his church 
on earth. First Corinthians 121, for since 
in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, 
it pleased God through what? Through the foolishness of the 
message preached to save those who believe. I've already cited 
Romans 1, 16, and 17. I'm not ashamed of the gospel, 
for it is the power of God unto salvation for everyone who believes. Well, not if the church isn't 
taking it out there, not if the church isn't preaching, not if 
the church isn't declaring, not if the church isn't pointing 
sinners unto Jesus Christ. There is a great need. We prayed 
in the last hour. God raised men up. Jesus says 
this in his earthly ministry in Matthew chapter 9. He sees 
the multitudes and he feels compassion for them because they were like 
sheep having no shepherd. So what does he do? Tough? Too 
bad? That's the way it goes? No, he 
tells his disciples, he says that the harvest is plentiful, 
but the laborers are few. Therefore, pray the Lord of the 
harvest to send out laborers. And then interesting, on the 
heels of that in Matthew 10, that's when he appoints these 
men to the apostolic ministry. In other words, what makes Jesus 
tick in his earthly ministry? It's the preaching of the kingdom. 
What makes these apostles tick in their missionary endeavor? 
It's the preaching of the word. You see, Elemas' problem wasn't 
that he tried to stop somebody from digging a well that would 
be benevolent to the village children. His problem was that 
he withstood these men and resisted these men so that Sergius Paulus 
wouldn't hear the word of God and be saved. Secondly, we need 
to appreciate the desire of the enemy. Not only the focus of 
the missionaries, but the desire of the enemy. I alluded to this 
earlier. The teaching of Jesus in the parable, the birds eat 
up the seed. The focus of Satan with reference 
to sinners, to hearing the word of God. Again, it's not just 
confined to Jesus' parable of the sower. It's not just confined 
to the island of Cyprus and its capital city of Paphos in the 
first century. It's going on here and now. It's 
going on now, and as I said earlier, well, his tone, this, this, that, 
and the other. We want to get rid of any sort of emphasis upon 
the message by highlighting the inability of the preacher. We're 
not supposed to do that. And then the importance for us 
to recognize this and seek to guard against it. Now, I don't 
ever do this, and I will never do this, so don't be afraid. 
Okay, all those who pray like this, raise your hand. Don't 
do that. But just think about it for a moment. Do you ever 
stop and pray? I ask you this about the Holy Spirit. When we 
come to worship, if we don't have the Holy Spirit, it's basically 
an exercise in futility. We are called to worship God 
in spirit and in truth. I think that means Trinitarian 
way. We need the Spirit of the Living 
God to aid us. Jesus Christ is the truth of God. We come to 
the Father through the Son in the power of the Holy Spirit. 
So I often say, do you pray on Saturday night or Sunday morning 
that the Holy Spirit comes? And Sunday afternoon, because 
we do have an evening service. That's at 5 p.m. It's not the 
same. It's a different thing. We're going through the Ten Commandments. 
Certainly, everybody is welcomed and encouraged to come to that. 
But pray for the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit. 
But appended to that, do we ever pray, God, keep the devil at 
bay? We know he goes about like a roaring lion, seeking whom 
he may devour. We know that he functions like 
those birds of the air that want to gobble up the seeds, lest 
sinners hear and believe and be saved. If you've got children 
as parents, brethren, you need to be praying that God will open 
their ears, open their hearts, enable them to receive with thanksgiving 
that word of God. This is a spiritual battle. And as I said, we get, what, 
three hours? We have an hour and a half in 
the morning. We have an hour and a half in the evening. Three 
hours out of a week wherein that week is filled with pushing the 
enemy's agenda. There are commercials on television 
now that are openly promoting the worst sorts of sexual perversion. They are targeting our children. If you do not believe that, open 
your eyes for about a second. As you come here in the morning, 
do they get 100%? No. If they get 2%, pray that 
it's the reality that Christ saves those who come. Pray that God Most High will 
keep their eyes, their ears, and their hearts open, filling 
them with the Holy Spirit so that they will, as Solomon says 
in Ecclesiastes, remember their Creator in their youth. because 
everything outside of this place is calculated to try and keep 
that from happening. Now you say, oh, you're just 
a conservative right-wing nut. Okay, that doesn't change what 
I just said. It is open. It is flagrant. I suggest that some of the things 
that we are seeing would perhaps make those in the Roman Empire 
blush. It is that bad, and if we as 
parents are not praying that the Spirit comes, that God keeps 
their ears open, that they receive with thanksgiving that implanted 
Word, then we're not doing our jobs, and we need to do our jobs. Spurgeon, on Mark 4, 24, the 
parable of the sower, it draws out these practical implications. 
First, here. Here. It is your wisdom to know 
what God says. Secondly, he says, hear well. God's teaching deserves the deepest 
attention. It will repay the best consideration. He says, thirdly, hear often. Waste no Sabbath nor any one 
of its services. Use weekday lectures and prayer 
meetings. And then fourthly, he says, hear 
better. You will grow the holier thereby. You will find heavenly joy by 
hearing with faith. That's great counsel. I think 
that's great encouragement. I think that's great exhortation. 
And boy, his tone is good too. He gets top marks for every bit 
of presentation at that particular point. J.C. Ryle makes the observation, 
preaching is an ordinance of which the value can never be 
overrated in the church of Christ, but it should never be forgotten 
that there must not only be good preaching, but good hearing. It would be great if I could 
jump out of the pulpit and grab you by the shirt collar. I would 
never do this and say, pay attention. There's some onus on you all. 
You've got to show up rested. You've got to show up ready. 
You've got to show up with a desire. You've got to show up paying 
attention. If your kid gets out of line, give him a little poke. 
Pay attention. You know, we did that. We had 
little kids in worship service. Somebody recently visited and 
said, I don't know how you, you're basically torturing those kids. 
They need to have something for that hour sermon. I disagree 
wholeheartedly. When the word of God was read 
to the congregation of Israel in the old covenant, the little 
ones were with them. What do we teach them? The word 
of God is absolutely paramount. It is central. It is powerful. 
It is for your salvation. But go ahead and go downstairs 
while we engage. No, we teach them to engage. We teach them to pay attention. We teach them that this is the 
most important thing they're going to hear all week. Certainly, 
we want them to learn math on Tuesday and, you know, whatever 
on Thursday, but it's the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, 
our Lord, that our children and grandchildren desperately need. Thirdly, we ought to appreciate 
the power of God. The power of God. The Lord neutralized 
the threat presented by the sorcerer. So I was pondering this subsequent 
to our study on Wednesday night. I thought of Jacob. I thought 
of that text in Genesis 31 at verse 42, when Jacob lays down 
his protestation against Laban. And Jacob says, unless the God 
of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac had been 
with me, surely now you would have sent me away empty-handed. 
God has seen my affliction and the labor of my hands and rebuked 
you last night. See, the power of God is demonstrated 
in the presence of God with the Apostle Paul. See, the Spirit 
doesn't just come to the church at Antioch and say, I want Barnabas 
and I want Saul and I want them to go on this first missionary 
journey. And then the Spirit goes back to heaven or goes back 
to wherever he was. No, he's with Paul. He fills 
Paul. He moves Paul to not only rebuke 
this sorcerer, but to preach the word of the living God. You 
see, the Lord's presence with his people helps us to overcome 
the various trials and afflictions that we face. And certainly a 
sorcerer opposing the apostle is a difficult thing. And yet 
God is with him and God overcomes this by his power and for his 
glory. The Lord saves the proconsul 
and the Lord adds him to the church. And then the Lord in 
this section, I'll keep coming back to this, fulfills the promises 
made to the patriarchs and revealed by the prophets. that in Christ 
all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, that it's too 
small a thing, as the prophet Isaiah says, for the Messiah 
to come only to save the tribes of Jacob, but I will give you 
as a light unto the Gentiles. Later in Acts chapter 14, Paul 
and Barnabas apply that text to themselves. Yes, there's a 
messianic interpretation. Yes, that's the primary referent 
in the prophet Isaiah. The light of the Gentiles is 
the Lord Jesus Christ, but as his functionaries, as his representatives, 
as his apostles, as they go declare from place to place to place, 
the glory of Jesus Christ in salvation, they can say, we're 
a light unto the Gentiles. So God is accomplishing the promises 
to the prophets, or to the patriarchs, and those revealed by the prophets. 
And then we ought to end on this twofold effect of the gospel. 
What happens? One man, as far as we know, is 
damned. One man, as far as we know, does 
not enter into eternal life. One man, as far as we know, goes 
off in this blindness, whether it's temporary or forever, but 
he ends up as an enemy of all righteousness, and he ends up 
with his father, the devil, in the pit of hell. Not so with 
Sergius Paulus. I think Sergius Paulus represents 
or demonstrates what Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4, 6. He says, 
For it is the God who commanded light to shine out of darkness, 
who has shone in our hearts to give the light of knowledge of 
the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. So, where you 
at today, I guess is what I want to end on. If you are in Christ, 
praise Christ. If you are in Christ, express 
gratitude, love, worship, affection, adoration, and praise to Him. 
Sing these psalms and these hymns with hearts full of love for 
the Redeemer. Brethren, when we gather together 
and we open up the book, it's not just to hear ourselves. It's 
not just to admonish one another with psalms, hymns, and spiritual 
songs, though that is certainly part of it, but we're singing 
to God. Sometimes people say, well, I 
can't sing very well. Well, God made you and He knows 
that, but He still wants you to sing. Make a joyful shout 
unto the Lord. Why? Because our names are written 
in the Lamb's book of life. What should our worship services 
look like when we appreciate what the word of God tells us 
about the salvation wrought by God? What should our worship 
services look like when it comes to the reality that we stand 
in the presence of the one who loved us and who gave himself 
for us? In Revelation 1.17, Christ is 
found in the midst of the lampstands. That's not confined to those 
churches in Asia Minor in the first century. He is here, he's 
present, he's with us. How should we respond? By fumbling 
out a few mutterings or by taking that book and opening up our 
hearts and our chests and singing unto him who loved us and who 
gave himself for us. But if you're not a believer, 
I want to exhort, encourage, and treat with the best tone 
I can possibly muster to believe on Jesus, to look unto Christ. There is salvation to be had. 
There is forgiveness of sins. There is a peace that does surpass 
all understanding. It's been my experience in life 
that people want peace. Now, there's the few odd ducks 
out there that thrive on confusion and chaos, but most of us want 
peace. Most of us want relationships 
that are nice. We want, you know, horizontal 
things to go well. But the best and most important 
relationship is that vertical one. It's peace with God through 
our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is achieved not by your 
strength. It's achieved not by your merit. 
It's achieved not by your moral reform. It's achieved by Christ 
in his doing, dying, and raising for sinners. and all those who 
believe in Him will have everlasting life. Let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for the power of 
the Christian gospel, and for the glory of the God of heaven 
and earth. And I pray now that you would bless and strengthen 
the people of God. I pray that you would call out 
of darkness into marvelous light those who are not yet the people 
of God. And I pray that you would demonstrate that sovereign grace 
in the saving of sinners for your glory and for their well-being. 
And God, help us all to rejoice. Help us all to reflect. with 
that astonishment that was manifested by Sergius Paulus at the preaching 
of the gospel. May we never lose sight of that. 
May we never lose the thrill of seeing Christ and Him crucified 
and resurrected for our life, for our soul, for our well-being. God, I pray that this would draw 
from us worship and praise and adoration and that it would draw 
from us that commitment to walk in the fear of the Lord and in 
the comfort of the Holy Spirit. And we pray these things in Jesus' 
holy name. Amen.