One day, on
our way to the place of prayer, a slave girl ran into us. She was a psychic
and, with her fortunetelling, made a lot of money for the people who owned her.
She started following Paul around, calling everyone’s attention to us by
yelling out, “These men are working for the Most High God. They’re laying out
the road of salvation for you!” She did this for a number of days until Paul,
finally fed up with her, turned and commanded the spirit that possessed her,
“Out! In the name of Jesus Christ, get out of her!” And it was gone, just like
that. Acts 16:16-18 (The Message)
Backdrop: Paul, Timothy, Silas
and his companions were doing mission/evangelistic work. Sharing the Good News with the lost, teaching
them about their new found faith and helping them to get established. This was during the era and development of
the “early church”. There were no churches,
religious structure, bibles, bible classes, Internet, 6:00 a.m. prayer, etc. Up to this point they had been low key. Not because they were ashamed, they were just
doing the work (evangelizing). On their
way to work (prayer), a damsel (young unmarried woman) saw them and immediately
started to testify about them but it was irritating Paul to no end. She was like a heckler in a service shouting
out loud so everyone can hear them: “Hallelujah”; “You betta’ speak on it”; “I
know that’s right”, etc. for almost the entire sermon or lesson. What she was saying was correct, but she was
off. Her spirit did not connect with
Paul’s because she was a witch, sorceress, palm reader, fortune teller, voodoo priestess,
whatever term you want to use, which is why Paul was so irritated, not at her
but at who was using her, the devil. His
companions may or may not have known what was going on but they knew something
was off. Perhaps they prayed silently, I
don’t know, but she was running all the way out and was getting underneath
their skin.
I am sure there were “spectators” who probably assumed this young woman
was being used by God but she was under the anointing of the devil. There is the anointing of God, which equips
you to do a particular thing outside of your own ability and/or strength and
there is the anointing of the devil which also equips people to do things they
normally cannot do on their own. Don’t
be scrrrrrrrrrdddddd!!!
Victory Nuggets:
1.
True Believers of God who have committed
their lives to Him never have to be afraid that the devil will overpower you,
EVER!! Because God’s power will ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS trump the devil. How can you tell the difference? The Holy Spirit will let you know, you may
not understand what is happening in full, but you will be at peace. That’s why it is vitally important for you to
receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. You are of God, little
children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he
who is in the world. (1 John 4:4 NKJV)
2.
Everybody that tries to speak in some kind of tongue
(language), say God gave them a “word” and/or prophelies, I mean tries to
prophecy is not being used by God. My dear friends, don’t believe
everything you hear. Carefully weigh and examine what people tell you. Not
everyone who talks about God comes from God. There are a lot of lying preachers
loose in the world. 1 John 4:1 (NKJV)
Back to the thought for today: This
heckling went on for several days until finally Paul said, that’s it. He turned around, looked the devil in the eye,
cast him out of the girl and that spirit left her immediately. Do you hear me!! Great, right?
Yes. For the first time in who
knows how long she had some sort of peace and normalcy, but her pimps were not
happy campers. She was their prize money
maker, they had big plans about doing This, That and the Third but these
preachers, Paul and Silas, just shut them down.
Their reputation was on the line: paying customers have come from all
over the place; some may have paid in advance; some may have had an annual
subscription; some may have even used lay-a-way. They were dumbfounded. The more they thought about what happened the
angrier they got and finally talked themselves into going after the Preachers. They beat them down and then drug them to
City Hall where they accused Paul and Silas of being Jewish agitators.
There was no proper trial, it was a kangaroo court where the guilty
verdict had already been decided because of who was making the accusations. The Judge and prosecutors went along with the
crowd, though there was no evidence, and sentenced them to a public
beating. They were beaten mercilessly
and then thrown into maximum security.
Can you imagine being beaten twice in one day simply for the cause of
the Gospel? The enemy (devil) was
furious with Paul because he was now preaching the same Gospel he had once
tormented/terrorized Believers for sharing.
This was his way of stopping Paul, or so he thought.
After Midnight
Along about midnight, Paul and Silas were at prayer
and singing a robust hymn to God. The other prisoners couldn’t believe their
ears. Then, without warning, a huge earthquake! The jailhouse tottered, every
door flew open, all the prisoners were loose. Acts 16: 25-26 (The
Message). The jailer got a torch and ran
inside. Badly shaken, he collapsed in front of Paul and Silas. He led them out
of the jail and asked, “Sirs, what do I have to do to be saved, to really
live?” They said, “Put your entire trust in the Master Jesus. Then you’ll live
as you were meant to live—and everyone in your house included!” They went on to spell out in detail the story
of the Master—the entire family got in on this part. They never did get to bed
that night. The jailer made them feel at home, dressed their wounds, and
then—he couldn’t wait till morning!—was baptized, he and everyone in his
family. There in his home, he had food set out for a festive meal. It was a
night to remember: He and his entire family had put their trust in God;
everyone in the house was in on the celebration. Acts 16:29-34 (The Message)
The next
time you have a “bad” day, feel defeated, ready to throw in the towel because
someone talked about you or you think they looked at you funny, I want you to
remember Paul and Silas. Beat down,
sore, bruised black and blue all over, bleeding, possibly gaping wounds in
shackles praying and praising God for the opportunity to suffer for the Gospel’s
sake.
The next
time you feel like you’re not going to make it, you can’t take another step, you
complain because of This, That, or The other, I want you to remember Paul and
Silas.
Your power is in your prayer which precedes your praise. You can praise your way out of any
situation. It’s a matter of choice. But Tania, you don’t understand my
circumstances. I shudda praised, but I
couldn’t praise, because I wouldn’t praise, because I was: too tired;
depressed; hungry; hurt; blah blah blah blah. Sounds like the ShaCwuda syndrome (shudda,
cudda, wudda). Well you’re right, but if
you’re gonna get up at 6:00 am for prayer and/or take the time to read this
blog I figure you want to hear the truth, am I right? It’s
not my intention to be insensitive and I don’t understand your drama but I do understand
the power of praise. You can be
miserable or mighty, you chose, go ahead, I’ll wait!
In His Humble Excellence
Tan
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