By Kevin Harris, pastor of the Illawarra Community Baptist Church in Wollongong, NSW
And it came to pass, as we went to prayer, a certain damsel possessed with a spirit of divination met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying: The same followed Paul and us, and cried, saying, These men are the servants of the most high God, which shew unto us the way of salvation. And this did she many days. But Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the spirit, I command thee in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her. And he came out the same hour.
Acts 16:16-18
Notice that what this young woman said was good. She was supernaturally verifying that these men were worthy of everyone’s attention because they spoke for God.
So where was the problem?
The problem is what she stood for. This woman was possessed with an unclean spirit, and it showed. She lived on the fringe, and was being used by her owners to make money from the superstitious. Anyone who wanted to know the future might pay her to give a vague forecast. This is still occurring today as people consult their horoscopes, use tarot cards, or have their palms read.
What she shouted about Paul and Silas was accurate. But it was the very opposite of what she stood for. She herself didn’t serve ‘the most high God’ nor embrace ‘the way of salvation’ they proclaimed. The result was that truth was presented through a dirty mouthpiece. It wasn’t good to have the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ identified with her mad ravings.
Paul tolerated her for as long as he could. But finally, he removed this hindrance to the gospel by casting out the unclean spirit in her.
It is an obstacle to God when our words don’t match our lives. The gospel has been much hindered by perceived hypocrisy and inconsistency in our day.
God is looking for clean mouthpieces to proclaim His Word.
Father, help me to practise what I preach. Remove sin in my life that is getting in the way of Your pure gospel. Make the messenger’s life to beautify the message You gave me to carry for You. I ask this in the Name of the Lord Jesus, Amen.
This article was written by Kevin Harris Dapto pastor of Illawarra Community Baptist Church.