FACING THE FOE

ACTS 16:16-31                   

Pastor Rick Jackson

Missionary Raymond Shull tells the true story of how Christians in Cambodia, like the rest of us, must face the onslaught of Satan. “One such Cambodian Christian is a young man named Tho. He, his wife and his son have accepted Christ as Savior. Tho preaches every week in our mid-week service and in our village ministry that is in his hometown. He has been a Christian for seven years and takes a firm stand in his faith.”

“A couple of years ago his mother-in-law was stricken with cancer. The doctors gave no hope of survival. Having nowhere else to turn, she called for the village witch doctor to come and evaluate the cause of her cancer. It was her belief that someone in her family had sinned and offended the demonic forces of hell. The witch doctor under the power of Satan would be able to tell her who had sinned and who was the guilty family member that was causing her cancer. Tho’s mother-in-law set a date for all of her children, their spouses, and their children to come to her house and meet with the witch doctor. Tho and his wife would also be forced to come. The belief here [in Cambodia] is that one’s parents are gods and must be respected as such. On that day all the family members were set in a circle and the witch doctor sat in the middle. Each family member was questioned individually and under the power of Satan, each of their sins were brought to light- a very embarrassing moment for all of them.

“The witch doctor turned to face Tho and his wife. Their eyes met for what seemed like an eternity. The other family members waited to hear about the sins of Tho and his wife. After a few moments of silence, the witch doctor turned from them and went to the next family member and made known all their sins. The witch doctor could not speak against a child of God; he was strangely silent.

“After the ceremony the other family members questioned the witch doctor about the sins of Tho and his wife. The witch doctor replied that he could not see the sins of Tho or his wife and was not permitted to speak against them. The power of Satan met the promises of Scripture, and the truth of Scripture defeated the terror of sin. …Ps. 103:12, Heb. 9:26b… 8:12.”

I. THE DEVIL FIGHTS DIRTY

1. He is the Master of Manipulation [v. 16a]

2. He is the Master of Exploitation [v. 16b]

3. He is the Master of Infiltration [v. 17]

II. THE DEVIL FIGHTS DELIBERATELY

1. The Active Christians were Hounded [v. 17-18]

2. The Active Christians were Harassed [v. 19-22a]

3. The Active Christians were Harmed [v. 22b-24]

III. THE DEVIL FIGHTS DEFEATEDLY

1. He Cannot take a Surrendered Christian’s Joy [v. 25]

2. He Cannot take a Sanctified Christian’s Job [v. 26-32]

3. He Cannot take a Satisfied Christian’s Joy [v. 33-40]