Mike Breaux - Why Satan Wants You to Ignore This Message (01/14/2026)
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Summary:
In Acts 13, the church in Antioch sends out the dynamic duo of Paul and Barnabas on their missionary journey, where Paul boldly confronts a sorcerer opposing the gospel, leading to the governor’s belief in Jesus. The preacher emphasizes that our real enemy is Satan, who spreads lies, and stresses the importance of knowing God’s truth from Scripture to resist temptation and escape it. Ultimately, he shares the gospel message, inviting everyone to RSVP to God’s invitation by realizing their need, saying sorry, verbalizing trust in Jesus, and plunging their past through baptism for a new life.
Thanksgiving Greeting and Welcome
All right, what’s up, everybody? Great to see you guys! Let me be the first to say, Happy Thanksgiving to you! I love this time of year. Man, you can’t even commercialize Thanksgiving. It’s just one of those things that sits quietly in the middle of the week while we express our gratitude to the people in our lives and to God, who has given us all good gifts. I can’t wait for Thanksgiving Day! We’ve already had a big Thanksgiving dinner. We did it Friday; a Friendsgiving thing with about 50 people. It was amazing!
Then, Tuesday night, we got our Kentucky family all together—about 40 of us. Then, we’ll go to California on Thursday to be with our California family out there, and we’ll have about 25 or 30 out there. So, we’ll have turkey and all those sides. And I know why they call them «sides» now because I’m just taping it to my side, actually. But I hope you have a great Thanksgiving week and thanks for being here today. I’m grateful for all our campuses and all of you who are joining us online as well. Super grateful for you!
Series in Acts and Personal Reflection
This entire year, we’ve been bouncing in and out of the book of Acts, which is the fifth book in the New Testament section of the Bible, right after Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It’s all about the history of the early church, and it’s fascinating. I don’t know about you all, but reading through the book of Acts has reignited something in me—not just preaching on weekends here, but I’ve been doing it personally as personal devotions, and I’ve been sharing it on the Daily Drive as well. There’s just something about it that has fired me up again. I think there’s a danger the longer you become a follower of Jesus; if you’re not really intentional about doing stuff like that, it starts out as Amazing Grace, and then after a few years, it becomes Interesting Grace, then it’s Intriguing Grace, and finally, «Oh yeah, Grace.» This has brought me right back to Amazing Grace—how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me.
Last week, Josh walked us through chapter 12, where one of the main characters in the book of Acts—the leaders in the early church—a guy named Peter, gets thrown in prison for talking about Jesus. The church gets together and they pray for his release; they pray fervently for Peter. And guess what? The Holy Spirit breaks Peter out of Jerusalem! «Shawshank»! It was an amazing story. We learned about the power of praying together, and many of you experienced that last weekend. It really was amazing! If you missed it, you ought to check it out online—so good!
But we’re in chapter 13 today, so if you got a Bible or an app you use, we’ll put it on the screens as well. We’ll track along together.
Iconic Duos and Introduction to Paul and Barnabas
But as you’re getting there, let me ask you: Who do you think of when it comes to famous pairings—iconic couples, dynamic duos? I jotted a few down that just popped into my head—no particular order: Adam and Eve, Bonnie and Clyde, Thelma and Louise, Ken and Barbie, Luke and Leia, Bert and Ernie, mac and cheese, Shaq and Kobe, Jordan and Pippen, Romeo and Juliet, Shaggy and Scooby, Batman and Robin, Forrest and Jenny, peas and carrots, Woody and Buzz, Simon and Garfunkel, Sonny and Cher, Tom and Jerry, Fred and Wilma, Montana and Rice, Aikman and Irvin, Phineas and Ferb, Lewis and Clark, Brooks and Dunn, Mickey and Minnie, Mario and Luigi, peanut butter and jelly, and chips and salsa. That’s my list! Oh, I got one more: Paul and Barnabas.
We were introduced to both of these guys—this dynamic duo—earlier in the book of Acts. Joseph was his birth name, but everybody called the guy Barnabas, which was his nickname, meaning «the son of encouragement, » which would be a cool nickname, by the way. And Paul, whose Jewish birth name was Saul, was formerly a really treacherous dude who was hell-bent on destroying the Church of Jesus Christ until he had a dramatic one-on-one encounter with the resurrected Jesus. He does a 180 with his life, surrenders to Jesus, and God calls this guy to spread the good news of God’s love all over the world. You can read all about that back in chapter 9, and you might remember how Barnabas is the one who stands up for Saul when nobody else would. I mean, everybody’s afraid of this guy—for good reason!
They weren’t sure if the conversion of this former persecutor of the church was legitimate. So, Barnabas, again the son of encouragement, stands up and says, «Oh, this guy’s the real deal! God has tapped him on the shoulder to spread the good news, and he’s doing an awesome job of that!» So, the good news of Jesus begins to spread all over the place; it reaches almost 300 miles north of Jerusalem through a place called Antioch, kind of the same distance between, like, San Antonio and Dallas. The leaders of the church down in Jerusalem send Barnabas up to Antioch to check it all out. He gets there and is blown away by what God is doing in people’s lives, and he has this thought while he’s there: «You know who would be awesome up here? Saul!»
So he goes to a place called Tarsus, about 10 miles off the Mediterranean coast in modern-day Turkey, and he recruits Saul/Paul to join him in ministry up in Antioch. God does amazing things through the two of these guys, and they become one of the most dynamic duos in all of history.
The Sending Out from Antioch
So let’s just dive into chapter 13. Antioch, where they’re at, is the third-largest city in the Roman Empire, and people from all over have settled there. Luke, who’s the writer of the book of Acts, starts naming the leaders of this new church, and they were diverse as well—kind of reflecting the footprint of their city. It really does illustrate how God’s kingdom was open to everybody, no matter their race, their status, or their past. Through Jesus Christ, we are one.
Barnabas and Saul are doing their thing up in Antioch—amazing things are happening—and the Holy Spirit tells the leaders there, «I know you love these guys—I know you hate to see them go—but I really need Barnabas and Saul to take the message all over the world. So I’m asking you to lay your hands on them, pray for them, and then send them out.» You know, I love it when we get to do that with someone here—to send someone out. We got church planters, we got people on staff, missionaries; we’ve got groups of amazing resident interns here that we will continue to send out. I was with a church just last weekend where they brought a young couple up on stage, laid their hands on them, and prayed for them. These two had grown up in the kids' ministry of this church; they were in the student ministry of the church; they got married in college, and this church was now sending them out to translate the Bible in Albania. It was kind of a cool moment.
I was thinking back to the early '90s when the rural church that we were serving in Kentucky sent us out—our family—to plant a new church in Las Vegas. This church in Kentucky, we were meeting in this big multi-purpose room that we did everything in—that’s why we called it a multi-purpose room—and they had set up tables for a huge, like, all-church dinner—kind of a farewell dinner. I walk in, and all the tables were decorated with poker chips, roulette wheels, playing cards, and all those green dealer visors. They had so much fun because we were moving to Vegas. They laid hands on us, prayed over our family, and sent us out. I’ll never forget that night; it was so much fun. But I’ll never forget the raw emotion of having to say goodbye to those wonderful people, and I will never forget their encouragement as that church sent us out.
Now, I’m guessing in Antioch, there were no poker chips on the table—maybe some pita chips—but they pray over these guys and send them out. And out Saul and Barnabas go to what Jesus referred to as «the ends of the earth.» It says here that Barnabas' young cousin, John Mark, goes with them as an assistant—kind of an intern.
Confrontation with the Sorcerer
Along the way, they encounter this guy who was a sorcerer—not just a crafty sleight-of-hand illusionist; rather, he’s a practitioner of dark magic. He had become a conduit of Satan, who was trying to impede Saul and Barnabas from sharing the good news of Jesus with the governor of the province.
And verse 9 gives us a glimpse into Paul’s passionate personality. By the way, from this point on in Scripture, Saul is going to go by his Roman Latin name, Paul, to connect better with the non-Jewish people that God has called him to reach. It says here that Paul was filled with the Holy Spirit, looks the sorcerer in the eye, and says, «Excuse me, we’re trying to spread some good news here, so dude, if you could just take it down a notch, that’d be great. Thanks so much; really appreciate it.» That’s not what he says; check it out! Paul, filled with the Spirit, looks him in the eye and says, «You son of the devil! Full of every sort of deceit and fraud, the enemy of all that is good, will you never stop perverting the true ways of the Lord? Watch now! For the Lord has laid his hand of punishment upon you, and you will be struck blind. You will not see the sunlight for some time.» Instantly, mist and darkness came over the man’s eyes; he began groping around, begging for someone to take his hand and lead him.
Now, I don’t know, but perhaps in Paul’s mind he’s thinking back to what happened to himself when he was blinded by the light in his own encounter with Jesus. And I don’t know, but maybe in this moment, he hopes that the same thing would eventually happen with this guy—that God would open his eyes and open his heart to the truth of God’s love. So, this guy is blinded, and it says when the governor saw what had happened, he became a believer, for he was astonished at the teaching about the Lord.
The Real Enemy: Satan and His Lies
Now, as you read through Paul’s writings—and he wrote a lot of the New Testament—you will see how he instructs you and me to honor other people, to treat them with respect and kindness, to love them sincerely, and to let our conversations always be full of grace and humility—to even bless those who are persecuting us. But in this instance, he knew he was face to face with the real enemy, and he recognizes it and confronts him. He knows it was Satan living inside of this man; it was Satan trying to use him to prevent people from hearing about God’s amazing grace, and Paul just wasn’t going to let the enemy derail the advancement of the good news. Paul would later write these words over in Ephesians chapter 6, when he said, «A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on all of God’s armor so that you’ll be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, against evil spirits in heavenly places.»
I think one of the greatest strategies that the enemy of our soul has employed throughout the years is that he’s not real. He’s like a mythological figure—maybe he’s like Santa or the Tooth Fairy, some goofy character on a Saturday Night Live sketch. But Jesus himself acknowledged that Satan is very real. He called him the father of lies and told us that his sole agenda is to kill, steal, and destroy. Peter, the guy that Josh talked about last week, would later write this: «Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.» In other words, he’s saying, «He’s very real, and the battle we’re in is very real.» We can feel it in our world; we know it in our soul. The war on our soul is not fought with guns or tanks or cyberattacks or drones or bombs. The chief weapon is lies. Our enemy constantly spins lies about God, about us, about life, about eternity—lies about sex, money, happiness, looks, power, pride. He lies about everything! See, it’s all he knows—just lie after lie after lie.
So, can you see why it’s so crucial for you and me to know the truth? To have the truth of God stuck in our hearts and in our heads ahead of time so that when those lies and all the temptations start coming at us, we can choose the truth? We can choose to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that we can hear Him in the moment and follow Him to better decisions.
Knowing the Truth to Escape Temptation
There’s a verse that gets so misquoted; it’s where people get the phrase, «Well, you know, God won’t give you any more than you can handle.» You’ve heard that, right? Well, honestly, that’s just not true. I mean, nowhere in Scripture does it say that. In fact, I have found that when I do have more than I can handle, it reminds me of my weakness and forces me to depend upon God in a much deeper way—which is a very good thing!
But this is the verse that people misquote all the time in that regard: 1 Corinthians 10:13. «The temptations in your life are no different than from what others experience, and God is faithful. He will not allow the temptation to be more than you can handle, than you can stand. When you are tempted, he will show you a way out so that you can endure.» He will show you in the moment a way out! We don’t have to cave in. There will never be a temptation so strong that we cannot resist. There will always be another option—a better decision. And He will show you a way to escape it!
One of the greatest warriors of all time, Kung Fu Panda, said, «Before battle of fist must come battle of mind.» And Scripture tells us that over and over and over, the battle is in the mind. So one of the prime ways of escaping lies is having the truth already downloaded into our minds. In those moments of temptation, you will hear Him say, «Come on, remember the truth. It’s your escape hatch. Come on! Follow Me. Walk this way! Walk with Me.»
I can remember how some people would look at, you know, some big, huge athlete and dismiss him as, «Oh, he’s just a big, dumb football player.» And I would think, «Are you kidding me? That guy’s IQ is off the chart! Have you ever tried to memorize a playbook? Ever seen one? Super thick and extremely intricate? They study it over and over so that it becomes this mental blueprint that’s like second nature. When the quarterback calls a certain play, their mind goes immediately to their responsibility, and if the quarterback calls an audible—checks to a different play—they even know in a split second where everybody’s supposed to be as they move together on offense. I mean, it’s incredible to watch! And they’re able to do it because they know the playbook.
And gang, we got an awesome playbook. 2 Timothy tells us, „All Scripture is inspired by God and useful to teach us what is true and make us realize what’s wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we’re wrong, teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.“ For some of y’all, this little journey through the book of Acts has been the first time that you’ve ever really read Scripture, and you’ve been experiencing the amazing way that God just speaks into your life like it was written personally for you! And you know what? It was!
So I just want to encourage you: Keep diving into this book because it gives truth and direction and hope and light and wisdom. It gives you a blueprint for living a great life. Just devour this playbook so that it becomes like second nature, and so when you’re in the heat of the battle, you’ll know what to do. I mean, why should I be afraid when I’ve already stuck in my heart and my head 2 Timothy 1:7, which tells me that God has not given me a spirit of fear, but He’s given me one of power, love, and self-discipline? Why should I worry or stress out all the time when 1 Peter 5:7 tells me to cast all my anxiety upon God because He cares about me? Why should I ever wallow in shame when Romans 8:1 tells me there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus? Why should I ever feel alone when God tells me in Hebrews 13:5, „I will never fail you; I will never abandon you“?
Why would I ever feel like a loser when Romans 8:37 tells me I am more than a conqueror through Him who loves me? And why would I ever let Satan hack into my soul and steal my identity when 1 John 4:4 tells me that the Spirit who lives in me is greater than the spirit who lives in the world? When you know the playbook, in that moment, you’ll run the right play, and you’ll escape the temptation. So here, Paul models that our fight is not against flesh and blood but against someone much more sinister, much darker, and much more powerful.
You see, other people are not the enemy. That nasty neighbor is not your enemy. That person who posted all that negative stuff about you is not your enemy. Your ex is not your enemy. Democrats or Republicans are not your enemies. The bully at school is not your enemy. That unreasonable coworker or boss is not your enemy. Again, we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies but our fight is against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world. So be gracious with people, but with Satan—not so much. He’s a liar and the real enemy, and here Paul shuts him up so that this governor could hear the life-changing truth about Jesus. And the guy finds eternal life.
Paul’s Sermon and the Gospel Message
If you scroll down after that, Paul and Barnabas sail over to a place called Paphos. This is incidentally where John Mark, the young guy, bails out on them and goes back home to Jerusalem. We talked about this a few weeks ago—how after this, Paul just writes the kid off and doesn’t want to have anything to do with him. But Barnabas, the son of encouragement, gives him a second shot, and it’s a good thing he does.
So, as was their practice, the two of them—Saul and Barnabas—they head over to the local synagogue for services. After the Scriptures are read, the local leaders announce, „Hey! We got some guests with us today. I think they said they’re traveling missionaries. Would you guys like to bring a word of encouragement to the people?“ You would expect one of them to stand up and say, „Oh, well, yeah, we weren’t expecting to do this. But yeah, it’s our first time here, and I gotta say, y’all live in a beautiful city, and everybody’s been so kind and gracious. We had the best rack of lamb the other night at that restaurant across the street. Thanks for having us! We love the worship! We’ll certainly be back!“
Well, small talk wasn’t so much Paul’s thing. Instead, he takes full advantage of this opportunity, and he graciously addresses everybody there—all of his fellow Jews and those who were not Jewish but were there worshiping Yahweh, the one true God. And Paul steps into this moment, and he doesn’t just bring a word of encouragement; he brings a bunch of words of encouragement to the people.
I’ve given you this brief synopsis of the Bible before, and I do hope you’ll read the book, but if you just want the Google synopsis or the old-school CliffNotes—remember those? —here you go: Overview of the Bible: God longs for a relationship with people like us. People like us broke that relationship, so God moves throughout history to restore the broken relationship with people like us. That’s the overview of the Bible—this love story! God longs for a relationship with people like us; people like us broke that relationship, so God went to work. God moves throughout all of history to restore the broken relationship with people like us, and He did it through Jesus Christ.
This is the good news; this is what we call the gospel message of hope. And gang, this is for everyone, no matter who you are or what you’ve done or how far you’ve run away from God. He longs to have a relationship with you. He longs to shower grace and mercy and forgiveness on you. He longs to do life with you every day. He longs to empower you with the Holy Spirit so that you can have the power to escape temptation and the strength to walk free from addictions and bitterness and all kinds of emotional baggage. He longs to give you a secure place in heaven so that you’re not afraid to die. And if you’re not afraid to die, man, you’re not afraid to live! This is the good news, and it’s available to anybody who will believe that Jesus is the Son of God sent to restore the broken relationship with people like us.
We heard Peter say this a couple of weeks ago in Acts chapter 4. He stood in front of all these Jewish religious leaders and said, „There’s salvation in no one else. God has given no other name under heaven by which we must be saved.“ And Paul would later write this in Romans chapter 3: „We’re made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ, and this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned, and we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God—and I love this phrase—yet God, with undeserved kindness (because that’s what it is), declares that we’re righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty of our sins. This is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. And that’s why they call it the good news!“
This good news is for you.
How to RSVP to God’s Invitation
Debbie and I received a wedding invitation a while back, and inside was a little embossed card that said „RSVP“ which, of course, everyone knows is French for „We’re coming!“ And I think I may have given you this before, but I just want to take those letters and share with you how you respond to God’s gracious invitation to life. The „R“ in RSVP stands for „Realize your need.“ Realize your need—that’s the first step. We talk a lot in, like, Regen and around Lake Point in general about wanting to get well. We talk about the power of being completely honest and dropping all the denial and all the image management games that keep us from acknowledging that we’ve got a problem.
We just read, „Everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.“ That’s the honest truth about all of us. Responding to God’s gracious invitation begins and ends with humility, where you say, „Yeah, it’s true about me. I’ve got a problem; I’ve got a sin problem. I know I fall short. I realize I need God, so I’m just humbly coming to you.“ The „S“ stands for „Say you’re sorry.“ Say you’re sorry! It’s when you come to God and say, „I realize I got a sin problem. I realize I need a Savior, and I want you to know I am so sorry for the way I’ve lived like you don’t even exist. I’m tired of playing God. I’m tired of everything in my life revolving around me, and I just want all of that to change.“
The Bible calls this repentance. It’s a word we don’t hear very often today, but „repent“ is a pivotal word—that literally means to do a change of direction or do an about-face, do a U-turn, do a 180 away from darkness and toward the light, away from sin and toward God. I have learned that as long as you’re moving toward something, you’re moving away from something. It’s a change of mind that results in a change of direction—a change of heart that says, „I have let my appetites and selfish impulses lead my life long enough. I’ve let my pride wreck relationships long enough, and I’m sorry for all the pain I’ve caused other people, myself, and you, God.“ So I’m turning away from all that, and I’m turning toward you. I know it won’t be perfect; I’m just asking for your forgiveness and your help.
So, you realize your need, say you’re sorry, and then the „V“ stands for „Verbalize your trust.“ Verbalize your trust! Romans 10—again, Paul writes this: „If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you’ll be saved. For it’s by believing in your heart that you’re made right with God, and it’s by confessing with your mouth that you’re saved.“ You know, Jesus said one time, „If you acknowledge me before other people, I will acknowledge you before my Father.“ When he talks about verbalizing your trust, he’s not talking about reciting some magical formula prayer thing; it’s just the place your heart gets to when you’re humble enough to go public with your belief in Christ. You’re not afraid to let anybody know that you are a person who has, in fact, realized the truth about who you are—that you’re someone who stands in need of a Savior, and Jesus is that Savior, and you’re walking toward him, saying with your heart and verbalizing with your mouth, „I need him to do for me what I cannot do for myself. I’m going to put my trust in what he did for me freely on a cross. I trust him to lead my life. I’m putting my eternity in his hands, and I’m going to follow him.“
So, you realize your need, say you’re sorry, verbalize your trust, and then, as we’ve seen all the way through the book of Acts so far, plunge your past! Talking about baptism, and I had to make my acrostic work. I’m talking about, as an act of surrender, you go down into the water, saying to God, „I’m ready to go public with my faith, and I just want to plunge my past. I want to bury my old life and want to live a brand new one with your help.“ I’ve got a good friend who had an extremely colorful past, to put it mildly, and we’ve been spending a lot of time together talking about all this, and he told me one night, „Bro, I think I’m ready to be baptized.“ And I was so stoked! He said, „So how do I do that?“ I looked at him and said, „Well dude, with all your junk, you probably need to come.“
So overnight, he went, „Really?“ I go, „No, I’m just playing with you, man! I’m just kidding! We just bring all of our junk—no matter what it is—and we just plunge our past!“ Again, Paul writes in Romans 6: „For we died and we were buried with Christ by baptism, and just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.“ We identify with the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. You’ve got to admit, when you watch a baptism, it’s quite a picture of that!
2 Corinthians 5:17—again, Paul writes this: „If anyone is in Christ, they’re a new creation; the old is gone, and the new has come.“ That could be you! How about it? You ready to RSVP?
Closing Prayer and Invitation
Let’s just bow our heads for just a moment and let you spend a little time with God about all this. Because you can have a real relationship with him; he moved throughout history to make it happen, and he did it because he longs for you to be with him forever. You could know that relationship starting right now if you would embrace his grace and humbly respond to his invitation. God will not only forgive your sin and give you a new life, but his Holy Spirit will move inside of you to help you confront all the lies of the enemy, help you walk a new direction.
Right now, in this moment, what you need to do is do a 180—say, „I’m walking toward you, God. I’m coming home, “ and you will find him waiting there for you to embrace you because he’s been waiting a long time for this moment.
So let me give you a little space just to talk to him in your own way right now—nothing scripted, nothing religious or rote—just talk to him; express your heart to him. „But God, I realize I need you. I’m sorry, and I’m turning toward you, and I’ll tell anybody that Jesus Christ is my Savior and my Lord!“
Father, I want to thank you for this good news, and this Thanksgiving week, a lot of us will sit around tables with friends and family, and we’ll think of things we’re super grateful for. But there’s nothing any bigger than this! It’s not just good news; it’s the best news. I’m so grateful, God, that your amazing grace did, in fact, save a wretch like me! Father, I pray right now that someone else is just saying, „I need that. I want to be forgiven. I want to be free. I want to walk a new life; I want to bury my past.“ Father, I thank you that you’re doing that in someone’s heart right now. Thank you for the book of Acts and for the boldness of guys like Paul and Barnabas who just gave their lives so that we could know the good news someday. Grateful for that-grateful for all of it, Jesus, and I thank you. In your name, amen.