October 15.
Recognize The Rival

Acts 16:18

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.

Two men, Paul and Silas, were doing missionary work for the Lord when a notorious young fortune teller got caught up in the crossfire. She started bragging on Paul and Silas saying, “These are the men of the most high God. These men are doing a great work.” There was nothing wrong with what she was saying. It was who was doing the saying. Sometimes you can be promoted by the wrong folk. When you’re promoted by the wrong folk, it can demote you instead. If all you have is drunkards telling everybody how good you are, it might discredit you. If a fool talks well of you, you have to look at where it’s coming from.

Paul and Silas perceived that the woman’s real need was to know the Lord. So they turned around and witnessed to her and she accepted Christ as her personal Savior. It looked like everyone should have rejoiced that this one girl was delivered. She had gone around the community with a python snake wrapped around her neck. The snake would serve as a ventriloquist and speak through the little girl and she made much money for her master. But when she got saved, she could no longer participate in that evil.

When you get saved there are some things that you can’t do any more and there are some businesses you have to get out of. There is some company you can’t keep and environments you can’t be around any more. Once you get saved, you can’t keep acting like a sinner. Now there are a lot of people who don’t want folk to be saved. Businesses would have to close; a lot of jobs would be suspended. That’s why you see all of the stuff that hinders you from coming to the Lord. Low-down talk shows criticize the church and men of God, causing people to lose respect. The devil is busy trying to keep folk from coming to Jesus.