So they, being sent forth by the Holy Ghost, departed unto Seleucia; and from thence they sailed to Cyprus. And when they were at Salamis, they preached the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews: and they had also John to their minister. And when they had gone through the isle unto Paphos, they found a certain sorcerer, a false prophet, a Jew, whose name was Barjesus: Which was with the deputy of the country, Sergius Paulus, a prudent man; who called for Barnabas and Saul, and desired to hear the word of God. Acts 13:4-7

Paul’s first missionary trip has begun, but he didnt go alone, Barnabas went with him to preach the gospel. Notice before they were sent out, the Church layed hands on them and prayed over them. It’s important before we do things, we are in the will of God, and filled with the Holy Spirit

The first thing they encountered was a false prophet named Barjesus, this is why its important to be trained and have sound doctrine before you go out into the ministry field. You will encounter and be challenged by many false prophets and false religions, always be prepared to give a response (1 Peter 3:15)

But Elymas the sorcerer (for so is his name by interpretation) withstood them, seeking to turn away the deputy from the faith. Then Saul, (who also is called Paul,) filled with the Holy Ghost, set his eyes on him, And said, O full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness, wilt thou not cease to pervert the right ways of the Lord? And now, behold, the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou shalt be blind, not seeing the sun for a season. And immediately there fell on him a mist and a darkness; and he went about seeking some to lead him by the hand Acts 13:8-11

Paul didn’t waste any time he rebuked the false prophet named Elymas and caused blindness to fall upon him. Notice it says Paul was “filled with the Holy Spirit” during this time, many people today would say “Paul was not acting Christian” but Paul understood the seriousness of false religions. As Paul said they will “pervert the right ways of The Lord” If we don’t rebuke false prophets and false teachers they will continue to pervert the gospel of Jesus Christ

Then the deputy, when he saw what was done, believed, being astonished at the doctrine of the Lord. Now when Paul and his company loosed from Paphos, they came to Perga in Pamphylia: and John departing from them returned to Jerusalem. Acts 13:12-13

So would say “what good can come from Paul’s harsh behavior” however notice when the deputy saw what Paul did, he believed and accepted the gospel of Jesus Christ! We worry too much today about not offending people or hurting their feelings, if we really cared about people we would not want them to spend eternity in Hell. I would rather offend somebody and tell them the truth, the lie to them and let them go to Hell

Of course everything we do should be for the glory of God and in his will in Jesus Name Amen!