SERMON: CHANGE (Acts 9:1-22)

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Acts 9 – we’re going to be spending our time this morning in this chapter, but while you are turning over to that chapter, let me share with you 2 Corinthians 5:17:

 

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here!

 

            -- right before Christmas, a family who had spent their whole life in the country decided they wanted to take a vacation and go see the big city life for themselves – so, they made their way to the city and spent the whole day just walking around, amazed at everything they saw – they went from store to store and just gawked at all the merchandise for sale – at how the people were dressed – and how everyone was always in such a hurry to get where they were going

-- when evening came, they took a cab to a hotel and the father and the son went inside to rent a room while their mother stayed outside with their bags – as they were standing there, taking it all in, they noticed something strange on the wall of the hotel -- there were these two shiny, silver walls that would move apart and then slide back together again

            -- after standing there looking at it for a few minutes, the boy asked, "What is this, Father?" -- The father, never having seen an elevator before, responded, "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life. I don't know what it is"

            -- about that time, an overweight old lady hobbled up to the elevator with her cane and pressed the button – the walls opened up and she walked into the little room that the father and son could see – a moment later, the walls closed and the boy and his father watched the small circular numbers above the walls light up sequentially

-- They continued to watch until it reached the last number and then the numbers began to light in the reverse order – finally, the walls opened up again and a gorgeous young, statuesque blonde woman stepped out

            -- the father stood there for just a moment and then turned to his son and quietly said, "Son, go get your mother – hurry!”

 

            -- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series in the Book of Acts – we are in the second part of the Book of Acts that we started last week -- Unexpected Gospel Growth – where we are looking at how the apostles changed the world as they shared God’s Word in Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth through the power of the Holy Spirit

           

II.  Change

            -- change is the one constant in this universe – life is not static – like the commercial says, “Life comes at you fast” -- it is always moving and changing – sometimes for the good – and sometimes for the bad – but nothing in life stays the same – it is always changing – and it’s up to us to direct the change in the right way in our lives and in this world

-- that’s why we make New Year’s resolutions – it’s because we know that we are not who we are supposed to be – something about us needs to change – and so we make resolutions to change something for the better – our health – our weight – our attitude – our emotions – our finances – our jobs – we are always seeking to change so that we can be better

-- and it’s not just our lives that need to be changed – it’s our homes – our family – our country – our relationships with others and with God

-- the plain truth is that no matter how things are, we all know that they could be better – and so we have this desire deep in our hearts to see things change for the good

-- I think this is something that God put in all of us from the very start – so that we wouldn’t be satisfied with where we are and who we are, but that we would seek to change – to grow in grace and to become more like Jesus every day

– so, God made us with an innate desire to change – to learn – to grow – to mature – to become whole and complete people – physically – spiritually – and emotionally

-- God is in the business of change – we see that in His word

 

            -- in 2 Corinthians 5:17 we read that if anyone is in Christ, then they have become a new creation -- the old has gone – the new has come – literally, this verse tells us that we have been changed through the power of Christ in us

            -- here in the Book of Acts, we see God changing the church, as the Holy Spirit came and filled the believers on the day of Pentecost – changing them from being timid followers of Christ, living in fear of the Jews – to being bold witnesses for Him in the world with bold messages, bold prayers, and bold hearts

            -- in Acts 8, we see God moving and changing the hearts of the people in the areas around Jerusalem, as God allowed persecution to scatter the believers in Jerusalem so that His word and the good news of salvation through Christ would be shared with people in all of Judea and Samaria

            -- this morning, we are going to look at how God chooses to reach down and change one person’s life, so that he might be empowered by the Spirit to change the Gentile world and to bring the gospel to the ends of the earth as Jesus told us to do in Acts 1:8

 

III.  God Changes Saul to Paul (Acts 9:1-22)

            -- if you would, please look with me now at Acts 9, starting in verse 1 [

 

Acts 9:1 Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem.

 

            -- when we looked at the stoning of Stephen in Acts Chapter 7, we were introduced to a young man named Saul – we read in Acts 7:58, that when the Sanhedrin dragged Stephen out of the city and began to stone him, they laid their coats at the feet of Saul – and in Acts 8:1, we are told that Saul approved of the killing of Stephen

            -- this is the same Saul that we read about here in the opening of Acts Chapter 9

 

            -- Saul was a Pharisee – just to remind you of who they were, the Pharisees were the religious right of their day – they were very conservative and extremely pious believers – they put an emphasis on holy living – and came up with rules upon rules to help people live what they considered a holy life in the eyes of God – they held the Scriptures and the Law in the highest regard – and truly tried to live out what they preached

            -- so, this was Saul – this was how he lived – and this was what he believed – so, when the Christians appeared and began proclaiming that Jesus was the promised Messiah and that He had risen from the dead, Saul would have taken this as blasphemy, just like all the other Pharisees in the Sanhedrin

– he would have felt like they were intentionally spreading fake news – that they were telling lies that were disrespectful to God and His temple and the Jewish religion – and he felt like their message was something that needed to be stopped so others would not be harmed

-- and so Saul took this upon himself as a holy mission for God -- he went to the High Priest, and obtained permission to go to synagogues in Damascus, chasing after the Christians who had fled Jerusalem and scattered to other areas, so that they might be arrested and brought to trial in Jerusalem before the Sanhedrin so they could be put in prison or killed

            -- if there was anyone who ever needed a change in their life, it was Saul -- and that's exactly what's fixing to happen

 

            -- verse 3-9

 

Acts 9:3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

 

5 “Who are you, Lord?” Saul asked.

 

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,” he replied. 6 “Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”

 

7 The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.

 

 

            -- as Saul was making his way to Damascus, intent on finding and arresting the Christians in that place, the Lord Jesus appeared to Him on the road in the midst of a great light

            -- Saul was literally blinded by the Light -- in the presence of the risen Christ, Saul's very existence was stripped away -- all that he was -- all that he knew -- changed in that moment

            -- when we are confronted with the presence of God – when we come face to face with the truth of the gospel and the Word of God -- we are forever changed -- sometimes that change comes in an instant, as with Saul -- other times, change comes slowly, as God works in our lives to mold us and to shape our characters and our personalities into the men and women He wants us to be

-- but, regardless of how it happens, one fact remains -- God changes everything -- and when God changes us, He changes the world through us

           

            -- verse 10-16

 

Acts 9:10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, “Ananias!”

 

“Yes, Lord,” he answered.

 

11 The Lord told him, “Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.”

 

13 “Lord,” Ananias answered, “I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.”

 

15 But the Lord said to Ananias, “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.”

 

 

            -- when Saul was struck blind on the road to Damascus, the men that he was with carried him into the city to the house of Judas, who lived on Straight Street – we don’t know a lot about Judas, but we can assume that he was not a Christian, because Saul and the men he was with did not know who the Christians were in Damascus and would not have been on a friendly basis with them, even if they did

            -- they were going there to arrest the Christians, so they certainly didn’t bring Saul to the house of a Christian when they finally got him to the city

            -- Saul is in the middle of a change, but the men around him haven’t been affected, yet

 

            -- while Saul was sitting there in the house of Judas, the Lord spoke to him in a vision and told him that a man named Ananias was going to come and place his hands on him and restore his sight

            -- healing would come – change would come – through the very Christian that Saul had come to persecute

 

            -- Jesus spoke to Ananias in a vision, and told him to go to Saul and lay his hands on him – to heal him of his blindness – both his physical and his spiritual blindness

            -- Ananias objected – and reminded God that Saul was the same man that had come to harm the Christians and arrest them in Damascus

            -- but God had a reason and a purpose for Saul – He told Ananias that Saul was His chosen instrument – that Saul was the person that God had selected to proclaim His name to the Gentiles and to their kings and to the people of Israel

            -- and then in verse 16, God tells Ananias, “I will show him how much he must suffer for My name” – change doesn’t come easy – change always comes with a cost

            -- if you are going to lose weight, there is a cost – you must eat less and eat better and move more – if you are going to change your life, you may need to give up some things that you have been holding onto, so that your life can be changed and you can get something better

            -- change always comes with a cost – but the cost is always worth it

            -- Saul was going to experience the very persecution that he had once inflicted – but in exchange, he was going to be changed into the person that God wanted him to be – the very man who would bring the word of God to the Romans and the Gentile nations around Israel

 

            -- verse 17-19a

 

Acts 9:17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

 

            -- Ananias was a man who had been changed by God – who had come to know the truth of the gospel and put his faith in Jesus as his Lord and Savior

            -- and with that change, came boldness and faithfulness – when God told him to go, Ananias went – he entered the house of Judas and found Saul there, just as the Lord had told him

            -- he laid his hands on Saul and shared with him the truth of the gospel – and Saul believed -- the Holy Spirit came in power and filled Saul with His presence – and Saul was changed forever

            -- the scales fell from his eyes – both physically and spiritually – and he could see again – Ananias baptized him, and Saul was changed from a persecutor of Christ to a believer, filled with the Spirit, and called to be Christ’s instrument to reach the Gentiles with the gospel

 

            -- but Saul was not the only one who was changed that day -- when God first spoke to Ananias in a vision, Ananias could not believe that God was actually sending him to see Saul -- Ananias knew that Saul had come to arrest the Christians -- he knew that Saul was directly responsible for the death of Stephen and probably more Christians -- he knew what type of man Saul was -- he didn't believe that Saul could change

            -- we sometimes think the same, don’t we? – we look at people and we think they’re beyond God’s reach – that even God can’t save them – that even God couldn’t change them – and so we don’t even try to reach out to them

 

– several years ago, I was a member of a local church, and we were going out and inviting people to come to church for a special service that we were having

            -- we  took a map and started dividing up the city into sections and assigning people to go to each area – when we got done, we realized that there was one road that we hadn’t covered – and our pastor said, “We need someone to go down this road and invite the people to come to church”

            -- another member spoke up, “I know the people that live down there – they’re not going to come – they’re not good people” – they didn’t believe that God had to power to change the people that lived down that road

 

            -- that’s the way Ananias was – he didn’t believe that Saul could change – but God told him to go, so he went – and when he prayed for Saul and laid his hands on Saul, Ananias watched the scales fall of Saul’s eyes and he saw that Saul had truly been changed through the power of the Holy Spirit

            -- on that day, Ananias was changed, too – for he came to believe that anyone could be changed through the power of God – if God could change Saul, then God could change anyone

 

-- no one thought Saul could change -- but God changed him – this passage makes it clear – God changes lives -- and He delights in taking those people that everyone else has given up on and making them into something special

 

-- look back at the second part of verse 19-22

 

Acts 9:19b Saul spent several days with the disciples in Damascus. 20 At once he began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. 21 All those who heard him were astonished and asked, “Isn’t he the man who raised havoc in Jerusalem among those who call on this name? And hasn’t he come here to take them as prisoners to the chief priests?” 22 Yet Saul grew more and more powerful and baffled the Jews living in Damascus by proving that Jesus is the Messiah.

 

-- when God changes someone, everyone sees it – when God changes you, you will know it and the people around you will know it

-- Saul’s change on the road to Damascus was not temporary – it was not an emotional moment followed by a return to his old life – it was a permanent change

 

-- apparently, Ananias took Saul from the house of Judas and introduced him to the disciples in Damascus – the very people that Saul had come to find and arrest

-- he spent several days with them, and then went out and began to preach in the synagogues that Jesus was the Son of God – the people saw him and heard him and were astonished

-- he had changed completely from who he was to a sold-out evangelist for Christ

-- there will always be evidence of the change when God is working in your life and in the lives of those around you

 

            -- a few years ago, I went to my high school reunion -- there were a few people there that I truly wanted to see again after all those years -- but there were a few I didn't care to see at all -- one of them was Phillip

            -- Phillip was the bane of my existence -- he was big and he was mean -- he would hurt you physically just for the fun of it -- if there was a fight at school, you could bet that Phillip was part of it

            -- when he graduated, he joined the Army -- and we all knew it wasn't because of any sense of duty or honor -- it was because he wanted to hurt people for a living

            -- so, when I went to my high school reunion, Phillip was the last person I wanted to see -- and when I got there, I was actually relieved to see that he wasn't there -- as the night went on, they started to run through a list of what the various people in our class had done with their lives after graduation -- they said that out of our class of 120 people, five of them had gone into the ministry and were either preachers or missionaries -- and guess who was one of those five? -- yep -- Phillip

            -- when his name was called, there was a low murmur that went through the room -- no one could believe it -- no one thought Phillip could change –but God had changed him, just like He had changes Saul into the man we know as the Apostle Paul

 

IV.  Application

            -- so, what does this all of this mean to us? -- well, let me leave you with a few points to consider as you go about your week

 

            -- first, keep in mind that change, in and of itself, is good -- God put this desire for change in our hearts from the very moment He created Adam and put him in the Garden of Eden

            -- God wants us to change -- that's what the whole Bible is about -- God wants us to turn away from the old and to embrace the new -- He wants us to become new creations in Him -- to no longer be sinners and enemies -- but to be saved by His grace and grafted into the Tree of Life

 

            -- second, know that change is possible -- it doesn't matter how many times you've failed at your New Year's resolutions -- it doesn't matter how many times you've failed at trying to bring about change in your life -- each failure is just a stepping stone to success

            -- Edison tried over 1,000 times to create the light bulb before he ever got it to work -- before he ever got it right and made the first working light bulb

-- a reporter asked him one time how it felt to fail so many times -- Edison replied, "I didn't fail -- I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways how not to make a light bulb"

            -- failure isn't final -- it's just a step along the way to success -- another opportunity for Christ to make a difference in your life

 

            -- third, real change only comes through Christ -- it is only through the power of the Holy Spirit that real change comes -- it wasn't Saul's good nature that changed him from Saul to Paul and made him the world's best evangelist

-- it wasn't just a matter of willpower that made Paul author most of the New Testament -- it wasn't just remorse that caused my high school classmate Phillip to turn from a person who hurt others to someone who healed their hearts and souls -- no, it was the Holy Spirit working through them that changed their lives forever

            -- you can't wish yourself better -- you can't will yourself better -- you can only become a new creation through the Holy Spirit living and working in you -- change is possible, but only through the Spirit

            -- think for a moment about your sin -- not your sins in general -- but that one sin that you just can't seem to get rid of -- that one sin that all of us have that haunts us -- our thorn in the flesh, if you will

            -- how many times have you given in to this sin and prayed to God and turned from it to just pick it back up again? -- how many times have you failed to master this sin in your life?

            -- the reason is that you have been trying to master it on your own -- you've been trying to conquer it through your own will -- through your own strength -- and that doesn't work – that’s why most people fail to keep their New Year's resolutions – they’re trying to make a change in their own strength

            -- if you want to see real change in your life, then you've got to lay that burden down and give that sin to Christ once and for all -- you have to truly release it and let Christ handle it for you -- for true, lasting change only comes through Him

 

            -- and, finally, don't limit yourself when it comes to change -- don't think small -- our God is a big God -- and He wants to do big things through you

            -- when God changed Saul into Paul on the road to Damascus, God didn't just change one man -- God changed the world

            -- when the people at my high school reunion heard that Phillip was a preacher, God changed our thoughts about who was outside the reach of God

            -- when God changes something in your life, He has more in mind than just making you a better person -- He wants to change the world through you

            -- don't limit God by telling yourself that He could never use you like a Paul or a Phillip -- you just have to believe that it is possible and allow Him to change you and make you into the person He wants you to be -- and then just hold on and live the adventure

 

            -- let me close by leaving you with a final illustration of yet another life that was changed through the power of God

 

            -- Fernando Aranda was sentenced to prison for 25-years-to-life because of a lifetime of violence, drug use, and theft, and even after he went to prison, he continued this lifestyle -- one day, his 70-year-old mother came to visit him -- she broke down in tears and said, "I don't want to die seeing you in this condition."

            -- Aranda was broken and offered a simple prayer to God: "If you'll get me out of this hellhole, I promise I'll serve you for the rest of my life." -- one year later, Aranda was unexpectedly released from prison.

            -- unfortunately, Aranda didn't change -- he fell right back into his old lifestyle of violence and drugs -- one day, as he wandered through the city high on drugs, he saw the Drug Task Force making a sweep -- and he knew that if he was caught with drugs in his system, that he was going to go back to prison for the rest of his life

            -- he noticed a crowd of people in a nearby park, so he made his way over to them to try to hide in the crowd -- no sooner had he hidden himself in the crowd than a young man came up to him and said "What are you doing here? Don't you remember the day you prayed in your prison cell that if God would release you from that hellhole, you'd serve him the rest of your life?"

            -- Aranda was stunned -- how could this man know anything about his prayer? -- before he could reply, the man pointed a finger right between his eyes and said, "You know what you have to do"

            -- This was enough to make Fernando Aranda fall to his knees there on the grass -- he began to weep and cried out to God to forgive him and change him as the power of God drove this tough criminal to the point of full surrender

 

            -- Aranda became part of Victory Outreach Ministries and began to impact the lives of other men with similar problems by discipling them -- his mother eventually came to see him at the ministry, rejoicing that her prior glimpse of him in prison was not her final view of her son -- despite what the world thought possible, Aranda had been changed through the power of God

            [modified from: Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; source: Jim Cymbala, You Were Made for More (Zondervan, 2008), pp. 54-57]

 

            -- Change is good -- God wants us to change -- He wants to see real change in our lives -- and it can happen -- if you let Him work in you and through you

            -- if God can change someone like Fernando Aranda -- if He can change someone like the Apostle Paul -- if He can change someone like my classmate Phillip -- then He can certainly change you and me, as well

 

            -- the Book of Acts is all about change – how God used ordinary men and women to change their world as they shared His word and lived out His commands daily

-- as we look at their example in Scripture, our goal should be to follow them – to open ourselves up to the change that is possible through the Holy Spirit – and to live out our lives for God to the full

-- so, as we close in prayer, let me encourage you to ask God to help you change – to ask God to fill you with His Spirit and His power so that you can change for the better and so you can change the world through Him

-- let us go to God in prayer now, and ask Him to change us and to change our church, so that we might be the men and women that He has called us to be in this community and that His name might be lifted up because of us

            -- let us pray

SERMON: THE GOSPEL GOES (ACTS 8:1-40)

 

Naylor Community Christian Church

Naylor, Georgia

 

I.  Introduction

            -- turn in Bibles to Acts 8:1b-8

 

Acts 8:1b On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

 

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

 

            -- in 1968, after two decades of oppressive Communist rule under the heavy hand of the Soviet regime, the people of Czechoslovakia longed for freedom – it seemed like opportunity was at hand when Alexander Dubcek was elected as First Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia – immediately, Dubcek initiated democratic reforms and a period of liberalization, known as the Prague Spring, began

– citizen civil rights and liberties were expanded – partial allowances for political democratization occurred – and the country began to decentralize the economy, making real changes in the ability of citizens to have economic freedom and progress

– restrictions on freedom of the press – on travel – and on free-speech were also loosened -- it appeared that Czechoslovakia was taking the first steps in changing from Communism to a liberal democracy

-- but the Soviet Union could not stand by and watch all of this happening to a country within the Iron Curtain – after negotiations with Dubcek failed to reverse the freedoms that were being instituted, the Soviets invaded to restore Soviet rule and Communist order to the state

-- on August 21, 1968, forces from five of the countries grouped in the Warsaw Pact invaded, and tanks flooded Prague’s streets – the people resisted where they could, but with the streets filled with Soviet soldiers, there was little they could do – and the roads leading west out of Czechoslovakia were filled with hundreds of cars fleeing the invasion

-- but on the road west of Czechoslovakia, there was a little blue Volkswagen Bug heading – not out of Czechoslovakia – but towards it – inside was a little-known Dutch evangelist – Brother Andrew – who had loaded down his car with Bibles and was making his way towards Prague

-- people stopped him and warned him not to go – “Don’t you know what’s going on in our country?” they asked – “Yes,” he said. “And that’s why I’m going” – he made it to the border, and the guards just ushered him in, not believing that anyone was willingly driving into a combat zone

-- Andrew made his way to Prague and located some church members there he knew from previous visits – they looked at him in amazement when they saw him – “Why are you here?” they asked. – “Because of the opportunity.” – “What opportunity? Our streets are filled with Russian soldiers” – “That is your opportunity”

-- “You don’t realize what is happening – because you refused to carry the gospel to your neighbors and those in the country next to you, God has sent them here for you to evangelize”

-- Andrew went out and began passing out Bibles to the Russian soldiers sitting in their tanks, telling them of the good news of Christ – over the course of the next few months, many of the Russians came to become believers – and the Russian army had to keep swapping soldiers out because of this

-- this true story demonstrates a great biblical truth that we are going to examine today – God allows persecution into our lives as a way to mature us in our faith and to spread the gospel message

-- this morning, we are continuing in our sermon series through the Book of Acts – last week, we finished the first part of this series – “A New Hope: The Beginning of the Church of Christ on Earth” – as we looked at the coming of the Holy Spirit and the empowerment of believers with a bold message, bold prayers, and bold hearts

-- today, we are starting the next section in our series – Unexpected Gospel Growth – which covers Acts 8 to Acts 12 – so, let’s look now at the start of Acts 8 and see what we can learn from this passage

 

II.  The Beginning of Persecution (Acts 8:1b-8)

            -- Acts 8:1b-3

 

Acts 8:1b On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

 

            -- last week, we ended our study in Acts with the death of Stephen, who is known as the first martyr in the Christian church

            -- Stephen had been arrested and brought to stand before the high priest and the Sanhedrin because he was accused of speaking blasphemy against the Temple and the religious traditions and practices of the Jews

            -- I didn’t point this out last week, but I found it highly interesting that these were the charges against Stephen – he wasn’t accused of blaspheming God – he wasn’t accused of being a heretic or introducing teachings that went against God’s word – the charges against him were that he spoke out about the Temple building and criticized the traditions and rituals that occurred there

            -- this concern by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin demonstrates that they had made an idol of the Temple and of their own rules and commands and practices – that it was more important to them to protect the Temple and their religious practices rather than standing up for God – for Whom the Temple was built in the first place

            -- and after Stephen pointed out in his long summary of God’s interactions with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and the people of Israel that the whole point of God’s covenant with Israel – the whole point of the Temple and the religious practices – were to lead people to the Messiah

– he told them that the priests and the Jewish leaders had rejected the prophets and the message of God over and over again – and now, this current High Priest and this very Sanhedrin had rejected the promised Messiah – submitting Jesus to crucifixion at the hands of the Romans – and rejecting the very Word of God in the flesh

-- when they heard this, the members of the Sanhedrin closed their ears and rushed at Stephen and grabbed him up and took him outside the walls of the city, at which point they began to stone him to death

 

-- immediately following the death of Stephen, we read that a great persecution broke out against the church

– the High Priest and the Sanhedrin were so mad – so incensed – at what Stephen said – at his proclamation that Jesus was the Messiah and that the Jewish leaders had rejected Him just as their forefathers had rejected the prophets – that they began hunting down the members of the church of Christ in Jerusalem – which had been growing in number and influence since the sending of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost

-- men like Saul -- who we read about in verses 3 and 4—began to go from house to house seeking Christians – dragging them out and putting them in prison because of their belief in Jesus as the Messiah

-- the persecution was so intense, that the church scattered – and we read here in verse 1 that all of them – except for the apostles – fled Jerusalem and were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria

-- this brings up a couple of questions about the apostles – why didn’t the High Priest and the Sanhedrin seek them out and persecute them like they were doing everyone else in the church?

– I think they were left alone by the High Priest and the Sanhedrin because they were scared of them – they had brought Peter and John before them several times and commanded them not to preach or teach in the name of Jesus – and each time, Peter and John boldly stood up in front of them and said, “No – we are going to do what God tells us and not what man tells us” – and I think this defiance to their bullying kept the High Priest and the Sanhedrin from pursuing them further

-- but when the persecution broke out against the church, why didn’t the apostles leave on their own? – I think they knew they were where God wanted them to be – they didn’t have any great fear of the Sanhedrin – and Jerusalem was the center of Jewish worship – if they were to be the leaders of this new movement in Judaism and lead the people to faith in Jesus as the Messiah, then they needed to be in the place where people were coming to worship God

-- also, remember that Jesus had told the apostles that He was going to come back to Jerusalem at the last days to establish His kingdom forever – and the apostles, as the leaders of the church, were going to wait faithfully there in Jerusalem for His return, regardless of the cost

 

-- verse 4

 

Acts 8:4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

 

-- why does God allow persecution against His church? – we see the answer right here – the people who were scattered because of persecution preached the word wherever they went

 

-- do you remember what Jesus said in our foundational verses for this study?

– in Acts 1:8, Jesus said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth”

-- and in Matthew 28:18-20, we read, “18 Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

            -- just like the people in Czechoslovakia, the Christians had not been moving and sharing the gospel as God intended – rather than going forth into all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth, they had been content to just stay in Jerusalem and form a counter-cultural community of faith there

            -- but that wasn’t the mission – that wasn’t the command – that wasn’t the calling from Christ – He told them to stay in Jerusalem until the power of the Holy Spirit came on them, and then they would go forth to carry His word to other regions as His witnesses – making disciples and baptizing them and teaching them to obey everything He had commanded

            -- when we won’t move from our comfort zone – when we won’t get up off the pews and start doing what God has called us to do – God will sometimes make things very uncomfortable for us so that we’ll get up and go and do what He wants us to do

            -- sometimes, this takes the form of persecution – for the Bible and history demonstrate that persecution always leads to growth in the church – both in maturing the saints and in spreading the gospel

            -- notice where the persecuted believers from Jerusalem went as Saul and the others hunted them from house to house – they went to Judea and Samaria – just like Jesus had told them to do

            -- when they wouldn’t go on their own, He made them go by using persecution as a catalyst for their missionary journeys

            -- and, as they went, they were faithful witnesses, and preached the word wherever they were

            -- what about you? – do you preach the word wherever you go? – do you share God’s word with others as you work and go from place to place in your daily lives?

 

            -- verse 5-8

 

Acts 8:5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

 

            -- one of the people who fled out of Jerusalem in response to the persecution was Philip – this was not Philip the Apostle, but Philip the evangelist – this Philip was one of the seven men whom the apostles appointed to help distribute food equally among the widows and the people in need – we read about that in Acts 6:1-7

            -- Philip was originally from Caesarea, a town along the Mediterranean coast of Israel in the region of Judea – now, if you look at a map and draw a straight line between Jerusalem and Caesarea, you’ll see the region of Samaria

            -- the Jews had a love-hate relationship with Samaria – as you probably remember from our study of the parable of the good Samaritan, the Samaritans were a mixed race – part Jew and part Gentile – and the people who lived there were the descendants of those that the Assyrians had brought back into the land after the northern ten tribes of Israel were exiled

            -- the Jews hated them because they were not pure Jews and because their religion was as mixed up as their genealogy and genetics – good Jews did not go into Samaria, and would go around Samaria just to keep from polluting themselves – we see that come into play in the parable of the good Samaritan and in Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4

            -- we read here in these verses that Philip went down to a city in Samaria as he fled Jerusalem, preaching the coming of the Messiah to the people there – and Philip was not alone, for many of the Christians also fled into Samaria – which makes sense in the face of the persecution – because the Jews who were hunting them would avoid going into Samaria to chase them down – and so, Samaria became a safe place for them to stay

            -- so, it seems like Philip is there partially because of safety – it’s a way to hide from the Jews who are hunting down the church – but Philip is mostly there because it’s where God wanted him to be

            -- Jesus said that good news was going to be preached – not only in Judea – but also in Samaria – and I bet that none of the Jewish Christians wanted to go there – so, God moved them out of their comfort zone by allowing the persecution to come against them – and He led them right into the place where He wanted them to be – Samaria

            -- Philip was a godly man – and Philip was a faithful witness – and we see Philip preaching to the people of Samaria about Jesus – the Spirit was with him – and as Philip testified about Jesus and preached the good news of salvation and the forgiveness of sins through Christ – the Holy Spirit moved in him and through him with great signs and wonders

            -- demons fled at the word of God – impure spirits came out of many – and lots of people in that place were healed under the power of the Spirit made manifest through Philip

            -- so there was great joy in the city because salvation had come to them because of the persecution that the church faced in Jerusalem

            -- God sometimes allows persecution and hardships and trials into our lives to grow us as Christians – to mature us in our faith – and to lead us to the place where He wants us to be

            -- so, as the people were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria, the word of God went with them – and people’s lives were changed forever

 

III.  The Gospel Goes Further (Acts 8:26-40)

            -- skip down to verse 26-29

 

Acts 8:26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

            -- after allowing persecution to come against the church, leading the Christians to scatter and spread the gospel as they went, God continued to lead the church to spread His word to others outside the city of Jerusalem

            -- Philip had enjoyed great evangelistic success in a town in Samaria, but God did not want Philip to settle down there and stay – His word needed to be shared with others, so He spoke to Philip through an angel and told him to go south to the desert road that leads from Jerusalem to Gaza

            -- Philip has been moving and operating based on faith since he fled the persecution in Jerusalem – and when God’s word came to him to go to this desert road – with no more instruction than that – Philip went

            -- what do we do when God tells us to move or to do something? – this entire year, we have been focused on hearing and doing the work of God through His Holy Spirit – on being attuned to His voice and moving when He speaks

            -- if we hear Him tell us to do something – if we hear the word, “Go” – our response should be like that of Philip – to just get up and go – not to wait for more instructions – not to wait for more information – but simply to get up in faith and go, trusting that what God is wanting will be made clear in the future

 

            -- when Philip started down the desert road with no direction or guidance about what he was to do, he happened to meet an Ethiopian eunuch who served in the court of the queen of the Ethiopians – the Spirit spoke to him and told him to go to that chariot and stay near it – and Philip did what the Lord said to do

            -- as we seek to do what God calls us to do – as we seek to discern His will and His direction in our lives and in this church – we must pay attention to those who we meet along the way – for it could be those people have been put in our path or brought into our lives for a specific purpose – it could be God put these people before us so that we might share the good news of Christ with them and lead them into a saving relationship with Him

            -- that is exactly what Philip does here

 

            -- verse 30-35

 

Acts 8:30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

 

31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

 

32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

 

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,

    so he did not open his mouth.

33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.

    Who can speak of his descendants?

    For his life was taken from the earth.”

 

34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

 

            -- even though we live in an age where there is more access to the Bible and biblical material than ever before, that doesn’t mean that people have a greater understanding of Scripture

            -- 1 Corinthians 2:14 says, “The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.”

            -- Romans 10:14-16 says, “14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”16 But not all the Israelites accepted the good news. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?”

 

            -- the natural man – those who do not know the Lord – cannot understand spiritual things – the Bible tells us that their eyes have been blinded by Satan – and even though they may hear the word – even though they may read the word – the meaning is kept from them until it is revealed by the Spirit

            -- that is why the passage from Romans says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news” – for it is through us – the church – that the Spirit speaks to those who are seeking

            -- it is through us that the world comes to hear and understand the truth of the gospel, as the Spirit moves their hearts and opens their ears to hear and understand

 

            -- that is what we are seeing here with Philip and the Ethiopian – the Ethiopian had a passing knowledge of the religion of the Jews – he had gone up to Jerusalem to worship in the temple – but he did not meet God in that place

            -- rather, he met God as the Spirit led Philip down a desert road and moved Philip to share the good news of Jesus with him – and the Spirit opened the ears of the eunuch and he was able to hear and understand the truth of God’s word and how the passage from Isaiah spoke of Jesus and His atoning death for all mankind

 

            -- when God leads us to someone in a divine appointment such as this, He will give us the spiritual insights and the words to speak to the other person – all we have to do is be faithful to what God is calling us to do – to trust in Him and the Spirit to speak through us, even if we aren’t sure of our ability to speak – and then to share our testimony and give witness to the truth of Jesus and His saving grace in our lives

            -- every day we should witness to others – if not with words, then with our lives – for people are watching to see what you do as much as they are to hear what you say

            -- speak truth and trust in the Spirit to use you as He did Philip here

 

            -- verse 36-40

 

Acts 8:36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37 Some manuscripts include here Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

 

            -- as the Ethiopian heard and received the good news of Jesus, his heart was transformed and he desired to put his faith and trust in Jesus – in the Great Commission from Matthew 28, we are told to baptize those who we disciple – to baptize them means to bring them into the community of faith – baptism is a sign of their repentance from sins, their death to self, and their new birth in Christ into the Kingdom of Heaven

            -- hearing the good news, the Ethiopian wanted to fully immerse himself in his new faith – seeing water alongside the chariot, he ordered the chariot to stop and Philip baptized him – raising the Ethiopian eunuch from the water a new brother in faith and the newest member of the church

            -- beyond just the immediate personal salvation of the Ethiopian, this divine encounter with Philip served to further the spread of the gospel – as a member of Candice’s court in Ethiopia, the eunuch returned, rejoicing in his newly found faith in Jesus – and carried with him the word of God and the testimony of his faith

            -- we know this to be true because Irenaeus, an early church father, recorded in his writings that the eunuch was the first missionary to the Ethiopian people – and the historical record confirms that Ethiopia was one of the first areas outside the Holy Land that was reached with the gospel message – and Ethiopia has continued to be a major Christian country ever since the time of the apostles

– in fact, there are many who believe that the Ark of the Covenant was smuggled out of Israel and taken to the Ethiopian churches for safekeeping before the Romans destroyed Jerusalem in 70 AD

 

            -- when Philip had fulfilled his purpose with the Ethiopian eunuch, the Spirit took him away in some miraculous movement – Philip found himself in Azotus, a town along the Gaza Strip near the Mediterranean Sea – Azotus is called Ashdod in the Old Testament, and it was a major town of the Philistines during their battles with Israel back then

            -- as I said, Philip was from Caesarea, which was about 60 miles north of Azotus along the coast – so Philip left Azotus and continued on his way home – preaching and teaching in all the towns he passed through – sharing the good news with all – until he finally reached his home

 

IV.  Closing

            -- the Book of James is well known for it’s opening passage, where we read in James 1:2-4 that we should consider it pure joy whenever we face trials of many kinds because we know that the testing of our faith produces perseverance – and that perseverance is given so that we might become mature and complete, not lacking in anything

            -- this is a hard passage for a lot of people, because none of us welcome trials and troubles in our lives – none of us wake up and pray, “Let persecution and trouble come”

            -- but as James points out here, trials and troubles of many kinds do come – but that doesn’t mean we have been forgotten by God – God allows these times into our lives to help us grow in grace and become mature and complete Christians – and He allows these times of persecution to come against the church to compel us to share the good news with others

 

            -- I opened this message with the story of Brother Andrew smuggling Bibles into Czechoslovakia during the Russian invasion of 1968 – this was not the only place he carried Bibles to during the height of the Soviet Union – he was constantly carrying Bibles in and trying to find Christians in those places to share the word with – he did the same thing in communist China

            -- but we had no idea whether he was making a difference or if this was just a drop of water in a land thirsting for the word of God

            -- when the Soviet Union broke up after Gorbachav, the opportunity for western missionaries and evangelists to enter the former Soviet Union with Bibles and with the word of God through their witness and testimony was made possible

            -- many missionaries went into that land where religion had been outlawed and Christians had been persecuted for decades – and no one knew what they would find

            -- Brother Andrew had successfully found pockets of Christians here and there – but we did not know if there were Christians in any number or not or just these small groups of believers scattered across the countries

 

            -- everyone was surprised to find a thriving and unified church in the remains of the Soviet Union and in China and in all the lands where Christianity had been persecuted

            -- the persecution and the trials and troubles the Christians had faced in these regions from the very beginning of Communism and Islam had not crushed the church – it had caused the church to grow – in numbers and in maturity

            -- the first missionaries into the former Soviet bloc found a strong church standing in these places, finally able to come out from their underground locations where they had met for decades – and even though they may not have had physical copies of the Bible or other religious materials – their faith was strong and their knowledge of the word of God was impressive

            -- this proves the truth of what the Bible and history have always taught -- persecution always causes the church to grow and to go and to do what God wants it to do

 

            -- do you know where the fastest growing church in the world is right now? – the church that is growing more in numbers and seeing more people come to Christ than any other? – Iran

            -- the persecution by the Iranian government has failed to crush Christianity, and more people are becoming Christians over there every day than any other country in the world

 

            -- so, what is our take-home message from today? – what is it that we should glean from the Scriptures today?

            -- I think there’s several lessons for us to take to heart

 

– first, God doesn’t want us to be passive – He didn’t call us to just come to church and sit here – He called us to go and make disciples and carry His word to the ends of the earth

 

-- second, if we are not doing what God has called us to do – if we are not using our spiritual gifts for the good of others as His word says – then God will allow troubles and tribulations into our lives to compel us to get up and go and do what He has commanded – just like He did with the church in Jerusalem

 

-- third, God will put the people in our paths that He wants us to minister to and share the gospel with – this is true for both us as individual Christians and as a community of faith in this place – whenever someone new crosses our path, we need to pray and ask God if this is someone He has placed there for us to share the gospel with – and we need to speak as the Spirit leads

-- look for these divine appointments – look for the people who need a touch from God – and minister to them as God leads you

 

-- finally, when I used to do a lot of one-on-one discipleship with people, there were three questions we asked of every disciple – first, are you saved? – second, what are you saved from? – and third, what are you saved for?

-- these are questions that all of us need to answer daily – especially that last one – what are we saved for – and are we doing that? – are we being obedient to the commands of Christ – and are we witnessing to others in His name through the power of the Spirit within us?

 

-- as I close now in prayer, I want us to take a moment to consider where we are in our walk with Christ

– if we are too comfortable, let us pray that God may shake us out of our comfort zone so that He might move through us

– if we are going through trials and troubles, let us pray to God for wisdom and insight that we might know how He is moving us and growing us during this time

– whatever it is that you need to do with God’s word, do it now as we close in prayer and end this service