Kingdoms Collide Part 13: Growth Through Trials

INTRO

How a Lobster Grows

Discomfort brings vulnerability. Vulnerability brings dependence. Dependence brings growth.

Acts 8:1–25 ESV

1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city. 9 But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10 They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the power of God that is called Great.” 11 And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles performed, he was amazed. 14 Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15 who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18 Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21 You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.” 24 And Simon answered, “Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.” 25 Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

1) Trials Come Even for the Faithful (v. 1-3)

As persecution of the Church has now escalated to the point of death, the Church left Jerusalem as Saul was arresting and placing men and women in prison.

Those who had come to faith were immediately learning that faithfulness to Jesus was not popular.

Those who were being faithful to Jesus where paying the price for aligning with a Kingdom that is not of this world.

Too often, people think that coming to faith in Jesus will bring worldly peace and worldly comfort.

In reality, coming to faith in Jesus brings spiritual peace and spiritual hope.

As long as we live in a broken world, we will all face trials and difficulties.

I heard a person on stage say once, “God doesn’t want you to have hardship.” That is simply not true.

If we are to grow and trust Him, we need to face hardship.

We need to be put in situations where we realize the cost of following Jesus.

We need to be put in uncomfortable and seemingly impossible circumstances so that we can empty ourselves of self-reliance and grow in Spirit-dependence.

Trials will come and at some point trials will go. The key is to be faithful!

2) Keep to the Mission No Matter the Circumstance (v.4-8)

The scattered Jesus-followers didn’t abandon the faith! They went about preaching the Word no matter where they went.

“What brings you to our city?” “We were ran out of Jerusalem for proclaiming Jesus. They arrested my friends and even killed a Godly man I admired named Stephen…all because we promoted that Jesus of Nazareth was the Messiah and rose from the dead. Would you like to put your faith in Jesus?”

In our minds, this would sound crazy, but in reality it was exactly what the people of Samaria needed!

Whatever circumstance you find yourself in…keep to the mission of the Gospel.

When we get off track by focusing on ourselves, we miss out on the opportunities to see people come to faith in Jesus.

The scattered could have said “woe is me” but they didn’t. They said, “woe to those who reject the Lord’s Messiah”

As a result, other’s lives where changed and transformed…and “there was much joy in that city”.

When people see a real Jesus follower, living out real faithfulness, in really tough circumstances, they want to be a part of that!

Our world is so filled with fake…they crave for something real.

3) Don’t Try to Manipulate the Holy Spirit (v.9-25)

Simon had been deceiving the people for years. He wanted some of what Philip was sharing…sort of.

Here we come across one of the most peculiar passages of Acts: the Holy Spirit didn’t immediately come to Samaria, except through the Apostles.

The scholars agree that this is not the norm. This passage does not advocate for a separate manifestation of the Holy Spirit apart from salvation or that salvation is not valid without an outward charismatic manifestation of the Holy Spirit. When you trace the journey of the fulfillment of Acts 1:8, where we are called to be God’s witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the world, we see unique movements of the Holy Spirit at each new arena. (Pentecost - Jerusalem/Judea; This passage - Samaria; and Peter and Cornelius - Gentiles (ends of the world))

We have many other passages that support the immediacy of the Holy Spirit at the moment of regeneration. (1 Cor. 12:13, Rom. 8:9, Eph. 1:13-14, John 3:5-16)

This passage is more indicative of God’s purpose through His Apostles and the Early Church, than it is about the timing of the Holy Spirit for all believers across history.

The main focus of this text is the attempts at manipulating the Holy Spirit by Simon.

The apostles chastise Simon for trying to buy God’s purposes or manipulate God’s people.

If we are not careful, we can try to manipulate the Holy Spirit as well.

We may not be trying to pay the apostles for a spiritual gift, but we can try to achieve God’s purpose for our lives by our own means and in our own strength.

When we try to force or manipulate circumstances apart from God’s working we fail to grow in the trials we face.

Trials in our lives are about trusting God throughout the trial. That’s where real growth happens.

CLOSING

It’s been said that we are either coming out of a storm, in a storm, or about to head into one.

What trials have you faced recently or are you facing right now? Is your source for handling trials self or are you relying on God?

Will you ask God to help you grow by responding to trials with patience and reliance upon His Holy Spirit?