… Acts 8:1-8

Perseverance of the Word

Handling Persecution

Life after Stephen

Philip amidst persecution

The Word

The effect of persecution

Responding to death

When the life of someone that we love is taken, someone that’s faithful, someone that’s Godly, someone that loves the Lord and set an example for you and so many others, dies… the first and primary question we wrestle with is: “Why?”

And as a human, I believe the answer to that question is most often above our pay grade of understanding.

In many cases we’ll never understand, in THIS lifetime, why someone so talented, wise, loving would be taken away, especially in a tragic way.

I know many individuals personally who have struggled their entire lives trying to somehow put the puzzle pieces together, trying to reconcile this horrific moment in their life, and yet, that puzzle is never completed.

Death… is unavoidable.

We may ask the same question about Stephen.

With all his capabilities

Filled with faith

Filled with the Spirit

Able to rightly divide the OT

Able to speak boldly

Able to preform signs and wonders to the glory of God

Able to minister to the widows in Chapter 6

Able debate in the synagogue of the Freedmen

Able to give a MASTERful sermon and defend GOD amongst the TOP jewish scholars of the day

Able to persevere struggle

Able to love his enemies

Able to die before GODLESS men as an offering… towards the repentance of the Jewish nation… and towards God himself to receive his spirit (Acts 7:59)

More than this… his death set in motion a great persecution of the early church. People like Saul were going HOUSE TO HOUSE.

You know the company H2HH2H? Paul was going house to house taking heart to heart to literal prison. This wasn’t a “knock, knock HI! how are you?”… This was a “knock knock, you’re coming with me to jail, and if he blasphemes? We’re killing you”

Persecution was set in motion.

And you may ask? Jake, how could you stand here this morning and tell me… what took place was good, in ANY WAY!? It just can’t be! How can this man’s death bring about any good within the lives of those written in this chapter?

We’ll allow scripture to give us the answer… but let me say this as we begin.

Stephen’s death exposed the wicked hearts of the Jews

Stephen’s death provided an example of ultimate loyalty unto Christ

Stephen’s death pushed the gospel to Judea and Samaria

Stephen’s death glorified God

Psalm 8:3–4 (NASB95)

3 When I consider Your heavens, the work of Your fingers,

The moon and the stars, which You have ordained;

4 What is man that You take thought of him,

And the son of man that You care for him?

Who are we to declare that God is unjust/unfair, when every second we breathe is God-given.

Who are we to question GOD! For his ways are higher than our ways! His love His peace His mercy is beyond physical comprehension! Does God not care about His people? He DOES!

Christ is found STANDING as Stephen’s advocate. STANDING at the right hand of God! STANDING FOR HIS SUFFERING SERVANT. And USES HIM to further push the saving gospel message into the world!

It’s just like what He did with Peter and John.

Every time they were caught in a hopeless situation, it was just a greater opportunity to preach the gospel.

And God allowed the gospel to be preached in situations that could ONLY be brought about via persecution!

Blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church.

c. 50.

Tertullian

And this is true all the way down to the fact that the very word for “witness” (martys) came to mean martyr.

So as we approach Acts 8… the message of Christ is coming out of Jerusalem, to Judea Samaria, Antioch, Cypress, Asia Minor, and eventually Europe… all because of this persecution.

Acts 1:8 (NASB95)

8 but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

Stephen gave the final testimony to the Jewish rulers and they rejected it.

So God has shut the door on them. Wonderful for us… Tragic for Israel.

Persecution

Preaching

Result

1. Persecution

Persecution started back with Peter & John, but here it reached a new high… with Saul overlooking the scene.

Saul was a young man who collected the robes of those who stoned Stephen.

We see him again in Acts 8:1

Acts 8:1 (NASB95)

1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.

To put the icing on the cake… Saul approved the stoning.

Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin

Named after the first King of Israel… King Saul

He was a Pharisee, son of a Pharisee

Studied under Gamaliel

A Hebrew of Hebrews

Likely was the one who argued with Stephen in the synagogue…

Saul was a zealous man, unashamedly committed to Judaism… which worked out for him later when he was converted, when he shifted that zeal unto Christ.

He is found consented over the death of Stephen, gave full approval.

Little did Saul know, that as he stood there watching Stephen be pelted to death… that he would go through infinitely more than what Stephen did on that day.

Stephen died that day… But Saul would face near death time and time and time again until finally he is killed in Rome after his second imprisonment.

Acts 9:15–16 (NASB95)

15 But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel;

16 for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.”

Paul’s life would parallel Stephens:

Dispute in the synagogues

Rejected by the Jews

Accused of blasphemy

Dragged out of cities

Stoned in Lystra

Brought before the Sanhedrin

Became a martyr

And yet through all of this remember what he said?

Romans 8:18 (NASB95)

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Acts 8:1 (NASB95)

1 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death.

And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem…

You may remember that Jesus foresaw this time when He told His disciples: Don’t be surprised that the world hates you… They hate me they’ll hate you, they shall persecute you… they’ll drive you out of the synagogues and they’ll kill you.

So this mass exodus occurs

Acts 8:1 (NASB95)

1 …and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.

The apostles stayed

Some people couldn’t just leave

There was still good soil there

Hold the fort down

Acts 8:2 (NASB95)

2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.

Tenderly these devout men lifted Stephen’s broken body up from the stones, and buried him. Loud lamentation was made… meaning they were hurt badly by what happened.

Acts 8:3 (NASB95)

3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging (drag net) off men and women, he would put them in prison.

Meanwhile, while lamentation is being made, Saul is making havoc of the Church

Entering every house… yanking Christians out.. men AND WOMEN

Acts 26 says he was hired to do this by the chief priests!!

Acts 26:10–11 “10 “And this is just what I did in Jerusalem; not only did I lock up many of the saints in prisons, having received authority from the chief priests, but also when they were being put to death I cast my vote against them. 11 “And as I punished them often in all the synagogues, I tried to force them to blaspheme; and being furiously enraged at them, I kept pursuing them even to foreign cities.”

Saul thought he was pleasing God… Gal 1:13 says so but he was wrong.

There are those today, who are zealous in their faith/religion, JUST LIKE Saul, yet they are wrong.

All religions cannot be true… there is only one way to God and that’s through Jesus Christ.

And if the Jews have not CHRIST? They have not God.

2. Preaching

Acts 8:4 (NASB95)

4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.

“Therefore…”

We just endured ALL THIS… therefore … we preached the word. As if its normal!

They didn’t start preaching the word because of it… they just KEPT preaching the word, didn’t matter where they went!

It’s tragic, but I think we see the opposite today.

Most Christians when they plop into a new city or move to a new place, evangelism is last on their list of “things they’d like to accomplish there”

I’ve said this before, but maybe we need to pray for harder times / suffering / persecution if it means we’ll WAKE UP and go preach Christ!

I’d love to see us depart from this building and do just that. Just proclaim Jesus to those we meet. And fill these pews up with those desperate to be saved from their sin, and be added to our number.

You can do it. Its not whether you have the gift, its a command.

Wherever I’m at, that’s what I’ll do.

We get an example:

Acts 8:5–6 (NASB95)

5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.

6 The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing.

Samaria… woman at the well… worship on this mountain or THAT mountain?

These people were ready to hear Christ…

But for many in our world today, saying Jesus is the Messiah isn’ t enough…

Acts 8:7 (NASB95)

7 For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed.

The Bible does talk about certain individuals being possessed (under control or influence) of unclean spirits… Mark 5 uses the word “Demoniacs”

Phillip casted them out. Jesus could cast them out

But today and truly ever since the end of the 1st century, the miracles of healing, prophetic teaching, casting out demons, those miracles have ceased. They were INCREDIBLY vital to the early church and served for a time and a purpose, to verify the truth of their testimony about Jesus, that’s what we see Phillip doing here!

3. Result

Acts 8:8–9 (NASB95)

8 So there was much rejoicing in that city.

9 Now there was a man named Simon…

There are those who hear and obey the message… and those who pretend to or deny it altogether.