The Witness Of Christ To Samaria
Notes
Transcript
Review
Review
Turn to Acts 8:1-25.
As we come back into the book of Acts, the church at Jerusalem has been growing, not just in number, but in godly men. One of those men was Stephen, who we learned about last week. Stephen was remarkable because when you look at his life you don’t see Stephen as much as you see Jesus! His life was all about Jesus Christ. More than his career, more than his title as a deacon, more than anything else, Stephen was known for His Savior. That should be the lifelong pursuit of every Christian.
Message
Message
Read Acts 8:1-8.
When my family and I moved back to Pennsylvania in 2023, I had a new-found appreciation for something - and it wasn’t just the local food. No, it was something else that we enjoy here in PA.
I was born and raised here. I experienced it for the first 18 years of my life. But it wasn’t until I moved down south that I learned to appreciate something I had when I grew up here.
What is it?
The fact that we have four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and fall.
Now in eastern North Carolina there are also four seasons, but they’re not what you might think. Eastern North Carolina has four seasons: winter, spring, summer, and hurricane season. That’s a very real thing down there.
You know the sense of anticipation that you feel when a legitimately big snowstorm is coming? Now multiply that by a few factors and you’ll have an idea of what it feels like when a hurricane is coming and you live near the coast of NC. Usually a day or two before the severe weather hits you’ll see the circular bands of clouds as they are pushed across the sky. It’s awesome to behold.
Here in PA we have four seasons - and I love it. I enjoy the variety, I enjoy the change, I enjoy the beauty that is unique to each one.
In Acts 8:1-25, the believers experience three different seasons and each season was unique from the others. Through it all, our sovereign God ensured that the witness of Christ was carried beyond Jerusalem, beyond Judea, and into Samaria, just like our Savior commanded.
Next slide here:
They witnessed a season of intense persecution - Acts 8:1-4.
Now this is not the first time we’ve seen persecution against the church.
We saw it beginning in Acts chapter four with Peter and John.
We saw it again in Acts chapter five when all of the apostles were thrown into prison.
But this third wave of persecution marks the first time that it was aimed not only at the apostles, but at the entire church.
Verse one identifies it as a season of “great persecution.” The believers had not seen anything like this before. It was so intense that to save their lives they left everything and fled Jerusalem.
Some fled to Judea - the region surrounding Jerusalem.
Some fled just north to Samaria.
Some went hundreds of miles beyond that.
Acts 11:19 says,
Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only.
Cyprus is an island out in the mediterranean. It’s 250 miles away from Jerusalem as the crow flies. Antioch is just over 300 miles away. This should give you some perspective on how bad it was for the church in Jerusalem. You don’t drop everything in life and leave it behind and travel hundreds of miles away unless the situation is really bad.
I want you to notice a few details in our text:
They were all scattered abroad, except the apostles. As the leaders of the church, they determined to remain in Jerusalem through this season of persecution.
Notice also, some devout men stayed behind as well. The church at Jerusalem had other courageous men besides Stephen. Church family, we can never have too many good men!
And then, there is this Saul that we find mentioned again here. We’ll have plenty of time to focus on him later, but I simply want you to notice the targeted raids that he carried out against the church. He was like a raging animal against the church. He found where they lived and men and women alike, he dragged them off to prison.
This was an unimaginably difficult time for this church, but they could be certain of one thing: it was only for a season. They knew it would not last forever. Probably they believed that Christ would return to the Mount of Olives just like the angels had said, so they wanted to be there when He came. But whether Christ came or whether He tarried, they knew that just as the persecution started, so too it would eventually cease.
To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
Just like seasons come and go, so too this would eventually fade away.
Application: What season are you going through, Christian? Does it feel like a season of intense persecution? Does it feel as though God has you in a season with no purpose and no reason to it whatsoever? Be encouraged, Christian! God is able to take the seasons of persecution in Jerusalem and use them to spread the Gospel to Samaria and beyond!
That’s exactly what God did here. He took the persecution and used it to further the preaching of the Gospel!
Read Acts 8:4.
Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee: The remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain.
This season would not last forever, but as long as it lasted, God would use it for good.
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They witnessed a season of great harvest - Acts 8:5-8.
A man named Philip, a deacon of the church, also left Jerusalem about this time, but it wasn’t so he could preach to the Jews. No, he struck due north and headed straight for the city of Samaria.
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Acts 8:5 “Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.”
Samaria was both a city and a region.
We have several local examples of that in our region. If you say you are going to Lancaster, you might mean Lancaster city, or you might mean Lancaster County.
Samaria was the same way. It was both a city and a region. Samaria had an interesting history. They were half Jewish, half Gentile. How did this happen? Well, when the Assyrians conquered the northern kingdom of Israel around 722 BC, they forced many of the Jews out and brought many pagans in to resettle the land. 2 Kings 17:24 mentions this. These all intermarried and thus Judaism mixed with paganism. By the time of Christ, they had lived in the land for hundreds of years and there was a fierce hated between them and the Jews.
It was to these hated people that Philip went to preach. I love the simplicity of his message! He preached Christ unto them! Oh may we never overcomplicate the Gospel!
Preach Christ to your neighbors!
Preach Christ to your family!
Preach Christ to your coworkers!
Preach Christ to your community!
Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved!
Application: If you don’t know what to say to a person, just tell them everything you know and love about Jesus Christ!
These hated Samaritans paid close attention - and they could hardly argue with the miracles that Philip did! Evil spirits departed and diseases were healed. I have no doubt that these victories over the forces of darkness and these healings of diseases were a wonderful thing to those who had suffered, but that is not the point here. Notice what verse eight says.
Read Acts 8:8.
The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up.
The witness of Christ had shined deep into Samaria! That is why there was great joy in that city! They had been set free from the chains of sin! It was a season of great harvest, so it was a season of great joy!
Application: anytime a soul is saved from the miserable hopelessness of sin, there is great joy in that soul! Anytime a prodigal child of God returns to their Heavenly Father, there is great joy in that soul! Anytime a church family together humbles themselves before God, there is great joy in that place!
Why? Because “where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” Paul says in 2 Corinthians 3:17.
In two weeks, we will be having an evangelist in - a man who is especially gifted of God to proclaim the Gospel. Expect God to do a great work in your heart. Desire God to do a great work in your heart. Plan now for God to do a great work in your heart. Pray for God to do a great work in your heart. If we all do this, there will be great joy here also, just as there was in Samaria.
Thirdly…
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They witnessed a season of spiritual warfare - Acts 8:9-25.
Read Acts 8:9-25.
No sooner do we read about great joy than we begin reading about this great man who had the great power of God, but he really didn’t. Just when you think the train is picking up speed, something comes up that threatens to derail it altogether. That’s how Satan operates. Just expect it and be prepared for it.
It seems that Satan was going to use this Simon to infiltrate the church. If Satan could not defeat the church with pressure from without, he would defeat it from corruption from within. This was a season of spiritual warfare.
This Simon was written about rather widely by the church fathers and perhaps it was because he could do some pretty amazing things. But what he could do through the power of Satan paled in comparison to what Philip could do through the power of the Spirit. And so, Simon tried to buy the power that he did not possess.
One way that Simon had it all backwards was that he didn’t care about Christ; he just wanted the power of Christ. He wasn’t so concerned about the message that Philip preached; he was more concerned about the miracles. Philip would preach about Jesus and Simon couldn’t care less, but when Philip performed a miracle, that caught Simon’s attention. Simon just wanted the benefits of the Cross, without the Cross. Simon wanted the blessing of God without the relationship with God.
The apostles, Peter and John, came down from Jerusalem to confirm this work of God among the Samaritans and to welcome them as brothers and sisters in Christ. But it was up to Peter to rebuke this Simon and to put him in his place. There is no record that Simon, if he was even saved, ever repented himself of this sin.
Application: How much of Christ do you really want?