My Witness in Samaria

Tim Beerman
Authentic Church  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Preaching. The Gospel. The Word. Evangelism.

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A Mark of True Believers

Jesus’ to his disciples in Acts 1:8
Acts 1:8 ESV
8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts the history of how the HS caused this to happen
also records how the Devil tried to sabotage the growth of the church each step of the way
today’s message: Gospel of Jesus Christ moves from Jerusalem & Judea into Samaria
Acts 8:4 ESV
4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
in spite of the vicious persecution which had forced them to flee Jerusalem they were not cowering in fear
just as Peter and John refused to be intimidated by the threats and the beating by the ruling authorities so the rest of the disciples kept on telling others about Christ when they were forced to flee Jerusalem
wherever they went they were witnessing
they had done this in Jerusalem and the church had grown phenomenally
when they were scattered they kept on witnessing
this was a habit of life for them
they could not stop talking about Jesus
wherever they went they talked about Christ
although some are specially gifted as evangelists all Christians proclaim Christ
witnessing to who Christ is and what he has done should be the goal of all our conversations
the will of God for every believer: to bring Christ with them wherever they go both in speech and in conduct
2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Jesus Christ is our example!
remember his purpose to say only what he heard his Father speak and do only what he saw his Father doing
his will was to do his Father’s will
so it should be with every genuine believer, to speak Christ’s words and to do Christ’s work
Colossians 4:6 ESV
6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.
1 Corinthians 10:31 ESV
31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.
true followers of Jesus are walking and talking billboards
2 Corinthians 5:20–21 ESV
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

What Were They Doing?

Acts 8:4–5 ESV
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.
“preaching” vs. “proclaimed”
our word evangelist or evangelism comes from the greek word for “preaching”
preaching a more explanatory kind of communication while proclamation is more of a statement
which kind is determined by the audience
those with more understanding: proclamation
those with little understanding: preaching
preaching the gospel in a nutshell:
1 Corinthians 15:1–4 ESV
1 Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. 3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,
proclaiming
Acts 8:5 ESV
5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
Jesus is the Christ, i.e., he is the Messiah
Examples of the use of the word “preaching”
Ez 20:46; 21:2; Am 7:16; Mic 2:6
preaching against Israel and prophesying against it were synonymous
Mic 2:6 - preaching of wine and strong drink = extolling their benefits and advocating for their use
Mt 4:7 - preaching = repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand
“you should turn from your sins because judgment is coming”
Mt 12:41, Lk 11:32 - Jonah, a prophet, preached to Nineveh
Jonah 3:4 ESV
4 Jonah began to go into the city, going a day’s journey. And he called out, “Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown!”
Mk 1:7 - preaching is saying something true about the greatness of Jesus
Lk 3:18; 4:43, 7:22, 16:16 - preaching is telling others the gospel, good news
Acts 5:42 - preaching that Christ is Jesus
Acts 10:42 - Jesus is the one appointed by God to be judge
Rom 2:21 - preaching against stealing
Gal 1:8-9 - preaching a false gospel
Gal 1:11 - preaching man’s gospel
Gal 3:8 - preaching the faith
1Pet 1:12 - preach the good news by the HS sent from heaven
1Pet 4:6 - preached … that … they may live in the spirit
Examples of Proclamation
may involve a prediction, a command, a declaration of praise, a condemnation, a call to war, call to worship, a prediction or prophecy, witness or testimony (lk 8:39)
prophets, kings, Jesus and apostles proclaim
nature proclaims (Ps 19:1; 97:6
people proclaim by their actions (Is 3:9
2Ki 23:16 - proclaimed = predicted
What is proclaimed: faith, gospel, God’s name, God’s attributes, laws, commands and instructions, peace, fasts, the Lord’s death, the resurrection, Jesus Christ the Son of God, another gospel, antichrist proclaims self God, eternal life
conclusion: the gospel must be communicated with words
actions are not enough
must speak the truth of the gospel
by this unbelievers judge your behaviour
without speaking the truth you are lumped in all the other “good people”!
Romans 10:13–15 ESV
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” 14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? 15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
words must be backed up by actions but without personal testimony how can people believe?

What Were They Preaching & Proclaiming?

those scattered preached “the word”
word = logos
John 1:1–5 ESV
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.
Jesus is the Word
compare to v.5 where Luke says Philip “proclaimed the Christ”
Christ = anointed
purpose of anointing: to endue the anointed with power, majesty and strength
priests and kings were anointed
“Anointed” = God’s chosen One, the Messiah
Christ and the Word are one and the same
to preach the word is to preach Christ

The Example of Philip

Acts 8:5 ESV
5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
Luke narrows the focus from all who were preaching to Philip’s ministry in Samaria
there are two Philips in the NT church:
first: Philip the disciple/apostle from Bethsaida in Galilee
was a disciple of John the Baptist before Jesus called him
brought Nathaniel to Jesus
mentioned in Jn 12:20-22, 6:7, 14:8-9, Acts 1:13
tradition says he went to what is now modern day Turkey as a missionary and was martyred there
second: one of the 7 chosen to oversee the ministry to widows
having proven himself faithful in the task of ministering to them God gave him a wider ministry
parable of talents:
Matthew 25:29 ESV
29 For to everyone who has will more be given, and he will have an abundance. But from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
as we prove ourselves faithful God gives us more to do
often called the “evangelist” to distinguish him from the Apostle Philip
he is the only person given this title in the NT
went to Samaria to preach the gospel
ministered to the Ethiopian eunuch
preached from Azotus to Caesarea (Acts 8:40)
last mention of Philip in Act 21:8-9 when Paul and his entourage stopped at his home on the way to Jerusalem (had 4 virgin daughters who possessed the gift of prophecy)

The Samaritans

came from the northern 10 tribes which separated after Solomon died
were exiled by God in 722BC to the land of the Assyrians for repeatedly violating the covenant and rejecting all of God’s warnings and threats
when exiled the Assyrians sent other peoples to live in the land who then intermarried with the Jews who remained
the result
2 Kings 17:33 ESV
33 So they feared the Lord but also served their own gods, after the manner of the nations from among whom they had been carried away.
warn church against intermarrying with unbelievers
Deuteronomy 7:3–4 ESV
3 You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, 4 for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly.
became a mixed race with a corrupt religion
they opposed the rebuilding of walls of Jerusalem under Nehemiah (Neh 6:1-14)
built their own rival temple
only accepted the first 5 books of the OT and rejected the rest
as a result the Jews regarded Samaritans as the worst of the human race (Jn 8:48)
Jews had no dealings with Samaritans (John 4:9)
Jesus preached to them in Jn 4:6-26
an example of Jesus’ commitment to the whole world and not only the Jewish people
“whole world” does not mean every individual
Jesus commanded the Apostles to preach the gospel there in Acts 1:8
while many of the Jerusalem believers returned to their home towns Philip went to Samaria
because no self-respecting Jew would live in Samaria Philip went as a Jewish missionary and proclaimed Jesus to be their Messiah

The Response of the Samaritans

Acts 8:6 ESV
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.
having had their hearts prepared by the HS they received Philip’s proclamation on a large scale
a great number of Samaritans put their faith and trust in the Lord Jesus
having been commissioned by the Apostles Philip was given the power to perform miracles proving that what he was telling them was true
examples of the miracles
Acts 8:7 ESV
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.
demon possession still exists today although it is not as evident in our Western culture
Satan adapts himself to the world view that is prevalent
in the 3rd world where evil spirits are feared the devil’s work is very evident
in the 1st world where the supernatural is denied and passed off as the invention of weak minds Satan works in more subtle ways
example: false teachers
the ability to cast out demons was a supernatural gift that is no longer in operation today
believers do not have the power nor the authority to cast out demons
like physical healing, doing battle with the devil is accomplished by prayer
Eph 6:10-18 is the biblical method for conducting warfare against the devil and his demons
Philip also healed many who were paralyzed and lame
these were no isolated incidents
Philip was not carefully selective, looking for those whose disabilities which were psychosomatic and could be overcome by excitement
these were true miracles
expose today’s miracle workers for the frauds they are
if Joni Earickson was able to meet Philip she would be healed, unlike her experience with Kathryn Kuhlman
such healings of obvious serious illnesses, diseases and demonic possession proved the presence of the power of God and so the people listened carefully

The Result

Acts 8:8 ESV
8 So there was much joy in that city.
Philip’s proclamation along with his powerful miracles resulted in the salvation of many Samaritans
produced an amazing response
those who accepted the gospel experienced much joy
fulfillment of the angelic message at Jesus’ birth
Luke 2:10 ESV
10 And the angel said to them, “Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people.
Jesus said this about himself
John 15:11 ESV
11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.

Summary:

these NT believers could not stop talking about Jesus
they filled Jerusalem with the gospel and when they were persecuted they left the city and as they went they kept on telling whoever they met about Jesus
bibles verses about witnessing:
the Great Commission
Matthew 28:19–20 ESV
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
believers are Jesus’ representatives
2 Corinthians 5:20 ESV
20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.
Paul acknowledged the temptation to be ashamed of the gospel
2 Timothy 1:8 ESV
8 Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God,
the problem: many of us have stopped doing this
some of us cannot remember the last time we preached or proclaimed Christ to an unbeliever let alone led someone to faith!
reasons: fear, indifference, lukewarmness
remember that we cannot stop talking about what we love!
Jesus talked about this
Matthew 6:21 ESV
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
if I were to listen to your conversation before and after worship what would it tell me about what you love?
would there be anything in your conversation that would show that you were in love with the Lord Jesus?
do you pray for opportunities to talk about Christ to your neighbours, friends, family, co-workers
God wants everyone to know about His Son whether they believe on him or not
He has chosen to get the word out through those whom He has drawn to Himself in saving faith
what can we do?
stir up your love for Christ by reading the Gospels
meditate and pray over what Christ has done for you
pray for a renewed love and desire (Rev 2:1 - warning to Ephesus)
step out in faith trusting God to open doors of opportunity
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