Acts 8:1-16
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And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.
For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
So there was great joy in that city.
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”
They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.
But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.
For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
So there was great joy in that city.
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”
They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.
But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money
and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!
You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.
Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.
For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
This morning, we are going to go a little old school and just work through the text verse by verse. As I was reading through the chapter I was noticing so many different insights that I wanted to share and unpack and I thought the best way to do so was just work through the passage.
One of the things I love about the book of Acts is how much it teaches us about how the church ought to operate and function and how it shouldn’t.
So, this week we are going to skip over some of Stephen’s story but long story short they end up stoning Stephen and killing him. And Saul, who will later be know as Paul, approved of their killing him.
So, this week we are going to skip over some of Stephen’s story but long story short they end up stoning Stephen and killing him. And Saul, who will later be know as Paul, approved of their killing him.
It is interesting because on that day a great persecution broke out on the church in Jerusalem and everyone except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Now, the author Dr. Luke, who wrote Luke/Acts uses Judea and Samaria on purpose. This geographical reference echoes , does it not?
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.”
So the problem here is this - the church was commanded to go out into Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria and got comfortable with full-filling the first part of the mission.
A few thousand people came to faith in Jesus and ministry in Jerusalem was way more convenient and less sacrifice then going out to Judea and Samaria. I mean in Jerusalem people came to you because of the temple and festivals and commerce. With Judea and Samaria you had to travel out to these places and with Samaria you had to go interact with people that were culturally different. They worshipped differently and they weren’t really that fond of the Samaritans.
Yet Jesus commanded in to go be witnesses in these geographical areas. Listen, because the early church did not follow Jesus command and be led by the Spirit to these communities to be the witness of Jesus they had to be driven out by persecution.
Our mission statement is a parallel to
To Increase the witness of Jesus in Woods Harbour, Barrington and Pubnico by the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
I think we are susceptible to a similar temptation the early church were. We are experiencing some exciting things in our church and our church is growing. The natural thing for us to do with just to be get cozy in our church here in Woods Harbour and just enjoy each other’s company and just keep investing in things right here.
Let me say this - Just investing in our church here in Woods Harbour would be a huge mistake
It might be the easiest thing to do but we would be missing God’s call on our church to increase the witness of Jesus in these other communities. Listen, increasing the witness of Jesus in Barrington and Pubnico is going to be a whole lot more work, time, effort, energy, resources. My dream is to one day see congregations in these communities and that may mean one day we send people from this congregation to help give leadership and contribute to those communities to increase the witness of Jesus.
Listen if we start averaging 130-150 people on a regular basis we are going to have to start a second service. And what if instead of starting a second service here we started it in another community to help fulfill our mandate of increasing the witness of Jesus in Woods Harbour, Barrington and Pubnico.
But if you are trying to self-preserve giving and investing in other communities don’t make no sense. lol
But if your goal and mandate is to increase the witness of Jesus in these communities it makes all kinds of sense.
The church is not supposed to be a movement of addition but a movement of multiplication.
What would it look like one day if we had a large congregation in Barrington and in Pubnico and we witnessed dozens and dozens of people coming to Christ. We all are like that would be awesome.
Alright, well what if one day we have to send our very best people to see that happen?
And our self-preservation and control be like, nope. MEME?
We are going to come to a moment where we as a church have to make a decision; do we increase the witness of Jesus in these other communities or do we self-preserve? If we miss that moment we will miss the Spirit’s leading and miss out on God’s plan for us as a church.
(The question that is going to be on peoples hearts is what about Woods Harbour - which is the question I wrestle with Jesus).
Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
There you see this sentiment again. So God used a persecution to advance the Gospel where? in Judea and Samaria.
I would rather be sent than scattered.
But despite the fact that this persecution came God caused it to work for good.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
So Phillip is one of these guys who was scattered and driven out by persecution. He is also one of the first accounts of ministering cross-culturally. So imagine Phillip is an evangelist Woods Harbour has raised up and we decided to send him to Pubnico; that’s kind of what is going on here. And Phillip goes to Samaria and proclaims the Messiah.
When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.
God used Phillip to minister with GRACE and POWER and it the signs and wonders caused people to stand in awe and look at what Phillip was pointing at.
For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
God was using Phillip to set people free. I am so thankful that the good news of Jesus isn’t just something that makes us feel good inside.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
The good news of Jesus has the power to set us free and liberate us.
Acts 8:
So there was great joy in that city.
I love this; to me this gives me hope. We can actually have an impact on entire communities and I believe God wants to use us to do that very thing.
Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,
and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”
They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.
But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.
So after they believed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ they were baptized, both men and women.
After we accept Jesus into our lives baptism is the moment where we make a public proclamation of what has happened in our hearts. Jesus has nailed our sin to the cross and our sin goes down in that watery grave and we rise up with newness of life.
If you had made a decision to follow Jesus, baptism solidifies that decision in a physical experience. And I would encourage you if you have made the decision to accept Jesus one of the next steps you can take is to be baptized. If you are considering making that decision just go ahead and grab a connection card and fill out I would like to be baptized and drop it at the welcome centre on your way out.
We celebrate baptisms in our church because it solidifies someone’s decision to follow Jesus not just in word but with their lifestyle by the grace of God.
Good stuff eh? I don’t know if any of you have made any New Years Resolutions. A lot of us make them and they are so pie and the sky and we never complete them. Here is an attainable New Years Resolution. Read the book of Acts and when you do just send me a note and say, hey, I read it. Now some of us maybe need to make the New Years resolution to read the whole bible but whatever step you need to take make sure its attainable.
Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria.
Ok, so this is kind of cool. So Jesus said to go be witnesses in Judea and Samaria but you have to understand something here. There were all kinds of mental barriers and stigmas because they had a lot of offences and judgements towards other people.
Judgements, prejudice and bitterness can hinder the work of God and create barriers.
Listen, I don’t quite now how to describe this, but in prayer one morning at the church, I had this sense that there are some barriers we need Jesus to plow through, break down, run over so we can start stepping into the plan God has for us as a church. And listen, a lot of those barriers are ones we create in our hearts and in our minds that we need to let go and humble ourselves.
Like the church here in Acts had all kinds of barriers to blast through and navigate. They had the barriers of their own biases, comforts and preferences. Then they had spiritual barriers. As a believer in Jesus we believe in a real, literal devil and that he has power and resist the plans of God. We need not be afraid of Satan but we also are supposed to be aware of how he tries to work so we can, by the power of the Holy Spirit, defeat his schemes. Then we have the barriers we are trying to tackle within the people who don’t know Jesus. So as a Christian who wants to move and advance the mission of God we are constantly coming up against barriers and I say in the name of Jesus Christ, let the barriers be broken.
Are there any barriers in your heart towards what God might want to do? If there is what is it?
What does God want you to do about that barrier? Maybe you need to ask forgiveness. Maybe you need to ask God to help you to change your mentality. Whatever the case may be we need to address the barriers in our own lives and I would rather work them out without the fire being turned up.
Cause listen, Jesus allowed persecution, some pretty challenging circumstances, to happen in order to push the church beyond their own mental barriers. Wouldn’t you prefer just changing before you go through challenging circumstances. But for some of us that are stubborn it might take that. Just don’t resist what God might want to do.
Listen I know alot of the things I am talking about might seem a bit ambiguous. But the stuff I am talking about are two things. I want to prepare your heart and mind for what God is going to do. Once your heart and mind are ready then we are able to sound the charge and get er done.
Some of the biggest obstacle for us increasing the witness of Jesus in woods Harbour, Barrington and pubnico is not out “in the world” but its the barriers and obstacles in our own hearts and minds.
Here is the scary part for me - the barriers in our hearts and minds can actually hinder what God might want to do in and through us!!!!!!!
That means people who need to hear the message might not because of the barriers we are holding on to.
That means there might not be people in heaven with us.
That means we need to just get over ourselves and go all in for God’s mission and be willing to do whatever it takes to see as many people as possible come to faith in Jesus.
Amen?
Acts
When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
Love this. So John and Peter came really to inspect if this was really an authentic work of God. The proof would be if they received the Spirit of God to validate their confession of faith.
because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
It is interesting in this passage of Scripture because they had been become Christians and accept Jesus but had yet to receive the Holy Spirit.
Man, there is a lot of ground to cover in these passages of Scripture.
John the Baptist promised that he baptized with water yet someone who would come that would baptize the Spirit and with fire.
So the truth here is that we can be a believer
This is such good news here folks - Jesus wants to fill us with the Holy Spirit so we can be the people God wants us to be and so we can have the help we need in life.
They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God.
They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me.
I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you,
but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’
Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment:
about sin, because people do not believe in me;
You see God’s amazing plan was to send his Son Jesus to die on a cross to deal with the sin issue in our hearts and make a way so he could set up shop in us and make our hearts his home.
God wants to fill you with his Spirit that enables you to live your life for him and assures you that you are a child of God.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”
The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.
Maybe you are this morning and you have never accepted Jesus and you want this helper, you want the Holy Spirit to dwell within you.
There is good news, you can have Christ living on the inside if you make the decision today to invite Christ to come into your life and reign in your heart.
SUM UP
SUGGESTION
SPIN AROUND
STOP
