Sermon Tone Analysis

Scattered Abroad

1

The ministry and martyrdom of Stephen was far from being in vain.

As a result of his work and death the gospel began to spread abroad.

Up until this point, the gospel had been confined to Jerusalem, but according to the prophecy of Daniel and Christ, the time would come when probation would close for the Jews and the gospel should go to Judaea, Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth.

In this chapter we see the beginning of these prophecies being fulfilled.

Where did the early Christians scatter to?

Phenice (also Phoenix) is a harbor city on the island of Crete, south of Athens.

Cyprus was an island just off Syria and Cilicia.

Antioch was north of Palestine and Damascus in Syria and became one of the largest churches in early Christianity.

It’s interesting how persecution motivates people to move out of their comfort zones in order to move places to share the gospel with people from afar.

Often in the Old Testament judgments of Israel when they led captives by other nations that God would raise up men, women, or youth to be a witness and they would become the means of bringing the light of the gospel to the Gentiles.

Saul really persecuted the church at this time, it speaks of this perecution as being “great” and Saul making “havok of the church” going house to house dragging out both men and women and committing them to prison.

All was being done in his power to prevent the gospel from spreading, however the stronger the effort to quiet this work of proclamation, the greater was the gospel spread!

2 cor 13 7

Acts

Who was it that was preaching the word being scattered?

Lay people.

The majority of Christians in Jerusalem, “except the apostles.”

The gospel was being spread to the uttermost part of the earth, not by the clergy, but indeed by the lay members of the church!

They took up the responsibility to share this gospel with others with whom they communed with.

The persecution that came upon the church in Jerusalem resulted in giving a great impetus to the work of the gospel.

Success had attended the ministry of the word in that place, and there was danger that the disciples would linger there too long, unmindful of the Saviour’s commission to go to all the world.

Forgetting that strength to resist evil is best gained by aggressive service, they began to think that they had no work so important as that of shielding the church in Jerusalem from the attacks of the enemy.

Instead of educating the new converts to carry the gospel to those who had not heard it, they were in danger of taking a course that would lead all to be satisfied with what had been accomplished.

To scatter His representatives abroad, where they could work for others, God permitted persecution to come upon them.

Driven from Jerusalem, the believers “went everywhere preaching the word.”

When it says they “went everywhere ‘preaching the word’” it literally means they evangelized.

The word preaching is translated from the same Greek word we get evangelism from.

The actual sense of the phrase “preaching the word” is to convey the Gospel.

So we could we read that “they that were scattered abroad went every where ‘conveying the Gospel’.”

If our heart has been felt the grace of Christ we can all “convey the Gospel.”

Among those to whom the Saviour had given the commission, “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” (Matthew 28:19), were many from the humbler walks of life—men and women who had learned to love their Lord and who had determined to follow His example of unselfish service.

When they were scattered by persecution they went forth filled with missionary zeal.

They realized the responsibility of their mission.

They knew that they held in their hands the bread of life for a famishing world; and they were constrained by the love of Christ to break this bread to all who were in need.

The Lord wrought through them.

Wherever they went, the sick were healed and the poor had the gospel preached unto them.

Samaria Evangelized

5-

Philip was one of the seven deacons elected with Stephen.

; Acts of the Apostles, p. 106.

Samaria was a very formidable place to go and evangelize since they were so opposed to the Jews, and the Jews opposed to them.

However the ground had already been worked in Samaria by Christ Himself and by the woman of Samaria.

So when Philip went to preach there, he was in fact continuing to work a field that had already prepared, and was now ready for harvesting.

He preached to them what was already familiar and was foundational to all truth, Christ and Him crucified.

People first need to understand who Christ is, and what He offers to us and to be established in Him.

They were familiar with Jesus and Him being the Messiah, but they were still not familiar with what was actual mission of the Messiah as a “suffering Servant.”

They would not have been familiar

But what made the people give ear to his message of salvation through Christ?

Acts 8

His ministry was not only in word, but also in deed.

“hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.”

They gave heed to what he said because he ministered to their needs, physical (healing those with palsy, and who were lame) and mentally and spiritually (healing those who were possessed with “unclean spirits).

This city had seen Christ in the person of Philip with his ministry of word and deed, and had received Christ as a personal Saviour.

20-

The joy they had was that their faith grasped a Saviour who died for the sin of the world, and who resurrected the third day and ever lives to make intercession for us.

This is what brought joy to the disciples after their sorrow, and it is the same joy that the world experiences when it believes.

This is what brought “great joy in that city.”

Unconverted Christians

9-

Simon was a man regarded for a long time in Samaria “from the least to the greatest” that he “is the great power of God.”

He earned this reputation through bewitchment and sorcery.

Sorcery was a practice that harnessed occult forces or evil spirits to produce unnatural effects in the world.

Because of its supernatural effect, sorcery has the power to bewitch people to the point that one almost loses mental composure, in other words almost loses his grip on reality.

Philip’s ministry was seen as of greater significance as it was truth that was spoken and needs ministered to, not just a magic show.

The people were being baptized.

Amazingly, this had such an effect on Simon that he “believed also” and began to be a follower of Philip.

14-

The ministry of Philip was an encouragement to the apostles and believers in Jerusalem.

His ministry was attended with such great success that he sent for help, at which Peter and John.

Philip had baptized with water, but the believers were to be baptized with the Holy Spirit and so Peter and John laid hands on them and prayed for them and they received the Holy Ghost.

18-

When Simon sees what the apostles did and what happened he offers them money asking them “give me also this power, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may receive the Holy Ghost.”

Peter rebukes Simon for thinking that the gift of God could be purchased with money.

Peter continues that he has no part in the family of God and therefore was not eligible to share in its privileges and responsibilities.

Peter also makes known the reason why he has no part in the family of God and the state of his heart; “your heart is not right before God.”

The word “right” here in is only used 2 other times in the Bible and each time with strong emphasis of the wrong or evil of someone who is not “right” with God or His ways.

It is used by Peter again in his epistle:

2 pet 2

Peter encourages Simon to repent that God might forgive the wicked thoughts of his heart.

Salvation was still possible for Simon.

Peter also gauges the contents of Simon’s heart: “I perceive that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity.”

Bitterness is descriptive of a state of anguish or being held captive by sin.

Practicing idolatry is seen as “bearing gall and wormwood.”

deut 29 17-

These are similar words spoken by Paul in Hebrews:

I believe that Simon is described in these two passages:

While he was coveting the “gift of God” in order to sell it he was in a state of idolatry.

While he was cherishing ambition for worldly gain through the “gift of God” and willing sell his soul in order to obtain it he was in state of profanity (worldly, godless, irreligious; having no appreciation of, or desire for, sacred things, whose ambitions rise no higher than the things of this earth).

14-

It’s interesting that the experience of Esau is very similar to that of Simon in that they were both in a state of bitterness and chained in iniquity being “in the gall of bitterness” and “bond of iniquity” by cherishing their sins above “the gift of God” and both found “no place of repentance” though they sought for it.

He was fearful of the judgment pronounced upon him but had not experienced sorrow for his sin against Christ.

He was like Pharaoh entreated Moses and Aaron oft times “Intreat the Lord” to stop the plague.

But the scripture says that Simon “believed” and was baptized!

Yet his heart was “not right in the sight of God.”

He was convinced intellectually of Christianity, but had no change of heart.

He never experienced what it means to be born again.

It is a solemn thought that one can be named Christian but be “in the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity” as was Simon.

One on One Witness

acts 8 26]

Philip was so on fire for the Lord that he held communion with heaven and was even instructed by an angel to go south toward Gaza.

The whole plan was not revealed to Philip at once but only one step at a time without knowing what was to be next.

He was only told to start travelling having no idea what was to happen next.

7-

Once he was on the road toward Gaza, then he found out what was the reason for him to be there: to witness to an Ethiopian man.

This Ethiopian man was a “eunuch of great authority” under the queen.

Being an eunuch meant that he was castrated in his youth in order to serve in the royal court without distraction.