God is in the Change

Pray

Introduction

Change isn’t something that everyone likes.

Change can be an emotive subject - in other words, it can stir up many emotions when the word change or the subject of change is mentioned.

Tell someone that there’s going to be a change in their lives and it can make people really nervous…because most people don’t like change.

Because change means uncertainty - change means that things that were once working FINE, are now possibly going to be upset. The balance of your own little universe is going to be messed up and that’s not a nice feeling.

And so we don’t like change.

I’m sure some of you have heard the joke:

Q: How many Presbyterians does it take to change a lightblulb?

A: Change?

Pause

But change happens, whether we like it or not. Culture changes, soceity changes…even people change.

I mean, who would ever have thought that we would have Donald Trump as president and Boris Johnston as Prime Minister?

Good grief, we might be in for some change in the UK…and Brexit will bring change, if it ever happens.

We don’t do well with change.

So what do we do when change happens?

Do we think... that change could possibly be the work of God?

Do we stop and consider that good can come from change?

When change comes, we can embrace it and see it as a new opportunity to do something new for God...

...or we can grumble and complain about it and perhaps, without realising it, we’re grumbling and complaining about something that GOD wants to happen.

Do we ever consider that?

Pause

In our series in Acts, we are at a pivotal moment in the life of the church. Things are about to change.

Paul covered the stoning of Stephen last week, and from that moment, things change in the church.

If you remember, after Pentecost when the Spirit came, the church experienced a period of blessing and favour...

Acts 2:46–47 NIV

46 Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, 47 praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

So the church were enjoying the favour of all the people...

And then we saw how Satan didn’t like this and tried to derail the church through having Peter and John arrested, trying to derail it from within through Ananias and Saphira, and again having the apostles arested.

Now, it seems that Satan’s plan is working…Stephen has been stoned and now Saul appears on the scene. And Saul doesn’t like this new movement of these people who are claiming that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God.

And things are about to change.

Pause

Now, let’s think for a minute about what Saul is doing here.

We kinda give Saul a bad rap, and I can see why, because he is going around dragging men AND WOMEN and putting them into prison. In fact, he’s ravaging the church...

Acts 8:3 ESV

3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

And the word used is a word that would be used for a wild beast that would tear its prey apart. That’s what Saul was doing to the church.

But consider for a moment why Saul was doing this...

Saul is a Jew, a pharisee. He’s trying to keep the Jewish faith pure. All Saul is doign is following what it says in Leviticus 24...

Leviticus 24:16 NIV

16 anyone who blasphemes the name of the Lord is to be put to death. The entire assembly must stone them. Whether foreigner or native-born, when they blaspheme the Name they are to be put to death.

And to Saul, these Messiah people are claiming that this man Jesus is God himself…and in the Jewish scriptures, there is only ONE God...

So to Saul and the rest of the Jews who don’t believe - the claim of these Messiah people is blasphemous…and blasphemy is an offence punishable by stoning.

So when we look at the stoning of Stephen, Saul isn’t an evil person here. He’s simply following the Jewish law, handed down by God himself on what to do when someone blasphemes.

And to Saul, the Christians are blaspheming by saying that Jesus is God…so the natural conclusion is that anyone who claims that Jesus is God himself, must be taken out and stoned to death.

There was nothing evil in Saul. But Saul’s eyes weren’t yet open. They will soon be opened in a dramatic way and he would see the error of his ways.

But let’s not demonise Saul. Saul is trying to uphold the law of God as written in the Scriptures - that’s all.

Pause

But this persecution is going to bring change. Saul is ravaging the church - tearing it apart and the resut is that the church is scattered.

But notice where it’s scattered to…Judea and Samaria...

Acts 8:1 NIV

1 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.

Does that sound familar?

Remeber at the start of Acts, Jesus says something to the Apostles before he leaves. Remember that that was?

Acts 1:8 NIV

8 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.”

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem - and we saw that in chapters 1-7.

AND in all Judea and Samaria....and here we see it happening in chapter 8.

This persecution of the church is bringing about change. People are being scattered…but this change has come from God himself. God is the author of this change.

So while some may view this change as a bad thing. ‘I don’t feel comfortable with this change.’ Actually, this is from God and in fact, what this change does is it serves to spread the gospel even further.

Because, as one comentator states...

The harder Saul worked to crush the Christian movement, the more he helped to spread that movement.

Because as verse 4 states, as the people were scattered, they preached the word wherever they went.

Acts 8:4 NIV

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

They were Jesus’ witnesses in Jeruslam and now they are Jesus’ witnesses in Judea and Samaria…and later in Acts, we see how they are Jesus’ witnesses to the ends of the known world.

Jesus statement at the start of the book is being played out throughout the book.

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And then Luke focuses on what happens in Samaria, part of which we’ll cover next week.

But look at the first few verses of what Philip does...

Acts 8:5–8 NIV

5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

Now, let’s remember that this is Samaria…the place that the Jews have no dealings with.

Remember the woman at the well on John 4? When Jesus meets her she pretty much says to him, why are you talking to me - you Jews don’t associate with us Samaritans?

The reason for this, very briefly, is that after the exile, some Jews from the Northern kingdom intermarried with Gentiles and settled in Samria. Now Jews weren’t supposed to marry anyone other than Jews.

When the Southern Kingdom returned and started to rebuild, the Samaritans offered to help, but were refused because they weren’t PURE JEWS.

And as a result they were ostracised by the Jewish community and there was quite a bit of hatrid between Jews and Samaratins. They were treated as if they weren’t Jews at all - as if they were Gentiles.

But where does Philip go? To Samaria - to the place where previously no Jew would want to go.

Not Philip - he goes to Samaria, he preaches the gospel - or as the Greek puts it, he goes around good-newsing - telling people he meets about the Messiah who has come and it’s Jesus.

And of course he accompanies his words by the signs and wonders which he performs when he’s there.

And the people belive and come to faith in Jesus and there is great joy in the place.

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Now, we kinda gloss over this, but what Philip does is amazing - a Jew does not associate with Samaritans. They are hostile to them. Philip has done something that is counterculteral - but that’s what being a follower of Jesus does - it breaks down the barriers of division.

Jews had no dealings with Samaritans...

...but Christians do.

And Philip, who is a Christian Jew - a Messianic Jew has changed his thoughts towards the Samaritans and he goes to them and tells them the good news that they, too can be followers of Jesus and included into the family of believers.

So to the Samaritans, who were previously told, ‘you can’t be part of God’s chosen people,’ Philip comes along and says, ‘actually, if you believe in Jesus then you, too, can be part of God’s chosen people.’

This is groundbreaking - and you can see why the Samaritans believe - because now someone is offering them what the Jews had previously denied them - a place in God’s kingdom.

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That’s what change brought. The persecution brought change of location, but also Philip’s faith in Jesus brought a change of heart - no longer do we think of anyone as too low or too poor, or too different that they can’t hear about Jesus’ love for them...

NO - Jesus Christ is for everyone. He’s not just for the Jews, he’s for the Samaritans too…and as we’ll see later in the book of Acts - he’s for the Gentiles as well.

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But that’s what change does…Change brings…well...change.

How dare Philip tell those people that they could be part of God’s chosen people?

How dare he even speak to those people?

But we’ve got to remember that this change was from God. This was part of God’s plan.

And we’ve got to remember that change in our lives is also part of God’s plan - becasue God is soverign.

And then rather than run away from change or grumble about changes in our lives or our culture or our society or even, dare I say it, in the church - why don’t we look for the God-moments that are present WITHIN the change - right in the middle of it?

Why don’t we look for oportunites to spread the good news about Jesus to those new people with whom we come into contact?

Why don’t we look for new ways to do things that might have a greater impact in our communites or cultures or societies?

Change can be a good thing…because God is in the change.

So with respect to the church - there are churces who have embraced the changing culture and do things differently. We see this with music in the church, where some churches have gone full band, and that can welcome the changing cultural climate and bring in new people.

Some churches have tried things like cafe-church or messy church. This isn’t an attempt at watering-down the good news, but rather it’s a sign that the church is looking at the changing culture and soceity in which they exist and are looking at ways of engaging with these changes rather than oppose the change.

And it’s the same with us as individuals…Let’s embrace change as individuals too. Don’t forget that God is present when things change.

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So, for example, you get made redundant, or you get moved to a different office or part of the country with work, or you retire, or you move house...

Maybe that change is annoying…but what if you embraced this change as God’s movement in your life to bring you into the presence of other people who need to hear the Good news that Jesus can change their lives?

Or what if Brexit happens and things change in this country - what if there is a united Ireland?

WHAT IF, you embraced that change as God’s movement in this country in order to bring you into the presence of other people who need to hear the good news that Jesus can change their lives - that Jesus can forgive them and give them eternal life?

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And what if the changes in society or culture bring us into the presence of people whom we don’t like?

Because the Jews didn’t associate with Samaritans…but Christians do.

And Protestants don’t associate with Roman Catholics…but Christians do.

And protestants don’t associate with the Nationalist community, or the travelling community, or the Polish community, or the Romanian community…maybe not...but Christians do.

Jesus Christ is not just for the middle-to-upper class white protestants…Jesus Christ is for everyone. And if it takes a change in our soceity or our culture to make us realise that, then that change is of the Lord and we need to embrace it and not grumble and complain against it - because we’d only be complaining against God himself and his work.

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So with the major powers in the west being governed by floppy-haired eejits, change may come. But remember that God is in control - and whatever change comes, he’s ordained it.

So embrace it - look for the God-moments in those changes and let’s not complain about it.

And let’s also remember that the Good News of Jesus is not just for those who are like us - it’s for those who are NOT like us.

And as change happens more and more - those who are not like us are becoming more and more in our face....let’s be the ones to show them that Jesus loves them just as much as he loves us.

And let’s go around good-newsing to everyone we meet - whether they are like us or whether they are not like us.

Let’s embrace change, because God is in the change.

Let’s Pray.