Who Are You Living For?

Introduction

There will come a day that your life will be ashes - you might even wash up on a beach in a bottle. Everyday I’m being reminded of how fleeting life is as I watch my boys grow up before my eyes.

What will you do with the days you are given?

There will come a day that your life will be ashes - you might even wash up on a beach in a bottle.

- a shift in the story of Acts, and in this particular chapter - a contrast of two lives. On one hand, a man who chooses to live His days for the glory of God, and on the other hand, one who chooses to live for the glory of self.

Your days on earth numbered - who are you living for? Live for God, a life that will have eternal significance. Live for self, a life which you may hear God say, “Depart from me, I never knew you.”

Live for God’s glory and be used in unexpected ways.

Luke wants us to know how much Saul hated the Jesus movement. On the day Stephen was murdered for his faith, a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem led by Saul.

Day by day, believers met in homes to worship but now Saul went from house to house, drug off men and women, put them in prison, and undoubtedly ordered that some be executed for their faith.

Believers scatter outside of Jerusalem - to Judea and Samaria - except Apostles. Why stay in Jerusalem? Home base? Continue to establish a strong presence in Jerusalem?

Focus of Acts ceases to be Jerusalem and begins to be what happens outside Jerusalem.

Persecution scatters the church, but persecution does not stop the church. Persecution is what God used to get the Gospel to Judea, Samaria, and the ends of the earth! () Caiaphas thought he was stopping the Christian movement when he put Stephen to death. But what Caiphas used to stop the movement, God used to expand the movement.

The Gospel is on the move through ordinary men and women like Philip. He’s not an Apostle. Like Stephen, one of the seven chosen to serve tables, but does much more than serve tables.

Imagine - one day in Jerusalem - growing in faith, getting ministry opportunities - the next day, forced to leave Jerusalem and Philip finds himself in Samaria!

Remember Samaria? Jews and Samaritans had a terrible relationship. Samaritans were not completely ethnic Jews. In 722 BC, when Assyria captured northern Israel, the northern population of Hebrew people who were not taken captive intermarried with the Canaanites. They married into other ethnic groups, and in the eyes of the Jews, the Samaritans weren’t Jewish enough.

The Samaritans believed in the God of Israel, but they weren’t welcome in Judea or Jerusalem. So they built their own temple to God. ( - woman at the well had this conversation with Jesus.) The Samaritans accepted the first five books of Bible as Scripture but rejected the rest. To Jews, they were heretics.

Before coming to Christ, apostles hated Samaritans just like every other Jew did. And now, even after coming to Christ, you can imagine they still had a hard time getting over their hate.

Philip uniquely qualified. He was an ethnic Jew who grew up outside of Judea. He probably knew what it felt like to be discriminated against. Jews who lived inside the Holy Land were probably a little racist against Phillip as well. Phillip was the perfect candidate to live on mission in Samaria.

Exactly what Philip did! Like Stephen, and like the Apostles, Philip was filled with the Holy Spirit. Imagine Philip’s message: “You’ve lived as a divided people, but Jesus has come to make you one people with all who trust in Him. Jesus is not just the Messiah of Jews in Jerusalem. He’s your Messiah.”

God works miraculously through Philip - signs and wonders, healings, exorcisms, and crowd paid attention to him (vs. 6). If you saw the miracles, you would too!

Vs. 8 - Gospel brought joy! People who had been separated from God now finding hope in a relationship with Jesus!

The mission of God expands through an ordinary man who lived on mission for God in spite of very difficult circumstances. Philip had been run out of Jerusalem. He found himself in a territory of “unclean” people, and he didn’t know how they would respond. But, he preached the Word. His circumstances did not deter him from the mission. In a million years, Philip would have not expected the God of all creation to use him in such a powerful way, but when you live for the glory of God, and you open up your life and say, “God, use me however you desire,” He uses you in unexpected ways. Two reminders:

Sometimes the place that you don’t want to be is the exact place God wants you to be. Do you think Philip wanted to be in Samaria? Don’t you think he would have rather been in Jerusalem before persecution? House to house? Enjoying fellowship of believers? For you, the job you’re at - it’s not where you thought you would be. The city you live in - you thought you’d be somewhere else. Walking through that disease or other struggle - not what you expected. But, what if, the place you don’t want to be is the place God wants you because there are people around you that God wants you to reach? Maybe God hasn’t placed you where you are for yourself, but for someone else.

Where God wants you to be is the place where He has uniquely qualified you and gifted you to be a blessing to others. Philip in Samaria - uniquely qualified to reach Samaritans because of his own background. You are uniquely qualified to reach people I cannot reach. I cannot reach the people you work with like you can. I cannot reach your family like you can. You are not where you are by accident but by the sovereignty of God. If you are faithful, you’ll be amazed at how God uses you.

Ill. - Hudson making a broccoli sandwich - I just want a normal kid! You just want a normal life! God is more interested you having a purposeful life than a normal life.

Live for your glory and be exposed for your sinfulness.

vs. 9 “But there was a man named Simon…” A Samaritan with a lot of spiritual influence and power over people. He was great in his own eyes and in the eyes of people. He was a magic man (demonic power). People looked at him as if he was a god.

The magic man was amazed at the miracles God worked through the hands of Philip. Imagine his amazement when he saw people healed - the lame walk, the blind see - he had done his magic, but never performed feats like that. He believed as well. He was baptized and continued to follow Philip amazed at his miracles - NOTE Luke intentionally telling us that Simon was amazed at the wonders and not the Messiah.

vs. 14 - The apostles arrive - when they heard Samaritans had turned to Jesus they had to see it for themselves. While Jesus demonstrated love to Samaritans and commissioned the disciples to go to the Samaritans, imagine the struggle. Still struggle with animosity and likely very skeptical that they placed their faith in Jesus.

vs. 16 - Samaritans had not yet received the Spirit. We receive the Spirit when we place our faith in Jesus. Why had these Samaritan believers not received the Holy Spirit? The Apostles - who were probably hesitant to receive the Samaritans - needed to see the power of the Spirit coming on the Samaritans. They needed to see that the Samaritans were just as much followers of Jesus as they were, and the Samaritans needed to know as well that they were united with the believers in Jerusalem - they were one.

Simon saw what was transpiring - the Apostles laying on of hands and the Spirit coming on the Samaritans. He was amazed! What power! And, what if he had the power to lay hands on people and transfer the very power of God to them?

It was too much! Simon to Peter: “How much would it cost me? Certainly, if I give you enough money, you can teach me to do what you just did...” Simon trying to buy the power of God in his life. He obviously didn’t understand the Gospel. He was amazed by everything he saw, and he was even baptized, but he didn’t actually repent of his sins and give his life to Jesus in surrender.

vs. 20: Peter: “May your silver perish with you… Your heart is not right before God.” Simon saw the work of God, and was even amazed by it, but he missed it. He was exposed for the pretender that he was. He lived for his glory and was exposed for his sinfulness. His heart was not right before God.

Would the Spirit of God be saying to you this morning: “Your heart is not right before God?” How do I know if my heart is not right before God?

You’ve blended in instead of turning from sin. Simon blended it - amazed at what he saw. Liked Jesus, like the miracles, but never actually turned from his rebellion against God. Maybe you’ve been around the things of God - the church - but you’ve never repented - confessed that you were a sinner in need of grace.

You’ve bargained instead of surrendered. You haven’t tried to buy God off with cash, but you’ve said things like, “God, if you get me out of this mess, I’ll go to church more. I’ll give more. I’ll live a moral life if you’ll let me into heaven. I’ll show up on Sunday if you leave me alone the rest of the week.” You’ve tried to buy God off with your religious service, your good deeds, etc. But, you’ve never surrendered and said to God, “I’m placing my life in your hands. I belong to you.”

You’ve brought God down instead of lifting Him up. You’ve seen God as a powerful spiritual being for you to use for your gain instead of seeing Him as the exalted King who is worthy of your worship.

Is your heart right before God? This morning see Jesus for who He is, the One who died for you and rose again to give you eternal life. Today, turn to Him. Repent of living for your own glory.

Follower of Jesus - You’re in a place where you never expected to be - maybe a place you don’t want to be. You are there for God’s glory. Make a renewed commitment to live for His glory in the place that He has you.