Persecution in the Chuch
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Recap:
Recap:
As we closed out Chapter 7 last week we saw a great man of God, full of wisdom, knowledge of the Scriptures, led and powered by the Holy Spirit
This man Stephen was a man chose by God to spark a fire in a new movement that would take the Gospel out from the city of Jerusalem to the ends of the earth.
But this was a path that began in way that was unlikely:
Stephen was chosen among the seven to help in the daily distribution to the saints
Then Stephen catapulted on to the scene as a man full of the Holy Sprit and able to hold his own with the scholars of His day
Then it seemed when God was using him most to reach the people of Jerusalem He was arrested
When we think about God’s plan, we must remember tha this ways are not our ways, nor his thought our thoughts
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Because what man means for evil God sometimes is using to bring about a harvest that we couldn’t possibly imagine!
So it was with Stephen
Stephen reminded the Sanhedrin in his sermon of God’s faithfulness and goodness to fulfill His promises to the Nation of Israel
Then Stephen reminded the Sanhedrin that it was not God who had abandoned the People of Isreal who had abandoned the God who had been faithful to them.
Whether in the wilderness
Or before the captivities
And when he closed his sermon the these legalistic, unglodly, self righteous men he told them that they were a stiff-necked and stubborn people
51 “You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered,
53 you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”
So in response to the challenge posted to them, to another opportunity to repent and follow Jesus, they reject the message of Stephen and stone him to death.
54 Now when they heard these things they were enraged, and they ground their teeth at him.
55 But he, full of the Holy Spirit, gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.
56 And he said, “Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”
57 But they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and rushed together at him.
58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
59 And as they were stoning Stephen, he called out, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”
60 And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” And when he had said this, he fell asleep.
Now our human tendancy when we see things like this, things that don’t make sense to us, that we couldn’t possibly see the good that could come from it, wonder why?
Why woudl God allow such a thing to happen to someone who loved Him so much”
Why woudl God have this be a part of His will and His plan for anyone’s life?
What woudl you do?
What woudl you do?
When we come to grips with the reality of Isaiah 55:8-9 we must ask ourselves what woudl we do if we were confronted with the reality of what just happened to one of the saints of God
One who you knew
One whom you loved
Would you stand?
Would you run?
Would you remain faithful in the midst of fear?
Becasue if they could come after stepehen what would stop them from coming after you?
I don’t want to be an alarmist this evening but I want us to really thinkn about what we would do here in 2020 as we think about the changing landscape in our culture?
When religious freedoms are being eroded away slowly if not rapidly
When standing up for the truth of God’s Word brings about accusations of being hateful and biggoted?
When we have to literally take up our cross and follow Jesus?
What will you do when that time comes in your life?
My hope is that we will stand firm upon the truth and grace of Jesus, as he watches out for us us!
A Guy Named Saul
A Guy Named Saul
And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.
Now Saul was mentioned alread in Acts 7
58 Then they cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul.
Saul Who is this Guy anyway?
Saul was born in 10 A.D. as Saul of Tarsus and died in 67 A.D. as the Apostle Paul
Saul:
Was a Zealot
Was a Pharisee
Was a Roman Citizen
Was a Jew from the tribe of Benjamin
I ask, then, has God rejected his people? By no means! For I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin.
circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee;
As we are going to see here, when Saul of Tarsus appears on the scene in Acts 7 and now in Acts 8 we are seeing that he was in complete agreement with, and in favor of actively pusueing those who would follow Jesus
He was Saul the Persecutor!
Saul of Tarsus is the backdrop of what will be one of God’s greatest acts of grace!
God’s Catalyst: Persecution
God’s Catalyst: Persecution
I want us to remember back to what Jesus said to His disciples before He left to return to heaven
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.”
I want us to note the order of places that Jesus told His disciples that they woudl go to
You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem!
You will be my witnesses in Judea!
You will be my witnesses in Samaria!
You Will be my witnesses to the end of the earth!!
When we look at what is happening here in Acts 8:1 we are seeing the fulfillment of the words of Christ, that the Gospel would be carried forward by the disciples.
It was never God’s intention to have it remain only in Jerusalem!
God’s Catalyst for this change was not ease, it was not comfort, it was not ease
No what we see here is that God’s great Catalyst to bring the Gospel to the ends of the earth was persecution:
Persecution:
Greek: Diogmos - Persecution
Sense: the systematic hunting down of adherents of a particular religion to inflict pain or death upon them. Especially to destroy the religion by destroying the adherent or by forcing the adherent to renounce their beliefes
We also note that is was on the same day, as if the flood gates of hatred were opened up by the Sanhedrin on the discipels of Christ
Luke records
“ And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem...”
But Luke also records for us that it was this great persecution that caused the church to scatter!
“ and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
So as the persecution began, people ran and fled to the surrounding regions
Yes because of fear
Yes because of uncertainty
Yes because of perservation!
But it was also the thing that God wanted, so he used the very intent of evil ungodly men to destroy the church, as a means by whcih the church would grow!
Paying Respect to a Life Well lived
Paying Respect to a Life Well lived
2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.
I would assume that these men who now came an collected the body of Stephen were the Apostle who remained without fleeing
They lemented over him
A godly man was now Gone
A godly witness in the streets of Jerusalem was no longer able to say a word
An edifiying and Godly man in the church woudl be be missed
But he finished the race that God had set before Him well.
7 I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.
12 Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own.
13 Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,
14 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.
27 But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.
Saul’s rage against the Church:
Saul’s rage against the Church:
3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Saul of Tarsus had no regard for whether you wer a man or woman, or even a child
If you followed Jesus you were going to jail
To me this reveals a man who was set in his religion:
He believed what he was doing was actually in the will of God
He believed that he was actually glorifying God by snuffing out these heretics who dare preach against the God of nation of Israel
But like the rest of the Pharisees Saul missed the truth that God had plainly set before them!
It was God who sent Jesus
Jesus was the Son of GOd
Jesus is the way, the truth, the life, the only way!
God’s was Just getting Started:
God’s was Just getting Started:
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. 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. 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. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
Luke records that as the Church that was dispersed in the scattering went out preaching the Gospel.
No longer in Jerusalem they began to preach!
Preach the Word of Christ
The message of the Gospel
Luke recoard the ministry of one man in Samaria, Philip
Philip should sound familiar to us as we read about his ministry!
5 And what they said pleased the whole gathering, and they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch.
He was one 7 chosen to help the Apostles with the daily distributions, as was Stephen!
Philip Went a Preaching the Good News
Philip Went A Preaching the Good News
5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
And what was awesoem about this is that the people of this city in Samaria were united in their intent to listen to the message that Philip had for them!
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.
Not only was Philip preaching the message, but he was aslo, by the power and might of the Spirit performing miracles
The people were in awe when the heard the truth of God love and forgiveness
But I want you to think about what this means for the Samarian:
Remember they were half breeds
They were despised by the Jews
They were hated
Yet Jesus spoke to the woman at the well (A Samaratan)
Jesus spent days minstering to the people of her town (A samaratan town)
And now a Jewish disciple of Chirst was preaching to them about the messiah, the savior, the One who loved them and gave himself for them.
The Miracles abounded
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. 8 So there was much joy in that city.