Whatever It Takes - Acts 8:1-4

Outline

Acts of the Apostles - really the Acts of God through the Apostles

Looking through the Book of Acts the miracles that we see, the movement of the church and the spirit… was God

Not only the miracles, the movement and the spirit being God.. but God gave to some the ability to die gracefully

Stephen saw the heavens open up before his vicious death began

Telling those Jews who killed him you can’t kill a man who is already dead.

I see Jesus right now - do what you wish to my body.

You can kill my body but my soul is not disturbed

You’ve got to be prepared to die - cheap Gospel

The Bible is absolute truth in a world of relative truth

Stephen was brought before the high priest for proclaiming Jesus

They could not resist the wisdom and the spirit which he spake 6:10

All that God has done among you and those that came before you; You resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did (7:51)

Which of the prophets have your fathers not persecuted? 7:52

Saul a chief among the Pharisees was consenting unto his death

verse 3 Saul was hauling men and women to prison

In other words Saul is straight trippin.

When I consider all this I’m reminded of the

2nd stanza of Amazing Grace - through many dangers…

John Newton

Mother died when he was 7

Wisked off to the Navy

He was beaten for trying to go AWOL - 8 dozen lashes

He became enslaved and was treated horrendously

One day in a voyage of sea there was a horrible storm that threatened the life of Newton

He prayed and God miraculously God saved him - he changed from being a Puritan to a Christian (but he had not been fully changed)

He later became a slave trader and later in His life God saved him

Which brings me to the last verse of the text.

I asked myself how in the world could the church endure persecution under Saul, see Stephen killed, and still keep spreading the Gospel

Persecution means - harassing somebody in order to force them to give up his/her religion

The problem with John Newton is while he had converted from being a Puritan to a Christian; he had not become a disciple.

[and the reason why] the early church could carry the Gospel despite being bruised, battered, blistered, bitten, broken, brutalized, braised, bashed, and butchered

The word of God had settled within them. Meaning it took precedent and control over their entire being to the degree that everything in their lives was subject to what Jesus said.

He said:

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.

They found out that the blessing of the Lord over my life is greater than the hell I’ve been through…

In other words I will become even more undignified than this… that the more you persecute the more I’m gonna lift Him up

After all you’ve been through can’t nothing stop you

They found out we got to keep going because God is going to deal with Saul

That’s a word for somebody… God’s going to deal with Saul

The word has got to work consistently two times in your life

Its got to work within you and outside you

Its got to work in you first because if it doesn’t work in you it can’t work outside of you

The word has got to be the constant so that life won’t change you but the Word will change and sustain you.

Like Stephen and the early church the church today has gone through some stuff.

Pandemic

doctrinal issues regarding laws passed

unprecedented number of pastors and preachers who have died in the last 2 years or quit because of burnout after feelings of having to do everything

I remember the day and time when people were committed to church not just attending and paying tithes… my praying for the pastor and church, working in the church

But through all of that the church is still going on. We’re still preaching, still singing, still praying, still serving!

Because I’ve got the word on the inside of me and because the word is on the inside of me I’ll preach when all hell is breaking lose, I’ll sing when nobody else has got a song to sing, I’ll pray even when I don’t feel like it.

My brother is here 5 years later after all he had to go through

because He’s got a word on the inside of him that keeps telling him go ahead, keep on working, keep on preaching.

I know he gets tired sometime, and I know sometime church folk don’t make it easy for the pastor.

But he is still here - just like the early church!

5 in biblical numerology is the number of grace

And I am specifically pulled to the fact that Jesus took 5 loaves of bread and nobody was hungry

and I believe Bishop that you are walking into a season where because of your faithfulness to stay the course through people, problems, and persecution; God is about to stretch your resources to do more with little because this is your season of grace!

You are here today because of grace. The early church was able to sustain through persecution because of God’s grace upon them. You’ve got the SAME grace.

I’ve got to go to my seat… But as I consider this text I said Lord I need a whatever it takes anointing.

I need an anointing that in season and out of season I will preach your word

I’ll go where you want me to go....

Here I am send me

No matter how the tantamount of time is trying to tear away at my temple

My answer is yes

Is there anybody glad that persecution is not the end of the story

You can’t quit

You’ve got a whole lot of potential

With all that potential you’ve got a whole lot of protection

I’ve got to call some witnesses

Come here Job… lost everything he had but he stuck with God

Come here Joseph… cast into a pit, lied on but he held onto his dream until God brought it to pass

Come here Jeremiah… Jeremiah told a story in Chapter 20 basically saying God had forced Himself on him.

But Jeremiah although he was angry at God for some of the things he had to do on His behalf He said I would stop preaching but I can’t because its like fire - shut up in my bones.

And then there was a man from Galilee name Jesus…

Whatever it takes! I’m going all the way.

Talk about me as much as you please - but the more you talk…

Take my car, take my house

But please whatever… whatever you do - don’t take your spirit from me

Don’t take your glory from me

I’m pressing on the upward way…

For our light and momentary affliction…

I may have some trouble but I’m more than a conqueror..........

Won’t he keep you, won’t he sustain you, won’t he protect you

Put me in coach....

God is at work even in my persecution! Hit me with your best shot! I won’t relent. I won’t let go.

I feel like going on!

I am persuaded, that neither life nor death…