Philip The Evangelist

What if I Told You that One of the Nurses at Our Local Hospital…

Discovered the Cure to Cancer

It’s Extremely Inexpensive and Everyone Around the World Could Have Immediate Access to it

That Would Be Wonderful, Wouldn’t it!

But Here’s the Catch, the Big Pharmaceutical Companies Don’t Want this Information Spreading

They Arrested the Nurse Who Made the Discovery…

But She was Able to Tell a Few People Beforehand

So Now They're Tracking Down Everyone Who Knows About it

They’re Going Door to Door, Searching for Anyone Who Might Know the Cure

Let’s Say, Everyone in this Room Knows of the Cure

Now We All Have a Choice to Make

We Could Stay Quiet, and Go On Living Our Lives Happy and Free

But By Doing this, We’d Be Allowing Countless People to Continue Suffering and Dying of Cancer

We Could Tell Others in this Community About the Cure…

But We Would Quickly Be Arrested, and Our Lives as We Knew Them Would Be Over

Or We Could Live a Life On the Run…

Moving From Place to Place to Avoid Being Arrested…

And Telling Everyone We Can About the Cure as We Go

It Would Be a Hard Life, But You’d Know that What You’re Doing is Helping to Save Countless Lives

What Would You Do?

Would You Keep Your Life But Allow Others to Die?

Or Would You Sacrifice Your Life, Allowing Others the Chance to Live?

This is a Similar But Far Less Consequential Decision that the Early Christians had to Make

We’re Continuing with Our Series: Imitators

In This Series, We are Looking at Imitators of Jesus in the Book of Acts

Our Goal is to Learn How to Be Imitators of Jesus as Well

We are Going to Start Off Immediately Where We Left Off 2 Weeks Ago…

After the Murder of Stephen

Acts 8:1–2 (NASB95)

Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him.

Saul Led a Massive Persecution Against the Early Christians…

And They Scattered Throughout Judea and Samaria

We’re Also Told that Devout Men Buried and Greatly Mourned Stephen

Some Believe These Were Jewish Men

If So, it Shows What Kind of Impact Christians Like Stephen had On Non-Believers

Others Believe They Were Christian Men Who Remained in Jerusalem Despite the Persecution

This Would Take Great Courage…

Because Those Who Witnessed Them Mourning…

Would Know They Likely Carried the Same Beliefs as Stephen

Acts 8:3 (NASB95)

But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

Paul was Ravaging/Bringing Harm to the Church

He Did this By Entering House After House

He Would Burst Through the Doors of Their House Gatherings and Drag Them Off to Prison

To the Untrained Eye this Looked Like the Beginning of the End of the Christian Movement

But This was All Part of God’s Plan

His Plan for the Kingdom to Spread Throughout the Entire World

Acts 8:4 (NASB95)

Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.

This Persecution and Scattering of Christians Wasn’t Killing the Church

It was Bringing the Church to Life

They Didn’t Just Run Away From the Persecution

They Ran and Took the Message of Jesus with Them Everywhere They Went

Persecution Didn’t Stop Them From Proclaiming the Good News of the Kingdom

It Actually Drove Them and Gave Them Opportunity to Do it Even More

This Persecution Wasn’t Hindering God’s Plan for the Spread of the Kingdom…

It Was the Plan!

It Advanced the Spreading of the Kingdom More Than Ever Before

The Summary Statement of the Book Came From Jesus Right Before He Ascended to Heaven

Acts 1:8 (NASB95)

but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

In Fact, the One Causing the Church to Scatter Throughout Judea and Samaria…

Will Also Be the Biggest Reason the Church Spreads to the Remotest Parts of the Earth

First as a Persecutor of the Church, Then as the Greatest Evangelist for it

One Person Who was a Part of this Scattering was a Man Named Philip

Like Stephen, Philip was One of the 7 Men Chosen to Help the Hellenistic Widows

Acts 8:5 (NASB95)

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.

Philip Would Later Be Known as “The Evangelist” - “The Good News Proclaimer”

We Learn in this Chapter a Great Deal Why

He was the First to Take the Gospel to the Samaritans

And as We Will See in a Minute, He Had a Large Part in Proclaiming the Good News…

To the Remotest Part of the Earth…

In His Conversion of an Ethiopian Eunuch

But First, Let’s Focus On His Proclaiming the Kingdom of Jesus to the Samaritans

This was a Huge Step Forward for the Church

Besides Jesus, Most Jews Wanted Nothing to Do with the “Half-Bred” Samaritans

But Philip Went Straight to Them and Told Them About the Reign of Jesus

If We Take Nothing Else From Philip and His Imitation of Jesus…

This Point Here is Enough:

There’s No Room for Biases, Discrimination, and Hatred in the Kingdom of God

Jesus Loved All People and Wanted All People to Love Him

Philip Loved All People and Wanted All People to Love Jesus

Philip Understood that the Good News of Jesus is for All People

That a Relationship with God is for Everyone

That Salvation From Sin and Death is for Everyone

Even the Hated Samaritans

May We Imitate that Same Heart in Our Community

Look What it Will Produce:

Acts 8:6–8 (NASB95)

The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. So there was much rejoicing in that city.

What Caused Them to Listen to His Words?

The Signs He was Performing

What Were the Signs He was Performing?

Helping People By the Power of God’s Spirit

How Can We Get People to Listen to the Message of Jesus?

The Method Really Hasn’t Changed

Love Them First

The Gospel is Rarely Accepted By Those Who Weren’t Loved First

The Gospel is the Message of God’s Compassion, Mercy, and Grace

If the World Doesn’t See that Same Compassion, Mercy, and Grace in God’s People…

Why Would They Want to Accept it?

We’ve Heard it a Thousand Times Because of How True it is:

“People Don’t Care How Much You Know Until They Know How Much You Care”

If the World Doesn’t Receive the Love of Jesus From His People…

They’ll Never Know the Love of Jesus

Thanks to the Spirit’s Work Through Philip…

People Were Glad to Hear What He Had to Say About Jesus

The Spirit Doesn’t Work in Us Today the Same Way He Worked in Philip…

But That Doesn’t Mean the His Work is Any Less Powerful in Us Today

When We Interact with Our Family, Friends, and Neighbors with:

Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, and Self-Control…

They Will Still Be Just as Interested in What We Have to Say

When We Allow the Spirit to Do His Work Within Us and Through Us…

People Will Be Open to the Message of Jesus

The Rest of Chapter 8 Gives 2 Conversion Stories Through the Preaching of Philip

First He Converts a Magician Named Simon

And Then a Eunuch From Ethiopia

In Both Accounts We Men Surrendering Their Lives to King Jesus