Acts 8:1-8 "In All Judea and Samaria"

Acts 8:1-8 "In All Judea and Samaria" Marc Transparenti / General Acts of the Apostles / Persecution; Paul / Ac 8:1-3; Ac 8:4-8 The Gospel goes beyond Jerusalem because of Persecution. Good morning Calvary Chapel Lake City! I'm Pastor Marc... Thanks for joining us! • For Families with Kids: Children's Ministry & Toddler Room w/ live stream is available. • If you're new to Calvary Chapel... we are a Bible Teaching church... teaching Genesis to Revelation... Chapter-by-Chapter | Verse-by-Verse • So, if you don't have your Bible with you... raise your hand and an usher will bring you one. • Our gift to you today if you don't own a Bible. If you want to connect, please fill out a Welcome Card! If you have prayer needs, we would like to pray with and for you... or if you have anonymous prayers... we have and anonymous prayer basket. Announcements: • GWMA Back to School 24 hour prayer vigil: Praying for 24 hours on August 13 for God to work in the lives of our children. Go to 24for.org to sign up for a time slot. • Women's Bible Study: Wed at 6:30pm. • Amanda announcement • Youth Group... Sunday at 6pm at Lakeland. • Men's Bible Study: Begins Sat 8/13 from 7-8:30am • Canoe Trip: Recap. Thank you to organizers. • Communion followed by Fellowship Lunch Today ------------------------------------------------------------------ Please turn in your Bible to Act 8. Acts 8:1-8 today. • Last week we covered 60 verses... just 8 verses today. Recap: In Chapters 6 of Acts, we were introduced to Stephen, a man chosen as one of the seven men to serve tables... helping to ensure the Hellenist Widows were cared for in the daily distribution of food • And, ensuring the Apostles could be committed "to prayer and the ministry of the word." (Acts 6:4) • These were men "of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom." • Character is important for the Lord's service. Stephen was this kind of man... so much... that his ministry went beyond serving tables. He "did great wonders and signs among the people." • Then he was challenged by certain Jews who disputed with him... but, they could not "resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke." • So, they secretly colluded with men who would charge him with speaking against Moses and God... which got Stephen arrested... and as he stood on trial before the Sanhedrin... • Which led us to Acts 7, where Stephen spoke the longest message in the Book of Acts. • Stephen, the server of tables, filled with the Holy Spirit... spoke a powerful message... designed to expose the Sanhedrin's hypocrisy of accusing him of speaking against three pillars of Judaism (the law, the land, and the temple)... • ... when they elevated these traditional holy things over God's plan to deliver them by the Christ. • They repeated the mistakes of their forefathers who denied God's deliverer in his first coming (Joseph or Moses for example), but accepted the deliver's second coming. • Just like the Sanhedrin denied Jesus in His first coming, but will receive Him when He comes again. As Stephen charged the Jewish leaders with being stiff necked, uncircumcised in heart and ears, resisting the Holy Spirit, repeating history, and killing their Messiah...they were enraged • Then Stephen caught a glimpse of Jesus standing at the right hand of God... and this was too much for the Jews, so they cast Stephen out of the city and stoned him to death. • Then, we were introduced to a young man named Saul who observed all of these things... and was no doubt negatively influenced by the zeal of the Jews... and inspired by the conviction of Stephen. This leads us to Act 8... and the next fulfillment of Jesus' plan in Acts 1:8 where He said, "you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." • What Jesus didn't say in Act 1:8 is HOW the church would be mobilized to begin witnessing in Judea and Samaria. • That's what we will be looking at here in Acts 8. The Title of today's sermon is, "In All Judea and Samaria." Let's Pray! Acts 8:1-3 "Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. • In contrast to Saul, Godly men... likely devout Jews similar to Acts 2:5... they gave Stephen an honorable burial. V3 As for Saul, he made havoc of [or violently maltreated] the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison." 1. In V1 we read "Now Saul was consenting to his death." a. This clause points back to the end of Chapter 7... i. It's a little clunky at the beginning of Chapter 8. b. If you are familiar with the book, "Treasury of Scripture Knowledge" (an excellent resource for cross-references)... there is a a rare note about this first part of V1 that struck me as funny. c. They wrote, "This clause evidently belongs to the conclusion of the preceding chapter; there is scarcely a worse division of chapters than this." -TSK i. And, I would agree... not as passionately, but I would agree with the Treasury authors. ii. Chapter and verse divisions were introduced to the Bible by several different men between 1227 A.D. to 1560 A.D. iii. Divisions are not perfect, but have been a helpful addition to the Bible. d. Now from V1, we now know Saul was not only present for Stephen's death (Acts 7:58), but also approved by casting his vote in favor of Stephen's stoning. i. The word "consenting" means "to join in approving." ii. He wasn't just an innocent "coat boy"... e. I've heard people question... "Is Saul the same person as Paul the Apostle?" i. Good question... always good to verify... to be a Berean. 1. But, yes...Saul becomes Paul... 2. And we are going to be spending a lot of time with Paul in Acts, so let's get to know him a bit. ii. First his name... In Act 13:9 we read, "Then Saul, who also is called Paul..." 1. This verse not only confirms that Saul becomes Paul, but this verse is also the first time Saul's Jewish name is replaced with the Roman name Paul. 2. The name Saul... is of Hebrew origin... and means "asked for or required." a. And, biblically, names often reflect character. b. Saul was sought after, but also was demanding himself. 3. Paul means "little." Possibly reflecting on how Paul was humbled. a. His name change seems to reflect his heart change. iii. In Acts 22:20, Paul confirms this was him in Acts 7... "And when the blood of Your martyr Stephen was shed, I also was standing by consenting to his death, and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.'" 1. In Acts 7, Saul heard the message of Stephen and observed his bold conviction before the Sanhedrin... 2. ... and heard him proclaim his vision of the Lord in heaven... 3. ... and heard him proclaim forgiveness to his murderers as they stoned him. 4. Stephen's message and death no doubt impacted and influenced the young man Saul to eventually accept Jesus as Lord. f. But, there were other... more immediate influences on Paul from the Sanhedrin... i. Their zeal for the traditional pillars of Judaism (the Law, the Land, and the Temple)... and their hatred for Jesus. ii. Saul observed them seize Stephen... gnash their teeth at him... lynch him... and stone him... iii. And, Saul would emulate their zeal tenfold. 1. Paul would later look back on his life as Saul and write in Phil 3:4-7 "If anyone else thinks he may have confidence in the flesh, I more so: 5 circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the law, a Pharisee; 6 concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. 7 But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ." 2. In Acts 22:3, Paul addressed a Jewish mob and stated, "I am indeed a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the strictness of our fathers' law, and was zealous toward God as you all are today." 3. Paul was an extremely zealous Pharisee... who was commissioned by the High Priest to persecute the church. g. Paul was a professional hound dog... a tracker who could sniff out the Christians and deliver them to persecution. i. Luke recorded Paul in Acts 22:4 stating "I persecuted this Way [Christians] to the death, binding and delivering into prisons both men and women..." ii. In Acts 26:9-11, Paul describe the terrible persecution he committed, "Indeed, I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 10 This I also did in Jerusalem, and many of the saints I shut up in prison, having received authority from the chief priests; and when they were put to death, I cast my vote against them. 11 And I punished them often in every synagogue and compelled them to blaspheme; and being exceedingly enraged against them, I persecuted them even to foreign cities." 1. Men... women... likely children too. a. Saul found and rounded up Christians... delivering them to prison and death. 2. And, he said, "I myself thought I must do many things contrary to the name of Jesus..." a. As if it was his religious duty to end what he thought was a cult that profaned the name of his God. b. I wonder if Jesus had Paul in mind when Jesus warned the disciples about persecution in John 16: 1-2 "These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. [Jesus warned His disciples about persecution so they wouldn't stumble] 2 They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, [listen to this] the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service". [Was that Paul?] h. Saul was full of rage and there was a war inside him. i. He was fighting internally between all he knew in Judaism, and truth of Christ... which he heard from Stephen. i. And, I'm confident that even years later, Paul was still heartbroken over all he did to the many poor souls he persecuted. i. I wonder if he wrestled not only over killing Christians, but also over compelling them to blaspheme... to slander and denounce Jesus. 1. Those mental and emotional scars don't heal quick. ii. Paul wrote in 1 Cor 15:9 "For I am the least of the apostles, who am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me was not in vain..." iii. And, many of us relate... "by the grace of God I am what I am..." 1. We stand here today in grace. We had a war inside us... the flesh lusting after the ways of the world... the Spirit drawing us to Christ. 2. But, he wooed us... gently... the Spirit loved us... and now we are what we are... no longer are we the old man. 3. That old person who lived to please the flesh... Our new person is led by the Spirit. 4. And, like Paul said, "... His grace toward me was not in vain." a. I hope you all believe that. I hope you are living that. b. There was a time in my life that I would have questioned if that were true... a time when I was a back-sliding Christian. c. I had a foot in the world and a foot in Christ, and you can't live there... not without being in misery. d. Paul did something with the grace given to him. "... His grace toward me was not in vain." 2. And, we know God would use Paul to be arguably the greatest missionary ever... a. But, what's amazing is God also used the persecution... the sorrow caused by the hands of Saul. b. I'm reminded of Joseph addressing his brothers, Gen 50:20 "But as for you, you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good, in order to bring it about as it is this day, to save many people alive." i. Often when believers are betrayed or persecuted... when the enemy of God enacts an evil plan... that plan is thwarted by God. c. Saul was persecuting the church... he was used to cause great evil against the church. He targeted the church because they did not embrace traditional Judaism. i. The largely Jewish church was different in faith practices because they accepted Jesus as their Lord and Messiah... their Savior. ii. And, so Saul persecuted them... "a great persecution" V1 states. d. Persecution by def. means, "The practice of oppressing someone on account of their religion, faith, or nationality." i. This is exactly what Saul did... but, God would use it for good. ii. Which seems crazy... how can the arrest, imprisonment, and murder of innocent Christians be used for good? 3. Well... in Acts 1:8... Jesus gave the disciples God's program... "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." a. That was not just a saying. It was Jesus' prophetic announcement... it was God's plan for the early church. b. And, as Luke wrote Acts... he seems to follow Acts 1:8 as an outline for the Book. i. Acts Chapters 1-7 the Church "received power" through the Baptism of the Holy Spirit and "Witnessed in Jerusalem." ii. Acts Chapter 8-9:31 the church "Witnesses in Judea and Samaria." 1. God's plan was for salvation to go to the Gentiles... and the beginning of this shift starts here in Acts 8. iii. Then in Acts Chapter 9:32- Chapter 28 the church "Witnesses to the End of the Earth." 4. The ministry went beyond Jerusalem... just as Jesus said in Acts 1:8. a. And, this was a big deal. From Genesis to Acts 7, the Bible is primarily centered on God's plan of establishing, guiding, correcting, and ministering to Israel. i. But, it was God's plan to go to the Gentiles as well. b. The OT spoke of this plan... Isa 49:6 for example... God speaking to Israel... "I will also give You as a light to the Gentiles, That You should be My salvation to the ends of the earth.' " i. And, the nation of Israel should have been a light to the Gentiles, but instead they despised and avoided the Gentiles... referring to them as street dogs... a hated animal amongst Jews... avoiding stepping foot on Samaritan soil... lest they be ceremonial unclean. ii. Isa 49:6 still would be fulfilled though. Not through the people of Israel, but through One who came from Israel... the Messiah of Israel- Jesus Christ. iii. Acts 13 confirms this. During their first missionary journey, Paul & Barnabas went to Antioch and "Gentiles begged" for the word of God to be preached to them. 1. Can you imagine? Going to the grocery store and having people beg you to share the Gospel with them? Amazing scene. 2. A week later "the whole city came together to hear the word of God", and the Jews in the city became envious... and opposed, contradicted, and blasphemed Paul's words. 3. And, here's how Paul and Barnabas responded, Acts 13:46-47 "Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, [How sad is that? How many people today don't feel worthy of the free gift of God through Jesus Christ?] behold, we turn to the Gentiles. 47 For so the Lord has commanded us: [Quoting that same verse Isa 49:6] 'I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, That you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.' " 4. Being a light to the Gentiles should have been a privilege to Israel... if they were acting in love... but they rejected that call. 5. So, Paul and Barnabas answered the call... the church answered the call and brought salvation to the Gentiles through the Gospel of Christ. 5. Now... let's not forget WHAT the catalyst was for this great missionary work to start. Go back to Acts 8:1 "At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria..." a. Persecution was the catalyst. And, as often as we fear persecution... as much as it saddens us to hear that worldwide today (according to the 2022 Open Doors "World Watch List" report): i. 13 Christians per day are killed because of their faith, ii. 12 churches or Christian buildings are attacked iii. 12 Christians are unjustly arrested or imprisoned, iv. and 5 Christians are abducted... daily! 1. Christians around the globe who live an Acts 1:8 mindset... often experience Acts 8:1 persecution. v. And, while very real persecution exists more today than ever and is horrible... persecution is not what weakens the church... persecution is not the antagonist to God's plan. 1. Joseph said to his brothers, "... you meant evil against me; but God meant it for good..." b. The greater enemy to the church is not persecution from outside the church... it is complacency... it is apathy within the church. i. The great danger to the church is when the church gets comfortable where they are and they stop caring to go out and be the light of the world. 1. It's when they repeat the folly of Israel who should have been the light of the world. c. In Acts 8, the church had exploded... grown to be an estimated 20-25k Christians. i. And, from Acts 1 to Acts 8, scholars estimate 5 years had passed. 1. It doesn't take five years to walk from Jerusalem and go to Judea and Samaria. a. And, It shouldn't take five years for us to be intentional about speaking to people in our communities about Jesus either. 2. But, that's what happened in Acts. There was a mega church in Jerusalem... and the surrounding towns needed Jesus too. 3. When we become so content with our lives and neglect the will and work of the Lord... it is not just the world that suffers... we suffer... in many and vast ways. d. There's somewhat of a parallel event in the days of Ezra, when the Jews returned to Jerusalem from Babylonian captivity to rebuild the Temple. i. They started well... returning to Israel in 538 B.C., they repaired the altar... in 537 B.C. the foundation to the temple... but in 536 B.C. Samaritan opposition brought construction to a screeching halt for 16 years! 1. Ezra 4:24-5:1 states, "Thus the work of the house of God which is at Jerusalem ceased, and it was discontinued until the second year of the reign of Darius king of Persia. [520 B.C.] 5 Then the prophet Haggai and Zechariah the son of Iddo, prophets, prophesied to the Jews who were in Judah and Jerusalem, in the name of the God of Israel, who was over them." ii. And, at first opposition was the reason for stopping the Lord's work, but that didn't account for a 16 years cessation from work! 1. Other reasons crept in... more insidious excuses... contentment, complacency, selfishness. iii. So, God raised up the prophet Haggai to deliver this message... 1. Haggai 1:2-11 "Thus speaks the LORD of hosts, saying: 'This people says, "The time has not come, the time that the LORD's house should be built." ' " • Excuse 1: Bad timing. What a modern objection! "I'm too busy for the Bible Study... I'm too tired for prayer and devotion." • The time has not come. 3 Then the word of the LORD came by Haggai the prophet, saying, 4 "Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses, and this temple to lie in ruins?" • Paneled can mean "to roof"... as in they had roofs over their heads; • But "paneled" can also indicate "decorative adornment." • In other words, they had time to build their own homes, but not the Lord's home. • By their actions, they stated: "Having my own home in order is more important then the Lord's home being in order." • Or, "I'm too busy for the Lord, but not for myself." 5 Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 6 "You have sown much, and bring in little; [their labors did not prosper] You eat, but do not have enough; You drink, but you are not filled with drink; You clothe yourselves, but no one is warm [their basic needs were not being met on their own accord]; And he who earns wages, Earns wages to put into a bag with holes." • Their hard earnings were figuratively being lost in a purse with holes. • i.e., they were economically challenged. 7 Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Consider your ways! 8 Go up to the mountains and bring wood and build the temple, that I may take pleasure in it and be glorified," says the LORD. 9 "You looked for much, but indeed it came to little; and when you brought it home, I blew it away. Why?" says the LORD of hosts. "Because of My house that is in ruins, while every one of you runs to his own house. • Have you ever worked and planned hard and then something unpredictable happens causing a major set back? • Maybe that's the Lord trying to get your attention to focus on Him. 10 Therefore the heavens above you withhold the dew, and the earth withholds its fruit. 11 For I called for a drought on the land and the mountains, on the grain and the new wine and the oil, on whatever the ground brings forth, on men and livestock, and on all the labor of your hands." • Fortunately for the Jews at this time, after 16 years of excuses and complacency... they obeyed and revered the word of the Lord, and repented. • They turned back to the work of the Lord, and the Lord blessed them with reassurance and promises of the blessing of His coming glory. e. In the Book of Acts, God didn't wait 16 years for the church to move... for the church to fulfill His word in Acts 1:8, so when the great persecution of Acts 8 arises... the 20-25k Christians in the mega church in Jerusalem were "scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria." i. 20-25k Christians now go throughout the region carrying the message of the gospel... 1. The enemy was cast down again! ii. And, the church even went beyond Samaria... Acts 11:19 states, "Now those who were scattered after the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus, and Antioch..." 1. Areas north of Israel. f. But the Apostles were not scattered... according to the end of V1. They travelled, but Jerusalem remained their base of operations. 6. All this bad... persecution against Stephen... persecution against the church... the church being forced to scatter... God used all this bad for good... to fulfill His word that the gospel would go to Judea and Samaria. a. Which is what we see next... Acts 8:4-5 "Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. [Judea, Samaria, Phoenicia, Cyprus, Antioch, and seemingly beyond] 5 Then Philip [not an Apostle, but the server of tables from Acts 6... who we will get to know better in the weeks ahead] went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them." 1. Philip going to Samaria is marvelous for several reasons. a. Not just because this is a partial fulfillment of Acts 1:8 and because good is coming out of the bad of persecution... b. But also because Philip going to Samaria broke generation tensions between two people groups. i. There were major longstanding racial & religious prejudices between Jews and Samaritans. ii. And, I'll show you why... Turn to 2 Kings 17. As you are turning to 2 Kings 17, here's some history... 2. Israel was one nation under Saul, then David, after Solomon, Israel was divided. a. Ten tribes in the North formed the Northern Kingdom of Israel. Their capital was Samaria, and every last one of their 20 kings were wicked. i. Wicked and idolatrous for 209 years... from 931 to 722 B.C. b. The two tribes in the South (Judah and Benjamin), formed the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Their capital was Jerusalem. i. Judah also had 20 kings, but a mix of good and evil kings. As a result of the good kings, Judah existed longer... 345 years... from 931 B.C. to 586 B.C. (136 years longer than Israel... until Babylon was used to judge Judah in 586). c. Now... Samaria was the only major city founded by the Northern kingdom of Israel. i. And idolatry was longstanding. For ex., Queen Jezebel influence king Ahab to make Samaria a center for Baal idol worship (1 KI 16:29-33). 1. She also had many prophets of the LORD massacred in Samaria (1 KI 18:2-4). ii. Not surprising God would judge the Northern kingdom of Israel. In 721 B.C., the ruling nation of the known world, Assyria, would conquer Israel. Samaria fell after a three year siege (2 KI 18:9-12). 1. And Assyria left a remnant of Israelites to care for the land, but here's where things got really mixed up in Israel. 2. 2 Kings 17:24-34 (follow along) "Then the king of Assyria brought people from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and from Sepharvaim, and placed them in the cities of Samaria instead of the children of Israel; and they took possession of Samaria and dwelt in its cities. 25 And it was so, at the beginning of their dwelling there, that they did not fear the LORD; therefore the LORD sent lions among them, which killed some of them. 26 So they spoke to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations whom you have removed and placed in the cities of Samaria do not know the rituals of the God of the land; therefore He has sent lions among them, and indeed, they are killing them because they do not know the rituals of the God of the land." 27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Send there one of the priests whom you brought from there; let him go and dwell there, and let him teach them the rituals of the God of the land." 28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD. [which I'm not sure how they did that because the nation was riddled with idolatry, so likely this was a corrupted priest] V29 However every nation continued to make gods of its own, and put them in the shrines on the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in the cities where they dwelt. 30 The men of Babylon made Succoth Benoth, the men of Cuth made Nergal, the men of Hamath made Ashima, 31 and the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak; and the Sepharvites burned their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim. 32 So they feared the LORD, and from every class they appointed for themselves priests of the high places, who sacrificed for them in the shrines of the high places. 33 They feared the LORD, yet served their own gods-according to the rituals of the nations from among whom they were carried away. 34 To this day they continue practicing the former rituals; they do not fear the LORD..." iii. Do you get the picture? The Samaritans were a melting pot of at least 6 different ethnic groups who integrated their religions and cultic practices. 1. And, don't forget what we discussed earlier. When the Jews were returning from Babylonian exile to rebuild the Temple... the Samaritans came against the Jews and oppressed them. 2. So, fast forward about 500 years later to Jesus' day... the Jews now hated the Samaritans. They wouldn't even set foot in Samaria. a. Remember what the Samaritan woman at the well said to Jesus? John 4:9 "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." b. Can you imagine being a Jewish disciple hearing Jesus' words in Acts 1:8? "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; [Yes! Empower me by the Holy Spirit!] and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, [Yes! I will witness in Jerusalem] and in all Judea [Alright... Judea] and Samaria [Yes...I mean what?!? Samaria??? No way!] i. Besides complacency, I would imagine the largely Jewish body of believers in Jerusalem were not overly excited about going to Samaria to fulfill Acts 1:8. 3. And, that why V5 is so marvelous. Look at V5 in Acts 8 again... "Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them." a. Because of all the hatred the Jews had towards the Samaritans... b. God sent a Greek. Philip was able to rise above the tensions and racial prejudices his Jewish friends had, because... he wasn't a Jew. Philip, and the other six deacons in Acts 6 all had Greek names. i. But because Philip goes to Samaria, in V14 Peter and John (both Jews) go to Samaria. c. Now Philip still had to rise above knowing they had cultic religious practices. i. Still, he went there and preached Christ to them anyway. As should we. ii. There's a lot of people in our towns who seem like Samaritans to us... they think and act different, they hold different religious views, they don't have the same social etiquette... they wear pajamas in Walmart... you know who I'm talking about. iii. And, we avoid them like the Jews avoided Samaritans. 1. Lord forgive us... help us to be like Philip. iv. I imagine Philip made friends with these people... hearing their stories.. breaking bread with them... and definitely he preached Christ to them... and they said 'yes.' 1. How many Samaritans in our town will say 'yes' if we do the same? 4. Do you remember who else went to Samaria? John 4... Jesus went to Samaria... a. Jesus met a woman by the well and Jesus spoke truth to her... and because of her testimony "many of the Samaritans of that city believed in Him" (John 4:39) and because of Jesus' own word "many more believed" (John 4:41). b. There was a harvest in Samaria, and I'm confident that many more seeds were also planted... because look at what we read next... Acts 8:6-7 "And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city." 1. Now multitudes are getting saved in Samaria... not many, but multitudes... crowds. a. Philip... not just a waiter of tables anymore... he was faithful in the little things... and now God in moving through him to deliver people from demons... to heal people of their infirmities... and to heal them spiritually as they are born again spiritually by saying 'yes' to the gospel of Jesus Christ. 2. And, look again at V8... "And there was great joy in that city." a. The great joy in this city was made possible by the "great persecution" in Jerusalem. b. There wouldn't have been great joy in Samaria, if there wasn't great sorrow in Jerusalem. i. Sometimes there is something bigger at play... ii. Amidst the sorrows and trials in our lives... maybe... just maybe... God is trying to get us to move as well.... 1. To move away from complacency and to engage people we normally would not. 2. To move into 'all Judea and Samaria' iii. Take a walk with that this week. Let's Pray! When you hear a sermon, and God uses it to move on your heart... listen and obey. The Jews... the Samaritans... and every people group... every person is blessed when they say 'yes' to Jesus and follow His lead. If God is moving on your heart... obey and revere God. Page . Exported from Logos Bible Software, 12:32 AM August 7, 2022.