The Triumph of the Gospel
Bible Text: Acts 8:1-8, Psalm 145:1-21 | Preacher: Andrew Love | Series: Acts | Introduction
A watershed moment in the life of the early church
Not just apostles being persecuted but men & women of the church
Reading: Acts 8:1-8
Sometimes in life things can look very bleak
Can we imagine what it must have been like?
It was a terrible time for the Church
Yet God was mightily at work in one of the worse moments of the Church
The Gospel was to spread beyond Jerusalem
Philip was sent to Samaria and there was great joy throughout the city
We may not have faced persecution but we have faced moments of difficulty
Has God not often been at work during these times?
A watershed moment
Till chapter 8 the Church has been confined to Jerusalem
The gospel was to go out in ever increasing circles
That had not happened until this stage – the preaching had not yet gone beyond Jerusalem
God would use persecution to ensure the Gospel would spread
Saul
We see his wickedness
He was fanatical for the cause
Maybe this was the beginning of God stirring him up [to his salvation]
Overview:
From Saul to Paul – Sinner to Saint
From Persecution to Proclamation
From Jerusalem to Samaria
From Saul to Paul – Sinner to Saint
Saul was present at Stephen’s death
He was holding his clothes
He would have heard Stephen’s words and prayer
8:1
Moreover Paul caused havoc of the church
He put them in prison
He was after the Christians
He couldn’t stand them and wanted to stamp out the Gospel message
A great change was wrought in Paul
God showed wonderful mercy to Saul
God used this for His glory
Even a change of name – but he praised God and always gave his testimony
Acts 22:3-5
Acts 22:14-14
1 Tim 1:13
What about us?
Our past may have not been like Saul’s …
… but we all have a past
Gal 2:20 – have we been crucified with Christ?
Can we say “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me”?
Can we say ‘Jesus Christ has loved me and given His life for me?’
Example of Stephen James from Prison Ministries
From Persecution to Proclamation
A great persecution arose (v1)
God permitted this
They were scattered
It was a day of mourning
For Stephen (v2)
Do we mourn great believers?
The church felt it keenly
God had other plans
‘Unless a grain of wheat dies’
Quote: The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church
Preaching (v4) – not a church like preaching, but the word in the Greek means a quiet speaking, ‘gossiping the gospel’
Acts 11:19 – speaks of where the Gospel reached
Satan had overplayed his hand
He stirs up people against the Church of Jesus Christ …
… but God used this for the expansion of the kingdom
2 Cor 4:7-12
Acts 8 is so encouraging
It tells us of great persecution but a great proclamation
It tells us of a great persecutor (Saul) but a great salvation
From Jerusalem to Samaria
1:1 – the Church is to spread
The Church spreads to Samaria
Was it wrong for them to scatter?
The apostles stayed
But it was wrong for others to run away
Jesus advised people to flee in persecution
The Gospel had spread from Jerusalem to Samaria
We are now going to focus on Samaria
Samaria was not a great place in the eyes of the Jews
Jesus had deliberately gone to Samaria (the woman at the well in Syca)
The harvest would come later – John 4
Philip went to Samaria to preach to them (v5)
One man only
Propelled by the Holy Spirit
We don’t know the details
The power of the Gospel goes forth, miracles are performed
God begins to work in the Samaritans
Philip does wonderful works
Many are converted and there is much joy in the city
Are we prepared to go to unlikely places?
Think of Nineveh
Think of Samaria
An unmistakable work of God
A pattern: the preaching in the power of the Holy Spirit authenticated by many works and miracles
Samaria, then to Cornelius, then to the disciples of John the Baptist (Acts 19:1-7)
It rarely happens today
God can smooth a pass and give success
These were apostolic days
Consider what Philip had been doing previously – deaconal responsibility
He was gifted with evangelism
Do we have other gifts?
We don’t here much of Philip after Acts 8 (yes he will speak to the Ethiopian eunuch)
There was great joy in Samaria (v8)
They have heard of the Saviour
They have found the forgiveness of sins
Christianity is/should be characterised by joy
We have every reason to rejoice
Let us not lose our first love
Closing Remarks