June 2, 2019

The Triumph of the Gospel

Preacher:
Series:
Passage: Acts 8:1-8, Psalm 145:1-21
Service Type:

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