Good morning everyone, last week to saw how Stephen was stoned to death and the entry of Saul.
Today we are going to look at what happened when Stephen died:
Acts 8
8 And Saul approved of their killing him.
The Church Persecuted and Scattered
On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.
Philip in Samaria
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
Simon the Sorcerer
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”
25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Philip and the Ethiopian
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Before we start looking at this chapter lets us read ACTS 1:8
Acts 1:8 gives us Jesus’ final words to his disciples before he ascends into heaven. He says:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Let us read Acts 8:1
Stephen died, and Saul (who will later be known as Paul) approves of Stephen’s death. And Then, “That day a severe persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout the countryside of Judea and Samaria.”
So yes, the gospel spreads, but it does so because the believers are scattered from Jerusalem, into Judea and Samaria … and this brings us to Philip’s conversation with the Ethiopian eunuch on the road to Gaza. Luke adds the comment that this is the wilderness road. In other words, we are heading into “the uttermost parts of the earth.”
After the death of Stephen , the church was persecuted. And the everyone was in deep pain the bible says they were deeply mourning of Stephens death. In midst of this mourning , Saul was destroying the Church that is what the bible says. Another situation to handle. The persecution was so severe Saul began to go house to house , door to door and dragged them out to prison.
Everyone was scattered (ALL) expect the 12 disciples. Being called as Apostles.
In verse 4 it says
4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
- The Gospel spreads irrespective of people , situation. His work continues. Even today this time, around the world the Gospel is spreading.
- The Gospel spreads when we are scattered, or to put simply is when we move out.
- No one can stop the Gospel, the good news of Jesus
When is the last time , we have shared the gospel to anyone. When is the last time we moved out and said God give me someone to share the Gospel. When is the last time we invited others for our church programs which happens throughout the week like Street kids, Cell groups , Sunday schools etc..
Over the period of years we felt as a church we have too many programs events inside and people are not getting time to go out. So all our ministries that is Men’s , Women’s , boys , girl’s ministry was moved to happen only for alternative weeks.
So that the other days , everyone gets an opportunity to share our life , Jesus with our friends, neighbors etc.. It is called Missional part of our ministries. It’s our dream , as a church that we will intentionally take time during our Ministry break and meet others.
Verse 5 introduces a one more personality, Philip. Who is Philip?
5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.
Philip: Who was Philip?
First of all, this Philip is not the disciple Philip. The disciple was from Bethsaida (Jn 12:21) and this Philip is from Caesarea. This Philip is one of the seven “deacons” – or table servers – chosen by the apostles back in Acts 6, to take over the daily distribution of food. Later on, (Acts 21:8-9) this Philip will become known as Philip the Evangelist, and we will learn he has four unmarried daughters who prophesy. But right now, Philip is only recognized as one of the Seven, full of the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3). Just before the events of this story, he has been preaching the good news throughout Samaria, and many have come to believe in Jesus.
When he was scattered , he went to Samaria. There he preached the Gospel and many believed. Not only he preached he also performed many miracles.
JESUS IS THE NEED OF THE HOUR
7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
Why the Gospel ?, the good news , that is JESUS is so important because
- It Heals
- It Delivers
- It brings Joy
There are so many of them , waiting for Philip to come , to heal , deliver and bring that Joy.
One of the huge setback for our church is including me , we have not seen anyone inviting our friends to Church or any other ministries. When we give invites , including me we don’t have anyone to give that invite whether is a summer camp, cell group etc.
Philip did not became an Evangelist overnight, It was not his primary gifting. The Apostles gave him a Job to serve food to the widows. But the Gospel was not able to content only in his Heart , in his life, in his family , in his church but it overflowed outside.
We may have our primary calling but evangelism, sharing Jesus should be part and parcel of life.
Philip shared JESUS in Samaria. In
Acts 8:4-8
The Samaritans are different than the Jews but not really Gentiles (non-Jews). When the northern kingdom of Israel was defeated by the Assyrians in 722 BC, the Assyrians relocated foreigners to live in and around that region, mixing in with the Israelites not taken into captivity. The Jews thought of them as “half breeds.” These culturally different people refused to worship at the temple in Jerusalem and built a separate temple. They only followed the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, the Pentateuch. Even Jesus’ disciples hated the Samaritans. When a Samaritan village didn’t welcome him, James and John asked Jesus if he wanted them to call down fire from heaven and consume them, but Jesus rebuked them (Luke 9:52-56).
Very different people, culture, belief but no one can stop JESUS. The bible says , the entire city, entire city was in great Joy.
And there we find one more figure who is Simon the Sorcerer Acts 8: 9-11
9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.
Simon’s sorcery is no Magic. It’s no fantasy. It’s real. It’s demonic. It’s witchcraft. He’s arrogant, prideful, and claims to be someone great. The people of Samaria think he has divine powers— “the Great Power of God
He got this art from somewhere dark , evil.
Acts 8:12-13 (NIV)
12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.
The bible says , he believed and baptized. And it says he followed Philip everywhere and he was astonished.
So what was his problem?
No real conviction: I believe , He believed because others believed, He was baptized because other were baptized
The real meaning of baptism is the old is gone and new has come. I burry my old self and become alive with my new self in Christ Jesus.
Simon sees that the Holy Spirit is unstoppable. The Holy Spirit, through Philip, brings people to faith and repentance. Through the Spirit Philip performs great signs and miracles.
And he desires for it. There is nothing wrong to have a desire but he thinks that he can buy it. In verse 14-24
14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.
When we live our life without the conviction of the Gospel, without applying the word of God in our life. We will be like Simon. We may believe , baptized but there are no changes happening in our lives.
Things which God is interested in or lives with this questions this morning.
- Heart is not right before God
- Full of bitterness
- Captive to sin
Are we carrying it this morning?
Let us set right things with God, he knows everything who you are. He loves and cares us and that is why this message this morning.
Let’s not hold on bitterness on others because of the hurts we have carried. No one is perfect. Forgive and let go.
Let’s not be slaves to Sin. Are you struggling with pornography, lust, gossip, cheating, fooling others.
Another interesting personality we find here in Acts 8:26-40 is
Ethiopian eunuch: Who is he?
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
A high-ranking official, in charge of the Ethiopian queen’s treasury. He’s rich enough to have a chariot. He’s rich enough to own his very own scroll of the prophet Isaiah, and he’s powerful enough to make demands of others without flinching.
Yet, he’s an outsider among outsiders, as far as Jewish custom goes. Precisely because of his status as a eunuch, he cannot fully participate in Temple worship. But that’s where he has just been – worshiping in Jerusalem!
When we talk about the LGBT community , the Gospel is for them as well. Everyone is invited to par take, Irrespective of cast, language , drawn to certain kind of Gender.
Some interesting things we can draw from this chapter.
Philip:
He decided to go:
Running towards it:
Invested Time :
Good news and Gospel:
Very interestingly , the angel of the Lord did not tell the name of the person aor gave any hint about the version but Philip choose to go.
Ethiopian:
Influential Man: an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”).
Knew the word : This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship
Desire to know more : and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet.
Learn from others : How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Open to change/ Willing to accept : As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”
Philip is a fascinating character, especially when you consider the various ways God led him. He was led to Samaria by persecution. He was led to Gaza by an angel. He was led to the Ethiopian’s chariot by the Spirit. After this, “the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away.” He “found himself at Azotus.” He then passed through various towns, preaching the gospel, before entering Caesarea, where he lived for at least twenty years, raising a family with four daughters devoted to Christ (Acts 21:8-9). But none of this had been planned by Philip. When the Hellenist widows complained they were neglected in the daily distribution (Acts 6), and the church decided to appoint seven good men for the task, they asked if Philip would help out. He said yes. He submitted himself to the task. And the rest is history. Philip went for it, and God exploded it into a beautiful life. What might happen if we said yes to the Lord?
When we share about JESUS, there is power. The ACTS of the holy spirit works even now and it’s working all around the world this time. The good news need to be shared.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
Virjil Selvan is Pastoring the Renewed Hope Community. The Renewed Hope Community is situated in the heart of the city between Old and New Panvel. We can confidently share that Renewed Hope Community is a Church in Kamothe, Church in Khandeshwar, Church in Khanda Colony, Church in Karanjade, Church in Panvel, Church in New Panvel, Church in Karanjade because we are centrally located and these places surround our church Venue.
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