Building
the right foundation part 13
Acts 8:4-8
Now
those who were scattered went about preaching the word. Philip went
down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
And
the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by
Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did.
For
unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who
had them, and many who were paralysed or lame were healed.
So
there was much joy in that city.
English
Standard Version Anglicised
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Last
time we saw that the persecution of the church was escalating and
that Stephen had become the first recorded martyr for Jesus. His
death was a glorious one in which he looked only to Jesus and saw
heaven open up for him to freely enter into. His death according to
Psalm 116 was precious to God and so the Lord Jesus awaited His
precious servant into His eternal presence.
Stephen
of course was one of the seven righteous men chosen by the church to
deal with the contention between the Hebrew and Greek widows. Both in
life and in death Stephen displayed the true characteristics of a man
of God. He was clearly a man who was full of the Holy Spirit and
wisdom and so he proved the church to be correct in their calling of
him to serve them through their difficulties.
Another
man chosen by the church on that occasion was Philip who Luke now
concentrates on. For Stephen the gospel was the cause of his
martyrdom from which followed severe persecution resulting in the
scattering of the church far and wide. Philip was included amongst
those scattered; many went throughout the regions of Judea but
Philip went to Samaria. This is a direct fulfilment of the promise
of Jesus found in Acts 1:8 where He told His disciples that they
would be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends
of the earth.
The
gospel is spreading out!
But
who would ever have thought that it would be due to severe
persecution that the promise of Jesus was to be fulfilled! The
devil's intention was that through persecution the church would be
stopped in its tracks, but in reality the scattered believers as good
disciples could not be silenced.
They
took the gospel everywhere thy went!
Philip
is an example in this; as a refugee he had to start a new life in a
very different place. We could forgive him if he had thrown his hands
up in anger to God blaming Him for his plight but he did not. He saw
his inconvenience as be an opportunity to proclaim Christ.
The
gospel comes to Samaria:
As
we have said before; the Samaritans were odious to the Jews because
they had seriously strayed from the true worship of God. They had set
up idolatrous worship in Dan and Bethel, the excuse being that
Jerusalem was too far for them to go. In direct opposition to the
temple at Jerusalem they had set up their own temple on Mount
Gerazim. Remember when Jesus met the Samaritan woman at the well He
said to her that the Samaritan's worshipped what they did not know on
their mountain but the Jews worshipped the God of salvation from
their holy mountain. Samaritan worship was heretical and therefore
odious to the Jews. It is true to say that they both had a common
belief in the Pentateuch that was really the only similarity in
faith. (I suppose that in this it is a little bit like Islam today
who believe in the first five books of the bible and also in some of
the prophets.) For approximately 1000 years there had been an
acrimonious separation of the Jews and the Samaritans therefore
Philip preaching the gospel to the Samaritans was almost miraculous.
Many
believers of the day would have kept away from evangelising the
Samaritans but Philip simply could not do anything but speak of
Christ.
Challenge:
Are
we so taken up with Christ that whatever the circumstance we find
ourselves in we cannot but speak of Him? Last time we saw that
Stephen could do no other than speak of Christ even though it meant
certain death! Now we find Philip in the land of the outcast, where
contention between the two faiths is part of their normal life.
Samaria was a place where their near neighbour Judah was hated and
that was reciprocated by Judeans.
The
one thing that they were totally united in was their hatred of each
other.
Philip
was in the land of the unlovely but yet He so loved Jesus and was
concerned for the spiritual state of the people that he was amongst
that he simply had to tell of the hope that he had in Christ Jesus.
Do we love Jesus and are we concerned for all that we are in contact
with that they might come to know salvation? We may not have been
sent to Samaria but we are here in our daily routine as was Philip on
that day. Have you told of Jesus to those whom you rub shoulders
with?
Signs
and wonders
accompanied
Philips proclamation. They heard his gospel and saw the signs that he
did which caused them to pay close attention to what he said. It is
amazing how this theme is recurring so far throughout Acts:
The
signs draw attention and the word takes effect!
At
Philip's command paralysed and lame people were healed and devilish
spirits were noisily cast out which in turn brought great joy to the
city. This new gospel outreach to the Samaritans was authenticated by
powerful signs by the Holy Spirit of God.
But
Note
that it was not the signs that affected the people but that it was
the preached word. Luke simply says that the result of which brought
joy into the city. God was at work in the hearts of unlovely people
and a difference was visibly seen in the city. During the revivals in
Wales the effect was seen clearly in the community. There are many
anecdotal accounts of children wearing shoes, happy wives, pit ponies
fed and treated well all due to men having heard and responding to
the gospel call. This in turn was the cause of much rejoicing in
mining villages all over Wales.
Signs
and wonders do not proliferate today as they did in the days of the
early church:
But
“Joy
fills my soul for Jesus has saved me, freed me from sin that long had
enslaved me, lifted me up from sorrow and shame now that I belong to
Jesus.” When that is true of you and me then we naturally want
others to know that they too can have true joy in their hearts if
they will only come to Jesus in full repentance and trust in His
saving blood. The only way that they will ever know is if they are
told, how can they hear without a preacher and who will that preacher
be if it is not you and me?
The
gospel was spreading beyond the borders of Judea and had now entered
the land of the heretical outcast and guess what they were being
saved! We also need the gospel to extend beyond our boundary and out
into the street and to go from there throughout Callington and into
the surrounding district and then guess where: into Devon and further
afield. Who is responsible for taking it?
You
and me.
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