Good Monday morning. I hope you all had a great weekend. Our weekend was great, full of rest, relaxation and time with God and good friends. We had a great visit with our neighbors and friends Dave and Jackie last night. What a great time of fellowship God allows us with our brothers and sisters in Christ. Good friends are a gift that can strengthen you, give wise counsel and encourage you in your walk. My Grandad used to tell me there are 2 kinds of people in this world. Those that will pull you up and those will pull you down. Be sure and surround yourself with people that pull you up!
I’m in Acts chapter 8 this morning and it is a turning point as far as the gospel moving throughout the world. The chapter starts out with one simple sentence. Acts 8:1, “And Saul approved of his execution.”. This of course is speaking about the end of chapter 7 where Stephen is stoned for his rebuke of the Sanhedrin council. This chapter starts the recording of Sauls bitter persecution of the church and in Acts 8:3 it states “But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.” Saul was on a mission to kill God’s church. He was ‘ravaging’ it.
But what man intends for evil God will use for good. Remember back to Acts 1:8b. “and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the Earth.” Saul’s harsh pursuance of the church scatters them all over the region as they seek to avoid his wrath. Where do they flee? You guessed it, exactly where God wanted them to go. Acts 8:1b “and they were scattered throughout the region of Judea and Samaria.” Wow. You see God can and will use anybody to further His plan. Saul’s hatred of the church actually was responsible for the gospel going exactly where God wanted it!
In Acts chapter 6 we saw the appointment of deacons to assist the Apostles and the first two mentioned were Stephen and Phillip. Stephen was stoned in chapter 7 and here in the remainder of this chapter we follow Phillip as he follows the Lord and does His will. The Holy Spirit calls Phillip to Samaria and he goes and preaches the gospel. God precedes him and the gospel is received with open hearts and it spreads quickly. Acts 8:8 says, “So there was much joy in that city.”
On a side note I’d like to say a few words on the difference between joy and happiness. I hear a lot about people wanting to be happy. A long vacation would make me happy. If I could get this particular job it would make me happy. If I could afford this it would make me happy. Happy is good, but I believe what we should be yearning for is what Acts 8:8 is speaking of, joy. What is the difference between happiness and joy? I believe that happiness is external and joy is internal. Happiness is something that ‘happens’ to us. It’s superficial. Joy is something that happens within us. Something that provides us a spiritual satisfaction. Let me give you an example. You guys hear me talk about Taco Tuesday all the time. Tacos make me happy. They are crunchy little wedges stuffed with goodness. But as many tacos as I enjoy they can never bring me joy, only happiness. What we as humans are really striving for is joy in our soul and it can only come from one place. A genuine and satisfying walk with our creator, the God of this universe. When we surrender ourselves to Him and walk in harmony with His plan for our lives, only then will we experience true joy. Samaria had not known joy until they heard the gospel of Jesus and accepted Him as their Savior. “There was much joy in that city.” Acts 8:8. As I was pondering this the other day God gave me this little poem to describe the two:
Happiness is like rain, it only coats your skin But joy is so much deeper, it comes from within.
So back to our study. As the church grows rapidly in Samaria we see something similar to what happens in our churches today, people join the church that aren’t genuine believers. They are stirred up in all the hubbub and go along with the crowds. We see this specifically in Simon the magician in verses 9-24. Simon performed magic and the people thought he was gifted, even a God. But when he saw Phillip really heal, he saw the difference bewtween what he did and was intrigued. We don’t know if he ever truly accepted Christ, but I think it’s interesting to think of his dilemma as he pondered the difference of himself “doing signs of wonders” on his own versus him “believing” the signs of wonders he witnessed from God. The battle between a man’s heart and a man’s mind is one that will rage forever.
Next, we find one of three conversions that take place over the next three chapters. The conversion of the Ethiopian Treasurer, Saul of Tarsus and Cornelius the Roman Centurion. I think its really cool to note here the lineage of these 3 guys. The Ethiopian was a son of Ham, Saul was a son of Shem and the centurion was a son of Japheth. So what does their lineage have to do with anything? Ham, Shem and Japheth were the three sons of Noah. After the flood destroyed the Earth, these guys repopulated the entire planet! This is a picture of God reaching out to the representatives of every division of the human race. God is not only moving His gospel geographically but ethnologically throughout the entire world! WOW!
Now the Spirit calls Phillip to go south to Gaza through the desert. This must have seemed really weird to Phillip though as he was being called to leave the bustling town of Samaria that was on fire for the Lord and where we know there was ‘much joy’ to go to the middle of the desert. God’s plan will seldomly make sense to us so what does Phillip do? Wait to pray about it? Analyze the situation carefully for a few months? Nope, he just goes. And as he does he meets the Ethiopian treasurer parked in the middle of the desert reading the scroll of Isiah, not understanding it. The Holy Spirit tells Phillip to go over, he does, he explains the text, the Ethiopian accepts Christ and gets baptized in a muddy pond on the side of the road. When God has a plan it happens, it happens fast and it happens right there! It’s also fun to note that the first great church was not in Jerusalem, Europe or Asia but in northern Africa. God’s used this Ethiopian mightly as he went back and started the first great church in the world…at the ends of the Earth!
Now, lets note here a thread that will run through all three of these conversions over the next 3 chapters. There’s 3 ingredients that will be a part of each and each MUST be present. 1) the leading of the Holy Spirit 2) The Word of God and 3) the man of God. In the story we just witnessed you had 1) Phillip, the man of God. A man that was under the calling of God and was obedient to His call. You had 2) the leading of the Holy Spirit. Acts 8:29 “and the Spirit said to Phillip, go over and join this chariot.” And then you had 3) the word of God. The Ethiopian man had secured a scroll of the book of Isaiah and was reading it although he didn’t even understand it. Continue to look for these three things to show up in the conversions in the next few chapters and also anywhere in God’s Word. These three things are kinda like a ‘God Bomb’. When the three combine there’s sure to be a huge reaction!
So here we are at the end of chapter 8 and the gospel has moved from Jerusalem to Samaria, to Judea and now through the Ethiopian treasurer to the ends of the Earth in Africa. Oh, what joy it brings my heart to read about what a mighty God we serve and what He has done to grant us the gift of His gospel today!
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