The Acts of the Apostles- 92

Subtitle:  Shipwrecked

Acts 27:21-44.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 16, 2025.

We are going to continue with Paul on his storm-tossed journey to Rome.  But before we do that, I want to share some similarities and contrasts between the Apostle Paul and the prophet Jonah.

Both of these men were tasked by God with taking a message from Him to Gentiles and their king or kings.  Paul of course has a scope that is much larger than Jonah who was only sent to the capital city of Ninevah.  They both end up in a storm that threatens their lives, but are spared by God in order to deliver their messages.  Finally, they both end up in water that could kill them, but are helped by God.

Yet, there are some big contrasts between Paul and Jonah.  Paul goes toward his task as a willing voice to the Gentiles.  Whereas, Jonah is running away from his meeting as an unwilling voice to the Gentiles.  We could add to this that Paul has a heart of love for the Gentiles (not wanting them to perish), and Jonah wants the Gentiles to be destroyed.  Paul is taken in chains by others to his task, even though he would freely go.  However, Jonah uses his freedom to flee from the task.  Of course, there is great irony in this.  We can see that spiritually Paul is the man who is free and that Jonah is the man who has a spiritual bondage to vindication.  We also see that the storm is sent to chastise Jonah for disobedience.  Whereas, this is not the case for Paul.  The storm only helps people to see God’s mark of approval upon him.  Finally, Paul is happy to see Gentiles saved, but Jonah is sad that they are spared.

Of course, a person could come up with more.  All of this gives us insight into the thorny ground of wanting justice from God while keeping true to His heart towards all people.

Now, let’s get back to our passage at hand.  We left them on a ship in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, caught up in a storm so powerful that they are throwing stuff overboard to save their lives.

Hope is given (v. 21-26)

Verse 20 ended with the statement that all hope was gradually being lost.  However, God had different plans.  When we are in hard and difficult times, we can be tempted to complain about them.  Yet, their situation when from hard and difficult to an existential crisis.  They had come to believe that they were going to perish in this storm.

It is at this time that God speaks to the men through the Apostle Paul.  Paul encourages them and gives them hope in this time.  However, this would not be a hope of circumstances, what their eyes could see. 

Our hopes are generally pinned on what we can see, what seems most probable.  However, Christians are told to live by faith and not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7).  Now, that passage is not telling us to ignore the things we can see and to suspend our thinking.  Rather, it is calling us to remember that God is greater than all of the things we can see.  Such a hope is something that is deeper than what we can see.  In a situation absent anything that gives visible hope, a man stands up and says he has been given hope by God, a word from God.  Of course, this begs the question who is this guy.  Men like Luke, Aristarchus would draw great hope from Paul’s words.  He has proven trustworthy to them.  Perhaps a man like Julius the centurion would also draw some hope.  Perhaps everyone else would simply draw hope from the courage it took for him to stand up and say that there is still hope.  Regardless, Paul stands up and speaks hope to them, “after many days” of fighting the storm and going without food.  All told, they would spend 14 days fighting this storm.  We don’t know how close to the end that Paul received his message.  I would think that God did it at just the right timing. 

As Christians, all of us would like to receive a concrete word from the Lord.  However, when God uses someone else to speak into our lives, we are generally not as thrilled to rely upon it.  We balk with the thoughts of how trustworthy they are.  We even balk at whether we think it is possible or not.  This is not a game of “hearing things from the Lord,” as if we are trying to see who can get the best record.   God speaks into every situation generally through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit.  However, from time to time, He will speak specifically.  If God has given a word, then it will bear out to be true every time.  If you have been in a situation where you think that God spoke something to you, or someone else told gave you a word from the Lord, and it failed to happen as was said, then the failure wasn’t with God.  You have to go back to God in prayer and humble yourself.  Perhaps you jumped to conclusions about what the word meant.  Look closer.   Perhaps you wanted something so badly that you let your imagination get away from you. 

What we have here is a man who has faith in what God has said, and it will bear out exactly as God told him.

Paul gives the classic I-told-you-so, but it is not given in a vindictive spirit.  Rather, he is really trying to help them.  “You didn’t listen to me before, but listen to me now.”  He is coming alongside of them to encourage them.

We have to be careful not to let our spirit become bitter when people don’t listen to us.  People are free to choose and learn their own lessons.  Yes, your ego may have been hurt, but God is not working in order to spare your fragile ego.  Perhaps we fear that our experience is overly tied to how they respond.  Listen, God is quite capable of helping you regardless of who listens to your godly counsel.  Yet, the foundation question is this.  Am I truly giving godly counsel?

Essentially, Paul tells them that no one will die, but the ship is going to be lost and destroyed.

It is then that he describes how the word of God came to him.  A heavenly messenger spoke to him that very night.  The message is this: don’t be afraid, you must speak before Caesar, and God has granted you all those who sail with you.

There are two things here.  First, the message is really to Paul and about what he will experience.  He doesn’t need to fear because God wants him to appear before Caesar.  Yet, it is also clear that Paul has been praying for the lives of these sailors, soldiers and passengers.  God has heard his prayer and is granting him this request.  I don’t believe the angel is sent to convince Paul that he will survive.  Rather, he is sent to assure Paul that all the others will live.

This is important because Paul shouldn’t even be there in one sense.  He was unjustly arrested without due process, and he is protesting trumped up charges about Jewish religion.  Their salvation physically is going to be due to the intercession of this man.  This doesn’t mean that God doesn’t care about them.  God cared enough to put His special man on their boat.  As God spoke to Jonah, we can see here.  Jonah didn’t care about Ninevah, but God saw 120,000 people who couldn’t even distinguish their right hand from their left hand spiritually.  They were lost and in the dark, but God cared about them and sent Jonah, sent Paul, sends you and me!

Paul understands this.  He was a man who was supposed to have the light of God, but was absolutely clueless to the truth, until God had mercy and showed him the light.  How much more are these Gentiles worthy of a hearing who have only known darkness and lies?

Paul gives them his conclusion.  They should keep their courage (take heart) regardless of how tough it is going to become.  We don’t always receive such information from God.  When we are in difficult situations, part of us may want to use that to accuse God.  However, faith is not found in knowing the future.  Faith is found in knowing the One who not only knows what will happen, but can work it to our good in impossible ways.

The real question is this.  Do I really know God?  If I do, then that knowledge will help to strengthen my faith, as well as the Spirit’s help.  Yet, this kind of knowing is a knowing of experience.  I can know what God’s word says, but I need to experience times of trusting God (or failing to do so) and finding out that He is trustworthy for myself.

The sailors attempt to save the ship (v. 27-38)

As we said, these men have been caught in this storm for nearly two weeks.  Regardless of when Paul told them this message, the sailors try everything they can (probably with the help of all able-bodied passengers) to save the ship.

We are told that around midnight the sailors sense that they are approaching land.  Even though it is pitch dark with howling wind and rain, they probably hear the sound of the waves dashing against something other than the ship and other water.  Years of sailing had attuned their senses to recognizing that distinct sound.  Was it wishful thinking, their mind playing tricks on them?  Regardless, they were convinced enough to take some sounding with a plummet line.  They soon discovered that the depth went from 20 fathoms to 15 fathoms.  They were sailing towards shallower and shallower waters, which is a hallmark of land.  All ships have a certain depth of water that they can sail in without the bottom of the boat bottoming out.  To keep this from happening, the command is given to throw out anchors.  This is dangerous because of the wind and the waves.  Yet, they had to try something to buy them time for a chance to make it to land.

Some of the sailors used this command as a pretense to try and escape on a small skiff, a lifeboat.  However, Paul recognizes what they are doing and warns the centurion and the soldiers that none of them will live if those men do not stay with the ship.  This may seem strange, but in 2 Corinthians 11, we are told that Paul had been shipwrecked three times and had spent a day and a night in the water.  He had spent a lot of time traveling on ships, so he knew that they were not throwing out an anchor.

Why would Paul say that the soldiers would not survive if those men didn’t stay with the ship?  This does not seem to have been a part of the earlier angelic message, but it may have been something that Paul did not mention.  It is also possible that the Holy Spirit prompted Paul’s mind in the moment that this was not part of God’s plan.  Think about it.  They are buying time for a shot at navigating any rocks and making it to land.  For these sailors to abandon ship in this moment, is to leave the rest of the people to sure death.  It would take everyone of them just to have a hope of getting to the shore.

This is where we should recognize an important fact.  These men’s skills would not be used to save the ship, but they would be used to help get the ship to a place where the people could make it to land.  God wanted to save the men of the ship, but He also wanted to use these sailors, at least partially.

This brings up the mystery of how God uses our actions at times versus sending a miracle.  We could call it the miracle of God including our efforts, even those of unsaved people. 

He wants us to do what we can even when it will never be enough.  Imagine a disheartened dad facing his inability to do a good job with his kids.  He may recognize that he is not up to the task and is failing these kids in many ways.  So, what then?  Do we just quit?  Don’t give up in such situations.  There is a sense in which none of us are enough for every relationship and purpose that God gives us to do.  However, God is not only able to use our weak and feeble attempts, but He intends to use them.  He intends to use your weak efforts, not just to help your kids, but to help you.  In the midst of your weakness, you will find God’s assistance as you give yourself to the task.  You will find yourself growing in ability, but even more, in faith that God can and does work through you and in you.

As it gets close to daylight, Paul encourages the men to eat food for their strength.  “Not a hair from the head of any of you will be lost!”  Yet, pay closer attention to how Paul presents the bread to them.

Luke’s phrasing about Paul giving thanks and breaking the bread suggests that this was also treated as communion for the Christians on board (Luke and Aristarchus).  There is something spiritual happening here as they prepare for the final push to survive.  God is using Paul to implant in the minds of all of these men this crazy man giving God thanks for bread when their lives were in danger.  They don’t know God, but they now have experienced life with a man who does know God.  These 273 (276 minus Paul, Luke and Aristarchus) souls are being touched by the God of heaven who cares for their souls.

At this point, sensing that this is their last chance at land, they send the last of the cargo (the grain) over into the sea.  This would lighten the boat and give them the best ability to steer the ship and maneuver to land.

They fail to save the ship, but God delivers them (v. 39-44)

These men will fail to save the ship, but God does not fail to save their lives, at least physically.

Once there is enough light to see, they make a run for the beach.  This involves putting up the mainsail and cutting away the anchors at the same time.  They don’t recognize the land, but they do see a place on land that is their best chance.  As they put up the sail and cut the anchors, the ship lurches forward.  At some point, they become stuck on a sandbar (often these also have clay under the sand).  The wind and the surf begins tearing up the back of the ship.  It is time to abandon ship and pray to make it to the shore without drowning or being dashed against the rocks.

Things are happening fast at this point.  They will need to swim for their lives.  We are told that the soldiers were preparing to kill the prisoners.  This was common policy for Romans and many cultures of the ancient world.  Those charged with the custody of a prisoner pledged their own life for the life of the prisoner.  If they lost a charge, then they would be put to death.  In situations where there was no way to guarantee their custody, prisoners would be put to death.  Yet, God has been working on Julius the centurion.  He normally would be okay with killing the prisoners, but he favors Paul.  Thus, he tells his men not to kill the prisoners.  Of course, then it comes down to how much they trust him.  They had to respect him enough to follow such an order.

The instructions are quickly given.  Those who can swim are to jump in first and make for land.  Others are to grab a board or something from the ship so that they can hopefully float to shore.  I love the phrase, “so it happened that they all were brought safely to land.”  This was a miracle; but even more, it was a miracle that Paul had proclaimed well in advance.  Paul had testified and witnessed to the fact of his God’s grace for them all.

In the end, the greatest shipwrecks are those that metaphorically happen in the lives of people, individuals, groups and even Republics.  Paul uses this metaphor in 1 Timothy 1:19 for a shipwrecked faith.

Sometimes there are things in our lives that God does not intend to save, even though He intends to save us.  This can bother us.  We are so used to serving Him with those things that it can be unclear just exactly what we are trusting.  Satan tested Job in this way.  God wouldn’t let him kill Job, but he could take away many of the good things in Job’s life.  Would Job curse God and die?  Did the things mean more to him than God?  These are the questions we face as we do life with God.

God always intends to save the souls of people.  The loss of ships and things in our life are not proof that He doesn’t care.  Rather, He cares about much bigger things (like eternal salvation) than we often do.  No matter what we face, God wants to save us, to save our family, to save our church, to save our State, to save our Republic, to save our world.  He is not willing that anyone perish.  So, He is working every day to the ends of saving everyone’s soul.  The real question is do you have enough faith to stand in there with Him like Paul did?

When you face a time of losing things, don’t ask God why He is doing it to you.  Rather, put it on the altar and let Him know that He means more to you than those things.  Then, ask Him what it is that He has for you to do in this situation so that other might know who He is.  Yes, sometimes our trials are just as much about the people watching us go through them than they are about us.

Shipwrecked audio

The Acts of the Apostles 73

Subtitle: The Power of God through Paul

Acts 19:11-20.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on July 28, 2024.

The spread of the Gospel was accompanied by healings, exorcisms and works of power.  Today, we will look at some more examples of some of the things that God was doing in Ephesus through the Apostle Paul.

The ministry of the apostles was a clash of the Kingdom of Christ with the kingdom of antichrist, the spirit of this world.  Yet, this cosmic battle is worked out in the lives of individuals.

Let’s look at our passage.

Unusual miracles occurred (11-12)

The idea of an unusual miracle is probably itself unusual.  The Greek literally says “no common works of power [miracles].”  So what does that mean?

It can be seen in relation to other believers, even other Christian ministers.  The things that God was doing through Paul were more astonishing than was normally happening among Christians.  There may be some truth to this.  However, we have already seen in Acts 5:15 that unusual miracles (healings) were happening through the Apostle Peter.  Of course, Jesus also had unusual works of power: a woman is healed by touching the hem of his garment, he walks on water, resurrections, and calming the storm in Galilee.  So maybe something different is meant here.

In the context of the passage, there is a contrast between what God was doing through Paul and the ineffective work of the itinerant Jewish exorcists (note that this could describe Paul, with the difference being Jesus in his life).  These Jewish exorcists had some level of success in what they did, but it was nothing compared to how God worked through Paul.  Like Moses being resisted by Jannes and Jambres in Egypt, they were trying to “compete” with Paul, but weren’t even close.

I think that Luke intends a mixture of both these concepts.  Definitely, he has shown that the power of God through the Church (especially the apostles) eclipsed many who were practicing sorcery in the areas they went (see Simon of Samaria in Acts 8:9 and Bar-Jesus of Cyprus in Acts 13:7).  The Jews here are not presented as practicing sorcery, by the way.  Yet, the apostles clearly displayed greater works of power than the average Christian of their day.

The Bible doesn’t teach us, “If Peter can do a miracle, then you can too.”  Rather, it emphasizes that God has giftings that He distributes in His wisdom.  Yes, theoretically, there is no limitation in what God can do through a believer in Christ because He can choose to do anything.  However, God has a specific calling for each of our lives with a distribution of His Spirit to assist in it. 

We should not let ourselves worry about the level of power God is displaying in our lives.  Instead, we should focus on being faithful to the leading of the Holy Spirit.  As we do that, we may even see God work through us in an increasingly powerful way.

Just like the tests that kids take in high school to determine their aptitude for certain professions, we can try to reduce the spiritual gifts of God to such a test.  I think that we should be very careful with such spiritual gifting tests.  No test can tell you what God is planning to do through you down the road.  Life has a way of taking you on a journey.  God’s gifts grow in our lives.  It is a relationship in which we are following Jesus and learning from him.  He may even bring forth new gifts in our lives at later times.

God does tend to use certain people in certain ways.  Yet, there are also scopes of the same giftings.  A person may have a gift of teaching within a local assembly, and another person may have a teaching ministry that has a world-wide scope. 

I don’t think we should think of these as lesser and greater scopes.  Our egos can’t handle such language, and it falls short of the truth.  It may be better to think of it as a wider or narrower scope (sphere of influence).  For those who lust for “greater” things, it is easy to miss the point that the greatest things we do is in those micro-spheres.  Our relationships with a spouse, children, family, local church family, co-workers, etc., are the biggest impacts that we can affect.  Don’t despise the day of small things for the Kingdom of God is built upon such things.  Small things are not small when God is doing it through us.  All ministries of wider scope can be traced back to relationships in the narrower scope.  The question is not how great I am, but how great God is.

This is where we should recognize that spiritual work for the Lord is impossible to be reduced to numbers, or metrics.  In the end, only God can show us in eternity all that was accomplished through us.

Let’s get back to our passage.  Luke gives us an example of an unusual miracle.  Articles of clothing from Paul were used to heal people and drive out demons from others.

The “handkerchief” is a word that covers everything from something you use to blow your nose to a sweat band you would tie around your head.  The “apron” is no doubt connected to Paul’s tent-making trade.  It would protect your clothes from the grime and wear-and-tear of such labor.

Though it is not said, it is most likely that the demand for Paul’s ministry was so great that someone (Paul?} came up with the idea to send these things to be placed upon the person in Paul’s absence.  I would assume that some believers would then pray for the person.  These clothes served as a representative object.  The Bible does not present this as a necessary thing any more than it presents the spit-mud that Jesus used to heal a blind man as necessary.  In some ways, they are an aid to faith.  However, God can also have symbolic reasons why He uses strange things.  Jesus and the mud harkens our minds back to God forming man from the earth and giving it life.  Jesus was the creator of man’s eyes in the beginning, and the way he healed that particular man was symbolic of this.

Some people today have turned this into a gimmick to solicit offerings from desperate people.  No one was making money and soliciting donations in Acts 19.  The healing of the centurion’s servant in Matthew 8 didn’t require any aid of faith.  We should not make a laundry list of powerful actions or objects that we need to heal people and cast out demons.  Rather, God is showing his gracious accommodation of our weakness of faith.  He is also demonstrating His ingenuity in teaching us about His power.

Let me finish this part by emphasizing that God did these powerful works “by the hand of Paul.”  There are two emphases here.  First, God is both the source and the doer of these powerful works.  God used Paul, but the gifts were only resident within him so much as the Holy Spirit was resident within him.  The power was not inherent in Paul’s person, but it is inherent in the nature of God.  We can look up to Paul as a man yielded to the leading and work of God in his life.  But, we should never elevate a person beyond that honorable place, a good example.

The second emphasis is that the powerful works were done “by the hand” of Paul.  The preposition has the sense of “through.”  Paul is a means, a channel, a vehicle for the power of God.  His calling, along with his faith in Christ and his faithfulness to the mission, brought opportunity to others to believe and be delivered by Jesus. 

Believers should watch their lives so that they are not a clogged up channel, or a broken down vehicle.  God has all the power in the universe, but He wants to work through you and me.  We need to be in such a relationship with Jesus that His will and purpose is moving forward in my life.  None of us are perfect, but we can keep focused on Christ and submitted to him.  All of us have some level of clogging in our lives.  However, the important thing is to be responding in faith to the things the Spirit of God is speaking to us about.

Some tried to copy his exorcisms (13-16)

Verse 13 tells us that some people were trying to copy Paul’s exorcisms.  I can imagine that word of his success was heard by others who trafficked in such things.  Their natural curiosity would lead them to find out how Paul was having so much success casting our evil spirit.  They are thinking in terms of tradition, formulas, words, and techniques.  However, casting out spirits for Paul (and for us) is not a matter of technique.

Luke gives us a particular instance in which some itinerant, Jewish exorcists tried to copy how Paul cast out demons.  They had developed a whole tradition of prayers and actions one could do to drive out spirits.  These were not 100% effective, but they had some level of success.  Jesus alludes to this when he is called Beelzebub by the Pharisees in Matthew 12.  He responds, “If I cast out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your sons cast them out?”  Regardless of their level of success, The power of Christ through Paul (and other Apostles) was in clear contrast to their success and the way they went about performing them.

We must be careful in the Church today that faith in Christ and walking in the power of the Holy Spirit is the emphasis rather than a technique or a formula.  We have developed our own set of traditions around exorcisms.  We have our own formulaic prayers and rituals that can subtly replace the presence of the Holy Spirit in someone sent by Christ.  These are power-encounters between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness that operate through our faith.  We have general authority over evil spirits, and yet, Jesus warns that some kinds of evil spirits cannot come out without prayer and fasting.

These seven Jewish exorcists are sons of a chief priest named Sceva.  The mimicking Paul by saying, “We exorcise you by the Jesus whom Paul preaches.”  This already sounds a bit wimpy.  We cast you out by this guy someone else talks about?  Jesus had been declared a heretic and executed by the chief priests.  I’m sure these guys did not send a letter back to Papa Sceva asking if this was okay.  We could chalk it up to an experiment to see if it would work.  Regardless, this demonstrates the sad reality that no lineage of spiritual men can guarantee that we are anything more than a parody of our ancestors.  It is not enough to have a form of godliness.  We also need the power of God that comes from a relationship of faith in Jesus.

The men are going to fail badly.  This is not something to rejoice over, but to weep over.  These men persisted in not believing in Jesus, and yet, their pragmatism causes them to experiment with the name of Jesus.  There is much pragmatic experimenting going on in the Church today, precisely because we are not walking in faith with Christ.  We look for easier answers than changing ourselves.

When they attempt to exorcise the demon, it answers them.  Now, let’s understand right up front that all demons are liars.  You cannot trust anything they say, even when there is a thread of truth in it.  We find that with this demon.  The response is this.  “Jesus I know, and Paul I know; but who are you?”

Notice that the demon puts the emphasis on reputation.  Who are you?  Your reputation must be pretty small because it has not preceded you.  Essentially, I’ve never heard of you, and you have no authority here.  However, the key is not about the demon hearing about your ministry.  It is not your reputation, but your relationship with Jesus.  These men are not in relationship with Jesus.  In fact, we can say that they are as much an adversary to Jesus as the demon is.  They have no authority because they don’t know the one who does have authority, Jesus.

Paul, on the other hand, was walking in obedience to Christ and was directly empowered and authorized by him.  In fact, Paul is in this place because he repented when he was confronted with the Word of God, the Lord Jesus himself.  The truth of his rebellion against Yahweh caused him to fall on his face in humility and beg forgiveness.

Human technique can obtain a certain level of effects.  However, true spiritual power comes from spending time with Jesus and being led by Him.

Of course, they don’t know what to say to the demon’s response.  This leads to the possessed man overpowering all seven of them and beating them badly.  The stories of the supernatural power of demon-possessed people are legion (pun intended).  It is partially because humans do not like pain and will only push themselves so far.  When the demon is in control of a person, they do not care about the pain they feel.  Yet, they are supernatural beings and appear to be able to animate a body at a level of power above what seems natural.  Regardless of how that works, these men run out of the building with their clothes torn off and bleeding.

Evil spirits cannot stand before the follower of Jesus Christ who has a living connection with Him.  I wonder if any of these seven sons of Sceva became a Christian after this.  In God, even a beating from a demon-possessed man can be the mercy of God confronting us with the truth and calling us back to Him.  God often uses the worst of things to reach our hearts and change our minds.  Can you imagine that testimony?  “The best day of my life was the beating I received from a demon possessed man because it showed me that I needed Jesus!”

These things had an effect on Ephesus (17-20)

We are told that this failed exorcism became widely known and fear came upon the people.  Such things are unsettling to people.  It is out of the ordinary and begs the question of just what is going on.  They realized that there was something powerful behind Paul and these Christians.

Because of this fear, the Lord Jesus was magnified.  That doesn’t mean that they all were saved.  However, there was a greater appreciation for what Christ was doing through His people.  There was a higher estimation of these Christians and the Jesus they were talking about.  Sometimes, we can be so busy compromising that we don’t understand how much we are diminishing Jesus in the eyes of the world.  May Christ be magnified through our faith.

Verse 18 tells us that many who believed, confessing and telling their (sinful) deeds.  Of course, this describes repentance.  To confess is to speak the same thing as another.  They were agreeing with God’s word and the statements of His Apostles.  They needed to agree that they were living lives of sin, and then turn towards following him.  This is the transformed life.

God wants to bless and save all of us, but that can only be done by coming into agreement with Him about sin.  I’m a sinner, and I am lost.  If it wasn’t for Jesus, I would be stuck in my sins and hopeless.  Now, I have put my faith in his work and his commands.   The transformed life is one that is lived saying yes to the Word and Spirit of God.  Revival is never about an exciting service, but always about a living a different life, following Jesus.

An example of their repentance and trusting Jesus is given.  The Bible speaks of works that are worthy of repentance.  What does it mean for people who practice magic to repent?  Verse 19 tells us that “many of those who had practiced magic brought their books together and burned them in the sight of all.”  It was very expensive to buy occult knowledge.  These people could have chosen to sell them to others.  Throwing them away seems such a waste to our flesh.  The key is that they are seeing that their magic is worthless and Jesus is priceless.  There really is a day to burn books.  However, this is self-censorship and not a government enforced practice.  We can love to tell others what they should be doing to prove that they are good people.  However, we need to let the Holy Spirit teach us the drastic actions we should do that would make for true repentance.  They burned all of those books that valued up to 50,000 pieces of silver.  The term is not specific enough to know which coin is in view, but it is generally taken for a silver coin that was the equivalent of a day’s wage for a laborer.

Books are resistant to burning because the pages are compressed and it is hard for oxygen to get to it.  You have to keep tending the fire, turning things over, so that the fire can consume it all and turn it into ash.  It is not enough to start down a path of repentance.  We must stick with the works of repentance until the former things are ashes.

Finally, we are told that the Word of the Lord grew mightily and prevailed.  This word prevailed was used earlier of the demon-possessed man prevailing over the sons of Sceva.  The devil has his day when people do not stand with God and His Anointed One, the Lord Jesus Christ.  But, when we stand in Christ and do the works of faith that are led by the Holy Spirit, then the Word of the Lord will grow mightily and prevail in our homes, communities and Republic.

Power of God audio

The Acts of the Apostles 34

Subtitle: The Sin of Simon the Sorcerer

Acts 8:9-25.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on February 5, 2023.

We are going to look at a man named Simon in our text today.  He is often referred to as Simon Magus because it is a Latin transliteration of the underlying Greek term here.  Magus is behind our word for "magician," but this probably brings to mind something more like David Copperfield, an illusionist.  A magus would have trained in the occult, magical arts.  This is why I am using the term "sorcerer."  As in any field of endeavor, some were more adept than others in these arts.

We should note two things about this, whether we are talking about 20 centuries ago or today.  First, there are real evil spirits that some people are able to contact.  They can obtain information and a small degree of physical power through these spirits.  Of course, God warns us in the Bible against reaching out to such spirits because they are deceivers and manipulators. 

The second thing we should notice is that these sorcerers will, to more or less degree, employ trickery in their activity.  Sometimes a spiritist is 100% a trickster, a sham, a con artist.  Other times, there is a mixture.

An example from before 2nd century AD comes to us through Hyppolytus in his work The Refutation of all Heresies.  He tells the story of a sorcerer in Libya named Apsethus who trained parrots to say, "Apsethus is god."  He then released them in the area where they flew around saying that Apsethus was god.  This was used by him to manipulate the people to believe in his "magical" powers.  Apparently, a man figured out what was going on and captured some of the parrots.  He then taught the parrots to say, "Apsethus having caged us, compelled us to say Apsethus is a god."  Upon the release of the parrots, the Libyans were not happy with Apsethus and burned him to death.

Humans can be highly manipulable when we are not grounded in Truth.  Even many who give lip-service to Truth can find themselves being manipulated by others.

Today, we are going to talk about the importance of true repentance when we become a Christian, a follower of Jesus Christ.  Philip has been preaching at Samaria along with amazing signs and miracles happening.  This brings us to verse nine of this chapter, where we find that there is a man in the crowd who is a sorcerer. 

This sorcerer appears to be saved at first, but his actions will prove to be false.  He was not actually converted to putting his faith in Jesus Christ.  Outward appearance without inner repentance will always express itself outwardly over time.

Let's look at our passage.

The Samaritans and Simon respond to Philip's message (vs 9-13)

Verse 6 mentions that multitudes were heeding Philip's words because of the miracles they saw him doing.  This brings us to the man Simon.

We do not know much about this man.  He has a Hebrew name, which would not be uncommon for a Samaritan.  He would not be considered a good religious Samaritan because of his sorcery.  However, he would most likely be familiar with Samaritan religious thinking, and Judean religious thinking to some degree.

Somewhere along the line, he was attracted to the magical arts of the occult.  He would have studied it and practiced it until he was adept enough to make a name for himself.  This is what he had done at Samaria.  He had been able to convince them that he had great power, even astonishing them to the point that they called him "The Great Power of god" (I refuse to capitalize god in this case).  There is no description of what great things Simon did to deserve this title.  Whether he used tricks such as parrots, or he was in connection with evil spirits, Simon was taking advantage of their spiritual ignorance.

Are we any wiser today?  It is easy to think of these Samaritans as ignorant, but not to see how much we can be like them.  Are we any less "wowed" by people and exhibit worship like activity towards them?  We may not call them gods, but we often act as if they are.  Whole groups today can come under the powerful persuasion of an individual, or an ideology, and it doesn't have to be religious.

Yet, the power of the One True God showed up one day in the person of Philip the Evangelist.  God is always "messing" with our little human rackets.  The power of the Holy Spirit through Philip clearly eclipsed anything that Simon had been doing.  He knew that he could not compete with what Philip was doing.

We are told by Irenaeus, the Bishop of Lyon c. AD 120 to AD 150, that Simon Magus turned back to the dark arts and mixed Christianity with the occult.  This gave rise to what would later be called Gnosticism.

As the Samaritans are believing on Jesus and being baptized by Philip, Simon the "great sorcerer" was not leading in any capacity.  He wasn't leading against Philip and he wasn't leading towards Philip.  Simon was somewhat paralyzed by the power Philip displayed.  However, he gets in line of those who are saying they believe and want to be baptized in water.

I will point out, in light of the testimony of Hippolytus and others of the 2nd century, that it never says that Simon was saved, only that he believed.  What exactly did he believe?

Simon clearly made a confession of faith and he is baptized too.  However, biblical faith that saves has an object for which believe, i.e., a good future, and a subject (foundation) upon which, or because of which, we believe.  It is supposed to be Jesus and what he has done that upholds our faith that God will not judge us, but instead save us for eternity.  We are told by James that the demons believe in God (His existence); they even tremble (His power).  Yet, they do not mix such belief with faith upon Jesus and towards glorifying God.

This is important because some people treat water baptism almost as a magical thing itself.  The idea that water baptism itself causes a person to be regenerated, made spiritually alive, rather than faith alone is called baptismal regeneration.  Going through the "proper" ritual by an "authorized" representative is the typical mentality that tries to give people a stamp of approval based upon an outward action.  If a person has true faith, then there will be certain outward actions.  However, outward actions can be done without true faith in Jesus.  This means that the absence of outward confession and water baptism lets us know that there has not been an inner transformation.   But, the presence of outward confession and water baptism cannot reveal what is really going on in a heart.  Only time can reveal if true conversion has happened in a heart.

We are told that Simon attaches himself to Philip because of his amazement at the miracles that Philip was doing.  Simon is used to doing tricks and magical arts to astonish people, even if demonic power was involved as well.  He seems to be trying to figure out Philip's method, as well as enjoying the show.

In this text, there is no indication yet that his belief was false, or insincere.  Yet, he will prove not to be right before God. 

Isn't Philip filled with the Holy Spirit?  Shouldn't he have known that something was wrong with Simon?

There are reasons why God does things in a certain way.  Just because you have the Holy Spirit, it does not mean that He will reveal everything in the universe to you.  God has His purposes and reasons for doing what He does.  It is possible that God left Philip in the dark because He is setting up a clash between Simon the Sorcerer and Simon Peter the Apostle of Jesus Christ. 

Yes, God could have used Philip to do this, but He didn't.  It is not a matter of power, and not even a matter of position like we tend to think of it, i.e., only apostles can do this.  God was laying down the foundation of the Faith for His Church, so it was critical that these apostles be involved in the expansion of the Gospel from Jerusalem into Samaria.  It is not a deficiency in Philip, but in God's desire to use someone else.  We might find ourselves saying, "Why not me?"  And, it can sometimes be an envious thing.  We must stop this.  The Spirit of God distributes His gifts as He wills, and Christ deploys them as He wills.  It is not for us to whine and complain about how He uses us.  In fact, whining is a good way to be benched and receive discipline from the Lord.  No matter how gifted you are, you need the gifts of the Spirit working through other people to be ministered unto you.  The picture is all of the gifts of the Spirit working through each of us so that we all will be conformed to the image of Christ (Ephesians 4:11-16).  It is not about any one of us becoming The Great Power of God!

Simon's sin is revealed (vs 14-25)

It will be through the Apostle Peter that Simon's sin is revealed.  We wouldn't be human if we didn't fear having sin exposed.  This is part of sin's power.  It drills into your brain, "I can't be exposed!  It will ruin everything if it is!"  Of course, this is a lie.

Jesus said that you will know the Truth and the Truth will set you free.  Yes, knowing Jesus (who is the Truth) is important, but it is also the Truth about me.  I am a sinner and in bondage to sin.  When I face this, I can truly understand the offer that Jesus is giving to me.  We can make the mistake of trying to make people feel good by saying, "You're not really bad."  However, we diminish the love of God when we do so.  If I am all that and God loves me, then I will have an attitude that is entitled.  However, if I know that I am a sinner in bondage to sin, then the love of Christ catches me off-guard, and captures my heart with the unbelievable sacrifice that He made for whosoever will believe on him.  Hallelujah!  This is the grace of God to Simon that God sends someone to rebuke him of his sin.  At that point, true salvation can take place because Simon will be operating from a place of Truth and not deception.

It is from this part of the story that we see that Simon was not actually saved.

We are told in verse 14 that the apostles at Jerusalem "heard that Samaria had received the word of God."  It may be that Philip sent word, realizing that he would need some help.  He may also have wanted the apostles there to help supervise, or even out of respect  for their authority in Christ.

Next, we are told that the apostles decide to send Peter and John to them.  We could think of this as an inspection, but I am not so sure that is how it is functioning.  According to Ephesians 4:11-16, apostles are one of the gifts that Jesus has given to his Church.  It would then seem logical that some of them should go and be the blessing that God intended them to be in Samaria.  Notice that there is no hint that Peter is running the show.  The disciples appear to decide as a group.  However, there choice of Peter and John recognizes that God worked extraordinarily through Peter, even more than the other apostles, except Paul.  Paul himself recognized that God worked effectively through him among the Gentiles in the same way that God worked through Peter among the Jews (and we should add Samaritans- see Galatians 2:7-8).

These apostles of Jesus laid down a foundation for the early Church among the Jews, Samaritans, and the nations.  This gift of a sure foundation is important for us today.  We must build upon that foundation, and not try to see how far off of the foundation we can build without it all falling apart.  Yes, I know about the science of cantilevering.  However, there's no cantilevering in Jesus!

When the apostles arrive, we are told that they pray for the Samaritans to receive the Holy Spirit while laying their hands upon them.  We are not told why, but the Samaritans had only been baptized in the name of Jesus, and not yet baptized in the Holy Spirit.

The New Testament recognizes three baptisms among believers in that day.  The baptism of John the Baptist was a baptism of repentance that was to become ready for the Messiah.  This was specific repentance, but belief on the Messiah in general.  Jesus had not yet been revealed.  However, one day, John pointed out that Jesus was the lamb of God.  Baptism in the name of Jesus is still a baptism of repentance, but it also includes specifically believing that Jesus of Nazareth is that awaited Messiah.  From that moment on, the baptism of John would no longer be needed.  It's general function has now been specified in Jesus and by his apostles.

Baptism in the Holy Spirit was first shown in Acts chapter two.  You can think of it in this way.  At salvation, the Holy Spirit baptizes a person into the body of Christ.  This is the spiritual reality behind a godly person water baptizing one who has put their faith in Jesus.  At the baptism of the Holy Spirit, Jesus baptizes the believer into the Holy Spirit, completely immersed in God's Spirit (Matthew 3:11).

Another way of thinking about these two baptisms involves the picture of being filled.  At salvation, the Spirit of God takes up residence within a person.  However, at the baptism of the Holy Spirit, a person is completely filled with the Spirit to the point of it overflowing their life.  Jesus connected it to an empowering of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8).

That said, we can recognize that these Samaritans, who Philip baptized, were now believers in Jesus and the Holy Spirit had taken up residence within them.  This is a definite example of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit happening subsequent to salvation.

This same dynamic happened with the 120 Jews in Acts 2.  It seems illogical to say that they are not saved during those ten days that they are praying for the Holy Spirit.  Yet, we should recognize that the Bible never says that this is necessary.  A person can be saved and baptized in the Holy Spirit all at once.  God is able to do it as He wills.  This seems to be the case with Cornelius and those in his house in Acts 10:47. 

The apostles also placed their hands upon these Samaritans as they pray for them to receive the Holy Spirit.  This too is not a necessary component because we see the household of Cornelius being filled with the Holy Spirit without it, even as Peter is still preaching to them.  Thus, we should avoid terminology or ideology that treats the hands as if we are transmitting the Holy Spirit into people.  These hands are merely a symbol of the touch of God, and can be an aid to a person's faith in believing.

There is no ritual, or perfect way of doing things, to receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit.  In fact, isn't that the kind of thinking that Simon the sorcerer would have, one of occult thinking, magical thinking?

Believers in Jesus should be water baptized and also pray to be baptized in the Holy Spirit, also called being filled with the Spirit.  We should not fret over the timing of this, but simply focus on looking to God in faith for what He has promised, and trusting that His timing is perfect for us.

It is at this point that Simon the sorcerer recognizes the laying on of hands coinciding with the being filled with the Holy Spirit.  We don't know exactly what he saw, but it was something visible to those watching.  Was it tongues of fire descending upon them like Acts 2 says?  Or, was it that they began to speak in tongues?  Regardless, Simon recognized that something significant was happening when the apostles laid hands on these believers and prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit.

Simon offers money to the apostles so that they will give him this power, i.e., the ability to lay his hands on people and give them the Holy Spirit.  Let's be clear.  The New Testament never represents the apostles simply giving the power of the Holy Spirit to others.  They are cooperating with the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit is from God and is a being that comes upon people.  He is working with the apostles, not being divvied out by them.

Notice the occult thinking that Simon employs.  These men simply have a greater power than him and he can purchase the ability from them.  Like buying a spell book, or paying a master craftsman to teach him, Simon is simply trying to better his "spirit-powers."  Simon pictures himself in the driver's seat with this power, and no doubt, making a lot of money off of it.

We all have cultural thinking that can cloud how we respond to the Bible and God's things.  We also have another layer of trade-craft, or professional, thinking like Simon's occult training.  We see this with the Corinthians.  The Corinthian Christians were having trouble because they were trying to be a church while using their culture's thinking.  By the 10th and 11th centuries, there were several voices within Europe that spoke out against these practices slipping into the Church.  These issues continued and became a big part of the Reformation in AD 1530.  The things of God are not for sale, and those who sell them bring judgment upon themselves.

To this day, simony is a word used to describe the buying or selling of something spiritual, even a spiritual office.  It could be buying a position of authority within the Church, trying to buy the gifts of the spirit, or buying indulgences that purport to remove the guilt of sin.

Let me remind us of a story in 2 Kings 5.  This is the story of Naaman the Syrian General who becomes a leper.  Nothing can help him until he told about a prophet in Israel named Elisha.  Naaman travels to see Elisha and asks to be healed.  In the story, Elisha doesn't even come outside to see the General, but sends a message to him to go and dip seven times in the Jordan river.

This seems to upset the General.  Elisha doesn't do him the honor of speaking to him, and then tells him to dip in the Jordan, which he saw as a muddy river that was not on par with the rivers of Syria.  Naaman heads home in a huff, but one of his servants talks him into just trying it.  Naaman complies, and, when he comes up from dipping the seventh time, he is healed.

He then goes back to Elisha extremely thankful.  He wants to bless Elisha with the wealth that he had brought, but Elijah refuses to take anything.  There is nothing wrong with what Naaman is doing.  He is simply grateful.  However, Elijah knows that this is a critical witness to this Gentile and those who will hear his story back home.  This is a holy moment, and he would not mess it up by sending the message that the God of Israel, the One True God, can be bought with money.  The power and work of God is so precious (it is paid for by the blood of Jesus) that we cannot let ourselves mix it with money.

The story goes on because Elisha's servant Gehazi is shocked that they don't take any money.  He sneaks out and catches up with Naaman on the road.  He lies and says that his master has changed his mind.  Of course, Naaman is happy to give to him whatever he wants.  When Gehazi comes back, hiding the stuff, Elisha confronts him.  He is told that Naaman's leprosy would now cling to him.  Gehazi immediately became a leper and ran out of the house.

There is too much commercialization going on within the Church of Jesus.  We need to repent and become far more careful about the things of God because we are sending the wrong message to the world around us.  God is not pleased, and judgment will come upon us (is coming upon us even now).

In verse 20, Peter rebukes Simon and details his sin.  The true problem in Simon's heart is fourfold.

First, Simon thought he could buy the power of God.  God's favor cannot be purchased.  You can't give God enough money to obtain His love, favor, or spiritual power.  This is the wealthy man's short-cut, and will only bring condemnation.  I am not saying that positions on church boards and deals don't happen.  I am saying that those people are bringing condemnation upon themselves.  Do not be deceived by the slowness of God's judgment.  Your sins will find you out; they will catch up to  you in the end.

The second sin, Simon's heart is not right with God.  He is not agreeing with God that he has been living a life of sin, and he is not humbly crying out for God's forgiveness.  This is a heart that is right before God.  Even after God forgives us, we walk in humility before him and our fellow man.  Learning how to become more like Jesus, not how to obtain personal gain from this new group of people.

The third sin, Simon is poisoned by bitterness.  The Holy Spirit helps Peter to see that Simon is sweet on the outside, but inside he is seething with bitterness.  Most likely, he is bitter with Philip for messing up the sweet deal he had going in Samaria, and he is probably now bitter with Peter and John.  Pretense on the outside and bitterness on the inside is not a person surrendered before God.

Lastly, Simon is still a slave to unrighteousness.  He has not died to the old life, and the old man.  He is not only looking back, as Lot's wife did, but he really hasn't even left Sodom.  He has lost power and position, and all he can think about is how to recoup some of that power and position.  This kind of passive-aggressive behavior is not of the Lord and is not pleasing to Him.  Such people are always looking for an opportunity for themselves and will stab you in the back if they can.

True believers do not have to worry about such people.  Yes, they can cause difficulty and pain in your life, but if you are filled with the Spirit of God, then you He will work all things to your good.

Peter tells Simon to repent and ask God for forgiveness.  Peter even adds the suggestion that God is not obligated to forgive Simon.  I believe this is more to impress the seriousness of the situation upon him.

Simon still doesn't get it.  He begs Peter to pray for him.  He still sees Peter as the magician who can fix his problem.  No one can repent for you.  Simon needed to be broken of that pride and cry out to God for himself.

It doesn't say here, but tradition tells us that Simon went back to his magical arts, mixing Christianity with his occult teachings.  This becomes a new form of Gnosticism that tried to used Christian ideas as a vehicle for their spiritual virus.  The Bible simply turns from Simon and moves on.  Simon's opportunity had come and gone.  God's grace had come to him and he was missing it.

The apostles then preach throughout Samaria and head back to Jerusalem.

Let me close with this.  We should put Simon the Sorcerer completely out of our mind because many today have the same problem.  They see the Bible, Philip, Peter, and John as merely religious charlatans.  Yet, the Bible is the Word of God.  There is a real power of the Holy Spirit.  When God shows up, all of the false powers of this world (whether outside the Church or inside of it) will take a back seat.  There was something different about Jesus and his apostles.  This true power of God is able to help us to become like Jesus.  It is not a power to make me famous, or powerful in the group.  It is about helping others, and them helping us.  Jesus is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit.  Let's be a people who are not trying to buy the Holy Spirit, or be good enough to deserve it.  Rather, we come to Jesus by faith with hands open saying, "Lord Jesus, fill me that I might be used to bless others, and help me to receive the gifts of your Spirit through others.  Amen!"

Sorceror audio

The Acts of the Apostles 33

Subtitle: The Gospel Spreads to Samaria

Acts 8:1-8.  This sermon was preached by Pastor Marty Bonner on January 29, 2023.

In Acts 1:8, Jesus says, "[Y]ou shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."  The book of Acts can be outlined using these three geographical descriptions.

• Chps 1-7, The Gospel and Holy Spirit upon Jerusalem
• Chps 8-12, The Gospel and Holy Spirit upon Judea and Samaria
• Chps 13-28, The Gospel and Holy Spirit upon the nations

The phrase "ends of the earth" is not fixated upon a geographical point on the globe.  It is a picturesque way of describing all of the nations of the globe.  We see this supported in Revelation 5, particularly verse 9, where those worshiping God around the throne are "out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation."

The death of Stephen is presented as the transitional point for the Gospel spreading from Jerusalem into the surrounding area of Judea and Samaria (further north).  Luke shows through his book that the words of Jesus in Acts 1:8 happened as he said from roughly AD 30 to AD 62.  Of course, the book ends with Paul under house arrest in Rome, but spreading the Gospel. 

Obviously, the Gospel had not made it to the ends of the earth, but the burden is not upon him alone.  He hands the torch down to others.  In fact, far more happened in those thirty years by others to spread the Gospel.  This has led to the concept of an Acts 29 Christian, or an Acts 29 church.  It simply means that they recognize, we recognize, that we are continuing the witness to all the nations that the apostles started.

We will see today that persecution is one of the things that God uses to spread the Gospel.  It isn't necessary.  But, when it comes, it is used of God for the good of souls who need to hear.

Let's look at our passage.

A great persecution of the Church begins (vs 1-3)

In verse one, Stephen gives us a snapshot, summary, of this transitional point of the Church.  We have seen persecution upon individuals like Peter, John, and the apostles up to this point.  However, after Stephen's death a "great" persecution begins.

There are several words for persecution that are used.  This one emphasizes that the hunt is on and people are made to flee from pursuers.  Yet, we should know that the demeanor of those fleeing is not part of this word.  Some could flee in terror, but we do not see this in the book of Acts.  They do not flee in terror, but they do not want to be imprisoned or die.  Thus, they pragmatically move out of the sphere of danger.  They move on, but go forth victoriously- as we will see in the rest of this passage.

At this point, it begins to cost more to follow Jesus.  There is the question of whether you will stay or leave Jerusalem, but it also demands an answer to this question.  Is it worth it to keep following Jesus?  The heat is now on all believers in Jesus.

Luke tells us that this pursuit of anyone who was a Christian is what led to them being scattered throughout the region.  The word for "scatter" pictures the casting of seeds.  Each one of these Christians is a seed, or earthen vessel, containing the treasure of the Gospel and the Holy Spirit.  That seed and Spirit are capable of fruit in their lives, but also of life for others.

This is something that we need to get into our heart.  I might have a wart on the end of my nose and people tend to avoid me.  However, if I have the Gospel and the Holy Spirit, then there is a treasure in me that people need.  Of course, many who are very easy to look at are empty of any treasure.  May God teach us as believers in Jesus to remember that "he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him."  (Isaiah 53:2 ESV). 

What the enemy intended for evil, God turned to the good.  These believers went forth telling people about Christ and seeing others believe.

It is interesting to me that Jesus had told them that he wanted them to take the Gospel to the ends of the earth.  Yet, it took persecution to kick-start this part of the mission.  Were they being disobedient?  I do not think that Luke is showing this at all.  There does not seem to be any sense of this in the text.  I think the real point is that there is a proper timing of the Holy Spirit, and a proper way.  It doesn't always have to be because of persecution, but God was allowing Jerusalem to have as much grace as they would take.  They needed to hear the Gospel because the clock was ticking on Israel remaining as a nation.  Judgment was coming.  God gives them as much grace as they will take, and this persecution is basically the leadership pushing the grace of God out of Jerusalem.  Of course, they weren't able to push it all out.

Make sure that you don't miss this progression for us as individuals.  We need to receive the Gospel and the Holy Spirit within our own heart and mind, within our own family, which is our "Jerusalem."  As God teaches us and fills us with His Holy Spirit, He will then lead us forth to witness in our community and as far as the scope He has given us will lead.  We shouldn't rush it, but neither should we lag behind being dilatory or lazy.  God's heart is for the nations, and it begins for each one of us at the center of our hearts and minds.

Verse two shows us that Stephen is buried by his fellow Christians, "devout men."  It was considered an offense to publicly lament one who had been executed, especially for blasphemy.  However, these men make it abundantly clear that they are sorrowing over the death of Stephen.  He was a righteous man who did not deserve such a death.

This sorrow is understandable and should not be rebuked.  Though we do not sorrow as those who have no hope, we do sorrow nonetheless.  2 Corinthians 7:9-10 makes this point.  They weep because they are separated from one they love, and in a horrible way.  They weep for the loss of such a man who was used of God to heal people and set them free from evil spirits.  He fed widows and cared for the unfortunate.  We should weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice (Romans 12:15).

Yet, we do not want to become stuck in grief, and paralyzed by it.  Just as Stephen had served God faithfully to the end of his life, so too we must go on without him and serve God faithfully.  We do no one honor by walking away from God because of what happened to them.  Stephen's witness was that it was worth it to die for Jesus!  Grief has a natural cycle that is not exactly the same for each individual, but will definitely take as much as a year to fully absorb.

This hounding of Christians is lead by the young man Saul.  He seems to be zealous for removing Christians from Jerusalem.  Of course, he is being zealous to push the grace of God out of the city.  In such, we can become blind to the things that God is using in our life in order to bless us.  In our ignorance, we can push out the grace of God, bringing harm to ourselves and others around us.

Luke writes that Saul made a "havoc" of the Church.  The word has the idea of publicly shaming it by defiling their dignity, even causing a stigma to be attached to these Christians.  We see this with Saul entering "every house," and "dragging" them off to jail.  The dragging may or may not have been literal.  It is a word that is frequently used for arrests.  In many cases, it is clear that there is no actual dragging taking place.  It would be similar to a person today saying that, "They slapped him in cuffs and dragged him off to jail."  Again, it could be literal, but the language of slapping and dragging can be metaphorical.

Regardless, it was a difficult time for believers.

Samaria receives the Gospel (vs 4-8)

Saul is clearly trying to contain this "heretical sect," as he takes them to prison, but it doesn't work.  We should remember that there are at least 5,000 Christians in the city, and Luke has given several other summary verses where he describes the Church growing more.  Thus, we have a magnitude of thousands of Christians spreading out into the region.  This will cause the Gospel to spread out into Samaria and Judea as well- just as Jesus said.

It is interesting to me that Saul cannot seem to keep himself from doing the work of Jesus, whether he is trying to stop Jesus or help him.  Ironically, he is really bad at stopping the Church.  Everything he does only spreads it more.  This is the tragic fate of those fight against Christ and his purposes.  In the end, they only help us to do what God wants us to do.

Of course, the world is a lot better at trying to put out the fire of Christians today.  Yet, if you have your eyes upon Jesus, and are filled with his Holy Spirit, it is not that good!  We may be spiritually kicked in the gut and lose our breath, but the Breath of God will fill our lungs and enable us to catch our breath.  Just know that God is in control, not in that He is operating humans as marionettes.  However, His eternal purposes will always be accomplished in our lives and this world!  You can't lose on His side!

Luke then turns away from the persecution of Saul in order to give some stories of God powerfully working through these dispersed ones.

The scattered believers preached the Word.  Though the believers are scattering because of persecution, they are not keeping quiet.  They are using the Scriptures, the Word, to explain to people about the recent events in Jerusalem.  These are the Scriptures that talk about Jesus.  The Messiah had come, was executed, but then was resurrected.  He has now poured out the Holy Spirit upon those who believe.  Luke has already given us a taste of such preaching through Peter and Stephen's accounts in chapter 2 and chapter 7.  None of these events involve a pulpit or podium.  Preaching is not solely the work of a pastor.  It simply means to proclaim.

This brings us to Philip.  We know that this is not the Apostle Philip because verse 14 will tell us that the apostles were at Jerusalem when this happens.  Acts 6 describes the calling of seven men to be deacons in the early Church at Jerusalem.  Luke then went on to describe the ministry and martyrdom of the man who was first on that list of deacons.  Now, Luke shows us that the second deacon on that list, Philip, was powerfully used of the Holy Spirit as well.

As a side-note, the Apostle Philip is never specifically mentioned by name after Acts chapter one.  He is generally mentioned in the phrase "the apostles."  The Philip here is Philip the Deacon.  Of course, that ministry is not going to be able to continue with the scattering of the Church, at least not in the form that they had set up.  He will be later described in Acts 21:8 as "Philip the Evangelist, who was one of The Seven."  Saul had caused Philip to be promoted from a deacon to an evangelist, i.e., someone who has a ministry of telling others about the Gospel of Jesus.  For some reason, Philip goes to the city of Samaria. 

The city of Samaria is in the middle of the region of Samaria.  It had been destroyed several times through the centuries.  It was actually rebuilt and renamed by Herod the Great in the 1st Century BC.  It's new name was Sebaste, which is Greek.  Clearly, this was not a name that was popular with first century Jews.  This city was populated with around 6,000 people or more.  Note:  Here is a link to a map to help you picture where Samaria (Sebaste) is in relation to Jerusalem.  You may also note that Sychar is where Jesus ministered after speaking to the Samaritan woman at Jacob's Well.

Philip does not go to Samaria to hide.  He begins "preaching Christ" to them."  This is essentially the same as preaching the Word and we should not try to make a technical point out of these two phrases.  The early Church did not study the Word out of a mere desire to grow in intelligence.  They studied and taught the Word to know Jesus the Messiah better!  In fact, the word translated "preach" in both instances is different in Greek.  The first is literally to "Good News" someone.  The second is to proclaim, or herald, news that may or may not be good news.  It emphasizes the proclamation.  Jesus, the resurrected Lord who is in heaven pouring out the Holy Spirit on those who believe in Jesus, is good news that we should be proclaiming!

Notice that this deacon, now Evangelist, does miraculous signs by casting out demons, and healing people, specifically those who had paralysis and were lame.  He is not an apostle, but He is filled with the Holy Spirit and being led by the Holy Spirit.  There is no sense in the Bible that we have to have a title in order to be used greatly of God.  Any one who believes upon Jesus and is filled with the Holy Spirit can be used to do miraculous things.  Yes, God can do these things through us today.

There are seasons in which God gives signs or not.  However, we must be careful of using this as an excuse.  Maybe, they were far more desperate than we are as a people?  You can be cynical about God doing such things today.  However, it can also be our cynicism and lack of faith that leads to these things not happening right now.  Many in the Church, lean on everything, but God.  May we learn to lean upon Him and be in the place where He can do anything through us that He desires.  This calls for a person to be in prayer, in the word, seeking the leading of the Spirit, and then obeying His leading!

Luke mentions that the people paid close attention to what Philip had to say.  We do not know how many of these people were religious Samaritans.  Herod had brought people in to populate the city, and it had several pagan temples.  Still, the ministry at Sychar would have primed the pump in the area.  They would have known about Jesus and his disciples.  These inhabitants of Sebaste are transfixed at the message of Philip and the power of the Holy Spirit working through him.

This brings us to verse eight, which tells us that there was great joy in the city.  Think about the many people who are no longer demon-possessed, and those who knew them.   Think of a desperate parent who has tried everything to help their child, and now they are completely healed!  Think about those who can now walk, and are running around leaping and praising God!  Think about those who had been paralyzed showing everyone who will listen how they can now use their limb! 

How long had they gone without much in the way of God's grace, and then one day things changed.  Remember that about God.  We may be hyper-cynical about a move of God in our family, city, or Republic, but some days, God just changes things!  Maybe, He has been wanting to move for decades, perhaps centuries, but no one was in the right place spiritually for it to happen?  This day, Philip was in the right place with God.  Amen!

What a beautiful thing.  It was almost as if Jesus was back!  In truth, Jesus is back in us when we cooperate with and operate in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Yes, there are seasons to the work of God, but its foundation is a person who:  believes in Christ, seeks to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and asks Jesus each day what they should be doing for him.  We don't know if we are a generation that will experience what Jeremiah experienced, unbelief and the judgment of God upon the nation.  How can we know?  We can only know by being faithful like Jeremiah.  Even though it fills like he didn't do any good, Jeremiah lived a life of the Spirit of God and passed that torch on to the next generation.  He didn't fail, the people of Israel stuck in their flesh failed.  The faithful remnant is always victorious to accomplish exactly what God sent them to do!

You and I can be those people who are doing the will of Jesus and are ready for what he may have next.  We are Acts 29 Christians whether we use that phrase or not.  Until Jesus comes back, we aren't done working.  Let's get to work!

Samaria audio