Great persecution coming
Acts 8:1-8; 6/18/2023; BCBC/IOUC; Rev. Paul Wang
Introduction
Christians have forged an indissoluble bond with persecution from the day they believed in the Lord. This is the battle between truth and evil, light and darkness, eternal life and eternal death, forever irreconcilable. Let’s look at the first point:
Pay the price for the Lord
It’s not that Christians have anything to argue about, but that Satan is not reconciled and wants to drag more people to hell with him. The world is disturbed when Christians go to preach the gospel of eternal life. First of all, the spread of points, lines and surfaces. Stephen’s martyrdom opened the prelude to the persecution of the New Testament church. We may face persecution and pay more attention to the degree of suffering of believers, but we do not look to the kingdom of God. If we look at it in conjunction with Acts 1:8, we will find a mission line for the gospel. That is, in Jerusalem, in all Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. Although Chapter 8 verse 1 does not mention the ends of the earth, it already points to the ends of the earth, right? From the perspective of the development of the church at that time, even from the three places of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, a considerable area of the gospel has been formed. These points, lines and surface expansion of the gospel can only come from God.
Second, godliness buried sorrow. When suffering comes, there must be the spread of the gospel. Of course, there will be sadness and tears. Stephen was stoned to death, what a shame! The Bible says that the godly men of the church in Jerusalem buried their brothers’ bodies and expressed their protest against the authorities by beating their breasts and weeping loudly. How do you say this? According to the provisions of the Jewish law “Mishnah”, if there are criminals who are stoned to death, they should be regarded as human garbage and should only be buried hastily. Do not mourn for them, let alone weep for them. In addition to the meaning of non-resistance and non-cooperation, what is more important is that the Jerusalem Church uses piety to bury sorrow. Because the mission is ahead, they will leave Jerusalem and go to the whole land of Judah, Samaria, and even Rome in the future to bear a good testimony for the Lord.
Finally, the church was persecuted. At that time, the composition of the Church in Jerusalem was basically divided into two parts: one was the apostles and Hebrew believers who were mainly local Jews, and the other was foreign believers with Greek culture. The former still regard the law as their strict adherence and the gospel as their acceptance, so they were not affected much when the persecution came. The latter is dominated by Greek-speaking believers headed by Stephen and Philip. (Acts 6:1) Because they have a non-conformist attitude towards the law (Acts 6:13~14). Therefore, the structure of persecution also becomes complicated. In addition, the number of churches in Jerusalem at this time was already very large, and it had already grown from a mustard seed to a large tree that could be used as a comfort zone. God struck the church and drove them to Judah, Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth! This is our challenge today too! Look at the second point:
Preach everywhere
It is not in our nature to want to preach the gospel. Why? Because usually the results are not good, the number of believers is very low, and people feel frustrated. what to do? First, the church needs God to strike. If we make the church a comfort zone, God’s smiting hand will come. It is not bad to build a church, but it is not good to be too focused or only to build a church. Some pastors are called church building pastors, which means they have the special gift of building churches. There are also some deacons, elders, and co-workers who are proficient in the financial aspect, buying commercial real estate, and the church is among them. The income of the shops and even the offerings of believers are unnecessary, and they are very rich. When the pastor comes, he is just a hired worker, at their beck and call. Of course, the church is indeed very beautiful and comfortable. If the hand of God comes to strike, that is grace! Wake up, get up, go preach the gospel, don’t delay! The church in Jerusalem was struck by God, which must be a common experience of the churches of all ages.
Secondly, the wicked are also a pawn of God. Have you ever wondered who is persecuting the church? There is no doubt that it must be the wicked, right? Where the wicked come from, we may not know. But it may surprise us that the villain is a pawn on God’s chessboard. Have you ever thought that people’s evil deeds will be transformed by God into opportunities for believers to do good, so that more people will be saved. Pilate interrogated Jesus and asked “What is the truth?” The famous line of the ages has become a common topic for thousands of people when they pursue the truth. When Pastor Cao Sanqiang and Pastor Wang Yi were arrested and imprisoned, the church received a signal: the great persecution is coming! At this time, the global churches are immediately in a state of vigilance and prayer, so as not to fall into temptation.
Finally, stress manifests life. The characteristic of spiritual life is not to be afraid of pressure. The greater the pressure, the greater the power. In other words, the more believers are persecuted, the more they will be able to demonstrate the power of Christ. Once I was preaching in a church in a certain place, and there was a police chief sitting under the stage. After the sermon, he said to me, you know, I can close your church immediately. I said, great! He asked why? I said that the church is like a basketball placed on the edge of the basketball court. The more you hit the basketball, the higher the ball will bounce. The same is true for the church. The more you persecute, the better and faster the church will grow. When two or three people pray in the name of the Lord, God will be with us, and the basic unit of the church will be in place. As a result, the director of the branch later believed in the Lord himself, thank the Lord! Let’s look at the third point:
There was great joy
The great joy mentioned in the scriptures does not refer to the momentary joy of emotion. Happiness comes and goes quickly. But rejoicing refers to the joy that comes in Jesus Christ. First, Samaria ice break. Philip’s trip to Samaria was an unprecedented event, and it was really not easy. Because the Israelites in the northern kingdom were destroyed by the Assyrian Empire in 722 BC, some people were exiled or dispersed, and some people stayed in the local area and married the local Canaanites. The people born were called Samaritans. For this reason, the returned Jews and their descendants never had contact with the Samaritans. However, because of a great persecution, Philip went to Samaria. This is an ice-breaking journey, but also a grace journey. In fact, as recorded in Chapter 4 of the Gospel of John, the Samaritan woman whom Jesus met by the well had already preached the gospel into Samaria. This time, Philip followed in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and went to Samaria to follow the footsteps of the gospel. Of course, this deserves great joy!
Second, submit with one heart. Philip was recorded a lot here, have you ever wondered why? Who is Philip? An ordinary believer, a deacon of the church, was used by the Lord to open up the Gospel field in Samaria. What does this explain? This explains that the Great Commission is given to every believer, every ordinary believer. It’s not just for pastors, ministers, elders, missionaries, this is very important! It was Philip, an ordinary believer, God could work miracles through him, yes. The purpose of miracles is only one, which is to make people believe in and obey the gospel. What is even more precious is that in Samaria they could listen to the gospel preached by Philip with one heart, which is really rare.
Finally, healed the sick and cast out demons. So, what miracles did Philip perform? Chapter eight, verse seven: “For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.” I believe that this Philip must have followed the Lord Jesus and traveled all over the cities and villages with the Lord. He has seen with his own eyes that the Lord once healed the sick and cast out demons. This is also the footsteps of the Lord that every believer should follow in this way. Evangelism is the theme, and healing the sick and casting out demons is only the gift and power coordinated by God. Like the Lord, go to the Sea of Galilee, take James with His left hand and John with His right hand, and bring them into the church.
Conclusion
Well, thank the Lord, great persecution has come, and great power has followed. The great persecution has come, and the great commission has also come. The great persecution is coming, and the great blow is also coming. May I ask, are you ready?
Let us pray……
Acts 8:1-7
1 And Saul approved of their killing him. 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.
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.
