Essentials Of The Faith / Sunday Morning Sermon Series / Acts: Enlarging Our Vision
By seizing opportunities 11/23/08
Sermon Series: Acts: Enlarging our Vision
Title: ‘By seizing opportunities’ Text: Acts 8
Introduction: On January 9, 1985 Pastor Hristo Kulichev, a Congregational pastor in Bulgaria was arrested and put in prison. His crime was that he preached in his church, even though the state had appointed another man the pastor whom the congregation did not elect. His trial was a mockery of justice. And he was sentenced to eight months imprisonment.
During his time in prison he made Christ known every way he could. When he got out he wrote, "Both prisoners and jailers asked many questions, and it turned out that we had a more fruitful ministry there than we could have expected in church. God was better served by our presence in prison than if we had been free." (Herbert Schlossberg, Called to Suffer, Called to Triumph, p. 230)
There are countless stories just like that one and the truth rings clear: God uses the persecution and suffering of his people, to spread the Good News of life in Jesus Christ, to a lost and hurting world.
Transition: Open your Bibles to Acts 8:1 (pg. 837 in the Bibles under the chair in front of you.) For it there we’ll discover we enlarge our vision of God by seizing opportunities.
I. Acts 8:1-8 Opportunities to expand
Read: Acts 8:1-8
It’s easy to turn inward and become focused on ourselves. It’s only natural and to an extent, it’s good and right. We need to take care of those who are here in our church family. But, to stay here, to keep our focus solely on us, hinders our ability to fulfill the Great Commission.
And perhaps that’s what happened to the infant church we’ve been reading about in the Book of Acts. They saw God work in a great way in their midst…and initially many in Jerusalem came to faith in Jesus Christ. The church in Jerusalem was growing. Then as it often does, the church became more of an organization than an organism, an institution of man rather than an instrument of God. How could I say that?
· There was the problem when a couple of the members of the church lied about their giving.
· There was the problem of favoritism/cliques in the church seen when some of the widows of one of the rival groups were skipped over at meal times.
This newly formed church family was beginning to spend too much time looking inward rather than doing what Jesus told them.
Read: Acts 1:8 ‘But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.’
The Gospel had been centered in Jerusalem and in that one church.
· It was time for God to expand the boundaries of the church.
· It was time for God’s people to look beyond themselves.
And God gave them that opportunity…through persecution.
Sometimes I wonder if it will take persecution for many in God’s church today to wake up and start seizing the opportunities God gives them to share their faith in Jesus with a lost and hurting world.
Well, it was through the persecution brought on by the Sanhedrin and led by Saul of Tarsus, that God’s people, seized God’s opportunity, to expand God’s Kingdom, by leaving Jerusalem and going to Samaria.
· Acts 1:8 is now being fulfilled.
· The kingdom of God is now expanding beyond Jerusalem.
· Opportunities to proclaim the Good News of life in Jesus Christ to people who have never heard, are multiplying.
While many Christians are leaving Jerusalem and preaching the word wherever they went, Luke singles out one Christian in particular and tells his story of how he seized the opportunities God placed before him. His name was Phillip.
Sidebar: But before I get to Phillip, I need to define a term in our text. The word is ‘preached’ found in verse 4. It doesn’t mean they all gave sermons wherever they went. The word ‘preached’ here means ‘gave testimony.’
Those who left Jerusalem weren’t pastors/elders or trained evangelists. They were followers of Jesus Christ, just like you, who spoke about their new life in Christ with people they met.
The Holy Spirit gives all followers of Jesus Christ opportunities to give testimony, to share with others the Good News of life in Jesus.
It’s our responsibility, to seize those opportunities for the glory of God and the building up of His kingdom….Just as Phillip did.
OK, back to the text. A crowd in a town in Samaria gathered to listen to Philip speak about Jesus. And many placed their faith in Jesus as the Messiah for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal life in heaven.
Revival was taking place in this town in Samaria…there was great joy in that city, because Philip seized the opportunities God placed before him…and the kingdom of God was expanding.
Transition: Much is going on in this city and Luke gets specific about one man who believed Philip’s good news about Jesus Christ.
II. Acts 8:9-24 Opportunities to do great
things for God
Read: Acts 8:9-24
Here we have the story about Simon, who lived in town. Simon was not unlike say…David Copperfield, or for those of you who remember, Harry Houdini. He was the towns magician, he amazed the towns people for years…and making quite a good living at it.
We’re told that after hearing Philip speak, many in that town believed in Jesus and were baptized… including Simon. In fact, Simon closed up shop and started following Philip as he spoke about Jesus.
The Apostles in Jerusalem heard about the Samaritans believing in Jesus and being baptized by Philip and wanted to check it out for themselves…remember, Samaritans were considered compromising half-breeds to the Jews.
When Peter and John arrived, they prayed with the new believers and laid hands on them to receive the Holy Spirit….because, the text says, the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon them.
Perhaps you’re a bit confused because you thought when a person asks Jesus to be their Savior, they immediately are indwelled by the Holy Spirit. And you would be correct…with a few exceptions.
The original disciples were Christians, followers of Jesus Christ and yet they didn’t receive the Holy Spirit until Pentecost, after Jesus had gone to heaven.
What we see here is a watershed moment in the life of the Church. A defining moment, an experience that demonstrates a transition in salvation history.
· It was at Pentecost when the Jewish disciples receive the Holy Spirit. (Note I said Jewish disciples)
· Now, it’s the Samaritans, half Jews, who will receive the HS showing that God’s plan in Acts 1:8 has begun to be fulfilled.
· Later in Acts 19 we’ll see the same thing happen with followers of Jesus who lived in Ephesus. (non-Jews/Gentiles)
Do you see the progression?
· Jerusalem = Jews
· Samaria = Half-Jews
· Ephesus (representing the utter most parts of the earth) = Non-Jews/Gentiles.
The delays of the Holy Spirit were watershed moments in the expanding of God’s Kingdom…and authentication that God’s kingdom is for everyone, not just the Jews. Just like Jesus said in Acts 1:8
But not everyone saw Peter and John’s laying on of hands and the gift of the Holy Spirit in the same way. Some saw it as a blessing, as a recognition that even Samaritan Christians can walk hand in hand with Jewish Christians. But Simon, saw it as an opportunity to make some money.
ILL:
There were two men shipwrecked on this island. The
minute they got to the island, one of them started screaming and yelling.
"We’re going to die! We’re going to die! There’s no food! No water! We’re
going to die!" The second man was propped up against a palm tree and acting
so calmly it drove the first man crazy. "Don’t you understand?!" We’re going
to die!!" the first man said. "You don’t understand. I make $100,000 a
week," said the second man. The first man looked at him quite dumbfounded
and asked what difference does it make? We’re on an island with no food and
no water! We’re going to die!!!" The second man answered, " You just don’t
get it. I make $100,000 a week. I tithe. My pastor will find me!"
(Steve Shepherd)
Money can be a great motivator. In Simon’s case it motivated him to sin. Simon, offers to pay Peter and John for the ability to give the Holy Spirit to people. Peter and John don’t take that well and rebuke Simon.
Some commentators say this rebuke shows Simon was never truly a Christian. Others say it just shows that even Christians can have sinful motives. From what I can tell, I side with the latter.
Let’s face it, it makes us uncomfortable to think that a true follower of Jesus Christ could be guilty of this kind of sin. It would be easier to say he was never truly saved. After all,
· if Simon is guilty of such a selfish and greedy sin, then I might be able to so something just as sinful.
· If Simon wasn’t a true Christian because of this sin, then I might not be a true Christian either.
But the Bible clearly says Simon believed and was baptized, just like the others in town.
You see, Simon’s life, Simon’s sin was wanting to do great things for himself…remember the text says about him:
Read: Acts 8:9
Old sinful habits, even for Christians, are often hard to break. Instead of seizing the opportunities of doing great things for God, Simon wanted to do great things for himself. And he was called on it by Peter and John.
So, Simon asks Peter and John to pray for him. I think this is because he’s ashamed and embarrassed of what he had done. And he doesn’t think God will hear him….Be honest, have you ever felt like that?
Transition: Well, there’s a great revival going on in this town in Samaria and Philip is excited about the opportunities he has in this town to do great things for God. But God has other opportunities in mind for Philip.
III. Acts 8:25-40 Opportunities to believe
and be baptized
Read: Acts 8:25-40
ILL: 262-87-8926 is a very important # to me. Can you guess what this # is? It’s what our Uncle Sam calls me. You see, there are many Robert Charles Mills’ living in the USA, but only one has that #. So when I file my taxes, or apply for a loan and I give them my SSN, they know exactly which Robert Charles Mills I am.
Actually the world does a very good job of making us feel like a number. The friendly crew at McDonalds takes your order with a smile, gives you your ¼ pounder with cheese and sweet tea, and then tells you to have a nice day. And you feel special, like someone really cares about you. Until you realize they say that very same thing, to everyone who places an order. You are just one of billions and billions served. (Paul Schmidt)
As CBC begins to grow in size and maybe you feel you don’t get the same personalized attention that you once got, perhaps you begin to feel that you’re not important to the church, perhaps even to God.
But you would be wrong. That’s one of the reasons for our Hospitality Initiative. To encourage you to get to know others in your church family so that you feel connected, that you feel you belong here.
And through conversations with others, when you hear about God working in their lives, you will be more sensitive to seeing God work in your life and you will realize that you do matter to God. That’s what we see in our final text this morning.
Philip is enjoying the great revival in that Samaritan town and the church there is growing. But God places before Philip the opportunity to minister, away from the crowd, to a single person, traveling home after visiting the Temple in Jerusalem.
Philip is told by an angel to leave town, the crowds and all his success, to travel south on a hot, desolate, desert road. That’s it…no other instructions…and Philip obeyed.
As he walks south on this desert road, he sees an Ethiopian eunuch reading a biblical scroll in his chariot. Commentators who know a lot more than I do, say this man was a God fearer who went to the Temple in Jerusalem to worship, but perhaps was disillusioned with what he found there.
So, the Angel comes back and tells Philip to stay close to the chariot. He does and he runs up to the man in the chariot and asks him if he understands what he is reading.
· Ok…get the picture, he has been walking perhaps for hours on a hot, dusty, desolate desert road.
· Then he runs up tot moving chariot.
· Don’t you just love how God will give you the energy to seize the opportunities he places before you.
He asks the Ethiopian is he understands what he is reading, he says no, so Philip explains it to him and shows him how it speaks about Jesus.
The Ethiopian believes what Philip tells him about Jesus… and what a coincidence, there’s an oasis, with a fresh water pond just ahead of them. (there are no coincidences with God) Philip must have told him not only about believing in Jesus but about obedience to His command to be baptized.
And given the opportunity to believe and be baptized, the Ethiopian seizes it with great determination. They get off the chariot and go down into the water to be baptized and then came up out of the water rejoicing.
· By the way this is a great text to support baptism by immersion and not waiting to be baptized until you have your life all together for God.
In the midst of a great revival in Samaria, in the midst of a great crowd of people, God sends Philip to a single man who needs to find his way to God. The individual matters to God. You matter to God.
· Then Philip immediately leaves and ends up in another town telling them about Jesus.
· The Eunuch heads back to Ethiopia with his own story to tell about Jesus.
· And the kingdom of God continues to expand
Because people seized the opportunities God placed before them.
Conclusion
I am not a just a number, I matter to God…and to AARP, or so it would seem with all the mail I’ve been getting from them since I turned 50. I went to their web site trying to find out what AARP stands for…A (something) Association of Retired People. I’m not retired, so how is it I can join?
Well, it got be thinking…AARP can stand for something that helps us remember to seize the opportunities God places before us.
· A = Accessable: remember, Philip was a lay person, he was not one of the Apostles…but he was accessible, he was easy to reach and open for God to get his attention.
· A = Available: Philip was willing to be used by God to go to half-breeds in Samaria and to a black man from Africa.
· R = Ready: Philip was ready to go when God called him, from Jerusalem to Samaria, from Samaria to a desolate desert road.
· P = Prompt: Philip didn’t linger in the midst of his successful revival in Samaria, he didn’t rationalize away the call by saying he could do more good in a crowd than with just one person. He immediately left when God called him.
To seize the opportunities God places before us we, like Philip, need to be an AARP member.
· Accessible
· Available
· Ready
· Prompt