Go!
This is My Vow - Part 4
Sunday, June 6, 2021
Acts 8:1-5, 26-40; Acts 1:6-11
Now those who were scattered went from place to place, proclaiming the word. Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah to them.
Acts 8:4-5
The church, essentially, has been established and all is going well. God’s people are meeting daily, dedicating themselves to prayer and the apostle’s teaching, and giving and serving everyone in the community so that no one has need. They are even gaining the favor of those beyond the church and God is adding new believers to their number day in and day out.
Things are going great. The church is growing and everyone is happy. What more is there to do? After all, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Right? If everything is working and we’re all happy, why not just keep doing what we’ve been doing?
There’s only one problem. Jesus commanded them to do something more. In Acts 1:6, after Jesus promises to send the Holy Spirit, those who had gathered asked,
“Lord, are you going to restore the Kingdom to Israel now?”
Jesus replied, “It isn’t for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has set by His own authority. Rather, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
After Jesus said these things, as they were watching, he was lifted up and a cloud took him out of their sight.
They stood there staring blankly into the sky when two angels, or messengers from God, came and asked them what they were waiting for. They also promised that Jesus would return, but in the meantime, there was work to be done. After all, hadn’t Jesus told them that they would do even greater works than he himself had?
By the end of Acts 6, they had clearly made great strides in fulfilling God’s Kingdom in Jerusalem, although certainly not everyone accepted them. But what about the rest of Judea, and Samaria, and the ends of the earth. Did Jesus really mean they had to travel so far? Judea, sure… maybe one of these days Peter and his buddies could go home to Galilee for a fishing trip and spread the word about Jesus to their old colleagues and family friends. But Samaria… “Do we really have to go there again? Didn’t we spend enough time with those people when Jesus was in town?” And this whole business about the ends of the earth. He must be nuts. For many of them, Jerusalem was about as far away from home as they had ever been.
It turns out, however, that not everyone was happy with the church in Jerusalem. Some were quite angry at the preaching about Jesus and his coming Kingdom, particularly those who had made quite a nice situation for themselves within the Roman world. Many of the religious leaders had compromised so much to gain positions of status and comfort protected by the Roman government and they certainly didn’t want their lifestyles threatened by rumors of some dead prophet who was supposedly going to return and establish a new kingdom. Like Jesus said, if people hated him, they would surely hate his followers as well.
One particularly outspoken believer serving in the church caught the attention of the authorities. Stephen stood out among the believers for the way God’s grace was at work in his life and for his exceptional endowment with divine power and the great wonders and signs he performed among the people. Many were threatened by the wisdom he gained from the Holy Spirit which they could not refute, so they trumped up charges against him, as they had with Jesus, claiming that he spoke against the law of Moses. In the first few chapters of acts we see Peter and John and others being imprisoned from time to time for their preaching, but always released… a minor inconvenience at most. But by the end of chapter 7, we find the crowds throwing large rocks at Stephen until he falls to his knees, prays for the forgiveness of those who are killing him, and breaths his last. Saul, who we know eventually accepted Christ and wrote most of the letters contained in the New Testament, stood as a Pharisee overseeing and approving Stephen’s murder.
Needless to say, the harassment of the church was growing rapidly and being a follower of Christ in Jerusalem was becoming more and more dangerous. By Acts 8:1 we find that most of the church, except for the apostles, began to scatter throughout the regions of Judea and even into the God-forsaken land of Samaria.
Though God certainly did not cause Stephen’s death, there is no question that such persecution was just the catalyst the church needed to take the rest of Jesus’ command seriously. Scatter into the entire world proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom.
It’s interesting that they never actually intended to do this. They seemed comfortable in Jerusalem and so long as they were comfortable they had no reason to go elsewhere. They never planned any mission trips to Samaria… they didn’t even send money to help the poor in starving towns around the world. Their fulfillment of the Great Commission came not by planning and sending, but by persecution, fear, and running away.
But in their running, they did not cease to be followers of Christ. Instead they took Christ wherever they went and so the good news began to spread into every tribe, tongue and nation. In Acts 8:4, Luke writes:
Those who had been scattered moved on, preaching the good news along the way.
The pandemic has caused much of the church to scatter once again. Some have gone online. Others have found creative ways to meet in small groups. Still others stood idly by waiting until we could return safely to Jerusalem (AKA - our sanctuaries).
Wherever we may be scattered, let us continue to take the Good News of Christ wherever we may go… to Judea, Samaria, and even to the ends of the earth.
Listen to this week’s sermon here:
A note from Pastor Craig:
For those who have been following my regular sermon blogs, thank you so much for your prayers and support. I pray they have been helpful to you and to all with whom you have shared them.
I will be taking the next several weeks off for vacation and transition time as I prepare for a new pastoral appointment at Shiloh United Methodist Church in Granite Quarry, NC. Please stay tuned and invite others to subscribe as this sermon blog will continue with a new series on Sunday, July 11th called “Holy Ground”, as we look at what it means to experience God’s presence in our everyday ordinary lives. You won’t want to miss it.
Blessings to you and your family…
Craig