PT-2 Intro to Acts 8:1b-8

SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 12/1/2017 9:34 AM

My Worship Time                                                                        Focus:  PT-2 Intro to Acts 8:1b-8

Bible Reading & Meditation                                                 Reference:  Acts 8:1b-8

            Message of the verses:  “And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. 3 But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.  4 Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. 6 The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. 7 For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 So there was much rejoicing in that city.”

            In our last SD we looked at the testimony of a couple of those who survived the attacks from the Jan. 1956 killing five missionaries in Ecuador.  I did not mention in that SD that I have learned a number of things about Nate Saint who was the son of one of the missionaries who was killed in that attack.  The man that killed his father actually became a believer a short time after this event took place and he and Nate have become best friends and has traveled to different places around the world with him giving their testimony about how this all happened.  The story is only one that could be scripted by our loving Heavenly Father.

            Now we want to look at some things that happened after Stephen’s death as we continue our introduction to these verses which speak of the persecuted church in Jerusalem.

            Just as in the case of the five missionaries we could say that Stephen’s death was pointless, but just as in the case of those five missionaries we will learn that it was not pointless as the Lord would use this for the cause of Christ.  John MacArthur asks “Why was it necessary that one so gifted have such a brief ministry?  This is a good question to ask, as we do not always know what the Lord is doing, we only have to trust Him that He will keep the promises that He has made to us.

            From a human perspective one could say that Stephen’s ministry ended in failure as he was not only killed as a heretic, but after his life was taken his death triggered the first persecution that came against the entire church.  After his death Saul of Tarsus began to bring great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and we as believers in Jesus Christ who study this must realize that to think that Stephen’s death was in vain we will realize as we study what happens next that if we thought that way it would be a skewed view of Stephen’s death.  I remember as I looked at this passage in times past that the great commission that Jesus gave to the apostles was not taking place as the gospel was suppose to begin in Jerusalem, which it did, and then go to Samaria, and then go around the world.  Perhaps the church was too comfortable and did not desire to leave Jerusalem, but now they had little choice but to leave. 

            Satan was attempting to stop the church, which he always is trying to do, but Jesus said that would not happen, so in Satan’s attempt to stop it, it only began to grow.    John MacArthur writes:

“The church’s first missionary effort, beginning in this chapter, was foreshadowed in chapter 5, when people from the cities near Jerusalem brought their sick for the apostles to heal (5:16).  Stephen’s outreach to the Hellenistic Jews, those from foreign lands, was a step toward world evangelism.  In chapter 8, the church is seen reaching out to Judea, Samaria, and even to a Gentile.  They were carrying out the Lord’s mandate to ‘be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth’ (Acts 1:8).”  I am always happy when John MacArthur agrees with me!

            As we look at chapter eight we see another turning point in Luke’s writing of the book of Acts as the first seven chapters have all taken place in Jerusalem, but not the church is moving out of Jerusalem as Christ commanded.  I realize that on the Day of Pentecost that there were people who got saved and then went back to their homes in other parts of the world and told others about the gospel, but this is a little bit different in that this is where the church was founded and where Luke is focusing in on his story about the early church. 

            One thing that happened with Stephen’s death is that it almost surely fixed a point of the gospel’s final rejection by the Jewish leaders, and this began God’s design for the gospel to move out into new territory, as this began here in Acts 8.

            As is my custom when we begin a new chapter from MacArthur’s commentaries I want to quote his last paragraph in the introduction so that we can get a good understanding as to where we will be going from here.

            “In the opening verses of this critical chapter three progressive features describing the initial expansion stand out:  persecution, which led to preaching, which led to productivity.”

            Spiritual meaning for my life today:  I certainly do not understand everything that happens in my life, and I am sure that the family of the missionaries who lost their husbands, and dads did not at first understand why this happened, but as God made it known to them that He was in charge and that His plans were always the best then I can learn from this to trust the Lord even in things that I wish were different in my life.

My Steps of Faith for Today:  To trust the Lord to give me wisdom as I am finishing up on my lesson for Sunday’s class, as this has been a difficult lesson for me to prepare.

Memory verse:  Philippians 4:1 and 8 “Therefore, my beloved brethren whom I long to see, my joy and crown, in this way stand firm in the Lord, by beloved. Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything is worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”

Answer to yesterday’s Bible question:  “Egypt” (Genesis 42:1-2).

Today’s Bible question:  “What king prayed to the Lord when the Assyrians fought against his country?”

Answer in our next SD.

12/1/2017 10:16 AM