When The Spirit Moves
Acts 8:1-8
April 28, 2002
Intro:
A. [illustration: From the sermon, "Spreading Power through Persecution" by John Piper, senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota]
On January 9, 1985, a Congregational pastor in Bulgaria named Christo Kuleczef, was arrested and put in jail.
His crime was preaching in his church, just like I am right now.
It was a crime because the week before the village committee had appointed a new pastor.
The secular committee who runs the village put a new pastor in even though the Congregational church doesn’t recognize any pastors but the ones they elect and install.
So he preached, and they clamped him in jail immediately, and he immediately began to share Christ and make the truth known while he was in prison.
He had a trial.
It was a mockery of justice, and he was sentenced to eight months.
He did his eight months, got out, and wrote these words: "Both prisoners and jailers asked many questions, and 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."
B. Today we come to Acts chapter 8 and the aftermath of the stoning of Stephen where we can learn some things about persecution and the attacks of Satan.
I. The aftermath of the stoning of Stephen for them.
A. Saul gave approval.
Acts 8:1, And Saul was there, giving approval to his death…
1. Now this is the same guy who we now know as Paul.
2. The same apostle Paul who later went on several missionary journeys starting churches all over the world.
3. The same apostle Paul who later wrote over half the NT.
4. The same apostle Paul who taught us all most of what we know about NT Christianity.
5. But this is our first introduction to him.
6. His name at this time is Saul and he was there when these spiritually immature men did what they did to Stephen in the previous chapter.
7. Acts 7:54-60, When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. 55 But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. 56 "Look," he said, "I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God." 57 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, 58 dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their clothes at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, "Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." 60 Then he fell on his knees and cried out, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them." When he had said this, he fell asleep.
8. Acts 8:1, And Saul was there, giving approval to his death.
9. Saul was there giving approval to what these hard-hearted people did to Stephen.
10. Saul was there giving approval to what these religious people were doing to this man of God.
11. Saul was there giving approval to their supposed "stand" against change.
12. Saul was there holding the coats of these stiff-necked religious people while they stoned Stephen.
B. Persecution broke out against the church.
Acts 8:1, …On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem,…
1. Now the religious leaders no longer cared about what the crowds would do.
2. Before they were afraid to do anything like this because they feared riots.
3. They had previously arrested Peter and John twice and beat them and let them go.
4. But now they stoned Stephen.
5. They had obviously taken all they were going to take from these disrespectful people who were trying to change things.
6. They had had all they were going to take and they became furious with Stephen.
7. They covered their ears and yelled at the top of their voices (can you imagine the Spiritual maturity?) and they rushed at Stephen and stoned him.
8. And after that day persecution began in earnest against the church.
9. They didn’t just want Stephen to be "an example" of what would happen to people who continued to follow "the way," they were going to get them all.
C. The 15,000+ member congregation fled.
Acts 8:1, …and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
1. The first church was understandably frightened by what had happened to Stephen and they fled for their lives.
2. The apostles stayed, but the rest of them fled to nearby cities.
3. The church of 15,000+ members which began in Jerusalem was greatly diminished.
D. Godly men buried and mourned for Stephen.
Acts 8:2, Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
1. The Scripture says that Godly men buried and mourned for Stephen.
2. There is no hinting in the Scripture about church members lamenting that Stephen’s sermon was too hard.
3. There is no hinting in the Scripture that the church members said that he got what he deserved.
4. [illustration: From the sermon, "Spreading Power through Persecution" by John Piper, senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota]
I can imagine some cautious, prudent, well-meaning believers in Jerusalem behind closed doors saying, "Stephen’s speech was utterly uncalled for.
There are less inflammatory ways to defend the truth than to say to the Sanhedrin that they are stiff-necked people who always resist the Holy Spirit.
That’s not what you should say to the Sanhedrin.
It’s always hotheads like this who get us in trouble as a church.
Now the whole city is against us.
How are you going to minister if the city is against you?
Look at the waste of life and property and time.
Look at the families broken up as people get put in prison.
What about the children who were taken away from their families?
Now we’ve all got to live like refugees and exiles in Judea and Samaria.
Why didn’t Stephen think before he spoke?"
5. But that was clearly not God’s version of this story; God’s version says Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
6. [illustration: From the sermon, "Spreading Power through Persecution" by John Piper, senior pastor of Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota]
I hear three things.
They were devout (Godly), not worldly.
Worldly people say, "What about our church? What about our possessions? What about our safety? What about our effectiveness?"
Not, "What about the truth?"
But godly people risked their lives and buried him and made a great lamentation over him.
7. No doubt they remembered the things that Stephen preached and the things he lived and died for.
8. If God and Stephen believed these things were important enough to die for, they must be pretty important!
9. No doubt they took these things to heart.
E. Saul began arresting and imprisoning believers.
Acts 8:3, But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
1. Now Saul has become the chief persecutor of the church.
2. He went from house to house dragging people off to prison.
3. He didn’t just stay in Jerusalem, he went to the neighboring cities where the Christians had fled.
4. He had the full authority of the government behind him to arrest and imprison anyone who followed "the way."
5. The name of Saul became a greatly feared name to believers everywhere.
6. He’s not on God’s side, but on the enemy’s team; he was persecuting the church.
F. Wherever they went, they preached the gospel.
Acts 8:4, Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
1. Wherever the believers went, they preached the gospel.
2. This was not the apostles (the church leaders) because they stayed in Jerusalem.
3. Wherever these Christians went, they preached the gospel.
4. Whereas the church and the gospel was previously restricted to the city of Jerusalem, it was now being spread abroad.
5. When persecution broke out, it actually benefited the Kingdom of God because the gospel was preached in other places.
6. God is good at that, isn’t He? God is good at working good out of bad situations.
7. God can even work good out of death.
8. After the death of Stephen, the Christians scattered throughout the world and preached the gospel wherever they went.
G. Another of the seven was Philip who preached and preformed miracles.
Acts 8:5-8, Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.
1. The Scripture says that Philip fled to a city in the region of Samaria.
2. Philip was another of the seven chosen to help with the distribution of food.
3. Stephen and Philip were both part of that group of seven.
4. So we know that that 15,000+ member church knew that Philip was full of the Spirit and wisdom back then.
5. Now, after Stephen’s death, Philip fled to another city and picked up where Stephen left off—now Philip is preaching the gospel.
6. No doubt he was preaching the same kinds of things Stephen was.
7. Philip did miracles, just as Stephen had done.
8. The miracles confirmed that Philip was a messenger of God.
9. And as a result of the things Philip was preaching as well as the miraculous things that Philip did, people paid close attention to what he said.
II. Lessons from the aftermath of the stoning of Stephen for us.
Lesson #1: When the Spirit moves, you can expect Satan to attack.
1. The Spirit of God was clearly moving in the church at Jerusalem.
a. The Scriptures repeatedly tell us that they were continually being filled with the HS.
b. The Scriptures repeatedly tell us in the first 7 chapters of Acts that there were miracles being preformed through the power of the HS.
c. And I’m telling you that the reason there were 3,000 people saved on the first day, was because of the presence of the HS.
d. The reason there were 15,000+ members by Acts 4 was because of the presence of the HS.
e. In Stephen’s sermon, he told his attackers that they were resisting the HS.
f. The Spirit of God was clearly moving throughout this first church.
2. And because of the presence of the HS in such a powerful way, Satan attacked in a powerful way.
3. Satan got some religious people who thought they were doing God a favor and murdered God’s messenger.
4. Somehow, someway Satan will attack when the HS begins to move.
5. Somehow, someway Satan will attack when the HS begins to move in a church.
6. Somehow, someway Satan will attack when the HS begins to move in a person’s life.
7. He may use religious people who think they are doing God a favor.
8. He may use close friends who really don’t understand the ways of God.
9. He may use a family member.
10. He may use someone you don’t know.
11. But somehow, someway Satan will attack when the Spirit begins to move.
12. So what do we do when Satan attacks?
Lesson#2: When Satan attacks, we must remain true to our calling.
1. First we don’t give up our faith.
a. We clearly don’t give up in the face of adversity.
b. We clearly don’t let go of our faith and trust in Jesus Christ.
c. Just because things don’t go as smoothly as we would like, we don’t give up.
2. We must remember what God has called us to do and realize that is what Satan is upset about.
a. For the church, we have been called to preach the gospel.
b. Simply because things don’t go as smoothly as we like, we don’t quit seeking and saving the lost.
c. Simply because Satan gets upset, we don’t forget what God has called us to do.
d. After all, the reason Satan is upset and attacks is because we are doing what God wants.
e. Satan will bring people into our lives and even people into the church to bring adversity because we are doing what God has called us to do.
f. So do we quit doing it?
g. Do we quit and give Satan what he wants?
h. Absolutely not!
i. When Satan attacks is the time to intensify!
j. When Satan attacks we go get somebody saved!
k. When Satan attacks we attack him back!
3. Simply because Satan brings adversity, does not mean that we need to back down and give into the threats that are made against us.
4. No doubt these early Christians remembered what got Stephen in trouble, so they fled and continued to preach the gospel.
5. They attacked back!
6. They didn’t back down, they stood firm!
7. Ephesians 6:10-13, Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
8. When Satan attacks, we must remain true to our calling.
Lesson #3: When Satan attacks, we must continue to seek the power of the HS.
1. We see that when Philip when to Samaria, he continued to perform miracles.
2. When Satan attacks, we must continue to seek the power of the HS.
3. When the Spirit moves, Satan will attack.
4. But that doesn’t mean that we should forget the HS!
5. It means that we should seek Him all the more!
6. When Satan attacks, we need all the power of God in our lives.
7. We need to continue to beseech God for the power of the HS in our lives.
8. We need to continue to beseech God for the power of the HS in our lives so that we can withstand the attacks of Satan.
9. We tell God how much we need the HS in order to stand against Satan!
Lesson #4: Despite the attacks of Satan, when the Spirit moves, there will be great joy!
1. Acts 8:8 So there was great joy in that city.
1. Psalms 30:5, …weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
2. Who do you know that doesn’t face adversity?
3. EVERYONE faces adversities!
4. EVERYONE faces setbacks!
5. EVERYONE faces discouragement and disappointment!
6. But let me tell you this—there’s a difference when you face it with the HS in your life!
7. There is a difference when you face adversity and you have the power of the HS in your life!
8. There is a difference when you face disappointment and the HS is moving in your life!
9. What’s the difference?
10. …weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
11. And it may even taking more than a literal night-but rejoicing WILL come!
12. Joy will always come when the HS is moving!
13. When the HS is not moving, you see fury and immaturity like the men who rushed at Stephen with their hands over their ears.
14. But when the HS is moving, you will eventually see joy!
15. What does the Scripture say after the stoning of Stephen and Philip continued to allow the Spirit to move?
16. "So there was great joy in that city."
Conclusion:
A. Do you have great joy in your life?
1. Do you need to seek the power of the HS?
2. Do you need to come and pray for the presence of the HS in your life?
3. Do you need to come and acknowledge your need for the power of the HS in your life?
4. Is you life marked by anger and resistance?
5. Do you need to come and lay it down?
6. Is Satan attacking you?
7. Is he trying to keep the HS from moving in your life?
8. Do you need to come and beseech God to release the HS in your life?
B. [God Turns Persecution into Opportunity, Citation: Kevin A. Miller, vice president of resources, Christianity Today International]
John Rucyahana, the Anglican bishop of Shyira, Rwanda, served as a pastor in Uganda during the brutal reign of dictator Idi Amin.
Amin targeted 200,000 political opponents, Christian leaders, and members of certain ethnic groups for extermination.
One day the government soldiers came for John.
He remembers, "One put the cold barrel of a gun against my ear and held his finger on the trigger. They put me in a vehicle and made me sit on a sack of explosives. As we began moving, I thought, Even the slightest jolt, and I’m dead."
The soldiers finally released John, figuring they had successfully intimidated him and that he would no longer speak out.
What the oppressors (and Satan) meant for evil, though, God used for good.
Two days after John’s harrowing brush with death was Sunday.
That day, John walked into the cathedral to find it packed—people were standing in the aisles.
People had heard what happened and had come to find out what he would say.
Would he speak out for Christ?
John did speak for Christ, only this time to a larger group than he could ever have gathered on his own.
