Uncertain Times Part 1 - The Church Spread
Notes
Transcript
Text
Text
Acts 8:1-
And Saul was consenting unto his death.
And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
Context & Background
Context & Background
The book of Acts gives us a record of the the events in the early church. Immediately following his resurrection Christ met with the disciples and told them to wait for the Holy Spirit who would come and empower the church to accomplish it’s mission which was and still is, to preach the gospel and make disciples.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Again I say unto you, That if two of you shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.
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Declaration: God uses uncertain circumstances to advance his message and grow his church
Proposition: As we face uncertain times we can look back and be reminded that God is at work today
Transition: We are going to do a quick fly over of some of the events in the early church and end on an important event in Acts chapter 8 that changed everything!
I. The early church learns about patience
I. The early church learns about patience
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence.
Acts 1:4
Chapter 1 - Jesus promises the Holy Spirit - he ascends to heaven and the disciples travel to Jerusalem and gather in the upper room to pray and wait Acts 1:12-14
Chapter 1 - Jesus promises the Holy Spirit and the disciples and other gather in the upper room to pray and wait
Chapter 1 - Jesus promises the Holy Spirit and the disciples and other gather in the upper room to pray and wait
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II. The early church learns about power
II. The early church learns about power
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
Chapter 2 - The day of Pentecost - The Spirit comes and Peter preaches 3,000 are saved and added to the church
Chapter 2 - The day of Pentecost - The Spirit comes and Peter preaches 3,000 are saved and added to the church
And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.
Chapter 3 - Peter continues to preach in Jerusalem which is the center of this new organism known as the church
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
We can do nothing for the kingdom of God, without the power of God
So much of what we try to accomplish for God is in our own power - religious works
So they learned about patience and power…next they learned about......
III. The early church learns about partnering together
III. The early church learns about partnering together
Chapter 4 - Peter & John are arrested and face interrogation from Jewish leadership - they are forbidden to preach in the name of Jesus - they pray for boldness and the church comes together to take care of the needs of fellow believers who are beginning to suffer as a result of their faith
Chapter 5 - We find Ananias and Sapphira trying to make names for themselves in the midst of the giving that was taking place. They are literally struck dead in a demonstration of power bestowed upon the Apostles.
The Apostles are put in jail and an angel opens the door allowing them to escape and continue their ministry by returning to the temple to preach. They are again directed to “stop”. This was their response:
Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
Acts 5:29
IV. The early church learn about prioritizing its workload
IV. The early church learn about prioritizing its workload
Chapter 6 - The ministry is growing and the Apostles are stretched thin. 7 men are chosen to carry on some of the day to day activities like taking care of the widows in order to give the Apostles time to focus on prayer and the ministry of preaching and teaching the Word of God.
Chapter 6 -
V. The early church learns about pressure
V. The early church learns about pressure
A major turning point as Stephen preaches to the rulers in Jerusalem and is subsequently stoned to death
Chapter 7 - Stephen is brought before the council in Jerusalem at the end of chapter 6 and in chapter 7 he preaches a sermon that is pointed directly at the Jewish religious establishment. He tells them that throughout their history they have rejected God in spite of His marvelous providence. The sermon comes to a climax in verse 51 - 53. Notice his words...
Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it.
He tells them point blank, you have nothing but a broken religious system with rules you have failed to keep. He was preaching the gospel and those who are steeped in religion - in this case Judaism - it was too offensive for them to bear any more.
When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
The message of the Gospel always cuts to the heart - The Word of God gets down to the very root ...
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.
Illustration:
VI. The early church learns about persecution
VI. The early church learns about persecution
And Saul was consenting unto his death.
And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison. Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
And Saul was consenting unto his death.
And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.
The persecution was great because the gospel went against everything that the religious leaders thought they knew about God
The teaching was revolutionary
The Temple would be torn down and God would instead reside in each Christian
The priesthood was obsolete - every Christian could now come to God through Jesus
The Mosaic Law was but a grammar school lesson compared to the Sermon on the Mount
All of these events were preparing the church for what God was going to do....So finally we come to where we started
VII. The early church learns about progress
VII. The early church learns about progress
Earlier Jesus had told the disciples they would take the gospel to the whole world.
But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
And now the method for accomplishing that was beginning to take shape.
Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word.
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
Jesus told them this would happen but he did not tell them how it would happen - many times we want God to work but we also want to tell God how to work!
Conclusion
Conclusion
The disciples had followed Jesus and witnessed the greatest event in all of human history when Christ rose from the dead. Now after receiving the Holy Spirit they were equipped to do the work that God left them on earth to accomplish. They were to preach the gospel everywhere, make disciples of Christ and God promised to use them to build his church.
In all of this however, God used the instrument of persecution to spread his messengers throughout the world.
What should we take from this:
In each and every circumstance God was in control and he still is today -
While it must have been uncomfortable, inconvenient and uncertain it was how God accomplished his will - As we face uncomfortable and uncertain circumstances ourselves, we must remember that God is still accomplishing his will today
As the early church was scattered they remained focused on preaching the truth of the Gospel - we must do the same thing!