Acts 8:1-25

If you go to Chiswick Roundabout, you know where that is, Chiswick Roundabout, and you get on the M4 and you travel 123 miles, you will see a sign which says, Croeso i Gymru, welcome to Wales.

On the other side of that sign, the sun shines. You're in a different realm. You're in a different world. There's a different language. People are warm and friendly and kind and very bad at rugby at the moment.

You're crossing the border. You go across the Seven Bridge, you see the sign, welcome to Wales, Croeso i Gymru. You're in a different world.

But lots of you probably didn't even notice it when you were driving. Lots of you will be thinking, it's no big deal.

You drive along the M4, you go past that sign, you don't think about it. It's a border, but does it make a massive difference?

Well, in Acts chapter 8, the good news of the Lord Jesus and the Gospel is about to cross a great border.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

It's about to cross a great line, a significant boundary. It's about to go into Samaria.

And that isn't really like going on the M4 and crossing into Wales. It's a great leap.

And so, if you'll turn, if you haven't already, to Acts chapter 8 in your Bibles.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

Because what you have after the death and resurrection and the ascension of the Lord Jesus into heaven

and the proclamation of the Lord Jesus in the city of Jerusalem and Judea,

what you have in this book of Acts is the progress and the advance of that Gospel to the ends of the earth.

How are there a body of people in West Ealing this morning from all parts of the world worshipping the Lord Jesus Christ?

And the book of Acts explains that to you.

And one of the first big steps is when the Gospel goes out from Jerusalem and Judea to Samaria.

The Gospel got bloody in Jerusalem.

Acts chapter 7 talks about the stoning of Stephen.

Acts 7 · chapter mention

And it's at that point, in the aftermath of his death, when he's brutally stoned to death, that great persecution arose.

And everyone, Luke says, apart from the apostles, was scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.

And the church left.

People were dying for their faith.

People's lives were at risk.

And so they fled.

And the main truth of this passage it's putting before us is that the Gospel advances, whether you like it or not.

And the Gospel advances.

And it will either deliver you or it will reveal you.

And so three Ps this morning.

First of all, the progress of the Gospel.

Look at verses 4 to 8.

The progress of the Gospel.

It says, those who were injured to them, they're scattered.

And they went about preaching the word.

And Philip went down to a city of Samaria and he proclaimed to them the Christ.

The King.

The Lord Jesus.

And the crowds, with one accord, they paid attention to what was being said.

And there was great joy and so on.

The progress of the Gospel.

And that's really interesting because if you look at verse 1 and verse 3,

in the aftermath of Stephen's death, there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem.

They're scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the Twelve.

And it talks about this guy, Saul, who was in on Stephen's death.

And he began to lay waste to the church.

He entered into houses.

He pulled off mums and dads, husbands and wives.

And he took them and delivered them over to prison.

It's a brutal thing.

And the interesting thing here is that Luke says, those in verse 1, they're scattered abroad.

And when they were scattered, they went everywhere.

What?

What?

Verse 4, preaching the word.

So Saul scattered the church.

But when you scattered the church of Jesus Christ in persecution, what do you do?

You scatter the Gospel.

And I think Saul would have been really upset with himself if he'd realized that actually he's only helping Jesus' program.

If you go back to the start of Acts, do you remember that?

Chapter 1 and verse 8.

Jesus said to the apostles in chapter 1 and verse 8,

You will be my witnesses.

And what are the stages?

Chapter 1 verse 8.

You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea.

And then Samaria.

And then finally to the ends of the earth.

And so Acts chapter 8.

Acts 8 · chapter mention

The Gospel, the good news, is spreading around the world.

Because of the persecution of Saul.

The Gospel is going into Samaria.

Saul was only ever aiding Jesus' program.

But the point you see is this.

Scatter the church.

And you scatter the Gospel.

That's the way the Gospel advances.

And if you look through history, that's always been the way.

In the late 1520s, before the Reformation in Scotland, before John Knox ever arose to lead it,

there was a man by the name of Patrick Hamilton.

And Patrick Hamilton had been abroad.

He came back to his native Scotland.

And he understood the good news of the Lord Jesus.

He'd received the grace of God.

He was studying the Bible.

He came back to Scotland because he wanted people to hear.

He wanted people to understand.

He wanted people to know the Lord Jesus.

Well, the Archbishop and others made him feel welcome under the pretense of friendship.

And they pretended they wanted to confer with him about this new teaching and so on.

They tricked him.

Then they tried him.

They condemned him as a heretic.

And then they burned him at the stake.

And on the day when Patrick Hamilton walked to the stake,

the kind of kindling, the faggots to light the fire were damp.

They wouldn't kindle.

So for six hours, this poor guy, Patrick Hamilton, was roasted to death, really, then burnt to death.

But there was one of the Archbishop's friends, one of his counsellors, who counselled the Archbishop.

And he said this,

What's he saying there?

He's saying this, that you cannot stamp out the gospel of Jesus Christ.

You cannot stamp out the gospel of Jesus Christ.

In fact, you will only advance his course.

And that's so often the case, isn't it?

And so we rejoice to have, and brothers and sisters from Iran who are here with us this morning,

we love having you as part of our church family.

What is happening in Iran?

What has happened in the last 20 to 30 years?

That the regime there have tried to stamp out the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

And what has happened?

It has flourished.

And it has spread.

And it's so often the case, isn't it?

That in the suffering of God's people, the gospel makes progress.

The suffering of the church will never lead to the silencing of the church.

And there's a spillover, isn't there, into our lives today.

That just as the early believers were scattered abroad in suffering and persecution,

and the gospel was scattered,

and so some of you here this morning,

you have suffered.

You've suffered individually and personally and in your families.

And maybe you don't understand that suffering.

And maybe you don't see any rationale for that suffering.

But that suffering has not destroyed your faith in Jesus Christ.

In fact, you've been upheld in it.

And for some reason, your suffering has not driven you away from Jesus.

Actually, it's driven you closer to the Lord Jesus.

And it's strengthened Christ's grip on you.

And so the progress of the gospel.

Secondly, you see the power of the gospel.

Look at verses 9 to 12.

Luke there pictures the power of the gospel.

There's two aspects of what the good news of the Lord Jesus does for you.

And the first aspect is this.

It's the liberty and the freedom that the gospel gives.

The liberty and the freedom that the gospel gives in delivering you from false.

From falsehoods.

There's a man named Simon in the city.

He'd previously practiced magic in the city.

I don't know what you think of when you hear the word magic.

For those of my age, you think of Paul Daniels, don't you?

Saturday night TV.

Or you think of a man with a top hat pulling a rabbit out of it.

Saying abracadabra with a little wand.

But that isn't the case here.

Here is somebody who's seeking to control events.

It's the occult.

Think of sorcery.

This guy has astounded the people in Samaria.

They looked on him from the lowest to the greatest.

And they said this guy is great.

And he wasn't some kind of sideline.

Working out of a shop front on the Xbridge Road doing psychic readings.

No, Simon's act was a class act.

And it says, doesn't it?

From the least to the greatest.

They all paid attention to him.

In fact, they say this man is the power of God that is called great.

Simon is respected.

He had Samaria in his grip.

And they said this man is the power of God.

He'd manifested.

He'd shown in some way a supernatural power.

And they were in his grip.

And you might be sitting there and you think, oh, it's so primitive, isn't it?

A primitive ancient world.

We're not like that today.

We're so sophisticated.

That can't happen today.

But I think you go through the last century and you find this sort of thing.

People in bondage to someone who exercises authority and power over them.

Blind to their faults.

And they put their hope in their leaders.

At Mussolini, his secretary was standing in the background.

When Mussolini, in 1936, was standing on the balcony in Rome.

And the crowd were cheering for him.

The throng in crowds were adoring him.

Mussolini had been victorious in Abyssinia and Ethiopia.

And at that point, Mussolini, the Italian dictator, was at the height of his powers and success.

He was called back to the balcony for the applause 42 times.

The crowd was cheering him, going wild.

And he stood there on the balcony in Rome with his hands stretched out, receiving the adoration.

Motionless, looking at the crowd.

His party secretary was watching him from behind him.

And one of the men from Mussolini's entourage said to his party secretary,

He's like a god.

And Mussolini's party secretary said,

He is god.

He is god.

The people were bound.

And gripped by.

And held by him.

And that's what Simon had in Samaria.

This city was in his grip from the least to the greatest.

But do you see there's deliverance?

Look at verse 12.

But when they believed Philip,

as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ,

a crucified carpenter from the back end of nowhere, Nazareth,

who'd risen from the dead,

they were baptised, both men and women,

when they believed Philip's word.

And suddenly there is liberty,

and there is freedom,

and there's release from Simon's bondage.

What was it that Philip preached?

They believed Philip as he preached good news

about the kingdom of God

and the name of Jesus Christ.

So what is the kingdom of God?

Well, among other things,

it begins with the kingship of God.

That God rules,

and that God reigns in our world.

And he is proclaiming

the kingship of God,

that God is king.

And people who believe that

enter into and submit

under God's kingship

for their own lives.

And he proclaimed

the name of Jesus Christ.

What does that mean?

It at least means this,

the authority of Jesus Christ.

And they believed what Philip said.

And they enter

under the authority of Jesus Christ.

They say,

you are God,

you are Lord,

and we are not.

And they submit to his lordship.

And they come under his dominance.

And they come and they submit themselves

to the authority of Jesus Christ.

And when they do that,

they are liberated.

They are free.

They're free from Simon's clutches.

Because they've come under a new jurisdiction,

under a new kingship,

under a new regime.

Think of the musical,

think of the film,

The Sound of Music.

I don't really know that film very well.

But do you remember the Von Trapps family?

At the end of the film,

they make their exit away,

don't they,

from the pursuit of the Nazis

from Austria

to Switzerland.

There's some nun,

isn't there,

if I remember rightly,

who pulls part of the engine

out of the Nazis' car.

And the last scene

is them coming

up the mountain,

out of Austria,

into Switzerland.

And what are they like?

Really depressed?

Really down at heart

to be leaving Nazi Austria?

No, they're not, are they?

The Von Trapps,

they are rejoicing.

Why?

Because they're now in Switzerland.

They're under a new jurisdiction.

They've entered a new sphere.

And so now,

the Nazis

no longer have

any dominance over them.

The Nazis

no longer have

any authority over them.

They don't have

any control over them.

In that neutral country,

they are free.

They're under a new jurisdiction.

And when the people of Samaria

came under the authority

and the kingship of God,

and they put themselves

under the authority of Jesus,

they moved from Simon's dominance

to a new jurisdiction

and a new management.

That was symbolised

and that was signified

by the fact that they were baptised.

Both men and women.

And if you've been baptised,

do you remember what the formula is

that is used when you're baptised?

I baptised you into the name.

I baptised you in the name

of the Father,

the Son,

and the Holy Spirit.

And it means that you've

come under new ownership.

And that's precisely

what happened with these people.

And so the power

of the good news

of the Lord Jesus

brought freedom,

liberty,

and deliverance

from falsehood

and from lies

that had bound them

for years.

And that still happens today.

When the power

of the gospel

is understood

and let loose,

people are delivered

from falsehood.

And that's happening

all over the world,

isn't it?

Think of the land

of China, isn't it?

Where the authorities

have tried to stamp out

Christianity.

And millions of people

have been converted

over the last 20,

30, 40 years.

It's happening here,

the power of being delivered.

And so what I'm trying

to say to you this,

is what we're about

in this church,

the good news

of the Lord Jesus,

it's not merely a concept.

It's not merely

that we would just

do our best

and try to make healing

a better place.

The gospel of the Lord Jesus

is not just an idea,

it is the power of God

to salvation

that changes lives.

Leon Morris tells

the story of an alcoholic

who was brought

to Christ.

He became a Christian

and some of his drinking

mates mocked him

and they ridiculed him

and they were amused

and they said to

this guy,

does that mean you believe

the Bible and all that stuff?

You don't really think

that Jesus turned water

into wine,

do you?

And the alcoholic

who was converted

said,

well I really don't know

about that

but I do know one thing

that in my house

Jesus has changed beer

into furniture.

And that's the power

of the gospel.

And you might think,

well that's not really

happening here is it?

But I beg to differ

with you,

I could walk

around this room

and I could stop

at seats

and I don't know

all of your individual

stories but I could

stop at some seats

and I could point

at some people

and they could stand up

and they could still

be racked with lots

of problems

and they're not free

of all their problems

but they could testify

that the gospel

of Jesus Christ

has power

to change their lives

and to deliver

from guilt

and to deliver

from falsehood

and that they were

trapped

but Jesus has

delivered them

and made them free.

The progress

of the gospel.

The power

of the gospel

and the power

is shown

not only

that it delivers

from falsehood

but it gives unity,

that's the other power.

It delivers

from divisions.

You see that

in verses 14

to 17

of Acts chapter 8

Acts 8 · chapter mention

which is a strange

passage in many ways.

Sort of verse 14

and 15.

Now when the apostles

at Jerusalem

heard that Samaria

had received

the word of God,

big shock,

they sent to them

Peter and John.

They sent to them

the kind of official

big cheeses

and they came down

and they prayed for them

that they might receive

the Holy Spirit.

And verse 16

records that there's

something apparently

abnormal

in the way

that he recounts it.

there's something

abnormal.

Verse 16,

for the Holy Spirit

had not yet fallen

on any of them

but they'd only

been baptised

in the name

of the Lord Jesus.

So you'd assume

if you've been

reading Acts

and tracking Acts

with us over these

few months

that Acts 2

38

you would assume

that

nothing really

necessarily

had to be done

in addition

to them

for them

to receive

the Holy Spirit

God's

indwelling

presence.

From Acts

Acts 10 · chapter mention

chapter 10

the Holy Spirit

came when

Peter was

preaching

to Cornelius

and yet here

it's abnormal.

You've got

this apparent

difference

where there's

no visible

evidence

that these

Samaritan

believers

these outsiders

had received

the gift

of the Holy Spirit.

And so Peter

and John

come down

from Jerusalem

and they

place their

hands on them

and they

begin receiving

the Holy Spirit.

How could you

tell that?

Well there's a

visible sign

isn't it?

They speak

in other

languages.

The apostles

did that

on the day

of Pentecost

if you remember.

There was

some visible

token that

they'd received

the Holy Spirit.

Now why

would that

happen?

Why did

God

apparently

withhold

this gift

from some

of the

believers

for a while?

It's an

unusual

it's

abnormal.

And so we

go back

isn't it?

When the

gospel went

into Samaria

it's not

just kind

of crossing

over

the

Severn

Bridge

from the

border

from

England

into

Wales.

What's

happening

here is

that the

gospel

the good

news

is going

over this

massive

religious

chasm

this

social

chasm

this

racial

chasm

so you

remember

in John

John 4 · chapter mention

chapter 4

there's

this

giant

rift

there's

this

hatred

between

Jews

and

Samaritans

there's a

parable

Jesus

tells

of the

good

Samaritan

it was

an impossibility

in Jewish

eyes

but now

the good

news of

the Lord

Jesus

has gone

into

Samaria

and in the

wisdom of

God

he's delayed

this visible

token

at least

of the

spirit

to the

Samaritan

believer

and so

the

Jews

come

from

Jerusalem

and

the

Holy

Spirit

is

given

and

they

can

validate

by

personal

witness

that

what

the

Samaritans

have

received

is

the

gospel

of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and

they

are

given

the

gift

of

the

spirit

that

Peter

and

John

the

kind

of

officials

would

be

able

to

say

yes

they

really

did

but

it's

also

a way

in which

the

Jewish

Christians

in

Jerusalem

can

show

a

visible

token

of

unity

they're

bound

together

with

these

Samaritan

believers

Jews

and

Samaritans

may not

get along

they may

fight

they may

actually

detest

each

other

and look

down

on

one

another

but

in

the

church

of

Jesus

Christ

Jewish

Christians

from

Jerusalem

and

Samaritan

believers

are bound

together

in a

unity

that the

gospel

has brought

about

naturally

they may

be

hostile

but

in the

gospel

there's

a

unity

and

Luke

is

saying

this

gospel

restores

and

brings

unity

and

we can

go into

that

further

and we

can say

that the

gospel of

God

today

does

that

and so

in this

church

family

and in

any

church

family

where

the

gospel

is

you'll

not only

be set

free

from

bondage

but you

will be

bound

to one

another

united

together

I don't

think you

and I

can really

imagine

the rift

culturally

racially

religiously

that there

was between

Jews and

Samaritans

and yet

can you see

what we're

being told

we're being

told that

the gospel

of Jesus

has such

power that

it

unites

people

like that

people

who have

Jesus

in common

and who

have the

Holy

Spirit

in

common

and I

know that

the

Christian

church

in this

country

is often

accused

of being

cleekish

and full

of factions

and divided

but you know

something

my experience

is this

that when you

look around

this group

there are

people

naturally

who I

would never

choose to be

friends with

and it's

the same

for you

I mean

there are

some pretty

diverse

creatures

here this

morning

with

diverse

personalities

if I can

put it

like that

and the

only reason

that we

are together

in the

same

professing

body

is because

we share

the same

Lord

and we've

received

the same

spirit

and lots

of times

that's where

the similarity

ends

and it

is the

power of

the gospel

that does

that

the progress

of the gospel

the power

of the gospel

and then

briefly

and thirdly

the perversion

of the gospel

verse 13

can you see

what Simon

does

and this

guy

this magic

man

verse 13

he believes

and he

is baptized

and he

joins

the church

but apparently

he's a fake

it was a

profession

that on the

surface

looked authentic

but it

wasn't real

Jesus says

about

John says

about Jesus

in John

John 2 · chapter mention

chapter 2

that when

Jesus was at

the Passover

in Jerusalem

many believed

in him

when they saw

the amazing

things he was

doing

but Jesus

did not

entrust himself

to them

and literally

Jesus did not

believe them

because he knew

all men

he knew what

was in a man

and in other

words John

was saying

they believed

these people

when they saw

Jesus acts

but it was

with a

superficial

faith

it wasn't

real

and Jesus

did not

commit himself

to them

because he

knew that

their apparent

faith

was fake

Simon says

when he sees

this laying on

of the apostles

hands

when he sees

them given

the Holy

Spirit

he says

I want to do

that

and he says

to Peter

he offers

him money

can I give

you some

money

so I can

get that

power

in other

words he's

thinking that

Christianity

the Holy

Spirit

was a toy

that I

can use

and God

is a commodity

that I can

somehow market

and it will

lead to

the furthering

of my aims

and my

prestige

and so on

and Peter

sees right

through it

doesn't he

and he says

take your

silver and

your gold

do what you

want with it

your heart

is not right

before God

Simon

and he commands

him to repent

to turn around

and pray to the

Lord if it's

possible

that this

sin of what

you've done

may be forgiven

you

can you see

and what Simon

is doing

it's a perversion

of the gospel

Simon wanted

to use

the gospel

and we

immediately think

don't we

tell you

evangelists

you know

those

those people

that they

use Christianity

for their

own ends

for politicians

that use

the Christianity

and they

try to kind of

win the Christian

vote by

playing it

that's what we

think of

but actually

we need to

turn this on

ourselves

because you

don't have to

be on TV

or in a

pulpit

to be a

fake

you can

pervert the

gospel just

like Simon

did in verse

13

he believed

in a

superficial

way

he believed

and he

was

baptized

and he

wanted to

use God

for his

own

convenience

and appearances

can be

deceiving

can't they

so let me

urge you

and urge

myself

to examine

ourselves

and maybe

you've

believed

you've

professed

faith

maybe you've

been baptized

but it can

be can't

it from this

passage of

phony faith

you see it's

possible to

be perverting

the gospel

like Simon

and we

think God

might fit

our convenience

cater to our

expectations

and we want

to use

God

and we may

not know

anything of

a passion to

adore God

for what he's

done for us

in Jesus

Christ

and we may

not know

anything of

a hungering

and a thirsting

for righteousness

but we

believe and

we've been

baptized

and it

just could

be

couldn't it

that your

faith

is fake

and the

warning that

Luke is

giving us

here is

examine

yourself

there's

great power

in the

gospel but

you can

pervert

that

you can

have a

belief in

speech marks

and be

baptized

and it

might be

a false

faith

and so

can you

see that

when the

gospel

advances

even in

IPC

Ealing

this

morning

it both

delivers

wonderfully

and it

discloses

the power

and the

progress

of the

gospel

it's

unstoppable

and yet

the tragedy

of religion

is that

it can

pervert

the gospel

let's

pray

and

to

to

to

to

to

to

!