Good Morning!

The Bible review at Miss N’s church is currently in the book of Acts. Now the reason I call it a review instead of a study is because the material covered in any given session may be as many as ten chapters. We are taking big bites, just hitting a point or two along the way. Anyhow, one of the chapters we looked at Sunday evening follows:


Acts 8:1-25 (English Standard Version)
Saul Ravages the Church

1And Saul approved of his execution.

And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.

Philip Proclaims Christ in Samaria
4Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city[a] of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8So there was much joy in that city.
Simon the Magician Believes
9But there was a man named Simon, who had previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria, saying that he himself was somebody great. 10They all paid attention to him, from the least to the greatest, saying, "This man is the power of God that is called Great." 11And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic. 12But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. 13Even Simon himself believed, and after being baptized he continued with Philip. And seeing signs and great miracles[b] performed, he was amazed.

14Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent to them Peter and John, 15who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16for he had not yet fallen on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit. 18Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was given through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, 19saying, "Give me this power also, so that anyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit." 20But Peter said to him, "May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! 21You have neither part nor lot in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. 22Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours, and pray to the Lord that, if possible, the intent of your heart may be forgiven you. 23For I see that you are in the gall[c] of bitterness and in the bond of iniquity." 24And Simon answered, "Pray for me to the Lord, that nothing of what you have said may come upon me."

25Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
Footnotes:
a. Acts 8:5 Some manuscripts a city
b. Acts 8:13 Greek works of power
c. Acts 8:23 That is, a bitter fluid secreted by the liver; bile

There are several highpoints in just this passage that I want to share quickly this morning.

(1) Saul – whom we will come to know as Paul – was a willing participant in the stoning of Stephen. Not only that, Saul embraced the opportunity to persecute the church. One would imagine that such a man would be consigned to the depth of hell for his activities … instead God made Paul one of Christianity’s greatest spokesmen. What does that tell you and me? We can never be so bad that God cannot redeem us. I know all of us, when we get into our secret worlds of our minds, cannot imagine ever being worthy. But God made us worthy in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
(2) God used Saul to get the church growing. The church in Jerusalem was growing by leaps and bounds BUT God’s intention was that the message be spread to all the world – not just Jerusalem. It is easy to fall into the trap of familiarity. How many times have we objected to the creation of a new Sunday school class because it would take some of our friends “away”? How often have we resisted reaching out in the community because it might affect our “mix”? Our task from day one has been and remains to preach the Gospel and to edify the believer. And we either do it willingly … or God will intervene and help us do it.
(3) Phillip went to a place where good Jews don’t go. Samaritans weren’t just a different culture – they were mixed breed. They were Jews who had been left when Babylon conquered them who had intermarried with the foreigners that Nebuchadnezzar had sent into the region. The Jews tolerated the Gentiles … but they hated the Samaritans – even choosing to go around the region as they made their way from Galilee to Judea or vice versa. What does that say to me? I need to take a close look at my “preferences” and realize God has sent me to where He wants me to go – not to where I want to be – because there are people who will listen and will hear the Message of Christ Jesus.
(4) I am not skipping Simon because his story is important. You see, Simon viewed the power of Christ as a means for monetary enrichment. Peter recognized his motive and corrected him. I want to note though that Simon appears to have repented. We don’t know the rest of the story … I guess we will find out in glory. But what it says to me today is that I should understand why I am doing what I do – including the reason I write the Good Mornings.
(5) Lastly – but very important – is trying to understand why the Holy Spirit did not descend on the new converts in Samaria right away but that Peter and John had to lay hands on them for the Spirit to come. Well, we could argue about it … but here is what I think. Peter and John were fishermen. What does this have to do with anything, one might ask? Well, we already know that Peter has characteristics that parallel those of many people who do hard physical labor. In many instances, their thinking is very simple and direct. Now, that is not a bad thing! The Gospel is very simple and very direct. It is a good thing to hear God and just believe. Anyway, Peter and John were Jewish through and through. They didn’t want to go to Samaria. They didn’t want to believe that God would save these “dogs” even though they had seen Jesus do this before. God had to open their eyes to His mercy reaching beyond the Temple, beyond the court of the Gentiles and even to a place like Samaria. I believe that the laying on of hands by Peter and John was for Peter and John’s benefit so they might expand their vision. Sometimes God has to expand my vision to reach beyond my familiar place so that I might see His mighty hand at work.

Well, I guess today’s Good Morning has been a little long. I hope it will be a blessing for you as you go about your day to day. And I welcome your comments.

Agape’

Mr. Jim