November 2012
Matthew 4:19
“Chummin’ for Saints…until the nets are full”
To the saints who are in Christ; blessings to you all! I pray that you are walking well with our Lord Jesus the Christ. Many times in our walk we look at our fellow saints to see where they are walking and miss the turn that God wishes us to take. We all don’t have to serve in the same place or in the same way. God has a plan for each of us. Just today I was talking to a great young man who loves our Lord and is seeking the Holy Spirit’s direction in his life. He came to me because a group of men were telling him all of the things which need to change on his outside. This was very confusing to him. Now there is not outward sin that we are talking about, but it is his beard and his youthfulness that are in question. My response was that God knitted him in his mother’s womb and He loves you. As we move on in Act’s we are going to meet Saul/Paul, Philip, and Barnabas and as time goes on, a young Mark and Timothy. We will see some different missionary journeys which will show us that our Lord works through many different people in many different ways. He also worked in a way in which the religious system of the time did not act. We will see God use men who didn’t fit the help-wanted ad for some churches. Two of them had higher education, but most of them have a common background. The Church will look differently and work in a different way to reach the world for Christ.
This is where and why I love teaching line-by-line; starting at Chapter 8 we are going to go from Saul (Paul) to Philip to Peter and John, back to Philip and pick up back with Saul (Paul) in Acts 9. If it was up to me, I would regroup all of this into a neat grouping and would miss the message God was showing us. At the same time, I wish for us to see each thing Jesus is doing with each of these men to show us some way that God moves in many ways even in one church body.
(Acts 8:1-4) Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. To cover this part of Acts, I want to go back to Acts 1:8. "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." Jesus said: “You shall be witnesses to me " in Jerusalem, in Judea, in Samaria and to the end of the earth”. J. Vernon McGee paints this picture for us:
Jerusalem equals our home town.
Judea equals our community.
Samaria equals the folks with whom we don’t associate.
The earth equals, well, I hope you don’t need this one defined.
Up to this point, the early church has been witnessing in Jerusalem and now the time has come to go out first to Judea, Samaria and then the world.
(Acts 8:1) Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. Saul, who later becomes Paul in Acts 9, never forgot about Stephen and his role in his death. What gets me is the first thing that the Holy Spirit wants us to know about a man who will go on to write 13 letters which are recorded in the New Testament for us to learn from and live by, is what would be his worst moment in church history. Not a big selling point in the world’s system!
“At that time or “on that day” implies that Stephen’s death was the spark which was needed to encourage others to go after this so called “church”. It seems that up to this point, they were holding back. This too will be used in God’s plan because now the church is forced to move away from Jerusalem.
“Scattered”: Almost all of the Christians except some of the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Here’s some word study for us to think about. The Greek word for “scattered” is diesparesan and is related to the Greek word for seed, which gives us the picture of God’s word being spread out and later, when it sets roots and grows, it will bear fruit.
On this next point, I wish that I had more to share, but with the resources available to me, none really covers this point. If God tells the apostles to “go and take the word to the world”, I want to know why the church went and the apostles stay and we still see them there in Acts 15. Craig A. Evans writes this:
“While Luke says that the persecution came to the whole church and all except the apostles were scattered, it is clear that not even one left Judea or Jerusalem on a permanent basis. It seems that most of those who fled for safety were the Jewish Hellenistic Christians”. Like Stephen, these were the Greek speaking believers not the Hebrew (Aramaic) speaking believers.
(Acts 8:2) And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. What a difference between this verse and the next one. Devout men or Godly men compared to havoc on the church or ravaging the church. With God in our lives, there is peace; without God in our lives, there is no peace. Can we look at something here that could get missed? Rabbinic tradition forbids public lamentation over a criminal who is put to death. The new church no longer cared about all of that stuff. Just like in John 19:38 with Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus who took and cared for Jesus’ body “publicly”, so the new church did for Stephen. We are to live in the Light ant not hide in the shadows. We are not undercover Christians!
(Acts 8:3) As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Saul (Paul) zealously went on the attack (I like this word “zealously”). Now the word “havoc” or “ravaging” (elumaineto) comes from the Old Testament Greek translation, the Septuagint, to describe wild boars destroying a vineyard (Psalm 80:13). Later in Acts 26, Paul will recount this time in his life before King Agrippa. Saul, who had the legal authority to persecute the church by death (i.e. Stephen) or imprisonment, did not seem to care if it was a man or a woman whom he dragged off. (Acts 9:1-2) Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Saul was determined to stop our earthly forefathers. But, God had a plan!
(Acts 8:4) Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Persecution forced the church out of their comfort zone, but with them went the Gospel. I guess sometimes we have to become uncomfortable before we move. I did not want to experience prison first hand, but this discomfort has been the best thing because God’s work has been done through this pain. When you are tempted to complain about uncomfortable or painful circumstances, stop and ask if God might be preparing you for a special task.
Luke portrayed Saul as a man totally determined to crush this new church. As we read about Saul’s relentless and brutal assault on Christians, it’s difficult to realize that he was just days away from becoming a devout follower of Christ. This is a good reminder that God is working behind the scenes where least expected. Don’t give up on anyone!
My fellow saints, I pray for you and love you. Remember that it is a Spirit-filled life journey to understand God. There is soul healing in God’s loving Word and in the church of the Messiah’s Misfits. Remember my chains as I remember yours. Watch! Hold fast in the faith. Be brave and be strong to the end. Let all you do, be done in love.
Semper Fidelis!
I Corinthians 16: 13-14
Phish Bowl Coffee House/Ministries
276 E. 29th St
Loveland, CO 80538
http://inthephishbowl.blogspot.com/
An outreach of Calvary Chapel Loveland
Tim has had his right hand surgery and, I presume, is doing well. We haven’t heard otherwise. Thank you to those who are praying for healing for him and return of full use of his right hand. Please pray that God will give the surgeon insight into the problems with his left arm and hand, and that the surgery is performed in a timely manner with return of strength and range of motion in his arm, and return of feeling in his hand. Thank you to our brothers and sisters. Barb
