In Acts chapter 8, we have the
story of what happens after Stephen, the faithful servant of the Lord,
is stoned to death. And I'm taking the title for
this message, I want to look at the first eight verses of
Acts chapter 8. I'm taking the title for the
message from what is said in verse 4. Therefore, they that
were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching, preaching the word,
the word, preaching the word, not tradition, not ceremony,
not custom, preaching the word. You remember in chapter five,
they ceased not to teach and preach the word. Jesus Christ
is the word of God. This scripture you're familiar
with, you don't need to turn to it. In the beginning was the
Word, John 1, 1. And the Word is capital W, and
the Word was with God, and that Word was God, and that Word was
made flesh and dwelt among us. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. The written Word of God GOD GIVEN,
GOD INSPIRED, BUT IT TELLS US ABOUT THE LIVING WORD, THE LIVING
WORD, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. PHILIP PREACHED CHRIST UNTO THEM. YOU SEE THAT IN VERSE 5? AND
PHILIP WENT DOWN TO THE CITY OF SAMARIA AND PREACHED THE WORD. WHAT DID HE PREACH? HE PREACHED
CHRIST UNTO THEM. DOWN IN VERSE 12, WHEN THEY BELIEVED
PHILIP PREACHING A THING CONCERNING THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE NAME
OF JESUS CHRIST. OVER IN VERSE 35 OF THIS SAME
CHAPTER, YOU REMEMBER THE STORY OF PHILIP AND THE EUNUCH? VERSE
35, AND PHILIP OPENED HIS MOUTH AND BEGAN AT THE SAME SCRIPTURE,
ISAIAH 53, AND PREACHED UNTO HIM THE WORD. JESUS CHRIST IS THE WORD OF GOD. THE WRITTEN WORD TELLS US ABOUT
THE LIVING WORD, THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. IN JOHN CHAPTER 20, We did a study through the book
of John, the gospel of John, two times. But remember in chapter
20, these things were written that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the son of God, that believing he might have
life on his name. These things were written, thank
God they're written down. Where would we be without the
written word? We'd be in big trouble. These
things are written that you might believe the gospel. Even though
they were scattered because of persecution over the gospel,
God used the evil of their persecution, the enemies of the gospel, for
the good of his people. Philip went down to this city
of Samaria and preached Christ, and a number of people believed.
God can make light to come out of darkness. Think of it. The Lord will use whatever means
he desires to send out the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. It
may be persecution. It may be prosperity. The Lord
will use whatever he will to send out the gospel. Our Lord
said this to the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, risen, said
to his apostles, and that goes to all his body, go and preach
the gospel. Go into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature, the gospel of the Lord Jesus
Christ. Preaching the gospel is to preach
the word. We cannot overdo this command
where he said, go and preach, go and preach, go everywhere
and preach. Paul said, I charge you to go
and preach. Can't overdo that. Every time we meet together,
we meet together around this word and we preach and teach
line by line, word by word, verse by verse, book by book, chapter
by chapter, all the word of God. You can't overdo that. I've never
heard a believer complain. All you do is preach the word.
That's so boring. Can't we have fun? Can't we have
a, Christmas play and dress up like shepherds and have a manger
and can't we do these things? Not here Not here the business
is preaching the word Preaching Christ. We don't play games here
The Lord has ordained this preaching of the gospel as a means to call
out his people You remember 1st Corinthians 121 He pleased God through preaching
to call out his people. That's why we make much of the
Word. We read the Word in the beginning. The first thing we
do when we come together, what do we do? We read the Word. We pray, we sing, and we preach
the Gospel. Preach the Word. Now, we saw
last week the brutal murder of a faithful Gospel preacher named
Stephen, and we learned at least three vital lessons about believers
when they die. Those who die in faith die well. Stephen died well. Blessed are
those who die in the Lord. Secondly, those who die in faith
are immediately received by the Lord Jesus Christ. He cried out,
Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he did. And Stephen fell
asleep. And he's forever with the Lord.
Thirdly, those who die in faith are given dying grace to depart
this life in peace. HE DIED IN PEACE. SO MUCH SO,
HE WAS SO MUCH AT PEACE IN HIS MIND AND HIS HEART, HE SAID ABOUT
THOSE WHO PICKED UP A STONE AND STONE, LORD, FORGIVE THEM. BOY,
THAT'S AT PEACE, ISN'T IT? THAT'S BEING AT PEACE. AS MUCH
AS LIETH WITHIN YOU, LIVE PEACEABLY WITH ALL MEN, THESE MEN JUST
DASHED OUT HIS BRAIN AND YET HE'S PRAYING FOR THEM. BOY, I DESIRE THAT. I desire
that. You remember what the Lord said
as he died on Calvary Street, being so brutally treated? Father, forgive them. Well, that
prayer was answered. In Pentecost, 3,000 people. A
few days later, 5,000 people. Then a multitude of sinners were
saved because the Lord prayed for them. The Lord interceded
for them. And then we were introduced to
a young man by the name of Saul. If you remember the last part
of verse 58, Acts 7, they laid down their clothes at a young
man's feet whose name was Saul, Saul of Tarsus. First time we've
run into this man and we're going to see a lot about him. In chapter
9, he meets somebody special, Saul of Tarsus does, as he's
on his road to persecute believers, not only in Jerusalem, but in
Damascus. He's going way up north to Syria.
And he met somebody special. And God put him in the dust.
And God made him a new creature, made him the Apostle Paul. We
know much about his background because we have it in the Word
of the Lord. He said in Philippians 3, if any man, as the proud Pharisee,
if any man whereof he might trust in the flesh, I the more. Hebrew
of Hebrews, I was born a Pharisee, zealous of the tradition of my
father's. But when he learned the gospel, when God taught him
the gospel, he said, all that is just garbage. That I might win Christ and be
found in him. And then in Galatians 1, he talks
about BEING EXCEEDING ZEALOUS OF THE TRADITION OF THE FATHER,
PERSECUTING THE CHURCH EVEN UNTO DEATH. WE ALSO KNOW LATER THAT
THE LORD RAISED THIS MAN UP TO BE THE GREAT APOSTLE, AND WE'LL
SEE HIS MARVELOUS CONVERSION STORY IN ACTS CHAPTER 9. BUT LOOK AT VERSE 1, ACTS CHAPTER
8, VERSE 1, 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 scattered abroad
throughout the regions of Judea, that is to the south, and Samaria,
which is to the north of Jerusalem, except the apostles stayed there
in Jerusalem. Now this is the Lord's purpose.
Saul participated in this brutal murder. VICIOUS MURDER OF STEPHEN. HE GAVE HIS FULL CONSENT. HE
TOOK PLEASURE AND DELIGHTED IN SEEING ANOTHER BELIEVER PUT TO
DEATH. IF YOU'LL FIND ACTS CHAPTER 22,
THE APOSTLE PAUL WRITES ABOUT IT HERE IN ACTS CHAPTER 22 VERSE
3. HE SAID, I AM VERILY A MAN which
am a Jew born in Tarsus." It's all of Tarsus. City and citizenship.
"'Yet brought up in the city at the feet of Gamaliel, and
taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers,
and was zealous toward God, as you are all this day, I persecuted
this way unto death.'" You see that, verse 3? "'Binding and
delivering into prison both men and women.'" BOY, THIS MAN WAS SO FULL OF
HATE AND EVIL, WRETCHEDNESS. LOOK AT CHAPTER 9, ACTS 9, VERSE
1, AND SAW YET BREATHING OUT THREATENING AND SLAUGHTER AGAINST
THE DISCIPLES OF THE LORD, WENT TO THE HIGH PRIEST TO GET PERMISSION
TO PERSECUTE BELIEVERS OTHER PLACES. BOY, THIS MAN, IF ANYBODY'S
LOOKING AT THIS MAN, THOSE BELIEVERS THERE IN JERUSALEM, When they
found out like Ananias did, when he heard about Saul's conversion,
he said, I've heard about this guy. He's done much evil to the
Lord's people. When anybody heard about the
story of Saul of Tarsus and how God made him a new creature in
Christ, they stood back and said, man, I don't believe that. They would look at that
man and say, there's no hope for him. THERE'S NO WAY THAT
GOD CAN EVER DO ANYTHING FOR THAT MAN. I TELL YOU, IF GOD
CAN SAVE US ALL OF TARSUS, THAT GIVES THIS SINNER HOPE. IF HE
CAN SAVE THAT WICKED MAN, HE CAN SAVE ME BECAUSE I'M JUST
AS BAD. I CAN SAY WITH HIM I'M THE CHIEF
OF SINNERS. AT THAT TIME THERE WAS GREAT
PERSECUTION AGAINST THE CHURCH, WHICH WE KNOW IS THE LORD'S BODY.
THOSE BELIEVERS WERE PERSECUTED, PERSECUTED UNTO DEATH, BUT THE
LORD SAID TO SAUL OF TARSUS LATER IN CHAPTER 9, WHEN YOU PERSECUTE
BELIEVERS, HE SAID YOU PERSECUTE ME. BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU SAY ABOUT
ANOTHER BELIEVER, BECAUSE THAT BELIEVER IS THE LORD'S BODY.
SOME HISTORIANS HAVE SAID THAT MORE THAN 2,000 PEOPLE, 2,000
BELIEVERS WERE PERSECUTED UNTO DEATH AT THIS TIME. Now remember
the church is well over 10,000 at this time. They were scattered
to the north, to Samaria, to the south, Judea. We all know
THIS TOOK PLACE BY THE DETERMINANT COUNSEL AND PURPOSE OF GOD. WE
CALL THAT THE GOOD AND WISE, SOVEREIGN PROVIDENCE OF GOD.
WAS THAT OUT OF CONTROL? WAS THAT PERSECUTION OUT OF CONTROL?
NO, THEY WERE DOING EXACTLY WHAT GOD DETERMINED BEFORE TO BE DONE. PREACHER, I DON'T BELIEVE THAT
BECAUSE I CAN'T UNDERSTAND THAT. WELL, I DON'T UNDERSTAND IT EITHER,
BUT I CERTAINLY BELIEVE IT BECAUSE GOD SAID IT. GOD SAID IT. ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR
GOOD TO THEM WHO LOVE GOD. TO THEM WHO WERE CALLED ACCORDING
TO GOD'S PURPOSE. HOW COULD THIS PERSECUTION BE
GOOD? WELL, IT DROVE PHILIP DOWN TO THE CITY OF SAMARIA, AND HE
PREACHED THE GOSPEL, AND THEN HE BELIEVED. EVEN THE VILE WICKEDNESS
OF UNGODLY MEN SERVES THE GREATER PURPOSE OF GOD. THAT'S JUST SO. That's just so. I, the Lord,
he says, let me get it for you. I didn't jot it down, but I've
got this reference. Don't turn, you're familiar with
this. He said, I form the light, I
create darkness. I make peace, I create evil.
I, the Lord, do all these things. It's of the Lord. Now, I want
you to notice this. Verse two, and devout men, these
believing men, They identified with Stephen in his death. They
carried the body of Stephen and made great lamentation, and they
buried him. That is, they went and found
his body, covered probably with a pile of rocks. They threw all
the rocks off his body, beaten, bruised, battered, and dead,
and they took that body, washed it, clothed it in linen and carried
it and gave him a proper burial. And then it said they made great
lamentation over him. They were broken hearted. They
were broken hearted. They risked their lives by identifying
with Stephen. They risked their lives and put
their lives and livelihood in jeopardy by burying Stephen. They had courage enough in the
midst of persecution, great persecution, they showed respect to the dead
body of this faithful servant, and they gave him a decent burial. These dear believers were brokenhearted
over their loss, and they did not hide their tears. They wept
for one another. Notice he was buried. Now I've had this question over
the last 30 some years, 35 years I've been trying to preach the
gospel. Is it proper or right, should a believer have his body
cremated? I've been asked that question
how many times? No, no. Show me one time in the scripture
where any believer had his body burned. Abraham was buried They carry
Joseph's bones out of Egypt all the way back to the land of Canaan
did what buried his bones We should follow the Lord's example
and have our bodies buried the only People who have their bodies
cremated in the Word of God were pagans not believers That's just so. That's just the
way it is. Look at verse three. As for Saul,
he made havoc of the church, entering into every house, hailing,
dragging, viciously, cruelly, men and women, probably children
as well, if they were believers, and committed them to death. He committed them to prison.
but they were put in prison only awaiting to be stoned to death
like Stephen. What a brutal man this man Saul
of Tarsus is. And yet he did all this in a pious, self-righteous, judgmental
spirit as a Pharisee. This self-righteous Pharisee
hated the Lord Jesus Christ and hated those who believe the gospel
of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see, hate is what is born
and is bred in this rotten nature, in this sinful nature. Love is
of God. Hate is of this flesh. flesh,
a carnal mind, and enmity against God. Saul of Tarsus hated God,
and he hated those who believed the Christ of God, the Lord Jesus
Christ. Verse 4. I'm going to get to
the good part here. Just hang in there. Therefore,
they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the
word, preaching the word. God can make light come out of
darkness. He can make good come out of
evil. Those who were hated for the gospel left Jerusalem to
protect their lives, but they took with them, they probably
didn't have time to pack the wagon, did they? They left in a hurry. They left
town because of persecution, but you know what they took with
them? The gospel in their heart, in their mind, in their soul.
They took the gospel with them, and they went everywhere preaching,
preaching, preaching, preaching the word, the word. Acts 542,
and daily in the temple and every house. You remember when they
were beaten, the apostles were beaten and commanded never to
teach or preach or mention the name of Jesus Christ again. And
it said they went everywhere and they ceased not to teach
and preach the Lord Jesus Christ. Now, let's work on this statement
here for a minute. They went everywhere preaching,
preaching, which is a declaration. A declaration, preaching. The
word, the word, you see that, underscore that, the word, the
word, the word. They preach the written word,
which tells us of the living word. Now, put your fingers to
use here, and find Hebrews chapter four. Hebrews chapter four, let's
see what, let's see about the word here. The word of God, Hebrews
4.12. The word of God. is quick and powerful, sharper
than any two-edged sword, piercing even to dividing asunder soul
and spirit, and the joints and marrow, and is discerner of the
thoughts and the intent of the heart. Neither is there any creature
that's not manifest in his sight. All things are naked and open
unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do. The word of God
is quick and powerful. That means the written word and
that means the living word. We read earlier in the text.
Don't turn to this one. When this same man, Saul of Tarsus,
later known as the Apostle Paul, sits on death row, waiting to
be executed for the gospel, he writes back to Timothy, he said,
preach the word. I charge thee before God and
the Lord Jesus Christ, preach the word. The incidences and
odysseys reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and doctrine. Preach the word, preach the word,
preach Christ, preach the word. Now, 1 Thessalonians chapter
one, turn there. Our Lord said his word will not
return unto him void. 1 Thessalonians chapter one,
and I tell you why. THE WORD OF GOD WHEN IT GOES
FORTH IN THE POWER OF GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT TO THE HEART OF THE
ELECTED GOD ALWAYS GETS THE JOB DONE. I THESSALONIANS CHAPTER
1 KNOWING VERSE 4 BRETHREN BELOVED YOUR ELECTION OF GOD WHERE OUR
GOSPEL CAME NOT IN YOU IN WORD ONLY BUT IN THE HOLY GHOST IN THE POWER
BUT ALSO IN POWER IN THE HOLY GHOST AND MUCH ASSURANCE THE
WORD THE WORD THE WORD Turn to chapter 2, 1 Thessalonians chapter
2, verse 13. For this cause also thank we
God without ceasing, because when you receive the word of
God, which you heard of us, you received it not as a word of
men, but as it is the word of truth, the word of God, that
effectually worketh in you that believe. There's that word. Our
Lord said this in John 5, Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that
heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me hath everlasting
life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from
death unto life. Hearing what? The word. Hearing the Lord Jesus Christ,
revealed in the written word of God. Now you know this scripture,
I quote it all the time, Romans 10, 17, Faith comes by hearing,
THE WORD AND HEARING COME BY THE COMMAND OF GOD. HE'S GOT
TO GIVE US EARS TO HEAR THE WORD. I WANT YOU TO HEAR OR LISTEN
TO WHAT I'M SAYING, BUT I WANT YOU TO HEAR GOD'S WORD. YOU LISTEN
TO WHAT I SAY, BUT LISTEN FOR A WORD FROM HIM. NOW, BACK TO
THE TEXT. PREACH THE WORD. HE WENT PREACHING
THE WORD, THE WORD, THE WORD OF THE LORD. CONCERNING THE KINGDOM
OF GOD, HE PREACHED CHRIST UNTO THEM. NOW, HERE WE HAVE AN EXAMPLE
OF WHAT IT MEANS AND WHAT IT IS TO PREACH THE WORD. PHILIP
WENT DOWN, VERSE 5, TO THE CITY OF SAMARIA AND PREACHED CHRIST
UNTO THEM. SO WHEN WE SAY HE PREACHED THE
WORD, THEY WENT PREACHING THE WORD, THEY PREACHED CHRIST UNTO
THEM. THEY PREACHED THE THING CONCERNING
THE KINGDOM OF GOD IN THE NAME OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST. THEY
DECLARED WHO HE IS AND WHAT HE HAD DONE. Now, this city of Samaria that's
mentioned here, Samaria is a place that lies to the north of Jerusalem. And the Jews hated those people
of Samaria who were half-bred Jews, embredded with the people
from Assyria and goes all the way back to that old northern
part of that kingdom being carried away into captivity. all the
way the history that enmity goes way back the jews hated those
syrians who came and intermarried and mingled with the jewish people
who worshiped pagans and the jews wouldn't have anything to
do with those people of samaria the lord jesus christ remember
he said i must need to go down through samaria why there's a
woman at the well There's a woman at the well that's one of my
elect, that's one of my sheep, and she must hear the word, and
she did, and God granted her faith, and God gave her that
living water, made her a new creature in the Lord Jesus Christ. Philip, like Stephen, was a preacher
of the gospel. He went to this city of Samaria,
and a great revival broke out around the word of God. Philip,
full of the Holy Spirit, full of faith, full of the gospel,
full of wisdom to preach the gospel. What did he preach unto
them? He preached Christ unto them. You see that verse five? He preached
Christ unto them, Jesus Christ in him crucified. Now, a lot
of people, they always mention Jesus, the Christ, the Lord,
PEOPLE USE THE SAME WORD. RELIGIOUS PEOPLE USE THE SAME
WORD THAT WE USE, BUT THEIR DEFINITION OF WHAT THOSE WORDS MEAN IS TOTALLY
DIFFERENT AND TOTALLY CONTRARY TO THE WORD OF GOD. I KNOW PEOPLE
WHO USE THE NAME JESUS CHRIST WHO HAVE NO IDEA WHO HE IS, AND
YET THEY USE HIS NAME. I know that for a fact. I grew
up in a church called the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day
Saints. And the Jesus they had wasn't
the Jesus revealed in the Word of God.
So when we preach Christ and Him crucified, we declare His
glorious person. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh.
We preach His redeeming work. HIS SUCCESSFUL REDEEMING WORK.
THAT RADIO MESSAGE THIS MORNING, I TRUST SOME OF YOU HEARD THAT.
IF YOU DIDN'T, LISTEN TO IT ON SERMON AUDIO WHEN I PUT IT UP
IN THE MORNING. I DON'T THINK A CLEARER, PLAINER
MESSAGE CAN BE PREACHED FROM MATTHEW 121 THAN WHAT WAS PREACHED
THIS MORNING ON THE RADIO. CALL HIS NAME JESUS, HE SHALL
SAVE HIS PEOPLE FROM THEIR SIN. DID HE GET IT DONE? ABSOLUTELY. IF THE JESUS YOU BELIEVE TRIED
TO AND FAILED, IT'S NOT THE CHRIST OF GOD. YOU'VE GOT A FALSE ONE. THEY PREACH CHRIST, HIS GLORIOUS
PERSON, AS GOD ALMIGHTY MANIFESTING THE FLESH. THEY PREACH HIS REDEEMING
WORK, HIS PRIESTLY WORK AS THE ONLY SACRIFICE FOR SIN, HOW HE
OBTAINED ETERNAL REDEMPTION FOR US WITH HIS OWN BLOOD. PHILIP
PREACHED WHO HE IS. Our Lord said, I and my Father
are one. They preached that. Philip preached why he came. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation. The Lord Jesus Christ came to
save sinners. Philip preached what he accomplished.
Put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. Philip preached where
he is now. All the way through their preaching,
they preached the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ. When
he by himself purged our sins, He sat down, right hand of the
throne of God, because his work was done, accomplished, finished,
they preached the gospel. Paul later writes this, for though
I preach the gospel, I have nothing to glory of, for necessity is
laid upon me, yea, woe is unto me if I don't preach the gospel. So, we can conclude. Philip was
a gospel preacher. He preached the Word. He preached
Christ, preaching the thing concerning the kingdom of God in the name
of Jesus Christ. And look what happened. A revival
broke out. And the people with one accord
gave heed. They listened to him. With one
accord they gave heed unto the thing which Philip spake, hearing,
seeing, What the gospel did for these people, the miracles which
he did, we know they were done by the power of God. Unclean
spirits came out. Many that were possessed with
demon spirits were healed. Many who were lame and crippled
were made whole. And it says, verse eight, and
I love this, there was great joy in that city. A great revival broke out. This
city had been given ears to hear the gospel, hearts to receive
the gospel, eyes to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. They
were of one cord, one mind, one purpose. The Lord had some of
his elect in that city, and they were ordained to believe the
gospel like those in Corinth. When Paul, because of persecution,
was getting ready to leave, the Lord said to him, don't leave
before I have much people in that city. They witnessed miracles
and there was great joy in that city. Our Lord said this, the
spirit of the Lord is upon me because he has anointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted,
to preach deliverance to the captive, recovering of sight
to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach
the acceptable year of the Lord. That is true every time the gospel
is preached. God blesses his word. The Lord
has not changed. He's still able to save sinners
to the uttermost by the preaching of the gospel. He's still raising
dead men to life through the preaching of the gospel. You
have to be quick until we're dead. Of his own will begat he
us with the word of truth. He's still making sinners new
creatures in Christ through the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.
And a bunch of folks were glad Usually when the gospel is preached
in these cities, we're going to see in our studies of the
book of Acts, two things usually happen. Riot and revival. Right here we see a great revival
going on and there was great joy in that city. There's an
article on the bulletin, the back page, I use the reserve
for my Faint writings, weak writings about rejoicing in the Lord.
Believers have a rainbow of reasons to find comfort and joy in the
salvation of the Lord. For we are the true circumcision
which worship God in the spirit that rejoice in Christ Jesus
and have no confidence in the flesh. There was great joy in
that city.