I'm so thankful to be back, and I hope you've come this morning to hear the Word of God and to submit yourself to it.
We've been worshiping through song and through music, but just a reminder that we really believe here that you also worship God by listening to His Word and by heeding to what it says and being encouraged by it and obedient to it.
And I'm worshiping along with you. We are here for this and not for any other reason to make ourselves known or to make anything else known but Jesus known.
And so just join me again just in a word of prayer.
Father, we love you. We thank you for the chance to gather this morning.
We thank you for the redemption that we have in Jesus, and I pray that you would fight off all distractions and things like what we might eat later or who we might hang out with later,
what we might do after this is over, but you would allow us to be all here, Lord, and to hear your Word and that you would be lifted up.
In Christ's name, amen.
So we're returning to the book of Acts this morning.
We find ourselves in chapter 8, so go ahead and turn in your Bibles to Acts chapter 8.
And in case you're new on the scene, and just sort of a reminder, I'm not going to give you a big overview of Acts,
but just to remember that this is like the second book that Luke wrote.
We have the Gospel of Luke, and then he wrote this as an account of the early history of the church and the Acts of the Apostles.
And so Christ has resurrected.
He has commissioned His disciples to go out and to make disciples.
And then they literally watch Him ascend into heaven, and He empowers them to go out and to plant the church.
The Holy Spirit comes.
And so the apostles have been preaching the Gospel, making disciples in Jerusalem for the most part,
in just the area of Jerusalem.
So the Gospel hasn't quite gone out of the city yet in some ways,
other than some others that have might have taken it out there.
And two weeks ago, we looked at the martyrdom of Stephen, the first martyr of the church.
Nathan preached on that.
And just as a quick recap, he was arrested by the Jewish council for preaching the Gospel
and for doing miracles in the name of Jesus.
And so they bring him in front of this very intimidating council,
and they ask him to basically give an account for what he's doing,
whereon Stephen goes on to give this incredible explanation and exposition of the Old Testament.
Like he walks literally through the Old Testament
and says that the message that he wants them to see was all these Old Testament prophets
and messengers from God, they were pointing to the Messiah,
the Messiah that you just killed.
And you're no different than the people who killed the prophets.
You've ignored them, you've put them aside, and you're just as guilty.
You've killed the Messiah.
And then he offers them no repentance.
It's just almost like an act of judgment.
And then they're outraged.
Obviously, they're very, very angry.
And without even obeying the law of the day,
they drag Stephen out and they stone him to death.
And so, just interesting, the stoning that takes place,
where we read it just in the previous chapter,
that he was put to death.
It's a very vivid word.
It's a medical word that means like destruction.
It reveals that like Stephen just wasn't killed quietly,
it means that he was literally destroyed by these men.
It wasn't an easy death, in other words.
And very vivid word.
It was horrific.
It was utterly terrible as the stones fell on him
and pretty much just mangled him to the ground.
And he was the first martyr.
And if you remember the very beginning of the book of Acts,
when Jesus is commissioning his disciples,
he says,
You will be my witnesses.
And just as a reminder,
the word witness that he uses is the word martyr,
which means martyr.
Like, you will be my martyrs,
is what Jesus tells them.
You will go out.
You will die.
You will be persecuted and executed and imprisoned for my namesake.
So how would you like to get that commission?
Many of us in our flesh would probably run from that.
But they saw it as an honor to carry the name of Jesus.
So Stephen became the first witness, really, in the church.
And this execution, this martyrdom kind of sparks a large-scale persecution from the Jews in Jerusalem,
from the leading Jews in Jerusalem.
And it lasts for the next four chapters in the book of Acts.
It's not necessarily from Rome.
It's from the Jews.
And so it just carries on.
Stephen was the first.
And so it goes on.
And if we read,
starting in our text today,
in chapter 8,
we're just going to go verses 1 through 25.
So just follow along.
This is just a story.
So this is easy just to follow.
And starting in verse 1 of chapter 8,
it says,
So just so you know,
this word,
devout men,
it probably doesn't refer to other believers.
It refers to probably,
this is a term used for pious Jews,
that probably spells that a lot of the Jews,
some Jews there probably thought that the death and the execution of Stephen was wrong and unjust.
And so they took Stephen's body away to bury it.
In verse 3,
But Saul was ravaging the church and entering house after house.
He dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.
Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.
Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.
And the crowds with one accord pay attention to what was being said by Philip.
And when they heard him,
they saw the signs that he did.
For unclean spirits crying out with a loud voice came out of many who had them.
And many who were paralyzed or lame were healed.
So there was much joy in that city.
But there was a man named Simon who was previously practiced magic in the city and amazed the people of Samaria,
saying that he himself was somebody great.
They all paid attention to him for the least to the greatest,
saying,
This man is the power of God that is called great.
And they paid attention to him because for a long time he had amazed them with his magic.
But when they believed Philip,
as he preached the good news about the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ,
they were baptized,
both men and women.
Even Simon himself believed.
And after being baptized,
he continued with Philip.
And seeing signs and great miracles performed,
he was amazed.
Now when the apostles at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God,
they sent Peter and John,
who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit.
For he had not yet fallen on any of them,
but they had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus.
Then they laid their hands on them,
and they received the Holy Spirit.
Now when Simon saw the Spirit had been given throughout the laying on of hands of the apostles' hands,
he offered them money,
saying,
Give me this power also,
so that anyone whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.
But Peter said to him,
May your silver perish with you,
because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money.
You have neither part nor lot in this matter,
for your heart is not in the right before God.
Repent, therefore, of this wickedness of yours,
and pray that the Lord, if possible,
the intent of your heart may be forgiven you.
For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness,
and in the bond of iniquity.
And Simon answered,
Pray for me to the Lord,
that none of what you have said may come upon me.
Now when they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord,
they returned to Jerusalem,
preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.
And that's our text today.
And so, hopefully,
we will be able to pull some good things out of this,
and to apply to our lives today.
But this persecution that started,
it eventually ended up spreading the gospel.
And that's what we have to see here.
So we're going to kind of take a bird's eye view,
and see the big picture is that persecution started,
and because of that, the gospel moved out beyond Jerusalem.
And then, it zooms in closer to the life of Philip,
who wasn't an apostle, but a deacon,
one of the deacons chosen in the previous chapters and acts,
like Stephen was.
And he was the first one, actually,
in the scripture to be called an evangelist.
In chapter 21, he's called Philip an evangelist.
So as the persecution arose in Jerusalem,
the gospel was taken out.
So, to the Samaritans,
and then later on in this chapter,
that Nathan will get to eventually,
an Ethiopian.
So one of the first African converts.
So praise God.
And so that's what we're working with.
So there's four things that we're going to look at today
in the text.
But the first one, number one,
is that God uses persecution
to spread the gospel.
And you see that in the first four verses
of this chapter.
So what do you think at this point?
If persecution started
and you were being arrested,
beaten, thrown in prison
for the sake of Christ,
what would you do?
Would you panic and say,
oh man, our religious freedom
has been taken away,
so we better be quiet
and not talk about Jesus anymore.
We better lay low
and hopefully not be recognized
by the authorities.
What would be your reaction?
Well, that didn't silence him.
This didn't stop it.
It actually fueled it.
And so we see that
in the verses
they were scattered
and they went about preaching the word.
So, really cool.
I've always said this
to a lot of the college students,
but I think that so many of us
feel we use the term
of the generation
that I don't really like,
but the word awkward.
It's like a most overkill word
in our language today.
So, just try to use that
in a good way.
But, a lot of us think
that it's awkward
to share the gospel
because it's become a method
or a gimmick
and you've divorced it
from your real life.
It's not just something
that flows out of your life.
It's something that
you pull apart
and say,
I've got to do this method
or this gimmick.
It's not a natural outflow
of your language
and your life.
But this implies,
the Greek here,
is the idea
that they went gossiping
the good news.
Just happening
in the natural way
that conversations unfold.
So, a small little narrative.
There's this man
and he shows up
in Galilee, for example.
And, like,
everyone knows everybody
and he comes up and says,
hey, why are you here?
We don't recognize you.
And he says,
I've come from Jerusalem
with my family.
Did you hear about
what happened in Jerusalem?
I know there's a lot of stuff
going on about Jesus of Nazareth
and that he might be alive
and all that.
And then the man says,
well, he actually is alive.
He's been seen.
And Stephen was killed,
one of our brothers.
And this has started
a persecution.
So, if it was up to me,
I would have just stayed
and died with Stephen.
But I had to think about
my wife and my children.
And so we fled
and now we're here.
So, you're willing
to die for this?
You actually believe this?
And yes, I am.
And here's why I believe that.
And so,
this is just the natural way
the conversation unfolds.
They went about gossiping
the good news of Christ
in just natural ways.
So,
question for us.
Why didn't Operation
Search and Destroy
Christians succeed?
Plenty of other movements
throughout history
have gotten a lot of hype
and a lot of startup,
but then they died.
Many, many,
actually.
And so,
why not this?
Why did this little group
of followers
from a dead carpenter
from Galilee,
why did it not die out?
Because
God,
it's God's mission
to take Christ
to the ends
of the earth.
It's God's mission
to take the gospel
to all the nations.
This isn't a mission
of man.
It's a mission
of God.
As it said,
as the rabbi
pointed out
in Acts 5,
as they were talking
about what to do
with all these Christians,
he says,
in the present age,
I tell you,
keep away from these men
and let them alone.
For if this is a plan
or undertaking of man,
it will fail.
But if it is of God,
you will not be able
to overthrow them.
You might even be found
opposing God.
This idea that
if man started this,
it will fail.
But if God started it,
you won't be able
to stop it.
And you might even
be found opposing God.
Robert Coleman
wrote the classic book,
Master Plan of Evangelism.
Listen to what he wrote.
He said,
World evangelism
is the divinely ordered
goal for us all.
Not only is it attainable,
it is inevitable.
Whether or not
we believe it,
one day the gospel
of the kingdom
will be heard
to the ends
of the earth.
The God of the universe
will not be defeated
in his purpose.
Any activity
not in step
with God's design
for humanity
is destined
to futility.
The sooner we realize this
and align our way
with his,
the sooner
we will be relevant
to eternity.
He's saying
it is inevitable.
God's mission
will accomplish
what it set out to do
and it won't be stopped.
So our suffering
is inevitable
to reach the world
but our mission
is unstoppable.
I want to just,
there's several examples
today.
In 1985,
there was a Bulgarian
pastor,
Horacio Kosevic.
He was arrested
for preaching
the gospel
in his church.
I understand Romania
is under the control
of communist Russia
at the time
and communism
is seeking to put out
the gospel flame.
So he was in prison
for just about a year
and while he was there,
he shared Christ
with the other prisoners,
he shared Christ
with his interrogators
and his torturers
and many came to believe
in Christ
while he was in prison.
And this is something
that he said,
both prisoners
and jailers
asked many questions
and it turned out
that we had more
fruitful ministry
there in prison
than we ever could have had
inside a church.
God was better served
by our presence
in the prison
than if we had been free.
And that's just
how God works.
He works
through persecution
to accomplish
his will
and it's something
that can't be stopped.
So,
the message here,
okay,
is not just
that God
often turns
our setbacks
into victories.
The message
for us
also
is that sometimes
our freedom,
our safety,
our comfort,
our prosperity
can often
cause tremendous
sluggishness
and apathy
to the gospel mission.
Obviously,
I'm not ungrateful
for the liberty
and the freedom
we have.
Most of you
know me,
know I have
a family
that have shed
blood for this country
and many friends
that are today,
so I'm grateful
to live where we live
and to have
the religious liberty
we do.
But at the same time,
often,
a lot of the stuff
that we think,
like prosperity,
wealth,
we think those things
will kind of speed
the gospel mission.
And sometimes it does,
but more than often
it doesn't.
It actually,
the very thing we think
will help it
ends up creating
lethargy
and weakness
and apathy
and a preoccupation
with our comfort
and our ease
rather than
going and taking
the gospel forward.
So millions
of our brothers
and sisters
around the world
still suffer like this.
Just open your eyes.
Like,
it's everywhere.
North Korea,
China,
North Africa,
Middle East,
India,
Pakistan.
Just open your eyes.
Like,
these are places
where even today
they're being killed
in prison,
persecuted
by their family,
by their neighbors.
And this isn't
impersonal to me either.
A lot of my,
I have a few friends
that are in some
very hard places
right now.
My friend,
also,
who some of you
have met,
he's from Kyrgyzstan.
He's,
I won't tell you
where he is right now,
but I'll just tell you
he's in Central Asia,
so figure out
where he is.
But,
he came here
many years ago
and he spoke to
a large group
of college students
right here
and he said,
you know,
here in America
when you become
a Christian,
you walk an aisle,
you pray a prayer,
you take a seat
and you just
attend things.
He said,
it's very easy.
He said,
but in Asia,
if you're going
to become a Christian
first,
you're going to be
kicked out
of your family,
you'll be ostracized
by your family,
your community
will also turn you out
and not take you in,
and the government
will either
imprison you
or kill you
or not allow you
to work.
And he's like,
when someone says
that they believe
in Jesus
and they want
to follow Jesus,
if they go through
all of that
and they're still
trusting in Jesus,
we know that
they're a real Christian.
That's like what he said.
And that was just
convicting to me.
Never sell the gospel
cheaply to anyone
because it's costing
many people their lives
as it did in this time
like Stephen and others.
So,
for example,
this is a quote
by Charles Spurgeon
and one that's like
been in my head
for years and years.
But he said,
for the Christian,
prosperity is much harder
to bear
than adversity.
Many a man
will pass through
trouble and trial
and praise God
under it,
who,
when he who is
tried with no trouble,
will forget his God,
decline in grace,
and grow almost
a worldling.
Believe me,
there is no such trial,
no greater trial
than no trial.
And so,
prosperity,
you know,
we want to be thankful
for it,
but if we're not
using it for the
advancement of the gospel
and not being
graciously thankful for it
and using it for God's cause
and we make it an idol,
we put it on the throne,
God will deal with us.
So,
we possess so much
in this country
that has dulled
our senses
to the things of God.
In this Disneyland,
literally,
of a country sometimes,
Satan has Christians
focused on
what they can't take
out of this world
instead of Christ
being enough
and storing up
treasures for eternity.
So,
though persecution
can have harmful
physical effects,
it's just a well-known fact
that prosperity
tends to,
throughout the history,
slow down the mission
of Christ
instead of speeding it up.
So,
let's not be that way.
So,
the point
is not that we should
just seek out
physical persecution,
but the point
is that we should
just be very careful
and wary
of how we use
the wealth
that God has given us
to not allow it
to control us,
but for us
to control it
for the glory of God.
So,
that's the first one.
It's persecution
spreads,
right,
and the gospel
goes out.
So,
God uses persecution
to spread the gospel,
number one.
Number two,
the gospel
can save
persecutors.
This is verse
one and three.
We see that
Saul was there,
and most all of us
know who this is,
and he was approving.
He was like,
yes,
do this,
kill this guy,
silence him.
And then later on,
he was ravaging the church,
entering house,
dragging people off,
committing them to prison.
This is Saul of Tarsus.
So,
in the midst
of this persecution,
we get a brief glimpse
of the man
who would
become the apostle Paul.
Saul of Tarsus,
one of the most
religious elite
of the day.
He was educated
under the best,
and he knew it all,
and he was a Pharisee,
the most religious zeal,
but he was wrong.
Just because you're
religiously zeal,
it doesn't mean you're right.
And it says here
that he was ravaging
the church.
And this is an idea
of havoc.
It literally means
to exercise brutal,
sadistic cruelty,
is what this means.
It wasn't like he was like,
come on,
you Christians.
He was literally
brutalizing these people.
It's also used
in ancient Greek literature
of a wild boar
being on a rampage
and ravaging a vineyard,
and the idea of an animal
savagely tearing
somebody apart.
That's what this language
is used for.
This is what Saul
is doing.
And the church.
The same word is here.
So he was a scary man.
He could say that he
literally tore the church apart.
Not a man you'd want
to encounter.
Yet, we know
that as Saul
set out to annihilate
the church,
to annihilate the Savior
that he hates,
he ends up meeting Jesus
on the Damascus road,
and he's graciously saved
by the very man
he set out to destroy,
right?
And after these great
acts of evil,
as we've always seen,
free and willful
acts of evil,
God uses to serve
his purpose
every time.
And this is a great example.
So Christ saved this man
and made him
to be the Apostle Paul.
Made him a lover
of men.
A lover of Christ.
One of the most
radical conversions ever.
So, just briefly,
hold your hand here,
but look at 1 Timothy
real quick.
This story is coming up soon,
so I don't want to spend
too much time on it,
but in Acts 1 Timothy,
chapter 1.
Before I read this,
1 Timothy, chapter 1,
verse 12.
Before I read this,
I just want to ask you
a question.
Do you feel like,
I know there's people
here who do,
because in a room
this size,
there is no way
at all
that Christ
could save me
and forgive me
for the things
I have done
in my life.
I have felt
that way before.
I would be ashamed
even if people
knew what I have done.
And the fact that
this person
can just take away
my sin,
that's just an
overwhelming thought.
I just don't think
it's possible.
Well, this man
we're reading about
literally was going out
and ripping Christians
apart and hated Jesus.
And yet,
he found mercy
in Christ.
1 Timothy 1, 12.
Read this.
This is Paul,
the very man we read
about writing this
years later
after he was converted.
He says,
I thank him
who has given me strength,
Christ Jesus,
our Lord,
because he judged me
faithful,
appointing me
to his service.
Though formerly,
listen to this,
I was a blasphemer
and persecutor
and an insolent
opponent.
But I received mercy
because I acted
ignorantly in unbelief.
And the grace
of our Lord
overflowed for me
with the faith
and love
that are in Christ Jesus.
Here it is.
The saying is trustworthy
and deserving
of full acceptance
that Christ Jesus
came into the world
to save sinners
of whom I
am the foremost.
But I received mercy
for this reason
that in me
as the foremost,
Jesus Christ
might display
his perfect patience
as an example
to those who believe
in him
to eternal life.
You hear that?
He's like,
Jesus saved me
so that in the future
people like here today
can look at Paul
and be like,
if God has the grace
and power to save
a man like that,
I can also be saved.
That's what this
is saying.
To the king of ages,
immortal,
invisible,
the only God
be honor and glory
forever and ever.
Amen.
So listen,
there's no matter
what you've done,
you're not beyond
the tidal wave
of God's grace
to overtake you today.
In Isaiah,
it says,
Behold,
the Lord's hand
is not shortened
that he cannot save
or his ear so dull
that he cannot hear.
God can do it.
Alright?
So throw yourself
at Christ.
Come to him.
Alright?
Number three,
moving through
number two,
number three,
the gospel can save
outcasts.
The gospel can save
outcasts.
And we see this
when Philip takes
the gospel
to the Samaritans,
even just down
in verses five
through eight.
So,
most of you
Bible people
out here,
you know the Samaritans
are,
so I won't give you
a long,
boring history lesson
on how they became
Samaritans,
but just so you know,
they were like
half-breed Jews
because hundreds
of years before
when the Assyrians
conquered this area,
they put Gentiles
there who began
to intermarry
and mix with
the remaining
Jewish population
that was there.
And so,
Jews looked at them
as half-breeds,
unclean,
we don't want to
associate with them,
we don't like them,
and so,
they had their own
little form,
I guess,
of like Judaism,
they had their own
temple,
that they worshipped
that,
but it wasn't
really the truth,
it was sort of
a mix of a lot
of different things,
it really wasn't
the worship
of the real God.
And so,
Jews who hated
them,
right,
Philip goes
and he brings
the gospel to them,
the Samaritans,
the outcasts
of their society,
really,
and he followed
the footsteps
of Jesus,
really,
because Jesus
was also the one
who brought the gospel
to these people
in himself.
and what happens,
you see there,
there was much joy
in that city
because of what
happened.
So,
that shows us
that no matter
who you are,
if you feel
ostracized,
if you feel
outcast,
Christ is also
there for you,
to bring you
into the people
of God.
And so,
a brief note
inside of this,
because it's in our text,
but it's not the main
focus,
what's going on here
when it says,
you know,
they believe
and they are baptized,
but they didn't receive
the Holy Spirit yet,
because that seems
to be inconsistent
with what we believe
about baptism.
We believe here
that like when
the Holy Spirit
comes and regenerates
you,
causes you to be
born again,
when you hear the gospel
that he takes up
residence in you,
so,
which Nathan
will be speaking
about pretty soon
in the next part
of our chapter.
So,
why did this happen?
Well,
this seems to be
a very unique case
in the early church
where God,
in his wisdom,
chose to withhold
the giving of the Spirit
until the apostles arrived,
so that there could be
unity between the Jewish
church in Jerusalem
and the Samaritans.
And,
why though?
Like,
why is that important?
If this hadn't happened,
the Samaritans
might have continued
to think that they
were operating
spiritually apart from
the Jews in Jerusalem.
Or,
the believers in Jerusalem
might have not really
accepted them
as brothers and sisters
either.
So,
the Spirit had fallen
immediately when they
received Christ.
There had been no
connection between the two.
And so,
by the coming of
Peter and John
and the giving
of the Spirit,
the Jewish believers
are linked
with the Samaritan
believers.
So,
now there's not
two separate churches
but one church,
one covenant
member family
all together,
Jew and Gentile.
So,
that division
and that hatred
was healed
because of the gospel.
But,
it also established
the apostolic authority
of Peter and John
as the apostles.
They came
and they did this.
Jesus gave them
that authority
to do that.
So,
this healed
that division
that was there
so there wasn't
two separate things
going on.
So,
come talk to me
later more about that
if you want to know more
but we'll stop there
just to keep moving
forward.
So,
last thing,
number four,
the gospel
can be misunderstood
as it goes forward.
So,
this is verse 9
through 11,
18 through 24.
We get a picture
of this man
called Simon,
the magician
and he was called
the great one
and he was amazed
by the people
of Samaria.
He's just the word
sorcery here
which means
just magic
and it's just
sort of a religion
that came from
the Medo-Persian
empire,
sort of a combination
of astrology,
horoscope,
science mixed
with,
you know,
just superstition,
spells,
charms,
incantations.
Like,
if he had had
a 1-800 number
back then,
he would have
been the guy
to call.
So,
it seems like
he believed.
It says he believed.
Right?
Then later on,
Peter gives this
huge indictment
against him.
Peter responds
to him by saying,
like,
may your silver
perish with you.
It's almost
as if he's saying
to hell with you
and your silver
because you thought
you could obtain
the grace,
the gift of God
with money.
So,
Simon mistook
Jesus
as a bill of goods,
a cheap commodity
that he could add
the tricks
to his repertoire
that he had
already.
You can't buy
the grace of God.
You have to come
and lay down
all your pride
and all the stuff
that you think
you can do
to impress God.
You have to lay it down
and come to God
in God's way,
which is only
through Christ,
by grace,
through faith.
So,
he was only
obsessed
with the supernatural.
He thought this
would be a cool way
for him to add
some tricks
to the show
he put on.
Peter says,
you have no,
you neither part
nor lot
in this matter
for your heart
is not right
before God.
You have no share
in this.
Your heart
is crooked.
So,
then he calls
him,
repent,
right?
Repent of this
wickedness.
Maybe,
perhaps,
God may forgive
you.
And so,
repent,
we are familiar
with this term,
to turn away
from your sin,
to change
the thinking
about why
you do what
you do.
It's not just
changing your
actions,
so follow me
on this.
It's not just
changing your
thinking,
it's just changing
your feelings
towards that
action as well.
So,
example,
it's not just
saying,
stop acting
prideful,
it's saying,
hate your pride,
because not only
does it destroy
you and hurt
others,
but it dishonors
God.
So,
it's not just,
okay,
I need to come
across like I'm
not prideful,
you need to
hate and despise
your pride,
because it
dishonors the
Lord and it
hurts other
people.
That's what
he's saying,
repent,
turn away
from your
sin,
you're rotten,
you're twisted,
you're enslaved,
that's what
Peter tells
him.
And so,
then he says,
well,
may none of
this happen
to me,
we don't
really know
what happened
to him,
but,
just an
example,
that there
is in the
scripture,
a believing
that is not
real believing,
a faith that
is not real
faith.
we see in
Luke 18,
or Luke 8,
that is sort
of a picture of
the parable of the
soils where the
gospel goes out,
and Jesus says,
the ones on the
rock are those
who when they
heard the word,
receive it with joy,
but then they have
no root,
they believe for a
little while,
and in time of
temptation,
they fall away.
So it seems like
something good is
going on,
but then when trials
come,
temptation come,
they fall away,
it's not real.
So is your
faith in Christ
real?
Are you sure
of it?
Are you trusting
Christ,
loving Christ?
So in conclusion,
here's just a few
things,
like there is a
very strong
warning,
scattered throughout
the Old Testament
and New Testament,
that there are a
lot of people who
think that they are
right with God,
and they're not.
There are people who
genuinely think they
have Christ,
and they don't.
Jesus said that on
the judgment day,
many people are
going to come to
him and say,
Lord, Lord,
we did this in
your name,
we did this for
you,
and he will say,
I will declare to
them,
depart from me,
you worker of
lawlessness,
I never knew you.
Very scary words.
So how can you be
sure,
you can be sure,
that your faith is
real in Christ.
Luke's warning here
is that there is a
faith that is not
saved.
Make sure you don't
have that faith,
that you have the
real faith.
Come to Jesus on
his terms,
not your terms,
for your heart is
not right before
God.
Right?
Make sure your
faith is real,
and stop playing
games with God.
Repent of your
sin,
change the way you
think about these
things,
and submit to God.
You can't buy this
with money,
you can't buy this
by good works.
It's the free
grace of God.
This is a free
offer of salvation
in Christ,
and the last thing
we're going to look at,
just turn to Isaiah
55 real quick.
If Simon had read
this, it might
have helped him,
but Isaiah 55,
the very opposite
of buying the
grace of God,
there's a picture
here.
A call to repent
of our sins,
renounce it,
and turn to God,
and to lay down
your sin,
and lay hold
of Christ.
Isaiah 55,
verse 1,
this is an invitation
from God.
Come,
everyone who thirsts,
come to the waters,
and he who has no
money,
come,
buy,
eat.
Come,
buy wine and milk
without money
and without price.
Why do you spend
your money for that
which is not bread,
and your labor for that
which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently
to me,
and eat what is good.
Delight yourselves
in rich food.
Incline your ear,
come to me.
Hear,
that your soul
may live.
Jump down to verse 6.
Seek the Lord
while he may be found.
Call upon him
while he is near.
Let the wicked
forsake his way,
and the unrighteous
man his thoughts.
Let him return
to the Lord.
Listen to this.
So that he may
have compassion on him,
and to our God,
for he will abundantly
part.
God is ready.
Come,
eat,
buy for free
from God.
Come to Christ.
You're not coming to me.
I have no supernatural power.
You're coming to Christ.
I'm only a messenger
to tell you
that God loves you,
Christ died for you,
and that he will forgive you
and receive you now.
And so,
the last comfort
that we can look at
from this
for those of us
who are in Christ
is that
our mission
to the world
is literally
unstoppable
because it is
God's purpose
to take the gospel
to all the nations.
And just a story
that I can't,
I really think
I'm just supposed
to put it in here.
I was kind of
holding it in my hand
lightly earlier.
But also,
during the communist regime,
there was a man
named Joseph Son,
another Romanian pastor.
I recommend this book.
It's called
Suffering,
Martyrdom,
and the rewards
in heaven.
But,
he was being interrogated.
He was in prison
for a long time.
And he was doing
the same thing,
loving,
speaking Christ
to the interrogators.
And this is something
he wrote in the book.
He said,
during an early interrogation,
I had told an officer
who was threatening
to kill me,
Sir,
let me explain
how I see this issue.
Your supreme weapon
is killing.
My supreme weapon
is dying.
Here's how it works.
You know that my sermons
are on tape
and they have spread
all over the country.
And if you kill me,
those sermons
will be sprinkled
with my blood.
Everyone will know
I died for my preaching.
And everyone who has
a copy of that tape
will pick it up
and say,
I better listen to this again
because this man
sealed it with his very life.
So, Sir,
my sermons
will speak ten times
louder than before.
I will actually rejoice
in this supreme victory
if you kill me.
After I said this,
the interrogator
sent me home.
Another officer
who was interrogating
a pastor friend of mine
told him,
We know that Mr. Song
would love to be a martyr,
but we are not that foolish
as to fulfill his wish.
I stopped to consider
the meaning
of that statement.
I remembered how
for many years
I was afraid of dying.
I had kept a low profile
because I wanted
so badly to live
and I had wasted
my life
and inactivity.
But now
that I have placed
my life on the altar
and decided
I was ready
to die
for the gospel,
they were telling me
that I,
they would not kill me.
I could go wherever
I wanted in the country
and preach
wherever I wanted
knowing I was safe.
As long as I tried
to save my life,
I was losing it.
And now
I see dying
as gain.
You can't stop
a people
who believe that.
You let me live,
I'm going to preach
Christ everywhere.
Kill me?
That's what he says.
And the guy
obviously walked away
and set him free.
So,
this is God's mission
and that it's unstoppable
and we need to
throw ourselves into it.
We need to have
more confidence in this.
this is what
gives me courage
to go on the campus
to hard places
and talk to people
who are either hostile
or crazy
because it's God's mission.
What are they going to do?
Nothing.
They have nothing.
They speak wind, right?
This is the word of God.
Throw yourself
into the cause of God.
Let's pray together.