The pressure of persecution - the power of expansion !

Acts 8 Saul Persecutes the Church

8 Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. ² Some devout men buried Stephen, and made loud lamentation over him. ³ But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.

Philip in Samaria

⁴ Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word. ⁵ Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them. ⁶ The crowds with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. ⁷ For in the case of many who had unclean spirits, they were coming out of them shouting with a loud voice; and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. ⁸ So there was much rejoicing in that city.

An Ethiopian Receives Christ

²⁵ So, when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem, and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.²⁶ But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went; and there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure; and he had come to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. ³² Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this:

³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch *said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁷ [And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”] ³⁸ And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

The above passage begins by speaking about the persecution that came against the church and the believers. As I see the things that are unfolding around the world and in this country I can't help but to think that we are entering a time when the church and followers of Christ will experience the most severe persecution in history. Believers around the world are losing there lives for their allegiance to Christ. In this country it is becoming less politically correct to be a Christian than almost anything else. I say this not to increase fear and anxiety among believers but because it is the truth.

What does this mean for us and for the church? I believe we will soon see the end of the "institutional" church as we have come to know it in this country. As new laws are passed regarding tolerance and inclusion the church will need to make difficult decisions financially. They will not be allowed to speak the word of God and continue to recieve the tax benefits and waivers they currently enjoy. Denominations and churches will either conform to law or be subject to the punishment of the law. Again this is not to create fear among believers. The church in Acts was subjected to persecution and it grew. Many of the greatest increases in the Christian church today are happening in places where it is either illegal or unacceptable to be a Christian. Persecution is one of the greatest examples of the truth of Romans 8:28-29.

²⁸ And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. ²⁹ For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren;

God doesn't cause the persecution. But He will cause it to work for good, conforming us to the image of His Son, Who was persecuted for us. So that He would be the firstborn among many brethren, or in other words that the church would grow. 

What the passage above from Acts 8 shows us is that as an individual, Philip responded to the Holy Spirit's leading. First we see the account of his ministry in Samaria, where he minstered to large groups of people. God confirmed His word with miracles, healing and delivering many many people. The city was changed and the church grew.

Later we see Philip, again following the leading of the Holy Spirit, ministering to one man, the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip was able, by the spirit, to explain and bring the revelation of Christ through the word of God to this one man. The mans heart was changed and the church grew. The account ends with Philip, so in tune, so in the spirit, that he is more than just directed where he should go. He physically finds himself in another place to continue ministering and declaring the gospel, and the church grew.

God doesn't need our buildings, our organizations or our programs to build and grow His church. He wants individuals who will believe Him, trust Him and yield to the Holy Spirit. These present day Philips, God will protect, provide for and use, and the church will grow.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus. Holy Spirit thank You that You have called me to Your church. Thank You that Your ways are higher than our ways, that Your plans are greater than any we could imagine. I pray that You would give me a fresh infilling of Your Spirit today, that You would cause me to be like Philip, that you would give me the boldness and confidence to declare the good news to the masses. But that I would also have the sensitivity to minister to the one You place in my path. Most of all I pray that Your church will grow and I thank You that You have called and equipped me to be a part of that work.