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Acts 9:10-19: Special assignment.

“10 In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’  ‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered.  11 The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. 12 In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.’ 13 ‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. 14 And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.’ 15 But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’ 17 Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord – Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here – has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ 18 Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptised, 19 and after taking some food, he regained his strength.” NIV

‘The supernatural is too closely intertwined with the story to be taken out of it without reducing it to tatters. The greatest of Christian teachers, who has probably exercised more influence than any man who ever lived, was made a Christian by a miracle. That fact is not to be got rid of.’ Alexander Maclaren. When someone is converted, the ‘fruit’ will start to show itself. Here we see a first bloom in Saul’s life: ‘’…for he is praying’’ (11). You can understand the reticence felt by Ananias. He knew Saul’s reputation. He knew his track record. He knew exactly why he had come to Damascus. But although he was initially hesitant, Ananias proved to be as ‘available’ to God as was Philip in the previous chapter. He was sent on a special assignment, and it was, at least in part, to give Saul details of his special assignment (15, 16). Here is an example of God working at both ends of the line, to bring the right people together at the right time. Ananias was ‘’a disciple’’, and showed it by his obedience. God is able to correct anyone’s thinking when this is required. True fellowship is found at the feet of Jesus, who is Lord. Repeatedly in today’s reading you get to see that Ananias knew Jesus as ‘’Lord’’. However, we have also seen that Saul had started to call Jesus ‘’Lord’’ (5). When two people, however different, can genuinely call Jesus ‘’Lord’’ that is the basis for true brotherhood – for genuine fellowship (17). ‘How sweet and strange to speaker and hearer would that ‘Brother Saul’ sound! Alexander Maclaren.

Acts 9:1-9: Darkness to light

“Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest 2 and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. 3 As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. 4 He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ 5 ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked.  ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. 6 ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’  7 The men travelling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. 8 Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. 9 For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything.”NIV

‘’Meanwhile’’ even as the church was expanding; even as ‘Philip’s’, led by the Spirit, preached the Word in diverse places, Saul was out to destroy the Christian movement. This was his avowed intent. He was committed and diligent in his quest to oppose the church and stop its progress. (Notice that Christians belong ‘to the Way’ in at least two senses: they follow Jesus who said,’’I am the way’’ – John 14:6 – and they endeavour to walk in His way.)  But God intervened. Never give up on anyone. Don’t stop praying. If Jesus could meet with someone like Saul, speak to him and turn him around, He can do it to anyone.

‘When God needs captains for his army, he not unseldom takes them from the ranks of the enemy.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.489.  Saul was obviously a strong man – used to being in charge; to getting his own way. From now on, he would know Jesus as ‘Lord’ (5). He would find himself under orders, submissive, obedient (6). Also, in the encounter with the risen Lord, Saul was humbled (8, 9). He found himself weak and needy and vulnerable. He was knocked off his high horse, and ‘fell to the ground’ (4), where he truly belonged – at the feet of Jesus. (It’s the place where we all belong did we but realise it.) He was blinded physically, but was made to see spiritually. For the rest of his days, this proud man would be led ‘by the hand’ (8) – led by an unseen hand. But he would learn to follow.

Don’t miss the important truth lying at the heart of the passage that what we do to Christians we do to Christ (4, 5). The Head and the body are one.

PRAYER: Lord, I pray for ………. You know it feels to me like he/she will never be converted. But I also know that you can do far more than we can ask or imagine. You are able.

Acts 8:36-40: Philip, a man available.

“36 As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptised?’  38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and travelled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. ” NIV

I once heard John McInnes, a wonderful, cheerful Scottish missionary, speak about ‘Philip, a man available.’ Reading Acts 8, I think that is an excellent distillation of what we know of the man. There are obviously details of Philip’s life and ministry omitted.But a picture emerges in this chapter of a man who kept in step with the Holy Spirit. By the time we reach the thirty sixth verse, the conversation had obviously moved on and the treasurer was ready to commit. He desired to be baptised. We see in ‘Acts’ that baptism is the outward part of Christian initiation. It implies that there was repentance and faith in his heart. Water baptism alone will no more make you a Christian than going through a car wash will turn you into a car.

It is interesting to note that after he was suddenly bereft of Philip’s company ‘’…the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing’’ (39). We can become too attached to people. It’s understandable that we feel a deep connection with those who point us to Christ. But that’s the thing, Philip had focussed this man’s attention on Jesus; he had preached Christ and not himself. So when Philip was no longer around, the man’s joy was undiminished. He didn’t have Philip in his life, but he did have Jesus, He had found the treasure in the field and that was all that mattered. Philip, did his work well as a signpost. Many years ago, I read John Pollock’s biography of Billy Graham. It was a heart-stirring read. One story from it has always stayed with me. Billy Graham is almost certainly the best known preacher of his generation. He reached celebrity status in the eyes of many – not that he ever set out to achieve that. One day he went into a room full of people who were obviously delighted to have him with them. But, said Pollock, by the time he left the room, no-one seemed to noticed. He had got them talking about Jesus.

Are you available today for meetings the Holy Spirit may schedule; for appointments He sets up? Are you ready to go if He says ‘go’, to stay if He says ‘stay’? Are you prepared to speak the Name ‘Jesus’?

PRAYER: Holy Spirit, take me, move me, use me. I want to glorify Jesus.

Acts 8:29-35: Start where they are:

“29 The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’ 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. 31 ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:                                                                                                                                                                                        ‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,                                                                                                                                               and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,                                                                                                                                                 so he did not open his mouth.                                                                                                                                                                        33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.                                                                                                                                 Who can speak of his descendants?                                                                                                                                                             For his life was taken from the earth.’                                                                                                                                                         34 The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”NIV UK

I want to make three observations from this reading:

1. When God shows you the next step, ‘run’ after the thing He has shown you (30). There is an urgency about doing God’s will. ‘How certain these Spirit-filled men were of the heavenly impulse! Every appearance suggested that this man was needed in the city, but the inner voice was the deciding factor, and his journey was so timed as to bring him in contact with a soul that was groping its way toward Christ…Live in touch with God, and he will put you in touch with souls.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.488;

2. Start where people are. As Philip got close to the chariot, he heard the Ethiopian reading out loud from the book of Isaiah (30). That’s where Philip started – right where this gentleman was. His simple question opened the doorway to a deeper conversation, and before too long this man had become a Christian (see Isaiah 56:3-8). ‘How manifestly the meeting of these two, starting so far apart, and so ignorant of each other and of the purpose of their being thrown together, reveals the unseen hand that moved each on his own line, and brought about the intersection of the two at that exact spot and hour! How came it that at that moment the Ethiopian was reading, of all places in his roll, the very words which make the kernel of the gospel of the evangelical prophet? Surely such ‘coincidences’ are a hard nut to crack for deniers of a Providence that shapes our ends!’ Alexander Maclaren.

3. Keep the focus on Jesus (35). I heard a preacher say that if you talk about the church you are ‘leading with your jaw’. If at all possible, keep away from questions of where Cain got his wife etc, and if you do get led up some side path, quickly bring the traveller back to the main road. Jesus is the central issue – Jesus and His cross. What do you think about Jesus? At all costs, get your conversation partner to consider Jesus, if you possibly can. It is rare, I think, for an a person to seriously look at Jesus, with an open heart, and not be converted.

To conclude today, here is a further lovely thought from F.B.Meyer:  ‘The Bible is a good travelling companion. Take it on your journeys. Read it as other men do their newspapers; not exclusively, but boldly.’

PRAYER: Lord, please make your way plain to me, and may I run to embrace your good will.

The steps of a good man, Acts 8:26-29:

“26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means ‘queen of the Ethiopians’). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.”NIV

 ‘’The steps of a good man are ordered by the LORD…’’ (Psalm 37:23 KJV).

‘Evangelism is harvesting where God has already ploughed, sowed, cultivated, and nurtured. We go where He has gone before us.’ Jerry Root.

It has been said that in the Kingdom of God, the reward for work well done is more work. But the more work may not initially look like promotion. Philip had been an instrument in an exciting ‘revival’ in a bustling city, but as he listened to God and followed His leading, he found himself moving from a ‘big’ sphere of ministry towards a smaller one. Philip was directed to ‘’the desert road’’ (26). Initially that may not have seemed too promising. But never hesitate to go where God’s finger points. It doesn’t matter whether you are speaking to large crowds or are helping one individual, so long as you are in the centre of God’s will. This was by no means a demotion. Philip was off on another adventure in the Spirit. He found himself crossing paths with a senior politician from Ethiopia. This man was reading the Bible, and whenever someone takes a serious look at Scripture – and especially the Person of Christ – they are likely to become lost to the devil’s cause! So it was to be in this case. Jerry Root says that in our witness we don’t take Jesus to people; He is already present, at some level, in everyone’s life. We find Him active in surprising people and surprising places.  But when the Lord starts to show you a new direction, you still have to take the first step, and it may not always appear as an attractive proposition. However, we read about Philip that ‘’he started out’’ (27), and as he did so, he found himself written into another beautiful story. In the Christian life you often only have light for the next step. Then when you have taken it, there is light for the next…and so on.

Things are not always as they seem. It was just one man. It wasn’t a crowd. But who can tell how many he influenced for Christ back home in Ethiopia? Who can say what impact there was on the continent of Africa as a whole from this single conversion? This could have been the beginning of something far bigger than the Samaritan revival. But even if not, Philip’s change of direction and ministry was worth it, because one man, one woman, one child is always worth it. Each human being is valued at the immeasurable price of the blood of Jesus.

I heard a preacher say this morning, ‘What was the last thing God told you to do? Well, go and do it.’  It’s time to ‘start out’, and who can say where it will lead you?

Acts 8:14-25: Not for sale:

14 When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. 15 When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, 16 because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.  18 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money 19 and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”  20 Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! 21 You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. 22 Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. 23 For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”  24 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.”  25 After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.

In terms of Acts 8 as a whole, I think this extract from Alexander Maclaren is outstanding:

‘’The scattering of the disciples was meant by men to put out the fire, but, by Christ, to spread it. A volcanic explosion flings burning matter over a wide area.  Luke takes up one of the lines of expansion, in his narrative of Philip’s doings in Samaria, which he puts first because Jesus had indicated Samaria first among the regions beyond Judaea {Acts 1:8}. Philip’s name comes second in the list of deacons {Acts 6:5}, probably in anticipation of his work in Samaria. How unlike the forecast by the Apostles was the actual course of things! They had destined the seven for purely ‘secular’ work, and regarded preaching the word as their own special engagement. But Stephen saw and proclaimed more clearly than they did the passing away of Temple and ritual; and Philip, on his own initiative, and apparently quite unconscious of the great stride forward that he was taking, was the first to carry the gospel torch into the regions beyond. The Church made Philip a ‘deacon,’ but Christ made him an ‘evangelist’; and an evangelist he continued, long after he had ceased to be a deacon in Jerusalem {Acts 21:8}.

Observe, too, that, as soon as Stephen is taken away, Philip rises up to take his place. The noble army of witnesses never wants recruits. Its Captain sends men to the front in unbroken succession, and they are willing to occupy posts of danger because He bids them. Probably Philip fled to Samaria for convenience’ sake, but, being there, he probably recalled Christ’s instructions in Acts 1:8, repealing His prohibition in Matthew 10:5. What a different world it would be, if it was true of Christians now that they ‘went down into the city of So-and-So and proclaimed Christ’! Many run to and fro, but some of them leave their Christianity at home, or lock it up safely in their travelling trunks.

Jerusalem had just expelled the disciples, and would fain have crushed the Gospel; despised Samaria received it with joy. ‘A foolish nation’ was setting Israel an example {Deuteronomy 32:21; Romans 10:19}. The Samaritan woman had a more spiritual conception of the Messiah than the run of Jews had, and her countrymen seem to have been ready to receive the word. Is not the faith of our mission converts often a rebuke to us?’’

Regarding today’s specific passage, F.B. Meyer makes the point that some people seem to be particularly gifted when it comes to leading others into the fullness of the Holy Spirit’s blessing (14-17). I think he has a point, and my experience of church life, all-be-it limited, seems to bear this out.

As we saw yesterday, Simon was used to being on a pedestal; but the preaching of the gospel in Samaria put this all too human being into perspective. The populace got weaned off Simon and on to Jesus. Their attention was re-directed. Although Simon professed conversion and was baptised, reading between the lines it seems that he was still thinking about his own following; he wanted spiritual power for the wrong reasons.

What are we to make of Simon? Did he become a Christian or didn’t he? For me, the jury is out. I lean towards thinking that he professed salvation without possessing it. I think (22, 23) may indicate this. But perhaps not. We are all a complex mixture. We know from our own hearts that even after someone genuinely knows Christ, he/she can be a nest of vipers. Even after many years as a Christian you can be aware of poisonous motives and attitudes wriggling and squirming around your insides. Have you never wanted a right thing for the wrong reason?

Power Encounter, Acts 8:9-13:

“9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practised sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, 10 and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, ‘This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.’ 11 They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. 12 But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptised, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptised. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.”NIV

‘’For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds’’ (2 Corinthians 10:3, 4).

What happened in Samaria was a ‘power encounter’ in which the name of Jesus was seen to be greater than that of Simon, and evil was defeated and overcome. Simon had ‘’amazed ‘’ (9, 11) the people of Samaria for some time, and had captured ‘’their attention’’ (10). But when Philip came along and preached Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, their ‘’attention’’ (6) switched to Philip, and via him to Jesus. Simon was all about himself. Philip was all about Jesus.  For a time, Simon himself seemed to be a convert, but judging by the sequel it seems he wasn’t the real thing. It is by their fruits that we know them, and they can take a little time to appear.

It’s not surprising that ‘’there was great joy in that city’’ (8). Up until the time of Philip’s ministry, the place was under a demonic cloud. The people were held captive by an evil stronghold. But through the preaching of the gospel in the power of the Spirit, false ‘’arguments’’ were demolished, and pretensions set up ‘’against the knowledge of God’’. Thoughts were taken ‘’captive’’ and made ‘’obedient to Christ’’ (2 Corinthians 10:5). Philip was not fighting with worldly weapons, but with those which are mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds.

Ripple effect, Acts 8: 4-8: 

‘4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. 6 When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7 For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralysed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.’NIV

The ‘persecution was overruled to scatter the Church, which had grown too prosperous and secure, and needed to be reminded of the Lord’s injunction to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The light must be diffused; the salt must be scattered. How often God has to drive us by trouble to do what we ought to have done gladly and spontaneously!…Here we enter upon the second circle of Acts 1:8.’ F.B. Meyer: ‘Devotional Commentary’, p.488.  Meyer also makes the interesting point that John was sent with Peter to bring the fire of Pentecost to the very area that he and his brother had earlier suggested should be destroyed by fire (Luke 9:54). But that is getting ahead of ourselves.

As we see this rippling out effect note:

1. The extent of their ministry (4): ‘’…wherever they went.’’ The ripples went far and wide;

2. The content of their ministry (5): Philip’s focus was on Jesus. We have no reason to think that it was any different with the other preachers. In fact, it’s the pattern of preaching throughout ‘Acts’;

3. The accompaniment of their ministry (6, 7): Signs followed, and there was a healthy partnership between the Word preached and the miracles accompanying, resulting in ‘’close attention’’ being paid to the message;

4. The result of their ministry (8): You get the sense that the character of the city was affected for good. This is something to desire for the places where we live. We can dare to believe it is possible because the same Holy Spirit is with us. If there is one thing our nation surely needs it is true ‘’joy’’.

PRAYER: Lord God, we pray for the transformation of the cities, towns and villages where we live. We pray, believing this is possible.

Acts 8:1-2: Out of the salt shaker.

“On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. 2 Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.”NIV

‘’On that day…’’ the salt pot that was the Jerusalem church got turned upside down and shaken over a wider area. The scattering was not a random thing. There was pattern and purpose, as we shall see. Jesus had said to his followers: ‘’But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth’’ (1:8). It was now time for the next stage of their mission, but this further ‘outreach’ did not arise from a strategic planning meeting. God was in control, and He took hold of the salt cellar, up-ended it and shook it to great effect (Acts 11:19ff). There are happenings which look bad in our eyes, but God uses them for good. The church is ultimately unstoppable because the Lord Himself is. Stephen was killed, but the church spread; Saul threw his weight about, yet still the church grew. What men mean for evil God means for good. Take heart. God is in control. There is irony in the words: ‘’But Saul began to destroy the church…’’ because, clearly, he wasn’t doing. It was his intention, but the Lord had other intentions to remove him from his high horse. He may have started this enterprise, but he didn’t get to finish it!

There is something profoundly touching about the words of verse 2. The Christian faith gives us a glorious hope in the face of death, but it doesn’t ask us to stifle our grief, or to deny what we really feel. Stephen had gone to be with the Jesus he saw in his dying moments, but he was missed. His place was empty. He was a good and godly man, and a great leader. The apostle Paul, writing to the church at Thessalonica at a later date, says: ‘’Brothers, we do not want you…to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope’’ (1 Thessalonians 4:13). However, he doesn’t say, ‘We don’t want you to grieve.’There is a legitimate place for mourning those who have left us for heaven. But because they have left for that ‘better land’ the mourning is transformed. It’s there, but it’s different. The parting is real and painful, but it is temporary. We will see them ‘in the morning.’

PRAYER: Risen Lord Jesus, I am so thankful that a brilliant light shines out of your empty tomb onto every ‘Good Friday’ experience we face.