Acts 8.1 Another lap

The seventh chapter of the Acts of the Apostles, and we look once again at very familiar words from the 54th verse and onwards, verses which speak of the death of that illustrious Christian Stephen, and we go on to read also about Saul and Philip. So Acts 7, verse 54 is where we commence our reading this morning. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him, that is Stephen, with their teeth.

But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, behold, I see the heavens opened and the Son of Man standing on the right hand of God. Then they cried out with a loud voice and stopped their ears and ran upon him with one accord, and cast him out of the city and stoned him. And the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet whose name was Saul.

And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he knelt down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.

And 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 all scattered abroad 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 into every house and hailing men and women, committed them to prison.

Therefore they that were scattered abroad went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did.

For unclean spirits crying with loud voice came out of many that were possessed with them, and many taken with palsies, and that were lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. But there was a certain man called Simon, which before time in the same city used sorcery and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving out that himself was some great one, to whom they all gave heed from the least to the greatest, saying, this man is the great power of God.

And to him they had regard because that of long time he had bewitched them with sorceries. But when they believed Philip, preaching the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Then Simon himself believed also.

And when he was baptized, he continued with Philip and wondered, beholding the miracles and signs which were done, amen. Now I'd be very grateful if you'd have your Bibles open at the passage that we read earlier in the service. It was in the Acts of the Apostles and tucked away at the end of the seventh chapter.

And then you recall that we went on into the eighth. Let me explain for visitors who are with us today that on a Sunday morning for quite a number of months now, we have been inquiring into the expansion of the Christian church ever since the day of Pentecost. And that's the reason why we are occupied with the Acts of the Apostles for it is in that book that the story is recorded.

And we shall this week be coming towards the heart of the eighth chapter. In one sense, it's one of the most important chapters in this book. I say that because the scenery changes.

Thus far, we've been occupied with events that have taken place at Jerusalem. But now the scene changes from Jerusalem to Samaria. And what is more, we come across one of the most interesting figures that legend has ever spun its own story around.

I refer to Simon Magus. Not that his story in itself is a legend as depicted in the Bible. But if you know anything about the history of the first century, you'll appreciate that a veritable cocoon of legend and myth has been woven around the person of Simon Magus.

And he presents us with the challenge of black magic, the challenge of the magician, the challenge of the witch, and the powers of Jesus Christ over against those powers. And then I say this chapter is particularly interesting because it confronts us with a puzzling situation regarding the reception of the Holy Spirit. The people at Samaria are converted as a result of the ministry of an evangelist of the early church.

They confess the name of the Lord Jesus. They're baptized on confession of their faith. And then later on, they receive an apostolic delegation from Jerusalem itself.

And it's after their conversion, after their baptism in water, that they receive the fullness of the Spirit. And I say that presents something of a problem, something of a puzzle. A puzzle highlighted today by the advent of the so-called charismatic movement.

Well, these things we'll have to inquire into as we push our way through the contents of the eighth chapter. But this morning, I shall satisfy myself and I trust do honor to the Lord as I just introduce certain things of this chapter to you as I bring one or two general comments to your attention. And as is very often my practice on a Sunday morning, I want to spotlight one particular verse, which I refer to as a key verse, or if you like, a pivotal verse from which we can peer through, from which we can hang so many things.

And they will help us to get the whole of the context here into perspective. And my key verse is the fifth. But before we come to Acts 8 and verse 5, let me just for a moment expand upon my introduction because I want you to be able to understand the challenge that there is in this particular verse and indeed in the incidents that we read of in the opening verses of this chapter.

Those of you who are familiar with the New Testament are aware that on several occasions, the imagery of a race is employed to describe the progress of Christianity and indeed the spiritual progress of the individual who has committed his or her life to the Lord Jesus. One recalls immediately the Apostle Paul's injunction to the churches in Galatia. He's concerned because they're flagging in their Christian enthusiasm.

He's concerned because it doesn't seem as though there is that same vitality in their experience. And so he says, you did run well. Who did hinder you? See the idea of the race.

You ran well, but now it seems as though you're a little bit out of breath and I just want to know what's stopping you from making the same progress as you used to make. And then on another occasion, speaking really of himself, but directing his remarks to the church at Philippi, the Apostle concedes that his whole approach to the Christian life is in terms of a spiritual athlete who forgets those things which are behind and presses on for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. But perhaps more particular for the point I am trying to emphasize this morning, we should stay our minds upon Paul's little comment that is found in a letter that he writes, one of his last letters to a man called Timothy.

Paul is towards the end of his life and he's writing to his younger colleague and says, Paul, concerning himself and his own attempt to live the Christian life, he says, I fought a good fight. I've kept the faith. I finished the course.

And that little allusion, I finished the course, again projects in front of us the picture of a race, but not an ordinary race, more of a relay race. You know what a relay race is? There can be any number of people engaged in the running of this race. Someone does one lap and then they have a baton and right at the end of their turn, they hand the baton over to another man who's glancing behind his shoulders, waiting for the other athlete to approach him.

For a little while, they run together. Then he takes over the baton and he sprints away towards the horizon while the runner who's done his task goes away from the race. Now, this is precisely, I say, what the apostle has in mind as he's writing to Timothy.

I finished my course. I have done the lap. And Timothy is waiting for Paul.

Timothy's hands are stretched backwards as he tries to grasp hold of the baton and he goes away into the distance. And Paul, having done what was expected of him, waits for his call into the immediate presence of the Lord. Why do I spend so much time in this introduction? Well, simply because this is the picture I feel one could helpfully have in mind as you look at verse five of Acts chapter eight.

For here is another man who is projected onto the scene of the story of the development of the Christian church. A man who is going to be used by God, if you please, to do another lap. A man who's going to take over where someone else has left off.

And in a very courageous fashion, he's going to do a job for the Lord. And what's more, we're going to watch him. We're going to watch this man take the baton over from another.

We're going to see him as he speeds off onto the horizon. Indeed, we're going to keep up with him. We're going to see where he goes.

We're going to watch what he performs. And we're going to hear the roar of heaven's hosts as they applaud the attempt that he makes in the ministry of Jesus Christ to expand the kingdom of God. So then, with this illustration very much in our minds, let me approach my text.

And let me talk to you for a moment, and only a brief moment, about the runner. His name, well, that's applied within the fifth verse, is it not? His name is Philip. He is another member of the Christian team from Jerusalem.

What do we know of Philip? Well, one or two things we can bring together so that we understand something of the disposition, something of the background of this spiritual athlete. He's a Hellenist. That means to say that he was not born in Palestine.

Though he's a Jew, he comes from outside of Palestine. Possibly he was listening to Peter on the day of Pentecost and maybe that's when he responded to the evangel. I don't know.

But what is definite is that Philip is a man who makes an impression upon the members of the early church at Jerusalem. You'll remember how the members of that church were informed by the apostles to select seven people who would act as almoners, who would look after the distribution of the church finance and particularly giving out provisions to elderly people. And amongst that number is a man, Philip, as also we discovered the name of Stephen.

What is more, you can say of Philip that he was a family man. A family man later on in the Acts of the Apostles, references made to his home at Caesarea. The fact that he had four daughters and his influence upon his family home is implied in as much as his daughters confess the name of the Lord Jesus.

And in no sense are they behind in spiritual gifts because they have an ability to prophesy. This is the sort of man who is the spiritual athlete, I say, that we encounter in the fifth verse. But perhaps more important than both these two things is the impression that scripture gives us concerning his spiritual health and strength, his spiritual vitality.

You see, when the early church members were told to elect seven almoners, the apostles didn't just leave it like that, sort of choose whichever one has made an impression upon you. They were more particular. They said, look out from amongst you seven men who are filled with the Holy Ghost and with wisdom.

And that's the sort of person who is to do this particular job, who is to be brought to the position of an almoner and to dispense the church finances and look after the needs of elderly people. So it's one of these men, one of these deacons who confronts us in this fifth verse. He is the new runner.

He is the spiritual athlete, Philip. He is the man, I say, who will take over from Stephen. But having made reference to the take over, let me highlight this for a moment, this idea of changing over, of handing over the baton.

Because with the imagery of the race in mind, I think you'll be able to follow the significance of the text here. You see, a relay race has, at one of its most important junctures, the handing over of the baton from one person to another. If you've ever watched a relay or if you've ever taken part, you'll appreciate what I'm getting at.

You can easily fumble the changeover. That baton, that piece of wood, as it's stretched out as you're running and as the next person runs parallel with you, well, it requires a certain amount of expertise for you to be able to grasp hold of the baton and continue to run yourself. There must be, I say, a measure of compatibility between the two runners.

Who was the first runner? Was it not Stephen? Is it not Stephen that we see storming down the track towards the end of the lap that God had designated for him to do? And have not Stephen and Philip an incredible compatibility, both of them deacons, both spirit-filled, both moving from serving tables to preaching the word of the evangel? And here is Stephen, I say, coming towards the end of his course, a sort of Hebrew equivalent to Pheidippides, who expires on the ground as he passes over the baton and Philip is ready to take over. We see Stephen, I say, completing his course and we watch the angelic host straining from the balustrades of heaven to catch a glimpse. We see our Lord Jesus Christ standing on his own feet as he watches Stephen complete the first lap and as he sees Philip move away, the changeover, it was absolutely perfect.

You want to know something about apostolic succession in the biblical fashion of that term? You want to know its definition? I say, contrast the ministries of Stephen and Philip. In fact, do not just contrast them, see how one is an extension of the other, a logical extension, a spiritual extension. And when you're looking, remember this, that circumstances were such that it was a very bad time for anyone to take over from anyone else in the ministry of Jesus.

There was nothing particularly attractive about the climate, spiritually speaking, in those days when Philip is ready to take over. There's been a tremendous persecution at Jerusalem, absolute havoc has broken out, consternation. The men and the women, many of them Christian people, have been placed into jail and that archenemy of the Christian soul himself is riding on a tide of popularity and influence as far as the Sadducees and the Pharisees are concerned.

Everything is in a state of upheaval, a flux of chaos. And it's at this particular time that Philip determines that he's going to do the next lap. No, it's at this time that Philip determines that the Holy Spirit will have him engage in this race and take over the baton and start to move for Jesus Christ with the message of Jesus Christ throughout Palestine.

I tell you, for those of us who would like to know something of apostolic succession in the 20th century, we do well to study the experience and the testimony of the lives of such men as Philip and Stephen. Here we find, I say, a superb changeover. It's at this particular moment when Stephen has expired, when Stephen has been done to death, that we read, then Philip went down to the city.

Notice that conjunction, it links everything that goes before with what is to follow. And I say it warrants me from using the illustration of the relay race. Then Philip, after Stephen's drawn alongside, after Stephen's handed over the baton, takes it, and he starts off on his lap.

But let's follow Philip for a little. And we'll notice, as you've probably already concluded, that his particular course is not going to be identical with that of Stephen. He's going to break out into new territory.

He's going to run where no other Christian ambassador has run previously. He's not off course, however. He's moving at the dictate of the Holy Spirit.

He's going down to Samaria. Now, that's an incredible location to pick as the destination for your own preaching. Someone has written, and they have a right to say this, that in all the world, there was probably, at that time, no city whose conditions were so unfavorable to the Christian gospel as Samaria.

And yet it's to Samaria that Philip goes. Why were conditions so unfavorable? Well, what about this historical row that there'd been between the Samaritans and the Jews for centuries? There'd been no rapprochement, no reconciliation. The Jews still had nothing to do with Samaritans, and there was no love lost on the part of the Samaritans towards the Jews.

But it's to that city that Philip goes, a city that is mesmerized by the arrival of a man called Simon Magus, someone who trades in the art of black magic towards that unattractive place, Philip goes. This is the metal, you see, my friend, of these early Christian warriors. They didn't sit back and decide which would be the most comfortable pastor to have and then go.

They rather moved at the impulse of the Holy Spirit. And one might have accused them of being fanatical in the decisions that they took. But no, they weren't fanatics at all.

They were prompted by the Holy Ghost. Philip goes to Samaria. I say that's incredible that he should select to go there, that he should agree to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.

In contrast with the early church, someone's written a parody of the hymn, Onward, Christian Soldiers. And it has an opening couplet, like a mighty tortoise moves the church of God. Brothers, we are treading where we've always trod.

You could never have written that parody on Onward, Christian Soldiers had it been a hymn that was sung in the first century, not with the likes of Stephen and Philip around, breaking up new ground, going into places which were completely unattractive, risking their lives, risking all that they had for the sake of Jesus Christ. Philip runs off towards the city of Samaria. And in so doing, we must add this observation.

He was following the example of his Lord because Jesus upset the religious apple cart on one occasion when he stopped by a well of Sychar and there spoke to a lady who was a Samaritan, that he, a rabbi, should engage in conversation with a woman and a Samaritan woman at that. My goodness, the folks didn't half gossip at Jerusalem that he should have been talking to her and you know, that sort of woman. And here you find Philip with spiritual sensitivity, breaking new ground, but not completely new in as much as Jesus had been there before.

Here is Philip, I say, following the example of his Lord. And here, more importantly, is Philip obeying the mandate of Christ. On what grounds do I make that observation? Well, when the Holy Spirit was given to the disciples, when they were baptized on the day of Pentecost, why did they receive the infilling of the Holy Ghost? To have a sort of kezik at Jerusalem? Not a bit.

They were certainly to be refreshed, empowered, invigorated by the indwelling of the Spirit, but it wasn't given them for their own enjoyment. The mighty eflatus, the mighty blessing of the Spirit was to make them evangelistically conscious. You shall start at Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and take the gospel to the uttermost parts of the earth.

Now watch Philip running towards Samaria. And what do you see? A man who's following his Lord, yes, and a man who's obeying his Lord's instructions. And it seems to me that Philip has a greater degree of sensitivity than even the apostles, because he is the first person to realize that the gospel is to be taken to the Samaritans, the one upon whose heads two of the disciples earlier on, you remember, requested that the Lord brought down fire from heaven because of their lack of propriety, their lack of kindness towards the Lord on one occasion during his ministry.

So you see, Stephen, moving on towards Samaria, a man who is equipped with the power of the Holy Spirit, a man who is sensitive to the Holy Spirit, running towards Samaria to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, setting out on a new course, breaking open new ground. And when he gets to Samaria, what does he do? Let me sustain my metaphor for a moment. What does the baton really imply that's in his hand? What does he do? Well, listen to the verse.

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ. This was the reason why he was going to the Samaritans, to preach Christ. Listen to Charles Spurgeon at this point.

I wonder how many Christian people could have their biographies so condensed to these few words. Oh, says Spurgeon, and he goes on to make this assertion. Many people live their lives to open a shop and on opening one to open another.

Many people live their lives to accumulate materialism. Many people live their lives to become important, to harness influence. But oh, says Spurgeon, to live your life in such a fashion that on your memorial, on your tombstone, is written those words, he preached Christ.

Oh, says Spurgeon, that my memorial might be this. And this message of Jesus Christ that Philip was to preach at Samaria and possibly in the surrounding area was a message that had been brought there in the first instance, as we've reminded ourselves, by the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus had engaged in conversation with this sinner woman, by Sy Coswell.

And what had he said? Well, he had prophesied a situation when the Samaritans, at least some of them, would no longer worship God on top of their alleged holy mountain, Gerizim. It says, the Lord Jesus, the time will come when men shall worship God in spirit and in truth. And there I say he's prophesying the ministry of Philip.

For Philip comes along and he speaks of the Savior. Verse 12 gives us a further extension, a further development of the content of Philip's ministry. He preaches the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ.

And people respond to what he has to say. They're baptized, both men and women. Here is the development, the extension, the continuation of Jesus's ministry on the part of Philip.

And there are many who respond. Tremendous contrast that, isn't it, that we find in one of the verses here, the eighth verse, which describes the reaction in Samaria to Philip's ministry with what's going on in the streets of Jerusalem. In the latter, there's chaos.

In Samaria, there's joy. Why is there joy in that city? Because my dear friends, a spiritual athlete filled with the Holy Ghost, with courage in his heart, goes to Samaria and he preaches Jesus. And men and women respond.

They recognize that Jesus Christ is the Messiah. They accept the forgiveness which Jesus Christ offers and they're baptized on confession of their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Spiritually perceptive Philip takes over the baton from Stephen and he charges off down the horizon towards Samaria.

And there he unburdens his heart in this unattractive place and the people who've been spellbound by Simon Nagus are now held captive by the Holy Ghost anointed preaching of Philip. And that leads me to make my final observation for this morning. I say a Holy Ghost-inspired ministry.

How do I know it was Holy Ghost-inspired? Well, because God confirmed the ministry of this man as God confirmed the ministry of Stephen, as God confirmed the ministry of Peter. And my friend, if the ministry today, and I'm not just speaking about the ministry from a pulpit, I'm using the word in the general sense. If a ministry is from God, it is always Holy Ghost-confirmed.

And if that confirmation is not there, then it's not a Spirit-inspired ministry. You cannot but make that conclusion from the Acts of the Apostles. No, you can't make that conclusion, anything else but that conclusion from the reading of the rest of the New Testament.

How do we know that Philip's ministry was so impregnated by the power of the Holy Ghost? Well, because these pagan Samaritans, these mongrel Jews with their mongrel religion, who've been mesmerized by a magician, they turn from their old ways and they confess the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior. Verse six, the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake. They responded to the gospel.

And how does a man respond to the gospel? When his heart is quickened within him, when he realizes the truths of what are being enunciated, and Philip has such a reaction. And more than this, there is an external evidence of his Spirit-inspired ministry. There are people in Samaria, in the town of Samaria, who are in a terrible condition, people who are demon-possessed.

Look at the description in the seventh verse. And remember, this is only a praesy. Unclean spirits crying out with loud voices.

And then there were many with a wretched condition of palsy, many who were paralyzed, some who couldn't walk. And these people were healed. How did this come about? By Simon Magus's power? No, by a greater power than any magician ever had.

By the power of Jesus Christ, God authenticating the preaching of his word. Remember when Peter was before the Sanhedrin? Not time to turn back the chapters. It's in the fifth, actually.

Peter is recounting what he's been doing in Jerusalem, what he's been preaching. And he makes reference to the resurrection of Jesus. And he says, we're witnesses of this resurrection.

And what's more, says Peter, the Holy Spirit is a witness to the ministry that we have been engaged in throughout Jerusalem. The Spirit evidences, the Spirit witnesses to the ministry of Peter himself. And here, I say, is another illustration of the same thing.

And mark you, Philip was not an apostle. These people who try to build up an argument simply on the ministry of an apostle and the work of the supernatural restricted to the ministry of the apostles, well, they've got problems. One with Stephen and two with Philip.

Philip was not an apostle. But God blessed his ministry in a glorious fashion. Why did God so bless his ministry? I come back to my analogy.

Because this man was an athlete. And an athlete is only good when he's in prime condition. When he's looking after his spiritual health and strength.

When he's concerned not for the advancement of his own ego, but for the glory of Christ to go on from serving tables to serving the living God in publicly declaring his word. Here is a man who was ready. He saw another expiring at the end of his lap.

He stretches out his hand, he takes the baton, and he goes forward to Samaria. Yes, even there, that reprehensible place, to Samaria, to preach the gospel. And when we've got men, and when we've got women of that ilk, with that concern to be spiritually healthy, then I reckon we will know more of the tremendous expansion of Christianity that the early church witnessed.

May God grant that in these days for the honor of Jesus, amen. Amen. Our Father, we thank thee for thy word this morning.

We thank thee for concentrating our attention upon this passage of scripture. Write its lessons upon our hearts, and those lessons which directly, that it's revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. As we were just meditating quietly, perhaps no one else heard this voice.

Perhaps no one else heard that challenge. Perhaps no one else heard the Spirit saying these things. Lord, may we respond to thy word directed towards our own situation, and help us to engage upon this spiritual race with all the vitality, with all the resources as at our disposal.

And at the end of the marathon, at the end of our course, receive us into thine eternal kingdom for Jesus' sake. And now for those who must leave us at this juncture of morning worship, we ask that thy blessing shall be with them, the blessing of the triune God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, now and always, amen.