The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

I am off to Hyannis for a pastor’s conference. Our keynote speaker for the next few days will be Sam Huddleston. Before I go, though, I wanted to start off our next discussion in the book of Acts. If you have missed any of our previous discussions and would like to join the loop it’s not too late. Just look on the “House On Fire” page under the “Pastor Wrinkles” drop down above.

Here is today’s discussion topic:

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[a] 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.”

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:

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.

36 As they traveled 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 baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized 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 traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Acts 8:26-40 NIV

Question: If you were Philip how would you have felt being called away from the revival in Samaria? Would you have felt any different after speaking with the Ethiopian eunuch?

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

Many thanks to LIllian and Debby who added their two cents into our last discussion on persecution in the church. If you missed the lesson and have some cents of your own to put in you can find our previous classes on my House On Fire Page  http://wp.me/P39vIx-Gh

Now let’s begin today’s discussion in Acts chapter 8: 4-25

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 paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was great joy in that city.

Simon the Sorcerer

9 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced 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 baptized, both men and women. 13 Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

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.

The story of Philip in Samaria is a fairly well-known passage of Scripture. Apocryphal stories of Simon the Sorcerer abound. But I don’t want to spend much time focusing on Simon. I would like to focus on the immensity of these events extended to a people who were not Jewish. The church is branching out.

Please also note verse 12 … both men and women were baptized in Samaria. I think the mention of women being baptized is significant because the church here is beginning to break down the barrier  between men and women. While the Jews of the the first century were praying daily “God thank you that I am not a Gentile or a woman” Paul was beginning to preach to the Gentiles : “So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” Gal. 3:26-29

Does the Acts 8:12 and the Galatians 3 passage effect or change the roles of men and women in the eyes of God? How?

I cannot wait to hear your answers on this one!

The Word of God is a bridge that connects Earth with Heaven and Heaven with Earth.- Joseph Elon Lillie

Our conversation through the book of Acts is going strong. Thanks to Debby and Ann for their contributions to the dialogue over the weekend. Today we begin to discuss Acts chapter 8. If you have missed any of our previous discussions and would like to get in on the action you can find them here   http://wp.me/P39vIx-Gh

Now on to today’s discussion: If you remember from our last lesson, Christianity obtained its first martyr in Acts chapter 7 when the deacon Stephen was stoned to death… The Bible goes on to say…

And Saul approved of their killing him.

The Church Persecuted and Scattered

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. 3 But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Acts 8:1-3

In Acts 8:1 we have the introduction of the man who is going to dominate the rest of Acts and indeed most of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul.  By his own admission Paul was ...”⁵ circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; ⁶ as for zeal,persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. “Phil 3:5

We know he grew up in Tarsus the capital of Cilicia.

See if you can find it here   http://www.bible-history.com/maps/romanempire/Tarsus.html

According to Acts 22 we know Paul was a student of the Pharisee Gamaliel. However it would seem that Paul and Gamaliel did not see eye to eye on every matter of faith.  History shows us that over time a division had developed in  Pharisaic theology. Two schools of Pharisaism emerged. The Hillel tradition (which Gamaliel held to) and the Shammai tradition (which Paul seems to have favored as a Pharisee)

Here is a good article on the difference between the two schools: http://www.centralcal.com/crist2.htm

So in Acts Chapter 8 verse 3 we see Paul as a Shammai Pharisee beginning to persecute the church with great zeal. We also see the people of the church fleeing for their lives.

In the free countries of the world today it is hard for us to imagine being persecuted right out of your home. Yet just today I received a prayer request from a church In Bangladesh whose members have been ordered to begin worshipping Allah at the mosque or suffer eviction from their homes by the town government. Acts 8:1-3 is very real for many of our brothers and sisters around the world. If you were faced with such a situation what would you do? Would you stand up for your rights and fight? Would you run? Would you go underground and become a secret believer and a public pagan?