Are Hardships The End of Grace? (AM Sermon Notes)
GIST: No. ☺️ Even when life is devastating, God’s grace is glorious.
SCRIPTURE: Acts 8:1-8
The last two weeks, we’ve considered Stephen’s influence as a man dedicated to telling people about Jesus and how this led to his arrest and eventual death. This week, we’re back to our smaller passage sampling, as we come to the immediate aftermath of Stephen’s murder in the first eight verses of chapter eight.
1 And Saul approved of his execution. And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him. 3 But Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. 4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 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. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
I wrote down a title for this message on Wednesday. At that point, I was still praying about whether or not to divide up this passage. I had considered taking a larger section of the chapter and looking at all the implications of the continuous story presented here, but I couldn’t shake the need to address this first section alone because, simple as it is, the message it has for us is so vital and so timely. In fact, as the week progressed, it seemed every day I continued to be struck by this same truth. I was confronted with heartbreak after heartbreak both in direct interactions and as I scrolled through my newsfeed. Not to get your hopes up too much, but this might be one of the shortest sermons I’ve ever preached here. Because I just one to look a the driving truth presented in these eight verses. When our lives seem to crumble, does that mean God’s grace is gone? I could have just made the gist, “no”, but for the sake of development I’ll add: Even when life is devastating, God’s grace is glorious.
I. LIFE CAN BE DEVASTATING
Let’s start by just break down the picture we’re presented in the first three verses. Like we grew accustomed to seeing in Mark’s gospel, we have a little sandwich passage here. It opens with Saul, then looks at the Church, then comes back to Saul, then goes back to the Church. Therefore, I’m going to lumped those layers together. First, we see there is a→
Deliberate and Publicly Sanctioned Attack (1a, 3) Verse one tells us that “Saul approved of [Stephen’s] execution.” Then, verse 3 tells us he was “ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he dragged off men and women and committed them to prison.”
Saul is about to become the central figure in this book. He is a man God will so completely transform that he will be used to take the gospel all the way to Rome. Talk about glorious grace! But before we can appreciate that transformation, we have to wrap our minds around where he started. He’s is the driving force behind this relentless persecution. We’ve seen the church being persecuted before this, but it was on a much smaller scale because the religious elite feared the people. Remember back in chapter five when the apostles were arrested and then miraculously freed by an angel? When the religious leaders came to get them back, it says, “26 Then the captain with the officers went and brought them, but not by force, for they were afraid of being stoned by the people.” (Acts 5:26) The early Church was so well liked by the people who were witnessing God’s grace amongst them, that the religious leaders were afraid to be too open in their opposition. What’s changed? Stephen’s stoning. When Stephen was falsely accused of ultimate blasphemy and then violently murdered as a criminal, public opinion began to shift. Now, this zealous pharisee, embolden and enraged, begins a deliberate and devastating conquest.
One commentary I read pointed to the word translated ravaging having the same root as the effects of a war or the tearing of a wild beast (Williams). It means to undo, ruin, and defile. This is not just telling people to stop doing something. He’s going into to homes and dragging men and women to prison.
Because of this, when we see the church part of this sandwich, we’re presented with→
Fears and Tears (1b, 2) (Not to be confused with the 80’s pop band…☺️) I know it’s easy to feel a sort of numbness when reading passages like this because it’s not our reality right now. But try to put yourself into this situation. Imagine how terrified they were. At any moment, they could be thrown into prison. And what next? Well, what had they just seen happened to Stephen? Their lives were at risk here, so they had to run.
Look at the second part of verse 1, “1b And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.” They were afraid for their lives, so they fled. Now, some stayed, specifically the apostles, and there likely would have been others, as well. Yet, many ran. Remember, a lot of these people already had nothing, and many who did have had been selling what they had to help those who didn’t. They’re largely desolate, and they’re scared.
We also see they’re heartbroken. Verse two is an isolated example of this heartbreak, “2 Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.” I want to make two notes here. First, this would have been illegal. Stephen was killed as a criminal, and you weren’t allowed to publicly mourn a criminal, but they did it anyway. This is brave. But secondly, this was warranted. I listened to Skip Heitzig again last week, and he made a point of mentioning that the “tears here were not wrong”. Yes, they knew Stephen was with Jesus, and they could rejoice in that! And they should rejoice in that! Yet, the loss for them immediately was still real. Weeping over the loss of a loved one, even when we know they’re in Heaven, is not weakness. It’s the natural expression of the love we feel for them. No, we should not allow that mourning to stop us from rejoicing in God’s grace, or looking forward to what He can and will still do in our lives. Nonetheless, weeping is not sin. We can weep at the feet of the Savior who provides all comfort (Matthew 5:4) because He is our hope!
Ok, before we move on to the next point, let me just make→
Two Quick Observations: 1- This is reality: life will sometimes be a struggle. I know for several people in this room today, that point hits home because this week has been really rough. 2- This passage is the reality of many of our brothers and sisters across the world. Specifically this week, news has come out of the persecution of Chinese Christians being on the rise. Hundreds have been arrested just this week as many of us were most concerned about making sure we have all our Christmas presents wrapped. I’m not saying that to try and sound bitter. It’s just a reality that is so easy to ignore because it’s not ours right now. Nonetheless, it’s a reality we must remember because they need our faithful support and our diligent prayers.
II. GOD’S GRACE IS GLORIOUS
So, we’ve seen the devastation. Where’s the grace? Verses 4-8 focus in on what happens immediately after they are run out of their comfort zone. We know they were terrified and heartbroken. But look at this→
Reaction (4) “4 Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.” They didn’t just run and hide! They’re lives here on earth were at jeopardy because of the gospel, but like we observed in Stephen last week, they realized that those without Jesus were in a more serious and eternal danger, so they preached the word. They weren’t pastors, they were just ordinary proclaimers who went out sharing Jesus with those they encountered!
Guys, this is just flat awesome! When we face devastation, is that our immediate reaction? Do we wallow, or do we worship? Let that sink in.
Also, remember the outline Luke provided for his book in 1:8? Jesus had given the apostles a commission, “8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” They had received this power, but so far where had they witnessed? Just Jerusalem. Now, the Church is being persecuted and what happens as a result? Look back at verse one, “...And there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria…” And by the end of this chapter, we’ll see the first convert to Christianity from the “end of the earth”, as well! Jesus used this persecution to expand His grace! (Note: I just realized as I was typing these notes that 1:8 is where it is commanded, and 8:1 is where it begins to be fulfilled! Not significant. Just fun☺️.)
Life is hard, but Jesus is still God, and people still need to hear about Him. That’s their reaction. Now, let’s look at the→
Result (5-8) After telling us what they’re doing, we’re given a specific example of the gospel being spread! “5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 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.” Philip, like Stephen, was one of the seven men chosen to help with the distribution of food to the widows. Now, he’s powerfully proclaiming the gospel to the Samaritans. Man, there’s so much we could point out here, but let me just make these observations.
1- These were the “wrong kind of people”. The Jews and Samaritans had a very rocky history. The Samaritans were viewed as “half-breeds” because they had intermarried with Gentiles. Needless to say, they didn’t interact. Yet, Philip went to them and shared the gospel with them! The gospel breaks barriers!
2- God is confirming Philip in the same way to them as Jesus and the apostles had been in Jerusalem. Just like Jesus and the apostles, Philip is healing people and casting out demons pointing to God’s work amongst these people. And→
3- People were being saved! We don’t see it in this verse, but check at verse 12, “12 But when they believed Philip as he preached good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.” Amen!
And lastly we see this ultimate result, “8 So there was much joy in that city”(emphasis added). Verses 1-3 are filled with tears and dread, but the same events which lead to that heartache resulted in this joy! Why was there joy? Because lives were being transformed forever by Jesus! Hardship is not the end of God’s grace, but it can be a means of taking it even farther!
TAKEAWAYS
1. Hardships are still hard. They will still happen, and they will still hurt. This isn’t a call just to have a “stiff upper lip”, or just “tough it out”. Remember, they lamented Stephen. However, it is a call to remember→
2. Our suffering is never outside of God’s control. There is nothing that catches God off guard. There is no situation, no matter how dire, that causes Him to step back and say, “Well, I didn’t really see that one coming. Let me see if I can figure something out to try and fix this.” He is 100% sovereign, "28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose" (Romans 8:28). What’s that purpose? →
3. God uses even heartbreak to serve His ultimate heart-healing purpose. He is gracious. In the midst of the pain, remember this. In all of life, this should be our purpose, as well. Be about His business; tell people about the only One who can save them; and don’t wait for persecution to spur you to action!
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