“Now Saul was consenting to his death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭8:1-2‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This chapter starts on a very sad note. The Word of God states that those who believe in Christ will face persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12)

Being a disciple means we follow and preach God, no matter the cost. (John 15:20)

Yet even in times of persecution, we hold on to the promise of God to disciple nations and that Jesus is with us even to the end of the age. (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus will be with us always and had already defeated the enemy.

The Book of Acts is know as the acts of the apostles. It is also the acts of God through the apostles, in the early formation of the church (Acts 1:8) The Holy Spirit fell on the people not just for a statement but to fill them with His presence and create a movement from Jerusalem to the rest of the world.

The Holy Spirit came into us for our sake but He came upon us for the sake of the world. God is not done yet. It is still an ongoing movement and mission.

Saul was persecuting the church and the believers were scattered. Yet the believers continued to preach the word wherever they were (Acts 8: 1-4).

God used Saul’s intimidation to propel the people of God to preach the good News. What was meant to hinder and extinguish the church was what caused it to expedite the power of the Gospel. What the enemy meant for evil, God worked for good.

This applies to even the COVID-19 situation. The church went from being bound to the the four walls to becoming many, many home churches.

A true believer doesn’t just trust God when things go well. A lifestyle of a disciple is to chose to trust and worship regardless of circumstances, even when things don’t go well; a faith put to the test. Faith that is not tested is not real faith.

Persecution is just for a moment but our promotion in Christ is eternal.

“But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭8:9-11‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

Before Philip stepped into Samaria, there was a sorcerer (Simon) who astonished the people for a long time. When we are held bound by something for a very long time, we have a tendency to become a believer of those things that we have been exposed to for a long time. They were influenced to believe Simon was the great power of God.

So when Philip came, God used Him so powerfully that even Simon became a believer and transformed the city.

“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. And there was great joy in that city. Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.”
‭‭Acts‬ ‭8:5-8, 13‬ ‭NKJV‬‬

This move started with persecution but ended with the salvation of this region of Samaria. The believers were forced to leave their comfort zone to fulfill what they were made for all along.

What was meant to be a persecution became a promotion. To go from being disciples to disciple makers.

God can turn every persecution into a promotion, even when we don’t understand it. (Isaiah 55:9). Persecution often moves us from our comfort zone to a place of destiny.

Samaria was in the heart of God and God used one man to take on the entire city. One man’s obedience saved a city. There was great joy in that city because of what God was doing through one man.

Takeaways from today’s message:

1. Persecution is not always a bad thing.

2. What was meant to be a persecution, God can turn it around to be a promotion for you. (Proverbs 3: 5-6)

3. God can use just one man to take on the entire city.

Even when we go through persecution, we can still ask to be anointed and have the burden and conviction to be witnesses for Him.