Good morning to everyone, good to see you this morning, more beautiful sunshine. We've had a lot of sun lately, if not any warm weather, so we're enjoying that. Welcome Brian and Dana, so good to meet you. 

We're going to be looking at Acts chapter 8 this morning, this kind of a long section in verses 1 to 25, and looking at the persecution of the church, that God's intent was to spread the believers out to take the Word into Judea and to Samaria. 

As I began to study Acts chapter 8, I started thinking about the believers in the early church. You know, it's easy to read over these words, these verses and chapters, and not think about the fact that these were real people, living in real times and experiencing real hardships and troubles and persecutions, as well as fulfillment and comfort and joy. 

It must have been an amazing and exciting time in the beginning of the church age, the signs, the wonders, the miracles, the preaching and teaching of the apostles, the interactions we've been studying with religious leaders and councils, and the multitudes of people coming to faith in Jesus Christ through the preaching of the gospel. There were thousands in the church at this time in Jerusalem. They were being added continually through the faithful preaching of the believers there, everywhere they went, in every situation, with every given opportunity. 

This included Stephen, who we studied last week, who faithfully preached to the Hellenistic synagogues and the Greek-speaking Jews, and even the council, as we saw in chapter 7. His faithful witness to the truth ended up costing Stephen his life as he became the first martyr of the church. What we're going to see this morning is that event of Stephen being martyred ignited a tremendous persecution in Jerusalem, led by a young man named Saul, who was tearing the church apart as a wild beast tears at the flesh of its prey. 

This must have been an awful time for the young believers. They must have been wondering what was going on, what was God doing, how could He allow such things? Men and women, children ripped from their homes, jailed, beaten, persecuted for their faith in Christ. We should put ourselves in this very real time, these very real events. How do we understand these things? How do we deal with such persecutions, trials, deep heartaches? 

Well, I think the paramount lesson for us in our text today is to be able to look back on this circumstance and see that God was working through all of these things for the very purpose of accomplishing His revealed will for the church in this world. God was in control. God was working out His plan. Even through this young, zealous Jew Saul, an evil man, breathing out threats against Christ everywhere he went. 

It's easy for us to look back and see how God worked these things for good, for His will, but it must have been hard for them in this time to understand what was going on. When we do not understand what's going on, when we are in the midst of trial and trouble, perhaps not to this degree or in this way, but when we are brought to despair and doubt through the deep heartaches of life and confusion overtakes us, we can know that He is still in control. 

We can know that He's working all things together for good and accomplishing His will through us. And my brothers and sisters, whatever comes in this life, in this world, we can know for sure that we can trust God. Every hour, every moment, we can trust Him. And I think that we're taught that in this text today. 

Let's look at Acts 8, chapter 1. We're going to read this lengthy passage down through verse 25. 

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. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 

Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere, preaching the word. 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. 

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. But when they believed Philip, as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 

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. Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. For as yet he had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 

Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 

Repent, therefore, of this your wickedness, and pray, God, if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. Then Simon answered and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning for our text. 

First, we're going to see purpose in persecution. Second, preaching the word. Third, poisoned by bitterness. And fourth, a powerful provision. 

I'd like to begin by asking you to turn to Acts 1.8, please. Back to chapter 1 at verse 8. This is at the ascension of Christ, and in verse 8, speaking to his apostles, he said, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be my witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

This verse gives us the outline of the book of Acts, and it explains to us the purpose of God and the persecution that we observe in this eighth chapter. Up to this point, the church has existed only in Jerusalem among the Jewish people. There's been amazing growth, perhaps tens of thousands of men and women and children coming to faith through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Jesus has been building his church as he promised. 

In these first seven chapters, we see the fulfillment of the first part of Christ's command to his apostles back in chapter 1, verse 8. They had become his witnesses in Jerusalem, filling that city with his doctrine, bringing to faith those who were willing to believe. And now we're at a transition point in the book, the point where the next step is to take place, and the believers are to go out into Judea and Samaria and take the word into these surrounding areas. 

But how would this happen? How does God get his people out there to bring the good news message to these people? 

Well, the answer is found in the first four verses of our text. If you look at verse 1 again, it says, now Saul was consenting to his death, that's Stephen, and it says, at that time, after the martyrdom of Stephen, 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. Look at verse 3, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 

And verse 4 says, therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Certainly God accomplishes many purposes through the persecution that comes in this world against believers, our growth, our faith, and trust in him. But perhaps the greatest effect of persecution over time, and certainly the primary purpose in this particular persecution, was the spreading of the gospel and the growth of the church. 

Truly the blood of the martyrs, the witnesses of Jesus, became the seed of the church. And when Satan brings severe persecution, as we see here, through his men in this world, the inevitable result is a spreading of the word of God. And this is exactly what happened here at the beginning. Jesus had clearly stated His will was for His witnesses to spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 

And here we see those first moves, those first steps are accomplished through persecution. Saul came vehemently attacking the church, persecuting them. And it says in verse 4, therefore, those who were scattered went out. There's a causal relationship here. He was intent on destroying this sect, what he thought was a blasphemous sect against the law and the temple and the God that he so fervently served. 

He made havoc. The word is used in Greek literature of a predator, a beast ripping the flesh, tearing to pieces its prey. This reminded me of the countless investigations that I performed over my nearly 20 years with the USDA Wildlife Services working in animal damage control. I worked with gray wolf depredations, mostly of dogs and livestock. 

And when a wolf attacks a cow or a dog, it's a brutal display of predatory power and destruction. I've seen 1,100 pound steers taken down by a pack of wolves consuming massive amounts of flesh overnight. They can break the large femur of an adult cow with their jaws. They often bite over the back of younger animals, crushing the spine and killing their prey with one bite. On large animals, they'll rip out their hamstrings and lay on a hill and wait for them to bleed out so that they're not kicked trying to kill them. Dogs are literally eaten, sometimes in front of their owners. 

It's a brutal display of force in nature brought on by sin and the curse. And Luke uses the word here as a vivid picture, a word picture, of Saul going out and attacking the church with fervor, persecuting, ripping people from their homes and committing them to prison. It says he entered every house dragging off men and women. 

Can you imagine what it must have been like for the believers in those days in Jerusalem? And verse 4 shows us the effect. They were scattered. Again, a very vivid picture of what happened to this fellowship of believers scattered abroad, running from the predator for their very lives. And those who were scattered, it says, went everywhere preaching the word. 

The persecution led by Saul scattered the believers out into the surrounding towns and communities. They fled for safety. But when they left, when they went out into Judea and to Samaria, they took with them the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they found new ground to plow. They found fresh fields to plant, and they were faithful to preach the word everywhere they went. 

The purpose of persecution was to move the believers out of Jerusalem, to spread the word into Judea and Samaria, and this purpose was accomplished. So we see in our text God's purpose of persecution, and next we see the preaching of the word. 

Look at verse 5 with me, please. It says, 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. 

Well, it says that the persecution caused them to go out everywhere preaching the word, and in verses 5-8 we see an example of this in the city of Samaria where Philip, one of the men chosen back in chapter 6 to assist the overseeing of the daily distribution. Remember the Hellenist widows who were being neglected. He went down to that city and he preached Christ. 

And it says multitudes were saved. With one accord they heeded the things spoken by Philip. They came, they received the word, the gospel of Christ, and God's will was being accomplished to bring the truth to Samaria and save those who believed. And the result in verse 8 is that there was great joy in that city because Philip was faithful to preach Christ. 

What we see in the rest of this chapter are really two examples of what happened in this city as Philip preached. And these examples, I think, help us understand what we can expect as we go out in our world to preach the word in our cities and our communities. 

The first is the example of Simon, and we're going to look at this in the remainder of our text this morning. The second example is that of the Ethiopian eunuch in the last part of the chapter that we'll look at next week. Well, the first specific example of the ministry of Philip in Samaria was this sorcerer, Simon. What do we know about this man, Simon, from the text? 

It says that he was considered like a god by the people because he had amazed them with his sorcery for a long time. He claimed that he was someone great and he was practicing magic for money and power and fame. He was really all the rage in this city, wowing the people, overwhelming them, bewitching them, and enjoying the fruits of his trade. He had everyone kind of under his power there. 

But then it says Philip came, preaching Christ. And immediately the people turned to the gospel. They turned to Philip and they believed. And many of them were changed, some not so much as we will see, as they were attracted only by the signs and the wonders that he accomplished. Simon was one of these. It says he believed and was even baptized and he stayed close to Philip, he continued with him. But here's the interesting point, my friends, from all outward appearances, Simon was a converted man who'd come to believe Jesus through the preaching of Philip. 

He'd been baptized, presumably, by Philip. And he was now with him, continuing with him, it says, staying close to him, but why? Well, this example shows us, reminds us, that in the course of the ministry of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, among the wheat, there will be tares. Jesus explains that parable in Matthew 13. 

Turn back to Matthew 13, verse 36. It says, Jesus in Matthew 13 gives a list of parables, preparing his disciples for their ministry. We kind of have turned the corner in Matthew 12 where there was a full and final rejection by the Jewish leaders of Christ as the Messiah. 

And now Jesus in Matthew 13 is preparing his disciples. And he gives the parable of the wheat and tares. And down in verse 36, he explains what it means. It says, then Jesus sent the multitudes away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 

He answered and said to them, he who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil and the harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. 

Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire so it will be at the end of this age. The son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 

Well, as the evangelists went out, spread by persecution to Samaria, they found that when they preached Christ, many people came professing faith. Multitudes believed, it says. But what did they believe? Some of them certainly realized their sin and their need and that Jesus was the only savior, the solution to their sin and the wrath of God they deserved, and they placed their faith in him alone to save them. 

But others believed the works that Philip did. In other words, they were drawn to the power, to the signs and wonders. They believed the works, but they did not believe Jesus. They did not trust him as their own personal savior. We see this very thing in John 2 in the ministry of Jesus. 

Listen to John 2, 23. It says, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. 

It says they believed Jesus when they saw the signs that he did. Yet he did not commit himself to them because he knew what was in their hearts. They believed, but not with a saving faith, not with an understanding of their sin and their need and with a turning to Jesus in faith and what he did on the cross, his substitutionary death for us. And Simon in our text in Acts 8 is an example of this type of faith. He was a sorcerer who did signs and wonders, who wowed the people with magic. 

He was a religious charlatan, making a good living off the tricks of his trade. And along comes Philip preaching Christ, doing amazing signs and wonders. And Simon sees that the people begin to follow Philip. And in this, he saw a danger to his own business, but also he saw an opportunity. 

Look at verse 11. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 

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. They heeded Simon. They wondered at him. They thought of him as a God. And apparently he thought very highly of himself as well. So he had quite a following until Philip came along. And seeing the power and signs he did and the following he quickly gathered, Simon decided it best to get in on the deal. 

It says he believed and was baptized. He continued with Philip. He stuck close to Philip, seeking to soak up some of the glory and perhaps the profit from this situation. Now, I think it's interesting to note that Philip must have seen him as a true convert. After all, he baptized him. 

So even Philip could not spot this terror, but was probably very excited that the former sorcerer had come to Christ and was now working alongside him. But his faith was not a faith that saves. It was not genuine, as we see in the next section of our text. Look at verse 14. 

Now, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Skip down to verse 18. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands, the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit. But Peter said to him, your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. 

You have neither part nor portion in this matter for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you, for I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. 

Then Simon answered and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. 

So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning for our text. First, we're going to see purpose in persecution. Second, preaching the word. Third, poisoned by bitterness. And fourth, a powerful provision. 

I'd like to begin by asking you to turn to Acts 1.8, please. Back to chapter 1 at verse 8. This is at the ascension of Christ, and in verse 8, speaking to his apostles, he said, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be my witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

This verse gives us the outline of the book of Acts and it explains to us the purpose of God and the persecution that we observe in this eighth chapter. Up to this point, the church has existed only in Jerusalem among the Jewish people. There's been amazing growth, perhaps tens of thousands of men and women and children coming to faith through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Jesus has been building his church as he promised.

In these first seven chapters, we see the fulfillment of the first part of Christ's command to his apostles back in chapter 1, verse 8. They had become his witnesses in Jerusalem, filling that city with his doctrine, bringing to faith those who were willing to believe. 

And now we're at a transition point in the book, the point where the next step is to take place, and the believers are to go out into Judea and Samaria and take the word into these surrounding areas. But how would this happen? How does God get his people out there to bring the good news message to these people? 

Well, the answer is found in the first four verses of our text. If you look at verse 1 again, it says, now Saul was consenting to his death, that's Stephen, and it says, at that time, after the martyrdom of Stephen, 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. Look at verse 3, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 

And verse 4 says, therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Certainly God accomplishes many purposes through the persecution that comes in this world against believers, our growth, our faith, and trust in him. But perhaps the greatest effect of persecution over time, and certainly the primary purpose in this particular persecution, was the spreading of the gospel and the growth of the church. 

Truly the blood of the martyrs, the witnesses of Jesus, became the seed of the church. And when Satan brings severe persecution, as we see here, through his men in this world, the inevitable result is a spreading of the word of God. And this is exactly what happened here at the beginning. Jesus had clearly stated His will was for His witnesses to spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 

And here we see those first moves, those first steps are accomplished through persecution. Saul came vehemently attacking the church, persecuting them. And it says in verse 4, therefore, those who were scattered went out. 

There's a causal relationship here. He was intent on destroying this sect, what he thought was a blasphemous sect against the law and the temple and the God that he so fervently served. He made havoc. The word is used in Greek literature of a predator, a beast ripping the flesh, tearing to pieces its prey. This reminded me of the countless investigations that I performed over my nearly 20 years with the USDA Wildlife Services working in animal damage control. 

I worked with gray wolf depredations, mostly of dogs and livestock. And when a wolf attacks a cow or a dog, it's a brutal display of predatory power and destruction. I've seen 1,100 pound steers taken down by a pack of wolves consuming massive amounts of flesh overnight. 

They can break the large femur of an adult cow with their jaws. They often bite over the back of younger animals, crushing the spine and killing their prey with one bite. On large animals, they'll rip out their hamstrings and lay on a hill and wait for them to bleed out so that they're not kicked trying to kill them. Dogs are literally eaten, sometimes in front of their owners. 

It's a brutal display of force in nature brought on by sin and the curse. And Luke uses the word here as a vivid picture, a word picture, of Saul going out and attacking the church with fervor, persecuting, ripping people from their homes and committing them to prison. It says he entered every house dragging off men and women. 

Can you imagine what it must have been like for the believers in those days in Jerusalem? And verse 4 shows us the effect. They were scattered. Again, a very vivid picture of what happened to this fellowship of believers scattered abroad, running from the predator for their very lives. 

And those who were scattered, it says, went everywhere preaching the word. The persecution led by Saul scattered the believers out into the surrounding towns and communities. They fled for safety. But when they left, when they went out into Judea and to Samaria, they took with them the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they found new ground to plow. 

They found fresh fields to plant, and they were faithful to preach the word everywhere they went. The purpose of persecution was to move the believers out of Jerusalem, to spread the word into Judea and Samaria, and this purpose was accomplished. 

So we see in our text God's purpose of persecution, and next we see the preaching of the word. Look at verse 5 with me, please. It says, 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. 

Well, it says that the persecution caused them to go out everywhere preaching the word, and in verses 5-8 we see an example of this in the city of Samaria where Philip, one of the men chosen back in chapter 6 to assist the overseeing of the daily distribution. Remember the Hellenist widows who were being neglected. 

He went down to that city and he preached Christ. And it says multitudes were saved. With one accord they heeded the things spoken by Philip. They came, they received the word, the gospel of Christ, and God's will was being accomplished to bring the truth to Samaria and save those who believed. 

And the result in verse 8 is that there was great joy in that city because Philip was faithful to preach Christ. 

What we see in the rest of this chapter are really two examples of what happened in this city as Philip preached. And these examples, I think, help us understand what we can expect as we go out in our world to preach the word in our cities and our communities. 

The first is the example of Simon, and we're going to look at this in the remainder of our text this morning. The second example is that of the Ethiopian eunuch in the last part of the chapter that we'll look at next week. 

Well, the first specific example of the ministry of Philip in Samaria was this sorcerer, Simon. What do we know about this man, Simon, from the text? 

It says that he was considered like a god by the people because he had amazed them with his sorcery for a long time. He claimed that he was someone great and he was practicing magic for money and power and fame. He was really all the rage in this city, wowing the people, overwhelming them, bewitching them, and enjoying the fruits of his trade. 

He had everyone kind of under his power there. But then it says Philip came, preaching Christ. And immediately the people turned to the gospel. They turned to Philip and they believed. And many of them were changed, some not so much as we will see, as they were attracted only by the signs and the wonders that he accomplished. 

Simon was one of these. It says he believed and was even baptized and he stayed close to Philip, he continued with him. But here's the interesting point, my friends, from all outward appearances, Simon was a converted man who'd come to believe Jesus through the preaching of Philip. 

He'd been baptized, presumably, by Philip. And he was now with him, continuing with him, it says, staying close to him, but why? Well, this example shows us, reminds us, that in the course of the ministry of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, among the wheat, there will be tares. Jesus explains that parable in Matthew 13. 

Turn back to Matthew 13, verse 36. It says, Jesus in Matthew 13 gives a list of parables, preparing his disciples for their ministry. We kind of have turned the corner in Matthew 12 where there was a full and final rejection by the Jewish leaders of Christ as the Messiah. 

And now Jesus in Matthew 13 is preparing his disciples. And he gives the parable of the wheat and tares. And down in verse 36, he explains what it means. It says, then Jesus sent the multitudes away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 

He answered and said to them, he who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil and the harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. 

Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire so it will be at the end of this age. The son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 

Well, as the evangelists went out, spread by persecution to Samaria, they found that when they preached Christ, many people came professing faith. Multitudes believed, it says. But what did they believe? Some of them certainly realized their sin and their need and that Jesus was the only savior, the solution to their sin and the wrath of God they deserved, and they placed their faith in him alone to save them. 

But others believed the works that Philip did. In other words, they were drawn to the power, to the signs and wonders. They believed the works, but they did not believe Jesus. They did not trust him as their own personal savior. 

We see this very thing in John 2 in the ministry of Jesus. Listen to John 2, 23. It says, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. 

It says they believed Jesus when they saw the signs that he did. Yet he did not commit himself to them because he knew what was in their hearts. They believed, but not with a saving faith, not with an understanding of their sin and their need and with a turning to Jesus in faith and what he did on the cross, his substitutionary death for us. 

And Simon in our text in Acts 8 is an example of this type of faith. He was a sorcerer who did signs and wonders, who wowed the people with magic. He was a religious charlatan, making a good living off the tricks of his trade. And along comes Philip preaching Christ, doing amazing signs and wonders. 

And Simon sees that the people begin to follow Philip. And in this, he saw a danger to his own business, but also he saw an opportunity. Look at verse 11. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 

But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 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. 

They heeded Simon. They wondered at him. They thought of him as a God. And apparently he thought very highly of himself as well. So he had quite a following until Philip came along. And seeing the power and signs he did and the following he quickly gathered, Simon decided it best to get in on the deal. It says he believed and was baptized. 

He continued with Philip. He stuck close to Philip, seeking to soak up some of the glory and perhaps the profit from this situation. Now, I think it's interesting to note that Philip must have seen him as a true convert. After all, he baptized him. 

So even Philip could not spot this terror, but was probably very excited that the former sorcerer had come to Christ and was now working alongside him. But his faith was not a faith that saves. It was not genuine, as we see in the next section of our text. Look at verse 14. 

Now, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Skip down to verse 18. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands, the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit. 

But Peter said to him, your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion in this matter for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you, for I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. 

Then Simon answered and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning for our text. 

First, we're going to see purpose in persecution. Second, preaching the word. Third, poisoned by bitterness. And fourth, a powerful provision. 

I'd like to begin by asking you to turn to Acts 1.8, please. Back to chapter 1 at verse 8. This is at the ascension of Christ, and in verse 8, speaking to his apostles, he said, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be my witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

This verse gives us the outline of the book of Acts, and it explains to us the purpose of God and the persecution that we observe in this eighth chapter. Up to this point, the church has existed only in Jerusalem among the Jewish people. There's been amazing growth, perhaps tens of thousands of men and women and children coming to faith through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Jesus has been building his church as he promised. 

In these first seven chapters, we see the fulfillment of the first part of Christ's command to his apostles back in chapter 1, verse 8. They had become his witnesses in Jerusalem, filling that city with his doctrine, bringing to faith those who were willing to believe. And now we're at a transition point in the book, the point where the next step is to take place, and the believers are to go out into Judea and Samaria and take the word into these surrounding areas. 

But how would this happen? How does God get his people out there to bring the good news message to these people? 

Well, the answer is found in the first four verses of our text. If you look at verse 1 again, it says, now Saul was consenting to his death, that's Stephen, and it says, at that time, after the martyrdom of Stephen, 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. Look at verse 3, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 

And verse 4 says, therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 

Certainly God accomplishes many purposes through the persecution that comes in this world against believers, our growth, our faith, and trust in him. 

But perhaps the greatest effect of persecution over time, and certainly the primary purpose in this particular persecution, was the spreading of the gospel and the growth of the church. Truly the blood of the martyrs, the witnesses of Jesus, became the seed of the church. And when Satan brings severe persecution, as we see here, through his men in this world, the inevitable result is a spreading of the word of God. 

And this is exactly what happened here at the beginning. Jesus had clearly stated His will was for His witnesses to spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And here we see those first moves, those first steps are accomplished through persecution. 

Saul came vehemently attacking the church, persecuting them. And it says in verse 4, therefore, those who were scattered went out. There's a causal relationship here. He was intent on destroying this sect, what he thought was a blasphemous sect against the law and the temple and the God that he so fervently served. 

He made havoc. The word is used in Greek literature of a predator, a beast ripping the flesh, tearing to pieces its prey. This reminded me of the countless investigations that I performed over my nearly 20 years with the USDA Wildlife Services working in animal damage control. 

I worked with gray wolf depredations, mostly of dogs and livestock. And when a wolf attacks a cow or a dog, it's a brutal display of predatory power and destruction. I've seen 1,100 pound steers taken down by a pack of wolves consuming massive amounts of flesh overnight. 

They can break the large femur of an adult cow with their jaws. They often bite over the back of younger animals, crushing the spine and killing their prey with one bite. On large animals, they'll rip out their hamstrings and lay on a hill and wait for them to bleed out so that they're not kicked trying to kill them. 

Dogs are literally eaten, sometimes in front of their owners. It's a brutal display of force in nature brought on by sin and the curse. And Luke uses the word here as a vivid picture, a word picture, of Saul going out and attacking the church with fervor, persecuting, ripping people from their homes and committing them to prison. 

It says he entered every house dragging off men and women. Can you imagine what it must have been like for the believers in those days in Jerusalem? And verse 4 shows us the effect. They were scattered. 

Again, a very vivid picture of what happened to this fellowship of believers scattered abroad, running from the predator for their very lives. And those who were scattered, it says, went everywhere preaching the word. The persecution led by Saul scattered the believers out into the surrounding towns and communities. 

They fled for safety. But when they left, when they went out into Judea and to Samaria, they took with them the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they found new ground to plow. They found fresh fields to plant, and they were faithful to preach the word everywhere they went. 

The purpose of persecution was to move the believers out of Jerusalem, to spread the word into Judea and Samaria, and this purpose was accomplished. So we see in our text God's purpose of persecution, and next we see the preaching of the word. 

Look at verse 5 with me, please. It says, 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. 

Well, it says that the persecution caused them to go out everywhere preaching the word, and in verses 5-8 we see an example of this in the city of Samaria where Philip, one of the men chosen back in chapter 6 to assist the overseeing of the daily distribution. Remember the Hellenist widows who were being neglected. 

He went down to that city and he preached Christ. And it says multitudes were saved. With one accord they heeded the things spoken by Philip. They came, they received the word, the gospel of Christ, and God's will was being accomplished to bring the truth to Samaria and save those who believed. 

And the result in verse 8 is that there was great joy in that city because Philip was faithful to preach Christ. 

What we see in the rest of this chapter are really two examples of what happened in this city as Philip preached. And these examples, I think, help us understand what we can expect as we go out in our world to preach the word in our cities and our communities. The first is the example of Simon, and we're going to look at this in the remainder of our text this morning. The second example is that of the Ethiopian eunuch in the last part of the chapter that we'll look at next week. 

Well, the first specific example of the ministry of Philip in Samaria was this sorcerer, Simon. What do we know about this man, Simon, from the text? It says that he was considered like a god by the people because he had amazed them with his sorcery for a long time. 

He claimed that he was someone great and he was practicing magic for money and power and fame. He was really all the rage in this city, wowing the people, overwhelming them, bewitching them, and enjoying the fruits of his trade. 

He had everyone kind of under his power there. But then it says Philip came, preaching Christ. And immediately the people turned to the gospel. They turned to Philip and they believed. And many of them were changed, some not so much as we will see, as they were attracted only by the signs and the wonders that he accomplished. 

Simon was one of these. It says he believed and was even baptized and he stayed close to Philip, he continued with him. But here's the interesting point, my friends, from all outward appearances, Simon was a converted man who'd come to believe Jesus through the preaching of Philip. 

He'd been baptized, presumably, by Philip. And he was now with him, continuing with him, it says, staying close to him, but why? Well, this example shows us, reminds us, that in the course of the ministry of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, among the wheat, there will be tares. 

Jesus explains that parable in Matthew 13. Turn back to Matthew 13, verse 36. It says, Jesus in Matthew 13 gives a list of parables, preparing his disciples for their ministry. We kind of have turned the corner in Matthew 12 where there was a full and final rejection by the Jewish leaders of Christ as the Messiah. 

And now Jesus in Matthew 13 is preparing his disciples. And he gives the parable of the wheat and tares. And down in verse 36, he explains what it means. It says, then Jesus sent the multitudes away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 

He answered and said to them, he who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil and the harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. 

Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire so it will be at the end of this age. The son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father. 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. Well, as the evangelists went out, spread by persecution to Samaria, they found that when they preached Christ, many people came professing faith. Multitudes believed, it says. But what did they believe? 

Some of them certainly realized their sin and their need and that Jesus was the only savior, the solution to their sin and the wrath of God they deserved, and they placed their faith in him alone to save them. But others believed the works that Philip did. In other words, they were drawn to the power, to the signs and wonders. 

They believed the works, but they did not believe Jesus. They did not trust him as their own personal savior. We see this very thing in John 2 in the ministry of Jesus. 

Listen to John 2, 23. It says, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. 

It says they believed Jesus when they saw the signs that he did. Yet he did not commit himself to them because he knew what was in their hearts. They believed, but not with a saving faith, not with an understanding of their sin and their need and with a turning to Jesus in faith and what he did on the cross, his substitutionary death for us. 

And Simon in our text in Acts 8 is an example of this type of faith. He was a sorcerer who did signs and wonders, who wowed the people with magic. He was a religious charlatan, making a good living off the tricks of his trade. And along comes Philip preaching Christ, doing amazing signs and wonders. 

And Simon sees that the people begin to follow Philip. And in this, he saw a danger to his own business, but also he saw an opportunity. Look at verse 11. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. 

But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 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. 

They heeded Simon. They wondered at him. They thought of him as a God. And apparently he thought very highly of himself as well. So he had quite a following until Philip came along. And seeing the power and signs he did and the following he quickly gathered, Simon decided it best to get in on the deal. 

It says he believed and was baptized. He continued with Philip. He stuck close to Philip, seeking to soak up some of the glory and perhaps the profit from this situation. Now, I think it's interesting to note that Philip must have seen him as a true convert. After all, he baptized him. 

So even Philip could not spot this terror, but was probably very excited that the former sorcerer had come to Christ and was now working alongside him. But his faith was not a faith that saves. It was not genuine, as we see in the next section of our text. 

Look at verse 14. Now, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Skip down to verse 18. And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands, the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit. 

But Peter said to him, your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion in this matter for your heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this your wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you, for I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. 

Then Simon answered and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning for our text. 

First, we're going to see purpose in persecution. Second, preaching the word. Third, poisoned by bitterness. And fourth, a powerful provision. 

I'd like to begin by asking you to turn to Acts 1.8, please. Back to chapter 1 at verse 8. This is at the ascension of Christ, and in verse 8, speaking to his apostles, he said, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. And you shall be my witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. 

This verse gives us the outline of the book of Acts, and it explains to us the purpose of God and the persecution that we observe in this eighth chapter. Up to this point, the church has existed only in Jerusalem among the Jewish people. 

There's been amazing growth, perhaps tens of thousands of men and women and children coming to faith through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Jesus has been building his church as he promised. In these first seven chapters, we see the fulfillment of the first part of Christ's command to his apostles back in chapter 1, verse 8. 

They had become his witnesses in Jerusalem, filling that city with his doctrine, bringing to faith those who were willing to believe. 

And now we're at a transition point in the book, the point where the next step is to take place, and the believers are to go out into Judea and Samaria and take the word into these surrounding areas. 

But how would this happen? How does God get his people out there to bring the good news message to these people? 

Well, the answer is found in the first four verses of our text. If you look at verse 1 again, it says, now Saul was consenting to his death, that's Stephen, and it says, at that time, after the martyrdom of Stephen, 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. Look at verse 3, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 

And verse 4 says, therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 

Certainly God accomplishes many purposes through the persecution that comes in this world against believers, our growth, our faith, and trust in him. But perhaps the greatest effect of persecution over time, and certainly the primary purpose in this particular persecution, was the spreading of the gospel and the growth of the church. 

Truly the blood of the martyrs, the witnesses of Jesus, became the seed of the church. And when Satan brings severe persecution, as we see here, through his men in this world, the inevitable result is a spreading of the word of God. 

And this is exactly what happened here at the beginning. Jesus had clearly stated His will was for His witnesses to spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. And here we see those first moves, those first steps are accomplished through persecution. 

Saul came vehemently attacking the church, persecuting them. And it says in verse 4, therefore, those who were scattered went out. There's a causal relationship here. He was intent on destroying this sect, what he thought was a blasphemous sect against the law and the temple and the God that he so fervently served. 

He made havoc. The word is used in Greek literature of a predator, a beast ripping the flesh, tearing to pieces its prey. This reminded me of the countless investigations that I performed over my nearly 20 years with the USDA Wildlife Services working in animal damage control. 

I worked with gray wolf depredations, mostly of dogs and livestock. And when a wolf attacks a cow or a dog, it's a brutal display of predatory power and destruction. I've seen 1,100 pound steers taken down by a pack of wolves consuming massive amounts of flesh overnight. 

They can break the large femur of an adult cow with their jaws. They often bite over the back of younger animals, crushing the spine and killing their prey with one bite. On large animals, they'll rip out their hamstrings and lay on a hill and wait for them to bleed out so that they're not kicked trying to kill them. 

Dogs are literally eaten, sometimes in front of their owners. It's a brutal display of force in nature brought on by sin and the curse. And Luke uses the word here as a vivid picture, a word picture, of Saul going out and attacking the church with fervor, persecuting, ripping people from their homes and committing them to prison. 

It says he entered every house dragging off men and women. Can you imagine what it must have been like for the believers in those days in Jerusalem? And verse 4 shows us the effect. They were scattered. 

Again, a very vivid picture of what happened to this fellowship of believers scattered abroad, running from the predator for their very lives. And those who were scattered, it says, went everywhere preaching the word. 

The persecution led by Saul scattered the believers out into the surrounding towns and communities. They fled for safety. But when they left, when they went out into Judea and to Samaria, they took with them the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they found new ground to plow. 

They found fresh fields to plant, and they were faithful to preach the word everywhere they went. The purpose of persecution was to move the believers out of Jerusalem, to spread the word into Judea and Samaria, and this purpose was accomplished. 

So we see in our text God's purpose of persecution, and next we see the preaching of the word. 

Look at verse 5 with me, please. It says, 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. 

Well, it says that the persecution caused them to go out everywhere preaching the word, and in verses 5-8 we see an example of this in the city of Samaria where Philip, one of the men chosen back in chapter 6 to assist the overseeing of the daily distribution. Remember the Hellenist widows who were being neglected. 

He went down to that city and he preached Christ. And it says multitudes were saved. With one accord they heeded the things spoken by Philip. They came, they received the word, the gospel of Christ, and God's will was being accomplished to bring the truth to Samaria and save those who believed. 

And the result in verse 8 is that there was great joy in that city because Philip was faithful to preach Christ. 

What we see in the rest of this chapter are really two examples of what happened in this city as Philip preached. And these examples, I think, help us understand what we can expect as we go out in our world to preach the word in our cities and our communities. 

The first is the example of Simon, and we're going to look at this in the remainder of our text this morning. The second example is that of the Ethiopian eunuch in the last part of the chapter that we'll look at next week. 

Well, the first specific example of the ministry of Philip in Samaria was this sorcerer, Simon. What do we know about this man, Simon, from the text? 

It says that he was considered like a god by the people because he had amazed them with his sorcery for a long time. He claimed that he was someone great and he was practicing magic for money and power and fame. 

He was really all the rage in this city, wowing the people, overwhelming them, bewitching them, and enjoying the fruits of his trade. He had everyone kind of under his power there. 

But then it says Philip came, preaching Christ. And immediately the people turned to the gospel. They turned to Philip and they believed. And many of them were changed, some not so much as we will see, as they were attracted only by the signs and the wonders that he accomplished. 

Simon was one of these. It says he believed and was even baptized and he stayed close to Philip, he continued with him. But here's the interesting point, my friends, from all outward appearances, Simon was a converted man who'd come to believe Jesus through the preaching of Philip. 

He'd been baptized, presumably, by Philip. And he was now with him, continuing with him, it says, staying close to him, but why? 

Well, this example shows us, reminds us, that in the course of the ministry of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, among the wheat, there will be tares. Jesus explains that parable in Matthew 13. Turn back to Matthew 13, verse 36. 

It says, Jesus in Matthew 13 gives a list of parables, preparing his disciples for their ministry. We kind of have turned the corner in Matthew 12 where there was a full and final rejection by the Jewish leaders of Christ as the Messiah. 

And now Jesus in Matthew 13 is preparing his disciples. And he gives the parable of the wheat and tares. And down in verse 36, he explains what it means. It says, then Jesus sent the multitudes away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 

He answered and said to them, he who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil and the harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. 

Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. 

There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father. He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 

Well, as the evangelists went out, spread by persecution to Samaria, they found that when they preached Christ, many people came professing faith. Multitudes believed, it says. But what did they believe? 

Some of them certainly realized their sin and their need and that Jesus was the only savior, the solution to their sin and the wrath of God they deserved, and they placed their faith in him alone to save them. 

But others believed the works that Philip did. In other words, they were drawn to the power, to the signs and wonders. They believed the works, but they did not believe Jesus. They did not trust him as their own personal savior. 

We see this very thing in John 2 in the ministry of Jesus. Listen to John 2, 23. 

It says, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. 

It says they believed Jesus when they saw the signs that he did. Yet he did not commit himself to them because he knew what was in their hearts. They believed, but not with a saving faith, not with an understanding of their sin and their need and with a turning to Jesus in faith and what he did on the cross, his substitutionary death for us. 

And Simon in our text in Acts 8 is an example of this type of faith. He was a sorcerer who did signs and wonders, who wowed the people with magic. He was a religious charlatan, making a good living off the tricks of his trade. 

And along comes Philip preaching Christ, doing amazing signs and wonders. And Simon sees that the people begin to follow Philip. And in this, he saw a danger to his own business, but also he saw an opportunity. 

Look at verse 11. And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his sorceries for a long time. But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God in the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 

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. They heeded Simon. They wondered at him. They thought of him as a God. And apparently he thought very highly of himself as well. 

So he had quite a following until Philip came along. And seeing the power and signs he did and the following he quickly gathered, Simon decided it best to get in on the deal. It says he believed and was baptized. He continued with Philip. He stuck close to Philip, seeking to soak up some of the glory and perhaps the profit from this situation. 

Now, I think it's interesting to note that Philip must have seen him as a true convert. After all, he baptized him. So even Philip could not spot this terror, but was probably very excited that the former sorcerer had come to Christ and was now working alongside him. 

But his faith was not a faith that saves. It was not genuine, as we see in the next section of our text. 

Look at verse 14. 

Now, when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them. Skip down to verse 18. 

And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles' hands, the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, saying, Give me this power also that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit. 

But Peter said to him, Your money perish with you because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money. You have neither part nor portion in this matter for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 

Repent therefore of this your wickedness and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you, for I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity. 

Then Simon answered and said, Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me. So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. 

I've given you four points on your outline this morning for our text. 

First, we're going to see purpose in persecution. Second, preaching the word. Third, poisoned by bitterness. And fourth, a powerful provision. 

I'd like to begin by asking you to turn to Acts 1.8, please. Back to chapter 1 at verse 8. This is at the ascension of Christ, and in verse 8, speaking to his apostles, he said, But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. 

And you shall be my witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. This verse gives us the outline of the book of Acts, and it explains to us the purpose of God and the persecution that we observe in this eighth chapter. 

Up to this point, the church has existed only in Jerusalem among the Jewish people. There's been amazing growth, perhaps tens of thousands of men and women and children coming to faith through the preaching of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and Jesus has been building his church as he promised. 

In these first seven chapters, we see the fulfillment of the first part of Christ's command to his apostles back in chapter 1, verse 8. They had become his witnesses in Jerusalem, filling that city with his doctrine, bringing to faith those who were willing to believe. 

And now we're at a transition point in the book, the point where the next step is to take place, and the believers are to go out into Judea and Samaria and take the word into these surrounding areas. But how would this happen? How does God get his people out there to bring the good news message to these people? 

Well, the answer is found in the first four verses of our text. If you look at verse 1 again, it says, now Saul was consenting to his death, that's Stephen, and it says, at that time, after the martyrdom of Stephen, 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. Look at verse 3, as for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. 

And verse 4 says, therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Certainly God accomplishes many purposes through the persecution that comes in this world against believers, our growth, our faith, and trust in him. 

But perhaps the greatest effect of persecution over time, and certainly the primary purpose in this particular persecution, was the spreading of the gospel and the growth of the church. 

Truly the blood of the martyrs, the witnesses of Jesus, became the seed of the church. And when Satan brings severe persecution, as we see here, through his men in this world, the inevitable result is a spreading of the word of God. 

And this is exactly what happened here at the beginning. Jesus had clearly stated His will was for His witnesses to spread out from Jerusalem into Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. 

And here we see those first moves, those first steps are accomplished through persecution. Saul came vehemently attacking the church, persecuting them. And it says in verse 4, therefore, those who were scattered went out. 

There's a causal relationship here. He was intent on destroying this sect, what he thought was a blasphemous sect against the law and the temple and the God that he so fervently served. 

He made havoc. The word is used in Greek literature of a predator, a beast ripping the flesh, tearing to pieces its prey. This reminded me of the countless investigations that I performed over my nearly 20 years with the USDA Wildlife Services working in animal damage control. 

I worked with gray wolf depredations, mostly of dogs and livestock. And when a wolf attacks a cow or a dog, it's a brutal display of predatory power and destruction. I've seen 1,100 pound steers taken down by a pack of wolves consuming massive amounts of flesh overnight. 

They can break the large femur of an adult cow with their jaws. They often bite over the back of younger animals, crushing the spine and killing their prey with one bite. On large animals, they'll rip out their hamstrings and lay on a hill and wait for them to bleed out so that they're not kicked trying to kill them. 

Dogs are literally eaten, sometimes in front of their owners. It's a brutal display of force in nature brought on by sin and the curse. And Luke uses the word here as a vivid picture, a word picture, of Saul going out and attacking the church with fervor, persecuting, ripping people from their homes and committing them to prison. 

It says he entered every house dragging off men and women. Can you imagine what it must have been like for the believers in those days in Jerusalem? And verse 4 shows us the effect. They were scattered. 

Again, a very vivid picture of what happened to this fellowship of believers scattered abroad, running from the predator for their very lives. And those who were scattered, it says, went everywhere preaching the word.

The persecution led by Saul scattered the believers out into the surrounding towns and communities. They fled for safety. But when they left, when they went out into Judea and to Samaria, they took with them the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they found new ground to plow. 

They found fresh fields to plant, and they were faithful to preach the word everywhere they went. The purpose of persecution was to move the believers out of Jerusalem, to spread the word into Judea and Samaria, and this purpose was accomplished. 

So we see in our text God's purpose of persecution, and next we see the preaching of the word. Look at verse 5 with me, please. It says, 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. 

Well, it says that the persecution caused them to go out everywhere preaching the word, and in verses 5-8 we see an example of this in the city of Samaria where Philip, one of the men chosen back in chapter 6 to assist the overseeing of the daily distribution. Remember the Hellenist widows who were being neglected. 

He went down to that city and he preached Christ. And it says multitudes were saved. With one accord they heeded the things spoken by Philip. They came, they received the word, the gospel of Christ, and God's will was being accomplished to bring the truth to Samaria and save those who believed. 

And the result in verse 8 is that there was great joy in that city because Philip was faithful to preach Christ. 

What we see in the rest of this chapter are really two examples of what happened in this city as Philip preached. And these examples, I think, help us understand what we can expect as we go out in our world to preach the word in our cities and our communities. 

The first is the example of Simon, and we're going to look at this in the remainder of our text this morning. The second example is that of the Ethiopian eunuch in the last part of the chapter that we'll look at next week. 

Well, the first specific example of the ministry of Philip in Samaria was this sorcerer, Simon. What do we know about this man, Simon, from the text? 

It says that he was considered like a god by the people because he had amazed them with his sorcery for a long time. He claimed that he was someone great and he was practicing magic for money and power and fame. 

He was really all the rage in this city, wowing the people, overwhelming them, bewitching them, and enjoying the fruits of his trade. 

He had everyone kind of under his power there. But then it says Philip came, preaching Christ. And immediately the people turned to the gospel. They turned to Philip and they believed. 

And many of them were changed, some not so much as we will see, as they were attracted only by the signs and the wonders that he accomplished. Simon was one of these. It says he believed and was even baptized and he stayed close to Philip, he continued with him. 

But here's the interesting point, my friends, from all outward appearances, Simon was a converted man who'd come to believe Jesus through the preaching of Philip. 

He'd been baptized, presumably, by Philip. And he was now with him, continuing with him, it says, staying close to him, but why? 

Well, this example shows us, reminds us, that in the course of the ministry of taking the gospel to the ends of the earth, among the wheat, there will be tares. Jesus explains that parable in Matthew 13. 

Turn back to Matthew 13, verse 36. It says, Jesus in Matthew 13 gives a list of parables, preparing his disciples for their ministry. We kind of have turned the corner in Matthew 12 where there was a full and final rejection by the Jewish leaders of Christ as the Messiah. 

And now Jesus in Matthew 13 is preparing his disciples. And he gives the parable of the wheat and tares. And down in verse 36, he explains what it means. 

It says, then Jesus sent the multitudes away and went into the house. And his disciples came to him saying, explain to us the parable of the tares of the field. 

He answered and said to them, he who sows the good seed is the son of man. The field is the world. The good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one. The enemy who sowed them is the devil and the harvest is the end of the age. And the reapers are the angels. 

Therefore, as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire so it will be at the end of this age. The son of man will send out his angels and they will gather out of his kingdom, all things that offend and those who practice lawlessness and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the son in the kingdom of their father. 

He who has ears to hear, let him hear. 

Well, as the evangelists went out, spread by persecution to Samaria, they found that when they preached Christ, many people came professing faith. Multitudes believed, it says. But what did they believe? 

Some of them certainly realized their sin and their need and that Jesus was the only savior, the solution to their sin and the wrath of God they deserved, and they placed their faith in him alone to save them. 

But others believed the works that Philip did. In other words, they were drawn to the power, to the signs and wonders. 

They believed the works, but they did not believe Jesus. They did not trust him as their own personal savior. 

We see this very thing in John 2 in the ministry of Jesus. 

Listen to John 2, 23. It says, now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover, during the feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs which he did. 

But Jesus did not commit himself to them because he knew all men and had no need that anyone should testify of man for he knew what was in man. 

It says they