TUESDAY 4 May 2021 “Validated”

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Good morning my “Walking with Jesus” friends,

Confusion reigns in so many aspects of life all around our world doesn’t it? Questions like: What’s the truth about COVID and the vaccines? What’s the best solution to America’s southern border crisis? What’s the reality about long held suspicions of UFO’s and other unexplainable sightings in the sky? And which sources of information do you trust and follow with some degree of confidence that what they tell you is the truth?

Let’s continue our search for clarity in confusing times while looking at Acts 8 and what was happening in Samaria following a major exodus from Jerusalem due to persecution of followers of Jesus there. Dr. Luke reports that great things were happening in Samaria as Philip proclaimed the truths about Jesus and did some Holy Spirit empowered miracles. Luke writes: “But when they believed Philip as he preached the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon (the sorcerer) himself believed and was baptized… When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God they sent Peter and John to them. When they arrived, they prayed for them (the Samaritans) that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus…” (Acts 8:12-16) What does it mean my friends? What had the Samaritans believed? How could it be they ‘believed’ and were ‘baptized’, and yet there was no evidence the Holy Spirit of God had done His life transforming, ‘new creation in Christ’ (2 Corinthians 5:17) work in these people? Hmmmmm? Could it be that this is happening in our world today?

I believe there are at least two important things happening here with Philip in Samaria which is why the Holy Spirit led Luke to include this in his report of the spread of the ‘Jesus spiritual movement’. First, we know there was great prejudice between Jews and Samaritans stretching back hundreds of years. Jesus dealt with that when He led His disciples into Samaria and met a Samaritan woman at the well, and even stayed two days in Samaria, remember in John 4? But long held prejudices are hard to break. I believe the resurrected Jesus was challenging the apostles, and those Jews in the great spiritual movement in Jerusalem, to remember that John 4 event and dismantle the bigotry, the prejudice, which would prevent Jewish Christians from acknowledging that Samaritans could have the same Holy Spirit ‘born again’ (John 3:3-7) experience and relationship with Jesus!

Jesus had said “I will build My church and the gates of Hades will not prevail.” (Matt. 16:18) Some of the great powers which oppose the global expansion of Jesus’ church are prejudice, bigotry, long held superstitions, and ethnic divisions among people. By this act of apostles Peter and John going to the Samaritans and praying that the faith of these Samaritans would be validated by the coming of the Holy Spirit upon them, the divisive prejudice walls were crumbling, and the unity Jesus had prayed for in John 17 was actually happening!

Luke says that Peter and John actually placed their hands upon these Samaritan believers as they prayed for them! That’s significant because the Jewish prejudice against Samaritans was akin to how they treated Lepers! Lepers were considered so ‘unclean’, so contaminated, that they were not permitted to live anywhere in the towns and villages among other people, but rather they needed to live far away from people who didn’t have leprosy. The last thing you’d ever do is actually touch a leper! The same was true in how Jews thought of and treated Samaritans. But here Peter and John were praying for God’s blessing upon these Samaritans, with their hands of love and acceptance upon them! Do you see the work of God in breaking down the walls of prejudice?

The second significant thing happening here, I believe, was Jesus leading these people to understand that signs, wonders and miracles are wonderful, but the greatest miracle is the authentic, life transforming work of the Holy Spirit, in accomplishing the full salvation experience applied to a repentant sinner, which includes Redemption, (Eph. 1:7) Regeneration, (John 3:3-7) Adoption, (Rom. 8:14-17) Reconciliation, (Col.1:21,22) Justification, (Romans 5) and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit of God who assures that believer in Jesus that they walk with Jesus now, in this Spirit filled life, and they have assurance of living eternally with Jesus in God’s Presence!

Then as now all over our world, the act of a repentant sinner trusting Jesus Christ to be their Savior and then the subsequent work of God in doing the life transforming work IN that repentant believer is too easily diluted or even disregarded as something almost insignificant. This miraculous, spiritual act of salvation is the single most significant experience in a human’s life, even more dramatic and significant than their original birth. But because the salvation experience does not normally result in any visible physical change in the appearance of a person and because the life transforming work of salvation is accomplished by God and applied to a person’s life by the Holy Spirit and not by the work of a repenting person, very often a person moves on from their salvation prayer experience rushing into life without an expectation that God is and will be doing a life transforming work in them! As they rush on in life, most new believers in Jesus don’t look for any evidence that God is doing a total ‘new creation in Christ’ work in them! Paul wrote “Therefore if anyone is in Christ they are a new creation, the old is gone and the new has come, and all this is from GOD who reconciled us to Himself through Christ…” (2 Cor. 5:17,18)

I believe that was happening among these believers in Samaria. They believed in what Philip told them about Jesus and the Gospel, they were even baptized, but the Holy Spirit had not yet done His life transforming work in them, and they evidently didn’t understand what God was needing to do in them spiritually to complete the work of making them ‘new creations in Christ.’ May I ask, do you understand it my friends and have you experienced this miraculous work of God in your life, all of it? Are you ‘redeemed‘, delivered from bondage to sin & Satan by the precious blood of Jesus as He purchased you? (1 Peter 1:18,21; 1 John 2:2) Are you ‘reconciled‘ to an unfettered relationship with God? (2 Cor. 5:18; Col. 1:21,22) Are you living ‘regenerated‘ by the Holy Spirit with a whole new spiritual nature (John 3:3-7) and filled with the Holy Spirit of God? (Romans 8:5-9) You notice it is God the Father, Jesus God the Son and the Holy Spirit of God who accomplish these great, life transforming works in you as you invite Jesus to save you! The Samaritans didn’t understand until Peter and John came and explained this and the Holy Spirit did come upon them and do His full salvation work in them.

We don’t know how long Peter and John remained in Samaria with Philip and this ‘Samaritan Jesus spiritual movement’, but in closing today please note this summary statement from Luke: “When they had proclaimed the word of the Lord, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.” (Acts 8:25) Do you see it my friends? Peter and John were so profoundly impacted by their days with the Samaritans, whatever prejudice they might have had before was demolished, and it appears they visited many Samaritan villages on their way back to Jerusalem, bringing the hope of Jesus to those Samaritans, who not long ago they would have thought were not eligible to receive the saving love work of God!

That brings to mind this great statement of Paul’s: “For Christ’s love compels us, for we are convinced that One died for all…and He died that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised to life again!” (2 Corinthians 5:14,15) Is that how you and I are living today my friends? Compelled by the outrageous, unconditional love of Jesus for every person in our world? Does that leave anyone out? Are you overwhelmed with Jesus reaching to YOU with His outrageous love?

I found a worship song that will help you contemplate this outrageous love, and I urge you to ask the Holy Spirit to show you any prejudice in your heart that HE would like to clean out so you can be a channel of God’s outrageous love to all people you come in contact with today and for the rest of your life. Let’s worship . . .

Today’s Scripture is Acts 8:12-25.

Choose below to read or listen.

Bible images provided with attribution to www.LumoProject.com.

Have a comment or question about today’s chapter? I’m ready to hear from you, contact me here.

Pastor Doug Anderson 262.441.8785
“Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, with our eyes fixed on Jesus…” (Heb. 12:1,2)

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