Gary Gleans

                                                                                  Acts 8:9-13 Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great,  10  and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.”  11  They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery.  12  But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women.  13  Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.   When the Gospel arrives in any place for the first time, it always arrives in a particular context.  When Satan has reign over a people, he will seek to blind them from the truth and do all he can to destroy and deceive them.  Samaria is an exampl

                                                                                       Acts 8:4-8 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.  5  Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.  6  When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said.  7  For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8  So there was great joy in that city.   The Gospel, according to the promise and command of Jesus was to spread to the Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth.  This text demonstrates how it spreads to Samaria.  This is what the Lord wants to happen, and it is instructive to see how and what happened in this process.  We can observe the methodology of what Philip did and it is instructive as to what we should seek to do as the Lord moves us from place to place.   PROCLAIMED MESSIAH: The priority of a missionary effort is to proclaim t

                                                                                  Acts 8:1-3 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.   Devout men buried Stephen and made great lamentation over him.   But   Saul was ravaging the church, and entering house after house, he   dragged off men and women and committed them to prison. Jesus had promised His disciples that they would be persecuted as He was persecuted.  The early days of the church were marked by the conversion of thousands of people.  Multitudes were healed and the church grew as people flocked to Jerusalem to hear the message of Christ.  There was light persecution at the beginning, but they had great liberty for the most part.  However, the execution of Stephen marks a change in this reality.  The persecution that followed was intense just as Jesus h

                                                                                  Acts 7:54-60 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him.  55  But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God.  56  “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” 57  At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him,  58  dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul. 59  While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  60  Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep. All of us are called to face a variety of circumstances throughout our lives.  What makes all the difference is how we respond in

                                                                             Acts 7:44-53 “Our ancestors had the tabernacle of the covenant law with them in the wilderness. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.  45  After receiving the tabernacle, our ancestors under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David,  46  who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob. [ k ]   47  But it was Solomon who built a house for him. 48  “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by human hands. As the prophet says: 49  “‘Heaven is my throne,      and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord.      Or where will my resting place be? 50  Has not my hand made all these things?’ [ l ] 51  “You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are j