When God Turns Persecution Into Purpose | Abel Garcia | Book of Acts | Full Service

(upbeat music) (upbeat music) - Good morning, CTC. Welcome to Church on Sunday. How's everybody doing today? You guys are a lively one. We've been having packed houses recently and that's an amazing thing. So do us a favor. If you look in your row and there are empty seats in the middle of your row, please scoot in. So it has folks filter in during worship. They have somewhere easy to sit. We would appreciate that very much. If it's your first time joining us, thanks for coming out. We really appreciate that you're spending your Sunday with us and with Jesus. If you join us online, we love you. Thank you for being a part of the CTC family. I wanna read the last verse of Psalms. This is what David closed out with in Psalms 150 verse six. Very simply, he says, let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. So my question is, do you have breath? Are you breathing? Then let's praise God. 'Cause he gave us that breath. Let's give it back to him in worship.

Would you pray with me? Father God, we thank you that you breathed life into us, not just this physical life that we live in today, but eternal life, that we will spend with you forever. Thank you for the life of the Holy Spirit that lives in us. God, thank you for the life that is here in this room, because you are here with us. God, we give you this service. We give you our hearts. We give you our minds. Lord Jesus, and we give you our worship right now. In Jesus' name, let's worship in church. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) ♪ Oh, everything changed ♪ ♪ It's getting harder to recognize ♪ ♪ The person I was ♪ ♪ Before I encountered cries ♪ ♪ I don't walk like I used to ♪ ♪ I don't talk like I used to ♪ ♪ I've been washed from the inside ♪ ♪ I've been washed from the inside ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was a flood ♪ ♪ But I've only been the flood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was a flood ♪

♪ But I've only been the flood ♪ ♪ Oh ♪ ♪ I cannot explain ♪ ♪ But nothing's for real than this ♪ ♪ In the presence of God ♪ ♪ Over my heart and tears ♪ ♪ When my shame hit the wayside ♪ ♪ When my sin met the most high ♪ ♪ I've been washed from the inside ♪ ♪ I've been washed from the inside ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was a flood ♪ ♪ But I've only been the flood ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ Hallelujah ♪ ♪ I know it was a flood ♪ ♪ But I've only been the flood ♪ ♪ Oh, it's only by your blood Jesus ♪ ♪ Oh, it's only nothing's for the world ♪ ♪ I've never been a problem for you ♪ ♪ Perfection ♪ ♪ We're striving for ourselves ♪ It's a gift, it's free, it gives it, never tell you It's only by the blood Does anybody wanna be holy and righteous If you're a fire that's flawless Let me tell you, it's only by the blood Does anybody wanna be worthy for giving And just if I really live, let me tell you

It's only by the blood Does anybody wanna be worthy for giving I know it was the blood Could've only been the blood [Music] I know it was the blood Could've only been the blood [Music] It's only by the blood [Music] It's only by the blood [Music] [Music] [Music] I know it was the blood Could've only been the blood I know it was the blood Could've only been the blood Could've only been the blood [Music] Looking back at where I came from Just to see I find you brought me It's amazing all the things that you've done And I just wanna say thank you 'Cause there wasn't a time or a place That you weren't there with me If I tried not to fight I didn't walk with me 'Cause my God, you're so steady You're true

Oh, my heart, I've read I found you My sacred shelter In my world of age You wouldn't step set to me You'd stay so faithful You'd be able to see Oh, yeah, I'll ever get you You've been so steady You've been so steady He's a heart of one's saying But I never would've made it If it wasn't for your goodness If it wasn't for your mercy Yeah There wasn't a time or a place That you weren't there with me [Music] Never single try or fight You didn't walk with me [Music] Oh, my God, you're so steady You're true Oh, my heart, I've read I've found you My sacred shelter In my world of age You wouldn't step set to me When we enable It's saving me more than I ever could dream

Helping so steady You've been so strong Can't even walk without your holds in my head Every hour I'll leave you, stay It's only by your blood And I'll need you again When I draw close, you draw even me I said I can't even walk without your holds in my head Every hour I'll leave you, stay It's only by your blood And I'll need you again When I draw close, you draw even me When I draw close, you draw even me I got you so steady True, all my word of breath I found in you My sacred shoulder My refuge You hold in my steps If you leave me free You stay so faithful When we enable It's saving me more than I ever could dream You stay so faithful When we enable It's saving me more than I ever could dream You've been so steady You've been so steady Always faithful, faithful through the ages You've been so steady

Always faithful When I draw close, you draw even me I throw my hands up in the air You can take me anywhere Would you breathe on me Breath of God I throw my hands up in the air You can take me anywhere Holy Spirit, I surrender Forever, take over God, I wanna be baptized in your fire Take over God, I wanna be baptized in your fire Somewhere over here that grows Somewhere over here that grows Would you carry me with the God I wanna be baptized in your fire Take over God, I wanna be baptized in your fire Take over God, I wanna be baptized in your fire For all my life, I'll be the best Take over, take over Come on, there's something so beautiful When we celebrate those, the victories of those around us They've entered, we're gonna watch someone go public with their faith This morning, really excited this moment I just wanna encourage anybody in the room Who's feeling a tug in their heart to make a change And to take an extra step

God is calling you That's why someone will tell the good with their faith this morning. My name is Melanie. Growing up, I always knew about God, but I never understood what I meant to have a personal relationship with Him. In seventh grade, I began struggling with anxiety. People were constantly walking out of my life or hurting me. I felt lonely and worthless. I started questioning my faith. God's plan for me and even my life's purpose. I was scared to ask for help. I felt like it had to be perfect. I saw validation from other people trying to figure out everything on my own. In eighth grade, some friends invited me to church for the city. After a couple of months, I started coming consistently with Monique Hernandez. One Sunday, the message about family and friendships both directly to me. One again, I went to the altar and prayed together. I realized I didn't have to carry everything myself. In that moment, I surrendered everything to Jesus. Since giving my life to Jesus, I have a completely different understanding of who I am. He showed me that my worth isn't determined by whose days or leaves. God replaced my anxiety with His peace. I have hope because I know my whole life is in His hands. Jesus is my foundation, and I want to look completely for Him, giving Him all the glory. Today, I'm going public with my faith. Melanie, Jesus said every disciple should be baptized in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And because of your confession of faith,

today I baptize you in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for the remissions of your sins. And according to Scripture, you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ♪♪♪ ♪ Take over, take over ♪ ♪♪♪ ♪ We're not to see it far, but we never know there's something out the bottom. ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ ♪♪♪ [Music] [Silence] Hey Church, obviously, Pastor Tyrone here. As you can see, today I'm actually at the Hark Encounter, which I have shared about being one of the things that I think every family at some time in your life of raising your children, you should take the time to come to the Hark Encounter here in Kentucky. It's absolutely fascinating and it really does bring the whole engagement of Genesis chapter 6 to life. It answers so many questions that many people have about the art. So I wanted to tell you where I was now. I want to tell you that I have enjoyed every day that Virginia and I have been traveling. We've done five of all parts. We've done NASCAR race. We've done horse racing at Churchill Downs, wrapping this portion of the trip up here at the Hark Encounter. I have more preaching to do on the weekend and then some pastors meetings the first part of the week. And then I'm looking forward to being home. I'm going to jump right into Acts chapter 9. I can tell you that I've missed being home. I've missed you. But again, I've enjoyed every day that I've been away and I'm so grateful that you allow this. I've listened to every message and watched every service. Pastor Tyrone has done tremendous with Acts 5 and Acts 7. Ryan done great with Acts 6. You're going to hear a great message this morning on Acts 8 from Pastor Abel. I thank you for being a great church. You've been faithful. You've attended. You're still giving. You've still got excitement. We're getting ready to go into a big fall season and launch into a building campaign in the spring. So thank you for being the church that you are. I look forward to seeing you and thank you for allowing us to have this time away. God bless you.

Hey man, good morning church for the city. Still morning? Yeah, still morning. But with a privilege and an honor, it is. If it's your first time coming to church, welcome. Welcome to the family of Christ, amen. I always tell people, you just keep on coming and you let God keep on doing. Amen. You just let God handle those details of your life and you just be persistent and come into church and join a small group, join in a community of family that's going to love on you and embrace you. Amen. So welcome. Welcome to church this morning. It's a very special Sunday. I mean, every Sunday is really special. But today, he's not here, but you just saw him through a video, our senior pastor or lead pastor, Pastor Tyrone P. Jones is actually his birthday today. Come on, somebody. It's his birthday. I'm still trying to understand why he put me to preach on his birthday, but hey, it's all. But I am so privileged and so honored to do this. I want us to do something here today. And I mean, that's what he gets for putting me to preach on his birthday, right? But on the count of three, what we're going to do is just shout out. Happy birthday, Pastor Tyrone. Are you ready? He's got to hear you. I know he's watching this online, so he's got to hear you shout. Amen. All right. Are you ready? One, two, three. Oh, I love it. Happy birthday, Pastor Tyrone. What a privilege it is to be under your leadership, Pastor. We bless you. We love you. And thank you for saying yes to God's calling over your life and for this city. Amen. We believe it in Jesus name. Before we get straight into jumping to the message, there's some announcements that I want to give to you before we jump in. How many women in this place went to women's conference these past two days? Come on. Yeah, there's some excitement in the room. I love it. Just an amazing, amazing time and worship. I heard Tracy Mann just blew the roof off this place. She got, you know, it was amazing. And then also heard about the panel, right? Not the breakout sessions, but the panel from different youth, teenagers, moms here in this house that got the opportunity to share. so I also want to give a huge shout out. Every volunteer, every serve team member, everybody that just took the time, the energy to just invest and setting up, tearing down, cleaning up, and just making sure everything just ran so smoothly. Thank you. Thank you for all that you do. And it's honestly because of your generosity. It's because of your generosity that our church gets to do and hold these conferences every year. But through that generosity or that generosity put into action, we also have, they're going to see some pictures on the screen. We actually had our local city, Bible college students, along with Pastor Ty. They actually went down to the Los Angeles Dream Center this whole week. And what they did is that they distributed food boxes to about 200 families in Koreatown, a neighborhood in central LA. They serve children in Watts, California, which is also a neighborhood in South LA. And they prepared lunch for about 600 people in need and walk skid row. Now, I didn't know what I had heard of skid row, but I didn't know what it was.

And when I found out that skid row was a neighborhood in downtown LA that contains a large, largest concentration of unhoused individuals. And this is where your generosity goes. This is where we were able to send these college students here from Yuma, from our church, right? Along with Pastor Ty and they were able to be a blessing and an impact to every single person in Los Angeles. And honestly, after Karina sent me all this information, when I was reading it, I was like, man, I'm just glad they came back home alive. You know what I mean? Like, they were out there, bad. They were out there just spreading the good news of Jesus. And they were just amazing. But can we give it up for all the city, Bible college students? Amen. Right there where you're at, if you could just please stand to your feet. We're going to open God's word this morning. I hope you have your Bible with you. And if you do, please open it to the book of Acts, chapter 8, verse 1 through 4, Acts chapter 8, verse 1 through 4, we are, we are teaching and preaching on a, on a sermon series in the book of Acts. How many of you guys enjoyed Pastor Ty's message last week? Come on. If you didn't have the chance to, to be here for whatever reason, just go back, go back on our website, tap that disc and just rewatch it. I'm not going to lie, I told Pastor Ty now. Every time I cook a steak, I got to be there, make sure it's not well done. You know what I mean? Like, not have to be super cautious. But those of you who are here will understand, if you weren't here, just go back and rewatch and you're going to know what we're talking about. And we're all hungry now. Amen. All right. Acts chapter 8, verse 1 through 4. If there is a title I could put to tonight's, or not tonight this morning's message is when God turns persecution into purpose. When God turns persecution into purpose. Acts chapter 8, verse 1 through 4, and it says like this. And Saul proved of their killing, of killing him.

On that day, great persecution broke out, turn your neighbor into persecution. Highlight that word, memorize it, because we're going to talk a lot about that today. Persecution. On that day, great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. And all except the apostles were scattered, turn your neighbor into them scattered. Memorize that word today as well, scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Verse 2, Godly man buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. And verse 3, but Saul began to destroy the church going from house to house. He dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. And verse 4 says like this, and those who had been scattered, there's that word again. And those who have been scattered, meaning dispersed, sent out. They preach the word wherever they went. They preach the word wherever they went. Let's pray. Jesus, Holy Spirit, you are present in this place today. You No word in this Bible ever becomes empty. You are always trying to teach us something. You are always trying to pursue us. You are always trying to speak to us. So God, let me open up my heart, my mind to receive. What you have for me this morning. I don't want to go back home the same. God, fill me up. Fill me up, not only for me personally, but God. Fill me up to be a blessing, to be an impact to everybody that surrounds me. Jesus, tonight, or this morning, sorry, could be the morning, where you could change everything. Everything can change from this day. So God, let me take advantage of every opportunity, and every moment that you have for me. In Jesus' name we pray, amen, and amen, you can take your seats.

We are going to be speaking in the book of Acts. Thank you, Philip. Acts, chapter 8 and 2, start my message today. I want to give you a story as an introduction, okay? This story was written by an anonymous writer, and I want you to just listen to the story, and this is where we are going to step into as we get into the message. The story says like this, there was a small seed that was buried beneath the soil. For days nothing happened. The seed could not see the sunlight. It could not feel the wind, and from above the ground it looked exactly the same. But beneath the surface, something powerful was happening. Turn it over and tell them something powerful. Something powerful was happening. The seed was putting down some roots. In the morning after rain and warmth, a tiny green chute pushed through the soil. It was small, it was fragile, and it was easy to overlook. But it had begun its journey. Day by day the chute grew stronger, its roots grew deeper, its stem grew taller, and the little leaves opened towards the light, it did not become a tree overnight, it simply kept on growing. Through storms, through heat, and changing seasons, it continued to reach upward. Years later what had once been an almost invisible seed had become a strong tree, offering shade, shelter, and fruit for others. There are three lessons that we can learn from this story today, and one of the lessons is don't mistake silence for failure. Turning your neighbor in town, don't mistake silence for failure. Don't mistake persecution with karma. And the third one is that there is purpose in the name of Jesus. There is purpose in Jesus' name, amen? I love what my good friend, Pastor Joseph, said one time, and he constantly repeats this

and there's so much truth in this. He says, "You can count all the seeds inside of an apple, but you can't count how many apples come from one seed." Sometimes when we see no results, because that could be every single one of us in this place today, there are times where we will see no results. Your roots are growing, keep planting, keep scattering seeds, keep believing, keep nurturing what matters because the greatest growth often begins where no one can see it. I want to get into some context or some background in Acts 8, so I'm going to give you some background and then we're going to go into the core of the message. Are you ready? We're just all going to go home and need a stake. Amen. Jesus' name. Come on, somebody. Next to Acts Chapter 8. did an incredible job on preaching about this in chapter 7 last Sunday. Stephen was one of the first leaders of the early Christian church. Acts chapter 8 verse 1 and we just read it said exactly that and Saul approved of his death of Stephen's death and there arose on that day great persecution against the church in Jerusalem. There arose a great what? Persecution against the church in Jerusalem. Stephen has just been martyred, have just been killed which is found in Acts chapter 7 verse 54 through 60. He was stoned after boldly proclaiming Jesus as a Messiah. Saul approved of Stephen's death, get this later known as the Apostle Paul. Wow which we're gonna learn into Acts 9 and so forth and at this point Paul or Saul sorry was a zealous prosecutor of Christians. Persecution broke out in Jerusalem. Stephen's death became a turning point turn your neighbor and tell him turning point. I'm gonna tell you right now because you probably noticed it by now you're gonna be talking a lot to your neighbor today. So if you're not comfortable, no don't move, get to know them. So you're gonna talk a lot to your

neighbor today. But this became a turning point where believers were being pressured and driven out from the city. The apostles remained in Jerusalem while many other believers scattered throughout Judea and Samaria meaning that they not only stayed in Jerusalem but they scattered elsewhere. And the scattering of all these people advanced the spread of the gospel. Acts chapter Averse 4 says that those who were scattered when everywhere preaching the word. Whoo so good come on. This fulfills a movement Jesus had described in Acts chapter 1 verse 8 where it says that the gospel was spread from Jerusalem to Judea to Samaria and to ultimately all the ends of the earth. This is where it started. Me and you are here because of what happened here. Now paint that picture in your head a little bit. Here's a big picture that I want you to see. There is an important irony in Acts chapter 8 verse 1. And what happened and what appeared sorry to be a disaster for the church became a means of expansion. The persecution scattered Christians and wherever they went they carried the message of Christ with them. So therefore the gospel was expanding. This person was knowing that person. That person was getting talked to about Jesus. That person was getting saved. So guess what? They were talking about Jesus. It was just it was just expanding everywhere. Acts chapter 8 then immediately illustrates this through Philip preaching in Samaria which is in Acts chapter 8 verse 5 through 25. So Acts 8 is essentially a transition point. Turn your neighbor and tell them there's a transition. Chapter 8 of Acts we find a transition and this is a transition. Stephen was martyred. Persecution begins. Believers were scattered and the gospel is being spread beyond Jerusalem and that includes Yuma Arizona. Come on. And Saul who appears here as a persecutor will eventually become one of the gospel's greatest missionaries from chasing and killing Christians to becoming the gospel's greatest missionaries. Wow. If God can do it with Paul why can't he do it with you? Something that really caught my eye when I was reading Acts chapter 8 and you know when you're preaching or when you're just just sitting down reading the

Bible you know you want to digest so much but you just keep reading and reading and reading and reading and every time the Holy Spirit just you know gives you something so different right every time you read it. But something that really stood out to me in Acts chapter 8 is that Acts chapter 8 begins with persecution. [BLANK_AUDIO] The cruel, the unfair, or the abusive treatment to a person or a certain group. So right here next chapter eight, since it begins with persecution, the church is facing intense opposition. The believers are being scattered from Jerusalem. And from a human perspective, from a perspective that you and I can see, this looks like a disaster. Why can't we just stay in Samaria? Everything is going good. Everything is happening where it's supposed to. But now everything, Stephen was murdered, he was killed, and now through Philip, everything's just being expanded. - Some of us don't like to expand 'cause we think we're gonna fail. Some of us don't like to go beyond because, what is that person gonna say? But I want you to get something really rooted inside of you today. And I want you to memorize it, and I want you to just hold it with you today. God will always see something that you and I cannot see.

God will always look beyond on what you and I cannot see. What the enemy intended was to stop the church, but God used it to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ. Amen? So we can all agree today that Acts chapter eight teaches us that sometimes God uses a very circumstances. We don't understand to move us into the place where he wants us. Okay, first row, God, back row didn't get it. Let's repeat it again. Acts chapter eight teaches us that sometimes God uses a very circumstances. We don't understand to move us into the place where he wants us. Acts chapter eight is a powerful reminder that what looks like a setback to us and to me and to you can become an opportunity in the hands of God. The early church experienced tremendous persecution. You and I today are experiencing tremendous persecution. Believers were scattered from Jerusalem and it probably felt like everything that they had built was falling apart. But Acts chapter eight teaches us something important. It teaches us that the enemy may scatter God's people everywhere, but the enemy cannot stop God's purpose in your life. The enemy cannot stop what God has put inside of you. The enemy cannot stop what he started in you and the one who starts us will be faithful

to complete it in you. Amen? Romans eight 28 says, and we know that all things, turn it over and time all things. All things God works for the good, for the good of those who love him and have been called according to his purpose. Today I wanna just jumping into the core of this message and today I want us to look at three important lessons that we can all learn from Acts chapter eight. Turn your neighbor in time three important lessons. Come on. Number one, tell your neighbor lesson number one. God can use difficult times to advance his work. God can use difficult times to advance his work. Acts chapter eight verse one through four after Stephen was killed, the great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem. The believers were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. But verse four says of chapter eight. Verse four says, those who had been scattered were in their couch sitting down. Those who had been scattered were out just doing their job nine to five and coming back home and doing nothing else. Those who were scattered were just sleeping, taking naps, which those are all real good, okay? You can take those. Those are good. (laughs)

The Bible says that those who had been scattered preach the word. This is not Abel saying it, I'm not that smart. This is the word of God saying it. Everywhere you go, take advantage and preach the word of God. Don't underestimate a moment. Don't underestimate a time. Don't underestimate the season that you're in. Because notice what happened, that they were all scattered, but they were not silent. They proclaimed boldly Jesus wherever they went. Persecution moved them out of Jerusalem, but it did not move the Word of God out of their hearts. Ooh, this is so powerful to understand. Just grasp that for a moment. Just take some time to grasp that. Persecution moved them out of their hometown, which was Jerusalem, but it did not move the Word of God out of their heart. What does this tell you and me? This tells us that no matter what hell you went through, no matter what separation you're going through, no matter what difficult situation that you are facing. And no matter if the enemy has tried to destroy you, don't remove the Word of God from your heart. The enemy is going to try to do anything he can to bring you down. The enemy is going to try to do anything to try to step on you and crush everything about you. But don't remove the Word of God from your heart. Stay consistent, stay bold, and remain faithful in what God has called you to do and be. Sometimes we are constantly asking God, "God, why are you allowing this?" God, why are you allowing this to happen in my family? God, why are you allowing to happen?

Why are you allowing this to happen? Church, we will face disappointment. Church, we will face rejection if you haven't already. Church, we will face financial struggles. Come on, somebody. We will face changes. We will have doors that suddenly close right in front of us. But sometimes God uses that very thing we think is destroying our plans to redirect us back into his purpose. The church may have thought in Acts 8, "Why are we being scattered? We got it so good here. Why are we dispersing all over the place?" And God says, "You're not being scattered, you're being sent." There's a difference between being scattered and being sent. What looks like a disruption may actually be a divine direction from God. So don't ignore the disruptions in your life. Come on, somebody. You've got to get this this morning. Don't ignore those disruptions in your life. Don't waste your difficult season. Don't waste it. If God has placed you in a place where everything around you seems different, because you've never seen yourself in that moment, because you haven't seen yourself in that season. If God has placed you somewhere different, and that place doesn't look familiar to you, this is what we should do and ask God, "Lord, who can I reach while I'm here? God who can I bless while I'm here? God, what are you trying to teach me while I'm here?" Lesson number two, turn your neighbor and tell him, "Listen to wherever you go, take Jesus with you. Wherever you go, take Jesus with you."

There's somebody in this church that I know was thinking this, maybe not. But you might be saying, "God is everywhere where we're at. He's present everywhere." Yes, but along the way, you might have traded him for something else. Yes, God is everywhere we are at, but maybe along the way you got sidetracked, but maybe along the way you got a little bit too busy, but maybe along the way your career, which is awesome and is good, cause you to pay more attention rather than to focus on the one who gave you the strength to start that career in the first place. [BLANK_AUDIO] Acts 8, verse 5 through 8 says that Philip went down to Samaria, and he began preaching Christ. Oh, come on, so good. Samaria was not an easy place for Jewish believers to minister. There was a long history of tension between Jews and Samaritans, yet Philip went. And when Philip preached Christ, people listened. And when Karina preached Christ, people listened. And when Dreo preached Christ, people listened. Oh, don't worry, I'm coming to this side too. And with the Abrenda preached Christ, people listened. And when Jose preached Christ, people listened. And when church for the city preached Christ, people listened. Things were changed, demons were cast out, the sick were being killed in Jesus' name. Things were happening anytime God is present, things are always happening. Once I was reading, when I was reading the whole chapter, there's a verse in particular, verse 8 of Acts chapter 8 verse 8 that says, and there was a great joy in the city. Let me pause right there. Let me just pause. Circumstances, situations, difficult seasons in your life have caused you to lose the joy that God has given you. But in the name of Jesus, regain that joy once again.

God begins to put a smile on your face again. God begins to give you that joy that the word says, that there is joy in the morning. Joy comes in the morning. And I'm not talking about happiness, happiness, anybody can give you happiness. Anybody, YouTube video, a podcast, your feelings, your emotions, anything can cause you to be happy. But joy, joy only comes from the Lord. And there was a great joy in the city. Philip didn't need a perfect environment to serve God. He simply took Jesus with him wherever he went. This is a message in itself for us today, church, that you don't have to wait for the perfect circumstance to be used by God. You can serve God at your workplace. You can serve God in your neighborhood. You can serve God in your family. You can serve God wherever you are at. The question isn't, where am I? What am I doing? No, no, no. The real question is, what am I doing with Jesus where I am now? Philip brought the gospel to Samaria and an entire city experience joy. Never underestimate what God can do through one obedient person. I'm going to make this a little bit more personal today. You might say, oh, no, where is it going? Never underestimate what God can do through you. Never underestimate it. Lesson number three, turn your neighbor and tell him, thank God he's almost done. Lesson number three, turn your neighbor and tell him, lesson number three, the last one. God is looking for people who are ready to obey. God is looking for people who are ready to obey, Acts chapter 8 verse 26 through 40.

Later in this chapter, God directed Philip towards a man in Ethiopia. Turn your neighbor and tell him, a man in Ethiopia, tell him. But like you mean it, come on church, come on. God directed Philip toward a man from Ethiopia and you know what, God? [BLANK_AUDIO] This is why it was so important that he had presented this man from Ethiopia. Why leave Samaria? Philip could have easily questioned what God was trying to do in his life. How many of you guys have ever questioned something in your life before? Raise your hand, raise your hand, and everybody who did not raise your line. Don't be lying in church. Everybody in here has questioned something in our lives. Everybody in here has questioned one moment in our lives. I mean, there's some who visit here who question everything. Don't do that either. Philip could have simply said God, why leave Samaria? There's literally revival happening here. Lives are being transformed. Things are happening. God is reaching these people in Samaria. Why is it necessary for us to scatter? Why is it necessary, I might make this a little personal right now, why is it necessary for me to get out of my comfort zone? Why is it necessary that I have to do something else besides go to church on Sunday? If you didn't know, you're not called just to come to church on Sunday. It's God. Keep on coming. But you weren't on the call for that. And Philip could have easily questioned the instruction that God gave him. But you know what, Philip simply obeyed.

And you know when we say yes to God's calling over our lives, we don't know what that's going to look like. And you don't know when you say yes to Jesus. We don't know that after everything we've gone through, we're going to get pit be put of one situation and head into another one, being in a good season and going into a more terrible season because we don't know what saying yes to God is going to look like. But our job is not to try to understand God, George. That's not our job. Our job is to simply obey and be faithful and trust him deeper. My job is not to question God, go ahead and see how that goes. Don't question what God is doing in your life because he's preparing you for what's coming. You found Ethiopian official reading from the prophet Isaiah in verse 32 of chapter 8 in Acts. And Philip asked this Ethiopian man in verse 30, he asked him, he said, do you understand what you're reading? Do you understand what you're reading and the man, the Ethiopian man replied in verse 31, he says, how can I, unless someone explains it to me? There's another version of the Bible that says, how can I, if someone doesn't help guide me there? What an incredible moment this was, what an incredible moment this was that we see in the Word of God that the man that was searching God sent Philip, that the man was searching in God sent Philip, this teaches us something so powerful. Turn your neighbor and tell him something so powerful, come on, tell him. This teaches us something so powerful and it teaches us that God is already working in people's hearts before we even arrive. Just in case you want to pump your collar. Just in case you want to think that, oh wow, it was because of me because I had those very nice spiritual words to say, you know, it was a really eloquent prayer that I gave that person that, no, it's never been about you and it's never going to be about me.

It's always going to be about Jesus and it will continue to be about Jesus. There may be someone in your life, hurting. Maybe there's someone in your life today who is still searching. Maybe there's someone in your life today who doesn't understand the Bible. Maybe there's someone in your life today who needs hope. Maybe God may be calling you to be the person who helps him understand. And because you want to waste the disruption in your life, you're not willing to obey. Philip didn't simply preach at that man. He started where the man was. He started in his current state. He started in his current condition. He went to the Ethiopian man. He opened up the scripture and he preached Jesus unto him. Church can I tell you something? That's our calling too. That everywhere we go, we give everyone Jesus. That in everything that we do, we give everyone Jesus. That in everything that we speak, all our actions, everywhere we are, we give everybody Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus, Jesus. We are not called to talk about religion. We are called to point people to Jesus. To conclude today, I want you to really, really look at this repeated theme throughout Acts chapter 8, because one of the many reasons why Acts chapter 8 is so powerful is because God can take circumstances intended for destruction and use them to advance Christ's kingdom. God can use anything and God can use anyone. He could do it. God said go to Samaria, fill up, obey. God said arise and go towards the south and fill up, went. God said go near and join yourself to this chariot and fill up, simply went.

Philip didn't have the entire plan altogether. He simply obey the next instruction. God is calling us to do the same church. We need to have it all together and have plan A through Z. Even though I live and marry to someone who wants to have it all together, it's a constant argument. Don't worry. God is healing us, amen? That's not the point. Sometimes we want God to show us the whole journey before we take the first step. It's not until God shows us the whole picture that we'll say, okay, God, now, now, obey. What's the point in that? God says obey me now, obey me later, trust me now and trust me later. But God often says take the next step and trust me with the rest. You may not know where God is leading you. You may not understand why a door closed right in front of you. You may not even understand why you're in the season that you're in right now, but you can still obey. So let us leave with this truth today, church, is that when God sends you, go, please go. People out there are waiting to hear the word that God has placed upon your heart. When God gives you an opportunity to speak, when God opens a door, walk through it. And when you don't understand the plan, trust the one who does. I want to share a quick story with this, which I didn't share in First and Second service and I just I just thought about it right now. And me and Pastor Ralph, at least once a week or once every other week, we'd go have coffee. Just random places around town. And the first thing he would always tell me when he'd sit down with me, he's like, "Abel, how's your marriage?" And I said, "Oh, it's going great, Pastor Ralph," he said, "Tell me the truth." And I remember in one of those conversations that we were having, it was about a year since

we had attended church for the city, we'd been here for almost five, right, four and a half. And I remember in one of those conversations, it had been probably about a year. And Pastor Ralph said, "Abel, I know you're a preacher, like I know, I know that you can start serving, why haven't you done it? And why haven't you started serving, why haven't you gotten connected to a live group, why what's going on?" And I told him, "Pastor Ralph, honestly, I'm just waiting for the perfect time." He didn't scream at me, but for those of you who knew Pastor Ralph, he just looked me straight into the eye, and he told me, "Abel, while you're waiting for the perfect time, there are people out there who need to hear about Jesus." So you keep taking your time, Abel, go ahead. Whenever you're ready, whenever you're prepared, whenever you think you've got all your things in order, go ahead, God is just going to be there just waiting for you. And obviously, I knew there was some truth behind this and a little bit of sarcasm. But I understood the lesson that day. God wants me to obey, and God wants you to obey too. The church may be scattered, but the gospel is still going forward. And I'm sorry to break it to you, but the gospel is still going forward with you or without you. I'm sorry. I hope it's with you, but the gospel is still going forward. And God's mission cannot be stopped. The enemy thinks he's scattering the church, but God is scattering the gospel all over this world. Right there where you're at, why don't you stand to your feet with me? Dear team, come on, come help me out. God is so good, isn't he? And we serve such a great God. I want you to think about these things as you're maybe on the fence about saying, "Man, why don't I want to go up there because people are going to know that I'm struggling.

Who cares? Oh, people are going to know that I'm going through something, who cares?" You come up here believing that your miracle is waiting. You come up here boldly, confidently knowing that God's going to begin something in your life. There are many forms of persecution that we are currently living in today. Many forms. We're going through a big mental persecution. We're going through a big political persecution. We're going through a culture, persecution, a social, a religious, a situational persecution. And the list goes on and on and on. It's not a matter of whether you will go through it or not because we're already living in it. Church, the church right now is going through a persecution. You might say, "Well, I have an experiment today when you will one day." You will be confronted with that one day. What will you do when persecution comes knocking at your door? The question is, will you learn to trust and find God's purpose in all of it? Will we just sit there silently and just hold back and just see how everything's playing out? Or would we stand up boldly at God's people and stay consistent, staying bold and being faithful to the purpose that God has placed upon my life? [music] today where today you can open up your heart and you can trust this God and give him your entire life knowing that in his hands they are much better than yours church God wants to remind you today that there is purpose in your pain and through you God's gonna change the whole generation and because of your obedience God's gonna transform a whole city and because of your obedience notice that I didn't say age notice that I didn't say physical ability I know I'm very energetic people tell people you don't

stop you don't have to be energetic or you know just high on coffee like me all the time no God can use you in the moment that you are where you are right now how you are quiet maybe a little bit more shy maybe not not wanting to speak so many but take Jesus wherever you go take Jesus wherever you go take Jesus wherever you go so right there church I want us to make a bold statement today and I want you to make it personal because there are people around us that still need Jesus maybe it's you today and if it's not you maybe it's somebody that you know or somebody around you but today I want you to stand mold me and I want you to say God don't look for nobody else choose me I'm here I'm willing to obey I'm willing to go I'm willing to do whatever it takes so right there where you want to bow your heads with me there's a prayer team up here they are gonna fight alongside with you there's a prayer team up here that's gonna embrace you that's gonna hug you that's gonna pray for you that's gonna intercede and that's gonna say we got this in Jesus name in Jesus name God sometimes my purpose in life has been stained by so many circumstances God so many times my purpose has maybe diminished or been squashed by certain seasons that I've led to find who I was but God tonight or this morning sorry this afternoon I understand that you want my yes and God whatever it takes I'm willing to do it I'm gonna obey not questioning what season I'm in but trusting you deeper in it Jesus do with me what you want I'm ready in Jesus name we pray amen amen God bless you church we're at the sea of battle what we never know is something at the Bible the impossible I think the room is ready for miracle never know is something at the Bible the impossible I think the room is ready for miracle now again fire in the holy knows for others he will follow like you never know it's something at the Bible the impossible I think the room is ready for miracle now we're getting fire in the holy knows for now I think the room is ready for miracle now we're getting fire in the holy knows for now I'm getting fire in the holy knows for every day over me but I want to be baptized in your fire Take over, but I want to be baptized in your fire Take over me

Go back to church, love you so much, have a wonderful day (upbeat music)