The Gospel Advances Despite Opposition

We are studying the book of Acts. Someone told me that we already have 16 sermons. And we are at Chapter 8, I have to put my batteries together and do things a little faster because otherwise Christ is going to come and we still will not have finished the book of Acts. Chapter 8.

But as we said before, we are using this text, this book as a point of departure and a point of return, a source of meditation on truths that cover all of Scripture, as we are going to see in a moment. That is to say, although we are concentrating on a single book, but I believe that also through this process we can learn how to study the word, how to read Scripture, how to savor it, how to get the most out of it, it is not only what that you are hearing from me, but also think about how I am thinking, how I am analyzing the Scripture so that you can also apply that same technique, or those same procedures to your own Bible study, in your time.

We want to promote in the people of God a healthy respect for the word of God and learn how to keep ourselves based on what the word says, which teaches us so many wonderful things. We only have to go directly to the Bible and it itself speaks to us, teaches us. There is an inexhaustible treasure of truths. Be a student of the word of God, that is what we want to emphasize through these studies and whenever we stop here we want to promote that same spirit. Amen.

Well, we're just going to skip some verses because it's quite a long Chapter, as you can see. It has 40 verses, we are not going to read them all. We are going to see a sample of different moments and then we enter the exposition of the word. Chapter 8, Acts, verse 1 says, let us remember that Esteban has been martyred, stoned, vilely murdered by people who do not want to hear the Gospel, they feel threatened by what the Gospel represents. They were offended in a very, very strong way by the confrontational message that Esteban presented to them. And for that they killed him, they took him outside the city, they stoned him, and here it says in verse 1:

"...Saul consented to his death..."

And if you analyze the original Greek of the word consented, which is translated into Spanish consented, it's like he consented vivaciously, he was happy that they had killed Esteban. Saul affirmed the death of Esteban. He was a co-participant at the emotional level and also at the level of helping those who were stoning Esteban to do their job, holding their clothes. That is to say, Saul is presented there actively consenting to the death of Stephen. Then he says:

“…on that day, that same day that Stephen was killed, there was great persecution against the church, that is, the believers who were in Jerusalem, it says here, and they were all scattered throughout the land of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles, and pious men. Read here, maybe Jews who weren't necessarily believers in Jesus Christ but who had a soft heart and wouldn't consent to the murder of this man like that. They knew something was wrong. This man should not have been killed.

And the idea is that perhaps these pious men were rather Jews, non-believers, but sound-hearted and God-fearing.

"... pious men took Stephen to bury and made great tears over him..."

And the figure of Saul is presented to us again here.

"... ravaged the church..."

It is a strong word, it lashed out, persecuted, viciously, destroyed the church.

"...and entering house by house he dragged men and women and delivered them to jail..."

How interesting, right? then that man was to write two thirds of the Gospel. That same man with so much viciousness and violence persecuted believers, God was going to do something very special in his life. Here it says:

"... but those who were scattered went everywhere announcing the Gospel..."

I will leave it here, then we will enter the rest of the text. I titled this message "The Gospel Advances Despite Opposition" because I believe that this is the center of this Chapter 8. We see here the Gospel of Jesus Christ oppressed, persecuted, martyred, violated, but in reality, what we see through of this entire Chapter is that the Gospel advances, continues to advance.

This Chapter does not highlight the opposition and persecution so much as the triumph of the Gospel and the mighty move of God in the midst of these enemy attacks. So, these verses from 1 to 3 paint us a very gloomy scenario, gloomy, I would say.

Everything seems to be going from bad to worse. Everything is dark, negative. The whole church in Jerusalem is scattered everywhere. A great enemy of the Gospel appears, Saul, like a monster who rises up, a man of resources, intelligence, physical courage, looking for the people and we assume that with him, there were many other people. It all seems that the Gospel is going to be destroyed and it is going to be completely annihilated.

But, again, I emphasize, brothers, that if you read that entire Chapter, you will see that in reality, that moment is more like a dark background to highlight the light of what God is going to do. Because the tone of this entire Chapter is a tone of progress and triumph, as we are going to see in a moment. Furthermore, I would say that Saul is mentioned here precisely because in Chapter 9, we are going to see his conversion.

I think that what the writer is doing is preparing us for what comes next, making Saul's conversion more dramatic. He wants us to have a little background so that we understand how great is the miracle of what happens when Saul is converted, how powerful is the intervention of God when he knocks down the horse through Jesus Christ and says to him, “Saul, Saul, for what are you after me? And the one who was a great persecutor of the church, then becomes a great ally and promoter of the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, I believe that even in that part that is there of Saul persecuting, consenting to death, it is to highlight what God is going to do later. So, I think you have to remember that everything negative here is pointed out to highlight the dramatic advance of the Gospel in the midst of persecution and diabolical opposition.

And here I remember something that the Bible says, if you look in Matthew 11:12, it says there that the kingdom of heaven suffers violence and the mighty take it by force.

And remember what I've always said about verse 12 of Matthew 11, that actually in the original Greek, and other translations agree with this. These are not things that I am taking out of nowhere, the most correct translation is, the Gospel advances forcefully, advances forcefully, advances violently. The original verb in the Greek can be translated both passively and actively.

The kingdom of heaven always advances through opposition and force, violence in a sense. When you have seen the Gospel enter a place where the devil is in control, and everything sounds, the people bow at once before the Gospel, there is no fight, there is no opposition. What did Christ say that one cannot loot the house of a strong man if he first binds him. The Gospel, whenever it is advancing, is advancing in the fight against the powers of darkness. And in this case there was a lot of territory to conquer so the devil was going to do his best to create opposition.

If you are serving God, I have said, right? You will have opposition. Says the Apostle Peter, I think it is, if all those who want to live piously will suffer persecution. The Gospel is a conquering force in the midst of war and rejection by unbelievers. There will be opposition and hatred from the world towards the values and claims of the Gospel. People of good will appointed by the Lord will believe, because there will be people that God will have plans with them, and those people when the Gospel is preached, will hear the Gospel, will receive Christ, as so many thousands did in Jerusalem itself. But others are inveterate and stubborn in their works and will not believe even if they are dragged by a rope. And those people will oppose the Gospel. There will always be struggle in the world when the Gospel is clearly announced.

So, we must point out the difference of this truth because we have to know, brothers, that between the world and the word of God there will be no friendship. This idea that we want, in a sense, to win the sympathy of the world, seems a little out of place to me, because what we have to do is win souls. Preach the Gospel, yes, with love, with meekness, with a single heart, but there's going to be opposition just the same. People are going to oppose the Gospel, there is going to be a fight and not everyone is going to believe.

I also believe that we cannot reduce the Gospel to a minimum and take away the number of claims, the call to holiness, the call to a moral, adequate life, the call to always give God the glory, to put him in the first place. We cannot remove the essence of the Gospel so that the world will then love us. There will always be opposition. What we have to do is preach the word of God and then the word of God will do its work. We cannot do God's work. There will always be opposition.

The biblical model I see here is one of triumph in the midst of opposition, through the proclamation of God's truth. In addition to the work of the Holy Spirit, who is going to be doing things, opening ways, as we will see later, so that the people he has designated enter into the knowledge of God.

In this Chapter 8 we have several samples of how the Gospel advances in the world. We see here the complexities, the subtleties that accompany the proclamation of the Gospel. Look here in verse 4, it says something very interesting. What is the first word in verse 4? Can someone tell me? But. You know that word changes everything.

But, despite all this gloomy thing that is happening, those who were scattered went everywhere announcing the Gospel. The first verses show the opposition, everything seems terrible, but that 'but' changes everything. God is moving, the disciples exercise faith.

Do you know what changes the circumstance, brothers? Your faith. Do you know what changes the terrible thing in your life? You, as I said well last Sunday, stand on the word of God. Obey the Lord. No matter what happens in your life, keep serving the Lord, until things are fixed, until the devil gets tired and the Lord drives him out.

The Bible says, resist the devil and he will flee from you. The church has been defeating Satan for 2000 years, brothers, and what has made the difference is, men and women of God who despite the tribulations, anguish, struggles, losses, tragedies, remain firm in what they have believed, what they have confessed.

These believers kicked him out of Jerusalem, had to flee for their lives, and you know what? Instead of locking themselves in a house all afraid, that nobody sees them, that nobody hears them, we are going to stop preaching the Gospel, he continued to preach the Gospel wherever they go. God makes them leaven for the spread of the Gospel. Glory to the Lord.

Brothers, remember that, your faith is what makes the difference. Your faith is God's but. That's what changes the devil's attacks. That is what turns the rage of the enemy into shame for darkness and victory for the Kingdom of God. These people believed and continued announcing the Gospel.

What would you do if you had to flee to Providence or go there, to Nebraska because they persecuted you here in Boston and perhaps killed someone loved by the Gospel? Perhaps some of us would never talk about the Gospel, never put out a Bible for no one to see. We would be covert, secret evangelicals.

Brethren, the Gospel has to be announced, no matter what. Even though you are bleeding, proclaim God's truth. Do it out of obedience even if it is not out of feeling, and that changes, it changes everything. It is the persistence, the faith of the people of God.

It seemed that the devil was in control, but in reality what we see is that God is in control, God was the leading agent. What are you doing? Using the persecution to lead the church to leave Jerusalem and preach the Gospel within the world according to the great conviction.

You know, if we don't preach the Gospel the hard way, we're going to have to preach it the hard way. Sometimes we want to be like the disciples, we are going to make 3 tents and stay up here on the mountain enjoying ourselves. How good it is to come to church, everything is fine, they are all Christian people, I think, almost everyone here, well behaved, the majority, we are well dressed, very comfortable, and here it is very easy between the 4 walls, but what happens there outside? At your job, your neighborhood, among your siblings, your family. That is where the Gospel must be preached. You know what? If the church doesn't do it one way, it does it the other way, because the Gospel has to be preached.

God used persecution, okay, the party is over, you already believed. Glory to God. You received Christ in Jerusalem, now do what the church has to do: go out. Look how interesting. Here, and it even scares me sometimes to say this, God and the devil, although there is no comparison, both are working. Now, the devil is under God's control, on an immediate level Satan is persecuting the church, killing.

Who was behind those who stoned Esteban? Satan. Who was behind that spirit that encouraged Saul to rejoice that Stephen was being killed? Satan. Who was behind the crucifixion of Jesus in a sense? Satan. Who got into Judas so that he would denounce Jesus? Satan. But who was behind all that, further back? God.

Who was behind the crucifixion of Jesus? God, carrying out his salvific plan for humanity. Sometimes I have said, with fear and trembling, the theologians here will correct me, that Satan is the black glove of God. And he sends me running after I say it. Because many times, brothers, I believe that the devil is obliged to do God's work on earth and he only knows how to kill, steal and destroy. But sometimes when there's a dirty job to be done, God sends this strange being to do that job. Don't ask me how those spirit chemistries work?

But many times the devil is doing things wanting to destroy the people, wanting to make a man fall, a man of God fall, wanting to kill a person who is blessing the Kingdom of God. And God gives him place because behind that fight. There is a blessing that that person is going to experience and when they get out of that fight they will come out strengthened and blessed.

During this time of my illness, when I was in the hospital, when they had 40 different monitors attached to my body and so many things examining me, all this, I knew that there was a part, there is always a part of the enemy wanting to impoverish the ministry of a person. But you know what? That at all times I have known that God was the one in control of everything. And I have always felt in my heart that he has been working for blessing and not for evil. He has been investing in my life rather, that's the way I see it.

God always works in the lives of his servants, at an immediate level you may be experiencing difficulties, suffering, illness, struggle, but always remember that the word says, to those who love God, all things work together for good. Says the Apostle Paul, who will separate us from the love of Christ? Tribulation or anguish? Or hunger or nakedness, or danger or sword? He says, before in all these things we are more than conquerors. Notice what it says, in all these things, not out of these things, but in all these things. Because many times in the midst of trials and difficulties, if we maintain our faith and our confession to God, we are more than winners. The devil comes out with his tail tucked between his legs and we are fresh as a lettuce to serve the Lord with more strength than ever.

What did Jesus Christ say to Peter? “…Peter, Satan asked you, the disciples, to sift you like wheat…” Devil, trying to do harm. He says, "...but I have prayed that your faith does not fail and that you, once you have come out of that trial, go and strengthen your brothers...."

You see that mysterious form of the enemy wreaking havoc on an immediate personal level, but God behind, blessing, interceding, bringing his children to a higher level of power. The Apostle Paul said, God sent a messenger from Satan to slap me. And then later he says, and you know what I've discovered? What's more, God didn't take the sting out of him, and Paul said, you know what? I have discovered that when I am weak then I am strong. So I will glorify myself, I will rejoice in the midst of the tribulations, the anguish, the tests that the devil brings me so that God may be glorified in my life.

So, brothers, we always have to see this. The faith of the church, sometimes at a personal level, can go through very difficult situations, a lot of struggle, but remember that behind that, God is blessing your life. And what is going to ensure that it is the purposes of God and not the purposes of the devil that will triumph in your life, is your faith, your confession of the word of God, your persistence in believing that God is good, despite everything. .

As Job said, another case where we see Satan at work on a personal level, and we see God behind it as well. What a beautiful jewel the book of Job has comforted billions of people, I would say billions at least, since the thousands of years it was written, but it cost the blood and suffering of a man slapped by Satan, but blessed by God that it had a sublime purpose.

“…Satan only knows how to steal, kill and destroy but I have come so that you may have life and have it in abundance…”

I've taken a lot of time on it but it's one of the most beautiful things. I think we just stayed there, glory to God, but I'm going to give one more thing and maybe later next Sunday we'll continue.

What's happening? The disciples are persecuted and a few arrive in Samaria, they go to Providence there, they arrive in Lawrence, where all those Dominicans who need to hear the Gospel are, I am one of them. They reach Lawrence and begin to preach the Gospel. A great revival breaks out. The Holy Spirit was waiting for that to happen. God's rain falls. Many people convert to the Gospel, and there is a great harvest. God is using a man, Philip, the evangelist and there are signs and wonders, demons are cast out. The lame and paralyzed are healed, says the word, and there is a great harvest of souls.

Here's something very interesting, maybe I'll just have time to touch on that other point. What's happening here? It says later, after this great blessing that the Apostles who were in Jerusalem, because the Apostles stayed, the board of directors of the church stayed in Jerusalem, because it is the capital, until that moment it is the center of the new church. The Apostles stay there, maybe they hid them, whatever, but like the church government needed to stick together. They stayed in Jerusalem.

Some think that the persecution was only for one type of believer, what the Hellenics call, one type of believer but it doesn't matter much about that. The important thing is that the Apostles stay in Jerusalem. They hear that there is a revival, he sends him a message on the internet, the Samaritans are being converted. Those bad-blooded Dominicans are entering the Gospel, come quickly, we have to do something.

They arrive in Samaria, but look at what is interesting, it says that "...Peter and John were sent as delegates, who, having come, prayed for them to receive the Holy Spirit, because it had not yet descended on any of them, but they had only been baptized in the name of Jesus. Then they laid their hands on them and they received the Holy Spirit…”

Brothers, there is a lot of cloth to cut, you know? Do you have another hour or two to work on that? They laugh nervously, as if the pastor is serious or not, right? Thank God it's not like that, we're going to finish soon.

But notice here the interesting thing, about the importance of that experience that we call the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because there is a lot of controversy in the church and I respect all the different opinions. Our Congregation believes, along with millions and millions of Christians, that there is an experience secondary to conversion called the baptism of the Holy Spirit. And that what we call the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which is so difficult to fully define and about which there is so much controversy, does not necessarily automatically occur when you receive the Lord.

Now, I believe that one receives the Holy Spirit because the Bible says that I will come in and have supper with him. Christ comes into your life. The spirit is there with you. But then again, there are so many ways we could put this and we've got just two three minutes. But what I want to point out is this.

Look here, the first thing is that the Apostles do not assume, oh, they converted, they don't need anything anymore, let's just start taking a discipleship class and send them also to preach the Gospel. No. They know that these people have not yet received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Because? I want to tell you this. If you have received Christ as your Lord and Savior, you need to seek that experience that will complete your initiation into the mysteries of the Holy Spirit and then you will continue the process.

Asking the Lord to give you an impartation of power, let's put it that way. I do not dare to say, as some say that for you to receive the Holy Spirit in your baptism you have to speak in tongues. I believe that this doctrine does not necessarily respond to the complexity of the Bible nor does it respond to the experience that I have already seen so much in the world about it. I believe, yes, that when a person receives the Holy Spirit, they have the right to look for something that will be a manifestation through, either, tongues, because I believe that tongues are for all believers. It is also said that they prophesied when they received the Holy Spirit.

What is prophesying? Perhaps there was exalted worship. How many people are sometimes touched by the Holy Spirit and praise God? There may be tears, there may be a strong emotion that you feel, you may fall to the ground, touched by the power of God.

I personally believe that there are many ways to manifest the anointing of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Now, I would say another thing too, many times we pray for people to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and you know what? That many times psychology intervenes with the spirit. There are people who are private by nature, they don't like to express themselves much in public. Some sisters fall to the floor and immediately, phew, what are they looking at? They pick up their skirts or look for something… they are very aware around them of what is happening. Some men are excessively aware of their dignity and that the wife does not see him cry or praise the Lord. And many times this interferes with a person being able to manifest what is already within them.

And I encourage those people, you know what? Back in the privacy of your home, look for that release of the Holy Spirit in a time of worship, when you can be confused with everyone and no one notices, open your mouth and speak in tongues, exalt the Lord. If you feel tears coming to your eyes, let the tears flow, don't hold them back.

Look that way. Maybe it will be in your cell. Maybe it will be with two or three brothers close to you. I do believe that when a person is filled with the Holy Spirit there is a freedom to experience that presence, there are times of exaltation, there are times of liberation. I believe that a person baptized in the Holy Spirit is a joyful person, he is a person who feels emotion, feels the presence of God and I do encourage God's people to be expressive in their spirituality, raise their hands, kneel, cry, jump . The body is as holy in things of the spirit as the mind and spirit too.

What I am saying, brothers, is that there is a demonstration but due to different circumstances it does not have it at the moment in which hands are imposed. Now, I do tell you, look for that experience where you know you know it's been baptism with the Holy Ghost. There is time for then you go little by little. I think we speed things up, we want the whole world to speak in tongues at the very moment that we lay hands on them and they speak in tongues, or we trip them up and throw them to the ground, and force them to speak in tongues.

You know there are recordings out there that teach people how to speak in tongues, imagine what a scandal, right? because? Because we get into some traps and then we have to somehow get ahead. And sometimes we fabricate the baptism of the Holy Spirit, don't leave, you're going to have it here, you're going to speak, you're not leaving here today. And sometimes people at 4 in the morning because they want to go home to sleep, well, they open their mouths and say anything, forget it.

If you torture someone enough they will say whatever you want them to say. Forget it. That is, brothers, what I am saying, understand me well, I believe in tongues. I speak in tongues, I worship the Lord, sometimes in private because I'm more of a private person than anything else. And that is why I understand very well those little brothers who are not so expressive, but who are also filled with the Holy Spirit. I encourage you a vital, joyful, expressive spirituality. I encourage you to seek that experience of baptism of the Holy Spirit.

I received the baptism of the Holy Spirit, I only spoke in tongues and one day many years later, I have already said this, God gave me an experience that I know was like, okay, you have doubts, well, for you to fuck, take this. And I at that moment I knew that I knew that I knew that I had the baptism of the Holy Spirit in my life.

Continue, you will see many times that you leave filled with the Holy Spirit. It won't be just once. You must be filled with the Holy Spirit every morning. After you eat your cereal, be filled with the Holy Spirit as well. Be filled with the Holy Spirit, continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Fill up every day. that never ends. You emptied the bottle and again when you look it is full again. That's for every believer.

The disciples came and imparted hands, because they wanted these Samaritans to be filled with the Holy Spirit, they wanted them to be complete. Later on the Ephesians, the same thing happens, I think it's Acts, Chapter 19, Paul meets them and asks, were you baptized with the Holy Spirit when you believed? And we know what you eat that with, the baptism of the Holy Ghost. So, pray for them and they are baptized in the Holy Spirit.

That is, there is a second experience that we must seek, to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Being effusive, being expressive, feeling the presence of God. There's nothing wrong with that, brothers, you know? That did not hurt anyone, never feel the presence of God. Amen.

There is a lot of fabric to cut in this Chapter 8, perhaps next Sunday, if God gives us permission we will continue. But the important thing is that, victory in the midst of persecution. Your faith makes a difference. Say with me, my faith makes a difference. Hallelujah! That is God's but, our faith, that changes circumstances 180 degrees. Amen. Amen.

Our musicians, be there. Fill yourselves with the Holy Spirit, come this way. Let's worship the Lord. Glory to God. Amen. Amen. Stand up, brother, right now we are going to ask the Lord for an extra filling of faith in our lives. Ask the Lord right now to put your spiritual tank back to full.

Listen to me, every day I fall more and more in love with serving the Lord, you know? The Gospel is joy. The Gospel is not sadness. The Gospel is triumph in the midst of tribulations, brothers. The Gospel turns the wiles of the devil into victory. So, Father, we ask for a persistent people, Lord, we ask for a victorious people, we ask for a people that turns all the stones of the enemy into bread and food for their lives.

Father, we believe this afternoon, this day, that everything that happens in our lives will have a benevolent purpose because your thoughts for us are good and not bad, Lord. And we make a commitment, Father, to remain firm in what you have declared, even in the midst of the drought of life, even when we do not feel your presence, we will know that you are there, Lord. Even when we don't feel your goodness we will know that you are good, Lord.

Even when we do not see you, we will know that invisibly you have said, I am with you every day until the end of the world. And Father, we also believe that when the storm has passed, you will give us back everything that was stolen from us and you will give us your blessing. Father, I ask that this people be a people filled with the Holy Spirit, a complex and balanced people, Lord. We want your spirit, we want your spirit.

Brothers, tell the Lord now, baptize me with your spirit, Lord. Baptize me with your spirit, Lord. Fill me anew with your spirit. Fill me again with your spirit, Lord.

Tell the Holy Spirit to fill you up, refresh your spirit right now. When you are praying there in your house, the first thing you have to say, Holy Spirit, fill me. Holy Spirit baptize me, fill my mind, fill my heart, fill my being with your presence.

Father, more, we want more of you. We want more of you, we want more of your presence, Lord, in our lives. Glorify yourself in us, Father. We want a red-hot people, a red-hot people, Lord, a people burning with faith and love for you and your things, Father, a people radically committed to the Kingdom of God, Lord, a people that knows how to go to the waters and drink directly from the lake of pure water, Lord, from those rivers of living water, Lord, that you have said will flow in the lives of your children. Teach us to go directly to the waters, Father. We want a people that knows where to drink and eat the food that you have for them.

Thank my Lord. We thirst for you. We want to see your glory manifested, Lord, in our lives. we bless you Thank you, thank you for your presence, Lord, we give thanks for your presence in this place.

We thank you for your presence, Father. We thank you for your presence, Holy Spirit of God that never leaves us, Lord, is with us every step of the way. Be glorified. Be glorified. Thank you Jesus.

Thank you Lord Jesus, amen and amen. Glory to God.