ACTS 8

Have you read something in the Bible and thought to yourself that it makes absolutely no sense? That's a little bit like how I feel about the first four verses of this chapter; It's easy to miss if you read too quickly, but it's right in the text.

Here's what happens:

• Persecution breaks out
• People are pulled from their homes for preaching the gospel
• People are thrown in prison just for being Christian
• The believers flee Jerusalem

That all makes sense.  If people were threatening me, I would flee.  
Then, we get to verse 4:

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

While on the run for their lives for preaching the gospel, the believers are preaching the gospel.  The common man's definition of insanity is "Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result." By that definition, what they're doing seems a bit insane!

If their goal is comfort and security, they're acting insane!

What if their goal isn't comfort and security?  What if they're motivated by a desire to proclaim the name of Jesus? What if their goal is to share the gospel with as many people as is possible? If that's the case, suddenly their behavior isn't strange or insane at all.

Comfort & Security

If you stop and think about the reasons that we don't share our faith, doesn't it usually come down to not wanting to lose comfort or security?  If you get beneath the surface of our excuses, we fear losing comfort or security.

• I don't want to damage a relationship
• I don't want to put my job in jeopardy
• I don't want to be rejected
• I don't want someone to make fun of me
• I don't want to make things awkward

Behind each of these, there is a sense in which we lose comfort or security.  Right now, we live in possibly the most comfortable and secure society in human history.  Perhaps we've made comfort and security our idols.  We so value comfort and security that we're afraid to lose them.  

In Acts 8, the believers were literally on the run for their lives.  They literally had been kicked out of their homes.  Their friends were literally being thrown into prison.  Some of them were likely friends with Stephen, who was killed.  But that didn't slow them down for one minute; It simply caused them to preach the gospel in a different place.

We might lose a friendship. We might be rejected.  We might make things awkward.  So, we become timid.

Crazy, Radical Faith

You may be familiar with a pair of books titled Crazy Love, by Francis Chan, and Radical, by David Platt. Each of these books challenges believers to live out their faith in fairly extreme ways.  Obviously, one book calls this behavior "crazy," and the other calls it "radical."

But, if you compare what these books call "crazy" and "radical" to what we see in the book of Acts, a better adjective would be "normal!"  If you look at the normal Christian life in the book of Acts, it looks crazy, radical, and insane to us today.  

But, what is the result of this radical faith?  What happens when believers live out their faith without concern for their comfort and security?

The Impact

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. 

Because of the way believers were living, an entire city was changed and filled with joy.  That is incredible.

What would happen if we chose to live out this type of faith?  What if we chose to boldly live out our calling without concern for our comfort and security?  

What sort of impact could we have here in Hutto?

Prayer

Lord, help us to find our comfort and security in You, and not in this world.  Let us follow the example of the earliest believers. You are the greatest treasure. Help us to pursue and share You with others.

Amen

 SEAN CHANDLER  |  Associate Pastor 

 Sean has been a part of the association of Hill Country Bible Churches for over twenty years. He received Christ as a youth while attending Hill Country Bible Church Austin. He attended Hill Country Bible Church NW from 1989 to 2002. At that time he began attending HCBC Pflugerville. He served as a student ministry intern there for two years. In 2008, Sean graduated from Columbia International University with a double major in Bible and Bible teaching. Sean married his wife, Jennifer, in 2006. Their first child, Liam, was born in 2012.

He blogs regularly at seanchandler.net.