Then Jesus came to them and said, “All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world. Baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:18-19 ICB
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Acts 1:18 NLT
And all nations will hate you because you are my followers. But everyone who endures to the end will be saved. When you are persecuted in one town, flee to the next.
Matthew 10:22 NLT
A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.
Acts 8:1b NLT
1. MY PURPOSE, NOT WHERE I AM DETERMINES WHAT I DO.
Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.
Acts 8:4 NIV
You, beloved, are the salt of the earth…. And you, beloved, are the light of the world.
Matthew 5:13a,14a VOICE
2. MY PURPOSE, NOT WHO I LIKE DETERMINES WHO I TEACH.
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.
Acts 8:6 NIV
The Samaritan woman, taken aback, asked, “How come you, a Jew, are asking me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” (Jews in those days wouldn’t be caught dead talking to Samaritans.)
John 4:9 Message
Then a Levite who was on his way to assist in the temple also came and saw the victim lying there, and he too kept his distance. hen a despised Samaritan journeyed by. When he saw the fellow, he felt compassion for him.
Luke 10:32, 33 VOICE
Jesus … said, “All power in heaven and on earth is given to me. So go and make followers of all people in the world.
Matthew 28:18b-19a ICB
3. MY PURPOSE, NOT THE CULTURE DETERMINES WHAT I PREACH.
• This is true as I communicate with unbelievers.
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, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them…. 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. Simon himself believed and was baptized.
Acts 8:9-13a NIV
• This is true as I communicate with believers.
When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.”
Acts 8:14-23 NIV
4. HOW I EXECUTE MY PURPOSE MAY DETERMINE IF OTHERS DO.
After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages.
Acts 8:25 NIV