Live and Preach Christ — Erlo Stegen

The Scattered Church Preaches Christ

Oh God, I ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you would meet with many today. Amen. We find our text in the book of Acts. From chapter 8 and we read from verse 1. Our soul was consenting to his death, that is, of Stephen.

At that time, a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the Apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial and made great lamentation over him.

As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison. Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them, and the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip.

Growth, Persecution, and the Consequences of Our Decisions

The theme of this service is taken from this verse 4 where it says, those scattered went everywhere preaching the word. Let me repeat that again, the scattered ones went everywhere preaching the word.

Now it was in Jerusalem. The church was multiplying, there were 3 ,000 and then 5 ,000 and they continued to grow. The Lord was at work, his miracles were happening. But with the martyrdom of Stephen and his being stoned to death, with Saul being present, Saul was very glad about the killing of Stephen.

There were those who mocked, today there are theologians who mock and they say, well what does Paul know anyway, at that time he was still very young. Now we don't know how young he was, he might have been young but he had a high position.

In his particular position, he could have been 24 to 40 years of age when this incident took place. And it seemed that he had the mandate to do this. And so that hatred grew. This act of Saul's in being glad about the killing of Stephen became fashionable and this idea to persecute the Christians grew and grew.

He pursued the Christians even into their homes and arrested them and dragged them off to jail. You see that whatever decision you make is something which grows. If you decide for the Lord, it is a growing decision and it increases daily.

But if you decide for the devil, even if you're a preacher and you allow something of the devil in your life, that thing increases. It gains momentum and eventually you'll do something which even the pagans will frown upon.

But if you've decided for the Lord, it is something that grows and the momentum is evident and visible to all those around you. But if you don't grow, then I want to tell you, you are dead. D .E .A .D.

Uphile. Umundongakuli. Akubegelepambili. Uphile. No growth. Equals death. You are like a corpse. You are being consumed by maggots. While you walk around. Nomusahambu pil. Uphile. You are dead. Uphanelukutikulekame.

Umundongakulukulukamukule. Nomu nesie. Uyukulana. Uyukula. Uzoenzukweba. Uzoenzukweba. Uzoenzamashazo. Nigidewonkumshabagotwa. Ngensekakanchani. Ngensekakanchani. Ngani. Ngani. Usatanumu. If you're a child of the Lord, your growth is evident, is visible as you grow in the Lord.

However, if you decide for the devil in any area of your life, that thing increases and grows until even the pagans around you are astonished. Usaul. Wasmisela. Iizukutubeumundo umiselengukulukulu. Wavumela.

Umoyongasile. Etukonzukulukulu. Ngugumela nalaledu. Nakogubi. Abantumabemkonzusatani. Beluanefangeli. Batibaluelukulukulu. And Saul, he was zealous for God, so-called, but it was with a false zeal. It was deception in Saul's life.

False Zeal and the Need for Repentance

And this hatred against the believers was something which grew and increased. And the heartbreaking thing is this, that they thought they were serving God. Oguisimanga. They were fighting for God. Bebeti.

Bamluelaunkulunkulu. Bamsegelayena. Very sincere. Gubesengati. Wasmisela. But sincerely wrong. Gotwa. Baseputen. I don't know if there are people like that here. Zealous. They're full of zeal for some cause, but it's not of the Lord.

They need to repent of that. They need to return to the Lord. The Word of God says here that a great persecution arose in Jerusalem. It was an enormous persecution. Babaleka gesekundan. And the Christians left their homes and furniture and had to flee because of this persecution.

Only the apostles, kept by the power of God, were able to remain in Jerusalem. And it says, many scattered in the direction of Judea. Some towards Samaria. But what is wonderful, and that is the theme of this message, is that every one of them, wherever they were scattered to, propagated the Gospel.

Persecution Cannot Defeat the Gospel

So Satan, even though he is Satan, he is like a cat which doesn't die. For from the beginning he should have admitted his failure. For Satan has been in the business of attacking and persecuting for a long time and he has failed.

Someone said, they quote Winston Churchill's words, never give up, never give up, it can be a good thing, but an evil thing because if you are on the wrong track you won't give up. If you are on the right track, never give up.

Be faithful right to the end. When the Boers Bitterteeth was killed the men wanted to flee but the women said no, we can't. Well, a worldly person would say cheers for the women. But the devil has got one evil thing that he doesn't give up.

He should give up and bow to God but he doesn't. The devil has got one evil thing that he doesn't give up. He should give up and bow to God but he doesn't. Where is Stefan and his wife and their children?

God doesn't exist. God doesn't exist and he doesn't give up. Saul just continued growing in his persecution and hatred of the brethren but at the same time what happened was the scattered Christians just caused the growth of the church.

Remember in Acts chapter 1 Jesus said to his disciples remain here till you receive power from on high then you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria to the uttermost parts of the earth. They received the Holy Spirit and they propagated the gospel in Jerusalem and they and here was Satan trying to destroy this work, trying to utterly rout this ministry.

But the true gospel can never be defeated. It can never be squashed. I remember Reverend Nicholas Bengu saying, this man of God saying, I heard him with my own ears saying that even if you do come to kill me, so what?

God will raise up many more Bengus from my from the dead. As it has been said the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church. As it has been said the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church.

As it has been said if you take a Christian and jail him or even kill him you're actually defeating your own aims to destroy the gospel because that will only enhance the gospel and it will go forth more powerfully than before.

And so Satan here in fighting against the church achieved the exact opposite. In fact, he achieved the fulfillment of the Lord's command that the disciples should go out and preach in Judea and Samaria.

So if you feel that Satan is attacking you in some way and it seems like he is absolutely destroying you and what the Lord is doing in your life just understand that the Lord will bring about good and what is fitting in his sight.

So even if Satan intended to spoil things even in heaven but by this act of persecuting the church in Jerusalem he was actually spreading the gospel to Judea, Samaria and other areas. It was difficult in Jerusalem because of the persecution with Stephen having been martyred and it says that the devout men buried him.

Stephen's Burial and the Atmosphere in Jerusalem

Now here you'll find there are various translations and various versions of the Bible in the Zulu Bible it says believing men buried Stephen devout in English in this particular version it says devout men so good and upright godly men went and buried Stephen devout and pious Jews buried him so as some translations indicate that they were believing men of the church and some expositors some commentators and expositors say so but but there are some commentators who point out that these were devout men Jewish men who were becoming favorable towards the faith like with the burial of the Lord Jesus he wasn't buried by the disciples instead rather by believing Jews like Joseph and history tells us that if a person was stoned to death because of the decision of the Sanhedrin the council of the priests or was put to death by them or was decapitated or whatever way the capital punishment was carried out if it was by the decision of the Sanhedrin you were not allowed to display public grief.

You were not allowed to display public grief. It was forbidden. You could mourn in secret. And so some commentators say that they couldn't. That is the church couldn't take Stephen from the rubble of the stones and go and bury him.

But there were some there were some Jews who were secret disciples who were sympathetic regarding Stephen and they came like Joseph of Arimathea and took the corpse. And the Greek indicates that they didn't just go and dump him in a grave but a proper burial ceremony was performed.

They took his body, buried him in the proper way and there was great lamentation over him. Or one could say they picked up everything. It could be that as happens with a person who is stoned to death that they are broken and in pieces.

Even it may be that brains are spilled on the stones the skull breaks into pieces. Pants pants. Some of you remember when we visited the crash site of Samora Machel where his plane went down we found bits of bone and bits of skull lying around, dogs were busy eating these white bones.

Now when it comes to stoning the person's body might be broken the head, the skull broken in pieces. And in the Greek as if they put all the pieces together. And these Jewish believing men made great lamentation over him.

They grieved. Well let it be as it is. You may say he was buried by the Christians. The others say no they were pious Jews that did that the Christians had no right to go and bury that corpse and pick up those pieces.

And when they found those pieces in the ground in the ground in the ground in Jerusalem. Nevertheless it indicates whatever interpretation it indicates the terrible atmosphere that there was in Jerusalem.

This is the law this is the truth. This is the truth. This is the truth. Hell was let loose. It was as if though there was this determination to completely extinguish every trace of the church on earth.

But no for our hero the one who was raised up the one who ascended into heaven of whom the Bible says God has highly exalted him our Lord Jesus he sovereignly controls the whole earth sitting there in heaven God.

And as we've heard from John and Michael of some of the difficult circumstances the darkness we never need to be perturbed by the darkness. Instead it makes the light to shine brighter. Even as I came into the service today I began to feel like I should be out there preaching the gospel.

God actually makes it easier when he allows darkness to have its way. And there's such oppression the Lord makes it easier for his gospel to go forth. And so the Christians who are scattered in every direction.

But I don't think that they were grieving about the loss of their cupboards and their tables and chairs and their beds. No a true Christian is one who can rejoice when he suffers loss when he is persecuted because he knows of the eternal reward.

If you lose your house your furniture everything you've got and you've got to flee. Oh then you can have pity for yourself full of self pity sorry for yourself. Thank God and praise him that he's broken the neck of all your idols.

You're not serving God. You're serving your home your furniture your car your home your furniture may be your idol. But by this they were all scattered in every direction. And in fact the words of the Lord Jesus when he commanded go ye therefore into Judea and Samaria was being fulfilled was a blessing in disguise.

The Gospel Crosses Ethnic and Religious Boundaries

You moan and you groan. Oh it's so difficult. You're in the wrong crawl. Go to the world go to those that serve the devil. That's where you belong but not a Christian. And so God organized that they should be scattered.

They weren't made to stay put in one place but that they were to go forth all over. And so when they got to Judea and Samaria they didn't pity themselves about their loss. Instead they spread the word right there about the Lord Jesus.

Michael gave me an article about a lady who was a cabinet minister in the department of justice in Germany who had been invited to that same meeting. She is no longer a cabinet minister. She has lost her position because she made the statement that President Bush can be equated with Hitler and is the same as Hitler.

And so she was expelled from that position. And so she was invited to come and speak on the first part of Ephesians chapter 1. And she said well ladies and gentlemen as I look at this text I don't know what it means.

I don't really understand anything of it. Probably God wants us to hear pious and poetical phrases that we don't understand the content of it. Just that we've got nice clinging words. Now, nice clinging words you must forgive me.

I didn't know that I mentioned it. I would have brought it along. I can't put it as beautiful as she did. And the last part of that portion said I don't know what it says. But I understand what she said.

But I understand what she said. And so the last part of the text says. And through whom we were cleansed and washed by his blood our sins forgiven. And she said of that. I don't know what it means. I can't understand that God must just be giving us nice words that would sound and good and have a good resonance.

So it shows that she doesn't know what forgiveness is all about. Paul must have written that just to write nice ringing words that have got no meaning. It just shows us that heaven and earth wants to bless you whether you are good or bad.

What to mama go to Paul. When I read that article I felt like writing a letter to her to explain something of the wonder and of the truth of this text. And to show her that these words from the Bible are not just nice ringing words that sound good but they have content they have real meaning.

Samaria, Division, and the Universal Call of the Gospel

Now back to our text where the Christians were scattered in every direction and strict Judaism was they were. It was putting down its foot insisting on its way. If you look at Jerusalem and where it's placed on the map where I'm showing towards the Judea is Judea below it to the north of Jerusalem is Samaria further north Galilee.

For Israel had been split into three portions by them. That was in 722 BC the king of Assyria had attacked Samaria it was still full of Jews at the time all the prominent and wealthy Jews and just the poor ones remained.

And then he went and took different pagan nations and planted them to occupy the land there in Samaria. And so through history that area became a mixed race because they began to intermingle and intermarry with each other.

And with the passing of time the hatred between the Samaritans and the Jews grew ever tenser because the Jews looked down upon these low-cost Jews in Samaria. You see apartheid is not something that just happened recently and it's even older than the Afrikaners.

In fact we were a recent historical meeting in a shall we were one of the royal family pointed out that apartheid was introduced by the English in South Africa long before the Afrikaners. You see it was even older from of ancient times even when our Lord was on earth.

But Jesus even though there was this tension and hatred between these races Jesus went to the Samaritans and he also commanded his disciples. He said you go to Samaria those who are your enemies as Jews you go to them.

That's the marvelous thing about the gospel that in Christ there is no Jew or Samaritan there's no colored or Indian. But the Lord says that we should go to everyone even those who are the proclaimed enemies of your people.

But you are to go to them too. But you are not called to be exclusivist to defend your people and your nation. No the Lord says all people are your people. You are to go to all people. If you are discriminatory and say no I'm just wanting to protect and defend or fight politically for my people.

Then you still need to meet with Jesus you need to repent. And so these people found themselves in the midst of the Samaritans. You might be complaining and say oh look at what has happened to me woe to me.

And now I'm thrown in the midst of these people. No God is using even Satan to fulfill his own will. You might say I'm badly treated I'm not given I'm not welcomed. Well let God open your eyes. What does he say about that.

And he's using that because you're so blind. Maybe you've forgotten already what he told you before. Then you're just busy with this. When it dies you are sorry and you forget what he told you what he knew who was who caught Leland.

So here the Christians found themselves in the midst of a nation where there was tension between themselves in that nation but they were absolutely free because they could witness about Christ. If you receive Jesus you will want everyone to get to know him.

I can't believe that Jesus can live can live in your heart without telling others about him. Excuse me me now I'm in a call to go to Jesu Salah and his when yako Gandhi I got food nougat uber jaylabanya nah yeah I feel like telling you you're a liar you've got the wrong Jesus not the right one goobe saying I think in your gelaguti when our naio jesu gobo who no moony a bond on a sand dulo la chagas a car Abba foodie but silent Jerusalem ah god I loan a low a banda or mushom Tala or sleaze or a spas on a hoop a fuck us on what is it who beat up and so except for those Apostles who remained, everyone was scattered and they all spoke about Jesus.

Every Believer Must Manifest Christ

They propagated the gospel wherever they went. And history confirms it. Both those who are sympathetic to the faith and historians who are anti-christian confirm the truth of this. For instance Justin Martyr, who was one of the great men of God of that first church, he writes about how he was walking on the sand along the beach and a Christian came alongside him and spoke about Jesus and led him to the Lord.

Great men of God were won by simple Christians who couldn't keep quiet. And if you can keep quiet, the Jesus you've got is a dead Jesus. He writes that every Christian, in whatever career he was following, or whatever work he was doing, put it very nicely.

He said, both those, these two things go together. If you find out God, if you find God, you can't but manifest him after you've found him. He says, every Christian both finds out God and manifests him.

And you say you've found God and you don't manifest him. Today's your day where you should get converted and get right and find God and meet with him. And then you can't but manifest him. If you manifest something else, go for counseling and just don't play church.

Get down to business. You're a bad man if you confess that you're a Christian and you don't manifest God. To high and low, poor or rich, working or not working, you're a bad man. And so Tertullian said, you both find him and show him.

But what is the Jesus? Who is the Jesus whom you've found that you cannot show Christ and yet you're blind to it. It's the blind leading the blind if you're following something else. If you do not show by having found God and manifest God, then it shows that the world is in you.

You're like a whore of the world. Even if you don't do it outwardly, there's this whoredom inside you. You're immoral inside you. You need the Lord to come in and to get that out. May God show you your emptiness.

Someone said you're an empty headed man. But you're not only an empty headed man, you're an empty hearted man. A certain man known as Celsus mocked the Christians. And he said that everybody, Celsus scoffingly remarked that whether they're fullers, those who wash or soak, or workers in leather, or workers in wool and crochets and that, or rustic rural people, and by the way, there is this scoffing of the urban folk, scoffing the rural people.

By the way, the rural people know many more things than those in the cities. But anyway, this man, Celsus, said even the rustic people who are rural and ignorant persons, they were the most zealous propagators of Christianity.

And he said women would also bring this gospel immediately to their children and lead them to Christ. Women and slaves introduced it into their circles, slaves to slaves, and also to their owners, to their own circles, they spread the gospel.

This man who hated Christianity and went against it, he says every Christian would tell his neighbor about Christ. Every laborer, his fellow laborer. The slaves to his fellow slaves. He's a killer. He's a killer.

He's a killer. And slaves telling their fellow slaves, not like those who will arrange instead a boycott, or will arrange a demonstration and try and arouse the rebel and get a fighting spirit. No, that belongs to hell.

Here they share Christ with each other. And with their masters and their mistresses, telling them about Jesus. So wherever a person was, that's what he did. Now we haven't yet been persecuted. There are just lies spoken about, lies spread abroad and also by Christians.

Things being written. But we haven't yet gone to jail or been stoned. But, but. But, but. But wherever you go, you should still be bringing Christ to the people around you. There are those who go to school here.

And when you follow your career, or maybe start some work somewhere, whatever it is, are you busy spreading the gospel? If you're not, don't tell me about your Christianity. That's just dirt that you have.

And don't say to me you're spreading the gospel if you just talk and talk and talk. Empty talk, without fruit, is worth nothing. That's why I say to you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, repent, turn away from this old life, otherwise you're headed for hell.

Repentance, Holiness, and Authentic Christian Witness

Everyone. Wherever you're scattered to. Hell again. Hell again. If that's not your life, then you're just playing around. You're a comic. You're in a circus. Or like little children acting. Acting like little children who maybe one acts as a preacher and the other sits and listens as a congregation.

Well, they are better off than you, who you find yourself an old Christian, but there's none of that zeal to spread the gospel of our Lord. So did you become traditional? That you're a Christian? You've accepted Christ?

But you still lie. You're still sexually abusive. But you still lie. You're still sexually immoral. And you're not converted. You haven't really repented. Now listen, and you need to know this truth. Don't one day say, well, I was never told the truth.

Earl O'Stegan, he just lied. He didn't say what it was all about. But when I met with Jesus, I put that aside. I took the Bible and I began to go into homes, into these huts where there was smoke and it was very poor and I'd sit on the ground and share the gospel with these people.

I had no time for sports anymore. I would go to the round huts, into the mountains and valleys and tell them about Jesus. And you go to rugby matches, you go to cricket matches, you go to sports field and you've never gone out into a hut and sat down and told them about Jesus.

What a hypocrite and Pharisee you are. Don't call yourself a Christian. I won't accept it. Never. They asked John, what is a heathen? Now you know what a heathen is. Maybe you're the biggest one. I told John, what is a heathen?

Now you know what a heathen is. Maybe you're the biggest one. I heard of DSS at a prayer meeting, only 20 or 30 come to the choir. Well, then it's a pagan school and teachers take note of this as well.

These are unconverted children. I told John, what is a heathen? Now you know what a heathen is. Maybe you're the biggest one. Well, then it's a pagan school and teachers take note of this as well. These are unconverted children.

I told John, what is a heathen? Now you know what a heathen is. Maybe you're the biggest one. Well, then it's a pagan school and teachers take note of this as well. These are unconverted children. You English speaking people, have you heard?

What are you going to do about it? Stop being a geese or a duck. Dive into the water, come out on the other side of the river and you're still dry. You speak African languages or other nations, wherever you might be, wherever you're from.

I don't want to stand before God and be found guilty of not telling the truth as it is. And you dear visitors, whom I honor, let's face the truth squarely. We are not to play around. Let us pray. Let's stand to our feet and pray.

A Prayer for Genuine Conversion

Lord, by your Holy Spirit, please reach the depths of our hearts. That it will be the end of having many people and yet most not having met the Lord. But grant Lord that each one who calls himself a Christian would be a true Christian.

Amen.