Pastor Mac v.2 "Wounded with a Word! Acts 8:1-8

words of encouragement and inspiration

"A Few Minutes with Pastor Mac"
                       www.bdubjr.com

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:18

What about you? What about you?

SPEAKER_01 0:40

Oh god, let's do this one. Let's fucking walk. If you can't make service, we have to give the fucking house. Thanksgiving. And um, if you can't make it to service, so don't forget about that. We always want to make sure we give opportunity to uh sources into us ministry. And if you can't make it again, our website as well, uh give website and on our app uh Gibbilify. Good morning, glad to have you again tuning in with a few minutes with Pastor Mac Podcast broadcast. We're here on this full Sunday, Pentecost Sunday, 50 days after Jesus' uh resurrection, ultimately his ascension's Pentecost. We celebrate the Holy Spirit falling in Acts 2 in Jerusalem and Upper Room. We've been in the Acts uh this whole year, and uh just gonna make sure we intertwine the Holy Spirit always goes into what we say today because it's ever present and it was always present. Uh they're present with them during that time uh celebration and ultimately today last Sunday of Steve and the scattering of the church uh here in chapter eight, caused by none other than Saul, who would later become, of course, Paul. But today, Acts 8, 1 through 8 is our verse. Whatever advice you have that you follow along. Saul wholeheartedly approved that Stephen's death, and on that day a great and relentless persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and the believers were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except for the apostles. Some devout men buried Stephen and mourned greatly over him, expressing a personal sense of loss. Saul began ravaging the church and assaulting believers, entering house after house and dragging off men and women, putting them in prison. Now those believers who had been scattered went from place to place, preaching the word and the good news of salvation to Christ. Philip the evangelist went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ, the Messiah of the anointed, to them. The crowds gathered and were paying close attention to everyone or everything Philip said. And as they heard the message and saw the miraculous signs which he was doing, validating his message, for unclean spirits, demons, shouting loudly, were coming out of many who were possessed, and many who had been paralyzed and lame were healed. So though so there was great rejoicing in that city. The word of God for the people of God for the edifying of God. Let's pray, O God, we thank you for another word. Opportunity for your word for you. We ask you to bless your word. Bless the giver of the word, Lord. Uh free my mind, my spirit. Something be said to be a blessing of someone under the sound of my voice, Lord. Break chains and yokes. Do what only you can do, Lord. Set free, deliver, make new. We love you, Lord. We thank you. We ask you to bless us in everything that we do. That's for the kingdom. You know, sometimes things are blocked because it's not your will. But we ask him, Lord, your will be done. And everything that we do in this life, your will be done. Your name be lifted, your name be magnified. As only it can be magnified. We love you, oh God. We thank you, we praise your name. The words of our mouth and meditation of my heart be accepted in that sight. Oh my Savior, my redeemer. In Jesus Christ's name, we pray it all. Amen. Acts eight. That's where we are next week. Acts eight. Um eleven through my notes back. Eleven through seventeen. Next Sunday. Eleven through seventeen. Today eight one through eight. That's what tag is this morning. A few minutes we passed a match podcast. Wounded with a word. Wounded with a word. Um Acts eight is what happens when the fire of Acts two starts spreading up beyond the upper room. Um on Pentecost, the Holy Spirit fell in Jerusalem, but by Acts eight, the Spirit filled the church as being pushed beyond Jerusalem. That means Pentecost was never just about a moment in a room. It was about a movement in the world. The wind blew in Acts 2, the fire fell. In Acts 2, the church was filled in Acts 2. But by Acts 8, the church is being scattered with that same fire still burning in them. They were wounded, but the Spirit had not left them. They were scattered, but the Spirit still empowered them. They were grieving due to Stephen, but the Spirit still gave them a word. That is the Pentecost shout right there. The Holy Spirit does not just empower us for church service, he empowers us for witness in wounded seasons. And I know somebody on the side of my voice can testify, identify for keeping on, keeping on, faking it while you're making it. In your wounded seasons, still being a witness for the Lord. It may get trippy sometimes, it may get rough, it's tough, but we got to keep on going on. In our wounded seasons for the Lord, well, one, the wound was real. Uh tells us that uh well it begins with Saul uh wholeheartedly approves and he helped to uh propagate the death of Stephen. He sat there and stood there and clapped and provoked and pushed along the agenda of murdering uh Stephen, brother Saul. They go on and describe verse 2 that Stephen was a good man, a just man. Says in 6.5 he was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit. Acts 7 says he was full of the Holy Spirit when he saw the glory of God until your last Sunday, Jesus standing at the right hand of God. So Acts 8 opens after the death of a spirit-filled witness. That matters because Pentecost does not make us immune to pain. Don't forget that. Pentecost gives us power to remain faithful in the pain. The Holy Spirit did not keep Stephen from being stoned, but the Spirit kept Stephen faithful while stones were fire. The spirit gave him vision when violence surrounded him. The spirit gave him grace when hatred was loud. The spirit gave him power. Gave him pride when enemies were killing him. And that's the word for Pentecostal. The evidence of the spirit is not just tongues in the sanctuary. Sometimes the evidence of the spirit is endurance under pressure. The wound was real, but the spirit was real. Two, the grief was real, but the comfort was real. Two, the pressure was real, but the power was real. Two, the attack was real, but the advocate was real. Two, Jesus said in John 14, 16 that the Father would give another helper to be with us. Then in John's chapter 1 and Acts chapter 1, he said, You will receive how you're telling them you're gonna receive power. When the Holy Ghost come upon you. So even when the church was wounded, they were not powerless. That's a testimony for some of you all out on the sound of my voice now. You're wounded, but you're not powerless. So we gotta quit acting like we've been taken out. Go to Genesis 50, Joseph said, You meant it for my evil, but God uh meant it for my good. Acts 2 said the cross looked like defeat, but God made it salvation. Paul let us later says in his imprisonment, he advanced the gospel in Philippians 1 12 and in 2 Corinthians 4 8, the church is afflicted, but not crushed. The wound was real, my brothers and sisters, but Pentecost reminds us that the wound does not empty us of power. Because when the spirit fills you, pain may shake you, but it cannot silence you. Number two is the witness remain. And verse 4 through 5. Now these believers who had been scattered went from place went from place to place preaching the word. Still going. Philip went down to the city of Samaria, began proclaiming Jesus Christ the Messiah. So Acts Acts 4 says, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word, still wounded from the death of Brother Stephen and the persecution of the church, but in the word. But do not forget what became what came before Acts 8. Acts 1, Jesus promised the Spirit. Two, they filled the Pentecost. 4. The church prayed, they were filled and continued to speak the word. So by the time we get to Acts 8, these are just not scattered, believers. These are spirit-empowered witnesses. They did not preach because they were naturally bold. They preached because the Holy Spirit made them bold. They did not keep speaking because they were untouched by pain. They kept speaking because the Spirit gave them power in the pain. The same spirit who filled them in Jerusalem is still with them, is still kicking with them and rocking with them in Samaria. The Spirit was not confined to the upper room. The spirit was not trapped in the temple. The spirit was not limited to one location. The spirit went with the scattered saints. That's why I got a problem with folk talking about they looking so down and desolate. The spirit is with us. That's why Pentecost matters. The Holy Spirit turns wounded believers into bold witnesses. And if you're not being a witness, shame on you. Because he's been too good for us to be quiet. He's empowered us for too much. We got too much access, too much available to us to sit back and just kick back and let pressure and and problems and situations turn us down. Yeah, but the Holy Spirit is my bold presenter. He he's my giver of I can rock with him. He rocks with me. Yeah, and witness uh remain because the spirit remains. When the spirit-filled people preach a Christ-centered word, wounded places become joyful places. It shouldn't take much for us to be uh in that mindset that where we see God has worked and his hand is there, it shouldn't take us a lot to get to praise him because of what he's done. Sometimes you got to get to can't help it. I can't help but think when you walk through the house and you you look and say, God has blessed me, he kept me. Some of us laid down last night. Uh, you've been taking your scripts, your prescription pills, but some folk didn't rise this morning. But here you are, you rose again to see another sunshine, and you ought to give God some glory. You ought to be joyful in your place. You can be wounded, but you ought to be joyful because God is still in control ultimately, and the Holy Spirit ain't going nowhere. He's still there for us to access, he's still our comforter, he's our paracletos, he's an advocate, he does what we need done for us. Somebody ought to talk back to me. He joyful, he's wounded places become joyful places, no matter what your situation is, no matter what it looks like, no matter how you feel, like he's been yeah, just that good. Well, first the wound was real, second, the witness remained. Third, the word released joy. I told you that the wounded places become wounded places. Uh joyful, but the wounded places become joyful places. The word released joy. Six and eight, the crowds gathered and were paying close attention to everything Phillips Phillips said. They heard the message, saw the miraculous sign he was doing. Unclean spirits were coming out. That last verse there, eight says, So there was great rejoicing in that city. Well, I'm almost done. I'm done. Uh the Bible says when Philip preached Christ in Samaria, demons came out, bodies were healed, joy filled the city. And that's not human talent, that is the Holy Spirit Spirit power being witness, bearing witness to the risen Christ. And Philip was one of the seven chosen in Acts 6. And Acts 6 3 says they were to be men of good repute, full of the Spirit. And of course, see, the problem is we got some folk, yeah, they say, but they're not full of the Spirit. Because if you're full of the Spirit, you won't do some things. Yeah, talk back to me. Come on. You won't do some things because the Spirit's gonna give you some unction to say, don't do that. You're going against what the word of God is saying. So Philip was just not gifted, he was spirit-filled, and we got to be spirit-filled. Each and every day we wake up, we got to ask the Lord to fill me because yesterday may not make it today. When the spirit-filled witness preached a crucified and risen Christ, Samaria could not stay the same. Oh, my brothers and sisters, the Holy Spirit always glorifies Christ. Always glorifies Jesus. Jesus said in John 14, uh, 16, 14, excuse me, he will glorify me. That's why I gotta believe that if it's not glorifying Jesus, uh, you might not need to be doing it. It might be something you need to stay out of. That's the problem with some of these false prophets, these heretics, these apostates now, these apostates, they they doing some things, bringing them shine. Look at me. Trying to pull somebody else. Uh uh, if it's not glorifying Jesus, then it's wrong. Philip, the Bible says Philip preached Christ the Spirit confirmed the message. The spirit does not draw attention away from Jesus. That's how you know it's of the Spirit. The Spirit shines the light on Jesus, and the Spirit empowers the witness of Jesus, the Spirit applies the victory of Jesus. That is why the demons came out. Yeah, it wasn't because of somebody did some hocus poker. That is why the sick were healed. Wasn't no medicine or no embalming, no oil that they put on their head and something. No, it was the Holy Ghost, the power. That is why joy broke out. And you just ain't gonna have joy while you're wounded. It's got to be that the Holy Ghost changes my whole thinking of what's going on in my life. Because the Spirit was bearing witness that Jesus first is alive, second, Jesus is what? A Lord, he's Lord, and Jesus does what he still delivers. Well, I'm almost done this morning. So on this Pentecost Sunday, Acts 8 tells us that the fire did not go out when the church got scattered. The fire spread, the fire got bigger. And Stephen looked up and saw Jesus standing last week, verse 7 standing there. Uh that's what we still can see. When we want to be out amongst the people, we need to be a witness for the Lord. They were scattered, but they were still sent, they were hurting, but they were still holy. They were pushed out, but they were still powered up. And they were under attack, but the gospel was still on the sign. I came to tell you, this one just dropped this in. Don't you think trouble means God is finished? Sometimes God will use pressure to push into purpose, He will use rejection to redirect you, He will use what broke your heart to open the door. God will let you be scattered because somebody in Samaria needs the savior you carry. Oh, Stephen died, but the word saw raised, but the church moved, and Jerusalem cried, but Samaria rejoiced. And that sounds like Jesus to me. They wounded him on Friday, but he got up on Sunday. They buried him in a tomb, but he walked out with all power. They tried to stop the body, but they couldn't stop the word. And that's good for somebody this morning. Wounded in the word is what's gonna carry us through all of what is ailing us. Say that again, preach pastor Mac. Uh the word is what's gonna carry us. Whether you're wounded or sad, you're depressed, or you're in one of them down stops in your life. You you still need the word of God. Because the word of God can bring you out. Because the word is the love letter that God sent his son, Jesus Christ, to die for the sins of men. I told you one Friday they marched him up Calvary's heel and nailed him to an old rugged cross, and he died on that old rugged cross. Didn't he die? Died to the sun, noticed the sun on the cross that I can't shine, I'll shine him. So the sun drifted away and the moon dripped away in blood and stars fell from the sky. I can't do what he does because he is the very son of God. He died on that old rugged cross. Blood was streamin' and they pierced him in his side, so water started streamin' and he died for you and I died till the soldiers said surely surely it must be the Son of God and that's not the end of the story. Took him off the cross, put him in a morrow tomb, but three days later Sunday morning he rose from the grave with all the power in his hand power to do whatever I can in the name of the Lord and who let comin' beside me to help is the Holy Ghost. So I need that Holy Ghost power to do what I do for the kingdom to still love my haters to do anything but fail money does that's what he do He keeps on working even when I'm wounded even when I don't see my way out He's a mighty good God Won't he do it Won't he do it He keeps on making away Won't he And I'm so glad they hung him on that cross 'cause I couldn't have done it But they messed up and they lifted him up 'cause he said if I and I am lifted up from the earth So look, he keeps on drawing. The Holy Ghost keeps on drawing. Keeps on drawing to Jesus the Christ. If it's not glorifying him, something is wrong with it. He got to keep on glorifying the Savior and all he's done for me. See yes. That's all he wants. Invitation is extended now. If you don't know Jesus and the pardon of your sins, if you would like to get to know him better and get saved, allow him to come into your life. Simply say this prayer. Jesus, I need you in my life. I believe you died and rose again on the third day. I trust you to control my life and to enhance my future. If you said that prayer, uh it's as simple as ABC. Accept, believe, and commit. If you did that, we would love to hear from you. You may contact us through our email, get praise on at house of praisepp.org. Or you may go simply to our website, www.house of praisepp.org. Contact us, and someone from our discipleship team will get back with you with other information you need in order to begin this new life in Christ. We love you to life. We look forward to hearing from you. Thank you again for listening to our podcast. We hope something was said and be a blessing for you and be a blessing for you this week. We know that we are still in the hands of God, and we will trust Him to keep and deliver us. Bless you. God bless you. County Line, we love you to life, and you can't do anything about it. Look forward to next week. The Lord says the same. We hope that you are praying and reading the word and staying true and standing on the promises of the Lord. God bless you. And we'll see you next week. Pastor Mac.

SPEAKER_00 24:16

I need to hear you.