From persecution to great joy / Acts Bible Study Chapter 8 (TV Audio #481)

'At that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apostles.... Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them.... And there was great joy in that city.' (Acts 8.1-8, KJV.)

The Acts of the Apostles, with its challenges and miracles, demonstrates to us the work of the Believing Church, to prepare for and bring about the Kingdom of God on earth by sharing the Good News – the Gospel – in Power. Deliverance from sin and miracles of healing were the tools Jesus used. These, and the power of prayer, supported by our faith in God’s infallibility, the Holy Spirit working in and through us, are the Mission of the Church and you as part of God’s Mission!

I was recently evangelising in Poland to Ukrainian refugees. In the Saturday evangelistic meeting, we had 100 orphan children aged 14-18, bussed in by their Christian carers; over 150 refugees repented, we saw miracles of healing – testimonies were given on the platform, and others were shared on the buses as they went home. The pastors and missionaries who took part in this event shared their powerful memories of my ministry in Ukraine, Crimea, Belarus and Russia. They told of miracles which I didn’t know: that after my meetings in Gomel, Belarus, in 1994, they opened 50 new churches; in Evpatoria, Crimea, among the many outstanding healings, they brought one man on crutches, unable to walk unaided – he threw away his crutches, gloriously healed, and walked 12 miles home! These men and women from my past are so on fire, they are already missionaries and, as a result of the war in Ukraine, are evangelising Europe! What I want to show you is this, from the terrible persecution and hardship caused by the war can come blessing: God is using the displacement of people for the furtherance of the Gospel, just as He did in Acts 8.