1. Ordinary People, Supernatural Results Pastor Jared Gustafson 11/15/2015

3. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Ordinary people with supernatural power preaching, praying, generously giving and suffering for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

4. Acts 7:54-60 When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.”

5. Acts 7:54-60 At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

6. Acts 7:54-60 While they were stoning him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.” Then he fell on his knees and cried out, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them.” When he had said this, he fell asleep.

7. Acts 8 And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.

8. Acts 8 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.

9. Acts 8 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 for a long time with his sorcery.

10. Acts 8 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. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw.

11. Acts 8 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.

12. Acts 8 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.”

13. Acts 8 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.”

14. Acts 8 Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” 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.

15. Acts 8 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”).

16. Acts 8 This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

17. Acts 8 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

18. Acts 8 “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”

19. Acts 8 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

20. Acts 8 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

22. God’s strategy for reaching His world: “…all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria…Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.”

23. God’s strategy for reaching His world: “…all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria…Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.” Ordinary people with supernatural power preaching, praying, generously giving and suffering for the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth.

25. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Jesus called ordinary men and women to be disciples The church began with 120 ordinary followers of Jesus The gospel spread beyond Jerusalem by ordinary people The greatest missionary sending church in history (Church in Antioch), was begun by ordinary people

26. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Why would we ever want to limit the work of God to a preacher and a few 'professional' people when every person who places faith in Jesus Christ has the power of the Spirit within him or her? The Spirit is in YOU so that YOU can live out and proclaim the radical good news of Jesus Christ!

28. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Is it any wonder that prayer is an absolute essential when it comes to evangelism?

29. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Is it any wonder that prayer is an absolute essential when it comes to evangelism? Is it any wonder that so many water down the gospel to make it more palatable to the world around us?

31. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Why has God entrusted us with so much wealth?

32. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Why has God entrusted us with so much wealth? Perhaps it is so that we can give that wealth away for the sake of the gospel and the glory of God.

34. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Scripture promises suffering for those who follow Jesus and live on mission for Him.

35. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Scripture promises suffering for those who follow Jesus and live on mission for Him. God showed his love to us through the sacrificial suffering of Jesus!

36. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Scripture promises suffering for those who follow Jesus and live on mission for Him. God showed his love to us through the sacrificial suffering of Jesus! How will He continue to show His love to the world? Through the sacrificial suffering of the followers of Jesus!

37. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Our suffering may be inevitable, but this mission is unstoppable! Satan’s strategies to stop the church and stop the gospel only cause the gospel to spread even further!

38. God’s strategy for reaching His world: Our suffering may be inevitable, but this mission is unstoppable! Satan’s strategies to stop the church and stop the gospel only cause the gospel to spread even further! Could there be ANYTHING more important in this life than testifying to the good news of God’s grace to those who are dying without Christ?