WHAT THE GOSPEL OF JESUS CHRIST CAN DO

By Donnie Swaggart 

Acts 8:5-8

“Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them. And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spoke, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many who were possessed with them:  and many taken with palsies, and who were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.

 The true Gospel of Jesus Christ produces changed lives.  The proofs of that statement are those reading this, whose lives have been gloriously Saved and changed.  Some of you were once bound by drugs and alcohol or other vices, but now you are no longer the person you once were.  Now you are a living Epistle of the words of Paul in II Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature:  old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”

 Last month we established in Acts 8:1-4 that persecution always follows a great Move of God.  We brought out that the greatest hindrance to the true Church is the apostate church.  Now let’s pick up with Verses 5 through 8.

 PHILIP WENT DOWN TO SAMARIA

 The actual city was probably “Sychem.”  It is important to note that to the Jews the Samaritans were looked down upon.  They were considered “half-breeds.”  The Jews wanted nothing to do with Samaritans.  This was the Spirit of Sectarianism at work.  This was religious and nationalistic pride at work.  Yet, the Love of God for them was so great that He allowed the persecution in Jerusalem to happen in order that the Gospel may come to them.  I want to make a very important statement here and it is:  “We must go to Samaria,” we must take the Gospel around the world.  We must do everything in our power to let the masses know that Christ loves them and died for them. 

HOW CAN I GO TO SAMARIA?

 You may be wondering, “What can I do?  I’m not called to preach.”  You may not be called to preach, but you are called to pray and to support ministries that the Lord has called and anointed to proclaim the Good News.  Every time we have Service at Family Worship Center, that Service goes out around the world via the Internet.  The same goes for SonLife Radio and the Telecast.  The latest figures tell us that one billion, four hundred and seven million people have access to the Internet.  This, by no means, says that all will tune in, but it does mean they have the opportunity to.  That’s why we need your support and that’s why we constantly ask you to “help us go to Samaria.”

AND PREACHED CHRIST UNTO THEM

 Before I say anymore about this, notice what Philip did not do:

He did not take a door-to-door survey of the people, asking them what kind of church they would like.

He did not ask them what kind of music they would like to hear.

He did not start cell groups.

He did not build a Starbucks.

He did not try to understand what their felt needs were.

 No, the Scripture says, “He preached Christ unto them.”  Imagine that, he simply proclaimed Christ as the true Saviour.

He proclaimed Jesus Christ as the Messiah for the Jew and the Gentile.  God manifest in the flesh, and that He died on Calvary for the sin of man, and rose from the dead.

He preached Jesus as the only Saviour and Deliverer from sin.  Not one of many, but the only Saviour and the only Deliverer.  To preach Christ and Him Crucified must be the central core and theme of our Message.  To preach Christ is to preach Salvation by Faith, the Baptism with the Holy Spirit, with the evidence of speaking in other Tongues, healing, and a sanctified and a victorious life.  This was Philip’s message, this was Paul’s message, and this was Peter’s message.  This is the message of the Bible, so, therefore, this must be our message. Christianity without a Cross is just a nice philosophy and a philosophy cannot save and deliver.  Paul said it this way:

 “For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel:  not with wisdom of words, lest the Cross of Christ should be made of none effect.  For the preaching of the Cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are Saved, it is the Power of God” (I Cor. 1:17-18).

 The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only message that can set man free, break the bonds of sin, and change the heart of man. 

THE RESULTS OF PREACHING CHRIST

 As I stated, the true Gospel will produce and bear fruit.  For the Bible says people were Saved, healed, and delivered from demon spirits.  Signs and wonders were performed.

Recently, I came across a news story from AOL News posted January 21, 2008.  It sums up what I just stated.  The article was about Joshua Milton Blahyi, a former revolutionary fighter in Liberia.

The article stated that an estimated 250,000 people in a nation of 3 million were killed.  The horror of this war was characterized by the eating of human hearts and soccer matches played with human skulls.

Blahyi, who was responsible for the deaths of “more than 20,000 people,” said that before he went into battle, he would make a human sacrifice to the Devil.  The sacrifice was typically “The killing of an innocent child and plucking out the heart which was divided into pieces for us to eat.”

But in 1996, miraculously he accepted Jesus Christ and was set free from the bondage of sin.  This is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do.

“GREAT JOY”

The Bible says that when the Gospel was accepted, “there was great joy in that city.”  Only Christ can produce joy in the heart of man.  Joy that is not predicated on external circumstances, but a joy deep from within, the joy of sin being removed, and knowing one’s heart is clean and free.  Once again, let me say it, this is what the Gospel of Jesus Christ can do.

So let us hear from you today.

Your Evangelist, Donnie Swaggart