Cross Church Winnipeg Sermon Podcast

This is a song of thanksgiving for pilgrims going to Jerusalem to Worship God. I look up to the mountains— does my help come from there? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth! He will not let you stumble; the one who watches over you will not slumber. Indeed, he who watches over Israel never slumbers or sleeps. The Lord himself watches over you! The Lord stands beside you as your protective shade. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord keeps you from all harm and watches over your life. The Lord keeps watch over you as you come and go, both now and forever.

19 They stopped first at the port of Ephesus, where Paul left the others behind. While he was there, he went to the synagogue to reason with the Jews. 20 They asked him to stay longer, but he declined. 21 As he left, however, he said, “I will come back later, God willing.” Then he set sail from Ephesus. 22 The next stop was at the port of Caesarea. From there he went up and visited the church at Jerusalem and then went back to Antioch. 23 After spending

Do you remember the vicious Saul? He seems to have the upper hand. Persecuting. Spewing hatred. Imprisoning believers. But then Jesus appears to him. As he was approaching Damascus on this mission, a light from heaven suddenly shone down around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice saying to him, “Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me? “Who are you, lord?” Saul asked. And the voice replied, “I am Jesus, the one you are persecuting! Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.”* The murderous Saul is converted and becomes Paul the mighty Apostle. God reveals Himself as Sovereign, merciful and full of grace. Paul’s story gives us all hope.

Mysterious and thrilling things happen in the days of the early Church. Philip, one of the men appointed along with Stephen to care for the needy widows in Jerusalem, is forced out of the city. As so often happens, after the appointment, God has other plans. Philip is called to preach the Gospel to an Ethiopian Eunuch, servant of his Queen, who is returning home after worshipping God in Jerusalem. He just happens to be reading Isaiah 53 out loud on his journey when Philip asks if he knows what he is reading. Philip has the privilege of leading the man to Christ and baptizes him right on the spot. Philip goes down in history as Philip the Evangelist. And this Ethiopian takes the Gospel with him back to Ethiopia. Ethiopia becomes the first country to adopt Christianity as its national religion.

After Stephen was stoned to death, Luke records the following: Saul was one of the witnesses, and he agreed completely with the killing of Stephen. It looks like Saul may have the final word about the future of the Church. Luke says, *A great wave of persecution began that day, sweeping over the church in Jerusalem; and all the believers except the apostles were scattered through the regions of Judea and Samaria.* However, the Church is not stopped, rather, the spread of the Gospel is accelerated all over Samaria! Philip, one of the men appointed along with Stephen to care for the needy widows in Jerusalem, is used by God to preach throughout Samaria. Also, Peter and John stopped in many Samaritan villages along the way to preach the Good News.

The blind beggar could not be shaken. He had encountered God in Jesus Christ. John records what happened next: ***24** So for the second time they called in the man who had been blind and told him, “God should get the glory for this, because we know this man Jesus is a sinner.” **25** “I don’t know whether he is a sinner,” the man replied. “But I know this: I was blind, and now I can see!” **26** “But what did he do?” they asked. “How did he heal you?” **27** “Look!” the man exclaimed. “I told you once. Didn’t you listen? Why do you want to hear it again? Do you want to become his disciples, too?”*

Pastor Andrew Sapozhnykov My Story - Part 3: Ignore the Doubters How easy it is to be overcome by doubt and especially by doubters. Who hasn’t faced this? 17 Then the Pharisees again questioned the man who had been blind and demanded, “What’s your opinion about this man who healed you?” The man replied, “I think he must be a prophet.” 18 The Jewish leaders still refused to believe the man had been blind and could now see, so they called in his parents. 19 They asked them, “Is this your son? Was he born blind? If so, how can he now see?” 20 His parents replied, “We know this is our son and that he was born blind, 21 but we don’t know how he can see or who healed him. Ask him. He is old enough to speak for himself.”

What do you do when Jesus saves you? You boldly share your testimony. Listen to what John records about the man born blind:  "His neighbors and others who knew him as a blind beggar asked each other, “Isn’t this the man who used to sit and beg?”  Some said he was, and others said, “No, he just looks like him!” But the beggar kept saying, “Yes, I am the same one!” They asked, “Who healed you? What happened?” He told them, “The man they call Jesus made mud and spread it over my eyes and told me, ‘Go to the pool of Siloam and wash yourself.’ So I went and washed, and now I can see!” The boldness of this blind beggar is inspires us all to tell what Jesus has done for us, for he kept saying, “Yes, I am the one!”

*As Jesus was walking along, he saw a man who had been blind from birth. **2** “Rabbi,” his disciples asked him, “why was this man born blind? Was it because of his own sins or his parents’ sins?” **3** “It was not because of his sins or his parents’ sins,” Jesus answered. “This happened so the power of God (WORKS OF GOD) could be seen in him. **6** Then he spit on the ground, made mud with the saliva, and spread the mud over the blind man’s eyes. **7** He told him, “Go wash yourself in the pool of Siloam.” So the man went and washed and came back seeing!* For this man, his blindness led to his salvation. He would say, “Thank God I was born blind!”