Acts 8:4-8
4Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. 5Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ[a]there. 6When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. 7With shrieks, evil[b] spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. 8So there was great joy in that city.
Intro: In the past weeks we have seen the excitement of the new church. People were being saved, new ministries were being started … wonderful things were happening …. and it all came to an agonizing stop. Stephen was stoned to death and the new church was scattered. The persecutions began and we see young Saul in his zeal going door to door and putting the Christians in jail.
People were rooted out of the culture. Families were broken up. They were refuges in a hostile world. And Philip ended up in Samaria.
Samaria was a horrible place to the Jews. They considered the people of Samaria to be less than dogs … even worse than Gentiles. The Samaritans followed Judaism, but were in a long standing disagreement about the temple. They had built their own temple on the mountain which was rank heresy to the Jews.
I think there are things in Philip that we need to play attention to.
1. He did not get distracted by the circumstances.
2. He did not let personal conflicts, prejudices hinder him.
3. He did what he had been called to do.
4. He utilized the gifting that God gave him.
5. He preached Christ.
Conclusion: The reality is that what Philip did brought great joy to the city. He changed lives. His faithfulness, his obedience in difficult circumstances helped to spread the gospel. We need to stop waiting for the perfect circumstances in our lives and just “do it”. Right here, right now, do what we are called to do. It is time to change our world and Lord … start with me.
Thought For Today
My “circumstances” are my Mission field.
Just Connie
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