Everywhere preaching the word
Acts 8:1-6 & 26-40
The outlook appeared to be very bleak for the church at Jerusalem as its members were imprisoned or scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. God overruled this great persecution, however. The scattering of the Christians led to the spread of the gospel. The persecuted Christians did not give up in despair over the loss of property and threats against their lives. Therefore, those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. The enemies of Christ may have silenced Stephen, but God used Philip to preach Christ in a Samaritan city. True preaching always exalts Christ. The apostle Paul wrote some years later, ‘We do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord’ (2 Corinthians 4:5). God also worked miracles through Philip, and there was great joy in that city. You may not be called to preach before great crowds, but you can share your faith with others. Pray for your relatives, friends, neighbours and for those with whom you work. Look for opportunities to bring them the gospel. God honoured those early believers, and he will honour you, if you are faithful. Then we go to vs.26 – vs.40 and see how the Lord directed Philip to leave Samaria and go to a desert region between Jerusalem and Gaza. The evangelist obeyed God though it may have seemed strange to him to leave behind a thriving gospel work to go to a desert. The Lord was working however, in the heart of a eunuch who held high office in the royal court of Ethiopia. This man had been to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home. He was in his chariot reading Isaiah chapter 53, which prophesies the death of Christ in great detail. Philip went up to the man at the prompting of the Holy Spirit and asked him, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I unless someone guides me? We cannot be saved without understanding what the Bible teaches about salvation. When the Holy Spirit works in the life of a sinner, he works in his mind as well as in his heart. You will have noticed the emphasis on preaching the Word in the ministry of the apostles and of Stephen and Philip. Many people go astray because they do not seek to understand the teaching of Scripture, or they attend a church where the Bible is not plainly and diligently taught. Philip preached Jesus to the eunuch beginning with this passage of Scripture in vs.35. The suffering servant of whom Isaiah prophesied is the holy Son of God. He was despised, rejected, humiliated, and slain on the cross to save sinners. Philip would have told him about Christ’s resurrection, of the need of repentance for his sin and faith in the Saviour. As they were passing a pool of water, the man asked Philip to baptize him. After confessing his faith in Christ, he was baptized and went on his way rejoicing (36–39). Philip was miraculously transported by the Holy Spirit to Azotus, and he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea (40). Churches were being formed throughout Israel and Samaria, and the gospel was now being taken by a Gentile to Ethiopia. The church was thriving, despite persecution. When God works, who can hinder him? A challenge for us today: Philip was accessible to hear what God wanted him to do, and he obeyed without question. A lot of us are often too busy for God to get our attention. We have our minds on our family or our jobs, or sometimes we're even so busy in church that we aren't accessible to obey God. What about you? Are you accessible if God wants you? When people pull up in the parking lot of this church, what do they find? Do they find more empty rituals that don't really satisfy their longing for a personal relationship with Jesus, or do they find the Spirit of God alive and real among genuine people of faith?
