In Acts 8, Philip the evangelist is called away from Samaria where he has had a very productive ministry. Many people became Christians and put their trust in Jesus Christ being baptized in His name. Today we might think Philip had found his niche and should continue to work with the Samaritans. We might say that he found his calling because in our eyes he is successful and influential. In actuality, His calling was to leave the place where he found success. God called him to simply to walk down a road in the desert. The Scriptures say nothing about God calling Him for a specific purpose on that road, but simply to begin walking on it between Jerusalem and Gaza. It was there by grace that God had prepared the heart of one man, the Ethiopian eunuch, to hear Jesus preached and by faith put his trust in Christ and be baptized. This was Philips calling and from it he was immediately taken away to another place by the Spirit. Philip would have never known what happened to the eunuch. He was not given time to teach the Ethiopian how to preach the gospel or train him to be a leader for Christ to his own people. We often think that Philip must have been a powerful preacher and teacher of the Word, which he likely was, but we need to remember that it was not by the work of Philip that this man was saved and baptized. It was by the power of God’s grace bestowed by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit prepared the eunuch’s heart, the Spirit led Philip on the road and to the man, and it was the Spirit that enlightened the eunuch that Jesus was the Son of God. Philip’s greatest attributes in all this were faithfulness and obedience. In our lives, that is the calling of God and what He desires from us as well, faithfulness and obedience.
Posted on: Fri, 07 Mar 2014 14:49:17 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015