Phillip, The Evangelist
“Phillip The Evangelist”
--from May 19th --
--from May 19th --
Day 1
Read Acts 8:26-40
“Obedience”
The stories contained in Acts 8 are great stories about the mission of the early church and how it spread. Last week’s story was set in Samaria, which is known as the place of the Jewish outcasts. They were almost Jewish, but there were some debates on where exactly they could and could not be categorized. The Holy Spirit confirmed a work among them. Next, we see Phillip, one of the original 7 chosen in Acts 6 to serve (as deacons?), now moving around as God seems to be directing him and him sharing his faith on the way.
I like the lesson that can be drawn from verse 26. We don’t see that Phillip is sent here for ministry, but rather the text just tells us that he is just sent to a place. When he gets there, he discovers one of the purposes was this evangelistic encounter. That is not the same thing as saying that the only purpose was this evangelistic purpose. As followers of Jesus, we have a call to share the gospel…not just out there or over there, but right here. Where we are is already a great evangelistic opportunity and the really important way that we need to be in this moment is obedient. When we are where we are supposed to be with God, we have a much better chance of seeing what God is calling us to. In disobedience to God and His direction, we will find it much more difficult to discern the times and places God is calling us to.
How have you seen God direct you somewhere and then while you were there, discovered there was also an evangelistic purpose?
What might this understanding have for you to see right now where you are in a job you like or don’t like, a neighborhood you like or don’t, or even a town you like or don’t like?
What part of your life are you seeing a disobedience that needs to be addressed today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
“Obedience”
The stories contained in Acts 8 are great stories about the mission of the early church and how it spread. Last week’s story was set in Samaria, which is known as the place of the Jewish outcasts. They were almost Jewish, but there were some debates on where exactly they could and could not be categorized. The Holy Spirit confirmed a work among them. Next, we see Phillip, one of the original 7 chosen in Acts 6 to serve (as deacons?), now moving around as God seems to be directing him and him sharing his faith on the way.
I like the lesson that can be drawn from verse 26. We don’t see that Phillip is sent here for ministry, but rather the text just tells us that he is just sent to a place. When he gets there, he discovers one of the purposes was this evangelistic encounter. That is not the same thing as saying that the only purpose was this evangelistic purpose. As followers of Jesus, we have a call to share the gospel…not just out there or over there, but right here. Where we are is already a great evangelistic opportunity and the really important way that we need to be in this moment is obedient. When we are where we are supposed to be with God, we have a much better chance of seeing what God is calling us to. In disobedience to God and His direction, we will find it much more difficult to discern the times and places God is calling us to.
How have you seen God direct you somewhere and then while you were there, discovered there was also an evangelistic purpose?
What might this understanding have for you to see right now where you are in a job you like or don’t like, a neighborhood you like or don’t, or even a town you like or don’t like?
What part of your life are you seeing a disobedience that needs to be addressed today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 2
Read Acts 10:30-43
“Prompting”
Cornelius was a centurion that felt led to reach out to Peter. Peter was a man that was on mission with Jesus and felt the need to listen to Cornelius. This led to an entire family giving their hearts to Jesus and was the beginning of the Gentiles turning to Jesus. This was all set up off of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever experienced that? It is a small urging that works at your heart and entices you to reach out, send a message, make a phone call, or show up somewhere. When you hear it, you almost never are certain you are hearing it right and it seems strange. As you grow in listening to the Holy Spirit, it does get a bit easier to know the difference between a whim and the prompting. But it certainly is a thing of practice.
I have felt it before. I have also asked why I have not felt it as much at a certain time, and that is probably best answered with a criticism of myself, I have not always tried to hear it. Or I have fallen into the logical approach and moved more toward passing off those weird feelings or urgings as being too intrusive or awkward. But as evangelists, we need to pay attention to those moments when like Peter, we are waiting for God to say or direct us in some way. Then we will find ourselves more and more in those moments where the Cornelius’ are also feeling the prompting and God is doing a work that we get to be a part of.
Do you feel (or sense) God urging you toward someone or somewhere today?
What happened the last time you listened to an urge like this?
How can this lead to you sharing the Gospel with someone this week?
How does this inform your prayers for today?
“Prompting”
Cornelius was a centurion that felt led to reach out to Peter. Peter was a man that was on mission with Jesus and felt the need to listen to Cornelius. This led to an entire family giving their hearts to Jesus and was the beginning of the Gentiles turning to Jesus. This was all set up off of the promptings of the Holy Spirit. Have you ever experienced that? It is a small urging that works at your heart and entices you to reach out, send a message, make a phone call, or show up somewhere. When you hear it, you almost never are certain you are hearing it right and it seems strange. As you grow in listening to the Holy Spirit, it does get a bit easier to know the difference between a whim and the prompting. But it certainly is a thing of practice.
I have felt it before. I have also asked why I have not felt it as much at a certain time, and that is probably best answered with a criticism of myself, I have not always tried to hear it. Or I have fallen into the logical approach and moved more toward passing off those weird feelings or urgings as being too intrusive or awkward. But as evangelists, we need to pay attention to those moments when like Peter, we are waiting for God to say or direct us in some way. Then we will find ourselves more and more in those moments where the Cornelius’ are also feeling the prompting and God is doing a work that we get to be a part of.
Do you feel (or sense) God urging you toward someone or somewhere today?
What happened the last time you listened to an urge like this?
How can this lead to you sharing the Gospel with someone this week?
How does this inform your prayers for today?
Day 3
Read Acts 17:16-34
“Inquiry”
Paul is traveling around on his mission and has some spare time in Athens. This was a city known for its acceptance of all sorts of thoughts and religions. To commemorate this, they had all sorts of art and statues, etc to these other gods. Everyone could come and share an idea and the obvious morality scale was way out of whack, we can only assume. Paul, as a visitor, could have spent his time disgusted by the people not like him and appalled at their ridiculous beliefs, but instead he spent time among them and listened to what they had to say. He knew that the gospel was good and strong enough to stand up on its own and he has but to hear their perspective to find an on-ramp to sharing the gospel with them.
Sometimes we don’t listen because we are too insecure in what we believe more than anything. It is why social media works so well, where we can surround ourselves with our people and simply parrot what people like us have said and then soak in all of the applause from those that think like us. So listening becomes an act of work as we try to allow someone to share what THEY actually think rather than what their group thinks. In our story from Sunday, Phillip met the Ethiopian Eunuch where he was at. He inquired about what it was that he was reading and rather than sharing everything about himself, Phillip listened to where he was at and what he was struggling with. This left the door wide open for the gospel to be shared.
Who around you could you do a better job hearing rather than arguing with when it comes to sharing the gospel of Jesus?
Where is there a chance in your life right now to listen to someone that doesn’t agree with you, but may need the gospel?
What does it look like to strategically listen while waiting to share what the Bible says?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
“Inquiry”
Paul is traveling around on his mission and has some spare time in Athens. This was a city known for its acceptance of all sorts of thoughts and religions. To commemorate this, they had all sorts of art and statues, etc to these other gods. Everyone could come and share an idea and the obvious morality scale was way out of whack, we can only assume. Paul, as a visitor, could have spent his time disgusted by the people not like him and appalled at their ridiculous beliefs, but instead he spent time among them and listened to what they had to say. He knew that the gospel was good and strong enough to stand up on its own and he has but to hear their perspective to find an on-ramp to sharing the gospel with them.
Sometimes we don’t listen because we are too insecure in what we believe more than anything. It is why social media works so well, where we can surround ourselves with our people and simply parrot what people like us have said and then soak in all of the applause from those that think like us. So listening becomes an act of work as we try to allow someone to share what THEY actually think rather than what their group thinks. In our story from Sunday, Phillip met the Ethiopian Eunuch where he was at. He inquired about what it was that he was reading and rather than sharing everything about himself, Phillip listened to where he was at and what he was struggling with. This left the door wide open for the gospel to be shared.
Who around you could you do a better job hearing rather than arguing with when it comes to sharing the gospel of Jesus?
Where is there a chance in your life right now to listen to someone that doesn’t agree with you, but may need the gospel?
What does it look like to strategically listen while waiting to share what the Bible says?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 4
Read Acts 4:13-31
“Sharing”
Sometimes we err on the side of too much talking and not enough listening. Others err on the side of too much listening and wanting to be accepted and not enough sharing. The sharing in this context is that of sharing what we believe about Jesus and the gospel with those around us. We avoid conflict and desire to not push people away, which is a good thing, but we have to balance that with the idea of sharing our faith with people as well. This was the struggle with the followers of Jesus in this part of Acts. They had to pray for a boldness that was able to deal with the situations they were now finding themselves in.
This is not something that we can just put on, but rather it has to flow out of genuine hearts that truly love people and desire what God desires for them. If we do not have that, it makes sense to not ruffle feathers or share anything that contradicts what their opinions and thoughts are. But if we truly love people and want to see the best for them, and we truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is and does what He says He does, then why would we not want to share that with everyone we can?
How have you shared the gospel with someone recently? How did that go?
How can you share the gospel with someone today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
“Sharing”
Sometimes we err on the side of too much talking and not enough listening. Others err on the side of too much listening and wanting to be accepted and not enough sharing. The sharing in this context is that of sharing what we believe about Jesus and the gospel with those around us. We avoid conflict and desire to not push people away, which is a good thing, but we have to balance that with the idea of sharing our faith with people as well. This was the struggle with the followers of Jesus in this part of Acts. They had to pray for a boldness that was able to deal with the situations they were now finding themselves in.
This is not something that we can just put on, but rather it has to flow out of genuine hearts that truly love people and desire what God desires for them. If we do not have that, it makes sense to not ruffle feathers or share anything that contradicts what their opinions and thoughts are. But if we truly love people and want to see the best for them, and we truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is and does what He says He does, then why would we not want to share that with everyone we can?
How have you shared the gospel with someone recently? How did that go?
How can you share the gospel with someone today?
How does this become part of your prayer today?
Day 5
Read Acts 2:29-41
“Response”
The story we have been following this week of Phillip the Evangelist, ended with the Ethiopian Eunuch being saved and baptized. This story takes a similar approach. It was the sharing of the word of God that led the people to a response. Faith without a response seems to be pointless and meaningless. We should always be moving someone toward a response of something, because the gospel demands repentance. Without that, you really do not have the gospel.
It is good to invite people to go to church with us “one day,” and to tell people about Jesus is a safe and comfortable way, but at some point, we need to compel them to an action…to a repentance. We are not just trying to motivate people or stir them, we are trying to see them come to faith in Jesus, who died on the cross for their sins and invites them to repent and turn toward Him.
Do you find it hard to compel people to an action response? Why or why not?
How have you done this recently?
Who is someone that you need to compel to take that next step in the following days?
How can this be part of your prayer today?
“Response”
The story we have been following this week of Phillip the Evangelist, ended with the Ethiopian Eunuch being saved and baptized. This story takes a similar approach. It was the sharing of the word of God that led the people to a response. Faith without a response seems to be pointless and meaningless. We should always be moving someone toward a response of something, because the gospel demands repentance. Without that, you really do not have the gospel.
It is good to invite people to go to church with us “one day,” and to tell people about Jesus is a safe and comfortable way, but at some point, we need to compel them to an action…to a repentance. We are not just trying to motivate people or stir them, we are trying to see them come to faith in Jesus, who died on the cross for their sins and invites them to repent and turn toward Him.
Do you find it hard to compel people to an action response? Why or why not?
How have you done this recently?
Who is someone that you need to compel to take that next step in the following days?
How can this be part of your prayer today?
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