Acts 8 (Click on reference to read text - I know it is a long one today, but it was important to have proper context!)
Philip obeyed the Lord. He faithfully fed the widows and served in a seemingly menial task (Acts 6:1-6). When persecution in Jerusalem came, he went to Samaria to preach the good news. He saw great revival spring up and even the town's "sorcerer" believed and was baptized. Then Peter and John came down from Jerusalem. Although they confirmed his ministry and witnessed the many added to the church, they also discovered that "Simon the sorcerer" probably wasn't a believer after all. Philip could have become embarrassed, he could have felt like a failure and ceased spreading the good news, he could have given up, but he didn't. He was not concerned about the applause of men. He was only living for the applause of God.
There are times, at least in my own life, that when disappointments happen, we take it personally. We become embarrassed by the behavior of others under our leadership and view it as a reflection upon us and our leadership abilities. We begin to believe that there must be something inherently wrong with us. However, even Jesus, the greatest leader of all time, watched someone close to him (Judas) choose sin instead of eternal life.
Philip realized an important truth: we are responsible to be obedient to what God has called us to do, and then we must leave the rest up to God. We are not responsible for the actions or disbelief of others under our lead (although we do have a responsibility before God to point it out and give them a choice to repent and follow God - Matt 18:15-17). Instead of being bogged down by the disbelief and wrong motives of Simon the Sorcerer, Philip listened to the promptings of God and immediately followed God's next assignment (Acts 8:26-30).
We too can learn a valuable lesson from this humble Christ follower. Philip didn't let his "failures" or the failures of others hinder his effectiveness for God. He listened for what God was calling him to do and he simply obeyed. People under you will not always make the right choice. They may turn their back on God, preferring sin to eternal life. Follow Philip's lead and remember, that your responsibility is you... are you obeying the voice of the Lord? They keep at it and leave the rest to Him!
Saturday, November 5, 2011
Saturday, October 29, 2011
But I Don't Like it...
Acts 8:1-4 (Click on reference to read text)
In Acts 1:8 the Lord gave the early church a charge, a purpose and a promise: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Sounds great right? Little did they know that they would be scattered throughout the regions because of great persecution.
We all know that when God calls us to do something, He will give us everything we need to accomplish that purpose (2 Peter 1:3, Psalm 119:105, Acts 17:25). But what if it works out differently than we thought? What if we don't like the way God goes about it? The disciples and apostles were being faithful to preach the gospel in Jerusalem. However, great persecution broke out, their homes were broken into and they were dragged off to prison. Were they experiencing hardship because they were being disobedient? No! But it forced them to leave and scatter.
This scenario was probably not how they imagined the Gospel going forth to the remotest parts of the earth... through stonings, imprisonment and martydom. However, that is the key: the Gospel still went forth. Acts 8 actually says, "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went" (vs. 4).
God may call you to do things and you may not always like the way it turns out, or the way He accomplishes His purpose. Like Moses and Abraham, and many other "Heroes of the Faith", you may never actually see the fruition of that call, but nevertheless you played an important part if you obeyed the voice of God (Hebrews 11:13, 39-40).
Acts 8 began with the stoning of the great servant of God, Stephen. He never saw the church preach the Gospel to the remotest parts of the earth. He died at the cusp of God moving. Yet 2000 years later we see that he played a vital role in fulfilling that purpose and no believer would ever count his life worthless.
Follwer of Jesus, take heart. Sometimes things on this side of Heaven do not make sense. Sometimes we feel like death is premature. Sometimes we don't see the promises of God fulfilled and we begin to doubt His call. Don't. Stop doubting. He is always working and accomplishing His purposes, even when it doesn't make sense to us (Isaiah 46:9-10).
If you are struggling with this truth, I invite you to pray the words the conflicted father spoke to Jesus in Mark 9, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief."
In Acts 1:8 the Lord gave the early church a charge, a purpose and a promise: "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Sounds great right? Little did they know that they would be scattered throughout the regions because of great persecution.
We all know that when God calls us to do something, He will give us everything we need to accomplish that purpose (2 Peter 1:3, Psalm 119:105, Acts 17:25). But what if it works out differently than we thought? What if we don't like the way God goes about it? The disciples and apostles were being faithful to preach the gospel in Jerusalem. However, great persecution broke out, their homes were broken into and they were dragged off to prison. Were they experiencing hardship because they were being disobedient? No! But it forced them to leave and scatter.
This scenario was probably not how they imagined the Gospel going forth to the remotest parts of the earth... through stonings, imprisonment and martydom. However, that is the key: the Gospel still went forth. Acts 8 actually says, "Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went" (vs. 4).
God may call you to do things and you may not always like the way it turns out, or the way He accomplishes His purpose. Like Moses and Abraham, and many other "Heroes of the Faith", you may never actually see the fruition of that call, but nevertheless you played an important part if you obeyed the voice of God (Hebrews 11:13, 39-40).
Acts 8 began with the stoning of the great servant of God, Stephen. He never saw the church preach the Gospel to the remotest parts of the earth. He died at the cusp of God moving. Yet 2000 years later we see that he played a vital role in fulfilling that purpose and no believer would ever count his life worthless.
Follwer of Jesus, take heart. Sometimes things on this side of Heaven do not make sense. Sometimes we feel like death is premature. Sometimes we don't see the promises of God fulfilled and we begin to doubt His call. Don't. Stop doubting. He is always working and accomplishing His purposes, even when it doesn't make sense to us (Isaiah 46:9-10).
If you are struggling with this truth, I invite you to pray the words the conflicted father spoke to Jesus in Mark 9, "I do believe, but help me overcome my unbelief."
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