Acts 8

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Jesus told his newly appointed apostles that they would be his witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria (1:8). I am sure they didn’t expect it be this way. Most of us would think that a church should establish itself in strength and then extend itself geographically. Before that group has even gathered its breath, this persecution breaks out. In doing so, it scattered the church and its witness beyond the borders of Jerusalem and Judea.

Consider the ways of God in this. This is not how the disciples envisioned being used to take the gospel further. Many disciples and families suffered in order to move people to a place where they could witness to the risen Christ. Though there was certainly suffering, we do not read about suffering. We read about joy. The summary statement of Phillip’s ministry in Samaria was that “there was great joy in that city” (v.7). The witness of the gospel and the power it brings to change lives was changing the fabric of that city and bringing it joy.

Do you see any patterns in your life where God has, in his sovereignty, used circumstances to move you to a place where (A) you would hear the gospel or (B) you would be an agent of the gospel?

The rest of the chapter gives two examples in discerning the ways of the Spirit. Both Philip and Simon the Sorcerer were sensitive to the movement of the Spirit. Simon was sensitive to the Spirit but needed to be taught the scriptures or he would have become spiritually dangerous to himself and to others. Philip was sensitive to the Spirit (receiving guidance from the Spirit to move towards the Ethiopian) and his understanding of the scriptures made him a useful tool to God in introducing the gospel to Ethiopia.

Ask God to help you understand the moments of your life and past from the perspective of his sovereign authorship. Ask him to give you spiritual discernment to understand the movements of the Holy Spirit in your life today.