Read Acts 8
The day Stephen was stoned, persecution broke out.
The believers fled and were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria (v.1). Saul,
the young man introduced in the story of Stephen’s stoning is further described
here as a key instigator of persecution against Christians (v. 3). This
persecution didn’t put a damper on the work of the Holy Spirit. The believers
used it as an opportunity to spread the gospel to different areas (v. 4). One
example of such a believer is Philip, who went to a city in Samaria (v. 5). The
people of the city, who had previously followed a sorcerer named Simon (v.
9-11), put their faith in Philip’s message of Jesus (v. 12). Simon himself,
once trapped in an occult lifestyle, was baptized (v. 13). Word about the
conversions in Samaria reached Jerusalem and the apostles sent Peter and John
to pray that they might receive the Holy Spirit (v. 14-17). Here we see the
true nature of Simon’s conversion. He tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit
with money (v. 18-19). At first glance it appeared that Simon had truly
repented and given His life to Jesus Christ. With further investigation it was
evident that He merely wanted another source of power and fame for himself (v.
20-23). Simon’s response leaves us wondering what the final condition of his
heart was. While he asked the apostles to “pray to the Lord for [him]”, we are
not told that he truly repented of sin.
Next we see Philip following an angel’s directions
to go to Gaza (v. 26). The Holy Spirit prompted Philip to stop and talk with an
Ethiopian eunuch (v. 29). Philip began with the passage the eunuch had been
reading in the book of Isaiah and declared the message of Jesus Christ (v. 35).
Once the eunuch was baptized, the Holy Spirit took Philip away, bringing him to
Azotus to preach the gospel in the towns of Caesarea (v. 39-40). Tradition
tells us that this eunuch brought his faith back to Ethiopia and shared with
his countrymen about Jesus, planting the early roots of the Church in Northern
Africa. It probably made no sense to Philip to leave Samaria, where a strong
revival was happening. However, He obeyed the command of God. Because he acted
on faith, he was blessed to partner with God in expanding the reach of the
Gospel into a different continent.
Journaling
and Prayer
1. “Man looks at the outward appearance, but the
Lord looks at the heart” (1 Samuel 16:7). We see in the story of Simon the
sorcerer that we cannot definitively judge the state of a person’s heart by
their external actions. Matthew 7:15-20 does tell us that we can determine the
tree by its fruit. However, we are warned that actions that would appear to be
good indicators of salvation (prophecy, casting out demons, miracles) are not
definitive signs (Matthew 7:21-23). While God allows us to have a good idea of
where someone stands with Him, He is the final judge of each person’s heart.
Allow God to search your heart. Do you tend to believe you are always right
when you determine the state of another person’s heart? Do you swing to the
other extreme where you believe that we can never know anything about where
someone stands with God? Ask God to speak truth to you about this.
2. Philip was obedient, even when the commands
seemed illogical. Ask God to show you how He wants you to love someone today
(ask Him who and how). Pray for a spirit of obedience in your heart, that you
may follow through on whatever He shows you.
3. Pray for evangelism in our country. Pray that
believers would grow in faith and obedience. Pray that we would be receptive to
the guidance of the Holy Spirit. Pray that believers’ hearts would be less
self-focussed and more focussed on loving others and advancing God’s kingdom in
our country.
