Title: Philip the Evangelist
Contents
Bible text: Acts 8:4-8
Evangelist Philip
If there is a member of Snow White and there is a member of the grove, which member would it be? If possible, would it be better to be a princess of the people than a beggar? You need to choose well and do not regret later. Snow White is a church member who goes around everywhere and makes fun of only the snout of fear. Ugger is an elegant, holy and intelligent member of the church. There are also pioneer church members. He is a member of the church who is congenitally incapacitated by narcissism. To become a church, you must have members before you fly. A church member before flying is a church member who prays and evangelizes every day.
Philip was the first seven deacons established by the Jerusalem Church and was ordained together with Stephen. The qualifications of the seven deacons were those who were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3). In Acts 21:8, it is recorded that he was “Philip the evangelist”. Evangelist Philip, would you like to put your own name after the evangelist? Evangelist 0 0 0, I hope that all office holders and all members of our church will become evangelists.
Philip went down to Samaria.
“The scattered people were going about preaching the gospel, and Philip went down to the city of Samaria” (verses 4 and 5). It refers to the church members who left Jerusalem to escape. Deacon Stephen's body was taken up by devout people and buried. All the saints, except the apostles, were scattered to the land of Judah and Samaria. King Saul destroyed the church. He visited the houses of the church members, dragged men and women, and imprisoned them.
Philip was one of the scattered people at that time, and he went down from Jerusalem to the city of Samaria to preach. As Jesus ascended into heaven, He said, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:18). From the outside, it looks like he went to Samaria to avoid the chaos, but on the inside, he received power and went to Samaria.
Samaria was the capital of the northern kingdom of Israel, which was destroyed by the Assyrians in 722 BC. Samaria is a land that has been occupied politically and religiously by Assyria and has been savagely trampled. Because he was the son of an Assyrian marriage to a Samaritan.
At that time, Jews had no dealings with Samaritans. When Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink, you said, as a Jew, how can you ask for a drink from me, a Samaritan woman, because the Jews despised the Samaritan. The Samaritans were considered unclean. Although the Jews had to go through Samaria, they went back to Berea as far away as possible. Against this background, while Jesus was passing through Samaria on purpose, he met a woman at a well and said to her, and the woman who heard the word ran to the village and said, “Come to the man who spoke to me, is this not the Christ? ” (John 4:39)
To the Jews who had bad feelings for Samaria, Jesus told the story of a good Samaritan. On the way from Jerusalem to Jericho, a man came across a robber. The robbers stripped him of his clothes, beat him to death, and left him. As the Levites passed by the road and the priests passed by, they passed by ignorantly. A certain Samaritan saved him. He took me to the inn and asked for money. It was not the Levites or the priestly Jews who saved the dead. It was saved by a Samaritan whom the Jews despised. And he said, “Be ye also neighbors to those who were struck by robbers.”
Evangelist Philip, a Jew, went down to the city of Samaria to preach the gospel. Samaritan evangelism is unbelieving evangelism. Samaria evangelism is not evangelism for foreigners, but evangelism for neighbors. Let's all become evangelists. Like Philip who went down to Samaria, let's find a target to evangelize. You have to go to the sea to catch fish. Go and become a fisher of men.
Philip preached Christ.
“…preaching Christ to the people” (verse 5). This is the preaching of the word of the evangelist Philip. It is God's work to believe in Jesus, the one whom God has sent. It is God's job to spread the gospel to those who do not believe in Jesus so that they can believe.
Evangelists are God's servants. Officials are not God's servants, but evangelists are God's servants. An evangelist is a person who conveys the wisdom of God. You do not know God by your own wisdom. So, God saves those who believe through the foolishness of evangelism. “...God was pleased to save those who believed by the folly of evangelism” (1 Corinthians 1:21).
Evangelist Philip is a well-known man who knew Stephen deacon was stoned to death while preaching the gospel. Nevertheless, he went to Samaria and boldly preached the gospel. No one can do anything without the Holy Spirit. But if you are filled with the Holy Spirit, anyone can do it. “The crowds heard Philip’s words, and saw the signs that he performed, and with one mind they followed what he said” (verse 6). Faith comes from hearing. Hearing Philip's words, he came to believe.
The hanbok house at the entrance of the parking lot of our church was preached and believed by one priest. It is said that every Sunday, all the family members come to worship and receive grace.
“...how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? How shall they hear without a preacher? How shall they preach unless they are sent? It is written, Beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news…” (Romans 10:14-) 15)
Evangelism is hearing. It is speaking of Jesus. And it shows. It is said that the Samaritans heard Philip's words and saw the signs he performed. “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).
There are two ways people believe. The first is to hear and believe, the second to see and believe. When the disciples saw Jesus turning water into wine, the disciples believed. People see and believe in those who believe in Jesus.
Lazarus fell ill and died. Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. Many Jews saw Lazarus and believed in Jesus. “Because of Lazarus, many Jews went and believed in Jesus” (John 12:11). I wish there were people who saw me and believed in Jesus. Evangelism is hearing your words and seeing how you live and making people who believe in Jesus Christ.
“The wise will shine like the light of the firmament, and the one who turns many to righteousness will shine like the stars forever” (Daniel 12:3) Saints! I hope you will become a star in heaven shining like a star. Please bring the world back to what is right. The Samaritans listened to Philip's words, saw the signs he was doing, and with all their heart, followed what he said. If you follow the evangelist to church and hear the word, you will believe and be saved.
Philip brought great joy.
Accepting the gospel brings joy. Gospel means good news.
“After the Lord Jesus comes into my heart, I change and become a new person…
My heart overflows with joy like a flood, the Lord Jesus has come into my heart…”
What brought joy to the Samaritans? “The unclean spirits that had been attached to many went out with a loud voice, and many paralyzed and lame were healed, and there was great joy in the city” (verse 7).
We find joy when we hear and accept the Gospel. When light enters, darkness retreats. When the gospel enters, the curse goes away. When the Holy Spirit comes, the evil spirits leave. The unclean spirit has gone away. Unclean spirits make you do dirty things, and the Holy Spirit makes you do holy things. The holy work is to believe in Jesus, and to make you believe in Jesus.
Paralysis incapacitates and incapacitates. No matter how capable a person is, when he has a stroke, he doesn't do much. The reason that the Samaritans who accepted the gospel rejoiced was because many paralytics had risen. The gospel raises the fallen. Turn the incompetent into the capable.
“When I am weak, you are strong. You are my treasure. You are my everything.
You raise me from the downfall and fill my empty cup. Lord, my everything, Jesus, Lamb, precious name...”
The paralytic was healed and the crippled man got up. that has been healed. The gospel gives you the joy of health. The joy of the heart heals the sick and brightens the face. The depth of the water begets the search, and a happy heart is always happy.
The laughter of the soul makes the whole body laugh. Your body will also be strong. As the soul prospers, so all things prosper and you will be in good health (3 John 1:2). Have you ever heard of a smile massage? From head to toe, it refers to a bakjang big and small massage that rubs the 206 bones with laughter. God wants us to rejoice. “Rejoice always” (1 Thessalonians 5:16) I hope you will receive the gospel and live happily with a smile.
A wise person spreads knowledge, and the mouth of a fool pours out foolish things (Proverbs 15:2). The joy of the Samaritans is the joy brought about by the gospel. Because I have experienced amazing healing. Like Philip, we preach Christ. Those who accept Christ will find joy.
The sign is that the gospel is preached in words and is manifested in power. “A sign will follow those who believe, in my name they will cast out demons, they will speak with new tongues, they will pick up serpents… They will lay their hands on the sick and they will recover.” . The snake is a symbol of Satan. He said that if you lay your hands on the sick, a sign of healing will appear. Philip preached the gospel, and people received the word and received joy through faith. I hope you all become evangelists. Evangelists create joy.
One person evangelism! do it! can do! Should be!