“'And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him. But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison. Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went. Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there. When the crowds heard Philip and saw the signs he performed, they all paid close attention to what he said. For with shrieks, impure spirits came out of many, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city. Now for some time a man named Simon had practiced sorcery in the city and amazed all the people of Samaria. He boasted that he was someone great, and all the people, both high and low, gave him their attention and exclaimed, “This man is rightly called the Great Power of God.” They followed him because he had amazed them for a long time with his sorcery. But when they believed Philip as he proclaimed the good news of the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, they were baptized, both men and women. Simon himself believed and was baptized. And he followed Philip everywhere, astonished by the great signs and miracles he saw. When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to Samaria. When they arrived, they prayed for the new believers there that they might receive the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit had not yet come on any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit. When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money and said, “Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” Peter answered: “May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God. Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord in the hope that he may forgive you for having such a thought in your heart. For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin.” Then Simon answered, “Pray to the Lord for me so that nothing you have said may happen to me.” After they had further proclaimed the word of the Lord and testified about Jesus, Peter and John returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many Samaritan villages. Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.'
Acts 8:1-36,38-40
“And Saul approved of their killing him,” is standing out to me this morning. It got me thinking about how God can take the most zealous persecutors and enemies of the Lord and turn their lives around to use in His Kingdom in very powerful ways. They can become the most powerful witnesses and evangelists for the Kingdom of God!!! No one is too far gone!!! Hallelujah!!!
While Saul was going around persecuting Christians, the church was being scattered, but they were preaching the Gospel everywhere they went. This proves that the enemies of the cross actually serve to help with the spread of the Gospel. They may think that they are succeeding in stopping the Gospel from being preaching, but they are spreading the Gospel unintentionally. God can take anything that looks bad and use it to benefit His Kingdom. Hallelujah!!
Another powerful revelation that stands out to me is how Philip did miracles, signs, and wonders which caused people to pay attention to what he said. God will glorify Himself through us and in our lives to get people’s attention so that they will listen to what we say. It is like he creates a platform for people to listen to the Truth.
There is no higher power than God. Even the kingdom of darkness is impressed by His miraculous signs and wonders. God knows people’s hearts. He knew that Simon the Sorcerer was only impressed by His miracles and wanted to pay Peter to teach him how to do them. Peter told him that you cannot buy them with money for they are much more valuable than that. Noone can use God for His miracles. He knows our hearts. He only does miracles through and for His glory and His purposes. He uses those who truly love Him and whose motives are pure. God does not do miracles, signs, and wonders to entertain people and will not allow anyone to steal His glory. They are only done to glorify Him!!
The Lord led Philip to a place where a eunuch was reading the Word which gave Philip the opportunity to share the Gospel with Him and explain the meaning of what he was reading. God knows who is ready to receive the Gospel and if we are listening to Him, He will lead us to those people. Hallelujah!! Lord, thank You for divine appointments!! May we not miss any of the ones that You give us!!
Acts 8:1-36,38-40
Acts 8:1-36, 38-40 And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men b And he gave orders to stop the
And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. Godly men b And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the...
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“And Saul approved of their killing him,” is standing out to me this morning. It got me thinking about how God can take the most zealous persecutors and enemies of the Lord and turn their lives around to use in His Kingdom in very powerful ways. They can become the most powerful witnesses and evangelists for the Kingdom of God!!! No one is too far gone!!! Hallelujah!!!
While Saul was going around persecuting Christians, the church was being scattered, but they were preaching the Gospel everywhere they went. This proves that the enemies of the cross actually serve to help with the spread of the Gospel. They may think that they are succeeding in stopping the Gospel from being preaching, but they are spreading the Gospel unintentionally. God can take anything that looks bad and use it to benefit His Kingdom. Hallelujah!!
Another powerful revelation that stands out to me is how Philip did miracles, signs, and wonders which caused people to pay attention to what he said. God will glorify Himself through us and in our lives to get people’s attention so that they will listen to what we say. It is like he creates a platform for people to listen to the Truth.
There is no higher power than God. Even the kingdom of darkness is impressed by His miraculous signs and wonders. God knows people’s hearts. He knew that Simon the Sorcerer was only impressed by His miracles and wanted to pay Peter to teach him how to do them. Peter told him that you cannot buy them with money for they are much more valuable than that. Noone can use God for His miracles. He knows our hearts. He only does miracles through and for His glory and His purposes. He uses those who truly love Him and whose motives are pure. God does not do miracles, signs, and wonders to entertain people and will not allow anyone to steal His glory. They are only done to glorify Him!!
The Lord led Philip to a place where a eunuch was reading the Word which gave Philip the opportunity to share the Gospel with Him and explain the meaning of what he was reading. God knows who is ready to receive the Gospel and if we are listening to Him, He will lead us to those people. Hallelujah!! Lord, thank You for divine appointments!! May we not miss any of the ones that You give us!!