Be A Witness for Christ (3): Gospel Today Devotional - 4th May, 2022

 LESSONS FROM PHILIP (2)

The series, "Be a witness for Christ" has been one with so much lessons and it is my belief that lives have been blessed as a result of the lessons shared. We have been able to go through the first and second part of the series and today we shall be considering the third part of the series. Glory to God.

The passage of scripture to be considered consist of several verses of scripture and hence, would require patience and maximum attention to get the very best from it. Let's see the passage below,

"And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. [27] And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship, [28] Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet. [29] Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot. [30] And Philip ran thither to him , and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest? [31] And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. [32] The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth: [33] In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth. [34] And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man? [35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus. [36] And as they went on their way, they came unto a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptized? [37] And Philip said, If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. [38] And he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him". (Acts 8:26-38).

Yesterday, we considered Philip as a witness for Christ and it was revealed to us the strategy used in asking Nathanael to come see Jesus. Today again, we shall be considering Philip with more lessons to learn from this man. Glory to God. Need I say that there is something so special about Philip, do you agree? Although we never got to see him in person, we can maybe assume that at every opportunity, he wanted always to witness for Christ. Do you seek opportunities to witness for Christ just like Philip?

The passage of scripture here talks about the eunuch from Ethiopia who at the time was reading the book of Isaiah the prophet but with no understanding of that which he was reading. The Lord needed someone to witness to him at that point and Philip was just the right man for the job. The scripture records that the Spirit of the Lord said to Philip to go near and join himself to this chariot perhaps he was some steps away from the chariot. Philip ran thither was the response. How often do we yield to the leading of the Spirit? 

Haven't we lost good chances of witnessing for Christ because we refused to do as the Spirit instructed us to do? Philip yielded and was able to bring a soul to Christ. Again, in his approach, he didn't start by teaching denomination, he didn't start by condemning as such strategies cannot be effective in witnessing for Christ. It was a simple conversation, "Do you understand what you read" and the man replied, "How can I, except some man should guide me? Thank God Philip was there to guide him.

He desired Philip to come sit with him, inquired about the scripture he was reading, and Philip saw that as an opportunity to preach Christ to him. The scripture puts it this way, " Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. The Lord help us to be effective witnesses for him. Amen.

Thought for the day: As a witness for Christ, you are to tell others about him alone and nothing else. Jesus Christ is the message.

Gospel Today is a comforting, exhorting, edifying and inspiring devotional published by the Delightsome Land Christian Ministry. For questions, enquiries/testimonies, please call/WhatsApp: 08174915361, 08053662272 or Email: [email protected].