5th Sunday of Easter, May 2nd | Read Acts 8: 26-40
Jesus' victory over sin and death was not the end of the work.
Did you know that as Christians we have a Great Commission?
Our Lord Jesus gave us the homework to make “disciples of all the nations” and “baptize” them in the name of God teaching them to obey everything that Jesus had commanded, trusting that He was going to be with us along the way!
Now that you know this, it will be good for you to know that in order to successfully accomplish "The Great Commission," you do not need to have all the knowledge, or all the words, or the greatest status, or the most eloquent delivery.
You only need to remain open and aggressively be on the lookout to utilize the windows of opportunity that the Holy Spirit provides to fulfill "The Great Commission."
Church, you already possess that which you need, the most precious of all things: the Holy Spirit. Let us be aware that it isn't our abilities that make us victorious in the Great Commission; it is the Holy Spirit that does it. The Holy Spirit does it by enabling everything around us; by declaring and effectively transforming every situation, encounter, and relationship for God's purposes.
The scripture that we are called to explore today is Acts 8: 26-40. However, you must know that the Philip of this story is not Philip the Apostle. The Philip of our story is a "nobody" who is open and willing to talk to everyone about someone he knows as the King of kindness, peace, and love.
Take the time to read the whole chapter eight of Acts. In there, you will read about the great persecution that spread believers all across Judea and Samaria, "except the apostles" (Acts 8:1). The Philip of this story is Philip the Evangelist, at one point a "nobody," who was appointed along with Stephen to oversee the distribution of resources (Acts 6:5).
The Philip of our lesson finds an opportunity to preach "The Risen Jesus" in the middle of his "menial" work even after he has left Jerusalem, and that's a concise example to follow. So, Church. Don't let anybody stop you (even yourself) from telling everyone about The Christ that loves and encourages you today!
