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Acts 8
What’s happening?
After Stephen’s martyrdom in Acts 7, Christians in Jerusalem are persecuted all the more. Chief of these persecutors is Saul. He destroys churches and places hundreds of Christians in prison. The conflict between Romans and Jews who follow Christ is drastically increasing. This leads to believers being scattered all throughout different regions in Judea and Samaria. Despite this hardship and separation, the church continues to fulfill their mission and share the gospel. Philip and the apostles Peter and John help lead the church in this.
A man named Simon, previously a pagan magician, comes to know the Lord in Samaria. He then immediately begins to preach the gospel to other Samaritans with Philip and the other apostles following his conversion.
After this, the Lord calls Philip to go to a desert in Ethiopia to preach His name. Once there, he leads an Ethiopian eunuch to know Christ, and then the Lord sends him to Caesarea to continue ministering to the people there.
What do we learn?
Despite the challenges and persecution believers are facing, the name of the Lord is proclaimed tenfold. God even uses these difficult circumstances to send the church into the entire world. In Acts 1:8, Jesus commands the disciples to be His witnesses in “Jerusalem and in Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
The ultimate mission of the early church (and of believers today) is to spread the Gospel to all nations, and now the apostles are doing just that. The church is expanding to include the Gentiles and all peoples, just as Jesus prophesied in the New Testament.
What should we do?
Philip and the apostles were fully submissive and obedient to the Lord. They were willing and ready to go wherever the Lord would lead them no matter the circumstances for the sake of His name being proclaimed.
This should encourage and challenge us today, as this is still our same mission. Do you think your life reflects that sharing God’s love with others is your chief priority and purpose? What fears or obstacles prevent you from obeying the Lord?
Scripture
About this Plan
The book of Acts shows us how God used the disciples in the days after Jesus’ ascension to impact the world with the power of the Gospel message. We hope as you read, you’ll realize we are also called to be witnesses to the gospel of Jesus Christ and empowered with the Holy Spirit to go into this world.
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