Acts 8:35 AMPC
[35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this portion of Scripture he announced to him the glad tidings (Gospel) of Jesus and about Him.
One thing that is clear from the passage of time and the changing of the seasons is that we are closer home today than we were yesterday. Every day that God gives us is a reminder to use it wisely, to His glory, and for the extension and expansion of His Kingdom here on earth. No one on earth who has been promised forever on this side of earth; we do have limited time to do all that God has given us a mandate to do. There are problems to solve, lives to impact, and men to bless, but there is the right platform to get all these done the right way. I can try to do all these by strength, intellect or connections, or I can ask for strength, direction and inspiration from the Holy Spirit. As always, God provides all that is required for His work; it is left to me to decide to depend on Him and tap from the resources He has made available. There is no demand on earth that can exhaust the resources of heaven.
The man Philip found himself in such a position, as seen in the verse above. Just before the verse above, Philip had been appointed as one of the seven deacons to help with serving food. One of the requirements for this role was to be of good and attested character and repute, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. You may ask what the role of the Holy Spirit is in serving food, but it is good to remember that for a child of God, there is no role or assignment too small to seek God's help for. In fact, every great assignment starts with an insignificant role, and it is by faithful service in the place of the insignificant that God takes you into the realm of public affirmation and impact. Philip, along with other deacons, including Stephen who would later be stoned to death, did the work of serving food so well that the bible records that the message of God kept on spreading, the number of disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a large number of the priests were obedient to the faith.
This same Philip would become an evangelist, and would be used to take the gospel into Ethiopia at the time. A high-ranking officer from the court of the queen was exposed to the Word of God, but did not understand it at the time. Philip was asked to go close to the chariot of this officer and beginning with the verse the man had read, the good news of Jesus was preached to this man. I am not asked to make a simple process complex; I am only required to proclaim the good news of Jesus to all who would come in contact with me. I start from where I am, but I make sure I continue to seek to know more about Jesus. I speak of my personal encounter with Him, so that others too may be encouraged to seek their own personal experiences of Him too. Your efforts today, in the little corner where you have been planted, can have international impact tomorrow. I must start where I am, trusting that the One who calls and sends out will help and support to the end. That is all I can do. What of you? God's time of favour is here.
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