When the crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that city. Acts 8:6-8 [NIV]
Wouldn't it be fantastic if God came in power to Rugby, the same way as he did in Samaria, so that through works of power people "pay close attention" to the Gospel, and have great joy. Maybe the thought of Revival is something you pray and long for, and that hope is an encouragement to you. It is especially amazing that all this went on in Samaria, and the people had not yet received the Holy Spirit. They were about to however (Acts 8:17), and Jesus had prophesied to the woman at the well about this time (see John chapter 4).
Maybe the hope of Revival just seems too far away when you see your friends' and neighbours' ambivalence to God. Maybe you don't have a revival prophecy to cling to. I must admit that if my sole expectation was for an Acts 8 kind of revival, I would soon become disheartened. But our Bible passage also has Philip bringing the Gospel in another way, to an Ethiopian eunuch. Philip patiently unfolds the truth of Scripture to the man and so brings about revival in his life. That appeals more to me as a workable model for evangelism today, more like what we do in Alpha.
What strikes me about Philip is how obedient he is. It must have been tempting for him to have thought he'd cracked it, winning the crowds with miraculous signs. Surely he was now the big crowd evangelist? Yet he is obedient to God's prompting to follow up the individual Ethiopian in a quiet way. Maybe it is wrong to focus too much on certain models for Evangelism, thinking we are only called to act in one way. Maybe we should try and follow God's prompting for what He wants us to do, whatever that entails.
Jon Seaton
Read the Bible in a year: Proverbs 14: 25-35, 2 Samuel 20:1-21:22, Acts 8:4-40
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