Yesterday we saw how the conversion of the Ethiopian official anticipated the fulfilment of Jesus’ promise that the Holy Spirit would empower his people to be his witnesses “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth “(Acts 1:8). Today I want us to think about Philip’s experience a bit more. Many Christians see ministry as something they step into ‘now and again’ in their ‘spare time’ while they otherwise live fairly spiritually dormant lives. But God wants to move us forward to ever greater places of fruitfulness. God doesn’t want you to settle in one ‘place’ (I mean experientially, not geographically, though it may involve that). He wants you to be like a nomad, a pilgrim, moving on to ever new things. Don’t build a ‘solid house’ where you are, pitch a ‘tent’ (I am speaking metaphorically), because your present experience will be superseded by something new. Allow God to expand your influence outward like he is doing here in Acts. This happens on a big scale. It is the big plan (Acts 1:8) but it also happens on an individual level and we see this in the case of Philip. He is having this experience of being moved onward and outward. He never thought he would have found himself in Samaria but there he went. He never imagined he would lead an Ethiopian official to Jesus, but there he was. He is living by the Spirit. He is stepping into experiences that have clearly been prepared by God beforehand. This is the sort of adventurous life that I want to live. How about you?
Ask God to draw you into the new experiences that he has prepared for you.
Read Acts 8:26-40 again
