Acts 8-9 | Spirit-Led Encounters

Does someone around you need to hear about Christ today? The Biblical record indicates that God wants to use you constantly to lead people to Himself.

We don't know much about Philip in the Scripture except that he was chosen as a deacon in the early church. The requirements for these six men who were chosen are found in Acts 6.

"Therefore, brethren, select from among you seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom, whom we may put in charge of this task." (Acts 6:3)

Our first encounter with one of these men is Stephen, who became the first martyr of the New Testament in Acts 7.

Now we see Philip "preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans" in Acts 8. During a great movement, the Lord gives him a strange request to go to a desert road.

He instantly obeyed, and there was an Ethiopian official who just "happened" to be reading the book of Isaiah and was wondering about the one referenced in the Scripture.

Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go up and join this chariot."… Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. (Acts 8:30,35)

The rest is church history, as Philip leads the first man on the African continent to Christ.

SPIRIT-LED

This whole glorious encounter hinged on one crucial response. Philip listened to the Spirit's prompting and followed His lead. If he had not been sensitive to the Spirit, he wouldn't have been on the road, stepped into the chariot, and led this man to Christ. As far as we know, this official was the first convert on the continent of Africa.

Recently, a friend of mine was doing his daily run. He saw a man ahead of him, and the Spirit said, "Run up to him and talk to him about Christ." He obeyed, and within a few moments, he shared the gospel, and the man was praying, surrendering his life to the Lord.

The Spirit wants to do this in our lives all the time! It should be the common practice of our lives to hear the Spirit's voice, "Go talk to that person and lead them to One who alone can save them."

Who knows? Whole continents may be touched through your witness!

Father, make us aware of the people around us. Fill us with Your love for them and give us the wisdom to hear Your voice and the courage to share the gospel daily with those You are calling to Yourself.