Friday: Further Study – Philip as Evangelist
Ellen G. White, The Gospel in Samaria,
The Acts of the Apostles, pages 103-111.
When they were scattered by persecution they went forth filled with missionary zeal. They realized the responsibility of their mission.
Image © Review & Herald Publishing from GoodSalt.com
They knew that they held in their hands the bread of life for a famishing world; and they were constrained by the love of Christ to break this bread to all who were in need.
—Ellen G. White, The Acts of the Apostles, page 106.
And when His disciples were driven from Jerusalem, some found in Samaria a safe asylum. The Samaritans welcomed these messengers of the gospel, and the Jewish converts gathered a precious harvest from among those who had once been their bitterest enemies.
—Pages 106, 107.
Discussion Questions:
- As we’ve seen, the gospel breaks down barriers between people. At least, that is the ideal; the reality has at times been radically different. What is it about human beings, even among Christians—among those who understand that we are all the same before God, who understand that the Cross is the great equalizer—that we allow cultural, social, and other barriers to divide us to the great extent that they still do? How can the Seventh-day Adventist Church, which is so universal, discourage such prejudices?
- As we saw, the persecution of the early church caused believers to flee, and as a result, the gospel started spreading in ways that it might not have done without persecution. Though God was able to bring good out of it, we must remember that religious persecution is never good, never right, never justified. What should our attitude be toward those who are facing religious persecution, even if we don’t agree with their religious beliefs? (See Luke 6:31.)
(21)
"we have the bread of life for a famishing world"
What a wonderful analogy! Some ask why we need to spread the gospel when those that haven't heard about Jesus will be saved "if they live up to the light they have".
There are people out there who are starving, who are barely existing on the teeny bit of food that they have and we have an over abundance of food, why wouldn't we want to share it with them so that they no longer are just surviving but so that they are thriving?
"We are chosen by God to take this three Angels message to the world". There are people like the Ethiopian who are reading,who are hungry and thirsty for truth and reading the bible daily and do not understand some of the passage. If we have that close connection we with our God, then we will hear the voice of Christ saying go,go and teach all nation baptizing them in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit.The Seed of be planted and God will do the rest..
God could have used anything to move the gospel message along, yet he used Saul to persecuted the church to move the gospel to different regions of the country. Phillip moved and shared the knowledge of Christ to those who may have heard of Christ but did not know Christ.
In the world we live in today, people have heard of the wonderful Savior but don't know him as we do. What a wonderful task it is for us to share in the spreading of the gospel.
Each person that we come in contact with is the opportunity to share or Lord and Savior too.
Do not let the opportunity pass you by.
Happy Sabbath Family
As people of God we cannot be serving our own ideas. Pride will have no place in our decision making. As a business man concerned with meeting the needs of clients I must understand those demographics. I cannot “tell a customer” what he wants I must “ask him/or her” what is is that they would like and then determine myself if I can meet their need. Trends change continually and a need for change and diversity in my efforts to meet the needs of the people is absolutely essential if I am going to continue to serve my community. Why would it be any different in the Christian church? As I allow myself to be led by God, there is always a progress of understanding and ideas. Why then do we as a church resist change? Is it fear, perhaps that we may have to work hard or sacrifice something we now enjoy in order to meet the needs of a dying world? God Himself did not count the cost, then why do I? You say, “ I am not God”, granted, but neither are you alone in your struggle for “it is God who works in us to will and to do according to His good pleasure. “ We can do all things through Christ who strengthens us.”, and that includes meeting the spiritual needs of those around us. People respond to Love the Bible is full of stories of truths that express that with diversity and variety and yet we have the same God inspiring all with the same message.” I am not against you, I do love you, I want you to prosper and be in good health and I will always be there for you with fairness and without hypocrisy.” As Phillip was called to be an evangelist so are you. We are not merely keepers of Commandments and followers of Ellen G. White who have the Spirit of Prophecy, we ourselves are called to reveal Love to the world around us. We are now the children of God and heirs to His eternal Kingdom. My Father rules the Universe with love and supreme understanding. I am His adopted son. (AND WE ARE MANY SONS AND DAUGHTERS) “Church, it is because of Jesus that nothing is going to separate us from the love of God”, why then should we fear? Make a difference today right where you are!
i am humbled and pray for the wisdom and courage to be able to proclaim the Christ who died for me pray with me brothers and sisters be able
My heart cries out whenever a person or group of people are beheaded or massacred because of their belief in Christ. The force of evil with the perpetrators believing that they too are following the teaching of their prophetand they will be rewarded so much in heaven for their deeds.
I cannot help myself but to hate their persuasion and their brutally evil deeds.
I am persuaded that God will resurrect those people who have stood at the end even in the face of certain death.
Please pause for a moment and pray for the migrant safety in Europe and ask God to help them. There is no easy solution for them but God has.
There are many churches that we have, but some are tucked away under a bush. Service is conducted in a language that is not reflective of the local community. While it is good to attend service in your own language, we must also cater for the local community. There are too many churches that now carry the name of their nationality and I think this is perceived as a barrier from sharing the gospel with the indigenous community.