'Philip'3...Lay Missionary Deacon! [Acts 8:5-7] / Paul's Bible Characters

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'Philip'3...

Lay Missionary Deacon 

 [Acts 8:5-7]

 

/ Paul's Bible Characters 

 

/ By Paul

 

1. Personal

information and major life

 

The name 'Philip'

means 'a lover of horses'. 

 

'Philip'

was a Hellenistic Jew and 

was one of the Jews who had 

returned from scattered

throughout the country.

 

Hellenistic Jews were alienated

from the Jewish community,

 

and most of their lives depended

on the relief of the poor of the

Jerusalem Church, but 

 

they were treated  poorly 

by Hebrew widows,  

 causing trouble.

 

So,

the apostles chose seven

exemplary deacons and

entrusted them with

this relief ministry.

 

As a result, Philip became

one of the seven deacons

of the early church, and

his perfect faith was added

to the power of the Lord,

 

and he became a worker

(evangelist) working with

deacon Stephen (martyr).

  (Acts 21:8)

 

After Stephen's martyrdom,

the persecution intensified,

 

and all except the apostles

left the church and were

scattered to each region.

 

At that time, Philip went down

to the city of Samaria to preach

the gospel and became the

 first lay missionary, who led

many people to the Lord.

 

Also, filled with the Holy Spirit,

he went down to Gaza under

the guidance of an angel

of the Lord

 

and preached the gospel

to an eunuch who was in charge

of all the treasury of Candace,

queen of the Ethiopians,

 

and became a person who

opened the door to missions

in North Africa.

 

After that, he went up to Azotus,

a 4.8km inland area on the

Mediterranean coast, about

40km northeast of Gasa as

the third mission site.

 

He traveled there and the

surrounding coastal provinces,

preaching his gospel,

 

and finally moved to 

Caesarea, where he settled.

 

Therefore, 'Caesarea' was

the final destination of

Philip's missionary work

in Samaria,

 

and  he and his

four daughters and their

children lived in the place.

 

It was there that the door of faith

was first opened to the Gentiles

by the conversion of Cornelius.

 

When the Apostle Paul visited

Caesarea on his third missionary

journey while Philip was carrying

out the ministry of the evangelist

for about 25 years (A.D. 58),

 

Philip welcomed the apostle

Paul and Luke and other

major ministers, and he let

them stay in his home

for a long time.

 

He also gave them a lot of

news about Jerusalem.

 

The relationship between

'Philip' and the 'apostle Paul'

was so special.

 

At first,

they broke up as enemies,

but after 25 years, it became

a relationship of co-workers

helping each other while

doing the Lord's work.

 

After that, the evangelist Philip

moved to the bishop of

Tralles in Lydia and faithfully

performed his mission,

 

and it is said that he was

martyred there while serving.

 

2. Characteristics of Faith

 

1) Philip was a layman who

 had faith and was full 

of the Holy Spirit.

(Acts 6:5)

 

As much as we believe,

the work of God corresponding

to our faith appears.

 

So the Lord says in the Bible:

 

"And these signs will

accompany those who believe:

In my name they will drive out

demons; they will speak

in new tongues;"

(Mark 16:17)

 

When Philip went down to the

city of Samaria and preached

the gospel, evil spirits came

out of many with shrieks,

 

and many paralytics and 

cripples were healed.

(Acts 8:7)

 

Demons have the characteristics

of coming in and going out

of humans.

 

Ordinary people do not know

whether they are possessed

by demons or not.

 

However,

because demons are evil spirits,

they make the thoughts, words,

and behaviors of people

possessed by demons evil.

 

Most of the cases in which people

lead a double life come from being 

possessed by the insidious

desires of evil spirits.

 

However,

there is something that

demons fear the most.

 

That is -'Jesus.'

That's because he is their judge.

 

Deacon 'Philip' was able to

drive out demons.

 

That's  because he was

with the Lord.

 

As a result, the paralytic

and the lame were healed

by the work of the Holy Spirit. 

 

Faith is the source of being

with the Lord, and it is also

the channel through which

the power of the Holy

Spirit is coming out.

 

To be filled with the Holy Spirit

means to be filled with the

indwelling of the Holy

Spirit in me.

 

The power that comes from

the outside is healing, and

the work that works from

within is guidance.

 

Following the ministry

in Samaria, 'Philip' was

instructed by the Holy Spirit

to go down to Gaza

 

and went to the eunuch

who was in charge of all the

treasury of Candace, queen

of the Ethiopians.

  (Acts 8:29)

 

And to him who was reading

Isaiah, 'Philip' said  that 

the 'Lamb' was Jesus. 

 

Here, we can see the

characteristics of Philip's

evangelism.

 

It is that he only testified

concerning Jesus.

 

In the city of Samaria,

he only testified concerning 

Jesus Christ. ( Acts 8:5).

 

He also testified concerning

the Lord Jesus to the

Ethiopian eunuch.

(Acts 8:35)

 

What I can feel through the faith

of Deacon Philip is that

if you have strong faith,

you testify of the Lord,

 

but if your faith is weak, you

can see that when you evangelize,

you tend to evangelize with

external circumstances

 

such as pride in the church,

blessings, answers, and healing.

 

True faith refers to the state

in which the inside of you

is filled with Jesus.

 

This faith never happens

when I see the Lord as a

means to my life of faith.

 

It can only happen when

I accept the Lord as my owner

and my controller of my life.

 

At that time, the Lord's

working comes out fully.

 

If I am filled with my thoughts

instead of the Lord, my own

mind comes out mostly,

 

but when

I am full of the Lord,

only the words of the

Lord come out.

 

When the incidental things

of faith come out, it is when

I am filled with my thoughts.

 

However,

Philip was a believer who

was filled with the Lord.

 

2) The faith of Philip was focused

on the salvation of souls rather

than success in his ministry.

 

Philip went down to Samaria

alone to preach the gospel.

 

In other words, he

pioneered a ministry.

 

When the

Lord's miraclous signs

and wonders appeared, his

ministry greatly revived.

 

In the city, there were a lot

of people following him.

 

He was able to lead the reviva

l ministry in peace there.

 

But the Holy Spirit told him

to go to the southwest of Egypt,

70km away, and go to Gaza,

the road to Egypt to preach.

 

It was also a ministry that

was done for only one

Gentile eunuch there.

 

From the standpoint of a

mighty servant of the Lord

who had many followers,

 

I could think that it would

be more effective to remain

in Samaria and lead more

people than to do that

ministry.

 

However, God was planning

not only to save the soul of

an eunuch but also to save

the whole of Ethiopia

through him.

 

The guidance of the

Holy Spirit is God's working

to fulfill His will and plan.

 

The success of the ministry

is considered important

when you work centered

on yourself,

 

but the achievement 

of the ministry is important 

when you work centered

on the Lord,

 

and evangelist Philip

showed this by obedience.

 

After the eunuch's evangelism

was over, he did not return to

Samaria, but went to 'Azotus',

a Mediterranean region 40km

 further northeast of Gaza,

 

and preached the gospel

in various cities (Lydda

and Joppa) there.

 

The fruit of his gospel grew there,

and it is clearly shown in the fact

 

that there were already

Christians there when Peter

visited Lydda and Joppa.

 

After that, he stayed in 'Caesarea',

the most important point on

the Mediterranean coast,

 

where

the Roman governor

resided, and he served

many servants of God.

 

There are two ways to receive

the reward for your ministry.

 

One is a reward in heaven,

and the other is a blessing

from successful ministry

on earth.

 

Material blessings due to the

enlargement of the church

and the number of members

can be seen as blessings

on this earth.

 

However,

if we consider this more

important than the reward

of the kingdom of heaven,

 

the work that focuses on the

salvation of souls may be

corrupted by our desire

 to enjoy the blessings

of this earth,

 

and we may lose

the precious blessing of

eternal life.

 

Evangelist Philip is showing us

that he was a true believer

 

who did the work of a pure

heart for the salvation of souls,

not the work that was expected

of us for money, fame, or ease.

 

3) He was a believer with

patience and humility.

 

After the miraculous signs

and wonders in Samaria,

he had to stay in Caesarea

for more than 20 years.

 

A servant of the Lord can do

his ministry in which God's

working is revealed.

 

No matter how hard it is,

he can do it without getting tired.

 

However, it is difficult to endure

the hidden ministry in which 

God's working is not revealed.

 

That period lasted more than

20 years for deacon Philip.

 

Nor did he have the following

questions when the centurion

at Caesarea, Cornelius,

was converted.

 

“Why did the Lord ask Peter,

who was far away, to convert

Cornelius instead of me nearby?"

 

Speaking of ministry, when

we saw that the apostle Peter

followed where Philip had

always pioneered,

 

Philip was able to demonstrate

the vested interest in spiritual

ministry comparable to that

of the apostle.

 

Often, ministry is followed

by comparisons, envy and division.

 

This is a common occurrence today. 

But in the early church, this

never happened.

 

This is because all had a 

heart that was completely

obedient to the Lord.

 

In other words, when the Lord

made them wait, they waited,

when the Lord used others, they

was willing to help along,

 

and when the Lord commanded

them again, they obeyed, that is,

they had the attitude of a

true servant of the Lord'.

 

 

Ministry comes with tests.

 

However,

faith is accompanied

by the Holy Spirit.

 

Ultimately, the ministry

 is under the control of 

the Holy Spirit, and God's

will is done in it.

 

The secret that Deacon Philip

was able to do in hidden ministry

for more than 20 years was

his humility as a servant

of the Lord.

 

At the end of his ministry

of waiting in 'Caesarea',

 

finally,

he was given a ministry

to welcome Paul

 

and his companions, 

returning from the 3rd

 missionary journey.

 

It was Luke who benefited

the most from Philip's hospitality.

 

He could hear from Philip the

details of the work of the temple

in Jerusalem and the deeds

of the apostles for 20 years.

 

Eventually, that helped

 Luke a lot later in writing

 the Acts of the Apostles.

 

Philip and Paul, who parted

as enemies 25 years ago!

 

However, at that time,

God's amazing providence

made him stay in Caesarea

 

so that there could be

a moment of reunion

as co-workers!

 

Also, the Holy Spirit who realized

and led each of them to the place

to go so that they could part

again and bear the fruits

of the last gospel!

 

At that time,

Philip's daughters prophesied

toward Paul with the prophet

called Agabus,

 

'If you go to Jerusalem,

there is a persecution

awaiting you.

 

Please do not go there.'

(Acts 21:12)

 

Then Paul answered,

 

"Why are you weeping and

breaking my heart?

 

I am ready

not only to be bound,

 

but also to die in Jerusalem

for the name of the Lord Jesus."

(Acts 21:13)

 

Paul showed such

boldness of faith.

 

Philip saw that faith was

completed by relying

on the Lord, obedience, 

and giving of himself 

for the Lord.

 

Paul took the

path toward martyrdom. 

 

Philip also found a way

to give his life.

 

It was exactly that he served as

the bishop of Tralles in Lydia.

 

And there, Philip gave his

life to the Lord.

 

A person who did not appear

with a famous name despite

doing something famous. 

 

That person was Deacon

'Philip', the true evangelist.

 

 

-The End - 

 

 

2022/03/11

 

/ By Paul

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

- The end - 

 

 

2009/01/02

 

 

/ By Paul