Journey Through The Bible
     Old Testament Reading: Exodus 28-31
     New Testament Reading: Acts 8

An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.) So he got up and went (Acts 8:26-27a).

In the eighth chapter of Acts, we have the story of the ministry of Philip. This man is not the Apostle Philip, the friend of Nathaniel (John 1: 43-50), but he is one of the seven men chosen as the first deacons. Chapters six through eight in the book of Acts is a subsection where Dr. Luke introduces these seven men and describes the ministry of two of them, Stephen and Philip.

Philip was a man of FAITH. He was:
   Faithful
   Available
   Intentional
   Tactful
   Humble

Philip was Faithful in his service to God.
He did what God called him to do without debating with God or delay. When God called him to do something, he was God’s faithful servant to go and do the job.

Philip was Available to God.
It did not matter what the job was. He was available to do it. Whether it was handling the daily distributions to the widows in the large Jerusalem church, or preach to multitudes in Samaria in a successful public ministry, or personally teaching one person on a road in the middle of the desert, Philip was available to God.

Philip was Intentional in His ministry.
No one who has climbed Mt. Everest ever said, “I was just out for a walk and ended up on top of Everest”. You need to be intentional in accomplishing that feat. It takes months of preparation, and you must follow your guide. Philip did both. He was prepared, he studied and knew the scriptures. When he proclaimed the Messiah to the people in Samaria, crowds came to listen intently to what he had to say. When the Ethiopian eunuch ask him questions, Philip was ready to give an answer explaining the prophet Isaiah and how it related to Jesus. And he followed his guide, the Holy Spirit. Wherever he was led, Philip followed to accomplish his ministry.

Philip was Tactful in his ministry.
When he approached the chariot of the Ethiopian eunuch, he did not start preaching Jesus to him. He wasn’t obnoxious. He took time to listen and paid attention to what he was reading. He then asked him a simple question, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” The Apostle Peter wrote we are to be “ready at any time to give a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you. Yet do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience.” (1 Peter 3: 15-16) So often Christians forget the second part. Eager to present their defense of the Gospel, they forget to do so with gentleness and respect.

Philip was a Humble servant of God.
Philip was a man that was willing to care for the elderly widows of the church. He was willing to leave in the middle of a successful public ministry, seeing multitudes of people come to the Lord, to go to the middle of the desert to minister to just one person. There is great personal glory and respect to stand behind a pulpit or podium to preach and teach multitudes of people, but it takes a humble servant of God to leave that personal glory and get involved one-on-one in personal ministry.

Philip is a great example for us to follow. A humble, faithful servant, available to God to go where He leads and perform whatever ministry God calls him to do.