Philip The Evangelist

1. The Man (John 1:43-51)

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Christian Standard Bible Chapter 1

John 1:43

Your will notice here that Jesus modeled His own command. Jesus did not sit and wait for men to come to Him, although being God, He could have commanded them to come from across the globe, and they would have come. However, He actively searched out and found His disciples one by one.

Philip seems to be a very educated Jew, explaining how Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of Moses and the prophets written in the Tora. This was a grand admission from Philip, and shows his unquenchable faith in his teachings under the Law.

Nathaniel's response about “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Gives us a glimpse into the culture of Nazareth at the time.

Nazareth was a poor farming community, archaeologist also found places where the Jewish rebels against the Roman Empire would hang out and or hide. Undoubtly they caused problems for the Jews, thus Nathanils questioning if anything good can come from Nazareth.

Why did Philip mention that the Masiah would come from Nazareth? Some theologians have theorized that Isaiah’s prophecy in the 11th chapter reference Nazareth as the hometown of the coming Messiah. This is because the word “branch” in Hebrew has the same root word as Nazareth. 

One more point I’d like to make here is that Philip did not argue Theology with Nathaniel to prove that Jesus was the Christ, he just invited Nathanial to come see for himself.

It reminds me of the dialog that the previous blind man had with the Pharisees, he did not argue theology with them, he just said, “All I know, I was once blind, now I see”. Our own testimonies, and inviting people to come and find out about Jesus themselves are very powerful methods of evangelism.

2. The Ministry (Acts 8:4-8)

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Christian Standard Bible Chapter 8

Acts 8:4

Interesting that Philip chose to go to Samaria. We remember that Jesus chose to go there to bring those in that city to believe in Him through the testimony of the woman at the well. Perhaps Philip was led there to finish the work Jesus started there by giving them the Gospel and the saving Grace of Jesus Christ. We also notice that Philip being full of the Holy Spirit performed many sign gifts of healing and exorcism. This was to validate Philips testimony about Jesus being the true Messiah that had come in the flesh to save mankind.

Now that we have the Word of God available to almost everyone, that is the Testimony that we need to share. I personally believe that God still does sign gifts through His children so that the Gospel may be preached and validated to unbelievers.

Because of Philips faithfulness in obeying the command that Jesus set forth in Matthew 28:18–20 “And Jesus came to them and spake unto them, saying, All authority hath been given unto me in heaven and on earth. Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I commanded you: and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” The people were blessed, and healed. This caused great joy in the city. If he would have sat around and waited for people to come to him, these blessings that both he and the people had, would have been missed.

3. The Message (Acts 8:26-40)

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Christian Standard Bible Chapter 8

Acts 8:26

The Preacher’s Notebook: The Collected Quotes, Illustrations, and Prayers of John Stott Reaching One at a Time

Reaching One at a Time

Themes: Evangelism; Mission

“Reaching one person at a time is the best way of reaching all the world in time” (p. 41).

Dr. Henry Trumbull once wrote in a letter to someone who had asked his advice: “In seeking to develop a local church along this line, I should give myself to one man of that church. One man is more to me than a thousand in this matter. When he is won, it is time to think of another. If I thought of two men at the same time, I might fail to give myself wholly to the one I was living to win” (p. 114)

“The best way to begin in this work is to begin; the best time to begin is now” (p. 184).

SOURCE: C. G. Trumbull, Taking Men Alive: Studies in the Principles and Practise of Individual Soul-winning (YMCA, 1907).

Both Philip and John Stott sets the example of reaching people one at a time. Romans 10:14–15 “How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and how shall they preach, except they be sent? even as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that bring glad tidings of good things!”

The eunuch was searching for answers for what he was reading. The Holy Spirit sent Philip to explain the passage the eunuch was reading. Philip needed to be sent. He obeyed the Holy Spirit’s command to go. You will read throughout the Bible, where God tells His prophets to “go”. “Go tell my people” is the command. Philip was told to go, and because of his opediance, the eunuch was saved and baptised. Just think, if Philip had not gone, the eunuch would not have understood what he was reading, and may never have been saved!

4. Conclusion

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Philip gives us an excellent model of how we are to make disciples.

First, the command is “Go”. Philip was commanded to go, he obeyed, people got saved, the Church grew, and blessings came.

Second is to Baptize. The eunuch asked to be baptised, so Philip baptized. Although Baptism is not an act of salvation, it is an act of obedience because we are told to do so. It is an outward expression of what was done to us via the Holy Spirit. There is a spiritual thing that happens during baptisms. People somehow feel more connected and are more interested in growing in Christ.

Third is to teach them, making them disciples. Philip taught the eunuch about what he was reading. In my opinion, it should be a sin to bring someone to Christ, baptise them, then expect them to just come to church and figure the rest out themselves. That is not a disciple, that is a church member. Christ did not call us to make church members, He called us to make disciples. That means to bring them into your life, be available to them when they need you, and spend one on one time with them teaching them how to live a life pleasing to Christ and how they can make disciples.

If you follow Philip, you will be blessed, the church will be blessed, and your community will be blessed.

Let’s pray:

Our Father, we come humbly before you as a sinful people. We sin against you daily, but you are a mighty, merciful, and forgiving God. Lord, we as a church this morning stand before you, asking you to forgive us our sins today, cleanse us from all our trespasses against you. We ask this Lord, that you may use our cleansed vessel for your work you have for us in this community. Just as the eunuch was searching for answers and you sent Philip, we ask that you send us to someone who also is searching for answers. Help us to be bold in your Spirit, to be able to aproach that person and give them the reason for the hope that we have in us. Lord, we love you, we want you to work through us today, and this week to bring more people in this community to a saving knowledge of you , and also make more disciples in Biggs.

We thank you for what you are going to do through us today.

In Jesus name we pray,

Amen!

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