Acts 8:38–40:
“So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him anymore, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through the area, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.”
This is going to be the last part of my exploration of the theme, The Value of Small Things. So let’s go on in this passage.
One man. From the beginning of this chapter, look at what God did with one man. He left Jerusalem because of persecution and went to Samaria and proclaimed Jesus, and it was not about him; it was about Christ.
God was present and did a lot of work in that place. Then he spoke to the Ethiopian eunuch, and he was saved. The Spirit of the Lord snatched him away; he found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through the area, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.
There was no organization backing this man. Can we agree on that? There was no organization backing him. There was no big human plan. He was one of the deacons in Jerusalem (Acts 6:5). We don’t know how he became a believer. We don’t know how long he spent in Jerusalem, soaking in the truth, believing the truth, being transformed by the truth. But by the time he got to Samaria, it was an explosion.
Philip is probably not different from any other Philip you are going to see. But because of the life of God in Philip, so also are you. You look at yourself: “Of what significance am I?” That is not the point. The point is: of what significance is Christ that you are going to proclaim? Is He alive? Did He rise from the dead? Who is He to you? Who did He say He wants to be to the people who are going to listen to you? That is what is important. Everything else is irrelevant.
We don’t know Philip’s history. Who cares? We don’t know his family situation. Who cares? We don’t know how much he had in his account. Who cares? We don’t know if he went to the best schools. Who cares?
This was just a man—a solo act. The only thing we see him do is proclaim. Proclaim. Just say it about Jesus. He was faithful in doing that, and God used him mightily.
Sometimes it is one person; sometimes it is a lot of people. We do not have any record of anything happening at Azotus beyond his preaching. “Philip found himself at Azotus.” I do not know where you have found yourself now. You may be just one person in that place. I do not know how life has moved you. I do not know how, in God’s divine chessboard, you have now been placed—whether it is just you there. But there is a big Christ. There is a big plan of God. There is a big mind of God.
What Philip focused on here was Christ. The hand of God was on him, and he did amazing things. Even if there were no amazing signs, the proclamation of the gospel is it.
When he spoke to the Ethiopian, we didn’t see any miracle there. When he was in Samaria, there were many miracles (Acts 8:5–8). But it doesn’t matter. The way it happens, the way it is expressed, can be different. As he passed through and proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea, we don’t have a record of who was saved. But there was faithfulness.
In just one chapter, we see him in different scenarios. In one instance, many people were saved, and the apostles in Jerusalem heard about it, came, and laid hands on them so they would receive the Holy Spirit (Acts 8:14–17). The Ethiopian eunuch did not even receive the Holy Spirit in the narrative, but it was still a valid encounter with Christ. After the water baptism, Philip left. Here in verse 40, we don’t see any note of response, but it is still God at work. It is still about the glorification of Jesus.
The value of small things: just one man doing what God wants in different scenarios, knowing it is not about the crowd, not about the immediate result. Of course, he saw an immediate response with the Ethiopian eunuch, who was very responsive. Some people may not be that responsive. It does not matter. It does not mean Christ has disappeared just because one person responded well and another did not. It does not mean you should start thinking of how to mix things with the gospel—dilute the purity of the gospel—because of how people are responding. No.
The value of small things: you see yourself as a small person, as insignificant. You look at your history, you look at your background—but it does not matter.
God values you as you are, and He has big plans for your life now that will speak for eternity.
God bless you. See you later.