Bible Reading: Job 10-12; Acts 8:1-25
“And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed. And there was great joy in that city.” – Acts 8:6-8 (KJV)
These verses of scriptures talks about the ministry of Philip, one of “Seven Deacons” who were chosen to attend to certain temporal affairs of the church in Jerusalem in consequence of the murmurings of the Hellenists against the Hebrews. It is a ministry with impact of the power of the Holy Spirit. The result was a clear demonstration of what Christianity is like with the evidence of the Holy Spirit deliberately incorporated in the working of miracles among the people.
Some of the instances that always accompany a genuine ministry of the Spirit as recorded in our opening scriptures include: “And the people with one accord gave heed unto those things which Philip spake.” When a great crowd of people listens with earnest and eager attention, it is because they think they are hearing the truth. They are struck by the note of reality. This was the way Jesus taught. It was said of Him that He did not teach as the scribes and Pharisees taught, with quotations from other authorities, but what He said hit people as the truth and they were arrested by it. They said, “The officers answered, Never man spake like this man” – John 7:46 (KJV). This is always the characteristic of someone who genuinely proclaims the gospel, because the gospel is the truth. It is the way things really are. As Philip talked this way, people stopped and listened. They said, “This man is saying something that is right and on point.” The proclamation of the gospel always has the truth and authority of God backing it.
The gospel is accompanied with power: “For unclean spirits, crying with loud voice, came out of many that were possessed with them: and many taken with palsies, and that were lame, were healed.” Here is power that sets men free, power that delivers. This was immediately manifested in Samaria when Philip preached there. These miracles of freeing people from demonic spirits, the healings of sickness and diseases, as we have seen before in the book of Acts, were evidences of the power of God manifested on a visible and physical level, in order that the people, and we today, might be encouraged to understand that God would also free them in the spirit. That is where man is really bound – in the spirit – and he needs to be set free there. These physical miracles were a demonstration of God’s power to heal, both physically and spiritually. Wherever the gospel goes it gives liberty.
The gospel gives us joy: “And there was great joy in that city.” When people are set free it always fills them full of joy. The glory of the gospel is always that, wherever it goes, even though it may not immediately change the outward circumstance of people, it does fill people with joy. And soon the circumstance begins to change as well. This has been the story throughout history. As people are filled with joy by the power of the Word, they begin to change for the better.
Prayer: Father, fill me with the grace to proclaim Your word with the power of the Holy Ghost.
Pastor Alfred Samuel