ESOCS Devotional 27 June 2025 – A Call to the Lost!
MEMORY VERSE: “Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.” Acts 8:5
TEXT: ACTS 8:1-25
Now Saul was consenting to his death.
At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. 2 And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him.
3 As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.
4 Therefore those who were scattered went everywhere preaching the word. 5 Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them. 6 And the multitudes with one accord heeded the things spoken by Philip, hearing and seeing the miracles which he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying with a loud voice, came out of many who were possessed; and many who were paralyzed and lame were healed. 8 And there was great joy in that city.
9 But there was a certain man called Simon, who previously practiced sorcery in the city and astonished the [c]people of Samaria, claiming that he was someone great, 10 to whom they all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, saying, “This man is the great power of God.” 11 And they heeded him because he had astonished them with his [d]sorceries for a long time. 12 But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. 13 Then Simon himself also believed; and when he was baptized he continued with Philip, and was amazed, seeing the miracles and signs which were done.
14 Now when the apostles who were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them, 15 who, when they had come down, prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. 16 For as yet He had fallen upon none of them. They had only been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. 17 Then they laid hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.”
20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God. 22 Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you. 23 For I see that you are poisoned by bitterness and bound by iniquity.”
24 Then Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me, that none of the things which you have spoken may come upon me.”
25 So when they had testified and preached the word of the Lord, they returned to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans.
Read Other ESOCS Devotional Here
In Acts 8:1 it says, at the time of the great persecution “they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the Apostles…” So the Apostles remained in Jerusalem (including the Apostle Philip mentioned in Acts 1:13). However, we see in Acts 6:1-6 that the Apostles chose seven devout men “ of good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom” to serve on the tables ( i.e. food distribution) and one among them was Philip. He is further mentioned in Acts 21:8 as “Philip the evangelist, who was one of the seven…” Now, distinguishing between Philip the Apostle and Philip the Eangelist – it is the evangelist Philip that was powerfully used by God to preach the gospel in Samaria, then to the Ethiopian eunuch and later to preach the gospel along the coastal plain from Azotus to Caesarea (Acts 8:40).
When Stephen was martyred, Philip arose! He was not terrified by the atrocities unleashed by Saul (Acts 8:3). When the seven were chosen to serve on the table, the qualification set by the Apostles were: good reputation, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. The laying on of the hands on the seven (Acts 6:5) was not for them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, since they were already filled. However, that laying of hands set them apart for the service of the Lord! They are the first group of people set for a specific task in the New Testament Church. But you see the task assigned to the seven was to manage food distribution! Since Philip was already filled with the Holy Spirit, we must assume he would have heard the solemn commandment of the Lord in Acts 1:8 “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
In the list of seven men given in Acts 6:5, the first name is of Stephen who like a roaring lion spoke the truth of the Word with boldness and startled the religious leadership. He was martyred. The next in queue is Philip; look at him boldly rising to the occasion and taking the mantle from Stephen ignited by the Spirit of God going to a place where no Jew would ever want to go! Samaritans were looked down upon by the Jews and they hated each other. The Jews of that time travelling to Galilee would avoid Samaria! But the gospel message transcended the first century barrier between the Jews and Samaritans. The Spirit of God created a fellowship of believers out of the hate that existed.
Philip was a true disciple of Jesus. When he was selected for a job that was not really gospel preaching, he was faithful in whatever was entrusted to him. In God’s right time, the door was opened divinely and Philip did not wait for any more confirmation. He understood the need after Stephen’s martyrdom. He understood the urge of the Holy Spirit within him, the loving command of His Master and Saviour, and he stepped out to go to a city where the people hated by his community stayed. Follow the leading of the Holy Spirit and you will do exploit.
CHALLENGES
- How much of the work of evangelism are you doing?
PRAYER POINT
- Lord, give me the grace and power to witness for you wherever I find mysel
FURTHER READING: Ezekiel 23:1-31; Acts 8:26-40
ESOCS Devotional 27 June 2025
