Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road –the desert
road –that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza” (Acts 8:26).
Philip is conducting what we might today call a revival meeting. God is
blessing the meeting and many are being healed and delivered from demonic
influence. Here is the scene that Philip is in the midst.
Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed Christ there. When the
crowds heard Philip and saw the miraculous signs he did, they all paid close
attention to what he said. With shrieks, evil spirits came out of many, and
many paralytics and cripples were healed. So there was great joy in that
city. (Acts 8:5-8).
And yet, in the midst of this great event the Holy Spirit speaks to Philip
and tells him to remove himself and go to a completely different area to
speak to one individual. What I find interesting about this scene is that
Philip was so sensitive to the directive of the Holy Spirit that he left
what would be deemed a successful event to go speak to another an Ethiopian
eunuch. The results of his obedience was that he led the eunuch to faith in
Christ and was baptized. The Lord then took Philip away supernaturally to
another region many miles away.
God’s ways of determining where we invest our time and energy often has
little to do with results. The danger for each of us is to determine that we
are in the center of God’s will simply by the success or failure of the
events we are involved. Our plumbline for determining success can only be
one thing: obedience. Philip responded in obedience to the direction of the
Holy Spirit.
Are you listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit? Has God prompted you to
speak, go, or come along side another? Ask God today to help you hear the
voice of the Holy Spirit so that you might be used mightily in your
marketplace.