This is the story of an ordinary man's triumph against incredible odds. I think of Philip as the two-talented man. He was not a one-talented man like Obadiah, who feared the Lord greatly and hid a hundred prophets in caves and fed them to save them from Jezebel (1 Ki 18:3,4). He was not a five-talented man like Paul. He was somewhere in between. His life makes an interesting study. I have divided it into five chapters.

1. The Unknown Philip: (Acts 6:1)

There was an unprecedented revival following the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ and the descent of the Holy Spirit. Multitudes were converted, and the number swelled to over five thousand. Philip was one among them. We do not hear about him before he was chosen as a helper. At that time arose a conflict between the Hebrew-speaking Jews and the Greek-speaking Jews. To settle the dispute, seven men were to be chosen. The credentials for these men were: (a) Good reputation, (b) Fullness of the Holy Spirit, (c) Fullness of wisdom. The responsibility of choosing these people fell to the lot of the congregation. They readily picked up Philip from among the ocean of believers. How?

He had a clean reputation. People knew him as a good and honest man who could be trusted and who had no ill repute to his credit. His fullness of Spirit and wisdom was evident in his zeal for the Lord and in the way he dealt with problems, counseling people, and quietly leading people to Christ. He was not given any responsibility or title. He was busy in God's things, without any expectation of reward or honour, believing it to be his duty. When the seven were to be chosen, people immediately thought of Philip, the strapping young man, and recommended him for the responsibility of serving widows

Our true colour is seen not in a leadership position but when we are an unrecognised person. Do we keep ourselves unspotted and earn a good name in the nook we are in? What we are in a corner is our true self. Though we may not be given a responsibility or recognition, let us be full of zeal for the Lord, active in His work in our own way, with whatever talents we may have. Who I am when I am in a group, unknown and unrecognised, that's the true me.

2. The Deacon Philip: (Acts 6:5)

Philip was chosen with another six men to take care of the daily distribution to the widows. It was a simple task of serving tables (Acts 6:1-3). The six were brought before the apostles. They prayed and laid their hands on them and committed them to the task. That put him on the map.

It was a proud moment for the mature man Philip. Will I get an opportunity to shake hands with Sir Peter? Will I get a chance to talk to Sir John? Philip must have longed! Now he was standing in front of them and being prayed for by them. He was seeing them at close quarters. He was being recognised as somebody. It can be frightening to move from invisibility to visibility. People don't scrutinize you when you stay in the shadows. Now people's eyes were on him. Needless to say that he did his job well because Acts 6:7 says, "Then" the word of God spread and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith. Philip did his job so well that it was a great relief to the apostles that they could give themselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the Word (6:4). Philip was not gifted to pray without ceasing or preach like the apostles. But by giving them relief he enabled them to do their ministry effectively.

We may be given a small responsibility in God's work. We may not be a top leader but a junior worker or helper. When we do that work faithfully we are enabling the spread of the Kingdom of God. These days there are too many celebrities and too few servants. If you are a servant, be faithfully serving.

3. The Evangelist Philip: (Acts 8:5)

Evangelism was the heartbeat of Philip. Persecution, instead of driving him into seeking peaceful oblivion in timidity, only made him more tough. Even though he witnessed the gruesome murder of Stephen he decided to live a life following the example of fellow-deacon. When persecution started, some migrated to Judea and some to Samaria. Philip chose Samaria following his hunch. May be because Jesus had already sown the seeds just a few years earlier, sparking a revival. May be he remembered what the Lord had said, "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in ...Samaria" (Acts 1:8). He had to cover the 158 km journey with his wife and four little girls and whatever belongings he could carry. There was nothing broken about his spirit. Where did he lodge in Samaria, what job did he find to run his family in the big city, we do not know. But he started his work of evangelism boldly, though some grey hairs were glistening. The hustle of daily life didn't deter him. To make ends meet, the family probably lived austerely. He preached Christ to the Samaritans (8:5). Miracles started to happen. Word spread of this man who was greater than the magician who was covering them. People were getting healed and there was great joy in the city, which was lacking in Simon's magic shows (vv 5-13). Churches were established (9:31). The sown seed had resulted in a harvest of unbelievable proportions.

Philip could not lead the new converts into the Holy Spirit baptism. He was not discouraged. He threw the doors wide open for Peter and John. He didn't care who got the credit. "The Bible knows nothing of solitary religion," said John Wesley. Surely for Philip it mattered not who pounded the paddy; he only wanted the paddy to become rice. "It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit," said Harry S. Truman, the 33rd US President.

We must make hay when the sun shines. With all your weakness and ill health, go out and preach Christ. Never allow mental and spiritual lassitude to overcome you. Never fear persecution. Only be wise. Every one of us must be an evangelist, whatever may be our occupation. What good is our life if we do not contribute? To be available for missionary work is part of Christian life. Philip became a missionary because he was a Christian whom God did not stop from going.

4. The Personal Soulwinner Philip: (Acts 8:26)

Amidst the hustle and bustle of his evangelistic activities, Philip hears the voice of an angel: "Arise, and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza" (Acts 8:26). What? Leave the congregation and go? Step down from his leadership and go? Throw away all his popularity and go? Maybe after the second-line leaders had sprung up, Philip sat down with a cup of tea. Now, as per the command of the angel to 'arise,' he kicked into action. He abdicated his position and wholeheartedly walked off. He did not even ask, “For what?”. If he had said, "Let me go in the morning," he would have missed the chariot. Immediate obedience accomplished the task

It was a difficult desert journey, yet for him one soul was worth the whole world (Mk 8:36). He left the 99 sheep in order to go after the one lost sheep, oblivious to the obstacles in his path. Thus, the Good News reached new frontiers, to an unreached nation. He was blooming in midlife, possessing the strength and enthusiasm of a much younger person

Young blood who can throw themselves for God is declining precipitously. In the days of yore, teams of young men and women were going from village to village setting ablaze the population with the Good News. Where are such youngsters now? Everybody seems to prefer the limelight ministry than the mud and obscurity of the mission field or a slum or just be a nobody whom God is using mightily in a corner. Nobody is born to be a failure. So step out of your cozy corner. Most of us need a kick in our pants for our insolence. Never despise the voice of God. Never neglect even a single soul. Keep a sharp lookout for lost sheep groping to find God. "Big doors turn on small things. Great things happen when simple instructions of the Spirit are obeyed," says Pastor Ashish Raichur of the All Peoples Church in Bangalore. "While God does speak in supernatural ways to reveal His plan and purposes, often the recognition of a heavenly vision comes as a simple stirring in our hearts ... Pay attention to what stirs your heart," he says.

We learn one more lesson from Philip: the art of delegation. In Samaria, he was not trying to manage the whole affair. Quickly, he trained local leaders and handed over the ministry to them and escaped burnout. When God's call came to him to move out, he could move stock and barrel.

5. The family man Philip: (Acts 21:8)

After his encounter with the Ethiopian, the Holy Spirit dropped him in Azotus from where he walked the 120 km to Caesarea, preaching in all the bustling cities on the way (Acts 8:40). There he settled down. Incidentally, Caesarea was where Cornelius lived and Paul later stood before Felix, Festus, King Agrippa and Bernice for enquiry.

Philip did not neglect his family for the sake of evangelism. He loved his family as much as he loved evangelism. His four daughters grew up in the fear of God and became prophetesses. They were virgins, which speaks of their strict Christian upbringing. Paul and team came there and stayed, "many" days (Acts 21:10). Now he was rubbing shoulders with top leaders. "To Caesarea? Where shall we stay? It's a big city and the rent goes through the roof," asks someone in the team. "No worries, 'our' Philip is there," chimes another. So the team lands in Philip's house. Agabus came and prophesied there. In short, their house was the hub of evangelistic activities. The whitehaired Philip didn't mind the terrible invasion of privacy. No gas stove, no grinder, no mixy, no dishwasher, no washing machine, no cooker! Imagine! With believers like Philip, the future was definitely in good hands.

Don't consider spending time with your children a waste of time. Relax and play with them. Teach them the Bible and bring them up in the fear of God. If God has given us a house to stay, our own or rented, let it be for God's service. Let us keep the doors open for God's Kingdom to spread. It is not easy, it is sacrifice. As much as our time and health permit, let us dedicate our house and wealth for God's work. Entertain guests without griping.

More than all this, let us not be blind to the needs of the family. Satan knows how to destroy us. Be vigilant. Keeping the family under the shadow of the Almighty comes before evangelism. If our family thrives, evangelism will thrive.

Philip is a model for two-talented people like you and me. His life story is a tale of revival. May God make us a five-fold witnesses like him. God saw his faithfulness as an insignificant believer among the ocean of believers and promoted him to the position of a deacon. When he shone there, He entrusted him with the bigger Samaritan ministry. Then He used him to send the Good News to a nation. Finally, God placed him in a city from where the Good News spread in all directions. His faithfulness catapulted him to entry into the world-famous Book, The Bible! May we all follow his model!

Dr. Lilian Stanley
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