Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Christ to them. The crowds gave their undivided attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform. With loud shrieks, unclean spirits came out of many who were possessed, and many of the paralyzed and lame were healed. So there was great joy in that city.
Acts 8:5-8 BSB
If you’re a believer in Jesus Christ, if you’ve committed your life to Him, you are on duty wherever you go. God knows your heart, your steps, your future. Be ready to seize new opportunities. Philip was forced to flee Jerusalem due to persecution and subsequently found himself in Samaria. It was not typical for Jews to engage in conversation with Samaritans. However, on this occasion, Philip felt compelled to inform them that the Anointed One (the Christ) had arrived. He probably had no idea, but he was in a place primed for revival.
About 5 years earlier, Jesus had personally visited Samaria where He saw many Samaritans come to believe that He was the Messiah (the Christ). They heard the story told by the woman at the well and wound up believing that He was indeed, the Messiah (John 4:1-42). In that episode, Jesus told His disciples:
“Do you not say, ‘There are still four months until the harvest’? I tell you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are ripe for harvest. Already the reaper draws his wages and gathers a crop for eternal life, so that the sower and the reaper may rejoice together. For in this case the saying ‘One sows and another reaps’ is true. I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; others have done the hard work, and now you have taken up their labor.”
John 4:35-38
After the resurrection, the risen Lord informed His disciples that they would serve as witnesses to Him “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The disciples were slow to venture from their home base, but persecution in Jerusalem prompted Philip to migrate to a location he would have otherwise avoided, populated by individuals he did not particularly care for. However, it was a place of opportunity where Jesus had personally sowed seed.
Here’s the point: As you intersect with other lives today, remember there are no coincidences for a believer. God will put you in situations that He has been preparing for years in ways you can never know. In every encounter look for an opportunity to sow, water, or harvest. You are there for a reason.
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