“Meanwhile, Philip found himself farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.”
Acts 8:40 (NLT)
When I compare Acts 8:40 with Acts 8:25, something stands out: Peter and John stopped in many Samaritan villages to preach the Good News, but Philip stops in every town between Azotus and Caesarea. Why do the apostles stop in many towns, but Philip the evangelist stops in every town? The answer was in the question—they have different ministry offices.
Peter and John are apostles, and their primary responsibility, according to Acts 6:2, is to spend their time teaching the Word of God. Apostles can evangelize, but it’s not their primary mode of operation. Philip is called to evangelize, and that’s why he’s preaching in every town, not just some of them or many of them or a lot of them. That’s what Holy Spirit has given him a gift to do.
That gift is so evident that Holy Spirit snatches him away from where he’s at on the road to Gaza and puts him in a different town to further his assignment. The Lord didn’t want to waste any time—Philip had people to talk to, to share the good news with. That’s amazing. Philip, Ezekiel, and Jesus all show us what it looks like for God to move a person by the Spirit for His purposes.
Philip is also just an example of believers leaving Jerusalem and spreading the good news wherever they went. Preaching is not just a responsibility of the pastor. It’s not just a responsibility of the apostle. Preaching is a responsibility for all of us. And for some of us, we have special giftings and a calling to do it in every town—in other words, every conversation, every meeting, every interaction. If that’s your calling, it won’t just be a responsibility, it’ll be an opportunity to tell others about the Lord. Believers today must testify to what God has done in our lives so others don’t just hear the good news, but receive it. So what’s one small step you can do today to spread the Gospel?