“But now the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. As a result, many men and women were baptized.”
Acts 8:12 (NLT)
Acts 8 shows me the kind of ministry that actually changes a city. Philip preached the Good News, and the Lord backed it with real power—miracles, signs, demons cast out, bodies healed—and Luke says there was great joy. Then we meet Simon the sorcerer, a man who used to do “ministry” for himself, for money, claiming to be great, luring people in with shiny objects.
But verse 12 says the people believed Philip’s message of Good News concerning two things: the Kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. That matters. We enter the Kingdom of God—and Jesus is the doorway, the gate, the way in. The name of Jesus is the authority, the key, the access point, and the Kingdom is what the Father is bringing to earth through His Son.
And when that message lands, people don’t just feel something—they leave something. They abandoned Simon’s message, and many men and women were baptized in water. The water didn’t save them, but it did show the community where their allegiance shifted—from the world to the Kingdom of God, from pacifiers of the world to the presence of the Lord.
So I’m sitting with this today: what “Simon” do I need to abandon to be all-in for this Good News? What pacifier, what shiny object, what old allegiance do I need to leave behind so my life is clearly aligned with the Kingdom of God? Because when the Lord gives great joy, it’s not meant to stop with me—it’s meant to spread to others.