Jesus Famous With Nate Holdridge

  “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ This is a desert place.” (Acts 8:26) In the midst of a powerful outworking of God’s Spirit in Samaria, Philip was told to depart and go to Gaza. He was one of the first deacons, a spiritual man responsible for material things in the church, but by the time we see him here, he has become a preacher of the gospel. Persecution had struck the church in Jerusalem. People fled, so did Philip, and he went down to Samaria. God did amazing things through him, and the people there were receptive to the Lord and his message. Many were saved. God’s power was evident. But in the midst of this powerful outworking of God’s Spirit in Samaria, Philip was told to depart and go to Gaza. Luke, the author of Acts, adds this commentary: “this is a desert place.” In other words, uninhabited. God took Philip from the bustle of fruitfulness and placed him where no one lived. As the story unfolds, God’s plan