Phillip – A Soul Winner

Introduction:

When God sent orders to Philip to leave Samaria and go down the road that led from Jerusalem unto Gaza, Philip was obedient.  (Acts 8:26-27)  The Bible says, “He arose and went.”  Philip obeyed God without question.  If we are going to be effective soul winners like Philip, we, too, must be submissive.  We must, at all times and at all cost, be willing to do what “God wants us to do; and not what we want to do.  However, at times this is very difficult for many of us.

Philip had great success in Samaria preaching the gospel.  (Acts 8:6. 25)

Yet, when he was commanded to leave, even though it may have sounded somewhat strange and irrational; he obeyed.  He was a man who knew God’s way was best.

Body:

I. We Must Be Willing to Teach One As Well As Many

God commanded Philip to leave the multitudes in Samaria and travel approximately fifty miles for one lost soul.  This kind of dedication takes real love.  Yet Philip was willing to travel that distance, and more if necessary, down a very dangerous road to achieve God’s mission.  He, like Jesus, was willing to leave the crowds for one individual.  How long will it take us to understand that one soul is a large enough crowd to win a soul?  We must be willing to leave the ninety-nine and bring that one lost soul back into safety.  (Luke 15)

II. We Must Not Be Prejudiced

Even though the eunuch was a proselyte to the Jewish religion, he was still considered an outcast in the full sense of the word.  (Deuteronomy 23:1)  Since he was not entirely Jewish, he was in the same category as the Gentiles.  Thus, no ordinary Jew would dare talk to him about his soul.  It even took a miracle for the apostle Peter to go into a Gentile’s house and teach the gospel.  (Acts 10)  Yet, without hesitation, Philip was willing to teach a Gentile.  (Acts 8:27)  We, too, must be like Philip if we are going to be successful soul-winners.  We must be color-blind in doing personal evangelism.  We should look at the condition of the soul and not the color of the skin or the size of the pocketbook.  God is not a respecter of persons.  (Acts 10:34)  Neither is Christ.  (Matthew 28, Mark 16)  Brethren, why should we be?  All men need salvation.  (Romans 3:23)  Therefore, all men need the gospel which is God’s only power to save.  (Romans 1:16)

III. We Must Feel the Urgency of Soul-Winning

When the Spirit told Philip to join himself to the chariot in which the eunuch was riding, Philip “ran to him.”  (Acts 8:30)  Philip knew the urgent need of soul-winning.  To him there was no time to waste.  This is the kind of enthusiasm that is needed so desperately in the twentieth -century church.  The early church was very zealous when it came to soul-winning.  (Acts 2:41-47, Acts 5:41-42, Acts 8:1-4)  We need to restore this kind of zeal in today’s church.

IV. We Must Ask Questions

Philip, like Jesus, did on many occasions; ask the prospect a question to get the discussion started.  (Acts 8:30)  If we would do the same, we, too, would win more souls to Christ.  When we go grocery shipping, when we pay bills, when we go on vacation, or wherever we go; if we would ask more questions, we could arouse a greater interest in Bible study and certainly win more souls.

V. We Must Know and Use the Scriptures

When the eunuch asked Philip about a certain passage in Isaiah, Philip knew to whom the scripture referred.  (Acts 8:31-35)  If we are going to be effective soul-winners, like Philip, we must know the scriptures.  We cannot be ignorant of God’s word and expect to win souls to Christ.  (Hebrews 5:11-14)  In soul-winning there is no substitute for the word of God, for only it can bring about salvation.  (John 8:32, Romans 10:17, James 1:21)  We must have a “Thus saith the Lord” to produce true conversion.

VI. We Must Preach Jesus

After reading Isaiah 53, Philip began from that same scripture and taught “Jesus” unto the eunuch.  (Acts 8:35)  We cannot teach feelings and opinions and get the job done.  The only message that can save is Jesus, for He alone has the words of life.  (John 14:6, Acts 4:12)  Jesus must be our only drawing power and message.  (I Corinthians 1:23, I Corinthians 2:2, II Corinthians 4:5)  In order to be a soul-winner, we must teach a saving gospel, and not a social gospel.

 VII.  We Must Allow the Prospect to Respond

To lead a person near unto salvation and fall just short of it is not close enough.  No matter how close an operation comes to being successful; if it does not succeed, it is still a failure.

Philip allowed the eunuch to respond to his teaching.  (Acts 8:36-37)  We must always get our prospect to respond in personal evangelism.  “Unless we close, we cannot win souls” is certainly a true statement.

VIII. We Must Continue to Look for More Opportunities

Philip was not content in winning just one soul to Christ.  After baptizing the eunuch, he went on his way looking for new prospects.  (Acts 8:40)  This is the key to an effective soul-winning program.  A congregation or a Christian who is now satisfied with its present work and does not have any foresight or vision will soon perish, according to the wise man Solomon.  (Proverbs 29:18)  We must cast our nets into the deep if we are going to be successful fishers of men.  (Luke 5:1-7)  If we fail to make plans to win souls, then we plan to fail.  We must continue to keep our eyes open as we look out into the fields.  The whole world is a mission field.  We have too much to do to sit down and pat ourselves on the back and say we are doing a good job.  We must never be content it there is still a lost soul that needs saving.

Conclusion:

Yes, we need more Philips in the Lord’s church today.  Even though he may not be as famous as Moses or as popular as Paul; yet, he was a very dedicated man of God.  If we had the same enthusiasm that Philip had, we, too, could be effective soul-winners.

 

Bobby Stafford    

July 21, 2013