But Philip was found at Azotus: and passing through he preached in all the cities, till he came to Cæsarea.
After baptizing the Ethiopian the Spirit caught Philip away, he was found at Azotus, and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea, so his labor for one convert did not end but continued into a wider mission. The same journey closed his experience with the Ethiopian seeker after truth and belongs to the evangelistic work recorded in the book of Acts. That work is full of precious instruction whose teachings are needed in the work today and deals with the highest education students in schools are to receive.
Heaven is closely connected with earth, for by the angel and the Spirit God directs willing workers to people seeking truth and light. He thus brought Philip into contact with a man whose influence could spread that truth to others. God's plan is for people to work for their fellow human beings as human messengers who hear His voice and go where He sends them. They are to preach Jesus and the gospel of the Word from Scripture and explain it to those who read it but do not understand its import, so that sinners are converted.
The Ethiopian represents a large class of human beings who need such missionaries, including the higher classes reached by the shining of the light of truth, and neglecting this heritage of the Lord brings judgment. Philip's preaching from city to city is the example of true Christian home missionary labor God calls His people to do now, calling the church out of indifference and listlessness to do its God-given work. As the pattern for city work it calls for much spreading about instead of centering in companies in a few places and neglecting the cities. It calls for dividing and subdividing experienced workers who have acted an important part for years, commencing missionary work in several places by uniting in one city and then dividing to enter the next, so that several cities are being worked at once, and for educating new workers by taking them along, with the Lord responding to earnest efforts and making the truth a power.
Gospel workers must therefore be on watch and ready to help every case that comes to their notice, following the leading of the angel and the Spirit as Philip did. Then they are to keep moving on to open new fields city by city, including work with people who have an advanced acquaintance with temperance principles. They are not to let Satan entangle God's work in a supposed beneficent work that absorbs means and closes doors.
After baptizing the Ethiopian the Spirit caught Philip away, he was found at Azotus, and passing through he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea, so his labor for one convert did not end but continued into a wider mission. The same journey closed his experience with the Ethiopian seeker after truth and belongs to the evangelistic work recorded in the book of Acts. That work is full of precious instruction whose teachings are needed in the work today and deals with the highest education students in schools are to receive.
Heaven is closely connected with earth, for by the angel and the Spirit God directs willing workers to people seeking truth and light. He thus brought Philip into contact with a man whose influence could spread that truth to others. God's plan is for people to work for their fellow human beings as human messengers who hear His voice and go where He sends them. They are to preach Jesus and the gospel of the Word from Scripture and explain it to those who read it but do not understand its import, so that sinners are converted.
The Ethiopian represents a large class of human beings who need such missionaries, including the higher classes reached by the shining of the light of truth, and neglecting this heritage of the Lord brings judgment. Philip's preaching from city to city is the example of true Christian home missionary labor God calls His people to do now, calling the church out of indifference and listlessness to do its God-given work. As the pattern for city work it calls for much spreading about instead of centering in companies in a few places and neglecting the cities. It calls for dividing and subdividing experienced workers who have acted an important part for years, commencing missionary work in several places by uniting in one city and then dividing to enter the next, so that several cities are being worked at once, and for educating new workers by taking them along, with the Lord responding to earnest efforts and making the truth a power.
Gospel workers must therefore be on watch and ready to help every case that comes to their notice, following the leading of the angel and the Spirit as Philip did. Then they are to keep moving on to open new fields city by city, including work with people who have an advanced acquaintance with temperance principles. They are not to let Satan entangle God's work in a supposed beneficent work that absorbs means and closes doors.