Early in Church history, the Gospel was preached primarily in Jerusalem, where all twelve apostles resided and ministered. There was tremendous numerical and spiritual growth in believers at that time. We find that by chapter six of Acts, the Twelve could no longer handle all the leadership responsibilities of the ministry in Jerusalem. The first evidence of this was complaints that many of the Christian widows, who relied almost entirely upon the local church to meet their needs, were not receiving allocations of food.
To resolve the issue, the apostles gathered the believers together and told them to select seven men of honest report and full of the Spirit and wisdom. These men would manage the distribution of food, or as the apostles called it, "serving tables." The intent of the apostles was to gain for themselves additional time in prayer and the Word. The believers selected seven men to handle serving tables. Important to the overall well-being of the church, serving tables was something that needed to be delegated to a new group of church leadership.
The men selected were of great spiritual maturity and were trusted by the believers to fulfill this new leadership role. However, it was not clear until a little later just how powerful these men were in the church. Soon after their selection, Stephen, one of the seven, was preaching powerfully and effectively. He operated in gifts of the Spirit and flowed in the gifts of an evangelist. Stephen's preaching so agitated the Jewish religious leaders that he was stoned to death and great persecution erupted against Christians throughout Jerusalem. Jewish religious leaders went house to house arresting Christians and putting them in jail. Sounds like bad news, doesn't it? The apostles somehow avoided capture and stayed in town, but many believers fled Jerusalem and scattered to other cities and regions. The Word says those who fled "preached the word wherever they went" (Acts 8:4.)
Notice that adversity caused three things, (1) a scattering of the believers, (2) a preaching of the Gospel in new places, and (3) an emergence of powerful preachers. It was the adversity in Jerusalem that brought the good news to Samaria. Philip was one of these new leaders who emerged from his role of waiting tables in Jerusalem to evangelist, miracle worker, deliverer, and healer in Samaria. It is clear that Philip was equipped, a man full of the Spirit and wisdom and held in high regard by the believers in Jerusalem. However, the extent of his ministry was not fully apparent until sinister events broke out in Jerusalem. It was the sinister that caused the scattering. It was the scattering that caused the emergence of the new Spirit-filled leaders. It was the emergence of Spirit-filled leaders that spread the good news to Samaria and elsewhere.
God had taken what was intended for evil (the persecution) and turned it for good (the spreading of the good news of Jesus Christ). Philip emerged as a mighty man of God who was led by the Spirit to Samaria, and from Samaria to minister to Queen Candace's treasurer on the Gaza road, to translation to Asotus, to itinerant evangelism throughout Judea. He ended up in Caesarea, where he apparently settled down and had a family. He not only had a family, but a family that operated in gifts of ministry as evidenced by four daughters who prophesied and many years later hosted Paul on his third missionary journey (Acts 21). Paul, who as Saul was an accessory to the stoning of Stephen and perpetrator of persecution in Jerusalem, ended up being hosted by Philip, a man whose role as evangelist emerged from the sinister work of Saul.
God is faithful to use what was intended to for evil and turn it to good for His purposes. Often we may feel like we are waiting tables for God. Serving food was a lot more comfortable for Philip than enduring persecution, I'm sure, but God had a plan for getting the good news beyond Jerusalem. God will use negative circumstances to launch ministries, touch lives, and fulfill His purposes in the Church. Many people want to be used by God in a great way but feel like they're simply waiting tables. The lesson is to be faithful in what you are doing, no matter what it is; God will use any adversity to work good in your life and fulfill His purpose for you and for the Church. ◊
