Chapter 1 A Consecrated Life - Far Eastern Bible College

preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some
of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they
were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the
Lord Jesus. And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a
great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
Notice one important point: The ones who were preaching the
gospel were not missionaries at all, nor a special group of gifted
evangelists. In fact in 8:1, we are even told specifically that the Apostles
stayed behind at Jerusalem, and they were the ones who had been
entrusted with the ministry of preaching the Word. But who were the
ones now actually bringing the gospel beyond Jerusalem? They were
the members of the church. They were actually ordinary believers who
simply made good use of every opportunity they came across, as they
migrated to new places and met new people.
It amazes us that they were able to do this even though they
themselves were not going through an easy time. They were in the
process of relocating their homes and families in new and unfamiliar
places.
If you have moved house before, you might understand a little of
the anxiety and difficulty this involves. But despite all of this, they still
bothered to witness to their neighbours and the friends they made in
their new places of residence. Thus new churches started to develop.
How were they able to do this? I would like to suggest that this was
possible because of the way that each believer regarded his or her life.
Even the most extreme circumstances could not dampen their spirits and
their influence, because each of them was living a life that was fully
yielded to God. They understood that God was the one leading them
from place to place. And so they continued to keep themselves busy in
the Lord’s work, refusing to let life’s circumstances affect their work for
the Lord.
This is what we will see now as we spend the rest of our time
studying what one particular believer by the name of Philip did. From
him, we will learn that there are at least three ways in which we would
be busy for the Lord, if our lives are fully yielded to Him.
32 A Consecrated Life