“Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.” — Acts 8:35
>> Sign up here for Sports Spectrum devotionals sent right to your email inbox <<
College coaches stay busy recruiting for most of the year, even looking at some high school students in the ninth grade or younger as they plan for future recruiting classes. It is a constant challenge to sell the program and bring in talented athletes who will also follow the rules, do their schoolwork, and represent the university well in the community. College teams are not static. They are either getting better or declining, and the level of recruiting is an important measure of the status of the team. Some people have a knack for recruiting because of their outgoing personality, but most have to work at it and learn on the go.
Sharing the Gospel with people is different from recruiting athletes, but some principles still apply. A Gospel discussion is a volunteer effort that benefits people outside of the Church the most. Sometimes when a church has people already coming regularly and the bills are paid, church members and staff may sit back and be satisfied with the people they already have in the congregation. But Jesus came to share and stretch Himself to deliver the Gospel to a broad variety of people. The Lord calls Christians to come out of our comfort zones and bring the glorious Gospel to all people.
In the early churches, Christians became complacent with their current members, but the Lord reminded them to scatter outside Jerusalem and to the other side of the world, if necessary. The Gospel is not designed to be hoarded; God commands us to share the message. In Acts 8:26-40, Philip received a message from God to go speak to an Ethiopian official who recently worshipped in Jerusalem and was on his way back to his country. Philip went quickly without delay to tell the Good News about Jesus to a person who didn’t know Jesus yet.
Philip took his focus off of being comfortable and brought the message to someone outside of the Church. “Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. … Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus” (Acts 8:30-31, 35). Next thing we know, Philip is water baptizing the Ethiopian official, who walks away from his encounter rejoicing. Philip’s obedience to share the Gospel changed the trajectory of a man’s eternity — he was recruited for Heaven.
Do you look for occasions to share the Gospel on a regular basis? Are you opening your mouth when it’s time to tell people about Jesus?
— Bill Kent, Pastor of Memorial Baptist Church, Sylvania, Georgia
If you would like to submit a devotional, please email all submissions to
devotionals@sportsspectrum.com.
Click here for all Sports Spectrum Daily Devotionals
>> Purchase “The Increase 52 Week Devotional” to further grow your relationship with Christ <<
