By: Shannon Marshall

 

It is harder to frown than smile. Or I have heard it takes more muscles to frown than it
does to smile. Smiling is a lot more fun to do than frowning also. Turning a frown upside down
is what many wish they could do.
Philip left Jerusalem because of persecution. He went down to the city of Samaria and
preached the gospel to them. Acts 8: 8 describes the ministry of Philip in that city. The verse
reads, “And there was great joy in that city.” A lot of frowns were turned upside down in that
town. As we look at Philip’s ministry there, we can understand why there was great joy in that
city.
First, he brought hope to that city. How did he do that? He brought words of hope by
preaching the gospel. `The hopeless got hope. The helpless got help. The sick got healed. The
trapped got freedom. It doesn’t matter what a city has if the unloved are not being loved, the
unreached are not being reached, and the untold are not being told, the people will not have
true joy.
Second, he showed the way to that city. The way to where? The way to Jesus. The way
for which everyone is looking. We look for it in so many ways, like fortune and fame. A man in
Booneville, Mississippi while walking to a convenience store found the way to Jesus by hearing
Rick Gage over the loudspeakers of the stadium at Northwest Community College as Rick spoke
at a crusade. The man had spent most of his life in and out of prisons because of drugs. Joy
came to that man when he found the way.
Third, He brought Joy with him. The joy of the Lord is our strength. Serve your town with
joy. Ask Jesus to give you joy back if you have lost your joy. May there be great joy in our towns.