The readings from 1 Samuel
13:5-18 and Acts 8:26-40 are interesting studies of contrasts. The contrast is
the consequences of disobeying God
verses the consequences of obeying
God.
The
reading from 1 Samuel 13:5-18 shows what happens when we disobey God. King Saul
was told to wait and let the prophet Samuel make the burnt offerings to God.
Instead, King Saul made the burnt offering himself.
Here's
the situation. The Philistines and Israelites were at war. The Philistine army,
which numbered at least 36,000 men, was assembled on the Philistine plain. Now
that must have been a frightening sight for the Israelites because most of them
fled into caves. Saul got tired of waiting for Samuel, so he made the burnt
offering.
King
Saul wanted to gain the glory of victory for himself instead of giving it to
God. Needless to say, by the time Samuel finally arrived and found out what
Saul did, he was not happy. We, like King Saul, are tempted to take matters
into our own hands when things go wrong. We, like King Saul, must remember that
God is in control and we need to obey God at all times. King Saul's punishment
for his disobedience was the eventual loss of his position of king to David.
King Saul failed to acknowledge Samuel's role as the divine messenger. In other
words, King Saul failed to listen to the word of God.
God
saw that David had a heart for God. That heart was sensitive to the things of
God. God looks for people whose hearts are completely his. That includes
obeying the word of God, regardless of who we hear it from-either from God directly
or through his messengers.
In
contrast to King Saul, Philip obeyed God. The angel of the Lord told Philip to
go to the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip explained the content of the Book of Isaiah
to the Ethiopian. Philip obeyed when the Ethiopian wanted to be baptized. When
he did everything he was asked to do, the angel of the Lord took Philip to the
place where Philip originally wanted to go.
By
being receptive to the Holy Spirit, we, like Philip, can find guidance from God
for our daily choices and decisions. Philip didn't know that God had planned to
use the Ethiopian to be the first preacher of the Gospel in Ethiopia (according
to tradition). Philip's message was tailored to the Ethiopian, just like I have
tailored my message to you. Philip was guided by the Holy Spirit's concern for
people. Philip saw that the Ethiopian was interested in the Scriptures.
The
late Beatle John Lennon once said that "life is what happens to you when
you're busy making other plans". We are going in one direction for one
reason or another when something significant happens that changes our plans.
That event could be anything from a meeting or a conversation that has an
impact on someone else's life. Just look at the apostle Paul for example. He
was on his way to Damascus to arrest Christians and bring them back to
Jerusalem for trial when he quite literally saw the light of Christ. That
encounter changed his life. Instead of being a zealous persecutor of
Christians, he became a zealous spreader of the Good News. In fact , if it
wasn't for the work of Paul and his helpers such as Timothy and Silas,
Christianity would not have had the impact that it did, and Christianity would
not have the impact that it still has today.
The
Holy Spirit works in the same way for us when we obey God's command to share
the Good News. He tailors our message to the people we speak to. He guides us
through genuine concern for people. He leads us to find out what their
interests are and uses those interests to preach the Good News. He leads us to
start where people are in relationship to Christ, just like Philip started
where the Ethiopian was. The Holy Spirit guides us in what to say and what to
do, just like it guided Philip.
Philip
was in the right place at the right time. He was available to act for God when
action was needed. We must also be ready to act for God when action is needed.
In order to be available we must be free from fear, distraction, busyness and
ignorance of our abilities. When we are available, it means that we are free to
act as a neighbour for other people, free to put our heart and head to work,
free to take a risk and free to step out in hope.
The
passage the Ethiopian was reading pointed to Jesus' atoning death more clearly
than any other Old Testament passage. It was the perfect preparation for Philip
to witness to the Ethiopian. Philip shared that Jesus had to suffer on the
cross for the sins of all humanity.
God
always plans things so that we will have the chance to witness about Jesus. We
have to be open to these chances. We must always be ready to witness about
Jesus. To do so, we must be familiar with God's Word. We must also tailor our
testimony to the particular listener. Many people outside of the faith are
careful thinkers. Their searching is marked by integrity, humility and personal
dissatisfaction with how the world is. It's our mission to come alongside them.
Are we ready to go deep?
1.
Jamieson, R;
Fawcett, A.R.; & Brown, D.: Commentary
Critical & Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbour, WA: Logos
Research Systems Inc.; 1997)
2.
Chafin, K.L.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher's
Commentary Series; Vol. 8: 1,2 Samuel (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.;
1989)
3.
Stanley,
C.F.: The Charles F. Stanley Life
Principles Bible, NASB (Nashville TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 2009)
4.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
5.
Charles
Swindoll, "How's Your Heart?". Retrieved from
eministries@insightforliving.ca
6.
Ogilvie,
L.J.: The Preacher's Commentary Series;
Vol. 28: Acts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983)
7.
Polhill J.B.:
Holman Concise Bible Commentary (Nashville,
TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers; 1998)
8.
Norm Prenger,
"Ready to Go Deep". Retrieved from www.thisistoday.net
9.
Dr. Charles
Stanley, "A Godly Testimony". Retrieved from www.intouch.org
10. The Rev. Charles Hoffacker, "The Right Place, The
Right Time". Retrieved from www.sermonwriter.com
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