Have
you ever wondered how you can share the Good News with the people you meet? If
so, the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8:26-40 is a good
teaching manual. Philip was leading a revival in Samaria that was leading
multitudes of people to Christ. God called Philip from evangelizing the crowds
to evangelizing to one person, but that one person-the eunuch-led to the spread
of Christianity to the African continent. Philip must have wondered why God
would take him out of a revival and place him in a desert, but he trusted God.
Evangelism
is like that. Evangelism is a team
effort that involves each and every member of the body of Christ, but it
eventually comes down to a one on one encounter between a follower of Jesus and
a person who is following his or her own way. We do not have to be a Billy
Graham, or a Franklin Graham or a Will Graham and lead crusades in major cities
and large stadiums throughout the world. We can do the same thing in our own
communities with the people we meet every day.
We
don’t know anything about the eunuch’s spiritual background other than the fact
that he travelled 1,200 miles to Jerusalem. Jewish law would have excluded the
eunuch from the temple. This is an example of the Gospel spreading to the
Gentiles. The passage the eunuch read was the passage from Isaiah about the
suffering servant. There is no better passage with which to introduce someone
to Jesus.
The
eunuch’s baptism confirms that baptism is for those who profess faith in Jesus.
Immersion equals death to sin, coming up out of the water equals rising to a
new life in Christ. The eunuch’s joy represents a new spiritual state.
Philip
had to overcome a lot of barriers to get to the eunuch’s chariot, but the barriers
did not matter to Philip. Barriers should not matter to us either. We must be
willing to go, sit and spend time with people who want to get to know God.
Differences in race, colour, creed or culture must not be barriers to our
mission. We need to pour out our lives for their sake.
The
only way to reach people for Christ is to preach Christ crucified, dead, buried
and risen again. Clever stories or preaching methods or living our lives in
front of lost people won’t do the job. We are called to make disciples. It
requires our willingness to become a mentor for new believers. We have to take
the goodness God has poured into our lives and pour that goodness into the
lives of the lost.
This
story is fast-paced and full of action. These might not be the first words we
think of when we think of the word “church”, but the intention of the Book of
Acts is to show us that the Spirit is alive and we are too. If we are alive in
Christ, we will obey when the Spirit says to us, “Get up and go.” We must be
prepared to seize each and every opportunity to proclaim the Good News, like I
am when I’m given an opportunity to preach. If we are to discover God’s
guidance for our lives, we have to be receptive to the Spirit, even if it does
not fit into our plans, goals, prejudices, etc. Philip is a good example. He
wanted to continue the revival in Samaria, but the Holy Spirit had other plans.
There
are two issues in this reading-obedience, and preaching the Good News. As I
mentioned earlier, the eunuch spread Christianity to Africa. In the case of
Philip, he obeyed God’s call to meet with the eunuch at that particular time
and in that particular place. The eternal life of someone who would play a key
role in the worldwide expansion of Christianity was at stake.
All
believers have direct access to God through faith and the Holy Spirit. All
believers are able to understand the teachings of the Scriptures and gain the
benefit God intends-namely, the ability to share the Gospel with others. Sometimes
we wonder about the people and situations God has guided us to. That’s only
natural, because we can’t see “the big picture” that God sees. Sometimes the
people and situations are difficult for us, but they often lead to blessings.
God uses anything he can to convince us to follow his directions. The key for
us is to be prepared to follow him, and that preparation includes openness,
prayer, Bible study and surrendering to God’s will. If we are prepared we will
be ready when opportunities arise. For example, I was a lay minister for several
years before I felt the call to preach. God used that time to prepare me
through working with other team members and learning from them. As a result, I
have had the opportunity to preach over 200 times in locations such as churches
in my own Parish of South Queens, Hillsview Acres, here at Queens Manor and
just recently at the United Churches in Liverpool and Bridgewater.
If
we, like Moses, don’t know what to say, that’s okay because the Holy Spirit
will tailor our message to the needs of the people we speak to. It’s like
advertisers who tailor the message of their products to a particular audience.
For example, you rarely see ads for fishing gear in fashion magazines!
We
need to consider the needs, background and experience of our audience when we are
called to share our faith. When we find out about our audience, our natural
desire to help takes over. When that desire kicks in, we have to start where
our audience is in relationship to Christ, and not where they should be. When
we are nearing the end of our witnessing, we have to wait for signs of
readiness and response. If that readiness indicates belief in the resurrection,
the audience is ready to begin their new life in Christ. All of this is only possible if we are
willing to talk about Jesus and if we are willing to go anywhere to share the
Good News, just like I was prepared to share the Good News at the United
Churches in Liverpool and Bridgewater, and just like I am prepared to go
anywhere God wants me to go and preach. If we let God direct us where he wants
us to go, he will give us the courage and the words. All we have to do is to
step out in faith.
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, NKJV (Brentwood,
TN: Worthy Publishing; 2013)
4.
T.M. Moore,
“Read with the Saints.” Retrieved from wwww.colsoncenter.org
5.
Lysa
Terkeurst, “Might We Dare to be a Little More Common?” Retrieved from Crosswalk@crosswalkmail.com
6.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 10 Bible software package.
7. Ogilvie, L.J. & Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s Commentary Series, Vol. 28:
Acts (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983)
8. Stanley, C.F.: The
Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible, NKJV (Nashville, TN: Thomas
Nelson Inc.; 2005)
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