Kingdoms Collide Part 14: Kingdom Awareness

INTRO

Acts 8:26–40 ESV

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

1) Listen and Obey (vs. 26-27a)

God was calling on Philip to get out of his comfort zone and to take an incredible journey

Philip was in Samaria, where he had went in order to escape the persecution of Jerusalem

God was calling Philip to go back towards Jerusalem and beyond

This was not just a walk down the block…it was a long journey with not much instruction.

Too often we only want to hear God say to us what we are comfortable with hearing.

They journey God has for us will always move us beyond our comfort and into dependence upon Him.

We need to learn to be aware of God’s purposes in our lives. When we understand His purpose, we can hear His calling us to bless us through unknown journeys.

We have to be willing to listen and to obey, even if it doesn’t make sense to us.

2) Look for Gospel Opportunities (vs. 27b-35)

As Philip was traveling, he came across a man, seated in a chariot, reading scripture.

This was unique: Not everyone had the means to carry scripture around with them. Not everyone had the ability to read.

This man was a God-fearer who was a court official for the Queen of Ethiopia.

At the direction of the Spirit, Philip engaged the man, asking, if he understood what the man was reading.

He could have made the assumption that He did, but He didn’t take that for granted.

Philip used the opportunity to share the good news about Jesus and to invite Him to believe in Jesus.

We often fall short in our kingdom awareness because we make too many assumptions!

Assumptions like, people are already saved…or people aren’t interested…or if someone wears religious clothing they know God… or people who repost religious chain mail on social media must already know God (After all it did say to share if your really love Jesus!)

In reality…there are less and less people who know the true Jesus of the Bible…most only know the false, Americanized Jesus who only brings happy thoughts and warm feelings.

We need to know what the Scriptures say about Jesus and invite people to know the biblical Jesus.

SCRIPTURES (Plural)…Not just some isolated used out of context idea.

If we will be Kingdom Aware and look for Gospel opportunities, we will see there is a greater need for the Gospel than we could ever imagine right around us!

3) Rejoice in God (vs. 36-40)

What an incredible blessing for the Ethiopian and for Philip!

Too often we only rejoice in what God does for me…but real Kingdom Awareness just brings great joy in what God does…period!

Ever wonder why some Christians are just grumpy all the time? It’s because they lack Kingdom Awareness!

When you continually see God at work and you join Him in His work you understand that every day is the day that the Lord has made and we can rejoice and be glad in it!

Those who live with Kingdom Awareness have joy beyond conventional understanding.

CLOSING

KINGDOM AWARENESS STARTS WITH CLOSENESS TO GOD. WHAT IS GOD CALLING YOU TO DO IN ORDER TO GROW IN YOUR KINGDOM AWARENESS?