Ready, Set, Gospel

The 911 service was created in 1968 to find and rescue people who were injured or dying. It connected callers to an emergency operator. Any information had to come from the caller, such as name and address. The problem was, during a crisis, many people could barely speak, much less give their address coherently. It was a “dumb” system. It was simply a phone line.

Interesting trivia: the first 911 system was installed in Haleyville, Alabama in 1968. Population 4,500. If you’ve never been to Haleyville, think Mayberry.

Then in October of 1999, the 911 Act was passed, mandating 911 to act as the universal emergency number, including both wireline and wireless phone devices. It was called enhanced 911, or E-911.

We were living in Birmingham at the time, and I was the sales and marketing manager for a communications company. We sold and installed the first E-911 systems for the cities of Homewood and Vestavia.

This enhanced system popped up the callers name, address, and when interfaced with their database, gave the 911 operator their call history along with notes. For wireless callers, it gave geographical coordinates of the cell phone caller. This was considered a “smart” system.

In 2011 Time magazine reported that our 911 system was quickly becoming outdated and needed to be retooled to reach people in need.

Time warned: “Such gaps leave us with a patchy emergency infrastructure that has become progressively less able to find people in need.”

If the emergency is in a multi-story, multi-dwelling building, the response crew must determine how to pick the right floor.

The article pointed to our best resource: “Emergencies are best served by “smart” people. In other words, 911 operators must think creatively and quickly to find lost callers and then get them the help they need.

How easy is it today to find and connect with people who need Jesus?

Our culture has changed drastically in the last 50-60 years.

Our society used to be at least culturally Christian.

People went to church. At least most people knew they should be going to church.

Most people had a basic knowledge of who Jesus was and that there was a heaven to gain and a hell to miss.

Neighbors were more connected. People spent time on their front porch and tended talked to neighbors.

Today it’s not uncommon to ride through a neighborhood and not see a soul. Everyone is holed up in their climate controlled castle and don’t want to interact with their neighbors.

Our society is no longer considered culturally Christian.

According to our most recent demographic survey of the 57,000 people within a 10-minute drive of our church, 42% have indicated they do not attend any religious services, and 18% say they rarely attend. That’s 60% of the people within a 10-minute drive of 6294 Tom Hebert Rd.

A large portion self-identify as “nones” - atheists, agnostics, or “nothing in particular” religiously.

When I first started in ministry you could ask someone if they thought they would go to heaven when they die? It was a question many people thought about.

In today’s culture if you ask that question to younger generations you might well get the response, “I don’t think about it. I don’t believe in heaven or hell.”

The methods we used when I first started in ministry, simply don’t connect with many people today.

The starting line of sharing the gospel has has moved.

It means that we have an opportunity to share the gospel in the same sort of society where the gospel first emerged, which wasn't some hazy, happy Christian society. It was a very decadent, polytheistic Roman empire.

For so many people today we have to begin with the ABCs. Who is Jesus? What is sin?

Our strategy and methods used to connect with people may have changed, but the message has not.

So we must ask ourselves, “How can we seize the opportunity to lead others to Jesus as we go about our day?”

This morning we turn our attention to the interaction between Philip and an Ethiopian official.

This official was searching for the truth, and Philip, guided by the Holy Spirit, helped him find the truth.

In our world filled with countless distractions and endless tasks, it can be easy to overlook the divine appointments God sets before us.

We might miss opportunities to share the gospel, caught up in our routines or preoccupied with our worries.

So what’s the answer?

We need to be ready to share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

My prayer for us today is that we learn how to better attune ourselves to these Spirit-led opportunities and faithfully carry out our our calling and our mission.

If you have your Bibles, let’s turn to Acts 8:26.

So, how can we be ready to share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, anytime?

I. Be prepared to connect with those who don't know Jesus (26-29)

Philip is sent down to a place in the desert by an angel.

Philip obeyed.

Along the way he sees a man in a chariot in a caravan.

God directed Philip to the right person at the right time.

You and I are not likely to have angels instruct us, but we can know the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our witnessing, if we are walking in the Spirit and praying for God’s direction.

Luke explains that he is a high-ranking Ethiopian government official.

We’re told he is a “eunuch” This could simply be a worker who holds or is invested with an office, or one who has been made one by emasculation.

He was a non-jew most likely searching for truth and had investigated what the Jewish synagogue had to teach. Or, was what was called a Jewish proselyte.

He had been to Jerusalem to worship and was now going back home.

We’re told he was reading out of the book of Isaiah.

Then the Spirit tells Philip to go and join up with him.

The word “overtake” means to join together, cling to. It carries the sense of “to establish a relationship with someone.”

How will people hear about Jesus today?

For the vast majority it won’t be in church.

It won’t be on the radio or on TV.

Why? They’re not looking for Jesus.

The vast majority of people say they came to know Jesus from someone who invested time with them and shared the gospel with them.

For many, this took place over time. Some, it was years.

The Holy Spirit told Philip to go establish a relationship with this man.

How are we going to lead people to Jesus today? By being prepared to connect with those who don’t know Jesus.

Philip had to go to where this man was. He didn’t come to Philip. We have to go out into our community and meet people where they are. That’s exactly what Jesus did. He met people where they were. He went to them.

Who will you go to this week?

Next we see Philip running to catch up with this man.

Here we see that if we expect to be ready to share the gospel with anyone, anywhere, anytime, we need to...

II. Connect with people where they are, not where we want them to be. (30)

Two things we see Philip doing.

One, he runs to catch up with this man. He moved in the direction of the one who was searching for meaning. He began a relationship with the man where he was geographically.

Second, Philip did what so many of us fail to do. He listened for context before he spoke.

Not only did he connect with this man where he was physically, he connected with this man where he was intellectually. He met the man where he was in his agenda.

Philip didn’t impose his own agenda on the man, or try to connect with the man based on his own plan, and what he was comfortable with.

Philip didn’t introduce his own agenda in the beginning, but met him where he was in his head.

We must first meet people at the intersection of their interests and longings.

What if you’re talking to someone who says they don’t even believe the Bible or that there is even a God?

Start from where they are. They have the same deeply felt needs the rest of us have. Begin where they are and address their deep desires and longing. Let them know what Jesus has done in your life. How He can meet their needs right now.

We can take just about any interest and transition the conversation eventually to a gospel-centric conversation. Then we can show how Jesus can fulfil any and all of their longings.

Whether we realize it or not, we are all longing for our God-designed purpose – love, relationship, transcendent purpose, belonging, etc.

Philip meets him where he was in his head and asks if the man understands what he’s reading.

Philip wasn’t afraid to ask. And he was prepared to answer.

We should always be prepared to give an answer for who Jesus is and what He did for us.

We need to...

III. Be prepared to share the gospel (31-35)

The Ethiopian eunuch answers Philip’s question with a question.

How can I understand this if no one explains it to me.

This Ethiopian represents many people today who are religious, read the Bible, and seek the truth, yet do not have saving faith in Jesus Christ. They are sincere, but they are lost! They need someone to show them the way.

He asks Philip to come up into the chariot and sit with him. Now Philip is going on the journey with him. The chariot is still moving. (v. 38)

He was reading from Isaiah 53, the prophecy of God’s suffering servant. Isaiah 53 describes our Lord Jesus Christ in his birth, life and ministry, substitutionary death, and victorious resurrection.

The Ethiopian focused on verses 7-8, which describes our Lord as the willing sacrifice for sinners, even to the point of losing His human rights.

Philip used what the man was focused on and used it as a springboard to launch into a gospel presentation.

As Philip explained the verses to him, the Ethiopian began to understand the Gospel because the Spirit of God was opening his mind to God’s truth.

It is not enough for the lost sinner to desire salvation; he must also understand God’s plan of salvation. It is the heart that understands the Word that eventually bears fruit (Matt. 13:23).

The Ethiopian believed on Jesus Christ and was born again! So real was his experience that he insisted on stopping the caravan and being baptized immediately! He was no “closet Christian”; he wanted everybody to know what the Lord had done for him.

It’s not enough just to evangelize. We need to...

IV. Be prepared to follow through with new believers (36-39)

The Ethiopian believed in his heart, trusted Jesus and was ready for baptism without praying a prayer or walking down an aisle.

Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God. The Ethiopian believed on Jesus Christ and was born again!

How did the man know he needed to be baptized?

As a Jewish proselyte he probably knew that water baptism was the expected external symbol for a Gentile’s repentance and conversion to the religion of Israel. So, it should have been quite natural for him to view baptism as the appropriate expression for his commitment to Jesus.

Or maybe Philip talked about baptism in his gospel presentation. Either way, Philip followed through and went into the water with the Ethiopian and baptized him.

It was customary for the person who led a someone to the Lord to be the one who baptized them.

The belief that only pastors/elders should be the ones baptizing came about as the religious divide between the clergy and the laity came about.

There is nothing in the New Testament that forbids others from being involved in this beautiful picture of our new life in Christ.

All who trust Christ are called believer priests by Peter. We are a royal priesthood.

Imagine the joy of a father who leads their child to Christ being able to share in the joy of baptizing their children publicly.

I believe this event teaches us that we have a responsibility to those we lead to Christ. We should not simply lead them to Jesus then forget about them.

Granted, the Holy Spirit snatched Philip away, but that’s not the New Testament model. Everywhere else we are told to make disciples. Teach them how to grow in Christ.

V. Never quit sharing the gospel. (40)

Here we see Philip hit the ground running. He continues moving and evangelizing.

The word “preached,” here is the word “evangelize.”

As we conclude today, let us not forget the resounding message of this text - to be prepared and ready to share the Gospel, the Good News of Jesus Christ, with anyone, anywhere, anytime.

It might seem like a daunting task. We might feel unqualified, uncertain, or even fearful. But remember Philip's story in Acts 8:26-40. It was not by his power that he was able to share the gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch; it was by the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit. The same Spirit resides in us today.

You see, God doesn’t call the qualified; He qualifies the called. And He has called each one of us to this noble task. Yes, there will be challenges. Yes, there will be moments of doubt and fear. But we must remember that we are not alone in this mission.

Let these words encourage you today: God equips us with everything we need to fulfill this divine appointment. When He calls us to share His Good News, He also gives us the strength, courage, wisdom, and words needed to make His message known.

So go forth from here today with your hearts stirred, heads held high and spirits encouraged. Remember that in God’s economy, no encounter is random, no conversation is wasted. Your everyday routine can be a divine appointment waiting to happen if you are willing and open.

I leave you with this powerful verse from 2 Timothy 1:7; “For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love and self-discipline." May this verse embolden you as you seize every opportunity to share Jesus with those you meet in your daily life.

And so Church, get ready… Set… Now Go - go forth into the world as bearers of the Good News! May God's strength and wisdom guide you every step of the way.