Led by the Spirit

Introduction

Good morning Rooted Church. My name is Brian and I’m one of the elders here at Rooted and I’m so glad you’re here this morning to worship and study God’s word together.

This morning, we are continuing our look at the work of the Spirit in the book of Acts. And over the last couple of weeks, we’ve sort of looked at the role the Spirit has played on sort of a macro level - among the broader church. We’ve seen what God has done through the Spirit among a large group of people. But this morning, we’re going to zoom in on the move of the Spirit on an individual man named Philip.

One reason why I think this is helpful is that it can be easy for us to read these texts and see how the Spirit moved among the church at large but have reservations about whether the Spirit can really do that in our lives. And as we’re going to see today, the answer to that is a resounding yes.

The Spirit desires to use you - each and every one of us - not just Rooted Church as a whole - but each of us as individuals to accomplish His work. The Spirit uses people to accomplish His task of spreading the goods news about Jesus far and wide. And each of us has a part to play in that.

The problem for many of us in our walk with the Lord is that we overestimate what we can accomplish but grossly underestimate what the Spirit can do in us and through us.

I don’t know if you guys feel this at times, but I wake up some days ready to take on the World. My heart’s in a good place - I feel compelled and convicted to kick Satan right in the shins. And then pretty quickly, he kicks back. And I’m not usually ready for that. So I get discouraged and limp back to safety.

In my own strength, in my own ideas, in my own motivations, I will stumble and get beat up and struggle just to make it through the day. But when we trust in the moving and in the power of the Spirit, He will give us energy and resources far beyond what we can comprehend to accomplish His purposes.

Church, here’s the main truth I want you to see from this Word today - Being led by the Spirit requires a consistent submission - a consistent “yes” - to the voice of God.

And every “yes” we give to God opens up another opportunity for the Spirit to lead us - it leads us to further obedience and further blessings as the Spirit works in our hearts to share the good news about Jesus with others.

As we are going to see today in Philip’s story, if you will listen, the Spirit will lead you down an unfamiliar path to unfamiliar people and fill you with the good news about Jesus to bring life and healing in the midst of a spiritual desert.

God can use your “yes” to bring about a “yes” in someone else. God can use your willingness to submit to His leading and follow His commands to save the desperate soul of another person. God can multiply the impact of your willingness by stirring up miracles in those around you.

Remember this church - being led by the Spirit requires a consistent submission - a consistent “yes” - to the voice of God. He will take you to new places to meet new people for the sake of saving those He has claimed as His own. And He invites you to say “yes” in joining Him in that work.

Philip’s Background

So let’s look together at the story of Philip to see how this plays out. We don’t know a lot about Philip but we do learn a lot in a short amount of time here in Acts 8, but his story starts back in chapter 6. In Acts 6, Philip was one of the men selected by the church to serve as a prototype of a deacon. The term deacon isn’t used there in that passage but the foundation behind the idea of that office is on full display.

Philip was considered a man of good repute, full of the Spirit and of wisdom and was selected by the church and affirmed by the apostles to provide a meaningful service to the church in caring for widows. The apostles saw the need to dedicate their time and energy to prayer and the ministry of the word so they asked for help in meeting these tangible needs of the church.

And the impact of this ministry was seen immediately as the church began to grow because the ministry of the Word was successful as many came to faith through the proclamation of the gospel. These servants, including Philip, played a vital role not only in serving the needs of the body but also in boldly sharing the gospel.

We see this at the end of chapter 6 and 7 as one of the first evangelists of the early church - Stephen - was arrested and eventually killed for this Spirit-filled work. Stephen, like Philip, was not an apostle but was a man who served the needs of the church and was filled by the Spirit to share the gospel. And he was killed for it. He was thrown out of the city and stoned for his boldness and conviction to say “yes” to the Spirit’s call on his life.

Now, the leader of this band of brothers that was installed in Acts 6 has been killed and persecution began to spread against the church in Jerusalem. So the church began to scatter. And it would have been understandable for them to hide in fear or at least to keep quiet so that they could avoid being thrown into prison or in sharing the same fate as Stephen.

But they didn’t cower in fear - they didn’t keep quiet. In chapter 8, verse 4, Luke writes:

Acts 8:4 ESV

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

And among those who were preaching while scattered was Philip. In verse 5, we see Philip going to Samaria, proclaiming Christ and performing signs to demonstrate the power of God for salvation. And the response to this message was the same we’ve seen in many other places in Acts. People hear the good news and see the power of God on display and people are saved and rejoice in God. It says in verse 8:

Acts 8:8 ESV

So there was much joy in that city.

Philip was a man - a normal guy who had a good reputation and who had the Holy Spirit - but still just a normal guy who was willing to listen to God’s voice and be obedient to share the power of God through the word of God so that the people of God would respond for salvation.

Church, today my hope is to challenge each of us to do the same thing. If you will listen, the Spirit will lead you down an unfamiliar path to unfamiliar people and fill you with the good news about Jesus to bring life and healing in the midst of a spiritual desert.

As we walk through this passage this morning, I want you to see Four Ways that Philip said Yes to the Holy Spirit - four distinct but related acts of obedience to God’s leading that resulted in the remarkable work of God’s Spirit in saving the eunuch from Ethiopia. And these decisions made by Philip are choices that you and I must make too.

God desires each of us to say “Yes” when He calls.

1) Yes to the Journey - I Will Go - v. 26-28

The first “yes” for Philip was to say “yes” to the journey. Look with me at Acts 8:26-28.

Read Acts 8:26-28.

Acts 8:26–28 ESV

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. 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 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

There are some people in life who are natural adventurers. They love the challenge. They love new things. They love exploring and going to places they’ve never been before. I think there’s a part in each of us that craves this sort of adventure. But, if I’m honest with myself, I don’t really like it. I want to like it. But I don’t.

I tend to get anxious in new places. I don’t like driving to a new city and not knowing where anything is or where the best place to park is or where the best restaurant is. I like safety. I like familiarity. I like comfort.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer famously said that when Christ calls a man, He bids him “Come and die.” Following Christ involves tremendous sacrifice at times. In the early 50s, God laid a particular passion on the hearts of a few young people to take up a new adventure. Barely finished with college with hopes and dreams of future ministry and building families, these young people left the comfort of the US and made their way to Ecuador with the hopes on interacting with a native tribe that had never heard the gospel.

They spent a few months preparing by learning the language as best they could, interviewing people who had interacted with this tribe and trying to get a feel for the best way to reach them. This was a harrowing task. It involved going to a remote area of the jungles of Ecuador and attempting to meet people who were known as the Auca Indians - a name that meant “savage.”

The reason they were given this name is because no outsider had ever successfully made contact with this tribe without experiencing the most brutal violence - eventually being killed. And despite this potential - maybe even inevitable - danger, these young families flew to Ecuador and attempted to share the gospel with this savage tribe.

At first, their contact was minimal. They would fly a plane over a ravine with a river and a pretty wide river bed and drop down gifts to the people. They would attempt to call out using words they had learned from similar tribes in the area hoping to become a little familiar. And after a few days, they landed their small plane on this river bank and prayed for a chance to meet them face to face.

After a short time, a couple of young women from this tribe came out and the first interaction went pretty well. This led to a larger group coming to check out these crazy Americans and they even took one of the Auca on a ride in their plane. These men were excited about making peaceful contact with these people who had a dangerous reputation and were encouraged that this was a prime opportunity for evangelism among the tribe.

That optimism was short lived. One day, the men failed to check in on the radio as the day was winding down. A search party was eventually sent in to find that these 5 men had been brutally murdered by the people that they flew halfway around the world to share the love of Jesus with. Their bodies were found floating down the river - speared and killed.

Some of us, myself included, have heard that story before and feel two conflicting emotions. On one hand, we feel fear - I don’t want to venture out of my own comfort or safety because I don’t have that same spirit of adventure as these heroes of the faith did. And on the other hand, we have a tremendous desire to see people come to know Jesus. We want others to hear. We want others to see the impact that Christ has had on our lives and we long for opportunities to share that with others.

But in order for us to have those chances - we must listen carefully to God and obey His call to go. There may not be any future missionaries in this room who will give their lives for the sake of the gospel but God has called all of us - young and old - to join with Him on this mission. He doesn’t need us to be missionary rockstars. But He does call ordinary people like us to be a part of His work. But we have to listen - we have to go - we have to obey.

The story we’re going to look at today is about a normal guy named Phil who was willing to say yes to God. In these verses God tells Philip to go to an unfamiliar place. We don’t know much about Philip other than he was a man of good repute and full of the Holy Spirit. But every time he’s mentioned in the book of Acts, his typical direction is north.

He goes from Jerusalem to Samaria - North. Later in Acts, he settles down with his family in Caesarea - which is still further north. But here in Acts 8, it says that an angel of the Lord appeared and told him to go south on the road to Gaza - a desert place. This would not have been high on his list of places to look for an AirBNB for a weekend getaway.

Traveling on a desert road to Gaza would’ve required planning and supplies. You don’t just hop in the minivan, stop at QT for some gas and a roller dog and zip down there. This would have been a 50-60 mile journey and likely taken 3-4 days on foot.

But despite these potential headaches, the text says at the beginning of verse 27 that Philip got up and went. No questions asked. God said go so I will go.

But we can’t skip over a key detail in all this. This angel of the Lord who visited Philip told him to go and where to go but he didn’t say why or who to look for or what Philip would need for the journey. He simply said, “Rise and go.” And Philip rose and went.

Maybe part of the reason I struggle with this is just a great lack of faith or a tremendous leaning towards a sinful skepticism or fear. But I think I’d have a hard time with this. Even if Gabriel himself showed up on my doorstep with a name tag that God etched with his finger and told me I was supposed to go for a hike in the desert, I think my first thought would be, “maybe I should’ve thrown those leftovers out instead of eating them one more day.”

But, as we’ll see throughout this passage, if we will say “yes” to God, it will often take us down an unfamiliar road, but it will lead to remarkable places. If we will listen, the Spirit will show us things beyond what we could ever dream of. That’s often a scary thing for us. But God won’t leave us alone in that moment. He will fill you with the good news about Jesus to bring hope in the midst of a spiritual desert.

This man that Philip encounters is a person desperately seeking answers. He had traveled to Jerusalem to worship but he wasn’t a Jew. He was on a journey to find hope in the midst of his own personal wilderness wandering. And here, Philip finds him sitting on the side of a desert road reading from the book of Isaiah.

This Ethiopian eunuch was a court official of the queen. He was likely a respected and educated man but he was at a crossroads of faith - trying to sort out what was real. He had questions but didn’t have any answers. And God sent Philip to show him the way. And because Philip said yes to the journey, this man’s life was changed.

2) Yes to the Target - I Will Listen - v. 29-33

The second thing I want you to see from Philip is that he said yes to the target. Not only did he start the journey, he followed one yes with another. Look with me at verses 29-33.

Read Acts 8:29-33.

Acts 8:29–33 ESV

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 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. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”

So Philip takes off down this desert road towards Gaza with no real direction or destination. And he comes across a guy in a chariot sitting by the road reading from Isaiah - you know, just your normal Tuesday. But here’s what I appreciate - notice the first few words of verse 29 - “and the Spirit said to Philip, Go over and join this chariot.”

This was a gift-wrapped gospel encounter and Philip still needed some direction and encouragement from the Holy Spirit. He still needed that little extra nudge. I appreciate that because it’s a reminder that Philip wasn’t a super-hero evangelism all-star. He was just a normal guy like you and me who wanted to obey God. And God gave him some clear instructions.

Go talk to that guy in the chariot. And Philip again said “yes”. He listened to the voice of the Spirit’s leading. As the Spirit gave him another clear step to take, he took it.

Church, one of the things that I think we need to take from this text today is that, often times, in our walk with the Lord, in order to know what the next question is, we’ve got to put our “yes” on the table first.

I would love it if God laid out my life and my kid’s lives and all the things He’s going to do in this church over the next 40 or 50 years. I wish that’s the way it worked. I’d love to look over those plans and evaluate them. I’d love for it to be somewhat collaborative - you know God would tell me how things are gonna be and I could give him some helpful feedback.

But brothers and sisters, that’s not how we approach commands from our King. The only appropriate response when the God of all creation and your Savior speaks is “yes.” You can’t say “No, Lord.” If you say “no” then Jesus isn’t really your Lord.

Philip knew this so when the Spirit told him to go over to this chariot, he went. But we’ve got to appreciate some of what’s happening here. We don’t know much about Philip but, if he’s like the rest of the disciples, there wasn’t much of anything remarkable about him.

And God tells him to go over to this chariot where this man - a court official of the Ethiopian queen - is sitting there. Verse 27 tells us that this guy was in charge of all the queen’s treasure. This isn’t just some guy with a broken down chariot on the side of the road waiting for a tow truck.

This Ethiopian is a very wealthy and influential person - he’s probably dressed nice, riding a fancy chariot. And he’s from Ethiopia - a distant land. This journey would have required tremendous resources. This would be the equivalent of folks a hundred years ago taking a wagon and a team of horses from here to the Oregon Trail. That’s the distance this man covered to come to Jerusalem to worship.

This journey would have been difficult and expensive. The point here is that this guy isn’t from around the block. He’s an unfamiliar person on an unfamiliar road and God sends Philip over to him.

But when Philip approaches him, he hears some very familiar words. He instantly recognizes that this man is reading from the book of Isaiah - specifically Isaiah 53 which is a passage all about describing the Messiah who would come and save God’s people.

These words would have jumped off the page to any Jew. This description of the Suffering Servant is a full profile of Jesus. When he hears these words, Philip’s heart rate is probably going up. He’s getting excited. What better text to share the gospel with somebody than this?

“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter.” In another portion of that chapter, Isaiah says that we all like sheep have gone astray but Christ came to bear our griefs and carry our sorrows. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. By his wounds we are healed.

So Philip gets this perfect setup because this Ethiopian official invites him up into his fancy Rolls Royce chariot to explain to him what he’s reading. And once again, Philip says yes - he looks on this man who has tremendous wealth and influence but has no hope - and he obeys God’s call to pursue this man that God has targeted.

3) Yes to the Task - I Will Proclaim - v. 34-35

That brings us to Philip’s next “yes” where he says yes to the task. Look with me at verses 34-35.

Acts 8:34–35 ESV

And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

As we read through these verses, it seems like Philip is just walking through some easy open doors, right? But we need to acknowledge that, at one point or another, we’ve all been guilty of approaching a door like this, seeing it open up, and then walking away.

We get scared or intimidated. We get nervous and wonder if we’re up to the task. We question our knowledge or abilities. At least I do. If you’ve never been in that spot, then maybe you should come on up and finish out this sermon and also take on the role of our new evangelism coordinator.

But instead of freezing up, Philip makes a decision to open his mouth. I think it’s interesting the way this is written. In verse 35, it doesn’t just say that Philip explained this passage from Isaiah to this guy. It says he opened his mouth. It’s almost like Philip was just the vessel for God to use to speak to this Ethiopian.

Because I think that’s often exactly what happens. Have you ever had that moment when somebody asks you a question about the Bible or God and you didn’t really know how to answer but somehow the words that came out were coherent and logical and faithful to the Word?

That happens to me more than I’d like to admit because I’m not a very smart guy and I’m definitely not the most articulate guy so if somebody’s gonna ask me a question, I’ve got to trust that God’s gonna do something there. Otherwise, that person’s gonna walk away knowing exactly how dumb I am.

But church, if I can encourage you this morning. Our task is not to prove how wise or knowledgeable we are. We’re not here to win theological debates or to demonstrate our intellectual capacity. Like Philip, God has placed us in this place to tell people the good news about Jesus.

Do you know who Jesus is? Do you know what He’s done for you? Can you tell somebody about how God saved you? Can you share a Bible verse that God used to reveal Himself to you? That’s all you need. You don’t need a seminary degree or 30 years experience as a Sunday school teacher.

Are you up to the task? Are you willing to say Yes when your King calls?

You don’t need a title or credential. You only need Jesus and His Spirit and His Word. And this morning, if you’re a Christian, you have all those things. And with those things comes power.

We read this a couple of weeks ago, but Acts 1:8 says

Acts 1:8 ESV

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

If you are a Christian, then the same Spirit who sent and guided Philip to the Ethiopian official and the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead lives inside you and empowers you to fulfill the task He has put before you. He doesn’t send us out in our own strength but instead sends us out with the power that comes upon us by His Spirit.

Because here’s the truth church. Our “yes” only matters if the Spirit goes with us. We’ve all seen that random guy standing on the street corner yelling at everybody and telling them they’re going to hell. I’m not saying that guy’s not a Christian or that he doesn’t have the Holy Spirit. But I’m not fully convinced that standing on those street corners with a sign and a bullhorn is the task that God has sent us out to do.

You see what it says here in verse 35. Philip opened his mouth and he told him the good news about Jesus. He didn’t criticize his lifestyle or wardrobe choices. He didn’t ask what political party he was a part of. He didn’t ask which sports team he liked or what brand of chariot he was driving. He simply proclaimed the gospel - the good news about Jesus.

And he did it in a way that mattered to this Ethiopian court official. This man was sitting in his chariot, reading this Scripture, and he had a lot of questions. Who is this prophet talking about? What does these words mean? And Philip took these prophetic words from Isaiah and aimed them at Jesus. He used Scripture - the very Scripture this man was reading - and simply spoke the truth of it by the power of the Spirit.

Church, we often see this task of sharing the gospel as overwhelming. We think we need to know so much of Scripture. We think we’ve got to have an answer to every question. We scare ourselves out of this task because of how daunting it feels.

But when the Spirit says go, when the Spirit says listen, when the Spirit says speak these words - He does not send us out alone. He goes with us and He brings gospel power to fill us with the truth and to speak truth to the heart of those who hear. You don’t need a magical script or gospel catchphrase to tell someone the good news about Jesus. You simply need to open your mouth and have the willingness to say yes to the Spirit.

4) Yes to the Mission - I Will Obey - v. 36-40

The next “yes” we see from Philip is saying “yes” to the mission. Look with me at verses 36-40.

Acts 8:36–40 ESV

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?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 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. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Before we get to the “yes” that Philip gives to God, it’s really important that we not miss another response. This court official who came to worship in Jerusalem and was sitting on the side of the road reading through the book of Isaiah obviously had a lot of questions. He wondered who Isaiah was speaking of? He was seeking answers.

And when Philip tells him the good news about Jesus, he responds with faith and obedience. He is moved by the depiction from Isaiah of this man of sorrows who would come and bear the griefs and sorrows of sinners who had strayed and wandered far from God. He was looking for a savior who could cover his sins and he found that savior in the one who was pierced for his transgressions and crushed for his iniquities. Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter so that this man from Ethiopia could become a sheep under the tender care of God’s mercy.

And this man, especially a man of wealth and influence, could have read this description of the Messiah and said “no thanks.” He could have said like many in Israel that he wanted a savior who would come with power and might - one who would come and conquer - not one who would suffer and die so that He might offer life to us.

But instead, this man didn’t just encounter a stranger on the road named Philip. He met Jesus on that road. We don’t know what else Philip shared with him but we know that Isaiah 53 was just the launching point. Nowhere in Isaiah 53 is baptism mentioned so Philip probably shared much more about the call of Jesus to take up his cross and follow Christ and finding true identity in Christ.

And then they find water. This doesn’t make sense. Don’t forget that this is in the middle of the desert. Yall know I’m the brightest bulb in the box but I’m pretty sure that deserts don’t have a lot of water. But this wasn’t just a puddle. It was at least enough to get dunked in. So this man asks Philip to baptize him then and there. This Ethiopian man says yes to God and his life changes forever.

Now, we see Philip’s yes. Philip sees how the Holy Spirit has led this man to this moment - this intersection of faith - and he obeys the command that Jesus left for His disciples to go and make disciples of all nations - Ethiopia qualifies for that. And baptizes him according to the command of Christ. He had already spent some of this travel time in the chariot teaching him about Jesus.

Philip was faithful to the mission - he obeyed the clear call and command of Jesus. He walked in the power of the Spirit and was a witness, an ambassador, to Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.

Then they come out of the water and the Spirit whisked Philip about 40 or 50 miles away to another town. And it would be easy for Philip to put his feet up and check that box and call it a job well done. But as he makes his way north, it says in verse 40 that he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea where he eventually settled down with his family.

Conclusion

Church, God has called us as a church to share this good news about Jesus but He has also called you to this work. Saying Yes to Christ for salvation is saying Yes to a consistent submission to Him as your Lord. He has called you and equipped you with His Spirit to fulfill the mission He set before you.

There are people in your life just like this foreign man on the side of the road in a chariot that nobody else may be able to share with. There are people along the roadways of your life who have questions about this Jesus that they’ve heard of but don’t know and God has put you on their path so that you can tell them the good news about Jesus.

What will your response be? You can’t tell your Lord no. Will you go? Will you listen? Will you proclaim the excellencies of the One who saved you? Will you obey?

We want God to lead us by His Spirit. That’s one of the reasons why we pray and read the Bible. We all have those specific things in life that we want God to give us clear direction and guidance in. And church, this week you will have an encounter with a friend or co-worker and this task will be crystal clear before you. Will you say yes?

Here’s the deal church. I really want to end the sermon there. But yesterday afternoon as I was up here finishing up, God wouldn’t let me. I really wish that I had a personal story to share about how I was brave like those missionaries to Ecuador and I said yes to God and somebody got saved. And honestly, there probably have been moments where that’s happened in my life. But there’s been a lot more where I got scared.

I once heard a doctor say that the most memorable patients aren’t the ones you saved but the ones you lost. And I think about that all the time. How many people has God put in a roadside chariot and told me to head their direction and I chose not to? It’s more than I’d like to admit. This is an area of my life where I have a tremendous amount of growing to do and selfishness and fear that I need to repent of.

But friend, I believe in grace and forgiveness. I believe in second chances. And if you’re like me, you can probably think back with regret over not taking advantage of that opportunity or conversation but it’s not too late. For those missionaries who died in Ecuador, that wasn’t the end of the story. Some of the wives and children of those men stayed. They continued to pursue the Auca Indians. And today, there are hundreds of Christians from that part of the world and thousands more all over who have been inspired by the story.

It’s never too late to say yes to God. Being led by the Spirit requires a consistent submission - a consistent “yes” - to the voice of God.

Because every “yes” we give to God opens up another opportunity for the Spirit to lead us - it leads us to further obedience and further blessings as the Spirit works in our hearts to share this good news about Jesus with others.

God is not silent. He has given us our marching orders. He has given you gifts and skills and relationships - he has given you unique opportunities to work alongside Him in pointing others to Jesus. This is no simple matter - this is a tremendous honor - that God chooses to use us - He allows us to be involved in His work. But if we turn our backs or refuse to listen, not only do we miss a blessing, but people that we care about may never hear about the work Christ has done for them.

May we be a church who puts our “yes” on the table before God and allows the Spirit to lead us in pointing others to Jesus. Would you pray with me to that end?

Pray

Communion

At this time in our service every week, we come to a time of communion. This table is a reminder of what Jesus accomplished for us. This suffering servant came and took on human flesh - a man of sorrows acquainted with grief - who took on the weight of our sins and was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities.

This bread represents His body that was bruised and crushed for you. This juice represents His blood that was shed for the forgiveness of your sins. And if you are a Christian this morning, Jesus welcomes you to this table because He paid your way by His sacrifice. So as you come to the table and break off a piece of bread and dip it in the juice, remember His great love for you.

But there are some here who are not Christians and, friend, if that is you - we’re so glad you’re here. This may not be the reason you came today, but God wanted you to be here to this message. God wanted you to know it’s okay to have some questions just like this guy in the chariot. And he wants you to say “yes” to Him this morning.

We don’t know everything that Philip shared with this man in the chariot. But I would imagine that some of the things he told him were about the miracles that Jesus performed - He healed the lame and brought sight to the blind man. He cast out demons and brought the dead back to life. And Philip probably also talked about the choice Jesus made to willingly lay down His life as a sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins.

Jesus died so that we could have life. He said yes to coming to this earth - humbling himself to the point of death - even death on a cross. And for the joy set before Him, He endured the shame and agony of a brutal death, shedding His blood for you. He said yes so that we could say yes to him.

So, if you’re not a Christian, coming and taking communion isn’t for you but Jesus is inviting you to say “yes” to him this morning. He loves you more than you could possibly comprehend.

You might say, if you knew what kind of person I am, Jesus could never love or forgive me. But I can stand before you this morning and say that He has already said “yes” to you when He spread his arms on the cross and gave His life to save sinners. I can tell you that with confidence because He did it for me. This morning, I invite you to come and say yes to Jesus.

When the music plays, I’d love to have the chance to sit with you and share with you the good news about Jesus.

Church, whenever you’re ready - come to the table that Christ has prepared for you. You are welcomed to His table by the power of His blood and the leading of His Spirit. Would you say Yes to Him today?