Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Text
Main Idea
Jesus has called us to be His witnesses through personal evangelism.
The church continues to grow by the thousands, and one at a time.
Introduction
We have seen amazing works of the Holy Spirit in Acts already
miracles & supernatural wonders
preaching of the apostles
thousands added to the church at a time
the spread of the gospel in spite of martyrdom and persecution
entire cities come under conviction and be transformed by the gospel
Chances are, most of us are not going to get the same opportunities that Peter did, to preach the gospel to thousands at a time.
How can average Christians like us be effective witnesses for Jesus today?
1. Everyday, 1 on 1 Evangelism
Acts
Philip was in Samaria when he was called
Revival is breaking out
The Gospel preaching is attracting masses to Jesus
Even attracting people for the wrong reasons
Philip has a successful gospel ministry
“Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza”
“This is a desert place.”
“Desert”
Could mean the city of Gaza
Destroyed in 96 BC
Later rebuilt closer to the Mediterranean Sea in 57 BC
Or the road itself
Probably both -
Point is, the specific place Philip was being called to was deserted
From a massively fruitful ministry, to a desert road?
Imagine being part of a wildly successful missions team, and then being sent to an abandoned road in the middle of nowhere
Or, being called as a pastor from a mega church to go and serve a congregation of 50?
And he rose and went.
Philip doesn’t hesitate.
Doesn’t argue or try to reason.
Trusts and obeys.
And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure.
And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure.
This was a rare sight for Philip
not just that there was actually someone on that road
but that he was an Ethiopian - an African man
We are used to living in a mixed culture
but this was rare for 1st century middle east
an exotic man
Luke tells us he was a Eunuch
Castrated
Unclear why men would undergo this procedure
Maybe gender confused?
Maybe to gain a high ranking position
Eunuchs were commonly employed as court officials
Or any high ranking government positions that required a high level of sensitivity and trustworthiness
This particular man was a court official of Candace - Queen of the Ethiopians
Not her name - a title - like Pharoah
Luke says he was in charge of the queen’s treasury
A very high ranking official - like the Minister of Finance
Also must have been very trustworthy and pious
because...
“He had come to Jerusalem to worship”
More than likely a Gentile convert to Judaism
Come to Jerusalem to worship - maybe at one of the major annual Jewish feasts
Would have taken a long time to travel there and get back home - as long as a year?
The queen must have had a high regard and a lot of trust in this man to allow him a year leave to fulfill his religious convictions
Can you see our president giving the Minister of Finance a year’s leave?
or the CEO giving a years leave to the CFO?
Acts 8:28-
seated in his chariot
a fancy method of transportation in that day
big enough for 2
The Spirit said to Philip “Go over and join this chariot”
Philip take your donkey, and go join that exotic, wealthy government official in his chariot
Take your skateboard, and ride up alongside the Mercedes Benz limo and join Pravin Gordhan for a ride
Craziest thing is, Philip obeys and goes...
… hears the man reading the prophet Isaiah…
… Asks him if he understands what he’s reading…
… And the man invites Philip into his chariot…
… where Philip gets an opportunity to explain the gospel to him and bear witness about Jesus…
… and the man is baptized as a believer.
Why does Luke tell us this story?
Why include this story in his book?
This is an unknown man - an important man in Ethiopia, but unknown to the rest of Scripture, and isn’t referred to again
Why is it important to include in his narrative of the growth of the church?
This is the start of a string of stories of individuals coming to faith
Until now its been mass evangelism
The apostles preaching to thousands and even to whole cities in , , , and Philip evangelizes a whole city and villages in Samaria in .
We see whole cities changed and people joining the church in their thousands
All by the simple preaching of the gospel and the apostles bearing witness to Jesus name.
It is all an amazing work of the Holy Spirit and further evidence that Jesus is continuing to act in this world to build his church
but if we’re honest…
most of us are never going to get a platform to address thousands of people and preach the gospel to them.
most of us - even in this age of TV, radio and the internet, are never going to get an opportunity to preach to large audiences and see entire cities come under conviction…
… or thousands be added to the church after a single sermon
but…
There is absolutely no reason to believe that none of us are going to get plenty of opportunities to bear witness to Jesus in 1-on-1 conversations
The call from Jesus to be His witnesses to the ends of the earth is given to every Christian - not just to apostles, or pastors and evangelists
Every one of us has been called to this mission
And I believe Luke is showing us that mass evangelism and preaching to large audiences is not the only way of fulfilling this mission
Here, he shows a singular man, Philip, who is not an apostle, having a 1-on-1 conversation with another man, and a man is added to the Church
In chapter 9, we see another singular man, Saul, being added to the church and God uses another man who’s not an apostle, Ananias, to pray for him.
In chapter 10, we see Peter speaking to a Gentile man and his family, and they are baptised and receive the Holy Spirit.
The point is that Jesus builds His Church in both the preaching of the gospel to the masses…
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