Obidence
The Submissive Will of Philip Acts 8:27-31
And he arose and went; (8:27a)
Notice, no reason was given Phillip why Phillip should go.
He obeyed.
Some people say, “Why doesn’t God use me? It may be that you are not usable.
God never leaves a surrendered vessel unfilled. Maybe God can not use you because you life is already filled
with ___________ and ___________, so you no time to be used by God. Make sure your life is filled with the
right things.
God never leaves (spirit) filled vessel unused.
God was going to use Phillip to open all of North Africa to the Gospel. Phillip had no idea that God was going to use him to lead a very important man to Christ. All that Phillip knew is that God has spoken and Phillip said, yes sir, I will go.
You have no way of knowing how great God will use you until you obey God.
God sovereignly guides us to people and situations
Acts 8: 27 - an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
I suspect too that he found the religion of Israel to be political and disappointing for that reason. If the Pharisees were the party chiefly responsible for the keeping of the law, the Sadducees were the chief political figures. The high priests and his family were Sadducees. They were the ones who had access to the Romans.
It is not much different today. People go to churches hungering and thirsting after God, but instead of finding God, they find people who are concerned about rules, or politically minded people. Luke tells us he had come to worship. The Greek word implies a pilgrimage. His problem was that not all the services at the temple had met his need. In addition, the eunuch’s potential was indicated by the fact that he kept reading Isaiah as he rode along. The Lord could use a man like that.
However, this Ethiopian eunuch did find something of value
This man had not found God but he had found something. He had found the Scriptures, which will lead him by to God.
Acts 8:28 - the book of Isaiah
Did he know how valuable the Word of God was? I do not know. Probably that was the very question he was asking, pondering whether this particular religious book, Isaiah, had been worth his long journey.
I imagine that he started reading Isaiah at the beginning of the book. As he read, he was puzzled. What is this book speaking about? he wondered. Of whom is the prophet writing? Is he writing about himself?
This was the moment Philip saw the chariot and approached it.
There are no accidents in the life of God’s people. Philip came at precisely the right moment,
Acts 8:29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”
The first discovery we make in the passage is that the Holy Spirit tailors the communicator’s message to the particular needs of each person. The way Philip had preached to the Samaritans would not have worked with the Ethiopian.
The second thing we learn about sharing our faith is the way the Holy Spirit guides us through ordinary warmth and concern for people. Philip’s natural inclination was to care about the man. Think of all the “chance” encounters we have in which people will respond to genuine friendship. When Philip saw the eunuch’s chariot, he was told to run alongside and engage the man in conversation.
Be Ready
The third thing we discover about authentic evangelism is to start where people are in relationship to Christ and not where they should be. Philip takes the Ethiopian’s lead. He did not insist on first telling the man about what had just happened to him in Samaria or even about the Pentecost effluence, but met him at his level.
The eunuch was reading Isaiah 53:7–8—
The fourth key to communication is to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us in what to say and how to say it.
8:31 So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Phillip just did not climb into the chariot; he graciously awaited an invitation to climb up into the chariot.
God not only cares for the masses, He cares just for you.
1 - The Right Person
Scriptural Baptism is reserved for believers.
2 - The Right Procedure
- By Immersion
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That is, from the upper Nile region