Philip: Divine appointments

Story about going witnessing with Mr. P and someone was different than the stereotype i had in my head

English Standard Version Chapter 8

5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

Sometimes our stereotypes or how we judge people are wrong like my story.

Other times they are right…like when Emily and I went witnessing on M

Monroe and a scary guy said “get out of here”

Regardless of peoples appearences or our stereotypes, God calls us to cross barriers

And get out of our comfort zones

Men need to set the pace and reach out to others

What are some barriers that are hard for you to reach across?

How can we reach across those barriers?

Philip set the pace in reaching across barriers to those different than himself.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.

Before we get into this, we need to go over the opposition between the Samaritan’s and Jews

Opposition of the Samaritans and Jews

Samaratins aren’t presented very well in the Bible. (Except the good samaritan)

Jews and samaritans hated each other

Hebrews left egypt around 1500 BC

They had judges and prophets

Then they wanted a king

in 722 BC israel conquered by assyrians

describes Assyrians practice of bringing foreign settlers into conqr’d land to settle it down, live among/married Jews, adopted Jewish religion, mixing w own. Did this in Samaria.

Ended up w a mix of cultures, &, more significantly, a mix of Assyrian & Jewish religion. Now, these Samaritans considered themselves to be pretty Jewish, but Jews said “Oh no you’re not!”

In , Jewish exiles returned to rebuild temple on Mt. Moriah, Samaritans offered to help, but Jews refused. Made Samaritans mad, so they built their own temple close by, on Mt. Gerazim.

The Jews responded some time later by destroying that temple. They just couldn’t get along!

Jewish book called Ecclesiasticus, part of the Apocrypha, not part of our Bible, but has some historical value, refers to Samaritans as “the stupid ppl living at Shechem” (50:25-26)Strict Jews wouldn’t even eat food that had been prepared by Samaritans, much less talk to one!

In , Jews really wanted to insult Jesus, worst thing could think of: “demon possessed Samaritan”

& Samaritans were no better. , a Samaritan village refused to receive Jesus bc he was Jew.

According to ancient historians, the first Gentile convert to Xianity was an Ethiopian eunuch who served as minister of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. Tradition holds this eunuch was the founder of Ethiopian Chch.

This would not have happened w/out Philip the Evangelist, who met him out on a dirt road and led him to Jesus. Philip was Xianities first cross-cultural evangelist (look at beginning of 8:1 to see how new Xianity was! Stephen! Saul/Paul!

Do we have cross-cultural ministry opps here in Hntn? Marcum Terrace? West Hntn? – How about a church plant there? What about MU campus? Extensions of GGC? Necessary? Why? Would you be wiling to go to one? If there was a barrier to someone being in HERE (and there are!), would you be willing to take the Gospel THERE?

Am I willing to let ppl go? Isn’t that what we do in Paraguay ? S. Africa? China? There is a barrier to coming here, so we go there. Barriers aren’t always miles.

We need to reach across barriers. We did that last may. And we’re going to do it again. But shouldn’t we reach across more than just 1/yr?

ILLUS – when I go to the city mission, I kind of stand out!

An evangelist must be available

People are comfortable with people just like them

white/white, older/older, teens/teens, blue collar/blue collar, similar fields, etc. This also carries over to who you share Christ with

Most Jews would not walk thru Samaritan territory, or even speak to one. But not Philip.

We want missionaries going out from our church, right? It won’t happen until we are being missionaries across the street.

Know these ppl. Adopt a block, a couple of houses, etc.

What do you think Philip thot about the Samaritans?

English Standard Version Chapter 8

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. 29And 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?”

30 – he ran up to the chariot – eager? I don’t know. At least wasn’t hesitant!

Note: Phil went to Samaritans. He also went to the Ethiopian. Black. And a Eunuch. Emasculated. Possibly hormonal changes as a result. Maybe didn’t act very masculine. Phil knew that forbids emasculated men from entering the temple.

Phil could easily have been uncomfortable around “those ppl” – whoever that is.

Are there contemporary groups today that you don’t like to hang around? Look down on? Are uncomfortable around?

Gay people

Snowflakes

Anti-gun ppl

ppl

Different political party

Voted for – that other guy, or lady

Look different – pierced, gauges, hair, etc.

What if the Holy Spirit is saying – go be with them.

We aren’t even listening!

Your closest friends – prob a lot like you, bc you are naturally drawn to ppl like you.

But Jesus calls us to “go to the highways & hedges…” –

Where will you find these ppl? Your Samaritans & Eunuchs?

Me – as a kid played YMCA bball.

YOU – need to find something to do that gets you around non-GGC ppl!

Maybe God will do this for you. Dad – chemo.

An evangelist must ask questions and listen

You have to build a relational bridge to share the gospel

Not saying street witnessing and shotgun evangelism can’t lead people to the Lord, but the Great commision is primarily about DISCIPLESHIP NOT EVANGELISM

English Standard Version Chapter 8

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

How did Philip approach the Eunuch?

Philip was meeting a need rather than being a salesman

We need to be feeding a hunger rather than selling a product

ILLUS – neighborhood man – “I don’t want to talk to you if you’re selling something!”

If we witness like we’re selling how will that affect our approach? Talk them into? Stress “selling points” no personal responsibilities

Jesus didn’t sell…Jesus met peoples need

Our job is to point people to him

My success is obedience in telling NOT their obedience in accepting

What situations might you encuter where you could ask questions to point ppl to Christ?

An evangelist must be prepared

In the real life-inspired football movie Invincible, Vince Papale (Mark Wahlberg), is a 30-year-old down-on-his-luck bartender. His life hasn’t gone anywhere since high school football days. While there’s really no reason to—despite his passion for the game—Papale still works out, knows the Philadelphia Eagles football team backward and forward, and plays backyard football constantly.

The years of staying fit and practicing his pigskin skills pay off when new Eagles coach Dick Vermeil makes an unconventional move: He holds open tryouts. Papale tries out and, somehow, this bartender becomes a National Football League player.

Had Vince not been working out and playing football, this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity would have passed him by because he wouldn’t have been ready. But his preparation—with no idea that a door would actually open to use it—made all the difference.

Likewise, Philip was prepared for an Ethiopian eunuch on a deserted road to ask specific scriptural questions. And it, too, made all the difference.

English Standard Version Chapter 8

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.

What if Phl hadn’t known what 35 was referring to? What could he do then?

Always take it back to Jesus. He IS what they are really looking for, whether they realize it or not.

I get ques all the time – “They brought this up, ever heard of it?”

Figure out the FAQ’s! Know what they are? If you don’t know, you haven’t been talking/listening to unsaved ppl!

story about JW women coming to my door

How do you handle seeker’s questions if you don’t know the answers?

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your confidence in being able to answer spiritual questions?

What practical steps could you take to increase that confidence?

Conclusion

questions to consider:

Around what kind of people are you most comfortable?

What needs to happen before we can send missionaries around the world from our church?

Are there contemporary groups today that you don’t like to be around?

Why is it important to build a relational bridge to share the Gospel?

If we witness like we’re selling instead of meeting a need, how will that affect our approach?

Where can you, personally, find people in the “highways and hedges?”

How do you handle a seeker’s questions if you don’t know the answers?

On a scale of 1-10, how would you rank your confidence in being able to answer spiritual questions?

What practical steps could you take to increase that confidence?

CHALLENGE: Come up with one way to reach beyond your comfort zone to someone unlike you in the next month…