Invited to Share the Gospel
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
Invited to Share the Gospel Introduction
Invited to Share the Gospel Introduction
Last week - left Philip in Samaria where preaching gospel in lot’s villages
He’d performed supernatural miracles & healings, baptised people
Confronted & sorted out Simon the magician
He’d hosted apostles Peter & John who’d visited
Along with 2 apostles confronted & sorted out Simon the magician
He was enjoying fruitful & successful ministry in Samaria
So today we see next part of Philip’s story - quite remakable
Provides us with important picture of how to share gospel - Slide
God Invites Us to Go
God Invites Us to Go
Now Philip has thriving ministry in Samaria
miracles & healings happening, people coming to faith & baptised
Imagine if you were involved in church ministry like that - be wonderful!
But in middle of success & growth God suddenly says - get up & go to desert - Slide
Those
Acts 8:26
Acts
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met 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, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
Notice in in passage God just gives Philip directions
No indication where exactly he’s heading to or why he has to go out there
God just gives command / expects him obey without any further explanation
For anyone on outside - would seem like crazy decision
It makes no sense to abandon what’s working well...
And leave place where people coming faith & church is growing
But exactly what Philip did - without questioning God’s commands
So Philip leaves Samaria tracvels south into desert
And of he keeps going until sees important horse drawn cart
This Ethiopian was an important official - Treasurer for Ethiopian queen
Of course Philip has no idea who he is but God tells to run up to cart
So again Philip does what God commands without argument
He had no idea what God’s plan was for him there
He purely went with H. Spirit’s leading & waited to see what happened - Slide
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
Acts 8:
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
Philip = definitely like person Paul had in mind when gave instructions to Timothy
If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.
Someone ready to share gospel in any place, situation, to any person
Philip was one of those Jesus spoke of in 7 letters to churches in Revelation
Jesus said in each letter - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
7 pHe who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), .
Oldest person to do tandem skydive jump is this woman
Shes 102 y/o Australian grandmother
Who here would jump out of plane strapped to another human being?!
It’s totally ridiculous irrational thing to do -
Have to trust another person - pull cord to release piece of fabric...
you hope will slow your rapid plummet to earth & prevent you from going splat!
Its insane thing but this woman happily did it without knowing what would happen for sure
She willingly & completely trusted in person & parachute - 2 things had no control over
Philip was man who listened - wasn’t concerned about success
Sometimes God can stir us to do something makes us uncomfortable
Instead he was listening to Spirit - waiting to do God’s will
Phillip was willing to drop everything & respond to Spirit’s leading - Slide
Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
Philip = definitely like person Paul had in mind when gave instructions to Timothy
Someone ready to share gospel in any place, situation, to any person
Philip was one of those Jesus spoke of in 7 letters to churches in Revelation
Jesus said in each letter - He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches
We need also to be listening to God’s Spirit
Maybe he’s calling us to go somewhere or to do something
But we’re not sure its God or us - if we get it wrong, its OK
More we tune ourselve in to listen for God’s voice in prayer & scripture...
More likely we’re to hear God’s voice leading us forward to where need to go
But we need to be willing / ready to go - even if where He’s leading seems bit crazy! - Slide
Question: Are we listening for God’s Voice?
Question: Are we listening for God’s Voice?
So question we need to ask ourselves - individually & corporately
Are we listening for God’s Voice?
And when we hear God’s voice are we ready to obey? - Slide
Next
Others Invite Us to Share
Others Invite Us to Share
Once Philip arrives in desert, sees Ethiopian delegate travelling along road
Philip runs up alongside chariot as God commanded - Slide
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Philip hears Ethiopian reading aloud passage from Isaiah
In those days in Judaism scripture was always read aloud
So Philip simply asks Ethiopian an polite opening question
Or simply put he starts friendly conversation with stranger
Ethiopian would’ve seen Philip was Jewish & so knowledgable on the Scriptures
So he responds by inviting Philip into his cart or chariot - Slide
At this point - want to introduce you to painting by Dutch artist Kees De Kort
As you can see its picture of our text - Ethiopian inviting Philip into cart
Notice its Ethiopian reaching down to pull Philip towards him
Philip isn’t climbing up on own accord - He hasn’t forced his way into cart
He’s just made himself available to converse with stranger God’s placed in his path - Slide
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
Then Ethiopian invites Philip to talk to him about passage
Notice Philip has forced conversation to what he wanted to talk about
He allowed Ethiopian to guide conversation & talk about what’s important to him - Picture Slide
It’s important notice Philip hasn’t treated Ethiopian like potential evangelistic trophy
He doesn’t see Ethiopian like some object he has to convert
These are simply 2 men from different countries, cultures, social status
Having conversation about God - Slide
Acts
As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Acts 8:
Outcome of their conversation isn’t stated explicitly in text
But we can safely assume Ethiopian put his faith in Jesus
As he ask if there’s any reason why he can’t be baptised
Notice doesn’t say Philip tells him he must be baptised
All Philip does = explain gospel message
Again its Ethiopian leading what happens between them - Picture Slide
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
I want you just to have another look at picture for minute
Want you to ask yourself - What might this tell me about sharing my faith?
Slide
Slide - in early 90’s I became Christian in extreme Pentecostal church
Every Friday night were pushed go out to Manners / Cuba Mall in Wgtn
Street preaching - in early 90’s I became christian in an extreme Pentecostal church & we were pushed to go out every Friday night to street preach & evangelise in Manners / Cuba Mall in Wgtn. We would shout hellfire & brimstone, do street dramas of Jesus crucified, people being hanged etc, play horrible music all in attempt to get what we thought was gospel message out. Whether you’re a strong believer in Street evangelism or not we ended up offending 100x more people than we saw put faith in Christ
We would street preach & evangelise - shouting hellfire & brimstone,
Do street dramas of Jesus crucified, people being hanged etc.
All in attempt to convince people to believe what we thought was gospel message
You might be strong believer in street evangelism - got nothing against it if done well
But our church ended up offending 100x more people than saw come to faith in Christ
What we need to understand = we don’t save people - God does
Its God’s job to save people & He’s far better at it than we are
What we need to do is be a Philip
Be willing & available come along side people & talk to them
Wait for them to invite us into their lives & thoughts when they’re ready
Then we travel along with them on their faith journey - like Philip did
Its also important we don’t allow any barriers to prevent us accepting persons invitation
Its also important that if God leads to talk to someone...
Not Ethnicity, social status, age, gender, sexuality, wealth / poverty.
& they invite us to converse with them...
Nothing should stand in way for us to accept an invitation to share gospel with others
We allow person to guide our contact, conversation, and interaction with them
Wait for them to invite us into their lives & thoughts when they’re ready
Then we can travel along with them on their faith journey - like Philip did - Slide
But Jesus called the children to him and said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.
Also like Philip we mustn’t allow any barriers to prevent us accepting someone’s invitation
Not Ethnicity, social status, age, gender, sexuality, wealth / poverty.
Nothing should stand in way for us to accept an invitation to share gospel with others
Jesus was adamant no one should be hindered from coming to him - Slide
- Slide
Question: Are we ready & willing to respond to any invitation?
Question: Are we ready & willing to respond to any invitation?
So question we should ask ourselves is:
Are we ready & willing to respond to any invitation we might receive?
Are we willing to allow God to lead us to anyone he wants to?
Regardless of who they are or where they’ve come from? - Slide
Lastly want us to see where Jesus is in this passage
Jesus Invites Us To Know
Jesus Invites Us To Know
Remember when Philip approached Ethiopian - heard him reading scripture - Slide
Was famous passage from book prophet Isaiah
Also notice Ethiopian is humble
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”
Acts 8
Now remember Ethiopian said he didn’t understand it
Was worshipper of Jewish God but wasn’t full Jew
So he hadn’t been taught scriptures & didn’t yet have God’s Spirit
So naturally when saw Philip thought - Here’s someone who can help me understand
So Ethiopian knows this passage is important - Isaiah well read book
But he doesn’t know who Isaiah is talking about - so asks Philip
In Jewish writings - some believed passage about Isaiah,
So he asks Philip
Some thought righteous suffering prophet / gentile nations suffering at hands of Messiah
But never believed = God’s Chosen Prophet or Messiah - He’d never suffer like that! - Slide
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
So Philip starts with passage - explains how Jesus = key
Passage actually about Jesus - God’s Chosen Prophet, Messiah, Son of God
Who was tortured, nailed to cross, killed but rose again from death
Its Jesus who now brings forgiveness of sin & salvation...
To all people from Middle East, Africa, Europe, Pacific, NZ - Slide
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.
Acts 8:36
He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.
Remember Jesus tolds us himself - He is key to understand all scripture incl OT
If we don’t know Jesus, we can’t understand what scripture is saying - Slide
We all need to help each other
Who likes solving puzzles? Puzzle boxes something arrived in 19th C Victorian England from Switzerland & Japan. This box takes 42 moves & about 2 minutes to open??! - unless you know what to press & right sequence of moves you’ll never open it
Who likes solving puzzles? Theres all sorts of puzzles available today
This picture is of puzzle box - these wooden boxes became popular 19th C Victorian England
Who likes solving puzzles? Puzzle boxes something arrived in 19th C Victorian England from Switzerland & Japan. This box takes 42 moves & about 2 minutes to open??! - unless you know what to press & right sequence of moves you’ll never open it
They were created in Switzerland / Japan then brought over to England
This particular box takes 42 moves & about 2 mins to open??! -
Unless you know exacly which bits to press in right sequence of moves you’ll never open it!!
Scripture can feel a bit like that at times too - like puzzle
Passage shows reading bible isn’t same as understanding meaning of bible
Scripture requires us to have some assistance to be taught some stuff
To be shown how to solve puzzle - we can all help each other to do this
Main key is simply - Jesus at centre of all God says & does
Without knowing Jesus & having God’s Spirit helping us
We won’t be able to understand God’s intentions, plans, purposes
For oursleves, for others, and for all of creation
If don’t know Jesus & his place in scripture = have nothing of substance share with others
Like Philip we need to understand gospel message of love, grace, forgiveness & salvation
From Genesis in OT through to Revelation end NT
Like Ethiopian inviting Philip to share his understanding of Jesus...
Jesus invites us to learn about him - he want us to know him
And if we have Spirit of God in us - then He’ll help us get to know Jesus
When we know Jesus & we understand his place in scripture / gospel
Then we have can share Jesus with others - Slide
Question: Do we know Jesus well enough to introduce Him to others?
Question: Do we know Jesus well enough to introduce Him to others?
So question we ask oursleves is:
Do we know Jesus well enough to introduce him to others?
Do we understand what gospel is?
Can we share hope we have in God?
Can we tell others why God has forgiven us, why He loves us, why we’re saved?
Let’s be a church full of people who
We’re listening for God’s voice ready to go where He wants to sends us
We’re ready & willing to accept any invitation to share our faith with others
We’re prepraed to share because we know Jesus and understand scriptures