Life On Mission

I forget from time to time what a great privilege it is to be a follower of Christ. I don’t mean that I forget that Jesus saved me, pulled me out of the pit, brought me from darkness to light. One can’t forget that.

I forget, from time to time, what a joy it is to live my life for Him. To live life on mission. We have this great calling to share Jesus with the world.

Whether you are sitting at Swope’s, shopping at Food Fair, watching a game from the sidelines or the bleachers, you should prepare for evangelistic opportunities. You, as you life your life on mission, should be ready to share the good news about Jesus with those around you. Whenever, wherever you are. Just like Philip.

Philip—and all those who had been scattered due to the persecution of the early church—went preaching the word wherever they went.

Acts 8:4 NIV

4 Those who had been scattered preached the word wherever they went.

They went “good-newsing” everywhere.

Josh preached last week about Philip going to Samaria and proclaiming the Messiah there.

Acts 8:5 NIV

5 Philip went down to a city in Samaria and proclaimed the Messiah there.

Now, in our text this morning, Philip is on his way to Gaza. Philip’s all over the place, proclaiming and preaching. Living his life on mission, the mission God gave him.

The Church is on the move.

Those who oppose the church, the way of Jesus, will see the persecution and scattering as a good thing, a defeat of Christianity. What it actually does is spread the gospel. Wherever, whenever the Church is scattered, the Good News about Jesus is scattered with them. Wherever the Church goes, the gospel goes with it.

This scattering was all part of God’s plan. The idea was never that we would all stay huddled together, but that we would scatter and spread out, scattering and spreading the Good News wherever we roam.

Acts 1:8 NIV

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

The scattered Church is all part of God’s plan to reach the world and have people from all nations follow Him as His disciples.

If you have your Bible (and I hope you do), please turn with me to Acts 8. And if you are able and willing, please stand for the reading of God’s Holy Word. Acts 8, beginning with verse 26:

Acts 8:26–40 NIV

26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” 37 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 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. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Holy Word!

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Like Philip, as those who live their lives on mission for Christ, the first step we take is to:

Follow the Lord Wherever He Leads

Philip had been following the Lord’s leading, we can assume, for a while prior to this moment in Acts where he’s ministering. He was known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3) when he was appointed as one of the first 7 deacons in the early church.

Philip had likely been a follower of Christ for a while. So to see Philip following the Lord’s leading now is no real surprise. It’s what Jesus-people are meant to do: follow where’er the Lord leads.

You probably noticed the clear direction the angel of the Lord gave to Philip when he told him to “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

That’s really clear direction, but with an uncertain end. “Okay, so here I’m going. I’m headed south to the desert road on the way to Gaza…now what?”

There’s direction, but no specific instruction. Because the point is that we follow His lead.

The Lord may never give you any specific direction like this, and don’t be bummed if He doesn’t. He’s given us all the direction we need. He’s told us what we’re supposed to be about: making disciples of all nations.

That’s our direction. It needn’t be any more specific than that. There might be super-specific direction given by the Holy Spirit or confirmed by those around you, but we know what we should be about, don’t we?

What’s God calling you to do? To love Him and to love your neighbor.

What’s your life’s task? To follow Him and make disciples of all nations.

What’s God’s will for your life? That you would glorify God and enjoy Him forever.

The Lord, through His messenger, says “Go south to the road” and we read immediately: So [Philip] started out...

There it is. The Lord leads and Philip follows. The Lord has taken Philip all over the region, Philip walking scores and scores of miles. This is Philip’s main task: to follow the Lord wherever He leads.

I had some plans of my own, big plans. I thought for a while I might be a missionary in Mexico. After college, I had a job offer in Overbrook, KS and was considering a pastorate in Colorado and one in Western Kansas. I ended up in Overbrook for a couple of years, and then entered the workplace, eventually landing in Kansas City working for a financial advisory firm.

And then the phone rings. My good friend, Jolene, calling from Manhattan Christian College, asking me to preach one Sunday for a small church in the middle of nowhere. It was on this Sunday, the last Sunday in July of 2010, that I first came to Rich Hill to fill the pulpit.

Before church, I was given the worst cup of coffee I’ve ever tasted and was handed $20 by Steve Heuser with instructions to take Meghann to Pizza Hut. After church, Richard Buterbaugh asked if I wanted a full-time preaching gig, Dale and Carla gave me another $20 for lunch, and Don and Linda invited us to eat at Swope’s. I guess we looked malnourished or something...

On the drive home, Meghann (who was at that time my girlfriend) looked over and said, “This is going to sound weird, but I can’t shake the feeling that this is where we’re meant to be.”

I told her she was crazy, that we both had jobs and apartments in Overland Park and asked why in the world I’d move an hour away from her (and to Missouri no less!).

That was July 25, 2010—10 years and 1 day ago. I believe, without hesitation, this is where the Lord was leading us; Meghann knew right then—and as with most things, I took a little more convincing. The Holy Spirit had to work a little harder to get me to follow. Thanks to the Lord’s leading and His presence and His great grace, here we are.

Follow the Lord wherever He leads.

When Jesus, walking along the lakeshore, called His first disciples, He did so with a demanding, all-encompassing, life-altering “Follow me!”

When Jesus calls people today, He does so with the same demanding, all-encompassing, life-altering “Follow me!”

Jesus doesn’t call us to be mere spectators, living out the American Dream, enjoying comfortable middle-class lives with only a small percentage of our lives lived for Him. No, sir. Our entire lives—24/7—are meant to be lived on mission for Him.

Jesus’ call remains the same. The disciple’s task is unchanged: we are to follow the Lord wherever He leads.

Here’s the deal: the Lord might lead you to Haiti, to Mexico, to Africa, to Los Angeles, to the middle-of-nowhere Kansas, or maybe right here to Rich Hill, Missouri.

As Eugene Peterson stated, the life of a Christ-follower is “a long obedience in the same direction.”

Follow Him.

The text tells us (v. 26) that an angel of the Lord directed Philip where to go and Philip went, encountering the man he was supposed to meet. And coming upon this man sitting in his chariot, the text tells us (v. 29):

Acts 8:29 NIV

29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”

Bet you can’t guess what Philip does? He [runs] up to the chariot.

How about that? The Lord leads, Philip follows, and a divinely orchestrated appointment happens. What do you know!?!?

Philip and the Ethiopian strike up a friendship, a relationship intended by the Lord. The Ethiopian invites Philip to come up and sit with him. Philip takes the passage the Ethiopian was reading—Isaiah 53—and shares the gospel, the good news about Jesus, with him.

And, as luck would have it…no, we know better, don’t we. As the Lord was leading, the Ethiopian, in response to the gospel message Philip shares with him, asks to be baptized. And what do you know but that there’s water right when and where they were.

It’s no coincidence that on the desert road in the middle of the desert they found water. Gaza was the last watering place before the desert on the road from Jerusalem to Egypt.

The direction of the Holy Spirit is apparent again as Philip and the Ethiopian man arrive at a rare watering place in the desert. We’d say this is a crazy coincidence except for the fact that we don’t believe there’s any coincidence in God’s economy.

Philip is following the Lord’s lead, wherever it takes him, even if it happens to be riding in the chariot of an Ethiopian on the road through the desert. It’s an incredible moment.

After Philip immersed the Ethiopian, a pretty strange thing happens:

Acts 8:39–40 NIV

39 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. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Philip, who has been following the Lord’s leading, is now whisked-off by the Holy Spirit. The Lord’s leading him still, though in a rather remarkable manner, much like Elijah was (2 Kings 2:11).

Strange moment for the Ethiopian and Philip, I’m sure. But the Ethiopian goes on his way rejoicing, because his eyes had been opened and he’d been given faith to believe. And Philip just keeps on following the Lord wherever He leads.

Philip preaches along the coastal region—Azotus (Ashdod), one of the 5 Philistine cities, and then preaches the gospel in all the towns along the coast until he reaches Caesarea where he seems to have settled.

Philip follows the Lord’s lead, preaching and sharing the good news. Philip’s ministry blazes the trail for Peter.

Philip (ph)ollows (ph)aithfully. (In case you’re wondering, yes, I wrote out “follows” and “faithfully” with a ‘PH’ like Philip’s name.

Philip is a really good example to us of what it looks like to follow the Lord.

Friends, we need to follow the Lord, wherever He leads, because I guarantee you, there’s blessing there and there’s work for us to do. There’s a glorious gospel message to share. We have it. We get to share it!

We follow wherever, and we’re called to:

Disciple Whoever the Lord Puts in Your Path

As we follow the Lord, we’re looking for opportunities to do what He has called us to do.

Some people think the main verb of the Great Commission is “Go”, but “Go” is actually a participle along with “baptizing” and “teaching”. The main verb in the Great Commission is “make disciples.” That right there—make disciples—is our commission.

Philip follows the Lord’s lead wherever it takes him (which is all over the place). And he’s primed and pumped to preach. He’s ready to walk with people, helping to lead them to a fuller and deeper understanding of God’s Word and to introduce them to Jesus. He’s a disciple ready to disciple.

Luke tells us here that the Ethiopian had gone to Jerusalem to worship (v. 27). This man was a “God-fearer”, a Gentile who worshiped Israel’s God but hadn’t become a full convert.

So the Ethiopian knew something about the Lord, but he didn’t understand fully.

It’s all incredible, this chance meeting. The phrase used for something like this is “divine appointment”. Have you heard that phrase before?

It’s like going out to eat and asking your waiter/waitress how they are and them telling you their life story then and there, commenting how they’re struggling. And then you get to say, “I’m so sorry. I’ll be praying for you.” It’s an opening, a conversation arranged by the Lord.

Sometimes someone will notice your cross necklace or the stretchy-rubber bracelet on your wrist, maybe the t-shirt you’re wearing from church camp or a Christian band. And you get to share with them about Jesus.

The Lord sets up those “divine appointments” all the time, if we have eyes to see and ears to hear; if we’re not too busy or preoccupied to notice.

Philip, following the Lord’s lead, meets up with this Ethiopian.

Philip runs up to the chariot and hears the Ethiopian reading from Isaiah. “Score!” What a gift! That the Ethiopian happened to be reading from Isaiah of all prophets and that he just so happened to be reading from this section of Isaiah (what we know as Isaiah 53)—a beautiful and important passage, pointing clearly to Jesus.

The Lord’s working out all the details, every little bit.

But here’s the truth. The Ethiopian could have been reading from any portion of the OT and Philip would have began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Whatever it was. Obadiah or Proverbs or Jonah, it wouldn’t have mattered. It all speaks about or points to Jesus. Philip’s task—making disciples—was just a little easier with the passage the Ethiopian happened to be reading.

Philip asks a really simple question, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

Acts 8:31 NIV

31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

With that simple question, Philip was in. He was given the opportunity to disciple the Ethiopian. That is, Philip was placed there at that moment to teach this man about Jesus.

Philip knew enough to recognize Isaiah when he heard it (people tended to read out loud then). And Philip was ready and willing to speak about Jesus.

Don’t be overwhelmed at the thought of having to do this exactly. People don’t typically read out loud. Can you imagine how annoying that would be, if everyone was reading their text messages and Facebook feeds as they read them? Some of you would be talking over me right now!

You don’t need to be able to recognize the chapter and verse right off the top of your head, but you should be ready and willing to talk about Jesus with whoever the Lord puts in your path.

You know enough to share what Jesus has done for you.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners.”

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

“I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

“God made Him who knew no sin to become sin for us so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.”

You have friends, maybe family, certainly coworkers that need you to teach them about Jesus, to share with them about what Jesus has done in your life (bringing you from darkness to light).

You have a commission, Christian. You have a clear-cut objective: to go home to your own people and tell them how much the Lord has done for you and how He has had mercy upon you.

Philip took what the Ethiopian was reading and used it like a springboard to talk about Jesus. Take the news, current events, politics and use that stuff (not to spout your unsolicited opinions about Trump or Biden or CoVid)—use whatever is going on in the world to speak about Jesus.

“Boy, these are crazy times to be alive. I’m thankful to know Jesus and to be secure in Him. I know, I know that He’s gone to prepare a place for me. I know that He is coming—and soon!—to set the world at rights and make all things new! He will be with His people. We won’t need anything but Him—He will be all we need. I have a peace that passes all understanding, because God is on His throne and Jesus is at His right hand praying for me.”

We don’t know long Philip’s conversation with the Ethiopian was, but at the end of it, traveling along the road, apparently Philip was able to speak about salvation by faith alone and our response to the message. And the Ethiopian jumped at the chance to be immersed— “Here’s water! How’s about baptizing me?”

So the two new friends—the discipler and disciplee—go down to the water and Philip baptized him.

It’s a very clear picture of a mature believer walking alongside a new believer, instructing them in the Way.

We are to disciple whoever the Lord puts in our path.

Christian, who are you discipling? Don’t say, “Oh, well, I couldn’t do that. I don’t know enough, I’m not sure what to say.”

You know what I have to say to that? Hogwash. Balderdash. Phooey.

The Lord has placed you exactly when and where He has placed you for the express purpose of using you—you—to reach those people that you are uniquely suited to reach. You have relationships with people I may never have. You know better what your friends and family members are going through than I do, and with the Holy Spirit, you are the person best suited to minister to them.

You older men and women, those of you who have walked with Jesus for years and years, decade after decade: we need you. Take someone under your wing, ask a younger Christian out to lunch. Women, invest in the life of a younger lady. Men, find a guy or two and get together over lunch and talk about life and marriage and following Jesus.

Disciple whoever the Lord puts in your path.

I assure you, the Lord has placed someone in your path for you to disciple. Share your life with another.

The Ethiopian eunuch would never have been allowed to become a full-fledged Jew due to ceremonial restrictions in the Jewish religion. BUT, the Ethiopian could (and did!) become a Christian, a full-fledged follower of Jesus. AND so can EVERYONE/ANYONE who calls on the name of the Lord!

We are to follow the Lord where’er He leads and obey our commission to make disciples of people from all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [Jesus] commanded us.

Wherever we go. Whoever we encounter. We live our life on mission for Jesus’ sake.

I read a quote this week from William Barclay, a Scottish author and minister. It challenged me greatly, and thought it was fitting for this sermon:

It is possible to be a follower of Jesus without being a disciple; to be a camp follower without being a soldier of the king; to be a hanger-on in some great work without pulling one’s weight. Once someone was talking to a great scholar about a younger man. He said, “So and so tells me that he was one of your students.” The teacher answered devastatingly, ‘He may have attended my lectures, but he was not one of my students.” There is a world of difference between attending lectures and being a student. It is one of the supreme handicaps of the Church that in the Church there are so many distant followers of Jesus and so few real disciples.

- William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke

Let us say that we here today have no interest in being distant followers or religious spectators. Let us say that we want to be real, full, active disciples of Jesus. We want to be disciples, students of Jesus, who make more disciples.

We want to follow wherever the Lord leads. And our desire is to disciple whoever the Lord puts in our path.

“Father, help us to live our lives on mission, for Your glory and the good of those you have called to Yourself. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”