Acts 8 26-40 2006
Easter 5, May 14, 2006 (Mother’s Day)
Text: Acts 8:26–40
May14, 2006
Who Will Guide Me?
after “At Jesus Feet”
Introduction: As the Easter season unfolds we are led from the empty tomb to the Ascension of our lord Jesus Christ. As we do, more and more focus is directed towards the church and it mission in the world. Of course, to focus on the church is not to look away from Jesus, but rather to see the work of Jesus continued as he works in and through His church to save the lost. One such example is the story of Philip and the Ethiopian. Just like Stephen, there was another man who was chosen by the apostles to take care of the poor people in Jerusalem. This good man's name was Philip. He did his work well, but like Stephen, he too wanted to do more than just help the poor.
One day an angel of the Lord told Philip to go down a desert road from Jerusalem to Damascus. And Philip went as the Lord wanted him to; although he probably wondered what the lord had in mind for him to do on a desert road where no people lived. Out there in the desert he saw a black man from a country in Africa riding in a chariot, and he was reading. This black man happened to be a great man in his country, the one who kept the treasures and the money of his queen. He had been to Jerusalem to worship God at the Temple and to learn more about Him.
Now, on his way home, he was reading the Bible and specifically Isaiah the prophet of God who wrote and prophesied hundreds of years before Jesus was born. And this prophet had already, way back then written about Jesus who was to come as a little baby to the earth, and grow up and teach the people and do good, and finally be taken like a lamb and be killed as a sacrifice for His people's sins. But the black man did not yet know Jesus and he could not understand this Book. So he asked Philip whom the prophet meant by this lamb, himself or some other man.
Philip then took the Bible and explained how Jesus had come into the world and how He had to die for the sins of all the people in the world, and how the people who believe in Him have their sins forgiven and become God's dear children. The black man understood and he was very happy to believe in Jesus. When they came to a pool of water by the roadside, Philip baptized him, and the man drove home rejoicing. He had found a new treasure to keep, which was better than money or gold or precious stones. Jesus was his new treasure. How happy he must have been to bring Jesus to his neighbors and friends in his own country.
Who Will Guide Me?
The Ethiopian asked a good question, “Who will guide my understanding of the Scriptures?” It’s quite understandable that the Ethiopian could not understand what he was reading. No individual can claim to know Scripture’s meaning through his or her own abilities. The Holy Spirit must enlighten us through the Gospel. The prophets themselves did not understand all that they wrote as Peter tells us, “10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow (1 Pet 1:10–12). The disciples themselves didn’t understand until Jesus opened their minds as Luke tells us, “45 Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. 46 He told them, "This is what is written: The Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, 47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. 48 You are witnesses of these things. (Lk 24:45). The natural mind cannot understand the things of God unaided, “The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Cor 2:14).
The Spirit sent Philip to enlighten the Ethiopian about the Bible because it can only be understood when we understand the life and work of Jesus our Savior. Isaiah and the other prophets testified about Jesus and predicted his coming. Yet even the clearest truths of Christ in the Scriptures become evident only by the Spirit’s guidance and as He uses his disciples, even you and I to explain this truth.
The Spirit continues to guide the true Church’s proclamation of Jesus Christ, who fulfilled the Old Testament Scriptures for us. Isaiah wrote and the Ethiopian read, "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth." Jesus is the Suffering Servant of Isaiah’s prophecy who, although deprived of justice, was vindicated by God. What a vivid picture of the atoning work of Christ Jesus on the cross! Isaiah’s words declared to centuries of Old Testament readers the same assurance they declare to you: that Christ willingly laid down his life for your salvation! Jesus has died for the sins of all people. Jesus’ death means new life for countless descendants of all peoples and nations. The Spirit continues to send missionaries, evangelists, and pastors to bring light to darkened hearts. This is because God does not desire the death of the wicked. Just as God looked after the Ethiopian, He saw to it that you also have heard and believed in his Son, so that your sins might be forgiven. This is a tremendous gift that God has given to you. It is a gift to be shared. Because God has made you his children, His Spirit also equips you to fulfill your calling as a Christian witness.
Who Will Guide Them?
This brings us to a second question. Who will guide our opportunities to witness about this Jesus? As His witnesses we too, are guided by the Holy Spirit to go to people and places we might not normally go to, just as Philip was led into the desert. Christian often pay a lot of attention to demographics, the study of where people live. As a result we often focus our mission efforts on the places where most people live, thinking we can reach more people that way. But demographics do not always provide reliable guidance for witnessing opportunities. Philip was taken to a deserted area, not to a teeming metropolis. God must sometime send his people to seek after the one lost sheep, not just to the crowds.
Philip was led away from the safety of people whom he knew in order to witness to a foreigner. The Spirit may direct you away from those with whom you feel most comfortable to those who need to hear the Good News of Jesus from you. The Spirit may direct you to people who seem to be outside the grace of God as the Ethiopian eunuch was.
The Spirit will guide Jesus’ followers today; will guide us, so that we might bear much fruit in fulfilling our calling. Of course for us this calling does start at home. Today we celebrate Mother’s Day. We celebrate the fact that more often than not, as children, it has been our mothers that have taught us to understand Jesus and brought us to church. Men, how often is it that our wives have led, bought and sometimes even coerced us to come to church? Yes, we know its right to do, but sometimes we need a little help. Through them we have come to know our Savior Jesus better. It starts at home, but it doesn’t end there. All of us have been called to share the good news about Jesus. We have opportunities at work and at school. In a few weeks we will again have a friendship Sunday where we will have the opportunity to bring the people we know, but perhaps don’t know Jesus, here to church. I invite you to begin looking for the special person that God’s spirit will lead you to. Then, invite them to come with you, to hear about Jesus.
Of course, I do not pretend to say this is easy. I wish it were. For some of us, sharing our faith is easy and natural, but for most of us it is not. Perhaps we think that if we share our faith we will be more like the deacon Stephen who was stoned after his witness. Often we are like two boys who were riding their bike home after watching a movie on a Saturday afternoon. Earlier that day the boys had been at confirmation class and learned a particularly catchy hymn. As they were riding one of the boys began to sing. Now the boy that was not singing had put up with his friend’s singing until they began riding down the street where he lived. Then he told the other boy, “Shh, stop singing! Be quiet!’ to which the other boy stopped singing and said, “What’s the matter? Are you ashamed of the Gospel? Are you afraid to tell others about Jesus?” the quiet boy responded, “Of course I’m not ashamed of the Gospel! – But do you have to let my whole neighborhood know that we are Christians?”[1] It is easy to share our faith with each other here, but it is harder when we go home. We are not all called to be great evangelists, but I believe that God Spirit leads each and every one of us. When He leads you to speak and to share your faith, open your mouth, for he will give you the words. This is Christ’s promise to you, as He said, “do not worry about how or what you should speak. For it will be given to you in that hour what you should speak, for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.”
Conclusion: The Ethiopian may have thought at first that it was pure coincidence that Philip was traveling that same road. But God wanted him to know the truth about Jesus and brought the two together to achieve his glorious purpose. That same Spirit works through life’s events to guide you into the truth and give you opportunity to be used as a chosen instrument. As he has guided you so far, let him continue to guide you to grow in faith and use the opportunities to witness about Jesus.
There are still millions of people in that Ethiopian country who have never heard of Jesus. And there are millions of people in our own country; some are living near you, who do not really know that Jesus is their Savior. Jesus died for their sins and our Lord wants them to know about it. God wants to bless them as He has blessed you with the knowledge of salvation. To this purpose He has given us His Word. He has given us to the world that we might explain it. Even more, Christ has equipped us to do it with His Spirit. We, who know Jesus can go to them and tell them about Him. The Ethiopian found Jesus in the Bible with the help of Philip. We are invited and called upon to give people we meet that same opportunity, to know Jesus. Amen.
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[1] (Seasonal Illustrations, Defner, adapted from Larson, Wind and Fire,92.)