The Secret of an Exciting Life
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Many peoples lives have become boring and monotonousness
When we are filled the the HS, there is an inspiring in-distinction between His thoughts and our thoughts
He becomes Lord of our intelligence, the generator of the mind’s potency for possibilities we never dreamed of
Philip had discovered the secret of an exciting life
God is Provodential
Our forefathers talked a lot about the Providence of God
He guides everything in our nation, Storms, enemies, Disease, Fires, Floods, etc
He also guides everything and everyone in our life
The HS can put into our minds ideas, insights, possibilities, and directions which we would never have conceived or dared contemplate without him
“Christianity does not consist in abstaining from doing things no gentleman would think of doing, but in doing things that are unlikely to occur to anyone who is not in touch with the Spirit of Christ
God does Guide his People
Philip was a cooperative person who could both hear and respond to the influence and instruction of the living God
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
Philip was given just enough guidance to change his plans and to go in a new direction
Often we are given just enough guidance to take the first step
Perhaps the reason many of us miscarry in the great things God has prepared is because we miss his timing
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,
Guidance is relational, It grows out of a relationship with the HS
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,
It seems certain that he had become a proselyte Jew
He was not satisfied with the answers he received in Jeruselam
Philip is given the next stage of guidance. He had been open to do, now he was to understand why
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.”
I have not gotten to meet many great men
One we were on a Bike hike and later found the couple we were riding with was the former Governor of Indiana and his wife
I have gotten to meet Mike Pence on a few occasions
“Lord, us me, Tell me what to say. Make me sensitive, open, contagious
The guidance of the HS is never more effective or evident than when he uses us to communicate the love and forgiveness of Christ to another.
He can guide what we are to say in the situations and relationship into which he has he has led us
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
First Peter listened. The Spirit’s most sensitive guidance is often what and when not to speak.
HE listened
The same spirit guiding Philip was guiding the eunuch to one of the most crucial passages of Hebrew Scriptures
Second, Philip asked a question
Phil questioned him with authentic concern
One of the best ways of teaching is asking questions
RC Foster
His question was drenched with love and tender helpfulness
Only the Spirit can help us to come alongside another person and catch the impact of what he is thinking, going through, or hoping for his life
Many people have come to Christ because of love expressed through persons who genuinely wanted to know about them and their needs
Philip knew the Scriptures
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
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.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”
The most effective way to present Christ is to pick people up where they are in their search for reality in some religion, philosophy, cult, or contemporary spiritual fad
The Spirit had been preparing Philip for this ministry for he knew this scripture well
What an exciting thing it is to realize that the Spirit is unbound by time or space
Philip’s guidance from the Spirit liberated him from pushing the man
The Spirit did the convicting
Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
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.
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.
The Spirit has given us reliable checkpoints for evaluating the authenticity of what we feel prompted to do or say
IS it consistent with Christ?
Does it contradict his message in any way
Will it express love and bring the ultimate good of all concerned?
often we are guided to do hard things which bring temporary pain or conflict but are part of our own or another person’s growth
Will it bring me into deeper fellowship with Christ?
Can I do it with him beside me?
Are my motives pure?
Is it manipulative?
Will it extend the Kingdom?
Will I be able to look back on it, free of guilt, self-incrimination, or regret?
Being led by the Spirit requires a sensitive third ear in our minds “Speak, Lord, for your servant hears”
The Spirit prompts us to think about something or someone.
Most of us find our great concerns involve people
Write a letter
make a phone call
send that gift
make that visit
do that act of love with no thought of reward
God’s results are dependent upon our response
Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.