Unless Someone Explains it to me...

Acts 8:26–40 NRSV

26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over to this chariot and join it.” 30 So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 He replied, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. 32 Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?” 38 He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, 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 snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Get up and Go...

Acts 8:26–27 NRSV

26 Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Get up and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a wilderness road.) 27 So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship

Get up and go…so he got up and went...

Nothing happens in this story unless Philip is tuned in and Philip obeys...

Listen to that Voice

3 stories: Art, Robert, and Delisa

How can I unless someone guides me?

This is where we realize this is more than an optional accessory to our Christian experience. This man who wants so badly to understand who the suffering servant is, would be travelling back across the world with nothing more than a hmmm… This was a fragile moment where a lot was at stake.

Should Philip say, look, Lord, I have lot to do today. Should he say, Oh look this guy is a foreigner I don’t want to get into anything. He probably won’t even understand me.

Should he say: must be nice to have your own chariot, this guy can help himself.

All of those would be understandable if you’re just a normal average human being who isn’t operating in the Spirit. Maybe Phillip used to live that way, but he doesn’t anymore.

Philip knows the truth about Jesus. Philip has listened to the Apostles. Philip has grown in his understanding of the Scriptures. He’s not a preacher. He’s just a dude who listens to God, are you with me? He’s a dude who reads his Bible. He’s learning, but he knows what he doesn’t know. And he shares what he does know. He knows the difference Jesus made in his life and there is no way he is going to miss an opportunity to tell someone else who wants to know.

Sure, Philip could have resisted. Then God would have had to get himself another person. There may not have been time.

This is the equivalent of a guy who flew in for a conference. He’s already checked in at the gate and his plane has pulled up but they haven’t started boarding yet. And Phillip is so tuned in that God can do this amazing thing just in the knick of time.

Then the Spirit said...

Let’s zoom out even more… So much is going on in this moment and so much has been going on for quite some time...

This man is a long way from home. This man is seeking truth… He’s willing to seek it even though he will never be fully accepted. He’s somehow gotten hold of the Scriptures and he wants to know and grow.

There are people you would never imagine who are exactly like this man. They don’t look like you. They have a very different life than yours. But they have the same needs underneath. God loves them just as much as he loves you.

You have an incredible opportunity to change the world and change the future by obeying.

Zoom out even more. This means God has been reaching into this man’s life and orchestrating these events for even longer.

So when you feel that nudge, God is working. Don’t ignore it. Who knows where it will lead.

Acts for Everyone, Part 1: Chapters 1–12 Philip and the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26–40)

And, among all the promises, the promise of the Servant, through whose death the power of evil has been broken and its punishment exhausted, stands supreme, whether you are on a lonely road through the Gaza desert, in a great medieval chapel in Cambridge, or on your knees in the privacy of your room.