Sharing Your Faith Whether You Are Gifted of Not

And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship

and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

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 before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth.

In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.”

And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?”

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

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.

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Introduction: In the Our Daily Bread devotional, Dennis DeHaan recounts this story: A man was assigned a middle seat on an airplane. Tired and wanting to sleep, he was irritated when the young girl next to him with Down syndrome asked, “Mister, do you brush your teeth?” “Yes,” he replied. “That’s good. People who don’t, lose their teeth.”

A little later she asked, “Mister, do you smoke?” “No,” he answered. “That’s good. People who do, die.”

After a long silence, she turned to him again, “Mister, do you love Jesus?” “Yes, I do,” he responded. “That’s good,” she added. “People who do, go to heaven.”

Though deeply touched, he settled back, hoping there would be no more questions. Just then the girl said, “Mister, ask the man next to you if he brushes his teeth.”

Well, you can guess what followed. When she came to the question about Jesus, the second man became thoughtful. “I’m afraid I don’t understand,” he said. For the next hour the two men talked about eternal issues.

Who are you asking about Jesus? Are you looking for opportunities to share his love with others? Some times we have to be nudged a little bit in order to share the gospel with someone else. The story today tells how one of the first deacons, Phillip, was guided and directed to share the gospel with a man from Ethiopia. Not just any man…someone who was high up in the government of Ethiopia. Part of the Queens Cabinet. In this encounter we see a great example of how to share Jesus with the lost.

Many times we preachers are guilty of preaching sermons telling believers that they ought to be witnessing to others, but we are not equipping them to do so. So my message today is about some practical steps you can take to tell others about Jesus. There are 5 steps I want to share with you today.

Locate a Sinner (vv. 26-28)

I have to tell you upfront - this is the easiest part of what I’m teaching today - locating a sinner.

Why do I say that? Well, THEY ARE EVERYWHERE! You encounter them every day. When you go to work, when you go to the store, when you walk through your neighborhood, you may even have some in your family. Sometimes they come knocking on your door. You can always find a sinner to talk with about Jesus and if you can’t, then you ain’t looking.

Illus. I’m reminded of the story a man named Joe who bought a top notch coon dog. The man who trained him said to Joe that this wasn’t just any coon dog - it was a special coon dog. Not only could he locate the coons, he could tell you how many were in the tree. Joe couldn’t believe it so the trainer took him out that night and showed him. They let the dog loose and pretty soon, the ol’ dog started baying at the base of a tree. They went to him and the trainer said, “Good dog…how many coons up there?” The dog scratched on the ground twice indicating that there were two coons in the tree. So they pointed the light up and sure enough there were 2 coons in the tree. Joe said, “I ain’t believing this.” So they turnt the dog loose again and five minutes later he started baying. The trainer said, “Good boy. How many?” The dog scratched on the ground 3 times. And the looked up in the tree and sure enough, there were 3 coons. Joe bought the dog. He took the dog home and the next night couldn’t wait to take his new coon dog out. He turned him loose in the woods and 10 minutes later he found some. So Joe went to him and said, “Good boy. How many coons?” All the sudden, the dog started barking up a storm, foaming at the mouth. It picked up a stick in it’s mouth and started shaking the stick all over the place. So Joe decided to take the dog back for a refund. When he got to the trainer’s house, Joe told him what had happened. The trainer looked Joe in the eye and said, “Sir, that the dog was trying to tell you that there were more coons in the tree than you could shake a stick at?”

Well friends, there are more sinners out there than you can shake a stick at!

One issue we have as believers is that we often isolate ourselves from lost people. We gather in our holy huddle on Sunday morning but don’t hang out with the lost during the week.

Illus. I heard Pastor Johnny Hunt say that the older we get as Christians, the further we move away from those for whom Jesus died.

Jesus didn’t do that folks. He ate with sinners and tax collectors. But, He didn’t sin with them.

Illus. Don’t be like the deacon that I heard about. The pastor was talking to his deacons about sharing their faith with lost people. The deacon said, “I don’t think I know any lost people. Well, there was that one guy but when I found out he was lost, I didn’t have anything to do with him after that.”

Listen to the Holy Spirit (vv. 29-30)

Phillip was led by the Spirit of God.

Acts 8:5 ESV

Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ.

Acts 8:26 ESV

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place.

Acts 8:29 ESV

And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.”

Acts 8:39 ESV

And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.

In each of these instances we see Phillip receiving guidance from the Holy Spirit and following that guidance.

I believe that the Holy Spirit can guide and direct you to those who need Jesus AND he can and will give you what you need to say.

Luke 21:12–15 ESV

But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. This will be your opportunity to bear witness. Settle it therefore in your minds not to meditate beforehand how to answer, for I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which none of your adversaries will be able to withstand or contradict.

Now realizing that this particular scripture refers to when believers are persecuted, I believe that this shows how the Spirit can put words in your mouth when you are bearing witness of Christ.

John 14:26 ESV

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

So the Spirit will bring to mind the scriptures when you are witnessing if you listen to his voice.

How does one recognize the Holy Spirit when He is speaking to you? Spend time in this book! The more you study and meditate on the Word of God, the more easily you recognize the voice of the Spirit.

The Spirit speaks a still small voice. (Illus. 1 Kings 19:9-12 - Elijah’s pity party - Wind, Earthquake, Fire, Whisper) No where is scripture do you find God shouting at his people.

The Spirit will never tell you anything that is contrary to the Word of God.

Finally, John 10:27

John 10:27 ESV

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Look to the Scriptures (vv. 30-35)

The Lord was already working in the life of the Ethiopian Eunuch. He had been to Jerusalem to worship and he was reading from the scriptures.

The scriptures are the believer’s sole authority for his faith and practice.

Illus. Some unknown writer summed up the purpose of the Bible in this statement: “This Book is the mind of God, the state of man, the way of salvation, the doom of sinners, and the happiness of believers. Its doctrines are holy, its precepts are binding; its histories are true, and its decisions are immutable.”

Psalm 19:7 NKJV

The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul; The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;

Some people object and say that you can’t use Bible in evangelism today because unbelievers don’t believe the Bible. Their belief about the bible doesn’t validate or invalidate the Bible.

Illus. If a person walked up to you today and pointed a gun at you, would it make a difference to you whether you believed it was loaded or not? I mean telling the person that you don’t believe it’s loaded won’t save your life.

If we remove scriptures from our evangelism, we are actually removing the means that God works through to convert people.

Romans 10:17 ESV

So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.

So Phillip was directed by the Spirit to go to the chariot that the Eunuch was riding in. He could hear the Eunuch reading the scriptures. It was common for the people to read out loud from the scrolls that the scriptures were recorded on.

Phillip asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?”

The Eunuch said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?”

The Bible is a spiritual book and it must be read and understood with spiritual eyes.

1 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV

But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

God is working through his servant Phillip to explain the scriptures to this man and the Holy Spirit opened his understanding. It takes the Word of God the Spirit of God to do the work of God.

The Eunuch was reading from the 53rd chapter of Isaiah the Prophet. It was Isaiah 53:7-8

Isaiah 53:7–8 ESV

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?

This section of scripture is all about Jesus. God gave Isaiah a glimpse into the crucifixion of Jesus Christ which would not happen for hundreds of years into the future. The Eunuch wanted to know who the prophet was referring to. This is what happened next...

Acts 8:35 ESV

Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

Let the Holy Spirit do His Job (vv. 36-39)

As Phillip and the Eunuch were riding in the chariot, the Spirit of God was speaking to the heart of the Eunuch. It says that the came to some water and the Eunuch asked, See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized.

Some newer translations leave out v. 37 or they put it in the foot note. This is because the older manuscripts don’t always include some verses.

This is what it says in v. 37

Acts 8:37 NKJV

Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”

Baptism is an outward witness of an internal change of heart by the Spirit of God. We are not baptized in order to be saved. We are saved by faith and baptized because of our professed faith.

John 6:44 ESV

No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. And I will raise him up on the last day.

The idea of drawing here is enablement. Naturally, we don’t gravitate toward God because of our sinful hearts and our spiritual deadness. God through the Holy Spirit works to enable men to come to Him.

Titus 3:5 ESV

he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,

Heart change comes through the Spirit’s work. Even though God chooses to use us to share the message, we cannot save a single soul! God does that. It’s his work. We just get to be there when the fun happens.

The Holy Spirit is our best friend when we witness for Christ. He can speak to people in a way we cannot.

John 16:7–8 ESV

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

Live to Share Jesus Wherever God Calls. (vv. 39-40)

Phillip knew that his work wasn’t done after he spoke with the Eunuch. The Spirit ushered Phillip away from there and sent him to Azotus. God didn’t allow him to return to the thriving ministry in Samaria…he had new places for him to take the gospel.

God has places for you to take the gospel to. You may be able to reach people that me or any other pastor or evangelist can’t reach.

In the Great Commission, Jesus instructed us to go make disciples. As we look at the original language, we see that it reads, “As you go...”

That is what the early church did. After most were scattered from persecution, the Scripture says:

Acts 8:4 ESV

Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word.

WHEN YOU LEAVE HERE TODAY, YOU WILL BE SCATTERED OUT INTO THE COMMUNITY. Not because of persecution, but because of the very nature of church. As you go this week, locate a sinner, listen to the Spirit, look to the scriptures, and let the Holy Spirit do the work. Live to share Jesus!

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