To Share Jesus

Listen to His Voice

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 8:26 (ESV)

Years ago before the days of GPS and radar, the old Norwegian sea captains devised a way of navigating through the sometimes treacherous fjords at night.  They set up a system of lighthouses at certain key points in the fjords.  All the captain needed to do was to point his ship towards the lighthouse until he could see around the corner and get a glimpse of the next lighthouse.  Then he’d turn his ship towards the second lighthouse until he could see the third lighthouse. We may want to see the whole map of what is up ahead for our lives, but often I find that God just shows us the next lighthouse. (Rich Cathers)

In Acts 8:26, God guided Philip to the place and person where He wanted him to share Jesus. Philip was sensitive enough to recognize and listen to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit. He remained open as to how God would lead him. When we are in touch with the Holy Spirit, we will be sensitive to his guidance—sometimes through difficulties, sometimes through an inner voice, maybe even through angels—and thus we will be the touch of God to others. Philip was so in touch with the Spirit that he was not only flexible as to how the Holy Spirit would lead but as to where the Spirit would use him.

Reflection

Have you had a friend or family member say to you, “You’re not listening to me?” Do you wonder how often God is trying to tell us we aren’t listening to Him? What was God saying to you as Pastor Washington was speaking?

Praise

Thank God for desiring to lead you. Ask Him to help you better learn how to hear His voice.

Obey What He Says

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 8:26 (ESV)

In 1947, the astrophysicist Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar was scheduled to teach an advanced seminar at the University of Chicago. He was living in Wisconsin at the time and doing important research but agreed to drive the 100 miles twice a week to teach. The professor carried on with his plans, even though only two students enrolled in the course. He gave them his best, and ten years later these two students won the Nobel Prize in physics, rewarding Dr. Chandrasekhar’s work. Dr. Chandrasekhar himself won the award in 1983. It seemed to not make sense at the moment but later history proved it was worth it! (Today in the Word)

The Holy Spirit’s command, in Acts 8:26, to Philip to leave Samaria and go down to the desert might fall under that category! Philip was told to leave a fruitful harvest and go to a desert road. He didn’t get an explanation. He only got the command and he instantly obeyed God’s command. Philip was not self-controlled but Spirit-controlled. A self-controlled man would very likely have sought to stay in Samaria where the harvest of souls was ripe! But not Philip. He is true to form, still a man “full of the Spirit” (Acts 6:3). And so he obeys the angel’s commands without hesitation and with no evidence of grumbling or disputing.

Reflection

What are some things God has asked you to do since you started attending Second Baptist? What have you obeyed and what have you disobeyed?

Praise

Praise God for always having a perfect plan. Thank Him for inviting you to be a part of His plan. Ask God to show you any areas where you are disobeying His commands.

Observe Where God is Working

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. – Acts 8:27 (ESV)

An insurance company sponsored a conference at its huge, national headquarters building in New York City. Agents from all over the country attended. During the convention, one of the delegates from a western state sold insurance to a barber, an elevator operator, and a restaurant employee—all three of whom had worked in that headquarters building for years. That “out of stater” wrote those policies because the local staffers had neglected to do their “homework.”

Those people were ready to buy insurance. And the Ethiopian eunuch was ready to accept Jesus. We can know with certainty that this Ethiopian man had a desire in his heart to seek God and traveled by chariot a great distance. This man went out of his way to seek God! But when he arrived in Jerusalem, he may not have been allowed into the Temple if he was a physical eunuch. As the story unfolds, God acknowledged the sincerity of the Ethiopian’s heart desire to worship Him and thus providentially orchestrated events to assure that he would have a personal encounter with the Living God, Christ Jesus Himself!

Reflection

Take a few minutes to think about the people you encounter on a daily basis. Is it possible God has been working on their hearts and they are ready for you to share Jesus with them?

Praise

Praise God for doing the work on people’s hearts ahead of time. Ask Him to help you recognize who may be ready to receive Jesus.

Know the Soil

…and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. – Acts 8:28 (ESV)

When Benjamin Franklin was the US Ambassador to France, in Paris he would often converse with members of the “Infidels’ Club,” a group of philosophers who spurned the Bible. These intellectuals spent much of their time searching for and discussing masterpieces of literature and art. For his amusement, Benjamin Franklin announced that he found an ancient manuscript worthy of their consideration. “We must hear it!” they exclaimed. Franklin then read The Book of Ruth to them, changing the names of the characters and locale so that it would not be recognized as a story from the Bible. When he was finished, the hearers were unanimous in their praise. “We have never heard anything like it,” they said. “You must tell us where you found it!” You can imagine Franklin’s mischievous delight when he announced that it was a story from the Bible, the object of their ridicule and disapproval.

In Acts 8:28, the Word of God was working on the heart of the Ethiopian. The “soil” of his heart was being “plowed” and “prepared.” As Jack Arnold says “God, through the years and through various circumstances, had been preparing the Ethiopian Eunuch to believe.  God was not only preparing the Eunuch but He was also sending Philip with the message of Christ to him.

Reflection

Warren Wiersbe has written, “This Ethiopian represents many people today who are religious, read the Scriptures, and seek the truth, yet do not have saving faith in Jesus Christ. They are sincere, but they are lost! They need someone to show them the way.” Are you one of those people? If not, are you prepared to lead someone to Christ?

 Praise

Thank God for the work His Word has done on your heart. Ask God to use His Word to help prepare you to share Jesus with others

Guide Them

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. – Acts 8:30-31 (ESV)

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. (Our Daily Bread)

In Acts 8, Philip pointed a total stranger to Christ. The man had questions and needed someone who could help Him understand the Bible and guide Him to Jesus. Spiritual truth can only be spiritually discerned. While the eunuch could read the passages and have a general sense of the concepts, he could not discern the spiritual meaning behind the words. For that, God had sent Philip who could explain the passages and show him how these passages pointed to Jesus.

If we are willing, He will bless even our feeblest efforts to tell others that Jesus loved them so much that He died for them.

Reflection

Who helped you understand the Bible before you became a Christian? Who is the last person you helped understand the Bible?

Praise

Thank God for the people who have helped you along the way understand God’s Word. Ask God to lead you to people who are asking questions but need someone to help guide them.