Philip and the Ethiopian 2

Making the Most of Every Opportunity

When our children were young, and birthdays came around, we used to play a little game whereby we would hide their presents, and we would leave clues lying around the house for them, so they would find them.

The clues would often be in rhyme...

‘Look in the drawer where the wooden spoons are kept’

When they got to the drawer, there would be another slip of paper,

‘Now go look under the pillow where daddy slept’.

And so they followed each new command, until they discovered what it was they were looking for.

I’m sure many of you will be familiar with that game.

This is very similar to what the Holy Spirit was doing in the book called the Acts of the Apostles, the story of the early church, but it was no game. The Holy Spirit led and guided and directed them, supported them, engineered growth, brought movement and life and  real power into every situation , and filled all new believers with joy.

I’ve heard in said that if God had taken away the Holy Spirit from the early church it would have ceased to exist, but if the same happened today, we wouldn’t really know the difference. I wonder is that true?

So don’t believe that drama, Lost Opportunities; (SEE DRAMA LINK)) there was nothing laid back or disobedient about those early witnesses of the gospel.

The disciples followed instructions, they obeyed God, they were blown along by the wind of his Spirit, and many exciting windows of opportunity and surprises opened to them, in their preaching and teaching of the word of God.

They did seize the opportunity to tumble out onto streets and thousands were added to their number;

they DID confront hypocrites and opposition leaders, with a new boldness and courage;

they healed cripples and worked many miracles and people received their message with joy;

the believers went out to witness way beyond their church base in Jerusalem.

It was exciting, challenging, very risky work in extremely dangerous and difficult times.

And  there was no room for gloom or doubt!

In our story today we meet Philip, who was not one of the twelve disciples.

He was one of a group of seven men, full of the Spirit and wisdom, chosen to do social work first in the ‘soup kitchens’ of the early church distributing food to the poor and needy, and serving at tables, enabling the disciples to get on with their prayer and teaching.

When one of the seven, Stephen was martyred for his faith, for boldly witnessing and speaking his mind, there began a savage persecution in the land, and those who believed the good news who were scattered through Judea and Samaria, spread the word of God.

Samaria is where Philip found himself, and there he led a huge revival. The people there were so taken with the miraculous signs, the healings and exorcisms that accompanied his preaching of the word of God,  that they believed.

The apostles, Peter and John were sent to assist him, and by their presence they gave their approval and sanctioned what was happening there to the Samaritans, who for so long had been enemies of the Jews, and looked upon by them as heretics for over a thousand years. Great barriers were coming down.

But in the midst of all this success, Philip got his next set of instructions. And this is where we find him in the NT reading today.

An angel of God gives him the first clue.

Go south young man to the desert road

Don’t make Samaria your fixed abode!

So he does and on his way he sees an important looking man, an Ethiopian Eunuch, sitting reading in his chariot, and that’s when he gets his next set of instructions.

Don’t just stand there filled with fear,

Go to that chariot and stay very near!

When Philip reaches him he discovers that finds that the man is reading from a scroll, from the book of Isaiah, so Philip gets into conversation with him.

Let’s see how he brings this man to faith.

a) First of all he asks the right question, as the Holy Spirit guides him to do.

Philip asks him, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’

(*Emmaus)

To which the man says, ‘How can I unless someone explains it to me!’ and he invited Philip to explain it all.

In today’s world there are many books and theories which are in direct opposition to the truth of the gospel, many anti Christian sentiments in the media.

Do we throw our hands up in horror, and ignore it all or do we see an opportunity to share what we believe?

b) Secondly Philip carefully explains who it is that Isaiah is writing about...he tells him all about Jesus who was led without protest to his death, humiliated, deprived of justice, and then he taught him all about the good news of Jesus.

 In this day and age we mustn’t assume that people know the stories contained in the bible. They don’t, and in our witnessing we must make it clear what we believe and why.

c) Third point, Philip’s teaching   is so clear and convincing, so ‘from the heart’ that the man there and then asks to be baptized. He doesn’t want to miss out, and afterwards he goes on his way rejoicing.

Try to remember what it was that brought you to faith? Was it something  similar? Was it powerful praise? Was it someone’s exemplary lifestyle?  Was it someone’s heart felt testimony?

For me it was a number of things over a period of time, but the main trigger to my ultimate conversion was the sight of a lady’s face coming back from an altar call, together with the enthusiastic praises of a congregation. They finally convinced me that I was missing out on something, even though I’d been a Christian all my life. I’d been missing out on God’s power in my life.  

When I went forward for prayer myself, I remember saying to the counsellors when they asked me what I wanted prayers for. I simply said, with tears in my eyes, ‘I want what they’ve got!’ I just knew I didn’t have it.

So are we asking the right questions  today;

are we listening and following instructions; are we obedient or preoccupied?

Do we even believe that God could possibly achieve anything through someone as ordinary as ourselves?

And as I asked  the children before, do we really know the scriptures well enough to explain what we do believe and why.

Would we know how to bring a person to commitment, to a real faith in God.

‘That’s someone else’s job,’ we say. ‘Someone more important . someone qualified, someone who knows more than I do.’

That’s a cop out! Research consistently shows that three-quarters of those who become Christians do so because of the w witness of a Christian relative or friend sharing their faith with them!

Just like Philip did here.

We can learn such a lot from him as a person about witnessing.

He was a real pioneer! He was willing to tread where no- man had trod...to go on journeys which must have seemed crazy to others...to minister to heretics, foreigners, eunuchs, non-Jews, people frowned on by even by the established church in Jerusalem at that time. 

He was sensitive to God’s leading, he was humble and loyal, he didn’t bask in the glory of what he had achieved in Samaria, he moved on to obediently to where God wanted him next.

He wasn’t put off as he met with people who were not his race, rank or religion. He saw an opportunity to witness and seized it!

Think of the doors many of you will be knocking on next week.

Would you have an answer ready if someone showed an interest in God, or was even clearly angry with God?

Philip’s teaching was clear, his faith infectious, his eagerness to share his faith with others was obvious. He delighted to tell people about Jesus.

Public proclamation and personal evangelism were both equally valid, and who knows in the planting of one small seed, how many others would grow from it.

Take the Ethiopian eunuch for example; in spending time with him, an entire royal family and a whole country fell within reach of the gospel as he went on his way to witness with that same joy and enthusiasm.

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There is such so much trauma and despair around; so much loneliness, so much grief and trouble; so many caught up with financial worries and family concerns. So many worries about what kind of world our children will be inheriting. We must be careful not to miss out on the many windows of opportunity to share faith and live out that faith beyond the brick walls of our churches.

But these were all concerns then too at the time of the early church!

As a church we can respond by

being a body of people who genuinely love their brothers and sisters in their own society and in the world around them with a passion and aim for a true Oneness of spirit. We can make sure we utilise each member’s unique gifts which were classed as normal in the life of the early church, for the building up of a people of praise.

But let’s not underestimate the effect that one person’s faith can have on another.

And so let us give thanks for the sheer heroism and dynamism that enabled the early church, and especially individuals like Philip, to have such success in changing the face of an empire within a single generation.

And for their phenomenal achievement in the face of opposition and persecution and difficulty, remembering and praying for our brothers and sisters throughout the world today who face similar circumstances.

If we were given a similar slip of paper with instructions on it today, I wonder what it would say?

Hang on who left this slip of paper in the pulpit?

It says :-

That’s strange, I wonder where that came from?