A DIVINE ENCOUNTER
Acts 8:26-40
I want to talk to you about how it is possible for you to experience a divine encounter. A divine encounter is an event played out on the earth, but obviously it is planned in heaven. When it is all over you understand that, though it played out in an earthly experience, it was an event which was obviously planned by God in heaven. You were involved in it. You became a part of this divine encounter.
There are many of them recorded for us in the book of Acts. I guess the favorite of all of them is the one I’m going to share with you today. It’s the account of how Philip had a divine encounter with a man who was known as the Ethiopian eunuch. Through that divine
encounter a lost person was won to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now there are three imperatives needed in our life if we are going to experience a divine encounter.
I. BE INCLINED FOR THE CALL OF THE SPIRIT
Must be listening for the Holy Spirit. Philip had ears to hear the Lord. Acts 8:26 says, "And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert."
Acts 8:29 says, "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot."
A man was walking down a busy New York sidewalk with a companion. Buses and trucks were roaring by on the street, taxis were honking, the roar of a jack-hammer could be heard in the distance. Suddenly he stopped and said, "Do you hear the cricket?" His companion gaped at him in astonishment. The man, however, walked over to a potted shrub and parted the leaves. Sure enough -- there among the branches was a little cricket. Continuing down the sidewalk, his companion asked him, "How could you possibly have heard the cricket in all this noise?" "Because I listened for it," said the man. "Here, let me demonstrate." Having said that, he reached into his pocket for a handful of coins and let them all to the sidewalk. At the sound of the dropping/rolling coins every head within a block swivelled around. "See," he said, "it depends on what you are listening for."
Are you sensitive to the call of the Spirit? Are you listening for His voice?
The story is told of Franklin Roosevelt, who often endured long receiving lines at the White House. He complained that no one really paid any attention to what was said. One day, during a reception, he decided to try an experiment. To each person who passed down the line and shook his hand, he murmured, "I murdered my grandmother this morning." The guests responded with phrases like, "Marvelous! Keep up the good work. We are proud of you. God bless you, sir." It was not till the end of the line, while greeting the ambassador from Bolivia, that his words were actually heard. Confound, the ambassador leaned over and whispered, "I’m sure she had it coming." I wonder how many never pay attention the voice of the Holy Spirit.
A. Personal call
B. Pointed call
C. Purposeful call
Philip was in the middle of a revival in Samaria, and God called him because his heart was tender enough to hear God. Now, Philip didn’t know anything about God’s plan, because God’s ways are often unknown. God just said, "Arise and go." And Philip got up and went.
Would you do that?
Christians do not need an explanation from God when He calls. Instead, we need to say, "God, I’ll do it. Wherever You want me to go. Whatever You want me to do. If You explain it, fine. If you don’t, that’s fine, too. But God I’m going to do it."
Now, I want to caution you about this call. You need to make sure what you hear isn’t an idea you have hatched. It is just as bad to run ahead of God as it is to run behind God, but when you are close enough to God to hear Him speak, you need to obey.
II. BE INSISTENT UPON THE CAUSE OF THE SPIRIT
Acts 8:35 says, "Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
Did you know that the Holy Spirit is very single-minded? He has but one cause. John 15:26 tells us what that is. Jesus said, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me.”
A. The supreme ministry of the Holy Spirit is to exalt the Son of God.
The Holy Spirit’s distinctive role is to fulfill what we may call a floodlight ministry in relation to the Lord Jesus Christ
"He will glorify me" (John 16:14). The other day we had some problems with the floodlights out in front of the church. The floodlights are placed so that you do not see them; in fact, you are not supposed to see where the light is coming from; what you are meant to see is just the article on which the floodlights are pointed. The intended effect is to make visible what otherwise would not be seen for the darkness, and to maximize its dignity by throwing all its details into view so that you can see it appropriately. This perfectly illustrated the Spirit’s role. He is, so to speak, the hidden floodlight shining on the Savior. The Spirit’s message to us is never, "Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me,” but always, "Look at Him, and see His glory; go to Him and have life; get to know Him and taste His gift of joy and peace."
Philip’s conversation lead to the Divine Person.
2 Chronicles 16:9 says, "For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to show Himself strong in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward Him."
The Holy Spirit is preparing somebody where you work, somebody where yo go to school, someone in your neighborhood, or someone in your family. Will you be sensitive to His cause to witness when He calls?
It is time we got excited about what excites God and that is bringing people to Jesus Christ.
B. His secondary ministry is to energize the saints of God (15:27).
We need to be inclined to the call of the Spirit and insistent for the cause of the Spirit.
III. BE INSTANT TO THE COMMANDS OF THE SPIRIT
Acts 8:29 says, "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot." And what happens next? "And Philip ran thither to him” (Acts 8:30). Philip did not take a leisurely stroll. He ran. Why? Because that chariot was moving on. God wanted instant obedience. When the Spirit said go, he went. What the Spirit commanded, he did.
Psalm 119:60 “I made haste, and delayed not to keep thy commandments.”
It was not just that he might miss the traveler, he might miss the text as well.
Some Christians have the same ideal about the commands of God as the little boy who was playing with his sister. A most unpleasant woman who lived near had been finding fault with them and the boy said, “I just hate her.” His little sister, greatly shocked, said "Oh no! The Bible says we must love everyone." "Oh, well," he remarked, old Mrs. Jones wasn’t born when that was written.” In the same way many Christians find an excuse not to heed the commands of the Spirit.
I have a feeling that had Philip been the kind of Christian that some are, he may have said, "I can’t go. He is a rich man. I am a poor preacher man. He is in a gold chariot. I can’t go up there." But riches didn’t keep Philip from going. Or he might have said, "He’s a different race than I am. And I don’t feel comfortable talking to someone of a different race." But race didn’t keep him from going. Or he might have said, "I don’t want to disturb him. He is reading and he looks so busy."
How many golden opportunities have we missed because of a lack of obedience?
Roger Staubach who led the Dallas Cowboys to the World Championship in ’71 admitted that his position as a quarterback who didn’t call his own signals was a source of trial for him. Coach Landry sent in every play. He told Roger when to pass, when to run and only in emergency situations could he change the play (and he had better be right!). Even though Roger considered coach Landry to have a "genius mind" when it came to football strategy, pride said that he should be able to run his own team.
Roger later said, "I faced up to the issue of obedience. Once I learned to obey there was harmony, fulfillment, and victory."
Trust and obey for there is no other way.
Conclusion:
A divine encounter is an event played out on the earth, but obviously it is planned in heaven.
There are three things that will bring a divine encounter.
