How Should We Live Lord Before The Rapture
Acts 8:26-40
Look at verse 39 and notice in particular the words "the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip." Was this a literal, physical transportation? Was Philip caught away as Enoch was? Look up Genesis 5:22-24; and as Elijah was (2 Kings 2:11)? I believe this was the case. This statement that "the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip" is very suggestive.
It tells us that the Lord took Philip away suddenly, and one day, we who love and belong to the Lord are going to be taken away suddenly. We are going to be caught up, raptured literally into the air and into His presence (I Thess. 4:16-17). It would, however, be quite wrong to teach the doctrine of the
Second Coming and the rapture of the saints from Acts 8:39, for it has no reference to it at all!
However Acts 8:39, within the context of verses 26-40, present us with a picture of how a Christian should be living and what he should be doing, if he is waiting and watching for the Lord’s return.
How should we be living and what should we be doing if we believe that Jesus will come at any moment and take us to be with Himself?
I. We SHOULD BE LISTENING FOR THE SPIRIT
Philip was listening for and to the Spirit of God. He had an ear for the Spirit (29). God does not shout His orders.
Compare Acts 8, verses 26 and 29 – “The angel said…” “The Spirit told…” and Philip heard.
Our God is not silent! By His Spirit He speaks to you and me. In an hour of many voices, we need to be listening for and to Him, vitally interested in what He has to say.
Are you tuned in to what God has to say?
What are you listening for? What is it that causes you to stop and take notice? We all have that trigger in our brain that kicks in when certain voices are heard, when certain things are said.
Notice the premium God puts on hearing (Proverbs 28:9).
A. Must hear the Spirit
He was open to the Spirit. Because he was open, God was able to speak to him, and Philip heard.
B. Must heed the Spirit
Philip was also obedient. God spoke to him and told him to leave that great revival meeting and go down to a virtually uninhabited dusty desert road. Philip could have said, "Wait a minute, Lord, things are going well here. Revival has broken out, the Spirit is moving, people are rejoicing. I’m having the time of my life. I can’t go just yet."
But Philip didn’t say that. Philip obeyed. He was both open and obedient to the word of the Lord and to the leading of the Spirit. If we would keep the chariots of opportunity from passing us by, we must be in tune with the Spirit’s leadership and responsive to it.
I Peter 1:2 "Elect ........unto obedience." The primary attribute God wants to develop in us as Christians is obedience. Now you cannot obey what you cannot or do not hear.
Psalms 32:8, "I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shall go: I will guide thee with mine eye." Let me explain what is meant by instruction or guidance by the eye. When I was young, my mother used this method, and it usually worked for her. If we went visiting at someone’s house, for example, and I began to act up in front of others in a boisterous way, my Mother would give me one of those looks that only Mothers have been able to master. It was one of those silent looks that spoke without words. When this happened, I knew I’d better straighten up, or I wouldn’t be able to sit down when we got home. She was instructing me with the eye.
I believe this is what God desires for you and I. He wants to bring us to the place where he can guide us just like that. God wants to gently nudge us. God wants to guide us and instruct us, but we need to position ourselves so He can. Just a gentle nudge by His Spirit in our hearts. It’s between us and God. It’s direct to us and no one else. It’s private and personal to us.
II. We SHOULD BE LOVING SINNERS
We should be “soul-conscious.” Notice the word “behold” in verse 27. He was on the look out for souls!
Philip loved souls. You say, “How do you know that?” Because Philip left a mighty revival in Samaria to share the gospel with one person. Furthermore, that one person was of a different race.
The first person to receive Christ as Lord and Savior
outside of Jerusalem and the surrounding area is not a European, but a man from Africa. And not just any man from Africa, but a guy who was not exactly highly esteemed among the Jews.
The Bible says he is a eunuch, and because he was a eunuch he was considered by the Jews “unclean” and therefore unfit for worship in the temple. He was not allowed in the temple for worship. He could get close, but he could not actually go into the temple. He was ostracized by society, ignored, and shunned.
One of the things that makes the gospel so wonderful is that it is for everyone. I mean, this Ethiopian eunuch was labeled “unclean” by the religious people of Jerusalem, by the Jews. But the gospel is for everyone. No matter a person’s race, or social status, or background. God so loved every person of the world that He gave His one and only Son so that whosoever believes on Him, shall be saved.
God’s love is for the world. Foreign missions was not something that the church or some brilliant strategist cooked up. It is God’s program. He commanded Philip to evangelize this Gentile man from Ethiopia. Someone has observed that in Acts 8 we see the conversion of a son of Ham; in Acts 9, a son of Shem (Paul); and, in Acts 10, a son of Japheth (the Roman centurion). These represent the three divisions of humanity after the flood. Thus Luke is showing us the gospel going out to all the nations, just as Jesus had commanded.
It’s interesting that Phillip is not told what to do except, “Arise and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza which is desert.” He told him where to go, He didn’t tell him what to do. He knew what to do. The early church always did the same thing. They got up in the morning and started preaching. The fantastic thing about these early Christians is that preaching is constantly connected with them. They were always preaching. They went everywhere preaching. Notice Philip in verse 5, 35 and verse 40 obeying the great commission.
So the Holy Spirit didn’t need to say “Go and preach, Philip.” He just said, “Go, Philip, you know what to do when you get there - just do what you always do.” It’s amazing how many times Christians need to be reminded of what we’re supposed to do.
The Spirit does the work in hearts, but He needs a tool, and a tool that knows what to do.
He initiates; we participate.
III. We SHOULD BE LEARNED IN THE SCRIPTURES
We’ve got to know the gospel if we’re going to share the gospel with others. We’ve got to know the Bible if we’re going to share the Bible with others. We must learn the Scriptures. Philip is a deacon, but he knows his Bible.
Remember Philip is listening to the Spirit. Philip loves souls, and here he goes down to this deserted area where the Ethiopian is riding home in a chariot. The Bible says in verse 28 that the eunuch is reading the prophet Isaiah.
The Spirit says to Philip in verse 29, “Go near and join thyself to this chariot.” Now observe verse 30.
Philip hears the eunuch reading from the Prophet Isaiah, and then he asks him, “Understandesth thou what thou readest?”
Not everyone who quotes the Bible understands it. Although the eunuch had the scripture in his hand, he did not have a clue as to its message. I wonder how many "preachers" stand in their pulpits each Sunday and do not have a clue as to what they are talking about?
However, Philip’s question implies this: “If you don’t understand what you’re reading, I can help you,” which is a way of saying, “I know the Scriptures. I’m not just some guy who says he’s a believer but has no love for the Bible. I can help you.”
He “opened his mouth!” I like that. You’ve got to open your mouth to witness. Philip knew the Bible. He began at the passage where the eunuch was reading and preached Christ to him.
He preached Chirst to the crowd (5) or Christ to an individual (35).
We need to understand that the Scripture is inspired. In short, it’s God’s book. From beginning to end, it is God’s Word. It is inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Secondly, we need to understand that the Scripture is instructive. The Scripture reveals Christ to us. Here, the Ethiopian was reading from the Old Testament, from the book of Isaiah. Christ is the central theme of the Bible, from Genesis to Revelation. In Philip’s day, all they had was the Old Testament. The New Testament wasn’t written at that time. And so, here in the book of Acts when we see them reading or preaching from the Scriptures, it’s from the Old Testament. But they’re preaching Christ from the Old Testament. From Genesis through Malachi, Christ is the central theme. The Bible is instructive in that it reveals Christ.
Today, it’s even easier for us because we have the New Testament which speaks directly of Christ. But it’s possible to be saved from any portion of God’s Holy Word — Old Testament or New Testament.
And then, thirdly, we need to understand that the Scripture is indispensable to bring people to Christ. When we share the Gospel with people, we need to share from the Word of God. It is the Word of God which has the authority we need to convict and convince people of their need.
Philip shows him that Jesus is the sheep led to the slaughter when He died on a cross outside the city of Jerusalem. Jesus is the lamb, silent before his shearers. He didn’t defend himself when he stood before Pilate. Jesus is the one who, “in His humiliation his judgement was taken away.” There was no justice in His death. Jesus is the one about whom the prophet asks, “Who shall declare his generation,” which is a mysterious phrase dealing with the fact that Jesus was not married and had no descendants, no physical children. Jesus is the one about whom the prophet is speaking in Isaiah 53:6 where the Bible says that God laid upon Him the iniquity of us all. He died for us. He took our sins upon Himself. He took care of our sins.
Philip had labored in the Word of God. He had studied to shew himself approved.
Whether you are in the Old or New Testament, the central message of the Bible is God-come-to-man in Jesus Christ to redeem sinners through the redeeming work of the Son.
This is a wonderful exhortation for every believer to be versed in the Word of God. We need to be students of the Bible! Some Christians know the TV Guide better than the Bible. There is no excuse for this! God did not create us and then redeem us with the blood of His Son in order for us to immerse ourselves in worldly things to the neglect of His divine revelation.
Philip did not give the eunuch a nice, appealing story. He gave him the Word of God!
Philip preached Jesus to him as he rode in the chariot. He needed Jesus Christ!
The message of the Bible points to Christ alone. Unless a sinner’s faith is centered in Jesus Christ, God’s Son, as the solitary way to God, then the sinner’s faith is in the wrong place. Saving faith rests in the merits of Jesus Christ. Our message in the gospel is Jesus Christ and Him crucified. "For we do not preach ourselves but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus’ sake" (II Cor. 4:5).
Our responsibility is to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ with clarity and in the power of the Holy Spirit, offering Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord to all men. The responsibility to respond falls upon the heads of all men, especially those who hear the message we proclaim.
Conclusion
The Eunuch gets saved and baptized, and something incredible happened to Philip. He is caught up and away by the Holy Spirit. Apparently he disappears as the Spirit of the Lord takes him away to another location for him to tell someone else about Jesus.
The way Philip lived before his rapture is the way you and I should live before the rapture. If it is the will of the Lord for us to die before the rapture, it is still the way we ought to live.
