The Power of a Changed Life
“Follow that Chariot!”
Acts 8:26-40
Philip is now entering a new phase of his ministry. Thousands have now come to Christ and you have to stop and ask the question ... why would God move him from an area where he is touching so many lives in Jerusalem to a place like Gaza. The place and the timing both seem odd. Gaza was about 50 miles SW of Jerusalem and to get there Luke tells us he must go down this desert road. Now for a moment contrast Philip here in the NT with Jonah in the OT. God spoke to Jonah and said clearly I want you to go to Ninevah and preach the gospel. The Bible says that Jonah ran away from the Lord and headed for Joppa. God said you go one way and he went in the opposite direction.
Now again compare Jonah to Philip. God tells Philip to go to this desert place and the scripture tells us what he did. Get this .. When God calls us to do something, go somewhere, or speak to someone, no matter how difficult it may seem at the time we must act in faith. Over and over we see in the scripture that God called out his people but many times he chose not to give them all of the details.
God spoke to Abraham in the book of Genesis and said leave your country, leave your people, leave your Father’s house and I want you to go to a land I will show to you. If someone came to you and said, drop everything, pack your bags i want you to go somewhere else, what would your first question be? Where? This takes faith.
God spoke to Moses and said i want you to got to Pharaoh and deliver the Israelites out of Egypt. Moses says suppose I go and I say to them, the God of your fathers has sent me to you and they ask me what your name is, what do I say ... God says tell them “I am who I am.” There is story after story in the scripture, where God asks His people to do something but He doesn’t give them all the details. There is a reason. It’s called faith. God does not do anything outside of the realm of faith.
In this passage today we encounter deacon Philip .. one of the 7 chosen to be a leader in Jerusalem .. last week we watched as he preached in Samaria to Simon the Wizard. The Bible describes him as a man who was full of faith and of the Holy Spirit and today we see Philip sharing his faith with a new believer.
For years I struggled with this thing called witnessing. Sharing my faith. Largely because I didn’t know what to say. I put a license plate on my car that said “Jesus”. I had a bumper sticker that said: warning, in case of rapture this car will be unmanned. My key chain was leather in the shape of a fish because I wanted to be a fisher of men. But I wasn’t leading my friends to Christ. Maybe you struggle with this also. Or maybe you are one of those who thinks it’s just the job of the pastor or other leaders in the church. But I want to tell you leading people to Christ is both the privilege and the responsibility of every believer.
So today I want to give you some help and encouragement in this area so you can get started if you have not already done so. First of all we must understand that you cannot separate the spiritual part of life and the physical side of life. Here is what I mean. If I ask you the question, how much time do you spend with the Lord each day most of us would add up how many minutes we spend in prayer and Bible study each day. So many would say less than 15 minutes a day. Then we go to work, we have appointments, we have places to go and people to see... we come home .... we eat, we spend time with our family or friends and that’s our day. Now listen God is interested in that 15 minutes but don’t you think that He is also interested in how we spend the other 1425 minutes each day?
Let me give you some principles we see in this passage to help you learn to share your faith effectively.
1. God will direct us to lost people. According to Barna Research the number of people in the U.S. Who do not have a relationship with Jesus Christ is somewhere in the neighborhood of 180-190 million people. That is over ½ of the population in America. If that group of lost people were a nation by themselves, it would be the 5th, possibly the 4th largest nation in the world. Here’s the point. There are lost people everywhere. And if you will just ask God for direction, ask him for a sign if necessary and then when he places someone in your path don’t question whether or not it’s from the Lord. God will direct you to the right person.
2. When God does direct you to someone, keep in mind God is already at work in their life. He is drawing them to himself. Verses 27b-29. This man, the Eunuch had just been to Jerusalem for worship. He was apparently a religious man. He was looking for the truth. Here he sits in the parking lot and he’s sitting there reading from the book of Isaiah. This scroll was opened many times in the temple and read to the people.
God uses at least 5 methods to draw people to Him. 1. He uses the church. This man had just been to worship. He uses the church to help lost people find our about His purpose and plan for our lives. 2. God uses prayer. If you don’t have a list of lost and unchurched friends start one today! God uses prayer.
3. He uses the Holy Spirit. His spirit goes before us as he prepares their heart to receive Christ. 4. He uses circumstances. It may be a happy circumstance God uses .. for instance .. a wedding or the birth of a child or a promotion at work or he also uses tragedy... even death. About 8 years ago Wayne and Sally Trent received the terrible news that Sally’s daughter, in her 30’s was killed in a tragic car accident. One week later they returned from the funeral service. Sally came down the aisle at the end of the service and gave her life to Christ. One week later her husband Wayne came forward and gave his life to Christ. We baptized them at our first baptism service. Wayne told me that at the funeral he sat there thinking about what had happened and the brevity of life for all of us and so right there at the funeral service he invited Jesus Christ into his life. 5. He uses the scripture. It’s
like a set of directions.
Philip was standing there at the time of this conversation. Here’s the passage He used. Look at verses 32-33. This is taken from Isaiah 53:7-8. Many times in the scripture Jesus is referred to as the lamb. 177 times we find this word lamb in the Bible. In the OT the Israelites had to find a lamb without a blemish, no defects and kill it and then place the blood on the door frame of their home. In that way, innocent blood was shed and by placing it on the door death would then “pass over” their home. That’s why it’s referred to as the Passover Lamb. The Bible also tells us that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. No payment. Then when John saw Jesus coming in the wilderness he said Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. Jesus is the lamb the OT was pointing to ... He is the lamb Isaiah was talking about .. the very one Philip is sitting in his chariot reading about.
Now we have said (1) God will direct you to someone. (2) God will draw someone to Himself. (3) When He does this you should begin with a question. Philip went over and stood by the chariot and said to him ... v. 30 do you understand what you are reading? Now listen to his response. How can I unless someone explains it to me. You are that person. So come up with a question that is natural for you that will open that door. (4) When someone gives you an opportunity to speak with them, do so immediately. You don’t have to wait for some sign. Just do it. I heard a funny story of a guy who prayed this prayer every morning: “Lord if you want me to witness to someone today, please give me a sign to show me who it is.” That day he found himself on a bus when a big, burly man sat down next to him. The bus was nearly empty but this man sat down right next to the man who was praying for someone to witness to. This Christian was kind of timid ... shy ... so he anxiously waited for his stop so he could exit the bus. But before he could get too nervous about the man next to him, the big guy burst into tears and started crying out loud. Then he started shouting saying, I need to be saved, I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. Won’t somebody tell me how to be saved? He turned to the Christian and pleaded, can you tell me how to be saved? The believer immediately bowed his head and prayed Lord is this a sign?
When God gives you an opportunity to speak with someone do so immediately. Don’t wait. Timing matters. Now verse 31 also teaches us another principle.
5. Be patient. Never pressure people. You want the decision to be genuine. God is in charge, not us. Fishing for men and fishing for fish both require at least two things: (1) the right bait. (2) patience. If you don’t have both you won’t catch anything.
6. Begin right where they are and then lead them to where they need to be. Vv. 34-35. Philip met him right at the point of his need and then he took him straight into a conversation about Jesus. Always share Jesus first before anything else. Philip must have also talked with him about baptism because we see here that the eunuch was baptized. Sometimes we spend too much time talking to people about the church, baptism, what we believe ... all of these things matter but we must get them to Jesus.
7. Then follow through ... do it immediately. Encourage them to get into the word ... encourage them to be baptized. Look at verse 36. Orders were given to stop the chariot immediately. Let me ask you, who has God placed in your path that He wants you to share your faith with? Who is God saying to you, follow that chariot, follow that car, talk to that neighbor, share with your children, grandchildren, a co worker. Who is God placing on your heart?
