Some of us remember the movie Raiders Of The Lost Ark from 1981, where Indiana Jones discovers the Ark of the Covenant, the 4-foot long container holding the two tablets of the 10 commandments that God gave Moses on Mt. Sinai. Jones takes the Ark back to America, and at the end of the movie you see it being stored with millions of other crates in a humungous building. That’s fiction, of course, but it makes us wonder: where is the Ark of the Covenant today? Was it destroyed, is it intact and in a cave somewhere waiting to be found again, or is somebody keeping it?
The Orthodox Church of Ethiopia claims that it has the ark. They say that when the Queen of Sheba, ruler of Ethiopia visited King Solomon around 1,000 B.C., she witnessed first-hand Solomon’s great wisdom, the great temple, and the great land of Israel. She also got pregnant by him and bore his child when she returned to her homeland. Years later, her son returned to Israel to visit his father. Unbeknownst to her son, his companions stole the ark and brought it back to Ethiopia! Today it’s being guarded by a group of virgin priests in a chapel high in the mountains of northern Ethiopia. Nobody but the priests are allowed to see it.
Quite a story! We don’t know if any of it is true. But we do know that the Christian church in Ethiopia is ancient. In fact, since about 350 A.D. Christianity has been the official religion of Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church is one of the oldest churches in the world! And it just might be that in our Bible reading for today we find the reason why. An Ethiopian official on his way home from Jerusalem hears the Good News of the Gospel and becomes a Christian. Tradition says he was the first gentile, the first non-Jew, to convert to Christianity. And when he returned to his homeland, he became the founder of the Christian Church in Ethiopia.
The Holy Spirit moved one man, Philip, to go and tell the Good News to another man. That event becomes the spark that ignites an entire nation. One person can make a difference in the world. That person can be you. Let’s read this inspiring story and see how God worked in the heart of this man from Ethiopia. Let’s get inspired to believe that God can work through each of us too…
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road - the desert road- that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’” Philip is a man who shows up in Acts chapter 6. The Bible says he was chosen, along with 6 other men, to oversee the distribution of food to the Christian widows in Jerusalem. He was chosen, the Bible says, because he was one of the men full of the Spirit and wisdom (Acts 6:3-5). Then persecution hits the church: Stephen is martyred (7:60), Christians are scattered (8:1), Saul begins to “destroy” the church (8:2). Philip, one of the scattered, went to a city in Samaria and preached the Gospel. Multitudes came to faith in Christ. Then God led Philip to another place: “An angel of the Lord said, ‘Go…to the desert road that leads to Gaza.”
Notice - the Spirit leads, Philip goes. He comes to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza, called the Gaza strip, the trade route to Egypt and north Africa. When he reaches the road, the Spirit again leads, to a specific person this time; Philip goes. Twice the Spirit leads, twice Philip obeys.
God does a great work, the conversion of the first Gentile, through Philip. It all starts with the leading of the Holy Spirit. God can do a great work through you, through Living Branch, through other Christians. But it must start with the leading of the Holy Spirit.
The first lesson we learn from the conversion of the Ethiopian is that GOD WORKS THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT. It’s a good thing to want to do a good work for the Lord, but let’s be sure we’re being led by the Holy Spirit and not our human reason. Proverbs 16:9 -- “A man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs His steps.” We want the Lord to direct us, we want to go where the Spirit of God is moving us. After all, salvation is God’s work, not ours. Let’s pray for guidance and God’s power.
Some of you have heard the story of how we were led to this building, but it bears repeating because it has everything to do with what we’re talking about. When we knew we had to leave our building on Hemingway Avenue 7 years ago, we started looking for options. What do we do? Where do we go? One of our members asked me, “Pastor, can we pray this prayer every Sunday?” One of our Bible study groups was studying the book of Acts and came across a passage. It was Acts 4:29,30. The disciples Peter and John had just been released from prison for preaching Christ. They went to their fellow believers and told them what had happened, how the enemies of Christ threatened them and commanded them not to speak about the Lord anymore. When they heard the report, the believers prayed, “Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable Your servants to speak your word with great boldness. Stretch out Your hand to heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of Your holy servant Jesus.” They didn’t pray for safety or comfort. They prayed that God would be glorified through their lives. This was what we wanted at Living Branch - more than anything, to do God’s will.
We prayed that prayer every Sunday in church for months. We were humbled by our circumstances. Our hands were together, seeking God’s will. In fact, that’s the most prayerful our congregation has ever been in our 15-year history. In April 2005 we left our building and bought this one. As we were moving in, someone noticed something painted in large letters on the wall of the church office - a Bible verse, the exact same one we had been - praying for months! We prayed for the Lord’s guidance. To us, this was a sign that God led us here. To me, it’s also a sign that we need to bathe everything we do at Living Branch with prayer. In a few weeks, we’ll be starting our Tuesday night prayer sessions again. Every other Tuesday, starting in June, we’ll gather to pray and ask for God’s strength and guidance. Next Saturday we’ll have our annual planning meeting. We need to bathe our plans in prayer. After all, a man’s mind plans his way, but the Lord directs his steps. GOD WORKS THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT.
The second thing we learn from our story is that GOD WORKS THROUGH THE WORD. Philip came to the road and was directed by the angel to the Ethiopian government official. The man was reading the book of Isaiah chapter 53, but not understanding it. It was a prophecy about a lamb being led to the slaughter. “Tell me,” the official said, “Who’s the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth and told him the good news about Jesus. Philip shared the Gospel from God’s Word: Man is a sinner, condemned by his sin to eternity in hell. But God loved the world, all sinners, so much that He sent His only Son Jesus, to die on a cross to take away the penalty of our sins. Like a lamb being led to the slaughter, Jesus would die for us. Three days later the Lamb of God rose from the dead. All who believe in Christ have forgiveness of sins and eternal life.
God’s Word worked in the heart of the official. He believed. He was baptized. He went on his way rejoicing. It wasn’t Philip’s charm, persuasive personality, good looks, or seminary education that convinced the man. The Bible says, “I am not ashamed of the Gospel, for it is the power (literally, dynamite) of God for everyone who believes, to the Jew first and then to the Greek” (Romans 1:16). The power of Living Branch, the power of each believer, lies in the Word of God. The Gospel is the dynamite that changes hearts. It’s nice to have our beautiful renovated building, but the power is in the Word. The more we share the Word of God, the Law and the Gospel, the more we change lives, because GOD WORKS THROUGH THE WORD.
We have so many important issues in our in our state and our country, especially this election year. We’re tempted to think that if we can just have the right legislators, the right judges, the right president, the right government, everything will be OK. We forget that Government only has power when God gives it to us. “Everyone must submit himself to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established” (Romans 13:1). God has established human governments. God blesses government, and God can take His hand of blessing away at any moment. Let’s work hard to elect the right people to office. Let’s work hard to get the right legislation passed. Let’s work hard to pass the Marriage Amendment this November. But real change happens in the heart. Christ changes people, even governments, through the power of the Gospel. One man changed Ethiopia! Let’s keep working as a church to change society by getting the Word, the dynamite of the Gospel, out to the world. That’s the greatest power for change.
The third thing we learn from Philip and the Ethiopian is that GOD WORKS THROUGH PEOPLE WHO ARE WILLING TO WORK FOR THE LORD. The angel told Philip to talk with the Ethiopian official. Why didn’t the angel do the talking? Because God chooses us sinners to talk with sinners. If He chooses us, then we need to be willing to go. And when we’re willing, and when we go, great things can happen. Philip was willing. He went, working for the Lord. A few days ago there was a pep fest at Cambridge Isanti High School for Tony Nelson. Tony is a 2009 CI grad. He was a valedictorian, 3-sport athlete, and state champion wrestling. This year he became the first University of Minnesota sophomore ever to win a national wrestling title. Incredible. Here’s what his UM coach said to the students: “If you’re willing to outwork, no matter what it is - whether it’s your career, academics - whatever it is, if you’re willing to outwork everybody else, then you can have great success.” Tony said, “You’ve got to see it; you can’t just thinki it in your head. You’ve got to write something down so you can look at it every day. In everything you do, you have to give 100 percent. Give it all you’ve got. Hard work is going to bring you far.”
God uses the Holy Spirit, God uses the Word, God uses His children who are willing to work hard using their gifts to serve the Lord. God used Philip to change a man, who changed a country. The Holy Spirit, the Word, a willing servant. What gifts do you have? What is the Holy Spirit leading to do? Are you willing today to write down God’s vision for your life, as you see it, pray over it, and commit to it? All of us have great potential to serve the Lord. Let the Holy Spirit use you to do great things in your life as you seek the Lord’s guidance, trust in His Word, and step out in faith. Amen!
