"How to Giveaway Your Faith"
Acts 8:26-40
So our scripture this morning focuses on 3 characters, a deacon named Philip, a man driving a chariot from Ethiopia and an angel. And all 3 of them play a very important role in the story. One more thing and that is the scripture. All four of these are necessary for this story to take place.
My family and I were making our first day trip to Disney here in Florida. This was many years ago when our kids were much younger. We were living in Kentucky at the time. We had saved our money and the kids were all prepared to have a great time and we did. The tickets even then were pretty expensive and like most of you, I’m always looking for a way to save money. We were buying our tickets at the gate and a guy told me, hey if you have a losing lottery ticket you can get in for ½ price. I thought wow. I’ve never bought a lottery ticket in my life. He said yeah just go to that 7-11 across the street…they’re 2.00. Don’t worry you’ll get a losing ticket. Bring it back and you can get in for ½ price.
So I bought my first lottery ticket. And guess what? I won. Of all things I won. 4.00 as I recall. I said man I need a losing ticket. He says I’m sure we can get you one. I bought another one and sure enough I lost. So I saved a couple of hundred dollars. Have you ever won anything? My younger brother wins tickets to concerts all the time---he won again this week. His wife won on wheel of fortune a few years ago. Some people are just lucky.
This month I am preaching a sermon series titled The Big Giveaway. All of us have something we can giveaway. Today I want to explain how you can give away your faith. When we talk about sharing our faith there are some of us that kind of freeze up. Maybe we’re just shy or perhaps we just don’t know what t say or we simply think we’re not gifted in that particular area.
Our scripture this morning focuses on 3 characters, a deacon named Philip, a man driving a chariot from Ethiopia and an angel. And all 3 of them play a very important role in the story. One more thing and that is the scripture. All four of these are necessary for this story to take place.
First of all, when God is ready for us to share He will always give us direction. God is now opening a new door for this man named Philip. The gospel is beginning to spread rapidly---among different people groups—it is being preached to the Jews as well as the Gentiles. At Pentecost Peter stood up and preached and they baptized 3000 new believers that day. Then Peter and John do some tag team preaching and they are thrown in jail but in the process another 2000 people were saved. So we see large groups of people being saved. Over 5000 here. This strategy of reaching out to large groups of people is clearly working so you have to stop and ask the question, “why would God move Philip from an area where so many are being reached in Jerusalem to a place like Gaza? Both the place and the timing seem odd. Gaza is about 50 miles from Jerusalem and to get there Luke tells us he must go down this desert road. Philip asks no questions. He simply follows God’s direction.
2nd, our primary job is to go, not to ask questions. We remember well what happened when God spoke to Jonah and told him to go and preach. He ran in the opposite direction. God also spoke to Abraham back 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. My first question would be –where Lord? Where? Where are we going? But it is a step of faith. V. 27 says so he got up and went.
I’ll be honest. For years I struggled with this thing called witnessing. We all do I think at times. And for me, early on, it was because I didn’t know what to say. I placed 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 is just the job of the pastor.
But let me say as much as we might struggle in this area; as many questions as we might have, our primary job is to simply go. God will direct you to lost people.
3rd, when God directs you to someone, keep in mind that He is already at work in their life. Verses 27b-29. This chariot driver from Ethiopia had just been to Jerusalem for worship (v.27). He was apparently a religious man. He was looking for the truth. Now here he sits in the parking lot and he’s reading from the book of Isaiah. This particular scroll was opened many times in the Bible and read to many people.
God uses at least 5 methods to draw people to Himself. (1) He uses the church. This man had just left a worship service. Let me ask you who does it ever occur to you that someone who is leaving this worship service may need some help? Some direction? You are the church and the church must speak up. (2) God uses prayer. Today I want to ask you to create a prayer list of your top 3-5 people you now who are lost or unchurched. And start praying for them.
There are approximately 80 people here today. If all of us do that and really work on this we will have a list of 240 people. Now listen, let’s say 90% are NOT interested…at all. But 10% respond. That would be 24 new people. If only one out of ten respond. Let that sink in.
(3) God uses the Holy Spirit. The spirit guides us. The Bible says this: “the Holy Spirit will teach you at that very hour what must be said.” (4) God uses our circumstances. All of them. Good and bad. About 14 years ago in our church a wonderful couple received the terrible news ta their daughter in her 30’s was killed in a tragic car accident. One week later they returned to us from the funeral service. The Mom came forward and gave her life to Christ as a result. A week later so did her husband. We baptized them at our first baptism service. The father told me that at the funeral he sat there thinking about all that had happened and about the brevity of life so he invited Jesus into his heart right there. God uses our circumstances. He does not cause them but He does use them. (5) God uses the scripture. The Bible is His roadmap, always giving us directions.
Philip was standing there at the time of this conversation. The man was reading Isaiah 53. These verses here are right from this passage. 177x we find this word lamb in the scripture. Lambs were commonly used as a sacrifice. Those coming t the temple to ask for forgiveness would purchase a lamb without blemish and the animal would then have to die — when there was shedding of blood there was forgiveness of sin. “Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Jesus is the LAMB Isaiah was talking about. The very one Philip was reading about.
Now when God put someone on your heart this is what you must do. We have said:
1. God will direct
2. We must go/respond
3. Have confidence in the fact that he is already working in their life. We are doing this together. He is using His word, His spirit, the power of prayer….all of these things are involved. We are not doing this alone. He is in charge.
4. Begin with a question. Notice what Philip did in v. 30. He went over to the man sitting in his chariot and he simply asked do you understand what you are reading? The man then throws the door open by saying, how can I unless someone explains it to me? You are that someone. So come up with a question that is natural for you to ask that will move the conversation in a forward direction. Once you know that individual is interested in hearing more, it is then your responsibility to move forward. Once the lost person opens the door, you must walk through. You don’t have to wait for God to write in the clouds…if you’re looking for a sign this is it.
But we’re often afraid right? So we say Lord I need a sign. Show me if I am supposed to share my faith or not. I heard a 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 looking guy sat down right next to him. The bus was almost empty but this man sat down right next to the man who was praying for someone to share his faith with. The man says Lord is this is a sign? He was kind of timid, shy so he just waited for the next stop so he could get off the bus. But before he could get off, this big man burst into tears and started crying out loud. The man thought is this is a sign Lord? Then then man started shouting saying I need to be saved, Lord, I need to be saved. I’m a lost sinner and I need the Lord. The other man bowed his head lord and said Lord is this a sign? When the opportunity is there we should walk through the door. Don’t put it off. God’s timing is important.
5. Learn to practice patience. Never pressure people. You can scare someone into making a decision but it will only be emotions. You want it to be real. Fishing for men and fishing for fish both require at least two things. (1) The right bait. The same bait does not work for every fish. (2) Patience. If you don’t have both you won’t catch anything.
6. Start where they are, not where you are. Vv. 34-35. Philip met this man right at his point of need and then he took him straight to the scripture and into a conversation about Jesus. Always share Jesus. It is good to talk about the church but it is not enough.
7. Follow through. Once that person has received Christ, your job is not finished. We think it is. But it’s not. Encourage them to get into regular Bible study. Encourage them to be baptized. Encourage them to join a church. Jesus established the church as a place for believers to grow. Make sure the find one. Look at v. 36. The man in the chariot gives orders for the chariot to stop….immediately. And he was baptized. No reason to wait. It is the obvious next step. It is the way we show others that we mean business. It is an outward way of telling people about the change that has taken place inside of you.
Who is God placing on your heart? Who can you giveaway your faith to? Who has God placed in your path? A neighbor, a friend, a relative? I challenge to look for the opportunity this week. Make yourself available and watch as God uses you. To lead an unbeliever into His kingdom is the greatest privilege we have.
