We love to tell the “before and after” stories. Weight loss - I lost 100 pounds! Before and after for dental cosmetics commercials. Rogaine – I have hair! Or look at this one: meet my wife’s first husband (show picture of younger me) -:). Acts loves to tell “before and after” stories as well. Only they are conversion stories. Acts loves to highlight the changes in our lives that are not physical but spiritual and moral. This morning I want to speak to you about this: Can a Chance Encounter Change Your Life?
“Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city of Samaria and proclaimed to them the Christ. 6 And the crowds with one accord paid attention to what was being said by Philip, when they heard him and saw the signs that he did. 7 For unclean spirits, crying out with a loud voice, came out of many who had them, and many who were paralyzed or lame were healed. 8 So there was much joy in that city.
Mysteriously, God moves Philip from a place of great success to a desert, of all places.
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. 29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. 33 In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” 34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. 36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.” (Acts 8:4–8, 26-40)
In Acts 8 we find a man known to us as the “Ethiopian Eunuch” and he is reading the scroll from Isaiah.
1. The Obedience of an Ordinary Guy
Philip is a deacon & was also an evangelist who brings the gospel to the Samaritan people. Every time you see Philip, he is obedient to God. “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south…” (Acts 8:26a). “And he rose and went” (Acts 8:27a). He immediately obeys even the “absurd” command of leaving the really successful ministry in Samaria to come to the desert. Imagine if you are in charge of Apple iPhone sales for the great DFW area. What if your boss directs you to Poolville, TX, about an hour away on Jacksboro Highway where the population is 2,150? Can you imagine what Philip must have been thinking? Yet, Philip did not utter one word of protest: “And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him…” (Acts 8:29-30a). “… the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, … But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea” (Acts 8:39b-40). God says, “Jump!” and Philip says, “How high?” “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Have you seen this billboard as you drive around Texas? Real Christian obey Jesus’ teachings.
1. The Obedience of an Ordinary Guy
2. The Orchestration of a Missionary God
God is orchestrating the events all throughout this story. Philip is doing evangelism. He dispatches an angel to move Philip from successful ministry in Samaria & puts him near this government official in a chariot. Once, Philip is there, God even tells him where to stand. “And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot” (Acts 8:29). It’s like the Spirit says, “Run there! Now slow down.” There are no wasted movements in our story. Everything God is doing is intentional & he is orchestrating all this.
God will “set you up” to get people into His kingdom of all religions & races. Philip has just been in Samaria performing miracles & sharing the gospel with the crowds. We naturally want to logically plan for maximum use of our time & energy, to be efficient and effective for the kingdom. But here, the Lord directs Philip away from the crowds, to an isolated desert area, to speak with one man. He may not seem that important to us.
But the Lord knows, that if this man is reached, he will take it back to his country (Ethiopia/Sudan) & possibly began a church planting movement there. That’s why we continue to partner with The Point Church, reach them now, in Vancouver, before they go back to Asia. Let me show you in three steps of detail.
2.1 Mini United Nations
The “Ethiopian Eunuch” is the first of three significant conversion stories in quick succession in Acts. Ethiopia then is not the Ethiopia of today. Instead, this man is from modern-day Sudan. Philip, Saul/Paul, and Cornelius represent three people that were religious outsiders. Ethiopian Eunuch was an African convert. Saul was a Jewish convert. And then Cornelius was a European convert. Remember the theme verse of all of Acts: “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).
Now, we don’t know this Ethiopian’s name, only that he was Ethiopian & he was a eunuch. In one way, he was important for he was the CFO of his nation’s money. A eunuch means he was unable to undergo circumcision & consequently, was not allowed access into the Temple. God is strategically moving His Spirit to include people who were formerly excluded.
2.2 The Bible on Race
This is obviously a black man.“And they sang a new song, saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation’” (Revelation 5:9). God works strategically so that all races are included. God is working to populate heaven with all kinds of color. The Holy Spirit wants us to move past the barrier of the races. The Spirit is saying, “Philip, do you see that sexually altered, black man there? Go to him.” No one race is superior to another in the eyes of God.
For those of you familiar with the Tower of Babel (Genesis 11:1-9), consider this: God is working to bring all of His people into one place under one God. God will reverse engineer the Tower of Babel. The church is to be a preview of heaven!
2.3 Isaiah 53
The Ethiopian Eunuch is reading from Isaiah 53:7-8: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth” (Acts 8:32b-33). Now, believers wouldn’t you love someone who is so interested in God that they are reading the Bible out loud near you? He’s reading Isaiah 53! It’s often been referred to as the fifth gospel. He wasn’t reading Leviticus or Lamentations!
Who is this Man of Isaiah 53? “And the eunuch said to Philip, ‘About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else’” (Acts 8:34)? These verses describe the innocent & submissive death of the Servant. Few shoes are as iconic as Disney’s Cinderella & her glass slipper. If you remember, Prince Charming is looking for his mysterious princess throughout much of the movie and it’s Cinderella’s glass slipper that leads him finally to her. For centuries people have read these ancient words and wondered who wears “the glass slipper”? This chapter has been instrumental in changing the thinking of atheists and even Jews who had rejected Jesus as the Son of God. Again, the Ethiopian Eunuch says in effect, “Who is this passage talking about” (Acts 8:34)?
Jack Fish was a high school senior in the late 1950s. Back in those days, American high school students would begin the day in their homeroom with the pledge of allegiance to the flag & reading from the Bible. Jack would read from the New Testament every day as the school year opened. After several weeks, a boy complained and pointed out that according to state law, only Old Testament texts could be read. The law was worded in such a way that it included both Jews & Christians in the exercise. The teacher ordered Jack and Pete to read from the Old Testament from that point on. The next day, Peter read from Isaiah 53. After he had read about half of the chapter, the same boy who had complained earlier said, “You are not allowed to read from the New Testament.” Pete responded, “I am reading from the Old Testament.” “No, you are not. That is the New Testament.” Several other members of the class joined in too. Even the teacher came over to Jack & took the Bible away, saying, “Let me see that!” She looked at the passage Pete was reading and said in surprise, “Why, it is in the Old Testament!”
Like the glass slipper, I’m telling you the description found here only fits one person.
God is orchestrating or “setting up” to get people into His kingdom of all religions and races. He wants you into His kingdom (John 3:16)!
3. The Response of an Interested Outsider
The Ethiopian asks three questions during our story: 1) “How can I, unless someone guides me” (Acts 8:31b)? 2) “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else” (Acts 8:35b)? 3) “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized” (Acts 8:38b)?
3.2 He’s Genuinely Interested in God
There are two facts about this man that show us he is really interested in following God. First, he traveled to Jerusalem to worship (verse 27). This was a long & costly journey. The trip would have taken about five months each way to make. Second, he is reading from the scroll of Isaiah. Even today, you probably know someone is genuinely interested in God if they carry a Bible around with them. Yet, in his day owning a Bible wasn’t nearly as possible for each copy of the scroll was written out by hand. People did personally own Bibles in this day; only synagogues would have been able to afford a scroll. It would have cost him greatly to own such a scroll? Even 1,500 years later, very few people owned even a portion of a Bible. Still, there was something missing in his life.
“How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching” (Romans 10:14)? Yet, he needed to know specifically who Jesus was. Enter Philip, the obedient and ordinary evangelist. It was as if the Spirit said, “Philip, I would like for you to Mr. Ethopia.” It’s not enough for you to generally believe “in God,” you must put your faith in Jesus Christ.
3.3 Baptism
Whether it was many who believed in the gospel at Pentecost or just one as it is with our friend from Ethiopia, the next step is always the same. They were baptized. And this is always the order inside the pages of your Bible – belief first and baptism second. It’s always conversion followed by immersion. Last week, we baptized seven people (media: show the pics of Dave and baptisms from last week plus on from the trough for Cross Church).
I wonder if someone here today has never followed through in believer’s baptism? I invite you to do follow the pattern of these believers in today’s story, believe in Jesus, and be baptized to advertise to others your belief in Jesus. There’s a box that I want you to check toward the bottom of the communication card. Give us a way to contact you and we will reach out to you about scheduling your baptism on Sunday, July 29. Check the box of the communication card.
