How many of you love St. Peter jokes? Here is one which I hope ties into our message for this morning. It goes like this:
A man arrives at the gates of heaven. St. Peter asks, "Denomination?" The man says, "Methodist." St. Peter looks down his list, and says, "Go to room 24, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." Another man arrives at the gates of heaven. "Denomination?" "Lutheran." "Go to room 18, but be very quiet as you pass room 8." A third man arrives at the gates. "Denomination?" "Presbyterian." "Go to room 11, but be very quiet as you pass room 8."
The man says, "I can understand there being different rooms for different denominations, but why must I be quiet when I pass room 8?" St. Peter tells him, "Well the Baptists are in room 8, and they think they're the only ones here.
If that is true then we all need to go home right now but if not, we need to do everything in our power to send as many Anglicans up there to prove them wrong. I hope this message will help you do just that.
I am using our reading from the book of Acts this morning for a message entitled “STOP THE CHARIOT”
This story is about Philip’s ministry but it really has a message for us on personal evangelism. We have talked about this many times before and I would like to remind you again that there is a harvest ahead of us. It will be the most important event in all of history. This harvest is not about crops and grains but about a spiritual harvest of souls. Just like the Father had a plan to save us from our sins, he has a plan to continue the work of His son here on earth to save others through you and me.
Perhaps you are saying I am not really equipped for that kind of work. I do not know the bible well enough; while that may be somewhat true it’s not enough to get you off the hook my friends. By the time I am done this morning you will know why. I want you to pick up your pew bibles and turn with me to Acts ch.8 and go down to verse 4. When you get there, let me hear an Amen! (Acts 8:4)
“4Now those who were scattered went about preaching the word. 5 Philip went down to the city[a] 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.”
As you can see, Phillip (who by the way was not one of the 12 disciples) wasn’t warming the pews of his church. He was in the middle of a very successful ministry. God was watching everything he did and had another assignment for this evangelist. He wanted him to chase a chariot and stop a spiritually lost man in his tracks. We find that story couple verses later and if you go down to vs. 26 it is there… (please again use your bibles)
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south[d] 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.”
God is in the soul saving business and while this one man may not seem significant, I believe the word went to all of Ethiopia through him. Likewise, there are many in Quinby and Florence today who need the Lord and I wonder if you can chase a few and bring them to the faith?
Before Jesus left this earth he did not tell his disciples to try and make it big in life. He never suggested they go and buy houses and lands and get gainful employment either. Instead he said, “Go out into all the world and make as many disciples as you can.” In other words spread the gospel because nothing else is going to matter in this life. We have a choice as to whether we want to lay up treasures in heaven or here on earth. As his disciples, all of us are called to be fishers of men and women!
We know what the bible says but we are often selective about obeying His commands. In our gospel reading for today, Jesus said, if you love me keep my commandments. One day we will have to stand before him and when he asks us this question I wonder if we can proudly say, yes Lord I was faithful and added a few to your kingdom or would it be “sorry Lord you got the wrong person.” Like Philip you may be serving this Church in various ways but discipleship is much much more than that. It is about bringing others to the Lord. This morning we are going to look at three ways in which we can bring others to the Lord.
1. Stop your neighbor’s Chariot.
Aren’t you thankful that someone stopped your Chariot and brought you to the Lord! People are running to and fro trying to make it in life. They are so lost in what they are doing that they have no time for the gospel. When we see someone like that, we must be willing to stop their Chariot and share the gospel. I am not suggesting we be brash and try to shove the gospel down someone’s throat. Be nice and do it prayerfully with the help of the Holy Spirit. Be gentle and come alongside of them – meet them where they are so to speak and run beside their Chariot for a while until they stop.
Philip kept running along that long dusty road and you may have too as well. He did not give up. He was not an athlete but he was obedient to God’s command. He kept running for a while until this high ranking Ethiopian stopped the horses and asked Philip to come up and sit with him. It takes a little time to get accepted so be faithful and patient trusting the Lord.
If there is anyone here this morning who assumes we are the only ones our Lord wants to see in this Church that is dead wrong. If I am seeing right, there is space for more than 100 people in this Church and no one is going to help fill it except for you. Yes, I say this respectfully but it is time for all of you to stop run away chariots and bring them home. If you don’t fill it, Satan will see it empty and pad lock it one day.
The last time I was here someone who was generous with their comments said that Mason and I were singing out of tune. You and I may not have a voice to sing or ability to preach but surely it isn’t too difficult to grab someone’s arm and bring them to Church. I am not asking you to head up a revival – I am only asking you to bring just one person like Phillip. It’s called personal evangelism. The very basic mission of any Church should be to know Christ and make him known! Can I ask you to do that my friends?
2. Never lose an opportunity to Share the Gospel
Instead of asking why me you should be asking why not me! Sometimes God will ask us to do difficult things. But he always rewards the faithful. You can go home today and say, well that was a nice message or nice service OR you can say, I get it, our Lord is counting on us. Let me get to work and bring others to the faith. Let me do what others did for me. There are people in my own household or people at work that need to come to the saving grace of our Lord Jesus. I want to be a Kingdom builder and bring in the harvest. I challenge the Vestry to make this a priority. I have seen and I am sure you have seen too, a lot of small Churches windup because they did nothing to bring others through the door.
For someone to be merely born in a Christian family does not mean anything if they have not received the Lord into their hearts. Long after we knew about God he continued to send people into our lives to flag us down and stop our Chariot. A bunch of them were here at Easter. See, you already have something to work with - reach out to them and their friends and get them to get serious with their faith.
The Ethiopian had come to the Jerusalem to worship and even had a copy of the book of Issiah in his hand but he did not know the Lord. He needed a little help to get to the next level. You too can start by putting the word in someone’s hands. A New Testament is a great way to start. A spoken word could work too. You may find someone at a grocery store or checkout line or even a colleague at work. If someone smiles at you, that door is already open. Show them kindness and the love of Jesus. A week or two later you can circle back and rekindle the conversation.
If you jump to vs 29 it says: 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.
As you can see all the work is not yours! The Holy Spirit is at work too. Notice it was the Holy Spirit who said to Philip get closer and help the man out. Our Lord actively participates in our efforts to reach others. In our gospel for today Jesus says I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. Never forget that we have a helper to help us to do God’s work.
3. Do your job and trust God for the outcome:
It is easy to be negative and continue with the status quo. "We are just fine the way we are. We don’t need any more people here." If that same principle is applied to the gates of heaven, we might need to go ahead and buy ourselves some fireproof clothing! There is always room at the cross for one more. True discipleship is not about " I, me and myself." We are called to draw others to the mighty saving grace of our Lord.
Jesus was serious when he died for the sins of the whole world. He was serious when he entrusted the gospel to those who are called his disciples to bring others to the faith. I am told the road from Jerusalem to Gaza is about sixty miles long besides being a desert place. There is nothing promising about that. Philip could have complained; in fact, he initially did not know why the angel had asked him to go towards Gaza but he stepped aside from his thriving ministry and trusted the Lord.
Likewise, instead of being an obstacle or stumbling block to God’s plans, like Philip we must be willing to step out in faith and allow God to perform the miracle. Store up treasures in heaven for yourselves my friends! I may not know how to sing but I am going to sing anyway. You may not know how to bring people to the Lord but step out anyway and do what you can do anyway. Remember God’s Spirit is at work with you.
I promise you this, if each one of you do your part God will do his. If you get serious and follow through all these pews will be filled and soon there may be standing room only. Wouldn’t that be great? Get to work my friends. Be willing to serve the Lord and make a contribution to His Kingdom. And by the way, there isn’t much time left.
The Ethiopian was sincere but was sincerely lost without Philip. In the end he confessed the Lord and was baptized into the faith. What a joy that is. I can’t wait to do that here. Bring your friend, bring your neighbor and stand beside them during the baptism service and initiation into the membership of this Church. Be a Kingdom builder. The only thing standing in the way of filling these pews is “you.” Think about that? Pray about that and get to work. Remember, if you don’t do it, nobody will do it for you! Amen.
