An Anatomy of a Call
A Reader’s Theater Rendering of Acts 8: 26-39
Reader 1 (A male voice) Reader 2 (A female voice)
Reader 3 (A male voice) Reader 4 (A female voice)
The Minstrel (MIN)
Reader 1: Then an angel of the Lord spoke to Phillip.
Reader 2: Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.
ALL: This is a wilderness road.
MIN: Isn’t that the way it is with a call from God? The call does not necessarily come at an opportune time, nor to a desirable situation. But there are people in need out there, and that is where God has called us to be. This text can be seen as an anatomy of a call, as typification of what the call is like.
Reader 1: Phillip got his call.
Reader 3: And do you know what he did next?
Reader 4: He got up and went.
MIN: Phillip didn’t look for further evidence, he didn’t search for additional data, he didn’t wait to be further prepared, he didn’t question his readiness… he got up and went.
ALL: He got up and went.
Reader 3: So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship.
Reader 4: On his way home he was sitting in his chariot reading from the book of Isaiah the prophet.
Reader 1: Then the Spirit said to Phillip
Reader 2: Go over to this chariot and join it.
Reader 4: Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet.
MIN: Phillip hears the man reading Isaiah. The eunuch is already on a journey of faith. God has already begun to work. Phillip is joining God where God is already working.
Reader 1: "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
Reader 3: "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
Reader 2: The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
Reader 4: "He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
Reader 2: and as a lamb before the sheerer is silent,
Reader 4: so he did not open his mouth.
Reader 1: In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Reader 3: Who can speak of his descendants?
Reader 4: For his life was taken from the earth.
Reader 3: The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
Reader 1: Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
ALL: He told him the good news about Jesus.
Reader 2: As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said,
Reader 3: Look, here is water.
Reader 1: Look, here is water.
Reader 4: Look, here is water.
ALL: Why shouldn’t I be baptized?
Reader 2: Look…
Reader 4: Here…
Reader 3: Why shouldn’t I…
Reader 1: Why not now?
Reader 1: Phillip commanded the chariot to stop.
Reader 4: And both of them,
Readers 1&3: Phillip and the eunuch,
Reader 2: Both them went down into the water, and Phillip baptized him.
MIN: There was a call; there was an encounter; scripture was consulted; questions were raised; the situation was addressed; and they both got it done, together.
Reader 1: When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away…
Reader 3: And the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
ALL: Amen!
We already know that we exist to SHOW the love of Jesus to our Community. Today, we’ll discover that God is calling us to…
Take Our “Show” On The Road
Our Text: Acts 8: 26-40
Philip responds to a Distinct Call
“Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
“An angel of the Lord…” – This same phrase is translated “the angel of the Lord” or the “Spirit of the Lord” in different translations and in other places, including verse 29. Often we get deep into theological struggles with distinguishing between “The Spirit of the Lord”, “The Holy Spirit”, “The Angel of the Lord”, “an angel of the Lord”. The point here is rather straight-forward. Philip’s journey begins with God’s prompting. God is the one directing his travel plans. It is divine interaction that prompts this journey.
God often directs our journeys, even if we don’t discover his work until much further down the road.
- Ex: Decision to go to Alabama
God calls us through a personal encounter
Need a few Biblical Examples?
Moses meets the “Burning Bush,” Balaam meets a talking donkey, Peter has a dream (Acts 11)
Paul sees ‘the light’ (Acts 9 / Gal. 1: 11-12)
- When I was in high school I expected to attend Louisiana State University with all of my friends. I was an unsaved young man and foresaw no significant changes in the life I was leading. But somewhere around the middle of my senior year I received in the mail a full color brochure with the words emblazed across the cover: “I’m Bama Bound!” I knew almost nothing about the University of Alabama, except for the fact they had beaten Auburn University in November so that LSU could go to the Sugar Bowl. But I began to have this overwhelming, compelling drive to change my college plans. For no ‘apparent’ reason I experienced a surprising, substantial change in my passion for college and by May was committed to attend UA. Why is this significant? That’s where I met Jesus – through the campus outreach of a local church. If I had stayed with my school friends I don’t know how the Lord would have ever gotten through the denial and self-indulgence I was living in. In retrospect, I believe without reservation that God was working in my heart to redirect my path – working in the heart of a very confused, very lost young man – to bring me to a life-changing encounter with His Son.
God calls us through a realized need
Want a Biblical Example?
Acts 6 – calling of the ‘seven’
o Note their qualifications related to spiritual health
o Note their ministry is related to the ministry of others
o Note they aren’t given a title?
- This is how we usually call people into ministry and service in the church. “We have a need for a bus driver. God is calling for a bus driver this morning…” “We need someone to teach the children. If you love children contact…” We identify a need and then look for someone to meet this need.
God calls us through a passionate conviction
“For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake.” 1 Thes. 1: 4-5
- We readily acknowledge that when someone is convicted or fired up about doing something God has called them to that role or ministry. Think of youth ministers you’ve met in the past. Many of us ‘know’ they’ve been called to work with students because of how passionate they are about the spiritual and personal needs of young adults.
God calls us through a recognized weakness
“But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” 2 Cor. 12: 9-10
- I was surfing the Internet one afternoon and discovered a web site designed to reach out to those struggling with sexual purity. I read the author’s ‘background information’ page and read his testimony about his own struggles in this area. He constructed the page as an attempt to help others who were wrestling with a weakness he recognized in himself.
- My own call to seminary is an expression of a call out of weakness. I feel that I am woefully inadequate as a studier of the Scriptures. So I have enrolled in a graduate level program where I can be challenged, mentored and grown in my ability to learn, dialogue and study the Biblical Text.
God calls us through a particular interest
- “And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.” 2 Cor. 8: 10-12
- Notice Paul’s emphasis on the church’s desire and willingness throughout that text.
- The story is told about a young man who approached his youth minister about beginning a new evangelistic ministry built around baseball card collecting. The youth minister didn’t see much future in it, but encouraged the young man to continue. Before long, the 15-year-old high school student had a bi-weekly meeting going with a 15 – 20 friends from his school in attendance. He’d begin the meeting with a testimony and then jump into baseball card collecting and swapping. He even had an ‘autograph’ session with a player from the local MLB team who before signing cards shared with 500 would-be collectors his testimony and witness to the saving grace of Jesus Christ. … All this built around a simple interest!
Philip travels a Desert Road
"Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
– This is a wilderness road. It is road with which many people are familiar – but its not like just driving down to the B.A. Expressway. You don’t ‘just go to the road.’ It’s filled with bandits, looters and other difficulties. You go with others, you go at the right time, and you go with a reason.
The road won’t always look pretty
The way won’t always look protected
The journey won’t always look promising
The pathway itself is never the purpose
Philip finds a Demanding Challenge
“So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked.
‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.”
An Ethiopian eunuch… This person is quite different from any others we’ve met in the New Testament to this point. Luke, the author of Acts, goes out of his way to distinguish this individual.
His place of origin…
His position in the queen’s court…
His race is made obvious…
His gender and orientation…
The Ethiopian is from a place further away than the majority of the Luke’s audience would ever dare to travel. This is far away…
This man is from a culture that entirely foreign to the members of the early church. They’ve had little or no dealings with people from this culture. They know nothing about it and understand even less.
Luke is clearly illuminating two other details about this traveler. His race is different. And if you think race is a big issue today, imagine how delicate of an issue it must have been for the early church. They couldn’t get along between Jews and Gentiles. This is a completely different subject.
And don’t walk past the word Eunuch. This is significant. Luke is making sure that the early church hears that word. This man is from a different sexual orientation than anyone else that the early Christians have met. He works for a queen, probably in her private court. The Torah forbids the Jews to have any contact with a Eunuch; they are unclean.
He was on his way home from Jerusalem. Gone to worship? To discover worship? A proselyte?
This is the chariot that Philip is told to go to and stay next to.
Stay next to the chariot?
You called me out of Jerusalem to be a parking lot attendant?
Yet Philip moves.
Don’t miss the boldness of Philip’s question to the Ethiopian. He initiates a conversation with this man he’s never met. In fact, we don’t know that Philip has any idea who this guy is or where he’s from. There might be markings on the chariot, although probably not as that would entice bandits. The windows of the chariot might be open, but doubtfully so on open desert road.
You have to love Philip’s boldness and willingness to just step out into it for the Kingdom. Philip doesn’t know where this is going; he doesn’t know what kind of man this individual is. ‘He just takes a step.’
And don’t you love the Ethiopians answer to Philip? “How can I understand unless someone explains this to me?” What a ready heart. This person wants to know truth, wanting to discover God. God has already been softening his heart and preparing the road for the journey.
Often, the reason we won’t jump into action is we believe more in our ability to fail than in God’s ability to succeed.
We believe more in ourselves (in a negative way) than we believe in God.
Philip discovers a Deliberate Movement
“Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked. ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.’
The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.”
Who is the Prophet Isaiah talking about in this passage?
How do you know that?
This verse is never related to Jesus – until now.
How could Philip have known this? The Sadducees rejected the Oral Tradition – the major and minor prophets. The Teachers of the Law didn’t teach prophets, they taught law. Only the Pharisees accepted the Oral Tradition/Prophets as authentic and authoritative. But since they spent all their time debating with the other religious leaders how could young, Jewish Philip have been an expert on Old Testament Prophecy?
It is highly likely that Philip has never heard the contents of Isaiah before today, much less understood them as being related to Jesus.
But look what God has done. God has brought Philip to this place and to this moment. Philip hears the words of the Isaiah…
‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.’
And who comes to his mind? To what experience does God draw Philip’s mind?
- Jesus – the crucified Savior.
- This is before anyone is developing a theology of the cross. Much of our Cross theology comes from who? Paul. Where’s Paul? He still hasn’t ‘seen the light.’
The Ethiopian isn’t the only one on a journey here. So is Philip. Philip is on a journey of discovery. God is revealing to Philip what He can do through Him.
God inspires Philip to see and to share how Jesus is the crucified lamb, the rejected and outcast of Isaiah’s vision. And Philip introduces the Eunuch to the Messiah.
Philip joins God where he is already working.
God provides the man
God provides the text
God provides the insight
God provides the water
Philip makes a faith step and learns to trust God to lead him to ministry
Philip realizes a Divine Appointment
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.”
The ramifications and impact of this encounter on the Jerusalem church are tremendous and essential. God brought two people together from who were on very different journeys to travel together for a short time to accomplish a very important purpose for the church.
Often we come to this passage and talk about Philip the evangelist. We credit him with converting this foreigner and bringing him into the light. But I don’t think that one-sided perspective is all that accurate. Philip doesn’t prepare the Eunuch. He just joins him on a journey for a little while. The Ethiopian isn’t the only one on a journey here. So is Philip. Philip is on a journey of discovery. God is revealing to Philip what He can do through Him.
Often we read this story and use it to talk about the traits of a successful evangelist. We dialogue about an authoritarian approach where the Evangelist opens the word, confronts the pagan and re-directs his life towards the Messiah.
But that’s not what happens here! This story isn’t just about the conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch. It is much more a story about God bringing the Ethiopian to Jesus so that He can convert Philip into a missionary.
God has helped the Ethiopian to find Philip so that God can help Philip can find His calling!
Philip discovers a call to mission work!
In a very real sense that is the best way to talk about our ministry teams-emphasis that we are initiating this morning.
God is bringing people together to begin a ministry together to further his vision and purposes for this church.
What we’re not doing is highlighting a list of duties and jobs that we need covered and then trying to find someone to fill that slot. This isn’t about keeping people busy or trying to shove round pegs into square holes. New Heights is not a one-size fits all kind of model.
Think about how we understand a call to ministry.
Once you hear Jeff Russell talk about worship, once you hear how important worship is to him, no one questions his call to worship. Worship is something about which Jeff is passionate. That kind is wonderful. But it’s not the only way God prepares us or calls us to ministry. God has created each of us individually. And it is in that individuality that God designs each of us for ministry. The parts of you that are distinctive, the elements of your interest, your personality and that make you different are the very elements of your call.
Think about what catches your eye in worship. Think about what you find compelling in your journey with Christ. What is it that you notice? What is it that you bring to the dialogue? That is an indicator of where God is calling you to ministry.
These ministry teams will work together as just that, teams, to move towards a common demonstration of Christ’s love through a common passion or interest. This isn’t a select group of people we’ve singled out as leaders. These are people who are willing to further the mission of this church by serving together on teams in areas where they feel an interest, a passion or a call.
That could be you - Even if you haven’t heard anything about these teams before. Listen to the Spirit of the Lord telling you to go up beside the chariot this morning, and to listen to the conversation that has already been started.
