When we think of Evangelism, the general thought that runs through most minds is of a crusade with someone like Billy Graham. A planned special event. Most evangelism does not happen that way. It takes place in the normal activities of our day, seizing the opportunities which are around us. Tonight we are going ot look at the life of Philip, and in particular, his conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch found in Acts 8:26-40.
A. Answering with Obedience sets the stage.
Now and angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—a desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. Acts 8:26
Gaza was one of the five principle cities of the Philistines. The road from Jerusalem ran through old Gaza which had been destroyed in the first century B.C. to Egypt. God intervened in Phillips life by sending an angel to give him instructions to travel down that road to Gaza. What is interesting is the comment this is a desert road. There were two roads which lead out of Jerusalem to Egypt through old Gaza, and the one Phillip was to travel was the one less traveled. That is what God calls us to as well, the road less traveled in life, but the one that brings us God encounters. Phillip is about to meet the Ethiopian eunuch, and this is no chance encounter on the well worn path of life, but one that takes place on a side road, a desert road, one not traveled by the majority of people.
B. Believers on the move are used by God.
So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of 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. Vs. 27, 28
Phillip is obedient to the word from the angel and starts out on his way to Gaza where it records he comes upon an Ethiopian eunuch reading a passage from the Old Testament, from Isaiah. Luke has tied the Ethiopian with Judaism, having come to the Jerusalem to worship.
Had Phillip not set out when he heard from the angel, we would not be reading this passage concerning the conversion soon to take place. How often do we procrastinate when God has spoken to us, and how many opportunities do we miss as a result. God uses people who are on the move, not sitting still. In the Gospels, Jesus was not sitting holding court, he was out actively pursuing people and changing their lives. If we want to see the power of God unleashed in our community, then we need to be out in the community making it happen.
People are all around seeking God. The Ethiopian was a true seeker. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship and so he was ready to know and receive the truth. He was a man of great power and prestige, the treasurer to Candice, the queen mother who ruled on behalf of her son the king since the king in Ethiopia was considered to be a child of the sun and therefore too holy to be involved in the secular functions of the kingdom.
Luke does not tell us what the Ethiopian was reading, one commentator said it could well have been Isaiah 56:3-5 which says
Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let not any eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.”
C. Close Encounters open doors
The best way to reach someone is not through the mail, or putting a tract on their windshield, or sending smoke signals. If you want to reach someone it requires a close encounter of the Godly kind. You are Christ ambassadors to a world lost without the knowledge you have of salvation.
The Spirit told Phillip “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Phillip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Phillip asked. Vs. 29-30
I have this picture in my mind, the chariot traveling down the road and Phillip running alongside. That would cause me to take up the reins and speed it up, it could have been a chariot-jacker.
Phillip, being obedient to the original instructions, now receives further instructions from the Spirit. If you use what the Lord has already given you, being obedient to the call, this prepares you to receive further instruction which will open a whole new vista of opportunity. Slackers become lackers, obedience leads to abundance. So what do you want to be, lacking or living in abundance. If you want the abundant life you have to get going, respond by doing what you are instructed and reap the reward along the way.
As Phillip is going, God has opened an door for evangelism on the run. You never know who might come your way out jogging. The Ethiopian was reading from Isaiah when Phillip asks if he understands what he is reading. You ever wish you had someone to explain to you what you have just read?
D. Developing the Right questions will open doors.
Have you ever wanted to share the gospel message of Christ and never had the conversation turn to where you could share? If you learn how to ask the right questions, it opens the door to an invitation for further explanation. This is how you become a contagious Christian. Phillip asked the man if he understood what he was reading, and he responds,
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Phillip 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. Vs. 31-33
Doesn’t that send you soaring when someone asks you to tell them more? Phillip must have been on cloud nine, now he doesn’t have to keep running alongside, but he has been given an invitation to come and sit next to this man and further explain the passage he had just read. The door which had been open to share the Gospel came from a life experience the Ethiopian was having, not a conversation off the subject. If we want to be effective witnesses, we need to make sure the word we share develops through a persons life journey or we will never find that open door, just a wall.
E. Earn the right to be heard by being prepared to respond.
The eunuch asked Phillip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Phillip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Vs. 34-35
Phillip sets a great example for us. Begin with the point of reference in the present conversation, he be used Isaiah as the springboard to sharing Jesus. To be effective, you have to know what you are talking about. You have to know the Scriptures.
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15
Preparation comes through personal Bible study and gather in groups where we can reason together. Listening to good Bible teaching on tapes or television and not forsaking the gathering together of believers in church services.
F. Fulfilling the Great Commission in Real Time
As they traveled along the road, the came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Phillip and the eunuch went down into the water and Phillip baptized him. Vs. 36-38
After explaining the Gospel, we can read between the lines and see the Ethiopian accepted Christ as Lord and Savior since we see this eagerness on his part to be baptized and Phillip’s baptism. Phillip was fulfilling the great commission which instructs us to go and make disciples baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
There is an importance to water baptism. The importance is obedience in following the example set by Christ. Baptism does not save you, it is a witness that you have been saved, that you have declared Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.
G. Get Ready to Go all out for God.
When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Phillip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Vs. 39-40
The task of the Kingdom is so great, we don’t always have the time to stand and rejoice for one victory, we need to be ready to go and begin working on the next. This was the case of Phillip, immediately moved by the Spirit from one location to another to answer the call of God in other people’s lives.
As inquisitive as we are, we wonder what happened to the Ethiopian after Phillip departed. One of the early church fathers, Irenaeus, writes that the eunuch became a missionary to the Ethiopians.
Evangelism on the Run
Ballard Assembly Pastor Bob Briggs Acts 8:26-40 Lesson 21
B. ____________________ with Obedience sets the stage.
Now and angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—a desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. Acts 8:26
B. ____________________ on the move are used by God.
So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of 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. Vs. 27, 28
Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely exclude me from his people.” And let not any eunuch complain, “I am only a dry tree.” For this is what the Lord says: “To the eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose what pleases me and hold fast to my covenant—to them I will give within my temple and its walls a memorial and a name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that will not be cut off.”
Isaiah 56:3-5
C. ______________________ Encounters open doors
The Spirit told Phillip “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” Then Phillip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Phillip asked. Vs. 29-30
D. ____________________ the Right questions will open doors.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Phillip 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. Vs. 31-33
E. _________________ the right to be heard by being prepared to respond.
The eunuch asked Phillip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Phillip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. Vs. 34-35
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. 1 Peter 3:15
G. __________________ the Great Commission in Real Time
As they traveled along the road, the came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Phillip and the eunuch went down into the water and Phillip baptized him. Vs. 36-38
G. _______________ Ready to Go all out for God.
When they came out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. Phillip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea. Vs. 39-40
