What is Your Story?
Acts 8:26-40
Everyone has a story and everyone likes a good story. God’s story is all about His Son Jesus. God wants His story to be your story. Part of God’s plan is for you to tell His story.
In the early church we find an interesting story that started on the Day of Pentecost, Acts 2. The person I’m talking about tells his story. (Insights for this story taken from a message by Rev. Roger D. Haber, Senior Pastor Bridgeway Community Church, Carol Stream, Illinois.)
“I’ll never forget the day I met Jesus Christ. I was in Jerusalem for Pentecost; it’s similar to the American Thanksgiving. I was a Jew who worshiped God. When I came to Jerusalem, I had fulfilled a lifelong dream. I had been saving for decades. I thought simply standing near the temple would be the greatest experience of my life. I would discover there is more to God than a magnificent building.
Jerusalem was still buzzing with the news of the crucifixion of Jesus and his empty tomb. It was just 50 days earlier that his disciples claimed he had risen from the dead. I didn’t know what to think until that morning I heard one of his followers, Peter, speak about the wonderful things God had done through Jesus Christ, his Son. What was amazing was that when I heard his words—“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord”—in my own language, Greek! I later discovered that this was a miracle of the Holy Spirit. People heard Peter’s same message in Arabic, Persian, or whatever language they spoke!
I believed the message! I believed that Jesus was truly the Son of God. I believed he had died for my sins. I believed he had risen from the dead. I wanted to be one of his followers. I was one of the three thousand baptized that Pentecost Sunday, publicly proclaiming that I was a follower of Jesus Christ.
Our church started to grow. We set up a food pantry to help those who were struggling financially. Soon the church leaders, who were initially responsible for this endeavor, were overworked and people were falling through the cracks. People started to complain.
Some of the people in the church spoke Hebrew, and some of them, like me, spoke Greek. To some, it seemed that preferential treatment was being given to those needy people who spoke Hebrew. The church leaders were getting just as frustrated as the people who were being neglected. So, with great wisdom, they chose seven people to administer the food pantry of the Jerusalem Community Church. I was one of those seven people chosen. As a matter of fact, all seven of us spoke Greek. The complaints stopped.
The more I served in the church, the more I discovered other gifts. I loved telling the story of Jesus. I became a “storyteller for Jesus.” That’s what an evangelist is. I left Jerusalem and went up north, to the city of Samaria. There I had a great time telling his story. Crowds would listen intently as I told them about the Messiah who was born in Bethlehem. I told them how Jesus had healed the sick, fed the multitudes, and raised the dead. I told them about his death, his burial, and his resurrection. I told them he had ascended into heaven. I told them he was coming again for those who would become his followers. Many people came to know Jesus in that city. The city was filled with joy.
I was surprised God would move me to another area when I was so successful in telling Jesus’ story in Samaria. But he did. It wasn’t my idea to go south. I liked it up north. But an angel of the Lord told me to head down south. He directed me to a desert road—a road that connected Jerusalem with the coastal city of Gaza. “What’s going on here?” I thought. I’ve just finished a successful evangelistic campaign in Samaria. I’m tired. I need a rest. I was teaching hundreds about Jesus, and now I found myself on a road in the middle of nowhere with no one even around.
But when God told me, “Go . . .” I remembered that the church leaders had told me what Jesus had told them just before he went up to heaven: “Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit” (Matt. 28:19).
So, I went. God had sent someone to meet me. He was an Ethiopian. I had never met an Ethiopian before. Not only was he an Ethiopian, he was a high official from that Country; he was the minister of finance.
I wondered, “What was this African official doing in Jerusalem?” I soon discovered that he was a seeker. He had come to worship God. Somehow, he had come to discover that the true God was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.
When I met him, he was on his way home. He was riding in a fancy vehicle and reading. When God told me to get closer to his chariot, I did. It was time to do what I loved the most. This time, my storytelling wasn’t among the crowds, but with one person. I wasn’t sure his body guards would let me get close, but I by faith ran up and talked to the official from Ethiopia.
How does one begin a conversation with an Ethiopian reading the Bible in his chariot? Well, God gave me a good line—“Do you understand what you are reading?” My Ethiopian friend had no problem admitting that he needed someone to explain the Bible to him.
Of course, I realized why God sent me to the desert road. Sure, there were hundreds of people in Samaria. But this one African official was important to God. He had left Jerusalem, the same city where Jesus died and rose again, and no one had told him the story of Jesus. This was my job.
He was reading from the Book of Isaiah, chapter 53. This passage talks about someone who is being led like a sheep to slaughter. My new friend wanted to know of whom Isaiah was speaking. As we traveled along that dusty road, I told him the story of Jesus. I told him that Jesus was the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, that he was wounded for our sins and pierced for our moral failures. I said Jesus had died in that very city he had just left because he loved him so much and wanted him to follow him. I told him Jesus would forgive him and give him hope and a future.
And this man responded to this story. He wanted the gift of eternal life, which Jesus freely gives to all who call on his name. We came to some water, not an easy thing to do on a desert road. The Ethiopian asked me to baptize him. We got out of the chariot. We went down into the water. And I said, “Brother, upon confession of your faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, I baptize you in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.” Baptism is more than having water sprinkled or poured upon you. Baptism doesn’t cleanse a person from sin. Jesus does that. Baptism is the way people declare that they are followers of Jesus Christ.
Immediately, I was taken away for another task, and the financial minister of Ethiopia went his way, rejoicing in his new life in Jesus Christ. I’m sure he told everyone what he had found in his chariot that day—a relationship with Jesus Christ.
Being a storyteller for Jesus not only touches people who need him, but brings great joy and strength to the storyteller.
You can read this story in Acts 8:26–40. Do
you know who this man was? His name was Philip. He went where God told him, and he shared the story of Jesus. Philip the evangelist was Philip the storyteller!
Go and tell. Would you be a storyteller for Jesus? Being a storyteller for Jesus not only touches people who need him, but brings great joy and strength to the storyteller.
Followers of Jesus have been telling his story for centuries. Sometimes, in the church today, we want people to “Come and see” when the instructions of our Commander in chief have always been “Go and tell!”
The Bible says there is great joy in heaven when someone comes to Jesus.
Years ago I saw the movie, “The Cross and the Switchblade.” The movie was about the ministry of David Wilkerson and the conversion of Nikki Cruz in New York City.
The conversion story of Nikki Cruz is a story of God’s transforming grace at work in a person’s life.
Nikki had grown up in the village of Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. He grew up in a house dedicated to the powers of darkness. The family practiced sorcery, held séances and trafficked with evil spirits. Nikki had 16 brothers and one sister. His home was the main meeting place for mediums and spiritualists throughout Puerto Rico.
When Nikki was five years old his dad caught him sealing from his mother’s purse and for punishment locked him up in a filthy little pigeon house. Nikki tried to escape from the dark bird house but was not able to get out. After his dad finally let him out he cried hysterically for several hours and had repeated nightmares for days.
When Nikki was eight years old his mother told him that he was the “Son of Satan, a child of the Devil.”
Nikki grew into an uncontrollable rebel. His parents could do nothing with him so they sent him to New York City at the age of 15. He lived with relatives for a while but eventually made his home on the streets of New York City and became the leader of a vicious gang called the Mau Maus. The smoldering rage inside him found expression in violence, crime and bloodshed. He was known as a twisted psychopath who frightened even his friends. A police psychiatrist told him after an evaluation that he was headed on a fast track to the electric chair.
One day God brought Pastor David Wilkerson and Nikki Cruz together. David proclaimed the gospel of Jesus Christ to Nikki. It was almost beyond belied but Nikki the gang leader surrendered his life to Christ. The change was immediate. Instead of being full of tortured, self destructive rage, the young man became filled with love and compassion for hopeless cases – kids like him who seemed bent on destroying themselves.
Later Nikki attended a Bible College in California. He had opportunity to return to Puerto Rico and witnessed the conversion of his mother. During the past number of years Nikki Cruz has witness to people all over the world. A good friend of mine, Judy Christi, administrates the scheduling of the Nikki Cruz Evangelistic Campaigns across the country. His campaign headquarters is located in Colorado Spring, CO.
My story is not nearly as dramatic as the Nikki Cruz story. I grow up in the small town of Gypsum, Kansas: A town with four churches, An Evangelical United Brethren, Methodist, Baptist and Catholic. In time the EUB church that I attended with my mother and sister and the Catholic Church closed. When the EUB church closed we started attending the Methodist Church. The primary studies were more about social issues that the Bible in the Methodist Church.
When I was 14 years old I experienced a trauma in my life when I saw my Dad come out of a neighbor’s house, about three blocks from where we lived, with another woman. They got in his car and drove off. In a small town it’s hard to keep secrets.
Not long after that my parents separated and we moved to Sterling, Kansas where I attended Sterling High School for three years. A major turning point came in my life when at the age of 15 I surrendered my life to Christ in an evangelistic service at the Missionary Church we were attending. Since that time I have endeavored to honor Jesus in my life and be obedient to his calling.
What is your story? Everyone has a story to tell. Do you have a story of good news to tell?
Philip heard the good news preached by Peter in Jerusalem and accepted Jesus as his personal Messiah and Savior. The risen Lord led him in an exciting life of adventure telling His Story.
Nikki Cruz heard the good news of the Gospel and surrendered his life to the Lord Jesus and has been sharing His Story around the Word.
It could be that up to this time of your life, your life has been all about the things of this world. You know about Jesus, but you don’t really know Jesus. You know about God’s love and the need to repent and be baptized, but you haven’t seized the moment and accepted the good news of the Gospel.
The Gospel message is very clear: “Now is the day of salvation. When you hear God’s voice don’t harden your heart.” Say “Yes” to the Lord Jesus and follow Him as your personal Savior and Lord.
One of the earliest affirmations of faith in the early church is found in Romans 10:9-10, “That if you confess with your mouth, Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”
Jesus is the only one that can forgive sin and provide salvation from God’s Justice and Judgment.
Your story is about a person not about a particular religion or belief.
Religion is man-made The Gospel is God-given
Religion is what man does for God The Gospel is what God has done for man
Religion is man’s search for God The Gospel is God’s search for man
Religion is good views The Gospel is good news
Religion whitewashes The Gospel washed white
Religion often becomes a farce The Gospel is always a force
There are many religions There is only one Gospel
Religion places the prime emphasis
upon doing, The Gospel places the primary emphasis upon being.
The Apostle John summarized the Gospel Story when he wrote in John 20:30-31: “Jesus did many other miraculous signs in the presence of his disciples. But these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”
Do you have a story this morning? Do you have His Story? A story of how you surrendered to Jesus and experienced His forgiveness and now have life in His name. You can by doing what Philip did on the day of Pentecost. He accepted Jesus as his Messiah. You can by doing what Nikki Cruz did when David Wilkerson told him about Jesus. Nikki accepted Jesus as his Savior and Lord. At the age of 15 I heard the Gospel message and said “Yes” to Jesus. I invite you to say “Yes” to Jesus by publicly professing Jesus as Lord and coming forward and praying as we sing “Just As I Am.” You come just as you are to Jesus. You don’t wait for a better time or until you can fix yourself. That day may never come. Now is the day of salvation don’t harden your heart. Confess your sins, turn from sin, accept Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior and He will forgive and give you the gift of abundant life and inner peace and joy in your heart.
Come as we sing: “Just As I am without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me, And that Thou bidd’st me come to Thee. O Lamb of God, I come, I come.” (Hymn on screen.)
