Let The Spirit Lead

My wife and I went canoeing on a lake once, but the canoe was going absolutely nowhere. That is until we figured out how to stop paddling in our own direction independently, and start paddling in concert with one another in the direction we jointly wanted to go. The book of Acts shows us how the apostles and the early church cooperated in obedience with the Holy Spirit, resulting in many being saved. One such example is in our scripture lesson today (Acts 8:26-39). Philip, led by the Holy Spirit, encountered an Ethiopian man on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. Because of this encounter, the man was baptized and the gospel message continued to be spread beyond Jerusalem and Samaria into other parts of the world. I pray this week that you will pray for the Holy Spirit to open the door for you to share the gospel with someone. Amen.

Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “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.” (Acts 8:26-29) After the stoning of Stephen and the persecution of the church by Saul, many Christians who were gathered in Jerusalem, began to scatter away from Jerusalem. Philip, who had been an appointed deacon along with Stephen, left Jerusalem to avoid persecution and went to Samaria. There he preached the gospel and many were saved. But, although he had developed a sizable and thriving congregation in Samaria, God had other plans to further spread the gospel. An angel of the Lord came to Philip and told him to leave Samaria and move down the road towards Gaza. Philip was obedient, and while traveling, encountered an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading the Book of Isaiah. We find that the spirit moves us in ways and opens doors for us to share the gospel with others. Our job is to listen to the spirit in obedience, because there’s someone that needs to hear the good news of salvation.

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.

This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,

and as a lamb before its 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.  (Acts 8:27-35) How can I understand unless someone explains it to me? That is the question that all of us should have toward the Scriptures. We should seek to gain understanding, not just by reading, but by consulting others, who have wrestled with the text and have some insight into it’s meaning. Whether it is hearing sound preaching, or attending Sunday school, or reading and studying commentaries, or meditating on God‘s word, we should seek out to gain understanding each time we engage the Scriptures. Philip explained to the man that that this passage from the Book of Isaiah was not about the prophet Isaiah, but about Jesus the Christ, who was put to death for our transgressions, and that “by his stripes, we are healed” (crucified that we might be saved from sin). We should always read the word of God prayerfully, asking Him for revelation and understanding.

As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”]*  And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 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.  (Acts 8:36-39) * Note: some manuscripts do not include this. Baptism is a public profession of our faith. The Ethiopian eunuch, after hearing the gospel, wanted to make a public profession of his faith, symbolically dying to himself and rising up out of the water in Christ. By supernatural grace, Philip and the Ethiopian came upon, a body of water and the eunuch, filled with the gospel message, immediately saw an opportunity to outwardly profess his faith and be saved. Philip stood ready and willing to baptize this Ethiopian official of the court of Candice. Immediately upon completion of the baptism, the Spirit took Philip away. While that may have rattled most of us and caused us to be concerned about where Philip went, this newly baptized man went on his way rejoicing at his salvation. His focus was on God, and not on the supernatural disappearance of Philip. This is a lesson for us that we too should keep our focus on God, and not on the distractions that may be all around us. 

The book of Acts gives us insight into the purpose and power of the Holy Spirit in the building the early church.  At every turn, the Holy Spirit is moving people and events around for the purpose of continuing to spread the gospel message and grow the church. What we should learn from this is that while we do the work of the Lord in sharing the good news, it is the Holy Spirit that creates the opportunities for us to share and brings people to Christ. Paul said it this way to the church at Corinth when they were arguing over who it was that brought them to Christ, “I planted, Apollos watered, but it is God who gave the increase”.  Only by the power of God through the Holy Spirit are people led to a heart change that compels them to seek salvation. Never forget that while we have been commanded by Jesus to make disciples… we must always let the Holy Spirit lead us! 

Blessings,

Rev. Glenn