Being a Willing Servant
Acts 8:26-40
Introduction
Set the stage:
- Stephen has been executed for his faith (one of the first martyrs)
- The church has been scattered to the far reaches of the area
- Philip, one of the first deacons from Acts 6, is in Samaria ministering
-- God is working miracles, people are being saved, and lives are changed
-- Even impure spirits are leaving the city (v7) showing God’s total power
- Life is good for Philip right now: ministry is expanding … and then God speaks
- Read Acts 8:26-40
- Pray
Point 1 – Obedience Matters (26-28)
- What we see here, is the early church obeying the commands of the Lord
-- Jesus gave the disciples a clear command at Pentecost to go and share the Gospel
-- Acts 1:8, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
- So, God is now directing the spreading of the gospel to the southern regions
- Philip, in complete obedience, follows the direction and leaves Samaria
-- But there is something interesting here we need to understand (mentioned above)
-- Read Acts 8:5-8
- Philip was having success; a great ministry was happening; and then he leaves!
-- This is a direct indication of his obedience to God; of his desire to serve Christ
-- Most preachers wouldn’t dare move from a place they were having results
-- Philip though was more concerned with obeying God than his own results
- Setting the stage here, this eunuch had just come from a place of worship
-- He has made a pilgrimage to Jerusalem to worship and is now going home
-- And on his way home, he is reading scripture, out-loud, to himself
- Challenge: Do we discuss the sermon with one another? Meditate on it?
Point 2 – A Chance Encounter (29-34)
- It’s important to understand what this man does, and why he is in this condition
-- A eunuch would be a person castrated early in life; norm against their will
-- This would render them without desires and would allow them to serve fully
-- In some cultures, it may have been that this man was simply celibate
-- In either case, he is a servant – a lowly servant – without needs or self-desires
- However, it’s important to see that he is riding in a chariot
-- Eunuch’s were considered trusted above all others due their loyalty to the master
-- They not only had the master’s ear; but had complete run of the house
-- Therefore, to see a servant in a chariot was not uncommon; but routine
- What is interesting here is that this eunuch would be dark skinned (Ethiopian)
-- Philip was more of a light skinned man being from the region of Jerusalem
-- And in the face of all social resistance walks right up alongside this chariot
- Philip recognized the reading immediately, but asks a very honest question:
-- “Do you understand what you are reading?” (v30)
-- For you and I, this is the most critical question we need to ask ourselves
- The eunuch’s answer just blows me away!! (v31)
- He’s reading scripture but has no idea what he is reading!
- APP: We should take a lesson from this and pause also when reading Scripture
-- Everything written points to the Messiah, and we should ask these questions also
- Philip understands that this man desires to know more about the text he’s reading
- The eunuch on the other hand, only sees the two dimensional view of the text
- He does not view it as prophecy; but wonders if it’s about Isaiah (the author)
- Go to and read Isaiah 53:7-8
-- So if he is reading this; he must have read the prior verses as well (v3-6)
-- This allows Philip to share with him the good news of the Gospel
- TRANS: What Philip does next is first nature to him; he teaches!
Point 3 – Salvation is Available (35-40)
- The Bible doesn’t record how Philip shared the Gospel and arrived at baptism
- But, the eunuch’s next comment upon seeing water is that he NEEDS it!
-- Philip is following the Lord’s command but the eunuch knows he needs
-- Luke 4:18, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free”
- APP: What the eunuch now knows is the total truth; and he desires obedience
- The chariot stops, Philip baptizes this new believer, and he is gone
- This encounter ends as it began: divinely guided transport and evangelism
-- Interestingly enough, Philip is now transported 30 miles to town of Azotus
Conclusion
- This sounds like a great story of miraculous appearances and salvation, right?
-- It sounds like something we might fabricate to tell a story around a campfire
-- But, there are two big applications that you and I have to see in this text
1. Philip was a man who was busy serving God in a tremendous ministry
- He was willing, able, capable, and fully committed to do whatever was needed
- Philip is a man not seeking his own glory or rewards but he’s a servant
- God sends Philip to talk to a servant of what most consider to be royalty
-- The eunuch is riding in a chariot; there are others around; there’s obv. money
-- The Bible doesn’t record who the eunuch witnessed to; imagine possibilities
- But more than that – there is total inclusion in God’s creation for the Gospel
- We divide ourselves into races; God sees one race: the human race
- John 1:14, “The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.”
-- Jesus was made fully flesh to reveal the Father to His creation (you and I)
-- We must now share Him with everyone we come in contact with (all races)
- BIG APP: The conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch graphically demonstrates the inclusiveness of the gospel. There are NONE excluded from hearing (2 Pet 3:9)
2. Salvation is available for anyone that desires it; but someone has to share
- Paul talks about the importance of being able to share the Gospel also:
-- Romans 10:14, “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?”
- The Gospel cannot be shared without those who are willing to hear and respond
- It is now in our hands to share, to deliver, and to confess what we know
- Philip is an regular man, with ordinary problems, serving an extraordinary God
- What’s the comparison to us? We are the SAME person. We are today’s Philip
-- God is calling us to share in the same manner and bring people to Christ
-- If we don’t respond appropriately, we will miss the chance to change lives
-- Someone told us about Jesus, the question is who are we telling?
- Pray
