If you can remember the days of dial-up Internet, then you probably recall how you had to first get your modem connected with a server before having access to the unlimited knowledge base known as the World Wide Web. You were out of luck if the server was busy. You might have sat there staring at your computer screen while listening to the phone ringing and ringing, eager to achieve a connection. If only we had that kind of zeal about getting connected with God!
This morning we are going to look at a passage of Scripture that tells us four things that we need to do in order to become connected with God and to receive the vast knowledge of the Master Server. If we do the four things that we are about to discover, then we will know where God is leading, and He will reveal many of His plans to us, guiding us in the right direction.
Obedience to God’s Voice (vv. 26-28)
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
The first point in being connected with God is being obedient to the voice of God. In this passage something amazing happened. An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip. J. B. Taylor, in the New Bible Dictionary, tells us, “The angel of the Lord . . . is represented in Scripture as a heavenly being sent by God to deal with men as His personal agent and spokesman. In many passages He is virtually identified with God and speaks not merely in the name of God but as God in the first person singular.”(1) So, based on this information, God Himself spoke to Philip in the form of an angel.
When the Lord spoke to Philip, He told him something that didn’t seem to make much sense. He asked him to leave a fruitful ministry in Jerusalem to go to Gaza, a city that lay about fifty miles southwest of Jerusalem at the very end of the Palestinian world at that time. Gaza was right at the edge of the Sinai desert, which trailed off into Egypt, and was sparsely populated.(2) This probably seemed like a fruitless area for ministry, and many people would have questioned God about going to such a place.
Sometimes God will ask us to do something that just doesn’t make much sense, but like Philip we need to be obedient and go. Philip didn’t question the Lord, or say to Him, “Well, I really need some time to pray about this.” If God has spoken a word, and then we say to Him that we’ll pray about it, what that often means is that we want to debate the matter with our own reasoning for a while, or question God and wrestle with Him. If God tells us to go, He means it; and we should do just as He says, or we might end up as Jonah and be swallowed by a big fish for our disobedience.
Now, you might be saying, “I have never heard God speak to me in an audible voice. He just doesn’t speak to people anymore like He did back in the Bible days. How do I hear God speaking to me, and in what ways does He speak?” Henry Blackaby, the author of Experiencing God, tells us that the Lord speaks to us by the Holy Spirit through the Bible. He also speaks through prayer, circumstances, and the church to reveal Himself, His purposes, and His ways.(3) God still speaks today, and if we stand around debating whether or not He is speaking then we will miss an opportunity for a great blessing.
Philip was obedient to God and he went on his way to Gaza, and while he journeyed there he met a Eunuch from Ethiopia. Philip thought the Lord was going to use him in ministry somewhere in Gaza; but on the contrary, God didn’t mean that the ministry was “in” Gaza, but “on the way to” Gaza. This scenario provides us with an important spiritual truth in life and ministry. The point is, “Sometimes we become so focused on our destination [or our perception of God’s plan or destination] that we may miss opportunities to share the love of Christ along the way.”(4) Remember, the Christian life is not about the destination, but the journey
We need to always be open to God’s leading; and one of the ways the Lord speaks is through circumstances. An Ethiopian Eunuch coming down the road dressed very nicely and driving an expensive looking chariot was definitely a circumstance that couldn’t be ignored by Philip.
For one thing, he was Ethiopian. Ethiopia, called Cush in the Old Testament, corresponds to what is known as Nubia, a region along the Nile River of southern Egypt.(5) Artwork from the region portrays the Nubians and being “black” in ethnicity, having dark skin (Wikipedia). Secondly, he was a eunuch. There were two meanings of this word. One meant a literal eunuch, and the other meant a trusted worker in a royal court. Since he was reading from Isaiah and likely on his way to the Jerusalem temple for worship, it is suggested that he was not a literal eunuch. Deuteronomy 23:1 prohibits castrated people from entering the assembly. So, this Eunuch was a trusted worker who had connections with the royal court of Ethiopia. Thirdly, he was driving a chariot, and “only the most well-to-do had chariots in those days.”(6)
Philip had to take notice of this unusual set of circumstances, which happened to be a divine appointment. We need to view every encounter with the people we meet throughout the day as circumstances that God has orchestrated and opportunities to share with them about Jesus. First and foremost, we should have a concern for their soul and their individual salvation; but secondly, we must keep in mind that they could have influence that could propel the gospel and help advance the kingdom.
Sensitivity to the Spirit (vv. 29-31)
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
The second point in being connected with God is being sensitive to the Spirit. Henry Blackaby says that God speaks through the Bible. The Bible that Philip would have been familiar with during this time was the Old Testament, because the New Testament had not yet been written. When Philip heard the Ethiopian Eunuch reading from the book of Isaiah, the Holy Spirit helped him recall the Word of God. In John 14:26, Jesus said, “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” When Philip recognized what the Eunuch was reading aloud, the Spirit urged him to explain what he knew and understood about the text.
If we wish to hear God speak to us through the Holy Spirit, then we need to be plugged into the power source, which is God’s Word. “Philip’s sensitivity to the leadership of the Holy Spirit enabled him to hear and respond to God . . . We become more sensitive to God’s leading when we develop a close personal walk with Him. It is through personal Bible study and prayer that we come to know God and His ways.”(7) If we are in touch with God by spending time in His Word, then the Holy Spirit will definitely speak to us.
For example, we might be in a conversation with someone and hear that person say something that jogs our memory about a certain Scripture verse. If this happens then the Spirit is telling us, “Hey, here’s your opportunity to share.” The person has just said something that can be answered with the Word of God. If you spend time in the Word then the Spirit will let you know when and what to share with a person. In the case of the Ethiopian Eunuch, the passage from Isaiah that he was reading jogged Philip’s memory about the passion and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.
Understanding of the Scripture (vv. 32-35)
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He opened not His mouth. 33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, and who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” 34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
The third point in being connected with God is having an understanding of the Scripture. This observation is related to the previous point of being connected with the Spirit, because here too we learn how we must spend time in God’s Word. If Philip had not been familiar with the Scripture, or had not studied it, then he could not have answered the Eunuch when he asked him, “Of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” If someone were to ask you this same question about this particular passage in Isaiah, how would you answer?
“The passage the eunuch was reading from was Isaiah 53:7-8, which talks of the unjust humiliation and sufferings of the Lord’s servant [the Messiah] . . . The Ethiopian must have had with him the rest of Isaiah 53 too, where the substitutionary nature of Jesus’ death is presented.”(8) For example, Isaiah 53:5 says, “He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” In his gospel, Luke presents Isaiah 53 as being fulfilled in the sufferings of Jesus. Luke is also the author of Acts, and he had in mind Philip interpreting the passage as being about Christ. Philip shared how Jesus, the Lamb of God, laid down His life on the cross to suffer for the sins of the world.
What is astonishing here is that the Ethiopian Eunuch was not a Christian. He may not have even been a Jewish convert yet; and if he was, he had not been one for very long – and here he was immersed in the Scripture. It’s sad to say that there are unbelievers out there who know the Scripture better than believers do. Non-Christians read the Bible many times to learn how to refute it; and you better believe they can quote the Scripture. They might quote it out of context, but that’s better than many Christians can do. Do you want to be caught off guard when an unbeliever asks you about a passage of Scripture that you haven’t even read yourself?
Notice how Philip started sharing with the Ethiopian right where he was. He used the Eunuch’s present knowledge of Scripture to bring him to an understanding of the truth of Jesus Christ. “He explained the passage, answering the questions, and telling the good news. There are many people around us who have never heard the truths of the Bible. We must be sensitive to the opportunities to help people move from where they are, to an understanding of the gospel.”(9) We can only do this if we know the Scripture ourselves.
I would like to point out that this passage contains some important guidelines on how to witness to someone. First, we should start with the person’s questions about God and lend a listening ear. Secondly, our witness should incorporate a use of the Scripture or the Bible. Thirdly, we should center the discussion around the topic of Jesus, and fourthly we should aim toward a response or decision.(10)
Adding Souls to the Kingdom (vv. 36-38)
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?” 37 Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” 38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
The fourth point in being connected with God is adding souls to the kingdom. “The British scholar and evangelist Michael Green believes that Luke’s primary reason for including the [account] of Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch was to teach the value of personal, one-on-one evangelism and to give guidelines on how it should be done.”(11) Evangelism is a task that Jesus gave to each and every Christian in what is called the Great Commission. In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you.”
In our passage that we’ve looked at this morning, we have seen that Philip operated in the calling of the Great Commission. He taught, evangelized and baptized the Ethiopian Eunuch. He was obedient to the Great Commission and he added souls to God’s kingdom. This is the responsibility of all believers, or all who have been saved from their sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. We must all make an effort at sharing our faith with people; otherwise, souls will be lost.
Time of Refection
If you are a believer and you are wondering why you are not hearing from God, or why you are having trouble understanding His will, then perhaps you are either disconnected from God, or you are connected and have a few lose wires that need to be fixed. The Lord reveals in this passage that there are four things we can do as believers to ensure a secure connection with Him. These four things are 1.) be obedient to His voice, 2.) be sensitive to His Spirit, 3.) have an understanding of the Scripture, and 4.) be adding souls to the kingdom through evangelism and discipleship.
Earlier, I said that life is not about the destination, but the journey. Do you presently have joy in the journey? All of us are just passing through this life; however, one day we will reach our final destination. For those who do not know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, their final destination, according to the Bible, is eternity in hell. There can be no joy without salvation in Christ, because you are always aware of what your final destination holds without Him. However, if you will give your life over to Jesus, then your fears will subside and you will find joy in the journey.
NOTES
(1) J. B. Taylor, “Angel of the Lord,” in the New Bible Dictionary (Downers Grove: Inter Varsity, 1982), p. 38.
(2) Kenneth O. Gangel, Acts, Holman New Testament Commentary (ed. Max Anders; Nashville: Holman Reference, 1998), p. 125.
(3) Henry Blackaby, Experiencing God, (Nashville: Lifeway Press, 1990), inside back cover.
(4) “Be Prepared,” Life Trak Bible Studies for Younger Youth, vol. 1, Issue 3 (Nashville: Lifeway, 2001), pp. 31-32.
(5) Ajith Fernando, Acts, The NIV Application Commentary (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998), p. 283.
(6) Ibid., p. 284.
(7) “Be Prepared,” Life Trak Bible Studies for Younger Youth, pp. 31-32.
(8) Ajith Fernando, Acts, p. 284.
(9) “Be Prepared,” Life Trak Bible Studies for Younger Youth, pp. 31-32.
(10) Ajith Fernando, Acts, pp. 289-291.
(11) Ibid., p. 285.
