1 July 12, 2009 Available to Witness Acts 8:26-27 Please turn in your Bible to Acts, Chapter 8. (26) Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is a desert place. (27) And he rose and went. Acts 8 opens with a man named Saul persecuting the church in Jerusalem. Saul entered the houses of Christians and dragged them to prison. The persecution was so great in Jerusalem that Christians scattered throughout Judea and Samaria. On the surface, it looked bleak for the church, but God can turn bleak into blessing. In this case, those who were scattered went to new places and told people about Jesus. The persecution designed to exterminate the church actually expanded the church. The church multiplied in number and geographic influence as believers scattered from Jerusalem. One of the Christians, who fled from the persecution, was Philip. Philip went to the city of Samaria, 42 miles north of Jerusalem. That s like walking from here to Vero Beach or Titusville. Philip was one of the original deacons. Philip the deacon became Philip the evangelist. He performed miracles. He preached the good news about the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ. Large crowds came out to hear him. They believed in Jesus and were baptized. When the Apostles in Jerusalem heard about the huge revival in Samaria, they sent Peter and John to build on the work that Philip had started. Eventually, Peter and John left Samaria to return to Jerusalem. On the way home, they preached in many villages. Because of persecution, the church continued to multiply. Philip the evangelist was still in the city of Samaria, basking in the joy of the revival. Philip had been available to God to witness to the masses. Now, it was time for a fresh assignment. Would Philip be available to God to witness again? We read about Philip s new assignment and his reaction in verses 26-27. Let s review. In the midst of revival in Samaria, an angel spoke to Philip. God can speak to us in a variety of ways. God can speak through the Bible, the Holy Spirit, circumstances, dreams, people, and many other ways. In Philip s case, God spoke through an angel. The use of the word "rise" in verse 26 could mean that Philip was sleeping and the angel appeared to him in a dream. We
2 don t' know for sure, but I enjoy imagining. The angel told Philip to leave the revival and head south until he came to the road that connected Jerusalem to Gaza. Philip would travel to a desert place. There were two cities named Gaza in Philip's time. One Gaza was very old. It had been destroyed and left desolate. This Gaza likely was the desert place where Philip would travel on foot. Imagine Philip as the leader of a huge revival. Imagine that God's Spirit is moving. People are coming to Christ by the hundreds. There is an atmosphere of joy and expectancy in the city. Do you think it was easy for Philip to leave the fountain of revival to go to the sand pit of the desert? Would it have been easy for you? The first part of verse 27 tells us that Philip rose and went. Philip s response was immediate. He didn't beg God for some time. He didn t wait until the revival ran its course. He didn t take a few days to prepare. He didn t debate about going back to Jerusalem before traveling on to Gaza. He didn't wait until the sandal store had a sale, so he could buy a comfortable pair of walking shoes. Philip rose and went. Are we available to rise and go? Philip was available wherever God led him. He was willing to witness in a city or in the desert. Philip was available to witness. I wonder what could happen if we were as available to witness as Philip was. Are you willing to allow God to change you, so that you re always available to witness? As a beginning, are you willing to carve out time to come to evangelism training tonight? Because Philip was available in Samaria, God used him to preach a city into revival. Now, Philip was in the desert. Here is a summary of what happened because Philip was available to obey God's command to witness in the desert. I ll continue at Acts 8:27. An Ethiopian was traveling on the same road as Philip. It wasn t a coincidence. God arranged it. God had his eyes on the Ethiopian and Philip for a while. God saw Philip when he faced persecution in Jerusalem. God saw Philip as he traveled to Samaria. God saw Philip during the great revival. God saw Philip when he rose obediently to go to the desert. God saw the Ethiopian when he traveled from his country to Jerusalem to worship. God saw the Ethiopian as he worshipped in Jerusalem. God saw the Ethiopian as his servants loaded his chariot to return home. God knew the Ethiopian would take the same road home. God sent his angel to tell Philip to go to the road where he knew the Ethiopian would be. God set up a divine appointment that would be successful, because Philip was available to wit-
3 ness. I wonder what divine appointments God has for us this week. I wonder if we'll be available to witness. The Ethiopian was a high-ranking official of Queen Candice. He was in charge of all of the royal treasure. He was riding in a chariot and reading the writings of the Prophet Isaiah. You have those writings in your Bible, in the Old Testament book of Isaiah. The New Testament didn t exist. There were no bound books, so the Ethiopian was probably reading from a scroll. The Spirit spoke to Philip. The messenger wasn t an angel this time; it was the Holy Spirit. The Spirit may have spoken audibly or through an inner impression. I ve never heard the Spirit s audible voice, but I ve heard his still, small, inner voice. Have you? The Holy Spirit told Philip to join the chariot. Philip was available to witness, so he obeyed the Spirit and ran to the chariot. The fact that he ran, indicates that he had walked to get to the desert road. Would we obey the Spirit and walk somewhere to witness? How far would we walk? Would we walk to the elementary school near here? Would we walk a little farther to the Greater Palm Bay Senior Center? Would we walk to I-95? Would we walk to Daytona Beach, which is about how far Philip walked? When Philip got to the chariot, he heard the Ethiopian reading aloud from Isaiah. Philip asked if he understood what he was reading. The man asked Philip to sit in the chariot and guide him to understanding. The Ethiopian was reading from a passage found in Isaiah 53 of our Bibles. The verses mentioned a sheep that was led to slaughter. Next, the verses said the sheep was humiliated. That s a weird way to describe a sheep. And, the sheep was denied justice. That s even weirder. The writing used terms reserved for people, not a sheep. No wonder the Ethiopian didn t understand. The Ethiopian asked Philip a question. Is Isaiah talking about himself or someone else? Philip showed him that the passage was about Jesus of Nazareth, who exactly corresponded to the description of the prophet. Jesus is the Lamb who was led to slaughter on the cross. Philip must have gone on to describe salvation and baptism, because the Ethiopian asked to be baptized as they came to a pool of water in the desert. I wonder if God caused the water to appear just before they arrived at that spot. Philip baptized the man. When they came out of the water, the Spirit carried Philip away. Some scholars interpret carried away to mean the Holy Spirit commanded Philip to go to an-
4 other place. Most scholars believe that the Holy Spirit miraculously transported Philip to a different place. Miraculous transport is consistent with the final verse of Acts 8 where it says, Philip found himself at Azotus " What about the newly baptized man in the chariot? The Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. His mind was enlightened on a perplexing passage of Scripture. He understood that Jesus is the Messiah. He was baptized. He experienced the joy that everyone feels who embraces the Savior. His joy came from the fact that he was reconciled to God and heaven bound. In Acts 1:8, Jesus said, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." After Jesus' ascension to heaven, Christians witnessed in Jerusalem. When persecution came, Christians witnessed in the rest of Judea. Philip and others went a little farther to witness in Samaria. The Ethiopian took the Gospel message to the ends of the earth. I guess Jesus knew what he was talking about in Acts 1:8. Do you see what can occur when a person is available to witness? The audience may be a large group in a crowed city or an individual in a secluded desert. When the message is the good news about Jesus, the result is eternal life and joy. Let s look at three components of a successful witness. 1. The Child of God. The child of God is a required ingredient for a successful witness. Witnessing requires a child of God, who is available. If we don't share the gospel, who will? God's draws people to his Son through available children of God. God uses dedicated children of God, who will obey the Holy Spirit as Philip did. God uses committed children of God, who will go out of their way to talk to someone about Jesus. Philip was the available child of God in our study. God wants you to be a child of God who is available in our lifetime. 2. The Spirit of God. The Spirit of God is the Lord of the spiritual harvest. Acts 1:8 tells us we have power to witness through the Spirit of God. The Spirit of God led Philip to the Ethiopian. The Spirit of God explained the Scriptures to the Ethiopian. The Spirit of God opened the heart of the Ethiopian to accept the Savior. A person can't be saved if he doesn't understand the Gospel. Only the Spirit of God can teach a sinner the truth of the Gospel. Witnessing is bringing the child of God and the Spirit of God to a sinner who needs the Savior. There is a third ingredient in a successful witness. That ingredient is 3. The Word of God. The Bible, in Ephesians 2:8, says we are saved through faith. We
5 must have faith that Jesus died for our sins and rose from the dead. The Bible tells us how we get that faith. Romans 10:17 tells us that faith comes from hearing the Word of God. That's how it worked in the verses we studied today. Philip used the Word of God to show the Ethiopian that Isaiah was talking about the Messiah, and the Messiah is Jesus. Philip used the wonderful picture of the Lamb of God to reveal how Jesus was slaughtered for our sins. No real conversion occurs apart from the Word of God. The personal witness that bears the fruit of salvation is the witness that plants the seed of the Word of God. When I was nine years old, I saw in the Word of God that everyone has sinned. I saw in the Word of God that the penalty of sin is eternal death in hell. I saw in the Word of God that Jesus paid the price for my sins. I saw in the Word of God that I could accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord. I saw in the Word of God that my sins could be forgiven. I saw in the Word of God that I could escape hell and go to heaven. It was the Word of God that gave me the faith to accept Jesus as my Savior and Lord. In biblical times, there were three ingredients in a successful witness: the child of God, the Spirit of God, and the Word of God. All three were ingredients in the conversion of the Ethiopian. Philip, the child of God, was led by the Spirit of God to share with the Ethiopian from the Word of God. The Ethiopian received faith from hearing the Word of God, as the Spirit of God helped him to understand. The Ethiopian accepted the Messiah and was baptized. He went home rejoicing that his sins were forgiven, and he had a Savior. Today, there are the same three ingredients in a successful witness: the child of God, the Spirit of God, and the Word of God. All three were ingredients in my conversion. During Vacation Bible School, an adult child of God told me what the Word of God said about sin and hell versus forgiveness and heaven. The Spirit of God opened my heart to God's Son. I accepted Jesus, and I went home rejoicing that my sins were forgiven, and I had a Savior. The Spirit of God and the Word of God are available every moment of every day. Those two ingredients are ever-present. God needs a third ingredient for a successful witness to occur. God needs children of God who are available to go to sinners. Are you available? Because of sin, the world needs a Savior. God can change the world one person at a time if we're available to witness.