Rejoice:
Read:
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 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, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 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.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 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?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 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. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
There isn’t a huge amount to unpack or uncover in this passage. It is very understandable, and plainly shows the message of how one comes to salvation. I do want us to note one main thing, Philip’s efficiency in sharing the Gospel. Notice that Philip explained the good news about Jesus from Scripture and THIS is what prompted the Ethiopian to seek salvation. Not stories, examples, opinions, arguments against what the Ethiopian believed… Just Scripture.
So the question is, can you explain the good news from Scripture?
Now, God uses us even in our inability. Thus, what I am about to say is not in relation to ability it’s in relation to efficiency. God can reach a heart through our words regardless of how poorly we “perform under pressure” (carry out our mission). I often pray (at the beginning or end of sermons) for God to use me even through my inadequacies. However, Philip showed the eunuch truth straight from Scripture and his heart responded appropriately. We need not search for fancy words to share or ways to share it. Instead all we must do is know what GOD has said, and share those things. You look at Scripture and: see the Truth, meditate on the Truth, live the Truth, and share the Truth.
I guess what I am trying to say is, do you know Scripture? Do you know how the stories of the Bible fit together to build one main story? Do you understand the purpose of Scripture? Or have you replaced it with “rules and regulations to live by?” Are you living daily by morals or the Word of God? Let us not forget that the Power is in the Spirit which is the Word of God.
Respond:
God, we are prone to not desire to read Scripture. We are prone to desire filling our time with music, videos, activities, and whatever else we find. Help us to, instead, fill our time with Your Word. Fill us with Your Word so that we overflow and it is constantly on our lips!!
Relate:
Read, Meditate, Live, Share (Read, Rejoice, Respond, Relate)
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