ADVENTURES IN GOD’S LEADING

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on October 5, 2022 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: October 5, 2022 from Acts 8:26-40

Theme: The story of Philip teaches us some principles of how God may lead us in bearing His gospel to others.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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No matter what else might be going on in the world—no matter how uncertain other things around us may seem to be—there’s always one thing that we can know for sure: God wants the people around us to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Himself gave us the ‘great commission’; and commanded us to go. So; no matter how ‘unknown’ everything else around us might be, we can at least always know what God wants us to be doing in the midst of it all.

That’s certainly a reality that’s behind much of what we’ve been studying in the Book of Acts. We’ve been seeing how God caused His gospel to first spread in the city of Jerusalem through the apostle’s preaching and through His faithful people. That was the subject of Acts 1-7. And now, in Chapter 8, we see how that gospel began to spread beyond Jerusalem to the regions of Judea and Samaria. As persecution had caused the early believers to scatter, they “went everywhere preaching the word” (Acts 8:4).

But what we don’t always realize is the amazing ways that God providentially leads us along in that great task. God doesn’t leave us to find our way in His work all on our own. Instead, He works sovereignly—behind the scenes—to place us in the situations and in the personal encounters in which he calls us to spread that gospel. He even prepares the way in advance. We’re told something about this in Ephesians 2:10;

For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (Ephesians 2:10).

If we are faithful to walk in obedience to Him at His call, and if we are committed to faithfully share the love of Jesus wherever He places us, then we can be confident that He will send us forth into ‘good works’ that He has prepared in advance.

We see a wonderful picture of this in Acts 8:26-40, in the story of Philip the Evangelist.

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Now; we’ve already learned much about this man Philip in our study of Acts. He was one of the seven ministers that the church had appointed to the task of caring for the widows in Acts 6. He was a trustworthy brother who—along with the others—could be counted on to serve faithfully at God’s call. Later on, when the church was scattered from Jerusalem because of persecution, we’re told in 8:5;

Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them (8:5).

The people of Samaria responded dramatically to his preaching. There was a great spiritual awakening—so great in fact that, as we saw in our last study, some of the apostles came from Jerusalem to Samaria to help the new believers there to become established in the faith and to grow. And you would have thought that the Lord would have wanted Philip to stay in place and keep on with that growing work. But no! God had other plans for him. New adventures in the gospel awaited him. And what we learn from Philip’s faithfulness are some principles of how God may lead His faithful servants in bearing His gospel to others.

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Look first at Acts 8:26. It’s there that we’re told

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” (v. 26a).

Philip had been in Samaria. That would mean that the place that Philip was being directed to go to would have been 60 to 70 miles away from Samaria. That was a considerable trip to make in those days. And what’s more, at the end of verse 26, we’re told;

This is desert (v. 26b) …

or, as it can be translated, “a deserted place”. It would have been a long journey to a hot, dusty, somewhat undesirable place to go. And this would especially be so when considering the exciting work that Philip would have left behind in Samaria.

But here’s where we see a principle that we need to learn when we are faithful to proclaim the gospel …

1. GOD MAY CALL US TO A PLACE THAT WE NEVER WOULD HAVE CHOSEN.

God may call us to a place of ministry that seems unlikely, or potentially unfruitful, or perhaps even decidedly unpleasant. Perhaps it’s through a very clear call from the Lord. Or perhaps it’s through God’s sovereign outworking of the circumstances. However it happens, we might have chosen something completely different—if it had been up to us. And yet, that call to a seemingly unpleasant or unlikely place or task may be the very thing that God will use to lead us into greater and more fulfilling fields of ministry than we could have ever imagined.

Such adventures in ministry begin when we choose to take that first faithful step of obedience; and go when our Lord says, “Go!”

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Philip took that faithful step. We don’t read that he hesitated in any way; but rather that he went immediately where the Lord sent him—some 60 to 70 miles south to a dusty road, in a deserted place, in the opposite direction from where it would have seemed that the action was. Verses 27-28 say;

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, was returning (vv. 27-28a).

God had sovereignly permitted this high-ranking official to travel along the road—right where God had sent Philip. Ethiopia was an African land south of Egypt that was prosperous and culturally rich. Historians tell us that, because the king of Ethiopia was viewed as a divine ruler, he would entrust the administrative details of his kingdom to his queen—giving her the title “Candace” (which meant “ruler of the children”). And so, the man that Philip came upon was someone an official of the queen—an important man who had been entrusted with the management of a great treasury. His influence over the Ethiopian people would have been very significant. Verse 28 goes on to tell us;

And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet (v. 28b).

This man would have been worshiping in Jerusalem as an outsider—a Gentile. And yet, he had a passion and interest burning in his heart to know the God of Israel better. In the providence of God, he happened to have been reading a book of the Old Testament Scriptures that declared much truth about the Lord Jesus Christ. Only a wealthy man could have had possession of his own handwritten copy. It would have been a remarkable thing for Philip to see. And in verse 29, we read;

Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot” (v. 29).

And it’s here that we learn another lesson about the adventure of stepping forward to faithfully proclaiming the gospel …

2. GOD MAY REVEAL THE NEXT STEPS ALONG THE WAY.

Many times, we’re tempted to sit and wait for God’s leading until they know everything He wants us to do. But that’s not how God works through those who faithfully follow His gospel call. He sends us to do the one thing that He has set before us to do; and then—while we’re on the move—it becomes easier to lead us to the next step. When we clearly see that God has set before us the thing that He wants us to do, we shouldn’t hesitate. We should obey the immediate command He has given us—trusting that, once we are in obedient ‘forward motion’, He will show us the next thing He wants us to do when it’s time for us to know it.

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So; Philip obeyed this next step in God’s call. Even though a man such as Philip would ordinarily stand by and allow such an important person to pass, he did as God commanded and ran up to overtake the chariot. Verses 30-31 tell us;

So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him (vv. 30-31).

What an invitation this was! It probably wasn’t just a single, small chariot. It was perhaps part of a large caravan of the Ethiopian’s servants—with his own chariot large enough for Philip and him to sit comfortably—under a nice canopy with refreshments—and comfortably discuss things. So Philip saw the opportunity set before him by God and took it. Verses 32-33 go on to say;

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.
In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth” (vv. 32-33).

It just so happened that the Ethiopian official was reading from Chapter 53 of the Book of Isaiah—a chapter that’s remarkably clear in telling us about the sacrifice that Jesus would make. And it also just so happened that he was reading from the Greek translation of Isaiah 53:7-8—a passage that is remarkably clear in describing the humble suffering of our Lord for our sins. The Ethiopian official was mystified by it. Verses 34-35 tell us;

So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him (vv. 34-35).

By this point, it had become clear to Philip that God’s mighty hand had sovereignly arranged this encounter well in advance—and had even prepared the official’s heart to hear the message. When we’re told that Philip “opened his mouth”, it reminds us of how the same thing will be said of the apostle Peter in Acts 10:34—when we’re told the story of how he came to the house of the centurion Cornelius; and found that God had prepared Cornelius and his whole household to hear the gospel from him. There was nothing for Peter to do but simply open his mouth in submission to the providence of God, and begin to speak. And it was the same for Philip.

And do you remember how Luke had said, in verse 26, that the place God called Philip to go to was ‘desert’? Look at what we’re told in verses 36-38;

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?” 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.” So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him (vv. 36-38).

Not all ancient manuscripts of the Book of Acts contain verse 37. But whether it was genuine or not, the point remains the same. God had brought Philip to the right person, at the right time, and in the right place—with his heart prepared in just the right way; so that the gospel would be heard, and believed, and a baptism could occur.

This teaches us yet another lesson about being faithful to proclaim the gospel wherever God calls us …

3. GOD WILL PROVE THAT HE HAD BEEN PREPARING THINGS IN ADVANCE.

As God’s servants, we can go wherever He commands us to go—even into places that, to us, don’t seem to make sense to go; and do whatever He commands us to do—even when it would seem out of the ordinary to do them. We can do these things knowing that our sovereign God controls all the details. We truly are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works—which God truly has prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

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Now; there’s a great mystery to what we read next. We’re told in verses 39-40;

Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea (vv. 39-40).

Azotus was another 20 miles north of Gaza. How was it that the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away so suddenly that the Ethiopian official ‘saw him no more’? How was it that he was ‘found’ so far away? We’re not told. But it clearly seems to be yet another work of God. The Ethiopian official went his way to his own people; and perhaps shared the gospel with them. And Philip went on preaching up the Mediterranean coast all the way to the great city of Caesarea. The next time we read of Philip, it’s about twenty years later in Acts 21. He had apparently planted roots in Caesarea; and had raised a family. And by that time, we read that Philip himself has a new title among the people of God: “Philip the Evangelist” (21:8).

And this leads us to one more lesson to be learned about faithfulness to share the gospel at God’s call …

4. GOD WILL LEAD US FROM ONE ADVENTURE TO ANOTHER—WHEN WE’RE

FAITHFUL.

The apostle Peter wrote;

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear (1 Peter 3:15).

Is there something that God is calling you to do? Is there someone He is calling you to draw near to? Is there someone He is calling you to talk to—to simply answer their questions and point them toward the Lord Jesus? Our great adventure in the gospel begins when we simply obey Him faithfully by doing the thing that He places before us to do—trusting that He has arranged things beforehand for His good purposes—as we put Him first in our lives and keep ready.

He is able to take us from there to places we would never have imagined—if we will faithfully obey Him.

AE