Luke tells us in Acts chapter 8 the story about Philip and the Ethiopian. Let me sum it up for you: An angel of the Lord tells Philip to go south towards Gaza from Jerusalem and on the way he meets up with this Ethiopian official who is reading Isaiah in his chariot. The Spirit told Philip to hang near the chariot and leads Philip in a conversation with this man about the good news of Jesus. The Ethiopian believes and is baptized and then Philip is taken away by God. The man rejoices and goes on his way.
Now, when we read the words, it can sound sort of flat, just another story… “Blah blah blah…then Philip gets beamed away by God.” But imagine this true story playing out!! Philip has NO clue what’s going on, he is just told to start walking and he obeys. Then this Ethiopian is confused about Isaiah’s words about the Messiah and is seeking what it means, but no one is there to tell him…but along comes Philip, lead by the Spirit, and runs up to the rich man’s chariot and asks out of breath, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
This Ethiopian must have been shocked, but excitedly asks Philip to sit with him and shows him the passage and asked, “Tell me please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Wow! God lead Philip to this road, this chariot, this conversation and BAM! The Ethiopian asks Philip such a great question that leads right into sharing the good news about Jesus Christ, the one the passage is referring to. Then, the Ethiopian sees some water, gets baptized to show he is a believer in Jesus and Philip has a Star Trek moment and God takes him away to another part of the world, to continue sharing about Jesus! And the Ethiopian rejoices in God all the way home!
In his book, Youth and Mission, Paul Borthwick discusses the important for us as a church to instill certain priorities in the lives of our students. Priorities like obedience to God’s will, servant hood, trusting God with our needs, seeing that ministry involves sacrifice and producing World Christians who act on what they learn.
Basically, we should be putting our efforts into growing missionaries. Students whose priorities are sharing Jesus with people who do not believe, students who are uncharacteristically unselfish with time, money, service and prayer. Students whose lives are full of worship, full of responding to God.
Philip’s story encourages me so much because he obeyed, he served, he trusted, he sacrificed and he was ready to share the good news of Jesus any time and any where God placed him. His life was full of responding to what God had revealed. Not only is that the kind of person I want to be, but those are the characteristics we are seeking to instill in our students.
Why would Philip “waste” his time roaming from this place to that place just to talk to one man? Was it worth it? Well, Jesus spent time with individuals, speaking to small groups, sharing God’s love with them at a well, at a funeral, or at a meal. And those few Jesus spoke to and served went on to change the world…
Just a last parting thought. The Ethiopian church claims its earliest origins from a royal official who was baptized by Philip on his way from Jerusalem. As Tony Campolo said, let us all invite our students to heroically change the world as they simple respond to God as He reveals Himself to them.
The adventure in life lies in trusting God- Philip lived that incredible adventure, will we?
Peace, Stephanie
My contact information is:
Work Phone: 978-663-4773
Cell Phone: 978-987-1547
Email: steph@newcolony.org |
