The Prophet's Place

Acts 8:26-40 CSB
An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is the desert road.) So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud. The Spirit told Philip, “Go and join that chariot.” When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who will describe his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.
The eunuch said to Philip, “I ask you, who is the prophet saying this about—himself or someone else?” Philip proceeded to tell him the good news about Jesus, beginning with that Scripture. As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?” : Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart you may.” And he replied, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” So he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing. Philip appeared in Azotus, and he was traveling and preaching the gospel in all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

We have all heard the saying, “If you talk the talk you need to walk the walk”. We can make a statement about faith in Jesus as Savior, but are we living the lifestyle matches our words? Part 1 of looking at Walking the Walk, Look at deacon Phillip and we will see the characteristics of one who walked the walk.

I. BE BUSY OBEYING THE LORD
   A. Phillip was actively doing the Lord’s work
        1. Not just being busy, even doing religious things—Phillip was doing the LORD’s work
            1. Phillip served God in good times, and as a result was chosen to be one of the first deacons
            2 When driven out from Jerusalem, bad times, no longer able to minister as deacon to the church there, Phillip witnessed as he left
   B. Phillip was following the directions of Jesus
        1. Being a witness is Samaria was one of the areas mentioned by Jesus after his resurrection and before his ascension
        2. He had been obedient in witnessing in Jerusalem and Judea, so he went to the next step, Samaria. While in Samaria, Phillip was used in a great revival.
   C. Phillip’s service was divinely interrupted in Samaria
        1. If you are a servant of God, doing God’s work as God directed, God has the right to interrupt and change directions
            a. Phillip was serving in Jerusalem and Judea, when that door closed there he didn’t pout or quit serving. He was committed to Jesus and service. There was a divine interruption to Phillip’s service in Jerusalem so Phillip could work in Samaria
            b. Phillip was serving in Samaria, when again, God divinely interrupted his service. Phillip again did not sulk or question, but was simply obedient to the divine interruption
            c. Since it is Jesus’ ministry we are to be doing, Jesus has the right to change directions, methods, or divinely interrupt us
       2. Phillip had been obedient to the words of Jesus to go to Samaria. He would not know it then, but Phillip was being led to witness to someone from the “uttermost part of the world.”, the next step in the plan Jesus had given
II. OBEY SIMPLY NEW DIRECTIONS
     A. What is obedience:
          1. Doing what your told
          2. When your told
          3. With the right heart attitude (a happy heart)
     B. Phillip was doing what he was told
          1. Passively—Phillip was not fighting the direction given. He was yielded and specifically following as much as he was able the directions he received.
              a. We are not required to be obedient beyond the light we have be given—we don’t get a complete set of directions at one time, usually
              b. We are required to obedient to what light we have received
         2. Actively—Phillip was seeking out the purposes of God. He had only received a part (direction and road), but Phillip had been in a revival, and Phillip was looking for the next step of obedience. a. Phillip was Active, not limp in his service—Phillip was following the Lord’s                               direction, but he was actively seeking the Lord’s direction on a moment by moment basis
        3. Phillip was Passive in not fighting the call, Active is searching moment by moment for the Spirit’s continued guidance and opportunities to serve, but Passive in yielding to any change
III. BOLDLY OBEY
       A. He saw the opportunity to courageously serve—This was a BIG deal.
             1. The man was apparently from a different nationality, culture, and perhaps language
             2. The man was obviously from a different social standing (probably high in government and society)
             3. He was without doubt highly educated
             4. The man was surely wealthy (he had a scroll, one of the largest, it would have been worth many years of a man’s salary). He was in a chariot
             5. He undoubtedly had armed men around the chariot, being an obstacle to Phillip speaking to the man in the Chariot
        B. Phillip risked
             1. Don’t be afraid to risk in the service of the Lord—Fear is a weapon of the enemy, the Devil—II Timothy 1:7 CSB “For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.”
             2. The worst Phillip could have done is fail.
                 a. You might think that failing is the worst thing.
                 b. Better to fail trying to be obedient than to not try
                 c. Failing while attempting to be obedient in the direction the Lord has given is success
            2. Philipp could have been dismissed, insulted
                a. Better to be dismissed by men than God
                b. Mark 8:38 CSB “For whoever is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
                c. Philippians 1:20 CSB “My eager expectation and hope is that I will not be ashamed about anything, but that now as always, with all courage, Christ will be highly honored in my body, whether by life or by death
           3. Phillip could have been considered a threat, could have been injured or killed—there were bandits looking for opportunities to attack travelers
               a. Philippians 1:21 CSB “For me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.”
               b. There are worse things for a child of God than death. Death is to be one with Jesus in heaven. Living apart from Jesus in disobedience upon this earth is death, separation
IV. OBEY GOD NOT TRADITION
       A. Church had not voted to accept this man
            1. The Ethiopian Eunuch does not fit our neat boxes of someone coming to church to be a member and then being baptized
            2. Some have said that Phillip was authorized by the church to do this when Phillip went on his preaching journey.
                a. Not true Baloney! Phillip was driven out of Jerusalem without known directions, everything else is speculation not Bible
                b. Phillip’s direction was received from Jesus: Martthew 28;18- 20 CSB “Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and                      of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
               c. You cannot make this Biblically fit any way except this man requested baptism and Phillip baptized him based on his profession of Faith in Jesus
      B. Phillip just baptized the Eunuch when the opportunity arose                                                 
           1. Phillip baptized the Eunuch based on the Eunuch’s desire—He was convicted by God’s word and Jesus example that he needed to be baptized
          2. Phillip baptized based on the Eunuch’s confession—“I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
          3. You cannot make this Biblically fit any way except that this man requested baptism and Phillip baptized him based on his profession of faith in Jesus                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      4. I wonder if we would have accepted the Eunuch’s baptism—God forgive us if we wouldn’t
V. OBEY GOD CONTINUALLY
         A. The interruption was completed
              1. I like staying around, sometimes beyond God’s time
              2. God’s plan stretches beyond my will and desires
        B. God supernaturally guided Phillip
             1. God guided Phillip in Jerusalem
             2. God guided Phillip in Samaria
             3. God guided Phillip in reaching out to the world
             4. God guidance was in interruption in Phillip’s life each time
        C. Phillip went back to God’s previous direction—Samaria
             1. When God had finished, God moved him
             2. Phillip, after the divine interruption, was guided back on track toward where he had been, sharing about Jesus wherever he went