Just Add a Little ...

Well, the exciting thing about this story is that it teaches the sovereignty of God in the process of evangelism. God knew everything about this man who was riding in a coach. He had attended religious services. He'd read the scriptures. He had sought the truth. He'd sincerely desired spiritual reality. He even went, the opposition perhaps of his peers who were all back in Ethiopia worshipping the sun god who ruled upon the throne. But in spite of all of this, he was lost and needed someone to show him the way. And God knew everything about that Ethiopian. He knew what book he was reading just at the moment that Philip came along. One of the amazing stories of the early church is the encounter between Philip and a eunuch from Ethiopia.

Do you remember that story? Every part of that encounter is a display of God's miraculous power and sovereignty. Today on Wisdom for the Heart, we return to a series from our Vintage Wisdom Library in the Book of Acts.

The series is called The Harvest Begins. Stephen Davey will open God's word to this wonderful encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian, and he'll help you understand and apply the text to your life today. This message is called Just Add a Little. In his book entitled America on Six Rubles a Day, perhaps you've heard of this comedian. I thought he was funny as he wrote.

His name is Yakov Smirnov. He writes, coming from the Soviet Union, I was not prepared for the incredible variety of products available in American grocery stores. Well, on my first shopping trip, I saw powdered milk. You just add water and you get milk. Then I saw powdered orange juice. You just add water and you get orange juice. Then I saw powdered eggs. You just add water and you get eggs. Then I saw baby powder.

And I thought, what a country. Well, you know, it takes more than water to create a living human being. I think one of the misconceptions about our community today, at least within the church, is that the creation of a living, breathing testimony is as simple as adding maybe a little water or something else and presto, there you have it. Well, one of the wonderful things about the passage before us this morning is that it provides us with the necessary ingredients that we need to add to our lives in order to be effective witnesses and testimonies.

We've sung about it. What does the word say about it? It's interesting, as we go back to Acts chapter 8 and pick up where we left off a few weeks ago before sort of detouring around the ministry of the Holy Spirit in those unique ways, we come to the very first one on one New Testament example of someone leading another person to faith in Jesus Christ. This is the very first example in the book of Acts that we have, and one of the few, in fact, in the New Testament scriptures.

And so by this wonderful example, I want us to discover together some of the elements that make some believers stand out as winsome, effective testimonies and what it takes and what God would want to add in our own lives so that we could be those passionate testimonies for Jesus Christ. Well, let's go back to chapter 8 and start with verse 4 and sort of set the stage and the context by little review. Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word, and Philip went down to the city of Samaria and began proclaiming Christ to them.

And the multitudes with one accord were giving attention to what was said by Philip, as they heard and saw the signs which he was performing. Now skip to verse 14. Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. Now skip over to verse 25. And so when they had solemnly testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they started back to Jerusalem and were preaching the gospel to many villages of the Samaritans.

But, and there's the first interruption in this incredible series of events, and we'll learn together that interruptions are often divine opportunities. Look at verse 26. But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, Arise and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.

This is a desert road. The first ingredient that I want you to consider adding to your life in order to be an effective testimony for Christ is add a little humility. Now that might seem a little strange to head the list, but yet that's exactly what Philip was required to be. He had just finished some of the most incredible crusades known to man. He was the man of the hour. He was the leading spokesman in the Samaritan revival. He had all the potential of leading an enormous movement of the Holy Spirit in Samaria. Philip was on the verge of becoming a household name.

But now, Philip is asked to leave the spotlight for the out of sight, to leave center stage and go backstage. Would he do it? If he were like Diotrephes who John had to write about warning the church in 3 John, he would not have. For Diotrephes, the Scriptures tell us, loved the preeminence. That is, he was a good American.

He loved, literally translated, to be first. What we need is to be like Philip who said, Lord, you want me to leave the spectacular, the visible, the known and go out in the backside, as it were, of a desert and minister to somebody and nobody else will see or know. Okay? I'll do it. Philip, by the way, teaches us the value of one's soul, by the way.

Secondly, I want you to add this to your list. In order to be an effective witness, you need to add a little flexibility. Some of the most amazing words in this passage are found in verse 27. Look, and he arose and went.

That's amazing. God commanded him to leave the city for the desert, to leave ministering to many, to ministering to one, to leave the known for the unknown. And he was never told before he left who he'd meet or why.

No details, just go. Have you ever wondered about the fact that God didn't send the angel as he willed to Philip to the Ethiopian instead? Wouldn't it have been easier? God could have dispatched an angel to that Ethiopian who was searching for the truth. Instead, he dispatches the angel to Philip to tell Philip to go tell the Ethiopian about Jesus Christ.

Why? Why not tell the angel to go? Why not have an angel share the gospel? Because angels have not been given the Great Commission.

We have. How patient God must be with us to have millions of angels at his disposal, and yet he waits for us. So, these amazing words, he arose and went. Notice the last part of the verse. And behold, look literally and look, there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. And he had come to Jerusalem to worship.

Now, we're going to discover three things about this first contact. Number one, we discover from this text that he was an Ethiopian statesman. Text tells us that he was from Ethiopia and specifically from the court of Queen Candace.

During this part of history, Ethiopia occupied the northeastern African coast along the Upper Nile River. The kings of Ethiopia were considered to be the deification or the descendants of the sun god, and they were so impressive and mighty that they never worried with the mundane affairs of running a kingdom, and so they usually didn't. The power of leadership literally lay within the grasp in this country of the queen mother, who bore the hereditary title, Candace, like Pharaoh or Sultan. This verse informs us that the Ethiopian statesman was the chief operating officer of this entire nation.

He would have been called in our vernacular the secretary of the treasury. He was a powerful man. The text also tells us that he was a eunuch. A true eunuch would have been emasculated as a man, placed in charge of the king's harem. However, these men, as we've studied others in Scripture, would rise to great positions of power as these kings would come to put their total trust in them.

But there's more here, and I think this is why we're given the account by Luke. As a eunuch, he would have been denied access to the temple. He was coming to search for the truth, but Levitical law would have barred him from temple worship. Now we have a clue that he evidently attended some sort of worship, perhaps this synagogue, and he rubbed shoulders with a rabbi somewhere along the line, as we'll see in a moment. But this man would have come to Jerusalem seeking to worship, and he would have been barred from that worship. Third, he was an earnest seeker of the truth.

Look at verse 28. And he was returning and sitting in his chariot, or literally rendered, his coach. You need to get the idea out of your mind that this guy is sitting in the bag of a chariot or there and a couple of horses in front of him, maybe a driver. He is a coach. Because he was the statesman, the secretary of the treasury, he had a retinue of soldiers to protect him and servants to serve him.

This was a long entourage of dignified wealth. He was sitting in his coach, and he was reading. He was reading from the prophet Isaiah. Tradition tells us that this man's name was Judas. He was an African statesman of great power who had traveled 200 miles one way to find the truth.

And he had left as empty as when he had arrived. He hadn't found the answer, and so he's searching through the scroll of Isaiah. Now in a moment, we'll quote from literally the Septuagint account of the Old Testament or translation. It's the Greek translation of the Old Testament that was common in that day. He had evidently purchased a Greek translation of the prophet Isaiah's writing. His education enabled him to read.

His scholarship allowed him to be able to read the Greek language. His powerful position in the kingdom allowed him to travel to Jerusalem. His wealth made it possible for him to pay for this Isaiah scroll. And I think it's interesting that he chose to purchase Isaiah. Perhaps it's because as he was barred from the temple, perhaps some rabbi told him, look, what you need to do is read the prophet Isaiah. Why?

Because the prophet Isaiah, especially in chapter 56, says compassionate, encouraging things to eunuchs. So he is reading through. This man is about to have an encounter with flexible, humble Philip. And don't miss this about Philip as we go back to him. Philip was never told why to go to the desert.

You notice that? He was never told how long he'd be gone. He wasn't told what to expect. He was told simply, Philip, go, leave the known, leave the spectacular, leave everything about this incredible ministry and go to a desert road. And I'm not telling you why. You'll find out when you get there.

You win. Here's another ingredient to add. Add a little initiative. I like verse 29, and the Spirit said to Philip, go up and join this chariot. Notice the Spirit did not ask Philip, Philip, do you feel comfortable knocking on chariot doors? Philip, which do you prefer, confrontational evangelism or lifestyle evangelism? Philip, do you consider yourself to have the gift of Ethiopian evangelism?

None of that. No, Philip, go up and join this chariot. Now here is, right here is where I would have said, Lord, now wait a second. I'm humble and flexible, but I'm hard of hearing.

What did you say? Go up and join this chariot. Well, the exciting thing about this story is that it teaches the sovereignty of God in the process of evangelism. God knew everything about this man who's riding in a coach. He had attended religious services. He'd read the scriptures. He had sought the truth. He'd sincerely desired spiritual reality.

He even went the opposition perhaps of his peers who were all back in Ethiopia worshiping the sun god who ruled upon the throne. But in spite of all of this, he was lost and needed someone to show him the way, and God knew everything about that Ethiopian. He knew his prestige. He knew his power. He knew his emptiness. He had seen when that man had been barred from temple worship. He had watched as he purchased the scroll of Isaiah.

He knew what book he had purchased, and he knew exactly at this moment what passage he was reading just at the moment that Philip came along. God knew it all, and all God simply needed was the human agent to co-labor with him in becoming the agent of truth at the point of this man's deepest need. May I ask you a question? Have you ever been available for God to use you as that agent? I want to encourage you to avoid the natural inclination of becoming a Secret Service Christian. Well, you know, I'm a silent witness for God. I just live my life. My friend, no one will ever be saved by simply observing your life.

Did you know that? It's a great foundation. You must have it for credibility and integrity sake, but eventually sooner or later you have to open your mouth and speak.

There's no such thing as a mute approach to witnessing. So Philip, humble and flexible, Philip is now asked to take the initiative. Philip, go up and catch a ride on that chariot. How?

Just do it. Verse 30. And when Philip had run up, he heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, do you understand what you are reading?

Here's another thing to add to your list, by the way. If you want to effectively live your life and move your lips as a testimony for Christ, add a little diplomacy. Think about it for a moment. Philip is under direct orders from the Spirit of God. Philip knows the truth. God has ordered him, go up and join yourself to that chariot. He could have run up and said, hey, you, God sent me over here, you sinner, to give you the truth.

Now scoot over. No, this verse informs us that as Philip was running up, and by the way, you talk about initiative here. He's running. He's puffing along. He's got his gown kind of tied up a little bit and he's running alongside this coach. And as he's running, he's hearing this man reading as was the custom the Bible tells us, reading aloud. And as he hears, as he's jogging closer, he hears him reading from Isaiah. He tactfully forms his first question. And it's a great question.

Say, huff, huff. Do you understand what you're reading? He developed the ability somewhere in his life to reach people where they needed to be reached. And he forms with his very tactfulness a question that provokes a humble response from a man who's very powerful. A man has probably not asked the question very often. Do you know what you're doing?

Not this man. This secretary of the treasury is in charge of his life. He's at the top of the heap. People serve him. He tells people the answers. Say, do you understand what you're reading? And that provokes a humble response. And he said, verse 31, well, how could I unless someone guides me?

And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Isn't that great? Diplomacy and tact are missing ingredients today. The church seems so troubled by the evil society that surrounds it as if society should be anything other than evil. And we get angry with it. We holler at it.

We curse it. When the Bible tells us that Satan has blinded the eyes of men who do not believe her acting in every way, we'd expect them to act. How do you act toward a biblically illiterate person? How do you act toward that person at work that asks you those frustrating questions?

How do you treat the skeptic? Somebody sent me on the email this past week something, and I just thought it was perfectly timed because it was a great lesson in diplomacy. Here's a woman who's been a travel, or not a travel agent, a reservation agent for a major airline. And after answering her 130th thousandth question, she writes this article. Listen.

I've made it through all the calls from adults who didn't know the difference between a.m. and p.m. From the woman who called to get advice on how to handle her daughter. From the man who wanted a ride inside the kennel with his dog so he wouldn't have to pay for a seat. From the woman who wanted to know why she had to change clothes on her flight. She'd been told she'd have to make a change between two cities.

She writes, in five years I have received an education from the astonishing lack of awareness of our American citizenry. I talked to a woman in Denver who had never heard of Cincinnati. I talked to a man in Minneapolis who didn't know there was more than one city in the south. A woman in Nashville who asked, quote, if instead of paying for my ticket can I just donate the money to the National Cancer Society?

And the man in Dallas who tried to pay for his ticket by putting quarters in the pay phone he was calling from. I knew I was in trouble when a man asked if we flew to exit 35 on the New Jersey turnpike. Another time when a man said he wanted to fly to Illinois and I asked him what city he wanted to go to in Illinois he said Cleveland, Ohio.

The winner was the woman who called and wanted to fly to Hippopotamus, New York. After assuring her there was no such city she became irate and said it's a big city with a big airport. I asked if Hippopotamus was near Albany or Syracuse.

It wasn't. Then I asked if it was near Buffalo. Buffalo, she said, I knew it was a big animal. She writes, I've had 130,000 little wars and I'm a wise old veteran and I still end my calls with thanks for calling. Have a nice day. What a lesson in diplomacy. You add that to your testimony and just see how many times God brings people into your life where he allows you to help them make a reservation for heaven.

Number five, add a little focus. Verse 32. Now the passage of scripture which he was reading was this. He was led as a sheep to slaughter and as a lamb before it shearers his silence so he does not open his mouth. In humiliation his judgment was taken away.

Who shall relate his generation for his life is removed from the earth. This is Isaiah 53. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, please tell me of whom does the prophet say this of himself or of someone else? And Philip opened his mouth and beginning from this scripture he preached Pentecost to him. He preached of his tenure as a deacon to him. He amazed him with his exploits as a crusade evangelist in Samaria to him. Now beginning from this scripture he preached Jesus to him. And what a text this is taken from Isaiah 53.

The Ethiopian can tell that somebody has experienced a violent death and he doesn't know who it is. Is it Isaiah or is it somebody else? And so Philip is able from this text to tell him who that someone else was. He was able to describe for him the wonder and love of the dying lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world. He from this passage preached Jesus. I wonder what he preached to him. I imagine that he told him about how Jesus stood before the Sanhedrin beaten by the Romans jeered by the mob who cried crucify him and Jesus remains silent.

That's the passage in Isaiah 53. He was led as a sheep to slaughter and as a lamb before his shearers is silent. So he does not open his mouth. Philip must have explained to Judas why the Savior was silent.

Listen, sir. He was silent because that's exactly why he came. He didn't need to tell a word. He didn't need to say one word one word that would have unleashed legions of angels who would have swooped from heaven to release him from that cross and to crush his enemies. But that word never came. Judas preached. Here's why. Because he came to die for you. That's why he remains silent. I don't know how long they traveled down this road.

Perhaps several hours. It's evident from the text that Philip explained not only the plan of salvation but the identification of the believer through baptism with Jesus Christ representing the death of Christ and the burial of Christ and the resurrection of Christ. And so the text tells us in verse 36 as they went along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, Look, water, what prevents me from being baptized?

In other words, what prevents me from being identified with this lamb that came to take away my sin? And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and he said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God. And he ordered the cherry to stop the whole retinue, everybody, servants, soldiers, everyone stops. And they both went down into the water, Philip, as well as the eunuch. And he baptized him. Would you like to be like Philip?

Well, then add a little availability to the list. Because verse 39 tells us when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away. And the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus or the ancient Ashdod. And as he passed through, he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea. Did you catch that? And the Lord, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away before Philip could even wipe the water off his face that splashed from the robes of the Ethiopian. He was whisked away. And I love the way the text reads. But Philip found himself at Azotus.

And I couldn't help but wondering, was he still dripping wet? Okay, Lord, Ashdod it is. Available, Philip.

Let me give you some thoughts of application. Becoming like Philip, first of all, is preceded by personal commitment and holiness. Paul makes it very clear in 2 Timothy chapter 2 that God will use vessels that are cleansed and sanctified.

Whether you're made out of clay or fine china, it doesn't matter. As long as you've been cleansed and you operate in submission to the Holy Spirit, he will bring you into contact with people at their point of need to share the faith. Number two, becoming like him is dependent upon selfless availability.

And by the way, let me just reinforce this. It isn't so much ability as it is availability that God can use. Third, it's expressed through a personal understanding of biblical truth. Maybe the reason God isn't sending people your way is because you're never in this word.

This has the answer. Are you capable of giving someone the answer that's within you when they ask? Fourth, becoming like Philip is motivated by a growing relationship with Jesus Christ. You see, by having a relationship with Christ, we talked about the peace of Christ that moves, that reinforces, that leads through the word of Christ. Without those two operating, we can miss divine opportunities.

But with that, who knows? I've been reading one of the books. It's called 60 Founders, and it talks about movements that have been started in the last two centuries. And it's just sort of a history of God's work, not only here but in Great Britain.

But let me read you this. I thought this was interesting. In the middle 1800s, the popular belief in England was that children could not understand enough of theology to be genuinely converted. Children were never evangelized, and the view was that they were to come and endure church until they were old enough to really understand.

A young man by the name of Payson Hammond believed differently. He convinced a pastor in West London to let him hold special meetings for children. Flyers were sent out and advertisements made. That evening, the church was packed with over 1,000 people. Instead of being tucked away in the gallery, the seating arrangement was reversed.

The children were in the main body of the auditorium, and the adults were seated in the back. The whole service was geared to the young mind. The hymns had simple words and were set to bright and cheerful tunes. Prayers were short, couched in language children could understand and in which they could join. The preacher's informal methods caught the children's interest as he spoke to them simply of the gospel. Abandoning the pulpit, Hammond stood on a platform to speak to his young audience.

He told stories that were interesting. He even asked them questions, making the Bible teaching clear and appealing. And after the last hymn, he invited children to stay behind for counseling, another innovation, and many of them that evening professed faith in Christ. The response by the adults, those within the church and outside, was criticism of his methods, believing that it was dangerous to, quote, encourage children to make a decision for Christ.

Others accused him of, quote, playing on the emotions of children and of, quote, sensationalism, end quote. Nevertheless, Hammond preached at the church in this manner for four straight evenings. Hundreds of children made decisions for Christ. That week sparked a movement that to this day is known as Scripture Union, and it reaches into more than 100 countries and whose mission statement simply says, we desire to bring God's word to a young world. I wonder if God would bring people across our path so that we could become the agent, the messenger of this life-giving gospel. What does it need for that to happen in our lives? What does it take, I should say?

Well, let's add these elements together. Humility, visibility, initiatives, the right focus, and most of all, availability. By the way, the Ethiopian eunuch, Judich, must have become a lot like Philip because we learn later through church history that the first major national movement of the organized church was not found in Asia Minor, was not found in Europe. The first major national church from which leadership would come to steer the church forward for generations began in North Africa.

Irenaeus, the church father, says that Judich went back to Ethiopia. So changed that he began a movement. You never know. If you add these elements to your life, by the grace of God, he may indeed use you to win maybe just one soul. But he may use you to start a movement. The circumstances of your life are different from that of Philip's life, but God's call to you is the same. To be willing and available when he sovereignly places opportunities in your life. I'm glad you joined us today. This is Wisdom for the Heart. Today's message comes from our archives, our Vintage Wisdom Library, as Stephen Davey works his way through a series entitled, The Harvest Begins. Stephen first taught this message back in 1996. Call us for information at 866-48-BIBLE. Join us again for more Wisdom for the Heart.