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"Tell Me, Please"
September 23, 2001 Rev. Gary LeTourneau
Lloyd Ogilvie is a Presbyterian pastor. He's now the chaplain of the United States Senate. He's a prolific author. In his book on the book of Acts, on this passage, he introduces it with this thought:
It will be exciting because God will be involved in our lives and we'll see God doing things. It's illustrated so well in this story of Philip, a deacon of the church, a servant of the church (sometimes he's called "Philip the evangelist" because of this passage)--it's illustrated so well in Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch. I want to just look at a couple of details in the story.
The Spirit of the Lord, an angel of the Lord, says to Philip, "Get up and go toward the south, to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." And then, in case you're not familiar with Palestinian topography, Luke (the author of Acts) puts in parenthetically, "This is a wilderness road." What is Luke trying to get us to understand with that point? The Spirit of the Lord said to Philip, "I want you to leave all of the action here in Jerusalem and I want you to go to the middle of nowhere." I might have been tempted to say, "Why, Lord? It's happening right here in Jerusalem." But Philip, having received guidance, was obedient. So he got up and went.
Then as he came to the road, traveling through that wilderness, he saw this Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of her entire treasury, of the Candace (that's the title of the queen of the Ethiopians in that region of southern Egypt). In modern history it's been known more as Nubia. In antiquity it was called Ethiopia. Luke again tells us that he had come to Jerusalem to worship and was now returning home, seated in his chariot. He's just given us about five clues to let us know that this Ethiopian was a man of prominence and a man of wealth. He had a chariot. He was in charge of the treasury of the queen. He was a court official.
And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over to this chariot and join it." The word almost means, "attach yourself to it." Come over and walk along side of it. And then I think the lightbulb went on in Philip's mind and he said, "Oh! That's why God wanted me to come into this wilderness. Because something's going to happen between me and this man riding in this chariot. So Philip begins to walk beside the chariot as it's traveling down the road.
It says that the man was reading from the prophet Isaiah--another clue to his wealth. In antiquity, very few individuals actually owned a scroll. They were tremendously expensive to produce. How did this Ethiopian eunuch get a scroll of the prophet Isaiah? He must have purchased it while he was in Jerusalem. And Philip hears him reading it.
Just a little parenthetical note here. Do you know that in antiquity no one read like you and I read. When we read a book, we don't actually say the words. We just read them in our mind. It was not until comparatively recently in human history that humans discovered that you could read without physically voicing the words. Everyone in antiquity voiced the words as they read. (Evelyn Wood and speed-reading dynamics, none of that had come yet!) So Philip could hear what he was saying. And just by receiving guidance from the Holy Spirit and being obedient to it, he was able to have a life-changing encounter with that Ethiopian.
I want to stop and consider this story, for a minute, from God's perspective. It's very clear that God is very interested in what happens with this Ethiopian court official. Why did God bring Philip all the way to the wilderness? Why did God say, "Go attach yourself and walk alongside that chariot"? Why did God make the circumstances happen so he was reading Isaiah, which Philip (an Israelite) would understand?
Several years ago when my daughter Hannah was about four years old, Ben was newly-born (relatively newly-born, in a stroller), and we were on vacation. My parents were there. Some of Joan's family were there. We were a group of a dozen or so. We had gone into a little restaurant to have sandwiches and had a nice lunch together. Someone said it would be nice to to walk around the corner of this little outdoor mall and get some frozen yogurt. We all thought that would be great. Almost all of us walked over to the yogurt shop. I say "almost all" because we got to the door of the yogurt shop and Joan and I both looked at each other with that terribly sinking feeling that only parents can have and said, "Where's Hannah? Don't you . . .?" "No." "She's not here." And then in an instant we knew what had happened. Well, my father went around the corner to the store. Joan went around the corner out into the parking lot. I grabbed Ben (I didn't want to lose him while we were looking for Hannah). Well, she was just there in the store concerned that we all had abandoned her there.
But, you know, for just minute I experienced that awful sensation of having lost one of my children. How do you think God feels about the Ethiopian eunuch who's created in God's image and who's seeking Him? He was a "God-fearer." He heard about the God of the Israelites. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship there. He had purchased a scroll. Now he's going home. God says, "This is one of my children. He's lost. I care about him. I'm willing to do anything to bring him back into the fold"--even to take Philip out of Jerusalem, send him all the way down there into the wilderness in Gaza. So God does that. And the story continues.
I want to pick it up from Philip's perspective now. Philip hears this man who is reading the prophet Isaiah. And, taking somewhat of an initiative he says, "Do you understand what you are reading?" The man says, "Well, how can I, unless someone guides me?" And Philip thinks, "That's quite an opening, isn't it?" And the man invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. That must have been a real relief for Philip at that point! He's walking through the wilderness and God has brought him all the way here to tell this man about Jesus Christ. He even gets to ride in a chariot! That's probably the only time in his life he ever did, because ordinary people never rode in chariots.
And the passage the man was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation, justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life was taken away from the earth."
And the eunuch asked Philip, "About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this? About himself, or about someone else?" He's reading from Isaiah 53 about the Suffering Servant, the Lamb of God. Now, when you and I hear words like this, who do we think of? Jesus. But you know, at the time this was written--2,000 years ago--no one in Israel, except for a tiny band of followers of Jesus, understood that Isaiah 53 was describing the Messiah, the Anointed One of God. Because they understood that the Messiah came, not as a king, not with an army, but as a Suffering Servant who died for them, to free them from their sins.
And it says that Philip . . . Notice Philip. He doesn't say, "Well, I can see how as an ignorant Ethiopian, you couldn't possibly understand what one of our great prophets in Israel has to say." He doesn't put him down. He's not in any way awkward. The Ethiopian man is saying, "Can you help me? Will you tell me, please, what this is about?" And Philip, beginning with this very passage, proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus.
Do you know what? Whenever, as a pastor, I introduce the topic of sharing your faith in Jesus Christ with someone else, I know that for the vast majority of people, a kind of glaze comes over your eyes, and a wall goes up, and our instinctive reaction is to say something like, "Huh uh. Not me. It might be embarrassing. It might be humiliating. We might end up in some kind of a confrontation or argument. Or this person may ask me a question I can't answer. No way can you ever convince me that I would be involved in doing that."
Let me just challenge you to take Philip as your example, who received guidance, was obedient to it--because God's hand was in it. Do you see anything in this interchange between the two of them that is in any way awkward, unnatural, forced, or uncomfortable? It was a beautiful dialogue. The man was asking Philip all the leading questions: "Tell me about this." "Help me understand. No one else has been able to." And so Philip shares the gospel of Jesus Christ with him. Let me suggest something. You and I, if we will simply ask God for guidance and commit ourselves to be obedient to it, we'll find that God presents us every day with opportunities to join ourselves with someone else and to walk along beside them and just to be with them and to hear from them and be a friend to them. If we're asking God about it, we'll discover that He will provide the opportunities for natural, open, sharing conversations about our faith. Many times we'll have those conversations and the other person will say, "Well,that's interesting," and that will be the end of it. But you may discover the power of God in one of those times when you're walking alongside somebody and you may find that God has prepared them just like He prepared the Ethiopian because that person is a lost child of God. And right then and there they say to you, "How can I become a follower of Jesus Christ?" and you can tell them about it.
That is God's intention for every single one of us. From Philip's perspective, you need to understand that God could have saved this Ethiopian any of a hundred or a thousand different ways. Why did God include Philip? Because He wanted Philip and the early church to receive the joy, and the confidence, and the confirmation that comes from seeing the gospel grow and spread. So he invited Philip to be a part of it.
You know, I suspect that most of us here tend to overestimate the power of a special event, or a program, or a dynamic speaker and their ability to change someone's life--as opposed to the very common, ordinary everyday exercise of simple friendship. Church sociologists have been asking this question for the last 20 or 40 years: What is it that brought people into a relationship with Christ and first brought them into church membership? When the poll is done, the results are remarkably consistent. If the question is, "Was it an evangelistic crusade?" maybe five percent came because of that. Some program--three percent. A Sunday School--five percent. You total up the possibilities and you only get to 20 percent until "a friend or relative invites them." That's 80 percent. It's how they come into the church and come to know Christ.
The power of the gospel is experienced when you and I just walk alongside other people and tell them, when they ask, in an appropriate way, about our faith. And we then trust God to be in charge of the "coincidences."
Well, the Ethiopian hears about Jesus and then he's ready to ask Philip his question. He sees some water as they're traveling down the road. "Look--here's water. What is to prevent me from being baptized?" Now, you know, a eunuch at the time of Jesus was excluded from worship in the temple in Jerusalem, as was anyone who had been mutilated and deformed. It's quite possible that this Ethiopian man traveled all day from his home to Jerusalem to be denied access to worship in the temple. It's quite possible that he said, "Well, can I do anything to learn about your God?" and they probably sold him a scroll--a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. They didn't teach him anything about it. They just sold it to him. And as he was traveling home, having been rejected in Jerusalem, here God brings Philip. I think that would help us understand why he might have said, "What is there to prevent me from being baptized now in the name of Jesus Christ? I couldn't be accepted at the temple worship in Jerusalem. Can I be a Christian?"
And it says they got down out of the chariot and Philip baptized him, and the Spirit of the Lord was present. The man was a Christian. Philip was led away. The man went on his way rejoicing. We don't know what became of him. One of the earliest church historians, Eusebius, writing in the third century, says that he became the founder of the church in that region of Egypt. We don't know if that's true or not, but we know that God found one of His lost children and brought him in because Philip sought guidance and was obedient.
You know, this is still happening today, friends. In Minnetonka. In Eden Prairie. People are discovering the good news of Jesus Christ and we're part of that at Faith Church. That's why we have our Alpha program. It's because we're trying to be obedient to God as we've received His guidance, to spread the gospel and create an environment where it is possible for people to hear about Jesus Christ.
I've invited, as a living illustration, a couple from our last Alpha course who are going to share with you now. They are Curt and Lane Schaner. Will you guys come up, please? Curt and Lane are nervous, as you can understand. Will you join me in welcoming them? Curt, do you want to go first? Lane, do you want Curt to go first? Thank you, friends, so much for being here. Gary: Curt, when you heard about Alpha, what made you decide to come? Curt: We were searching for something more [unable to hear this section on tape] Gary: Do you have any more to add to that, Lane? Lane: [unable to hear response] Gary: Thank you. How was Alpha? When you came was it a strange experience? Were you made to feel uncomfortable? What was it like coming to the class? Curt: First we were a little nervous, but we were excited about learning and looked forward to it each week [unable to hear] Gary: Lane, what happened at Alpha for you? Lane: There were a lot of things that fell into place for us. [unable to hear] . . . it was just the overwhelming forgiveness . . . [unable to hear] Gary: Do you want to add anything, Curt? Curt: [unable to hear] Gary: I hear you saying that there was a restoring of relationships and things fell together in your extended family as well. Would you recommend someone go to Alpha? Curt: Oh, very much so [unable to hear] . . . have a peace . . . all these questions . . . [unable to hear] Lane: [unable to hear] Gary: Thank you.
I think Curt and Lane are our very first Alpha wedding that I'm aware of. But that's not a promise of in Alpha! The promise in Alpha is that if you come, if you invite a friend to come, you will have an opportunity to hear the very basics of the Christian faith. We eat together every week. We have a talk. Then we break into small groups where any questions can be asked and we'll try and find the answers. Sometimes we say, "I don't know." We just try and review things that many people have not had a chance to look at as adults--maybe since they went through confirmation in whatever church they came from. I've told you this before. As your pastor--and I really mean it--I would like for every single person at Faith Church to come to our Alpha course. It is that good. I'd like you to consider coming as a leader. You heard John say we think we need more leaders. We don't really know until we see how many come to the banquet. But we need people who have a relationship with Christ, who are ready to join their lives with others in a small group and walk with them in a journey of faith. And maybe you need to come as a "bringer." Maybe you've got a friend, a family member, a neighbor, that you could invite. Maybe they'll say "no," and that's OK. Maybe later. But this may be the time when God wants to bring them and tell them about His Son Jesus. And maybe you just need to come as a guest yourself. We'd love to have you. You won't be embarrassed. No one will have any kind of confrontation. We assure our visitors that we won't put you on a mailing list and we won't send you anything or phone you. We're just looking for people who are seeking God--and there are many out there--because we believe God has told us to make that possible. Will you consider how God may be leading you to participate in Alpha by inviting someone else, especially?
Guidance and obedience. It's the formula for an exciting life. You talk to anybody who's been an Alpha leader here and we go home Thursday nights buzzing! It is so fun!
Will you join me in prayer? Thank you, Heavenly Father, for the opportunity we have as your people not just to be spectators, but to be actively involved in bringing the good news to others. I pray today that in this week that you will embolden and empower our church. Give us the sensitivity to understand who you would like to be included in this endeavor, who might be receptive to an invitation. Thank you for the living testimony of Curt and Lane today that you are a God who's still reclaiming your children and welcoming them into your Kingdom. It's so good to know that we have new brothers and sisters in Christ because of how good you are. We pray for your blessings on our church and our community. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen.
Rev. Gary LeTourneau Senior Pastor Faith Presbyterian Church Minnetonka, Minnesota
[transcribed from an audiotape of the 9:00 a.m. worship service on September 23, 2001] |
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