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Sermons

"CHASING CHARIOTS FOR JESUS"
(A Lesson in Christian Witness)
NEW TESTAMENT SCRIPTURE TEXT:
ACTS 8:26-39

DAVE RING, PASTOR
LOS ALAMOS 1ST UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 16, 2009

SCRIPTURE LESSON: 26Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." 30Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked. 31"How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 34The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" 35Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 38And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.
MESSAGE: The story is told of a man who, while walking in his backyard one day, suddenly felt the ground give way and found himself sitting at the bottom of a deep, wet hole. The top of an old, abandoned well on the property, covered over and forgotten for years, had given way without warning. The man tried to climb out of the hole without success. Then he began yelling for help. He cried out for several hours,

but no one came. Finally, in desperation, he began to pray. "Lord Jesus, if you'll get me out of this alive, I'll turn my life over to you." Just a few moments later, someone came by, saw the man's plight, and lowered a rope. Soon he was safe and sound. And the man was as good as his word. He did give his life to Christ, began attending church, and was one of the most eager witnesses for Jesus his town had ever seen. His approach was a bit unusual, however. Every time he wanted to witness to someone, he would invite them over to his house, take them out in the backyard, and push them down that old well. Since that's where he found Christ that's where he figured everyone else should start, too.

As Christians one of the primary tasks to which we are called is that of witnessing--telling others about our Lord. Every Christian is called to be a witness--it's not an optional activity; it's a requirement for any who would claim to be followers of the Christ. If you don't agree with that, don't bother arguing with me. Argue with Jesus--He's the one who says you've got to witness, in at least a half-dozen places in the gospels; most notably Matthew 28:16-20.
Most Christians today don't witness, however. Some try to excuse their failure in this area by saying, "Oh, I don't witness with my mouth, because my life is my witness to the Lord." My experience with folks who say such is that their life is usually indistinguishable from the population at large; thus there's not much "witnessing" being done. Others say, "Oh, I don't witness because I support the church, so my preacher can witness for me." That hardly bears commenting upon. If the laity--the "ordinary" Christians of this world--wait much longer for a handful of preachers to win the globe for Christ--we might as well kiss it all goodbye. Still other Christians are a little more honest about their failures to witness for Christ. Their excuse is, "I don't know how to witness."

This morning's sermon is designed to be a mini-lesson--a "how to" in Christian witnessing. If you are a Christian, you need to hear it--and apply it. And if you aren't yet a Christian, it may serve as a witness to you. The scripture we read this morning, the encounter of the apostle Philip with the Ethiopian eunuch, will be our "textbook" for this lesson.

Every Christian witness counts three obvious elements--the one being witnessed to, the one witnessing, and the content of the witness given. There's also a fourth element--and we'd best cover it first, as it's the most important of all the factors, though perhaps not as overtly apparent. Every true Christian witness begins at the impetus of God's Holy Spirit. In today's text, an "angel of the Lord" told Philip where to go to get started with the task of witnessing. Before any Christian can effectively witness for his or her Lord, we must make sure we are in touch with the Holy Spirit--and guided by its leadings. Then the other elements--the receiver, the giver, and the content of the witness--will fall into their proper places.

Let's now consider the one who was witnessed to--the receiver of the witness--the Ethiopian eunuch. There are several interesting things to be noted about him. First, he was a man of another race, a different culture from Philip, who had been raised a Jew in Galilee. He was probably black in color, Egyptian in heritage. The Egyptians were traditional enemies of the Jews, from the time of Moses and the Exodus. Yet the Holy Spirit told Philip to go to him. No one falls outside the umbrella of God's concern. Blacks, Mexicans, Vietnamese, Indians both native American and from south Asia, Russians, Chinese, even Iraqis -- our nation and our region have become a melting pot of cultures and races different from the majority of us in this sanctuary. They are all God's concern--and our concern, if we are to be faithful to the leading of God's Spirit in witnessing the gospel.

Second, the Ethiopian was a man of wealth and power--treasurer of the royal household of an entire nation, according to verse 27 of chapter 8. His position and station in life were far different from those we are often led to believe are the primary subjects of God's concern--the poor, the down-and-out. It might or might not surprise you, but one of the things I'm learning as the pastor of this church is that people of wealth and means need the gospel, too. Affluent folk need to hear about Jesus. Men and women with significant positions and weighty responsibilities have needs--needs that only Christ can meet. God loves the poor--and God loves the rich--and every gradation between. There is truly neither rich nor poor in His sight.

The third thing to consider about the Ethiopian is that he was already seeking answers to his questions about life--seeking them in whatever ways he knew how. He had gone to a foreign land--Israel--to learn of a god that was strange to him. He was taking back a book that interested him--a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He was already trying to find answers for his life. There is a deep hunger among persons in every generation and of every culture for significant, meaningful answers to the really important questions of life itself. Almost everyone searches, at one or another time in their life, for worth, truth, and meaning upon which to anchor themselves. It's innate--it's built into human nature to seek such. People today, just as in the days of the Ethiopian eunuch, are searching--and Christians possess the best answers to their search. A lot of false answers are being given by a lot of strange groups and philosophies--and if Christians don't witness, someone else will. The Ethiopian wanted to hear the truth--he was open, and so are millions of persons hungry for the gospel all around us today.

Now let's consider Philip, God's chosen instrument for the task of offering witness about Christ to the Ethiopian. The first thing we note about Philip is his obedient response to the leading of God's Spirit. In verse 27, God said "Go," and immediately, in verse 28, Philip "started out." No "hemming and hawing," no squirming nor waiting for a more "convenient" time for him personally. Whatever else he may have been involved in doing was now unimportant--God was calling. Philip had his priorities straight. He didn't say, "Well, Lord, I'd like to help--but I'm so busy right now. Call me back in a week, or maybe a month." People of this congregation--we're all busy people. You're busy; I'm busy. Our time is at a premium. But God's call--His claim for witness--upon our lives is primary. Philip had his priorities straight--and we'd best get ours the same.

Second, Philip was persistent in his efforts at witness to the Ethiopian. As the Bible paints the portrait of this encounter, Philip had to run after a moving chariot, catch up with it, jog alongside for at least a period of time, and, eventually, was invited to join the Ethiopian in riding. Certainly, it was no easy task to make his witness in this situation. He could readily have offered excuse to the Lord by saying, "Now, Lord, this is ridiculous! You actually expect me to chase after that chariot in order to witness for you? Sorry, Lord, that's too much!" On those rare occasions when we do attempt to witness for our Lord, how easily can we be put off? If the Lord says go to your neighbor's house and share the gospel, but you find the TV on when you arrive, do you immediately decide, "Oh well, it's not an opportune time?" Philip was persistent in his witness for Christ--he went beyond what might "reasonably" be expected of him. He chased a chariot for Jesus--and helped win a soul for the Kingdom of God!

The third major element of Christian witnessing for our Lord is the content of the witness--what is actually said or done in presenting our Lord to others. The first important characteristic of Philip's witness is that, according to verse 35 of our text, he began where the Ethiopian was. He presented the gospel with the other man's position as a starting point. Too many of us begin where we are--we want only to tell our story, and aren't much concerned with whether or not it answers someone else's need. Like the man who fell down the well, we want everyone else to come to Christ in exactly the same way we did. It is true that "Christ is the answer" to every significant human question, but we must be willing to hear the other person's question before we smugly present our witness. Certainly, Christ meets every need, but He meets that need uniquely, just as every person God has created is unique and precious in His sight. If we are to effectively witness for Christ, our witness must begin where the other person really is, as Philip's did.

A second important characteristic of Philip's witness is also part of verse 35--he "told him the good news about Jesus." The gospel has a marvelous, magnetic, winning power--when it is presented as good news. But when we approach people with heavy, dire warnings about hell and burning, sin and death, we usually serve only to drive them away from Jesus Christ. Certainly, those are all very real concerns, but they're not the essence of the gospel. Maybe people could be won to Christ by "scare tactics" fifty or a hundred years ago, but I honestly don't believe they can be today. And apparently, neither did the apostle Philip, nearly 2,000 years ago. He had good news to tell--positive, uplifting, worthwhile news of salvation available in Jesus Christ. Philip witnessed good news--and it worked! The Ethiopian opened himself to receive Christ right then and there.

Which brings us directly to a third important point concerning Philip's witness: When the Ethiopian indicated his readiness--his willingness to receive Christ--Philip didn't say, "Well, gee, it's not that easy. You have to come to church six times, and you have to go through a membership training class, and you have to be voted upon by four committees." Instead, recognizing that the right time for the Ethiopian's decision was then and there, he went ahead and saw that the man was promptly baptized as a follower of Christ.

Oftentimes, we who are already in the church make it much more difficult than necessary for others to enter. Many people that I visit have a long list of misconceptions about what is required prior to becoming a Christian, and an even longer one concerning the requirements of church membership. Often, some well-meaning but misguided witness has inadvertently placed a row of stumbling blocks in other people's paths, levying requirements and expectations that go far beyond the simple gospel requirement of confessing Christ as personal Lord and Savior. Presenting Christ is basically a very simple matter--receiving Him as Savior is equally simple. But, make no mistake, there is no more important decision that any human will ever make in all eternity. The Ethiopian made his decision for Christ and it was enough--for Almighty God, and for Philip.

Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch--"Chasing Chariots for Jesus." To those among you this morning who already know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, let it be your example--as you go about fulfilling your Lord's assigned task of witness, unto Him. And to those among you who do not yet know Christ as Lord and Savior, let it be your opportunity--your opening to the good news God offers you in Jesus Christ. Amen.

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