2013 Acts #14: an exposition of Acts 8:26-40. This message by Pastor Rod Harris was delivered at Trinity Baptist Church on Sunday morning, August 18, 2013.
Intro:
I was nervous, frustrated and scared. I kept telling myself, “You’re a seminary student, a college graduate – you’ve done this before.” I couldn’t help it. The pressure was on. I was enrolled in Evangelism Explosion at our home church in Fort Worth. It was visitation night. They took us to the mall and said we would need to conduct evangelistic surveys with the people in the mall. I was trying to pick out a “victim” I mean person to interview. “What was the first question? I can’t believe it. I’m blank on the first question.” My heart was pounding. My palms were sweaty. I swallowed hard and stopped the next person that came by. I couldn’t believe how easy it was. The lady was pleasant. She actually seemed grateful that I had stopped her. I was halfway through the questions when she finally got my attention. I had been so focused on the presentation I hadn’t noticed she was trying to tell me something. “No abla English.” This sweet Hispanic lady had no idea what I was doing. Needless to say that was not a wonderful witnessing experience. Now if I had the gift of tongues it would have been a wonderful experience I’m sure!
Why is it we find evangelism such a difficult task? We are all agreed that it is necessary. We all agree that we should be evangelistic. We should share our faith yet we all admit we fail to be evangelistic on a consistent basis. We are afraid we will say the wrong thing. We are afraid we’ll look foolish. We’re afraid we won’t know the answer or that we’ll do harm rather than good. But what is God looking for? What does he expect of us in evangelism? For some answers we turn to Acts chapter 8.
Text: Acts 8:26-40
Here we find the story of a very unlikely candidate for conversion found and converted through the supernatural leading of God himself. This is not the result of a “plan.” This Ethiopian convert is not the result of a strategic initiative. He is not part of a target group. His is not a trophy of “operation desert witness.” He is the result of a divine appointment.
Dr. Luke is telling us about the continuing work of the Lord Jesus through His church.
We have learned that Acts 1:8 is being dramatically fulfilled.
God, in his sovereignty, is even using the rage of the ungodly to carry out his work.
The “God-haters” are advancing the Kingdom!
Philip is one of those “set apart” by the church to minister to practical needs (Acts 6).
He has felt the sting of persecution and as a result was preaching the Gospel in Samaria.
God was doing great things through Philip.
There is healing, exorcism, great joy and rejoicing.
A great revival is going on in Samaria of all places.
That is where our text picks up.
From this text we learn that:
Thesis: God’s plan for reaching the world requires gracious, yielded and passionate ambassadors of the Gospel.
It is easy for us to forget that, “Salvation is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:9)
There is something very freeing in realizing that salvation is God’s work.
You don’t bear the burden of saving the world, He does.
You are given the gracious privilege of being part of the process but it is His work.
I’m convinced that we make things more difficult than they are. We complicate the picture as much as possible. Lets look at what the Lord requires of us as we explore the story of Philip and the Ethiopian.
- God’s plan requires that we gladly yield to His leadership. (8:26-29)
- God’s plan requires that we graciously tell the story of Jesus. (8:30-35)
- God’s plan requires that we passionately plead for commitment. (8:36-40)