Acts 8:26-40
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
30 Then 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.
32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”[b]
34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] [c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When 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. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea."
We see in this passage that Philip was told by God to travel to a specific location. He wasn't given any instructions beyond that, until he was along the road. Once Philip was on his way, God gave him more instruction that led to an Ethiopian eunuch saying yes to Jesus and being baptized. There are many things we can learn from this story!
One thing that I have learned from reading this scripture is the importance of being obedient during every step of the journey. When thinking about living a missional lifestyle, it is easy to be very destination oriented. Once you get to your mission field (whether that be in another country or right in your own home), then you turn on your "ears to hear" and see what the Lord will have you do. I think it is important to consistently have an awareness that the Lord can use us at any time to push forward His Kingdom. This could be at the grocery store, in line at the DMV, while you are picking up your kids from school, or at the next family get together. God can use you "on your way".
How can you be intentional about this? It can be as easy as a simple prayer when you walk into a new space or hop into your car. "Lord, how would you like to use me in this space?" Ask the Lord this simple question and then quiet your heart as you wait and listen for Him to speak. How would the world be radically changed if every believer used every opportunity they had to be a kingdom builder?
- Morgan Fulton
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