Get up and go

Acts 8:14-40 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Now when the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent them Peter and John, ¹⁵ who came down and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. ¹⁶ For He had not yet fallen upon any of them; they had simply been baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ¹⁷ Then they began laying their hands on them, and they were receiving the Holy Spirit. ¹⁸ Now when Simon saw that the Spirit was bestowed through the laying on of the apostles’ hands, he offered them money, ¹⁹ saying, “Give this authority to me as well, so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” ²⁰ But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! ²¹ You have no part or portion in this matter, for your heart is not right before God. ²² Therefore repent of this wickedness of yours, and pray the Lord that, if possible, the intention of your heart may be forgiven you. ²³ For I see that you are in the gall of bitterness and in the bondage of iniquity.” ²⁴ But Simon answered and said, “Pray to the Lord for me yourselves, so that nothing of what you have said may come upon me.”

²⁵ 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.

²⁶ But an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Get up and go south to the road that descends from Jerusalem to Gaza.” (This is a desert road.) ²⁷ So he got up and went; and 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, ²⁸ and he was returning and sitting in his chariot, and was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go up and join this chariot.” ³⁰ Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “Well, how could I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 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 its shearer is silent,
So He does not open His mouth. ³³ “In humiliation His judgment was taken away;
Who will relate His generation? For His life is removed from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch answered Philip and said, “Please tell me, of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself or of someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. ³⁶ As they went along the road they came to some water; and the eunuch said, “Look! Water! What prevents me from being baptized?” ³⁷ And Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” ³⁸ And he ordered the chariot to stop; and they both went down into the water, Philip as well as the eunuch, and he baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; and the eunuch no longer saw him, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea.

Jesus had commanded the disciples saying:   “ but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”(Acts 1:8) In today’s text we begin to see the fulfillment of that verse. The catalyst for this growth and expansion of the church and the gospel message was not just obedience to Jesus commandment. Prior to today’s text we see:   on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria… But Saul began ravaging the church, entering house after house, and dragging off men and women, he would put them in prison.  Therefore, those who had been scattered went about preaching the word.(Acts 8:1-4) The fulfillment of Jesus words came as a result of the persecution of the believers in Jerusalem. This is an example of what Paul says in Romans 8:28-29:    we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.  For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son, so that He would be the firstborn among many brethren      God didn’t persecute the church, He didn’t cause the persecution. He did however cause that persecution to work for good. Through the persecution the believers were conformed to the image of Jesus, they became like Jesus no longer regarding their own lives, but committed to the purpose and the commission of Christ to become His witnesses. The response of the early church to the rejection and persecution of their message and their faith in Christ was not to conform to the religious authority, nor was it to blend in with and become part of the fabric of the society and the world culture. Wherever they went, whether led by the Holy Spirit or pushed by those who sought to persecute them, they were faithful witnesses of Jesus Christ, sharing the good news of the gospel. They took on the mission and the purpose of Christ who said: “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”(Luke 19:10)

In the account of the Ethiopian eunuch we see an example of the early church being a seeker friendly church. The Holy Spirit didn’t lead Phillip to those who were seeking to have their lifestyle validated. Rather the Ethiopian eunuch was seeking God, reading scripture, He was seeking the truth. In John 6:44 Jesus says:   “ No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him.”   The Holy Spirit is and always has been the active force of God in the world. At creation:  The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.  Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.(Genesis 1:2-3)     The Holy Spirit was the moving and active force, the power to create light where there was darkness. When Jesus began His earthly ministry He said: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind,
to set the oppressed free.” (Luke 4:18)    The same Holy Spirit of whom Jesus spoke to the disciple saying:    “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)

The Holy Spirit arranges divine appointments between those whom the Father is drawing, the seekers, and those who have the power to be His witnesses, the preachers, the teachers, the ones who share the good news of the gospel. In 1 Corinthians 3:6-9 Paul speaks of something I think the church today is sadly missing or lacking. He writes:  I planted, Apollos watered, but God was causing the growth.  So then neither the one who plants nor the one who waters is anything, but God who causes the growth.  Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor.  For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.     Far too often in the church today we see those who plant and those who water at odds with each other rather than working together as God’s fellow workers. There are those who feel their primary call is to be like Jesus, to love the unlovely, to associate with and interact with those on the fringes of culture and society. There are others who feel their call and their commission is to do what Jesus said, to be His witness, to testify of Him, to follow His commission and call to: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15) Rather than fight and debate about who is right, about whose method is the one that will reach people for Christ, we should check ourselves, making sure that we are really submitted and yielded to the Holy Spirit, that we are following God’s plan, His agenda. Then we should recognize that we together with others are fellow workers of God. That some may water and some may plant, but it is God who will give the increase. The power of the Holy Spirit caused light where there was darkness. If we are yielded to and submitted to the Holy Spirit, then we too should be agents of light where there is darkness.  

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit thank You for the call and commission You have given me. Thank You for the power of the Holy Spirit, present and active in the world and in Your disciples. Holy Spirit I pray that You would indeed arrange divine appointments with true seekers, with those who You are drawing. May I do my part to be a faithful witness, to testify of Jesus. May I not concern myself with those who You have called to be Your witness in a different way than You have called me. Rather may we, all of Your disciples become fellow workers with You, planting, watering, loving, serving, preaching and teaching, each one according to Your gifts and calling, that together You may bring the increase, to Your glory.  Amen