|
 Introduction: I love to see people baptized. We've been talking about miracles in the book of Acts. After Jesus' death, burial and resurrection the Holy Spirit was given to the Church at Pentecost. The disciples began sharing the story of Jesus everywhere they went. Thousands were being added to their number. The Church grew daily, even though they were threatened with violence by the religious leaders of their day. And the disciples performed miracles; people were healed, demons cast out, the lame walked, the deaf heard, the blind saw, and last week we saw two people struck down by God for lying to the Holy Spirit –not here in the service. We read about it in Acts five!
The reason I love Baptism is because it represents the greatest miracle of all – a changed life. Baptism represents death to an old way of life and a new life, given by the Holy Spirit, empowered by God and accompanied by His presence.
Today I want to read you a story of another miracle. This one occurs in a story about a famous conversion and baptism.
Acts 8:26-40
 AC 8:26 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 eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, 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."
AC 8:30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
AC 8:31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
AC 8:32 The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
"He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, 
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
AC 8:33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth."
AC 8:34 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.
AC 8:36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, "Look, here is water. Why shouldn't I be baptized?" 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 didn't get to provide anything quite so dramatic for the baptisms today. But these two young ladies have experienced a life change no less dramatic than the Ethiopian eunuch. Earlier I share with you that virtually all of the miracles in the book of Acts are accompanied by some proclamation of the Gospel. This one is quite amazing. It begins with an angelic announcement, contains a divine appointment, and ends with Philip being translated away by the Holy Spirit. What a way to travel!
God has granted the person, presence and power of the Holy Spirit (in part) to empower us to share His love for others in ways we wouldn't otherwise be able to do.
Every evangelistic opportunity doesn't have the kind of drama that many of those in the book of Acts do. But every opportunity to share the Gospel comes with power, and with the presence of the Holy Spirit. In this story we learn some important lessons regarding our own efforts to share God's love with others.
1. Using you to share His love was God's idea. You don't have to persuade Him to use you, or even to give you opportunities. You just need to make yourself available. And pray for the ability to see the opportunities and act upon them.
In Philip's case an angel told him what to do. But God will always lead us to share with people, though not necessarily by an angelic visitation.
We are given opportunities to share God's love all the time. We do not lack opportunities, but we do sometimes allow them to slip by. Ask God to help you recognize them when they arise.
How many times have you seen a conversation turn to spiritual matters, only to find yourself surprised, or maybe even unprepared? Me too! God sets you up with opportunities to share with others. He trusts you with His message, even if you are not an “Evangelist”, because you have a story to tell. It is His story, and it is also your story, because He invited you into His story, and His story is changing your story.
2. God is already preparing the hearts of people He will lead you to. The eunuch was prepared by God before Philip even got there. He was seeking God, and God sent Philip to help him on his search.
We think evangelism is all about convincing people who don't want to be convinced. But there are people already seeking, who need someone to come along and help them in their search. God sets up divine encounters with those people. Ask God to lead you to them. He wants to do so.
I told you last week about a Pastor named Clark Whitten, who led his church in power evangelism. His journey began with a divine conviction that God wanted to do something special with his little church in New Mexico . They would ask God to lead them to the people he was already preparing.
My favorite story was the one of a man led by God to a broken down motorcycle. He met a young man who could not hear, and led him and his whole family to Christ. When the boy was baptized he came up out of the water speaking perfectly. His first words were, “I want to thank you for loving me to Jesus!”
 3. God will help you to know what to say . Surely we must prepare. You should be familiar with the Gospel. You might want to have some tracts, or memorize Scriptures like the Roman road (put together and hand out), or take a Contagious Christian course the next time we offer it. I doubt that this was the first time Philip heard Isaiah 53. But there is also an element of God enlightening Philip at just the right moment for this encounter.
Have you ever experienced recalling a Scripture at “just the right moment”? Do you think that was you ? No, that was the Holy Spirit bringing it to mind at the appropriate time. He wants to do a whole lot more of that.
In fact, if God set you up to speak with someone, you have just the right thing to say, because you are just the right person to share with that person. God set it up.
How about meeting someone and realizing you have so much in common with them? Do you think it is a coincidence that they were put in your path? God put you there because you have the right thing to say, and you are the right person to say it.
Know some Scriptures. Know your own story and how to tell it. And trust God to give you the right words when the opportunity arises.
 4. Baptism is or first opportunity to tell the world we intend to follow Jesus. Did you know that it was 1800 years before the church had people come down front during a service to profess faith in Christ? The practice of the “altar call” was introduced by Evangelist Charles Finney during the ??? But most people don't come to Christ walking an aisle, and for most of Church history the first way a person confessed Christ before others was at their baptism.
Baptism is a lot of things. It is a symbol of dying to sin. It is a symbol of unification with Christ, and with His Church. It is a symbol of resurrection from death unto life. It is also a symbol of proclamation, saying “I agree with the Biblical account of who Jesus Christ is. I confess my sin, and my need for Him. I call upon Him to forgive me, and to take charge of my life from here on out.”
This is what the Ethiopian eunuch was doing. This is what Del and Jessica were doing earlier. It is what some of you may need to do when we baptize again on July 10.
Baptize doesn't save you, that is it doesn't wash your sins away. But it is more than “just a” symbol. It is a dynamic, wonderfully powerful symbol. Like the Lord's Supper, baptism is a symbolic act of a dynamic reality that we get to participate in. I know many people who testify that their life in Christ changed dramatically after their baptism. Identification with Jesus in such a dynamic way is life changing.
5. God wants to keep using you to share His love. This wasn't Philip's first or last evangelistic encounter. In fact, some texts call him Philip the evangelist. But he didn't have a tent or a TV show. He wasn't even on church staff (as far as we know). But God used him often because he made himself available.
You don't have to be a “evangelist” tell people about Jesus. Barna says only about 10% of the Church has the gift of Evangelism. But the other 90% of the Church still have the Great Commission – the command to tell others about Jesus. The good news is that we have His promise to be with us when we do.
In Matthew 28:19 Jesus commanded all disciples to make disciples, and to baptize people. In verse 20 He promised to be with us especially when we do so.
In Acts 1:8 Jesus promised to empower all believers to be His witnesses. If you are a follower of Christ this promise is for you. He wants to use you as His mouthpiece, as His hands and feet, and most importantly – as His heart, to share His love with others for the rest of your life.
Are you ready? Are you willing? Are you available? |
