“A Life Led By the Spirit”

Meditation on Acts 8:26-40

April 3, 2015

     

“Then an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Get up and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ (This is a wilderness road.) So he got up and went. Now there was an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official of the Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning home; seated in his chariot, he was reading the prophet Isaiah. Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over to this chariot and join it.’ So Philip ran up to it and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah. He asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone guides me?’ And he invited Philip to get in and sit beside him. Now the passage of the scripture that he was reading was this: ‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter, and like a lamb silent before its shearer, so he does not open his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.’
      The eunuch asked Philip, ‘About whom, may I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?’ Then Philip began to speak, and starting with this scripture, he proclaimed to him the good news about Jesus. As they were going along the road, they came to some water; and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water! What is to prevent me from being baptized?’ He commanded the chariot to stop, and both of them, Philip and the eunuch, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away; the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he was passing through the region, he proclaimed the good news to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.”

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       We talk a lot about being “led by the Spirit” in our church. We pray that God will lead us, by His Spirit, and empower us to do His will. But do we really live a Spirit-led life? What does it mean to be led by the Spirit? How do we know if the Spirit is leading us or if we are just acting on our own desires, doing what seems right?

     The answer lies with our hearts. Are we living to please the Lord--or ourselves? Are we willing to live by faith, trusting in God to use us for His purposes and know what is best for us? Or do we walk in fear, unwilling to take risks or step out of our comfort zones?

     Philip is a great example to us of one who lived a Spirit-led life. This Philip in Acts is not one of the original 12 disciples. After Christ’s death and resurrection, he is appointed with Stephen and 5 others to do the work of a deacon--feeding and caring for the poor, orphans, and widows in the early Christian community. He soon earns a reputation as an evangelist when persecution scatters the Church. He goes to Samaria to proclaim the good news of Jesus Christ. The crowds listen eagerly, and a magician named Simon becomes one of his converts.

    Today’s passage immediately follows Philip’s mission in Samaria. Now an angel appears to him and tells him to take a wilderness road. His response is immediate and without protest. Verse 27 says, “so he got up and went.” Philip keeps his eyes and his heart open to the Spirit’s leading and he encounters a eunuch, an official in the court of the queen of Ethiopia. Now, I have heard Bible teachers sometimes talk about how the man was probably not welcome in the temple of Jerusalem because he was an Ethiopian and dark-skinned. But others say the problem wasn’t his nationality or skin color. In fact, some Ethiopians were Jewish! The main obstacle to his acceptance would have been his sexuality, which was in violation of Jewish purity laws. Eunuchs were neutered males, castrated before puberty so they would be deemed “safe” to serve among women of the royal household. Deut. 23:1 prohibits anyone who has been sexually mutilated from admittance to the assembly of the Lord.

   But Philip has no idea who is in the chariot or that he is reading the prophet Isaiah when he responds to the Spirit’s urging. Again, there’s no reluctance or hesitation. He runs to the chariot and offers to help the man understand the scripture he is reading. The eunuch invites him to get in. Because the Spirit has arranged this encounter, the eunuch trusts this lone stranger who suddenly appears and offers to help him interpret the Bible. Philip is eager to share the gospel with this worldly man, whose dress and royal chariot must certainly reveal his prestigious position in the queen’s court, a job open only to a eunuch.

    So now you understand the significance of this man, after becoming a believer, asking Philip, a Jew, who would not normally be permitted to worship with him, “What is to prevent me from being baptized?”

     Of course the answer is, “Nothing at all,” though Philip doesn’t speak. Christianity is open to all people. God’s love, revealed in the sacrifice of His Only Son, is for the whole world. The passage ends with Philip baptizing the eunuch, who goes on his way rejoicing. And Philip continues to allow the Spirit to lead him. He proclaims the good news of Jesus Christ everywhere he goes.

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    What can we learn from this passage about living the Spirit-led life?

     First, living by the Spirit requires faith and a desire to please the Lord. Philip never questions whether the angel is from the Lord or the Spirit is God. His immediate obedience shows his desire to submit to the Lord and please Him. Philip knows that God has a plan for his life and he accepts God’s plan. He wants the Lord to use him for His purposes, for the salvation of the world. He doesn’t run from his calling! We, too, must trust that the Lord will use us for His work.

      Second, prayer is necessary, but don’t stop there. Yes, we must seek the Lord, and be in conversation with Him every day. Remember, prayer involves our speaking AND listening for His voice. But life in the Spirit doesn’t just happen as a result of prayer.  We have to be intentional about seeking God’s will and doing it! We have to be willing to respond to the Spirit’s leading.

     Three, the Spirit-led life involves taking risks like Philip and having the courage to obey! Often God’s will is not what is on our calendars or something that is familiar and comfortable for us to do! It may involve something we have NEVER done before in a place we have never gone with people we have not yet even met.

    And four, the Spirit-led life involves bringing the good news of Jesus Christ to the world, usually through relationships, one person at a time. Notice how active the Spirit was in Philip’s life as He sought to stir others to trust in the Lord, one by one. We aren’t living a Spirit-led life if we never study God’s Word or share our faith.

    What are some of the rewards of life in the Spirit? We have the peace of knowing that we are never alone! The Spirit that guides us lives inside us. We can always trust the Spirit to lead and empower us to do God’s will. And what a joy and privilege it is to see how the Spirit changes hearts and lives as we seek to draw others closer to Him.

Let us pray.

Loving God, we thank you for your Spirit that lives within us. Thank you that we can trust in you always to guide and empower us to do your will. Give us courage to take risks, Lord, like Philip, and go places we have never been and talk to strangers about your Word and our faith. Forgive us for becoming too comfortable, at times, in our own communities, not venturing far from our families, friends and neighborhoods. Stir us to move out of our comfort zones to meet and befriend new people. Fill us with a passion to help build your Kingdom, bearing witness to your Spirit changing hearts and lives, one by one. In Christ we pray. Amen.