God's Big Plan: Being available

Reading: Acts 8:26-35

Paul posed a very interesting question in his letter to the church in Rome when he asked: “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? (Rom.10:14)

To this we might add: “How can they believe when they see no evidence? In an age when experience plays a big part in determining what a person believes, we need to understand that that we have a call to reveal Jesus through being his followers and doing what is in line with what he is doing.

For the Ethiopian in his chariot, although he was reading, he still wanted to “see”.

God’s preparation

This is a God-ordained meeting (v26 and v29)

The Ethiopian official was “ready” (he’d been up to Jerusalem to worship).

This meeting didn’t just happen. God was at work in both lives. He brought them together, he opened the heart of the Ethiopian official, and he put Philip alongside him.

Sometimes all we are doing is connecting with the people with whom God is already connecting.

God’s inclusive love

But there’s a problem. He’s a eunuch, and eunuchs would not be allowed into the temple if Deuteronomy 23 were being strictly enforced. It’s possible that he was allowed in on the basis of God’s word of acceptance in Isaiah 56, but it’s also possible that eunuch was simply a way of saying he was a high-ranking official.

Whatever the physical condition of this man, it is clear that he’s on a spiritual journey. He’s been to worship, he’s reading a copy of Isaiah and he’s got questions (v34).

God’s revelation

God shows himself through Philip, as he explains the meaning and significance of the passage from Isaiah.

Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Learning from Philip’s approach

Philip began with where the Ethiopian was in his journey.

What might this mean for the people you know? What happens when you begin in the wrong place? How might it change your approach to sharing your faith with others?

Philip was: available, attentive (to both the leading of the Spirit and the questions of the Ethiopian), and able (to explain)