Takeaway: Verse 29
The Holy Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and walk along beside the carriage.’
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Transcription:
Welcome to The Bible for Busy People. I’m Erica Parkerson. This is the place where we meet up to read half a chapter of God’s Word together and remember how loved we are. Jesus extends an amazing invitation to us in the Bible. He says, come to me and I WILL give you rest. This is us RSVPing: Yes!! to that invitation. So, take a deep breath and let’s get started.
Today’s episode is called, “That Time God Called An Uber”. Oh yeah. We’re about to read one of my favorite stories in the Bible together. But before we dive into Acts chapter eight, the second half, join me in a word of prayer. Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus. Oh, we are busy. And so we take this time to take a breath, and to ask you to fill us up with your spirit, with your truth, with your love. We expect that you will, God, because you’re so good. Thank you for your presence today. Thank you that you are here among us, and Lord thank you for these awesome stories in your word. Thank you that Luke wrote down this story in particular. We praise you today in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Oh, I love this one so much. Are you ready? Here we go. Acts chapter eight, beginning in 26. Remember Philip was one of the disciples. “As for Philip, an angel of the Lord said to him, ‘Go south down the desert road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza.'” And you wonder, how did he get that message? I love it. An angel of the Lord told him, so cool. “So he started out, and he met the treasurer of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under the Kandake, the queen of Ethiopia. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and he was now returning. Seated in his carriage, he was reading aloud from the book of the prophet Isaiah.” Here’s our takeaway verse today, verse 29. “The Holy Spirit said to Phillip, ‘Go over and walk along beside the carriage.’ Phillip ran over and heard the man reading from the prophet Isaiah. Phillip asked, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ The man replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me?’ And he urged Phillip to come up into the carriage and sit with him. The passage of scripture he had been reading was this:
‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter. And as a lamb is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. He was humiliated and received no justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.’
“The eunuch asked Phillip, ‘Tell me, was the prophet talking about himself or someone else?’ So beginning with this same scripture, Philip told him the good news about Jesus.” This is the Holy Spirit lining up a divine appointment for this gentleman. And I love it. “As they rode along, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look! There’s some water! Why can’t I be baptized?’ He ordered the carriage to stop, and they went down into the water, and Philip baptized him. When they came up out of the water,” this is my favorite part, “the Spirit of the Lord snatched Philip away.” I just got Holy Ghost goosebumps; I like to call them. “The eunuch never saw him again but went on his way rejoicing. Meanwhile, Philip found himself” Philip found himself! “Farther north at the town of Azotus. He preached the Good News there and in every town along the way until he came to Caesarea.”
Okay. My sister and I have a little thing that we say when we can’t believe something, something good: “Okay, bye!” I mean, what in the world? This is amazing. Philip gets a message from the Holy Spirit, from an angel rather that says, I want you to go here. Philip goes there. And then the Holy Spirit says, ‘Hey, go talk to this guy.’ This is an incredible story. Philip was there. Philip answered God’s call, and God snatched him away to bring him to his next divine appointment.
I love this story and I believe it, I believe the words of the Bible, these stories are true. They really happened. And I think about my uncle Joey, when I read that story, because God sent Philip to this eunuch to explain things to him. And I remember my uncle, he was the very first Christian in our family. And he would explain things to us, just like Philip explained to the eunuch. I remember after dinner, sometimes we would sit at the dining room table, between the entree and the dessert as the coffee was brewing. And uncle Joe would answer question after question, we were hungry and we were thirsty for the truth, and he filled us up with God’s words. He was like our Phillip now God never snatched him away. Well, in a sense, I guess, I guess God did. It’s so odd. I’m thinking this through as we’re speaking right now, my, my uncle’s life was taken, in a terrible accident that involved, um, an intoxicated driver and he was taken from us. But oh, my word, how the Lord used him over and over right there at my mom and dad’s dining room table. So often on the phone, I would call him and he would explain things to me from the time I was 16 years old. Isn’t that incredible.
So if you are a Philip. Who can you “on purpose” text today and get back in touch with and say, Hey, how’s your relationship with Jesus going? Or if you need a Philip, find a Philip, keep studying God’s word, keep up with this podcast. Man, there is work today to be done in the name of Jesus. You know what I’m saying? I just love how God sent Philip and God sends us to just the right people we need to talk with and text with. He’s so good. All right. Until next time, remember, you are loved.
Thank you so much for listening to the Bible for Busy People. If you need prayer or you’re ready to go a little deeper in your faith, we’ve posted some resources for you in our show notes. We’d love for you to share this podcast with a friend and leave us a review. It helps us reach even more people with the hope of Jesus. This podcast is part of Purposely, a podcast network designed with practical podcasts to help you find and live in God’s purpose for your life. Find more podcasts that will recharge you at onpurposely.com.
