Scripture: Acts8:26-40 (Lesson #8)
Many folks aren’t quite sure how to begin to
participate in the missions and ministry of the church. It isn’t that they don’t want to serve, it’s
just that they may be a bit hesitant about actually volunteering to be part of
the church’s efforts! And for some, they
aren’t even sure of which of the many opportunities they might want to be part
of!
The truth is that there is always a need for new folks
to become involved in the church, but even more than that, new folks are always
needed to begin new ministries and outreach efforts! And those who have been involved in the church
for a long time need to recognize the opportunity to begin training these new
entries to take on some of the existing positions and work! Without the inclusion of “new blood” into the
church’s leadership and programs, stagnation and staleness in the ministry will
certainly develop.
So how does this all begin?
First – prayer!
Both those who are already involved, as well as those who are feeling
called to involvement, need to be in prayer for what the LORD
would have them do. Without the inspiration,
the presence and the guidance of the Holy Spirit, nothing of value will ever occur.
Second, when the Spirit gives you a nudge, get
moving! Hesitation is akin to
doubt, and we all know what Jesus told Thomas about doubting! In John 20:26-28, the
LORD tells
his disciple “Stop doubting and believe.” And by extension, stop hesitating and get going!
And third, don’t get comfortable in what you are
doing. If you do, it’s time to try
something new. There is an old saying
that should govern here – “God comforts the afflicted, and afflicts the
comfortable”. The point is that when
we get comfortable and contented in ministry, whether it is as laity or clergy
(!), it’s time for SOMETHING to change!
So we need to understand that when the LORD
calls, it’s time to begin training the next generation of servants to take
over, to let go of our satisfaction, and contentment, and direction, and
get started in God’s.
Read Acts 8:26-29
Earlier in this chapter (Acts 8:4-8),
we discover that Philip had left Galilee and headed south to Samaria. After being scattered due to the increase in persecution
following Stephen’s stoning (Acts 8:2-3),
the word began to be shared wherever the faithful went. Philip’s ministry began to thrive and “all
paid close attention to what he said.”
The success of his efforts was incredible, and we also read that “there
was great joy in that city.” Philip
could very easily have been leaning toward becoming “comfortable” in his
ministry, and what should always happen when comfort begins to enter our lives?
God makes all things new (Revelation 21:5-6), and sends Philip out of Samaria and south
into Judah. The apparent destination was
Gaza, but while still on his way, he encounters an Ethiopian eunuch who was a high-level
official back home. Isn’t it interesting
that God never tells Philip who he is to meet, or where this will occur, or
even what he is to share with the man from Africa when he finally meets him. So how does he know what the task actually
is? The Spirit would let him know - when
the time was right.
This is what God will do for each of us, too. If we feel called to serve Him through the
church, we may or may not receive the particulars, but the Spirit will let us
know when the time is right. Now remember
that it usually isn’t what we want to do, and especially not how
we want to do it! We may feel called to
a particular program or ministry, but I expect that in the beginning, God will
seldom get more specific than that. For
me, I felt the call into pastoral ministry, but never did hear where, or when,
or anything else for that matter, until the following summer at Annual
Conference in Scranton. I had started
the Inquiry Process for ministry in December, and the next June in Scranton, I
was approached with the offer to begin as Lay Supply pastor at Campville. God had given me 6 months of preparation
before leading me into the first pulpit, and then 9 years later, after I had
gained some experience at Campville, he added Gibson Corners.
There’s a saying that “While God seldom calls the
equipped, He always equips the called.”
For me, that was absolutely the case, even though I never saw it
happening at the time. And for Philip,
it was the Holy Spirit who was preparing him while walking those many miles
from Galilee to Jerusalem, but for the eunuch, Philip would be the one to
answer his questions and to prepare him for the ministry that would eventually
come. And when the two men came near
each other, it would be the Spirit who would point the way for Philip. Philip would become the means that the LORD
would use to bring a newness in understanding what faith in God is all about.
Read Acts 8:30-35
The Ethiopian, a new convert to Judaism, had been
worshiping in Jerusalem, and now is reading a passage from the prophet Isaiah. And this passage in Isaiah 53:7-8, just happens to be one of the prophesies
regarding Jesus. But he doesn’t
understand who the passage is referring to – to the prophet or to someone else,
but all that he knows is that it must be someone important and he wants to know
more about him.
Philip has arrived at exactly the right time, which,
of course, is God’s timing at work, (!) and he is to teach this man just who
this “unfortunate” man was. Philip had
been prepared by the Spirit during both his ministerial experiences and his
journey, and the Ethiopian was prepared with his reading of the right passage
for this right time, and they were put together for God’s reason.
Think, for just a moment, about the coordination
that had to happen for them to even be in the same place, and at just the right
time. The Ethiopian (his home was in
East Central Africa!) had a very long journey to travel to Israel, through
several other countries, and over many months’ time, while Philip had to leave
a promising ministry and travel well over a week to arrive south of Jerusalem
at the same time the Ethiopian did.
Have you ever thought about the timing that God sets
in place for each of us to engage in ministry through the name of Jesus? I expect that it may have been nearly as involved
as Philip’s was. So if this is the case,
doesn’t that make ministry extremely important to the One who is setting the plan
in motion? And who are we to question
the LORD’s
call, or to hesitate in responding to God’s desire, or even to doubt that it is
real!
Read Acts 8:36-40
And the man from Ethiopia was so convicted through
Philip’s teaching that he asked to make a commitment to Jesus through baptism. A commitment to Christ is the step that leads
us into the power and presence of the Holy Spirit of God. And we can only imagine what this would mean
for the eunuch from Ethiopia, but it most certainly led him into some aspect of
ministry in his own country. But the
important question isn’t what happened to this man, or even how and why Philip was
transported back to Caesarea - but rather what will the LORD
be able to do through each of us if we are faithful to the call he places on our
lives?
Are each of us prepared to follow faithfully, even
when it means that we may have to give up something that we cherish greatly? Will we follow the Spirit’s lead when it
means that we have to give up comfort and personal effectiveness, and in return,
to move into a new area with new responsibilities and to introduce new people to
those ministries and efforts that we have always enjoyed so much? Will we discover the joy of “newness” that
comes to all who surrender the planning and preparation and enabling of our
Christian efforts to the only One who knows all things?
Our personal efforts are always insufficient,
and many times, are actually obstructive to God’s will. Serving in the church will always have a
higher purpose, and we will seldom understand that purpose until we “let go
and let God!” I had a friend during
my years at New York State Electric and Gas who was promoted to a job that he
felt very uncomfortable in. It was in
Marketing, and instead of getting out of the office and meeting his customers,
he spent several months reading and studying the details of the job, to the
extent that he avoided the most important part of the job – serving the
customers who had been assigned to him.
When we continue to do our own thing in faith, faith
and the faithful who we are called to serve will always loose out on what the
Spirit would do through those things we had learned in our previous
experiences. Think of Philip – he had
been a disciple of Jesus, and then was sent out to proclaim Jesus to the people
of the Galilee, then to those in Samaria, then to start the Ethiopian on his
way into ministry, and following that, he was taken to a new ministry in the international
and mostly pagan city of Caesarea. Each
step of the way was preparing him for his next step in ministry – and each, I
believe, could never have been so successful if he had done all the
planning on his own.
Don’t hesitate, don’t try to revise God’s call to
suit your own desires, don’t take the arrangements and decisions into your own
hands, and don’t be afraid to let God take you to the exact place and people
and situation that he needs you in. And
you will be amazed at what He can do through faithful surrender to the divine
plan that has been prepared, exclusively, for you.
Just go, and don’t look back or question – God’s way
is always perfect, whether we see it at the beginning, or not! Just get going, and trust that the LORD
will fill in the blanks when the time is right!
