Ac
8.26-40, “Now an angel of the Lord said
to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from
Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was
an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians,
who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and
was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.
And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran
to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand
what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And
he invited Philip to come up and sit with him… And the eunuch said to Philip, “About
whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone
else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told
him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came
to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from
being baptized?” And Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may.
And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And he
commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip
and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And when they came up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and
went on his way rejoicing. But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed
through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.”
There are
many strange or supernatural things happening here. First of
all, an angel spoke to Philip. Was it physically like those who appeared to Abraham
and Peter (Gen 18, Ac 12) or in a dream? I don’t know. But what I’m sure of is
that he had no wings and no white clothes. He appeared to him and asked him
to rise and go toward a certain direction. Philip obeyed immediately, contrary to many of us who would have never
budged without knowing WHY they had to go there. It’s important 1) to be able
to recognize GOD behind his guise and, 2) Not to argue with Him but be diligent
to obey.
Then, the
Holy Spirit told Philip to go and join the chariot -which was probably ridden by one or more horses- and so, Philip had to run. This means that the LORD must
have multiplied his strength and speed for him to accomplish such exploit in
the heat of the day. And He can do the same for you, today.
Also,
this Ethiopian was reading the Scriptures written in Hebrew and Aramaic; other languages than his own. Where and when did he learn those? We know
that he had converted to Judaism, because he actually went to Jerusalem to worship. however, after the public religious duties, he continued to dig in the Scriptures. He
had a hunger for GOD and so, GOD fulfilled His promise in Isaiah 56:3-7 for him: “Let not the foreigner who has joined himself
to the Lord say, “The Lord will surely separate me from his people”; and let
not the eunuch say, “Behold, I am a dry tree.” For thus says the Lord: “To the
eunuchs who keep my Sabbaths, who choose the things that please me and hold
fast my covenant, I will give in my house and within my walls a monument and a
name better than sons and daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that
shall not be cut off. “And the foreigners who join themselves to the Lord, to
minister to him, to love the name of the Lord, and to be his servants, everyone
who keeps the Sabbath and does not profane it, and holds fast my covenant—
these I will bring to my holy mountain, and make them joyful in my house of
prayer; their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be accepted on my
altar; for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all peoples.” Hallelujah!
GOD is Faithful. If you seek Him wholeheartedly, He’ll send someone to you,
naturally or supernaturally, who will help you get out of any difficult situation
you may find yourself in. He did it for the Ethiopian Minister of Finance and He did it for
Cornelius as well (Ac 10). The key is in the hunger. Those who thirst and hunger (after
GOD) will be satisfied.
The eunuch
invited Philip into his chariot. Imagine yourself on a desert road, in a
foreign country; and all of a sudden, you see this man running towards you at
an incredible speed. What will you do? The Minister invited the stranger in.
This can only be GOD. What prevents me from being baptized? Nothing,
if you believe with all your heart. I
believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. And Philip baptized him. Can
it be that we have overcomplicated things in our churches? Anyway, it’s just a question…
After
this, the Spirit of GOD carried Philip away and the eunuch saw him no more. How? No idea! Why didn’t He use the same means of transportation the
first time around, instead of making him run on a desert road? Still no idea;
but GOD is Sovereign and polymorphic. He doesn’t have just one way of doing
things. Let’s not try to fit Him into the mould of our experiences. He is ready
to do something new every day, week or month. It all depends on our cooperation.
My pastor often says that we are spirits and another one of my pastors used to
say that we are spirits who have a soul and who live in a body. It’s normal for
spirits to go from one place or plane to the other in the knick of time, isn’t
it? Wizards have understood and mastered
this. They allow devils (other spirits) to use them at will in teleportation
trips. They go from one place to the other, at night, by the power of Satan. But
this story shows us that the Holy Spirit can also carry us from one place to
the other, in the middle of the day, not for us to gloat about our newfound ‘spiritual
powers’, but for the sake of the Gospel. Again, it all depends on the way that
we cooperate with Him. It all depends on the diligence with which we react
when He first tells us: “Rise up and go to so and so”, without any other detail.
This week
is an exceptional week. It is the week that the LORD has made and it is
pregnant with opportunities. If you really hunger for GOD and if you are docile,
diligent and willing to serve, you will not fail to see GOD's hand on you in an unusual
way this week.
GOD bless you all.
Happy and
wonderful 15th birthday to my daughter Christelle. Like Christ, you truly are.
May the good hand of the LORD continue to rest on you as you continue to grow
in faith, in knowledge and in favour. Much love.
No comments:
Post a Comment