The ‘story’ portion of this has always been one of my favorites… Those who know me will surely have heard me tell it before!?! The ‘message, though, was written for and given at the little church I pastored in Lynnville (IL) on May 18, 2003. The Scripture is from the Book of Acts, chapter 8, verses 26 – 40…

       As I sat at my computer one weekday morning, many, Many years ago, and noted the beautiful sunshine outside, I was suddenly filled with an overpowering urge to ‘get out of the house’ for a while. Since I’ve always really enjoyed going up and walking through the village at New Salem state park and hadn’t had a chance to get up there for a while, this seemed like the perfect opportunity. I reasoned that being the middle of the week I might have the place to myself much like when I would go in the dead of winter.

       So, I packed up my note-pad (I still needed to get SOME writing done!) and meandered my way up on a number of oil (and even gravel) country roads, through the little Illinois towns of Chandlerville and Petersburg to finally arrive at New Salem State Park right at noon. As I drove up the hill into the parking lot I was greeted with the sight of about nine school and tour busses and the lot half full of cars. So much for having the place to myself! Undaunted, though, I put on my hat, locked up the van, and headed in.

       Ever since my first visit there on a school trip as a fourth-grader, I have always been struck with the feeling of traveling through a time tunnel as I walk around the first bend under a solid canopy of tree limbs, and this day was no exception. Granted, the asphalt walks and wheelchair ramps that exist in today’s world tend to detract from the feeling of maybe seeing Lincoln, himself, around the next corner, it’s still not TOO difficult to immerse yourself into the living history that surrounds you if you only open up to it.

       I have written and talked before about the many times I have been there over the years, and about how I tend to look at everything with a very analytical point of view, and very early on I had made an intense study of the oxen drive wheel used to power the carding mill. For those of you who may not have seen it, this consists of a huge wooden turntable set to turn on an angle. A giant beam is mounted to rub on one side of it as a brake and is controlled by a wooden lever in the mill. The brake is set and two oxen are brought up into a stall facing uphill on one side of the wheel complete with feed racks, where the oxen dutifully begin eating. When the mill is ready, the brake is released and the weight of the oxen on that side of the wheel causes it to move down. If the oxen want to continue eating, they have to keep walking uphill to stay even with their food. They walk uphill as the wheel moves around. Underneath the wheel is a large wooden gear with handmade wooden teeth engaging another wooden gear connected to a hand-hewn log shaft running under the mill. After going through another set of wooden gears under the building, the power is transferred by belt up into the mill to power the carding machine. Ox power!

       Many has been the time that I have walked up to different people and groups trying to figure out just what all of that massive woodwork was and took the time to explain it to them, and that day was no exception. As I approached, I could see and hear what I would say was a junior-high class coming up with some very strange ideas and comments as to what it was and how it worked, none of which were even close to being right. As they were beginning to move on, I walked up and asked, “Do you understand how it works?” The teacher stepped out of the group and said, “No! Please explain to us how it works!” They all turned back towards the wheel and listened as I pointed out the different aspects and what their importance was in making everything work like it should. As they walked away I could hear some of those who had been more vocal before in stating their ideas exclaiming, “OK. That’s how it works!”

       For at least the very brief period of time that I had their attention, the people in that group were willing and desirous of learning the facts that I had to offer them. And the same thing can be said for the eunuch in today’s story.

       The Life Application Commentary points out that, “Today’s passage is set carefully and strategically after the initial work done by the disciples in Jerusalem and before the conversion of Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles… The gospel of Christ was leaving a purely Jewish audience and beginning to be spread to the world.

“Philip was having a successful preaching ministry to great crowds in Samaria when the angel of the Lord called him to travel on a desert road. God handled the details — set up the appointment, timed the arrival, and told Philip which chariot to look for and what to do.

“In God’s strategy, Philip was sent to the side of the road, where he met an Ethiopian eunuch traveling home from a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. Ethiopia is located in Africa, south of Egypt. The eunuch was obviously dedicated to God, because he had traveled such a long distance to worship in Jerusalem. The Jews had contact with Ethiopia (known as Cush) in ancient days, so this man may have been a Gentile convert to Judaism. That he had a copy of Isaiah’s prophecy points to that probability.

“Candace” was a title for the monarch of Ethiopia, somewhat the way “Pharaoh” was used in Egypt and “Caesar” in Rome. The fact that this court official was in charge of the entire treasury shows that he was an extremely high-placed and well-trusted member of the government.

When asked by Phillip if he understood what he was reading, “The court official expressed the frustration that every Bible student throughout the ages has felt from time to time: “How can I understand this passage unless someone explains it to me?””

He was willing and desirous of learning the truth!

“Philip began with the same Scripture that the official was reading and explained what and who it was about, added to it many others, and eventually led the eunuch to the Good News about Jesus. It is important to note that Philip began where the man was; only then did he directly and clearly take him to where he needed to go. Phillip first listened, thought, and then adapted the message to his audience.” And this is the lesson that we very much need to learn today!

As many of you know, I have always enjoyed visiting zoos and museums, and have been to several all over the country, and some of those I have been to many times over the years. And on almost every visit, at some point I will overhear an adult telling a child incorrect information about an animal or exhibit that they are looking at. They may be looking at the orangutans and call them monkeys… (They are apes)… or look at a crocodile and call it an alligator…. they may look at an antique tool or piece of furniture and not have a clue as to what it was really for. Sometimes it’s a simple matter of misidentification, but sometimes the names and/or facts that they spout out are so far removed from reality that they could only have been made-up on the spot! Sometimes, I will take the time and effort to talk to them and tell them what things actually are… (some I grew up with, but it’s usually right there on the sign!). But often I would just shake my head and move on… it all depends on how I might feel at the time. I mean, it is so much easier to just not get involved! Right?

What if Phillip had decided not to get involved this time? He had a lot of reasons not to! First of all, the man was an Ethiopian… not only a Gentile but a Gentile ‘of color’! The man was obviously of high position and had great wealth, riding cool and clean in his chariot, while Phillip was probably hot, tired, and dusty from walking, and might well have been considered a thief or beggar. And Phillip had no way of knowing, at first, why the man had been to Jerusalem, nor what it was that he was reading as he returned! Surely there were far easier and more productive uses for his time than talking to one very foreign traveler! Yet, in the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch, we have a wonderful picture of God’s global love and his surprising plan to get the good news of Christ to those who have never heard. Because Philip went where God sent him, Ethiopia was opened up to the gospel.

What does all of this have to do with us today? It’s simple! How many times have you talked with or overheard someone at the office or on the street worrying about their job – their future – their marriage – or their child. What if they say, “I’m scared of dying.” That could be your passing chariot… an open door for the good news of the gospel.

At any time… in anyplace, you might hear a neighbor… friend… family member… or even a complete stranger… telling someone… “Nobody likes me – I’m having a baby – My cancer is back – My wife is leaving… What does God have to do with all this?”… It could be your passing chariot!

When we follow Phillip’s lead and listen to people, and then start from where the other person’s concerns are focused, you can not only share the gospel, but you bring it to bear on those concerns.

In the fourth chapter of 1 John we read, “God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete…”, and shortly after that, John tells us, “We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, “I love God,” yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

People, THIS is what we should be thinking!!! This is what we should be feeling! And this is what we should be telling those who are searching for something in their lives! We cannot be afraid to speak up when the opportunity presents itself. And those opportunities abound everyday!

       I know… it is so hard to reach out to others when we have so much going on in our own lives… it is so hard to reach out to others when they might reject us… it is so hard to reach out to others when we’re afraid and don’t know what to say! How do we deal with all of that?

Listen to what Paul tells the Corinthians in his first letter to them…

“When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God… I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.

Paul was not a powerful speaker!… He was not a dynamic personality!… Not when he started out! But he reached out to people on their level and let the power of God work through him! That’s all we have to do… reach out to those in need… those who are searching… those who are hurting… reach out to them on their level… tell them of the love that God has for them… and let God work through us by showing them His love… through us!