The conversation between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch demonstrates the kinds of evangelistic conversations I love to experience.
A spiritually thirsty person is drawn by the Lord to a particular time and place. They are ready to take another step towards Jesus.
At the same time, I am led to meet that person and be the one God uses to bring that person into His kingdom.
The Philip story from Acts 8 reminds me that:
- God is the Evangelist,
- The Holy Spirit goes before us to prepare the way, and
- When we are obedient to His promptings, the Lord can use us.
Let’s look at an easy conversion story in the New Testament — that of the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts Chapter 8.
This conversion was as simple as picking a ripe mango ready to fall from a tree.
The Philip story is not so much about the Eunuch as it is about Philip being used by God to help the man come to faith.
The Philip Story: Acts 8:26-40
Philip had been directed by the Lord to go on a scavenger hunt.
“Go to the south road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
Philip was then prompted by the Holy Spirit to go and stand near a chariot that was on the road.
Philip hears a man reading a particular passage from the book of Isaiah.
Philip asks if he understands.
The man’s response: “How can I unless someone explains it to me? Please tell me who the prophet is talking about.”
Philip began there and told him the good news about Jesus. The eunuch believed, he took baptism, and went on his way rejoicing, never to see Philip again.
Reflections on the Philip Story
1. A seeker:
We know from the text what Philip didn’t know at first.
This man had been coming from Jerusalem, where he had been to worship God.
Philip didn’t know him, but found a man reading out loud from the Old Testament.
This man shows all the signs of one who is spiritually thirsty.
- He had reworked his schedule to go to Jerusalem on his own.
- He was reading from the Scripture.
- He wanted somebody to explain what he was reading.
- He was willing to search for the truth.
- He was willing to understand.
This man was hungry for the things of God. He was spiritually thirsty. Prepared by God.
All he needed was a person to help explain.
2. An evangelist.
The Lord used an obedient Philip to help this man into the kingdom.
God worked both sides of the equation, so to speak, putting Philip and the spiritually thirsty eunuch in the same place at the same time.
This positioning is the Role of the Holy Spirit in Evangelism.
All Philip had to do in this encounter with a stranger was to obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
In other words, Philip got to cooperate with God.
Philip didn’t
- need to pry open a hard heart like a can of beans.
- have to waste hours of conversation about the existence of God.
- need to get the Eunuch to the starting point of a Gospel Script
All the talk in the world could not replace the work of God that prepared the eunuch ahead of time.
Luke summarizes the conversation as “the good news about Jesus.” This was not a Scripted Evangelism Conversation.
For one brief afternoon, the stories of these two strangers intersected.
Philip was doing his ordinary routine when the Lord prompted him to go to specific place.
The eunuch was simply going home after a pilgrimage.
But at one moment, their paths crossed and one man’s destiny was changed.
So what?
It is my desire that you spend time asking “God where are you at work?”
It’s much easier to cooperate with God’s activity, rather than wasting hours of argument prying open a locked heart.
The key is that Philip noticed “THAT” Chariot. God underlined the chariot and Philip positioned himself.
What we Learn from the Philip Story
This is a learnable model of personal evangelism that can be done as a practical exercise.
Listening to the promptings of the Holy Spirit for those Kairos moments (divine appointments) can bring good news to lots of people in many situations.
I want to give you examples of how this can play out in real life.
- God’s presence is with us. – My tutor hears the gospel
- Divine Appointment via Mis-dialed Telephone – a wrong phone number
- Is he a PC USA Pastor? – Divine moment in Cracker Barrel
- What is an Evangelist? – Student wants a definition
- Evangelism Motives: Why bother? – taxi driver shares Jesus
Let me ask you this?
Will you take the time today to ask God to show you where He is at work?
More Conversion Stories in the NT
Sermons on Philip and the Eunuch
John Piper gave a great message on this passage. Visit The Leading of the Lord in Personal Evangelism :: Desiring God to read the manuscript, or download the audio feed.
Listen to one I did as a sermon a few years ago
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My own Evangelism Teaching on DVD
I have a DVD (or digital download) set that focuses on a conversational style evangelism that would be effective in:
- casual conversation between friends
- causal conversation between strangers
Read more about the Effective Evangelism Conversations in the store. It is based on Four Principles you can learn from the Philip Story.
I share the 4 Keys Clues I have learned from this passage to help me with better conversations about faith with the people I encounter.
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