May 7, 2006

The Rest of the Story

Chasing Chariots

Acts 8:26-36

Opening Words: Did you know that the Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were written to the same person? Both literary works are written to a person named Theophilus. The name means lover of God. Biblical scholars are divided on who was Theophilus? Was he an individual named Theophilus or was he a personification of anyone who loved God? (It is like Uncle Sam in the United States. He represents us all.) That name Theophilus acts as a great bridge between these two literary masterpieces. Together, they tell one story. Luke tells us about the ministry of Jesus and ends with the resurrection. Acts tells the rest of the story. How those early believers spread the good news of the resurrection and founded the church.

This morning we going to look at sermon number two in a six part sermon series I have called The Rest of the Story. Each one of these sermons is based on a passage from the Book of Acts. They are my favorite stories from this book. Today, we are in the eighth chapter. We find Phillip the evangelist, not the apostle, winning a soul to Jesus. In these words we find a model for evangelism. Let me call this message Chasing Chariots.

Introduction

In September of 1985 a group of lifeguards decided to have a party. The party was to celebrate celebration the first summer in memory without a drowning at the New Orleans City pool. In honor of the occasion, 200 people gathered, including 100 certified lifeguards. Everyone had a great time! As the party was breaking up and the four lifeguards on duty began to clear the pool, they found a fully dressed body in the deep end. They tried to revive Jerome Moody, 31, but it was too late. He had drowned surrounded by lifeguards celebrating their successful season. Many believe that is the story of the church! They say we are so preoccupied with ourselves that we missing the fact that the world around us is perishing.

Did you know that according to a 1980 Gallup research only 2% of all professing Christians in America have ever introduced someone to Jesus? In the twenty-eighth chapter of Matthew Jesus tells the disciples and us to go make disciples! We are in the disciple making business. We are not in the church membership business. We are not in the fund raising business. We are not in the apportionment paying business. We are not in the helping the poor business or the building maintenance business. Those are some good things but they are not really our business. We are in the disciple making business. So how many disciples have you made? According to the Gallup research group only 2% of us have ever made a disciple. Perhaps, you need a little help in your disciple making endeavors. Your help comes from this morning’s scripture lesson.

Body

We are in the eighth chapter of Acts. It is the story of Philip the evangelist. (He is not Philip the apostle.) He is Philip the evangelist. He is chasing chariots and he is modeling for us how to make disciples. If you use your sanctified imagination you can visualize the scene. There is Philip the evangelist sitting in a chariot next to the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip is helping another who is struggling spiritually. It is a wonderful story. It uncovers three spiritual principles. If you apply these three principles to your life then you may begin making disciples for Jesus. Let me say something clearly. These three spiritual principles are not suggestions. They are requirements. If you ignore these principles then you will never make a disciple. You will be as successful in the future as you have been in the past. So if you are ready to make some disciples for Jesus say, “Amen!”

You must be a disciple to make a disciple.

Spiritual principle number one says you must be a disciple to make a disciple. The text begins with Philip the evangelist. Who is he? We only hear about him one other time in the Bible. That is in chapter six of Acts. In that chapter we learn that there is a problem in the church. People are complaining. (Some things don’t change!) The Greek speaking Jews are complaining that their widows are not getting their fair share of the daily distribution of food. The problem is taken to the Twelve, the twelve disciples who followed Jesus and were now running the church. In true United Methodist fashion they decide to form a committee to handle the situation. It will be a committee of seven members. In Acts 6:3 it says that those members of that committee were to be full of the spirit and wisdom. Philip the evangelist was one of those committee members. In other words, Philip was a man full of the spirit and wisdom. Let me state the obvious Philip was a disciple. Before Philip met the Ethiopian eunuch he met Jesus. You must be a disciple to make a disciple!

The person who introduced me to Jesus was named Susan. I say this without a question in my heart. She was a disciple. She wanted to be like Jesus. She surrendered her opinions and actions and adopted the opinions and actions of Jesus. If Susan had not been a disciple then I would not have become a disciple. It would have simple had been impossible. It would have been like a cat giving birth to a dog. You must be a disciple to make a disciple? According to that 1980 Gallop study only two per cent of all Christians in America have ever introduced someone to Jesus. Could it be that we have a surplus church members and a shortage of true disciples? You have to be a disciple to make a disciple. If principle number one bothers you a little say, “Amen!”

You must be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Spiritual principle number two says you must be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. If you look at this morning’s text it begins with verse 26. It says, “Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.’” Verse 29 says, “The spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stand near it.” Those two verses tell us that Philip was sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit. There is a right time and a wrong time to talk to someone about Jesus. Most never speak to someone about Jesus. Some talk about Jesus at the wrong time.

I love the story of the United Methodist preacher William Sangster. He had an eccentric member, who had just been just accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior. He was so excited! He wanted to tell everyone all the time about Jesus. He wanted to make couple of hundred disciples everyday. The new bother was a barber and so as he cut people’s hair he would tell them about Jesus. Not everyone likes barber evangelism. One man asked for a shave. The new Christian lathered him up. He came at him with the poised razor, and asked, "Are you prepared to meet your God?" The man in the barber chair got up and ran out the door! You must be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. There is a right time and a wrong time to talk about Jesus.

The best time to talk about Jesus is when people are going through periods of change. People have a difficult time with change. It is during times of change that people are looking for answers. They want to talk about Jesus. People want to talk about Jesus when they have lost a loved one or a losing a job. People want to talk about Jesus when the first baby is born or they are moving away from friends. People want to talk about Jesus when they are getting married or selling the family home. People want to talk about Jesus in the middle of an ugly divorce. People want to talk about Jesus when their lives a changing and they are looking for answers. It is then that the spirit is directing us to tell someone about Jesus. You must be open to the leading of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit knows the right time. And all of God’s people said, “Amen!”

You must be able to tell people about Jesus.

Spiritual principle number three says you must be able to tell people about Jesus. If you use your sanctified imagination you can picture the scene. Philip is sitting next to the Ethiopian eunuch in the royal chariot. The Ethiopian is struggling spiritually. Philip is trying to help him. Verse 35 says Philip told him about the Good News of Jesus Christ. He was able to talk about Jesus. Are you able to talk about Jesus? I am not talking about inviting someone to church or bragging about the choir. I am talking about talking about Jesus. According to that 1980 Gallup study only 2% of all American Christian have every introduced someone to Jesus. We have a problem talking about Jesus.

I believe people aren’t talking about Jesus because they don’t feel qualified to about Jesus. In other words, people don’t feel like they know enough Bible. I believe you are qualified to talk about Jesus. No one questions the words of a sincere person. Let the origin of your words about Jesus come not from your head but from your heart. What does Jesus mean to you?

Last weekend I officiated at a wedding for a young couple I did not really know. The bride called me because I had officiated at her friends wedding. Kelly was organizing the wedding alone because the Eric was in the service. They would be getting married when he was home on leave. When I met Kelly I said, “Tell me about Eric?” She didn’t speak from her head. He didn’t say, “He is 6’2”. She didn’t say he graduated from high school with a 3.5 grade point average. She didn’t say he I.Q. is such and such. She spoke from her heart. She said, “He is a wonderful man. He is kind and patient. He has a wonderful smile and he makes me happy.” She told me how Eric had changed her life. Can you tell someone how Jesus had changed her life? Maybe Jesus has helped you tame your wild past? Maybe Jesus has given you a reason to live today? Maybe you have some hope of living for eternity because of something that Jesus did for you. Don’t worry about speaking from your head. Talk about Jesus from your heart. You must be able to tell people about Jesus. And all of God’s people said, ”Amen!”

Conclusion

Marco Polo is one of the most famed explorers of history. It seems he inherited the travel bug from his father. In 1260, when Marco polo was 6, his father and uncle traveled to Mongolia (part of modern day China). When they arrived there the Mongol emperor revealed an interest in Christianity. He asked the brothers to take a letter to the Pope requesting as many as 100 wise men to spread the Gospel among his subjects. Three years later the brothers arrived home, and two years later set out on their return trek. Did they take the 100 wise men with them? No. Just two friars, for this was all the church felt they could spare. And even those two didn’t make it, turning back shortly into their journey. What a tragedy! Imagine if the Kublai’s request had been fulfilled. Perhaps the whole history of China may have been changed.

According to the 1980 Gallup poll only 2% of all American Christian have ever introduced someone to Jesus. Maybe that is one of the reasons our world seems to be in such a mess! Imagine if you and I could just save one person for Jesus how would our world change? Let us pray.