He Did

                What would you say if I said that God had a message for the people, but he lacked a messenger? After all, He looked about His throne room seeking a messenger. He asked, “Who will go for us? Who will take my message?” Most of us are familiar with this story. Then Isaiah spoke up and said, “Here I am, Lord. Send me.” What if I told you that today, He still has a message for the world to hear? Are you willing to step up?

                Many things stop us from stepping up and telling God that we would be that messenger. Some think that in order to tell others about Jesus, he or she must be like Billy Sunday, Billy Graham, Luis Palau or Louie Giglio, or some sort to name a few. These are big names in national and worldwide evangelism. We seem to lack such big names anymore.

                Some may think that in order to tell people about Jesus, then he or she must be educated, have gone to Bible college, maybe even graduate school so that they will be equipped with all the right knowledge and words. There are many college programs that offer the right words. Some of them, you can attend from the comfort of your own living room.

Or maybe telling people comes from the fear of leaving home. It is never easy leaving a culture you know and are comfortable to live in another culture where you know virtually nothing. I do know a little something about that. For example, growing up, boys who lacked physical prowess, or even to just motivate them to prove themselves, coaches and teammates would call them, “girls”. You hit like a girl. You run like a girl. Now my culture was Hispanic by and large. However, when working in Mexico, I didn’t realize how offensive it was to make the same comments. The reaction my jest received was almost as bad as my saying anything negative about the Razorbacks. You just don’t do it.

Sharing the Gospel, sharing God’s message is sometimes over thought. We allow pride and other silly excuses arise and keep us from doing so. As I pondered some of the excuses, I wondered about the Church in Jerusalem. What kept them from sharing the Gospel with the whole world? Was it mere comfort, as I suggested last week? Comfort was just one reason we considered last week.

                Now this may be me with rose-colored glasses on. I truly believe those who love Jesus do want to share God’s message of hope, grace and love with those around them. They just don’t know. This morning, we will look at Philip and see what ways his example can relate to us.

Philip was Motivated {Verse – 1}

                What motivates us? What motivates you? For many in our country, Friday kicked off the Christmas season. People were out and about trying to get the best deals. Of course I am curious as to how many of the things that were bought that day were for actual gifts and how many were bought for personal wants. So for some, money was a huge motivator Friday last. Of course money can often be a motivator. Or perhaps lack thereof. I know that when there is not much in the tank, and the prices seems to be slow in dropping, I look at what I have. If I don’t have much, then the family drive on Sundays is shortened.

                But what motivates us spiritually? For Philip, we see that persecution, Christianity being deemed not just wrong, but now officially illegal, was his motivation to be God’s messenger and carry that message. Now I am not saying that he wasn’t sharing, nor that the church in Jerusalem, wasn’t sharing the message. But they were doing the minimum. Instead of carrying the good news, they shared the good news with those who came to them.

Sometimes we need to be motivated in such a way. I pray that it is not going to take Christianity being declared illegal to be that fire under our seat.  But perhaps God may just use something that strikes each of us in such a way that we would become motivated. Maybe it might be a pricking of the heart, time has been set. “Mr. Harvey, we didn’t catch it in time. I say maybe 4-6 months on the outside.” If you were sitting in the clinic, would such a statement perhaps motivate you? Maybe it won’t take that much. Perhaps it might be a bit of a softer pin prick, such as a loved one being so diagnosed.

Yet there is a better motivation for going out and sharing the message. Reading the Bible, Paul, while still enemies, he says, God sent Jesus to mend that rift, to suffer God’s wrath so that we can call Him, “Papa” or “Daddy”. Hebrew, it’s, ‘Abba’. Should this be enough for motivation, knowing that God does not wish anyone to perish but for all to come to repentance?

Philip was Open to hearing God {Verse – 26-27}

                Now you know I’ve mentioned I like science fiction and I like Star Trek. One of my favorite characters is Commander Spock. He is a half Vulcan, half human person who has put up all emotions. He is the epitome of stoicism. He would say that humanity is too emotional. Or in other words, he’s painted a pendulum. Humanity at one extreme, Vulcan at the other.

Are we sensitive to God’s guiding? Perhaps that might be something wrong with the Restoration Movement, our movement. In order to not be perceived as Charismatics, we try to be more stoic. We dismiss anything not clearly in the Bible, or anything that may cause us to feel uncomfortable. We have the pendulum where it seems that we either take the Bible too literally, or dismiss it. We either cling to emotions or dismiss them. Example of the former is that the New Testament half doesn’t endorse instruments in worship, so there is no piano in the independent Churches of Christ. The other side is the Disciples of Christ, where they clung to the denomination, and have said that the Bible is not the ultimate authority, as shown through their practices. The latter would be our Community Thanksgiving Service last Sunday Evening. There was a song being played and a young lady did an interpretive dance. It was moving. It was different. But was it any different than the dance that David did to celebrate the Ark returning to Israel?

Being sensitive to God’s guidance requires us to seek the middle ground, to see what the Bible says. Is the guiding going against Scripture? How would we know if we are not in the Word? Being open to God’s guidance means that we are listening as we read. That we are looking for the moments, such as was Samuel and Isaiah, that we can say, “Here I am, Lord.”

Philip was Seeking {Verse – 27, 39-40}

                Again, Luke 10.2, we have it memorized, right? “Look, the fields are ready for the harvest, but the workers are few. Therefore, pray to the Lord of the Harvest to send out more workers.” Philip was one of those who were seeking those he would share the message with. The angel didn’t tell him to look for the Ethiopian. He was told to go someplace. He was guided, but Philip used his own eyes and mind to see where the opportunity was. Yet at the end of the chapter, Philip was sent to another place where there was no one particular, so he shared with all.

                We need to be the same. Sure, God may not send us anywhere. But where we are, are we looking for the opportunity? Do we share a verse with someone suffering? For example, Clara’s son, a 4 year old smart lad, dies suddenly. Now you are not sure if she is a believer. What do you say? Often, I hear such, “Well God needed him” or “there is another angel in heaven.” The problem is those answers and well meaning as they intended to be, aren’t well meaning or comforting. Now depending on Clara, if she is angry, Matthew 5.45 says that God allows things to happen both godly and the ungodly. That is the nature, the curse of living in the world apart from God, the presence of pain for all. If she is questioning why her son died, perhaps there is comfort in Isaiah 57.1, that perhaps it was to spare a future, greater pain than now. This is not to dismiss other passages of comfort. The point is that this is one example of how if we look, we can see opportunities to be the messenger for God.

                Now let me caution you here. I didn’t dismiss the idea of not going. He may well light a fire under us that will carry us to another culture, or perhaps we might find that other culture just around the corner from our house, literally. But here is the great part of not dismissing that fear: if we are willing to answer God’s request, like Isaiah 6.8, or 1 Samuel 3.10, maybe God will use you where you are, or He will provide you with the strength to go where you need to be.

                This is an example of how the Father’s message is carried out.