Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it." Acts8:26-29
In these four verses Philip obeys twice and the result of this obedience is that the Gospel, which, so far, has gone to Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, now goes to the ends of the earth because this Eunuch from Ethiopia will give his life to Christ.
Philip obeys two kinds of prompting here...
The first is a clear prompting in the form of an angel who appears to him. (It may have been a vision or a dream, but this angel also appears to Peter and liberates him from prison, so it could have been an actual appearance.)
The second prompting is from the Spirit and it is one of those in-the-moment nudges that come as an urging or like a whisper.
Sometimes God speaks to us formally and clearly through a scripture or a sermon. Sometimes He speaks in a prompting or a whisper. Philip was obedient both times.
The formal prompting, "Take the desert road", was specific and Philip had time to consider and weigh up his options. There was some logic to it - Philip had been in Samaria and accomplished good ministry there. Now he knew it was time to move on to the next destination.
The second prompting was quick and required spontaneity. He had to be responsive even though he didn't know what would happen next. If he hesitated, the moment would pass.
We need to learn to be open and ready for the calls and whispers of God. Like Philip, quick obedience could lead to great strides for God's Kingdom.
While you have open ears today?
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
