Pastor Chuck DeVane
Special to The Sentinel-Record
And the Spirit said to Philip, "Go over and join this chariot." So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, "Do you understand what you are reading?" And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: "Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth." And the eunuch said to Philip, "About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?" Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
-- Acts 8:29-35, ESV
The foremost reason Christians don't share their faith with non-Christians is raw fear. Most of us are afraid of making any kind of public speech or personal presentation. Most of us are afraid we lack the knowledge and ability to be an effective witness to unbelievers. Most of us are afraid of the rejection or possible anger from the person we attempt to reach. We are just downright fearful.
But God has called us to be fruitful. We are to bear fruit in keeping with our faith and repentance. We are to share our faith with others and admonish them to repent, believe, be baptized, and follow Jesus.
So how do we overcome our fear and be fruitful for the Lord in the area of witnessing to others? Let's ask one of our church deacons to help us. Philip was an exceptional person. He was the second deacon ever ordained in the church.
Philip was in an exceptional place. He was a religious refugee, chased out of Jerusalem by persecution, found in Samaria by providence, and called to the desert by an angel of God. He caught a chariot on the stretch from Palestine to Africa occupied by a man reading Scripture, who wanted to know the Messiah.
Philip performed an exceptional service. He led a man to Christ who, according to early Christian historian Irenaeus, led a country to Christ, as many Ethiopians formed another early church, as a result of Philip's courageous, obedient, witness for Christ.
While so much of what happened here is an extraordinary evangelistic event, there are some ordinary Christian things that Philip possessed and accomplished. We should pay attention to these things and seek to ensure they are in us. They can turn our fearful attitudes about witnessing into faithful and fruitful encounters.
Philip had a heart of faith. His heart had been renewed by the Holy Spirit, by the grace of God, through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. A genuine conversion to Christianity cannot be hidden from others. We should never be afraid to talk to others about the most important person in our lives, the Lord Jesus Christ.
Philip had an ear for God. A praying Christian is not just someone who speaks to God, but one who listens to God as well. Prayer is not a monologue or a wish list, it is divine and direct dialogue with a person who actually lives within every Christian. Nothing calms our fears like talking to and listening to the Lord.
Philip had an eye for people. He could tell the Christians from the non-Christians, and loved them both. We should be willing to witness to any unbeliever any time, but we should pay special attention to those who demonstrate any type of interest in God and the gospel.
Philip had a mind for Scripture. He devoted himself to the word of God and the gospel of Jesus Christ. All Christians should regularly read their Bibles and be a part of a Bible-believing church. When we get into the word of God, we gain confidence over our fears, and the gospel of Jesus Christ comes out of us.
Philip had access to power, the same power any normal Christian today possesses. It is the power of the Holy Spirit, the Word of God, and the gospel. Power relieves pressure and fear.
It is normal for any Christian to be fearful when it comes to sharing your faith with others and inviting them to Christ, to Christianity, to Christ's church. But it is also normal for a true Christians to be faithful in putting Christ first, caring about others, and sharing the gospel. When faithfulness overcomes our fear, we will become fruitful for the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chuck DeVane is the pastor of Lake Hamilton Baptist Church. Call him at 501-525-8339 or email [email protected].