Notes from Our Pastor
Acts 8:26-40
In Acts we read a wonderful account of Philip the Evangelist following the leadership of the Holy Spirit as he was called to travel out into the desert without any supporting information of what God’s plan was for him. Philip is obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit through the direction from an angel. When Philip arrives in the desert he comes upon an Ethiopian official who has been traveling on business for Queen Candace of Ethiopia.
The Holy Spirit instructs Philip to draw nearer to the chariot of the Ethiopian and he sees and hears the Ethiopian reading from the Book of Isaiah. This is what the Ethiopian was reading:
He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
And as a lamb before its shearers is silent,
So did he not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.
Isaiah 53:7-8
Philip asked the Ethiopian is he understood what he was reading, and the Ethiopian replied, “Tell me please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Philip sits down and teaches him about Jesus and how this prophecy is predicting the coming of a humble Savior who will willing lay down his life for the world.
In John 15:1-17 Jesus shares the key to living a life of joy and fruitfulness. He says “I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so it will be even more fruitful.” Jesus goes on in verse 5 to say “I am the vine, you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.”
The same is true for us today. Many of us are like Philip when he is doubting – seeking a sign for assurance that his faith in Jesus isn’t misplaced. When we try to live for Christ from a distance, literally separated from “The Vine” we wither and die spiritually, and we miss out on tremendous opportunities that God has for our life like the encounter Philip had with the Ethiopian. But, as Philip learned, when we abide in Jesus – submerse ourselves into His will with abandon, He brings us into abiding fellowship with His God and our God. With His Father and our Father. None of us knows what the future holds. Faith in Christ means surrendering all those fears associated with the future, but also all those dreams associated with our perception of the future. Surrender to Christ means putting all of trust in Him and allowing Him to lead us to the right job, the right mate, the right ministry and to the desert where we will find fruit that He has prepared for us there.
Trust Him. Abide in Him. Then like Philip you will not only see the Father – you will know the Father as a child of God through Jesus His son.
