DIRECTION FROM GOD

Acts 8:26-31 NKJV 

26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. 27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. 

The book of Acts is a fascinating story of the early church. And what makes the book even more interesting is that many of the stories relate to us two thousand years later. For example, in this chapter, we see Phillip, a former director of meal distribution, going to Samaria and preaching Christ. Multitudes of men and women received Christ and were baptized. Then, the church sends Peter and John to pray for the new converts that they might be filled with the Holy Spirit. This was a clear picture of salvation and the baptism with the Holy Spirit being two separate events.   

In our verses for today are two examples of supernatural direction coming to Phillip. In the middle of this outstanding revival, an angel spoke to Phillip and instructed him to go into the desert to a certain road. This was not some idea that Phillip cooked up on his own. And at face value, it did not make much sense. Multitudes were being saved, miracles were taking place, and he needed to go to the desert. To Phillip’s credit, he did not argue.   

Phillip was directed by the Lord to intersect with an Ethiopian man who was very influential in that nation. But the angel never told Phillip who he was going to meet. This Ethiopian leader had converted to Judaism and was coming back from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship. He was reading Scriptures when Phillip saw him pass by in his chariot.   

The second direction from God that came to Phillip was from the Holy Spirit. The Spirit said to go near and overtake the chariot. Once again, Phillip did not argue or reason; he acted. He caught up with the chariot and asked the Ethiopian man if he was able to understand the Scripture passage he was reading. This was a great connection point. The man invited Phillip into the chariot, and Phillip preached Jesus to him. The Ethiopian man received the message and asked to be baptized as they passed some water. The Holy Spirit caught Phillip away to another city, and the Ethiopian leader went home rejoicing. Quite a day!  

Historians tell us that this Ethiopian man went back to his country and was highly effective in bringing Jesus to his nation. So, even though it did not seem to make sense at first, Phillips’ leaving Samaria was strategic.   

APPLICATION  

God is still the same and has not changed. Even though some people believe God no longer gives direction to His people once the Bible was printed, we have no scriptural evidence to support that. And the very nature of the direction given by the angel and by the Holy Spirit to Phillip is still needed today.   

The primary way the Lord leads today is through His word. However, He still leads by His Holy Spirit regularly and by His angels much less often. As a side note, we are never encouraged to pray to have an angel speak to us. We can ask the Lord to lead us, but it is not our place to dictate how direction comes. The big takeaway from this story, God gives direction to His people.   

  PRAYER  

Lord, thank You for leading and directing me. Show me how I can be more attuned to Your direction in my life.