The passage describes Philip encountering an Ethiopian eunuch who was reading from the book of Isaiah in his chariot. Philip asks the eunuch if he understands what he is reading, and the eunuch invites Philip to explain it to him. Philip tells him the passage is about Jesus. They come to some water and the eunuch asks to be baptized, so Philip baptizes him. When they emerge from the water, Philip is suddenly taken away by the Spirit, and the eunuch continues on his way rejoicing in his new faith.

1. Acts 8:26-27
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go
south to the road—the desert road—that goes
down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ 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,
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2. Acts 8:28-30
and on his way home was sitting in his chariot
reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The
Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay
near it.’ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and
heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do
you understand what you are reading?’ Philip
asked.
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3. Acts 8:31-33
‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it
to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit
with him. The eunuch was reading this passage
of Scripture: ‘He was led like a sheep to the
slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is
silent, so he did 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.’
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4. Acts 8:34-35
The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is
the prophet talking about, himself or someone
else?’ Then Philip began with that very passage
of Scripture and told him the good news about
Jesus.
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5. Acts 8:36-38
As they traveled along the road, they came to
some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is
water. Why shouldn’t I be baptized?’ And he
gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip
and the eunuch went down into the water and
Philip baptized him.
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6. Acts 8:39-40
When they came up out of the water, the Spirit
of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the
eunuch did not see him again, but went on his
way rejoicing. Philip, however appeared at
Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel
in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
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7. Reading through Acts I was intrigued at all the
times the Spirit SHOWS up with 59 references.
We also encounter where nothing is said of any
sort of leading; people just did what was
CONSISTENT with the heart of God and word of
God.
If God would use a 2x4, then
I will KNOW, maybe?

8. God owes us no EXPLANATIONS, nor are we
entitled to second steps before taking the first.
You do not need to know EVERYTHING to take the
next step you know.
God’s word may be clear
even when His REASONS are
not.

9. We have an amazing ABILITY to talk ourselves out
of things we are uncomfortable with.
Without HUNGER for the things of God something
else will occupy our time and attention, without
HUMILITY we will not listen.
The Holy Spirit SPEAKS.

10. Samaritans and Jews had a longstanding
HOSTILITY of about 1000 years.
The Holy Spirit TESTIFIES to Jesus.
Sometimes His “voice” is clearer than others, but
we may at times UNKOWINGLY follow His lead…
The Holy Spirit HELPS
in evangelism.

11. Please take a moment to fill out your
Communication Card
My Next Step Today is to:
( ) Do the home life help (in bulletin)
( ) Evaluate if I am going through the motions to
say, “I did...” or if I am truly hungry for God
( ) Sharpen my “listening” skills.
( ) Prayerfully seek God for the “next step” in my
journey of faith, and take it.
( ) Pray and watch for opportunities to share
Christ
( ) Other________________________