One Step | Acts 8:1-5, 26-40

Turn in your Bibles to Acts 8.

Let me ask you—how many times has your life been changed because someone took one step toward you?

A teacher who stopped to encourage you. A coach who believed in you. A friend who invited you. A neighbor who asked how you were doing. A family member who had the courage to tell you about Jesus.

Looking back, it was just one conversation. But it changed your life.

I can think back to elementary school and high school and remember several teachers who took the time to speak into my life. A conversation here. A word of encouragement there. At the time, they probably thought they were just doing their job. But those conversations helped shape the direction of my life and eventually led me to become an elementary school teacher.

Has that happened to you? One small step from someone became a life-changing moment for you? That's often how God works.

So many opportunities begin that way. Just one step. One phone call. One conversation. One invitation. One decision. One act of obedience.

This morning we're going to watch two ordinary lives intersect because both men were willing to take one step of obedience. And because they both said “YES” to the Holy Spirit—eternity was changed.

Let’s set the stage. If you remember last week, Stephen was killed—the first Christian martyr—and the first 5 verses of Acts 8 tells us what happened next.

READ Acts 8:1-5

Stephen is killed. Saul approves. The Church scatters. Satan’s probably thinking, Ah—finally! I’ve got them!

But instead—the gospel spreads. The Church explodes. And Philip—another one of those 7 chosen men in Acts 6—goes to Samaria. More people believe. Lives are changed. Acts 8:8 says that the city is filled with great joy at what is happening there. And then…everything changes.

Look down at v26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”

Just imagine Philip. There’s revival in Samaria! Momentum. BIG ministry success! This is a preacher’s dream situation. And the Holy Spirit says: LEAVE. Go south. To the desert road.

No explanation. No map. No—and here’s why. Just GO to the road in the desert.

Ya know, this is often how the Holy Spirit works. He rarely gives us the whole picture. Usually just the one next step. As frustrating as that may be we need to remember 2 Corinthians 5:7 For we live by faith, not by sight.

Hey Philip—it’s time to GO!

Permit me to share something that’s taken me a long time to learn—and I’m still learning today: Some of us are waiting to GO until God reveals steps #1-10 in the journey. But He’s only telling us to obey step #1.

So Philip says, “Yes” and sets off.

And watch what God was already doing.

READ Acts 8:27-29 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 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.”

Philip sees a chariot. Riding in it is an Ethiopian eunuch who worked for the Queen. He had travelled to Jerusalem to worship and is now headed home.

Now, there’s a lot we need to understand here—kinda read between the lines a bit. • Philip had traveled 50 miles south from Samaria, and in the middle of the desert he meets this guy. What are the odds?? Well—pretty good if God has said, “GO.” This is a divine appointment —set up by the Holy Spirit.

• The man he meets—we’re told—is a eunuch. A eunuch is somebody who was either born that way by birth defect or forced into castration—often so he could serve in a royal court. Whatever the circumstances, it meant he lived with a lifelong reminder that he didn't fit.

• This man had traveled 1,000 miles to Jerusalem to visit the Temple and worship in the presence of God. But historians tell us that when he got to the Temple steps, he would have been confronted by a sign hung by the religious leaders that read, No lame, no diseased, no blind, and no eunuchs may enter. Deuteronomy 23:1 clearly says, No one who has been emasculated by crushing or cutting may enter the assembly of the Lord.

• He traveled 1,000 miles pursuing God and was turned away by the supposed people of God. Can’t you just feel the rejection? Imagine the question in his heart, Does God want someone like me?

So he’s headed back to Ethiopia, rejected. And the Holy Spirit sends Philip after him. The Spirit tells Philip, Go to that chariot.

Look at v30—Then Philip ran… I love that. No delay. This is exciting!

v30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

Philip runs alongside the chariot and just LISTENS. He doesn’t start preaching—he listens. And then—watch—he’s CURIOUS—he asks a question. Do you understand what you’re reading? Don’t miss this—this is a really important lesson for us!

Philip didn’t assume anything. He listened and he asked a good question.

Ya see, questions have a way of opening hearts. A good question is often more powerful than a good answer—because curiosity builds bridges; assumptions builds walls.

So Philip didn't begin with an answer. He began with a question—which lead him to hear exactly where to start pointing the Ethiopian to Jesus.

v30-33 “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked. “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its 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.”

The Ethiopian invites Philip in. He had apparently bought some OT scrolls while he was in Jerusalem—this guy’s in his chariot “scrolling”—and he’s reading Isaiah 53—often referred to as “The Suffering Servant.” It’s about Jesus.

We know that, today. We read those words and go, Whoa! That’s Jesus! He became the humiliated One so we could be welcomed in to God’s family.

But an Ethiopian eunuch? He doesn’t know that. v34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?”

When you read this, these aren’t just words. Put yourself there, in the conversation. See the shock in his eyes. Hear his words. Understand what he’s really asking—is this guy talking about himself? Is he talking about…me?

Think about it, that could be the question he’s asking. Innocent, humiliated, rejected, suffering, denied justice, life taken from him…

Then Luke summarizes the whole conversation with one sentence: v35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

Philip didn't have to know where to start, did he? God had already picked the text.

Can we just pause here for a moment and let this sink in? This is amazing! Hundreds of years before this man was born...God inspired Isaiah to write these words. And then, centuries later...God led one disciple into a desert. And then on one afternoon...God brought his disciple, and His Word, and His Spirit, together with one seeking sinner in one oh-so-holy moment. Isn’t God so good?

God picked Isaiah 53, and Philip used it to point to Jesus. Not religion, not politics, not morality… not even church. Jesus.

I think this is where we miss sometimes. We hesitate—maybe because we think everything depends on us. What if I don't know enough? What if they ask something I can't answer? But Acts 8 reminds us...it doesn’t all depend on us.

The Holy Spirit prepares both the witness and the seeker. Long before you enter the conversation, the Holy Spirit is already at work in the other person's life. So take the pressure off yourself.

You don't have to awaken the spiritual desire.

You don't have to produce conviction.

You don't have to save anyone.

You simply join the work the Holy Spirit has already begun.

And because of that, you don't have to know everything. You just have to know the One who changes everything.

Now—we don't know every word Philip said—but we know where he started—Isaiah 53—“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter…”

Philip must have looked at that Ethiopian and said, That isn't Isaiah talking about himself. Not is he talking about you. He’s talking about Jesus. This isn't just the story of a suffering servant. It's the story of a suffering Savior. Whatever rejection you've experienced... isn't the end of your story because Jesus willingly entered rejection for you. He was shut out so you could be welcomed in. He was condemned so you could be forgiven. He was treated like an outsider so you could become a child of God.

That's the good news Philip preached.

And he clearly included how faith responds to this good news because listen to what the Ethiopian says: v36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

What can stand in the way of me becoming a child of God by uniting with Jesus?

This was a full circle moment, wasn’t it? First, at the Temple—no entry, not welcome, this isn’t for you because of your—ya know—issue.

But then he believed the good news. He knew the offer to be made new was true for him—as much as it was for anyone else!

What he said was as much a declaration as it was a question. I imagine he said it with a little sass. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”

This was his decision after believing the good news. Ya see, when someone believes the goodness of Jesus, they want to be united with Jesus—being buried with Him and raised with Him having faith in the working of God (Colossians 2:12).

v38-40 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 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.

The eunuch must’ve just figured, well this dude appeared out of nowhere now he vanishes? I guess that’s a thing!

And he went on his way rejoicing. Joy replaced shame. Grace replaced guilt. Clarity replaced questions. A life that had been seeking had found its Savior.

Here’s what I don’t want you to miss: this story isn’t just about Philip and what happened after the persecution. It’s about 2 people following the Holy Spirit.

Long before Philip arrived on the desert road, God had already been working. • The Ethiopian had already gone to Jerusalem. Already bought the scroll of Isaiah. Already had questions—was already seeking.

• Philip could’ve thought this trip was an interruption to his ministry in Samaria and stayed put. But God had been preparing this moment all along. He knew exactly what He was doing—and at just the right moment, He brought their stories together.

And truth is…

Some of us hearing this today are PHILIP.

You’ve sensed God’s leading. Invite them. Call them. Forgive them. Share your story with them. Ask the question.

Remember Acts 1:8? You received power. Power for what? To witness. Not power to stand before kings or preach to thousands. Power to walk down one lonely road. Power for one conversation. Power to open one Bible. Power to baptize Your One.

Stop ignoring what the Spirit keeps bringing to your mind.

But there’s another truth…

Some of us hearing this today are THE ETHIOPIAN.

You’ve been searching…reading…wondering. You’ve got questions.

Maybe today, God brought you here. Not accidentally. Not because This is Sunday. But on purpose. So He could speak into your life.

Maybe God sent someone walking into your life that caused you to find yourself here today. Hear me: nothing can stand in your way of saying “Yes” to Jesus in faith and baptism today.

Can I share how that happened just last week? Aubrey was here—all by herself. Here faith had been growing, her boyfriend and his family had been praying. She came to church—even when they were away—and she sensed the Lord saying, “Today’s the day. What are you waiting for?” And Aubrey…said…YES!

[baptism video]

CONCLUSION

Let me close today with a question: How many times does God have to say something before we finally do it?

How many times do we need to hear: Come to me. Believe. Surrender. Be baptized. How many times to we need to hear: Go. Speak up. Be my witnesses. Take the next step—before we finally do?

How many times is enough?

Think back through this story.

It began with one step—Philip took one step toward a desert road. Then one step toward a chariot.

He asked one question. Had one conversation. Gave one explanation of Isaiah. And there’s one profession of faith. One baptism.

And one man goes home rejoicing because he has been given eternal life. That's how the kingdom advances. One step at a time.

So what’s your one step?

Eternity—yours or someone else’s—could all hang on one next step of obedience.

Before you leave today, listen to the Spirit and decide what your one step is—THEN DO IT! Don't miss the moment God has prepared for you.

Let’s Pray.