26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south[d] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. 27 And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship 28 and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah.

29 And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” 30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 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.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
    Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”

34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.

36 And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?”[e] 38 And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. 39 And when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing. 40 But Philip found himself at Azotus, and as he passed through he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea.

Acts 8:26-40 (ESV) 中文

Persecution increases

Philip was appointed one of 7 deacons of the early church. Philip fled Jerusalem for other areas in Judea and Samaria due to persecution. As Philip is preaching and doing miracles, many are amazed, believe and are baptized. Now God calls him to another work.

Philip obeys angel

After ministry in Samaria, an angel calls him to a desert road to Gaza. A divine appointment has been made for him to share the news of Jesus with an Ethiopian proselite returning from worshiping in Jerusalem.  Philip obeyed the angel and went, not knowing where or why; he just obeyed. And after that work, he was miraculously brought to another place. God opened the door for Philip to share the good news with this man.

Caution

Though it can happen, in my experience, angels don’t appear and give directions. Be alert, there is a cult, the Mormons, who believe their founder received special revelation from an angel. If he did, it was a fallen angel – of the Devil. 

However, God’s Word is living and active (Hebrews 4:12) to direct us. His Spirit-empowered pastors can preach the word that includes a call to us, even uniquely. Dreams or even visions can be used to direct us.

RЯeflection

• Are we willing to seek God’s direction in our life…and obey when we receive it. We should base such a call on His Word. It’s good to consult a pastor or other godly leader and ask others to pray with us.

• Would you be able to start with a Bible passage (like today’s) and explain how it relates to Jesus? Could you then present the Gospel to someone God is drawing to Himself? If you can’t confidently say, “Yes”, I encourage you to dig into the Word to study it. Seek to prepare yourself. It’s all of our call (Matthew 28:19-20, Acts 1:8). “One of our greatest jobs in preaching the gospel is to simply pray for open doors.” (enduringword.com)