An Amazing Conversion; Day 1

Philip and the Ethiopian

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 Ethiopianeunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, 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."

Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "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.

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."

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.

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. 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. (Acts 8:26-40)

I don't know about you but I'd love it if God talked to me like this. In the first three verses of this account, God spoke twice to Philip - in complete sentences, with specific instructions. Sign me up for that! But does the Spirit really speak that way today? Well, yes and no. Sometimes God has very specific things for us to do and will be very direct in letting us know. You may find yourself in a spot where you know without a doubt that God wants you to do something right now. The Spirit doesn't usually speak this way, but when he does, we need to be obedient and take advantage of whatever opportunity God is providing.

Have you ever experienced God speaking to you like this?

How did you know it was God?

Ask God to help you hear his voice when he's speaking to you.