Close Enough to Ask

Last Sunday we followed Philip down a desert road. God pulled him out of a revival in Samaria and sent him to one man, an Ethiopian official riding home from Jerusalem with Isaiah open on the seat beside him. Philip ran up to that chariot, asked one question, and the conversation led straight to Jesus.

God goes ahead of us, church, and He sends ordinary believers like you and me to get close enough to ask. Here are five ways to take that into your week.

1. Pray for one name. The angel told Philip, "Rise and go" (Acts 8:26), and he went to one man. Before Philip ever got the order, God had already drawn that man to Jerusalem to worship. Ask the Lord this week, "Who have You already been working on?" Write down the first name that comes to mind.

2. Close the distance. The Spirit said, "Go over and join this chariot" (Acts 8:29). Most of us stall right here, a long way before anybody gets to the gospel. So have that person over for supper. Sit with them at the ballgame. Walk across the yard instead of waiting them out at the mailbox.

3. Listen first. Philip "heard him reading Isaiah the prophet" before he said a word (Acts 8:30). Find out what's in their hands right now. It might be a diagnosis, a son who won't call, or a marriage that's coming apart.

4. Ask one honest question. Philip's first line was a question: "Do you understand what you are reading?" You can ask one too. What did you grow up believing about God? Do you still believe it? Then make room for their questions. The eunuch asked three to Philip's one.
5. Know where the road leads. "Beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). Be ready to tell somebody, in a few sentences, who Jesus is and what He did. He was cut off so outsiders could come in, and God raised Him from the dead.
 Practice saying it to a friend from church before Sunday.

The story ends with the man from Ethiopia going "on his way rejoicing" (Acts 8:39). Somebody did that for every one of us who knows Jesus. Now God has put somebody on your road.