Mature In Christ
Bible Study
Chasing Chariots
Eleven Biblical Lessons For Christian Growth
Object:
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.
-- Acts 8:29-30
The disciples walked the earth with Christ for about three years. During that time they accumulated a lot of insightful parables. They saw a lot of miraculous events. They learned a lot about the scriptures. They gained the ability to heal the sick. By the time their three years had passed, they were more spiritually mature than they had ever been. Jesus looked at his disciples before he departed and said, "Now that you have all this insight, now that you have seen God's intervention time and time again, now that you know the scriptures a little better, now that you have gained the ability to heal the sick, now that you are more spiritually mature than you have ever been, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation' " (Mark 16:15). Jesus told his disciples that the reason why they had become spiritually mature was so they could go out and tell others about the gospel.
Similar to the other disciples, Philip had undergone some significant spiritual growth. In Acts 6, Philip was distributing food to the Jewish and Hebraic widows. By Acts 8 we learn that Philip was not only distributing food, but also began to tell others in Samaria about Christ. Between chapter 6 and chapter 8, enough spiritual growth had occurred in Philip to move him from a believer who was quiet and reserved to a believer who told everyone he encountered about Jesus. In Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch we see some signs of spiritual maturity displayed.
Philip Goes South
An angel came to Philip and said, "Philip, get on that desert road and go south." The angel did not give Philip an address to go to. He did not print out any directions from Mapquest. He did not give Philip a particular place in the road to stop. He did not tell Philip to look for any particular person on the road. He said, "Philip, go south." With all that uncertainty and ambiguity looming, Philip went south.
A sign of spiritual maturity in Christ is when you do not need all the details to follow God's plan. God has some destinations for you, but God also has some journeys for you. When God sends you on a journey, you do not need to know the destination because the destination involves having the faith to go on the journey.
While Philip traveled south, he saw an Ethiopian eunuch who was a high official for the queen of Ethiopia. This eunuch was coming back from worship in Jerusalem and was reading the book of Isaiah.
Whenever you see Ethiopia in the Bible it usually refers to the region of Cush or the upper Nile region. This area is most aligned with modern-day Sudan. A eunuch was a male who could not procreate; therefore, eunuchs were usually obtained to work with the women in royal courts. This particular eunuch was a treasurer in the royal palace of the Cush kingdom. The Spirit of God prompts Philip to stand beside this eunuch's chariot. Notice again that Philip was not given any particular details of what to do once he arrived at the chariot.
Philip Listens
Philip went to the chariot of the eunuch and did not begin to preach or teach, but instead he listened to the voice reading the book of Isaiah in the chariot. James 1:19 tells us, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak." A spiritually mature person in Christ first listens for opportunities to tell others about Christ before speaking. You must understand or have an idea of where a person is before you can proclaim Christ to them.
This eunuch was reading the book of Isaiah. The eunuch was at a place in his life where he was trying to discover God's salvation through the book of Isaiah. Once we listen and observe people's emotional states, physical states, relationships, goals, and aspirations we will find in all of them some type of attempt to get to a better place. We will find some type of attempt to rescue themselves from where they are and get closer to God (whether they realize it or not). This eunuch was in the book of Isaiah and from there he tried to get to a better place; he tried to get closer to God, but he did not know how. Our passage then informs us, "Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). Philip started with the book of Isaiah and then showed the eunuch how it connected to Christ. By bringing the eunuch to Christ, he was able to bring the eunuch to this desired place -- closer to God.
Spiritual maturity in Christ occurs when you understand that bringing people closer to God means introducing them to Christ.
There was a homeless man who developed a routine for survival in his city. He would frequent three places within the same block to sustain himself on the streets. First, he would go to a restaurant to beg for leftovers. Then, the homeless man went to a high-end clothing store and asked customers for spare change in front of the store. Last, the man would position himself near a vent beside a hotel to keep warm at night.
One day while the homeless man stood begging for leftovers in front of the restaurant, a wealthy man saw him and asked if he would like to eat with him inside the restaurant. The homeless man responded, "They will never let me in there. Look at me." The wealthy man said, "Don't worry, just follow directly behind me." The wealthy man went into the restaurant and the homeless man followed directly behind him. As soon as the homeless man entered, the hostess ran over to him and said, "Excuse me, but you cannot come in here." The wealthy man pulled the hostess aside and whispered something in her ear and then the hostess waved the homeless man to come into the restaurant.
The wealthy man and homeless man left the restaurant and the wealthy man said, "I had planned on buying a new coat from that store on the corner. Would you like to come with me and I could buy you a few items of clothing that you may need?" The homeless man laughed, "They will never allow me in that store. The security guards don't even allow me to stand in front of the store and panhandle on most days." The wealthy man said, "Don't worry about it. Just follow directly behind me." The wealthy man entered the store and the homeless man followed directly behind him. As soon as the homeless man entered the store, the security guard grabbed him and said, "Excuse me, but you cannot be in here." The wealthy man pulled the security guard to the side, whispered something in his ear, and the security guard nodded his head and allowed the homeless man to enter the store.
After they left the store, the wealthy man said, "I am staying at a hotel on this same block, would you like to take a shower there?" "I know exactly the hotel you are referring to. They will never let me in there," said the homeless man. "Don't worry about it. Just followed directly behind me," the wealthy man replied. The wealthy man entered the hotel and the homeless man followed directly behind him. As soon as the homeless man walked into the lobby, the attendant came to him and said, "Excuse me sir, you cannot be here." The wealthy man pulled the attendant aside, whispered something in his ear, and the attendant nodded his head and allowed the homeless man to proceed.
Once the homeless man had taken his shower and put on his new clothes he felt like a new man. As the homeless man left the hotel he shook the wealthy man's hand and said, "Thank you so much for feeding me, clothing me, and allowing me to clean up. You will never know how much I appreciate it. But I have one question for you." "Sure, what is it?" the wealthy man replied. "Each time we entered a place together and someone stopped me, you would go over to that person and whisper something in their ear. What did you say to them?" the homeless man said curiously. "I simply told them that you were with me," the wealthy man replied.
There were some places that we never had access to. There were some relationships, degrees of authenticity, levels of consciousness and compassion, forms of discernment, and states of peace that we were never able to access. Jesus came along and said, "I can take you to those places, just follow directly behind me," and some of us followed. When we began to enter these places God looked at us and said, "They are not loving enough, they are not smart enough, they are not conscious enough, they are not compassionate enough, they are not peaceful enough, they don't deserve to be here." But Jesus pulled God aside and said, "They are with me."
As Christians we believe that the way we become closer to God is through Christ. This is why we end all prayers in Christ's name. We come closer to God in a natural sense because we now have a model to follow to do God's will. But we also come closer to God in a spiritual sense because once we accept Christ as the way, God no longer sees our inadequacies. Our shortcomings are covered by Christ's sacrifice for us. Christ is the bridge between humanity and divinity. Christ actualizes God to humanity.
Philip Baptizes The Eunuch
Philip baptized the eunuch. Baptism signifies the formal entrance into the Christian community. A sign of Christian maturity is when you begin to incorporate others into the Christian community. One will never be able to understand and know Christ intimately if he or she is separated from the Christian community because the Christian community is the body of Christ.
Our spiritual maturity in Christ leads us to one place -- sharing and spreading the good news about Jesus Christ. As we mature in Christ, we should become more comfortable, more inspired, and more creative in sharing the gospel with others.
Prayer
All-knowing God, you are the creator of the master blueprint for our lives. Even though we do not fully know your plans, we trust in your ability. Despite our inability to see outcomes, we have faith in your vision. Through a discerning spirit, may we become one with your will. Amen.
Relevant Questions And Sermon Points
How Can We Become Mature In Christ?
1. Follow God even when you do not know the details.
2. Listen first for opportunities to tell others about Christ.
3. Share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.
Questions For Individual Reflection Or Group Discussion
1. Think of one recent instance that represents your growth in Christ? Share with the group.
2. Have you ever acted based on the prompting of the Holy Spirit without knowing the details about where you were going? What occurred? How did you feel?
3. Do you find great difficulty in waiting for opportunities to speak about Christ or greater difficulty to tell others about Christ? Why?
4. Can you remember a moment when you told someone else about Christ? How did you feel? What occurred?
-- Acts 8:29-30
The disciples walked the earth with Christ for about three years. During that time they accumulated a lot of insightful parables. They saw a lot of miraculous events. They learned a lot about the scriptures. They gained the ability to heal the sick. By the time their three years had passed, they were more spiritually mature than they had ever been. Jesus looked at his disciples before he departed and said, "Now that you have all this insight, now that you have seen God's intervention time and time again, now that you know the scriptures a little better, now that you have gained the ability to heal the sick, now that you are more spiritually mature than you have ever been, 'Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation' " (Mark 16:15). Jesus told his disciples that the reason why they had become spiritually mature was so they could go out and tell others about the gospel.
Similar to the other disciples, Philip had undergone some significant spiritual growth. In Acts 6, Philip was distributing food to the Jewish and Hebraic widows. By Acts 8 we learn that Philip was not only distributing food, but also began to tell others in Samaria about Christ. Between chapter 6 and chapter 8, enough spiritual growth had occurred in Philip to move him from a believer who was quiet and reserved to a believer who told everyone he encountered about Jesus. In Philip's encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch we see some signs of spiritual maturity displayed.
Philip Goes South
An angel came to Philip and said, "Philip, get on that desert road and go south." The angel did not give Philip an address to go to. He did not print out any directions from Mapquest. He did not give Philip a particular place in the road to stop. He did not tell Philip to look for any particular person on the road. He said, "Philip, go south." With all that uncertainty and ambiguity looming, Philip went south.
A sign of spiritual maturity in Christ is when you do not need all the details to follow God's plan. God has some destinations for you, but God also has some journeys for you. When God sends you on a journey, you do not need to know the destination because the destination involves having the faith to go on the journey.
While Philip traveled south, he saw an Ethiopian eunuch who was a high official for the queen of Ethiopia. This eunuch was coming back from worship in Jerusalem and was reading the book of Isaiah.
Whenever you see Ethiopia in the Bible it usually refers to the region of Cush or the upper Nile region. This area is most aligned with modern-day Sudan. A eunuch was a male who could not procreate; therefore, eunuchs were usually obtained to work with the women in royal courts. This particular eunuch was a treasurer in the royal palace of the Cush kingdom. The Spirit of God prompts Philip to stand beside this eunuch's chariot. Notice again that Philip was not given any particular details of what to do once he arrived at the chariot.
Philip Listens
Philip went to the chariot of the eunuch and did not begin to preach or teach, but instead he listened to the voice reading the book of Isaiah in the chariot. James 1:19 tells us, "Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak." A spiritually mature person in Christ first listens for opportunities to tell others about Christ before speaking. You must understand or have an idea of where a person is before you can proclaim Christ to them.
This eunuch was reading the book of Isaiah. The eunuch was at a place in his life where he was trying to discover God's salvation through the book of Isaiah. Once we listen and observe people's emotional states, physical states, relationships, goals, and aspirations we will find in all of them some type of attempt to get to a better place. We will find some type of attempt to rescue themselves from where they are and get closer to God (whether they realize it or not). This eunuch was in the book of Isaiah and from there he tried to get to a better place; he tried to get closer to God, but he did not know how. Our passage then informs us, "Then Philip began with that very passage of scripture and told him the good news about Jesus" (Acts 8:35). Philip started with the book of Isaiah and then showed the eunuch how it connected to Christ. By bringing the eunuch to Christ, he was able to bring the eunuch to this desired place -- closer to God.
Spiritual maturity in Christ occurs when you understand that bringing people closer to God means introducing them to Christ.
There was a homeless man who developed a routine for survival in his city. He would frequent three places within the same block to sustain himself on the streets. First, he would go to a restaurant to beg for leftovers. Then, the homeless man went to a high-end clothing store and asked customers for spare change in front of the store. Last, the man would position himself near a vent beside a hotel to keep warm at night.
One day while the homeless man stood begging for leftovers in front of the restaurant, a wealthy man saw him and asked if he would like to eat with him inside the restaurant. The homeless man responded, "They will never let me in there. Look at me." The wealthy man said, "Don't worry, just follow directly behind me." The wealthy man went into the restaurant and the homeless man followed directly behind him. As soon as the homeless man entered, the hostess ran over to him and said, "Excuse me, but you cannot come in here." The wealthy man pulled the hostess aside and whispered something in her ear and then the hostess waved the homeless man to come into the restaurant.
The wealthy man and homeless man left the restaurant and the wealthy man said, "I had planned on buying a new coat from that store on the corner. Would you like to come with me and I could buy you a few items of clothing that you may need?" The homeless man laughed, "They will never allow me in that store. The security guards don't even allow me to stand in front of the store and panhandle on most days." The wealthy man said, "Don't worry about it. Just follow directly behind me." The wealthy man entered the store and the homeless man followed directly behind him. As soon as the homeless man entered the store, the security guard grabbed him and said, "Excuse me, but you cannot be in here." The wealthy man pulled the security guard to the side, whispered something in his ear, and the security guard nodded his head and allowed the homeless man to enter the store.
After they left the store, the wealthy man said, "I am staying at a hotel on this same block, would you like to take a shower there?" "I know exactly the hotel you are referring to. They will never let me in there," said the homeless man. "Don't worry about it. Just followed directly behind me," the wealthy man replied. The wealthy man entered the hotel and the homeless man followed directly behind him. As soon as the homeless man walked into the lobby, the attendant came to him and said, "Excuse me sir, you cannot be here." The wealthy man pulled the attendant aside, whispered something in his ear, and the attendant nodded his head and allowed the homeless man to proceed.
Once the homeless man had taken his shower and put on his new clothes he felt like a new man. As the homeless man left the hotel he shook the wealthy man's hand and said, "Thank you so much for feeding me, clothing me, and allowing me to clean up. You will never know how much I appreciate it. But I have one question for you." "Sure, what is it?" the wealthy man replied. "Each time we entered a place together and someone stopped me, you would go over to that person and whisper something in their ear. What did you say to them?" the homeless man said curiously. "I simply told them that you were with me," the wealthy man replied.
There were some places that we never had access to. There were some relationships, degrees of authenticity, levels of consciousness and compassion, forms of discernment, and states of peace that we were never able to access. Jesus came along and said, "I can take you to those places, just follow directly behind me," and some of us followed. When we began to enter these places God looked at us and said, "They are not loving enough, they are not smart enough, they are not conscious enough, they are not compassionate enough, they are not peaceful enough, they don't deserve to be here." But Jesus pulled God aside and said, "They are with me."
As Christians we believe that the way we become closer to God is through Christ. This is why we end all prayers in Christ's name. We come closer to God in a natural sense because we now have a model to follow to do God's will. But we also come closer to God in a spiritual sense because once we accept Christ as the way, God no longer sees our inadequacies. Our shortcomings are covered by Christ's sacrifice for us. Christ is the bridge between humanity and divinity. Christ actualizes God to humanity.
Philip Baptizes The Eunuch
Philip baptized the eunuch. Baptism signifies the formal entrance into the Christian community. A sign of Christian maturity is when you begin to incorporate others into the Christian community. One will never be able to understand and know Christ intimately if he or she is separated from the Christian community because the Christian community is the body of Christ.
Our spiritual maturity in Christ leads us to one place -- sharing and spreading the good news about Jesus Christ. As we mature in Christ, we should become more comfortable, more inspired, and more creative in sharing the gospel with others.
Prayer
All-knowing God, you are the creator of the master blueprint for our lives. Even though we do not fully know your plans, we trust in your ability. Despite our inability to see outcomes, we have faith in your vision. Through a discerning spirit, may we become one with your will. Amen.
Relevant Questions And Sermon Points
How Can We Become Mature In Christ?
1. Follow God even when you do not know the details.
2. Listen first for opportunities to tell others about Christ.
3. Share the good news of Jesus Christ with others.
Questions For Individual Reflection Or Group Discussion
1. Think of one recent instance that represents your growth in Christ? Share with the group.
2. Have you ever acted based on the prompting of the Holy Spirit without knowing the details about where you were going? What occurred? How did you feel?
3. Do you find great difficulty in waiting for opportunities to speak about Christ or greater difficulty to tell others about Christ? Why?
4. Can you remember a moment when you told someone else about Christ? How did you feel? What occurred?
