Join The Chariot
Something I love about evangelizing is getting to experience the power of God enter into someone’s life. I have seen at least 3 times where people were either on their way to commit suicide or had lost hope and then found hope in Jesus. — If you are without hope, call out to Jesus and he will save you! When you are sharing Jesus you are truly living. There is no better way to live. Miracles are commonplace to believers who act on God’s word.
Have you ever shared Jesus with someone? Do you know what it’s like to have Heaven’s full attention as you lead someone in a prayer for salvation? Do you have the desire to evangelize but don’t know where to start?
There is a story in the Bible that shows exactly how to share Jesus with someone. Follow this example and you will experience the wind of Heaven blowing on your back as you open your mouth and boldly share the message of Jesus. You won’t just want to evangelize you will be ready and unstoppable.
This is a story about Philip the Evangelist. He’s a man who didn’t just sit with his hands open waiting for the call of God to fall upon him. He is the kind of person who reaches up into Heaven, pulls down fire and spreads it on the Earth. I know this because the Bible says in Acts 8:5 that Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached Christ to them.
While he was preaching Christ to them… ‘an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.”
So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?”
And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. The place in the Scripture which he read was this:
“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”
So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of someer man?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him. Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, “See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?”
Then Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.”
And he answered and said, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him. Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing. But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
[Acts 8:26-40]
Going and preaching Christ puts you in the middle of the action. This story starts with an angel of the Lord speaking to Philip. He was so involved with Heaven’s plan that it was reasonable that an angel just tell Philip directly where to go.
Philip did not tell the eunuch to stop what he was doing or to go some other direction to start following Jesus. He joined the eunuch on his way and started preaching from where the eunuch’s question.
A few points from these verse for effective evangelism:
Be Proactive: Like Philip, take the initiative to seek opportunities to share the Gospel.
Be Observant: Pay attention to people's needs and interests.
Be Knowledgeable: Study the Scriptures and be prepared to answer questions.
Be Patient: Allow people to process the message at their own pace.
Be Persistent: Don't give up if someone initially rejects your message.
Evangelists have one message ready to go at all times. It is the message of Jesus as the way to salvation. The paths we join are different but the way is always Jesus! Keep that message ready and God will send you to people who are ready to hear it.
