The first seven chapters of the book of Acts highlight the birth of the church and closes with the martyrdom of Stephen. The saints lost a beloved brother and received a genuine hero. We are called to be witnesses to the good news announcement just like the Early Church. After the martyrdom of Stephen, the gospel flowed down from the mountain top city of Jerusalem into the surrounding valley of Judea, then north into Samaria.  

The Lord knows that being an effective witness is not easy or natural. He understood our problem so well that He told the disciples to stay put until they received power to help them achieve the difficult and to accomplish the supernatural. Only then could they become His witnesses at home, across town, and around the world.  

Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Most of us struggle with our responsibility to be a good witness. We are hampered by fear of the unknown. We are discouraged by ignorance or indifference; worried others will ask questions we cannot answer.  

We ease our guilt with all sorts of things while we avoid the Lords most direct command: “Be my witness.” 

Three Types of Witnesses 

The Hunter: This person waked up each day stoked to go out and get one for Jesus. Regardless of circumstances, or people’s interest, He’s out and sharing. He’s a sheer numbers guy.  

The Academic: This guy debates. And He knows His stuff. Which is great. And needed at times, but most people don’t’ come to faith because they lost a debate.  

The Secret Agent: This is most of us. We rationalize that we are silent witnesses for Jesus. We say things like, my faith is personal and private. It is personal, but it’s not private.  

The best approach is to have a blend of all three. 

The goal is learning to flourish through obedience to be His witnesses. The reason why many of you are bored in the faith is because you are not engaging with your primary purpose, which is to live for His glory. 

Philip the deacon is perhaps the finest example of personal, one-on-one evangelism we have in the book of Acts.  

Acts 8:25-26, “So, after they had testified and spoken the word of the Lord, they traveled back to Jerusalem, preaching the gospel in many villages of the Samaritans. An angel of the Lord spoke to Philip: “Get up and go south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. (This is the desert road.) So, he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem.” 

An angel appeared to Phillip in Samaria and told him to go to a road that led away from Jerusalem, Luke says it was a deserted road which means not many people used it.  

The angel did not tell Phillip why he had to go. Phillip did not know who He would meet. This was weird, if you ask me. He was leaving thriving ministry to go to a desert road. Lukes in a simple direct way shows us Phillips response. He obeyed immediately. 

Acts 8:27-28, “So he got up and went. There was an Ethiopian man, a eunuch and high official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of her entire treasury. He had come to worship in Jerusalem and was sitting in his chariot on his way home, reading the prophet Isaiah aloud.” 

A eunuch has been surgically castrated. In some ancient cultures, a man could not volunteer for service in the palace unless this surgery took place. It was brutal, and many didn’t live to serve.  

This procedure showed loyalty and eliminated the drive that would cause issues in the palace. Eunuchs became highly trusted servants in the courts. In this case he oversaw the treasury.  

Candace is not necessarily a name; it may be a title. The Ethiopians would have been pagan like their neighbors, but this Eunuch had just worshipped in Jerusalem. Jewish law (Deuteronomy 23:1) prevented eunuchs from becoming full-fledged sons of the covenant. 

However, this guy was committed and even owned a copy of the scriptures. This would have been an expensive thing. Everything about this man says he was a devout and educated worshipper of the Hebrew God. 

On his way down the hill in his carriage he is reading, It’s no a coincidence that Phillip met him that day.  

Acts 8:29-33, “When Philip ran up to it, he heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you’re reading?” “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the Scripture passage he was reading was this: 

The man asked Phillip a great question “Who is the prophet describing?” 

The Jews of Jesus day saw the Messiah as a warrior king who would take out Israel’s enemies and rule from David’s throne. No one considered that the Messiah would die to save His people and then rise from the dead.

Acts 8:36-38, “As they were traveling down the road, they came to some water. The eunuch said, “Look, there’s water. What would keep me from being baptized?”  So, he ordered the chariot to stop, and both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.” 

Phillip took this man’s faith at face value. While they were on the road, the eunuch saw water and an opportunity for believers’ baptism. Phillip had no reservations. Belief, then baptism.  

Luke’s description supports strongly immersion in keeping with the Jewish tradition, otherwise there would have been no need for them both to get in the water.  

Acts 8:39, “When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him any longer but went on his way rejoicing.” 

When they came up from the water, the Holy Spirit snatched away Phillip. The eunuch goes home rejoicing. The word rejoicing in this verse means a state of happiness and well-being. Obedience to truth always leads you to flourishing.  

Phillip’s example offers several rules to help us avoid being an obnoxious witness, an ineffective witness, or an apathetic witness.  

Four Rules to be His Witness  

1. Be sensitive  

Put yourself in Phillips shoes. He is in a super exciting ministry in Samaria, enjoying great success. Lives are being changed, families healed, illnesses healed, and entire villages turn to Christ. Suddenly the Lord ordains him to leave all this and go to the lonely road. He did not argue. He obeyed.  

An effective witness maintains a sensitive heart, ready and willing to follow the Spirits prompting.  

2. Be available  

Sensitivity has a twin, called availability. They always go together. You cannot have one without the other. If you are sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit, then you are available for obeying His prompts.  

Phillip did not question the Lord’s decision to move him. He obeyed. He recognized that kingdom building is the Lord’s work, and he is just a laborer. We do not work for Jesus, we let Him work through us.  

3. Be proactive  

It takes initiative to break the silence. Do not be rude, but you cannot always sit back and wait for people to come to you. They do not know what they do not hear.  

Most people are confused about the idea of religion and are nervous to talk about it. Connect with people. Live to bless, add value, look for opportunities to address a need they have, answer questions, pray for them.  

4. Be tactful  

Do not be offensive. Earn the right to answer questions.  

5. Be precise  

Beginning at that scripture, Phillip preached Jesus to Him. He did not talk about comparative religion, or evidence on intelligent design. He did not debate theology, or social ills. He preached Jesus. That is where you start.  

Pastor Chris Williams

To learn more about Pastor Chris and his teaching, visit us on the web at fcfamily.org and make sure you subscribe to receive these weekly encouragements in your inbox.