Acts 8:26-40
26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, "Go south to the road--the desert road--that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."
27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.
29 The Spirit told Philip, "Go to that chariot and stay near it."
30 Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
31 "How can I," he said, "unless someone explains it to me?" So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 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.
33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth."
34 The eunuch asked Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?"
35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
36 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?"
37
38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
39 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.
40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

Today, we have an example of someone who clearly heard God's instructions and immediately obeyed. Philip obeyed Jesus' instructions and left Jerusalem and went to Samaria to preach the Good News. Crowds of people saw God's power working through Philip and when they heard the Good News about Jesus they believed in Him. Because Philip obeyed Jesus' instructions, many lives were changed in Samaria.

While in Samaria what did the angel of the Lord instruct Philip to do? (Go south to the road, the desert road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.)

Philip received instructions and didn't hesitate to obey. He immediately obeyed this message from God. He didn't ask questions or argue with God. He didn't tell God he would do it later, he went immediately where God told him to go.

What is your response when God clearly tells you what to do? Do you obey immediately or do you make excuses and delay your obedience to God's instructions?

No matter how old we are, how would we ever know if the God of the universe is speaking to us? We would know, because what we think He is saying to us would have to be in agreement with what the Bible teaches. As he traveled down the desert road he heard the rumbling of horses carrying a chariot, coming in his direction.

Sitting in that chariot was a man all the way from Ethiopia. He was an important official, the treasurer for Candace, Queen of Ethiopia. This man had travelled all the way from Ethiopia to Jerusalem to worship God. This man was not yet a believer in Jesus, but he was a man who was seeking God and wanted to do what pleased Him.

As Philip hears this man reading God's Word, he has the wisdom to know the right thing to ask. When we are obedient to God's instructions, He gives us wisdom to know what to say in those circumstances.

The passage the Ethiopian was reading from Isaiah 53.

Philip began by using this passage of Scripture and told him the Good News about Jesus.

Because Philip explained the Scriptures to this man, he now understood. He got baptized. This Ethiopian man's life was changed forever because he believed in the Lord Jesus.

Think about how many people's lives he went on to transform, because of his faith in Jesus.

We do not know how God is working in the lives of those around us. This week, let's pray that each day we listen carefully for God's instructions and be quick to obey what He tells us to do.

Application :
1. Listen to the voice of the spirit
2. Follow the Spirit and reach out to someone that is influential
3. Write down some of the obstacles in your life that is stopping you from obeying God's Word