How The Holy Spirit Guides Us
Here’s a summary of this week’s sermon:
The talk, "Walking in Step with the Holy Spirit," delves into the story of Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch from the book of Acts.
The central point is the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives, leading us step by step as we navigate our journey of faith, just as He led Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch.
The talk underscores the significance of obedience to God's promptings, even when the purpose is not immediately clear, and the transcendent power of the gospel that reaches beyond ethnic and social boundaries.
The message is one of inclusivity, obedience, and personal evangelism, encouraging us to be open to the Holy Spirit's leading and ready to share the gospel with those God has placed in our lives.
💬 CONVERSATION STREET --
Matt + Sharon discuss:
Have you ever found yourself in a difficult situation having obeyed God? Why do you think that happens?
How is God’s direction not always what we think it should be or what we want?
Are our imperfections and failures a problem for God? How does God work in our weakness?
Have you got any examples where you've had a sense of God moving you in a certain direction recently?
What can we learn from the obedience of Philip to go to Gaza to share the gospel to one Ethiopian eunuch on his way home?
We see in today’s passage that God sends Philip to the Ethiopian eunuch the He was already speaking to. What can we infer from this?
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Dave: Today we're gonna be talking about walking in step with the Holy Spirit, and we're gonna be reading from the Book of Acts. We've already seen in acts, how multitudes of people have responded to the gospel message and have received Christ as their savior. We read that on the day of Pentecost, 3000 people are saved and we saw how Philip goes to Samaria and how a great number of people respond to the gospel message that he preached and how they came to faith in the Lord Jesus.
Our text today is found in Acts chapter eight, verses 26 to 40. Instead of saying multitude saved, we're gonna say, one man encounters the message of Jesus Christ. If you ever thought that, you are not gifted with the ability to preach to a massive Crowd, don't fret, this passage is for you. Not many of us are likely to preach at great evangelistic crusades like Billy Graham.
But I think there's something here in these verses for each of us today. Each of us can take part in personal evangelism. In the same way God calls Philip to go to Gaza. God calls us to go to the people he is placed in our lives. God isn't asking us to do anything in our own strength or ability. As the Holy Spirit guides us, he wants us to be obedient. The first thing I want us to see today is that God led Philip every step of the way.
God gave Philip one step at a time. Step one, we read in verse 26, rise and go towards the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza. At this point, Philip doesn't know why he even needs to go there. Could be any reason why God wants him to go there. Yet Philip is obedient to the prompting of God.
You might be asking, who is this Ethiopian Eunuch? Well, let's understand that he would be dark-skinned, which is very vital here in that the gospel is now began to span ethnic people groups. He comes from Africa. He's one who was in charge of the Queen's treasury. He's a man of significant for influencing the course of the queen.
This man is probably wealthy, probably a God fearer, which is the title given to those gentiles who practice certain aspects of Hebrew worship. He's on his way back to Ethiopia from Jerusalem, which I believe is a five month trip each way. Here's a man who's not Jewish. He's a Gentile Ethiopian. He's also considered unclean by the fact that he is a Eunuch.
He's denied full access to the temple. Yet God in his mercy calls Philip to leave the masses he's evangelizing. Yes, there's thousands being saved, but God calls him to visit this one man who's traveling his way home. Now, step two, in Philip's journey of obedience, the Holy Spirit himself directs Philip to go over to join the chariot.
This is an amazing act of sovereignty. God knew exactly when to send Philip and Philip arrived at just the right time. And verse 29, he goes to the Chariot, and when he arrives, he hears the man from Ethiopia reading the scroll of Isaiah. Not just any place but Isaiah 53. Surely, surely there's no way that he just happened to be traveling along reading Isaiah.
I believe God prompted him to read as he prompted Philip to be there at the right time. See, the portion of section of the reading is Isaiah 53 versus three to nine, and I'd really encourage you to read this for yourselves. The thrust of this section in Isaiah is the innocence of Jesus and the wickedness of mankind.
It begs the question, what type of generation kills an innocent man? The answer is a wicked generation. What a perfect way to present the gospel. But the Ethiopian asks the perfect question, verse 34, and the eunuch said to Philip, about whom I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?
It's about someone else. Could you imagine the amazing joy that Philip must have been sensing at this moment? God is working in Philip's life and in the life of the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip leads the Ethiopian to Christ in verse 35. Then Philip opened his mouth and the beginning with these scriptures. He told him the good news about Jesus.
God doesn't need to tell Philip what to do next. He opens his mouth and out comes the gospel. The Bible tells us that he starts with the Isaiah text and through a series of texts, he explains who Jesus is and what he did. He no doubt tells this man that he's a sinner who needs forgiveness and he needs a savior.
He no doubt tells this man how God has made a way for him to know his sins forgiven through the grace and forgiveness of Christ. Can you imagine the joy of the Ethiopian? Verse 36, as they were going along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, see, here's water. What prevents me from being baptized?
He was a man, by all intents and purposes, should not have been saved. He was not Jewish. He wasn't even half Jewish. He was a eunuch. He, he was denied access to the temple. He was on a lonely desert road heading back to a pagan country. But God had placed his affection upon him. God made it happen.
God intervened. Could it simply be that this is the model Jesus had given the disciples? Jesus had given them the great commission in Matthew 28 verses 18, and Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son, and of the Holy Spirit teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.
And behold, I am with you always to the end of the age. I'm not sure we're not told, but I have to think that this man was so passionate that he continued to read Isaiah and when he got to Isaiah 56, this would've caused and probably to stop the chariot and be filled with so much joy and praising God because in verse three it says this, let not the foreigner who has joined himself to the Lord say.
The Lord will surely separate me from his people. And let not eunuch say, behold, I am a dry tree, for thus says the Lord to the eunuch who keeps my Sabbath, who choose the things that pleases me and hold fast my covenants, I will give in my house and within my walls and monuments and a name better than sons and daughters, I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.
Tradition tells us that this man returned home to Ethiopia, and we are told as he shared the gospel, many surrendered their lives to Christ and became followers of Jesus. We just read how the disciples, how that early church was commissioned to go, to go from Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, to the uttermost ends of the earth and to go with the presence of Jesus.
He says, I am with you even till the end. We don't do anything in our own strength and our own power. We do it in His strength. So it is absolutely amazing to see how God works. Here's an account of the gospel coming to one man from a foreign land, and he takes that message home. God is a God of all the nations.
Let the nations be glad. We must always be open to the Holy Spirits leading. We must always be listening, and we must be ready to obey his direction as he calls us. The closer we walk with the Holy Spirit the more sensitive we become to his prompting, to hearing his voice. And that should give us confidence to take our steps of obedience.
My friend, are we ready to go? Are we ready to take those steps of faith? God's not asking us to do anything in our own strength, in our own ability. If God calls us, we need to know that He goes before us and he goes with us. Don't worry what to say because he will give you the words to speak, you know? And as he gives you the right words to speak, watch him do a work, do a wonder in the heart and life of that person you're talking to.
God called Philip to a desert place to speak with a man that God himself was already speaking to. And my friends, I want to assure you that as God calls us to speak for him, to share the good news, that we need to have confidence that God is already speaking to the heart and minds of those people. The question for us today is will we go when he calls, will we be obedient? My friends, God is still creating opportunities for the gospel to be spoken. Will you go? Let's see our God do something amazing and let us be blessed to be part of it. God bless you.
Matt: Coming up. We have Conversation Street. But before we get into that, here's a clip from our podcast. What's the story which you can subscribe to on all your favorite podcast apps.
Jessica: I went to the funeral home and I sat with her in her coffin, and I sang to her, and I felt like I kind of got it download, and I didn't know it then, but it was kind of the founding objectives for Hannah's house. I was determined that she was my baby, and I was gonna talk But the verse that God gave me was in Lamentations, it says this, I recall to my mind, therefore, I have hope. Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed because his compassions fail, not they are new every morning. Great is your faithfulness. The Lord is my portion, says my soul. Therefore, I open in him. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
Matt: So welcome, welcome back. Oh yes. Great to have you back. Uh, that was great talk by Dave. Short, but great nonetheless. Uh, and
Sharon: always good to listen to Dave.
Matt: Yeah, always. He, he is. There's no mess. Is he Dave? Just straight to the point, which I love. And so we're gonna get into that conversation. Uh, and also, um, do check out the What's the Story podcast.
I've actually not heard that particular episode, the, the latest episode yet. I've not heard it. Uh, but I've read some of the comments that have come back as a result of that episode and so I know it's gonna be worthwhile listening to. And Anna did that interview, did such good job, uh, with that one. So do check that out
whatsthestorypodcast.com. Uh, if you would like to find out more information about that, I'll just go to Crowd Church, the website's all on there as well. And you can subscribe to the podcast either via YouTube or via your favorite podcast app. So do head over and do that, um, because there's some great conversations on there.
And actually if you're regular to what's the story? Uh, just a little side thing here. Uh, we had Peter Awad on the podcast talking about the, his teenage daughter having a stroke. Um, and, uh, how he, yeah, how he dealt with that. Amazing guy. Um, had, uh, when I was in the States, um, actually had chance to catch up with Peter and we had a meal, so we met, uh, face-to-face, which was lovely actually.
Um, and so Peter, if you're watching, uh, great episode. Thanks for doing that. Um, but remarkable guy and it was just lovely just to sit down and talk with him in person. Uh, and so yeah, in fact, I also met Brett Curry. He's on the podcast talking about how his, when his mum died of cancer, he drew closer to God rather than further away.
That's probably still one of the most downloaded episodes, so do check that out on what's the story. And I also met up with Jared Mitchell. Um, he's been on the, what's the story? Basically, I think I just went round traveling to, uh, meeting people that have been on the, what's the Story podcast. Uh, babe, I've lost, oh, hang on. Is that me? No, it's not you. I've lost your sound for some reason. Yeah, I cannot hear you. Um, so you might just want to go into the kitchen and get Josh and say, Josh, why is this not working? I dunno if you've knocked the, the thing on the side, but, um, yes, you can go get Josh to help you.
Um, so what I'm gonna do whilst you No. Okay. So what I'll do is I'll just do that while Sharon is going off. Just in case Josh comes on. Just do that funny thing in front of the camera. Dunno what happened to Sharon there. Um, so let's start the conversation. Uh, Matt's put in the comments. Happy Father's Day to my dad, Philip Crew. Best dad ever.
Happy Father's Day to all you dads out there. Um, it is Father's Day. Father's Day all over, well, I say all over the world in the UK and in the States. Um, it is Father's Day and uh, I'm just drawing up. Where was that? Here it is. So this is, I dunno if you can see this. Uh, me see, there we go. This was a picture my daughter drew, uh, for me on Father's Day and apparently that's how she sees me.
God bless you, Zoe. Josh. Um, he wrote a piece of music for me, uh, which is epic. Uh, but lemme just read this to you. Uh, I said to the dads who dare to zig when others zag, who embrace the art of genuine conversation with our kids and who mold futures without a manual. You Sirs are legends. Yes you are. To the gentleman who don the Cape of surrogate dads and spiritual fathers like skilled craftsmen, you weave the tapestries of faith, mentorship, and kinship that trandscends bloodlines.
You are the change makers. The architect of communities. You Sirs are legends. Yes, you are. To those whose journey on this day is less than a celebration and more of an emotional odyssey. Let your heart find solace, whether it's the ache of absence, the complexity of strained relationships. Or the reflection on what might have been. Your story is not yet finished.
And may you find gentle strength and comfort today and always. To the fathers and the Father figures to those who continue to paint outside the lines. Know that your worth is immeasurable and your impact profound. And to everyone. Let us raise our glasses to the myriad of ways, uh, fatherhood blesses our lives.
So, uh, yeah, I appreciate Father's Day for some is good. For some others, it's not so good. And wherever you are on that spectrum, um, there is one truth that transcends everything, and that is we have a father in heaven, um, a godfather in a godfather, just realized what I've just said. A God who is also a father, um, in heaven.
So, uh, and I pray you find him, uh, and know him and know his peace, uh, this Father's day. So, um, if you're wondering if you've just joined us, if you're wondering why it says Sharon Edmundson on the screen, as well as my name, Sharon is gonna join us once she gets the sound working again. I dunno if it's working.
Uh, sweetie, if you can hear me, um, if you just talk, uh, yeah, I still can't hear you. So, uh, they're gonna be working on that a little bit. So let's dig into Conversation street. Let's get into that. So,
Sharon: Can you hear me?
Matt: oh, hang on a second. Let me now add, uh, oops. Assign to guest one and let's do this. Okay. We can hear you.
Sharon: Am I back?
Matt: You are back. Well done Josh.
Sharon: Thanks Josh. He's gonna sneak behind me now. Give a little wave on your way past. It's my technical support.
Matt: Oh, love it. So we are back. Uh, it's good to see you Josh. Thanks for doing that, son. Um, it's always good to get your kids involved in church, isn't it?
Sharon: It is. And it's like, I didn't even touch anything. I don't think. So who knows what went wrong there. It's just by me being here, things just, you know, stop
Matt: you and technology, isn't it? you and technology.
Sharon: Yeah.
Matt: Yeah, it is what it is, right? Should we talk about the talk?
Sharon: Let's talk about the talk.
Matt: Cause I feel like I filled in, I filled in pretty well. We did the Father's Day thing, and so we'll, we'll talk about the talk now. Yeah, well done. So here's uh, so Dave's first point, right, which I thought was, um, really interesting.
Uh, when he talks to Philip, he tells Philip to go, was it down to Gaza? Was that the text? Uh, but he doesn't, it doesn't record. Scripture doesn't record why he needs to go. It just records the fact that he needs to go. Um, and it talks in the Bible about how he went. And it was only when he got there, did he understand the next part of that.
Um, and Mr. Crew wrote in the comments, where did I see that? Here, let me add this to the broadcast. The first step is the most important one. Are you ready to try and step out of the boat and walk to Jesus, like Peter tried to. So here's the interesting thing about that particular story, uh, is Peter failed.
Sharon: What do you mean by failed?
Matt: Well, as in he sank, didn't he? He, he, it all
Sharon: yes, the, the, yes. The water. Yeah.
Matt: Yeah. As in it all started going very wrong. So on one hand you've got Philip, uh, he goes down and he meets the eunuch. Um, and some interesting things start to happen. Peter does what? Sort of starts going the way that God tells him to go. And it all starts going very wrong, very, very quickly.
Um, and I thought this is an interesting point by Matt and probably one worth saying right at the start, that actually following God is not always as clear cut as you might think it is.
Sharon: And I think as well following God doesn't always mean that things are nice and happy and all go smoothly. I think there, there just seems to be lots of examples in the Bible where people are doing exactly what God's wants them to do in the place they want to, that they're meant to be and things happen.
You know, little things like arrests and beatings and
Matt: Little things
Sharon: you know, stuff like that. And you, I think sometimes our expectation can be a little bit like, well God, I'm doing what you told me to do, so why is all this stuff happening? Um, Yeah.
Matt: Yeah, it is an
Sharon: that in there.
Matt: Yeah, it is. And I, I'm, I'm, this is an interesting point, isn't it? Cause we're talking about how to be led by the Holy Spirit and so Dave's point number one was actually you don't always see the, the whole picture. That sometimes you just know enough to take the next step, which is great.
Um, but I think Matt Crew point there about Peter, for me, highlights and what you've just said is actually taking the first step doesn't mean it's gonna be all sunshine and rainbows. A favorite phrase of mine is if you, if you're regular Crowd, you would've heard me say, but it is, um, nonetheless from God.
And, um, what is interesting, I think about the story with Philip was that not only did he take the first step without knowing what the second step was, the second comment by Dave about how Philip, um, was called, what did he say? Called to a desert place when everything's going crazy in the cities. Um, and revival is breaking out.
God calls him to go to a desert place to spend time with one man, um, and to speak to a man he was already speaking to. And so that I think is really interesting. Um, because often inside the church and outside the church, we often see the next step or the next stage. We think it should be a promotion.
Sharon: Or Yeah, bigger and better.
Matt: bigger, better, brighter, whatever, you know, a bigger job, better job, more money, bigger house, um, better place for our kids to go to school, whatever it is. We often see the next stage of our life journey as a better place to the place that we have left. And yet here with Philip, he goes from a place where it's all all happening.
Where, you know, God seems to be moving to go to a desert place, to speak to one man, uh, which I find quite fascinating.
Sharon: Yeah. So it goes from big and shiny to dusty and dry, so, you wanna, if you wanna, you can quote me on that.
Matt: Yes, I'm totally quote on you on that. He goes from big and shiny to dusty and dry. Uh, and that's maybe what we'll change the name of this talk to. Um, he goes from No, but it's true though, right? It is true. And I think, um, I think it's interesting, isn't it? That um, God's direction isn't always what we think it should be or necessarily what we always want.
Sharon: yeah, I, I quite like these stories where it is about the one, because like you say, we can often see bigger as better or like if you've got more followers on whatever social media thing is, it is Do you know what I mean. That's seen as like, oh, I'm doing really well now cuz I've got all these followers.
But actually I love the stories where the, the Bible pinpoints that the person who kind of nobody else would really see. Um, like there was a woman in the temple who just put, she's a very poor woman and put in like one coin, really not worth much at all in monetary value, but it was all she had and Jesus noticed her, or, um, I think of a story in the Old Testament about, hey, a woman called Hagar who was very upset and things weren't going too well, and she ran off into the desert and, um, God was like, I see you.
And yeah, I, I quite like those little stories where it is about the one and actually God seeing the one.
Matt: Yeah. Yeah. There's that famous scripture in Luke, isn't it? Where um, he talks about how, um, the shepherd leaves the 99 who are safe to go and get the one that isn't. Um, and we read into that Jesus always been about the one, um, and that there's more rejoicing about the one. And, um, I remember years ago, a good friend of mine, Graham Jones, said to me, um, you know, we live in the book of Acts.
We don't live in the book of numbers. uh, this is a very Christian sort of, uh, statement, I suppose. But it's an interesting point in the sense that, God, these, in these last days, it's more about what we do than the numbers that we have in, in a lot of ways. And you see that in this story, don't you? That actually it goes from the bigger crowds to the one, um, it goes from the 99 to the one, and um, this guy gets saved.
Now, the impact of this guy becoming a Christian. We'll talk about later, but, um, it is, it is just one of those eye-opening things, isn't it? And one of those things I think, I dunno about you, but, but I, I find deeply challenging because I, I think I do hold this default belief in my head, which says, God, wherever you tell me to go next is gonna be bigger, better, and, you know, more interesting than where I am right now.
And, um, I think it's probably, it's probably something, I just wonder how many times that's held me back.
Sharon: Hmm,
Matt: Do you know what I mean? Um, from, from hearing, God, I don't know. I just think it's a really interesting, uh, thing to think about. There's a plane flying over my head, you can probably hear. Um, I just think it's a really interesting thing to think about, um, how does the Holy Spirit guide us?
He guides us one step at a time. And he guides you to places where you may not think you should be going. Uh, it might not be into the city, it might be into the desert. It might not reach the multitudes, it might just reach the one. Um, and I, I find that deeply, deeply challenging. Deeply challenging.
Sharon: Um, yeah, I like it that God's a God of both. Like I've said it before on, uh, I think in one of my talks, how if we look at creation, you've, you've got this, um, and you look up into the sky, you've got this massive expanse of sky and planets and all the rest of it, which is too big for my head to get a grip of, but it's like this, like the big picture.
And then if you go the other way down to the smallest particles, I can't remember what they're called, um, you've got those two things that are working together. So a God who's interested in the big picture and the big and the numbers, but also interested in the smaller details and the ones and the twos and things like that.
And yeah, it's sometimes holding that tension together as well, I think.
Matt: Yeah, it is. And I, and again, I just to emphasize that point, I don't think what we're talking about here is a formula. You know, sometimes God does tell you an awful lot more than the next step, um, like he did with Philip. Sometimes he doesn't, uh, sometimes God will call you to a bigger better shinier place and sometimes he won't.
And, and this is the thing about God, right? God's gonna do what God's gonna do. Um, and, uh, that's just, you know, God's got a, a bigger mind and a better mind about all of these things. Now, Graham's put here in the comment, this ties in with what Jack was saying today. We might think something is a mess. Uh, what has God called me into?
But in our weakness, God can do something amazing. So do you wanna give a bit of context to that, babe?
Sharon: Yeah, so this is from our church this morning where a guy called Jack, uh, was talking and, um, talking about how God can, uh, use our we or that not to be held back by our weaknesses, and that we can see weakness as a weakness, but, um, the Bible encourages us in those moments to be like just reliant on God and, um, yeah.
And that sometimes we can have a, a bit of a mess in our lives, but actually that, that's not a problem for God. He, he's the one that sorts all that out. Not sure I did a great summary there, but, um,
Matt: No, it's pretty good. I, I think you're right. And I think going back to the example where Peter gets out of the boat and starts to sink, you know, he's trying to follow God and things start getting all messy, that he obviously sees he's walking on water and his brain goes, well, this isn't right. Um, and he starts to think about it in his, from his own point of view, doesn't he?
I don't have the strength or the ability to do this. And actually he, he didn't have the strength or the ability in the first place anyway, yet he was doing it initially. Um, and I think that was one of the key takeaways from Jack's talk today was actually it's in a world where we be, where we have technology and competence, um, it's easy to fall on those and to rely on those.
Um, where the talk he was, you know, in today's talk, he was talking about actually it's okay if you don't. It's okay not to be perfect. It's okay if there are weaknesses in your life because in those and through those God's power is made perfect. And so, um, and God's grace shines through. And so Paul comes out with this statement for, well, when I'm weak is when I'm strong.
Because, you know, that's when God does his thing. Um, which is what Peter discovered when he initially started walking on water, right.
Sharon: Hmm. I think it's very freeing, isn't it? Because it's like we, uh, and as Jack pointed out in his talk, it doesn't mean that we shouldn't do our work well and we shouldn't be skilled and um, you know, put as much effort into those as we can. But in whatever situation we are, we're in our own abilities and strengths only go so far.
And that God can do so much more with the bits where actually we're not capable, where we need him to break in. And again, it's holding that tension together of, um, cuz again, the Bible does talk about whatever we do, do it as if we're doing it to God, which kind of, uh, it's like if you're doing stuff for God, you don't wanna do some, like, give a shoddy job on anything.
Do you know what I mean? You wanna do your best as a kind of like, God, you know, I love you and I'm, I'm gonna do my best in this, but at the same time, it's freeing because it's like my best even. Yeah. I don't have to be perfect. And if I make mistakes, God's there. And also, um, yeah. And the bits that I can't do, actually, I've got someone who can, who and together, cuz God's always seems to be throughout the Bible about working in partnership.
Like we have our part, but he has his part and it's, yeah, it's, I like the idea of the partnership and also it's freeing, isn't it?
Matt: Yeah, it totally is. It totally is. And I, I, I do like that. And that, that again, is going back to how does the Holy Spirit guide us. He usually guides us one step at a time. He may lead us to places we may not necessarily want to go or think we should go because it's not quite the promotion that we think it should be.
It may be it is, it may be it isn't. Um, and quite often on the journey, you're gonna have to do things where you don't have the strength or ability to do them, but he does. Uh, and you can rest on him and trust in him, but as you go, you give it your best effort. Um, I think we're, we're putting this picture together quite nicely, babe.
I think we're, we're tiptoeing through the scripture here quite well. So Graham, go on.
Sharon: oh, I was gonna ask you a question. Have you got any examples where you've kind of had a sense of God, um, moving you in a certain direction recently?
Matt: Yeah, I mean, uh, there's a lot of examples and, and, and you, I could talk about, um, uh, work. So if you're new to Crowd and you dunno, I run my own companies and I, I rely heavily, uh, on the prompting of God, uh, to figure out the right way to go on things. Um, I don't always get it right. I, I quite often get it wrong, to be fair, but I, um, but I think it's interesting, isn't it?
There's, um, there's a business we've started recently that I think, you know, that was God's, that was the Holy Spirit going to the States, I thought was, I, I didn't quite have all the, all the ducks lined up in a row, but I just felt God tell me to go a bit like Philip here. Um, and as I went, some things became clearer. and when we had certain, I'm just gonna close this window cause it's very noisy. Uh, when we had certain conversations, um, with people, you just kind of got the sense, well actually this is probably one of the key reasons whilst I'm why I'm here. Um, so it's interesting cuz I, when I'm reading Phillip's story, I'm like, that was me a few weeks ago going to the States.
So I, I kind of flew on a plane and had conversations with one, two people and you kind of think, well that was, that was pretty epic. That was pretty awesome. And if that was the only reason that I came, then I think I'm okay with that, you know? Uh, and so yeah, that would be an example for me. What about you?
Sharon: So I've got an example. I, I couldn't tell you whether this is definitely God or just coincidence, but, you know, uh, I believe God guides me. So, um, it was, while you're away, actually, I think it was while you're away, um, I just ha had this sort of sense to go and call in on some friends who I'd not seen for a very long time.
And uh, so I was like, okay, I'll pop round. And um, as I was leaving, I saw loads of boxes by the door and, uh, kind of joking about the, the bo the clutter and, and they were like, oh, it's, look, this is some stuff which we are taking to the charity shop tomorrow. So I was like, ah, what have you got in there?
Because, um, at work, um, so I, for those who dunno, I teach English to non-English speakers and we have quite a few asylum seekers in the classes. Uh, and we also have a resources room where we collect all sorts of stuff which are, are useful for people from clothes to kitchen stuff to car seats, to like all sorts of stuff.
There's always the need for random things. So I was looking through these boxes and there were loads of clothes, there was some car seats, there was some kitchen stuff. So I was like, oh, can I take that? And they were like, yes, please do. So I took it there and then, Um, and then when I got it into work the next day, my manager was just like, you've got kitchen stuff.
Why? It's amazing they run out of stuff and like, so the things that I had in the, in that hall of stuff was all bits that they'd just run out of. Um, so again, maybe coincidence or maybe just, maybe it was a little prompting of the Holy Spirit to go, you know, that stuff you need to this house and it's there.
But like I say, I had no, there wasn't a particular reason for going. It was just this sense that I needed to go around, so,
Matt: Yeah, that's really good. And I think even simple things like that, God is interested in the small and the practical, uh, things like that and, and, and the stories that come out of those things are, are quite impressive really. And so, yeah, all, I guess my encouragement here is gonna be if God tells you to go, then go.
Um, and I think I'm speaking to me as much as I'm speaking to everybody cuz sometimes it's, it's one of those things where I don't always recognize God's telling me to go and remember, it's not always, it's not always bigger, better, and shinier. It's not always God saying, you know, go to Africa and win a million souls to the Lord.
It can be just as simple as go around and see your friends. Uh, and some interesting things can happen. Um, we're gonna come to, in the Book of Acts in a few weeks, maybe a few months. I don't actually know when in the schedule is, Sadaf will be able to tell me. Um, there's a, we're gonna come to a point in this story where Paul is going on some mission trips, um, and he starts heading a certain direction.
And this is the Apostle Paul who writes two thirds of the New Testament. We're gonna start to learn about him in the very next chapter. Well, we started to learn a little bit about him through Stephen's story, but his story is gonna start to shine through very, very soon. Um, and this is Paul, the aged Paul. And so, you know, he's been a Christian for a few years, so it's gonna be a few chapters on, and he starts going a certain direction, and the Bible says that the Holy Spirit constrains him.
Um, in other words, he sort of starts heading a direction and it seems to be the wrong direction. Uh, and I think this is something that's, that's worth holding in the back of our minds when it comes to the leadership of the Holy Spirit is. When we, when we think we're going in the right direction, even if we're not, God will let us know.
He'll constraint. We'll get that sense. We'll get that feeling. Uh, and we don't always know exactly. If we're right Do you know what I mean right at the beginning. It doesn't always necessarily compute that this is what God is saying. Paul went without really having a clear sense of what God was saying, and it wasn't until he went that he understood what God was not saying, if that makes sense.
Uh, and so, yes, uh, we've got that coming probably this time next year at the rate going according to Matt Crew, uh, in the comments. I think you're probably right, Matt. Uh, let me come back to what Graham said. So Graham said, going back to what you were saying earlier, Lynn, uh, his wife and I used to lead a group when the numbers started dwindling, which, uh, if anyone's led a house group or a home group, you know exactly what that feels like.
We were concerned and considered finishing. We felt a slight reprimand from God along the lines of, these are my people, they matter to me. It's not just about numbers. And I think that's, um, that's a great example, Graham. Um, you know, so it's, it's a bit like when we're doing Crowd Church, sometimes I can look at the livestream figures, which are never right.
By the way, YouTube sometimes tells me that nobody's watching the livestream, which is completely wrong because people are in the comments. Um, and I think we've learned a long time ago not to pay any attention to those particular numbers or not to get disheartened by them, um, because, or encour to, too encouraged by them.
The thing that encourages me, the thing that I'm always looking at are the responses that we get in. So, um, the emails, the WhatsApp messages, the Prayer requests and the stories of changed lives. And so that to me is always a much more interesting metric. Um, and so like you, Graham, I, I used to look at sometimes the livestream numbers and go, is it worth doing what we're doing?
But it's not about the numbers, it's just about God, are you telling me to do this? Yes or no? Okay, well, I'm just gonna keep doing it and I'm gonna do it to the best of my ability. Uh, and we'll just see where it goes. And then the stories come in. You know, we had, um, a message from, uh, someone in China.
We've had a message from someone in Afghanistan this week. So, you know, you get messages from people all over the world and you kind of go, that's really cool. That is really, really cool. And so, um, you know, and I thank God that I'm involved in it. Uh, and we just keep going. So, and I'm glad you heard, uh, the Lord there, Graham, I'm just laughing because there was this, in fact, I put it on the screen.
Uh, we felt a slight reprimand. And I think if you've been a Christian for a while and you, and you've been following along with God, you will know exactly what Graham is talking about when he says a slight reprimand.
Sharon: Yeah, it's, it's really easy, I think, to get into that wrong kind of thinking. I know I've, uh, experienced that slight rep reprimand myself in the past where you kind of think, oh, we're trying to reach these groups of people, or God's told me to do this, but then something else comes in and you're like, oh, I'm, I'm not bothered about you Do you know what I mean? It's like, hang on a minute. If God sent everybody's important to God, and if God's sending people along, then, you know, he sends who he wants to send, and yeah, everyone's precious to him. So, yeah. I'm, I'm with you, Graham. I can, I can relate.
Matt: I can definitely relate. Uh, yeah, Miriam says, uh, it's more about Jesus than numbers, which I think is very, very true. Uh, Matt says, sometimes we need the faith that starts as a mustard seed, uh, which is very, very true. So these are all, uh, so the Bible talks about faith as a mustard seed, uh, can move mountains, and all it takes is that little seed.
The, the, the mustard seed is a very small seed, isn't, it? Doesn't, it doesn't require anything that is, uh, massive to get the whole thing going. And I think you, you're totally right there, Mr. Crew. Very, very good. So let's talk about the eunuch, because this is an interesting point, right? So, um, the conversion and bap, I'm just reading from my notes here.
The conversion and baptism of the Ethiopian eunuch is often seen as significant because it represents the spread of Christianity beyond Jerusalem and into Africa. So this, as far as we know, is the first African convert to Christianity, uh, um, Which obviously talks about the inclusiveness of the early Christian community, which welcomed people from different nationalities and social statuses.
Um, it talks about God's heart. He takes, um, a guy who's having a big impact in a city. Uh, we talked about this. You know, he takes him from the 99 to the one, uh, from, uh, you know, the, the shiny place to the dusty place. Um, and so we see God's heart in that as well. Um, and, and this is the point that quite often is made that actually sometimes in going in just seeing the one get saved, when we focused on what God is doing in the life in front of us, you never actually know the impact, um, on that.
So we, I don't know if Philip knew the impact that this Ethiopian eunuch would have on the whole continent of Africa from that conversation in this chariot. Do you see what I mean? You just, you just don't know do you?
Sharon: No, it could have seemed like a fairly insignificant conversation. I don't know. Maybe he, he knew, but yeah, sometimes those conversations can seem quite insignificant, can't they?
Matt: Mm.
Sharon: Or, and then it turns out that there's a lot more to it.
Matt: Yeah, no, you're totally right. Um, somebody I, I, I've often heard it said in Christian Circle, somebody had to lead Billy Graham to Christ. Um, and the person that led Billy Graham to Christ, did they know, did they know what was gonna happen? Did they understand the millions of people that became Christians as a result of what God was doing through that uh, man.
And you just don't know because you, you never know the impact, uh, that God's gonna have. And in some respects, again, it's not responsibility. Whether Philip goes back and gets the whole continent of Africa into the Christian faith or not, is irrelevant mean. It's a nice end to the story in a lot of ways.
But again, it's not my responsibility. That's God's.
Sharon: Again, I find that quite freeing. It's like our responsibility is just to cooperate with what God is doing through his spirit, but we are not responsible for the results.
Matt: Yeah.
Sharon: you know, you know, we can, um, I think even just in terms of like praying for certain things, it's like, um, God, God's gonna answer how he wants to answer.
We can't go, okay, God, this time I would like you to answer in this way, or I want you to do it like this with a big angel here. And some writing on the wall over there, Do you know what I mean? We don't get to choose that bit. We, we just get the, the opportunity to cooperate really.
Matt: Yeah. Yeah. No, exactly. Exactly. I think you're totally right, babe. I think you're totally right. So anything else you wanna add to this story or this Conversation Street?
Sharon: Just looking through my notes. Um, I think, um, I guess as someone who, who works with lots of different nationalities, I, I do love the whole, the thread through the Bible where God talks about the nations, um, and. In, uh, when, like in heaven at the end of time and everything that there'll be people from all tribes and nations and yeah, I find that quite exciting.
Uh, I, I find it exciting being around the different cultures cuz you, um, I think every culture has got its, uh, things that are fabulous. I think every culture's potentially got things that are not so fabulous as well. But, um, Do you know what I mean. I think just all that variety and, uh, different ways of doing things and yeah. Excites me.
Matt: yeah, absolutely. And I, I totally, I I'm totally with you. It's funny, isn't it? I mean, there are, there is a brand of Christianity, which I can't subscribe to, which is the white supremacist, um, Christianity, you know, that, uh, that. We all know what it is. We don't need to give it any more airtime than we need to because it's just not right.
It's just not gospel. It's just not the Bible. You know? Every tribe, every nation, every tongue is in heaven. Uh, and, you know, if these guys ever do get to heaven, they're in for a shock because there's gonna be all kinds of people in there, which I, and I just lo I'm gonna love the kaleidoscope of heaven, uh, and, and what's involved and who's in and how we're gonna teach.
And, um, you know what worship, it's really interesting when you go to, for example, New Zealand, um, what worship in a Maori culture looks like is very different to what worship looks like in an English culture. Uh, and I think, I think that's fantastic. I think that's wonderful, and I think that's very godly.
Uh, and I'm, I'm looking forward to, to seeing that in heaven. You know, getting on my didgeridoo,
Sharon: Yeah. Yeah.
Matt: uh, in heaven.
Sharon: I also, from what Dave was saying, I love the idea that perhaps the, the eunuch had carried on reading. In the book of Isaiah and then seen bits, which he would've just gone, that's me. Um, and uh, yeah, I've definitely had moments like that. Um, when reading the Bible, it's almost like it was written this morning for me.
Uh, not that particular passage. So, but, you know, um, like just stuff, I think the Holy Spirit can bring stuff to life, things that you've maybe previously read, and it was just a bit dull. When the Holy Spirit gets a hold of it, it's like, wow, that's really cool.
Matt: yeah. No, absolutely. Absolutely. I think you're totally right. So the last comment I'm gonna make is this, that Dave said God sent Philip to the desert, speak to a man that he was already speaking to. And I
Sharon: God was already
Matt: yeah, God was already speaking to the, uh, Ethiopian when Philip got there. And I think actually in Christian circles, if you are praying for your friends, if you are praying for your family, if you are praying.
For God to do something. I think I've al I've, I've prayed for years. God, would you send a minister of the Gospel across their path? If it's not me, if it's who, if it's gonna be somebody else, that's fine. If I need a Philip, send a Philip. Um, but I think it's also good to pray. God starts speaking to them beforehand.
Um, and I know you and I have talked about this and actually sometimes that's a really good Prayer to pray that God would you start speaking to them beforehand and send someone, send a Philip across their path, uh, to speak to them. That was awesome. Love that conversation street. We didn't even get into the whole thing, uh, of Philip just suddenly disappearing in an instant, which is always a great conversation to get into.
Maybe we'll have to save that for another day. Uh, but
Sharon: read it in the week.
Matt: yeah. Yeah.
Sharon: reference? If you got the reference for it, people could
Matt: uh, acts eight verse, let me get it, get the exact one here. Exact
Sharon: other.
Matt: Um, so Acts eight, verse 39. He, so he goes, so what's happening in verse 38? He goes down and gets baptized. Um, and when they came out of the water, the spirit of the Lord carried Philip away and the eunuch saw him no more.
Uh, and went on his way rejoicing. Uh, but Philip found himself, uh, in Azotus, uh, and as he passed through, he preached the gospel to all the towns until he came to Caesarea. So now he's gone back to the towns. God's whisked him away. Somehow we could have, that would've been a great conversation. Uh, and he's now gone back to preaching to the many, uh, which is really, really fascinating.
So, uh, like we say, sometimes it's to the many, sometimes it's to the one. Okay, so, babe, do you wanna talk about the Zoom midweek Zoom community groups? Um, so I've can check that off my Matt Crew checklist.
Sharon: Yes. Uh, yeah. So on Wednesdays, uh, Wednesday evenings, uh, eight o'clock UK time, um, there's a few of us that just get together on Zoom and we generally just catch up with each other and then pray. It's very informal and it's just, yeah, we just support each other and, uh, yeah, praying to each other's lives and any other situations that are going on.
So you are more than welcome to join us. Uh, how do people join us if they want to
Matt: So very good question. Uh, it's almost like we, we with tandem and, and planned that.
Sharon: tag team?
Matt: Tag team. Uh, I just think it's cuz you don't know. So
Sharon: Uh, well, there is that. Yeah.
Matt: if you are watching, uh, on your screen as a web address, www.crowd.church or if you are connected with us on social media like Instagram @Crowd Church, reach out to us via our website or email as the address is on that screen. There's a WhatsApp um, number which you can also reach some, which is on the website.
If you reach out to us and let us know you want to join in the midweek Zoom, we will come back to you with a little link that you can use to come join us. Uh, it will be great to see you in there. Um, and if you would still like to join a Zoom call but can't make the 8:00 PM let us know and we'll see what we can do. Um, so yes.
Sharon: was gonna say, if that seems like a little bit of a scary thing to do, to be in a zoom room with people you don't really know, you can come and just listen and have your screen off. Uh, if that helps. We've had people do that in the past and uh, that's totally fine.
Matt: Yeah, it is. And people, sometimes they do it for a couple of weeks, don't they? And then eventually we're kinda like, yeah, okay, I'll join in this. They're not all total maniacs, which is always nice. So, uh, what is happening next week, uh, is next on my Matt Crew checklist. So we, uh, if you dunno who Matt Crew is, uh, he, he's a guy in the comment constantly reminding me of what I need to do next, which is great.
It's super helpful. Um, and don't stop, Matt. So, uh, next week we have Dan Orange hosting. We have John Harding speaking. Uh, and I mentioned to you earlier a chap called Paul who was constrained by the Holy Spirit as he was led. Next week, John Harding is gonna introduce us to the idea that, um, Saul encounters Jesus on the road to Damascus.
So the big infamous road to Damascus experience happens next week, and John will be great. No doubt unpicking that and watch, uh, what actually happens. So do come join us for that. Um, make sure if you haven't done so already, you like and subscribe to the YouTube feed where we livestream into, uh, it'll be great to see you guys in the comments.
Thank you so much for joining us this week. Thank you for all your wonderful comments, uh, and thoughts and insights. I thought the Conversation Street was very good today. I quite enjoyed that babe. Dunno about you.
Sharon: Well, I'm glad that you enjoyed talking to me. It's quite helpful in a marriage, isn't it?
Matt: My favorite person to talk to, with probably the exception of myself. I don't know.
Brilliant. Well, that's it, uh, bless you. Uh, uh, yeah, Matt says, Remind, in fact, I can put these on the screen. I keep forgetting I can do this. Remain blessed everyone. Absolutely. Have a fantastic week. Uh, Graham says, thanks Matt and Sharon, great stuff. Oh, bless you. Thanks, Graham. Yeah. Uh, join us next week, 6:00 PM bst.
Yeah, absolutely. So have a fantastic week wherever you are in the world. Thank you so much for being with us. Uh, I'm gonna play the outro now, but that's it from me. Uh, anything else from you, babe?
Sharon: No, uh, just goodbye and uh, have a good week.
Matt: All right. Bless you guys. See you next week. Bye for now.
Sharon: Bye.
Matt: Thank you. So much for joining us here on Crowd Church. Now, if you are watching on YouTube, make sure you hit the subscribe button as well as that little tiny bell notification to get notified the next time we are live. And of course, if you are listening to the podcast, uh, the Livestream podcast, make sure you also hit the follow button.
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It has been awesome to connect with you and you are awesome. It's just a burden you have to bear. And hopefully we'll see you next time. That's it from us. God bless you. Bye for now.