He Heard

Acts 8:30

“Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.”

On an episode of Friends, Joey was tired of being left out of conversations with the group so he purchased an encyclopedia book, specifically the volume which covered everything under “V”.  That is all he had the money to buy.  So he read the volume and was eager to jump in the conversation.  It worked, he jumped in with a reference to Mount Vesuvius. Almost as quickly as he entered the conversation, the group moved on to something else that did not have the letter V.  He was back at the same spot as before.  

Philip was directed by an angel to go a certain road in the desert.  Philip went and met an Ethiopian eunuch on his way back to his homeland.  The Spirit directed Philip to stay near the chariot where the eunuch was at. Philip ran up to the chariot, heard the eunuch reading Isaiah, and immediately asked him if he understood what he was reading.  This opened the door for Philip to preach Jesus to him.  After a while he asked to be baptized and seeing some water on the side of the road he ordered the chariot to stop. Philip baptized the eunuch and as he was coming out of water, the Lord snatched Philip from this place and he reappeared in another town. The eunuch saw him no more and went along rejoicing.  

This whole encounter started with Philip and his understanding of Isaiah.  He heard the eunuch reading Isaiah.  As a Jewish man you were supposed to know the Old Testament because you had studied them for years as a child.  In this case, Philip’s understanding of Isaiah led to him leading an Ethiopian eunuch to believing in Christ.  John 8:32 tells us, “Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  In this case Philip knew the book of Isaiah so well he could recognize it when the Ethiopian was reading it. 

How well do you know the word of God?  I heard a preacher once say that we need to read the word of God more than you read other books or even commentaries.  He is right.  Most of us are like Joey.  We can only remember a small part of what the Bible says.  John 3:16 or the beginning of Genesis perhaps.  2 Timothy 2:15 tells us, “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.”  Correctly handling the word of truth means knowing what it says and you can only do that by reading and studying it.  I have studied a lot of history and science but I make sure I get into the word of God everyday so I can be ready. Much like Philip, when the Lord does put me into a place where He wants me to do His work, I can use the truth of the gospel as a double edge sword through the Holy Spirit to do His will.  Are you still stuck on the “V’s” like Joey and it’s limiting your understanding of the Lord?  The truth will set you free, but what if you don’t know the whole truth?  Find out by studying and meditating on the word of God.