The Spirit - Lover of My Soul

Acts 8:26-31 (ESV) ²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south^[a] to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. ²⁷ And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship ²⁸ and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. ²⁹ And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” ³⁰ So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” ³¹ And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

I can safely say, that each and every single person reading this right this moment has a “person” or “persons” that, as believers, we have looked at with distaste. Those people who, perhaps, aren’t quite as well put together, have a bad reputation, are dishonest or drama centered. Perhaps they vote differently than you? We ALL know what I am talking about, and are lying to ourselves if we are to say we don’t.

In this Scripture from Acts we see a Eunuch representing Candace, the Queen of Ethiopia. This meeting was 100% spirit led. As this event happened on a much less-traveled route between Jerusalem and Gaza. This meeting carries a great deal of weight for a few reasons. The first is that Eunuch’s, particularly of pagan countries, were very “detestable” to Jewish people. These people were castrated at a young age as a means to stave off “sexual temptation.” Sadly there is a great misunderstanding on both sides of the court here that led to this distaste in the Jewish culture. Philip was literally COMMANDED by The Spirit to go and join this man’s chariot. I can imagine the surprise Philip likely found when he found this man reading of the Prophet Isaiah. Not only that, he was specifically reading one of the most important prophecies of Christ from the Old Testament. How coincidentally uncoincidental!

This is where the other reason this is so profound. A pagan eunuch, from a pagan country, is on a very poorly traveled desert road, chilling in his chariot, and he just so happens to be reading about Christ and having NO clue who or what he is even reading about. Did Philip turn God’s command down here? No…he received an open invitation to share of the sweetness of Christ Jesus with a man who would have never heard it before. Philip’s obedience was one that delivered a joy to another soul that potentially might have never received it any other way. Yet, God fully intended this. Here is where we see the attribute of LOVE in even The Holy Spirit.

The Spirit seeks to save the lost as much as The Father and the Son. Yet He acts in a somewhat more subtle way. The Spirit acts to lead, prompt, and convict the Believer. This is not for no good reason. These very operations of The Spirit are literally dripping with the Love of the most Loving God! He leads people to the lost. He prompts them to take action. He convicts people of their sin. All of these are acts of great love. A love that bolsters the citizenship of God’s Kingdom daily!

The most beautiful thing about this? The Spirit doesn’t care whatsoever about someone’s current standing. Whether of wealth and power, current religious affiliation, or political views. The Spirit simply desires the Souls of mankind to come to reconciliation. That exact thing happened here. This is so applicable to you as well Christian. You too were an enemy of God prior to Christ saving you. Let that stew for a moment. You were an outcast. You were detestable. You were distasteful.

But God got in your chariot…

Soli Deo Gloria!!!!