Sermons

FILTER BY:

← back to list

May 03, 2015

How Do I Know?

How Do I Know?

Passage: Acts 8:26-40

Speaker: Rev. Vivian McCarthy, Pastor

• Although it may appear that biblical characters were easily able to discern when God was speaking to them, it might not be that simple for us. • Sometimes, I have not understood clearly that God was speaking. • In my experience, I am best able to discern God’s voice when it is confirmed in conversation with other disciples. • The Philip in this story is not the disciple/apostle but one of the 7 deacons appointed by the apostles in Acts 5. • The story of the conversion of the Ethiopian official takes place on a wilderness road.

How did Philip know?  How did he know it was an angel of the Lord?  And how did he know what the Lord wanted him to do?  An even better question is, how do I know?  How do I know if it’s the Lord’s leading or just some random thought?

We more or less take it for granted that when the Bible says that an exemplar from biblical times is reported to have heard from God directly or through an angel, that it was just that simple.  Don’t you just see Philip talking one-on-one with Gabriel or Michael as if it were just an ordinary day when the angel dropped in for tea and a cookie?  Or, somehow Philip had the amazing ability to discern easily that it was God’s voice he was hearing?

Listen to what Rev. Dawn Chesser, Director of Preaching for the UMC has to say about today’s lection:

It seems to me that most often the Spirit does not speak in words; divine communications come to us more often as feeling than as words. So if we were to translate Acts into more modern terms, we might say something like this:
 
One day Philip had a feeling that the Lord wanted him to go south to the road that runs from Jerusalem to Gaza. And when Philip got to that road and saw the Ethiopian official riding along and reading from a book, Philip had a feeling (or sense, or an impulse, or an urge, or a calling) to go over and run alongside the carriage.

So, I’ve been wondering:  how does God tend to speak to you?  As you think for a moment, I’d like to share a little on how God speaks to me:

One day when I was serving at Rodgers Forge, I had gone to the hospital either earlier in the day or the day before, when one of our ladies was having surgery.  I had prayed with her and her family, and I thought the surgery was probably over by the time I was passing by – probably in a hurry to get home because the kids were due home around that time.  As I passed St. Joseph’s Hospital, I had a strong feeling that I should stop by.  That’s all it was – a feeling – and I thought I was being silly or giving in to my Messiah complex (after all – they really can do without me!!).  But the next day when I went to the hospital, I found that the diagnosis was terrible and prayer with the family would have been helpful right about the time I passed right on by.

And one more – many, many times in my life I have either heard God speak or have had what I thought was the voice of God confirmed when someone has said something to me seemingly out of the blue.

What about you?  How has God spoken to you? 

There are 2 more things in this text that I’d like to explore very briefly.

First, can you guess who the biblical “exemplar” is in this story?  I’m not going to put you on the spot, because I would have definitely given the wrong answer on this one!  It’s not Philip, the disciple who became an apostle.  Do you remember that after the birth of the church, the apostles realized they needed help.  The church was growing, and the disciples were stretched too thin.  They couldn’t preach and teach and wait on tables when the church gathered.  So, in Acts 5 we have the story of the selection of the seven deacons.  This is the Deacon Philip – a guy whose holy job was waiting on tables.  He wasn’t a preacher.  He wasn’t seen as a particularly holy guy.  But because he followed that feeling, a missionary to Ethiopia was “born.” 

And secondly, notice where this story takes place – in the wilderness.  As one of the preachers on desperatepreacher.com wrote, “even so, after obeying the Holy Spirit, Philip experienced wonders!  We may feel as though we’re trudging along a road through a wilderness.  An honestly dry time spiritually.  Pressures making us sweat.”  It is so tempting to just trudge along, assuming that God can’t or won’t speak a powerful word when we’re in the wilderness – or down in the dumps.  But Philip and that foreigner give witness to the power of God even in the wilderness places of our lives.  Listen up, people! 

Philip reached out.  He followed the feeling, and a man who was struggling to understand – to make sense of what the scripture meant for his life – not only understood, but was filled with a desire to be baptized and follow The Way of Jesus.  The Ethiopian rejoiced.  Imagine his impact on those he met from that day forward – an outsider whose culture was based on a totally different way of being in the world – an outsider whose life was a witness.

Dawn Chesser’s words ring true to me.  Here’s what she says in conclusion:

The Holy Spirit, it seems to me, is between people. The Spirit does not confine its talk to one person alone. This means if we get a feeling about something, we probably shouldn’t act on it solo, as if it were a private communication between us and God. Instead, we should try to talk to someone else about it, someone who can help us confirm if it is, in fact, the Spirit talking. If we can find someone we trust, someone with whom we can connect, and talk over our feelings with that person, and have that person question us closely, peaceably, seriously, and with love, it is much more likely that the Spirit is talking than if we run around supposing that we have had a private and personal direct communication from God.

In other words, folks are right to be a little suspicious. The main weakness of Methodists is not that we question these things. Our problem is that when we get these feelings, we tend to keep them to ourselves. We tend not to act on our feelings.

Certainly, we need to be careful and to check out our feelings by practicing accountable discipleship and seeking further clarification if they are indeed of God. But if we do believe we have heard a word from the Holy Spirit, we need to be acting on those feelings! We should try not to be pushy or overly aggressive with our testimony. But if the Holy Spirit is talking among us, we must find ways to share the good news with others! This confused and troubled world needs all the good news it can get. It needs the right kind of direction. It needs direction from the angel of the Lord. It needs the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Makes me wonder what would happen if we followed those feelings more frequently!  How about you?