Liam read Acts 8 v 26-39, the story of the Ethiopian eunuch
who met Philip and was baptised.
Following this message, people responded at the 9:30 am and
11:30 am in Bracknell for salvation and for immediate baptism in water.
We trip ourselves up
As a teenager, Liam would present a request to him mum, and
she would say “No”. But Liam likes to be
right, and to persuade others of his point of view, which would lead to ‘heated
discussions’! One day, his dad took him
aside, and taught him to think how to say things, to pick the right moment, and
to realise that he was the problem in these arguments.
We are often our own worst enemy and keep
tripping ourselves up.
Similarly, the only thing that can stop us coming closer to
Jesus Christ is ourselves. We need to
get out of our own way, and choose to respond to Jesus.
Nothing else can stop
us drawing closer to Jesus
It is most likely that the eunuch would
have asked the queen he served for permission to take the 1500 mile journey
to Jerusalem to find out more about God.
But when he got to the temple the law did not allow eunuchs admittance (Duet
23 v 1, Lev 21 v 20). People would look
at his sexuality, his skin, his race, his wealth, his job and count him out
from finding God. But none of these
things or anything else can separate us from access to Jesus.
Rom 8 v 35-39 says ‘Who shall separate us from the love of
Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or
persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? … No … For I am
convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the
present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything
else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God.’
Getting out of our
own way
We may put up reasons as to why we can’t get close to God –
perhaps because of the bad things we have done, our present lifestyle, our
current circumstances, or our uncertainly of the future, but actually it is
only our choice right now that stops us getting closer to God.
The eunuch made the choice to stop the chariot, and right there
and then to get baptised. We must decide
right here and now to obey Christ, and trust him to deal with the past and sort
out our future.
Questions
1. Have you been baptised?
If not, what is stopping you?
2. What external things try to stop us drawing closer to
Jesus, and how should we respond to them?
[With faith that they have no power to stop us. Read Rom 8 v 35-39; Eph 6 v 10-20]
3. What things within you (e.g. past experiences, fears, attitudes)
are stopping you right now from becoming more abandoned to Jesus?
4. Who are you praying for and asking to come to church this
Christmas?
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