Issue 484
It’s a scene that’s repeated millions of times a day and you will have been a player in such a scene hundreds, if not thousands, of times. Watch a small boat arrive at a jetty, or any mooring spot on the shoreline. As passengers disembark they will have to cross a gap between ship and shore. A hand will be offered for that one step which will make the difference between a fall and an arrival. Watch people walking in the countryside. They have to cross a small stream, a gate or a style. They may arrive at a small slope which requires a little climb. A hand reaches out and assists in the step up, over or down. See someone mount a horse and you may also see two hands cupped together for a foot to use simply as a way for the rider to get up onto the horse’s back. There you have it, the helping hand, outstretched hand, steadying hand which grips for just a moment and then releases. How often have you needed that at work? Not a major project assist but just one tip, one bit of advice, a piece of insight which will enable you to deal with the acute challenge right in front of you. It’s an act of simplicity and kindness. In the pages of the New Testament there is a book aptly called the book of Acts. Teeming with characters and short stories, you can meet a specialist in the art of the small step. His name is Phillip. This name literally means, “friend of the horses” and his nature was to help people with those cupped hands so that they would get into the saddle and ride. We have an account of Phillip’s specialty and, as is often the case in the book of Acts, all is not what it seems. At the centre of the episode is a conversation between Phillip and a high ranking treasury official. Let me tease out a few features of the moment (which you can see in the book of Acts, Chapter 8 verses 24 – 16 and is in the Bible section of our website). First, Phillip had to speed up to get next to the person he was going to help. It is not a small point. The helper and the one being helped will need to travel at the same pace otherwise they will not connect. I don’t know if you see yourself as the helper of the recipient. Either way you may need to adjust your pace. You may need to slow down for a while so someone can help you or you may need to speed up to help someone else. Second, the doorway to the help involved Phillip listening, then asking the right question. We could spend hours here but let me make one dogmatic observation. It is almost impossible for help to pass from one person to another without profound listening and wise questioning. Otherwise it’s just guesswork. Phillip listened first, then asked a question. Third, you can see that the Ethiopian invited Phillip to join him (he may have even offered a hand to help him up into the chariot). Here is a vital aspect. Phillip was wanting to help and the Ethiopian was hungry for help. Jesus warned against putting pearls before swine. It’s an important principle. Two parties need to want to engage for these steps to be taken. Sharer and seeker, seller and buyer, pioneer and financier, host and guest, therapist and client, coach and player, teacher and learner – however you look at it, both parties have to “desire a deal” or no deal will take place. Phillip was ready to explain and the Ethiopian was ready to learn. Last of these observations is that the verbal exchange concludes with a question back to Phillip “Why shouldn’t I be baptized?” It’s just tucked away there in the story and it’s an explosive question, that’s why it made it into the New Testament to be published throughout the world. It’s a “is there any thing that disqualifies me from the same privileges as you?” question. It’s a bigger question than it looks but Phillip’s answer was emphatic. He went down with the Ethiopian into the water and baptized him. Everything you have just read is true and contains wisdom. The four features of this small step moment will serve you well this week and any week. You have opened the windows to see how Phillip was such a specialist helper. But we have much more to learn. There are some staggering insights to come from this short story. I am willing to show you, are you willing to see? Next week we deal. Bible Section Acts 8:26-40 26 Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” 27 So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopiana]”>[a] eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means “queen of the Ethiopians”). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, 28 and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. 29 The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.” 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. 31 “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading: “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 33 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth.”b]”>[b] 34 The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” 35 Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. 36 As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?” [37] c]”>[c] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. 39 When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. 40 Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.
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Geoff Shattock
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