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Acts 8:26-40
If you could travel back in time to any time and any place, where would it be? Time travel…its one of those things that, as a child, I really wished I could do. Wouldn’t it have been cool to see the dinosaurs roaming the earth? Or to be on the boats that discovered America? Wouldn’t it have been so cool to walk around Israel during the time of Caesar Augustus and perhaps catch a glimpse of a little known rabbi and his small band of followers? As I grew older, I have to say that my fantasy for time travel has changed a little bit. As I really got to thinking about it, dinosaurs were probably pretty mean, those boats coming across the ocean were probably really smelly and dirty, and as for 1st century Israel, well, let’s just say I probably would’ve been one of those calling for Jesus neck rather than sitting quietly at his feet. No, as I’ve gotten older, my desire for time travel has taken on a different meaning. Now I’d like to travel back in time in my own life because of missed opportunities. There are times that I look back in my life and I say, “Gosh, I wish I’d done that differently.” Or, “I sure wish I would’ve said something to that person – I sure blew that opportunity.” If I could time travel, I could go back and say things I’d wished I’d said and done things that I later regretted not doing. For example, about 8 years ago, I had a chance to go to New York with a few guys from my fraternity. We met up with some guys from another chapter and we explored several of the sights. As we were riding the subway away from Times Square, a man in a tuxedo and carrying a violin case got onto the train and stood right across from us. He caught my attention because he was a grown man and he was sobbing. I have no idea why he was so upset, but cried for the entire 20 minutes we were on the train together. Maybe he had just gotten fired from the symphony? Maybe he had a solo that he had totally messed up? Maybe he had just gotten a call that a loved one had died or his wife had cheated on him? My heart went out to him because something was very clearly ripping him apart. Yet, for 20 minutes, I just stood there and tried not to stare at him, rather than ask him what was wrong or offer him any kind words. To this day I could pick him out of 100 different people because his face is etched in my mind, but I will never know what was bothering him. If I had a time machine, that’s where I’d go. I’d go back to that subway train and at least say something to that man. I believe that was an opportunity from God that I missed. I think I failed at being a person of God that night. In my heart, I had the peace, joy and care that comes from God, yet I offered none of that to him. The last several weeks, we’ve been looking at our readings from Acts and hearing stories about the earliest church in order to examine what the purpose of the church really is. We’ve seen how God showered those first churches with peace, with joy, and with his care. We’ve also hopefully learned that those things are still things that God offers to us and gives to us as gifts in our lives today. God gives us peace amidst storms. God gives us joy when we are facing difficult times. God surrounds us with his comfort and care as we walk through the dark valleys of life. And we’ve seen how the purpose of the church is often to share what we have experienced with the rest of the world. We’ve seen how God is calling us to be a people of peace, not of war, arguing, or fighting. We’ve seen how God is calling us to be a people of joy, not of negativity, pessimism, or complaining. And last week we saw how we are to be a people who care about other people. From our Acts passage today, we learn something completely different about the purpose of the church. Acts chapter 8 tells the story of the Philip and the Ethiopian eunuch. Philip is our representative from the early church so we have to look carefully at what God gave to him and how he responded to it. What is the gift that God gave to him and what is he then called to do with it? Through the words of the angel and the Holy Spirit, the gift Philip received was a God-appointment. Philip was drawn to a particular time and place and given an opportunity to make a difference in someone else’s life. Philip’s God-appointment took place on a road in a chariot. A God-appointment happens anytime that you have an opportunity to help someone else, offer them some ministry, and give of yourself to someone else. Mothers, you know all about these God-appointments because you pretty live your life as one big God-appointment. They’re called God-appointments because anytime that you help someone in the name of Christ, God shows up and is there with you. You are the being the hands of Christ, you are speaking the words of Christ, you are doing the work of Christ. God is there and you are having a God-appointment. Philip was given a gift, an opportunity, a chance to make a difference in the life of someone else. There are not many things in life more meaningful than that. And just as Philip was given that chance, so are we, each one of us individually, and collectively as Hope Lutheran Church. You may not get a voice from an angel or hear the Holy Spirit, but I think God really does put us in particular places and particular times so that we can have an influence on those we come into contact with. God gives us God-appointments and so our purpose is simply to take advantage of them. Trust me, God is at work right now, out there, out in the world, at your workplaces, in the different places where you go – God is out there setting things up so that you can have an appointment with him. Maybe your God-appointment will happen in the check-out line at the grocery story and someone needs some help carrying something. Maybe your God-appointment will happen sitting in a doctor’s office comforting someone who is scared, not knowing that they’re about to get a terminal diagnosis. Maybe your God-appointment will happen at work listening to a coworker whose wife just left him. Who knows where and how your God-appointments will happen, but I assure you they will happen. There are plenty of people out there who are struggling to understand life, just like that Ethiopian and they are just waiting for someone like you to come along and say, “I don’t have all the answers, but what I do know is that God loves you and he’s with you right now as you go through this difficult time.” Bruce Wilkenson talks about these God-appointments in his book, The Prayer of Jabez. The book doesn’t have the best theology, but his idea about God-appointments is certainly intriguing. Dr. Wilkenson says that we should be praying for God to bring us opportunities for ministry. When we specifically ask God for opportunities to serve, God can’t help but answer our prayers. Its like a small child asking if its okay to clean their room. Or a teenager asking for a curfew. If you say to God, “God, please give me a chance to serve you today,” you’d better believe God’s going to give you that chance. Eight years ago on that subway train, I feel like I missed a God-appointment. What would’ve happened if I had just leaned over to that man and said, “I’m not sure why you’re so upset, but I do know that there is someone out there who loves you. You’re not alone in this life.” Who knows what difference that would’ve made in his life? I sure wish I could’ve found out. Now, I have to warn you, it’s very dangerous to think about and to dwell on the “What ifs” in life. Woulda, coulda, shoulda. These are not healthy places to live. It does us no good to want to change the past UNLESS we are willing to change the present. The only reason to think about what might have been is to learn from it so that it doesn’t happen again. God gives us opportunities and our purpose is to take advantage of them as best we know how. Do you think Philip knew what he was going to say as he was running along side that chariot? No way, but the Holy Spirit was with him and gave him the exact right words to share. And the Spirit will do the same for you next time you recognize yourself having a God-appointment. There is one very obvious
God-appointment coming to you in the next couple of weeks and it will be
coming to you via the US postal service. Hope’s Time & Talent sheets
are being mailed out in the very near future and you will be given a
chance to sign up for ministry using these sheets. When you get your
Time & Talent Sheet in the mail, you will be signing up to have some
God-appointments. You will be signing up to serve the Lord through the
many ministries – both large and small – of Hope Lutheran Church. The
God-appointments you sign up for won’t necessarily take place right
away, but you’ll be preparing yourself for future appointments and
saying to God, “Yes, I’m ready and willing to serve you.” Rather than
wanting to travel back in time and worrying about missed
God-appointments in the past, this is one small way to prepare yourself
for God-appointments in the future. It is always important to remember
however, that your God-appointments won’t always come in an envelope
with an invitation. They could happen at any time and at any place, and
our purpose as the people of God, is take advantage of these
opportunities. And remember, they’re called God-appointments because
God set them up and God always shows up for them. Amen. |
