I sat in the locker room after my swim. I heard these words in my mind, “Ask the young front staff, how I could pray for them.” A few moments later, another word came, “Pray for the person who gives you eye contact and smiles.”
I stood up and the guy sitting across from me smiled and said enthusiastically, “Hi!” I also said, “hi,” and then walked out. I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, “Go back and ask how I could pray for him.”
“I’m Mark Pomeroy. What’s your name?” He said, “Larry (not his real name).”
“How could I pray for you?” I spoke. He looked up and said, “My best friend from high school who’s a pastor asked me the same question yesterday!” Larry shared tough personal information about growing up with his friend. We exchanged phone numbers and he agreed to meet me again at a coffee shop. At the end of this blog, I will share the rest of the story.
One of my favorite Bible stories illustrating someone listening to the Holy Spirit and sharing the gospel is Phillip in Acts 8. As Jerram Barrs wrote concerning Philip in Acts 8:
Our hearts magnify the Lord’s saving work in drawing this man [the Ethiopian eunuch] to himself. We do not read this story and think, “Wasn’t Philip a wonderful, clever, and bold evangelist!” Rather, we praise God. This is as it ought to be whenever we hear of a believer leading someone to faith, for then, in just the same way as in this Bible story, God is bringing two people together. We need to learn to see God’s work rather than thinking how courageous, intelligent, clear-speaking, and good we are as evangelists. I am not saying the human role is unimportant, for Philip needed to be obedient to the Spirit’s call; he needed to talk to the Ethiopian and to make the Scriptures clear to him. Yet, because of the way the story is told, we know that God is the One who is most to be praised when we read of this man’s conversion. May this be our daily experience, “O Lord! May we worship You!
And Michael Green said, “Every initiative in evangelism recorded in Acts is the initiative of the Spirit of God.”
An angel then led Philip on a desert road between Jerusalem and Gaza where he met an Ethiopian eunuch who came to Jerusalem to worship. The Spirit told Philip to ask if the eunuch understood what he was reading from the prophet Isaiah. The eunuch said he needed a guide and invited Philip to sit in the chariot with him. The text said, “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 . . . For his life was taken from the earth.” The eunuch asked if it referred to the prophet or someone else. Beginning with this Scripture, Philip preached Jesus to him. The eunuch then believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, and Philip baptized him. When they both came out of the water, the Spirit snatched Philip away to Azotus, where he kept preaching the gospel to all the cities until he came to Caesarea (Acts 8:25–40). The Holy Spirit guides in making the gospel clear to those prepared by God.
Have you experienced the Holy Spirit leading you to someone so you could preach the gospel to them? Each day ask the Holy Spirit to lead you to people God prepares, and listen throughout the day for His instructions.
