14-A Divine Appointment (Acts 8:26-40)

Over the years I have come to believe that there is no such thing as “coincidence” for the man or woman who is surrendered and yielded to God.  Every conversation, every “chance” meeting, every opportunity to serve is divinely orchestrated by God. I call them “Divine Appointments.” 

Divine appointments: “Being supernaturally guided to the right place at the right time in order to say or do the right things for the advancement of God’s purposes in the world.”

Everyday, we have the choice (often many times a day) to either participate in these exciting intersections of the human and divine, or to ignore them -- either out of ignorance or disobedience.  The path we choose makes the difference between the abundant life Jesus Christ promised and a rather lifeless, dull and stagnant existence on the sidelines.

There are few stories that illustrate this truth more powerfully than the divine encounter between Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch.As you will recall from our previous studies, Philip was one of the seven deacons who were selected to minister to the widows and orphans in Jerusalem.  After the martyrdom of Stephan, a severe persecution broke out against the church and the believers fled.  Philip ended up in Samaria where he preached the gospel and performed a number of miracles with remarkable results:  A revival broke out and a large number of Samaritans came to Christ (Acts 8:4-5).

  Acts 17:26  “From one man he made every nation of men, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he determined the times set for them and the exact places where they should live.”

Pastor Bob Hallman gave this message in 2006.