The Goal of the Gospel: Learning to Go
There's something profound about the word "gospel" that often gets overlooked in our comfortable Christianity. You literally cannot spell "gospel" without first spelling "go." This simple observation unlocks a transformative truth about what it means to follow Jesus—faith was never meant to be stationary.
The Foundation: Promises That Propel Us
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He made extraordinary promises to His followers. In John 14, He declared that those who believe in Him would not only do the works He did but would do even greater works. He promised the Holy Spirit would come as our helper, dwelling within us forever. These weren't empty words meant to inspire momentary enthusiasm—they were foundational promises that would empower an impossible mission.
After His resurrection, Jesus gave the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Notice the command wasn't to wait for people to come to us, but to go to them. And with this command came another promise: "I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Finally, in Acts 1:8, Jesus outlined the geographical scope of this mission: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." This wasn't a suggestion—it was a divine blueprint for how the gospel would spread.
Preparation Through Tension
The early church faced an important lesson that remains relevant today: God often prepares us through tension before propelling us into His mission.
Philip, one of the seven chosen to serve tables in Acts 6, experienced this firsthand. The church was dealing with its first major internal conflict—a food distribution issue between Hellenistic Jews and Hebrew Jews. Cultural differences were creating division. Philip could have seen this as a distraction from "real ministry," but God was actually training him for something greater.
This tension taught Philip how to navigate cultural differences, to serve people who weren't like him, and to prioritize unity over personal preference. Little did he know this training would prepare him for one of the most significant missionary encounters in church history.
Divine Disruption and Divine Direction
For approximately eight years after Pentecost, the church remained primarily in Jerusalem. They were comfortable, experiencing powerful moves of God, seeing miracles and growth. But they had only obeyed about 25-50% of Jesus's mission—they hadn't yet gone to Samaria or the ends of the earth.
Then Stephen was martyred, and persecution scattered the believers. What seemed like tragedy was actually God's divine disruption leading to divine direction. Sometimes God has to shake us out of our comfort zones before He can send us where He wants us to go.
This principle challenges our modern sensibilities. We want smooth paths and clear directions. But often, God's best work in us happens when He moves us from what's familiar into something new—not to punish us, but to prepare us for the greater works He's promised.
Following God Into the Desert
Philip found himself in the midst of revival in Samaria. Miracles were happening, demons were being cast out, and joy filled the city. Then an angel appeared with an unusual instruction: "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." The Bible adds a crucial detail: "This is a desert road."
Why would God pull Philip from a thriving ministry to send him to a dangerous, uncomfortable desert road? Because God's mission often requires us to leave our comfort zones.
This Gaza road was a major trade highway—hot, dangerous, frequented by robbers. Nothing about this assignment was convenient or glamorous. Yet Philip obeyed immediately.
A Divine Appointment
On that desert road, Philip encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of Queen Candace's treasury. This man was returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship, and he was reading from the prophet Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit told Philip, "Go over and join that chariot."
Consider the barriers this moment broke through: Philip was a Hebrew; Ethiopians had different cultural backgrounds. The man was in a chariot—a symbol that would have triggered traumatic historical memories for any Hebrew, given their ancestors' experience with Egyptian chariots during the Exodus. He was a eunuch, someone who would have been considered an outsider in Jewish religious circles.
Yet God orchestrated this divine appointment because He wanted this influential Ethiopian to hear the gospel before returning home.
Discipleship in the Trenches
Philip ran to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah 53—the prophecy about the suffering servant. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
The Ethiopian's response reveals a universal truth: "How can I, unless someone guides me?"
This wasn't a stadium event or a polished sermon. It was a sweaty conversation in a chariot on a desert road between two men from different worlds. Yet this moment represents one of the "greater works" Jesus promised—discipleship happening in the unseen trenches.
Philip explained the scripture, beginning with that passage and telling him the good news about Jesus. The transformation was immediate and profound. When they came to some water, the Ethiopian asked, "What prevents me from being baptized?"
Philip's response captures the simplicity of the gospel: "If you believe with all your heart, you may."
The Ethiopian declared, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." They stopped the chariot, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
The Gospel Goes Global
After the water baptism, the Spirit carried Philip away, and the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. This moment marked the gospel reaching Africa—the "ends of the earth" that Jesus had promised in Acts 1:8.
Many don't realize that Christianity reached Africa before it spread throughout Europe. This Ethiopian eunuch likely became the first missionary to his nation, carrying the gospel back to a continent that would become a stronghold of early Christianity.
The Challenge for Today
This account challenges several assumptions we might hold about ministry and mission:
Ministry isn't always glamorous. The most significant kingdom work often happens in uncomfortable places, in one-on-one conversations, away from platforms and recognition.
God values faithfulness in small things. Philip started by serving tables. His faithfulness in that unglamorous role prepared him for this divine appointment.
The gospel is for everyone. God orchestrated an encounter that crossed ethnic, cultural, and social boundaries to reach one man—because that one man mattered infinitely to God.
Obedience requires leaving comfort zones. Philip had to leave revival to walk a dangerous road. Sometimes following God means stepping away from what's working to pursue what He's calling.
Living a Sent Life
The question we must each answer is simple but profound: Are we ready to go?
Not just to attend church services or participate in programs, but to actually live as sent people—missionaries in our workplaces, neighborhoods, families, and cities. To see every conversation as a potential divine appointment. To value people who are different from us. To treasure God's commands enough to obey them, not out of legalism, but out of love.
As Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, "We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you have become very dear to us."
That's the goal of the gospel—not just to share information, but to share our very lives with others because of the love of Christ that compels us.
The gospel went global in Acts 8 because one man was willing to leave comfort and obey immediately. What might God do through us if we lived with that same willingness to go?
There's something profound about the word "gospel" that often gets overlooked in our comfortable Christianity. You literally cannot spell "gospel" without first spelling "go." This simple observation unlocks a transformative truth about what it means to follow Jesus—faith was never meant to be stationary.
The Foundation: Promises That Propel Us
Before Jesus ascended to heaven, He made extraordinary promises to His followers. In John 14, He declared that those who believe in Him would not only do the works He did but would do even greater works. He promised the Holy Spirit would come as our helper, dwelling within us forever. These weren't empty words meant to inspire momentary enthusiasm—they were foundational promises that would empower an impossible mission.
After His resurrection, Jesus gave the Great Commission: "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations" (Matthew 28:19). Notice the command wasn't to wait for people to come to us, but to go to them. And with this command came another promise: "I am with you always, to the end of the age."
Finally, in Acts 1:8, Jesus outlined the geographical scope of this mission: "You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." This wasn't a suggestion—it was a divine blueprint for how the gospel would spread.
Preparation Through Tension
The early church faced an important lesson that remains relevant today: God often prepares us through tension before propelling us into His mission.
Philip, one of the seven chosen to serve tables in Acts 6, experienced this firsthand. The church was dealing with its first major internal conflict—a food distribution issue between Hellenistic Jews and Hebrew Jews. Cultural differences were creating division. Philip could have seen this as a distraction from "real ministry," but God was actually training him for something greater.
This tension taught Philip how to navigate cultural differences, to serve people who weren't like him, and to prioritize unity over personal preference. Little did he know this training would prepare him for one of the most significant missionary encounters in church history.
Divine Disruption and Divine Direction
For approximately eight years after Pentecost, the church remained primarily in Jerusalem. They were comfortable, experiencing powerful moves of God, seeing miracles and growth. But they had only obeyed about 25-50% of Jesus's mission—they hadn't yet gone to Samaria or the ends of the earth.
Then Stephen was martyred, and persecution scattered the believers. What seemed like tragedy was actually God's divine disruption leading to divine direction. Sometimes God has to shake us out of our comfort zones before He can send us where He wants us to go.
This principle challenges our modern sensibilities. We want smooth paths and clear directions. But often, God's best work in us happens when He moves us from what's familiar into something new—not to punish us, but to prepare us for the greater works He's promised.
Following God Into the Desert
Philip found himself in the midst of revival in Samaria. Miracles were happening, demons were being cast out, and joy filled the city. Then an angel appeared with an unusual instruction: "Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." The Bible adds a crucial detail: "This is a desert road."
Why would God pull Philip from a thriving ministry to send him to a dangerous, uncomfortable desert road? Because God's mission often requires us to leave our comfort zones.
This Gaza road was a major trade highway—hot, dangerous, frequented by robbers. Nothing about this assignment was convenient or glamorous. Yet Philip obeyed immediately.
A Divine Appointment
On that desert road, Philip encountered an Ethiopian eunuch, a high-ranking official in charge of Queen Candace's treasury. This man was returning from Jerusalem where he had gone to worship, and he was reading from the prophet Isaiah.
The Holy Spirit told Philip, "Go over and join that chariot."
Consider the barriers this moment broke through: Philip was a Hebrew; Ethiopians had different cultural backgrounds. The man was in a chariot—a symbol that would have triggered traumatic historical memories for any Hebrew, given their ancestors' experience with Egyptian chariots during the Exodus. He was a eunuch, someone who would have been considered an outsider in Jewish religious circles.
Yet God orchestrated this divine appointment because He wanted this influential Ethiopian to hear the gospel before returning home.
Discipleship in the Trenches
Philip ran to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah 53—the prophecy about the suffering servant. "Do you understand what you are reading?" Philip asked.
The Ethiopian's response reveals a universal truth: "How can I, unless someone guides me?"
This wasn't a stadium event or a polished sermon. It was a sweaty conversation in a chariot on a desert road between two men from different worlds. Yet this moment represents one of the "greater works" Jesus promised—discipleship happening in the unseen trenches.
Philip explained the scripture, beginning with that passage and telling him the good news about Jesus. The transformation was immediate and profound. When they came to some water, the Ethiopian asked, "What prevents me from being baptized?"
Philip's response captures the simplicity of the gospel: "If you believe with all your heart, you may."
The Ethiopian declared, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God." They stopped the chariot, went down into the water, and Philip baptized him.
The Gospel Goes Global
After the water baptism, the Spirit carried Philip away, and the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing. This moment marked the gospel reaching Africa—the "ends of the earth" that Jesus had promised in Acts 1:8.
Many don't realize that Christianity reached Africa before it spread throughout Europe. This Ethiopian eunuch likely became the first missionary to his nation, carrying the gospel back to a continent that would become a stronghold of early Christianity.
The Challenge for Today
This account challenges several assumptions we might hold about ministry and mission:
Ministry isn't always glamorous. The most significant kingdom work often happens in uncomfortable places, in one-on-one conversations, away from platforms and recognition.
God values faithfulness in small things. Philip started by serving tables. His faithfulness in that unglamorous role prepared him for this divine appointment.
The gospel is for everyone. God orchestrated an encounter that crossed ethnic, cultural, and social boundaries to reach one man—because that one man mattered infinitely to God.
Obedience requires leaving comfort zones. Philip had to leave revival to walk a dangerous road. Sometimes following God means stepping away from what's working to pursue what He's calling.
Living a Sent Life
The question we must each answer is simple but profound: Are we ready to go?
Not just to attend church services or participate in programs, but to actually live as sent people—missionaries in our workplaces, neighborhoods, families, and cities. To see every conversation as a potential divine appointment. To value people who are different from us. To treasure God's commands enough to obey them, not out of legalism, but out of love.
As Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 2:8, "We cared so much for you that we were pleased to share with you not only the gospel of God, but also our own lives, because you have become very dear to us."
That's the goal of the gospel—not just to share information, but to share our very lives with others because of the love of Christ that compels us.
The gospel went global in Acts 8 because one man was willing to leave comfort and obey immediately. What might God do through us if we lived with that same willingness to go?
Pastor Aaron Calhoun
Recent
Archive
2025
July
August
September
October
November
December
Categories
no categories