ROHO MTAKATIFU NDIYE MSAADA WETU: JE WEWE UNAMTII
Matendo 8:26-38
26 Malaika wa Bwana akasema na Filipo, akamwambia, Ondoka ukaende upande wa kusini hata njia ile itelemkayo kutoka Yerusalemu kwenda Gaza; nayo ni jangwa.
27 Naye akaondoka, akaenda; mara akamwona mtu wa Kushi, towashi, mwenye mamlaka chini ya Kandake malkia wa Kushi, aliyewekwa juu ya hazina yake yote; naye alikuwa amekwenda Yerusalemu kuabudu,
28 akawa akirejea, ameketi garini mwake akisoma chuo cha nabii Isaya.
29 Roho akamwambia Filipo, Sogea karibu na gari hili, ukashikamane nalo.
30 Basi Filipo akaenda mbio, akamsikia anasoma chuo cha nabii Isaya; akanena, Je! Yamekuelea haya unayosoma?
31 Akasema, Nitawezaje kuelewa, mtu asiponiongoza? Akamsihi Filipo apande na kuketi pamoja naye.
32 Na fungu la Maandiko alilokuwa akilisoma ni hili, Aliongozwa kwenda machinjoni kama kondoo, Na kama vile mwana-kondoo alivyo kimya mbele yake amkataye manyoya, Vivyo hivyo yeye naye hafunui kinywa chake.
33 Katika kujidhili kwake hukumu yake iliondolewa. Ni nani atakayeeleza kizazi chake? Kwa maana uzima wake umeondolewa katika nchi.
34 Yule towashi akamjibu Filipo, akasema, Nakuomba, nabii huyu; asema maneno haya kwa habari ya nani; ni habari zake mwenyewe au za mtu mwingine?
35 Filipo akafunua kinywa chake, naye, akianza kwa andiko lilo hilo, akamhubiri habari njema za Yesu.
36 Wakawa wakiendelea njiani, wakafika mahali penye maji; yule towashi akasema, Tazama, maji haya; ni nini kinachonizuia nisibatizwe?
37 Filipo akasema, Ukiamini kwa moyo wako wote, inawezekana. Akajibu, akanena, Naamini ya kwamba Yesu Kristo ndiye Mwana wa Mungu.]
38 Akaamuru lile gari lisimame; wakatelemka wote wawili majini, Filipo na yule towashi; naye akambatiza.
39 Kisha, walipopanda kutoka majini, Roho wa Bwana akamnyakua Filipo, yule towashi asimwone tena; basi alikwenda zake akifurahi.
Wewe u mtii? Unaposikia maagizo toka kwa Mungu unatii? Au ni moja wa wale ambao wakiisikia sauti ya Mungu husema ngoja niliombee kwanza ili nipate kibali, wanasahu kwamba Yeye ndiye aliyetuumba na anajua siri zetu. Anajua tunachofikiri, kwamba atabadili anachoagiza kwa kuwa agizo ni gumu!
Filipo alikuwa mtu wa sifa njema, mtu wa imani, mwongofu na mtii, aliyejazwa Roho Mtakatifu!( Mdo 6:3-5). Hakusita kutii neno la Bwana. Hapa tunasoma kuwa, baada ya misioni yenye mafanikio makubwa huko Samaria, neno la Bwana likamjia na kumwambia," Ondoka uende jangwani". Hakusita, akaitika,"Ndiyo Bwana". Hata hakuuliza,"Nakwenda kufanya nini huko? Wale hakuuliza,"Sasa hawa niliowahubiria wakaokoka hapa Samaria itakuwaje? Nawaacha na nani ?"; Bali alitikia na kuondoka. Alipofika jangwani, katika njia ile itelemkayo toka Yerusalem kwenda Gaza, akamwona mtu ameketi garini na Roho Mtakatifu akamsemesha tena! "Shikamana na hilo gari"! Tena bila kusita akaitikia "Ndiyo Bwana " akakaribia. Tunaambiwa, kwa kutii kwake yule towashi, mtu wa Kushi alimjua Yesu, na Filipo akaondoka kimiujiza!
Hakuwa mtu wa kusita kutii! Pale anapopata maagizo na akijua anayemwagiza ni Roho Mtakatifu, hakusita, Bali alitenda mara moja.
Wewe ni mara ngapi umetii agizo la Roho Mtakatifu? Mara ngapi umetafuta msaada wa Mungu, lakini akikusemesha vitu vigumu, unasingizia si yeye! Wengi huisikia sauti ya Mungu lakini hujifanya kuona kuwa si Mungu asemaye! Hasa pale Mungu anapotaka utoe kitu cha thamani kwako, au kutenda kitu kigumu au cha hatari; wengi husita na hata kudiriki kukemea, wakisingizia ati, si Mungu, bali ni shetani.
Unataka Mungu akusaidie! Mungu anatafuta watu walio tayari kutii! Watu ambao akiwatuma hawasiti kutii! Ni kupitia watu hao, Yeye hujidhihirisha kwa nguvu na maajabu! Tukimtii atatufikisha mbali sana katika maisha yetu.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS OUR HELPER: DO YOU OBEY HIM INSTANTLY?
Acts 8:26-38
Philip and the Ethiopian
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 Ethiopian[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]
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] 38 And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him.
Footnotes:
- Acts 8:27 That is, from the southern Nile region
- Acts 8:33 Isaiah 53:7,8 (see Septuagint)
- Acts 8:37 Some manuscripts include here Philip said, “If you believe with all your heart, you may.” The eunuch answered, “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.”
Do you have a character of instant obedience? When you receive instructions from God do you obey instantly? Or are you one of those people who when they receive instructions from God, they say they want to pray about it . Are you "praying about it" so that God will change His mind? Incidentally God knows us, he knows how we think, and foretells what we shall do.
From the scripture we read about this man Philip, a man of good report and full of Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3-5). He was a man of instant obedience! After a successful crusade in Samaria, the Word of the Lord came to him saying "Philip, leave the city and go to the desert" and what was his response."Yes Lord, and off he went! He did not even ask what he was going to do there. He did not even ask what would become of the coverts in the city; he just moved. When he got to the desert, he saw a man in a chariot and the Holy Spirit spoke again: "Get into that Chariot", again without hesitation he said "Yes Lord", and he complied. He indeed was a man of instant obedience. Once he receives instructions and recorgnises the voice of the Holy Spirit he immediately swung into action! How soon do you comply with divine directive? Because, some of us seeking the assistance of the Holy Spirit, would at times hear God and would pretend it is not God speaking. This mostly happens when it comes to giving or doing something precious or expensive; we even pretend it is the devil speaking, and rebuke Satan where Satan is not even present.
Are you seeking God! God wants to help us, but He is looking for those who can say "Yes Lord", and He will use them for signs and wonders. If we obey God promptly, we shall go very far with Him.
