Don't Miss the Holy Spirit
"Do we have a fear of missing out on the Holy Spirit?"
Think about that question today.
Many of us know what it feels like to experience FOMO—the fear of missing out. We don't want to miss an important conversation, a special event, or something exciting happening around us.
But what if we had that same eagerness when it came to the work of the Holy Spirit?
At Christ Church, we love spending time together before and after our services. That fellowship is a gift. Yet there is another posture we are called to cultivate—a posture of expectation. As worship begins and God's people gather, we have an opportunity to quiet our hearts and ask:
"Holy Spirit, what are You doing today? I don't want to miss it."
Philip's Unexpected Assignment
In Acts 8:26–40, the Holy Spirit gives Philip a surprising instruction:
"Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza."
Luke even adds an interesting detail:
"This is a desert place."
From a human perspective, it didn't make much sense.
Philip wasn't being sent to a city or a crowd. He wasn't going where ministry seemed most productive. He was sent to a lonely desert road.
But Philip didn't need the entire plan.
He simply obeyed.
Along that road he encountered an Ethiopian official—a man of great influence in his own country, yet an outsider in Jerusalem. Although he had traveled a great distance to worship God, his status as a eunuch meant he would have been excluded from full participation in Israel's worship (Deuteronomy 23:1).
Imagine the loneliness.
Imagine the questions.
Imagine reading Isaiah, longing to understand God's promises, yet having no one to explain them.
Then the Spirit spoke again:
"Go over and join this chariot."
Philip listened.
Philip obeyed.
Everything changed.
Go Over and Join
Those four words kept echoing in my heart as I prepared this message:
Go over and join.
Throughout Scripture we see God inviting His people to participate in what He is already doing.
Want to experience the movement of the Holy Spirit?
Go over and join.
Want to serve God's Kingdom?
Go over and join.
Want to discover your spiritual gifts?
Go over and join.
If our only participation in the life of the church is attending a Sunday morning service, God can certainly meet us there. But He also invites us into something deeper.
Join a small group.
Serve alongside others.
Build friendships.
Walk with someone who's searching.
Come alongside someone in their wilderness.
The Spirit often meets us as we step into the work He is already doing.
As Paul writes:
"If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:25)
The Good News Changes Everything
Philip heard the Ethiopian reading Isaiah 53 and asked a simple question:
"Do you understand what you are reading?"
The man's response is one many of us can relate to:
"How can I, unless someone guides me?"
Philip climbed into the chariot and began explaining how Isaiah pointed to Jesus.
Imagine that conversation.
Imagine hearing, perhaps for the very first time, that Jesus had come for people exactly like him.
Even more remarkable is what Isaiah later says:
"Let not the foreigner... say, 'The Lord will surely separate me from His people.' And let not the eunuch say, 'Behold, I am a dry tree'... I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off." (Isaiah 56:3–5)
What incredible news for someone who had spent his life feeling excluded.
The Gospel declares that through Jesus Christ, outsiders are welcomed home.
Those who have been cut off are brought near.
Those who are broken are restored.
Those who trust in Christ are given an everlasting hope.
No wonder the Ethiopian asked,
"Look, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?"
The answer was beautiful:
Nothing.
Jesus had already made the way.
We Don't Have to Know the Whole Story
After baptizing the Ethiopian, Philip was immediately sent elsewhere.
He never learned what became of that man's life.
He didn't see the long-term impact.
He simply obeyed.
Sometimes we want every answer before we act. We want to know how God will use our obedience, who will be affected, and whether it will "work."
Philip reminds us that faithfulness comes before full understanding.
Our responsibility is not to control the outcome.
Our responsibility is to listen when the Spirit speaks.
To go.
To join.
And to trust God with the results.
History tells us that Ethiopia became one of the earliest nations to officially embrace Christianity. We cannot say with certainty how much this one encounter influenced that story, but it is a beautiful reminder that God often accomplishes far more than we can see.
A Word to Fathers
On Father's Day, this passage carries an important challenge for the men in our church.
Fathers, go over and join.
Lead your family with a genuine hunger for the Holy Spirit.
Your children are watching what you treasure.
They notice whether prayer is important.
They notice whether church is merely an obligation or a joy.
They notice whether you are pursuing Jesus for yourself.
None of us will lead perfectly. We will all fail at times.
But remember the promise of Psalm 103:13:
"As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him."
As our heavenly Father patiently leads us, we can faithfully lead those He has entrusted to our care.
Don't Miss What God Is Doing
The Ethiopian came looking for God.
Philip came listening to God.
The Holy Spirit brought them together.
What if we lived with that same expectation?
What if we entered every Sunday asking, "Holy Spirit, what are You doing today?"
What if we looked for opportunities throughout the week to join God in His work?
The Spirit is still moving.
The invitation remains the same.
Go over and join.
Don't miss what the Holy Spirit is doing.
As you leave this week, think about asking someone a simple question:
"How has the Holy Spirit been moving in your life?"
Listen to their story.
Share your own.
Encourage one another.
Because when God's people join together in what the Holy Spirit is doing, the Kingdom continues to grow.