Acts 8:26-40

[0:00] Father, I just give you this time, Lord. I pray that you would open your word, Lord. Lord, it's not by might nor by power, but it's by your Spirit, Lord. Lord, we come with each of us, Lord, in a different relationship with you, different affinities, likes and dislikes, personalities, Lord, different backgrounds.

[0:20] Lord, we all come to the cross, Lord, and we find that it's a level playing field, Lord. Nobody has any claim above anyone else, Lord. And even Paul took the title as chief as a sinner. Lord, we just come to receive from you, Lord.

[0:33] Help us not to seek to earn what has already been given freely, Lord. Speak to us through your word, Lord. Prepare our hearts for the season ahead of us, Lord, this sprint to the end, Lord, as you come soon to claim your bride.

[0:46] We love you and we praise you. In Jesus' name, amen. So we've looked at Acts chapter 8, following the persecution of Stephen, right?

[0:57] Saul chases all the Christians out of Jerusalem, or is beginning to accept the apostles, and they're scattered everywhere. We know, again, back in Acts chapter 1, Jesus giving the commission to the apostles, the foundation of the book, where he told them to be witnesses in Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and the outermost parts of the earth.

[1:23] We're a few years into this now. This isn't like a week or two later. This is a couple years later, and they still haven't done that. They're still not on their own, gone out in true Judea, Samaria, and the outermost parts of the earth.

[1:36] They're still all in Jerusalem. They're still there. And so the Lord has his own means by which to send them out. And you've got to figure at that time, they were all questioning, you know, is this really God's will? Is this how he's going to fulfill his promise to send us out through persecution?

[1:50] But through that, Philip heads up into Samaria, and I was thinking of how he started, again, just his beginnings as waiting on tables. And the scripture in Luke that says that he who is faithful in a few things, I will make, or will be faithful in many.

[2:09] And I wrote it down, but I can't remember where. But anyway, that's in Luke. And then I was thinking, too, how short-lived his ministry was of waiting on tables. Like, you get all seven of these guys, and then Stephen ends up getting killed, and persecution starts among all the people.

[2:26] And so it's a very short-lived, a quick kind of, like, ministry God had for him, and it was over. And now he's essentially on the run, and he finds himself in Samaria. And the step of faith that was, he was the first person to step outside of Judaism, in a sense, to go to Samaria.

[2:44] None of the other apostles or Jews would go to Samaria. And he goes there, probably to hide. I mean, if you think, if Saul's breathing out threatenings against the church, and he's going to go and get letters from, we know, from the Sanhedrin, and he's going to go into all these places to look for the Christians, he's not going to Samaria.

[3:02] No one went to Samaria. The Jews wouldn't go to Samaria. That's not a place Paul would go, or Saul would go. So for Philip, it was very natural to, like, move to Samaria and think, well, maybe I'm safe here.

[3:14] But this man who had been essentially called into ministry to wait on tables, no other calling. We don't see any specific calling that God said, you shall go and start a revival, or you shall go, and just a man.

[3:26] And he just went preaching. And it says they all did that. All the believers at that time, wherever they went, went preaching the gospel. That's the same call still to us, right? And it seems very applicable that this is where we are, especially this week.

[3:39] This is our last Wednesday night before, you know, the next time we get together, we'll be the 12th, either at church or at Cupboard Table Charlotte, or then the next Wednesday night there as well.

[3:51] There was no specific call to Philip. It was just, this is who he was. This is what he did. And God was going to use that. And we pick up in verse 26.

[4:03] The apostles have just gone home to Jerusalem. They have, in the same ways they've come, they've gone back preaching the gospel in many villages of Samaria. So the effect Philip had by stepping out in faith, by being used by the Lord to reach the Samaritans, it kind of opened the door for the rest of the apostles now to come in behind and do that.

[4:22] Verse 26 says, So there's a couple scriptures that's going to come back.

[4:35] The first one we're going to look at is 1 John 2.27 and then John 3.18. We're going to start with those and end with those. But 1 John 2.27, John says that the anointing, he says, but the anointing, and that's referring back to verse 20, which says, but you have an unction or an anointing or a portion from the Holy One, and you know all things by intuition.

[5:01] In other words, from the Holy Spirit. Verse 27, he says, but the anointing which you have received of him abides in you, and you need not that any man teach you. But as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it has taught you, you shall abide in him.

[5:18] And so he's simply saying that you have something now that supersedes man's instruction, man's laws, and man's system. You have the Holy Spirit. He's been given to you. He abides with you.

[5:28] He'll teach you all things. And Philip is going to hear a couple times from the Lord. In verse 29, it's going to say specifically the Spirit said, but here in verse 26, it says, An angel of the Lord spake unto Philip.

[5:40] I looked up the word, and it means angel. It means messenger. So God sent an angel to specifically speak to Philip and to tell him to go to the south.

[5:51] There's times when we need, you know, more reassurance than others. Philip is going to be leaving what would appear to be this amazing revival and work of the Spirit. God was using him. This is a fruitful place. It was good.

[6:03] It was comfortable. It was welcoming. There was no reason to go at all whatsoever, except the Lord tells him to go. And then the other scripture is John 3, verse 8.

[6:16] Jesus is speaking to Nicodemus about being born again. And he says in verse 7, Marvel not that I say unto you, you must be born again. The wind blows where it will, and you hear the sound thereof, but cannot tell whence it comes and whither it goes.

[6:31] So is everyone that is born of the Spirit. Right? So as the Spirit blows, as the wind blows where it wills, you don't know where it's coming from or where it's going, but you hear the sound thereof. You see the effect of the wind when it blows.

[6:41] But I can't see the wind. I can't see where it's going or where it's coming from. But I see that effect. And it seems unpredictable to us. Like the wind swirls and it swirls back the other way. It seems very unpredictable.

[6:51] And he says, so is everyone that's born of the Spirit. There's going to be those moments that it's like, this is kind of crazy. Well, let's go and do it. And so the angel says to Philip, by whatever means this angel is that the Lord has decided to give him this message.

[7:07] He said, arise and go. And this is a two-step process of responding to the call of God. When God gives a call, there's always, you must always arise before you go.

[7:18] And arise meaning like wherever you are, whatever place you're at, you have to come out of that to go into the next. And so when God calls you, whether it's he's calling us out of sin and into forgiveness, whether he's calling us out of a mindset that's detrimental into a greater understanding of him, whether he's calling us, you know, out from just our own trappings in our minds where the scripture says that the weapons of our warfare aren't carnal, but are mighty through God, the pulling down of strongholds and casting down imagination.

[7:49] And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. So as God calls us out of those things, he's calling us into something else, but we have to be willing to leave them. And so Philip had to arise to go. He had to arise up from a comfortable place where he was doing ministry that was very fruitful and very comfortable.

[8:04] I can relate. But he went. And then he gives this message here. The Lord says, and go to Gaza from Jerusalem, the road down to Gaza, which is desert or literally wilderness.

[8:18] You know, it's like, Philip, great job, bro. Good job. You're doing it. I've got a greater call. Yes, Lord. I was waiting on tables and you sent me here. And now there's this revival. I can't wait for what's next.

[8:30] What is it, Lord? Go to the wilderness. That's why the Lord sent the angel to tell him. Because later it's going to say the spirit. And you know, he might be like, that might have been my own mind.

[8:40] Was that really the spirit? He says, go down to the desert. And he arose and he went. And again, just as we must arise and go, here we see the outworking of that simple obedience.

[8:53] Responding to God's call is simple obedience and always results in rising up from the place God is then calling us into, whether it's in the heart, in the inner man, something of our minds or of our spirit that God's like, I want to broaden your horizons here.

[9:06] I want your faith to grow. You know, as we kind of start this venture with this church the Lord's doing, my heart and desire is for all of us and those who come that we do that.

[9:18] You know, that it's not just we recreate a comfortable place to do church like we've always done it, but that we're open to be like, okay, the Lord never puts new wine into old wineskins, new wine and new wineskins.

[9:29] Now, it's still wine and it's still a wineskin. So you can recognize it. It's like, that's wine and that's a wineskin. It's just new. So it's not like, oh, it's barking like a dog. Well, you know, it's new wineskin. It could be the Lord. No, it's going to be recognizable, right?

[9:42] But it's new and it's different and it's going to be not quite as comfortable as what we expected or not quite how we've been used to in the past. You know, I think to when we came to Riverbend, I never taught in Sunday school and didn't particularly like the idea, but the Lord put it on my heart when they're like, we need teachers.

[9:59] I'm like, okay. And that kind of launched into youth ministry. But just being willing, and that's what I think as we do this, like whatever we're coming with as like, well, this is who I am and this is what I do and this is what I'm used to.

[10:11] Being willing to say, Lord, what do you have? What are you calling me to rise up out of and to go into? What are you calling me to do that might be outside my comfort zone and might even look to me at the moment like, Lord, that's really unfruitful.

[10:25] I'm used to this fruitful thing over here and you're telling me to do what? And he's like, no, I got it. I got this. You just need to be willing to do that. And so my desire is that, you know, we're not just doers, but hearers only, that we take the time that whatever God speaks into us by the word, we're willing then to process and say, okay, Lord, how is this going to apply to my life?

[10:45] And not just kind of go through the motions. Philip is definitely not going through the motions. So he responds and says, he arose and he went and behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure and come to Jerusalem for to worship, was returning and sitting in his chariot and read Isaiah the prophet.

[11:07] So there's a lot there that happens in like no space at all. So if you grab your little map, you can see on there Samaria or Sapasti or whatever the Grecian name is for it or the Roman name, but Samaria.

[11:26] So there's Samaria. That would have been Ahab ruled from Samaria. Jeroboam would have ruled from Samaria when Israel and Judah were split. And so he's told to go down to Gaza.

[11:37] And you see at the bottom of the map, there's Gaza. And you see it goes through Jerusalem. Well, what was happening at Jerusalem at this point? And where had Philip just come from before Samaria? Jerusalem. Jerusalem, where there's persecution.

[11:47] Jerusalem, where he had just laughed. And he's like, Lord, it's like I'm backtracking. You're having me go back through this. And I was trying to think about that. Like, OK, Lord, when you call us to arise and go.

[11:58] And sometimes it seems like, like, Lord, this seems like I'm backtracking. It seems like I'm going back through something you've already brought me through. And yet on the other side of that, you see the Lord's going to do a new work.

[12:08] And so trying to process how that would play out as the Lord speaks to us and leads us in our, you know, in our callings, where at times it seems like I've already been here. Shouldn't we be past this?

[12:19] Shouldn't we be moving on? The Lord's like, I need you to go back through here. The other interesting thing is who else was at Jerusalem? Well, this Ethiopian eunuch is just coming from Jerusalem. He's in a chariot. Right?

[12:31] Philip is just like walking. So that means he must get to Jerusalem, get through Jerusalem and head down the Gaza road before the other guy leaves Jerusalem. Because if he's in a chariot heading out of Jerusalem.

[12:42] Now, he's not like riding at like Ben-Hur speed because it says he's reading the book of Isaiah. So, you know, it's not like you get car sickness. So he's he's heading down and he must have left.

[12:54] The Lord could have had Philip meet him in Jerusalem. Why not? Why did he wait? Well, God has his timing. But what perfect, impeccable, ridiculous timing is it? That he says, the angel says to Philip, leave Samaria.

[13:06] However long it takes him to get to Jerusalem. He probably stops to talk to the apostles again. Gets through Jerusalem, heading to Gaza. You have the Ethiopian eunuch who's come to Jerusalem to worship. Finishes up that.

[13:17] Buys a scroll of Isaiah. Heads back down the Gaza road. And is going at a pace where he can read it. And it just so happens, the two of them meet up right at that moment. What a coincidence. It's amazing.

[13:29] Now, the Gaza road was a busy road. Like it says wilderness. You kind of picture, I always pictured, maybe it was the Sunday school lessons, you know, where like the flannel graph or whatever. It's like there's a desert road. There's Philip Park and there's the Ethiopian eunuch that they bring across.

[13:43] But it would have been a busy highway. There would have been a lot of travelers on that highway as well. And so here's this perfect timing of Philip moving down in obedience, following the Lord's leading.

[13:56] And he doesn't know why he's going. He just says to go down. And so he arose and he went. And then it tells us about this Ethiopian eunuch, like that we should know who he is, a man of great authority under Candace. Well, if you turn back to 1 Kings chapter 10.

[14:09] Right. So it's in the middle of describing Solomon's, the height of his reign. And so verse 1 of chapter 10 says, And she said to the king, Blessed be the Lord thy God, which delights in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel, because the Lord loved Israel forever, therefore made he the king to do judgment and justice.

[15:32] So she recognizes the hand that's behind Solomon. She recognizes, says, Blessed be the Lord God who has done this. So it seems to be, perhaps she's brought back then into Ethiopia, the worship of the one true God.

[15:48] But there's a remnant there to where this eunuch is heading up to Jerusalem. Now, I've spent too much time reading about eunuchs. And then where it's referenced in scripture and what in the ancient world, it was traditional.

[16:03] I was thinking of like Daniel and Shadrach, Neshach, and Abednego. You know, they were generally taken as boys before the onset of puberty and then castrated so that they never fully matured.

[16:16] They were considered, even at that time, genderless. Kind of ironic. The world we're in, neither male nor female. And they were looked down on. It was a very dangerous position. They were given great positions of authority because they could be trusted.

[16:31] No, you know, eunuch is going to try and make a dynasty to overthrow the king. So they were very close to the king. But it was a very dangerous position because they could be killed off. They had no family. No avenger of blood.

[16:42] So their family was never a threat to them. They weren't a threat. And they were very easily removed. So it was a very dangerous, kind of precarious position to be in. And they were rejected very much by the society they were in.

[16:56] And here this man, he wants to go to Jerusalem. He's come to worship. Not worship Jesus, but worship at Jerusalem, according to the Jews. But unfortunately, when he gets there, he runs into Deuteronomy 23, verse 1.

[17:09] Pretty much, he that's a eunuch can't go into the congregation of the Lord. You can read that yourself. The actual wording. So pretty much, if a man is emasculated, dismembered, then he's not allowed to enter into the congregation of the Lord.

[17:29] And that was a statute. That was upheld. He would have gotten to Jerusalem. He would have come to the temple. And he could have only gone as far as the court of the Gentiles. Would have been as far as he would have gone to.

[17:40] The priests would have looked down on him. They wouldn't have anything to do with him. He would have been ostracized. And so here this poor man, he comes and he's prevented.

[17:52] And the law always prevents, but grace draws. Romans 8, 3-4. So the law could not do that it was weak through the flesh.

[18:14] The flesh is weak. It has no ability to do what grace does. Grace draws. Grace opens the door. It makes a way for us to come. The law just prevents because it is focused on and relies on the flesh.

[18:28] And that's all that the law could see. It could see this man in his flesh. It could see his sin. It could see that he was now, according to the law, no longer fit to participate in the things of worship.

[18:40] And so he's been restricted. He's been prevented. And so what does he do? He returns. Crestfallen, right? Didn't get to worship. He was not received.

[18:52] But he's wealthy. He has charge of all of Candace's. Candace is just like the name of the title of the queen. Not like actually her name was Candace. It's like Pharaoh. He has charge of all her wealth.

[19:05] You know, he's got some vacation time. Use it or lose it. So he's going to go up to Jerusalem, take a little vacation, worship the Lord, finally see what this is about. This religion of the Jews that he's been following down there in Ethiopia.

[19:21] But he gets no further. But what he does is he buys the scroll of Isaiah the prophet. Would have been very expensive, very pricey to purchase that.

[19:31] And you think when he had purchased that, it must have been an exorbitant amount. Because I imagine that whoever was selling it, the priests or whoever would have the scribes, that they would look at this man and think, you are not worthy to receive this scroll.

[19:44] You are cut off. You are nobody. You should not be the person receiving this. And they probably hiked the price up on him. So he's returning empty.

[19:56] But not really, is he? Because he's returning with the word of God. He has no idea what's about to happen. And he's sitting in the chariot reading Isaiah the prophet.

[20:06] Again, he's probably not dum-pa-dum-pa-dum-pa-dum. He's probably more like kaklump, kaklump, kaklump. And so then Philip, Philip's there. This perfect timing. This moment when the chariot's just coming down. And maybe Philip moves off to the side of the road as it's coming through.

[20:18] And all the other people, whoever's walking and traveling there. And here comes this chariot. Philip, well-attended, very wealthy. And then the Spirit says to Philip, Go near and join yourself to this chariot.

[20:32] Not an angel this time. It's the Holy Spirit. So Philip knows the voice of the Spirit. And it's clear. There's a couple things. The Holy Spirit gives specific, clear, understandable direction. And I was thinking about that.

[20:43] I don't know anywhere in Scripture where that's not the case. Where whenever God gives direction, it's very specific, clear, and understandable. It's not ever ambiguous. It's not like, well, is that the Lord? And I was thinking about it like just looking at the last 6 to 12 months of my life.

[20:57] Like, Lord, is there any time where it was unsure? And what I realized is none of the things the Lord has spoken to me were unsure. It's just I'm unsure. I'm unsure that it's the Lord.

[21:08] Or, and it's not so much I guess I'm unsure it's Him. I think what I'm unsure of is I know that when the Lord tells me, like with Philip, go, what I view as the process and the end might be a lot different than what God has in mind.

[21:24] And I think that's where I get hesitant to step in faith. Because I know God's calling and I know God's speaking. And it's like, but Lord, how's it going to turn out? And the Lord never tells us that.

[21:35] Like with Philip, he just said go. And now he says to him, join near. He doesn't know why. He's just saying join near. Very specific, very clear, very understandable direction. Philip, it's time.

[21:45] Arise and go. Philip, it's time. Draw near. Join yourself to this chariot. And Philip ran thither to him, excited to do God's will.

[21:57] You know, in scripture, the name is many times the nature. When you read someone's name and you look up the meaning, it's very often their nature. I mean, God weaves such a perfect story together. So when you look up someone's name and you see, whoa, this means, you know, whatever it means.

[22:12] Well, Philip means lover of horses. Really? And I have no spiritual application for that. I tried. But what's really cool about this is if you turn to Acts 21, verse 8, or in that area.

[22:32] So Paul is late. This is like 20 years later from where we're looking at right now with Philip. Philip, the young man running to the chariot.

[22:43] This is like some 20 years later. And verse 7 says, So we're going to find out, you know, at the end of this chapter, chapter 8, that Philip gets zapped away to Zotus.

[23:13] And then passing through the cities, like our map shows, he ends up in Caesarea. You know what was in Caesarea? A hippodrome. A place where they raced horses. Yeah. There was a ton of horses in Caesarea.

[23:26] And so Philip just kind of makes his way to Caesarea, this lover of horses. He's got chariots in his past with this Ethiopian eunuch. And he gets to Caesarea and he's like, ooh, horse racing.

[23:36] Yeah, I love horses. And he settles down and then 20 some years later, he's married. He's got daughters that are all prophesying and walking with the Lord. And he's called Philip the Evangelist.

[23:48] And he's just settled down there. We don't hear anything about him. Obscure life for 20 some years until Paul shows up. We find out he's considered an evangelist. But he's stationed there and has these amazing daughters.

[24:01] And if I may brag for a moment, I have amazing daughters that I would put in there and say that do prophesy. But it was just so cool. I'm like, well, that name, lover of horses.

[24:14] What does that mean? And then I kind of remembered, I think there was like an amphitheater in Caesarea. And so how God uses and weaves the things, the things that like, you know, the scripture says he gives us the desires of our heart.

[24:27] Well, that means he puts the desires there and then he fulfills the desires. And if we're walking in the spirit and we're walking with the Lord, we don't have to constantly second guess. Is that you, Lord? Is that you, Lord? Is that you, Lord?

[24:37] We get familiar with his voice. And he says, hey, go and join yourself to that. Okay. I mean, I like horses and the guy's got a cool horse pulling that chariot. So he runs to him.

[24:49] Maybe he was running to see the horse at this point. Yes, Lord. I love that car. I get to go check it out. Fantastic. And he heard him read the prophet Isaiah. You know, just happens to hear it and says to him, do you understand what you read?

[25:03] And so we can get from that that God's word is meant to be understood. It was, it was just a natural response to Philip to be like, that should be understood. Do you understand that? And he said, how can I?

[25:15] Except some man should guide me. And I would say it with an Ethiopian accent, but I'm not sure what they sound like. And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. So here this man shows great humility.

[25:26] I think too, he's a little desperate. He's just come from this vacation to Jerusalem. He's been rejected. It must have been pretty, pretty surprising to see the, to experience the disdain with what the Jews had towards him.

[25:40] Maybe they loved him for his money, but he would have seen through that. And here he has just some rando on the side of the road, who's run up to his chariot and says, do you understand what you're reading? And he said, I, how can I?

[25:53] Except some man should guide me. Well, we're going to find out the scripture we read where it says the Holy Spirit teaches us all things. By the time we get over to verse 39, he's going to see Philip no more, but he goes his way rejoicing.

[26:06] Why? Because now he has the Holy Spirit who's speaking to him. He has the Holy Spirit who's directing him in the word. He doesn't need a man any longer. First John two, verse 27 tells us that we, oh, we just read that one.

[26:19] Sorry, that's it again, that we need not that any man teach us. And then John 14, 26, Jesus tells us that the Holy Spirit, when he comes, shall teach us all things and bring all things to remembrance that he has spoken unto us.

[26:33] And so Philip, with great boldness and confidence can, it says in verse 32, the place of the scripture which he read was this. He was led as a sheep to the slaughter and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth.

[26:45] In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away and who shall declare his generation for his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray you of whom speaks the prophet this of himself or some other man.

[27:00] And what a perfect spot. I mean, you can just, Philip must've been like, oh, my word, Lord, this is just like a gift. And then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. He wasn't worried about, oh, I hope I can interpret this correctly.

[27:14] I hope I know what this means. He knows the voice of the spirit. And he knows what the scripture says, that the Lord will teach him all things. He knows from the Old Testament that it says that God would give us a new heart and he'd write his word upon our heart and that his words would be in our mouth.

[27:28] And so then he begins to expound upon this to this eunuch. And then Philip opened his mouth. Step one.

[27:39] That's my hardest step is opening my mouth. It's either a moment too late or like, oh, I should have said something. Or when I do, it's like one in 10 might actually be someone who even cares to listen.

[27:54] But it doesn't matter. We still open our mouth. But we are to, according to 1 Peter 3.15, be ready to give every man an answer who asks us a reason for the hope that is in us.

[28:04] It doesn't say give every man an answer whether they want it or not and yell at him. It says, for those that ask us a reason for the hope that is in us. So that means they need to be able to see the reason for the hope that's in us.

[28:15] Do our lives reflect that? And Philip began with the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. Psalm 40 verse 7 says that in the volume of the book it's written of me.

[28:25] All of scripture. You could take any scripture. Even that one we looked at in Deuteronomy that I wouldn't read out loud. You could take that one and start there and preach Jesus. Because that person who it says is rejected, who has had, you know, the very fundamental of who he is, taken from him, Jesus comes to that one and Jesus reaches that one.

[28:45] Jesus knows what it is to be cut off, what it is to be ostracized. And you can preach Jesus. And as they went on their way, they came into a certain water and the eunuch said, See, here is water.

[28:57] And what does hinder me to be baptized? And so this was initiated by his faith. Philip didn't say, do you want to be baptized? You know, it's baptism Sunday. He also didn't say, have you taken baptismal classes?

[29:09] You know, as a baptismal candidate, we usually do six weeks of classes to make sure. Never see that in scripture. It doesn't say it, but I think, you know, Philip probably said, nothing, nothing hinders you.

[29:21] And they found this one little write-up on this, in this commentary I wanted to read. You see here that there are only two members in the holy rolling apostolic gospel church of the Ethiopian chariot on the road to Gaza.

[29:38] But both members could relate to rejection. So Philip begins there and explains the story of Jesus, a Savior who was rejected by his people. How his life was taken away from the earth.

[29:49] How his death is redemptive. How he reconciles all people to God and to one another. Philip talks resurrection. He preaches new creation and the truth that in Jesus Christ all are one.

[30:01] Maybe they keep on reading in Isaiah. There is some holy irony here as they travel through this book and as they travel along this hot, dry, and dusty road. By now the eunuch has already heard God's promises to make streams in the desert, where there had been none.

[30:16] To do a new thing so that the former things can be forgotten. To make a way where the way had previously been blocked or prevented. Isaiah 43, 19. And finally, the eunuch hears the sweet promises of Isaiah.

[30:29] Isaiah 56, 3-5. In Jerusalem there had been no place for the eunuch.

[30:56] But now on this dusty desert highway, having felt like a dry tree his whole life, the eunuch suddenly looks up and sees his stream in the desert.

[31:07] Here is water. Here is a way to the way. Here is his new thing. And interrupting Philip, he says, what shall prevent me from being baptized? And although the earliest manuscripts do not record Philip's answer, we can imagine that Philip, smiling, mouths a single word.

[31:24] Nothing. Nothing and no one shall prevent you if you have faith. And in that moment, the gospel was proclaimed to him and to every other person who has ever been prevented from living fully in the kingdom of God.

[31:38] I just thought that was so cool. So if you turn real quick to Isaiah 56, verse 3. Like, what a coincidence.

[31:48] He's reading in Isaiah. And it says, and they went on their way. So there is space here that they're traveling. Isaiah 41, 10.

[32:00] Fear not, fear thou not, for I am with you. Be not dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. Yea, I will help you. Yea, I will uphold you with the right hand of my righteousness. I go back to that one all the time.

[32:12] That's one of the scriptures that God has spoken to me in a way where it just jumped out at me and was like, this is for you. And it's like, thank you, Lord. And I think of this man, you know, a man who was looked down upon as a man by everyone else.

[32:26] And then coming to Isaiah 56. Did I say verse 3? Right. Yeah, I think King James interprets it, stranger.

[32:37] Also the sons of strangers that join themselves to the Lord, to serve him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants. Everyone that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it, and takes hold of my covenant. Even them I will bring to my holy mountain, to make them joyful in my house of prayer.

[32:50] Think how he'd been rejected at Jerusalem. But it should have been the house to all nations. Jesus said, my house shall be called a house of prayer, but you've made it a den of thieves. And here's this promise, that he would take him joyfully to his house of prayer.

[33:03] Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices shall be accepted upon mine altar, for my house shall be called a house of prayer for all people. And so, turning back to Acts. So this man is thinking, boy, this is the best purchase I've ever made.

[33:18] This book of Isaiah. His scripture can be intimidating at times. We move away from the things we're comfortable with, the narratives, into the prophets. But that's where we need to remember, that it's the Holy Spirit who speaks these things to us.

[33:32] He will teach us all things. And just like Philip, we have the same ears of the Spirit that can hear his voice to us. And we can have just as much confidence that he will speak his word to us. And so, verse 30, 36, they went on their way, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, here is water, what prevents me from being baptized?

[33:52] And Philip said, if thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. It seems so simple and so basic.

[34:07] But 1 John 4, 2-3, John goes out of his way to tell us that Jesus has come in the flesh, and that those who do not accept that, they're not following the same Jesus as we are.

[34:20] And unfortunately, we have kind of the opposite where we live today. Everyone accepts Jesus came in the flesh, for sure. But they bring him down. They profane to make common.

[34:31] They bring him all the way down to only flesh. They strip all the deity away. And it's just, Jesus is an example. Jesus is a good man. Jesus did social justice. But Jesus is no longer the sacrifice for our sins.

[34:44] There's no longer repentance. There's no longer new life and holiness and sanctification. And so do we believe that Jesus is the Son of God? Well, we believe Jesus was a man.

[34:57] God's Son? The authority that comes with that? The fact that I'm answerable to that? This man did. And he commanded the chariot to stand still. And they went down both into the water.

[35:09] Both Philip and the eunuch. And he baptized them. What a moment that must have been. Philip must have been, like, just out of his mind excited. You know, Peter's going to be the first apostle to the Gentiles.

[35:23] But Philip is the first one who gets to go to a Gentile specifically. And that the Lord records it. And so here this man, he's baptized.

[35:35] And when they were come up out of the water, here we have our verse. We close again. John 3, verse 8. The Spirit blows where it wills. And when they were come up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch saw him no more.

[35:49] And he went on his way rejoicing. He had said previously, How can I know what the Scripture says? How can I understand, except some man should guide me? And then here now it says, He went on his way rejoicing.

[36:00] He did not see Philip anymore, But now he saw Jesus only. All that was left was the Word of God. But there was something more. Because by faith he had received the Holy Spirit. He was born again.

[36:11] He had new life. He went to Jerusalem and found emptiness. And then on this desert road, He found a new life. And imagine if Philip had said, Lord, that must not have been an angel.

[36:23] I don't believe in angel visitations, really. So I'm not going to leave Samaria. I'm not going to arise and go. I'm just going to stay here. Then this man, Who knows?

[36:33] We don't have the account, But the acts of the apostles, Or as we've said, The acts of the Holy Spirit in the life of the apostles. This was just another shoot of faith That went off into Ethiopia. And where the gospel would be preached.

[36:45] And who knows the countless lives That are in eternity. So as we arise and go, In our own lives, We step out of a fruitful place, A comfortable place. We get up, we go.

[36:56] And there's going to be countless Stories and people That will be in eternity because of that. No, not because it's like some, You know, Preaching to the masses and millions. But each step of faith we take Is going to have a ripple Throughout eternity.

[37:09] And who knows the harvest That God wants to reap. Just because We will be faithful to arise and go. But Philip was found at a Zotus And passing through, He preached in all the cities Till he came to Caesarea.

[37:24] And so our Ethiopian eunuch, He receives, He finds reception instead of rejection. He finds grace drawing Instead of the law preventing. He sees that faith is no longer Dependent upon a person or a place, But is dependent upon the word And upon Jesus.

[37:39] And Philip, Good old Philip, All of a sudden, Disappears, Pops up at a Zotus, And as we see on our map, Takes this journey And ends up In that horse-loving town of Caesarea.

[37:50] And God continues to do a work Through this man of faith. We see these peaks and valleys Of like, How God grabs a man and uses him! And then, Eh, not so much.

[38:02] Uses him! Eh, not so much. And then it's kind of quiet. I don't think Philip, At any point along this journey, Thought, Man, I wish God would use me some more. Because he had such a relationship With the Lord. I think he was just as happy In Caesarea As he was in Samaria As he was just to go To meet that one dude.

[38:18] And, I know that's the heart That I want to have. To be able to just say, Yes Lord, I will arise and go. Go join yourself to that. Okay. And that's where I stumble. That's where I, The, Join yourself to that person.

[38:30] I don't know that person. You know, What if they say this? What if they think that? What if I, Just open your mouth. And Philip opened his mouth. Began at the same scripture. So we'll close.

[38:41] Let's turn back to our verse. 1 John 2, 27. As we close out Philip, At least until Acts 20. Philip's going to, Philip's going to sign off For 20 some years.

[38:59] Two people, Stephen and Philip, Both starting the same place. Two very different journeys. Both men were considered Filled with wisdom And the Holy Spirit. Both used mightily by God.

[39:12] Stephen's death. You know, Stephen did more in his death Than he could do in his life. Because his death Was kind of the Driving force That's going to drive Saul, We're going to see next time, Into the waiting arms of Jesus.

[39:27] It's interesting because The way Jesus will Say to Saul, Why do you kick against the goats? It's almost as if And then Saul's response Right away is, Lord, Who art thou?

[39:40] Lord. So, Saul had gotten to the point Where he looked like He would be furthest From the truth, Furthest from salvation, And he was like, That close. All the Lord needed to do Was just shine a bright light on him.

[39:51] He's like, Okay. Because of that witness of Stephen, It was working in his heart. And there was something happening That was creating faith And he was fighting against it. And so Stephen in his death Did more than he ever could have In his life Because God used that In the life of a man, Saul, Who's going to do more For Christendom Than anybody except Jesus.

[40:11] And then Philip, Philip who started a revival In Samaria And then evangelized An Ethiopian And then went to Caesarea. We don't ever hear about The further fruit of him.

[40:23] But God chalks him up As a faithful man. And then what a blessing To have faithful children After that. But 1 John 2 23 Says, Whosoever denies the Son The same is not the Father.

[40:39] He that acknowledges the Son Has the Father also. Exactly what that Ethiopian eunuch Just discovered. And he discovered this too. Let that therefore Abide in you Which you've heard From the beginning.

[40:50] If that which you heard From the beginning Shall remain in you You also shall continue In the Son And in the Father. And this is the promise That he has promised us Even eternal life.

[41:01] These things have I written Unto you Concerning them That seduce you. But The anointing Which you have received Of him It abides in you And you need not That any man teach you. But as the same anointing Teaches you of all things And is truth And is no lie Even as it has taught you You shall abide in him.

[41:21] So just as the eunuch discovered And just as Philip discovered Philip found that The same Holy Spirit That enabled him And qualified him To wait on tables Is the same one That used him To spark this Great awakening In Samaria The same one That told him To go and join himself To this Ethiopian Is the same one 20 some years later.

[41:44] Those things that he had learned In the beginning The things that he had discovered In the beginning They remained in him They continued in him Because he knew That Jesus Was the Son of God And then that anointing And needed not That any man Would teach you.

[41:56] Now that doesn't mean We don't have teachers Because we know That the scripture says How shall they Know unless they hear And how shall they hear Unless one preach And then we also know That you know Only a fool cannot learn From another man's wisdom And for whatever reason God has chosen That through this Just opening our Bibles And reading through it And saying Hey this means this I think And then look what The Lord's doing here The Lord grows And edifies us But we don't want To just be hearers Like hey You know We want to be doers Not just hearers So when we hear a message Like that was really good Man the Lord spoke to me We're up and we're gone Well have we acted on that Well I think we can act on it In the spirit We act on it By praying out What God has just Spoken into us We act on it By ratifying with the Lord And the Holy Spirit Saying Lord yes Do that So giving a time To just say like Hey If you need prayer Pray with someone If you want to just Sit with the Lord Sit with them Or if you want to worship But consciously being like Lord That which you have Just spoken into me

[42:57] I want that to ratify In my life I want to act upon that And be a doer And I want to pray that out Whether that's going to someone And saying hey You know what The Lord just spoke this to me I want this to be real in my life Pray for me about this Let's pray together So just whatever The Lord has just spoken into you You know Just let him Make it real And act upon it as a doer Thank you Thank you