Acts_8_26-40 9/14/08

Acts_8_26-40
9/14/08

Philip and the Ethiopian Eunuch
I. Review
A. In our last study believers had been driven out of Jerusalem by persecution, and God used this dispersion to spread the gospel geographically and expand the church.
B. Philip was one who went out, he had gone to the city of Samaria, and his ministry there was greatly received, many were coming to faith in Jesus.
II. Philip and the Ethiopian.
A. At the command of God Philip leaves this successful work and goes out to the desert.
Acts 8:26-29 (NKJV)
26 Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, "Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza." This is desert.
27 So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship,
28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet.
29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near and overtake this chariot."
1. This might seem hard to do, but we see Philip is submissive to what God wants him to do.
a. This is an altogether different measure of success than is typical of man.
(1) There is a cost to this kind of success.
(a) Number one it often comes at great personal sacrifice, God's ways are altogether different than ours, and we don't have to look beyond the cross of Christ to see this.
(b) Also many will look down on you because their definition of success is different, and they won't understand what you’re doing or why you’re doing it the way you are. (They looked down on and didn't understand Jesus)
(2) Oh for a heart that consistently listens and is obedient to what God says, and for a value system that measures success by submission to Him, as well as to others in the fear of God.
Ephesians 5:17-21 (NKJV)
17 Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is.
18 And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit,
19 speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord,
20 giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ,
21 submitting to one another in the fear of God.
b. It can be difficult at times to know the will of the Lord concerning day to day events, but what if we simply had a heart to do what His word says?
1 John 2:3-6 (NKJV)
3 Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
4 He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
5 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him.
6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
(1) You see we are not under the law anymore, but it is a much higher standard to keep His word than to merely keep His commands, but the point isn't to keep it with a motivation to be justified through our actions, but rather because we love Him, to let His life live in us.
Galatians 2:20-21 (NKJV)
20 I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.
21 I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain.”
c. Two roads and this is the least traveled road to Gaza from Jerusalem
2. This Ethiopian eunuch is a wealthy and successful man, who worshiped God.
a. But clearly his success and wealth left him empty, thus he was pursuing knowledge of God.
(1) Only fellowship with God who created us for fellowship with Him will ever satisfy the longing desire of our hearts.
(2) “Taste and see that the Lord is good”, in other words we are to experience Him and His goodness in our every day living.
(a) The more we experience His goodness the more readily we do what He instructs us to do.
3. And he is reading from Isaiah the prophet while sitting in his chariot.
a. Would have cost him a lot of money, so he must really have desired to have it!
(1) How much do we desire and appreciate God's word in our lives?
4. The Holy Spirit instructs Philip to catch up with the chariot, God has a mission for Philip and a plan for this Ethiopian.
B. Philip preaches to the Ethiopian
Acts 8:30-35 (NKJV)
30 So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?"
31 And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him.
32 The place in the Scripture which he read was this: "He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth.
33 In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth."
34 So the eunuch answered Philip and said, "I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?"
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
1. Do you understand what you are reading?
a. What do you do when you don't understand what you read in God's word?
(1) Do you dive in for answers?
(2) Do you pray over it?
(3) Do you ask others who can teach you?
Luke 8:9-10 (NKJV)
9 Then His disciples asked Him, saying, “What does this parable mean?”
10 And He said, “To you it has been given to know the mysteries of the kingdom of God, but to the rest it is given in parables, that ‘Seeing they may not see, And hearing they may not understand.’
(4) Do you wait for answers (Isaac and Mary hid things in their hearts waiting for clarity)
(5) Or do you just blow it off in complacence.
b. How can I???
(1) But note he readily invited explanation; he is hungry for truth, hungry for the word of God.
Acts 17:11 (NKJV)
11 These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so.
(2) Ask God to help take delight in His word.
Psalm 1 (NKJV)
1 Blessed is the man Who walks not in the counsel of the ungodly, Nor stands in the path of sinners, Nor sits in the seat of the scornful;
2 But his delight is in the law of the Lord, And in His law he meditates day and night.
3 He shall be like a tree Planted by the rivers of water, That brings forth its fruit in its season, Whose leaf also shall not wither; And whatever he does shall prosper.
4 The ungodly are not so, But are like the chaff which the wind drives away.
5 Therefore the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, Nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous.
6 For the Lord knows the way of the righteous, But the way of the ungodly shall perish.
2. Jesus as the suffering servant. (From Isaiah 53:7-8)
a. Paul said:
1 Corinthians 2:2 (NKJV)
2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.
(1) And Philip proclaimed Jesus to him.
(2) The man had questions and Philip had answers, because he delighted himself in the word of God.
And it was limited to that small portion of Isaiah.
35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.
C. The Ethiopian responds to the gospel
Acts 8:36-40 (NKJV)
36 Now as they went down the road, they came to some water. And the eunuch said, "See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized?"
37 Then Philip said, "If you believe with all your heart, you may." And he answered and said, "I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God."
38 So he commanded the chariot to stand still. And both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water, and he baptized him.
39 Now when they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught Philip away, so that the eunuch saw him no more; and he went on his way rejoicing.
40 But Philip was found at Azotus. And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
1. The Ethiopian not only received the word of God, believing in Jesus as Messiah, but he acted on the word of God!!!
a. What stops me from being baptized?
2. Add as soon as he was baptized as they stood their in the water, the Spirit of God instantly caught Philip away and the Ethiopian was left standing there.
a. Philip was later found in Azotus a city of the Philistines also known as Ashdod.
b. But the Ethiopian went on his way rejoicing, knowing God had met him there in the Chariot as he read the word and responded to its truth.
3. God wants for you and I to know Him and know that He has met with us and to allow Him to fill those deep needs of our hearts, the question is will we let Him?
a. He is willing are we?
III. As we move into a time of communion the whole point is to meet with God, to enjoy connection, communion, fellowship with Him.
A.
B.
C.