P a g e 1 Acts 8:26-40 For the One Hughes, Following the church through Acts is like following a wounded deer through a forest. Drops of blood mark the trail. Stephen was the Churches first Martyr The blood of the martyrs becomes the seeds of the church. It was the persecution in Acts 8 : 1.that moved the church to obey the command of Acts 1 : 8. Chapter 8 verse 3 says, As for Saul, he made havock of the church, the root word describes the results of wounding a wild boar. When a boar is wounded, he goes on a rampage and loses all sense of sanity which is exactly what happened to Paul. Courson notes, This refined, cultured, religious scholar who sat at the feet of Gamaliel this student par excellence, this man whose command of the Greek language was greater than any other writer lost all sense of sanity. At first he merely consented to the death of Stephen. But then, like a shark that smells blood, he began going from house to house, hauling out and imprisoning believers, committing them to their deaths. Step on a church on fire and sparks are gonna fly and they did; setting fires all across the land. Phillip left to preach the gospel in Samaria Samaria received the good news and verse 8 says, there was great joy in that city. Luke introduces a man named Simon a sorcerer. Not simply a clever magician? He was a conduit of demonic power. Simon wants the Power of the Holy Spirit without the surrender scripture is clear; The abiding truth is: convictions not acted on, die; truths not followed, fade; lingering can become a habit; and we can either go in or go further away. We also learn as followers of Jesus we all must keep our priorities straight stay in love with the of the gifts not the gifts Our focus must remain on the God of the things and not the things of God PRAY I would say revival but this is the first time Samaria has seen the outpouring of the Holy Spirit so we will call it vival... so right in the middle of vival verse 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.
P a g e 2 This can t be right! vival here! Jerusalem is 30 miles closer send one of the Apostles! Sometimes God calls us to do things that don t make sense in man s eyes. Never forget God is outside of time.. He sees and knows all The Holy Spirit led Phillip out of Jerusalem to escape persecution God can direct us through many different means Here He uses an Angel. Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are ministering spirits sent to serve those who will inherit salvation. So here God sends an angel messenger to show him his next step. MacArthur notes, "There were two roads from Jerusalem to Gaza, and the Spirit commands Philip to take the south one, the one seldom used." Why Devine appointment was waiting! Please note that the Lord didn t say why He was sending Philip to the desert. He simply said, Arise and go. And Philip arose and went. Phillip had to be thinking I know I m not one of the 12 or the inner circle but things are really happening in this amazing Samaritan crusade. The entire town thinks the message is God s truth and knows it s from God. It is a happy time a marvelous vival, and suddenly the Lord tells me to take a hike to, of all places, the desert! There is nothing there but lizards. 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, Ethiopia at the time was a powerful kingdom located south of Egypt. He would have been a cabinet member traveling with a large entourage including guards. Picture a stretch Chariot with tinted windows with a Jacuzzi in back Ethiopia. The treasurer in the kingdom, this man was perhaps the second most powerful individual in Continuing verse 27 and had come to Jerusalem to worship, We learn from the following text that he must have been searching for answers but not finding them is a sterile religion. Hungry knowing there was more the hole in his heart had not been filled. He had just completed a 1000 mile religious pilgrimage to Jerusalem and had a searching heart. 28 was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. The Ethiopian was hungry for God's Word. The scroll would have cost him a lot of money, so he would have had to really want it! Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be filled. Seemingly, He had it all
P a g e 3 SLIDE 29 Then the Spirit said to Philip, Go near and overtake this chariot. God values the one as much as the multitudes and he used Philip to reach the one. This proves to me that the Lord will do whatever it takes to reach a person who desires to know Him. On the Day of Judgment, no one will be able to say, I really wanted to know You, God, but I couldn t figure out how. God will send a Philip to anyone who wants to know Him. And that Philip could be you! This is a classic Devine appointment I think God has a lot more of them set up for us keep those spiritual antenna s up! 30 So Philip ran to him, That s really cool! The word enthusiasm comes from the Greek words and meaning, full of God. An enthusiastic person is a person who is full of God. And Philip was enthusiasm personified. Philip God s hitchhiker. Have Spirit will travel. 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 i 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? Regarding this passage from Isaiah 53:7-8, the Jews of that day had different ways they interpreted the identity of this suffering servant. 1. Some thought the suffering servant was the nation of Israel itself, as Israel had suffered greatly in wars, exile, and persecution. 2. Others thought the suffering servant was Isaiah writing about himself. 3. Some thought the suffering servant was the Messiah, but they thought this hard to accept, because they didn't want to think of the Messiah suffering. The religious leaders false Messianic expectations really blinded them to Jesus being the Messiah. 1. They didn t believe the Messiah would hang out with sinners 2. They believed the Messiah would applaud the righteous behavior of the True Jews. 3. Suffering was not what they wanted to see even though it was clearly prophesied. No doubt Philip took the eunuch through all 12 verses of Isaiah 53, describing his royal lineage, the Incarnation, the vicarious atonement.
P a g e 4 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, Preached Jesus to him. Jesus did the same thing to the hard hearted religious leaders In Luke 24: 25 Then Jesus said to them, O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory? 27 And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself. There are over 300 of them. Here are a few Phillip might have walked the Ethiopian Eunuch through 1) Beloved of God Isaiah 42:1-4 Matthew 12:16-21 2) The Way of Repentance Isaiah 2:2-4 Luke 24:47 3) The Good Shepherd Isaiah 40:11 John 10:11-18 4) Defeat of Satan Genesis 3:15 1 John 3:8 5) His Eternality Micah 5:2 John 1:1-2 6) The Holy One Exodus 15:11 Luke 1:35 7) A Teacher Isaiah 48:17 John 3:2 8) His Forever Kingdom Isaiah 9:7 Luke 1:32-33 9) He Alone is Savior Isaiah 43:11 Acts 4:12 10) Pouring of the Spirit Isaiah 44:3 John 16:7, 13 11) John Prepared the Way Isaiah 40:3-5 Luke 3:2-6 12) Came to Do God s Will Psalm 40:7-8 Matthew 26:39 13) The Spirit of the Lord upon Him Isaiah 11:2 Luke 3:22 14) The Gentiles Seek Him Isaiah 11:10 John 12:18-21 15) Passover Lamb Isaiah 53:7 John 1:29 16) Falsely Accused Psalm 35:11 Matthew 26:59-61 17) Beaten and Abused Isaiah 50:6 Matthew 26:67 18) Crucified with Criminals Isaiah 53:12 Luke 23:34
P a g e 5 19) The Resurrected Lord Psalm 16:10 1 Cor. 15:3-4 20) The Ascended Lord Psalm 68:18 Luke 24:50-51 21) Victory Over Death Hosea 13:14 1 Cor. 15:55-57 22) A New Covenant Jeremiah 31:31-34 Matthew 26:27-29 Preached Jesus witnessing I always would see how Satan would attempt to get us off of Jesus talk about homosexual marriage, talk about abortion stay on Jesus He is the only one who can change a wicked heart from wicked lifestyles. Only the angels know how long they rode in the chariot. But we know that the Ethiopian was convinced and marvelously converted! 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. If you believe with all your heart, you may. Biblically this is the very definition of Believe. With all your heart remember your heart is everything you are, thoughts, affections, actions, attitudes. 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. The Ethiopian had at last found what he was looking for His trip to Jerusalem had left him empty ritualistic religion still left that hole, Jesus took Phillip away from a thriving ministry in Samaria and seek and save ONE. He now begins his dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ This Eunuch was Born again. The eunuch had gone to Jerusalem seeking. He had left struggling with the Scriptures. Now he goes home rejoicing in his salvation. 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. Irenaeus says this man became the first missionary to the Ethiopians. When you win the lotto how can you not share it with others 40 But Philip was found at Azotus. the former Philistine city of Azotus (also known as Ashdod). And passing through, he preached in all the cities till he came to Caesarea.
P a g e 6 John 6:21 Disciples rowing and getting nowhere. They see Jesus walking of the water verse 21 Then they willingly received Him into the boat, and immediately the boat was at the land where they were going. Warp drive! Engage! Mass transportation is coming It will be more than one But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words. In Christ We have Comfort! Be Watchful: Be Cautious, Be Awake, Be Active!!! God reminds us We can t just cruise through Christianity going through a Bible study occasionally, praying sporadically, hoping things will work out eventually. We must be about the King s business continually. Happy moments, praise God. Difficult moments, seek God. Quiet moments, worship God. Painful moments, trust God. Every moment, thank God.